It's My Lucky Day!

I've been having issues with my internet service this morning so my post is a bit late. That's ok though because I opened my email to find out that I WON an assortment of stuff from Paper Crafts Magazine! You can see the link with my name at the end HERE. WOOHOO! Love random.org...today at least:) And to make my day even better my hubby is taking my son to the movies. I will get a good 2 1/2 hours to MYSELF. It will be spent doing a bit of cleaning, but still, the sound of SILENCE. Ohh, Ahh! Can you dig it? It will be short lived though. I promised we would go play tennis before football practice. I WISH I had this kid's energy! Especially since I'm sure we will just be chasing balls around the tennis courts. We don't REALLY know how to play. I just hope no one is on the court next to us. They will totally HATE us~

Well, I did make a few cards this morning. One I will have to wait to show you. The other is one I made "just for fun." You know, no sketches, color combos or any rules to follow. I used the new Bermuda Bay color from SU. I combined a bunch of different stamps to make this. Since I'm still getting used to the color I wasn't sure what other color to use with it. White is always good.


I really loved the way this turned out. I had this long white card "reject" from another project and I just couldn't let it go to waste. It's a bit hard to see, but it's scored in a half inch all the way around. I also embossed it with a stylus and my mat pack piercing template. The panel of bermuda bay is covered with some vellum cardstock. I used a technique and some supplies that I love, but haven't used in a long time.... Embossing and Vellum. The center heart was embossed with white EP onto glossy cardstock. Then just rub the Bermuda Bay ink all around it. That gives it a more subtle color.

Here's What's In It!

Stamps: Anniversary Birds (Verve), Always, Full of Life ( SU)
Ink: Versamark, White Craft, Bermuda Bay
Paper: White, Bermuda Bay, Vellum cardstock, Glossy
Other: Bermuda Bay ribbon, scalloped edge punch, white EP, mat pack, stylus, glue dots, flower, heart button, scalloped circle nesties, swiss dots EF, dimensionals


OOPS! Forgot to show the INSIDE:)

Thanks for checking in!

Remember the Moments

Today is the day we are returning home from our trip. I know that during this time we have created some beautiful moments to remember. Our trip was full of seeing family and friends. Some we haven't seen in a very long time. This card was for my OTHER cousins graduation. I have several MUCH younger cousins and 2 of them graduated in the same year. This was for the girl. I used another of the Unity stamps I got in my kit. I'm so glad I had the excuse to play with them a bit before I left. At this point I will not have stamped in 11 days. I bet my hands are itching to grab a stamp:)

Here are the details. BTW, if you haven't checked out the KOTM club for Unity you really should. REALLY nice stamps with many different styles for a really great price! I think I'm in love:)

The List:
Stamps: Great Friend (SU) Unity June KOTM
Ink: Baja Breeze, Cranberry Crisp, Sahara Sand
Paper: K&C Co, DCWV text cream, Vanilla, old cream from Meijer
Other: dazzling diamonds, MS glue pen, janome Sew mini, distress tool

Quick Congrats

This is a really quick card that I made for my cousin's graduation. His school colors are black and orange. This is a money holder. I got the idea from HERE. The only thing I didn't like was that that I felt like the money wasn't actually being HELD into place. So I added a strip of black that wrapped around the bottom of the white inside. Here is a picture. Is that clear as mud? LOL


The List
Stamps: Forest Friends, Happy Harmony, Practically Perfect
Ink: Mememto Black
Paper: DCWV Text Black, Whisper White, DCVW Orange
Other: EK Success punch, 3D sticker, black embroidery floss, slit punch

I should have one more post for you in a few days. All prescheduled as I enjoy my family vacation.

Beautiful You!

I hope you are all having a great week! At the time you read this I am spending some much needed time with my dad. He was the inspiration for this card.

The inside reads ....

" The happiest people
don't always have
the best of everything.
They just make the best
of everything
they have."

My brother sent me a story about a man visiting his wife in the hospital. She had Alzheimer's. This was part of the quote at the end of the story. It has always stuck with me.

