Let's Welcome the Bears!

As promised, below are pictures of the bears that Susan Elise and I worked on Saturday night. I was going to show you one picture a day, but that wasn't fun, so below are all three pictures!!!


Above is the pumpkin bear and the witch bear. I love these guys (well, actually, guy and gal)!!!



Now, check out the detail on Mr. & Mrs. Santa Bear. I will confess that Susan Elise put these two together. I took the easy way out and and did the Halloween Bears and the boy bear below! She did say that you need a bit of patience to dress Mr. & Mrs. Santa Bear, but don't you think its worth it??



And here's my boy bear! When I look at the picture, I should have put some laces in his shoes (next time!). He is a magnet and is currently hanging out on my file cabinet. I ran a magnet sheet through the Bit Shot and adhered it to the bear. That Big Shot cut that magnet sheet like buttah!!!

Tomorrow is the day the Holiday Mini Catalog debuts. Tomorrow, and I stress tomorrow, September 1, 2009, click here and you will be taken to my Demonstrator Website and the Holiday Mini Catalog should be posted!

Hope you had a good Monday!! (Come back tomorrow when we talk about the Mojo Monday sketch)





Click here to place your order for any Stampin' Up! products on my Demonstrator Website - just click on the SHOP NOW in upper right hand corner!

Time Flies . . .

. . . when it is the weekend! Did you ever wonder why? I did and still do! But, I do relish Sunday evenings because it is my night to do what I call "regroup" and get ready for the week. I make these mental notes about what I want to accomplish the upcoming week . . . so I can be ready for the next weekend! You might have guessed it, but my mind never stops - drives me nuts!!!

So, I had a delightful weekend. It included doing some clean up of my stamping room and I can now find all my stamp sets! You know, many of you . . . and me . . . have been looking for ways to organize stamp sets. If you know of any, if you could please post any suggestions in the Comments box in the column to the right -- the first block -- that would be great! Right now, I sort them by alphabet sets, word sets, autumn/halloween and Christmas sets. Then the rest of the sets are organized by box size. It's the box size organization that leaves to be desired! I hope to hear from you guys with some ideas for us all!!

I did get a bit of stamping done, well, okay, as I think of it, there was no stamping involved. But, I was creating using paper products and the Big Shot. My good friend, Susan Elise, came over on Saturday night and we made our bears from the new Build-A-Bear Collection. Oh my goodness, we had such fun and I now have five bears - with five different outfits! I'll be sharing them with you this week. The new Build-A-Bear Collection includes both stamp sets and Sizzix dies. I didn't think I would spend much time with these bears and didn't order any of these products when I could do a demonstrator pre-order this month. But no . . . I had to go to convention and see these cute projects . . . and went back to my hotel room that night and ordered all the dies! I'm such a good customer - my demonstrator must love me .. ha ha!!! I can't wait to share these bears with you!!!

I'm going to share another Display Board with you from Convention. This one has a Halloween theme and look at it closely (by clicking on the picture) to see all the good projects you can create for Halloween!!!! I love the ideas on this Display Board.

See, I told you that you would see some really great projects on this Display Board!!! I hope you enjoy and have a great Monday!!!! :-)

p.s. Don't forget the Holiday Mini will be on line on September 1. The mailing is delayed so you probably won't get it until after the 1st, but be sure to check online and take a peek because you'll love it!!!!!

Click here to place your order for any Stampin' Up! products on my Demonstrator Website - just click on the SHOP NOW in upper right hand corner!

Another One Done!

What is the most important thing about a scrapbook page? You got it, the pictures!!! So, when I design a page or two page spread for a class, I always feel that it is somewhat incomplete. I really do try to get pictures on the page prior to the class, but in June, I didn't get a chance to get the pictures on. Today I did!!!

It was fun pulling out these pictures and as I laid them out and then cut down the pictures to size, the pages literally came to life. I wish you could hear me talking to myself (I know not one of you out there do that - NOT) and saying, yeah, that's it!!! It really took more time to create the journaling block than it did to add the pictures.

If you are apprehensive about scrapbooking, I hope you'll consider attending one of my Scrapbooking with Phyllis classes! All you have to do when you leave is put the pictures on the pages and if you like, add a journaling block!!! You'll be talking to yourself too, I just know it!

