Living Life .... Crafting When I Can!

Frame It Up!

2009-08-20T19:37:00.005-04:00

Do you ever get some great stamps and think "these images are too cute to not frame"! I've been finding more then great stamp storage at my sales here lately! I have gotten some great frames! So now that I sort of told you without telling you what my projects were, let me show you! Here are my latest projects that I finished up this week;

With all the time girls can spend in a bathroom getting "ready" I thought I should put up something that would help remind Breanna where "beauty" really comes from! I used an old SU stamp set that I embossed in silver on the mat, added blue flowers to match the background paper (which is also the bathroom wall color) and printed her picture off in black and white! The words were printed off from my computer, not a stamp!

This is for friend who's having her first baby - I guess you can tell it's a boy! LOL! She knows I stamp and "stuff" so I thought I'd make her something to go with the real gift! I used my Cuttlebug, Nestabilities and also colored it with my colored pencils but no gamsol this time! I learned how to use a blender pencil at my local stamp store! Lorinda, the owner of "The Color Wheel" in Beavercreek, is a sweetheart to give me her time to show me a few tricks! You know I soaked them up like a sponge! LOL!

In case you're wondering about the image, I'm not sure where it came from! I got some stamped images from my friend and it was perfect for this gift! The letter "a" is from SU though and I simply covered it with glue stick and paper! Easy peasy!

I hope you like it and I hope my friend likes it too!

Until next time....

30 Days and Counting.......

2009-08-19T17:05:00.004-04:00

It's official one more time! I will be running my third USAF Marathon next month, September 19th! The countdown is 30 days! YIKES! This year will be a little different than last year in the fact that both my daughters will be there AND so will Logan! YEAH Logan! Here's my plan for finishing this year, I plan to stop at the end just before the finish line to grab Logan and carry him across the finish line with me! I thought that would be fun, well sort of LOL! Someday that will be his show and tell story! LOL! Hopefully it will all go as planned! LOL! I'll also be doing a 5k the night before, walking, with my Dad (who did it last year) Breanna, Jessica and Logan too! I submitted the story as a "human interest" story to the Marathon magazine too! We'll see if they pick it up! I mean, how many families, 4 generations worth, will be walking the USAF 5K ya know?! I'll keep ya posted!
Wish me luck and pray for my endurance! This year It's been a battle to train but I'm going to do it! LOL! I'm a stubborn person! LOL!

Until next time....

Punch Storage

2009-08-17T19:11:00.004-04:00

You know what I hate about moving?! NO?! Well, let me tell ya! LOL! I hate "knowing" I have something and not being able to find it! Worse yet, finding only part of it! UGH! I love having everything organized, crafts are my exception yet they are still organized - somewhat! One of the hardest things to organize is craft punches! Yes, you can buy things off the Internet but, that's money I can spend on more punches though! I had found the PERFECT storage at Ikea (LOVE that place!). It was a wooden shoe rack, slotted, and cost only $4! Can't beat that now could I?! So, we move and part of it is MIA! ! My stubborn side says don't buy one you'll find yours but, you don't find it AND the store no longer carries them! UGH! So, what's a girl to do when it's killing her that she NEEDS to organize her stuff?! She goes yard saling! Yep, you always find good stuff yard saling right?! I do! This past weekend I was out looking for things to make my grandson's stay more comfortable for him and his Mom like a baby bed, toys etc...I don't have that stuff anymore! So, what do I find?! Hello awesome new punch storage! Take a look below to see my awesome find!

This is apparently a stand made for Longaberger baskets (I have some of those!) but when I saw the rails, perfect for larger punches AND the wooden pieces, perfect for my Big Shot and my smaller punches, I knew it was PERFECT! It also matches my decor! How cool is that?! What's even cooler is I got some great punches while I was out! LOL! I also found everything I needed for Logan's visit! Now that is a great way to spend a Saturday morning...on top of a great 7 mile run too! Call me a happy stamper! LOL! Oh and it only cost me $10! Woo hoo!

True Love......

2009-08-17T05:31:00.003-04:00

Yep, it's true! I adore my husband! LOL! For years we've always written each other little notes and tried to hide them in fun spots as little surprises. We sort of dropped off for a bit but, lately, it's started again! I like it and so does he! LOL! Our daughter has done it too for a long time ... go ahead gag...! LOL! You're not the first! LOL! Anyway, I decided it was time to make him a card. I gave him a store bought one not too long ago but it had music in it and was "perfect"! He told me he likes my cards better! What a sweetie! Here's a picture of what I made for him;

I actually did no stamping here! I was creative with paper and punches! I used paper from my new stack of paper from DCWV "All About Boys" or something like that! When I saw it had that "Superman" paper I was all over it! I have called him my "Superman" for years. The man is amazing with the stuff he can do. This past weekend on his 20 mile run (I know...nuts!) he logged his best mile at just over 5 mins! YIKES! Yes, 5 mins! So not happening with little Lois Lane here...!LOL! I used PTI Kraft paper, DCWV paper, SU star punches, Cuttlebug letters and my Dyson Label Maker for the words! I wanted them to stand out, and I was being lazy! LOL!
The result - he LOVED it and has it on display in our room next to his side of the bed!

I hope you like it too !!

Until next time....

Logan Loves His Bella

2009-08-11T21:55:00.003-04:00

Okay, when the Grandchildren come this cute you just can't resist! Check out the video of Logan telling me what he wants for Christmas! Funny thing....none of it sounds like DVD's or sweaters from Old Navy....HUH! LOL! Enjoy! I sure did, I mean DO!

Logan's chatting about his Christmas list here!

Thanks for pacifying me!! Now, do I get him EVERYTHING?! LOL!

Until next time....

Frightfully Good!

2009-08-10T20:11:00.005-04:00

I admit it.....I'm a hoarder! I can't throw go stuff out! Well, this time it was the container for the meat my husband, likes to have with his breakfast sometimes, otherwise known as "Spam"! Hey, small, no label, cute and gold....I knew I could do something with it eventually! Eventually came the other day when I wanted to make a "Boo" gift for my neighbor! You know the "BOO" game people play at Halloween, leave a gift and a tag to say you were "BOO-ed"! Here's what I created with that can;

Close up of the green eyed skeletons my husband likes!

I used plain white paper and evenly stamped my favorite Halloween stamp from The Rubber Cafe again, You Shake My Bones, to create the designer paper of sorts, random ribbons to floof it up some too! The label on the front is made by gluing scrap papers together and running it through my Cuttlebug with the Oval Nestabilities, layer of scraps from around the container, a cute Happy Halloween that you can get one of your own here and "voila"! Instant gift! Total cost?! Around $3! That includes the candy! LOL! I've already been asked if the candy can be raided too! LOL! I bet you can't guess by who...Breanna! LOL! No surprise there I'm sure!
Well, I'm curious now to see what you all come up with! If you recycle something to make a new gift share the link! I'd love to see your inspiration too!

Until next time....

A "Different" Inspiration

2009-08-10T20:09:00.004-04:00

Have you ever just been going around doing your daily routine, not really thinking just "doing stuff", and have an idea or inspiration just "grab you"? I do, colors, shapes things just pop into my head sometimes! Yes, if you really want to know I do live in my own world sometimes but, hey, it's a happy place! LOL! The inspiration for this card came from my oldest daughter. She chose to get a quite interesting tattoo in a quite interesting spot...a girl skeleton head on her inside forearm. I wasn't very happy about it but, well, she's over 21 so it's not up to me to be happy or not right?! What I was happy about was when I realized the other day, thinking about my favorite new Halloween stamp from "The Rubber Cafe" and it "clicked"! HEY! I can use that tattoo of Jessica's to make a neat new card! YES....and the rest is history! LOL! Take a look at what it inspired;

Full view

Close up of the skeletons, what do you think of that background? I cheated...he he he!

SO , yeah, confession time here! I hand drew the bow, coloring it in with colored pencils but here's the neat part! I wanted a different background on the pink (New SU Raspberry "In-Color") so I used one of those mesh bags that you get "stuff" in sometimes. I balled it up, patted it onto my SU Basic Black ink and just patted it all over to get a rough look! Talk about cheap and fun! You can stamp with just about anything! I roughed up the edges with my scissors too! I used one of my new Martha Stewart punches for that cute white edged piece, scrap ribbon and random bling that I had that just so happened to match! Now the important stuff right?! Where'd I get that totally cool stamp?! That really cool saying too?! Lets not forget the pretty Stickle covered hearts too! Well how about over at The Rubber Cafe?! Yep! That's where I got them! The skeleton is part of the new Halloween series and is called "You Shake My Bones", the hearts are actually this Lori Renn stamp "I Adore You". I simply stamped it twice, cut the hearts out and covered them with stickles! The words are ones I thought worked with the stamps for this card and I used the "Just Rite" stamps to stamp them on using white craft ink! So it's a different Halloween card with a different source of inspiration too! Tattoo artists are really awesome with their work! So if you know someone who got married or engaged around Halloween, wouldn't something like this be a great congratulations card?!

Enjoy!

Until next time....

Life Is Better With You!

2009-08-09T17:43:00.004-04:00

Awe...isn't that what every woman wants to hear from her honey?! I know I enjoy hearing it from mine....I'll wait while you recover from choking and gagging....better?! Now, seriously it's so sweet to know when someone loves you SO much right?! Lately my DH has really been showing his affectionate side and I've been loving every minute of it! So when I got these TOTALLY ADORABLE stamps from The Rubber Cafe, I totally "felt it" and knew they were perfect to make a super cute card! These little guys are called "Stella and Angus" and don't they look like they're SO in love with each other?! Sweethearts! Well here's my first project with them;

I chose to color these with my colored pencils and gamsol. I am SO in love with that technique! I was able to achieve the same level of softness in the paper I used which, by the way, was a scrap on my table so I apologize for not knowing the maker! The shape around the turtles is cut using my Cuttlebug and my nesties. I had to add some bling too so there are Stickles in the centers of all the colored in flowers and the smaller Prima flowers. I am a big fan of pearls, both my girls have pearl birthstones! I used little half pearls from Bella (gotta love the name right?!) for the center of the big flowers. That fun ric rac...I'm pretty good at scavenging in store sale bins and was lucky to find this at JoAnn fabrics for 99cents! I love a good deal!!!
Here's some great news about Stella and Angus too....there's more in the series! Interested?! Well head on over to Melissa's store, The Rubber Cafe, and check them out! They're a little on the big side so be sure to grab a set of her "Rock-a-Blocks" too! I know they're on my next order too! I'm always looking for great blocks for my stamps too and think these will be a perfect fit!

I hope you liked my turtles!!

Until next time....

BOO....!

2009-08-06T21:09:00.004-04:00

Did I scare you?! He he he! I'm totally excited about some new Halloween stamps I got in the mail from The Rubber Cafe! I LOVE Halloween and I LOVED making Halloween costumes for my kids! I just love making costumes for anyone! The best part of Halloween, besides decorating, is the trick or treaters! I just love to fill those little pumpkins! The kids are SO excited and happy to be showing off their little outfits! Just adorable...but I'm getting off track here so let me tell you about my fun new stamps! I got quite a few to share with you but, if, and I say IF I had to choose a favorite it would be VERY hard to do but....I LOVE this skeleton stamp! Isn't it just a great stamp?! I've used it for a few projects, so far, let me show you the pictures and I'll give you some details on it!

Oooh green eyed skeletons......scary...LOL!!

The first card uses;
PaperTrey Ink Kraft cardstock
The Paper Place orange cardstock
Recollections plain black and run through the cuttlebug using an embossing folder
Ribbon from JoAnn Fabric's 99cent rack
Rhinestones from Target $1 spot
Skeleton stamp
Happy Halloween stamp
Spiderweb stamp
Black ink
orange ink
white ink
Green glitter glue

The second and third cards use;
Recollections plain black cardstock
The Paper Place orange cardstock
Papertrey Ink Kraft cardstock
Bright green scraps
Rhinestones from Target $1 spot
White ink (looks beige on kraft cardstock though)
Black ink
Orange ink
Green glitter glue

I have other "skeleton" projects that I'm working on to share later! I need candy corn to finish them but, get this, I see Christmas in a lot of stores but NOBODY has candy corn! LOL! What is the world coming to?! LOL! When I ate sugar and candy I could eat a whole bag of that stuff! It's gooooooood! LOL! So now, I hope, if you get the skeleton stamp for yourself you give me a link here so I can see what you did with it! I must have a trillion ideas........!

Enjoy!

Until next time...

Adornit Blog Hop

2009-07-31T05:12:00.005-04:00

Is it magic....is it recycling....or just simply, a darn good idea?! I think it may be a little of each?! Welcome my little page on the web, my world and my creations! No it's not always all about me as I do post about my family here too!

If you came here just to see me, thank you! As you can see I am participating in a "blog hop" with the Adorn-It Carolee's Creations girls! YEAH - fun! I'm sure, now, you want to see who else is playing and what they did right?! Well then, let me suggest you start at the beginning, at the Adorn It Blog . There are 79 other participants in this huge event so, sit back and enjoy the run!

The project I'm posting today is something I have thought of several times and, now, finally have it done! Have you ever gotten "stuff" from the store and thought "hey this packaging is pretty cool"?! I do all the time! Well, I use these makeup remover towels sometimes after a run or whenever I need it and my little light bulb went off LOL! Here's the before, the store packaging that instigated the thoughts;

See the little box it is sitting in?! That's it! I thought, you know I could recreate that box and put something else in there and make it a little gift?! Well, I did! Here's what I created;

How'd I do that?! Easy! Just simply, and carefully take the box apart. This box just so happened to be exactly 12" wide! I laid it out on my scrapbook paper, traced it out, cut it out, recreated the creases using my Scor-Pal (don't have one?! Hurry up and get one - you won't regret it!) decorated it how I chose, taped it and Voila! Cute box! How much time elapsed? Maybe....10 minutes if you know exactly what paper you're going to use?! The goodies inside you can tell are Bath and Body Works and were on sale for $1 each a while back. So, once they're decorated too, my total cost for this great project?! Less than $4 - yes FOUR dollars! Now when I have company, like this coming weekend, I'll have a cute little gift to put in their rooms! Now for the details, of what products I used! The paper is from "The Paper Company" and I believe it's called Espresso, the purple striped paper and the solid cardstock are from my stash of scraps so I didn't have a name, the ribbon is from a roll I got out of the $1 spot (AKA dollar vortex) at Target, the little pearls are from the same spot but...get this...he he he I picked them up at our Goodwill for 29 cents! Yep! LOL! I can find crafting stuff just about anywhere! LOL! Now, that gorgeous butterfly stamp is one of my newest favorites! Well I got it from The Rubber Cafe! She as the most beautiful butterfly stamps and I am working hard on having my own full collection! LOL! She also carries the Scor-Pal so it could be one stop shopping there! LOL! I love that! Gives me more time to come home and play and, the way my life goes....I need all the extra time can get! So when you're done with shopping at The Rubber Cafe, please visit all the other talented ladies in this blog hop! I mean seriously,it's Friday so kick back, relax and don't forget it starts here, at the Adorn It Blog, and the next talented lady on the list to visit.... Debbie Raymond! Now she is one talented lady you don't want to miss!

