Apple Picking

From Adriel:

It has been AGES since I posted on our blog! I've been MIA for a couple of weeks... took a bunch of pictures today of new stuff! Will share that soon... today I wanted to share pictures with you of our apple picking last weekend. =)

We went down to Willcox to pick apples!

We picked Granny Smith apples.

Some of us sampled them while in the orchard (with permission).

Did I mention we picked apples? Yup! 100 pounds of them! =)

Afterward, some of us had homemade Pumpkin Pie ice cream.

Others in our party chose the homemade apple pie.

We also ate apple-smoked burgers under the apple trees, but I have no picture of that. ;-)

The next day we washed all of our apples and cooked a bunch to make applesauce (which went into containers and into the freezer), kept a few for caramel apples and baked apples, and the rest we used our handy dandy apple corer, peeler, slicer tool. It's an amazing invention and we wouldn't have done all that apple discecting if we didn't have one! Our sliced apples when into ziploc bags (8 apples in each) with a little bit of sugar and some absorbic acid (to prevent browning) and into the freezer. We were able to crank out 24 bags of apples... long enough to last us for awhile! Now, when we want to make an apple pie or an apple crisp (or something apple-y), we have the apples all ready to go! All sliced and peeled! =)

BTW, if you are into apples, you really should have one of these. It's a wonder! Watch it in action HERE. =D

Christmas Card Number 5

From Heidi...Here's another Christmas card. I used the Merry Moments designer paper which gives this card a very cheer look. CS: Very Vanilla, Read Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip; Stampset: Holiday Best; Ink: Old Olive, Real Red; Punches: 2" Circle punch, Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Edge; Accessories: 5/8" Real Red Grosgrain ribbon, Red button, brad.

Christmas Card Number 4

From Heidi...Here's another Christmas card. I used the Big Shot Lots of Tags to punch the red background for the Wide Oval stamped Vanilla piece. It gives the card a festive look. The patterns from the Merry Moments designer paper really looks nice with the Real Red contrast. CS: Real Red, Very Vanilla; Ink: Chocolate Chip; Punches: BS Lots of Tags, Wide Oval; Stampset: Hostess Set - Christmas Punch.
Happy Monday!!

Thanksgiving Table and Stamp-A-Technique Classes

Here are the pictures of our upcoming classes.
Thanksgiving Table, Thursday, October 15
12:30-3 PM and 7-9:30 PMStamp-A-Technique with Watercoloring

Tuesday, October 20
1-3 PM and 7-9 PM
Thursday, October 22
7-9 PM

Christmas Card Number 3

From Heidi...I love this Merry Moments designer paper...it makes a simple card look special! I punched a couple of 5-petal flowers in Real Red and staggered them to create a Poinsetta-looking flower and dimensionaled it onto the Wedding Sweet stampset's small bouquet. Stampset: All Holidays, Wedding Sweet; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, So Saffron; CS: Very Vanilla, Real Red, Old Olive. Thanks for looking! Hope you all have a great weekend.

Another Christmas Card Share

From Heidi...
Here's another Christmas Card from our upcoming November SAS. The Medallion stampset is so versatile. It makes a great wreath. Ink: Old Olive, Real Red; Stampset: Medallion, Holiday Best; Punches: 2" Circle, 1-3/4" Circle.

Five Christmas Cards

From Heidi...I'm sharing Card 1 from our upcoming Christmas Stamp-A-Stack next month. I started creating these cards based on Sharon Field's One Sheet Wonder Christmas Card class she shared, but once I got into designing, I had some other ideas for the cards. So Sharon became my jump board for these cards. I used Stampin' Up's "Merry Moments" Designer paper...I love all the paper designs. This card uses: Real Red, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip CS; All Holidays, Circle Circus stamp sets; 1" and 1-1/4" Circle Punches. Thanks for taking time to visit us!

Cute Idea

From Heidi...I saw this idea for Gift Card Holder Ornament on Jenni Diercks blog. This is such a fun way to give a gift card at Christmas...Hang it on the tree! Just wanted to share this idea with all of you. We'll be making a couple of these in our upcoming Christmas Treasures class in November, along with other fun gift-giving ideas.

October Tumbleweed Classes

We'll be keeping this post at the top for the next few weeks. Check below for any new posts.

We're including pictures and information on our upcoming October classes at Tumbleweed Recreation Center. Online registration information is at the end of this post.

Card Making: In the Mist (324TW.139) Tuesday, 10/6, 10-11:30 AM
Tumbleweed Fee: $3 Instructor Fee: $8 Supply Fee: $2

Cardmaking: All Cracked Up (325TW.139)

Tuesday, 10/13, 10-11:30 AM
Tumbleweed Fee: $3 Instructor Fee: $8 Supply Fee: $3

Papercrafting: A Thankful Table (328TW.139) Tuesday, 10/13, 12:30-2:30 PM
Tumbleweed Fee: $3 Instructor Fee: $10 Supply Fee: $2

If you'd like to join us for any of these classes at Tumbleweed Recreation Center, 745 E. Germann Rd., Chandler, AZ (Germann/McQueen Rds., just 1 block south of the 202):
1. Go to: http://www.chandleraz.gov/default.aspx?pageid=182
2. Click on "Register Now" which takes you to the Activity Page
3. Enter the Activity Code on the right side of page, click "Go"
4. Class details appear, click on "Add to My Cart" which will lead you through the registration process.

