Sylvia's Stamping Corner

THE GHOULS AND GOBLINS WILL BE OUT TOMORROW NIGHT! MY NEW STAMP ROOM!

I finished up my treats for the tricksters. I just had to put them in my jar that I decorated last year with the new Stampin'Up! Spooky! While I finished working on the candy, I was thinking about my friend Christina who brought me the jar. We both had ordered the Spooky Decor Elements, last year, the order came in so she stopped on her way to my house and bought each of us a jar. I had to call her today, a year seems like a lifetime ago. Happy Halloween to Christina and the boys. A Happy Halloween to you Natalie, as well. I will post some rememberances for you tomorrow night. I guess unless the snow melted, there will be snow in Trinidad, Colorado, on Halloween!

I am finally posting some pictures of my Stamping room. The walls are not decorated yet and the room is not just as I want it, but it is oh so nice to have such a large, dedicated space, devoted to my stamping. I spent the morning cleaning up the mess that had accumulated everywhere since I have been working on so many new things. I realized as I cleaned, that for a few hours this room would be the one room that I could escape in while I waited the word that my house in Colorado was indeed not mine anymore. After cleaning, vacuuming the floor, and taking pictures, I went back to work on some new things, no sneak peaks tonight. I worked until 6PM when I got a phone call from my realator telling me everything was finished and the money was in the bank. I am really kind of sad, but life is that way, then the sun comes out and a new journey begins. Speaking of journeys, my friend Tina, better know as Travelingmama is in Copenhagen, Denmark with her family. She will be moving there next year. We wish her a happpy journey and good luck with the prospect of a design position over at Torendi. No more voting I discovered a bit ago. Seems they had someone who learned how to beat the system on the voting! Sorry Tina, I was going to give you some more press for votes!

 Back to my journey! I am posting two picture of my stamp room. I have a ribbon and embellishment corner then moving to the right is my work table. It is usually project bound! I will be posting more of the room tomorrow, Halloween night. It won't be frightening. David and I got the Spooky banner hung over the door so treaters and tricksters could see it when they came to the door. David just came in from another long week. We have bulbs to plant tomorrow as I only got a few planted today. I have a lot of work to do on the yard to make it as pretty as my back yard in Trinidad! 

TREATS FOR TRICKSTERS! MY PANSIES! ANOTHER CHRISTMAS CARD!

Yesterday was something. I just never could get to the stamp room. I had a trip to Walmart for much needed staples and then all of it to carry in and put away. I had all the wash from the weekend including bed covers to do. The cats and I had a nice trip outside where we enjoyed the new flowers and the cool weather, the high was 63. Today was warmer and the sun peaked out this afternoon, which started out a very gray and cloudy morning. I got this nice picture of my pansy basket.

I spent all morning stamping and creating. I worked on treats for treaters! I got some finished and packed to mail. I was late to my water therapy class, but I felt much better in the water today. Progress!!! I did not stay to water walk as I was supposed to get the papers I needed to sign on the closing of our house in Colorado. The e-mail never came, a little irritating, since I came home early just to receive them. I spent the rest of the afternoon working on two Halloween cards that I promised Amy.

Tonight I worked on another Christmas card. While I am posting this, the Crystal Effects is drying. I will have to pause in a minute to go take pictures so I can post it as well. I love all the new stamps for Christmas this year. The set I used is a hostess set and so lovely! With new designer paper and the Top Note Sizzix die, it all went together very quickly. I have a lot to get done tomorrow. More treats for Saturday, a wreath(David finally found the berries I needed to finish it) for fall, and Christmas tags. Of course I will have to take time out to get the papers notarized and over nighted back to Colorado. I am not sure they will get there as a lot of snow is predicted there as rain is predicted here! I will be out and about in the rain doing the errands I needed to have done today!

IT'S RAINING, IT'S POURING! THANK GOODNESS NO ONE IS SNORING!

It started raining last night and rained until late this evening and the temperature never got out of the 50's. I did not get a picture of any flowers today as the sun never came out. I was glad that I chose yesterday to plant my flowers, they really loved all the rain. I drove my husband back to Taylor in pouring down rain again only to have him home again by noon. The temperature is supposed to be clear and back in the 80's tomorrow. The cats will appreciate that, especially Fluffy. She is the center of attention tonight!

