Stamping With Di

A Bird's Eye View

 

Well I think it was about 11:00 pm but I found my mojo, I played around a bit and this is the card I designed for Rhonda's shoebox swap. We had to do 20.  8 were just the card guts for people to make, and then 11 had to be complete to swap, and then 1 was my master card.   I got them all cut, embossed, the little tags done, before I went to bed, then I stamped them in the morning,  I assembled some of them before my watercolor class got here, and after I taught the girls how to color, and they worked on their projects I sat at the table and glued the rest and tied on bows, and helped them as they needed it. (I will post pics tomorrow).  I got them done with about 45 minutes to spare before I had to leave to go to MAMMa's.  We carpool.  I go to her and then she drives the rest of the way.  We met Melissa half way cause she was going to come with us, but then she thought we would stay late (I wish she had of said that earlier cause we would have told her no we were not) so she followed us in her car.  Then we all ended up leaving at the same time...next time she will know. If MAMMa goes, she reigns me in and I don't stay super late.

So we had a lot of fun, we met at Keegan's a bit early so we could eat and then we did the shoebox afterwards.  I had my usual steak, salad, french fries, and I did have creme brulee for dessert.  Oh and the steak I asked for was medium and it was more medium rare, but MAMMa said it wouldn't kill me and it was actually very tender and had a great flavor.  It didn't moo when I cut into it, so that is good.  "Say noo to Moo"...that's my motto when I'm eating steak. And it's almost midnight and I am still alive and well so all is good.

I remember one time my Mum fixed steak for my sister Jacqui and I, and when you cut into it, there was blood, and I was like ewwww, it's bleeding....and we didn't want to eat it and Mum was like it was fine, but we still moaned and groaned, so you know what she did?  No, she didn't spank us and send us to bed hungry. She turned off the lights and lit a candle in the center of the table and we couldn't see the blood, so we shut up and ate.  Ha! Mother's ya gotta love 'em.

Stamp Set: Dark & Dreary, Tiny Tags

Paper: Basic Black, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Whisper White, Wicked Fun Specialty DSP

Ink: Cajun Craze, Basic Black

Misc: Sprtizer tool, Old Olive marker, Square Lattice embossing folder, black taffeta ribbon, 1/2" lace trim Raven, jewelry tag, vintage trinkets

I loved how this card turned out. All the little touches (those vintage trinkets are a must have), and I didn't even need to color it.

You can order both the Dark & Dreary stamp set and the 1/2" lace trim Raven ribbon starting September 1 when the new Holiday mini catalog goes "live". It is amazing.  If you live in the United States and don't already have a Demonstrator and you need a mini catalog, let me know.

Oh and guess what else starts September 1?  If you sign up to become a Demonstrator you will get a free Greenhouse Gala tote (while supplies last).

 

This shows what it looks like when you fill it with some of your starter kit ingredients.  It is so cool. I have it and love it.

If you are interested in joining my Di's Country INKers team, I would love to talk to you about it, ask about my new Demonstrator gift.  You can sign up on line and begin taking orders today. You will need the code to sign in and that is TOBY.  

Give me a shout and I can go over any questions you might have. I would love to have you join my family.

Well it's almost midnight, you know I post at night, it's like a nightly routine...just like brushing my teeth, shhh... I never miss the nightly blogging, but I will admit I do sometimes miss the nightly brushing.  I am hitting the hay, got lots to do tomorrow.  All my supplies are in for my Founder's Circle swap so I have to get those started...can you say 135 cards? Can ya?

Have an awesome Tuesday and thanks so much for stopping in!

 

Pump You Up!

 

Remember on Saturday Night Live when they had the Hans and Franz skit and they were all padded up in their gray sweat suits and they pretended to be Arnold Swartzeneger and they would be all "pump you up!". The old Saturday Night Live sure had some classic comedians on there, Gilda Radner was the best, remember her Violence/Violins skit...classic.  I have not seen it in forever and I just remember the last time I saw it, it was not that funny, it was just kind of stupid.