View Our October Newsletter

We've just posted our October Newsletter. You can Click Here to view it, or scroll down to our newsletter button. We've got lots of fun pictures, news, and a tutorial inside. Enjoy!

Too Long...

From Adriel:

It's been too long since I've posted something on here! My problem is I don't have pictures of new projects... I'm going to go dig around in my photos and see if I can find something to share... be right back...

Okay, I found something! I intended to share this a couple of weeks ago and never did! So, here we go!

My mom was creating cards a couple of weeks ago for the Cracked Glass technique class we are teaching soon. Of course, I had to try my hand at it! =) I used the pretty new set "Charming" from Stampin' Up! and did the cracked glass technique on just the punched accent of my card. For those of you unfamiliar with the cracked glass technique, you basically apply several layers of special embossing powder (Glossy Glaze enamel) and then you apply a cold pack to it or put it in the freezer. When it is very cold, you can quickly crack it and it has this neat effect of "cracked glass". You can go back over the cracks with ink to add to the antique look. Anyway, neat effect and fun to try! Here's a link to a tutorial on SplitCoast.

I like how this card turned out, but after I made it into a friend card I looked at it and wondered why I didn't make it a Christmas card. It looks more like that to me. Don't know! =)

We doing our Tropical Stamping Bunco tonight! I worked on the tag directions this morning and am looking forward to our evening with some of you!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great day! =)

Holiday Gift Tags

From Adriel:

Now it may seem a little early (okay, a LOT early!!) to be thinking about holiday gift tags. You're right, it is. But we have to stay ahead of the game! We've got a holiday gift tag class in November (I think... or is it October?). We try to make our projects ahead of time so we know how many supplies to order and also for pictures and such. In addition, it's wise to make these projects ahead of time so that you can work out all the details and design, blah, blah, blah...With that being said, I worked on the project for our gift tag class. I've been eyeing the cute box with tags in the SU catalog. I found some directions that produce a box that is very similar. I had to tweak the acetate lid a bit, because it didn't fit properly, but I don't remember my changes at the moment. Perhaps I can share those a bit later. =)

All in all, it makes a cute little set. The multi-colored stamped images, however, are not going to be conducive for a class setting. I'm going to have to re-design the actual gift tags that go in this box. But at least I have the box pretty much figured out and the whole set made a cute picture. =)

For more details, read further... =D

You can check out the tutorial for the box and lid HERE at Valerie's blog. As I said, I made some changes to the lid. It was too tight, I thought. I just added a bit more give... easy enough. =)

I made the box out of SU Kraft CS and the acetate I made out of some transparency sheets (had some lying around) that you can buy at an office store. The lovely red ribbon is sadly (sniff, sniff) retired Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon from SU with vanilla trim. I'm sure we'll put it to good use for the holidays and miss it immensely when it's gone! =( All of the tags I made are from the SU Hostess set "Christmas Punch" that coordinate with the punches the sell. So cute and easy to create with! =)

Almost forgot to mention that the white "twine" I included with the gift tags is a fine crochet thread that you can find at a local craft store. I've wondered about that myself and read a response somewhere about it and bought some the other day. It does the trick and it's better than embroidery floss... too thick in my opinion. ;-)

Anyway, that's my sharing for the day. I hope you enjoy your Monday and the rest of your week. =)

We Moved This Weekend

We moved our craft room into its OWN ROOM!!! Yay!! =D

Here's a shot of the room in the middle of the process:

And here's the "After" picture of the room all done:

Glitter, embossing powders, Big Shot stuff, cardstock and paper:

Shelves of stamps, cardstock scraps, storage drawers with all kinds of things!!, and hey, look! There's 2 empty shelves at the top of the bookcase! I'm sure they won't be empty for long! =)
Extra desk for when the kids want to make cards, for the sewing machine, for die cutting, for "extra" work space! My mom made me promise we wouldn't use it for cluttering. heehee =)


Our work table with the awesome wall organizer shelf peg board (I don't know what it's called!) that my dad made for my mom last year... it's awesome! Did I mention my dad is awesome, too? =D This is where we will be doing our creating! =)

Anyway, had to share our new room with you! Thanks for stopping by! =)

September Stamp-A-Stack

Join us this month for one of our SAS classes. This month's cards uses fun Designer Series paper.
5 cards/$10

Tuesday, September 22, 1-3 PM or 7-9 PM
Thursday, September 24, 7-9 PM
Call or email us to reserve your spot.

Razzle Dazzle Misting

From Adriel:

A few weeks ago my mom tried a new technique with stamping called "Misting w/ Markers". We're going to be doing a class in October called "In the Mist" and so I played around with the technique and loved the results! I think this technique is my new favorite! =) The results remind me of watercolor or something and I love the effect. Here's a card I made using the Razzle Dazzle set and the Misting w/ Markers technique. It adds droplets to the image that make it look so unique. I used Crushed Curry Textured CS and just had fun with the bright, bold colors!

