Here's another page I'm particularly happy with, it's our 2008 family picture! This one never made it to a big canvas on my wall, but I love it just the same! This was taken with a timer on Alisa's birthday in 2008. She and Cody were already engaged to be married the following June, and we were in the early stages of wedding preparations! I used a now retired product, "Sticky Cuts" on this page for the "love", along with one of the glitter stacks that I think is retired now too.

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2012

I also broke my rule about journaling in my own handwriting, but I had a lot to say on this page, so I will forgive myself this once! ha!

Speaking of retired products, Stampin' Up! will be releasing the next Retiring Stamp List on April 15, and the Retiring Acessories List on April 25!

I stayed up late last night working on baby shower invitations for Kimberly. Her shower is May 6. When they are  complete (and I am excited to show them to you as they are adorable!) I will show them to you, but for now have a "Stampingrox!" Day!

One of the first 12 x 12 pages I was really proud of was one I did after my second daughter, Kimberly, graduated from Southern Illinois University.  We were very proud of her!

Interesting story: when Kimberly was in grade school she came to me one day and said, "I don't think I'll go to High School, I don't like school that much, I want to be a mom like you", to which I replied, "Ok". Later in early High School she came to me and said, "I don't think I'll go to college, I don't like school that much, I want to be a mom like you", to which I replied, "O.k." Then when she was in her first year of Community College (to which she had earned a full-tuition waiver!) she asked me "what should I be? What degree should I go for?" I replied, "you should either be a lawyer or a teacher because you like to talk in front of people". She decided to be a teacher, a MATH teacher at that! I am very proud of her, she has taught Junior High Math and History for the past 8 years at Field Grade School. Not bad for a girl who didn't like school that much!

Raising 6 kids, I've learned alot of things, but one major one I learned is to pick your battles. I knew if I challenged Kimberly's declarations to not go on to the next step in school she would have just been very stubborn about it and we might have had a problem. But since I just said, "o.k", knowing that no matter what she would move forward to the next step and her brain would be ready for the challenge when she got there, we avoided alot of problems. I didn't always get it right with my mothering (who does?) but I think I got that one right!

Anywhoo, here's the pages I scrapped after her graduation:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2012

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2012

I made her graduation announcements and thank-you's, so I just kept with the SIU color scheme and added them to the pages!

And you know what else happened to the girl who wanted to be a mom just like me? This August she is expecting her first baby, a little boy, so she's getting her wish to be a mom too!

Have a great Sunday! Until tomorrow, have a "Stampingrox!" Day!

Now that I have finally posted all the pages for my Birthday Perpetual Calendar Class, I can get back to showing you more of my scrapbook pages!

This page I did a few years ago, 2005 in fact, of my second little granddaughter, Ava Claire! She's 6 now and in first grade, but it's amazing how much her little face still looks like her baby pictures!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2012

Much of my scrapbooking has been done "on demand", meaning when one of my hostesses wants to feature scrapbooking at their party, then I scrap a page or two! I usually go to my "picture pile" (do we all have one of those?) and choose a few that go together, then I create the page!  You can probably tell that this page has been done in the "Progressive Scrapbooking" style, starting with the 6x6 page with Ava's picture in the center, layering on to the 8 1/2" x 11" with the "ghosting" wheeled on the left side, then added to the 12" x 12" with the smaller pictures on the right!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2012

This is an close-up of the "ghosting" I did with the "Baby Rattle" jumbo wheel (now retired). I wheeled the baby rattle first with Regal Rose ink, lining up the seam on the wheel with the beginning of the cardstock. Then I took a second wheel, inked it with Versamark in the cartridge, then adjusted the seam on the wheel so that it would be just slightly off from where it started the first time. After wheeling the second time, I then embossed with white embossing powder and the heat tool.

That's all for today! Until tomorrow, have a "Stampingrox!" Day!

Here's a couple more pages. How do you like peeking into my family history with these? Pretty much all the stamps used for these pages are now retired, but the layouts and most of the colors are still current!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2012

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2012

Perhaps if you were at the workshop where I demonstrated one of these pages you recognize it!

Until tomorrow, have a "Stampingrox!" Day!

Good Sunday Morning! Here's a couple more pages I scrapbooked early in my Stampin' Up! Demonstrator career, the first one is probably the second page I ever scrapped, and the second one is the first one I did after learning the "Progressive Scrapbooking" techinque:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2012

I really loved this apple set! It was part of our "Definitely Decorative" line, designed for stamping on walls! It retired way too soon, in my opinion! Jessica took the picture of Maddie Kate! I love it!

