Muffy News and Retired SU! Stamps For Sale

Muffy After Being Spayed

There will be no more Mini-Muffins.  After searching my heart,  I made the decision to spay her.  She had surgery Tuesday morning.  In addition, two small growths were removed from two of her “niblets”.  I was able to bring her home Wednesday afternoon.

Muffy with Litter

Muffy was a wonderful mother, who put everything she had into raising a litter of six happy and healthy puppies.  But motherhood took it’s toll on her body.  She just never seemed to bounce back completely after delivery, which included an emergency C-section.  After seeing her black muzzle turn silver in a matter of weeks, I made the decision to never raise a second litter from her.   Muffy did her job the first time, presenting me with a beautiful son, Jack, who will hopefully leave his mark in the show ring.   In addition, Kia, Kelsi (Bunny), Kenzie (Kash), Macy (Mira) and Odin (Chunkers) are making their own history as loving companions.  Kia and Kelsi are show dogs, Kenzie and Odin are performance dogs, and Macy is living the life of a Diva in a Chicago high-rise.  Each have a special place in my heart.

Since Muffy cannot go up and down stairs yet or be with her pack mates, I have been staying with her in the kitchen.  We’ve baked dog treats.  We’ve watched movies on the laptop.  We’ve read books and magazines.  And at night, I spread a blanket out on the hard wooden floor to sleep beside her, while she sleeps on a stack of three dog beds.  But it is the least I can do for this girl who has filled my heart with so much joy since the first day she entered my life.

Muffy and Ann

 

Retired Products Sale

It’s time I purged my retired products.  Here is a link to all of the retired Stampin’ Up! items I have for sale:

Retired Stampin’ Up! Products for Sale

The list will be updated several times a day as items are sold. Please send an email ([email protected]) if you are interested in making a purchase. In your email, please include the name of the items you are wanting to purchase and your zip code so I can calculate postage for you.

All items will be sold on a first come, first served basis, as determined by the date and time of your email. I can only mail to US addresses. I will accept both checks and PayPal, but I will allow time for personal checks to clear unless you have ordered from me before, or I know you.

Remember….postal rates have increased…and some items, like dies are heavy. However, I will try to find the least expensive method of mailing for you.

I will periodically be adding items to these lists to add embellishments and miscellaneous items, so be sure to check back frequently.

Until next time…
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Beautiful Bunch for PPA 284 and Jack News

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It’s Thursday, and I’m back with another Pals Paper Arts Sketch Team card.  This week’s sketch is courtesy of the lovely Linda Callahan.  I decided to flip it on it’s side, and ink up the Beautiful Bunch stamp set.  Of course, I needed to play with some new products, too, so I inked up the Greatest Greeting and Timeless Textures sets from the Occasions Catalog. I hope you enjoy today’s card…and I hope you enjoy catching up on the latest news about Jack the Boxer.

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The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips—It’s All About the Details
This folded card measures 5-1/2″ wide x 4-1/4″ tall.

It’s the details that makes today’s card extra special.  Flourishes and screen wire images from the new Timeless Textures stamp set were inked in Lost Lagoon and stamped onto the white center panel for a little extra pizzazz.

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So Saffron blossoms were punched out using the Flower from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack.  The edges were curled slightly and small Pearls were added to the center.

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The tone-on-tone flower from Beautiful Bunch was inked in Watermelon Wonder and stamped onto Watermelon Wonder card stock.  It was punched out using the Fun Flower Punch.  Quick and easy!   It was then popped onto a second flower which had also been punched out using the Fun Flower Punch.

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To accent this flower even more, the image was inked again in So Saffron and stamped onto So Saffron card stock.  This time I used Paper Snips to snip around the edges of the center.  It was popped onto the Watermelon Wonder flower using a Stampin’ Dimensional.  A Metal Rimmed Pearl adds a touch of “wow”, while Silver Metallic Thread adds a subtle touch of sparkle.

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As one final detail, icy Pool Party Glitter Ribbon was added over the diagonal Watermelon Wonder card stock stripe.  Pool Party Glitter Ribbon is one of my favorite new products! It is such a gorgeous shade of blue.  And in case you are wondering about this adorable paper, it’s from the Wildflower Fields collection, which can be yours FREE with a $50 order during Sale-A-Bration.

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The most difficult thing about today’s card will be deciding on who gets it! Who wouldn’t love receiving smiles across the miles!

If you have any questions about today’s card or the techniques I used to create it, I am only an email away! And if you would like to hear about Jack the Boxer…continue reading!

