Baseball...Baseball...Baseball...

Need to ask what I have been doing this summer? Of course not. This is the first summer my son has participated in a travelling baseball league. Has it been fun? Yes, we don't have totravel far for our games but we did travel a couple of weekends ago to Kalamazoo, MI. This was their first tournament "away" from home and they did really well, won 2 - loss 1. Here is a pic of Alex after having to slide back to 3rd base about 3 times (the pitcher thought he could catch my baby leading off) and finally coming into home.

And here is a little relaxation (and M&M's) in between games:

WHEW!!!!!!.......

Imagine yourself high above everyone else on a roller coaster...it looks like you can touch the clouds...you hear the faint wind in your ears...you're shaking...you close your eyes, and WHISHHHHHH...you go full speed ahead...down...faster...down...faster...down...you can't take anymore...faster...down...faster...down...and...it seems like there is no relief in site!

Now you have a slight picture of my summer. It has been one long roller coaster ride with no breaks. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, but boy would I love just a few days of sitting around doing absolutely nothing. I started doing classes this summer, which have been totally fun. I love thinking of the projects and I especially love that they really enjoy what they are making and learning. I have finished a few monthly swaps this summer, I went back to school to get my degree, and even though I am not going to the Stampin' Up convention I did sign up for a scrapbook swap so I have been working on that. My SU upline hosted a "Conventional" that I attended. Oh my gosh, what a wonderful event! It was so informative and the projects we did were amazing. I will posting these pictures int he next couple of days. Actually I will doing a lot of postings since I have so much to share...finally!!!

Bare with me...I'll be blogging on a regular basis real soon.

Now let's get to some fun stuff:

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to do some kind of container that would hold a baby shower gift and they also wanted a matching card. When I came across this cute template from Papertrey Ink I knew I had to try it. Here is my creation:

I was so happy with the results. My customer only had one requirement, she wanted me to use the picture of the little girl somewhere because this was going to be a mural in the new baby's nursery. I was able to capture the mural on the picnic basket and the card. I don't know if you can tell but I left the bottom part of the picture loose so she could lift it up and write her message inside the card. She was so grateful and mentioned how her gift was talk of the baby shower.

Supplies:

Cardstock: SU Kraft, Certainly Celery, & Very Vanilla

Accessories: Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon, Clear Rhinestone Brads, Flower(unknown)

Want a chance to win this....

Then make your way over to Stampin Addicts!

What's Stampin Addicts you ask? Well it is a great site for all your paper crafting needs. And right now they are having a contest that will knock your socks off. Have you seen all the new and wonderful Big Shot dies, texture plates and embossing folders in the new SU catty? Well with this contest you have the opportunity of winning this wonderful combination pack.

So have I peeked your interest? Want to know how you can enter to win this great Big Shot Pack? All you need to do is write a short post on your blog about the contest and send an email back to SA linking your post. It's that easy. And if you don't have a blog, you can even make the notice on your Twitter or Facebook page. How easy is that? Click HERE for all the contest details.

A BIG Reveal!!!

A BIG HELLO to Michelle Krupa!!!!

This post is for my SCS July Secret Sister Michelle.

Have you guys ever participated in a secret sister swap? Well I am currently participating in a month long ss swap. Now this consisted of purchasing 31 items for your secret sis so that she will have something to open everyday of the month. Now I know it sounds a little crazy but it was really fun. So I sent my ss card kits, skittles (one of her favorite candies), ribbon, I can't mention everything, she still has to open some things. Now being the complete airhead that I can be sometimes, I forgot to include a little card to let my ss know who I was. So I thought linking her to my blog would be a good way to "reveal" myself.

First I was super excited to get a ss that lived in Illinois, same as me. Then I was extra shocked when I learned she lived in Chicago, not that far from me. We are still probably a good 45 minutes away from each other but the way I drive I'm sure I could knock off about 10 or 15 minutes. So what a neat thing to be able to meet someone on SCS and have the opportunity to actually be able to meet them in person as well. I did some cyber stalking and found out she is getting married soon and taking a wonderful honeymoon oversees. I do wish her and her soon-to-be hubby the best of luck. And once the craziness of the wedding passes and she is all rested from a great honeymoon, maybe we can get together on a Saturday and meet in person and swap some great craft secrets. I'll defintely have to try to change what "sox" she wears. She likes wearing red. And now that she lives in Chicago we have to get her to start wearing white, even if she does live on the north side. She'll know what I mean-LOL.

Hope to meet you soon Michelle. And hope you are having fun opening your gifts.

The End of Monthly Swaps

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to share my last 3 cards I did for the monthly swap groups I have been participating in for the past 6 months. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed conversating with the ladies on Splitcoast who participated. Most of us have decided to take a break, but we may do this again once the summer fun has ended. But I have to say that I probably won't do 3 groups again. Even though it was a lot of fun, it was very time consuming. Plus, I would like to put a little more time into my part-time SU business. Coming up with great projects and actually doing samples does take a lot time and planning. So if you don't have an SU demo at your hands let me help you out. Even if you live out of the Illinois area, I'll be happy to bring the benefits and the fun of SU to your doorstep.