Topsy Turvy Crazy Upside Down

It's been two months and one day since my last post and this blog post title doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of just how crazy our life has been. The best four words I can use to describe what I'm talking about, with the least amount of elaboration, are ... HOUSE ON THE MARKET.  The next best four words are ... WE HAVE NO INTERNET. That my friends, explains my absence even more, and out of desperation, the final four words would be ... FINALLY MOVED STAMPING STUFF. By no means did I move ALL of it, I moved just enough for me to be able to create as a means to not completely lose my sanity!!

After unpacking the few boxes of bare necessities that I moved I was able to create the Halloween card below that made me pretty dang happy because it felt soooo good to be able to create ... again ... finally!!! 

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Going forward, if you would like to keep up with my creations during our moving transition, please visit and "like" my Handmade By Hallie Facebook Page. I will post as many of my creations as I can there. 

One final note, if you are in need of Stampin' Up! supplies and need to place an order, I would absolutely LOVE for you to visit my SU! Website, especially during this transition phase of our lives. I would honestly appreciate the help with my quarterly minimums since I am between houses and without internet. If and when you do place an order, PLEASE leave me your contact information. I PROMISE that I will not bother you (I'm sooo NOT the pushy sales type), but instead, I'd love to send you a Thank You card, handmade by me!! 

Until my next blog post ... Happy Stamping & God Bless you and yours!!!

~Hallie

August Design Team Projects

Now that my August Stampin' Up! Creative Crew Design Team projects are live on splitcoaststampers.com, I am excited to finally be able to share them with you.  All three of my projects were designed as a quick and simple way to give a small gift whether it be for a friend, teacher, co-worker, and/or neighbor. Since the audience I created my projects for is primarily Stampin' Up! demonstrators, I designed my gifts with a Stampin' Up! workshop hostess in mind.

Project #1:  Accordion box with notecards & envelopes.

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Project #2:  Card "purse" with matching notecards.

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Project #3:  Stationary Set

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That's all for now ... I hope you've enjoyed this month's projects.

~Hallie

Final Design Team Sneak Peek

Hello Everyone,

I'm dropping in really quickly to post the final sneak peek of my final three Stampin' Up! Creative Crew Design Team projects. I will post all three projects on Monday, after they go live on Sunday. Until then, happy peeking!!!

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Life is going to be crazy this weekend; however, I will definitely post if I have time to create!!

Until next time ...

~Hallie

Hallie's Helpful Hint

Howdy Friends,

I'm busy working on my last Design Team project but I wanted to give you a quick helpful hint ...

When opening a new pack of DSP, turn the pack over and write the NAME of the DSP and the COLORS in the pack on the back.

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No more wondering what colors coordinate with the papers because the information is all right there at your fingertips. That's all for now!! I hope you find my hint helpful. If you have other time saving tricks, please share them in the comments.

Blessings!!

~Hallie

A Cheesy Birthday

Greetings Stamping Friends,

I haven't had a chance to sit down at my desk and create since my last post because LIFE happened.  As I've mentioned before, I wear many different "hats" and yesterday's hat was my ranch hat.  After church, my hubby and I moved cattle from my mother's farm 60 miles away to his family owned ranch here in the small Texas town where we live. As a result, I didn't get to do any stamping so tomorrow I plan to wear my "creative hat" and finish my last Design Team project. Thankfully I know what I'm doing, I just need to make myself sit down and do it. 

In the meantime, I will share the card that I made for my sister-in-law's birthday. You know, the card that I made and then didn't mail!! UGH!! Needless to say, I mailed it today and she will have it tomorrow.

I used the MOJO341 sketch for the layout of my card and paper pierced around the edge of my stamped image. Speaking of images, I just love the Giggle Greetings stamp set but will admit that I wasn't crazy about this particular stamp at first because I thought it was CHEESY (tee hee hee). Now I just giggle every time I see it. What's your thought about the set?!?

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That's all for me today. I hope to have the sneak peek of my final DT project for you tomorrow.

Happy Stamping!

~Hallie

Stamp Set:  Giggle Greetings
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock:  Melon Mambo; Pumpkin Pie; Daffodil Delight; Old Olive;Tempting Turquoise; Whisper White; Sweet Taffy DSP
Accessories: Embossing Folders (square lattice perfect polka dots); Stampin' Dimensionals
All supplies Stampin' Up! (you can order HERE) unless otherwise noted*.

How many hours?!?