My dad is going through something very similar. My dad has never had an easy life. He didn't grow up in the best of situations. He hasn't always had it easy. But he doesn't focus on the negative. He is usually joking and laughing. He always has a story to tell. He doesn't complain much and while he isn't perfect, he is pretty fabulous to me. I am glad that I have him. I have learned many things from him. Some things he meant to teach me and some things I learned from his mistakes.

I know I am probably laughing it up with him right now. Thanks for letting me share!

Stamps: Art of Life, Beautiful Yo
Ink: Versafine Black, Wild Wasabi, Basic Gray
Paper: Wild Wasabi, DCWV Text Black, Vanilla
Other: Black Satin Ribbon, Buttons, linen thread, Cuttlebug, Embossing Folder, dimensionals, Oval Nesties

From the Heart

Wishing you a great Tuesday...from the heart:) It's a busy day here today. We are leaving for a 10 day vacation to see my dad. Trying to frantically get all the things done I need to before we go. My hope is that I will have some prescheduled posts while I am gone. They may be few and far between. But that's my goal. My dad has VERY SLOW internet. Posting from there is not an option. Besides, I want to just spend my time with him. I don't usually get to see him for Father's Day. So this year is extra special.

My card today is for no one in particular nor is it for any challenge. It makes me super happy though because every element on it is a "reject" from another project. I incorporated them all together and love how it turned out. Many of the pieces were bits from my Stamptacular Sunday Challenge card. You can see that here. Why not join in the fun too? You have until Saturday the 20th. Ok, off and running.

Stamps: MFT Bundle of Bouquets, Celebrate U and Weathered (SU)
Paper: Our Story digital, Black Text DCWV, Craft, Cranberry
Ink: Sahara Sand, Versafine Black, Cranberry Crisp
Other: CM circle cutter, CM heart template, paper piercer, button, linen thread

BTW, I tried to do some different things with my camera and the white balance, but I think it actually made my picture look worse. Will try to fix that.

Flowers For You

Hey there! Thanks for stopping in today. TGIF!!! Today is "popcorn day" for me. I'm heading to the school this morning to pop popcorn for the elementary school. It's my last "volunteer" thing for the school year. Woohoo. It's really a pretty easy fundraiser. I've affectionately become known as " The Popcorn Lady." ( there are worse things to be called, I guess) The perks are: 1. I always know that I have a secure future working for a movie theatre 2. The kids LOVE me 3. My husband loves popcorn and me smelling like it, well....let's just say it isn't a bad thing;)

Speaking of movies, I have been to the theatre 3 times in a month and TWO of those movies were actually "adult films." No, not like THAT! I just mean they didn't have animated characters. I really can't remember the last time I have been to the theatre for something over the age of PG-13.

So let me give you my review:

1. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.....wait for DVD


2. Angels and Demons....this was really entertaining for me. I enjoyed it and it's not really
"my kind of movie." It's worth a trip to the theatre.

3. UP...... this is a MUST SEE. Such a sweet, emotional, funny story. Believe it or not, it may make you cry. This was my favorite flick out of the three. I guess I should just stick to the animated films. I'm really just a kid at heart anyways.

Ok, that's my week in review. Now onto my card. Super simple best describes this card.


I got this digital paper for free last week when I donated to the "Stamp Out Alheimer's" fun. I got several free things. I wish I had been able to have more fun with that great fundraiser, but free digital paper was a bonus. My family has been affected by this awful disease. It's hard to witness on all levels. This event raised over $6,000! This paper was called Flip Flop. I was unable to locate it. The website is Sweet Shoppe Designs. They have some cute digital paper. I have a few other things to point out. I used Shimmerz on the flowers that were stamped twice and cut out. I also added stickles to each flower center on the DP. This card took about 30 minutes to make. The longest part was waiting for the stickles to dry and I didn't do such a great job of that:) I also embossed the white base with my cuttlebug just along the bottom edge.

I think I've jabbered enough this morning. Hope you have a beautiful day!