But the other night I came in from letting Toby out and Jeff had the TV on and Taylor Swift was singing, and flipping her hair all around, and I was like "what is this?" and Jeff said "Saturday Night Live", and I said "it must be a repeat cause that is an old song", and he said "no it's live its not a repeat" and I was like "what?" and he's like "it's called Saturday Night Live".  So I took the remote and hit the info button.  It was from 2009.  I just smiled, and said in my head I told you so...and said "I'm blogging that".

So let's change the subject...I know Jeff would like to...love ya honey!

Stamp Set: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Countryside

Paper: Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Watercolor Paper, Newsprint DSP

Ink: Jetblack Stazon, Cajun Craze, Old Olive

Misc: Watercolor pencils, blender pen, spritzer tool, Cajun Craze marker 

This is the other card the girls did at class, I showed a very similar card like this before, I think, as I demoed one at convention, this one is just colored differently and with a different medium.  We used the watercolor pencils and a blender pen to color this one.  I love the look of the wood bucket and the water pump.  I was remembering back during class to when we had one of these water pumps and the little pointy thing on the spout held the bucket on and I remember drinking from this metal spoon and the water was so cold and I swear I could taste the spoon. Now a days we buy our dang water, cause of all the pollution and stuff, plus we didn't know half the stuff we know now about what we put in our face. Speaking of which a lot of you have emailed me to say you tried the cinnamon rolls and really liked them.  Jeff already has given me orders to make them for our block party in October. I am sure they will be made many times before then.  I just gotta go buy some more icing sugar...seems I'm all out...hmmm...

Well my mojo is absent and I am supposed to be making a swap for tomorrow.  So I best go try to find it. I hate when that happens.

Have an awesome Monday and thanks so much for stopping in!

 

 

Making a Scene

 

One of the ways of watercoloring I taught the girls was to use the watercolor wonder crayons.  I had already shown you how I scribble the crayon on one of the clear blocks (shown below) and then using my blender pen or aqua painter I just pick up the color from the block and color my image. 

  
I found these cute little frames a year or so ago at a box store dollar spot and knew I would find something to use them with eventually.  Well this was perfect.

We stamped up a cute scene and colored it in, and I think it turned out so great. We used the scallop circle punch as our cloud stencil.

They are doing an amazing job watercoloring. I took some pictures of the girls in the morning class, but I forgot at the night class.

Here's Connie, Donna and Emilie showing how easy coloring the pick-up really is.

Here's Michelle, she's a Spritzer tool pro now, and she was worried about not being able to watercolor, she did awesome.

Here's Angelique, Liz & Robin showing off their framed masterpieces.

This has been a fun class so far, and I will definitely repeat it for those that could not attend or missed the sign up deadline.  Tomorrow I am off to MAMMa's with Rhonda and we are getting our order all figured out for our September to Remember event, it's a sell out!  So fun, the projects are amazing! Our next event is in February, so make sure you sign up for my newsletter so you don't miss out.  My next round of watercolor class is on Monday.  I'll try to remember to take pictures.

Thanks to everyone for heading over to the Clearance Rack and snagging some of those deals. I even got some myself, they make awesome stocking stuffers, door prizes, and Hostess gifts. Just remember to log in as a new customer even if you have ordered from my on-line store before.

Have an awesome Sunday and thanks so much for stopping in!    

 

New Clearance Rack Items - Don't Miss Out!

Just wanted to pop in and tell you that Stampin' Up! has added some awesome clearance rack items.  You can check them out here. It will open up a window, and over to the left click on the shop now button, then when that opens up click on the button to the left that says clearance rack.

Please note when entering an on-line order in my store.  When you go in, make sure you go in as a new customer, even if you have ordered before.  There have been a few glitches with cookie problems (and I don't mean the chocolate chip kind), so it is just best to say new customer each time.

Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday evening, and I'll see ya tomorrow!

Hugs,

Di

Blue Ribbon Worthy?

 

My sister Jacqui (Jax) sent me this link the other day to make these delicious cinnamon rolls.  It uses a bread machine to mix the dough.  I had never done that before. In fact I had to dust off my bread machine cause I had not used it in quite some time.  