Speaking of retired, Stampin' Up! just announced they will be releasing the Retiring Stamps list on April 15th and the Retiring Accessories List on April 25th! The retiring stamps will continue to be available through May 31st, but the Retiring Accessories will only be available while supplies last!

Here's the page I did a couple of years later, this time of Jessica right after she learned to walk!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2012

BTW, that big guy in the picture holding Jessica is my big brother, Don! People sometimes wonder where Ben's looks and solid size came from, but all they need to do is take a look at my brother! Don was 18 years old and my sister Connie was 12 when I was born, so I truly am the "baby"!

Well, that's it for today! I have a workshop in Galatia this afternoon with Sherry Peyton and friends, so it's church, Sunday dinner (a roast in the crockpot, of course!) and then workshop! A fun day!

Until tomorrow, have a "Stampingrox!" Day!

This month marks 10 years since I first held a rubber stamp in my hand. I don't remember the exact date, but I know it was March 2002, I know it was before Easter, and I know I fell in love with stamping! I went to my first Stampin' Up! party with my oldest daughter, Jessica, and we knew from the beginning this was something we would love to do! I looked at that first catalog and said, "Wow, are we in trouble!", meaning I knew we were going to be hooked by this new hobby, and I was right!

After a few months of going to occasional stamping parties and stamp camps, both Jessica and I decided to have our own stamping workshops. We scheduled them with the demonstrator we had the most experience with and planned the dates. Before my party date arrived, however, my youngest daughter suggested to me that I should become a demonstrator "because you love it so much, Mom!".

I had read the business opportunity brochure included in my Hostess Packet, and I have to admit I did get a warm feeling in the bottom of my tummy that signals to me that this is an idea worth paying attention to, butit was never my intention to become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. I had a full-time day job, a husband, 4 kids still at home, two married daughters (and two Sons-in-law), and one darling 18 month old granddaughter. My life was full, why would I want to add anything more to it?

Well, she kept after me until I finally said, "OK, but I have to ask your Dad what he thinks first!", thinking he was my way out, because he generally says "no" much more often before he says "yes". But he surprised me by saying he thought it was a good idea "since you like it so much"!

So become a demonstrator I did, and actually I was the demonstrator for my own party! My upline helped me a bunch, as my Starter Kit had not even arrived yet. I had a full table of friends and family that November Saturday, and thankfully they loved me enough to put up with my nerves, shaking hands, and mumbling into the cowl-neck of my sweater! They booked parties anyway, bless them!

From those first parties I learned a lot:

1. I didn't have to know everything right away, nor did I need to bring everything but the kitchen sink with me to the party!

2. All I needed to do is ask people to have a party. If they said no, it was ok, they still liked me. And some of them said yes!

3. I found out I could share what I love, even with strangers!

4. I found I needed to talk LOUDER (and not wear cowl-neck sweaters to workshops)! lol!

At those early parties, I always demonstrated a scrapbook page. Maddie Kate, my then 18 month-old granddaughter, was my favorite subject, and since Jessica also loved taking her own photographs (she eventually left stamping to pursue her passion of photography. She now owns Jessica Hollis Photography), I had lots of pictures to choose from for scrap pages!

I have several to share, but since this is such a long post I will just show you a couple of them:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2012

This page was my very first, and used an alphabet, a Stampin' Around wheel (snowflakes), snowflake stamps, and "deckle" scissors! Wow! Things have really changed since November 2002!

Here's my most recent scrap page, but now Maddie Kate has a sister, Ava, and a little brother, Cohen, in these pictures. (littlest brother, Jaxon, hasn't made it to a scrap page yet, but he will!)

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2012

This page is an expanded version of the 6X6 page I showed you here. I used  a technique called "Progressive Scrapbooking", where you start with a 6x6 page, layering it onto an 8 1/2" x 11" page, and then finish by layering it all onto a 12x 12 page! You can add more pictures and embellishements (notice no alphabet or scissors!), but journaling is still essential! The addition of the Big Shot to our stamping world really has made a positive impact on the way I stamp and scrap! I love the Everyday Enchantment Designer Paper and am really going to miss it when Sale-a-bration is over on March 31st! But of course, Stampin' Up! always has more gorgeous paper waiting in the wings!