Enjoy the hop!

Until next time....

I Actually Listened.....

2009-07-28T06:00:00.005-04:00

LOL! I had to share this picture with you! I ran a race this past weekend where the profits went towards Breast Cancer Research - a race I have been wanting to run for a while and I brought my family with me to be my cheering section and, of course, my photographer was happy to be on hand! You know how sometimes you get a good picture but when you really look at it you realize, that's a great picture! LOL! Take a look at this picture and see if there's a "hidden message"! LOL!

LOL! Can you see it?! I actually listened and didn't walk! LOL I did get my best time yet this season! I was #117 out of 348 runners, 6th in my age group (and there were a lot of us 29 year olds out there!) and my time....27:44! Oh this was a 5K by the way! Not too shabby for me! LOL!

Here's my personal "cheering section"! Aren't they THE bestest?!

Well, enjoy your day!

Until next time....

Just For Fun......

2009-07-22T05:50:00.003-04:00

I am SO lost right now....my baby is at cheer camp until Friday! What's a Mom to do when her kids are all out of the house?! I convinced my DH of taking me out to eat and then shopping...we bought Breanna a jumbo cupcake pan! I miss that girl! Just for fun I ordered some tee shirts for Breanna and I. A friend from work has her own screen printing business and did these AWESOME tee shirts for us! Take a look at them;

Me and Bre...!

Since he's usually behind the camera taking pictures of me and Bre, I thought I'd drag him out for a photo op to share too! Here's me and my "Sweet Handsome Love"! P.S. No "Hale Duo" shirt for him....apparently men shouldn't wear pink tee shirts....HAH!

I did these shirts as a surprise for Breanna and let me tell you, she was over the moon with it! Score more points for Momma!!

My Grafico Challenge #9

2009-07-19T22:34:00.005-04:00

Yoooo hoooo anyone seen my "mojo"......aaaah there it is! In the corner, hiding under that pile of DP scraps! Awe poor thing is trembling with fear I'd never find it and use it again! Well, I put that fear to rest tonight! LOL! I was blog surfing, something I haven't had time to do lately with work and training and doing races, blah, blah, blah the list goes on! So, I stumble across "Martha's Blog" and she is on the "My Grafico" Design Team. My mojo is now happy mojo as I decided to partake in their challenge #9! We had to do something "fruitty"! LOL! Anyway, we were to use fruit in our design so I chose to use an old set from SU for this one! I made a note pad instead of a card or layout though since Breanna needed a thank you gift for her coach who is taking them to cheer camp next week (God Bless her!!) so I thought...hhmmmm YES! I'll do that for her notebook! So here's my creation;

I'm rather pleased with my final creation and can't wait to give it to her coach! I'm sure she'll love it too! Breanna already does so, even if I don't win the challenge I won a bigger deal - my daughter's appreciation! Now that makes it all worthwhile! LOL!

Until next time....

Bella's Bragging Again....

2009-07-17T05:41:00.007-04:00

How about a "Logan update"! LOL! It's been a while since I posted a picture of this handsome little guy! For those not "in the know" yet...Logan is my Grandson and I am his "Bella"!

Logan has to get ready for his photo session...Bella does need a daily "fix"! LOL!

Doesn't this picture look like I just showed him the card I posted yesterday?! LOL!

This is such a cute picture of him trying out his "air guitar"!

Ooooh he's so cute....maybe that's a biased opinion! LOL! My daughter also started a blog about Logan! So, if you're interested, stop by Logan's blog to check out how he's growing! He's got an adorable video up right now of "tummy time" and he's talking to me! LOL! I can't wait for her to post his marathon training video! LOL! Click on the link to go see "Bella's handsome Grandson Logan" Drop her a note if you have time too! Jessica would love to know you visited!

Thanks for pacifying me here......!

Until next time....

Uuumm......Ooopsie?!

2009-07-16T05:01:00.005-04:00

He he he! So there I was last night, perfect card idea in my head and I'm just moving along coloring my image out. I'm watching Jumanji, my honey is in my room with me again (he's too sweet spending time with me there!) my card is really coming together.....! Well let me tell you about the card idea first! My youngest is leaving for cheer camp next Tuesday and will be gone for almost 4 long, arduous, lonely days without me,ahem, I mean me without her! Whenever she leaves, or I leave we usually leave each other notes, one for each day! So I chose to make her a card with some fish on it this time, long story short here but "fish" means "love you" in our world....yeah, umm so anyway... I colored my image, I stamped the background and colored it too. I did my layers and got it all together. Figured, hey this needs some bling so I got that on there, looking good at this point right?! Sure it is! Then, I go to show my DH and it "hits me"! Awe man...all that work and the darn card is UPSIDE DOWN! Oh I gave myself a good laugh at that one! LOL! Take a look at my card and see my mistake! LOL! It's got to make you laugh, at least once! LOL!

Outside;

Oooopsie, LOL!;

Can't bring myself to toss it out so what do you think of putting the words "My world is upside down without you" on the inside?! LOL! She will think it's so typical Mom! LOL! My DH's opinion?! He just rolled his eyes! LOL! Such a "me" moment! LOL!

P.S. You'll be seeing a lot of these cards, well maybe not the upside down part! I got a great deal on 10 of them, with envelopes for $1.98 at my grocery store! LOL! Love that place for scrapping supplies! LOL!

Beautiful Butterflies

2009-07-15T05:20:00.005-04:00

Did you know that butterflies symbolize "new life"! Kind of cool when you think about it, a worm transforms itself into a beautiful winged creature! Amazing how things work in nature! I'm sorry I haven't been blogging much the last week or so but life put a couple of HUGE boulders in my way including an overnight stay in the hospital and my DH hasn't left my side for more then a 4 hour period of time! Now that's SWEET! LOL! Last night he even sat in my crafting room and studied while I created this beauty and, if you know my DH, THAT is saying something as I am not a neat crafter AT ALL and he is a neat freak! LOL! Take a look at my creation;

I chose to use this stamp, The Rubber Cafe's "Small Trailing Butterflies" as a symbol of new things going on in my life! I colored the image with my Koh-I-Nor pencils and Gamsol but outlined it with my B00 Copic Marker. I also used Stickles in the centers of the butterflies to give them a little bling! This was my first 1 layer card too! I hope you like it!

Sometimes those boulders that get put in your way, so to speak, you don't climb over them or go around them but blast right through them! I'm doing just that!

Until next time....

Wanna Cookie...?!

2009-07-07T04:59:00.004-04:00

How about we ask this cute little teddy bear to whip us up a batch?! Yum! A nice big cup of coffee, time alone in my crafting room and that would make for a perfect afternoon....oh and if those cookies were calorie free it would be even better! LOL! Too bad I'm deep into my marathon training (again) or I might have to whip up a batch! Sugar....you are my enemy! LOL! So, if enemy #1 right now is sugar that makes more room for fun card sketches right?! Okay no comparison but how about this cute AND sweet layout from Queen Kat Designs? The stamp is called "Build a Teddy" and is one of the Queen's new releases! How adorable is this one?! You can even customize it with flowers, a crown all sorts of cute accessories! Since I was going with a baking theme I chose to use the baking accessories! I hope you can tell I used chocolate chip cookie paper as my card base background too! What do you think;

Like the sketch too?! Why not try it for yourself?

If you decide to try the sketch let me know by leaving a link to your creation here! I'd love to see it!

p.s. - this stamp set is on SALE!! I love a sale!! Hurry before you lose out on a 25% off stamps sale at Queen Kat Designs! I took advantage of it yesterday...bring on the mailman! I love fun packages! LOL!

Until next time....

Americana 5K

2009-07-04T20:30:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! Mine started off great! Me, My daughter, and her boy...friend went to a 5k race first thing! I was pretty excited to go since they were going with me! My DH doesn't "roll out of bed" for anything less than a 10k and trust me here, I won't invite him anymore! LOL! Why?! Last time he found it within himself to go with me....he won! Well, for his age group anyway and overall was 4th! What a show off! LOL! See my competition here?! I just go to cross the finish line AND, of course, get the tee shirt! LOL! I still don't get why these were pink this year though! UGH! I wanted a patriotic one! ! Oh well, next time! Here are some fun pictures we took before the race.

3 soon to be finishers!

Me and my girl! Who was #302 I wonder?!

I think she likes this boy....what do you think?! Don't tell him I said so but he's a very nice boy!

It was a good race though even with the strollers (some double wides even) and the animals that were allowed! Now, on to the next one - YEAH!!

Until next time!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T05:11:00.002-04:00

I hope you all have awesome plans for the day! Mine will consist of a morning race with my daughter, her boy....friend and a friend from work!

Happy 4th of July everyone from me AND Logan LOL!

Until next time....

Ready....Set......HOP!!!

2009-07-01T05:05:00.004-04:00

YEAH! It's new release day for Queen Kat Designs so I hope you're ready for some blog hopping fun! Don't worry if it's your first time following a hop it's easy! Just click on the links I have for the next person's blog and the same on theirs for the next blog! If you're just now starting this fun, and don't want to miss out on more then be sure to head over to the Queen Kat Blog to follow this path of all the other great ladies on the design team!

For my cards it wasn't hard to choose which ones I was going to focus on! If I had my choice I would spend the rest of my life at the beach! Nothing says "relax" like a walk down the beach, wind in your hair, the sun glowing down, the sounds of the waves crashing besides you.....! So knowing that is my dream destination I chose the newly release set called "Paradise Found"! This set has 4 stamps in it and each one can be used in SO many ways! Take a look at what I chose to do, this time, with these stamps;

Can you see me?! I'm leaning up against the 5th tree from the left....a girl can dream right?! LOL!

Like these designs?! Want them to make your own relaxing cards of "Paradise Found"? Well then hurry on over to Queen Kat Designs store before they sell out! Wanna secret, don't tell the Queen I told but her stamps are all on sale right no 25% off! YEAH! I love a sale! Need a little inspiration, something that helps you by having everything in ONE spot?! Gosh knows I have days where I just want to say "lay it out for me"! I would suggest checking out her kits! You can still pre-order the July kit and, it's one that has "manly" possibilities! You know how hard it is to find stuff to do for men right?! Well, I have this kit on my list so how about putting it on yours?!

So next destination on this fun hop - Shannon! More fun awaits you here!

Home Sweet Home

2009-06-30T05:25:00.005-04:00

When we first moved to Ohio back in August we also started building a house! That was such an exciting time to see that house grow and know we were going to make it ours! I shared my weekly pictures of it's progress as a lot of people were interested but I realized - I haven't shown a final picture! Sheesh! What a slacker I can be! LOL! Here's a couple of them to show you the final product...for now! We changed the original front just recently too by having the front stoop redone with brick work and added some rather large (12') trees added in the back yard for privacy too!

If you click on the pictures they get bigger and you can see the beautiful pink flowers I planted that are taking off like crazy!

Well, that's "Home Sweet Home"!

P.S. - the window in the upper left corner is "my craft room", where I hide in the evenings with my toys, laptop and T.V.! My little heaven on earth! LOL!

Until next time....

Happy Bee Day!

2009-06-25T22:14:00.009-04:00

Today was my youngest child's 16th birthday! My gosh time has flown by! I remember her first moment and where is she now?! At the movies with a BOY! UGH! My baby!! I tried to teach her boys are bad, stay away, join the convent! Seriously! LOL! I even dressed her up as a Nun for her first Halloween - she won cutest baby in the costume contest but, well, my plan obviously failed!
This child is the one who ALWAYS leaves me love notes, all over the place! I love surprises and still every one of them surprise me because I'm not expecting it! Now, she's into making BIG cards for different occasions and for Easter my card was a GIANT posterboard! LOL! So, anyway I decided to play her "big card" game and make her one for her birthday! I used some AWESOME Bee stamps that I ordered just to make her this card! See she's my "little b" and her Dad is my "Big B" - get it "B's"! LOL! Aaahh yeah, ahem, so here's my card;

I got the stamps from a company called "Alota Rubber Stamps" and let me tell you, Helene, the lady I corresponded with about these stamps - AWESOME! The stamps?! AWESOME! I went a little crazy and ordered 3 bee stamps but I also got one of their "grab bags" - the cheaper one if you want to know. I am here to say I am THRILLED to pieces over the stamps in that bag! I got GOBS of GREAT stamps that I could see no reason to not buy individually! Great deal, trust me! LOL! Okay so, I made this with SU cardstock, some awesome pink glittery paper I found at my LSS, and I colored it with my Koh-I-Nor pencils and Gamsol! I had these tiny little pom poms that were PERFECT for the bee's party hats and I thought little tiny rhinestones would be CUTE for their little noses too! I put Stickles on their wings too! My girl has to have her bling so I gave her as much as I could! LOL!

Well I'll leave you with a few pictures of her as she grew up, I swear she was just born yesterday.....

My baby graduates in 2 years....the tears are already trying to flow.....

Until next time....

Ready to Ride....

2009-06-25T04:35:00.003-04:00

I purposely hunted this stamp down! I needed a motorcycle stamp to make a card for a special friend and it needed to do with motorcycles! I especially love this one as that is the coolest bike ever isn't it?! Flames all over and Snoopy looks SO relaxed just riding with his little buddy! Images of Snoopy remind me of my childhood cartoons and I just loved him! He could say SO much without saying a word!
So I decided to take the opportunity to make 2 cards! One is a thank you as my friend did me a big favor and is actually the motorcycle safety guy at work, also the computer guy and he's always helping me. The other, well I'm sure I know someone who would appreciate it! LOL!

Enjoy;

Sorry for the short post with this but, it's EARLY to work today - AUGH!

Until next time....

Like a Dream......

2009-06-24T05:01:00.004-04:00

I gor my FIRST Magnolia stamp! YEAH ME! This stamp inked up like a dream too! OMG! I was able to actually use my first stamp off too! Now THAT'S awesome!! I just love tulips, pink tulips and when I saw this one I knew I had to have my first Magnolia and, now, I have NO regrets but have already figured on my next one! LOL! Take a look at what I did with it;

I used scraps, except for the base to create this little cutie. I also used my, new to me, Martha Stewart border punch and some little dot thingies (<-- technical term there!) from Bella! I colored her in with my Koh-I-Nor Pencils and my Gamsol. I chose to leave her dress white too as it reminded me of a dress my youngest had when she was little.....SOOO cute.... anyway! The image is cut out with my Coluzzle but since I didn't really want that much blank space around her I did the "out of the box" technique! If you're curious on what that is then check out the resource pages on Splitcoast Stampers. That place is an AWESOME wealth of information, friends, advice and SO much more!

Let me know what you think!

Until next time....

Miss Me?!!

