Saturday, April 28, 2012

It’s release day!

I hope that you all enjoyed this month’s sneak peeks from our fabulous Trendsetters! You still have a few more hours to play along in the Blog Hop Challenges for your chance to win these stamp sets!!

And don’t forget to join us tonight on the TSG Facebook page for our release party at 6:00 PM Pacific time (9 PM Eastern)

may_rel_rem

Below you find a couple of tip sheets that you can download and print for more inspiration on how to use your brand new stamp sets!!

BombDiggity Tips & Tricks    A Little Treat Tips & Tricks
Click on the pictures above to download the
BombDiggity  and A Little Treat Tips & Tricks .pdf files!

A Little Treat Blog Hop Challenge BombDiggity Blog Hop ChallengeCutie Pi Blog Hop ChallengeOh Snap Blog Hop Challenge

Click on the Blog Hop Challenge graphics above to play along in our challenge where you will have the chance to win that stamp set!

Friday, April 27, 2012

Oh Snap Blog Hop Challenge


Today is our fourth and final night of new release peeks, and we are finishing up with a set that is sure to appeal to all the cardmaking, scrapbooking, camera wielding stampers out there!!



Torico’s final set this month is SURE to impress the camera hound in us all! Photography is a part of everyday life, and a growing hobby for many, and how much more FUN would it be if you had a camera like one of THESE??!! A picture truly is worth a 1000 words, and with summer vacations, graduations, and well, EVERYTHING, coming up, what a PERFECT set for the photographer in us all.  Full of cute sayings, and TONS of images to create the PERFECT card/scrapbook page/project, you really can’t go wrong!!


Oh Snap is a 6x8 set that includes 33 stamps, and will sell for $24. Would you like a chance to win this set? Stop by the TSG Blog for all the details on what you need to do!

For those of you that are in photography or know someone who is, you are going to LOVE this new set!! How cute would it be to create a set of cards to give to your favorite photographer?? I am actually in the process of making a set of 5 cards right now and here is the first of them.
The DP I used is from the Not To Self pack by Echo Park that I purchased through RibbonCarousel.com . I loooove this paper!
Images were colored with Prismacolor Pencils

Oh Snap Are you ready for more snapshots of great eye candy using this new stamp set?? Make sure you stop by the rest of the Trendsetters blogs to see what they have created!!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

BombDiggity Blog Hop Challenge

Today is day THREE of this month's New Release Blog Hop Challenges, and tonight we have our second set from Torico, but our THIRD for this month's release!!

Our second of THREE Sets being released from Torico this month is so awesome, it’s EXPLOSIVE! Approach these SUPER CUTE girls, with their frazzled hair, with caution….they just might EXPLODE!  Bombdiggity is the PERFECT set for showing JUST how excited/happy/proud you are of that special someone in your life….and it’s just FUN!
CAUTION!!---may cause you to SQUEEE due to OVERWHELMING cute-ness(or sing You Dropped a Bomb On Me…Baby, for DAYS)!!

Bombdiggity  is a 4x8 set that includes a total of 24 stamps and will sell for $18 .
Would you like to win this set??? Check out the TSG Blog for all of the details about our sneak peek Blog Hop Challenges!

I can’t wait for you guys to see the images in this set, they are so darn cute! They are so much fun to color and the sentiments are perfect.
I kept the layout simple by using some adorable DP from Fabulous by Simple Stories purchased through RibbonCarousel.com. Image is colored with Prismacolor pencils.

BombDiggity

Time for you to visit the other Trendsetters to see what they created with this new stamp set! I’m sure that their sneak peeks will ‘blow you away’ Winking smile 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

A Little Treat Blog Hop Challenge


Hey everyone!! Today is day two of this month's Blog Hop Challenges, and we have a SUPER adorable set from Torico for you today!!

 A Little Treat is a 4x6 set that includes a total of 12 stamps and will sell for $15.
Would you like to win this set??? Make sure you head over to the TSG Blog for all of the details about this blog hop!
Torico has cooked up a set this month that I am sure you will be DEMANDING seconds of!! Her whimsical cakes, and adorable chefs, are sure to serve up the PERFECT birthday card for ANYONE on your birthday list! She even threw in some coffee, because that’s how we at TSG ROLL….right out of bed to the coffee pot!

And the best part??? This set was designed to coordinate with the previously released set Bon Appetit so the images from both sets are interchangeable for even more versatility!!!

This week TSG is sponsoring the RibbonCarousel.com challenge and anything goes. I chose to use two of my favorite ribbons on my sneak peek card- net ribbon and pleated satin ribbon.