Click here to place your order for any Stampin' Up! products on my Demonstrator Website - just click on the SHOP NOW in upper right hand corner!

The Plums

Once upon a time, I was a brand new demonstrator (about eight years ago). I was (and still am) truly addicted to stamping. One of my favorite color combinations was Perfect Plum and Pale Plum. I participated in alot of swaps and my friends could usually pick out my card, because I tended to use these colors all the time!

During the Stamp Clubs for August, I decided to take a step back and incorporate some of my favorites things into the classes. After creating this card, I thought about how gorgeous this color combination still is and I still love it. To create the image on the card, we used the Pendant Notes note cards as a stencil, then added the color using Sponge Daubers. This image coordinates perfectly with the Baroque Motifs stamp set! Oh, and check out the ribbon! We used the White Taffeta Ribbon and rubbed Perfect Plum ink on the ribbon using the Sponge Dauber. Gorgeous dahling!

I've listed below the items used on this card, as well as the product numbers.

• Baroque Motifs Stamp Set - 113490
• Perfect Plum Cardstock - 101889
• Pale Plum Cardstock - 101658
• Naturals White Cardstock - 102316
• Classic Perfect Plum Ink - 101437
• Classic Pale Plum Ink - 102732
• Pendant Notes - 116449
• Paper Piercer - 116631
• Mat Pack - 105826
• White Taffeta 3/8" Ribbon - 109070
• Sponge Daubers - 102892
• Dimensionals - 104430
• Antique Brass Build-A-Brads - 109108
• Crystal Effects - 101055

Happy stamping!!!!





Click here to place your order for any Stampin' Up! products on my Demonstrator Website - just click on the SHOP NOW in upper right hand corner!

Halloween Treats!!

I uploaded this card and was a little disappointed that you can't see the actual Cup part of the card. See where the M&M's are?? They are contained in a clear cup called a "Sweet Treat Cup" which is a new product in the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog. You get 12 cups in a package for only $2.95. The item no. is 116802 and I know you'll want to order these as soon as they are available - which is September 1, 2009! Gives you something to look forward to, huh!!!! Well, while you are ordering the cups, I'm sure you noticed the paper surrounding the cup, didn't you? Um, it's not paper - it is a stamp from the stamp set entitled "Sweet Centers", Item No. 116521 and sells for $29.95. It contains 6 stamps and you'll love how many different holidays you can make treats for with this stamp set and the Sweet Treat Cups.

I do have a bit of sad news in that the Holiday Mini Catalog is going out a tad bit late, so if you are frantically checking your mail boxes this week (when we originally expected you to receive it), take a deep breathe and go back in. The Mini Catalogs are being shipped just a little bit late so I'm hoping you will receive it the first week of September. But don't fret, because you can view the catalog on line - I'll have a link to the Holiday Mini Catalog here on my Blog in the right column! Also, you can order from the Holiday Mini Catalog on September 1. SU apologizes for the delay, but I can tell you that it is definitely worth the wait!!!

I do want to give credit to the creator of this card - Jennifer Hakki. She is a local demonstrator who has been an SU demo for I think 13 years. While she is not in my SU group, she sometimes attends my downline meetings and this was her swap. We were so excited to receive this card!!! And I still haven't eaten the M&M's, because the card is soooo cute, I don't want to take it apart!

You'll feel the same way when you get your Sweet Treat Cuts!!!





Click here to place your order for any Stampin' Up! products on my Demonstrator Website - just click on the SHOP NOW in upper right hand corner!

Kaleidoscope and Mojo Monday

I'm doing the happy dance (okay, it's probably good that you are not here watching this!). I'm so excited with my card for the Mojo Monday sketch - excited because I finished it and excited because I absolutely love my card! Wait, I'm patting myself on the back ... hum ... makes it REALLY hard to type! he he!!!!

