It's only hours away!!!!!

The big grand opening is coming quickly!! Sherrod Studio will open for business tomorrow, July 1st at 12 midnight PST. There will be blog candy on the Sherrod Studio blog ( Sherrod Studio ) AND free shipping for orders placed July 1 through July 7!! Make sure to stop by the brand spanking new website at Sherrod Studio! You're going to LOVE what you see there!!

Here are 2 more peeks at what's in store for you!! The first card is from a set called By the Seashore. The set includes this adorable image of a boy and girl playing in the sand as well as a sand castle, a beach pail, a row of seashells and a whole slew of sentiments.
This card was made using SU Ruby Red and Chocolate Chip cardstock. The yellow DSP is from My Favorite Things. The image is stamped on GP110 white cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copics and is popped up on dimensionals. The ribbon was purchased at Michael's from their $1 bin. It looked sort of 'beachy' to me. The sand-colored brads are from Doodlebug.

This next card is from a set called Ella. Isn't she just the sweetest thing?? In this set you will get this image of Ella, the stack of presents, a single cupcake, a plate full of cupcakes and a bunch a wonderful sentiments. This is a set that can be used for many different occasions!!

All cardstock is from SU with the exception of the white which is GP110. The image is colored with Copics, of course! :) The pink and brown dotted ribbon is from my haul from the Offray Ribbon Outlet. The glitter adornments are from My Favorite Things and attached using Crystal Effects.

Make sure to check out the other design team members' blogs for more fabulous artwork using Sherrod Studio stamps. You will NOT be disappointed!!!

Mary V. http://mbryt1.blogspot.com/
Kathi http://kathiscreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Kim (owner) http://kimsherrodstudio.blogspot.com/
Dawn http://dawnmercedes.blogspot.com/
Ceal http://simplybeautifulcreations.blogspot.com/
Joseline http://stampinwithsimplicity.blogspot.com/
Kelly http://lamaisondepapier.blogspot.com/
Sherrod Studio http://sherrodstudio.blogspot.com/

Sneak Peek!!

I received my stamp sets from Sherrod Studio today and just couldn't wait to get into my hide-away to try them out!

This is my first card using Kim's brand new stamps. Meet Gracie. Isn't she adorable? I just LOVE her little feet! The Gracie line was created for charity and will go towards helping children's causes with the first being The Christmas Box International's Lifestart program. This program helps children who were in foster homes and are starting out on their own. You can find out more about it here:
http://www.operationkids.org/lifestart/

This stamp was SO easy to color using Copic markers. All papers are from Stampin' Up with the exception for the white- that is GP110. The grosgrain ribbons are from Offray and were purchased on our "Ribbon Run" a couple weekends ago. The brads are from Reflections. This Gracie set comes with a flower or balloons that Gracie can hold. There are several other flower stamps and several sentiments. I hope to have a couple more sneak peeks for you before the grand opening of Sherrod Studio's website on July 1st. Stay tuned!!

Favorite Photos

Here are a couple of my favorite photos from our cruise:

While docked in Boston, we took an excursion to Salem, MA. We visited the Salem Witch Museum, which I was quite disappointed with. I think they could have done so much more with the museum going into a little more detail about the accused and the witch hysteria. This is a photo of "Aunt Martha"s memorial stone. There are 20 stones, one for each of the executed, and are located in the old burial ground just up the street from the museum. My camera died just after I took this photo! Was Aunt Martha trying to tell me something?! :)
This photo was taken in Bar Harbor, Maine. I have never seen such fog before! And it rolls in and out VERY quickly!!! Bar Harbor is a cute little town and I would love to go back one day to explore it in detail!

This is the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia. Peggy's Cove is a quaint little fishing village with a population of about 60. This lighthouse is the most photographed lighthouse in the world. Nova Scotia is a beautiful place with wonderful backroads! One day, DH and I hope to take the motorcycles up that way to sightsee.

This is a photo of our ship as it went under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge...notice there isn't much room to spare!!! In reality, there was probably about 2 feet of space between the highest part of the ship and the bottom of the bridge...still, not much room in my opinion!!!

The trouble with cruises is that you're on someone else's time agenda...I don't feel that we really got to see anything in the 4 ports that we stopped in. One of these days we'll have to go back and see what all we missed!

Another Blog Award!!!

Here is another blog award that I received this week. Michelle sent me this beautiful award. I'm so honored! Thank you, Michelle!! Check out her great blog here --> Inky Scraps

Thanks, again, Michelle!

Exciting News!!!

Well, when I got back from the cruise, I had 211 emails waiting for me, but I had ONE very special email...telling me that I was chosen to be on the Design Team for Sherrod Studio- a brand new line of rubber stamps!!! I was SO thrilled to be selected!! Check out Kim's blog here- http://sherrodstudio.blogspot.com/ for some sneak peeks at their new stamps! I should be getting my stamps soon and can't wait to get started playing with them! Keep an eye here for my creations!! The new site at http://www.sherrodstudio.com/ will go live on July 1st. Make sure to check it out!!!

I'm baaaccckkk!