2009-06-21T21:47:00.006-04:00

I've been getting these interesting emails, and today a text asking "when are you updating your blog"! LOL! It's nice to know you guys care and that I was missed! So.... where was I?! I started my new job last week and boy did I hit the ground running! Trying to figure things out, get to know people, I also have been given the job of editing all documents prior to submitting them to the 4 Star <-- now that makes me nervous! I also had 2 runs on Wednesday and the second one was in the rain. Guess what my reward was for that one?! I got a nice, nasty chest cold that just sucked the life out of me! I know, pretty picture right?! I had pneumonia really bad once so chest colds make me nervous!I went to work and did nothing else! LOL! I'm all better now though and here I am!
Our Father's Day celebration today was rather low key as we all took naps, together, like little monkeys in the bed! It was probably a rather hilarious site if you had been that fly on the wall too! I won the award for sleeping the longest....yeah me! So when we got up, I made dinner and boy was it good tonight! Mmmm! We had roast chicken & red bell pepper sauce over wheat noodles, a green salad and some Ghiradelli brownies! I don't understand the hype over these brownies though, they're not all that good - ugh! I prefer Betty Crocker ones with chocolate frosting if I have to eat some! LOL! Then again, I'm not a chocolate eater!
Okay so the best part of Father's day here?! We gave Brian a card/album we made using some of the BoBunny products we picked up at our LSS! Have you seen the album's made where each page is a letter?! I think at Marko's you can get them with the individual letters to spell out anything! Ooooh the possibilities there! This one came as a kit and turned out SO frigging cute! Here's some pictures!

Outside/closed

First 2 inner pages

Close up of the squirrel...yeah...long story but he liked it!

Next couple of pages...

The back...

The "giver" & her Daddy!

This book should have only taken me a couple of hours but it took me days! I could only do a little bit at a time for the obvious reasons! LOL! Brian really liked the final product too so, in the end, that's all the really mattered!

Until next time....

I hope you like it!

Weekend Fun...

2009-06-14T21:40:00.005-04:00

Oooh this was a fun weekend! I love company and my DH's sister and her family came to visit! I love these guys - they are the COOLEST! No, before you ask they don't read my blog so I'm not trying to rack up any points here so it must be true right?! We haven't seen them since before we moved to Ohio back in August so it was awesome to have them stay even for the night. We had lost time to make up for so we managed to celebrate birthdays, visit, go shopping, eat out, eat at home twice, go see the USAF Museum (the boys LOVED the airplanes!) and I just loved having them here! Needless to say I'm a little tired today, not to mention 4 mile runs each day and today's was midday so I came home with a little souvenir - sunburn! YEAH me! I start my new job tomorrow and am a little nervous so relaxing was good this weekend! So, keeping this post "craft related" I thought I'd share my one claim to fame! In addition to my addiction to paper crafting I also have an addiction to sewing. I've sewn forever, for myself and family. I've taught quilting and once made costumes for a play company. I've been a pattern tester for a couple of ladies and my sample work is published in their books. My biggest, to me anyway, is having my work hang in a museum! I had my good camera with me this weekend and got a good shot of my contribution to the Air Force's 50th Anniversary quilt! I get tickled when I look up and say "I did that"!

Here's a picture of the block;

My sister-in-law and I in front of the quilt to show how big it is;

Our Godson Kyle and his cake (handsome guy isn't he?! Obviously I need help in cake decorating...)

Our nephew Luke and his cake (cutest little guy ever - love those eyes!)

Now if only they lived closer, there was more time to visit......Christmas is SO far away!!

Ready to Ride.....

2009-06-12T06:30:00.005-04:00

Well after he learns to walk perhaps! LOL! Who is the cutest cowboy ever...at least in his "Bella's" eyes?! Why Logan of course! My daughter went to a yard sale and found a cowboy hat tiny enough to fit this handsome fella and then took pictures to show me! It's like falling in love all over again with every picture! Here he is in all his adorableness.....

So...since he is SO cute in his cowboy hat you know I couldn't resist a cowboy stamp when I saw it right?! Well Bella, the stamp company, has these adorable little turtle stamps now and one just so happened to be a...yep! A cowboy! LOL!

I colored the image using my Koh-I-Nor pencils, that have had some Prisma's migrate in, and my Gamsol. I think that is getting to be my favorite coloring technique! The shape I'm sure you can tell is cut with the Nestabilities. I used my JustRite stamps for the word "Howdy" but the block was so big and the square so small it was hard to line it up so, close enough had to do! I also used hemp twine to make the "lasso"! Every cowboy needs one right?! I think he used it to lasso my heart! Just love this little guy - can you tell?!!

I'm off now to do my daily run, the marathon is still a couple of months off but I still gotta maintain my girlish figure! If I don't watch it my DH won't either! LOL!

Well I hope you liked my card for today!

Until next time....

Pocket Notes

2009-06-11T10:53:00.005-04:00

Ever heard the expression "Levi butts drive me nuts"? Well my card to share with you today reminded me of that saying! LOL! Maybe I just "dated" myself there but, that's okay - it's true! LOL! My friend Lindsay of "Lindsay's Stamp Stuff" has some new digital designs for you to check out! One in particular I knew I wanted to work with this week the minute I saw it...a pocket! I also have a little surprise to share with you all this week was well! Lindsay gave me a great design for you to download and try digital designs for yourself! Take a look at my creation and read on for more "deets"

Just pull that ribbon....

Voila - there's your words! Now you can write on the inside!

So, what's the freebie?! The patriotic heart! I also wanted to show you that the digital designs don't have to be used with plain paper only! I used some designer paper that looked like denim, a scrap actually. I simply taped it to my paper and ran it through the printer! Voila! Denim pocket! I cut it out, adhered it to the front, leaving the top open so I could make an insert to pull out! It's still a regular card but I thought this was a little different twist on a card from my regular ones! I'm pleased with how this one turned out!
I hope you try this free digital design for yourself but I want to also encourage you to do something else! I have a second reason for choosing this "patriotic heart" design as my freebie! A friend of mine, from work, was deployed recently and I am sending him this card in a box of cards to hand out to his troops. I'd like to challenge you to use this design to make some cards to send over to the troops as well! After hearing from my brother, when he was over there how much they all liked the cards because they were different from the standard ones available in the exchange, I knew I'd have to sweet talk this guy into letting me send him some too! He caved under pressure! LOL!

So, take a minute and check out Lindsay's designs, you'll find a ton of $1 designs there and her special right now too! So....hurry over!

Enjoy

Until next time....

It's Party Time!!!

2009-06-08T05:21:00.005-04:00

I love parties!! What's more fun than giving a friend a BIG BIRTHDAY BASH?!!! Not much!! So who's birthday is it?! Pardon me as I bow when I say this (giggle) but it's "The Queen's Birthday"! The Queen, or Vicki, of "Queen Kat's Designs" that is! I just had to instigate a little party action when I saw her birthday was coming and what's an important part of any party?! Why the birthday outfit! No, not that kind of birthday outfit! LOL! After Vicki picks out her party dress she's going to need a party hat right?! Well...... here's her party hat!

So think I got enough bling on here for our birthday girl?! I'm sure you're going to be wondering which stamp set has the birthday hat in it right?! Well before you email me check out this set "Build A Sweet" and see if you recognize any parts of my birthday hat in there? Do you see it?! He he he! I used the ice cream cone and part of the cupcake topper for my hat! I love to "think outside my box" sometimes and this was one of those times! I hope you like it and better yet......want your own party hat/cupcake/ice cream stamp set too! Right now is the best time to get it too! All the Queen Kat's stamps are 40% off! The clearance is 50% off! Now hurry over and see what you can't live without too....

One last time..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICKI!!!!
P.S. - I'd sing but, well truth be told...my gift is to NOT sing! LOL!

Until next time....

Beautiful Butterflies....

2009-06-06T12:33:00.003-04:00

I am so loving the green-ness of the season! All the trees, the grass, the gorgeous flowers that are blooming! LOVE IT! I can't seem to get enough of being outside, when I'm not working that is! I went for my run this morning, had a lot on my mind (as usual) intended to only run 4 miles but wound up at 5 1/2 when I realized OOOPS! My friend was coming over at 9:00 and I would barely make it back in time! YIKES! Good thing she's a runner, as well as a crafter too, so she completely understands getting lost in your thoughts on a good run! Anywaaaaaay! Early in the morning is a great time to see all the animals too! I run partly on a tree covered trail before going through a neighborhood to get to the final trail and I see all the deer, bunnies, beautiful birds etc...! I see lots of butterflies too! That's what I was thinking of when I was choosing which card to share today! This is another one from "The Rubber Cafe" and I just love it!

I chose a different color scheme here though from my norm as I had gotten some "Fun Flock" and I wanted to use it! I also happen to have my family room in this color scheme! If you can't tell, the blue Fun Flock is on the butterfly but also on the 3 stripes below on the bottom of the card. I used double sided sticky tape from SU, piled it on, put a scrap paper on top and rubbed it into the tape and then tapped the extra off! I'm loving how it turned out! I hope you did too!

Until next time....

Hooray For Friday!

2009-06-05T05:19:00.004-04:00

I'm so glad it's Friday! This time for more then the obvious that it's the beginning of the weekend too! My running/crafting/future mother-in-law to my youngest (I say that with a big grin!) is coming to visit today! YEAH! I'm probably way over excited I know but, well, not many share ALL of my passions like she does! We ran together in Virginia, we both craft, her 9 year old son wants to marry my daughter (we're talking mad love affair here!) and our husbands get along rather well too! Oooh and she's a shoe lover, shopper too! Now if I die and get to stand in front of that door of "reincarnation" and they give me a choice well, it'll be tough to turn down being a "fly on the wall(you know what I mean! LOL!) I'd come back as her since her job is a dream job for me! Travel is one thing I LOVE to do and her job takes her everywhere! She is on the Com team for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and they're in town right now!

Here's a few pics to share...travelling doesn't allow her to update her blog but you can find it on my sidebar as "Mom Who Scraps"

St Patricks Day run in DC (I beat her too he he he!)

Relaxing after an awesome Easter meal!

Nathan and his future wife, Breanna (look at his awesome grin!)

So guess what we'll be doing tonight?! We'll be locked up in my craft room having a blast as she brought her Bella's! LOL! Oh, I just thought of this Bella stamping out Bella's! Ha ha ha! Go ahead, laugh....it's Friday and time to be a little silly!

Until next time....

Young, Hip and Available.....

2009-06-04T05:34:00.005-04:00

Yes girls, I am pimping out my baby brother-in-law here! LOL! Not without his permission though! LOL! This is the one who just graduated with his doctorate too! Can you believe how tall he is?! Neither of us have shoes on (inside the house = big no no!) and he's not even standing up straight! LOL! I'm not exactly short at 5'5" So......he's a Doctor....employed and handsome! LOL!

Now on to more "hip and available"! Have you tried the newest in stamping yet?! I'm talking digital designs! Check out my card I made using one of the digital designs from "Lindsay's Stamp Stuff". I went bright on this one since it sort of told me it needed something bright! Then again I could have used more country type colors too but....I couldn't have used my Copic markers then! LOL! I'm still working on my inventory of those expensive rascals - slowly! LOL! Take a look and tell me what you think;

I printed out 4 of these to one sheet of paper so I'll always have extras for when I need a fast card! So if you're tempted to try some of these digital designs check out Lindsay's blog to see her freebies! Of course to purchase your own don't forget she has an awesome selection in her store "Lindsay's Stamp Stuff" for you to choose from! These types of designs are such a great idea! I hope you try some soon! Good luck with those tough choices! LOL!

Until next time....

Way 2 Go!

2009-06-03T05:30:00.005-04:00

With so many options out there for making your own paper creations its easy to get carried away - I know too well! LOL! I admit I am probably in running to be "Queen of Embellishments" with a bad case of hoarding but, every once in a while I need to do something more "simply stated". That was the idea behind the card I am posting today! Take a look at the graduation type card I made, and will make again since I liked it so much!

I used solid color cardstock, in my daughter's school colors, the tassel I made using embroidery floss and I attached it under the circle using a pop dot. Since my brad had to be centered in the circle I simply punched the brad hole first then centered it in my larger circle before I punched it out! (You can click the picture to see it better!) The stamp I chose to use for this one is from Queen Kat's "Congratulations Stamp Set".

Since today is Queen Kat's "New Release" date all of us on her Design Team have a special idea to share with you today! Check out Shannon's creation as she'll "knock your socks off" as usual! Want to see what the rest of the girls have going on then here's the list of talented ladies I "hang with"! LOL!

The Royal Listing:

QKD Blog- http://qkd.blogspot.com
Penny: http://penny-randomthoughts.blogspot.com/
Maria: http://www.riacreations.blogspot.com/
Tina: http://woodedviews.blogspot.com
Michelle: www.RandomCrafting.Blogspot.Com
Shannon: http://shannonssentiments.blogspot.com
Vicki- http://qksc.blogspot.com
Victoria http://eatstampsleeprepeat.blogspot.com/
Jules: http://julietds.blogspot.com
Beverly- www.beestamper.blogspot.com
Whimsical Ink Sorority- http://whimsicalinksorority.blogspot.com
KellyJean: http://dancingwithstamps.blogspot.com
Nina: http://creatinginsolitude.blogspot.com
Kelly: www.kellystamps.blogspot.com
Taylor: http://musingsofanaddict.wordpress.com

Until next time....

Happy Monday!

2009-05-31T22:13:00.003-04:00

Well it's almost Monday and this particular Monday comes with me having mixed emotions! It's my last week in my office before I transition into my new position...hey that rhymes! I'm a poet and didn't know it! LOL! I've made a lot of good friends and I'm sure they'll stay in touch and, since the missions of these two offices are close enough, I will still get to deal with a lot of them! Since the coffee bar is in between...I'm sure I'll run into them there too! LOL! Matter of fact, it's where the whole new job chatter started! LOL! Speaking of coffee check out my coffee card I made with, get this, designer paper I created on my own!

I used shaving cream and reinkers to make the paper! I'm betting you remember this from grade school if not, it's on the resource pages of Splitcoast Stampers! It was so easy and so fun! I created 2 different color schemes and using 2 sheets of paper was able to get 8 card size pieces of paper to use! Way cool huh?! The stamps are from Queen Kat designs. The set is called "Give Me Coffee", totally my philosophy when asked what I'd like to drink! Coffee or water! That's me!

Well I hope you liked my card! If you want these stamps for yourself then I suggest getting over to Queen Kat's store because all her stamps are 40% off right now! That sure beats what I paid and any discount I can get! LOL! Not too shabby!

Until next time....

Running For Fun......

2009-05-30T12:06:00.004-04:00

Wooosh it was a warm Saturday morning here in Ohio and I LOVE IT! My first timed race was this morning. "Healthy Minds 5K", proceeds going back the to kids. I tend to run a lot of these smaller races just for the fun of it but I figure if I am I want the proceeds to go to a good cause! I don't have a "before" pic but here's an "after" pic;

I can say I finished, didn't do as good as I wanted but better then expected! I ran a total of 6 miles and walked 2 more since I tend to park a ways away for a little extra exercise and not to mention I'm sort of anal about my car and don't want door dings! Oooh how's that for a run on sentence?! Well I spared you the shots of me showing my legs.....talk about your "glow in the dark" skin! LOL! Well it's a busy Saturday with lots of stuff going on! I just finished planting some flowers, cleaning my car (anyone have good hints for cleaning microfiber seats besides a lint brush?!!) and now need to clean house, run to the shoe guy, run here........run there..... you get the picture! LOL! It's all about running today!

Until next time....

