A sparkle tree

In my last post I mentionned a foam stamping product for which I couldn't remember the name. I had to search through a product catalog at the store until I found it. It's called Penn Score. The product has been around many years. Doreen was cleaning out drawers of demo products & found it. I decided to play with it. I really like the results for the bird.

Today, I put together another card using Hero Arts stamps from a Clear Design set called "Trees, Birds & Messages". The set includes 2 birds, a tree, branch, squirrel & several verses as well as some smaller elements.

For this card, I stamped the tree in black. I used watercolors to paint the leaves, flowers & background. I added a slope of ground in brown across the bottom. Once the paint had dried, I added Stickles glitter glues for some sparkle. Stamp "enjoy" & add a bow to the tree. Mat on a salmon/pink paper. The scallops were cut & embossed of a soft green vellum using the largest Spellbinders Nestabilities Square. Since my image was not a square, I trimmed an edge off of the scallops & glued it in place at the top of the tree. It's really hard to tell that it's been pieced, isn't it? Adhere it all to a lime green Bazzil card. Voila! A mini piece of art to brighten someone's day!

Enjoy!

Just for you, Mary

Enjoy!

Both cards use stamps by Hero Arts. The birds are from the same stamp "Bird on a Branch". The background in blue with white birds & branches is stamped exactly as the stamp is. The bird on the tag is the same bird only I created a stamp with a foam product to get a reverse image. I've forgotten the name of the product. It's been around for a long time. Anyone know what it's called? I used my heat tool to heat the foam & then pressed it against the stamp. I then have a stamp in reverse of the original. I used Colorbox Chalk inks to color the image before I stamped it. I added a dot for the eye with a black marker & used a light tan marker to draw in the legs. Both cards use the same message from the Sparkle Messages set. The tree background is called "Designblock Tree".

(For everyone who doesn't know Mary - she works at Fond Memories. She's always fun & positive. Today, she told me, with a sparkle in her eye, that she was waiting for a new card sample on the blog. Voila! That's all it took to get me inspired to create these cards. Thanks, Mary!)

Spellbinders dies

Spellbinders dies are back in stock. All the circle, square, rectangle & oval Nestabilities are back in stock. There are now 2 oval styles: one of which is new to FM. The shape is more elongated. We now have the Petite Scalloped circles. The scallops on these dies are quite small.

While I was at CHA, I checked out the Spellbinders booth and all the new dies to be released in September. I ordered most of the new ones, too. I'm really excited about the great shapes for the new Nestabilities. They are expected to be in stock around mid September, just in time for the workshop. Sometime after the workshop, we're planning a weekend card stamping event featuring the Spellbinders dies. Check back for more info

New stamps......

I'm excited to show everyone some of the new stamps at the store from two stamp companies that are new to Fond Memories: Paperbag Studios & Cornish Heritage Farms.

These 2 photos show some of the stamps from Paperbag Studios all lined up on the shelf. Aren't these wonderful?

Here are some sets of cling mounted stamps fromCornish Heritage Farms.

Stamps from both of these companies will be used at the workshop! We're excited to showcase these new stamps!

Emails were sent out today with registration information. It's only 2 months away!

A Great CHA Trip

I'm back from CHA full of ideas & inspiration! I saw some great new products, met some wonderful people & enjoyed the creative displays. I ordered some great new things for the store from Penny Black, Hero Arts, Graphic 45, Spellbinders, Cornish Heritage Farms, Stampers Anonymous & Cloud 9. I wish all the orders would be here this week! You can see the new designs from these companies by going to their websites.

One of my favorite booths to visit is the Ranger booth. They do a wonderful job displaying their products with lots of wonderful inspirational samples. My sister, Kathy, came along with me to to help choose things to order, keep me company & enjoy all the creative displays. She's a stamper, too. While I was busy placing some orders, she enjoyed watching Tim Holtz demonstrate his products at the Ranger booth. Tim created the awesome sample that Kathy is holding with some of his new stamps on an Adirondack Alcohol Ink background. I ordered that stamp set which will be coming around the first of September.

I did have a chance to say "hi" to Tim & pose for this photo! He always has such great tips for using Ranger products. One of his new products is the holder for the Mini Misters that you can see at the bottom of the photo. He also has some great new masks premiering in September. One of them is the music staff that's just visible near the Glossy Accents bottle towards the right/ bottom of photo.

CHA, here I come!

Today, I'm scurrying around my house getting ready to leave for CHA very early tomorrow. I have laundry going, my suitcse half packed, finished a few small sewing jobs, etc. I tend to start numerous projects. By the end of the day, I'll finish them all.

Kathy gave me instructions to order some of the new Spellbinders dies. Have you seen them? They are great. If you check their website, you'll find links to their designers' blogs. Each designer previewed some of the new dies over a 2 week period. They inspired me!

Ranger has some new Stickles glitter glues that will premier at CHA. Some are Tim Holtz Stickles matching many of the Distress inks. Can't wait to see those! Several other colors are in Suze Weinberg's line & will be extra sparkly & glitzy. I'll be sure to check out all of them.

I must keep working on my numerous projects. I hope to get a chance to post while in Chicago.

Until next time, keep smiling!

Wow, how time flies..........

I can't believe it's been over a week since I last wrote. Besides work, I spent all last week catching up on lawn & garden work as well as getting ready for family here this weekend. It was so fun to have my 3 grandchildren visit with my daughter. We went to Walnut Grove on Saturday to take in the activities at the park: pony rides, kiddie train rides, playing on the playground equipment (a big hit with Josh & Logan) & vendor booths. Josh & Logan each got raccoon caps. We also watched the Laura Look Alike contest for awhile. It was fun to see all the girls dressed as "Laura". It was the first weekend of the Wilder Pageant. Lots of visitors were in town. Of course, we also stopped at Fond Memories. The kids loved the toys while their mom checked out the scrapbooking supplies.
Last week, Kathy, Doreen & I worked on a stamp order from a new company. We're excited about the stamps. We have one workshop project planned to feature this new company. I'll let you know when the stamps arrive at the store. Until then, I'll keep you in suspense.
I plan to attend the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) show this week. I so enjoy seeing all the new products as well as wonderful samples. I'll be looking for new products & checking our favorite companies for their new lines. It's always fun & inspiring!

At the lake

Good morning! Happy 4th of July!
Today, I'm at my sister's lake home in northern Minnesota. We're enjoying a beautiful day of sunshine, warm temps & family time. The scenery is great.

Closed for the 4th

Fond Memories will be closed on July 4th. Hope your celebrations are fun! The store will be open on Sundays for the Wilder Pageant weekends from 9-4. See the "Events" listings on the left side of the blog for dates.
For all the Laura Ingalls Wilder & "Little House on the Prairie" fans, there will be a guest appearance by Lindsay & Sidney Greenbush who portrayed "Carrie Ingalls" on NBC's Little House on the Prairie 1974-1982 on Saturday, July 19th. Use the following link for more information http://www.walnutgrove.org/greenbush.htm . You'll find more information about Walnut Grove & the Pageant at http://www.walnutgrove.org