Final posting for Stampin’ UP! Tea House Wedding Shower:

The morning arrived and to bless our gathering the power went out at 7 a.m.! (It didn’t return until 1:30 p.m.) You can only imagine my angst.  We really didn’t miss a beat though, thanks to the artful help of my niece Jessica and good friend Renee’ who prepared the food.

They used the pancake griddle on the gas cook stove to toast the crostini and warm the quiches under a tent of tinfoil.  That was the only two items that needed finishing up that morning.

Our guests enjoyed:  Baby Shrimp topped cucumber rounds, Caprese Skewers with Fresh Basil,  Mini Bacon & Crimini Mushroom Quiche, Ham Salad on Crostini, Mascarpone stuffed strawberries, Granny Pritchard’s Lemon Bars with Raspberry Puree, Cheesecake & Blueberry Shots, Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chocolate Ganache.  Suffice it to say that no one left hungry!

Guests were greeted with fresh flowers, lovely tea sets, and Stampin’ UP! Tea Shoppe favor bags.

The Favor bags were fun to put together.  They included 2 Tazo Rest Herbal Infusion Tea bags.  A scrumptious tea blend of lemon balm, Rose petals, Honeybush, orange peel, lemon myrtle, lavender, that brews up the most heavenly calming cup of tea.  Two Godiva Chocolate Truffles, and a sweet little Stampin’ UP! Beau Chateau Designer Series Paper notebook for your purse.

I know this is getting quite lengthy, so I will end with a thank you for letting me share the happiness of this wonderful event with you.  I hope it will inspire you to consider the possibilities of entertaining and allowing the wonderful Stampin’ UP! products to help make your event a success!

Almost forgot…here is our sweet bride with the mother of the groom on the left, me, and her mom Beth on the right.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week!

Katherine

The lovely Apothecary Stamp Set featured in the 2012 Mini Occasions Catalog will be unavailable after April 30th, which means you’ve got 4 days left to order yours!

Beautiful cards with multiple layers and embellishments are easier with the great coordinatted products from Stampin’ UP!  This lovely card for our sweet Emily (wife to the fabulous son Jack in Greenville SC) went together lickety split!  I tell people all the time aboout how easy it is to copy the wonderful artists at Stampin’ UP!, they’re the ones that make my crafting FUN!  Change a color, change the text to fit the occasion and BINGO! You’ve got the perfect card for any occasion.

The crinkled taffeta ribbon was created by holding the bow under a Heat Embossing tool for a few minutes which caused the synthetic fibers in the bow to draw up and give it that great crinkled look!  How fun is that? And so easy!  That is just one example of the fabulouus tips we get as Stampin’ UP! demonstrators.

Starting Tuesday, May 1st Stampin’ UP! has a special Introductory Demonstrator Kit availabble for only $99! It is completely customizeable for colors, and stamp sets etc., and if you’ve been wanting to get in on saving some money on your crafting supplies, now would be the perfect time to jump in!  Give me a call and we can discuss your opportunity with one of the leading paper crafting companies on the market!  I’d love to have you in my downline.  We can enjoy the art of paper crafting together AND save money doing it.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!

Katherine

Your dad and I love each you, for the wonderful individual young men you are, and are becoming.  Not one more than the others, but as differently as you each are with  all the love a parents’ heart can hold.  During this Lenten Season, take a little time each day and draw closer to the LORD in preparation for the celebration of His suffering and death on the cross; for my sins and for all men.    So that none would be denied the opportunity to embrace the fullness of his LOVE!  And then the celebration of His resurrection to the Father where He sits, even now, interceding on our behalf.  Easter will be soon upon us…will you be ready?

If I told you that you can add a button on a birthday card for a special guy, you might not quite buy it . . .but let me show you how easy it’s done!

I selected the pine tree trio image from the Stampin’ UP! Lovely As A Tree Stamp Set for the focal point of my card for our middle son, Addison’s Birthday this past weekend.

