Inspired By Ink

I Need a Vacation

2011-03-24T07:24:00.002-04:00

I'm so ready for the germs to be gone for a while. Never thought I would WELCOME seasonal allergies like I do nowadays!

Poor Lgirl has a REALLY bad UTI, which we had to find out the hard way by making an ER visit last night. Now we're just waiting for the antibiotics to get work its magic. Her symptoms were not atypical at all. I had no clue, I just KNEW that something was wrong with my child and she should have been feeling better!

I thought she had the 12 hr stomach flu because she was throwing up and then had diarrhea Sunday night and early Monday morning. She also had a fever, achy thighs to the point that she didn't want to walk because it hurt. She also had a continual headache, no appetite, pain in her stomach & serious lethargy. We got home from the doctor monday evening & she fell asleep at 5;30pm and slept until 7:30a yesterday.

I would have thought she would be a bit perkier after that much sleep. But she laid on the couch and didn't move much at all or eat much. I made her drink but that was about it with a fever on and off all day.

I could NOT let her go another night w/o taking her somewhere. I thought it was going to be her appendix, but thankfully it wasn't. So, if I don't see some serious improvement tomorrow morning I believe we'll be heading to the doctor's office for booster shot of antibiotics.

Today's also the start of my 'Spring Break Rush' with 4 legged friends. I watch dogs while their owners go on vacation. The first 2 dogs arrived today. Tomorrow one more comes over and Friday I have 3 dogs arriving. More on Saturday too! Should be a lot of fun here :).

Oh and did I mention I have to take the hubster in for a colonoscopy tomorrow? When it rains it pours now doesn't it?! lol

Here's a Sympathy Card I made for a friend who lost her mother. So sad... no one likes to make those cards. But we all need them.

Stamp sets: Deepest Sympathy
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Rose Red, Pirouette Pink, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Two way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Sponge Dauber

Sorry it's so blurry. I'm working on a better way to take pictures of my cards.

Happy Spring!

2011-03-20T07:04:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know my 'comeback' has failed miserably! I think I put too much pressure on myself. I think I have to post cards & crafty stuff & when I don't have time to get them all ready, then I feel like I shouldn't post at all. Sigh...

Not to mention the whole FAMILY has been sick off & on since Feb. 5th. Yes, I know the date lol. Gman got pink eye & it was downhill from there. I know they are only excuses, but still true.

Right now, Lgirl has a head cold & Gman has gotten the sniffles again. Sigh... I think his is only his allergies, at least I'm hoping it is!

What have YOU been working on? (Not you Dana as I have stalked your blog AND commented!) I am currently working on some Bridal Shower Invitations. I will try to post them when I have the finished item.

Any suggestions on how to take good pictures of my cards? I left a voice mail for a friend but got no answer (HINT HINT Dana!!). I will try to come up with something. I can make no promises though as Spring Break is around the corner & I have 7 dogs that will be 'vacationing' here while their parents are away. It will certainly be a bit crowded here, especially with my 4!

Hugs to my loyal followers! Thanks so much!

2011-01-06T07:33:00.001-05:00

Filled with Love Promotion–FREE BITTY BUTTONS!

To order any of the items or bundles, visit my Demonstrator Business Website.

You can also click to download the Filled with Love flyer (PDF) and some fun Filled with Love project ideas (PDF).

2011-01-03T07:01:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!
Yes, I am going to TRY and make a comeback. We'll see how long it takes before I get totally stressed out & frustrated with my computer not letting load or upload. I do have internet explorer as a backup, but even that gave out on me last year.

But it's a new year which gives me a new perspective on things. How were your holidays? I hope very good. Mine were great. I really love the kids at their ages right now. Hearing Lgirl scream, "Santa is GREAT!!" every so often during Christmas morning was awesome.

We don't have cable TV so my kids don't see the commercials other kids see on tv. Therefore, they are a little behind in the times & their Wish Lists weren't that long and didn't have crazy things on them. Lgirl wanted games and workbooks lol. Sad but true. Gman only put 5 things on his list, one of which I told him he would be getting (it was a sleigh like Santa). Crazy boy!

Well, I'm off to do some stamping so have a great day! Thanks to those of you who have stuck around. I appreciate it.

Christmas Card #6

2010-10-23T07:58:00.000-04:00

Stamp sets: Dasher, All Holidays, Best Yet (retired)

Ink: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Scallop Trimp Border Punch, Med Oval Punch, Scalloped Oval Punch, Petals A Plenty embossing folder, Frost Shimmer Paint, Sakura Gel Pen (non SU)

I really like this card! I really wanted to use Dasher on a card and had tried making a tent card with Bashful Blue & Night of Navy. The card never worked out. Everything I tried didn't look right and the hubster got tired of me asking, 'Well, what about if I did this instead of that?'

This is a Inspired by Ink original! Totally thought up by me and having so many Cherry Cobbler pieces left over that I wanted to use. No casing or copying! woohoo & yay me. Sorry I need to toot my horn once in a while.

Our shimmer paint is AWESOME! You just need to pour a bit into a small spray bottle (a little goes along way- just like adhesive!), shake it up and spray sparingly onto cardstock. Lay it down to dry and then look at the awesome shine! Ohh so lovely. I even sprayed it on the inside of some of my Christmas cards. Gives it an added bling. The more bling the better I say.

Here's the inside. Plus there's a poinsetta on the envelope too. I really enjoy decorating the inside AND the envelope of my cards.

Fall Break for ONE

2010-10-22T15:54:00.000-04:00

child, but not the other. It's a little confusing, but since Gman goes Monday thru Wednesday, it isn't too bad. I'm just really confused when I go into town & stop at his school & wonder why they are working when it's Fall Break... durh it's not fall break for Townies until NEXT week!

See how slow I seem to be getting? Or would it be considered forgetful? Sad but true! Either way, it's frustrating. Anyways, Lgirl has Fall Break yesterday & today and we have a friend over for today to spend with her.

Hope you are enjoying your Thursday & Friday before the weekend!

Christmas Card Club #5

2010-10-22T13:40:00.004-04:00

Well, I have figured out a work around for the uploading problem. Though it's not long term, it will do until this gets fixed... if it ever does! I have to open my blogger in internet explorer and upload it that way!

Stamp sets: Greeting Card Kids, (I forgot what Warm Wishes is from)

Paper: Garden Green, Whisper White, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink

Ink: Garden Green, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Daffodil Delight, Bashful Blue, Black Stazon

Accesories: Modern Label Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Punch, Bigz Die Circle #2, sponge dauber, Elegant Lines embossing folder

Here's one of the cards we made this month for Christmas Card Club. So cute. I borrowed a friend's stamp set, Greeting Card Kids, and made this lovely card. See the lovely glitter on her coat? Love that glitter. Makes for a messy evening, but it gives the card so much sparkle!

Here's what the inside looks like. These are all boxed up for my craft shows that start next week! The envelope flap has been embossed with the same pattern as the Garden Green.

Halloween Part Deux

2010-10-14T07:09:00.000-04:00

Soo happy to see my uploading photos is working again! I'm jumping on the bandwagon & doing multiple uploads! Lucky you!

Here are the other two goodies we made Monday night.

The one on the left is a candy corn matchbook. The images are stamped in black stazon & left for kids to color them before giving them out to their classmates. As you can see, my kiddos went the rainbow route. Not necessarily Halloweenish, but whatever floats their boat!

The one on the right is a covered Caramel Apple Lollipop. These lollipops are really hard to find and delish. My husbands favorite! It's a tart, green appley lollipop that is encased in caramel. So it's really caramely at first and then you get zinged with the tarty sweetness of the lollipop once the caramel is gone!

Stamp set: Wicked Cool, Grateful Greetings, Retired images (I forgot the name!)
Paper: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
Ink: Black Stazon, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Scallop Oval Punch, Spider Web Embossing Folder, 1/4" Grosgrain More Mustard Ribbon, Crop-odile, stapler

Halloween Goodies

2010-10-13T07:38:00.000-04:00

October seems to have flown by! Last weekend was Riley Days here in Greenfield & it was super busy here. I volunteer with our local Humane Society so I was able to do that on Saturday.

The weather was phenomenal and an unheard of 84 degrees! I have many memories of working Riley Days in flannel lined blue jeans, a turtleneck, tshirt, sweatshirt AND coat with gloves AND ear muffs on. So this weekend was a tad bit on the hot side, but who's complaining? I'm NOT!!

Here are some Halloween Goodies we're making at my Trick or Treat Class Monday night.

All ingredients are Stampin' Up! The one on the left holds 2 life savers that looks like eyes. I need to take a picture so you can see the inside! The one on the right is an antibacterial gel holder. Really cool too! I will try to get a picture of it by Friday.

Stamp set: Wicked Cool.
Paper: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Retired DSP
Ink: Black Stazon, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive.
Accessories: Scallop Oval Punch, Spider Web Embossing Folder

So Busy...

2010-10-13T07:18:00.000-04:00

I am amazed at how busy this week is! Last night we had to get to 3 haircut appointments in two hours, get dinner and get over to Literacy Night at my children's school.

It was 'Dress as Your Favorite Hero' night & the Lgirl went as Wordgirl and Gman went as Batman. So cute! It was nice to educate some people on just who Wordgirl is. I love her. Check her out here: http://pbskids.org/wordgirl/

She's awesome, "Word UP!"

Today is the start of Grandparents week and I get to work in the kitchen dishing out food. I'm so excited and looking forward to working with the kitchen gals. A meeting in the evening.

Then Thursday a.m. I've got a card class, as well as Friday evening. Oh and don't forget Christmas Card Club Saturday evening.

Can you say too busy?! I will more than likely give up the meeting tonight. I want a night at home with the kiddos. Not to mention getting stuff done around here.

On a good note, I am making a concerted effort to be in bed by 10:30pm every evening. I did really good 2 weeks ago but not not too good last week. The only bad part of this whole 'plan' of mine is that craft show season is coming up and I have to kick it up a notch so to speak!

Hope you have a GREAT day and hug someone you love... or even like mildly.

Uploading Issues

2010-10-11T22:46:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm having loading problems again. I can't seem to upload any of the Halloween Trick or Treat class pictures that I wanted. I am so very sorry. I would fix this asap if I knew how!

It's so darn frustrating! So please stay tuned while I try to figure out what the dealio is.

Teacher Cards

2010-09-28T21:32:00.002-04:00

Here are the other 4 cards that were in Mrs. Trainor's Birthday Gift. LOVE the embossing folders. Just so stinking pretty, not to mention quick & easy!

I can't believe it's been a week already. Sorry about that! Had Lgirl's field trip yesterday & one last week for Gman. I think I'm apple orcharded out! If there is such a thing lol.

All products are current Stampin' Up! products. Email me with any questions!

What Was Inside....

2010-09-21T15:22:00.003-04:00

the Mrs. Trainor's gift you ask? Well, there were two pockets, one on either side. In one was this cute little memo pad for her to write messages:

On the other side, I crammed 6 cards with envelopes! It's only supposed to hold 4, but I wanted her to have a few more.

I really love the Vintage Embossing folder Stampin' Up! came out with. It is very elegant. She said she liked monogrammed things so I made 6 cards all with the 'T' from Lovely Letters monogrammed on them. I also used the NEW paper stacks that come in each color collection.

All supplies are current Stampin' Up products!

I'll show you the rest of the cards in a later post!