TGIF

2009-05-29T05:58:00.004-04:00

YEAH! It's Friday! Woo hoo! Why is it 4 day weeks seem to go SO long?! I'm excited for this weekend though so maybe that's it! I have my first "official" race tomorrow and I am no where near ready?! Oh oops! LOL! Nah I'll be all right but, want to see what I was doing instead of training as hard as I should have been?! I was "playing" and have the messy crafting room to prove it! LOL! Just ask my honey, he'll totally vouch for that! Here's one of my creations;

I found some of this reall neat stuff called "Flower Soft" at my local scrapbook store last weekend and HAD to try it out! I used some of my stamps from The Rubber Cafe to make this! The butterfly I stamped on the same paper as the background DP but it looks watercolored instead doesn't it?! I was tickled at how this card turned out! I hope you like it too!

Until next time....

Flowers For You....

2009-05-28T06:25:00.003-04:00

My kids are all growing up, 2 are out of the nest and one, as you know, has made me the "Bella" that I am (Hi Logan...Bella loves you!!)! One of my favorite memories of them, only one, is the way they used to bring me home flowers! Usually snatched from a neighbor's garden but, well they wanted their Mom to have those pretty flowers! So when I saw this design by Lindsay over at "Lindsay's Stamp Stuff", it reminded me of those times and I had to download it and make my card with it!

I colored this image with my Copic markers, practice makes perfect, after I downloaded/printed the design. Yep it's a digital design that you can print out any size you want! Cool huh?! The paper is all Stampin Up but the Designer paper is old and no longer available! Want to try digital designs for yourself?! Right now Lindsay is running a special on them. The month of May you can get a free design for every $5 you spend in her store, Lindsay's Stamp Stuff! So hurry!!

Until next time....

Elegant Yet Simple....

2009-05-28T06:04:00.003-04:00

What's black, white & red all over?! A zebra in a paint store...ha ha ha! Remember those jokes from when we were little? I used to love them and, shh when my nephews are around I still do! LOL! Now I have a new answer to the joke, a serious answer that is! It's my new "Elegant yet Simple" card I designed using a card kit from my friend Lindsay, owner of Lindsay's Stamp Stuff! Take a look at what I created using this kit;

Easy peasy promise! Simply download the design, available for $5 a kit, print it out and have fun! All I added here was the card base, the red and the blingy flowers! The designer paper and the words are all part of the kit - only part though! There's enough in one kit to make 3 cards! Still not sold?! How about if I told you there's a "freebie" you can try for yourself?! Lindsay, the Frugal Crafter, has decided to share 1 kit on her blog for you to try on your own! Go take a look, download this one and see what you think! Matter of fact it's a way cute kit so I'll race ya over there........

Coffee Anyone?!!

2009-05-26T22:56:00.003-04:00

Anytime is a good time for coffee! Yep, that would be me "coffee junky"! One of my kids once told me "I love the smell of coffee, I smell coffee and I think of you Mom"! Don't kids say the sweetest things sometimes?! LOL! Santa, the Easter Bunny, Mother's Day always brings me a beloved and coveted Starbucks card too! Love my coffee, just in case you didn't get the picture here...! LOL! I not only LOVE to drink it but I love to give coffee and gift cards as gifts! Now the crafter in me won't allow for a gift to be given in just any old envelope either but, the busy girl in me doesn't allow much time for fancy wrapping! So when I was sucked into the $1 vortex at Target I saw something I knew would be a perfect gift wrapper one day! They were selling flower seeds in these neat little burlap bags! Well, buy one and put it to the side for future use! YEAH, good idea! So when the "Queen Kat Design Team" was challenged to make a card using stitches I thought "hhmm coffee...stitches...GOT IT"! I grabbed my favorite Queen Kat Designs stamps, coffee stain stamp and my Give Me Coffee stamps and made this little swing note card to attach to that cute little burlap bag! Here's pictures of what I came up with;

Swing card closed

Swing card open

So can you see how I made this swing card?! Just simply make 2 circles, one larger then the other (I used my Nesties), punch a hole with your hole punch in both of them where you want your "hinge" to be and put your brad in there! I chose to use a button to go along with my stitches theme, which you can see on the purple part! Now how's that for a fast card to decorate an already cute bag?! You could make a few and stock up on them for Christmas tags or birthday party tags! So fast and so fun! I hope you're up for more fun with the Queen Kat Design Team keeping you "in stitches"! Check out Beverly's Blog to see her great projects! She has a great idea to share too!

Until next time....

Who's Bag Is It?!

2009-05-26T21:11:00.006-04:00

In the military when you're getting ready to catch a military flight you do what they call a "bag drag". You're carrying everything to the pallets to get loaded on the aircraft. At Breanna's school she has to put her cheer bag in a pile with other girls things and Logan, well he just needs one of everything his Bella makes right?! Well you have to identify your bag as your own right?! So how about a personalized bag tag then?! Last year when we first got here Brian, yes, my own sweet handsome love/husband, made his own bag tag for his computer bag! I know, grab your tissue it almost made me cry too! I saw what he used and thought "OMG! I so have to have some of those!" Until recently, when another DT member made her own I had forgotten about them. Well flash forward to this past weekend and a stop at my grocery store I find exactly what Brian used to make his tag! Yes, my grocery store had these! LOL!

Sure, I could have just shoved a piece of paper with the information in there and called it good but, what kind of crafter would I be then?! A pathetic one if you ask me! Okay, so you didn't but here's what I did with 3 of them!

Close ups;

Breanna's for her cheer bag

Logan "had to have" one of course;)

If Logan has one then his buddy Garrett has to have one too - right?!

The cheer turtle is actually a "Bella" stamp, mine possessively but from the company "Bella Stamps"! I love her Bella's and, well, all of her stamps! Logan's turtle is from one of my $1 stamp sets and the dog stamp is part of a set that I picked up at Michael's I think! I colored the turtles with my Copic Markers! I think my practice is paying off a little more each time! Still nowhere near some of the other talented ladies out there but...give me time! LOL!

The grocery store where I got these in Ohio is called "Meijers" and it was in the office supply area! I wish I would have gotten more but, I'm sure I'll be back at the grocery store sooner then I want to be! UGH!

Well, until next time....

Celebrate Memorial Day

2009-05-25T18:11:00.006-04:00

Since it's Memorial Day weekend I thought I'd share pictures of some of the veterans in my family, that I have pictures of that is! Here's a shot of my siblings and I. My Dad served in the Coast Guard as well but, obviously isn't in uniform either!

My Dad

My Son

My Handsome Love and Us!

There are other family members who have served, including my Grandfathers and I have lots of friends that have, and are serving right now. One of my friends from work even left this weekend to serve a tour over there! I started adding him to our church prayer book this weekend!

Thanks to every Veteran and Active Duty person out there! You're the best!

Until next time....

Fast Post - Good News!!

2009-05-22T06:04:00.005-04:00

It's been another crazy week in my world! Started off with the normal catching up, final good bye's to my boss (one of them) getting the room set up for the new guy coming in, a midday/midweek race, appointments, blah, blah, blah! The usual rigmarole filtered in there and you get the picture! LOL! The good news is I achieved a personal goal! YEAH me! I tried to get a job as a civilian here on base but was unsuccessful for many reasons so I chose to go contractor to see how that worked! I still wanted that civilian position for ease of job hunting at other bases and retirement potential! Well.....I put in for one, actually a Colonel who retired and took another position saw me and said "I need you....(work related!!) ...please apply for this position"! Well, I did and.....I was told Wednesday "you've been selected..."! YEAH!! So I have been spending my evenings with paperwork of a different kind! I am personally sick of writing my name and social but it's worth it in the long run right?! So starting on June 8 I will be "Executive Assistant to the Director and Deputy Director of Nuclear Surety" - YEAH!! Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.......

Until next time....

Pursuit of Paper....

2009-05-16T06:54:00.004-04:00

Well, not "OUR" kind of paper, more along the lines of sheepskin, but this weekend we're heading to see my husband's baby brother graduate from college with a doctorate's degree! My goodness is that dedication to a dream or what?! I find it simply amazing in the sense that I've known this brother since he was 8 years old and hardly taller then my shoulders! Now, here he is 6'7" (yes really!)and now a "doctor"! WOW! So, this accomplishment means his favorite crafting sister-in-law has to make him a "WOW" card right?! Well, here's what I chose to make;

I think it packs a little "wow" factor! LOL! I simply used the "Spring Card" technique from Splitcoast Stampers, altered it to fit my needs and VOILA! CARD! Yeah!! I made the tassel using simple embroider floss that I had laying around - easy peasy! The "Celebrate" stamp is from Queen Kat Designs and is one of her "Congratulations" stamp set! What I like about this particular one is the font! It's very readable and "fun" too!
Well I hear alarms going off in the house so that means the family is waking up and we're getting on the road here soon! See you on Sunday!

Until next time....

Fun Cupcakes All Around

2009-05-14T06:07:00.004-04:00

When I was little and my Dad would take us out to eat our hopes went up big time when it came to drink orders! We wanted soda! When time came to get drinks you'd hear my Dad, before any of the rest of us had a chance "water all around" - darn! Foiled again! LOL! So wouldn't it have been that much better had he said "Cupcakes all around" instead?! YES it would have! LOL! My friend Lindsay, owner of "Lindsay's Stamp Stuff" has these amazing little cupcake designs for sale. There are a couple of them, as well as a ton more neat designs, that are absolutely irresistible! Here's what I did with one of mine;

These are digital designs that you can download to your computer and, this is the best part for me, make them ANY size you want! Just think of the times you needed 4 of the same design, got down to the last one to stamp and it messes up - and that was your last sheet of paper! UGH! Time to resort to plan B! Not with the digital designs?! Nope! Just tell your photo program how many you want per sheet, click "print", sit back and let your computer do the work! Now that's "sweet"! While we're talking "sweets" how about a "sweet deal" that has no calories, 0 Trans Fat, and low carb too?! Then you're going to want to check out Lindsay's Stamp Special! Check it out;

So, now's a great time to try Lindsay's digital designs don't you think?! So, whatcha waiting for......

Until next time....

I'm So Excited!!

2009-05-12T06:11:00.004-04:00

I got "Karma"! YEAH!! You know how when you travel through people's blogs and you see they have all these really neat "blogging awards"?! I always wonder how they get them! I was lucky enough to get one and feel very priveledged for that one but now, Sara has given me another one!! I'm SO excited!! Here's more about this fun blogging award;

This is the Good Karma Award. I've made so many new friends from the blogging world. It's full of amazingly talented women. I'm supposed to give this award to 7, and it's a hard choice! The following statement is the meaning of this award. “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut even more friendships are propagated. Please visit these ladies” and let them know how great their blogs are! We can always use a positive statement...a "smile" in words! So I've decided on the following people:

Lindsay - The Frugal Crafter
Melissa - Creating From The Heart
Melissa - Pugnacious Stamps
Vicki - Queen Kat's Stamping Castle
Jackie - Kreate With Me 2
Vicki - It's A Stamp Thing
Vanessa - Mom Who Scraps

Please visit these ladies and leave them some love!

Until next time....

It's Killing Me...........

2009-05-11T05:20:00.010-04:00

OMG! I have been neglecting my blog, neglecting my craft room, neglecting ME....the list goes on! This past week was one from you know where....H - e double hocky sticks and I have a strange feeling it's about to repeat itself! This week I have to include bucking up the mileage as hardcore training for the next marathon starts TODAY! UGH! Anyone want to get up at 0430 and train with me?! It gets kind of lonely out there.......anyone.....?!
Well part of what kept me busy is I put in 10 hours of overtime and as a contractor, you call it "free unpaid time" and one of the Colonel's I work for is leaving. LOL! I am VERY sad about that as I have totally enjoyed my time working for him. He's a TOUGH boss don't get me wrong can make a grown man cry (I've seen him take them out) but still a great guy! The protocol of his move from here to the protocol of his going to where he's going and the job he's going to is all huge and takes a lot of energy, mix that in with the rest of the regular work AND the fact I have another Colonel I work for and they both have been going out of town...sound like enough yet? No, I'm back up for the General's secretary so I've been going over there to sit a lot..... okay to the point now. With the Colonel leaving my going away gift was going to be something he won't have to dust, hang etc... I made him what I do best! A scrapbook! I kept the pages simple since it was sort of professional but, must say, a Bella stamp made her way onto a page ;) He he he! They're not too elaborate but, well he liked it anyway! Here's pictures of the pages! I didn't get too close up either because I didn't ask a single person permission to post on here so I thought this was the safe way!

Still with me....Here's what I'd rather be doing...

Until next time....

TGIF!!

2009-05-08T05:54:00.005-04:00

Thank Goodness It's Friday! I felt like I was in training for the NYC High Heel Marathon this week! YIKES! Not really as I do love running my marathons I sure wouldn't do it in heels! LOL! Too much going on but not for good reasons! My boss got short notice orders to move to Georgia! Taking care of that on top of the regular day's activities and home needs leaves this little girl so tired I'm passing out on my bed by 8:30 at night! UGH! That really cuts into the fun time - know what I mean?! I thought I would share with you some cards I made using a set from Queen Kat called "Hip Aliens"! I love these little guys and can't help but think of my nephews when I see them! These little dudes are really "outta this world"! Take a look and tell me what you think?!

Aren't those aliens cute?! I mean seriously..wouldn't you love to have their eyelashes?!! LOL! If you like them I suggest running over to "Queen Kat's" store and getting them soon! They're on sale 30% off! Now who could resist that?!!

Until next time........

Time....

2009-05-04T05:15:00.004-04:00

Did anyone see my weekend? I could almost swear it was here! I mean I wake up and it's Saturday...blink and it's Monday morning and time to get ready for work! UGH! What happened to my time off?! LOL! I did accomplish quite a bit and manage to entertain some company as well - a bit! I cleaned house, took Breanna to gymnatsics, went to a mall in Cincinatti, ran 4 miles on the trail (more races coming soon!) ran crazy errands, got ready for company and I also made some of the best beef stroganoff - mmmmmm good stuff! I've used this Better Homes & Gardens recipe for years and my family always liked it - beef stroganoff at least they let me think they did! LOL! So what did I do this weekend?! I managed to complete a 24 page 8x8 scrapbook for my boss who we found out about 2 weeks ago was leaving - this week or next week! Nothing like short notice there! He's been a good boss to me, challenging but I am a better assistant under his tutelage (whoa - that's deep! LOL!) I'll post pictures later of the different pages but they're really not that elaborate and is why I was able to finish it! Since I don't have those pictures yet how about I show you another butterfly card I made using one of Melissa's butterfly stamps from The Rubber Cafe!

I used my large swirly butterfly stamp and embossed it! I wasn't going for that marbly ink look but using an old versamark ink pad and fresh pink ink and voila! Happy accident! YEAH! I used mostly SU items here except the DP and darn if I can remember what it is! I can look it up but it may take a bit to dig my way through the mess I made in my room trying to accomplish that book! LOL!

Well, Monday starts too soon!

Until next time....

Hear Ye, Hear Ye....

