Happy Birthday, Isaiah!

 

 

Our amazing grandson, Isaiah, turned six recently and he decided a gift card would work best for his birthday present. He wanted to combine it with his brother's birthday gift card so they could get something really big and then share it. So, off to Target I go!  Gift card shopping is wonderfully simple and they have very creative gift cards. I originally was going to make a gift card holder that went along with this little monster (the gift card, not the grandson!) but then decided I'd use it as the embellishment on the card instead.
 Kabing, kabong, done!

 

Isn't he handsome? He also has one of the greatest little personalities ever.... love, love you, Isaiah!

And now, a little about me...

I've been slacking a little with blogging lately, so thought it best to give you a peek into the changes in our household.

My parents have had some challenges with their health the last year or so and they have sweetly agreed to come stay with us for awhile. We're settling into a routine and are having a great time with them. In our move upstairs to our new suite, I managed to misplace the battery charger for my camera (which is now perfectly dead!) so have a new one on order and will be taking photos here in no time at all. I'll be back to regular posting shortly.

 

Meantime I'm enjoying leisurely days of chatting with my Mom, lunch on the front porch, sunset vistas from outdoor rocking chairs and just enjoying little snapshots of them each day as they share some time with us. It's a gift to be able to enjoy unhurried hours - they have so much to offer and I feel blessed to share in their reminiscing.

Love...

 

 

All righty, all ready... just had to post another card done with Gorgeous Grunge and the new Thinlits! I mean what's not to love, right? I love the delicateness of the "love" and only wish I had about a hundred sentiments in Thinlits!

 

 

Done up in the new In Colors and Tangerine Tango, then blinged a bit with rhinestones, this card goes together in ten minutes easy! And inside..... well I guess it could say anything, couldn't it?

 

 

Bundle Item	Page in Catalog	Description	Retail Price	15% Savings Price	Amount Saved!
135311	90 183	Butterfly Bundle (Clear-Mount) Papillion Potpourri Clear-Mount Stamp Set Bitty Butterfly Punch	$30.90	$26.27	$4.63
135312	90 183	Butterfly Bundle (Wood-Mount) Papillion Potpourri Wood-Mount Stamp Set Bitty Butterfly Punch Purchase your Butterfly Bundle here! View the flyer here!	$34.90	$29.67	$5.23

Old School

Old School September Kit - 134978Transition into school and fall with a retro trendy look

What an incredible new MDS download from Stampin' Up! Can you imagine how many, many projects you could make with this terrific set? I love office type stamps and anything to do with school so I can't wait to get started!!

Old School September Wallpaper - 134979
get your FREE download here!

 

Chillin' Out Pocket Cards - 134980

 

Purchase these and hundreds more here!

So Sorry...

 

When the occasion arises for a sympathy card, and we hope it's not often, this is one of my favorite sets. It has a sentiment for many types of losses or just when you need to say "I'm sorry!" (and we all have those moments, don't we?)

 

I cut the card base at 5" wide to allow room for the DSP to extend over the sides (1/4" on each side) and it would still fit in a regular size envelope.

This card was made for a very special family that recently lost their simply wonderful Father and Grandfather and friend to many.

Secret Garden
131940w129144c

So Sorry
132585w 126527c

Gorgeous Grunge!

 

You may be asking "Gorgeous Grunge? When is grunge gorgeous?" Well, I have just the answer to that question: When it comes from Stampin' Up! and it's stamped up in some of the new In Colors, of course! Really, this refreshing stamp set is one of my favorites in the new catalog.

 

Seriously isn't this gorgeous?
So, today being a Saturday, (I realize it's Monday in blog land) and since Saturdays quite often arrive with a list of things to do, I slept in a bit, tackled my list which consisted mostly of thank you cards and packages, along with some laundry and organizing and then got busy making a few kits we were given at the Stampin' Up! convention in July.

 

I don't know about you, but I'm not very good at following directions when it comes to stamping and kits. So, true to form, I found myself changing this up somewhat and I'm ever so pleased with it. Don't you need that "hi" thinlit? It's the perfect pop (literally) for this otherwise one dimension card. I just rolled up a few Glue Dots and popped it up on them. I also trimmed to card to 4" wide so I could let the arrow extend over the edge a bit and still fit in an A2 envelope.

 

Here's what they suggested .... sweet enough, but mine is more me and I have just the person in mind to send it to....

 

 

 

Here's what I used.... and you can too! It's easy to place an online order 24/7 right here!

My Paper Pumpkin for August

 

Isn't this just the sweetest? What a way to give a little chocolate and say thank you at the same time.
Besides being a bit of a copy cat from Becky Roberts.... love her, it's also part of this month's My Paper Pumpkin. You know, that marvelous creative get-away that arrives in your mail box once a month and allows you a fun escape into paper, stamps and ink.
Check out the $10 promo below!

 

Each month it's a surprise and this is what we received this month. There are always a few new stamps, (cute, cute bicycle!), a couple of ink spots, directions and supplies for four or so cards (complete with envelopes) or a fun home décor project.

 

I take that fun box of goodies and create five projects I think you'll love! Each of  My Paper Pumpkin customers receive that tutorial for FREE along with a little bag of bling that let them create those same projects.

 

 

Offer Details: Use the promotion code PUMPKINDEAL to join Paper Pumpkin before August 31, 2013, and pay only $10 a month* for the first two months.
*plus tax, where applicable. Shipping included

So, are you ready to get started? Just click here to access mypaperpumkpin.com and choose me, Penny Smiley, as your demonstrator when prompted. I'll have your tutorial on it's way in no time at all.

 

 

Mocha Monday Finally and a free tutorial!

 

Mocha Monday Card Class

As I'm sure you've noticed, my Mocha Monday class took a bit of a break over the summer, but it's back in full swing and full of delicious projects - literally. Coffee and chocolate being the two main food groups that they are, I thought we'd combine them both using the absolutely wonderful new stamp set, Perfect Blend. Cute name for a coffee stamp set, isn't it? Follow the post to the end to download your free tutorial for this class - my thank you to you for following along with me as I create with paper!

 

A little bit of Gorgeous Grunge going on... thank you Stampin' Up! for that awesome stamp set, and it just happens to make some pretty great coffee spills. As I'm writing this blog post I'm thinking those splotches would look great embossed in gold for a different card.... too bad it's way past bedtime already or I'd give it a try.

A perfect little cup of, well, in this case, chocolate covered almonds. But it could be anything really. Just a very sweet little treat. An embossed coffee cup with a special "hi" to perk up your day.

 

So here we go, a free tutorial for you to download immediately. If you'd like the kit, I have those available also and they will begin mailing on Tuesday, August 27th. The kit includes all pre-cut pieces for all three projects, including the cellophane bags, ribbon and Mini Muslin Bag. It does not include the little plastic shot glass I used for the insert in the coffee cup, chocolate or coffee beans. The plastic shot glasses are easily found at your local party supply store.

 

Free PDF Tutorial Download
 

 

 

Mocha Monday Kit
    $9.95 includes s/h