I am so in love with the Kaleidoscope DSP. We used this paper this past Sunday in Scrapbooking with Phyllis, but we used the blue/greens shades. This particular piece is Summer Sun, Pixie Pink, Tempting Turquoise and it absolutely delightful!!! I've never been a huge fan of the Bold Brights, but I have to admit that I've been using them like crazy with this DSP. You see, while the colors are Bold Brights in the DSP, they are subtle. When the catalog first came out in July, this is the first package of DSP that I wanted!!!!

I've listed below the products, including item numbers, that I used in this card:

Stamp Set: Hello Again/113780
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise/100721, Pixie Pink/105121, Kaleidoscope DSP/115680
Classic Ink: Tempting Turquoise/100814
Stampin' Write Markers: Summer Sun/100077, Pixie Pink/105112
Other: 5/8" White Satin Ribbon/114616, 1-3/8" Circle Punch/104401, Scallop Circle Punch/109043, Big Shot/113439, Finial Press Embossing Folder/115963, Dimensionals/104430, Bold Brights Brads/106957

So, don't be afraid and go bold ... subtly .... with the Kaleidoscope DSP and Bold Brights cardstock!!





Click here to place your order for any Stampin' Up! products on my Demonstrator Website - just click on the SHOP NOW in upper right hand corner!

You Won't Believe This!

So, I go away to Utah for less than a week and I come home and Mickey has totally taken over the kitties!!! Darci and Dugan have been laying on his lap every day! It used to be when one cat was on his lap, the other cat would jump up and then leave. But no-o-o-o-o, not anymore, they both blop down! And I will say that Mickey just loves this! I just had to share this picture with you because it's just too darn cute. This picture was taken Sunday evening and if you were here at the Scrapbooking with Phyllis class, these two kitties were holy terrors!!!! It's not hard to believe that they were thoroughly exhausted last night!!

Today being Monday, here is the Sketch for Mojo Monday. I will be making my card on Tuesday night and will post it! I did want to do it tonight, but it seems that on Monday's, it is just hard for me to stamp and be creative. After a nice dinner, I sat down on the sofa and the next thing you know, I was sleeping! Yikes! I gotta stop that! Oh, you know, last week they had a sketch every day! Boy, I live for the days when I can stamp every day . . . I think that would be retirement from the law firm. Hum ... nope ... not ready for that yet!!


I hope your Monday was a good one!

Convention Goes Public

My niece, Christie, who is a downline of my sister (her mother) who is my downline, (yes, it's a family affair), found this article about the Stampin' Up! Convention this month which we all attended! I thought I would share the link with you! See what you miss by not being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!

Click here!

Scrapbooking with Phyllis

I wanted to share with you the two-page spread we did today at Scrapbooking with Phyllis. I am so excited that I'm getting Kirk's life in a scrapbook! Of course, I didn't realize until we were discussing his age, that I put the wrong year down on the scrapbook page! Someone asked me how old he was in the picture and I said one year old, and realized that the pictures were taken in June 1988. Oh gosh, that seems like such a long time ago!!! Wasn't Kirk such a cute kid?? We used the Kaleidoscope DSP and Green Galore and Tempting Turquoise cardstock. Between the two different patterns of DSP, I ran a strip of Sticky Strip across the seams of the DSP and applied White Chunky Glitter! It really added a great touch. You can see it better if you click on the page!

Our next Scrapbooking Class will be on September 27 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. We will be creating 10 12" x 12" scrapbook pages using the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit! It's perfect for yourself OR as a wonderful holiday gift! Class fee is $35.00. Payment is due no later than September 17, 2009.

After class today, Vicki and I sat down and finished the Make and Take projects from Convention. I'm glad that I'm waited until I got home to do some of them because I really enjoyed making them today! Below is a picture of all the Make and Take projects. Again, if you click on the photo, you will see it in more detail!

I hope you had a great weekend. I did because I was able to scrapbook and stamp! Woo hoo - it's the absolute best!

I'm So Excited!

One of the things I really love is My Blog. I look forward to my posts and hearing your comments and suggestions. I feel like it is a great way to interact with you. I do realize that not all of you are computer savvy nor do you love your computer as much as I do mine. Maybe my love relationship with my computer is a bit abnormal! Ha ha! I hope that you find the things you are looking for here and if not, please let me know!