2009-05-01T22:19:00.004-04:00

He he he! I should have said "Read Ye, Read Ye"! That would make more sense since this is a blog and you're reading it....Anywhoooo I don't know about you but lately I'm trying hard to cut corners where I can to get the best deals I can on just about everything. Well I didn't just start I'm just irresistibly "drawn" to the sale racks of the stores! LOL! Do you do that too? Look at sales, wait for the sales, only buy on sale?! Well, if you're like me and you do then you'd probably be interested in the GREAT deals going on over at Queen Kat Designs store! She is practically giving her stuff away! Here's the deals;

Acrylic stamps - all of them 40% off!

Past QKD kits - 20% off (they're going fast so don't wait!)

Clearance items - 50% off!

She has even made the math easy for those like me that are math challenged and put the sale price up there too! How much easier can it be?! I would suggest taking a look at the kits she's offering. They each have a stamp set, individual sheets of great paper, embellishments etc ALL for under $20! I mean, I can't get a whole set for much less then $20 and here you get paper and lots of other goodies too! Watch my blog for projects with more great ideas that you can do with her great stamps and stuff! Here's a great idea too....how about surprising your favorite Mom with a package and order one for her too! I know, I'd love one that's for sure! So, whatcha waiting for?!

I Love Logan!

2009-05-01T06:20:00.003-04:00

What?! Not surprised?!! Okay, okay so I have a huge crush on my new Grandson, I mean...what's not to love with a new baby?! They even smell good....most of the time! LOL! If you've had kids I'm sure you remember when your first was born you had a TON of questions yet were so sleep deprived that you had a hard time remembering not only the questions but the answers you got when you finally remember to ask them right?! That would have been me....still is but my baby is 15 So having been there,done that and got the tee shirt I knew my daughter would be in the same predicament! Just to help her out I dedided to make her a notebook to write her questions down in! I used a design that I just LOVE for this notebook from a new store called JessicaLynn Originals.

JessicaLynn has these cute owls,called Brentwood - too cute, that are adorable and this particular one is a FREE design on her digital download page! I love free...do you love free?! I used a notebook that came from Michael's dollar bin and just put the design right on the front! So, if you've never tried a digital design, now's your chance to try one! Dont worry though, she has a ton of the traditional, hold in your hand stamps that we all love! So, go check out her Owl Brentwood! He's adorable!

Funny To Share and More!

2009-04-29T05:26:00.004-04:00

So yesterday I was walking into my building, about a 1/2 mile hike for me each way as the parking lot is huge and the building is loooong, anyway normally I just get lost in thoughts of what takes priority once I get in my seat. Well my thoughts were rudely interrupted by two crazy Canadian Geese on top of the building trying to make sure their presence was known! A couple of ladies were walking out, talking to each other and what I heard one of them say made me stop in my tracks, "did she say what I think she said"?! Here's her words "how did they get up there?! Did they climb?!!"!! OMG! Here's your sign!! LOL! I was laughing the whole way in! What a way to start the day right?!
A friend of mine, Lindsay is a talented lady with multiple irons in the fire (like most of us!) has opened her own digital design store, Lindsay's Stamp Stuff. What is a digital design store?! Well, it's a stamping store where you get your designs electronically to print out yourself! While I still love my clear stamps and definitely my red rubber stamps just as passionately as I did before, I'm finding these digital designs rather cool to work with! When I decide which one I want to print out I can do so many things, print multiple ones at one time, do mirror image, rotate all sorts of things! It's really cool! Well here is my first project using one of her hand drawn designs!

This card is using her design "Dear Deer". Isn't this perfect for this time of year with new babies every where (you know who I'm thinking about.....!) It also reminds me of Bambi! I loved that story! Anyway, how about trying this style of stamping out for yourself?! Check out the free one you can get by visiting Lindsay's Blog "The Frugal Crafter" and download her freebie!

Until next time....

It's All About Logan .....

2009-04-28T05:44:00.005-04:00

First time Bella + 1st visit with new baby + camera = LOTS of pictures...KWIM?! LOL! So what's a girl to do when she has so many pictures (last count was close to 300,anyone want to see the sneeze yet?! LOL!)?!!
I think I have Loganitis BAD! LOL! Well, here's a picture of what a girl should do;

On one of my many "red tag hunting expeditions" at Target I lucked across this photo album for less than $2 (I know, crazy right?!!). This was a good year plus ago and, at the time, I had no clue what I was going to do with it! In it's original life it was a plain Kraft color with black dots. I used SU cardstock, JoAnn designer paper pack later, SU "All in the Family" baby (stamped using my thingamajig) and colored with Copics. Have you caved to the Copics fever yet?! I went so far as buying them but am still sort of intimidated with them so have only done small projects! Soon though I will get my Copics class and I can't wait! Anyway, back to the book, I'll be leaving this one at work as I have another to put in my tote bag that I bring just about everywhere. I'll post that picture another day! In the meantime, let me ask Logan what he thinks of his new photo album.......Logan?
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I'm thinking he likes it too! LOL!

Thanks for pacifying me AGAIN!!

Until next time....

It's "Love"...

2009-04-27T01:12:00.000-04:00

I love pink and black together! It's such a great combination especially when you add a little green to it! Wow do they "pop"! Well, they did in this combination! I used some of my "Lori Renn Designs" stamps from "The Rubber Cafe" to create this awesome card!

I just love the unique-ness of an acetate card! Isn't this a great anniversary card? Just think of the smile that will cross your loved one's face when they get this beauty! I'm one of those people who remember all the important "anniversaries" so I need lots of these cards. Good thing I have this great stamp to add it to anything I want! They're made of red rubber but can be purchased "unmounted" to help with storage. I personally keep mine in CD cases and then store those in a CD tower! It doesn't get much easier then that ya know what I mean?!

Until next time....

I {heart} my coffee!!

2009-04-26T01:48:00.000-04:00

If you know me, then you know I do love my coffee! I can't go without it, it's my "go go juice"! LOL! I have a huge collection of Starbucks cups as I LOVE Starbucks too! We go there every Sunday after church to get our fixes! I say our because my family loves the hot chocolate there! My Dh orders his "nuclear hot" or, as hot as they can legally make it! I'll give you a tip on how to get more coffee in your cup too, I order my coffee to be put in the next size up cup! Make sense?! I order a tall in a grande cup or a grande in a venti cup! I usually get my full size of coffee with room for my Splenda and milk and it won't spill when I stir! Good stuff! So, my family really knows how much I care when I give them a card that says something like this.....it's got to be "for reals" as my son used to say!

I used my stamp set from "Queen Kat Designs" to create this card. It's called what else but "Give Me Coffee", also known as my daily motto! The circle stamp looks like it's from an actual cup doesn't it?! It's not! It's actually a stamp called "coffee stain"! I really need to do a better job at keeping the name of my papers that I use but if you're really interested in the name of the DP let me know and I'll figure it out for you! The cardstock is from SU and is "close to cocoa" for the brown and "tempting turqouise" for the blue and for the ink as well. I stamped out the coffee rings using SU chocolate chip... I guess you could say I made chocolate coffee! LOL!

So, I know you're going to rush right over and order your own set of these stamps but I hope you get to before the end of the month! Why? They're on sale 25% off until April 30th, that's why! LOL! Actually all of her acrylic stamps are!!

One more thing....as a member of Vicki's, or Queen Kat, design team I also post to her blog! So this card, along with others, have made thier debut already over there. Would you like to see them for yourself? Here's a link to her blog, Queen Kat's Blog! I put some really cute ones up today that will make thier way over here soon!

Who Wants Candy..............

2009-04-24T17:40:00.005-04:00

A friend of mine, Janet of Corrosive Creations, is offering up an awesome booty of Stamping goodies! Click on her name to see how you can win these goodies;

Give it a shot!

Until next time....

Onesies

2009-04-24T11:27:00.009-04:00

I'm sure by now you can tell I'm infatuated with a new little guy in my life! I think while I was gone I took like 400+ pictures of him and his family! I even got a sneeze play by play using the "sports mode" on my camera! Let me know if you're interested....no?! That's okay! LOL! So with a new baby you have to have new baby stuff right?! Well how cute are these little onesies here;

Ooopsie...how did this cute onesie sneak in here..... ;)

The stamps I used for the 3 with words are from JustRite Stamps. It's part of their new collection. There are quite a few more in this box but if you go to Melissa's store "The Rubber Cafe" you can see the set and all it has to offer. For $13.95 plus shipping it's a great deal! Go check it out! The star is from her exclusive "Rubber Cafe" collection and is one of those that is a cube with multiple designs on one block. I like this kind because of it being just one stamp and I only have to store one! When you have a ton of stamps the more condensed...the better! Not only is this star perfect for shouting out to the world your new star has arrived like I did here but, don't forget Memorial day and the 4th of July are coming! Wouldn't this stamp be perfect for decorating for those cookouts?! Possibilities are endless here! If you like my onesie card and want to make one for yourself, I must tell you that the pattern came from Lauren Meader, My Time My Stampendence, , an amazingly talented lady! I hope you like my interpretation! Oh and that gorgeous baby....one of a kind!

Until next time....

New Love Affair!

2009-04-24T11:10:00.004-04:00

I'm baaaack! LOL! I am home from visiting my new Grand baby in Missouri! I just can't express how adorable this little guy is! OMG! Without further ado.....here's Logan!

Logan and his favorite Bella!

I think I'm in love! LOL!

Thanks for humoring me...

Until next time....

Meet Logan

2009-04-18T09:26:00.004-04:00

He's here!!! Logan Greggory Hall entered the world last night at 8:18! Jessica did really well and is still doing well! Dad, on the other hand, was zonked out pretty much every time I talked to her! I guess it was rough for him! LOL! Men! My phone rang off the hook last night! Did you know you can sleep on a phone and not realize it?! I don't recommend it though...first time it rings you're pretty much peeling yourself off the ceiling! LOL!Here's a photo uploaded from my phone, it isn't that good but, trust me, I will have better pictures to share soon!

It's still unreal to me that I'm a Grandparent but, hey, what can I say other then he sure is a cutey!

Until next time....

Coming Soon.........

2009-04-16T05:58:00.004-04:00

Meet Logan! This is an ultrasound picture of my soon to be born DGS! He's due to make his entrance into the world tonight starting at 10PM! My oldest, Jessica, is due to be induced at 10PM. I know what you're thinking...10 at NIGHT?! Yeah, at night! I plan to sleep through this delivery....ha ha! At least that's what I keep telling her, I mean she took like 2 1/2 days to get her herself! I should be able to sleep through this one right?! So, here's the big discussion right now! I really don't care for being called Grandma, Nana, Nanny, or any of those sorts of names. It's just not what I'm comfortable being called! To me, that's a factor I think should be taken into consideration! I have a friend who's DGD called her "Bella" and I just loved it! I always said if and when I have DGK, I want to be called that too! I am part Italian so it would be like embracing my Italian side through more then just my stomach! Huh?! I love pasta! Anyway, I toyed with "Grammy" for a bit too. I mean, being associated with a coveted gold statue is intriguing...! LOL! Anyway, how did you decide what your DGK's would call you?! I think it should be what I'm comfortable with! Okay I have operators standing by for your comments now.....

I Did It!!

2009-04-14T05:46:00.006-04:00

I dipped into the world of "digital stamps"! Yep, that is true! I know a lot of people aren't too crazy about not actually holding the block in their hands but, I tried it and it's too cool! I still love my wooden blocks, my red rubber and don't touch my clear stamps but....sometimes I used to wish I could adjust the size of an image to suit my project but couldn't! Well, now I can! My friend Lindsay, a girl with a blog titled after my own heart "The Frugal Crafter", has opened her own digital stamp store! Her designs are way cute too! I tried one of her freebies, a newly hatched chick, from her blog and let me tell you I enjoyed being able to print this off 4 times on one sheet and not have to worry about rocking too much, placement...etc! Here's my card;

Like it? I know, it's an Easter-ish design but it's worth a shot just to try out this new way of "stamping"! If you'd like the design then visit Lindsay over at her place to see what else she's come up with! I'm sure something will catch your eye and, you too will soon be trying it just like me!

Until next time....

Just An Idea!

2009-04-10T05:59:00.004-04:00

I'm tired today! Well I guess I should be since I stayed up until almost midnight last night and here I sit 0600 about to get ready for another day! I made a really cool discovery yesterday though! Easter is Sunday and what is Easter without deviled eggs?! So I bought a small pack of pickles, individual serving size, so I can cut them up to put in my egg mixture. Looking the packaging over (future craft potential here?!) and I saw this "Calories - 0"! YEAH! Now that's what I'm talking about! Zero calories! YESSSSS! Sooo what kept me up until midnight was making my meatless meal for tonight, making muffins to take in to my co-workers (they love the Fiber 1 muffins I make - you totally have to try them!) hanging curtains, cleaning etc.. all in preparation for my Dad coming to visit! YEAH!! I'm so excited! Anyway I had to finish up a gift I was making my boss.

Can you believe this is a drink carrier?!!

I had gone to lunch with some other girls a few weeks ago and they had a drink carrier and, gasp..., were going to throw it out! Can you believe that?! I mean how often do you get these with NO advertising?! Rarely right?! I knew I could do something with it! I got two plastic cups from Target with bright colors and used that as my color inspiration! I can't remember the origin of the DP but the cardstock is, well, you know...SU! Not too shabby for having started it at 1100 last night and finished before midnight! Had I started earlier I would have embellished it more! That's okay thought as I'm sure he'll give the "Michelle you shouldn't have" look anyway! He's a lot like me and is careful about what he eats so I filled it with mostly stuff I know he likes and, for his wife, I added chocolate! I have treats for his dogs too but they don't fit in the basket! Over all I spent less then $8 on this! Not bad since my other option was boring flowers that were $9! LOL! Yeah....patting myself on the back for this one...! LOL!

So, if you're wondering.....the drink container came from Bob Evans!

I hope you like it!

Until next time....

Eeeeek!! A Mouse.....

2009-04-10T00:05:00.000-04:00

A House Mouse that is! LOL! So raise your hand if you love the House Mouse stamps that are out now?! I know I raised my hand! I have been in love with them for a while and finally purchased my first one! He is SOOO cute! I ordered this one, "Attentive Friend" from The Rubber Cafe. I thought his face had that "cute" and "innocent" look as if he was trying to say something so....I paired him up with some Lori Renn words "I Love You"

So doesn't he look like he's saying that though?!! Oh so innocent!! LOL!
Here's my recipe;

Card base - SU Going Grey
DP - Basic Grey Marrakech
Stamp - House Mouse "Attentive Friend"
Ribbon - Random ribbon from my box
Accessories - Paperclip - Target, silver dots, JoAnn Fabric
I also used the scalloped square nestabilities on here!

Take a close look at the silver dots and you can see me taking the picture! LOL! How funny!!

Well I hope you like today's card!!

Until next time....

What Happened To Spring?

