Hear Ye, Hear Ye.......

Remember when I showed you this?

This is a page from the Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack  pg. 175 in the main catalog.  One of the pages has text on it.  I emailed Stampin' Up! to ask what it was.  They had to do a little research and a few days ago they got back to me. 

Apparently, I asked a hard question.  It seems hard to believe I would be the only person asking this question, but then again, I'm curious about things other people aren't.  Curiosity killed the cat you know.

Anyway, the text is this:

Shakespeare Sonnet 83: I Never Saw That You Did Painting Need


I never saw that you did painting need,



And therefore to your fair no painting set;


I found, or thought I found, you did exceed


The barren tender of a poet's debt:


And therefore have I slept in your report,


That you yourself, being extant, well might show


How far a modern quill doth come too short,


Speaking of worth, what worth in you doth grow.


This silence for my sin you did impute,


Which shall be most my glory being dumb;


For I impair not beauty being mute,


When others would give life, and bring a tomb.


There lives more life in one of your fair eyes


Than both your poets can in praise devise.
 
 
Huh..........what?
 
 
Sonnet 83: Translation to modern English
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I've never thought that representations of you need elaboration, so I haven't described your beauty in elaborate verse. I could see - or thought I could see - that you were above the skills of any poet. Therefore, I've made no effort to represent you so that you yourself, by virtue of your very existence, would be able to demonstrate how far short modern verse would come in representing quality - the real quality that you possess. You regarded my silence as a fault, but I'm proud of it because my silence doesn't detract from your beauty, whereas others destroy it by trying to bring it to life. There's more life in one of your beautiful eyes than all of your poets can invent in their praise of you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I'm really not up on my Shakespeare.  I had to do a little research.  This is one of a series of poems and it was written about a man.  For some reason that surprised me. 

Anyway, I thought I'd pass along my little tidbit of Stampin' Up! trivia there for you. 

Now go ye forthe and doth thee create!

Good tidings and God's blessings to ye, b.

like a dog with a bone

Today I'm going to show you card #3 for the card class this coming Saturday. 

I struggled and struggled with this card.  I walked away from it twice hoping to get a new perpective on it.  I think it went through about 20 tranformations.  Like a dog with a bone, I just couldn't leave it alone.  I think I've made my peace with it now though.

I hope you like it.

A Word for You and Punch Potpourri sets.  Daffodil delight, early espresso and very vanilla cardstock.  Early espresso and daffodil delight inks.  Neutrals patterns DSP, double ribbon punch, butterfly punch, brads, dimensionals and hemp.

I knew I wanted to use this color.  I'm really not much for yellow but this color is so pretty.  This pic doesn't catch how soft it is.  I think they should have named it Butter.  I like butter, maybe thats why I like this color....hmmm...

The ladies that come to the class can have it say whatever they want.  I never have enough birthday cards around.  I used the double ribbon punch and cut it in half.  I love that punch! 

The butterfly punch makes it so easy to cut out the butterflies from the Flight of the Butterfly set.  There is also a butterfly image in the Punch Potpourri hostess set.  I like it alot. 

Alrighty then, the Amazing Race starts tonight.  I love that show.  I even got the boy interested in it last season.  So, I gotta go.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

growing thanks

Hey, hey, hey, its Faaaat Albert!  

not really, its just me.  Excuse the flashback.  And if you're too young to know who Fat Albert is......then just forget I said anything.

So, how was your day?  Things here were pretty swell.  Except that its getting blazing hot again. 

Anyhow, I've been stamping.  Getting ready for my card class on Oct. 2nd.  Want to see card #2?  Okay.....

Growing Green and A Word for You sets.  Wild wasabi, whisper white, marina mist, and early espresso cardstock.  Marina mist, wild wasabi and early espresso inks.  Big shot, square lattice embossing folder, hemp and dimensionals. 


What do you think?  I like it alot.  Very clean looking.  We are making 5 different cards in only 2 hours so they need to be easy. 

I love this set and haven't played with it too much yet.  I knew I wanted to use Wild Wasabi for the leaves.  For some reason it just seems like they should be that color.  But I wasn't sure what other colors to put with it so.......out came the color coach.  Love that thing!