One of the things I don't, or didn't, like about My Blog was the name - www.letsstampwithphyllis.blogspot.com. I know, isn't that a mouthful! So, since I started My Blog I wanted the website address to be "www.letsstamp.com", which is called a domain name. Well, believe it or not, someone else had that domain name, but wasn't using it. How dare them! So, I waited and waited and waited and finally it became available. See, you "purchase" these names for a period of time, so the person or entity that had the domain name let it expire. I eagerly purchased it and tried to use it for my blog name. Well, shoot, that didn't work, so I placed that task in my "to do" box - which is pretty darn full.

Then, Vicki, my downline, revamped her blog (yeah Vicki) and tells me she figured this out. Oh man, she knows that it drives me crazy when she's done something that I couldn't do so this morning I decided it was time. You know, it took me about 10 minutes to do. Can you believe it???? But, thanks Vicki for the inspiration and push that I needed to get this accomplished!!

My blog web address is now "www.letsstamp.com". Please change it in your favorites if you are so kind enough to put me there! If you put in the old blog address, it will ask if you want to be redirected and yup, you do!!! I can't tell you how darn excited I am to have this nice and short web address for My Blog!!!

So, if I've kept your interest up to this point (thank you for reading this far), I want to address that "to do" box. I use this concept in EVERY facet of my life - sometimes it's a good thing and sometimes it's NOT a good thing. For example, I'm working on this card and it just isn't going right. I'm starting to get frustrated so I put the project in my "to do" box. Now, I don't literally have a "to do" box, it's this place in my head where things go to live until I get back to them! and boy does it get full!! Then, when I get to a point where I'm ready to address them, I pull them out. I have found that sometimes it just isn't the right time to do something and you know, that's okay! Because eventually, there is a right time and when that time comes, you'll find the task is so much easier! This is the secret of my life ... ha ha!!!! And I will admit that sometimes I pull things out of the "to do" box in a little later than I would like, but the end result is the same - when I'm ready to complete the task, it goes much easier!

So, the next time you are working on something and it just isn't going right, whether it is stamping, scrapbooking or ANYTHING, put it in your "to do" box. It will wait for you and its turn to be completed!

I'm kinda scared to go back and re-read this post because I probably sound crazy, but hey, I am so it's all good. I do want to share another Display Board with you from Convention.


Aren't these samples gorgeous!!! Tomorrow I have my Scrapbooking with Phyllis class and after the class, I'll post the pages we made. I planned these yesterday and had so much fun. Part of the fun is pulling out pictures of my son, Kirk, when he was little and incorporating them into the page. I used pictures when Kirk was 1 year old and while making the pages, I actually thought about the day we took the pictures and how much fun we had. Mickey was also looking at the pages with me and I told him, boy, we really didn't have a clue what we were doing, now did we. He agreed, but also agreed that Kirk turned out pretty good! I then thought to myself that if I didn't have Kirk, I wouldn't have a lot of pictures to scrapbook .. ha ha!!! Not really, but I did chuckle to myself about that!

So, sit down and pull out some pictures and re-live those wonderful memories. It will definitely put a smile on your face!

Woo hoo .. I Did It!

I completed my card using the Mojo Monday sketch. Didn't take me long to put the finishing touches on it so I hope you like it!

Let's see, here is what I used on this card:

Stamp Set: Herb Expressions (just got it!)
Cardstock: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence (can you spot it??), Whisper White
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Other: Cottage Wall DSP, Scallop Circle Punch, Two Scallop Sizzix Die, Sizzix, Dimensionals (lots), Finial Press Embossing Folder, Dimensionals (ha ha), Rich Razzleberry Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack

I really love the way Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry look together. I was also very pleased with the look of the DSP paper after I embossed it with the Finial Press Embossing Folders. The crisp embossed images you get with the embossing folders are awesome - I wish they had more. (Hum, there is a new one in the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog).

I had a wonderful birthday and sat down this afternoon and opened all the gorgeous birthday cards I received. I can't tell you how blessed I am to receive such works of art! I'm so impressed, I think you all should be demonstrators!!! :-) Tomorrow I'll take a picture of the group of cards to share with you. You'll definitely want to come back and see them!!!!

Hope your day was great too!!