Funny story how I got it.  Years ago when we lived in Mesa, so Eric was itty bitty. I worked for an accountant and we had a few clients that as Christmas rolled around they would give me a gift, some gave me chocolates, some gave me knick knacks, and a couple gave me cash.  So I had wanted a bread machine so bad, and I thought I would use the cash I got and get me the bread machine and put it under the tree from Santa.  The night before Christmas we were sitting at the supper table and I was like "I can hardly wait till tomorrow, I hope Santa brings me my bread machine." Now Jeff had no clue that I had got one.  So he is like shaking his head and saying "no, I don't think Santa is getting you a bread machine" and I was like "but that is what I asked for, of course he will", and Jeff is giving me the old eye roll and the quiet shake of the head so Eric doesn't see, and I am still like "oh I am so excited...blah! bread machine blah!blah! (got that funny talk from True Blood...ha!) So anyway.  Next morning we get up bright and early. Remember Eric was little then.  And lookee what I got!! A bread machine from Santa!!!  Ain't I bad?

OK so back to the recipe...if you're still here after all that blabbering...

So I wanted to try them cause I love a good cinnamon roll, and I have just been buying the Pillsbury Pop and Bake kind, and they are not bad. We always slather em up with butter while they are still hot.  Crap I'd probably eat a warm cow patty if you slathered it with butter...

I went to the grocery store and got all the ingredients I needed and the rest of the weeks groceries too. I could hardly wait to get home to try them out.  I was not sure how long the dough cycle was on the bread maker (it's 1 hour 30 minutes on mine).  I got all my ingredients ready and put them in the machine in the order of the recipe, which is very important. Then I set the dough to do it's thing, and I set my alarm on My Precious so I did not forget.  

About 15 minutes before it was done I started getting my brown sugar and stuff ready and to grease the pans.  Well I got Jeff's Mum's pan greased. She actually won a blue ribbon for her cinnamon rolls and she made some when she came at Christmas, we ate them right up and then her pan was on the counter, and I told her I was gonna try to sneak it in my cupboard. And she said "would you like my pan?" and I can almost cry right now thinking of it (I know I'm sappy), and I said "I would love to have your pan", it even has her writing on the side "Gibbs" so when she would take baked goods to the church and stuff they would know it was hers.  I love that pan, and I am honored that I got to make cinnamon rolls in it today.

When the dough come out of the machine, oh my gosh I had to use my will power to NOT eat any.  I love the taste of dough with that tangy yeast taste.  But I am not sure of the whole egg thing cause they weren't cooked in there only mixed around, and that is all my guts need is more stuff in there expanding.

When I was mixing up the brown sugar and cinnamon I think I did it wrong.  I think (after I mixed them) I was supposed to brush the melted butter on the dough and then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture on that, but I melted the butter and then added the brown sugar and cinnamon so I had like this crumbly stuff kinda like the topping for a cobbler or something...so then I melted more butter to brush on and then added the crumbly stuff, so next time I will do it the other way. Unless my sister Jax says that I did it right.

I made such a mess of the kitchen and dirtied so many dishes, in fact I got this dish all greased up and thought the shape was wrong so then I used a different one.

Look at that messy counter.  We have a tile counter so I have to lay down my old plastic pie crust mat thing.  Plus I probably should have thrown away those end pieces (you can see them in the pan). Ha!

Ok so my math sucks in the kitchen as much as in stamping.  I found an icing recipe and my sister found one so I kinda combined the two, but I thought it was not going to be enough so I doubled the recipe.  Well holy moly, I had icing coming out my ears.  I had to use my old mixer, we got this bad boy when we got married (almost 26 years ago), it's down to one beater as the other one won't stay in and flies all over the kitchen. In fact, (hear the sound of the trumpet in the background) my beater kicked the beater bucket today making the icing.  It slowed down really slow, and got kinda stinky as the motor grinded to a halt, so I do believe "I get to go shopping for a new one!!!"

So here they rolls are out of the oven, they look good eh?    

Here's me and my two chins putting the icing on the rolls. I set the camera on the counter and set the timer.  Notice the grip I have on the bowl. I made 50 pounds of freaking icing, and I about broke my hand holding it.

 Here they are all icing'ed up.

Want some?

So were they Blue Ribbon worthy?  I want to make them again, and do the butter the right way, and I am wondering if I can use a different kind of cinnamon.  I am just picky....but Jeff and Eric devoured the one dish, and Jeff said "those were the best he has ever eaten, make them that way all the time, they were perfect!" So I guess they were Jeff & Eric Gibbs worthy. 