Stamps: Floral Symphony (Verve), Sweet Chocolate (My Cute Stamps)
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Summer Sun, Choc Chip
Paper: White, Digital, Wild Wasabi
Other: Soft Subtles Brads, Stickles, Kaiser Pearls, Shimmerz. horizontal slot punch, dimentionals, scalloped edge punch, paper piercer, Wild Wasabi ribbon, swiss dots embossing folder, cuttlebug

Savory Square Card

That was the name of the sketch for this card. I had a really hard time putting this card together. It was just "one of those days." My sewing machine broke while I was sewing on the card. That ended up ruining my paper and my sewing machine. I am still hoping it will just be a minor repair .....for my sewing machine. It WAS just minor to repair the paper. I had another piece. I ended up faux stitching the corners using a choc chip marker and my mat pack. Personally, I think this card looks way better in real life and would have been even better with real stitching.

Let me tell you about a few special details to this card. The center panel was stamped on and then covered with a piece of vellum that has the sentiment stamped with CC craft ink. The brads hold the vellum in place. I have a piece of twill that peeks out from under the center panel. I wrapped the ends with twine for a different look. My flowers are layered and then I used a Build A Brad for the center. I punched a piece of choc chip cardstock and then brushed on Pearl Ex for the shimmery center. What I learned....the bubble that comes with the build a brad grabbed the pearl ex off the paper and then fell off the brad. So, I fixed this by putting some Crystal effects on the CC cardstock center and adhered the pearl ex'ed bubble that way. Worked well. I love the look of that brad. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.

Here is a recipe:

Stamps: Beautiful You, Abundant Blessings (Verve)
Ink: Choc Chip Craft, Really Rust, Tango Tangerine
Paper: Vanilla, Vellum Cardstock, My Mind's Eye
Other: Vintage brads, Build a Brad, Flowers, Twill, Twine, Mat Pack, Choc Chip Marker

Today is supposed to be beautiful! We will be hanging outside soaking in the sun...and getting our garden going. Then Monday it will be freezing! I wish Spring would just get here and STAY. This next week is Spring Break for us. My posting could be very random. We have a few fun things planned. I can't wait. I'm hoping this break will bring back my fun kids. They have been SOOOO crabby. Yikes!

See you tomorrow for the FIRST STAMPTACULAR SUNDAY CHALLENGE!

Rock and Roll with a Beautiful Butterfly

First thing I NEED to do today is tell you all to LOOK at the MINI CATALOG for Stampin Up. It is located on the left side bar of my blog. Just click on the picture to download the entire mini catalog. It has some really fabulous stuff in there. It's been awhile since I've been this in love with a mini. I wish I could buy almost everything in it. CUTE STUFF! Today my card features one of the sets in there called Great Friend. I think the butterfly image is BEAUTIFUL!
UPDATE: The fact that my card TOTALLY matches by blog is coincidence. Funny though!

I realized the other day I haven't been doing to much in the "new technique" area. I've just been so focused on challenges and deadlines that I haven't played around with doing anything outside of basic stamping and Magic Gamsol. Well, today I used the technique called "Rock and Roll". Now this isn't technically "new," but it's something different. It is very simple and can have some really cool results. Play around with different color combinations. It took me a few tries to find the color combo I wanted on this card. I decided on using Riding Hood Red and Close to Cocoa for the butterfly.

Here are a few things to remember when using this technique:

1. Always ink your stamp with the lightest color first. Then roll the edges with the darker color.

2. I have found that huffing on the stamp after inking with both colors helps to "blend" the colors a bit. Really huff on it well. The moisture from your breath will cause the colors to bleed together just a bit.

3. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP! Always clean your stamp off before inking up again. This keeps your lighter color stamp pad happy:) I made several of these cards and needed to repeat the butterfly image several times. Clean between each one and you will like this technique much better than if you don't clean between each one. Got it?



Here is a close up of the butterfly. I added Dazzling Diamonds using my Martha Stewart glue pen. I also used a technique called masking. I punched a circle in a scrap piece of paper, then placed the negative part on my stamped image and sponged to create the sun in the upper right hand corner. I also folded my butterfly in half and then put glue down that center fold only to adhere it. That way it looks like the butterfly is flying.

