I'll take SCRAPBOOKS for $100, Alex

SCRAPBOOKS for $100: Yes, seriously!

buzz ! ~ what is Do you stamp in your scrapbook?

I had the best time watching these puffins at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward.  

The visit was included in a land and cruise tour as we ended the land tour in Seward where we picked up the ship for the inner passage cruise. These playful guys were seemingly laughing at themselves and their playmates as they swam and dove and played hide and seek. 

I felt just like a child, tickled to death to watch and to hear them. I am not sure how long we stayed watching, until Dave had to drag me out to get to the ship I expect. Needless to say, I took several, plus a few extra, pictures of them.

I knew I wanted them to have their own space in my Alaska album. And that was before I ever saw

Party Puffins

Party Puffins stamp set will be released on the May 4 launch of the Stampin' Up! 

2021 - 2022 Annual Catalog. 

This was the perfect embellishment for this page. I simply stamped two puffin designs in Momento Tuxedo Black Ink on Basic White cardstock and colored in the bills and feet with Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Blends. Then a little fussy cutting and they flew right onto my page of photos.

Stampin' Up! has lots of stamp sets featuring animals, trees, flowers that can be used in scrapbooks.

On the same land and sea cruise I went whale watching. Those creatures were quite hard to photograph; every picture looks like a splash or a fluke. But, I was excited to see them so I clicked away anyway. I will journal the excitement beside some mediocre pictures, but with some cool punches from the Stampin' Up! Whale punch.

My scrapbook stash includes many Stampin' Up! products: Memories and More Cards, dies, punches, 12 x 12 cardstock, Stampin' Blends, Take Your Pick Tool and of course the Stampin' Cut and Emboss Machine and the Mini. I tucked my Mini right into a satchel and headed off to a scrapbook retreat last weekend ~ die cut letters for titles. 

If you need any of these tools and product, you can shop directly from this blog site - except for the Party Puffins, they land on May 4.  

Please share any ideas you have; ask any questions. 

So, do I stamp in my scrapbooks? Yes, seriously!

Let's stamp!

 I Am A Pearl Girl!

Do I have a little black dress?

   not at the moment, 

   (don't tell Mama)

Do I have a pearl necklace?

    but of course!

(and earrings, bracelets, ring) 

I was born a pearl girl. Born in the month of June, my birthstone is a pearl. Mama named me Margaret, the meaning of which is pearl. Depending on what you read, the pearl is associated with the moon. It is symbolic of hidden strength and wisdom, terribly feminine. Well, I am not sure about all that (except I am attracted to the moon and the man in the moon and moonbeams and  ...), but, there is a fellowship of several liked-minded girls that takes strenth in our friendship, and we refer to ourselves as The Pearl Girls.

So, with all of the embellishments that Stampin' Up! offers to add a little elegance, sparkle and bling to our cards, which embellishment do you suppose I reach for first?

                                    as pictured in Stampin' Up! 2020-2021 Annual Catalog, pp. 156 -157

Not hard to guess, right?  Pearls!

Find Pearl Basic Jewels in the Annual Catalog on page 156. A package contains 140 pearls in three sizes. 

Now, if you think basic is not fancy enough, you can color those white pearls with Stampin' Blends alcohol markers. Would you prefer Blushing Bride or Purple Posy? Easy. Color all over the pearl piece, pick up with the Take Your Pick Tool and place on your card.

as pictures in the 2020-2021 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog, p. 159

They are adhesived backed so will stay in place. But you'll need more than one pearl, seriously!

And if pearl is not your gem of choice, take a look at our rhinestones, gilded gems, frosted droplets ...

Shop in my 'jewelry' store that you can access directly from this blog; I am also happy to place an order for you. 

http://www.stampinup.com/shared-lists/051a9ca6-4a45-4e35-ade5-8e249333b773?;

Let's dress up those cards!  

 I Hear the Ice Cream Truck!

Did the ice cream truck used to come through your neighborhood, drive slowly down the street until a gaggle of youngsters ran to stop it?  Do you remember what tunes it played? 

The Smithsonian's  National Museum of American History collection includes a 1938 Chevrolet White Good Humor Truck. probably from Boston, MA.

 

photo pictured on www.si.edu/newsdesk/snaps

According to cultural history, Harry Burt of Youngstown, Ohio produced the Good Humor Bar in 1920, a vanilla ice cream bar covered in chocolate and frozen on a stick.  It was the wooden stick that revolutionized the way ice cream became easier to eat and enjoy. And the cherry on top? Burt began selling his patented cool treat from trucks rather than push carts.  Now the ice cream truck drivers could drive as far and as long as they wanted, unhindered by the manual pushing of those wooden carts.

Something I did not know until I began reading about the ice cream trucks and their music boxes, before Burt's trucks, ice cream men used to sell Penny Licks, a small bowl of ice cream that the customer licked clean. The bowl was returned to the vendor who rinsed it out from his cart and filled again for the next customer. Hmmm .... could have been the reason Burt had his men drive white trucks and wear white uniforms.

Confession ~ I did not grow up with ice cream trucks. There were soda fountains in drug stores and there were High's Ice Cream Shops in Norfolk.  

But stuck in my memory is a short little girl with bangs, in a dress, holding a grape popsicle out of the window of a monstrous sherbet green Pontiac of the late 50's (I had to kneel on the front seat to even reach the window). And I can see my brother standing at the ready with the garden hose to wash down the sticky purple streaks on the side of the car. 

My best friend's mom made popsicles in the freezer for us; I can remember tupperware-like molded ice treats. She also froze Kool Aid in small paper cups and added that stick to hold on to. 

I have just have to say, ice cream sticks and popsicle sticks do little to prevent a mess when eating, especially for children.  Right?

 

Well, one neat way to enjoy these treats today 

is with April's Paper Pumpkin kit, So Cool. 

Not from the ice cream man, but from Stampin' Up!, this paper crafting kit is delivered to your door and it includes supplies to craft 12 colorful, fun shaped cards with coordinating envelopes. This is a perfect kit to share with the youngsters in your life: grandchildren, students, Sunday School children ~ make the cards with children, send the cards to children, or order an entire kit for children to have and craft on their own. 

                   Take a look here:  https://youtu.be/5kN4485fYdQ.

I am ready to treat anyone and everyone who orders the April Paper Pumpkin So Cool kit to an icy treat (a gift certificate to your favorite ice cream shop) ~ you must be a new or returning Paper Pumpkin customer and order by April 9.  There is an orange Paper Pumpkin button to your right on this blog for your convenience in ordering;  please list me as your Demonstrator when prompted. Of course, I am also happy to order for you if you wish ~ just call or email me with your order. 

And if you need more really cool treats, Stampin' Up! has a new suite of products,  Ice Cream Corner. Choose from a stamp set of 18 images and sentiments, an Ice Cream Punch, Designer Series Paper featuring refreshing colors and treats, coordinating ribbon and a package of multi-colored Sprinkles embellishments. The colors in the suite coordinate with the Paper Pumpkin kit, too! 

                as pictured in the Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog January - June, p. 48

The suite product is available through June and may be ordered here or with me. This is a happy stamp set on its own, even if you do not order the Paper Pumpkin kit (I think I see a future class using this suite).

So, what's your favorite cool treat? I love most anything that has the word chocolate or brownie attached to it:  Brownie Sundae, Rocky Road, Belgian Chocolate Gelato, and I have stories about each flavor, recent stories even!

But what I treasure the most about ice cream is the memory of watching the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights with an ice cream sundae that Daddy made: simply vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and peanuts. 

Let's stamp!