A Fun Day

The first photo is of my husband and I sitting in a helicopter before we took off to see the volcano on the island of Montserrat. It was spectacular! This morning we visited a butterfly farm on the french side of St. Maarten. This little guy landed on our friend Kim as soon as we walked in!

So how appropriate is it that my card project for today has a butterfly on it! Our niece is graduating from college next week so I made her this card before we left.

Supplies used: Orchid Opulence, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White card stock; Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry markers; Happy Grad stamp; Cottage Wall designer series paper; Scallop Square and Beautiful Wings Sizzix Dies and Beautiful Butterfly embosslit.

This will be my last post while I am gone so tune in next week for photos of our make and takes which features a new stamp set from the upcoming Idea Book & Catalog!!

Swimming With the Turtles

The 2 photos are from our port of call in St. Lucia yesterday. We took a taxi tour around the island and then spent a couple of hours in Rodney Bay snorkeling. It has been a great trip so far!

The card was made from Itty Bitty Bits. I think thats the name of the stamp set! I don't have my mini catalog with me! (smile). There are some fun accessories to go with this set as well!

Water Color Trio and Cruise Update

I love the technique of using markers on my stamps. Water Color Trio in the upcoming Summer Mini is a perfect stamp set for it!

Supplies used: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White card stock; Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Old Olive & Crushed Curry Markers; Scallop Oval and Large Oval punches; 2-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Yesterday we spent the day at a beach on Barbados. We swam with the sea turtles and snorkeled quite a bit. All of our photos yesterday were taken with a disposable underwater camera so are on film. We think we got some great shots! Last night was Share Night. You could bring a sample of something you made and display it for a couple of hours. There were trays of pastries and more fruit carvings that were just beautiful! I had a photo taken with Shelli as well.

The Big Hello

After an uneventful but long day of travel, we got on board the Adventure of the Sea cruise ship. It is absolutely beautiful! We attended The Big Hello, a meet and greet for demonstrators and their guests. We had Virgin Daiquiris in these cute glasses with light up fish! Our "Pillow Gift" last night was a water bottle and eight 1 Liter bottles of water!

Check out the Watermelon carving!

Before we left, I did get a few cards made with some of the Summer Mini Catalog Stamp sets so will post a few projects along the way! I embossed the ice cream scoops with Versamark and clear embossing powder on the card stock and cut them out.

Supplies used: Sweet Scoops stamp set; Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla and Chocolate Chip Card Stock;Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Chip Classic Ink; Versamark and Clear Embossing Powder; Scallop Edge Border Punch

We're Ready to Set Sail!!!

We are leaving tomorrow for the Cruise! I am busily trying to pack and finish up last minute things! I am setting up a few projects to post while I am gone so hopefully you will see some cards made with the some of the stamps from the upcoming Summer Mini! I'm not sure whether we will be on-line much if at all but if we do, I'll try and post some photos along the way as well. Happy Stamping!!

Our travel documents came in this cute clutch! Since this is my first cruise I'm not too sure what to expect but have been told there are pillow gifts each night from Stampin' Up! How fun!

Cottage Wall

One of my favorite designer series paper from the Idea Book & Catalog has been Cottage Wall. And to have coordinating printed window sheets is the icing on the cake!



Supplies used: Orchid Opulence and Whisper White card stock; Cottage Wall designer series paper; Flower Fantasy Printed Window Sheets; gold brads; Large Oval Punch; Oval All stamp set; Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry markers; Whisper White Organza Ribbon.

Sweet Pea!

This was a Hostess Club project last week. Pink is one of my Mother-In-Law's favorite color so she will be getting this card for Mother's Day.

Supplies used: Pretty In Pink, Whisper White & Rose Red card stock; Sweet Pea designer series paper and felt flowers; Rose Red Classic Ink; Well Scripted stamp set.

The Love Affair Continues...

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary. We share the day with my parents who celebrated their 63rd anniversary. That's 99 years between us! This is the card I made them.

My love affair with the Vintage look is going strong! I was playing with the new Smooch Spritz from the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog. It is perfect for Vintage! The card base is Natural Ivory card stock. I wheeled the Very Vintage wheel with Versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder over the front of the card. Then I lightly "smooched" the card with the Gold Glow Smooch Spritz. It is really pretty! A light shimmery metallic look! I wheeled Versamark on the Always Artichoke piece as well. I stamped and watercolored the flowers from Elements of Style in the upcoming Summer Mini catalog and die cut the butterfly with the Beautiful Butterflies die. It's hard to see but the flowers have Dazzling Diamonds glitter on them. The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and Vanilla Satin Ribbon and Vanilla Hodge Podge hardware finishes it off!

Trendy Trees

I just love this stamp set! It coordinates so well with the Sweet Pea Designer Series Pack! It's not too late to pick up this stamp set for $14.36 - 20% off! And time is running out on the Occasions Mini Catalog as well! The sales period ends April 30!

Supplies used: Old Olive, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White card stock; Old Olive and Chocolat Chip Classic Ink; Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon; Scallop Circle, Ticket Corner, Modern Label and Word Window punches; Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper

Making Pins wih the Big Shot!

The last project we made in the Big Shot Class were pins. You can put up to 8 layers of fabric through the Big Shot! We used the Stampin' Up! Flower Folds XL Bigz Die. We die cut 2 layers each of the 3 smallest flowers. We staggered them and tacked them together with needle and thread. The centers are corduroy buttons.