Teacher's Gift

2010-09-17T14:06:00.002-04:00

This weekend is going to be exceptionally busy for me. Yes, moreso than normal lol. I've got a consignment sale that I am volunteering at tonight for setup so I have been working on that all week.

Tomorrow Lgirl & I go to Beef & Boards (it's Little Mermaid), I'm excited about that! Then we come home & she's got a Bday party in the evening. Meanwhile, the hubster will be heading to New Point for Crackaway Daze to drive a tractor in it & have Gman along throwing candy. Then he's got to go pick up my goods that didn't sell in Columbus at the Columbus Kids Resale.

I will be clearing out my kitchen as I have 15 gals coming over on Sunday in the afternoon to make 250 wedding invitations AND 350 wedding favors. Wow, can you say tiring?! lol Should be a lot of fun though!

Below is what I made Lgirl's teacher for her birthday. Each year, I have the teacher's fill out a small questionnaire listing what their favorite drink is. Also favorite snack, any collectibles, favorite colors and such. Then I can custom make something for their gifts at birthdays & holidays. Mrs. Trainor's favorite colors are black & pink so I used Basic Black and Melon Mambo. I will show you what it held inside and the link to where I got the directions NEXT week!

Have a GREAT weekend!

Busy busy!

2010-09-13T14:59:00.002-04:00

ETA: I was able to fix the problem! woo hoo! So here's the 2nd card we'll be making for my Christmas Card Club. The reindeer & Santa are embossed. I dont' think you can see the shine to it. I really do love that stamp. It's one of my favorites!

Sorry for missing a Friday post, went over to help a friend make Barnyard Animal Cupcakes & did not expect to be there all day! But boy was it fun! I love decorating cupcakes. We made horses, pigs, cows, chickens & she made baby chicks out of brownie balls.

Did I get any pictures? No I forgot, but I hope she remember to take some before all the well wishers at Cody's birthday party gobbled them up!

Well, it seems my link to add a photo to this post is on the fritz. I honestly don't understand it at all and am extremely frustrated! So please hang in there & I'll see if I can't fix the durn thing!

Check out my girlfriend, Dana's blog - Kismet, Art & Life. She's got more talent in her pinky finger than I do in my whole body & she's on more design teams than I can shake a stick at! *Ü*
I am in awe of her daily!

Have a good week.

The Chickens Have Arrived!

2010-09-06T17:22:00.002-04:00

Now I'm only talking about a couple of them. Six to be exact. A friend in town got 2 chickens at Easter and now wanted to find them a 'forever' home. Well, welcome Fefe & Marley! So sweet to have domesticated chickens. I just wish they weren't so darn small!

The other 4 come from a friends farm and have not been domesticated at all. I adopted 2 Barred Rocks & 2 Australorps. They are twice as big as Fefe & totally scared of people. Not to mention they pick on the smaller girls. Granted I KNOW about the pecking order thing, but I think since Fefe is the only one laying eggs right now (a small blue one, so cute!) that SHE should be alpha female. Guess it's hard to explain to the big ones.

The hardest part is that the chickens have to be locked up in the coop for about 7 days. That way once they are let out, they will always know where their home is. We'll see how this works for the girls though. I'm thinking I will have to trim the wings of the smaller ones as they've already tried getting out of town (i.e. the coop) twice! Too smart that Marley is.

Enjoy the pictures of the coop. I will have pictures of the girls on another day!

I have been wanting chickens for a while. Yes, chickens. We had them growing up and I have fond memories of them, well except for one incident with a rooster, but that's for a whole other post! So after trying 2 times previously, my hubby has finally finished my chicken coop. Third time's the charm! He saw a coop made with a truck cap in one of the many chicken books I checked out at the library. So he went with that one and here's what it looks like:

See right next to/above the white block of pine shavings? There's a handle with a latch. You undo that one and the one on the opposite side of the coop and just take something & shove it through. That will push all the pine shavings w/chicken poop (under the roosts) out. Pretty easy peasy! He also made it mobile, but the wheels aren't doing too well with the weight of it. They've turned wonky lol.

This is the backside. Undo the latches, pull it open & collect the eggs out of the nesting boxes. Pretty darn easy! LOVE this feature. My next coop (or version 4 if you will) would have nesting boxes protruding out the backside with a little hinged eve (covered w/roofing stuff) that you would just lift open & collect the eggs. Hee hee

This is the front of the coop. The horizontal white thing is where the hatch is. Pull the bolt out & open the hatch. Out comes the girls! The cap is open we made a sturdier cover to go over the opening. It's made out of fencing.

Here's the hatch open. There are peach skins on the plate next to it. I put it in through the hatch so the girls can eat it. Yummm!

Here's one inside picture of the nesting boxes. They are under the roosting area. You can see my Barred Rocks. The Australorp's are too scared right now to come out of one of the nesting boxes. Poor girls.

Here are the roosts. Plenty of light so maybe I'll get eggs year around? I can wish can't I?

Gotta LOVE Routine!

2010-09-01T07:15:00.004-04:00

Yes, I have to say I enjoy being a creature of habit as far as schooling goes. Summer is fun and all, but so darn tiring! Dealing with your kids and then other kids everywhere you go. Mine do great most of the time, but there are those days when they were in 'time out' in their rooms at 9am... seriously at 9am?? Those are the days I didn't like at all!

What have we been up to? Well, my chicken coop is almost finished and I will be able to post pictures of that soon. I keep forgetting to take the pictures lol.

I have 2 new downlines! Woo hoo. Melissa rejoined and a new-to-me previous demonstrator, Shannon, joined up too! I'm so excited.

Here's the first Christmas Card of the season. Hope you like it! I will be posting other ones soon. None of the Christmas Card gals could make the date last month so we decided to do take a Saturday afternoon & do 2 months worth! Should be a lot of fun!

Babies, Babies Everywhere!!

2010-06-16T08:05:00.000-04:00

Seems like there's another round of babies being birthed! My cousin in California, Marcelo, called me last fall (I SWEAR it feels like a week ago!!) to say that he and his wife are expecting TWINS!!! I honestly had to laugh and laugh. Poor guy, doesn't know what's going to hit him!

I got an update last week and she's at 32 weeks and both babies are doing GREAT and weighing in at 5 lbs each. Can I feel any more sorry for her? I don't think so! One of my pet sitting clients also has a daughter that is expecting TWINS! Wow, what is in the water?! I'm excited for both couples and I sure wish I lived closer to my cousin so I could help out.

Here are some things I made for a baby shower. One main Diaper Cake and 2 smaller ones that were table decorations.

I love making these things and I'm getting pretty quick too. Which makes it REALLY nice!

Here are a couple of gifts I donated as door prizes. SO sorry for the picture being sideways, but it's not like that in the folder I imported it from. I don't know how to get it turned. So if you injure your neck, I am apologize in advance. The first time is a checkbook cover, the second is a pad of paper and the third is a post it note holder. So stinking cute!

2010-06-06T08:06:00.002-04:00

Stamp set: Inspired by Nature, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Flowers a Plenty Embossing Folder, Top Note Die, 5/8" Satin Pretty in Pink Ribbon, Slot Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch

Here's a card I gave my MIL for Mother's Day. It is so pretty in person. I love it. Haven't used the top note die in a while. We will definitely be making a form of this card in June's my 8 for $10 class!

I will be posting the Last Chance List tomorrow! I'm only losing 16 stamp sets & I'm excited about that! I will have them for sale!

Can You Believe It?

2010-06-02T07:03:00.000-04:00

My Baby Girl is SEVEN today!! Wow, how time flies. Unfortunately, after all the fun at Grandma's on Sunday she started complaining (well crying and whining if you want the TRUTH, the whole truth & nothin' but the truth!) on the way home that her ear hurt. She proceeded to wake up at 12:45am, 3:30am, 5:30am and then getting up at 6:30am. All the while crying about her ear. I gave her tylenol, but didn't know what to do for it otherwise.

Needless to say, we headed to the doctor yesterday a.m. & she has TWO ear infections in ONE ear! That's a first for us. She's got a middle and outer ear infection. The outer one is also known as swimmers ear. They are two separate infections sitting next to each other. And apparently the swimmers ear can be VERY painful! My poor baby girl!

She's on the mend though and is looking forward to today! We'll be picking up a friend to spend the day with us & stay the night. Can't wait. It should be a lot of fun and involve a LOT of bouncing. I hope to have pictures for you. hee hee.

Okay, we've got a full day ahead and I still need to get my flower replacements replaced before we leave. Have a GREAT day and

Happy Birthday to my Lgirl! Sunshine of my Heart!

Such a pleaser and I'm so blessed to have her in my life!

Where did May go?

2010-06-01T21:55:00.003-04:00

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller, Bueller? lol. I honestly don't know where it went! I guess I was consumed with end of school days, Scrap Club and PMS night. Oh and we cannot forget Memorial Day. Then BAM it's June!

We spent Memorial Day at Grandma's & Papaw's. It was a lot of fun. The kiddos got to go hiking through the creek with Grandma, drive tractors AND watch Papaw & daddy cut down some trees. Me? Well, I marinated the steaks and made up one of the desserts. I really enjoy cooking AND watching me some cable TV! Had to watch a bit of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, and then figured out I had seen the episodes & switched to Cake Boss. Love that show. Those cakes are unbelievable!

Check out these fox boxes I made. Are they not THE cutest? Kimberly Morris (she's AWESOME!!) gave me the directions for the original one and then my upline, Tracy, and I souped it up a bit. We stamped with the Sanded Background Stamp and roughed up the edges w/the edger. I thought up the girl all by myself. Isn't she a cutie-patootie? Look at the way that boy is staring, he should be ashamed! :)

Teachers Gifts Part 1

2010-05-19T08:24:00.002-04:00

Gman is finished with Preschool! Woo hoo. Or maybe not so much lol. He never did get a 'S' in 'Leaving the car without any drama' (made up in my own words, but you get what I mean).

I'm hoping we can remedy that NEXT year. Even on the last two days of preschool, I had to 'talk' him into going. I hope this isn't a precursor of things to come in the future. A mother can DREAM can't she???

Here's what I made for his teachers. They are post it note holders. Quite cute if you don't mind me saying lol.

Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper, Whisper White.
Ink:Rich Razzleberry.
Accessories: Scallop Border Punch, Silver Brads, Trio Flower Punch, Spring Flower Punch, 5/8" Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon.

If these look a bit odd it's because I hit the 'Auto Adjust' button in Corel Paint and this is what it did. It's better now than what it was, but still just a bit off shall we say?!

Paper: Old Olive, Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper, Whisper White.
Ink:Rich Razzleberry.
Accessories: Scallop Border Punch, Silver Brads, Trio Flower Punch, Spring Flower Punch, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon.

A New Look...

2010-05-17T20:16:00.003-04:00

And how do you like it? I hope everyone likes it... if not then oh well lol. It looks so much more professional lol. I made a siggy too, but I think that needs a bit of work. I should find a FREE font that I like. I don't like the lowercase 'b's' in my name in cursive so I may go on the hunt soon.

Or I will probably forget about it lol.

Paper: So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Pea Designer Series Pack.
Ink: Chocolate Chip,
Stamps: Freebie from Sale-a-Bration
Accessories: Scallop Border Punch, 5/8" Satin Chocolate Chip Ribbon.

