beach retreat swaps...and guest blog post!

Surprise!

I'm finally back from an unexpected blogging break...miss me? 

The start to the school year and the craziness that has brought to our daily lives has been something I wasn't expecting. My daughter started 1st grade this year and unexpectedly has had a rough beginning. She was filled with lots of nervousness and anxiety after the third day of school and started each day in tears and not wanting me to leave her there all day long. I really did not expect my "independent butterfly" to act this way. Thankfully, her teachers say she doesn't stay tearful for long and goes through the rest of the day just fine. She's such a people pleaser and rule follower (a little something she got from me, I do admit) that everything unfamiliar is making her anxious that she'll do something wrong. We're taking it one day at a time but I am already seeing major improvement! My son started Junior Kindergarten 4 days a week in the mornings (2 1/2 hours) and for some reason I thought I would have all this "free time"to work on Stampin' Up! (ha!)...dare I forget that I have a house to keep in order? *wink*

So...here I go ready to carve out some bits and pieces of time to be able to share some creative inspiration with you all!

I want to start out by sharing that I have the privilege today to be the guest blogger on the cute little blog called Pink Paper Bakery. Deena Boos (no relation to me, but how fun is it that we share the same last name?!) contacted me about sharing something for Magnificent Monday and I was flattered at the opportunity. Thanks, Deena!

I decided to share my "make n take" swap card I created for the downline/upline beach retreat I went on with some of my fellow demonstrators a couple of weekends ago. This card was one of those cards that, when it came together, I was thrilled at how it turned out! I just love all of the dimension to it and can you count how many Framelit Dies I used on this card? Those dies might just be my new obsession...and who doesn't love the new Elegant Butterfly punch?! I was a little skeptical at first, but it quickly became my new favorite!

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I had such a great time with the other three gals that were there at the beach retreat. We laughed, stamped, ate, stamped, talked, ate, stamped, shared techniques, laughed some more, ate some more, talked some more, and stamped even more! It was so fun to share ideas with each other and I came away excited about some of the new things that were shared.

We each brought a "make n take" swap we could all make together...

Card by Tami Gaumer
{I tweaked it a little since I can't leave well enough alone, but I love her idea to use the ribbon slides with the Gumball Green ribbon and the Core'dinations paper really makes the spider web embossing stand out!}

 Card by Laura Howell

{Laura shared with us the fun technique of tucking the flap behind the flower for a twist on your typical card.}

 

Card by Andrea Botten

{Our fearless leader, friend, and upline shared with us this fun fold for a new twist on a card, as well. I forgot to add the Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details to the gingerbread's buttons. Bummer!}

 She also shared with us the Triple Time Stamping Technique...along with many other techniques, tips, and tricks! She's a wealth of knowledge that girl!

 We had such a great time and as much as I LOVE being with my family, there's just something about getting away every once in awhile to spend the whole weekend doing something you love...and not having to clean up after anyone else by yourself!