Happy Halloween

It is already the end of October and we will be turning our clocks back this weekend!  My how time flies!  Two months and we will be bringing in the new year!!!  I can't believe I just said that!

I have a few cards to share with you tonight.  I volunteered to make some samples for a shower invitation for a friend of mine.  However, she needed them in August!!!  I was so prompt in making them but then lost them in a pile of card stock and just found them.  I am so embarrassed.  But I'm going to send them to her anyway because they can still be used for a thank you or thinking of you card.  Her daughter's wedding colors were creams and browns.  I bet she loves chocolate!!!  Just a guess!  lol

It's been quite a Monday so I'm going to call it a day.  Have a great evening!

Stamped Blessings,
~Arlena

Where does the time go?

I cannot believe it has been a month since I last posted.  Obviously, my schedule has gotten very busy since school and sports have started again.  I hope you will forgive me.
Autumn is officially here and the trees here in Michigan are showing their Autumn Splendor!  I love Fall with all of the colors but I have to admit that Spring is my favorite season.  I love to see everything waking up from the long winter and the smells of flowers and fresh dirt.
I haven't had a lot of time to stamp or be creative but I did manage to copy (from Patty Bennett's blog) this little Santa made from punches!  I need to get some little pom poms for his little hat, but otherwise, I think he's adorable!
Have a great evening.
Stamped Blessings,
~Arlena

Another Monday done!

Today was a very busy day and went by very quickly. Two of my daughters had their first soccer practice of the season and my other daughter is trying to figure out hair styles and outfits for school pictures! I made chicken shish-ka-bob on the grill and it was so yummy! All of this after working a full day at my "day job"! Tomorrow will be another day at work and high school orientation tomorrow night. And the rest of the week continues to be busy. I'm sure many of you know exactly what I am talking about as you too are probably just as busy, if not, more!

I found this card in my favorites and thought I would share it with you. It is made entirely of punches and there is no stamping on it. There are a few marks made with a marker on it, dots on the nose and "nails" on the paws. It was a lot of fun making it and wished I had made more while I was taking time punching everything out!

Well, I think this gal is off to bed. That alarm clock goes off way too early!

Stamped Blessings,

~Arlena

Beautiful Summer Day

What a gorgeous day today in Michigan! However, my prayers are with those that are having horrible weather due to Hurricane Irene. For those who have lost their lives and for those who have suffered damage and are without power.

Summer is coming to an end and the school hallways will soon be full of laughter and reconnecting with old and new friends!

I'm going to share with you tonight, another card that I demonstrated at my workshop Thursday night. It is using the new Penant Parade stamp set and punch. The Designer Series Paper is Just Add Cake. There are a few more days left for the Stampin'Up! special where you can purchase 3 packages of designer series paper and receive a fourth package FREE! Let me know if you'd like to take advantage of this great offer!

Have a great week !

Stamped Blessings,

~Arlena

New Technique!

Hello Friends!

It's been a long day with a magic show over in Grand Rapids and 2 more tomorrow in the same location! We love it when God keeps us busy with sharing His love and stories with others through the art of illusion.

I had fun Thursday night demonstrating my love of stamping with a wonderful friend and 11 of her guests! I get so excited and want to share everything I know, however there just isn't enough time in one evening, or twenty evenings for that matter! Here is one of the cards I demonstrated. It is using a technique I learned on line. It is called reverse imaging. I have seen it on cards and could never figure out how it was done. Now I know. (smile)

Well, I better call it a night as we have an early and long day tomorrow.

Stamped Blessings,

~Arlena

Stamping with Friends!

Today I spent the afternoon with four friends stamping beautiful cards. As you can see by these cards, they are very talented and creative ladies. Two of the gals were unable to make it today and they certainly were missed. The Autumn Tree card was designed by Charlene Merrick. The Boat card was designed by Deb Schultz. The Country card was designed by Lynn Schultz. And the Wine Glass card was designed by Lynn Caudy-VanEpps. I am truly blessed to have had the opportunity to stamp the afternoon away with these ladies.

It's a quiet night in the house as two of my girls are at a birthday slumber party for one of their friends. I'm sure they are having fun!

I hope you enjoy the cards. I sure had a lot of fun making them. I'm pretty tired so I'm ready to turn in for the night. So until next time...

Stamped Blessings,

~Arlena

I obviously had trouble the other night when trying to post this picture with my text. I hope it works tonight as I really do want to share the card with you.

Two of my daughters went to their first concert tonight! They went with their best friend to see BTR (Big Time Rush). They are a group of 4 young men on the Disney Channel. They remind me of the Monkeys from my time. Yes, I am dating myself! They have a show where they all act goofy, but their music and voices are pretty good.

Well, I want to try posting this pic before I get too far on this post.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Stamped Blessings,

~Arlena

I love lighthouses!

Tonight I want to show you a card I made a long time ago. The stamp set is retired but it is one I am hanging onto. It is a set of 4 lighthouse stamps. There is so much you can do with them. You can use pastels or your aqua painter, just for a couple of ideas.

Two of my daughters are very excited as they are getting ready to go to a Big Time Rush (BTR) concert! They were invited by a friend and her family. I kind of wish I was going so I could see them at their first concert! I'm sure they will take pictures and text me and let me know how much fun it was!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a good week.