Here's one of the 8 for $10 cards we made last month. I think it's cute and the girls loved it. It showcased the Designer Series Paper Stack that was offered in the Occasion Mini really well. LOVE that paper! I hope something similar will be offered in the NEW Stampin' Up! Catalog in July!

Busy Week

2010-05-06T14:23:00.003-04:00

this week. It's Staff Appreciation Week at my daughter's school and I was in charge of the Luncheon yesterday. This year I sent a flyer out asking for donations for the ingredients needed to make a Mexican Lasagna for 60 people. I got all the ingredients donated (woo hoo!) and boy was it delicious!

I also made a blackberry cobbler and a blackberry pie for the luncheon. I really enjoy being in charge of this. I also go there an serve all the staff that come to eat. I get their drink and dessert orders & I clean up after them if they will let me. One way I can show them how much I appreciate what they do!

On another note, here's a card that is VERY popular with my customers. They made it a year or so back and requested it again. SOOOO cute! Hope you like it. We made it at my Stamp-a-Stack last month.
Here's both of them together. The stamp set is retired, but the stamps used to make the background pattern are still available in the current catalog. Trendy Trees was used on the blue card and WOW Flower was used on the pink card.

This one was made for girl birthdays this summer.

And this one was made for boy birthdays this summer.

Valentine Picture

2010-04-30T07:35:00.000-04:00

I was in charge of the craft for Lgirl's Valentine's Day Party and I never got a picture. Her teacher was kind enough to send me one and I wanted to post it to show you guys. The bags were SO cute! The kids loved making them and all of their Valentine's fit into them.

Enjoy!

Where has the Time Gone?

2010-04-28T07:31:00.004-04:00

Amazing how 2 weeks can go by in a blink of an eye! I can't believe it's been 2 weeks. I am sooo sorry about not posting. I had a class about a week ago that involved making Coaster Calendars. Here's a picture of them w/the Designer Series Paper choices. Can't wait to sell these at my craft shows.

Of course the Craft Show ones will have the 2011 calendars in them. These make GREAT Teacher gifts or coworker gifts.

Busy Week

2010-04-16T08:27:00.002-04:00

Sorry I've neglected you! This has been a busy week! Here's a Mother's Day Card we're making at my 8 for $10 classes this month. Hope you like it! Interested in purchasing one? Let me know! I sell my cards for $2.50 each + Shipping to you. Or I can deliver it locally for FREE!

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Paper: Kraft, Rich Razzleberry, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White. Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Regal Rose. Stamp Set: Well Scripted. Acc: Top Note Die, Double Slot Punch, Flower Folds Die, Three Flower Punch, 1 1/2" Circle Punch, Sponge Dauber, Paper Piercer, Silver Brad, 5/8" Rich Razzleberry Dotted Ribbon.

A Renovation is Coming!!

2010-04-07T21:22:00.005-04:00

I can't wait. Stampin' Up! is shaking up their color families and retiring 30 colors! They aren't bringing that many new ones in, just rearranging it and all. I can honestly say that I don't use the Bold Brights or the Soft Subtles that much. All the Bold Brights are retiring except for Real Red & Tempting Turquoise!

They are bringing back 6 IN Colors (which include a couple of my faves - Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red & Wild Wasabi), they are keeping 3 of the current IN Colors (Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo & Soft Suede) AND there are 5 NEW colors.

Here's a picture of the NEW Color Collections! Click on it to see them better. I don't wantcha to go blind!
I am genuinely excited about this. Looking at the new Color Collections, I am thinking I will be using ALL of them. Woo hoo! And you KNOW I will be selling all my retired stuff. So be on the lookout for some serious SALES going on!!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-07T09:30:00.000-04:00

We start off the Easter weekend with an Egg Hunt on Good Friday. It usually consists of my kiddos & a couple of other kids that we hang with regularly. Here's a picture of the line up of kids. Waiting for the go ahead to go collect the eggs:

Here's the goodie bags I whipped up really quick to put their goodies in. I really LOVE that chocolate bunny!

I didn't want to give out the traditional junk, so everyone got those paper planters, a mixture of seeds and a bubble wand & tray (those are just plain cool!). That way they could take the goodies home & grow something and learn about it. Instead of having junk that will clutter the already-cluttered home! :)

Here's the Easter Card my gals made last month for the holiday. You can't tell, but the yellow panels are textured and everyone made two. One had yellow panels & one had blue panels. The clouds are hand made also.

And here's what the inside looked like:

Back in the Swing...

2010-04-05T13:59:00.003-04:00

of things! Can I say that Spring Break is just one big Fight Week for my kids.
*** NOTE: those with a weak stomach about puking & stuff should NOT read the rest of this post! **

Well, poor Lgirl got the stomach flu (NO fun) the first weekend of Spring Break. Then I thought Gman had caught it, but apparently he's one of those kids that pukes from eating candy pretty much ALL day at Grandma's.

Then I wouldn't let him eat anything for two days to which I found out he's also the kinda kid that pukes in the early morning hours because he has an empty stomach & has collected too much bile in it. Make sense? I know, not to me either, but he didn't have the flu. That's all I know for SURE!

Lgirl did get to have 2 friends sleep over, on consecutive days mind you. NOT the same night, I don't think I could handle that lol. We had Maddy stay Thursday night. We picked her up in the a.m. & headed to the zoo. Where everyone in the INDIANAPOLIS area decided to go also!

Oh, and I ALSO learned that Maddy gets car sick in the 3rd row of my van. Yes, I learned a lot last week. Most of which revolved around puke! Yes, she did indeed puke in my van. But I was ready for it since I had the 'just in case' stuff for Gman. Though she did miss the jug and hit her clothes & my van floor. No worries, we had extra clothes and a towel. Always nice to be prepared lol.

Here's a picture of the kids after we were done. I was wiped out!

Tag Teaming...

2010-03-31T21:37:00.003-04:00

yes, the kids have been tag teaming each other during this glorious spring break. What are they tag teaming each other with you ask? Well the STOMACH FLU of course! I always thought that the incubation time was pretty short since the LAST time there was a flu bug in the household, Gman got it first, gave it to me within 12 hrs and then I have it to Lgirl within 8 hrs and then she passed it onto the hubster. It was quick and painful lol.

This time around it incubated for 2 days! I couldn't believe it. Lgirl barfed on Friday night & once Saturday morning. She didn't eat anything the rest of the day and was good as gold on Sunday. Both kids went to Grandma's on Monday and stayed the night. Hubby picked them up Tuesday evening & then Gman barfed.

You KNOW Grandma feeds them a bunch of sugar if we attributed it to eating too much sugar that day (and pretty much nothing else). But lo & behold it wasn't the sugar. He barfed that night in our bed woo hoo what fun that was NOT! Luckily it was only water. (SO glad I didn't give him that chocolate milk I was thinking of giving him!).

I have talked, threatened, cajoled & bribed him today to NOT eat so that he would be good to go in the a.m. Woo hoo. We have TOO many plans starting tomorrow to get a wrench thrown into them! We'll be picking up Lgirl's friend who will be staying the night after getting weighed in at WW and before heading to the zoo. Woo hoo, can't wait to see the animals!

Here's a picture of some cupcakes I made for my MIL's birthday at the beginning of March. I made the Martha Stewart's Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes & Buttercream Frosting. I also made the butterfly wings myself with melted chocolate & white wafers. They would have been SO much cooler with white balls on the wings but I couldn't find any... bummer!

Bridal Invitations...

2010-03-24T07:49:00.004-04:00

Last Wednesday, a friend at Eastern Hancock asked it I could make 25 Bridal invitations by Monday. Of course I can! I seem to be one of those people that work well under pressure. Possibly even faster (or maybe more efficiently) when there's a tight deadline.

I took in a few samples on Thursday to show her. I also volunteered for Kindergarten Roundup. So nice to see all the new little kids that are excited about going to school next year AND riding a bus! lol

Anyways, here's what I came up with. It's my 'go to' card for Bridal Showers. So cute and right for the event! I had another picture, but once again, when I loaded it, it is turned on it's side. And it isn't when I'm working on it in Corel. Anyone know why it does that? I've tried turning it in Corel (didn't work) and resampling but that didn't work either.

Sigh... majorly bummed about that! Here's a close up of my favorite one! All ingredients are Stampin' Up! I used the Scallop Circle Die to cut the dress out (free handed the sides w/a dress template I made). Then I ran it threw the Elegant Bouquet Textured Embossing Folder (#115964) to get the flowers onto the dress.

I used the Scallop Border Punch that is available for FREE right now thru Sale-a-Bration with a $50 order. The 'You're Invited' is from the stamp set, Introducing (#114443) which was also a FREE choice during Sale-a-Bration! I really like that there are so many choices for the FREEBIES this year. I've gotten quite a few I've had my eye on this year! woo hoo.

The dresses are textured differently. I used the Texturz Plates for some and also the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder (#117335) out of t he Occasions Mini Catalog. I also used the Eyelet Border Punch on dome of the cards. I made sure to stamp the inside of the cards, as well as the envelopes too!

St. Patricks Day

2010-03-22T14:34:00.000-04:00

stamped goodies. My friend, Penny, called to ask if I could make some quick little gifts for her bowling buddies that had a St. Patricks Day theme. I said SURE! And off I went.

I don't have many stamps for that holiday. I stamp on a budget so I try not to buy too many things that I can't use year around. I did purchase the Teeny Tiny Wishes for the simple fact that it had a stamp for EVERY holiday and/or event in a year. I LOVE that set!

I bought the Small Heart Punch (#117193, Occasions Mini) with the thought that I could use it for St. Paddy's Day if I needed to. And the need arose! I made the stems by punching each side of the heart off a bit. These boxes were quick & easy & I loved making them.

You can't see it, but I used the Scallop Border Punch on the top edge. Love that punch a lot. I'll show you another project with that punch later this week.

Lucky AND Charming...

2010-03-22T11:22:00.003-04:00

is what my son's shirt said that he wore on St. Patricks Day. Well, he better be both to pull of the hat he wore! Grandparent's Day just happened to fall on St. Patricks Day so the prevalent color of the day was... GREEN!! Big surprise there.

Yes, I know he's cute. He HAS to be to pull off the diva hat he's got on. Not only does it have a glittery tiara glued to the front, but the edges have green fur on them. Yes, a girl hat to say the least... get this it LIGHTS UP too! You flip a switch & there are 4 or 5 lights strategically place in the design of the tiara to blink green.

My MIL overheard some of the ladies at the event saying that 'His mom must have bought that for him.' and 'His mom would wear that no problem.' I'd like to clear up any misconceptions first with NO, I WOULD NOT WEAR THAT. EVER. You couldn't pay me enough!

Now for the 1st misconception. I didn't pick it out for him. He chose it himself. And if any of you know G, once he's made up his mind there's NO turning it around. No matter if you say it's a girls hat (which I DID) or offer something else for him to wear instead of the hat (which I DID), both to no avail.

He could not be swayed. Seriously, this is a boy who wore his sister's Rudolph the Reindeer shirt to his Holiday Party (aka Jesus's Birthday Party). I told him it was a girls shirt & he said, 'No it's not.' I told him to go ask his father. The hubster told him, 'Dude, you're wearing sissy's shirt.' To which he repeated, 'No it's not.'

I couldn't him to change. But it was even MORE apparent when we were at the party. Tapered at the bottom & skinny seams vs. the bigger ones on boys. Sadly to say... you could DEFINITELY tell it was a girls shirt at the party. My conclusion?

