I'm baaaaaack!!

 I think its been a year since I posted on here. In that year, due to the military, I've moved TWICE, lived through two tornadic storms in Oklahoma (one of which destroyed a bunch of toys in the backyard, the roof, the entire gutter system, and did major damage to our fence), spent a week at a hospital in Denver seeing multiple specialists for my son trying to narrow down some of the characteristics of his genetic disorder, and unexpectedly got pregnant. :)

So, in the spirit of "nothing screams Jen like complete chaos", I decided last week to sign up AGAIN as a Stampin' Up demonstrator. During the move and general inability to find customers last summer, I dropped as a demo. I've been missing it like crazy! SU offered a great deal for new demonstrators to receive a free registration to the annual convention in Salt Lake City, a savings of $300. Added to that the fact that I found a seriously cheap airfare nonstop from Denver, and I managed to convince my dear husband to let me sign up. Again. For the third time in 8 years.

So as I was organizing my craft room/guest room, I decided to find some of my all time favorite projects and post (plus SU is having a contest where people can receive product to make projects for the display boards at Convention...and I'd loooove to do that). And then I got a bee in my bonnet this week and decided to make a mobile of sorts to hang above the rocking chair in the nursery to give the baby something interesting to stare at while I'm spending countless hours rocking him. Countless. Hours.

So here is one of my favorite 3D projects. We did this a couple years ago in a class based around the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set and matching dies. 

I love to add shimmer and glitter to things and make them POP. By layering the ornament images, we were able to create an awesome 3D image on top of the box to really make the box amazing.

One of my favorite cards I completed for a swap in my group last year. It features a couple of things on the retirement list this year....bummer. I love the "Oh, Hello" stamp set, and Midnight Muse is an AMAZING color. Hopefully when SU does another color renovation they'll add this one back in. :) I created the score lines individually on the Pool Party cardstock using the Simply Scored Borders Plate. And yes, it took awhile and I had some pieces that didn't make the cut. :) The "flower" in the left hand corner is actually just a piece of seam binding ribbon where I pulled a seam out of the middle and then bunched it up.
 

I have always enjoyed learning new ways to create cards that are "outside the box". This one I created for Leadership in 2012. I love how bright and cheerful it is.

 Pull the ribbon and reveal your message! This card features Bring on the Cake, another retiring set. The balloons and presents are from a set that retired last year. Both sets will definitely stay in my stash, as they are awesome for birthday cards, especially for the younger crowd.

Another "outside the box" card. Sometimes the standard 4.25x5.5 card gets a little mundane! This was created for a stamp club in 2011. I have to admit, I can't remember the name of the stamp set. Its very similar to Fabulous Florets, another great floral set retiring this year.

One of my favorite scrapbook pages features my son chasing after my niece during a family vacation in Ohio. Living in Colorado now...I covet that green grass! The dry atmosphere here just doesn't allow stuff to green that much. The page was based off an online challenge.

Rosettes are wonderful. Such a great way to apply a little "wow" with a tiny amount of cardstock. My upline showed me how to create a floral image using the heart punch. Isn't it cute?

I fell in love with the ribbon border punch...and of course it was immediately retired right after I purchased it. :) And the alphabet (retired last year) will always be one of my favorites. The stamps work so well with SU ink, its such a clear and striking color.

So here is my "bee in a bonnet" project that I just HAD to get completed this week. And sadly, in my final nesting phase, I know I'll end up adding more to this before the baby is born!

I used My Digital Studio to print off punches in various shapes and sizes. Because I don't have an e-cutter, I just printed them and cut them by hand, then folded them and adhered them together using sticky tape and Tombo mono multi adhesive glue. I then glued them to some baker's twine and added snippets of ribbon. The colors are Whisper White, Midnight Muse and Pool Party. They match the bedding in the baby's room. Once the room is complete I'll have to post some final pictures.

So life has been just a teeny tiny bit hectic. But I'm looking forward to the challenge of having an SU business again, and have already found some new customers, a potential new recruit, and signed up for a vendor fair. And I'm 34 weeks pregnant. Yep.

I PROMISE I'll be posting more often on here. You can also find me on Facebook by searching for Stampin' Up with Jennifer. And don't forget my Stampin Up website where I will post classes and any orders can be made.

Thanks for reading!