Stamped Blessings,

~Arlena

Back to School...ALREADY?

I've noticed in the stores this week, not only all of the school supplies, but that they are all on sale too! I don't even know what the kids need yet, and the stores are already ahead of the game. So as I was stamping last night, I thought I would try to make something that the kids could use for school and this is what I came up with! They are decorated journals. I use an old retired stamp set, Wolf. How appropriate! This is a set I will probably never part with. My school mascott was the coyote and my girls school mascott is the wolfpack. So I will continue to get use out of this set, not only for cards, but 3D projects and scrapbook pages for years to come! My oldest can't decide on red or black so she asked if she could have one of each! lol

My sister comes in from Viginia tomorrow and I am so excited. She loves the cards I make so I always put a bundle together for her. She is a scrapbooker and I haven't convinced her to stamp yet. She has tried, but always goes back to what she is familiar with. Although our time will be limited, I look forward to making the most of it.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Stamped Blessings,

~Arlena

Girls are WONDERFUL!

Tonight I'm sharing a couple of cards with you that I made a while ago. They are simple, but so beautiful. That's just how I like them. The first card is another version using the Because I Care stamp set using Always Artichoke and Kraft card stock. The second card is using Baja Breeze and beautiful little pearls for accents. They are one of my favorite Stampin'Up! accessories!

Tonight, I was treated so special by my three girls. Dinner was made, table was set and cleared and we had an awesome dessert, Hot Fudge Brownie Delight. The best part of it is that I didn't have to do any of it and my daughters did it all! I am so blessed!

Have a great night and stop by again!

Stamped Blessings,

~Arlena

Another Saturday Night

Today was another gorgeous day and I even managed to take my dog Annabelle, for a short walk. It was 95 degrees and our timing wasn't the greatest. We ended up a half mile up the road and then all these old (very cool) cars started driving by as it was cruise night! As each car passed, they revved their engines. Very fun, but not for our canine friends!

The card I chose to share with you is another favorite of mine. It uses:

Stamp Sets: Elements of Style w#118611 $27.95 c#120045 $19.95 and retired Sanded Background stamp

Ink Pads: Rich Razzleberry and Always Artichoke

Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette and Whisper White

Accessories: silver cord, Aqua painter and Oval Scallop Frame Bigz Die

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend.

Stamped Blessings,

~ Arlena

I'm singing in the rain!

Hello everyone! I'm fighting off a terrible headache, due to the weather, but am so thankful for the rain we had yesterday and last night. We needed it so bad.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. I'm hoping to spend some time stamping and coming up with ideas for a workshop I have on August 25th. I'm looking to add some more events to my calendar so that I can share my passion with others. It is so much fun to watch some create a beautiful card from plain paper, a stamp and some ink. The most simple card can be so elegant and ANYONE can duplicate a card, ANYONE!!!!!

The card I chose to share tonight is an oldie but a favorite! Any sentiment can be stamped inside the small oval.

Stampset: Inspired by Nature #111656 $23.95

Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip and retired Close to Cocoa

Ink Pads: Always Artichoke

Accessories: Large Oval Punch, retired small oval punch and retired slotted punch

Well, it's time for me to call it a night. Until next time....

Stamped Blessings,

~Arlena

I am so thankful for air conditioning!

Of all times when air conditioning can go out...of course it would be when temps are pushing 100 every day! But today it is fixed and I will sleep like a baby tonight!

As I said with my last posting, I was getting together with friends to do a little stamping. As it turns out, there was emphasis on "little". But I was able to make a couple of cards.

As you can tell, I am having difficulty placing my photos where I want them, but I know you will forgive me.

The thank you card is made with the retired color blushing bride and the beautiful new In Color, wonder wisteria. The stamp is called Elizabeth.

The Harley-Davidson card is one of a few cards that a friend asked me to make for a fund raiser for English Mastiff Rescue. Yes, the cardstock is pink!!! To all of us lady riders, enjoy the ride! The English Mastiff Rescue is an organization that helps in finding homes for English Mastiff dogs. These beautiful canines are very large, but very gentle. They don't realize their size and truly love people. My friend fosters them until permanant homes can be found for them. She falls in love with every one of her foster dogs and is very passionate at matching the perfect family with each dog. If you'd like to know more, please let me know.

That's all I have for tonight. Thank you for visiting. Until next time, Blessed stampings!

~ Arlena

If at first you don't succeed

Hello Friends!

I can't believe it's been almost a year since my last post. I have been encouraged by a friend and fellow blogger to keep trying until I succeed, so here I go.

I'm going to make my first attempt at posting a picture. It's of a card I made last night. I changed it up a bit from the original picture that was sent to me. Unfortunately, I do not know who the original designer was. The original card was made with gold embossing powder and gold paper, where I used copper and SU's Very Vanilla card stock. The stamp set is called Because I Care.

I'm getting together with some friends tomorrow and we're going to stamp the day away! I look forward to getting creative and bouncing ideas off of everyone. We all have different tools and supplies and that's always fun to share. I'll try to post again this weekend with some of the cards I make tomorrow.

Have a great weekend.

Stamped Blessings,

~Arlena