If he's smart enough to defend himself verbally & physically, then he can wear WHATEVER he wants! Hence the above hat on his head.

No worries fellow crafters, I will be posting more crafty stuff later today!

St. Patrick's Day Dinner

2010-03-19T08:10:00.002-04:00

Here's what we had for St. Patricks Day Dinner.

I made corned beef (hubster & I LOVE it!), green mashed potatoes and we tried turnip greens. They weren't too bad, but the hubster didn't like them too much. Kids wouldn't touch it. How can they be so cute, yet so close minded about food? So sad!

Quick Thank You Gift

2010-03-11T07:59:00.003-05:00

Here's a quick Thank You gift I made for a class that I ended up not getting to go to! But no worries, I am rescheduled for the Royal Couponing Class in Franklin in April. It can't come fast enough! I can't wait.

Hope you like it! It's filled with Ghiradelli Chocolate Squares. Mostly Dark Chocolate since that's the Queen's Favorite! :)

All Supplies are SU. Stamp sets: Vintage Vogue, Thank You Kindly, Polka Dot. Paper: Old Olive, Dusty Durango, Whisper White. Ink: Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Dusty Durango. Acc: Large Oval Punch, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon.

Is It....

2010-03-09T07:12:00.003-05:00

ONLY Tuesday? My Monday (and the weekend) was SO busy... that yesterday felt like Wednesday, seriously, it did!

Here's a card & gift I made for L's friend when she went to her house for a sleepover. It was L's first that wasn't at Grandma's house. My island was cleaned off (very rare) and I was so proud of the thought that it looks like such a professional picture! L's friend's favorite color is? Can you guess? YELLOW! The pillow box is from a Big Shot Die, quick & easy for party favors. It holds one of my glass tile necklaces.

We made this card in my 8 for $10 classes in February and it was a BIG hit! All the girls really loved it.

Finding Smiles...

2010-03-03T06:48:00.003-05:00

in the NEATEST places! For those of you that don't know, I am half chinese. I try to pass on certain things about the culture to my kids. I don't think they look chinese at all.

The only 'chinese' think about them is the fact that the BOTH like to eat their noodles & rice PLAIN. Nothing on them at all, no sauce nothing. I call it jail food. Because, quite honestly, it is! And who wants to pay $3-$4 for a kid's meal that is just plain noodles? I just think of how many boxes of noodles that would pay for at the store lol. So, being the mom that I am, usually order spaghetti with the sauce on the side so I can share with G. L's getting better about trying stuff on noodles, but her favorite is still plain noodles.

Anyways, here's a chinese dessert I like that phonetically spelled is called Taun-ren. They are little balls of dough with a filling. L's favorite are the peanut ones and mine are the red bean ones. I also like the black sesame ones too.

I made L some and that's what she found in her bowl... now some might not see it without a little help from me... as shown here:

Or this one, which, oddly enough, reminds me of Gloria from Madagascar! lol

Have a GREAT day and I hope you find a smile or two!

Sickness...

2010-02-28T15:25:00.004-05:00

has hit me... that would be why I've been MIA this past week. Oh and I have been CRAZY busy! I know when am I NOT busy, but I had things to do 4 nights in a row last week. That's a record for me!

Last Sunday, I was asked to make some 1st, 2nd & 3rd place ribbons for the Science Fair at L's school. Me with my 'Special' math thought I only had to make 3 (one of each) so I was going to go all out & do a ribbon w/gathered ribbon around the rim and make it really snazzy. Luckily I reread the email and realized that I needed to make 3 for EACH grade, making the total 18!

I decided to make them simpler and used the Circles #2 Sizzix Die with my Big Shot. Then I cut white circles out to fit onto the large scallop circle with my Stampin' Up! Circle Scissors Plus. LOVE that thing. I don't use it enough. I don't have a big alphabet yet for my Big Shot, so I traced the numbers & letters onto SU's Gold and Silver Card Stock and cut them out by hand. Glued them on, added ribbon tails, a back circle (to make it look cleaner) and a piece of velcro so it could be easily added to or removed from a project.

Voila! Here are two pictures of them. I personally LOVED how they turned out. Hopefully it will give you an idea if you should ever need to make some.

Stamped Valentine Goodies

2010-02-16T08:49:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I showed you the edible goodies that went to the kiddo's parties. Here's what the stamped ones looked like.

L's were matchbook covers over Yummy Earth Organic Gummy Bears, but I forgot to take pictures before sending them off to school. She stamped them and glued them all herself! Love delegating.

G's I made because, being a boy, he could care less & would have kept all lollipops (yes, I say lollipop, I can't handle the word sucker in this instance) for himself lol. Something simple, preschoolers tend not to care what the candy is in vs. just wanted to get it out at all costs! This was one for a teacher, the kids' ones didn't have ribbon on it. Quite simple! Inside were Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops. LOVE the flavors like Pomegranate Pucker, Strawberry, Wet Faced Watermelon, Mango Tango and many more!

Here are the cute little baskets I made for both kid's teachers. Rather quick & easy. Just a 6x6 square of cardstock, score it at 2 on all sides. In the corner boxes, score diagonally. Fold all the lines and punch a whole in the middle and string ribbon. I filled them with caramel & almond kisses. Yummy!
If it's hard to see check out this close up.

And then we made a quick treat for the bus drivers. Yes, we have two. L had to ride Bus 31 for a year, then switched back to Bus 2 mid season. Well, when momma needs some time, we take L around the corner to Ryan's house where she can catch Bus 31 again about 30 minutes early. It's amazing what you can do with 30 extra minutes in the a.m.!

Really simple gift holder I used the Two Tags Big Shot Diez for this one. I saw both projects on someone else's blog, but can't remember which one was the first. I will definitely be using this design again to make small gifties!

Here's another close up in case you have bad eyes like ME! I am LOVIN' Stampin' Up's Sending Love Specialty Designer Series Paper! It's so cool that one side of EVERY piece has glitter on it. And I love how this closeup capture's the sparkle in the paper.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me!

Valentine's Gifts

2010-02-15T15:40:00.004-05:00

What a mad rush it was last week... Two Valentine Parties in one day can wipe a mom out! Not to mention having to pick up over 250 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies AND being in charge of one of the parties & picking up stuff for the party from homes where the child had gotten Strep! Oy Vey!

Anyways, where to start? The baked goods before the stamped ones? Well, Family Fun had an AWESOME Groundhog Cupcake on their site. He was SO stinkin' cute and adorable I knew I wanted to make some. But I didn't have time around Groundhogs Day, so I decided to make a couple for L's teachers (because the kiddos wouldn't appreciate them NEARLY as much!) and extras for my kids & Grandma.

Here's what G's cupcakes looked like. He requested strawberry ones. Some had tiny candy lips on them, others had sprinkles and the rest had tiny pink cupids candies on them.

I made them real quick on Thursday a.m. when I zipped home to bake'm. For the life of me, I could NOT figure out why my house smelled like strawberries when we came home. NOT AT ALL. That's how BAD my memory has gotten!

Here's what the Groundhog Cupcakes looked like. If you didn't think the one on the left could get ANY cuter... the wall-eyed one decided to pop his head up! And we have CUTER!!

And here are the Groundhogs invading the other cupcakes.... taking over the spot light and grabbing all the attention. The regular cupcakes were relegated to being put into plastic bags & taken home by the preschoolers. Then the Groundhogs got to ride in style to the 'Big Kid's' party in the afternoon. They went HOG WILD! hee hee

I Have Given Up!

2010-02-11T08:12:00.004-05:00

I have tried & tried to fix this card, but to no avail. This picture is landscape, like it should be in the folder AND whenever you look at it. But it loads like this. Then I try to rotate it a quarter turn so you would THINK that when I load it, it would look right but NO it moves 1/2 a turn!

I give up!!Stamp Set: Birthday Bliss
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Apricot Appeal
Ink: Bemuda Bay
Acc: Scallop Square Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, 5/8" Apricot Appeal Grosgrain, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals

Something Bright...

2010-02-08T16:30:00.003-05:00

for this wintery day. I don't want to say DREARY because I DO like the snow! I wanted to show you a Birthday card that I had extras of and finished them up to put in my stash, but Blogger will only upload it sideways.

So I don't know if I should upload it sideways or try another card... does everyone (all SEVEN of you!) want to get a crick in their neck?? Hmmm...
Well, here's a card I made for hubby's cousin. They were invites for her Daughter's 2nd Birthday. Sorry for the yellowness. There's bling on the card too. Oh and the large pink background is embossed w/dots. Love this layout. It's a favorite of mine. Quick & simple!

Fleece Colts Flower Pins

2010-02-03T07:39:00.006-05:00

I have to make this short! Here's what I have FOR SALE:

I just wanted to let you know I have Fleece Indianapolis Colts Pins that I've made with the Flower Fold Die for sale. There are 3 sizes, small, medium & large. Here are pictures of them:

Small - $6.00, one layer of small flower. 2 1/2" diameter.

Medium - $10.00, two layers, medium & small flowers. 3" diameter.

Large - $15.00, two layers with large and either medium or small flowers. 4" diameter.

Please let me know if you would like to order any. Thanks so much!

Head Colds are...

2010-02-01T10:22:00.003-05:00

the WORST things ever! Well, I guess the only thing worse is if your hubby has one too! Man are men babies! Let me tell you. First they don't take a thing and complain about feeling miserable. Second, you get them to try drugs which don't work but they don't tell you nor do they want to try something else. What's up with that?

If I feel miserable, then I either take what I KNOW will work or try something new to see if it will work. I understand if you don't want to take anything, that's not a problem... just DON'T complain about it! Your choice.

Life is about choices... so many people don't realize they had a choice in the first place and wonder how they got in a specific situation. Makes you think. I'm trying to explain that to my 4 yr old & 6 yr old. You have a CHOICE!

Anyways, let's see what I have to share with you today!

Here's a card my Upline, Tracy Geisz, sent me. I LOVE it. She's awesome. She's such a good friend that I'm very thankful to have. I wish she were closer than Illnois, but I realize she could be a LOT farther!!

Gooo Colts!

2010-01-25T08:18:00.003-05:00

How about them Colts? Wow, can't believe they're going to the Superbowl AGAIN! Does this mean I should buy some Colts gear? Nahhh... I can still be a fan w/o having to purchase outrageously priced paraphernalia right? I think so! :)

Here's a card I made for a SUDSOL (Simply Unique Demonstrators Sharing OnLine) Occasions Mini Swap. I cased my own card! Which my 8 for $10 gals made this month. I didn't think it would look better than Regal Rose w/Old Olive, but I was wrong. My card making customers will be making this in the month of April for Mother's Day. Hope you like it!

Stamp Set: Well Scripted
Paper: Kraft, Rich Razzleberry, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry
Acc: Top Note Die, Flower Folds Die, Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Double Rectangle Punch, Trio Flower Punch, Sponge Dauber, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Vintage Silver Brad, 1/2" Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain, Stampin' Dimensionals, Paper Piercing Tool

All ingredients are Stampin' Up! Wow, I didn't realize how many punches this card used! Amazing! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me! I'll show you the 8 for $10 card later this week!

8 for $10 Card this Month

2010-01-21T16:42:00.003-05:00

Hmmm... I must be losing my mind. I could have SWORN (and I don't like to do that with kids around!!) that I posted this card some time last week. Maybe it was just me loading & fixing the picture that made me THINK I posted it.

