My Tri-Fold Card

I had a wonderful day. Some Gals came over for the Sampler class I posted a bit ago. It was surprising again to see all the lovely sets that would be retiring at the end of May. The pages came together nicely and it was just a nice afternoon amongst lovely women.  : D
This evening we had a Tea Party with our Pathfinder unit. We dressed up in fancy gowns and hats and recreated a proper British Tea Party. It was really fun!  One of our Leaders even hunted down some Devonshire Double Cream!
So it seems perfect that the card I'm sharing tonight features the Tea Shoppe set!

Its called a Double Tri-fold Cascade card by Susie Prendergast. I'd seen it on Splitcoast and knew I'd have to have a play at it. The structure came together very nicely with a great diagram, the decorating, on the other hand, made me pause...but I'd chosen the Twitterpated paper and when perusing my stamp sets the Tea set seemed a good choice...putting the Doily in the backdrop since I was working with a Tea party.The pink flower on the front is from the Blossom party die, layered and shaped. The card doesn't photograph easily, but I was quite happy with how it came together...and the Gals are excited that this will be the next class for them! It didn't take my usual hours and hours either, don't you love when that happens!?

smiles,
Laurie

Mother's Day Happiness

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! I got great cards from my Girls and funny Husband! I also got a great photo in a custom made frame from my Littlest.  We celebrated with a fabulous Brunch at the Pine Hills Golf Course. We were lucky that Cary's parents came for the weekend. My sister, her boys and our Mom and Dad all were able to join us.There was plenty of variety for everyone's taste. A favourite of mine, Eggs Benedict; beautiful ripe strawberries dipped in chocolate and drizzled with some white chocolate, and a specialty of theirs: cinnamon buns to make French 'toast'...very delicious.
It was a weekend of Eats, I suppose, as Mom invited us over Saturday night for her Bison Burgers on the BBQ! (she makes Legendary Burgers!) and Sunday night we were ready for another meal, believe it or not, after playing golf in the afternoon.We had Lasagna and garlic buns for a celebration of my FIL's birthday along with a Dairy Queen Ice-cream cake!
I found the neatest idea of using the Easel card as a frame and decorated up cards for both Moms and added a photo. Pretty happy with how they turned out.
I was working on a neat card this evening. A Fancy Fold card. I'll share it with you tomorrow after I take a photo.
I received this yesterday and thought I'd share it back with you...

HIRING
We are hiring mothers and we need them right away
You must be filled with love and vow that you will stay and stay and stay
You must appreciate a flower when it’s given without a stem,
Marvel at an ugly rock as if it were a gem.
You must possess a wealth of love, be wise, controlled, alert.
Have management ability and make a great dessert.
Expertise in finance and a flair for decorating.
Knowledge of psychiatry and Band-Aid applicating.
Willing to accommodate pet relationships.
Detective skills in cases like the missing chocolate chips.
Qualified and competent in diplomatic circles,
Adolescent counselling, in short performing miracles.
Adept in kissing bruises and using rocking chair chairs.
Capable of handling community affairs.
A magician in the kitchen with a pound of hamburger.
An ability to touch a cheek and know its temperature.
If you think that you can qualify and you’ve had experience
And you understand completely that you make the difference
Between a world that’s filled with fear and a world that’s full of joy,
Call us now, we want you to be in our employ.

smiles,
Laurie

Retiring List Sampler

 I worked on this project the last couple days. I saw the idea on Stampin' Connection by Gail Emmons. It reminded of an embroidery Stitched Sampler. As I got started I came up with the plan to make it a Retiring List Sampler along with May type things. So I used the retiring In-Colours, and several retiring sets, along with the Big Shot Timeless Type alphabet die and the Circles #2. The little purses are made with the retiring Round Tab punch (a real favourite of mine, I love making tabs for my notebooks, catalogues,  and daytimer, plus these little purses are fun and easy!)
I love the idea of starting a monthly class changing out these Monthly inserts in an 8 1/2 x 11 frame. Let me know if you're interested. I'd love to make up a couple small groups of Ladies for a Social evening and have about 15 Squares to choose from, plus an option to put photos of a special person or 2, in a couple spaces!
A fond Farewell to these sets and accessories that I really do adore...

smiles,
Laurie

PS see how many retiring sets you can pick out and which ones...(one you might miss is a stamped tone on tone M from Broadsheet Alphabet under the diecut M)

Star Wars Day

May the Fourth be with you!

If we had had a boy, we'd have named him Luke...partly because I love the name, partly because Cary would love to have breathed through his hands and said "Luke, I am your Father!" all through the poor kids life!

Hope you had a wonderful day.
I was out for my first horseback ride of Spring, just a little one. Planning to saddle her up tomorrow or the next day and go for a proper ride. HoneyBelle is such a pleasure to ride. My Littlest had the reins in her hands today, too, on the new horse, Nutmeg. We got her in the Fall. She's a tougher ride, but seems safer because she's lower to the ground, LOL.
I took a peek at the new hostess sets coming out in the new catalogue releasing June 1!!!
 I. LOVE. Them. All. They are absolutely wonderful and I can't wait for you guys to see them and squeal, say how much you like them too!
I have finally been working on something and will photograph it tomorrow to share with you.

smiles,
Laurie

Stamp Pads!?

When I first saw that list of retiring stuff...I thought yikes!

All the stamp pads...huh!? When you look at the retired accessories list, you’ll note that all of our Stampin’ Pads are listed. Don't panic...........here's why:

1) Craft Stampin’ Pads will only be available in black and white from June 1st on and;
2) Stampin' Up! is introducing a new Firm Foam pad in our Classic Stampin’ Pads with the 2012-2013 annual catalog.
Introducing Firm Foam Stamp Pads!

These new Firm Foam Stamp pads (available June 1st), will change your stamping experience for the better. You're going to love these new Stampin' Pads-just look at all the exciting benefits listed below:
Firm Foam Pads will provide better ink coverage for your stamps!
Light-tap stamping produces flawless images!
Pad stays juicier for longer resulting in better ink pad longevity!
Have a crisply printed, glossy label on the top of the pad that is easier to read and that will not fade or chip off!
Come with colour name labels in all four languages (English, Spanish, French, and German)-just choose your language, peel it off the back, and add it to the side of the pad for easy identification!
Use the same patented flip-top case design that stores the inking surface upside down, so the pad surface stays moist!
Firm Foam Pads will be available in all colours, including our exclusive In Colors for 2012-2013!

So, I'm excited to get the new In Colours in the new revamped stamp pad style!

and looking at that list, I grabbed some things over the past couple days putting in orders of some of the great priced things (Rhinestone brads!)

The one thing I am really looking forward to receiving are the DVD's of the digital brushsets..(and I didn't even know about the page 7 bundles all through the year!) what great pricing and gotten even way better...

I'm not an avid digi girl yet, but I'm starting and at these prices, who can resist...

a couple of the bundles have great alphabets within them...have I shared with you how crazy I am for all things alphabet! [When I saw the Empire set was retiring, I thought, thank goodness I have it! and the Broadsheet Monograms]... Back to the digi talk...I love how you can change sizes and opacity of the images...so many possibilities (most of them unbeknownst to me LOL!).

smiles,

Laurie