2009-04-08T06:00:00.005-04:00

So yesterday, walking through the parking lot at work, I was dodging puddles that had FROZEN over! Later on, looking out the door from work - SNOW! OMG! Can anyone tell me what happened to Spring?!! I miss it....I need to get back outside running as I have too many races coming up and, well, you all know I don't do treadmills! LOL! Okay since I'm in mourning for my warm weather how about a nice, bright, sunny card that'll make you "feel" warm?! I made another butterfly card that I just love and, it's a bright sunny one! Take a look;

Here's my card "recipe";

Base card - SU Apricot Appeal
Green - Scrap bin
White - Georgia Pacific white
DP - Scrap bin
Stamps - The Rubber Cafe
Ink - Versamark, SU Orange, SU Green
Ribbon - Michaels $1 bin
Coloring - Copic Markers
Accessories - Piercing mat, Fiskars threaded water edge punch

I think the paper piercing adds a neat touch!! I also used the same swirled butterfly stamp and used it as a background stamp with Versamark ink - can you see it?! If not just click on the picture and you can!

I hope you like it and it helps you think warm Spring thoughts too! Mmmm warm Spring thoughts.....

Until next time....

Want More Stamps - FREE?!!

2009-04-07T05:47:00.003-04:00

I'm beginning to think they need to make money more like the way they make jeans these days - more stretch! LOL! Seriously?! I know mine doesn't stretch as far as I'd like! With that being said how would you like it if you buy crafting stuff and you get FREE stamping stuff with it?!! Over at one of my favorite stores Queen Kat Designs, there's a special going on that'll give you that "FREE" stuff!

QKD is doing a Customer Stimulus Package!

We're trying to help make your hard earned dollar go farther!!! Check it out...
Spend $10 and choose a free seperates stamp (up to $3.99)
Spend $25 and choose a free background stamp
Spend $50 and choose ANY stamp set you want!

Just put your stamp choice in the comment box at check out. Prices are before shipping.
AND..... with every order received, you'll get a FREE Paper Peircing Set that includes 1 square template and 1 Circle Template. Simply lay the templates on your paper and start peircing evenly spaced circles and squares! Each template has like 14 different size circles and squares!!

Now that's a stimulus package Obama would be proud of! LOL! Here's a few of my favorites....aka already in my stamp drawer and ready to go!

Being the "hip chick" that I am I had to have these "Hip Aliens"

Behind every woman on the go is a large latte right....express your love of ceffeine with these great coffee centered words - "Give Me Coffee" stamps

I don't have these yet but they're on my list! I try to think "versatility" with my stamps and that they will hopefully transfer past only being good for a card! I like to use them in my scrapbooking! Take a look at these journaling stamps too, they're perfect for those who think like I do!

Now that's a stimulus package Obama would be proud of! LOL!

Until next time....

So Beary Cute...

2009-04-05T18:32:00.003-04:00

Is this not the cutest bear ever?!

Can you believe this bear is 13 years old?! YEP! It says "1995" on the label. It's an old one that I can't remember if I bought it or if I inherited it?! I guess it doesn't matter really....it's mine now! LOL! This card is made from a neat sketch off of Queen Kat Designs that you can find here. This was a fun way to really make this bear pop off the page! I used almost all SU items for this with the Ric Rac and the flowers (which are Primas) being the exceptions! Even the words are an SU rub on! I colored her with my Koh-I-Nor pencils and Gamsol. I say "her" since last time the bear was a "he"! Love the versatility of these stamps that you can change the look with just coloring don't you?!

So, why not give it a try?! I mean, if you read this today, and have time, link to her post! She'd love to see what you come up with!! So would I !

Until next time....

Awesome Blog Candy Chance

2009-04-04T10:38:00.004-04:00

How would you like to win one of these?! I know, right now after my own Cuttlebug died in action, I'd like to say "I WON"! LOL! If you're interested then go to my friend, and team mate, Melissa's blog and leave an entry! If you become a follower, well then....you get TWO chances! YEAH!!!! So, now whatcha waiting for?! Oh, directions where to go........

Melissa at Creating From The Heart

Until next time....

Is It As Hard For You...

2009-04-02T05:55:00.003-04:00

Is it as hard for you as it is for me to come up with handcrafted items that a man would like and, perhaps, actually use?! That was my frame (he he he - no pun intended!) of thought when I made this item! I wanted to do something altered and when I recently saw these giant clothespins at a get together I thought "hey......potential"! Well this is what I came up with!

Here's what I used to create this manly gift - a giant clothespin, Basic Grey Marrakech paper pad, Making Memories dots (another sale bin rescue BTW!), 2 brass brads, random ribbon that coordinated, and a great stamp from The Rubber Cafe! The square is actually a coaster that I recovered using more of the Basic Grey paper and my glue stick to adhere it. I used my recently deceased Cuttlebug (I'm still in mourning!) on this to cut out the stamped image. I took a small scrap of the DP I used to redo the heart in the stamped image and just glue it on top of the other one! Could you tell?!
Well, did I get the "manly" part good enough? Now, the toss up - give it to my Dad...give it to my DH or....turn it in to Melissa as a sample....he he he I'm turning it like a good girl but I sure am tempted to keep it! LOL!

Well...

Until next time....

Feeeling The Warmth..........

2009-04-01T17:03:00.004-04:00

Aaaaahhh I'm soooo feeling warm right now! The sun is shining through the windows, my daughter is stretched out like a cat again on the floor...it feels SO good! Where we live you can even see hints of green in the brush and on some tree tips - Spring is HERE! So to celebrate I'm going to share another bright and happy card with you!

I think this frog is echoing my feelings! Dontcha think?! LOL! This is a Stampin' Up set but, I kind of "frogot" the name of it! LOL! It's probably Unfrogettable but,since I don't have the set, I can't check it! I got these stamped images from my bestest running/scrapping/cyber scrapping buddy Vanessa! We did this like "Mad Scrapping" event last summer, poolside no less, before I left so that we could get the images we wanted from one another! LOL! Too funny! Here we are stamping and coloring and all the other people are in the water or sunbathing...aah good times, good times! LOL! Signs of true dedicated scrapper/stampers right?! LOL! Since then we've "Cyber Stamped and Scrapped" together! Chatting on GMail while crafting and then sending photos via our cell phones of our creations! Gotta love it! Living in the age of technology is awesome!!
Everything is SU with the DP being the only exception and that's Basic Grey "Chemistry" (again) that I got from "The Rubber Cafe". You totally have to check her store out! She has the bestest Spring stamps - butterflies, dragonflies... all sorts of good stamps!
Well, I wish you all happy, warm sunny days like I'm having here right now....aahhhhh off to bask in the sunlight now....

Until next time....

Bragging......

2009-03-25T06:12:00.004-04:00

Okay we all have something we like to brag about whether it's the ability to always find the best deals on the sales rack (gosh I wish that was me!)or, most importantly, the people we love! I can't tell you how many times I get asked if I have pictures of my kids! Well, not in my purse but every where else! So when I saw these little photo albums at the Target $1 spot (vortex to me - sucks me right in every time!) I knew exactly what I could do with them!

Here's what I'm talking about;

Before (this was actually the before of another book I did - I made quite a few of these!)

After

The process is easy actually. Simply remove the cardboard that comes in the front and back (save for another project or to use as insulation in your closet like I do!) and basically create a card front. One thing to remember is you'll see the back of the front and the front of the back (KWIM?) so use double sided paper or cardstock to keep it nice. For this particular book I found the cutest stickers on one of my Target "red sticker" hunting expeditions so, using my letters from PaperTrey Ink (which are clear), I was able to position the letters of the little boys name to look like the monkeys were holding them! The leaves are from the same sticker pack but the grass is actually a stamp from "The Rubber Cafe" - such a versatile stamp by the way! So, just decorate and fill with your pictures! At about $1 for each book and using your scraps, it's the cheapest, yet best, gift ever! I made one for my Dad even of our last marathon/5K walk event we did! He loved it! This particular one is for my daughter's friend who threw her baby shower recently, a thank you of sorts. I know I can hear my daughter, Jessica, now saying "Mom, where's Logan's"?! Ha ha ha the fun of telling her to wait....ha ha ha!

For the curious - my oldest daughter, Jessica, is due to have a baby boy any day now. He's going to be named Logan Greggory. Once he's born I'll need more of these as I'm sure I'll be getting lots and lots of pictures - right Jessica?!! LOL!

Can't Get Enough of These Dragonflies!

2009-03-22T15:53:00.005-04:00

I'm sitting here in the "morning room" with the sunshine streaming through the window! I'm so warm, so lazy right now and just want to curl up next to my daughter! She's laying in the sun like a cat enjoying the warmth! Something else that makes me think of warm sunny and lazy days of summer are dragonflies. I love these dragonflies! This stamp is one that I am having just so much fun with. It's another one that I got from The Rubber Cafe as part of my DT package

I used a recent challenge from SplitCoast Stampers for this layout. If, by chance, you haven't discovered SplitCoast Stampers website go check it out now! It's an excellent source of inspiration!

Here's a breakdown of what I used to create this card;

Stamp - The Rubber Cafe Large Paisley Dragonfly

Ink - Timber Brown Staz-On ink

Paper - Basic Grey Marrakech paper pad, SU for the solid colors

Accessories - Prima flowers, Making Memories Star brads

Punch - Martha Stewart leaf punch

The holes were made using my SU Mat Pack and paper piercer

I have some more neat projects coming with these dragonflies so I hope you come back soon!

Until next time....

Keep Your Place.....

2009-03-20T20:04:00.006-04:00

Are you as bad as me with your books when it comes to remembering where you stopped last?! I fall asleep or I close the book and think "oh I can remember where I stopped no problem"! HAH! Yeah right....5 minutes later I am still looking for familiar words to remind me where I left off! Well, what if you had one of these pretty bookmarks to put in there?!

I used two stamps from The Rubber Cafe that I received in my Design Team package this month! I LOVE these stamps! The butterfly is called Small Paisley Butterfly and is one of 6 different butterflies available there! The dragonfly is called Small Paisley Dragonfly and is available in 2 sizes! I love these stamps, wait I said that already! There is just so much that you can do with them! Seriously! Yesterday I posted a card with the dragonfly where I did colored ink and this bookmark is using the "emboss resist" technique where you emboss them, rub ink over the whole project but then rub the ink off of the embossed areas and it really "pops" out with the color! I used all SU ink for these, the colored flowers are "Prima's" with a tiny brad from "Making Memories" and, the white ones are from a pail of wedding confetti from Michael's. The leaves are from scrap paper and I punched them out using my Martha Stewart leaf punch!
They sort of make you want to go read a book just to use them don't they?! I just got done with the series "Twilight"! Yeah, I know, behind the curve but that's okay! I still enjoyed the book reading all 4 in less then 3 weeks! He he he! I never have to wonder where my kids get their love of reading from! LOL!

I hope you like them!

Until next time....

Hooray For Spring!!

2009-03-20T06:06:00.003-04:00

This morning at 0744 it will officially be Spring! I am SO excited for warm weather to come AND stay! Thinking about this warm weather and playing around with my new DT stamps from The Rubber Cafe really made me want summer to come fast! I wanted to do something a little different here. A clean cut card so you could see all the detail in this dragonfly stamp!

It's part of the paisley designs that are available at The Rubber Cafe and is called "Small Paisley Dragonfly"! I see this as having so many possibilities don't you?! You could color it in, emboss it (which I have a sample to post next!) just do it in different color inks like I did, use it as a background stamp....so many options! I also wanted different words from what I was finding in my personal stash of stamps so, using my JustRite stamps with my "curlz" font I made my own! How often does that happen that you want words but to only use them once?! It happens to me a lot so I got these stamps and now I can put whatever I want on my cards! Here's a list of what I used to create this card;

Stamps - The Rubber Cafe Small Paisley Dragonfly ,
JustRite stamps

Paper - Kraft paper from PaperTrey Ink, black and white from SU

Inks - SU

Dry Embossed Lines - Scor Pal

Piercing mat and tool for the line of holes

Brads - SU

Sunny Days Are Here Again....

2009-03-17T05:28:00.003-04:00

OMG! We have had sunshine for 2 days and the weatherman is promising ANOTHER day of sunshine! I am SOOOO excited! I have seriously had my fill of cold wet days, working out indoors.... all of it! The past few days have meant outdoor workouts, I'm training for another 1/2 marathon, this is huge for someone who hates treadmills! Have you ever seen the people who can do like these dances and stuff on treadmills? Not me! When I'm on one it's more like treadmill kill! LOL! Half the time I get into my music or my thoughts and lose speed and wind out flipping off of it somehow! Then again....I think it's probably entertaining for those around me! Treadmill comedian! LOL! The card I'm posting today is one that I made just because and thought I'd share with you all. Unfortunately life takes turns that you need these kind so the least we can do as papercrafters is, well pretty them up right?!

Well, what do you think? You can't really tell in that flower but I put a deep purple rhinestone that, of course, came from Target's $1 Vortex Spot that sucks me in every time! LOL! The DP is on that was actually strips of patterns that I liked at the time I bought it but since have decided I liked it better cut up! LOL! The base is SU cardstock, the green is The Paper Company, the flower is a "Prima" from one of their "Bitty Bags", I used two of my beloved SU punches here, the scalloped edge and the corner making punch (I love it so much I can't remember the name - shocker! LOL! It's 0500 what can I say?! LOL!), I also used an MS leaf punch. I colored the heart with my Copic markers and the edges are done with Tim Holtz distress ink (I caved and got one!) and the words are actually deep purple ink from SU - eggplant parmesan I think?! Well, okay maybe not parmesan but that's what I think whenever I see the name! LOL! Well, that's it for today! Tonight I'll be taking pictures of some other cards I've been working on. I have SO many done for my DT that I can't wait to share with you! I hope you come back to visit soon!!!

Until next time....

What Is It.....

2009-03-16T05:19:00.003-04:00

What is it about being your own worst critic? I mean really! Shouldn't you be your own best cheerleader?! I have been putting cards together and think "that's not too bad" then, I start mentally picking it apart! Know what I mean?! Seriously, here I was just having a good ole time coloring away at this image and was thinking ahead to what all I was going to do with it and, in my mind, it turned out cute! Then, on paper...literally, it didn't turn out quite the same! LOL! Were I to do this again I think I'd ink up that yellow background and maybe break out some more of my bling I've been harboring like the rhinestone depression was coming! LOL! Well, here is the card I'm talking about!

I couldn't resist the balloons - look closely at their shape! The words - too cute! All from "River City Rubberworks"! They have the FUNNIEST stamps ever! LOL! I got the DP from JoAnn Fabric's open bin, the cardstock is from SU, the pink brads are from Making Memories, I used my tag punch from SU, I free hand cut the blue behind that white tag shape, my oval cutting tools (<--0500 mental mind block and can't remember what it's called UGH!) and I colored it with my Koh-I-Nor pencils! I think that's it!
I guess I opened the door for suggestions of how to "buck it up a notch" so, let me know what you think! I'm game since I'm always looking for ways to improve!!

Thanks for looking!

Until next time....

Blog Header Photo and a Thanks!

2009-03-10T21:05:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to thank all of my great blog readers for your kind comments! They're awesome! I love getting each and every one of them! They totally make my day! Really! To think I don't have to threaten you with no dinner to leave me nice words or ground you until you compliment me....! LOL! Just kidding!! Seriously though, thank you ALL and keep on leaving them! I need that pat on the back!
Someone mentioned my new blog header photo too so I thought I'd tell you where it's from. It's actually from Germany. We were stationed there for 2 years and lived in a fabulous village, on a fabulous street going up on top of a fabulous little mountain (seeing a theme here?!!LOL!) and this was the, well... fabulous view of the village! We totally LOVED living there and would go back in a heartbeat if we could move into the same house! Oh, the name of the village would help huh?! It's Reichenbach Steegan, Germany! Just outside of Ramstein Air Base!