How sad to see that my mind is so fleeting. Makes me sad... I guess the good thing is I won't be sad for too long as I will forget lol.

Sorry for the bad lighting, I really need to find a good way to capture my cards in an AWESOME lighting that they deserve! I used the medallion stamp which I LOVE!! and the words are from a set that has retired and I have forgotten the name (Garden Greetings??).

See... maybe I should look into Ginko Biloba or something!

Scrappy Thank Yous...

2010-01-19T23:31:00.003-05:00

Here are some Thank You cards I made with scraps of pieces for card its. The single card, I clicked on Auto Correct in Corel Photo Paint and it changed it to this .Well, the dotted piece is Chocolate Chip, not black or as dark as it is in the photo.

We sent these out with the Pizza cards friends ordered for L's fundraiser. That and a coupon for FREE breadsticks since we don't ever eat them. The kiddos had accrued 4 of them from the summer reading program for the past 2 years. Love to do random acts of kindness!

All ingredients are Stampin' Up! except for the chocolate brads.

GSC Time!!!

2010-01-13T08:32:00.002-05:00

Saturday we delved headlong into Girl Scout Cookie time! It's L's first time selling and she's set the bar high with a goal of 200 boxes! She wants to earn the Miranda Panda bear. In past years, I avoid the GSC at ALL Costs! Don't need those calories baby because you KNOW they just call my name! That's not to say that Grandma comes over and drops a few boxes off, but I usually hid them then forget about them lol.

The Hubster looked at the earning sheet and commented that the Panda Bear is one expensive bear... I told him it would be a LOT MORE expensive if we didn't sell 200 boxes!! So he needed to take the signup sheet to work! He such a good man, he did and sold 38 boxes! Woo hoo for the Hubster.

Anyways, here a picture of an AWESOME cookie that I was blessed with receiving for Christmas. I received them AFTER Christmas, but that's not a problem at all. Can you believe this is actually edible? Is it NOT a work of art? And let me tell you how delicious they were, I ate 3 of them you know. Well, mostly 3, I shared a couple of bites with L but I knew G would NOT appreciate them at all lol. That's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it!

My friend, Bernadette, made them. The cookie is a cream cheese based sugar cookie. Don't even ask me how frosted & decorated the thing. Can you believe she's an engineer by trade? Don't you think she's missed her calling in the baking field? I do! She has us over for playdates whenever her hubby is out of town and then she uses me as a guinea pig for her gourmet dishes. What a hard life I lead let me tell you! I never enjoyed being a guinea pig as I do when I'm at her house! lol

Okay, I will have paper crafts for you to look at later this week!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T09:30:00.001-05:00

Hi there, yes, I DO have a NEW RESOLUTION and that is to post more regularly! I was getting bogged down with Facebook games and wasting some SERIOUS time on it. So I made a resolution NOT to play Cafe anymore and I've stuck to it sooo far! Woo hoo for me.

Today is the start of Stampin' Up's Sale-A-Bration Event! Spend $50 and get any item in the brochure, or the ones listed on the back, for FREE! There's no limit and there are a lot of good choices this time around! It's my favorite by far because you have so many choices. There's a punch you can get for free and also some Designer Series Paper that is really colorful & bright.

Click HERE to go to my Demonstrator Website, click on SHOP now in the top, right hand corner. Then you can either click on Occasions or Specials (on the left hand side) to see the NEW Occasions Mini or the Sale-A-Bration catalog.

Did you see? Stampin' Up! now offers a clear mount option for their stamps! I am really excited about this. Same high quality rubber & foam stamps but now with a less expensive option. Not to mention the amount of space you save w/ the sets! Wowzers.

I received my first set last week and am using it to make one of my 8 for $10 cards this week as we speak. I can't wait to see what my girls think of them. I've already placed my order today so I will be getting more goodies next week. I can't wait!

What a variety eh? LOVE it!! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me!!

Just When...

2009-11-29T15:57:00.003-05:00

you thought the Craft Season was over! Lol, I've got one more craft show this weekend and the sickie bug has hit our household!

The kiddos have had runny noses for the last week & the hubster & I BOTH have scratchy throats. I hope it's over soon. Though I know if I got more sleep it would make me heal up faster. So I'm going to make a promise (& keep it I hope!) to go to bed earlier tonight & I'm going to go chug down some Emergen-C! I have to drink the GROSS one (Acai Berry) and the kids & hubby get the good tasting one (Tropical Fruit). I'm just glad there's a flavor my kiddos like!

I've uploaded some Character Boxes for you to look at. I made them for the craft shows & they were a BIG hit! I filled them with mints & candies. Well, the elf wasn't a very big hit but the Santa's and Snowmen were. I'm also going to make some Rudolph's for this weekend.

I made the snowman's nose differently since the 3D one takes WAY too long to put together. The santa's mustache, bear & white on his hat are all textured, I don't know if you can see them. I got them from Tammy's website. I added the jingle bell myself to the left & textured the snowman's hat & changed his mouth. LOVE them!

Late Halloween Pictures

2009-11-17T23:47:00.003-05:00

Okay, WHEW done with craft shows for a while, thank goodness.

Here are some belated Halloween pictures of Lgirl & Gman.
We actually went out the Wednesday before Halloween to a Senior Citizen home and Trunk o' Treated there.
Lgirl was a television.

Gman was Tigger.

We made the TV out of recycled stuff per her Daisy Troop leader. Jennifer said any of the girls could wear a costume to the next meeting if it was made out of recycled stuff.

Here's them horsing around. Love that face on the boy! You can bet I'll be saving that one for future embarassment! hee hee

Enjoy!

Halloween Goodies

2009-10-31T06:51:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween! Sorry I have been missing, but I have been getting ready for a Holiday Bazaar I will be in that starts today.

Here's what I made for Gman's class & his treats that he gave out. Have a sweet & safe Halloween! hehe
I want my mummy!

Arrrgghhh! We have an INFESTATION!

Oh whew! Just bats, which I like because they eat mosquitoes!

I will be posting various Halloween costume pictures, as well as our Trick or Treating Ride from tonight. Be safe!

First Grade Teacher's Gift

2009-10-20T14:19:00.003-04:00

Howdy, sorry we were hit by the sickie bug this weekend. Luckily it wasn't the flu, but Lgirl has a double ear infection & I get to enjoy a sinus infection. What a joy it is... NOT!

I am busy as a beaver this week & don't need this sickness wearing me down! I've got 3 fall parties this week (thought they'd be next week!!) AND I need to make some cupcakes & one child has fall break this week while the other has it next week. Isn't that a bit crazy?!

Here's what I made for Lgirl's Teacher for her birthday. Mrs. Lowe an AWESOME First Grade teacher & we love her to death! Hope you guys like it. I purchased the directions from Becky Roberts who lives in Idaho. Small world w/my parents living there and all!How AWESOME is this purse? It holds 6 cards w/their envelopes. I will post what a couple of the cards look like later this week. The front does open via a velcro closure. I used the retired riding hood red IN color from last year. I LOVE that color!

October is Flying By...

2009-10-12T10:57:00.004-04:00

wow, this month is going by sooo quickly. Sorry I didn't get to post last week. It was Grandparent's week at Lgirl's school and I volunteered and ran around a lot last week. Not to mention I was a bit blue with all the rain!

Here's a gift I made my daughter's Kindergarten teacher from last year. She turned the big 5-0 this year so I filled the backpack with her favorite snack-Reese's peanut butter cups and made her this card. She loved it!
Hope you like it! I used the retired Riding Hood Red. I LOVE that color!

The Riley Rush!

2009-10-01T09:42:00.003-04:00

Sorry I have been incognito, but I am trying to rush around & get my goods ready for Riley Days.... what is that you ask?

Well, every year, my town of Greenfield hosts the Riley Festival. It's in honor of James Whitcomb Riley and includes a 4 day craft and vendor show. I don't normally do craft shows that are more than one day because of my kiddos. But my girlfriend who makes Photo Quilts needs something to sell in the booth.

Long story short, she called me and now I'm madly dashing around lol. Getting my greeting cards ready and different sorts of crafts. The only bad thing about this show is it is outside so I must put everything in bags. Yes, it's as tedious as it sounds lol. Not to mention trying to make things look nice in plastic or cellophane! Yikes.

Soooo if you get a chance to come by Riley Days, please drop by and say Hi! We'll be on Main Street where Memories in Time used to be. I am planning on being there on and off the next 4 days. I will be volunteering at the Humane Society Booth from 11a-1p on Saturday so stop by if you are there! :)

Here's a card I made for a friend's Daughter who turned ONE last month. What a FUN age!

I better get back to the grind. Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! Glad Fall is finally here! Woo hoo. I love this weather.

An Altered Item...

2009-09-21T07:41:00.004-04:00

I'm posting Lgirl's first day of school picture & the backpack I altered for her. I blurred out her name on the back pack. I stamped it in white stazon and added some Daisies cut with my big shot onto white felt.

One of the buttons says Girl Power. There's also a kitty button tied onto one of the zipper pulls. She loved it and I'm so glad! The one she had from last year (that we paid $15 for) didn't last past last year. The material on the piping wore off and it looked bad! This one I purchased for $1.00 when Wally World Clearanced it... can't beat that! :)

Have a GREAT day... it's a rainy day here. I hope the sun tries to peek thru!

Cincinnati Regionals

2009-09-15T15:39:00.003-04:00

was AWESOME!! I really had a GREAT time with Libby, Melissa & Nena. I got my picture taken with Shelli Gardner & Jill Cochran (I'm sure I misspelled it. Sorry Jill!!).

I also spotted Connie Babcock and Jenn Diercks who are two demo's that I stalk regularly. I think I scared Jenn... don't think she's used to the likes of me lol.

We did some very cute make & takes and learned a bunch of stuff. Carrie C. talked about how to use colors w/the color wheel. That was really cool. I will have to make a color wheel of my own! We also learned some Workshop WOWS from local (Midwest area) demonstrators. All were GREAT!

Here's an picture of the card I did to go with the previously posted Diaper Cake... it had to match of course!!

I'mmmm Baaaacccckkkk!

2009-09-10T21:25:00.005-04:00

Hi Everyone,
Okay I'm trying to make a comeback RIGHT before going to the SU Regional Event in Cincinnati this Saturday! I'm sooo excited. I'm going with a Stamp Club member, Libby, one of my downlines, Melissa S. and her mum Nena! Should be a stampin' good time!

We'll be heading down tomorrow afternoon, hoping to make it to the Splitcoast Stampers dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery at 4:30pm. We're going to be late but better late than never! hehe

Here's a Diaper Cake I made for a friend, Lindsay. LOVE it! I think it turned out super. I love the colors, but then again, who doesn't love pink & brown?

Wish me luck tomorrow, I'll be taking Bourbon into school tomorrow for Lgirl's Show & Tell! hhahahah This should be a lot of fun! hehe

Today was Gman's FIRST day of preschool. He did pretty well. I was impressed. He did have his screaming fit in the house saying how he didn't want to go to 'Tool' but then I gave him a choice. He could either go to Kellie's and be left there to play with a BABY (Kya's a cutie pie!) or he could go to school & play with other kiddos his age. He said, "Okay mom, I'll go to tool. But could you come and get me in 5 minutes?"