Here is the recipe:

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Great Friend
Ink: Versamagic Sage, So Saffron, RHR, Close to Cocoa, Choc Chip
Paper: Barely Banana, Whisper White, Old SU DP
Other: Oval Nesties, Dazzling Diamonds, MS Glue pen, sponge, cuttlebug, Pretties Kit, Satin Ribbon, bead glue

That's all I have time for today. Have a good one!

Easy Designer Paper Card

This is going to be very short and sweet. I have a very busy day today. I made this card pretty quickly with the use of the Urban Garden DP. I also used several of my Sizzlets with my Cuttlebug for quick dimension. I made this card for my uncle who just recently had a heart attack. I wanted him to know that, even though we are far away, he isn't far from our thoughts. If you look closely at the leave die cuts I used a blender pen and NQN ink to add some soft color. I still thought they needed something so I added a silver gellyroll pen to the edges. Also, my Martha Stewart glue pen is perfect for adding glue to these tiny branched areas. I didn't want the entire die cut to be glued down. I like how the leaves seem to grow from under the tag.

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Thoughts and Prayers
Ink: Baja Breeze, NQNavy
Paper: Baja Breeze, NQN, Urban Garden, Whisper White
Other: Cuttlebug, Sizzlets:little leaves and lots of tags, silver brads, silver hodgepodge accessory, silver gelly roll pen, blender pen, dimensionals, Martha Stewart glue pen, white taffetta ribbon

Have a marvelous day!

Happy Dots

My card for today was inspired by an episode of Divine Design by Candace Olson. She is amazing. She did this awesome basement that had a whole craft area. These were the colors she used and the circles come from the floor design. It was so fun.


The card base for this is Soft Sky (retired). I used a layer of vanilla that was matted with baja breeze. I used various size circle punches using scraps of baja breeze, soft sky, certainly celery and kraft cardstock. I arranged them and then machine stitched the edges and through the arrangement of circles. I messed up my stitching so I used some buttons from The Paper Studio to cover my "errors". The Sentiment was stamped using Sahara Sand ink. I forgot the name of the stamps set and I'm not home to check. Sorry:( I love how quickly this card came together. I think that even though it has buttons it could be used as a card for a guy. What do you think?

We are having a great time on our trip to Michigan. It is absolutely beautiful here around the lake. We found out that on Sunday this area received around 18 inches of snow! Yikes! The day we arrived it ended up being 67 degrees. It was crazy to see these mounds of snow and people walking around in shorts. The people are very friendly here. When this posts we will be spending the day at the water portion of the hotel. We have done a little bit so far and had a great time. We got my mom to do one of the water slides. Yeah Mom! She has never done anything like that.

I hope you are all having a great week. Thanks for checking in with me today. Don't forget that our Stamptacular Sunday Challenge is coming up. Stay tuned for additional information next week.

Have a good one!

Creative Break

If you have read my blog long enough you know that I love several things. One of them being a great deal and another is recycling. I got a GREAT deal on a new pair of jeans and took the tags off with the idea to do something with them.

I must be in a creative funk because the card I made is pretty cruddy. I really had such high hopes. After trying and trying I came up with this.

I am really not happy with it at all. But I decided to post it so you can see why I need a creative break. I realized that right now my house is in such disarray that I can't possible focus on anything else. I have a lot of spring cleaning to do in my craft area as well as other areas of my home. Every time I come down to clean my craft area I end up sitting and trying to create. Well, today I need to stick to the task. So, I am most likely going to be MIA this week. Hope you understand. If I am able I will post a Mojo Monday card sometime this week. Don't forget to check it out and try to play along. It is" layerville" this week. I have some great papers I want to play with but my mind can't seem to stop thinking about cleaning. Tee hee...that's a first. I hope to come out from under the clutter revived and full of ideas. Have a great week!

Happy Heart Day!

