September Projects, And A Whole Lot of Life!

Has life ever been busy lately! It just got busier in the last couple of weeks; not just my stamping life either - the whole kit and kaboodle has been off the charts! First, one of my cousins from Ontario moved out here (and is now moving back home this weekend... ), to try life on her own. Well, thank God she was here, because I ran into a babysitting emergency about 5 days after she got here, and well, even though I had to drive across the city to get her, and across the city again to bring her home, I'm so glad she was there to help!

Next, we had some friends stay with us for an emergency visit to a specialist; so our house was unexpectedly full for a few days. I never mind when they stay with us though; they are our best friends, and our kids love to see each other too!

I enrolled Kaitlyn into a few classes this fall, to help ease the boredom we are both feeling. I take her to 2 classes on Tuesday mornings; an Art and Stories class, and Kindermusik; both taught by the same teacher back to back, so at least I'm not driving here, there and everywhere! On Wednesdays I'm trying to go to yoga, and on Thursdays Kaitlyn is in a parented/unparented "My First" pre-school at the YMCA. I can tell you, all this has definitely eased our boredom!

On top of all this, I am in full swing when it comes to my Christmas classes! I had my first bundle class last Tuesday, and have a second round this coming Tuesday. I really enjoy having classes, and people seeing that they really can make some beautiful things with their own hands!

I also had my September stamp club meeting of Friday, and showed my ladies how to do the Polished Stone technique as well as Reverse Masking. I figured that since I had introduced the Masking technique last month, they would love to see how Reverse Masking works too. My best friend attended the class, and I think she was proud of me for the RM card - it was only 2 layers of paper!!! I love to use multiple layers, so this card was a definite departure for me. I love how it turned out, and love Splitcoast more for the inspiration! Since Stampin' Up doesn't sell an oval scallop punch, and I don't use any other company (I'm definitely an SU snob!), I cut out an oval using the oval Coluzzle template, then used the Slit punch to punch around the oval, making scallops. I did 6 of these for my ladies to share for the class, so they didn't have to make the mask themselves. Normally I let them do everything for the card they are making (other than the initial paper cutting), but since a number of them had been to my Christmas card bundle class that week and had used that Coluzzle until they were sick of it, I figured I would do them that small favor. Plus it cut the time involved in making the card. I did punch one out while they watched though, so they would get the idea of how to do it themselves.

The other card we did was for the Polished Stone technique, and I have to say that Splitcoast did not let me down for this one either (warning: blatent CASE!). I would have loved to put some ribbon on mine too, but didn't have the color I needed! :( I do love this technique though. I haven't done it in awhile, and now that I have again, I think I will do it more often on my own projects - it's just so easy! Everyone loved using the crimper on the bashful blue piece, and I showed them how to make a scalloped edge using the Corner Rounder punch. I am SO addicted to that Lovely As A Tree set though; I really need to find a new favorite now that I think everyone in the club has this one! ;) I can't help it; almost every card I want to make just screams out for that set! I'd love to know, what's your favorite, most used set?