Is that not too cute?! hehe I told him it would take more than 5 minutes to get to my appointment. He had a great time and a lot of fun. So let's keep our fingers crossed for next Thursday & Friday! woo hoo!

Whew!

2009-07-31T18:59:00.003-04:00

That was a LOOONNNNGGGGG two weeks now wasn't it?! Feels like the whole summer has passed. Sorry about that. It was just easier to enjoy summer than worrying about posts lol.

I will be back when school starts... maybe even sooner! I wanted to post about an AWESOME giveaway on stampin addicts dot com. They have a lot of ideas with the Stampin' Up! Big Shot you should definitely check it out! Amazing things.

Okay, I'm off to work on Lgirl's backpack for school. I'm stamping her name on it and another backpack also.

Hugs... and thanks to those of you who are still reading my blog! I've got some nice cards coming up.

a Week Hiatus

2009-06-14T21:09:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone!
I am taking a two week hiatus. I had hoped to have some posts already set up, but alas I ran out of time! We are currently on vacation in South Carolina. I could post pictures, but they wouldn't be of any paper products! Can you believe I didn't bring a thing to work on??? I was barely able to even grab a few books at the library! Which is definitely NOT the way to pick books lol. But I haven' t read in so long that I don't mind lol.

So I will see you in two weeks. Be creative and enjoy life!

Retired Lists are out!

2009-06-04T13:44:00.002-04:00

The Last Chance List is out for Stamps and Accessories! I have a few that made it onto the list and will be sad to see them go!

Retired List in Alphabetical Order

Retired List in Numerical Order

Retired Decor Elements List

Retired Accessories List is up dated daily. So this link goes directly to Demonstator Website so just click on my 'SHOP NOW' button and you will see where you can click on the last chance stuff.

These items goes FAST! If you see something you want GET IT NOW!! The list is updated every afternoon around 4pm.

Love this Layout!

2009-06-04T12:05:00.001-04:00

Here's a layout I like to use a lot. I may vary it a bit, but it's a great go-to card when I need one quick! This is one of the cards attendees of my 8 for $10 can make. I usually make 4 cards so each person can make 2 cards.

It's been seriously busy here and only going to get worse! We have Lgirl's birthday party on Saturday, so I am try to get the house ready for that.

Teacher Gifts For Sale

2009-05-18T14:22:00.008-04:00

I've been asked if I have any Teacher's Gifts for sale and I DO!

If you are interested, please email me with what you'd like. I can make more Note Pad Sets and Card Pouches (colors will be the same, but patterned paper may vary), but I don't have anymore Tealight Lanterns.I plan on adding more, but here are some items I have for sale:

Note Pad Sets: $8.50 each

Includes an Altered Note Pad and Paper Clip with Matching Pen. Items will be packaged in a cello bag like Urban Mums and have a "FOR YOU" tag on the outside in matching colors.

Baha Thanks

Cameo Coral Daisy

Green Tea Thanks

Kiwi Daisy

Urban Mums

Urban Stripes (ideal for a Male Teacher)

Tealight Lanterns: $6.00 each

Includes an Altered Lantern with 4 tealight candles wrapped and included inside. You can fill this lantern with candy, pens and pencils or whatever you wish. Each lantern will be wrapped in tissue paper.

Blue Friend Lantern

Blue Happy Day Lantern

Green Just Because Lantern

Green Thinking of You Lantern

Card Pouch $12.50

Includes 4 cards with envelopes, one each of Fabulous Friend, Thank You, For You and Best Wishes. I have these available in Sweet Bella and Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper. (Colors will be the same but pattern on the paper may vary.) I can make them in Pink Flamingo, Sweet Always, Urban Garden, and Tea Party. For a look at the Designer Series Patterned Paper click HERE.

**Thanks to Kimberly Morris for the directions!

Birthday Card for Jonas

2009-05-18T10:01:00.002-04:00

Man has May been busy! I should know this by now with 3 birthday's in my family alone! hehe

Here's a QUICK card I made for Lainie to give to her friend, Jonas, for his 6th birthday. On the inside, there's a pocket and it can hold a gift card or money. We gave him money. He's a Ben 10 boy so that's why it's blue and green, the colors of Ben 10!

All ingredients are Stampin' Up! The patterned paper is retired.

Try This Sketch Challenge Winners!!

2009-05-05T08:06:00.007-04:00

Hi Everyone! Sorry I've been so stinking busy! I did survive making a Mother's Day gift with 22 (well only 20 since 2 were out) 6th graders! It was a bit harried as Storm (the AWESOME teacher and a good friend!) thought we'd be able to do it in 45 minutes. They completed the cards, but I finished up the box/bag they go in for the kiddos. I will post later.

The WINNER of the card entries was Entry # 1! Here it is:
Way to go LIBBY!!!

There was a tie between 2 SU Demo cards.... one was mine (woo hoo!) and the other was my Tracy G's (my upline). Here's her card:

Great job TRACY!!

I will figure out what the gift will be and send it to you guys! hehe Congrats again ladies. All the cards were FAB and I will have another Sketch Challenge in a few days!

BLOG TOUR 1, STOP 6 Oval All & Scallop Oval Punch

2009-04-27T01:10:00.002-04:00

Blog Tour - TODAY!! - One Day Only

This is Stop #6 on BLOG TOUR #1! I hope you enjoyed visiting Renee Winch's blog on this GREAT tour! I am highlighting Oval All AND the Scallop Oval Punch!

I really love this stamp set and how it coordinates so well with the Scallop Oval Punch. It's so easy to use. Here's my sample:

Sorry for the glare on the flower. I used Crystal Effects on it and it didn't like the flash. You could replace the 'Fabulous Friend' with any of the Oval All stamps, that's what makes this set so darn versatile!

I am also doing a Oval All Workshop which showcases both the Oval All set and the Scallop Oval Punch. Here's the pictures of that project:

I am hosting this Workshop on Saturday, May 2nd, at 6pm here at my house. The Workshop is $15.00 for one set and $20.00 for two! You will be making the box, as well as the 4 cards that will fit into it perfectly!

If you would like to order this box already made, please drop me a line! Now I will be directing you to STOP #7, Patricia Weitzel's Blog! Check out the WHOLE tour and enjoy yourself! It feels like it's going to be a very creative day!

BLOG TOUR *** CHECK it OUT!!

2009-04-26T13:06:00.003-04:00

BLOG TOUR - Monday, April 27th - One Day Only

Be sure to pack your bags and join me for a ride on the ONE DAY ONLY Blog Tour happening Monday, April 27th. Be sure to make some time tomorrow to go through all the stops on the tour featuring products from the Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog as the links to the stops will disappear from the blogs at midnight!

I will be your tour guide for Stop #6 and will be sending you on to Patricia Weitzel for Stop #7 at Patricia Stamps. She'll be highlighting the NEW Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper!! I love the colors in this paper.

See you on the bus tomorrow!

What A Busy Week!!

2009-04-26T13:00:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone!
Man, has it ever been a busy week! I can't believe how busy it was. I has something planned every night, all day Saturday AND have gotten to rest for the first time this a.m.! whew!

Stayed the night @ Grandma's w/the kiddos and came home this a.m. We've got a birthday party this afternoon and then we're coming home to plant the rest of the veggies into the garden.

Don't forget to check out the Blog Tour tomorrow! It will be for ONE day only tomorrow! Each stop on the tour will be highlighting something new from the **NEW** Occasions Mini! There are some really nice stuff in it.

I will be highlighting the new set... OVAL ALL & the Scallop Oval Punch. I LOVE that punch a bunch! hehe

Try This Sketch Entries

2009-04-21T21:00:00.001-04:00

Yes, I know it's WAY past the first part of April. Sick kiddos will throw you soo off your game you won't know what hit ya!

Here's the Try This Sketch that I sent out in the challenge:

Here are the entries for the Try This Sketch Challenge. Pick which card is your favorite from both categories. You can either email me or post a comment below. I will leave the voting open until May 1st or MAY DAY! Happy Voting!

CARD ENTRIES:
Entry #1:

Entry #2:

Entry #3:
Entry #4:

SU DEMO ENTRIES:

Entry #1:

Entry #2:

Entry #3:

Entry #4:

Okay... NO voting for your own card. Again, either post a comment or email me with your favorite from EACH category (DEMO & CARD).

Bunny Box

2009-04-14T01:28:00.002-04:00

Inquiring minds want to know how to make the Bunny Box. Well, the box pattern was found on splitcoast and the rest is made out of punches. Well, except for his head! I think I found the template for that on Sandi MacIver's blog.

I had to improvise because I didn't have a heart punch for his nose... so I punched out a large photo corner (with Stampin' Up's Photo Corner punch!) and just put it into a circle punch to snip off the ends. The rest are Stampin' Up! Punches, 1/4" circle, 3/4" circle, small oval, large oval, 1" circle, 3 flower, scallop circle and *NEW* scallop oval (found in the NEW Occasions mini!).

For the pads of their feet, I just put the small oval into the large oval punch at an angle. I also shaved off strips of white for the whiskers. The paws are just a scallop circle put into a circle punch. I prefer the 1 in. one but the 1 1/4" one will work also. Please email me if you'd like to order any of the punches or you can go to my Stampin' Up! Website HERE and order them also! Just click on the 'SHOP NOW' under my name!

Sponging gives it so much more depth! I sponged most of the pieces with a sponge dauber and Pretty in Pink.

Easter Wishes

2009-04-11T07:22:00.002-04:00

I'm off to an all day crop, but wanted to share what I made for my Mother-in-Law, Lgirl's teacher and one for the girls in the school office. No stamping, just sponging and 8 different punches.

Enjoy and have a Happy Easter Everyone!!

MIL's Birthday Card

2009-04-10T07:47:00.000-04:00

Seems there were a lot of birthdays in March! I even missed a few because of the kiddos getting sick AND myself getting sick also. I'm still taking antibiotics for the sinus infection I had.

My MIL's birthday was March 9th, but she got really sick right before it and we never really got to take her out for dinner. In fact, I had to threaten her to get her to go to the doctor! When she finally did go, she ended up having bronchitis AND pneumonia! Imagine that.

I had some Bella Rose scraps laying around and wanted to see if I could use them up. If not, then I could throw away all the little squares of DSP I have been saving lol.

But LOOK! I was able to make a card after all! I really like this one too. I think it's the colors. I will probably be using this layout for my card clubs and also another 'quilting' technique I've seen on the internet these days.

Stamp Sets: Crazy for Cupcakes; Paper: Pirouette Pink, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss; Ink: Pirouette Pink, Riding Hood Red; Acc: SU Texturz Plates, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Trio Flower Punch, Non-SU Brads, Sponge Dauber, Key Tag Punch

Will Post...

2009-04-09T08:06:00.001-04:00

Sketch Challenge entries later today... I hope.

I'm off to volunteer at Kindergarten Roundup IN MY PAJAMAS!!

Gotta Love Spirit Week! hehe

Birthday Card for a Friend

2009-04-07T07:38:00.000-04:00

Here's a card I made for a friend's birthday last month. I had the kiwi kiss piece lying around already stamped and decided to make good use of it!

Stamp Sets: Upsy Daisy, Polka Dot BG; Paper: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Pirouette Pink; Ink: Versamark, Riding Hood Red; Acc: Non SU Brown Brads, Scallop Edge Punch, 1 1/2" Pirouette Pink Grosgrain, Trio Flower Punch, Paper Distresser, Sponge Daubers.