Jack the Boxer’s Latest News

In case you have been asking yourself, “Where’s the posts?”,  Jackie and I have been away from home.  He showed in 7 shows in 9 days, earning a well-deserved rest.

The first weekend of our journey found us at the fairground in Des Moines, Iowa.  Each morning our trip took us past the gorgeous capitol building. The dome of the capitol is gilded with tissue-paper thin sheets of pure 23-karat gold.  What a way to start the day!

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Jackie scored a big win on Sunday from respected judge Pat Hastings.  Mrs. Hastings is a widely respected authority on puppy evaluation and has taught seminars on movement…so to have her pick Jackie as her Winners Dog and Best of Winners at 9 months of age over adults, was indeed an honor.  Although Jackie had no idea what he had won, he was so excited when he exited the ring.  I don’t have the official win picture yet, but here is a candid of Jackie with his handler and her assistant.

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Midweek found us in Grayslake, IL.   Showing like a little rock star, Jackie was named Reserve Winners Dog on Sunday. He was a pro, waiting patiently for his turn in the ring.

Jackie Waiting Patiently

And when it came time to show off, I could not have asked for a better boy.

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From the rear to the side…he is such a sweet Mini-Muffin!

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I hope you enjoyed today’s post, and I hope you will join me again later this week when I will be posting my list of retired stamps.  Until next time…

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Another Bloomin’ Heart for Pals Paper Arts

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Hip! Hip! Hooray! It’s time to play…with the Sketch Team at Pals Paper Arts!  This week we have an interesting sketch courtesy of team member, Maggie Mata.  I find sketches with catty wampus elements fresh and fun.  Since I happened to have a Whisper White Bloomin’ Heart already in my stash, I decided to make it my focal point. I hope you enjoy today’s card!

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The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips…Hearts
This finished card measures 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ when folded.

It’s all about hearts with today’s card.  From the embossed Rose Red background, created with the Happy Heart Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

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to the Crumb Cake Heart Designer Paper  from the Love Blossoms collection…

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to the exquisite Bloomin’ Heart die cut…

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it’s all about hearts!

Even the wings on the Butterfly from the Watercolor Wings stamp set mimic hearts, don’t you think?  This one is sporting Rose Red, Blushing Bride and Soft Suede markings.  In order to make Soft Suede “softer”, I stamped it off once.

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Of course, I had to add a few special touches.

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To make these Blushing Bride flowers stand out, I curled the edges with a bone folder.  This broke down the paper fibers so I could separate the layers of paper, which added more dimension.  I just had to add Pearls to the center!

As a final touch, I adhered the Soft Suede sentiment, which is from the Six Sided Sampler set.  It is bumped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals, to add depth and dimension.  I will confess, I have not used any of the hexagons from this set, but I absolutely love two of the sentiments which come with it: My Friend and Hello Sweet Friend.  Now I just need to decide which of my sweet friends will receive this card!

Missing My Boys

As they say, all good things must come to an end, and so it is at the Schach house.  This past Friday, Jack returned to his handler, Amy, for a week of lessons before he shows in Des Moines this weekend.  Of course, I will head to Des Moines to watch him show.  He will stay with me in my motel, and we will get in a lot of snuggle time.  He will then return to Chicago with Amy for a series of shows in Grayslake, IL the following week.  Once again, I will head up on the weekend to watch, snuggle and bring him home.  When looking at this picture of him sitting on my husband’s lap,  it’s hard to believe he is only 9 months old.  Yes…he is a BIG boy.

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Another of my boys left me, too.  Brady headed back to the University of Missouri.  He had a blast stamping with me during break.  He put together 10 Paper Pumpkin kits (don’t judge…I just never had time to put them together) and 4 other kits.  He loves the kits! It was hard for this perfectionist to stand back and let him create in his own way…but I did. He was so proud of everything he did.  In fact, he wants to make cards to post on my blog when he returns home in May.  Who knows…maybe one day I will sign him up as a demonstrator!

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And I wasn’t the only one missing my boys.  Poor little Kia looked everywhere for both Jackie and Brady.  But don’t feel badly for her.  She has gotten a lot of extra attention these past few days.  She will get to visit her fur brother this weekend.

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I hope you enjoyed today’s card.  I am very happy with how it turned out, and can’t wait to send it out.  I must say, I think the Bloomin’ Heart thinlit is one of my favorite items from the Occasions Catalog.  As always, if you have any questions about the cards I create or the techniques I use, I am only an email away! Until next time…

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Price: $110.00

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