I hope you all are having a super Valentine's Day! We started our day off with heart shaped pancakes. I love making pancake "art" . When my daughter was littler she liked me to make "Little Mermaid pancakes". Do you know how hard that is? So heart shaped pancakes are pretty easy in comparison. Not much going on here today other than basketball and just hanging out. After our crazy week I am ready for "chillin'".

The card above was for my husband this morning. I really struggle with masculine cards. I hope this isn't too girly. I got to use a sketch by Beate John's. She started back up with some sketch challenges. I'm excited because she is moving to my neck of the woods soon. That would be pretty great to bump into her at a craft store or something. Anyways, I have lots to share. I need to quick yapping and get to the task at hand.

The card is Choc chip, Riding Hood Red and Pumpkin pie cardstock. I used the largest SU sizzix scalloped circle for the half circles. The pumpkin scallop was run through the cuttlebug and then sponged with choc chip ink. I stamped on the RHR scallop first in versamark and then in RHR ink with a stamp from Verve's Hearts Afire set. I also used Verve's Hundred Hearts set for the sentiment stamped on Vanilla cardstock in RHR ink. The heart is from SU's set called Always and was stamped onto glossy cardstock in Choc Chip craft ink and then clear embossed. I sponged it with RHR and Pumpkin pie ink. Then cut it out and popped in on with dimensionals. The Choc Chip cardstock was stamped with the same ink using another stamp out of the set Always. All this is then layered on top of a base of vanilla. I stamped the inside as well with a heart from Hearts Afire. I love both of these sets.

I also wanted to show what we ended up giving all the teachers for Valentine's Day. I love this project because I was able to make 13 of these for under $5. SOOOO CHEAP. That's me in a nutshell, BTW. We started out with this:



Do you know what these are? They are those gift card tins. I got 3 to a pack for 19 CENTS! How cool is that? I love those kinds of bargains. What's even better is that I used them up in only a few weeks. No hoarding or anything. Patting myself on the back now:)




We ended up making them the chocolate lipgloss I made in this post. And for your information the recipe for the kool aid lipgloss provided on that same post doesn't work. Don't try that one, ok?

And here is the finished project:



It looks so much better in real life. Still the lighting issue. Anyways, the paper is by My Mind's Eye. I just traced and cut out and then adhered with bead glue. I used that to adhere the ribbon around the edges. I punched a hole in the edge and tied a piece of ribbon to help with sliding the top open. They seemed to stick a little bit so, I hope this helps. The sentiment is Choc Chip craft and clear EP and is from Hundred Hearts. I know I use this combo a lot. I love chocolate! Even in ink I guess. The heart was stamped with Rose red ink. I actually stamped it twice to create such a deep, rich look. Then I stamped again over the top with Versamark. That's the really great benefit to clear acrylic. No stamp a ma jig. I'm lazy too, BTW. After stamping again with versamark I covered it with Iridescent Ice EP. If you don't own Iridescent Ice Ep you have no idea what you missing...seriously. You really should buy some. It's soooo sparkly!

I had my kids tell each teacher that it was FAT FREE Chocolate lipgloss. My sister used to be a teacher and she always told me that teacher's don't want chocolate. So, I figure this was a safe way to give it. Calorie FREE:)

I'm running out of time so I will share more tomorrow.

HUGS AND KISSES!

Yes I know it's Valentine's Day

I know that it isn't Halloween. But I had this idea for my kids' valentines when I saw that skull in Just Jawing fr0m SU and couldn't get it out of my head. I'm sure some parent will think I'm evil or some such thing, but I think my idea is cute and I'm stickin' to it! ESPECIALLY, after cutting out almost 50 skulls. Ok, ok, my mom helped. Still here is what they look like. BTW, my kids like them and that's what counts. They were responsible for doing the glitter. We have glitter EVERYWHERE now. I think my son would have played in it all night.
I used Pink Pirouette for the girls and Real Red for the boys. The glitter is just some that I had leftover from other projects. I stamped the sculls onto Whisper White in Basic black and mounted them with dimensionals. Each cardstock square is 3 1/2X 3 1/2 and is stamped with the stars for the set Just Jawing with the same color ink. The word "Valentine" is from Verve's set called Sweet Valentine. I just colored the word with my basic black marker and stamped. So easy! Here is what the back looks like:

I can't remember what font I used on my computer, but the "no bones about it" is just printed out and then I stamped the "you rock!" in Real Red. The white cardstock is from Walmart. It doesn't stamp as well at all, but my computer will not print on SU cardstock. Bummer. Can anyone tell me if the printer you use prints on SU cardstock and if so what brand is it. I really need one that does that. I was so bummed to find out my spits it out like it's liver or something. So, any help in that department would be sooo appreciated. So tonight we will start addressing these babies. Can't wait to cross that off my ever increasing list of Things To Do.

I also wanted to show you a picture of my hubby and I before our little soiree. It was so fun. The food was fabulous. They had the most AMAZING Creme Brulee. MY GOODNESS. The art was interesting and somewhat strange in some of the rooms. The committee also hired a comedian this year which made the night that much better if you ask me. Of course I think everything is funny. I was cracking myself up yesterday remembering funny little things with my mom. Anyway, back to the dinner. My husband had to help present the award for Fireman of the Year. It was so great because this guy had NO idea. That's the best...to honor someone and have them be thoroughly surprised and humbled. So the even funnier thing is that the fireman's axe that they present as part of the plaque did not come in time. So, my husband had to put a replacement one on the award from his own department. Imagine how embarrassing to have to go back up to him and ask for it back. But what cracked me up was watching my husband leave the building in his black trench coat with this GINORMOUS axe in his hand, trying to hide it as we made our way to the car. Not every night you see someone walking through a parking lot with an axe. Well, maybe in downtown Dayton you do. Ok, before anyone emails me about that remark, I'm just kidding! So here is our picture at home. My home isn't so great for indoor pictures. They took a professional one too. I'm too lazy to upload that one though.

Thanks for stopping by today. See you tomorrow!

Back To Reality...

...well, the kids are at least. It was rough getting back into the swing of homework and NO video games:) That's a big wake up call for my son. But, I was really proud of how he came home and got all his work done. He also got his first A+ on this test that he takes every week and usually gets like a 97% on. It has been his goal for the year. I'm so proud of him! Ok, moving on from "proud mommy moments".
I took a few hours yesterday of all alone, uninterrupted , just doin' my own thing time to do some creating. It was soooo nice and quiet here:) One of the cards that I'm going to show was almost finished so that didn't take me long. Do you ever just have to walk away from a project? Seriously, if I'm struggling with something, I find that if I leave it for an hour or even day or two helps. I come back to it refreshed. I do this A LOT! This first card though is for the OCC challenge this week. Head on over and check it out.

I hope you won't be sick of this paper because my next card uses it too:D I just really love the softness of the colors. They seem to calm me. After the holidays don't we all need some serenity? Ohhhh YEAH! Here are the deets: I used Perfect Plum (even though it looks like Elegant Eggplant) as my base. Now I don't normally fold my cards this way because I find that if someone wants to display them they end up s..l..o..w..l..y sinking until they look like they've done the splits. The way to still make a "horizontal" card is to cut your base at 4 1/4"X 11" and fold so that it then opens like a book. So much better. But this specific piece was in my scrap pile already folded. So, I'm using it up. Sorry for my ramblings today. I used a strip of that gorgeous DP and stitched it to the base. Inside you can see I used some off white CS to cover the stitches and finish the card. Next I used this cute Ric Rac and some fabric glue to adhere it. The sentiment is from All Year Cheer and is stamped in Bashful Blue onto DCVW textured off white CS. I don't care for how that part turned out but using white was too "in your face". This is all layered on Perfect Plum and then Cert. Celery CS. I stamped the heart from the set Always onto glossy cardstock with versamark and embossed with white EP. I then just took the perfect plum, bashful blue and cert celery ink and sponged it on using circular motions to blend them together. I LOVE this look. That is a filigree brad with a blue ICE RHINESTONE that will soon be discontinued. AHHH gotta get more!