See the Sweet Set there?  Thats what I used.  I know that this color coach is more expensive than the old one but it is so much better.  Well worth the money. 

Let me know if you'd like to come to the class.  Only $12 for the 5 cards.  I'll be offering this class as a kit too, if you're interested in that.  More info when we get closer. 

Okie dokie then,  I have another card done too.  One that almost drove me to start drinking.  You know the card, the one that you should have just walked away and forgot about?  Actually, I did walk away from it....twice.  But I kept coming back to it.  Like a dog with a bone.  I think I finally made my peace with it.  I'll show you tomorrow. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  You make me so happy.

Blessings, b.

hello?.......hello?.......

are you still there?  So sorry for the absence.  Between the tension headaches and kids using the computer, I haven't been posting or stamping. 

But, I have to say that I got such warm fuzzies when I looked at the blog stats today.  Even though I haven't been around this week, you guys keep checking in.  I can't tell you how much that means to me.  Thank you so much for your patience.  You guys rock!

I am having a smallish card class on October 2nd, World Card Making Day.  We are going to make 5 cards and I've been thinking of what we will be making.  Today I finally got to sit down and play with all those new goodies. 

Here is one I think we'll be doing. 

Elements of Style and A Word for You sets.  Crumb cake, basic black and pure poppy cardstock.  Crumb cake and black Stazon inks.  Beautiful butterflies die, big shot, vintage embossing folder, double ribbon punch, cropodile, hemp, scallop edge punch, Newsprint DSP, rhinestones, corner rounder punch and dimensionals. 

I love how that butterfly just POPS off the card.  I knew I wanted to use a tag.  They seem to be popular right now.  And you know me, I'm like so hip with the current trends.........NOT!  I originally had out different stamps and colors but they just weren't working for me. 

So back to the old stand by.  Crumb Cake.......I love you. 

Check out the details here: 

*Double ribbon punch.  I love it!  I thought it might be hard to use because of so many little pieces but it was easy. 

*Beautiful Butterflies die.  I'm so behind the times, I know.  But hey, I got there didn't I?  Love that Poppy Parade color. 

*Vintage embossing folder on the butterfly.  So pretty! 

*New sticky Rhinestones!  I'm really not a bling kind of girl, I don't do much jewerly or dressing up or anything.  But they are so affordable now and they stick really good.  Very excellent for seeing how you would look with your nose pierced.  Not that I tried that or anything.........

Alrighty then, I have one more pic to show you:

NOW THATS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!

I finally am seeing the fruits of my labor.  I've pulled 2 more zucchini and 2 more yellow squash since this pic was taken.  They are delicious too.  I also have at least 4 tomatoes growing and the bell peppers are going like crazy.  Finally the cucumbers are growing little babies.  Maybe I was expecting too much too early. 

I'm getting ready to pull the strawberries out and plant broccoli and carrots.  Once the tomato dies off I'll be planting onions.  I've learned so much this summer that I hope next summer things really start with a bang. 

Okay, I promise to be around more this week. 

Thanks for stopping by and being patient.  Thank you.

Blessings, b.

new stamps are in the house!

Hey stampers!  How's it going?  Look what came on Friday:

WooHoo!  New stamps are in the house!  And punches!  And paper!  And inks!   And ribbon!  And dies!  WooHoo! 

My wonderful hubby gave me the okay to spend a few bucks and get some NEW things from the NEW CATALOG.  Sometimes he is really nice to me.  Just kidding......

It literally took me 2 weeks to figure out what to get.  There are so many choices and I wanted to make good decisions.  Of course once it all got here all I could do it look at it and touch it and feel overwhelmed because I got so much new stuff.