The trio image is stamped using Stampin’ UP! Lucky Limeade Classic Ink on a square of Whisper White that has been distressed slightly.  The focal panel is mounted with Stampin Dimensionals on a square of Soft Suede adhered to the Lucky Limeade panel that is stamped with the Stampin’ UP! A to Z Background Stamp.

The greeting comes from the Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set, always perfect for any occasion.

And, there just isn’t a more appropriate sentiment for a young man who’s earned his Bachelor of Art’s in Landscape Architecture  & Design than the greeting included with the Lovely As A Tree Stamp Set.

There are many stamp sets in the Stampin’ UP! 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog that are perfectly suited for the gentleman in your life!  Take a look and see.

Thanks for stopping by today!  You can shop 24-7 online from my website: katherinepritchard.stampinup.com

Katherine

Stampin’ UP! has such a variety of fabulous stamp sets, embellishments, and ideas it’s easy to throw together that last minute card when this holiday or another sneaks up on you.

You’ll want to keep one of these Stampin’ UP! K.I.S.S. cards to copy for different occasions.

Great Stampin’ UP! products used:

Whisper White Card Stock,  #100730, $8.50, 40 sheets

2010-2012 In Color Poppy Parade Card Stock, #119793, $6.95, 24 sheets

Short and Sweet Stamp Set, #115060, $17.95, 12 images

Heart to Heart Punch, #119881, $16.95

Bitty Buttons, #118761, $8.95, 64 buttons

Classic Stampin’ Ink in Basic Black, #101179, $5.95

Stampin’ Dimensionals, #104430, $3.95, 300 pieces

Try one of these K.I.S.S. cards and experience the satisfaction and joy of creating something that brings a smile to your loved one’s face.

Thanks for dropping in!  Katherine

P.S….Happy Valentine’s Day!

Using the Stampin’ UP! Sale-A-Bration exclusive Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper cut into varying widths and using Stampin’ UP! Snail Adhesive to hold them in place makes for a soft lovely background for the Stampin’ UP! Sizzix Big Shot Serif Essentials Alphabet to spell out one, simple very powerful word. FAITH.

Many times during the course of a day, the week, or a month, or even a lifetime we are called upon to exhibit our Faith.  I need this reminder that will help keep me focused and to always trying to act with Faith.

I expect I’ll be making several more of these so I think I’ll run and pick-up more of my handy frames.

Thanks for stopping by today, and let Faith guide you through your walk!

Don’t be intimidated by the thought of scrapbooking. It’s easy when you start small.  This scrapbooking technique is called ‘Build-A’Page’, or Scrapbooking 1-2-3, but whatever you call it, it’s a lot of fun, easy, and certainly very doable!

Part of our Christmas Vacation this year included a trip to our home-away-from-home in Durango Colorado with most of the boys, and Jack’s sweet wife Emily.   Since it was Emily’s first trip to Durango  I wanted to do some scrapbooking for family heritage memories.

Step 1: 6 x 6  page

I began with a 6 x 6  piece of Night of Navy.  Used the Starburst Jumbo wheel on a strip of Bashful Blue, a 1/4″ sliver of our Silver Glimmer Paper and created a focal point in the lower right corner with the Polka Dot Big Shot Embossing folder, circle punches and the snowflake punch to build a cute little snowman.  The photo is mounted on Whisper White and Basic Grey.  A trio of snowflakes from the Northern Frost Big Shot Decorative Strip hangs in the upper left corner to balance the page.

Step 2: 8 1/2 x 11 page

I  used an 8 1/2  x 11  sheet of Stampin’ UP!  Bashful Blue for this next step.  For texture I added a torn strip of Whisper White, curled on the torn edge, then added some Stampin’ UP! Dazzling Diamonds for sparkle.  Another element that was introduced with Step 2 was to add punched Basic Grey circles under another of the snowflakes from the Northern Frost Decorative Die Strip.  I wanted to extend my original 6 x 6  base by adding  a  6″ Night of Navy ribbon that is half of the Stampin’ UP! Lace Ribbon Border Punch.  It nicely mimics the snowflakes on the rest of the page.  A final addition for this step was a Mini Jingle Bell trio tied to a silver bow on the new picture that was framed like the previous one.