After a L-O-N-G day in my stamping studio yesterday, 10.5 hours to be exact, I went to bed and realized that I hadn't blogged. As I laid there recapping my crafting hours, I realized that I hadn't blogged because I had worked on Design Team projects all afternoon/evening and I couldn't show you those projects. Hhhmmmppphhh!!!  So off to sleep I went. Now fast forward to this morning. I woke up bothered that I hadn't blogged and decided to photograph the two projects that I completed and then crop a portion of them for you to see as a sneak peek today. I still have one more project to make and then all three (or more) of my projects will go live during the Splitcoaststampers Creative Crew Gone Wild - Week of August 10-16. Once my projects are live on August 10th, I will post them here on my blog for you to see.

Project #1:

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Project #2:

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If you will recall from a previous post, I mentioned a birthday card and intended to post the actual card today after it's recipient got it out of her mailbox. Well ... I waited all week to mail the card yesterday so she would get it today (on her birthday) and then I ... DID NOT ... mail it!! UGH!!!  Time completely got away from me and by the time I realized that I hadn't mailed it, the post office employees were snoring I'm sure was long closed.  So ... I texted my sister-in-law a picture of the addressed envelope and told her I'd mail it as soon as the post office employees woke up opened on Monday since it is a square card ... in a square envelope ... that requires special handling ... and extra postage!!  Despite my mishap ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LG ~ I hope your day is filled with many birthday blessings and is as special as you are!!!

That's all for me today so I will see you back here on Monday when I blog about the birthday card that I forgot to mail made for my sister-in-law!

Enjoy your weekend!!

~Hallie

So Very Quilted

Hi Friends,

Today's card turned out *nothing* like what I had envisioned when I started out. When I sat down to create I was at a total loss of where to start so I went to the Freshly Made Sketches blog for some inspiration. I knew I wanted to use the So Very Grateful stamp set because I was being lazy had stamped an extra image yesterday that I didn't use. The FMS sketch was fairly straightforward and simple so I decided to give it a try.  I started off with some Pacific Point and Daffodil Delight cardstock and some Sweet Taffy DSP but that didn't last very long. Once I had colored my bouquet image I couldn't make the colors work with the sketch so I scrapped that idea and decided to interpret the sketch *very* loosely.  I decided on Basic Black and Melon Mambo for my card colors, used four panels across the front instead of three, and moved the accent embellishment to the opposite side. Like I said, a very loose interpretation which, given my OCD / Type "A" personality, was a huge success for me because I normally follow a sketch exactly the way it is drawn. I absolutely *love* the final product! The burst of color is eye catching while my card remains simple clean, and crisp. Mission Accomplished!!

The downside of creating such a beauty is that it will be sitting on my desk for a while because, well, I don't want to give it away just yet ...

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... and because I usually create with a purpose (this card was for one of my church door greeters), I will have to start fresh tomorrow to make the Thank You cards for my greeters in appreciation for their service.

That's all for now ... I will be busy creating tomorrow.

Happy Stampin'!!

Hallie

Stamp Set:  So Very Grateful
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock:  Basic Black, Melon Mambo; Whisper White
Accessories: Embossing Folders (square lattice & (retired) finial press); Baker's Twine (white); Buttons (neutrals); Basic Pearls; Stampin' Dimensionals
All supplies Stampin' Up! (you can order HERE) unless otherwise noted*.

A Birthday R.A.K.

Hello Dear Readers!!

Let me start off by explaining that R.A.K. stands for Random Act of Kindness, and that is exactly what today's card is. About a month ago a friend of mine on Facebook (Venesa) announced that her grandmother (Dorothy) will be turning 100 in September. Venesa posted that she would like to present Dorothy with 100 birthday cards on her special day. Venesa then asked everyone who saw her post to PLEASE send a card to help her reach her goal. She also said to feel free to spread the word far and wide and that's where YOU, my dear readers, come in. It's been a month since Venesa's first post and so far she has only received approximately 30 cards {GASP!} so I'm hoping that you will take the time to send Dorothy a card regardless of whether it is handmade or store bought. 

I now present to you ... Ms. Dorothy Gracy

If you are willing to participate, please send your card to: 

Dorothy Gracy

c/o Evelyn Page
P.O. Box 758
Liberty Hill, TX 78642

So it wouldn't be fair for me to beg of you to send Dorothy a card if I didn't have a card that I made her ready to show you - right?!?  That's what I thought ... so ... here ya go!!!

Ladies & Gentleman, the R.A.K. that I made for Ms. Dorothy.

 

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That's all from me for now. I hope you will take the time to send Ms. Dorothy a card too. I will be So Very Grateful!!!

Happy Cardmaking!!!

