Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Well, it has been forever since I last posted. In all reality, I haven't done much work in my Purple Palace in the last year or so. I even let my Stampin' Up demoship go this past February. Too many things going on at home and with the family to schedule or plan much. I have come to the conclusion that doing the business, I put so much into keeping that going, that I didn't hardly get to any of the scrapbooking that I love, which is what really got me into the paper crafts in the first place. I have decided that the scrapbooking is too important to get any further behind in. My family is the most important thing in my life, and I need to get it in scrapbooks for all of us to enjoy. So my contentration at this moment is getting my room back in shape and reorganized now that my focus has changed. Then I want to get my scrappin' back in gear and enjoy all the many memories that I am treasuring. :) So hopefully there will be many more posts to come in the near future.

Another spring flood

Well, another spring flood interrupted my stamping and scrapbooking. :( At least this time, my floor didn't have anything laying around on it! We also didn't get as much water in the basement this time around. However, we were not able to save my carpet after this flood.

My room is so sad without the carpet!

Until we figure out why we're getting the water all of a sudden and get the issue fixed, I don't want to put any more carpet down there, just waiting for it to happen again. So I decided to paint my floor purple in the meantime. It's definitely a brighter shade of purple than my carpet was, but it was the closest color they could tint the special floor paint. So I put two coats of the purple paint down, then a coat of concrete sealer over it, which ended up giving it a nice glossy finish. I'm hoping to be able to get some stuff moved back in there soon, so I can work on getting organized again.

My daddy helped me with the first coat of purple.While I'm redoing my room, I decided to add stamped flowers to the wall. Originally, I only had one row of flowers all the way around the room. It was the layer under my clock. The concrete sealer added such a pretty glossy finish to my floor :)

I'm liking it! :D

I did some creating today! :)

A young couple we know just had their first baby, a baby girl. So here is what I will send to welcome her. Everything for this card except the embossing folders is Stampin' Up material. The card base is sage shadow, ran through the cuttlebug with the d'vine swirls folder. The pretty in pink layer was ran through the cuttlebug with the swiss dots folder. The toy elephant image is from SU's retired Year After Year set, and the congratulations sentiment is from the retired Baby Talk set, all on whisper white cardstock. I colored him in with the watercolor wonder crayons. The grosgain ribbons are in the same colors as the cardstock.

Keith has known the new baby's grandparents most, if not all, of his life, so I am sending this one to them. All products for this card, with the exception of the embossing folder, is Stampin' Up, whether current or retired. The card base is a retired in-color pink pirouette, with shimmery white layers. The embossing on the card front is the cuttlebug folder swiss dots. I used SU's new scallop oval punch as well as the sale-a-bration scallop trim border punch. The giraffe image is from the retired Wild About You set, and the sentiment is from the sale-a-bration set Whimsical Words. Both are stamped in pink pirouette. I topped it off with SU's beautiful organza ribbon.

I also needed a birthday card for my mom's dear friend that I have known my entire life. I decided to play with this year's in-colors. My card base is rich razzleberry, with bermuda bay, crushed curry, and whisper white layers. The background and cupcake images are from the retired Big Bold Birthday set, and the sentiment is in the Heard From

the Heart set. I used the same colors in ink pads and markers for both. The finishing touch was the matching rich razzleberry polka-dotted ribbon.

Getting into some challenges :)

In my lack of interest in getting downstairs to actually play in my stamping room, I have fallen very behind on our group challenges. The hostess of the month sends the same images, pieces of cardstock, embellishments, etc. to everyone in the group, and we all see what we can come up with. It's great to see how many different ideas come from the same supplies! Well, I decided to start with the March challenge, which I just received in the mail a day or two ago, and the February challenge, which my mom was hostess for. So here is what I came up with.

March challenge

February challenge

Keith's Birthday Cards

My kids each made a birthday card for Daddy all by themselves. :D I was pretty impressed!

Dustin was ready to start his when I got in the shower. When I came out, he had it all done. He drew the picture, and sounded out the words he wanted to spell - and never asked for any help. I'm so proud of my little guy!

Dustin's card

Cody's card for Daddy

Ali's card

Ali used the SU Party Hearty stamp set for this card. It has a pacific point card base, with a chocolate chip layer behind the whisper white. She used pacific point, chocolate chip, tempting turquoise, garden green, and yoyo yellow SU inks and markers for the images.

Here is my card

I used SU's retired Born to ride stamp set, as well as the current SU On Your Birthday set for the bithday sentiment. I used a whisper white card base, a textrued (non SU) black layer, and SU's brushed silver and pacific point cardstock behind my focal image. The motorcyle and birthday sentiment is stamped in basic black, and a little bit of color added with a blender pen and pacific point ink. The Born to ride sentiment is stamped in encore silver ink. I also knotted a piece of basic gray taffeta ribbon.

Card Swap

Sue arranged a card swap for us to take part in. She decided on a them for masculine cards, either for men or boys. Ali and I came home with some great cards! I already posted my card, as well as Ali's, so I will share everyone else's creations

Becky's card
Brooke's card

Lisa's card

Lois's card

Sharon's card

Shelly's card

Sonja's card

Sue's card

Tammy's card

Tanya's card

Thanks girls, for a fun afternoon full of friends and stamping! :D

Ready for the card swap :)

Ali knew what stamp set she wanted to use for the card swap card. We went downstairs today, she picked out some colors, designed her layout, and stamped and colored in her image in no time at all. I was pretty impressed. :)

She used the retired Stampin' Up set When I Grow Up. Her card base is bashful blue, with close to cocoa, chocolate chip, bashful blue, and very vanilla layers. She used the bashful blue, night of navy, close to cocoa, chocolate chip, creamy caramel, mellow moss, and always artichoke markers to color in her image.

Way to go Ali!