If you try them let me know. Oh and here is the icing I did. This is the sizes for the regular icing, not the double batch I did.

1 stick butter, 4 oz. cream cheese, whip these together, then add 1 1/2 cups icing sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp. lemon juice.

Well I am setting up my room for class tomorrow, so I'm gonna git.

Have an awesome Saturday and thanks for stopping in!

 

Driving in the Countryside in my Pick-Up

 

As soon as I saw this set in the catalog I knew I was getting it no questions asked. You know how there are some sets you want but can wait on, well this one I could not wait to get in my hands. I love the stamp sets that look real.

I have been asked for quite a while if I would teach a watercoloring class, and I thought this set with its awesome images would be the perfect one to teach it with. I usually have some sort of watercoloring something at each class, but everyone wanted a class just for watercoloring.  So I said sure, not a problem.  A few people could not make it, or did not get signed up in time, and if enough are interested I will repeat the class in the future.

The class will make 3 projects learning how to watercolor using the watercolor wonder crayons, ink pads and refill, as well as the watercolor pencils. They will use an aqua painter as well as a blender pen.  I'll show you the other two projects another day.

Stamp Set: Countryside, Homegrown

Paper: Basic Black, Vanilla Naturals, So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Pawsitively Prints II DSP

Ink: Jetblack Stazon, Baja Breeze, More Mustard, Old Olive, Garden Green, Cajun Craze, Poppy Parade, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede

Misc: Oval punch, More Mustard brads, paper piercer, black marker, Modern Label punch

I love this DSP, it is so up my country alley.

Well I gotta get to my swap for Rhonda's meeting on Monday and also my bonus cards from my swap, so this chick is outta here!

Have an awesome Friday and thanks so much for stopping in.

 

Toot Sweet

 

One of my favorite movies as a child and I still can't watch the movie without singing along and getting creeped out by the ugly kidnapper guy, is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, I picked it up on DVD a couple years ago for a stocking stuffer and it was only five bucks! 

So while you listen to this fun song from the movie, (sorry the quality is not that good, it is almost like the person was filming it at a drive in or something, I swear I hear the wind blowing), take a gander at these amazing paper confections hand made by Paula from Stampin' Up!

A cute tray of candy baskets

A cute birthday cake guaranteed NOT to go straight to your hips!

A stunning tray of little stamps, don't they look like fancy chocolates?

Yum, dark chocolate, white icing with pearl jewels and some new baubles for our Simply Adorned. My mouth is watering.

Don't these look amazing? How will I decide? One of each please.

Do you remember eating these? They would be at the check out counter in all different flavors. You'd suck it till it was so pointy it could have put someones eye out. Such nostalgia.

 I love the Halloween treats, we could actually do this at our house, we barely get any trick or treaters.

Here's some more cupcakes, my sweet tooth is screaming!

These are darling and I have to order this die.  This is the new Candy Wrapper Bigz L Die.  Such fun!

This was fun, look at the cardstock run through the Square Lattice Embossing folder, rolled into a cone shape..it looks just like a ice cream parlor.

How easy and cute are these, little cones of DSP with some of our ribbon lace filled with rolls of buttons that look like candy.  I told ya the buttons this year looked like candy...didn't I?

This is how everything was set up in these beautiful cupboards which I want real bad.  I was silly and forgot to take a picture of like the whole set up from a far. 

These were all on display at convention (and there were many many more) and you can understand why they roped it off and closed it certain times of the day to have control of how many people were in there.  Some people were actually touching and tugging and taking things apart to see how things were made.  OK whatever (I just did the biggest eye roll I have ever made without getting an eye stuck back in my skull!) That still boggles my mind that someone would have the nerve to do that, I wish I'd have seen them, cause you know I would have told them "hands off!"  But with me demoing whenever I got a bit of a break it was not open, but since we were not able to go in regular hours, we asked and they let us go in to take pictures, nice eh?

 

This is the amazing genius behind it all, Paula in the white shirt, go ahead and bow right now to your monitor, she can feel it. Amazing eh?

Well that was a long post from me today cause of all the pictures but an easy one too.

Have an awesome Thursday and thank you so much for stopping in to see me every day, I really appreciate it.