Until next time....

Make A Wish....

2009-03-10T20:44:00.000-04:00

Well, at least I was told when you blow on one of these dandelion fluffy things and make a wish it's supposed to come true! I guess had I wished for my parent's lawn to be covered in dandelions it would have come through....! LOL! It's okay to dream right...now if only that cute boy had liked me or I had gotten those roller skates....! LOL! When I went to the new store "Paper Makeup" I fell in love (I'm sure that's what I wished for at least once, a fairy of my own...!)with her stamps! Hello ADORABLE! I'm not normally into fairy tales but these fairies are just SO cute I had to have at least one....sort of a starter kit! I bought the fairy called "Kirsten"! Now what I thought was pretty cool about this stamp was that I could buy it with the EZ Mount or without! Well, me personally am happy to have someone else put that on the stamps for me! It's seriously sticky, close to the stickiness of kid snot but, well, 3 kids later and that's another story! LOL! Okay, I know, I know - gross! LOL! Anywhoooo take a look at the card I made with her;

So here's the details - the purple and white papers are from SU, the green is from The Paper Company, DP - another pad I bought at one time or another, the brads are from JoAnn fabrics dollar section, the flowers are from a great bag of Prima's I bought at my LSS but, if you want them go to Mandy's store "Limelight" I saw them there recently! She also has a wealth of other great deals too! I also thought it needed some sparkle too! I mean, why can't Kirsten have it?! Tinkerbell did! LOL! I colored her with my Koh-I-Nor pencils and Gamsol! I'm sort of hooked on that technique right now!
I'm mailing this card off to a very special little girl in my life - my Wuzoo! Okay, maybe that's not her birth name, it's actually Sara but I think she'll always be my "Wuzoo"! LOL! Right now I can't even remember how she got that name from me either! LOL!

Well I hope you like it!

Until next time....

Guess What?!!!

2009-03-10T05:54:00.000-04:00

Chicken butt!! LOL! OMG! It's been a bit since I've blogged! We've been going through a "thing" or two at my house but should get good news about it today! YEAH! Then, of course, my daughter and I both get a virus! Lucky her, she got it on Sunday. Not so lucky me got it yesterday! Came home, after my 6 month review, and slept until 5:00 this morning! All better today....hopefully!
So on to the real fun! This stamp set just cracks me up! I picked up all of them from High Hopes almost a year ago. The timing was perfect when I saw them as I had just been informed my youngest brother was going over to Iraq and that saying?!! Well it is his FAVORITE! LOL! He'd call me up and say that to me all the time! You know I had to get them then right?! Well, just for the heck of it I decided to make another card with this set. About half way through I got a phone call - bet you can't guess who from?! LOL! Yep! My brother! How ironic is that?! He's such a card! Get it - a card?! UGH! I know boooo! LOL! Well here's the card I made;

Outside;

Inside;

I used Tempting Turquoise from SU for the card base and the ribbon, the DP well I get so much (I'm such a junky!) I can never remember where I get it from, the brads are from Target Dollar Vortex (sucks me in every time!), the flower is from those little wedding buckets of flowers at Michael's, and I colored it with my Koh-I-Nor pencils and Gamsol!

I hope you like it.......hope that saying doesn't get stuck in your head! LOL!

Until next time....

Spring Fling Time!

2009-03-09T06:26:00.001-04:00

YEAH! I get so excited when I think about Spring being almost here! I am SO ready for warm weather! I attempted to go outside to run a couple of miles but only made it down the sidewalk before I realized - too windy and cold wind to boot! I was sad since I had been thinking of it all night! Ready to run! So for my morning exercise I chose to do a routine with my resistance bands instead using a video demonstration from www.SparkPeople.Com - you so have to try it! I mean, really! The one I did this morning didn't make me even take my hiney out of my chair! How awesome is that?! I know I got a good work out though since it did include use of resistance bands and my legs hurt when I was done! Seriously check them out! Bikini season will be here before you know it! LOL! Yeah, right! Me + Bikini = nightmares for all who see! LOL!
On to the Spring Fling Fun! Over at Scrapbook News and Review they're starting their fun and I'm sure you're not going to want to miss out on it! Sign up for their newsletter while you're there and, better yet, sign up for their magazine! It's got some awesome ideas in it! So....whatcha waiting for?! Get going and have fun for the next two weeks! YEAH!!!!

Until next time....

Spring Flowers

2009-03-03T05:44:00.001-05:00

I am SO loving making these shaped cards! I saw the first one on another "Michelle's" blog called "Twisted Chick's Creations". Go check her out because she is one seriously talented lady! I wish I had half her talent and ideas, stuff, cards, projects...LOL! JK! Well not really but I don't want her to think I'm a stalker...then again isn't feedblitz really all about being stalking friendly?! Okay before it gets too weird here's my version of Michelle's card;

Outside

Inside

I got my chipboard shapes at Michael's and, right now at mine, they have houses, amoebas and stars for a dollar! YES! I'm all about those good deals! LOL! The stamped image is from "The Greeting Farm", the circles are from my Nestabilities and the little clip that holds the card shut is from Making Memories! I colored my image with my Koh-I-Nor pencils and Gamsol! I got both of those at Michael's too! Sign up for their newsletter and you'll get coupons to make the purchase cheaper!

So this was also an entry for a DT call, won't say which one but I didn't make it! That's okay though since I know I have some serious competition! I am interested in critiques if you have any suggestions though! LOL! Thanks in advance !

Until next time....

Being Brave Here.....

2009-03-01T22:48:00.001-05:00

Well, I've been brave as of late! I've tried out for another couple of design teams! One in particular is for the "Whimsy Stamps Design Team"! I'm nervous as I am pretty hard on myself, my own worst critic you could say! What the heck, you only live once! Not to mention you usually wind up pulling out ALL the stops when you do, and get a great card for your stash! Without further ado, here's my entry;

Outside

Inside

I was blessed with this doggy image from a kind lady from "Tavias Charms" so I'm not sure what the company is, the paper is more from my mega stash, the big eyelets are from SU as is the twine, flowers are Prima's and the actual house is from Michael's craft store! I actually hand wrote the "doghouse again" comment - you couldnt' tell could you?! LOL! I also used my nestabilities for the scalloped shapes too! I LOVE my nestabilities!! I have more coming in this week - caved on some more despite trying to save up for a big event coming soon!

I am sure we all know a guy or two we could send this rascal to eh?! Funny thing is though, in my house...it's probably me that would get it first! LOL!

Wanna give it a shot too?! Click here for more info! Want to see more "Whimsy Stamps"? Click here Here's more info

To enter our Design Team call you must...
- design a NEW card or scrapbook page specifically for this call. Artwork created for previous blog posts, challenges, events, etc. will not be accepted.
- make a card or scrapbook page using an animal image as the main focal point. If you have a Whimsy Stamps Animals stamp, please use that. If not, that's OK.
- use multiple layers of cardstock or printed papers and at least one form of embellishment, such as buttons or flowers.
- post your creation on your blog with details, info about our call and links back to this call post.
- post your creation in the SCS gallery and then PM me. We will view each piece of artwork and leave you a comment so that you know we saw your entry.

All Whimsy Stamps Design Team members will...
- be a member of the team for a period of 6 months.
- have his/her own blog to showcase and display Whimsy related artwork created with our stamps. You must have a personal blog to be considered.
- create at least one Whimsy related project each week and post on his/her blog with details.
- submit new artwork, weekly, to me for posting in our online gallery.
- participate in as many Whimsy sponsored events as possible.
- closely monitor our DT blog for news and updates to Whimsy related information.

Members of the Whimsy Stamps design team will....
- receive free stamps for the Collection he/she will be designing for and 25% off all other Whimsy products for the length of his/her design work with us.
- have a photo/bio on our design team page with links to his/her blog or website for the length of his/her design period.
- receive a DT member blog badge to display on his/her blog.
- get sneak peeks of upcoming Whimsy releases.

So, what are you waiting for? Get creative and show us your artistic talents! If you have any questions, please email me at whimsystamps@gmail.com. Remember, this call closes on Sunday, March 1st. No late entries will be accepted.

Good luck!

Until next time....

My Real Monkey.....

2009-02-26T05:45:00.001-05:00

Monkey boy that is! Thought I'd post a fast picture of my son! I don't put up enough pictures of my older two so, here's the beginning to the remedy for that!

See! He's now about 10 or 11 years older, his body is way more decorated but not much has changed! LOL! He still has a little monkey in him! LOL! If you're curious as to where that gorgeous location is, well he's now in the Navy and lives in Guam! Tough assignment but he was man enough to step up to the plate! LOL! Lucky rascal!

Until next time....

Monkey Mania

2009-02-26T05:21:00.000-05:00

He he he! If my son knew I was posting this picture of him he'd probably kill me! I love it though! As I unpack box after box of "stuff", still an ongoing project here, I'm finding more and more things I "gotta do something with"! I saw I had that wooden painted Monkey from Michaels I knew I had the perfect embellishment for this layout and how it all started! I have a ton of pictures of my kids, before digital that is, which is a good thing until you try to decide "who gets the page put in their book"! That's a tough decision! Yeah I know, scan it in print out an extra blah, blah, blah! This was one picture from a trip to Milwaukee Zoo that we took with my in-laws one year a few years back. We rode on the train and did all the neat things there. When we stopped by the monkey area, well my own personal monkey had to imitate them! He's so cute! I also found the PERFECT monkey papers too at my LSS and, love when this happens, letters that match ON SALE!! So the adhesive was dry but that's okay since I usually add more of my own anyway! I used a couple of Making Memories brads to hold on the tag and voila! Done! I hope you like it too! Here it is;

Don't forget you can click on the picture to look closer up and if anyone really wants to know the name of the monkey and banana papers, just shoot me an email, or leave me a comment ;), and I'll be happy to go look! I'm being kind of lazy right now! It was a recent, within the last 2 weeks, purchase! I'm sure it's on the shelves, or online, of your favorite scrapbook store too!

Enjoy!

Until next time....

I Dunno 'bout This One....

2009-02-25T06:01:00.001-05:00

Well, I dunno....if I found a mouse in my teacup I'd have to rethink drinking that tea! LOL! Then again, if it were THIS cute I might! Ha ha ha! Here's another "Pink Poison" or "The Greeting Farm" stamp that came with my other mouse stamp I used last week. I love the cuteness of this mouses face! I mean, how could you not?! I just did this one, no sketch and well, I'm not so sure "I'm" feeling it?! KWIM? Do you ever feel like that about your cards? Tell me what you think here...

I used SU solid papers and the DP is stuff that has followed me around for a while! Can you imagine that visual?! Paper following you around like the mice and the Pied Piper?! LOL! Anyway, used my Nestabilities too. The image is stamped with Staz-On and then I colored it with my Koh-I-Nor pencils and Gamsol. I discovered that if you go outside the lines a smidge that a white eraser will take it off! YEAH! However, if you get a brown spot on the gray part after your done coloring you call it a beauty mark and move on! LOL!
He he he I just wonder what my friend from England would do if she saw a mouse in her tea cup! LOL! I'd have to say "bye poor tea cup" I'm sure! LOL!

Hope you like it!

Until next time....

Chocolate Fun..

2009-02-19T06:01:00.000-05:00

I was flipping through my card files I keep looking at the different cards and creations I have come up with over the years. I'm trying to see if I really have a "style" but all I can come up with is, well I don't! LOL! I sort of let my stamps, and other crafts too, speak to me or maybe the recipient and what they like helps decide! Anyway, I found this card I made using one of those puffy hearts from a long time ago! I let this heart decide the theme of the card! Actually I think this started the whole pink & brown love affair for me!

I used an old SU set,that I still like, SU papers, pretty much SU everything (minus the flower) since I was an SU demo then! LOL!

I think my photography, at least, has gotten better! LOL! This is called a pocket card and I got the directions from SplitCoast Stampers. If you haven't heard of them...well what are you waiting for! It's like a Mecca for stampers and scrappers!!

I hope you like my card!

Until next time....

What a Hoot!

2009-02-18T05:17:00.001-05:00

In my blog surfing this past weekend, I saw the neatest challenge, Inspiration Challenge 167 ~ Artfull Bras Project! It was such a neat idea that I knew I had to do this one challenge! It was on SCS and I jumped right up and did it! Now, acknowledging that rarely happens since I have to dwell on things I had a bunch of fun just "going for it"! Okay so the challenge was to make a card based on a bra from this site, Artful Bras . I chose to do one for this bra - Thelma and Louise (A Pair of Perky Hooters) - Karen Kendo, and here it is!

So then I saw this bra on page 2 of that site, Monkey Business - Anita Bowen. Being the monkey lover I am, the fact I just love Stampendous' Changito stamps I had to do this card;

I played around with my Stamp ma jig to position the little guy to look like he was hanging off of the word Hello! I think this one will just have to go to my son in Guam! He's the real monkey lover! LOL!

I hope you liked my cards!

Until next time....

Sweet Card

2009-02-17T05:49:00.000-05:00

The blogging world is full of amazing people! Why do I state this fact?! Well, a sweet lady named "Heather" sent us the cutest card for Grandma Fran! She sent her card all the way from Canada too! Isn't she just the sweetest?! That just made me feel so good! Take a look at her adorable card! I really like how she inked up the edges, I don't do that enough. You can't see it but she also did the inside with matching turquoise paper! I love it!

Did you know the butterfly symbolizes new life?! How perfect since Grandma Fran is now living her new life in heaven!

Here's another card I made to send my MIL. She's a spiritual lady who I knew this verse would be perfect for! I had made this card to go along with the color combo for the blog "Jazzy Inspirations" but never submitted it! That's okay though as it's real purpose lies elsewhere! I hope you like it!

Don't forget you can click on the pictures for a closer look!

Until next time....

Clean Up On Aisle 7....

2009-02-12T18:15:00.000-05:00

Huh? Crazy scrapping girl say what?! LOL! Okay, so, you know you're obsessed with scrapbooking, and embellishments, when you can spend 10 minutes looking at the scrapbook paper and "stuff" at the grocery store! Yes, you read that right! I was able to find scrapbook stuff in THE GROCERY STORE! LOL! Good stuff too! LOL! So, I'm strolling along and I see "the stuff" and I stopped to drool, I mean look and I get the "bestest idea"! The recent event in my DH"s family with his Grandma passing away his Mom will probably need to right notes right?! Well... let me do what I do best and make her some! Okay maybe not best but, not too shabby!

In the beginning there was a sweet little 10 pack of scalloped edge cards....

Then 5 of these sweet little scalloped edge cards met up with a stamp set from SU called "Oh So Lovely", an alpha set from Papertrey Ink and a variety of ink colors!

Not to be outdone the last 5 scalloped edge cards met up with some paper scraps, the SU set "Riveting", alpha set from Papertrey Ink, and a variety of inks to match the paper scraps!

