Andrew flips

Here is Andrew!

Ben dives

The boys just finished a two week diving course and it is amazing what they learned.

Nicholas also finished a round of swim lessons and can move up to the next level. He finished his lesson with a trip down the waterside and a jump off the high dive. Whoa!

Video documentation of Ben, Andrew will be in next post.

The great Grandpa Great!

My grandpa is in town for a few weeks and floating between family and friends. We had the great pleasure of him being our house guest for three nights this past week. During the day he was attending a genealogy conference in Provo.

This is the first trip he has made without my Grandma (she passed away 6 weeks ago - I still plan to post about her). It was bittersweet and felt strange to have Grandpa here without Grandma. Grandma had never met Nicholas in person.

It really was so nice to have him around. Nicholas kept him entertained with coloring and stories.  Grandpa entertained up with stories from his youth and military service. His told us of first KISS with Grandma, she kissed him on a dare (from Aunt Viv)! Whoa.

We love you Grandpa! Come by anytime.

Cycle Celebrations

This is such a fun birthday set.  I love the bike and the candles, so much you can do with this set.  Here are the samples I created for convention.

Enjoy!

Tag It

The next set I created convention samples for is called "Tag It". I'll admit, this is not my favorite stamp set and I found it kind of hard to use. Too many stand alone images that don't work well with each other.  That said, I think the projects turned out pretty cute and I may use them in upcoming clubs.  The images are quite versatile and would be create for stampers who need basic images for most occasions. Another bonus is that some proceeds from this set go toward the Ronald McDonald House foundation.  That alone makes this set a good investment.

Here are my projects.

Gorgeous Grunge

The next set I was asked to highlight for convention is called Gorgeous Grunge.  Here are a few of the samples I created for the boards. This set has also quickly become a fan favorite. I seem to be using it one everything.  It;s fun to be sloppy and this set is really odd because it allows you to easily be sloppy and make deliberate mistakes. Again, LOVE it.

This is my favorite sample from all the samples I created for convention.  This is not usually my style but I love how the layers, the collage, and the various finishes come together on this card. I used 4-5 different embossing powders to get the various finishes.  

Hello Lovely

I mentioned earlier that I applied to be a convention project display stamper. I was so excited to be accepted.  Applying to stamp for convention was really outside of my comfort zone and I struggled to create samples at first. I was saddled with my former preconceived notion of what was "good enough".  In the end, I decided to bag the pressure and just made projects I like, which was so liberating.

I was asked to create samples from four stamp sets. The first set I'll feature is the "Hello Lovely" set.  This is one of my favorite stamp sets from the new catalog and I had a great time coming up with ideas on how to use it.  Endless possibilities, perfect for cards, pages and gift items.  LOVE it.

Here are a few of the samples I made (two photos for each,  full shot and a close up).