Thoughts & Prayers

2009-04-02T07:27:00.001-04:00

I really like this set. You can make quick & easy cards with it AND it's so darn versatile! Here's a quick & easy card:

And here's a more complicated card.

Stamp Sets: Thoughts & Prayers; Paper: Always Artichoke, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Regal Rose; Ink: Always Artichoke, Perfect Plum, Regal Rose; Acc: Non SU Embossing Folder, Top Notes Diecut, Silver Brads

Long Awaited Cupcakes

2009-04-01T00:19:00.005-04:00

Yes, I'm STILL sick! I've got a sinus infection and am currently taking drugs for that. I hope they kick in soon as my cheeks feel like they are going to explode at times.

The pressure is unreal. Oh and the top row of teeth hurt too!

Lgirl's Spring Party was last Friday and I made Lion and Lamb cupcakes that I had seen on the familyfun.com website. They were REALLY cute and I decided to make them for her class. I think the lambs turned out just darling and my MIL 'ordered' 12 from me! She's so silly sometimes.

It's very hard to find a lot of orange gumdrops at once. I made some with the orange slices, but that picture won't load correctly. I don't like the fact that his mouth ran either. It looks yucky! Lambs are definitely my favs! hehe

Sorry I've been missing...

2009-03-28T19:30:00.002-04:00

It seems the sickie bugs have decided to inhabit our happy abode.

My eldest, Lgirl, had a double ear infection, was on amox for 10 days and STILL had one. She then got prescribed augmen, which didn't agree with her at all and I stopped it. We went BACK and she got a script for omnicef and is now on the road to recovery! It's only been 3 weeks. She still has a hacking cough, but who doesn't these days?

Gman has a hacking cough also and it was just a matter of time that I would catch the viral bug. This happened on Tuesday! It hit me in the a.m. and Wednesday I had lost my voice. I'm a taurus so whenever I get sick, odds are it's in my throat.

I've been pumping myself full of vitamin C and zinc while hacking a lung here and there. I still sound like a cross dresser so don't be surprised if you should call! hehe I'm hoping to be fully recovered by Monday.

It's Spring Break next week around here and I don't have TIME to be sick! ARgghh! As it is I've got lots of 4 footed 'visitors' staying while their parents are vacationing and tonight I am running out to collect eggs and take care of 4 other dogs. Busy, busy, busy!

I'm talking pics and will be posting some stuff tomorrow so I will make sure to post 2 goodies since I have been ill!

Have a GREAT evening!

Things Turning Around...

2009-03-24T01:07:00.005-04:00

I hope for Lgirl's sake! We took her to the sick clinic Sunday evening to get different antibiotics. I don't think she reacted too well with the augmentin. She's had a fever on and off since Monday! She's been tested for everything, big, long swabs into the back of her throat and up her nose. Yuck!

She'll be heading to school tomorrow. I'm hoping she feels good and can kick this infection & hacking cough for good!

Here's another SAS card. This one is bright and boyish! I really am trying to like that blue but I can't seem to get a knack for it at all. I will not miss this In color, not at all!

Stamp Sets: Party Hearty; Paper: Summer Sun, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White; Ink: Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun; Acc: Paper Snips, Scallop Circle Punch, 1" punch, 1 1/4" punch, 3/4" punch, Dimensionals

Rectangle Coasters FOR SALE

2009-03-19T23:52:00.002-04:00

I had to purchase some rectangle coasters for a customer's order and have extras. I've decided to offer them up for sale as there is NO way I would be able to use them all up!

Here's the info:

MEDIUM WEIGHT rectangle coasters. These are 3 7/8 x 5 3/8. I am selling them in lots of 20. Priority shipping for up to 60 will be $5.00 and anything more will be $10. Shipping is NOT included in the prices below.

20 Medium weight coasters = $5.00
40 Medium weight coasters = $9.00
60 Medium weight coasters = $13.00
Let me know if you'd like a price for a bigger amount.

HEAVY WEIGHT Rectangle Coasters. These are 3 7/8 x 5 3/8. I am selling them in lots of 20. Priority shipping for up to 40 will be $5.00 and anything more will be $10. Shipping is NOT included in the prices below.

20 Medium weight coasters = $6.00
40 Medium weight coasters = $11.00
60 Medium weight coasters = $16.00
Let me know if you'd like a price for a bigger amount.

Please email me with your name, address, an email address I can send an invoice to and what you'd like to purchase. I will send you an invoice and let you know when your payment clears.

Things go by in a blur...

2009-03-19T06:53:00.003-04:00

when you have a sick child at home... why is that? Maybe it's because you are in survival mode? I had to take Lgirl back to the doctor because she still has an ear infection and get more drugs. Sorry I'm late with this posting since it was supposed to be yesterday!

Here's the 3rd card of my SAS. Very simple but I really do love that Upsy Daisy set! Very versatile.

Stamp Sets: Upsy Daisy; Paper: Textured DSP, Baha Breeze, Kraft; Ink: Versamark, Basic Brown; Acc: Non SU Brown Brads, Corner Rounder

Stamp-a-Stack #2

2009-03-16T06:55:00.003-04:00

What a weekend. The weather was very nice, but unfortunately my DD has a fever this a.m. I knew something was going on when I heard her coughing thru the night. Sigh... doesn't it ever end?! lol.

Here's card TWO of the Stamp-a-Stack I had at my house last week.

Stamp Sets: Crazy for Cupcakes, Polka Dot BG; Paper: Baha Breeze, Riding Hood Red, White CS; Ink: Baha Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Black Stazon.; Acc: Dazzlling Diamonds, Blender Pen, 2 Way Glue Pen, Slot Punch, 5/8" Baha Breeze Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.

This is one of my favorites. I scanned it in, so it is hard to see that the riding hood red is mounted on white cardstock. You can see it at the top, but not so much at the bottom. I do so enjoy the cupcake set! LOVE it!

Sorry I keep missing my Friday posts. I will definitely post extra this week to make up for it.

Also... WHERE ARE THE SKETCH CHALLENGES??? I only have one challenge in so you guys need to get crackin'!

Stamp-A-Stack

2009-03-11T18:29:00.004-04:00

Last month I held a Stamp-A-Stack at my house for my customers. There were 5 cards and they made 3 of each. Here's one of the cards that uses a FREE set from the Sale-a-Bration special that is going on until the end of March. Email me if you'd like to know how to get this set FREE too!

Stamp Sets: Botanical Blooms, Sincere Saluations, Paper: Pretty in Pink, WW, Kiwi Kiss, Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Acc: Three Flower Punch, Scallop Square Punch, 5/8" Regal Rose Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Brad

Scrap Card

2009-03-09T07:47:00.002-04:00

I love it when I can use 'scraps' to make a card. I usually like to make at least 4-6 extras so I'll have some on hand for craft shows, but it's always fun to make a one-of-a-kind card too! I sent this to my upline with some goodies.

It was quick and easy and I'm proud that I was able to use those long flowers. I always look at that page and nothing ever pops into my head!

Stamp set: Best Yet (Ret.), Paper: Basic Gray, Baha Breeze, Light Gray, WW, Ink: Baha Breeze, Basic Gray, Acc: Texturz Plates, Scallop Edge Punch, Urban Garden DSP, Circle Punches.

I've got to get moving. I've been lax on my Newsletter duties and I know my stamping gals would like to get my March one!

Lgirl was sick 2 days last week with a double ear infection. She actually started barfing right before we took her to the doctor on Friday. I believe she got the award for having the most wax pulled out of her ears. The nurse was amazed that she could hear at all! She's on antibiotics now and on the mend. Not to mention happy to go to school today after missing 2 days last week.

Easter Stamp Available Now

2009-03-04T12:19:00.009-05:00

Stampin' Up! is offering customers an opportunity to pre-order select sets from the Occasions Mini Catalog , which won't be released in full until April 1. (Pre-order means you can order it & receive it now before the mini is released)

They are just in time for your Spring and Easter craft needs! Images are for the English version of each available stamp set.

Item Description Retail Price
113196 An Egg-cellent Easter $21.95
113262 Wagon Full of Fun $34.95
113822 Eight Great Greetings $27.95
115421 Ocho saludos geniales (Spanish Eight Great Greetings) $27.95
114643 Huit souhaits sympas (French Eight Great Greetings) $27.95
113833 Egg Hunt Stampin' Around wheel $6.50

Click HERE to place an order TODAY!

A Busy Weekend!

2009-03-02T08:37:00.003-05:00

Wow, I have a hard time when the next month starts on Sunday. I think because I don't think about the next month and then I flip my calendar and THERE IT IS! I guess I have a hard time when I schedule something on the first of the month.

I had my Stamp-a-Stack Friday and Saturday! I wanted to thank all the ladies that came. It was GREAT having you and I hope you can make my next one in May! It will be an All Occasions Stamp-a-Stack! I want to cover Mother's Day and Father's Day in there so everyone has cards for those holidays.

Then I didn't realize I had scheduled a function on the 1st (see whole Calendar thing above lol). So not only was I busy Friday night and Saturday morning, but I also had an Au Pair Craft Day Sunday afternoon too! I really enjoy it though. I met girls from, England, France, Germany, South Africa, Guatemala, Columbia and China! It was cool.

Here's the NEW Try This Sketch Challenge (TTSC):

It's from Taylor Van Bruggen's blog. Get your samples to me by the March 31st to be in the running for some 'sweet' prizes! Pick a stamp set, get 2 or 3 colors you like and get to WORK! Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Try This Sketch Challenge WINNERS!!

2009-02-25T08:18:00.004-05:00

I've tallied up the votes and it was a heated race, let me tell you! Well, in the SU Demo's Category, it was a no brainer. Whooo's the winner you ask? Did you get my hint?! hehee

It was Entry #2 created by TRACY GEISZ!! Woo hoo! She's my upline and she lives in Illnois. My card was quick and easy because I hadn't made a card for the sketch yet and I was uploading the entries. She better watch out next month, hopefully my downlines, Melissa and Talisa, will take up the challenge!

And now for the winner of the Card Entries:

Drum roll please......

It was Entry #3 created by STEPHANIE BROERE! Congrats to you! Way to go Stephanie.
Thanks to all who participated and a bigger thanks to all who voted! I will be sending out another Try This Sketch here soon.

Missed Last Friday...

2009-02-23T08:39:00.004-05:00

didn't I?! hehehe

I had to finish up the One Sheet Wonder (OSW) cards my girls in Greenwood wanted to make. Usually we do the 8 for $10 route, but they wanted to try a OSW. So I designed 2 different kits for them to do and they really enjoyed it! They've also decided to swap the kits and make the opposites next month! woo hoo. Less work for me!

Then I had to make 40 Baby Shower Announcements for one of them. They were Pretty in Pink & Chocolate Chip. VERY nice. I will post those later... let's see if I have a card I can post.

Here's a card I made for a Sale-a-bration swap on SUDSOL. It's similar to the purple one we made at my Open House. I really like these colors more.

Stamp Set: Botanical Blooms, Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Paper: Kiwi Kiss, WW, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Regal Rose. Acc: 1/4" Rose Red Grosgrain, circle punches.

Long Awaited Diaper Cake

2009-02-18T07:10:00.000-05:00

Here's the long awaited Diaper Cake! The only thing I forgot was to add the letters of her name and have them coming down the cake. They would be attached by ribbon and just cascade down. Kind of hard to imagine, but her name is Ruby and I can't wait to meet her! hehe

LOVE this cake! I used both fake flowers, primas AND the scalloped circle punch and Spring flower punches. Ruby's nursery is chocolate chip, ruby red and coral. My MIL and I have her this cake and a high pile blanket that was on her wish list. I pulled the colors from it.

