My Stamping Playground

Getting My Groove Back

I finally feel like I'm getting back in the groove of things. After a six month hiatus, I was all thumbs at our Stampin' Up! party last week. But, Friday's crop seemed to get me going again. Here is a frame I made last night.

Art Frame

Yes, I'm still hooked on Wendi Vecchi. She is the one artist whose style is closest to my taste. Of all the products out on the market, my favorites come from Wendy Vecchi, Tim Holtz, Maya Road, and Graphic 45. But the style is all Wendy Vecchi. She is a true inspiration to me. I'm sure you will continue to see her style on many of my posts.

OMG, have you seen all of the previews for CHA. I'm going to have to get a second job just to pay for everything I HAVE to have. Wendy has 12 new stamp sets and a new idea book. Tim has so many things coming out, I'm not sure he's gotten any sleep in a while. I love his new Sizzix dies. Graphic 45 has a couple of really cute new lines. And, Maya Road has tons of cute new stuff coming out. I can't wait!

Happy Stamping!

Terry B. Lee

Playground Coach

1st Crop of 2010

Yay! Finally, the first crop of the year, and what fun we had. It was so great to see everyone again. I spent alot of time socializing and not alot of time working, but that's half the purpose of cropping with friends. I was able to get in one little project that turned out alot cuter than I expected.

Coupon Book - Cover

Coupon Book - Inside

I needed something cute to collect coupons in at work. The manilla envelope I've been using is pretty boring. So, I thought I would make something that would make me smile while doing my work. Mission accomplished. I love it. What do you think?

Thank you all for coming last night. I so enjoyed being with you all. I can't wait until the all day crop next Saturday. I hope to see you then.

Happy Stamping!

Terry B. Lee

Playground Coach

Happy New Year !

I'd like to start the New Year by sharing a piece I made a few months ago, but never got a chance to post. This piece is actually hanging in my house as a piece of art.

My Wendy Art

I absolutely love it, and what a surprise. I actually started out copying the piece below by Linda Elbourne.

Linda's Wendy Art

Similar, but yet so different. It always amazes me how I start copying a piece I fall in love with, and it turns out so different. But I love the new piece just as much. That's the great thing about this craft. People are always willing to share their work to inspire those of us with less artistic skills. Yes, it is true. I am not artistic by nature. But, I do have some great copying skills.

If you love "Wendy Art," do yourself a favor and check out Linda's blog, "A Crafting Journey." She is very creative and does some beautiful work. (Fans of Tim Holtz will be very pleased with her blog as well.) She just posted the cutest Valentine piece that hangs on a hanger. It may have to be my first project of the year. Check out her post titled "You can feel it in your fingers ..." Adorable!

Click Here to go to Linda's Blog -- A Crafting Journey

I wish you all the greatest, most artistic, and happiest year ever!

Happy Stamping!

Terry B. Lee

Playground Coach

Making "Wendy Vecchi" Art

Making "Wendy Art" is good for the soul. Just look at these pieces inspired by Wendy and made using her Studio 490 Stamps, Maya Road's Chipboard, Tim Holtz' Grunge Paper, and Ranger's Distress Inks. Real medicine for the heart.

Wonderful Dreams

Flower Ruled

Dreams Come True

I am so in love with Wendy's stamps and style. I already have all 21 of her stamp sets, and I can't wait for her new idea book to come out. I hope that you will all give it a try. It is really alot of fun to make, and so rewarding. The finished products are amazing.

Click Here to go to Wendy's Blog -- Studio 490

Happy Stamping!

Terry B. Lee

Playground Coach

In Loving Memory of My Mom

Sylvia C. Boothby

"Mima"

Dec 24, 1930 - Jul 20, 2009

I Am My Mother's Garden

My Mother kept a garden--

a garden of the heart.

She planted all the good things

that gave my life its start.

She turned me to the sunshine,

and encouraged me to dream.

Fostering and nurturing

the seeds of self-esteem.

And when the winds and rain came,

she protected me enough.

But not too much, because she knew

I'd need to stand up strong and tough.

Her constant good example

always taught me right from wrong.

Markers for my pathway

that will last a lifetime long.

I am my Mother's garden.

I am her legacy.

And I hope today she feels the love

reflected back from me.

--Author Unknown

I Love You Mom!

Terry B. Lee

Wendy Vecchi @ Stamp Fest

WOW!!! That's the best description I can give you of Stamp Fest in Orlando. Stamps, stamps, and more stamps. It was a blast! But, for me, the most exciting part was meeting Wendi Vecchi of Studio 490. She is so amazing!

I have to admit, I kind of resembled a stalker. The poor thing couldn't get away from me. I hung around her booth all day Saturday, took her class on Saturday night, and then kidnapped her for dinner after class. (The poor thing didn't know what she was in for--I had Linda Greiner with me. LOL!) Then, Sunday was worse. I never left her booth. I dropped quite a load of cash there though, including 5 of her stamp sets--totally awesome. BTW - I wasn't the only stalker. There was a really cute mother and daughter team that was there quite a bit too.

So, enough about my stalking abilities. I want to show you a little of her work. Here are some samples I've picked up from Studio 490:

Now, drum roll please, you get to take a peek at my first attempt to make some "Wendy Art." I made this at my crop this past weekend. It was soooo... much fun to do. Everyone at the crop wanted to make one.