I had another one of those Monday's where what I got done was not what I was planning. I did some work in the craft room putting up what was laying around. Of course I made soup and cornbread for lunch and the list goes on. The Halloween banner finally got hung over my front door in the window. The windows in the hall got the paint scraped off them and are being cleaned. It is nice to have David home to do the things I can not possible get to becuase of the ladder climbing. And oh, the scarey door bell I bought on sale years ago, still works and is up for Trick or Treaters! I will have some for the first time in years.

 I started working on this card after supper. The design went fast and the water color, which is my favorite medium went just as fast. The snow is embossed which does not show up on the picture. It is a lovely card. I combined last year's in colors with this year's. I quite like the color combo, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Soft Suede and the new snowflake designer paper. The new satin ribbon from the mini catalog goes perfectly with Kiwi Kiss card stock. Another card done for Christmas!

A WARM AND MUGGY DAY! I PLANTED PANSIES! MADE A SNOWGLOBE CARD!

We had to make a second trip today to the office to leave paperwork. Since we were out, we went by IKEA and got another inexpensive book shelf for the craft room, $24.95!! Of course navigating IKEA takes some time. We next stopped for lunch and then went to the garden nursery and bought some pansies! I have missed my garden and my hummingbirds so much this summer.

We got home, unloaded the car, changed clothes and took the cats out in the back yard so they could hang out with us while we planted. It was a warm and muggy afternoon, with a breeze ever so often. The cats, one by one wanted back in, with Daisy being the last. By the time she went in, I was finished planting and the rest of the cats had settled down for their naps! We stayed out to finish planting some plants I brought from Colorado in planters. When my dad died I bought a Gardenia here in Austin, took it to Trinidad, and three years later brought it back. It has thrived here and now that it is cooler it went into the flower bed along with oregano and mint that I bought here weeks ago. My hanging Bougainvillea got planted as well as my Poinsettia plants that I brought from Trinidad . I put some pansies in the hanging basket as well as in two more planters I had. I will get pictures tomorrow if it does not rain!

Tonight while I was making a card, my husband was busy tearing up the garage and craft room looking for something I needed. He was still making an absolute mess when I arrived in here to post. My post of 30 minutes has taken much longer than usual because of the distraction. After pulling out many boxes I finally found what it was I was looking for. I have a lot of work to do in here tomorrow. I have piles of things David pulled out and laid down. When I unpack a box, I find a place for it and slowly everything is put away and organized. Sometimes I might have to go back and rearrange, but I do not usually lay things everywhere so I am overwhelmed. Well guys I am overwhelmed by all the mess. Tomorrow after I make a third trip to Taylor to take my husband, I will get this mess cleaned up!

Tonight's card is my first Snow Globe card. I am sure I will change it, but this one is nice enough to sell. There was a snow globe card in the Stampin'Up! mini catalog. I have wanted to do one after I saw the catalog. So tonight I got out the glitter and the embossing powder and made one. My grandson loves my Snow Globes that his PaPa gave me. They are so pretty. Since I am sure that we will not have snow( LOL!), I have to make my own! It might be snowing outside, the air conditioner is blowing cold air, one would just have to have a good imagination! I never knew the phrase "It's cold", had so many different meanings. I guess it is all relative to what you are used to. I do hope you enjoy the snow globe card!

A BEAUTIFUL FALL DAY! A FUN DAY WITH FAMILY! MORE CARDS!

Today was one of those days that I would have loved to have worked outside. Instead Amy and I went to lunch at an unusual resturant, however it was not a sandwich shop. Then after a run back to the house we went to a shop Amy had wanted to visit. We got back to the house around 2PM to wait on Andrew and Anna. Andrew still gets turned around here, so Amy and I took the cats out for their afternoon frolic while we waited for them! The picture of Miss Daisy is from the other day when I took pictures of all the cats.When Andrew and Anna arrived we had pumpkin pie from Marie Calenders with Cool Whip. We celebrated Anna's birthday which was earlier in October. Amy went home and Andrew and Anna left around 5PM, just in time for me to grab a bite then head to the stamp room.