This set is so much fun to play with and I can’t wait to make a set of cards using this along with the previously released Bon Appetit set! Oh the possibilities lol!!
The images were colored with Prismacolor pencils.
A Little Treat
Now it’s time for you to visit the rest of the Trendsetters to see what sweet treats they have to share with you using this new set Smile
 

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Cutie Pi Blog Hop Challenge

 
Hey TSG Fans, and welcome to our FIRST night of Blog Hop Challenges from There She Goes!!! This month we have 4 new sets, so we will have FOUR Blog Hop Challenges!! Let's get this one started!!

 
Today we are showing sneak peeks of an adorable new stamp set illustrated by Melyssa. There are so many different elements (get it?!) to this set that you are going to want to stamp until your fingers are numb lol!

Cutie Pi is a 4x8 set that includes a total of 14 stamps and will sell for $18.
Want a chance to win this set?? Hop on over to the TSG Blog for all of the details!
 
Ok, now on to the eye candy! I love all of the images in this set and thought it would be a shame to only share a card that only showed one or two of them so I decided to go all out and make a set of 8 cards Smile
 
All images were colored with Prismacolor pencils and parts of the various images had some sparkle added with a Stardust Gelly Roll pen and also some Glossy Accents to add texture to these CAS cards.
Here is a group shot of all 8 of the cards:

Cutie Pie cards

Cutie Pi (Sentiment used on this card is from the TSG stamp set Chemistry)

Cutie Pi (Sentiment used on this card is from the TSG mini stamp set Chem. 101)

Cutie Pi

Cutie Pi

Cutie Pi

Cutie Pi

Cutie Pi (Stitches on the side of the cards are from the TSG mini set In Stiches)

Cutie Pi

Ok, so now that I’ve taken up so much of your time with my umpteen cards, it’s time to send you on your way to check out what the rest of the Trendsetters have made using Cutie Pi!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Oh snap, release week is here!

 
Today is the start of TSG’s release week and you are going to love the eye candy that the Trendsetters have to share with you!! But first the challenge Smile This week our challenge is brought to us by our Trendsetters! We are challenging YOU to make a card or project using the provided sketch!! We can’t wait to see what you do!
For my challenge card, I thought I’d give you guys a little preview of a new stamp set called Oh Snap that will be released the Saturday after the release party on the TSG Facebook page! For more details about this set, make sure you come back on Friday for the official Blog Hop Challenge. But until then, we (the Trendsetters) will be sharing samples made from the 3 other stamp sets that will also be released!!
Oh Snap

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Kylie’s Make A Wish Trip

We are finally home after an amazing vacation to Florida for Kylie’s Make A Wish trip! We got in late Saturday night and I started this blog post first thing Sunday after we got settled in but after I picked out all of the pictures I wanted to share, edited them and added them to the post I came to a blank. I’ve been staring at this almost blank post for two days but the words just wouldn’t come. And then I realized what my problem was, no matter how much I write about all that we did and saw, there are just no words for the feelings of love and humbleness that came over us each and every day that we were there!

For those of you that have been long time followers of my blog, you know all about our oldest daughter Kylie and her diagnosis a year and a half ago of a rare autoimmune disease called Juvenile Dermatomyositis. For those of you that are new and would like to get caught up, you can read my previous blog posts about Kylie here!

Since I am still not sure where to start, I guess the beginning is just as good a place as any ;) My husband Matt is a member of our local Rotary and this summer while he was doing some volunteer work with his group, he met a man named Allen. During the course of the day they were chatting and Matt was telling Allen about Kylie and JDM. Well come to find out, Allen is actually the head of our local Make A Wish chapter for our area and he told Matt that he should really look into applying for a wish for Kylie. We had never really thought about this before because we had assumed that it was only for terminally ill children when really MAW grants wishes to children of all types of life threatening conditions as well! So we filled out some paperwork and turned it in all the while not mentioning anything to Kylie about it just in case she wasn’t chosen to receive a wish. A short time later I received a call from the MAW foundation to tell me that Kylie had been approved a wish of her choice. I couldn’t believe it. I was in complete shock and it took me awhile to compose myself together enough to call Matt and tell him. I swear I cried for two days straight lol!

