Springtime in Michigan

I went for a walk today to play with my camera some more and here's some pictures.  I had the wrong lens on the camera (still learning) but I think that they turned out pretty good.

I had a really great picture of a bumblebee but somehow I lost it.  Must have deleted it by mistake.  So Sandi, these pictures are large.  Are they big enough?

New camera

Today I went and picked up my new camera.  Then I went to Dow Gardens to play with it for awhile.  I love it.  It's easy to use and takes beautiful pictures.  Here's some samples.

These two pictures were taken at Dow Gardens.  By the way, if you've ever thought of visiting the gardens this is the best time of year to do it.

Here's a couple more cards from yesterdays card class.  The above card is using Summer Smooch's DSP and the stamp set Turtle and Co. which is retiring at the end of May.  The paper is so bright and colorful that it's great for kids cards.  Let's clarify, the stamp set is retiring and the paper will be in the new catalog.

This card is one from Ronda's Creative Retreat.  I never would have thought of using Pool Party and Sahara Sand together but look how beautiful they are. 

And here's a present that I received at the Creative Retreat from Sandi Daily.  It's a case for carrying my tools.  Ruler, bone folder, scissors and adhesive.  It's made out of the Springtime Vintage material which is on the retiring list at 70% off the original price.  I've order three bundles of this pattern, now I just need to decide what I'm going to make with it.

And here's a sample of how close I can get with my new camera.  It's just the bottom of one of the cards.  I posted the whole card a couple of days ago.  Again I have to say that I love this new camera.

More card class.

This card doesn't have a greeting on it but I intend it for Mother's Day.  But as you know not everyone needs a Mother's Day card so this card can be used for any occasion. 

And here's another scrap book two page layout.  Sorry for the poor quaility of this picture.  On Friday I'll get to pick up my new camera.  I can hardly wait.  The camera shop is in Midland so I'm trying to decide how to arrange a road trip that will include Freeland, where they're having town wide yard sales, and Shepherd which has the Maple Syrup Festival this weekend.  Should be a great shopping day.

Looky what I got.

St. Johns schools had an auction and Carrie got this magazine rack.  But then she couldn't find a place to put it at her house so she asked me if I wanted it.  It took a little while for the light to go on but I finally realized that it would be perfect for displaying my clear mount stamp sets.  I had them just piled on a table before and now I can use the table for something else.  Here it is.

There storage room underneath and right now that's where my old retired stamps are.  Can hardly wait for June when I can have a retirement sale.

And here's another card from card class.  You'll need to know who your going go send this card to if you want to add the letters.  And the school colors would be good also.  I know a couple of kids who are graduating from Ashley so that's why I chose these colors and letters.  And now I'm going back out to the Paper Palace to sort some more stamp sets. 

Another card for next class

Here's another card that we'll be doing at card class next week.  I still haven't decided what the center of the flower should be.  The center on this card is glass glitter.  But I'm thinking that I like the center one that's not on the card.  What do you think? 

Here's a two page scrapbook spread that I did at the Creative Retreat last weekend.  I'm thinking that I need to add a scrapbook class to my schedule.  Would you like to make scrapbook pages? 

These pictures aren't that great but guess what?  Today I bit the bullet and ordered a new camera.  It's a digital 35mm with a couple of different lenses.  It'll be in next week and I'll probably have to play with it for a while before I start using it for blog pictures.  And then again maybe it'll be so easy that I won't have any problems using it.  I can hardly wait.  Then I need to build some kind of light box to use for taking pictures of cards.

Retired list is out.

The retired list is out and if you didn't get one just let me know.  They've retired some of my favorite stamp sets so I can hardly wait to see the new catalog to see what's in there. 
Here's a card from next weeks card class and it uses two of the retiring stamp sets.

The wolf's head is from In Wilderness and the wolf at the bottom is from Nature Silhouettes.  I love both of these sets so there better be some new wild life stamps in the new book.

And here's a  6 x 6 scrapbook page that I did at Ronda's Creative Retreat last weekend.  The color is not good.  The cardstock is really Rich Razzleberry.  A couple of ladies went right back to their tables and made 12 x 12 pages out of this.  Really cool.  I've got more scrapbook pages to show you tomorrow.

Creative retreat.

I'm in Lansing this weekend enjoying Ronda's creative retreat.  Most of the people are stamping and scrapbooking but I didn't feel like hauling to much stuff with me so I'm sewing.  I've got all the blocks done now for my new sampler quilt.  Just need to get the material for the sashing and backing.  Then I moved on to some blocks for a basket quilt.  But my brain must have died because for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to put them together.  So now it's on to a Christmas quilt. 
I wish I had taken pictures of the table before I hauled stuff in.  Every table had a name card and a dish of candy.  Then we got other little gifts from Ronda and Tamie.  Here's a picture.

And here's some pictures of friends.  You can see that there's a lot of creating going to happen.

I found the cord.

So here's some more cards made with the Summer Smooches.

Remember that this designer series paper and the flower stamp set are available until the end of April.  Afer that you'll have to wait until the first of June to get these.  So if you can't wait just let me know what you want.

Summer Smooches

I would like to show you some pictures of cards made with the new Summer Smooches designer paper and the new Bright Blossoms stamp set.  But in the last few days I've lost my extra set of car keys, the Consumers bill and the cord that I need to upload picture from my camera to my computer.  I've looked everywhere I can think of and so far I've not found them.  When I find the gremlin that's hiding things from me I'll slap him silly and find out where he's hiding things.  In the meantime I went to Splitcoast Stampers and found this cute card to show you.  So remember that you can order this paper and stamp set right now.  Just let me know if your interested.

Summer Smooches

The new catalog is coming in only two months.  And right now you can get a sneak peek at one of the sets that will be in that catalog.  And a couple of things that are only available during April.  
Here's a couple of pictures and a list of what you can order right now.

This is the stamp set.  It also comes in wood mount

Here are the brads.  Sorry it's not a real clear picture.  These brads won't be in the next catalog.  They're only available during April so if you want some you need to order before the end of the month.  Just let me know.

Here's the Designer Series Paper.  It's really bright and cheery.  Great for kids cards.

And the little purse die is wonderful.  Here's a close up of the closure on it.  It holds eight Hershey Kisses.  I know because I tried it out.  And here is the list of everything that can be ordered in April. 

Item	Description	Price	Preorder Limit
125495	Bright Blossoms Wood-Mount Set	$16.95	1
125497	Bright Blossoms Clear-Mount Set	$12.95	1
125409	Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper	$10.95	3
125583	Daffodil Delight 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon	$10.95	3
125411	Summer Smooches Designer Fabric	$9.95	3
125589	Summer Smooches Fabric Designer Brads*	$6.95	3
125626	Summer Smooches Décor Stencil*	$7.95	1
125606	Petite Purse Bigz L Die	$32.95	1
129919	Summer Smooches Photobook Template	$17.95	1
129601	Summer Smooches Digital Kit	$9.95	1