I've been MIA for about 9 days- we went on a cruise to New England and Canada...had a great time, although the weather was terrible- rain, mist, fog, drizzle, more rain, more mist, more fog and more drizzle...and even MORE fog!! Visited St. John and Halifax in Canada and then Bar Harbor, ME and Boston. Had a good time on the excursions Even got to Salem, MA and the Witches Museum...and got to see "Aunt Martha"s stone. My 7th great aunt, Martha Carrier, was hanged as a witch on August 19, 1692 in Salem. Took lots of great pics but haven't loaded them onto the computer, yet. Sure hope they turn out!!!

Check out this Blog Candy!

Check out Janet's blog over at Pink Gem Designs and take a chance to win her blog candy- a 25 British Pound voucher to use on her new website. Click here---> http://pinkgem-janet.blogspot.com/ Her stamps are SO adorable! Janet makes it so easy to order and shipping is lightning quick even from England!!! Run, don't walk and check it out!

It was a beautiful day...

...for a RIBBON RUN!!! Saturday, my good friend, Kathi and I, along with my DH, rode our motorcycles up to Hagerstown, MD to the Offray Ribbon Outlet. The weather was gorgeous, the backroad scenery was beautiful and the ribbon outlet was overwhelming!!! After shopping at the outlet we ate lunch at Cracker Barrel- yumm-- and the sweet tea sure hit the spot! It was so hot and I was SO thirsty! On our ride home, the skies started looking a little ominous, and we managed to dodge MOST of the raindrops, but DH and I did get a little wet right as we were getting home. All-in-all, we had a great day!

Here's what I got:
Spools of assorted ribbons ranging in price from 10 cents each to $5.00 each. Many are perfect matches for SU colors- especially the Certainly Celery! I got one role of floral ribbon that Kathi says should match some of the new In-Colors...which I can't wait to see!

Quart-sized bags of assorted ribbons were only 35 cents each. You can't tell much by the pictures but I got lots of different colors- blue, white, silver/gray, pink, brown, celery, a good assortment for fall/Thanksgiving, plus some more of the 10 cent rolls.

They also had an assortment of embellishments- crocheted flowers, felt flowers, 'yo-yo' gingham flowers for 10 cents per pack and I got a large bag of black ribbon roses for 25 cents. There was SO much more that I would have loved to have gotten, but this will keep me busy for a while. They had very large bags of one kind of ribbon for $1.00 but for the most part, they were ugly! I was only buying ribbons I knew I liked and that I knew I would use. If you're ever in the Hagerstown area, make sure to stop and check it out!! It's definitely worth the trip!!

Thanks, Loretta!

I'd like to thank Loretta for honoring me with this blog award.
The rules say that I am to tell you 10 things about me and then pass the award on to 7 other bloggers. So- here are the 10 things about me:

1. I grew up an Air Force "brat".
2. I ride my own motorcycle.
3. I'm afraid of heights.
4. I broke BOTH of my arms (at the same time!) when I was in 5th grade.
5. I'm TERRIFED of bats!
6. Laura Ingalls Wilder ("Little House on the Prairie") is my cousin.
7. I can write cursive backwards.
8. I can recite all 50 states in alphabetical order.
9. My 7th grand-aunt was hanged as a witch in 1692 in Salem, MA.
10. I LOVE Orioles baseball (even when they lose!)

Now, here are the 7 bloggers that I am passing this award on to:

Amanda
Jackie
Michelle
Stacy
Kimme
Tracy & the Meade Girls
Heidi

Thanks, girls! I really enjoy reading your blogs!

Inky Impressions Website now OPEN for business!

Nicole has finally launched her Inky Impressions Rubber Stamps website today!! Check out her adorable images at http://www.inkyimpressionsrubberstamps.com/. Check out her blog candy, too, at http://inkyimpressionschallenges.blogspot.com/.

Woo Hoo! It's SUNNY!

Happy sunny Saturday!!! The rains have FINALLY stopped and the sun is out and it's been a beautiful day! I'm SO tired of rain!!!

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I stamped!! I made this card today for my senior friend, Miss Laura. A Rose In Winter is a favorite of mine. I haven't used this set to make a card for her so thought I would use it today. All papers are from SU- Basic Black, Whisper White and Bella Rosa DSP. The ink is all SU as well- Real Red, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Wild Wasabi, with the exception of the black ink which is Memento Tuxedo Black (you know- all this time and I never realized I was spelling Memento wrong! Oops!) The Notebook Paper stamp if from Cornish Heritage Farms.
Last Saturday I was supposed to go to a shoebox swap with the Meade Girls. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well and didn't go. Amanda sent me the card that she took to the swap- isn't it beautiful?! I believe that the set is Cheep Talk by SU, but I'm not totally sure. I LOVE the wide dotted ribbon that she used. I'll bet she bought that on one of the Meade Girls' ribbon runs!! Fabulous colors and fantastic layout! Thanks, Amanda, for thinking of me!! You're a doll!

Then, today in the mail I had a package from Tracy. She sent me a kit for the card that she took to the swap. What a cute card!!! The set is called Forest Friendzy by Cornish Heritage Farms. This was such a fun card to make!! When she made her sample card, she colored the sky and grass using Copics, but I don't have the right blue for the sky so I opted to sponge on the color using Bashful Blue for the sky and Old Olive for the grass. I think it came out cute! Tracy, thanks for being so sweet! The Meade Girls are the BEST!