The Tech football was not on the television, thank goodness, but was on the radio. I soon decided it was going to be bad and shut it off. I was almost finished with my card when David called and needed me to go to Taylor to pick him up. They are leaving out of there early on Tuesday, headed to Victoria again to pick up a load. I gave him time to get there and got there and still had to wait 30 minutes. We got home around 11:30PM which is why I am up so late posting.

The card tonight uses a favorite stamp, the cardinal to make a Christmas card. I made this card to do World Card Day, but decided to improve it. This one is elegant although I could not get a close enough picture so the snowflakes could really be seen. You may click on the card to see a more detailed, close up. I used the Top Note Sizzix Die, water colored the cardinal and embossed the berries. I may go back and add some snow to the branches, but for now it looks really wonderful. I am getting ready for craft shows, one in November and one in December. It is a lot of work, but hopefully I will meet some more people here. Halloween is almost upon us which means October will be over and November upon us. Our house in Colorado will be officially sold on Friday, closing day. So another chapter in my life will be closed as well.

FALL IS IN THE AIR....THE WEEKEND IS HERE!!!!

This week has flown by. David was home for most of the week and one day we actually got some yard cleaning done, taking the cats out for two hours. They so enjoyed their time out. It rained most of Wednesday, the sun breaking through the clouds just after my water therapy class was over. Then after I got home it started raining again and rained most of the night. We awoke to more rain on Thursday, then the temperatures dropped into the 60's. It was so nice. The cats thought they were back in Colorado this morning when we went out with the cool temperatures, the sun shining and the wind blowing!

I spent most of Wednesday cleaning up the craft room. That is different from my stamp room. I paint, sew, and do everything, but stamp here and it had been an empty room except for my work computer and David's desk. I now have two bookcases, two tables and a lot of stackable containers. The containers used to be in my stamp area, but now hold my everything other than Stampin'Up paper and accessories. We pulled out all of the boxes that had been dumped in the guest room when we painted the craft room weeks ago. They are now in the living room where they will sit until I get them unpacked and put away. I got about half of those done and a few more that were sitting in my bathroom and bedroom. Hopefully I will finish those tomorrow so I can pull the ones out of the craft room closet next. I keep needing items that I don't have a clue where they are, so the only thing to do is open boxes and clean out and put away!

I have not forgotten my stamping, just have had limited moments to stamp. I did work on a card tonight. I have been fascinated with the Tri-Shutter cards and wanted to try one. I used fall designer paper and two of the fall stamps sets to make this one. Since it is the first one I have done, it is fairly basic with no frills. I think this configuration is really nice. I will be doing another one to be sure. I enjoyed searching the internet looking at others designs. There are some awesome cards made this way and some great tutorials.

MONDAY, IT'S MONDAY AGAIN! SWAP CHRISTMAS CARD!

This will be a short post. I have the monthly Stampin'Up! meeting in a bit and I just finished my fifteen card fronts for the swap. This is what I worked on yesterday. Instead of staying up until 2AM to finish, I went to bed at a reasonable hour of midnight. In the last few days I keep having these challenges! I do not mean card challenges on line, rather life challenges. Saturday the belt on my printer broke, so no printer. Today for some reason the servers on the bill I was trying to pay was having problems and it took 45 minutes to pay a bill. I came back hours later to do this post and my internet access had been effected. After much checking and powering off as well as unplugging, I am here typing.

My husband is home today, doing little things that have not been done in the house and outside in the yard which mean more things are up and not laying around. My front yard lights are now in the yard instead of standing up on the porch. The pieces to Colin's tractor are back on the tractor, and the glass shelves are going up in the bathroom. Exciting, huh! Of course, this also means my day never goes as planned!!!

This card front I made for the swap is in the Bermuda Bay in color. I used Sahara Sand card stock for the shadow snowflake. Everything is embossed in the Iridescent Ice. This is a fairly easy card to make and as I made 15 in several hours, it would make a good card for a stamp stack. Cost would have to be calculated as it has a rhinestone brad and ribbon, but the rest is card stock and embossing powder which doesn't cost that much. It was another fun card. I will be posting my second series card later done in Bermuda Bay as well.

A BEAUTIFUL FALL DAY IN TEXAS! A NEW CHRISTMAS CARD FOR YOU!