I wanted to do a holder but I can't come up with anything yet...yet (I'm open to ideas....)! LOL! I am pretty pleased with these cards and think they're the just right size for a fast note which, most days, would be all I have time to do! LOL! Whodathunk I would have found them in the grocery store too! LOL! Maybe grocery shopping isn't that bad after all! LOL!

A Love Thang.....!

2009-02-07T10:41:00.000-05:00

Actually, it's a love my kids thang! LOL! I was playing around with some pictures I had printed out a while back of my 3 kids. I think this picture was taken in 2002 and is one of my all time favorites! I loved how my oldest has her hair, my youngest is so sweet looking and my son, well to me he's just plain handsome!

I used SU real red paper for the solid red, I have no clue where the other paper came from (read that as a confession of a scrapbook paper hoarder!) since I pick up paper anywhere and everywhere! LOL! I used heart brads from Making Memories, the chipboard letter came from Michael's, ribbon is all SU, the button...well I'm a button hoarder too (falls under my embellishment junkie habit! LOL!). The brown circles are something I picked up last night at Michael's. I found my way back to their clearance section and saw these sticker sheets for $1! Now who can resist that?! It's only a dollar right?! Well it's okay until you have about 20+ items, then as my DH says "no longer a good deal"! LOL! Here's the thing about them though, they're not scrapbooking stickers but made to go on some wooden bangles that you could make yourself! I thought - why not?! I don't always go by the "Acid Free" everything way of scrapbooking but go with whatever I want - a little bit! LOL! Ooh and I got the "I Do" sticker from Target on one of my red tag hunting escapades! It was actually a wedding sticker that I got thinking I could use it somehow, well I did! I had to cut it from the sticker since there was three of them on there but it works...so I think anyway!

Well I hope you like it!

Until next time

Bre's Cheer Pic

2009-02-07T10:40:00.000-05:00

I hope you can humor me for a minute here...I was trying out my new Camera, using the zoom and just playing. I was doing this at Breanna's game this past week. I got this great shot of her from the second level of bleachers! She humored me here too, with a big smile!

I just love it when my kids smile to show me they're happy! I don't get to see that from my older 2 kids too often now that they're on their own!

Until next time!

More Hearts!!

2009-02-06T05:28:00.000-05:00

Okay I have a question for you, when you buy stamps do you buy them for just one "event" or do you buy them because they're versatile and can be used for multiple "events"? I try to think I'm in the latter group but, am guilty of being sucked right in by the mere cuteness of a stamp! Sssshhh, don't tell but I even have stamps that I haven't used yet! I know "gasp"! I think that will be my goal next - use the unused stamps!
So, on to MORE hearts! I've noticed a lot of people are making different shaped cards so I decided to jump on the bandwagon (where did that term come from anyway?!) and I made one too! YEAH ME! I used my floral heart stamp from "The Rubber Cafe"

Here's what else I used: Pink Pirouette and Whisper White paper from SU, 2 largest sizes of Nestabilities, an ancient flower shaped punch, $1 glitter glue from Michael's, a silver button leftover from another project, sheer ribbon pulled from deep within the depths of my ribbon box, Timber Brown Staz-On ink and colored pencils for coloring!
So I think I might have a few more heart cards out there! I made so many that I can't remember if I posted them all or not! Sad huh?! With a teenager in the house who's only communication with some friends is chat on facebook, well time on here is hard to get! The distance between posts (thank goodness for pre-posting abilities!)and my memory is getting bad so I'll have to go back a few posts to see if I shared them all!!

Until next time....

Heart Strings...Again!

2009-02-04T05:24:00.000-05:00

Don't you hate when you get some ideas stuck in your head and you can't think of anything else?! Yesterday I tried to focus on my bosses agenda, to do my work, but I actually watched the clock all day! Lucky for me we had some mattresses delivered yesterday so I did get off a little early! Oh, I'm sure you're wondering what had me so preoccupied right?! When I posted the "Heart Strings" card in peach, red and brown it dawned on me ....helloooo cute for a baby card! I could NOT wait to come home, be finished with those chores just so I could get upstairs to my craft room and get to "work"! LOL! So, without much further "ado"...here it is!

You know I put this card together and used mostly scraps, lately I seem to have a lot! I'm suspecting it was my NY resolution of keeping my new room clean but, anyway, if you really want to know just email me! I love messages so feel free anytime actually!

I have another picture to share with you too that I discovered on the camera! Breanna, my youngest, seems to have an excellent "eye" for unusual pictures that I would never think of yet, when I see them I think "how cool"! She took a picture of the footprints my DH left in the snow from putting out some bird seed! I love how the shadows from the trees play across the snow too!

Baby's got talent that's for sure! LOL!

Until next time....

Love Circles

2009-02-03T22:16:00.000-05:00

Well I promised you a tutorial and, believe it or not, here it is! This is something I saw somewhere on line but can't remember where so, if it's yours please forgive me and give me your name so I can give you credit...until then, read on! I made a great scrapbook layout using a photo that I had printed out in Sepia. With my Valentine's colors including so much brown I've been doing that a lot lately! I used some more of the Cosmo Cricket "Chemistry" paper , "Strip Tease" from The Rubber Cafe. I went with a circle theme on this one too! Seems like I'm really into circles lately, big contrast to my DH who's into sharp corners! I think it's the military in him! You wouldn't have enjoyed the conversation where I tried so hard to talk him into curtains with circles on them....needless to say I have plain curtains! Anyway, you don't want to hear that story! LOL! So back to the scrapbook page, I even softened my corners with a corner rounder for this one! LOL! No sharp corners here!

I used the huffing/marker technique for the word "Love" in the white circle and used different size punches to make circles out of scraps from other projects too! I had some fun silver adhesive buttons to add some extra texture. I also felt like it still needed "something", something different so I added some fun punched circles using something you might not have thought of! Take a look at my second picture to see what I'm talking about!

I used a circle shaped plastic embroidery canvas "thingy"! I can't remember what they're called. I remember my Mom was AWESOME at creating all sorts of things from this plastic canvas. They're inexpensive and can be bought just about anywhere! I used my paper piercer and just did the circles randomly around the page. I think I got my "something different"! What do you think?!

The circles would be a fun element around another circle shaped element on a card or something wouldn't it?! I even saw star shapes, squares, etc. They come several to a package so you could even do a swap with your friends! Just have fun with it!

I hope you liked my little "tutorial" of sorts!

Until next time....

I {Heart} Hearts!

2009-02-03T05:29:00.001-05:00

So when our Design Team stamps and goodies came this time I just fell in love! I love hearts anything really! I have a gazillion necklaces from Brighton whose focus is on hearts, I have heart rocks, pictures and like to think I have a big heart too! LOL! Anyway, I couldn't stop making cards and "stuff" with my goodies! Here are two more cards I'd like to share with you;

I LOVE these hearts on a string and, yep it's called "Heart Strings"! They're so "country" yet, couldn't you see them as a baby card...oooh next card for me, make them into a baby card! I used SU chocolate chip for the base, Staz-On Timber Brown ink, colored pencils and, of course, more of that Cosmo Cricket "Chemistry" paper. I also added some of the "dew drops" to the edge of one. I just LOVE this card! I also got the layout from a very neat blog "From Where I Stamp" I try hard to not copy a whole card but use it as a jumping off point. With this one, I had to copy the whole thing! I love it! I hope you have time to check her blog out too! She's very creative!

This one just came from "outta nowhere"! I have a ton of eyelets because I'm an embellishment junky and, unfortunately, a hoarder too! I realized in this move if there's one thing I need to do that is use my embellishments! I used some Making Memories brown eyelets and a thin brown ribbon to create a corset of sorts on here! I used a bigger brown ribbon for the bow. I used my SU scallop border punch for the decorative edges. Now here's where I got that neat heart from, I used this stamp , Party Hearts stamped out in Staz-On Timber Brown ink and cut out the center heart! I then paperpieced a tiny heart for the center from the same paper, love that Chemistry paper, I used for the corset and the letters. I colored the edges in with colored pencils. I was tickled at how cute it came out!

Well I hope you liked my cards! I'm off to get ready for work now!

Until next time....

I Love Purple!

2009-02-02T22:02:00.000-05:00

I love dark rich purple, I love dark rich any color really! There's just something about that purple though....! I'm getting cards ready for different special events I have coming up so I created this love card, intentionally leaving it sentiment free so I can use it for anything that might come up! You never know right?! When I look at a card in the store I try to check out the reason I was drawn to that particular card and a lot of times it's because of the embossing. So, this time I embossed! I actually did two types of embossing, heat embossing with embossing powder and I also ran the ivory paper through my Cuttlebug using a texture embossing folder called "D'vine Swirls". I think it gives it a more elegant look suitable for a wedding or a special anniversary! The stamp is another from "The Rubber Cafe" that I can't stop coming up with ideas for! What do you think?

I also added pearl buttons and a sheer purple bow. On the envelope I used the marker technique to add only the word "Love" on the envelope. The stamp I used also came from The Rubber Cafe (hey, I'm on their DT and like their stamps! LOL!) It's called, appropriately "Love Words". It would make a great background or strip stamp if you ever needed one!

Don't forget The Rubber Cafe is having a great deal for those bargain hunters, like me, out there! Here's more info;

The Rubber Cafe
Save 15% (valid on orders of $50 or more) coupon code FEB09
Offer Expires: February 08 2009

Until next time....

Loss For Words

2009-02-01T22:34:00.000-05:00

Well, in a previous post I asked for prayers for our Grandma Fran, meatball Grandma to Breanna, as she was pretty ill. I say "was" as she is no longer with us. Grandma Fran went to heaven to be with Grandpa Nick, the love of her life! I'm happy for her to be with him. To have known her made me a better person I think. She helped me understand a lot of things about the family I married into. She was just a wonderful person, so full of stories to share and just the most giving person.

If it's not asking too much, could you please add her to your prayer list again?

We love you Grandma Fran! You're forever in our hearts!

Sending All My Love

2009-02-01T21:41:00.000-05:00

I'm "Sending All My Love" to someone special, or it looks like it with this card anyway! Isn't this the cutest stamp for Valentine's Day?! I like this one since it looks like it's just bursting with love! This is another stamp I got as part of my yummy Valentine's package from "The Rubber Cafe". I made two different cards using this one and I'm not sure which one I like better! Take a look and tell me what you think!

I got a little creative with this one. I wanted the focus to be on the stamp and words so I used my Scor Pal to create the lines at the bottom of the Kraft paper. Let me tell you, if you don't have one, get one now! I use my Scor Pal in almost every paper product I create! I haven't created a crooked card since getting one AND have used it for lots of decorative elements too!

I really like how this one turned out too! I used more of the Cosmo Cricket "Chemistry" paper in this one too! The plaid stripe is one of the strips off the sheet called "Strip Tease" and the other DP is from the sheet called "Winks"! How seductive are those names?! LOL! Not like I needed any help falling in love with these papers either! A little paper piercing and a small brown bow and voila! Cute card!

As you can see I didn't let the envelope for these cards off the hook, so to speak! I stamped them too! Don't forget the envelope when you're stamping! Presentation is everything and, if for nothing else...why not! It's just another blank slate begging for ink!

So if you're on the fence about any of these stamps, papers or even the Scor Pal check out Melissa's special offer, limited time only so hurry! If you're like me and are watching your dimes, or pennies, this is a great deal! Here's a little more on the offer Save 15% (valid on orders of $50 or more)coupon code FEB09 at WWW.TheRubberCafe.Com

Offer Expires: February 08 2009

Flowers for Grandma Fran

2009-01-29T22:56:00.000-05:00

My DH's Grandma was admitted to the hospital a few days ago. She had two strokes, 1 mild and 1 not so mild. I just want to cry when I think of her in any kind of pain as she is just the sweetest lady ever! My kids refer to her as "Meatball Grandma"! Our first time going up there to meet her Breanna was 2 and, on that trip got to see my Mom, my DH's Mom and "Meatball Grandma". In the way that only a toddler can do it she figured out a way to tell them all apart! LOL! So, since she served us meatballs she became from that point forward, "Meatball Grandma"! My Mom became "Little Grandma" as she wasn't even 5 feet tall (I get my height from my Dad) and Brian's Mom, only in comparison being taller, was referred to as "Big Grandma"! Anyway, this Grandma loves flowers. She always has beautiful ones in her house, in her yard and was a member of the Flower Club in her little town of "Spooner Wisconsin". It made my choice of what to make her a card with well, rather easy! I used one of my favorite SU stamp sets to make this one;

I used watercolor paper for the image and the solid paper is SU and the DP is from a pad I found while unpacking "stuff" the past couple of days! The punch is from Fiskars and is called Treading Water. I heat embossed the bee with gold embossing powder and put gold dots on the violets to match! You can't see it so well in the picture but they're there!

Well, if you're so inclined, can you add "Meatball Grandma" to your list of prayers? We all appreciate it!

Well, until next time....

Temptation For Your Sweet Tooth

2009-01-29T22:09:00.001-05:00

Oooh I know it's temptation for mine! A fellow USAF wife, also named Michelle, is giving away some awesome blog candy! Go check it out

http://n8tvtexan.blogspot.com/2009/01/blog-candy-here.html

I'm off to read some more!!

Until next time....

A Mouse in the House......

2009-01-29T20:57:00.000-05:00

No reason to scream though! LOL! Not that I wouldn't if I really saw one .....! LOL! Anyway I have a question for you, did you get all your Christmas cards made that you WANTED to make?! I mean for your friends and the other special people in your life?! I'll have to raise my hand right along with you! I was bad..very bad! I guess with the holidays, being sick for a week, going home to Wisconsin for a week AND a move into a new house all in like a 3 week period can really put you behind! So, today being ANOTHER snow day here in Ohio I decided, had time to think even, I should make a card for all my special friends! The ones who I didn't make one for at Christmas! You don't really need a special occasion to tell them how special they are after all right?!

Okay, so here's my first card!

I used the cutest stamp set, A Cup of Stuff, I got a while back from "Pink Poison" (now known as "The Greeting Farm") for the mice and the word "Friend" came from another set "Vintage Birds" I love birds so this set will be a favorite now that I can stamp more! YEAH! The paper was all random stuff that I pulled out of boxes while I was off and decided to make good use of! I actually, believe it or not, attempted water coloring on the mice! What do you think?! I had been stalking a few blogs whose owners ROCK in the coloring department! My goodness, when I grow up (if ever!) I want to color like them! I also got to use a couple of punches I don't get to use often, one is new actually! I used the treading water punch from Fiskars and my new Martha Stewart leaf punch! I had wanted one for a while so I broke down and got it. I, for some reason, have to have leaves with my flowers! No problem now! YEAH!!!

Well, I hope you like my card...and so does the recipient!

Until next time....

Supporting my Sistahs!

2009-01-29T19:40:00.000-05:00

LOL! Say what?! Okay, fine, so I have no "real" sisters but I do have some very crafty "sistahs"! LOL! These are my friends in my blogging groups, my DT and just great people who I "meet" online! One of these seriously OH SO Talented ladies is giving away an awesome blog treat! Okay, hang on I know you're excited so let me give you her addy before you run off....

http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/

Read her post carefully becuase she gives you an idea of how to get TWO entries for her goodies! I won once and would love to win again! Okay now you can go....

Until next time......