Hallie

Stamp Set:  So Very Grateful
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock:  Melon Mambo; Daffodil Delight; Lucky Limeade (retired); Pacific Point; Whisper White; Sunshine & Sprinkles DSP (retired)
Accessories: Nestabilities* (circles & scallop circles); Embossing Folders (perfect polka dots & square lattice); Basic Pearls; Paper Piercing Tool; Stampin' Dimensionals
All supplies Stampin' Up! (you can order HERE) unless otherwise noted*.

Birthday Hairballs

Hi Stampers!!

With a catchy title like that and no story to tell, I'll dive right in and show you the birthday card that I made for my mom using the Giggle Greetings stamp set and the layout from MOJO352.

I absolutely *LOVE* the Giggle Greetings stamp set because of its cute images and witty sayings.  Anyway, my card is fairly straightforward so if you have any questions just let me know by leaving a comment below.

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I have another Giggle Greetings birthday card ready to go; however, I can't show you until after my sister-in-law's birthday on Saturday.

That's all for now ...

Happy Stampin'!!

Hallie

Stamp Set:  Giggle Greetings
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock:  Melon Mambo; Pumpkin Pie; Daffodil Delight; Old Olive; Tempting Turquoise; Rich Razzleberry; Whisper White; Sweet Taffy DSP
Accessories: Nestabilities* (circles); Embossing Folders (arrows); Buttons (brights); Baker's Twine; Paper Piercing Tool; Googlie Eyes; Stampin' Dimensionals
*All supplies Stampin' Up! (you can order HERE) unless otherwise noted.

Stay Tuned ...

... to this blog near you!!!

Assuming I can remember how to write and publish posts, I will be back to creating and blogging {full-time} very shortly.  My drastic life change that happened here has reversed itself which means creating and sharing is once again on the horizon.

It's hard to believe that I haven't blogged since the middle of June, but life was so crazy that I simply didn't have time to create anything for my July Design Team commitments so I had nothing to blog about. {Yikes!} Having said that, August is now two days away so I will be super busy during the next 48 hours creating, photographing, and preparing to publish my August Design Team work.  #ibettergetbusy

For you lucky readers that have stuck around (#thankyouforyourloyalty), I will be back tomorrow to share the cah-ute card that I made for my mother's birthday today.

So sit back and stay tuned ... I will be back tomorrow!!!

Stampin' Hugs!!

Hallie

A mouse for a MOUSE!!

Being in my craft room today was a much needed and extremely welcomed escape from the hectic and crazy thing called LIFE!! Sadly, between a husband, two teenagers, two dogs, five cats, one bearded dragon, a river turtle, a beta, our {HUGE} sprinkler system installation, and a partridge in a pear tree dealing with preliminary swimming pool plans; card making hasn't been in my schedule lately!! I am hopeful, yet doubtful, that consistent crafting will once again be in my near future. A girl can dream - can't she?!? Anyway ... 
In order for my card (and the title of this post) to make sense you need to know that my sixteen year old nephew's nickname is "mouse". Of course with a nickname like that you know there is a story; however, I won't bore you with the details. Instead, I present to you my "a mouse for a MOUSE" card!!!

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As you can tell by looking at my card, it was a pretty straight forward and easy design.  I used MOJO350 for the layout and chose Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, and Real Read as my colors. Due to its simplicity, I won't go into any details so if you have questions please leave a comment.

That's all for now!!

Hugs, Smiles, and Happy Stamping!

~Hallie

\ˈkraft ˈrüm \

craft  noun  \ˈkraft\
: an activity that involves making something in a skillful way by using your hands

room  -noun-  \ˈrüm, ˈru̇m\

: a part of the inside of a building that is divided from other areas by walls and a door and that has its own floor and ceiling

craft room  -noun-  \ˈkraft ˈrüm \

: a part of the inside of a building that is divided from other areas by walls and a door and that has its own floor and ceiling that is used for an activity that involves making something in a skillful way by using your hands

... or in my case

 craft room  -noun-  \ˈkraft ˈrüm \ 
: a room in my house that I have not entered in two weeks; therefore, there has been no activity involving making something in a skillful way by using my hands

The good news ...
I am in my craft room today creating with this oldie but goodie ...

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... so make sure and check back later to see what I have skillfully made using my hands. *wink*

Hugs, Smiles, and Happy *skillfully making using your hands* 

~Hallie

June Design Team Work - Projects #3 & #4 Combo

Are you ready to see my final CCREW Design Team project for this month?!? {shake your head, yes} Great!! Let's get to it. 