Instead of just telling Kylie that she had been granted a wish, Matt and I wanted to surprise her in a big way! I worked with her school and had her principal call her into the office one day during school and ask Kylie if she would be willing to put together a little presentation about her JDM and talk about it to her class (and the adjoining class that work regularly with them) so that the new students that have joined their classes this year would know more about it. Kylie being the starlet she is, was more than happy to be the center of attention for a good cause ;) After this part was taken care of, I called our local newspaper, family and friends and of course Allen. Kylie knew that she was going to give a presentation to her classes but she had no idea about the other guests that were going to be there so when she walked into the auditorium and saw everyone, she was very surprised! She did an amazing job and at the end did a question and answer session just in case any of the students had any more questions. We had it planned so that the last question would be from Allen and when Kylie called on him he asked her if she had ever wished that she could be somewhere else while she was getting her 8 hr long infusions and she says “Yes! Texas!” (that’s where her grampa and nina live). Allen then asked her if she had ever heard of the Make A Wish foundation to which she answers “no” lol. Apparently, we forgot to educate her on that little detail while preparing for this surprise ;) So he explained to her what it was and then walked up to the stage and handed her a certificate and told her that she had been selected to receive a wish from MAW.

She spent a couple of weeks thinking about what she might like for her wish and then my little redneck girl settled on wanting a travel trailer lol. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to get one because of limitations of title transfers for our local chapter so she settled on the next best thing- Disney World. To make this trip even more memorable, we chose to go the week of Kylie’s golden birthday (she turned 9 on April 9th) and my dad and step mom were able to surprise us going to Florida as well!

For Kylie’s trip, the Make A Wish Foundation worked with another organization called Give Kids The World which is a resort built just for kids with life threatening conditions. Unfortunately all of the villas in this resort were booked so we were put in a room at the Contemporary Hotel which is pretty much right next to Disney World. When we first arrived in Florida, we were met at the airport by a greeter from the Give Kids The World village and she got us set up with our rental vehicle. We then headed over to the Village to check in and get something to eat before we headed back to our hotel. The next morning we met up with my dad and step mom and went back to the Village for our orientation and breakfast before officially starting our vacation. I knew nothing about GKTW before our trip and the things that I learned that morning just blew me away! Not only was the Village designed especially for children with special needs but GKTW also provides all of the families there with all of their meals, free ice cream in the ice cream parlor (open early in the morning and late into the night), a special celebration every day of the week as well as tickets to all of the theme parks (and other attractions) in the area. The majority of the people working at the village are volunteers and they go out of their way to make sure that the guests are well taken care of and are having a good time. Each day we were in Florida we spent the day sight seeing and exploring all of the great theme parks and other fun places but we always found our way back to the Village for dinner just because we enjoyed it there so much. I can’t even explain what it was like watching all of those children playing and just having fun like any other ‘regular’ kid. It makes your heart happy.

Here is a rundown of what we did during our week of fun-

*After orientation Kylie decided that the first thing she wanted to do was to go to a water park so we headed over to Sea World’s Aquatica water park. We spent the rest of the day there and the girls had so much fun!

*We decided to make Tuesday our big Disney World day so we got there early to see and do as much as possible. We made sure to hit all of the important rides first (like Splash Mountain, Flying Dumbo, Haunted Mansion, etc.) and saved Space Mountain for last. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go on this ride because of my back (stupid degenerative disk disease…) but all 3 girls went on it and little 6 year old Kayla thought it was awesome. I guess it is like a large roller coaster that goes around in a dark room and sickening speeds. Yeah, I was fine on sitting that one out ;)

*Wednesday we went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom which is such a beautiful theme park! We got to see lots of animals, watch an amazing bird show, and the girls got their faces painted beautifully in animal designs. Then for dinner we went to the Rain Forest Café and after walked around Downtown Disney until 11 PM. The girls were WIPED out by time we got them back to the room lol!

*Thursday was beach day (woot!) and my favorite day of our vacation. The girls and I had never been to a real beach that had white sand and clear warm water that you can swim in and we were in love! Matt and I were good about keeping the girls protected with sunblock but forgot to reapply ours so we got a little bit of a burn.

*Friday was our last real day left to sight see so we decided to head over to Sea World so that the girls could see the Shamu show. When we were walking into the stadium to find a seat, one of the workers saw that we were there on a Make A Wish (we all had special buttons to wear) and took us up to the very first row in the middle of the stadium right in front of the main platform where the whales did their tricks! It was absolutely amazing!!!

*Saturday was spent shopping for souvenirs and getting things all packed up and ready to head back home. The girls did such a great job on both the flights to Florida and back home! We got in late Saturday night and as much as we loved and enjoyed Florida, it felt good to sleep in our own beds again.