Flower Fancy - 20% off!

Here is another card with a stamp set you can purchase 20% off in April! You can shop in my on-line store: www.susanlacroix.stampinup.net

You can't see it, but there is a small amount of Dazzling Diamonds in the center of the flower and the edges of the Blush Blossom oval are sponged with Chocolate Chip.

Supplies: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Blush Blossom card stock; Versamark and Black embossing powder; Chocolate Chip Classic Ink; Sage Shadow, Blush Blossom Watercolor Wonder crayons; Aquapainter; 1/4" Sage Shadow Grosgrain ribbon; Wide Oval and Ticket Corner Punches; Sincere Salutations Stamp Set.

Big Shot Class - Cards

I just love all of the things we can make with the Big Shot! Cards are a snap!

I just love how the Movers & Shapers Die coordinates with our punches! The white star is texturized with the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder.

To make this card, place a piece of folded card stock on the Scallop Square Clear Die. Make sure the card stock is covering three of the four sides. You want the fold at the top of the card. We finished this card with the Sweet Pea designer series paper and the greeting punched with the Word Window Punch layered on the Modern Label Punch. Literally, it took less then 5 minutes to make this card!

Detroit Tiger Opening Day!

Friday was the Home Opening Game for the Detroit Tigers. We have season's tickets so for us, this is a holiday! (smile) It was a "balmy" 38 degrees when the first pitch was thrown and climbed up to 40 by the end of the game! The Tigers gave us a win so it was well worth it!

Fifth Avenue Floral - 20% off!

One of my favorite stamp sets in the catalog is Fifth Avenue Floral. The images are simple and elegant!

Supplies used: Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Basic Black and Whisper White card stock; Versmark and Black embossing powder; Ruby Red and Cameo Coral Watercolor Wonder crayons; Aquapainter; Eyelet Edge Border Punch; Black 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Big Shot Class Project #2

This little gift box is perfect for small gifts or treats! It would be great for showers or weddings! It's reaslly easy to make!

To make this box:

• Score a 6" x 6" piece of card stock at 1 3/4" on all four sides.
• Cut the score lines on 2 opposite sides and fold to make the box. Use Sticky Strip to secure the sides.
  
• Die cut a piece of designer series paper with the Petal Card Die to make the top. I also reinforced the center of the top with a 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch piece of card stock.
  
• Tie a piece of 1/4 inch Grosgrain Ribbon around the box.
  
• Embellish as desired. The larger butterfly is from the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die and the smaller butterfly was die cut with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit.

Greenhouse Garden - 20% off in April!

If you love flowers, this stamp set is great! I couldn't decide which flowers to use so decided to make a collage of all of the flowers in the this stamp set!

Supplies: YoYo Yellow, Basic Black, Whisper White and Orchid Opulence card stock; YoYo Yellow, Real Red, Only Orange, Pixie Pink, Orchid Opulence, Basic Black Classic Ink; Wide Oval Punch; Sincere Salutations Stamp Set.

Big Shot Class

I held a Big Shot class the other night. We made 5 projects so I thought over the next week or so I would share the projects we made.

Debbie and Donna attended the class - both said they learned a lot and it was well worth their time!
Thanks, ladies!



One of the projects we made was this wreath. We started with the On-Board Scallop Circle Book pages(Occasions Mini Catalog), found the center and die cut a circle with the Clear Circle Die to form the wreath. Next we traced the scallop circle onto a piece of designer series paper (We used Cottage Wall), and again, found the center and die cut the circle with the Clear Circle Die. The paper wreath was glued on to the chip board with Tombow Liquid Adhesive.

We die cut the letters for "Welcome" with the Naturally Serif strip die and adhered to a piece of Whisper White card stock. To finish the wreath, we die cut flowers and butterflies with Sizzlits, Embosslits, etc.

Two-Step Into Spring:!

There is a lot of exciting things going on right now with Stampin' Up! They have announced a Color Renovation! I am really excited about these changes and I can't wait to get my hands on the new colors! I will post more about these at a later date!

Right now, I want to talk about the Two Step Into Spring campaign this month! Hostesses can earn Awash With Flowers for FREE this month with a $350 workshop! Additonally, there are four stamp sets that are 20% off!

• Greenhouse Garden (page 94) - on sale for $20.76
• Fifth Avenue Floral (page 98) - on sale for $19.96
• Flower Fance (page 101) - on sale for $29.56
• Trendy Trees (page 112) on sale for $14.36

I will be posting samples with all of these sets over the next week or so. Supplies used to make this card:
Trendy Trees Stamp Set, Funky Forest Wheel; Green Galore, Chocolate Chip card stock and Classic Ink; Whisper White card stock; Stamp-a-ma-Jig; Word Window & Modern Label Punches

Happy Easter!

I hope all of you are enjoying time with your families this Easter! While not all of our children and grandchildren were able to join us this year (We miss you Mark, Aimee & Josh & kids!), the Illinois contingent arrived late Thursday. It's been a hectic few days and haven't had a chance to post. So I thought I would share just a few photos with you today.

We gave the task of coloring eggs to Thomas & Claire and Elise decided to sit in and watch.

We snapped some photos after Mass and came in to discover the Easter Bunny had paid a visit!


Julie and I are hoping to get some stamping time in this evening after dinner. I will start posting projects again tomorrow!