Here is what I got.  Its alot.  I'm kind of embarrassed.  Don't judge ;)

120175  Vintage wallpaper embossing folder
119261  1/8" black taffeta ribbon 
119275  dotted scallop ribbon punch ( LOVE THIS!!)
117157  DSP patterns stack - neutrals
119970  twill tape
119753  early espresso satin ribbon
119768  1 1/4" real red striped grosgrain ribbon
109070  whisper white taffeta
119782  poppy parade ink pad
120995  glass glitter silver (LOVE THIS!!)
120999  very vanilla seam binding  (holiday mini catalog)
107301  whisper white envelops
120624  growing green stamp set- clear mount
114507  beautiful butterflies Bigz die
120903  scallop square duo Bigz die (holiday mini catalog)
119848  extra large butterfly punch
119246  basic rhinestone jewels
119683  daffodil delight cardstock
108641  wild wasabi cardstock
120953  crumb cake cardstock  (gotta keep up my stock ;)
111349  tangerine tango cardstock
120124  hostess set- punch potpourri- clear mount
118074  two-step owl  punch
119413  Do Good Be Kind decor element
120950  cardstock bundle and classic pad new color kit  (I highly recommend this kit)


Saturday I got a push to make a birthday card for one of my son's friends.  You'll be proud of me, I didn't put the age on it. 

Old, retired happy birthday stamp.  Going gray (retired), basic black and basic gray cardstock.  Black Stazon ink.  Wide oval punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, hemp, NEW NEUTRALS DESIGNER DSP, hemp and dimensionals.


This kid is a music whiz.  They have a little garage band.  I'll take a newer pic and show you someday.  They can really rock it out. 

I don't have the guitar stamp that we carry so I had to make do with something more personal.  I went online and found a specs diagram for the guitar he uses mostly.  Then found a color image of the same guitar. 

This card came out a funky size.  It ended up being 4x7 and fit in a business size envelope. 

I wanted to add the little guitar to add some color but I was having a heck of a time with it.  I finally just started putting shapes together and came up with this tag.  Its a wide oval and a 1 1/4" circle. 

See this striped paper?  This is from the Neutrals Designer DSP pack.  I thought it was very hard to see the patterns on the paper in the catalog so I took some close ups for you:

This text is some kind of poem.  Wait, let me go look at the SU! website and see if I can find out what it is.  Be right back............................Nope, couldn't find any info.  So I just sent them a quick email asking what it is.  I'll let you know.

Alrighty then, I'll be showing you some new creations soon. 

Thanks for stopping by.  I love it when you do that.

Blessings, b.

elements of........thanks

Howdy,

What a day!  We had beautiful weather again but I woke up with a tension headache.  OY!!  So we are going to keep it short and sweet tonight. 

The older kids are selling those Entertainment books to raise money for a college field trip (I think the thought of them both being gone for a few days is the source of my headache.  My babies and I have never been separated for more than an sleepover at one of their friends houses.) and 2 of my good buddies at work each bought one.  So of course I had to make thank you cards.

Elements of Style and A Word  for You sets.  Crumb cake and soft suede cardstock.  Soft suede ink.  Vanilla taffeta ribbon, Newsprint DSP, Top Note die, big shot, hemp, misc. button and dimensionals.


These came out 4 1/4" square.  Super simple to make too. 

I had made one and decided it looked too plain.  In came Elements of Style to the rescue.  I used the flourishy/swirly stamp to add a little character. 

I think my friends liked them.........they never actually said.  Hmmm......


Alrighty then, I'm headed to dreamland.  Well, with the aid of medication, I may not dream at all.  HA!  Either way I need my sleep, my new goodies are coming tomorrow!  WooHoo!

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

LIfe is good

What a beautiful day we had today!  The weather was just awesome.  I hope you had wonderful weather wherever you are.  I know it won't last but I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can. 

Another reason it was a beautiful day was because everyone in the family got good news today: 

• 16 got an A+ on her clay mask.

• The boy got an A on his calculus test.  The highest in all the calculus classes.

 

• Grace got an A on her spelling and vocab. test.

• The hubs got a note from his area manager about how wonderful he is.

• We got news that Conway Trucking is donating a tractor to pull our trailer for the band to all the tournaments.  YAY Conway!

