So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night…

I hate, hate, hate good-byes.   I’m really bad at them too.  So, I’m a little teary-eyed as IHP is saying good-bye to DT member Lynn.  I met Lynn at my very first CHA in Chicago at the SCS Cupcake Reception.  We had never met but hung out for most of the night.  A while later, after Paper Craft Planet came to be, we became good friends and she joined my DT.   And it’s been a fantastic ride.  I’m so sad to her let go of her DT roles both for me and other companies, but I know she needs to and that other, more important things need her attention.  I’ll miss her amazing work and witty sense of humor but have fond memories and know our friendship will endure.  This picture from one of our CHA DT dinners is a fav of mine and holds special memories for me.  So, cheers to Lynn!

It’s also the end of the month, which means the end of our guest DT spot for Michele.  It’s been so great to have her join us this month.  She is so sweet and incredibly talented and I hope you continue to follow her over on her blog or on the CAS-ual Fridays blog!  You can see all the great projects she made for us this month right HERE.  Thank you, Michele!

So, just like that…I gratefully and humbly say thank you to two amazing women.  But, it’s not all sad!  Tomorrow I get to welcome our newest addition, our new Social Media Coordinator.  So, stay tuned for news on that!  I’m so excited!

Have a great weekend and thanks, as always for stopping in.

NSR: Reflections

Hello!  A little non stamping post from me today.  Today marks one year that our second dog, BooBoo came into our lives.  (She’s the very scared one on the left here, still on the transport van that brought her from KY to NJ.)  But, as many of you might remember, before we could take her home, she escaped from the van.  Before we could  even put our hands on her, she broke out of her collar and bolted.  We would spend the next 9 days frantically looking for this sweet girl as she was lost and very afraid in the foreign woods of NJ. 
For those nine days my world completely stopped turning, doing overnight stakeouts, sleeping about 3-5 hours a night, not working, barely eating - all for a dog I had never actually met.  (I had been following her story and the need for her to be rescued for almost a month on Facebook and we had finally decided to foster her (in the hopes of adopting if our other dog, Mr. Barbo liked her.  Truth be told I was already in love with her before she even came to NJ and each day that passed, I grew more and more worried and fell more and more in love.) 
We are so incredibly lucky we caught her, thanks in part to lots of volunteers, a lot of people calling from flyers we hung and also to her brother Blaze, seen here.
Now she is my little shadow, her and Barbo adore each other and I can’t imagine life without her.  I guess it’s all part of the cycle of hellos and good-byes.  People, things, animals all come and go in our lives. 

I’ll have some IHP good-byes and hellos over the weekend so please check back!  Thanks for stopping in!

DT Challenge: Studio Calico album

Hello!!  Today’s challenge is sponsored by Studio Calico.  They gave us these awesome honeycomb journaling albums to work with.  It’s so exciting to see all the different ideas the team came up with to use these albums.   They come unbound so you can do tons of different things with them.

I am not a big journaler but I have been pinning tons of great things.  As a few of you know, we’ve been trying to sell our house and move to NH to build a new home.  But, a few weeks ago we got some disappointing news about our current home value which will delay our plans to move  for a while.  So, I needed some positive motivation so I decided to print out a bunch of good sayings that I’ve pinned and make a little book of happy things for when I need a lift.

I used the Happier and Hello Spring pads to create the binding held together with our exclusive i {stick} papers redline tape.  I used the Nesting Hexagons to create a focal point (popped up on dimensional dots) on the cover, stamped with Paper Smooches Simply Said and Geo-Graphic, stamped in Memento inks and colored with Copics.  I added some KaiserCraft Sparklets for some bling and then some white twill to keep it shut.

Be sure to look at all the other DT projects, including our special guest designer!  It’s a great hop!

• Michele Gross, June's Guest Designer
• Carolyn
• Deb
• Gretchen
• Loretta
• Lori
• Lynn
• Tracy

Now before you rush off…here’s some other news…

The economy may be bad, but IHP is hiring!  We are looking to add a Social Media Coordinator to our payroll.  If you have a passion for social media (and are very knowledgeable about it) and love paper crafting, then please read more about the position here.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Five Minute Friday: Happy Anniversary

Hello!!!  It’s been a while since I’ve actually done a Five Minute Friday card but here I am!

I needed a quick card for John’s parents’ 40th anniversary and I love the sentiment from Good Gab and wanted to pair it with some hearty things without making it too over the top mushy.  So the What’s Up felt stickers paired with some Konnichiwa paper was perfect!  I stamped the sentiment in Memento ink (have you SEEN the new colors?  LOVE!) and scalloped the edge using my Classic Edges One Edgeabilities (it’s a great assortment of basic edges).  I twisted some ivory silk ribbon and added some bling and that was it!

Thanks for stopping in today, especially if you’re here from Moxie Fab!  I’ll be back Tuesday with our monthly DT Challenge!  Have a great Father’s Day weekend!

June Guest DT: Welcome Michele!

I am so incredibly thrilled to welcome Michele Gross as our June guest designer. 

I adore her CAS style and knew she’d be a perfect fit to help out for a month and I was over the moon when she accepted.  If you somehow haven’t bumped into her in blogland, please be sure to stop over at Studio MSG  and be inspired by her designs.  She also runs the challenge blog CAS-ual Fridays.  I can’t wait to see all the wonderful projects she comes up with this month.  Today is her first one, so please go show her some IHP love! 

Here’s what she said when I asked her a little bit about herself:

“I am a stamper! Nothing makes me happier than pressing a well inked stamp onto card stock, except dressing it up afterwards with ribbon and bling!

I started my blog Studio MSG about 2 1/2 years ago so I could participate in challenges.  I was instantly hooked and soon worked up my nerve to try my hand in the publication arena.  I've been lucky to have several of my cards featured in various publications including Paper Crafts Magazine, and their book The Big Book of Holiday Paper Crafts. 

Creatively speaking, my biggest source of pride to date is my challenge blog CAS-ual Fridays!  I love seeing the amazing clean and simple inspiration that my design team dreams up each week, and the fantastic interpretations the players add to the gallery, all from a simple challenge theme.

When I am not getting inky, I am fully immersed in the world of electric guitars, skateboard parks and wrestling mats thanks to my 2 handsome sons. I married my best friend 15 years ago, I am owned by two very loved Boston Terriers, I think chocolate should be a food group, and I believe there are two seasons- winter and baseball.

I'm so excited to be guest designing at i {heart} papers this month! The store is filled with delightful goodies so I know this is going to be super fun! “

So, welcome Michele!  I’m so happy to have you join us this month!

Thanks for stopping in today!