Anyway, this is one of the cards we will be creating with our students for this class. If you'd like to join us, you can register for the class through Breaktime HERE. The class is called "In the Mist". We're going to have a great time and I know that this technique will bring out "ooohs and aaahs"! =D

A Beary Cute Card

From Heidi...These little bears are too cute! I love to color and these make coloring really fun, especially with the Blender Pens. I love all the greetings in the Beary Nice Wishes Stamp Set, so many to choose from. The thing I like about these stamp sets are that they're not too cutesy, if you know what I mean. They make a great card for anybody without being too corny :-) Anyway, just wanted to leave you with this cute little guy for the weekend. Thanks for visiting us!

Cardstock:
Certainly Celery, Soft Suede, Really Rust
Ink:
Black Stazon, Creamy Caramel, Summer Sun, Really Rust, Bordering Blue, Sahara Sand
Accessories:
Blender Pens, Brads, 3/4" circle punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Big Shot with Texturz plate.

All supplies are available through Stampin' Up! Visit my SU website to order: www.heidiscorner.stampinup.net

September Project - Flip Album

Join us this month as we make this fun 13-page Flip Album Scrap-Photo Book.

WHEN: Thursday, September 17
TIME: 12:30-3 PM and 7-9:30 PM
WHERE: Heidi's House
COST: $12
RSVP: email or call us to reserve your spot. Sign-up deadline is 9/15.

My Birthday Card

From Heidi...I was surprised this year to receive a birthday card from my husband that he made himself...what a treat! I have to share his card creation with all of you. He's been a graphic designer since I met him (over 30 years!! We just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary yesterday!). When he started graphics, everything was done manually...lots of cut and pasting. The graphic industry has changed so much over the 30 years, now everything is done electronically. He misses the hands-on cutting and pasting...there's just something about manipulating paper that is fun! So, he surprised me this year with a "cut and pasted" card.He really is a wonderful friend. We've hit bumps along our 30 years, but I am thankful that we are better friends today than we when we first started our journey together. We've had to walk through some of the hardest times together over the last 4 years, but those times have made us appreciate one another all the more. It is a gift from the Lord to have someone you can trust and lean on through difficult times. I thought he was a keeper in the beginning, but now I know he is. Thanks for letting me share!

Kayla's Turn

From Adriel:

Of course, the Kayla girl has to have a turn sharing her Build-a-Bear card! =) Again, I can't move my pics... very annoying (wonder if it will ever work normally again?). Anyway, Kayla made this card as a "window card". She said she had been dreaming about making one. (I guess she's already a card-making addict!) I had to help her with the coluzzle and cutting out the square, but she did the rest. She dimensioned the white cardstock behind the frame. She even embossed the bear! I'm not kidding you, she's really into card-making! =D

We had a nice lunch today and I have to correct myself... the place was called "The Olive Mill" not "press", like I thought. We ate lunch outside... it was a bit too warm, but they had misters and we sat fairly close to those so it was alright outside. The food was different, but it was tasty and that is fun to try something new and have it be yummy. =) Forgot the camera, so no pics! Sorry!

My mom and I are just busy working away at our little business! Yesterday I created a couple cards for a class in November... I know that seems far away, but having it done ahead of time gives you time to keep creating and is also nice for ordering. Because we order most of our supplies through Stampin' Up!, we have to have our projects planned at least a couple of weeks ahead of time to allow for delivery of our supplies. We have a white board with the upcoming classes over the next few months listed, and it really helps to plan and create. My mom is a pretty organized person and I'm blessed to be working with her, because I'm not naturally organized. I really do appreciate organization and I just need to practice it more. =)

I guess the only other thing to add to this post is that we have been included in a fun treasury on Etsy called "Funky Fresh and Fun". Be sure to check it out by clicking HERE! =)

Have a wonderful Wednesday! =)

Fun with Build-a-Bear & a Happy Birthday!!

From Adriel:

Some of you may know this, but Stampin' Up! just recently started selling a cute Build-a-Bear stamp set. They combined forces together with Build-a-Bear and created a stamp set, DS paper and some cute Sizzix dies for the Big Shot. The other day my kids played with the Build-a-Bear set and I wanted to share the two cards my son, Jacob, made... okay, only one. Blogger is still being dumb and only letting me post pics to the top of the post! Argh! I'll have to share the other photo later. =)

This new set is so cute and my kids both have something new to stamp with now that is right up their alley. And it's Build-a-Bear... how could you go wrong with that? Even the sentiment set has the Build-a-Bear type, so it matches! =)

Oh, just have to mention that it's my mom's birthday today!! Happy Birthday, Mom!! My dad made (yes, I said made) my mom a really nice birthday card. Hopefully she will post a picture of it so you all can see it. He did a great job on it and I thought it was very thoughtful of him. =)

Anyway, going to take my mom out to lunch today at some place nearby called the Olive Press... it sounds quaint. It will be fun to go somewhere new and try something different... we don't do a whole lot of that. I should bring my camera so I can share some pics...