I am not getting as much done as I want to these days. My body is just not cooperating! LOL! The weather was perfect today, cool but not cold and sunny. I think that is waht I miss the most about Colorado. It is usally almost always sunny and almost never too warm. Here if the sun is shining it is hot!!!! and when it is cool it is cloudy and still muggy. I took the cats out and managed to get a few pictures taken outside before the cats had me chasing them. This one is my bell pepper plant. It was always such a log process growing them in Trinidad. Here they grow quickly and they love the nighttime coolness! Just had to get in some gardening as I missed it this summer!

I finished a new Christmas card for a new series. I spent last evening working on the design and all night thinking about it. After lots of mistakes, I finally got it right, put together without stamping my name upside down on the back. Instead of red this series will use some of the in colors, this one the Melon Mambo with silver, Old Olive, and white. I also used the Platinum paint from the mini. I really love using it. The next card I will be using Bermuda Bay. I also have tags to go with this series!

HAVE YOU VOTED FOR TINA YET? Be sure and go to Torendi and vote for Tina Fussell for the design team! Travelingmama needs your support! Only one or two more days to vote! Tina is in Paris tonight. Hopefully having a good time before she packs and gets ready for her move! 

TEXAS TECH BEAT NEBRASKA! YAHOO!!!!!IN NEBRASKA!!!!GO RED RAIDERS!

TOP NOTE DIE HALLOWEEN BANNER FINISHED! ANOTHER SKULL CARD FOR YOU!

Baby it's cool outside! It is 64 degrees, lovely weather, after being in the nineties today. I had another good day. At one point I had a brain freeze, but eventually got on track and finished my banner. So you have seen the last of it until it is hung in my stamp room, hopefully this weekend. I also did a quick skull card. This one was fun. I used the brayer, embossing powder several times, and lots of colors. This skull opens the world to imagination untold.

I am sure many of you are not fond of skulls. I am not really either, but from an artist point of view, they have endless possibilities. In many cultures they are very important. Amy, I think this card is for you unless I come up with a better skull. My daughter is going to Mexico at the end of the month for the Day Of the Dead celebration. I hope you like the way the colors work so nicely together.

I will be cleaning up the Halloween stuff tomorrow. I have a few cards to make to send, but I still have a week or so to get them made. I will go on to fall and Christmas. That way you can see some new. I have swap cards to do for Christmas by Monday, so I will have to get that done as well.

I have a request! PLEASE, go the Torendi , and vote for Tina Fussell. She is trying to become a designer for them, but we need to keep her in the running. She is currently in 2nd place, but a lot of votes behind. She is known by many as Travelingmama. She is an incredible photographer as well as crafter and card maker. She will sooon be leaving her home in Morocco and heading to Denmark. If I were younger, I might be jealous, but alas, I do not like to travel. Again Good Luck to Tina in her quest. 

HALLOWEEN ....BOO!.. BANNER..PROGRESS AT LAST

I wasn't here last night, but I am up late tonight. Yesterday was just one of those days. My husband was working late the night before and I did not get much sleep. He was out surveying all day so when he got home, it was dinner, some television, and then off to bed.

Today was a great day, with lunch out, then warm water therapy aerobics class at the YMCA. I know, those of you who know me think, Oh my gosh, she is in a swim suit. Well girls, I put that aside and am going so I can get some exercise that will not hurt my knees, joints, and everything else. I did water aerobics for years as I love the water. After class I water walked for another 10 minutes. I want to say, my back is a little sore and maybe I won't be able to walk tomorrow, but I feel so much better after one class. Besides it gave you guys a good laugh!

Late this afternoon, my husband left for another location and will not be back until Friday late so.... I worked on the garland. It took me all night to make my ghosts. They are two pieces sewn together, painted with the new frosty paint, then glittered. The eyes and mouth are embossed with black powder. Getting a picture was also a pain, but I managed to get a few. No, it is not finished yet. I am going to like this one when I am finished. I will try to finish tomorrow. I have a haircut tomorrow afternoon and a quick trip to the grocery store, but that is it. Thanks for the comments, ladies, I enjoy reading them.

 Everyone, please go to Travelingmama's Blog. She will direct you to a blog where you can vote for her card to win the challenge. The winner of this will be a new designer. Tina(travelingmama) is a very talented artist-photographer, as well as a wonderful mom and wife, and blog friend. Her work in Morocco has been really wonderful.  So please go vote for Tina.