Any one of these steps are complete in itself.  You can make a lovely 6 x 6 album or if you prefer an 8 1/2 x 11.  You decide which best fits the occasion and your need.  You will be surprised at how easy it is to step-up your scrapbook pages with this technique.

Step 3:  12 x 12

I decided to bump the 8 1/2 x 11 page over to the left and add a matching second strip of white to it’s right side.  This leaves plenty of room for a journaling strip  and a couple of additional embellishments.

The same great Stampin’ UP! supplies you use in your card making are a perfect match for beautiful scrapbooking projects.

The 6 x 6 page was just one of the make & takes for my Stampin’ FUN class last week. We meet once a month, usually on the Third Tuesday, (it had to be moved this month because of the Stampin’ UP! Leadership Conference I attended)..    The class is offered at 9:30 a.m. till 11:30 a.m. and then repeated at 6:30 p.m. till 8:30 p.m.  If you’d like to give us a try just call or email and I can get you further details.

I’ll post the second make & take from class on Monday, so be sure to checkback, Until then Happy Stampin!

Katherine

I sincerely hope you experienced a most joyous Christmas!

Christmastime can be a very special ending of the year, but it can also be quite a disconcerting time as well for many folks. Having lost close family members this year and experiencing my brothers continuing battle against cancer has made this holiday a particular sobering one for sure.

I wanted to keep our family Christmas card focused on the true meaning of Christmas this year.   Drawing back into my collection of Stampin’ UP! images, the one that kept coming back over and over again was the Stampin’ UP! Holy Triptych  Stamp Set from several years past.

Using all three images on fold out panels makes this ‘unconventional’ Stampin’ UP! Christmas Card a mini vignette for family & friends to enjoy.

I included our brief family update letter along with a snapshot of the family from our August wedding of eldest son, Jack and his lovely bride Emily to make our Christmas greeting complete.

If you have any questions or would like more of the details about this project drop me a quick note and I’ll be happy to fill you in on the particulars.

Merry Christmas everyone, thanks for stopping by!

Katherine

Nothing gets the ‘juices’ flowing for my sweet hubby like admiring an old pickup. . .

The Stampin’ UP! Loads of Love Stamp Set fills the bill nicely and teamed with the man’s best friends image from our Loads of Love Accessories Stamp Set, my card is complete.

How easy is that?  Your masculine cards will  be better and easier if you keep a minimalist design approach.

The Birthday Greeting is a tad ‘off kilter’ . . . as  would be appropriate for my darling man since he is too!   Placing the greeting on a pair of Stampin’ UP! Extra Large and Large Tag punches makes this card all the more easier.  It doesn’t take all morning to create a great card!

Other Stampin’ UP! supplies:

Linen Thread, Large Pewter Grommets (sorry, they’ve been discontinued for the time being , and two scraps of Stampin’ UP! Designer Series Paper on a Whisper White panel on a Going Gray card stock standard size card.  Stampin’ Write Markers were used to color the focal image of the card.

Lots of folks, like myself and my dear husband, have birthday’s around and during the holiday season.  Making a card to celebrate their special day will help them feel appreciated and remembered.

I hope you are able to enjoy your family’s change of pace this month while s pending time together in celebrating the birth of our LORD!

Merry Christmas!  Katherine

Shown here with brother Addison, good friend Kinsey Verett, Murphy Blair, and Kirsten Verett.

I think it was a very good decision by the Howard Payne Coaches to give him a transition year on JV.  He got lots of playing time and really became more secure at 11 man.  We are very disappointed that they only won one game, but as they say, it builds character, and character strengthening is a very good thing.  He was selected three times to dress out with the Varsity so that’s also a good thing.

He has made several very fine friends from the team and from all appearances he is having a wonderful start to his college career.  We wish him as much success off the field as he has on the field.

I hope you and your family are enjoying a wonderful fall this year and are looking ahead to the coming holiday season with expectation and wonder as we once again celebrate the birth of our Lord.

Blessings,

Katherine