Work In Process

Well, I was trying really hard last night to get my card completed from the Mojo Monday Design Sketch, really I was. I had the base on the card done, my DSP (designer series paper) cut, had my stamp set out ... and then all of a sudden I heard a piercing meow coming from Darci. She had gotten herself stuck in the rails of one of the fold up chairs and she was hanging by her neck from the chair. You can imagine my panic and while I tried to get her out, she was biting my hands. Now, those of you who own pets know that the biting is just a reflex. I got her neck freed, then her leg was caught and I managed to get that free. Then I looked at my hands and my left was dripping blood. (I know, yucky, huh!). One of the puncture wounds was pretty deep and I was shaking, but Dr. Mickey came to my rescue and bandaged me up. While I was upset about for my hands, I was so relieved that Darci was okay. I was even more thrilled when I woke up this morning and have no throbbing in my hand like I did last night! Woo hoo!!!

So, all that being said, my plans are to complete my card tonight and post it. However, today is my birthday (woo hoo)!!! One of the things that I always do is open all my cards (they have been filling my mail box) on my birthday. It makes my birthday more special to open them on my day so don't fret -- if you mailed it, its in my birthday stack and I'll open it tonight - I can't wait!!! Gives me something to look forward to when I get home from work!!

I hope you enjoy your day as much as I plan on doing!!!! :-)

Mojo Monday

Now, don't be confused because yes, it is Tuesday. Well, Tuesday when I am writing this post because if you don't look at my blog until Wednesday, it won't be Tuesday, it will be Wednesday when you are reading about Mojo Monday. Oh gosh, now isn't that sentence a hoot!!! Ah, sometimes I'm just too witty in the morning!!

I didn't get a chance to post anything yesterday about Mojo Monday so I wanted to post the sketch! I think this is too cute! When I first took a peek at the sketch this morning, the first thing I thought of was using the Sizzix die with the two scallop circles! But you know, if you don't have that, you can always use just circles to create your project. Remember, the sketch is just that -- a sketch! You can take all kinds of liberties when you create your project! I hestitate to say that I do want to create my project today when I come home from work, but it seems lately when I say that, something happens so keep your fingers crossed for me, okay?

I hope you get a chance to create your card from the sketch! The good Lord willing .... I'll be posting my sample this evening!!

Enjoy your day, whether its Monday, Tuesday OR Wednesday! :-)

I Survived!!!

I am so NOT into physical labor, except for the lifting and pressing of rubber stamps, cutting cardstock . . . you know the drill, now don't you!

Well, on Friday, we relocated our office from the sixth floor to the third floor and boy was it a lot of work. Yes, I did work all day on Friday (my normal day off) and worked both Saturday and Sunday mornings. As I left yesterday with hubby (who was SO kind and helped me move some boxes), I felt a sign of relief that the office looks good and we have phones and computers!! Woo hoo! Yes, I did coordinate the move so until things went right and the firm was up and running, I was kinda holding my breath! Not that anyone that I worked with will read my blog, everyone was great from my co-workers and contractors to the movers and without them, the move would not have occurred!!!

During this process, I had stamp clubs on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Some would wonder why I would schedule all this at the same time! Well, okay, I'm just nuts that way! ha ha!! But truly, stamping is my therapy - my salvation. Despite my physical exhaustion, I so looked forward to the stamp clubs and being with the members of the stamp clubs, talking, stamping and having a great time! I know many of you express to me how you look forward to your stamping time and a break from the trials and tribulations of your daily activities. Well, like you, I do too!!!! And, I want to thank you for what you give me to me and how you make me smile! THANKS!!!

Are you wondering if you are going to get a Display Board today! You betcha!!!!! Okay, I'm so wrong! I've tried for the last 15 minutes to upload a photo and seems my computer and blogger are having communication issues! Come back later today and I'll have a couple of Display Boards uploaded in this post!!!



Ta da ... sorry I made you wait all day! :-(

Hope your Monday is a great one!!!

Another Display Board

Just a quick post to share another Display Board with you! As a reminder if you click on the picture, you'll see a larger image so you can check out the details of any of the projects!!!

Hope you enjoy and have a GREAT day!!!