Theme: Out with the Old, In with the New! What’s speaking to you from the new catalog or what will you miss that's retiring? Let’s go WILD! Anything that catches your eye with any new or existing products, it’s your time to get wild and share the muse!

DSP/Color Focus: Show us your favorite color. Try it in a color combo you haven't used before!

Hands down, one of my favorite SU! colors is DAFFODIL DELIGHT because it is such a bright, cheery, and happy yellow ... and then you add in some (now retired - UGH!!) Polka Dot Parade DSP (because we all know I'm a sucker for polka dots) and viola! I'm in crafting heaven. I used the MOJO347 Sketch for my layout and chose the color combination using my SU! Color Coach. I was a bit concerned when the color coach indicated Daffodil Delight should be paired with Pacific Point and Elegant Eggplant {yikes!} but I gave it a whirl anyway and I'm quite pleased with the result. I added in some Basic Gray to help tone down the other colors and of course I used my SU! Square Lattice and Decorative Dots Embossing Folders to add some texture to my card and that's how I got to the next challenge. 

Catalog Focus: Use your favorite product in your favorite way! Make us fall in love with it too!

If you have been following my blog for very long you know that I am an embossing folder feen. My embossing folders are my go-to tool on nearly everything I create. As a matter of fact, I'm not really sure how I functioned prior to their existence, but I did, and I'm super happy we have them now. I used the *NEW* Work of Art stamp set and oh.my.gosh, I'm pretty sure I'm in love!! Oh the possibilities!!!  Okay, so before I get lost in a day dream about my next card using that stamp set, I will show you the one I have ready to go. Ready?!? Viola!!!

 

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That wraps up this month's design team work so I'm off to print the challenges for July and *hopefully* have them completed sooner rather than later. {wishful thinking, I'm sure!} In the meantime, if you're stuck in a stamping lull and looking for some inspiration and/or a challenge, I highly recommend you boogie on over to the MOJO Monday and the Pals Paper Arts blogs. Great Stuff!!!

Hugs, Smiles, Blessings, and Happy Stamping!

~Hallie

June Design Team Work - Projects #1 & #2

You know it's been too long since your last post when your blog doesn't recognize you and requires you to sign in!! *sigh*

I am quickly coming to the conclusion that I am not an every.single.day blogger kind of girl right now. It's not that I don't want to blog every.single.day, it's simply that life continues to throw many unforeseen circumstances at me, and although it is frustrating at times, I strive to find the blessings amongst the chaos because the book of James tell us ...

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  James 1:2-4

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." James 1:12

...so between life's daily struggles and challenges, chauffeuring teenagers, my family visiting regularly, a new and completely unexpected (and fairly large) church commitment, my design team deadlines, organizing our family reunion that is two short weeks away, dog sitting, and most unexpectedly the death of a very dear loved one, onward I persevere towards my crown of life. 

Having  said all of that, I actually have a couple of design team projects to show you this week. I cheated was resourceful this month and used our family reunion invitation that I posted in my last blog post as my solution to the Holiday Focus challenge. The challenge was to celebrate your favorite holiday with a new technique and, although a Gatefold card isn't a "technique", I took the liberty to use it for the challenge since I added the inside pockets to hold the "cards" with the resort and RSVP information.

Theme: Out with the Old, In with the New! What’s speaking to you from the new catalog or what will you miss that's retiring? Let’s go WILD! Anything that catches your eye with any new or existing products, it’s your time to get wild and share the muse!

Holiday Focus: Celebrate your favorite holiday with a new technique!

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The next challenge, the Scrapbook and More challenge, was fun to work on and I'm thrilled with the way my project(s) turned out.

Scrapbook and More Focus: Celebrate your best friend on a scrapbook page or by making a gift for them.

For this challenge I chose to make a gift for my invisible friend so I wouldn't have to give it away. Naturally I was at a loss of what to make so I turned to my trusty little 3" binder that is chocked full of Becky Roberts' perfectly written tutorials. When I came across the set of three gift boxes in her 12 Days of Christmas - 2008 Edition, I went to work and created the awesome little ensemble below ... and since it's for one of my imaginary friends, I'll go ahead and tell you that it is proudly displayed on my desk so everyone who enters my craft room aka: my cats and dogs can see it.

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That wraps up two of the June challenges so I will be back tomorrow with the card I made that covers the last two challenges for this month.

NOTABLE INFORMATION:

The 2014-2015 Annual Catalog will be live at 12:00pm MST.

Click HERE to join my team and become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for only $50.00 AND attend our SU! Annual Convention (a $295 value) for FREE!!

Until tomorrow ...

 Hugs, Smiles, Blessings, and Happy Crafting!!!

~Hallie