Here's a picture of the blanket. The cake really does match the blanket, it just doesn't look like it here lol. I can't tell if it's the lighting on the cake or just the picture of the blanket.

Try This Sketch Challenge Entries

2009-02-16T13:49:00.001-05:00

Here's the Try This Sketch that I sent out in the challenge:

Anyways, here are the entries for the Try This Sketch Challenge. I have decided to divide the entries into two categories: Card Entries and SU Demo Entries. So pick which card is your favorite from both categories. You can either email me or post a comment below. I will leave the voting open for one week and close it on Saturday, the 21st. I'll announce the winners and the creators on Monday, one week from today!

CARD ENTRIES:
Entry #1:

Entry #2:

Entry #3:

Entry #4:
Entry #5:

SU DEMO ENTRIES:

Entry #1:

Entry #2:

Okay... NO voting for your own card. Again, either post a comment or email me with your favorite from each category.

More Thank You Cards

2009-02-13T07:54:00.002-05:00

Here are 3 more of the cards.

I think I forgot to mention yesterday that these cards are 3 1/2 x 5. I ordered envies once and ordered the wrong size. So now I use this size as my 'Thank You' card sizes and it has worked really, really well!
Stamp Set: Cute & Curly. Paper: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Pirouette Pink, WW, Bella Rose DSP. Ink: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red. Acces: Scalloped Edge Punch, Curly Label Punch, Spring Flowers Punch. Non-SU: Brown Brads

The chocolate chip one in the middle is one of my favorites. I think it's because I'm not much of a rose person. But my mother-in-law mentioned the thought the roses were her favorite so those might be in her future! *Ü*

Have a GREAT day!

Posting Decision

2009-02-11T08:02:00.002-05:00

Good Morning! I have decided that I will be posting pictures 3 times a week. Usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday. That way I won't feel so overwhelmed about it all!

I really do enjoy sharing my creations, but find it hard to juggle blogging with motherhood, pet sitting, stamping and whatnot. So this way I think I will feel better and I won't go a week without a post.

Everyone will benefit from it. I think Friday's post will be the Sketch Challenge and entries. Then next week will be the rest of the Baby Shower cards.

Have a great day!

Baby Thank You Cards

2009-02-11T07:30:00.006-05:00

Normally when I make Thank You Cards for a Baby Shower Gift, I make the same card and just make about 16 of them. There are some times when I'm a little slower and don't get to give the cards right away. I always worry that if I made ones with a baby hand or foot or some baby image that they would already have sent out all their thank you's and be stuck with baby ones they couldn't use.

So for last weekend's Baby Shower, I decided to step away from my norm in two ways... I made regular Thank Yous AND I used scrap Designer Series Paper. Oh what fun it was! I did keep the same stamped image, but every card is different. I LOVE this and didn't want to give them up! lol.

Carrie also loved them and didn't want to use them lol. Cousin Kim went thru them all and picked out the one SHE wanted to receive. I am really happy with how these turned out. And you will HAVE to excuse the blurriness as I was putting the finishing touches on them AND taking the pictures while hubby was driving us to the shower! Once again, I work SO well under pressure hehe.

You will notice that I did follow a the same layout on a couple of them. I love these 2 layouts as they are quick and easy! The only thing I regret was that I didn't make more of them. I thought I had 20 something but only 12! I did find 2 extra and I had embossed some cs with my Big Shot for more of them, but didn't finish them. I think I will finishe them up!

Stamp Set: Cute & Curly. Paper: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Pirouette Pink, WW, Bella Rose DSP. Ink: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red. Acces: Scalloped Edge Punch, Curly Label Punch, Spring Flowers Punch. Non-SU: Brown Brads

Baby Shower Card

2009-02-10T14:47:00.005-05:00

Hey there, it's a busy day here at the Lawrence household so this will be quick & sweet. Here's the baby shower card I made for Carrie's Baby Shower this past Saturday. I will post the thank you cards over the next couple of posts and end w/the AWESOME diaper cake (if I do say so myself!).

Stamp Sets: Punches Three. Ink: Riding Hood Red, Cameo Coral. Paper: WW, Cameo Coral, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Bella Rose DSP. Acces: Lrg Oval Punch, Spring Flower Punch, Scalloped Edge punch. Non-SU: Brown Organza Ribbon, Prima Flower, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot Embossing Folder, Brown brads.

This card matches the baby's room and the diaper cake for that matter! I cannot wait for my Texturz plates from Stampin' Up! My order should be here tonight I hope.

Okay, I'm off to cut cardstock for a 'Be My Valentine' Children's class this afternoon, a Valentine Card Making jig at MOPS in New Castle and Lgirl has a cooking class tonight at the library! woo hoo!

Sympathy Card

2009-02-09T07:33:00.000-05:00

So let's start with the Sympathy card my hubby picked and then I'll save the others for later, how's that?
Stamp set: Close to a Memory. Ink: Baja Breeze, Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand. Paper: Kraft, Baja Breeze, Manchester DSP, WW. Accesories: Mat Pack

Well, here's two that look fairly similar. I just picked a 6x6 pk of DSP that I received in a swap and Manchester happens to be in the current catalog also! woo hoo.

I started out making the card on the left and then proceeded to use up all the DSP scraps. I was happily surprised to see I was able to make 6 cards with it! woo hoo. I find that I am a lot more creative when I have only 1 stamp set to work with, the colors already chosen (pulled from the DSP) and patterned paper. I am amazed!

I will be posting the other cards here shortly. I need to post the cards I received for the sketch challenge I sent out. Have a GREAT Sunday!

Buzzzzzz...

2009-02-08T15:20:00.003-05:00

is how fast I've been going this past week. Sorry it's been so long but this week has been overwhelming! Monday Hubby needed a sympathy card for work. I was on a roll and made 5 or 6 cards total. Plus I made my sketch challenge card with the scraps too!

Gman and I were snowed in for 2 days (tue & wed), Lgirl actually had to take the bus home because it was SAFER than my trying to drive, can you believe that?

Then we had our MOMS club meeting postponed until Thursday, and I volunteered with Healthy Families and my friend, Jane Daw. She works at Healthy Families and asked if I could come up with some quick and easy Valentine Cards for the women to make for a local Senior Citizens Home. So Gman and I went there and spent the morning on Friday helping out. It was a lot of fun and I think the moms really enjoyed it too. Plus our MOMS Club President got to give a short talk about our club to boot!

In the evenings I had things going too. Weigh In on Wednesdays and then Stamp Club on Thursday night. We made the A2 Pizza Boxes and 4 cards to go in them. I think the girls liked it but it was a bit hectic because I let them pick their own patterned paper. So all the other stuff had to be hand cut when they wanted it. I will try and make it a bit more organized next time!

Friday night Hubby's cousin came over and I had her work on some Bridal invitations she wants for a friend and I worked on making a Diaper Cake for another Cousin's Baby Shower. Gman ended up getting sick so I had to go to bed when he woke up screaming at 11:30am.

I got up on Saturday and finished the Diaper Cake, made the Baby Shower card AND made 12 thank you cards for the mommy to be! I thought I had more made, but I didn't. I ran out of time. I was brading the flowers and dimensioning the stamped thank you's onto the cards as hubby drove us to it lol.

So... enough about my week... what do you want to see first? I always wonder if I should go chronologically (Sympathy cards) or if I should start with the Baby Shower Goodies?

Well, you know i have to stretch out the posts so I don't overwhelm you guys with too many pictures lol. I'm going to save the pics for the next post! Check for it in the a.m.!

Open House Weekend

2009-02-02T07:53:00.001-05:00

was a hit! I had 5 gals stop by on Friday night and 8 gals on Saturday. I wanted to thank all of you for coming out in the weather. The snow was definitely NOT cooperating!

Poor Davinna got stuck in the snow on her way home, but luckily my hubby went to dig her out of that blowing snow drift. The rest of the girls got home without incident.

My Thank You Goodies for coming were packages of Homemade Cocoa. Yummmmmm.... I also gave out candie purses too. We had a great time making a beautiful card with the Sale-a-Bration set, Botanical Blooms.

All products are Stampin' Up! Colors: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Mellow Moss. I used Mellow Moss 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon.

REMEMBER... if you place an order with me by Thursday, February 5th, you will be entered into a drawing for a FREE stamp set!

SALE-ABRATION is HERE!!!

2009-02-01T19:29:00.003-05:00

Sale-abration is here! I have been waiting patiently thru January for Sale-abration. I'm so glad it's finally here. Have you checked out the deals??

Place a $50 (your own order or a combo of orders from friends & family) order and receive a FREE item. You can choose from 2 spools of ribbon (So Saffron & Certainly Celery 5/8" poly-twill ribbon), Designer Series Paper called Definitely Dots, and 4 different stamp sets. Place a $100 order and get TWO FREE items. You can't beat that at all!!

If you host a party and your total party order is $300 (before tax and S&H) then you AUTOMATICALLY receive a FREE Sale-abration item! woo hoo.

Earn a FREE Idea Book! Place an online order by clicking HERE, then you will receive a FREE 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book for EACH and EVERY online order! Already have an Idea Book? Then give it to a friend or co-worker whom you think might enjoy it and can use the ideas... there are a lot of them in there.

What's my favorite set? I think the 'a little Yummy for your tummy' is sooo cool! Can't wait to use it for my hostess gifts!!!

Card from Sandee

2009-01-29T15:55:00.003-05:00

Hi there!
I am frantically getting ready for my Open House which is Friday and Saturday evenings from 6p-8p. I can't wait! I received my new catalogs today WOO hOo! My girlfriend and Stamp Club member, Laurel, is coming down from Kokomo on Saturday and staying all day and night! Woohoo!

Mother Nature (or should it be Father Winter?), on the other hand, is not cooperating! Which makes it harder. I just got stuck in my drive way coming home and was stuck going out this morning but was able to rock myself out lol. Whew!

I've got some neighbor boys (whom I call my 'Cabana' boys) coming over to shovel my drive so that the ladies will have a place to park.

This card was a swap I recived from Sandee Roberts. It is really nice. The stamp sets are Bloomin' Beautiful and Heard from the Heart. She used chocolate chip twill ribbon, baja breeze paper and I THINK Bella Rose Designer Series Paper.

Pick A Petal

2009-01-27T19:32:00.003-05:00

Hey there, it's been a busy week. And we are going to get some serious snow! woo hoo. The kids and I played in it this afternoon and they had a load of fun!

Here's a card by Leslie Knight from Elk Grove, California. I received it in a swap from Convention '07. How do I know? ONly because she used Blue Bayou and Soft Sky, both IN colors of yester year. I really like the layout of this card. VERY nice!

The ribbon looks a different color, but it isn't. It must be my scanner! Yikes.

Item	Description	Retail Price
113196	An Egg-cellent Easter	$21.95
113262	Wagon Full of Fun	$34.95
113822	Eight Great Greetings	$27.95
115421	Ocho saludos geniales (Spanish Eight Great Greetings)	$27.95
114643	Huit souhaits sympas (French Eight Great Greetings)	$27.95
113833	Egg Hunt Stampin' Around wheel	$6.50