So, what do you think? I love it! I love it! I love it! I am sooo hooked. I'm telling you, if you have not seen Wendy's work, check out her blog, buy her stamps, and get ready to have some fun. You will be glad you did. Her work is amazing.

Yikes, I almost forgot the best part. Wendy is revealing 7 new stamp sets tomorrow morning at 7am. So, make sure to check out her blog in the morning. You can bet I will be. :-)

Wendy, I hope I didn't make you too crazy. It was so nice to meet you. I had such a great weekend. I hope that we will meet up again in the near future. And again, thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your artwork, and giving us the tools necessary to make projects like yours on our own. You are the best! MWAH!!!

Click Here to go to Studio 490

Happy Stamping!

Terry B. Lee

Playground Coach

Wendy Vecchi - Studio 490

I was doing a little blog surfing about 6 months ago, and fell in love with this little house that Wendy Vecchi of Studio 490 had made. As usual, I bought the house (Maya Road), but never made it. Well last weekend, I finally got it out and put it together. I totally love it! Check it out.

For any of you who have not seen Wendy's work, please do yourself a favor and check out her blog. Her work is amazing. I just got a bunch of her stamp sets from Stampers Anonymous, so I'm sure you will be seeing alot of her style in my upcoming blogs.

Wendy, thank you sooo... much for sharing your artwork, and creating those wonderful stamp sets. I absolutely love your work.

Click Here to go to Studio 490

Happy Stamping!

Terry B. Lee

Playground Coach

Recycling Pick-Me-Up

I went to Strawberry Fields in Ft. Myers this weekend with a few of my friends. While we were there, we saw a really cute wine bottle with some flowers in it. (There...the seed was planted.) Last night, my daughter was getting ready to throw out an empty bottle of Olive Oil. (There...the seed took root.) I cleaned out the bottle, removed the labels, and set it out to dry. After work today, I was feeling like I needed a little pick-me-up. (There...the seed grew.) I got the bottle, took out some Graphic-45 paper and some embelishements, and this is what I ended up with.

It was a great pick-me-up. I hope your week is going well. But, if you get a little down, just do a little shopping in your recycling bin, and see what you can create.

Happy Stamping!

Terry B. Lee

Playground Coach

Still Hooked on Tim

This week I've been playing with alcohol inks using Tim Holtz's demos. I've finally found a technique I like. I made some embelishments using fragments, alcohol inks, and stamps. Originally, I was going to make a tag like in Tim's demo. But, I loved them so much, I scrapped the whole tag idea, and used them on something a little longer lasting.

I saw one of these that Tim made a long time ago, and I've been wanting to make one ever since. These fragments gave me the perfect excuse to make the frame, and I love it. I'm so glad I never took any of those classes. It's so much more personal, when you make it at home with all the things you've collected over the years.

The girls at the crop tonight loved the fragments, so we are going to get together again next Saturday for another day of Tim Holtz. If you are interested, please let me know. We will limit the group to 6, so we all have plenty of room, and a good view of the screen. (I already have 3 confirmed, and 2 maybes.)

Tim, I think you've created some distress grunge monsters here at the playground. I can't wait to meet you at the class at Ruban Rouge in July.

Happy Stamping!

Terry B. Lee

Playground Coach

Laugh-a-Palooza!!!

Once again, my husband abandoned me on my Birthday to go to a fishing tournament in Jacksonville. So, once again, I decided to throw myself a "Birthday - Crop 'til You Drop Party." I called upon a few of my friends, told them to put on their jammies, get their scrapbooking and stamping supplies, and come on over.

This year was not different than last. We had so much fun, and laughed so hard, I've had a sore throat all weekend. I have NEVER laughed so hard, or for such an extended period of time in my life. My stomach hurt, my back hurt, I cried, and at one point, I thought I was going to throw up from laughing so hard.

Why did we laugh so much and so hard you ask? Well, first lets start with Jennifer Burke, who brought me one of those birthday cards that plays music when you open it. This particular card plays "Shake your groove thing, ..." every time you open it. AND, evertime I opened it during the night, Jenn would shake her groove thing. She has some belly dancing skills that are amazing, so when she shakes her groove thing, she shakes her groove thing. This, of course, prompted belly dancing lessons, and that had us all rolling on the floor. It was definitely a gift that kept on giving.

Then, how about a little game of Dirty Santa? We had drawings every half hour (or so) during the night, and gave out small gifts with a number. After everyone had a number, we headed to the family room, where we had some nicer gifts displayed on the coffee table. If you've ever played Dirty Santa, you know how much fun that can be. Here is Julie, trying to figure out whether to pick or steal a gift.

Finally, time for the pajama contest. Everyone did a little cat walk to show off their jammies. We even made the girls who didn't wear jammies do the walk. This is where I almost lost my dinner. LOL! That had to be the funniest thing I have ever seen. Personalities really came out here. Julie was a total "ham," Sheri was "little miss priss", and Frizzette gave some "attitude." (Checkout the Laugh-a-Palooza album to see more pictures of the catwalk.)

The girls all got together and bought me a really nice cookie cake. That was very thoughtful (and YUMMY). I feel very lucky to be blesses with such great frinds. I'm not sure any of us got any scrapbooking done, but we definitely had a good time. Check out the Laugh-a-Palooza album to see more pictures from the party.

Thank you for making my birthday so much fun girls. I love you all.

Click Here to See All Pictures

Happy Stamping!

Terry B. Lee

Playground Coach