I am so thankful I took my daughter's advice and gave the Stampin' Up! Business Opportunity a try. I still have my husband, two pretty much grown boys at home for just a little while longer, three married daughters, three SIL's, and four grandchildren with #5 on the way! Stampin' Up! is now my full-time job, and I have a   a thriving downline of over 40 demonstrators. I have earned 9 Incentive Trips (I took that youngest daughter with me to the Panama Canal in 2007!), and still love stamping and sharing just as much (maybe even more!) than I did way back then! Adding Stampin'Up! to my life has increased my joy, as well as given me a personal sense of accomplishment and a creative outlet I love, and  I appreciate all the new and enduring friendships I have made with my stamping customers and downline.

If you would like to join my team of demonstrators and give a try at sharing what you love, just contact me or go to my Demonstrator Business Website:

www.carolpayne.stampinup.net

You can learn more there about the Stampin' Up! Business Opportunity, Accept the Demonstrator Agreement, and choose your stamps, ink, and paper for your Starter Kit at a $50 discount! If you have any questions, just contact me!

I will be back tomorrow with more scrap pages. I may even try to find the first card I ever stamped!

Until tomorrow, have a "Stampingrox!" Day!

I had a hostess request a scrapbooking workshop last week, and this is what we made, using the "Everyday Enchantment" FREE Designer Paper from the SAB mini, Everyday Enchantment FREE Ribbons and Brads Pack from the SAB mini, Pool Party 1/2" Seam Binding from the Occasions Mini, Label Framelits Collection from the Occasions Mini, and "Petite Pairs" and "School Lines" stamps from the Main Catalog!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2011

(these are my three grandchildren in 2008, there is now a fourth grandson in this family, and another one on the way with my second daughter, Kimberly!)

NOTE: The page uses the "Element of Threes" so often found in scrapbook pages. Placing three embellishments in a triangle arrangement is pleasing to the eye and directs the eye to the focal point, which of course is the photo!

Here are a few close-ups of the page elements:

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2011

We punched the Pool Party layer with the same size Tag Punch as the Poppy Parade Tag under it, then layered the Very Vanilla "Petite Pairs" stamped small tag punched layer onto the Pool Pool Party tag and hand-trimmed the Pool Party layer just slightly larger than the Very Vanilla, creating three sizes of tags!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2011

We used the "Beautiful Butterflies" Die and the Big Shot, along with the "Square Lattice" Textured Impressions Folder to create this beautiful butterfly embellishment! The "Everyday Enchantment" brad adds just the right touch to the center!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2011

One of the most-dreadded-but-also-most-important aspects of this page is journaling! Journaling is often avoided because so many of us don't like our own handwriting, but in essence it is extremely important to record the date, who is in the picture (don't we all have boxes of pictures from our grandmothers that we have NO IDEA whos those people are?), the mood of the time, as well as a personal link to future generations! I don't have any real scrapbooks or hardly any written correspondence from my mother, who passed away when I was nearly 11 years old, therefore the little bits of her handwriting I do have I treasure. Belive-it-or-not, your future generations will be able to make a much more personal connection with you when you journal in your own handwriting! Try it, don't be scared!

We used the "School Lines" background stamp along with the Label Framelits and the Big Shot to stamp and cut out the journaling area for this page. It was easy to stamp the lines first, then cut them out with the Framelit. You can't get it crooked by doing it in this order!

Well, I've got to get back to my real project for today, preparing my taxes!

Until tomorrow, have a "Stampingrox!" Day!

I remember one time, not too long after I became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, when I was worried about coming up with a cute scrapbook page for a hostess and one of my daughter's said, "Mom, a scrapbook page is just a giant card!" and she's right! Here's the perfect example of how that concept works! Here's the page I will be showing and gifting to my hostess, Lisa, next week, and the card everyone will make at her workshop that matches it! The guests can leave the card and use it as a card, or they can add it to their own page! This page and card uses the "Bring on the Cake" stamp set from the Occasions Mini and the "Build a Cupcake" punch! The colors are Poppy Parade and Baja Breeze with a little Daffodil Delight thrown in! The Designer Paper is from the Hostess Level 1 In-Color 6x6 Patterns Pack, all you need is a $150 order or party to get this FREE!

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2011

And here's the card!(I know, you've seen it before last week, but now it matches the page!)

©Stampin'Up!™1990-2011

I just LOVE the Baja Breeze Glass Glitter on this card!

Until tomorrow, have a "Stampingrox!" day!