• And my good news actually came a few days ago, I won a contest on Shelli's blog!  You know Shelli, co-founder of Stampin' Up!  and all around wonderful person?  Yep, she picked my project.  WooHoo!  Now I get to pick a free stamp set.  Which one should I get?  Decisions, decisions.......

To celebrate, everyone got to have ice cream.  We have a "no dessert rule" on week nights but today was special.  I even had some. 

I also decided to sit down and finish a project I've been working on.  This whole weekend, every time I sat down and wanted to stamp, I kept thinking of ideas for the cool and  wonderful stuff that is coming....hopefully Friday. 

So again, I went through my inspiration file.  I found a card by Teri Anderson (you can google her) that I had an idea for. 

Lovely as a Tree and God's Blessings.  Crumb cake, old olive, soft suede, early espresso, whisper white and watercolor paper.  Old olive, sahara sand, soft suede, choc. chip and black Stazon inks.  Stampamajig, square lattice embossing folder, aquapainter, hemp and dimensionals.


Okay, you knew Lovely as a Tree couldn't stay in retirement forever, didn't ya?  I love it too much.  Teri's card was a sympathy card.  I can't make one of those unless I absolutely need it.  Because everytime I make one "just to have", someone dies......like immediately.  I don't feel like dragging that weight around....geez. 

This is the first one I made.  I like it.  Very simple yet very nice.  Again, I sponged the lattice part to make the design pop.  I stamped the whole tree in Old Olive and then used my Choc. Chip marker for the trunk.  Then I stamped it and then stamped off once and then stamped on the cardstock again to get a really light image. 

But my favorite way to use Lovely as a Tree is to watercolor it.  So of course I had to do one that way too.  I stamped the tree in black Stazon on the watercolor paper and colored it in using my ink pads and aquapainter. 

I used Sahara Sand around the outside of the tree.  I can see I need to adjust the Sahara Sand.  Its not very even at all.  I like them both.  But I think I like this one just a little bit more. 


Alrighty then.  Grace made a special card just for fun yesterday.  She is still deciding on whether I can show you or not.  I think its great but we'll see what she decides. 

Thanks for stopping by and for all the congrats on winning Shelli's contest.  You guys are the best. 

Blessings, b.

Time Out for mom

Happy 3 day weekend everyone!  I'm so glad for the extra day.  I feel like I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off this week. 

Sorry for the visual there..............my Grandma used to say that all the time.  

Anyhow, I did lots of running around today so I can stay home the rest of the weekend.  I want to stamp.  I need to stamp.  I miss my stamps. 

So after dinner tonight I said, "Mom is taking a Time Out."  They all looked at me like I was nuts.  I rinsed off my plate, sat at my desk, plugged in my earbud thingys and stamped.  Made the hubs clean the kitchen.  Su-weeeeet!  

So I sit down and no stamping ideas come to me.  I'm all dried up!  You know that saying, "Use it or lose it!"  So I looked through my inspiration stack of pics and found a card by Dawn McVey (you can google her) and decided to copy it.  Well, mostly copy it.  You know, once you get going, your own ideas take over. 

See?

A Word for You, Medallion and Elements of Style stamps.  Crumb cake, soft suede, cajun craze and early espresso cardstock.  Soft Suede and Versamark inks.  Kraft taffeta ribbon (retired), Newsprint DSP, Leaves #2 die, Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder and dimensionals. 

I like how it turned out.  You can hardly see it but I stamped the Elements of Style roses on the Early Espresso piece in Versamark.  My Early Espresso ink isn't here yet.  When is it coming?  I'm trying to be patient. 

I also stamped the Medallion on the Cajun Craze in Versamark because my ink isn't here yet either.


Patience is a virtue.  I wish I was more virtuous.

I've been wanting to use the Leaves #2 die lately.  I'm ready for fall.  The leaf was actually a last minute addition.  I like the dimension the embossing folder gives to it. 

I sponged some soft suede on there so the design would pop. 

Apparently my time is up on my Time Out because I have everyone right here, reading along, giving their comments (which aren't very nice), bugging me, wanting to know when I'll be done.........geez, I love my family. 

Thanks for stopping by.  I plan on having another Time Out tomorrow. 

Blessings, b.