Now here is the funny part....see that tiny vanilla satin ribbon. Guess where I got it? FROM MY SWEATER! You know how they have those strips inside to keep clothing on the hanger? Well, I cut mine off and lightbulb. It only took me 2 days to find a use for it too. How's that for recycling? That kind of stuff makes me sooo giddy. I'm strange I know, but strangely happy is ok with me.

Here is a close up of that ribbon:D










Now onto the next card.....

I made my daughter a chipboard box for Christmas. It is not good enough to share, but I had this slightly smaller piece of 4x4 DP left over. I layered it onto a blue patterned paper from my stash and zigzag stitched. This was adhered to a 4 1/4" square card made of Lavendar Lace cardstock. I cut out a circle of that same textured off white cardstock from above and then stamped it with the Linen Background stamp in Sahara Sand. I also paper pierced it. The "U" ( from All About U) is stamped with craft Cert. Celery ink and then outlined with stickles. That heart is from some clearanced chipboard I got and is covered with Crystal Effects and then dipped in the fine cosmo glitter. The "U" and heart are both adhered with dimensionals.

Well, thanks for stopping in today. Check back tomorrow for a few more things I have to share. See you then!

I'm an idiot

Yes, it's very true. I realized this morning that the card I posted yesterday as my Christmas card wasn't really the card I made...well, at least not to completion. See, I posted this card:

When I actually sent out this card:

They look so similar don't they? But this one has the star from Scandinavian Season embossed in Silver EP then stickled and enhanced with a little rhinestone. The star was punched out with the Large Star punch rather than hand cutting. Now the sentiment makes so much more sense wouldn't you agree? I must have grabbed the only card that didn't have the star on it. That's how frazzled I was this Christmas. I really wanted to show the complete card because the star just makes it look so much better. I feel better now. AHHH:)

I haven't been able to create this weekend but I hope to today. I need to still clean my basement but want to play a bit today. I have some challenges I'm working on and hope to share this week. For now, I heading down to the dungeon.....

DO YOU THINK THIS IS WHAT SANTA'S WORKSHOP LOOKS LIKE AFTER CHRISTMAS?
I hope to show you a cleaned up version after this week. I may show you one of my challenges later today to qualify for a contest. Wish me luck!

Happy 2009

Happy New Year to you all. I hope you had fun ringing it in. It was soooo low key here. My daughter ended up going to a friend's house. She had 2 invites....she's only 9. Way more than her mom:) But she missed us so ended up calling to come home at 11:30. Funny thing is...we were all in bed. ( We are so NOT New Year's Eve people. It is probably the only night of the year that my husband goes to bed early.) So by the time we got back home she and I stayed up together and rang in the new year with some hot cocoa. Boy was it cold here. She couldn't wait to see that ball drop....then was like "That's it?"
Well, I hope your NYE was more exciting....honestly anything else would be. I decided to post today because my kids are totally digging their new Lego Batman Wii game and I pretty much don't exist. I am letting them play video games as much as they want this week because Monday is back to "real life". So, I just wanted to share my Christmas card from this year. Some got one and some didn't. I ran out, then made more, but had no time to actually address them. So I decided to make them into a boxed set and give as a gift next year or try to sell even. Here it is:
While it looks pretty easy to make, it was VERY time consuming. I used Basic Gray for the base with a cuttle bug embossed layer of Soft Sky on top of that. The ribbon is all retired SU. It includes a sheer white, silver metallic and silver cording. The ovals are cut out with Nestabilities. The sentiment (Star Studded Season- retired) was stamped with Silver Colorbox and embossed with Iridescent Ice. I also stamped the snowflake from Scandinavian Season in soft sky all around the sentiment. This was done on Whisper White cardstock that was then layered on Brushed Silver metallic cardstock. It is way more sparkly than the picture shows.
I haven't really worked on anything new. I need to finish my mom's present and get that in the mail and THEN I will try to do some creating. But I wanted to start off the year by remembering some things from the past year. So following is a list of ....

MY FAVORITE THINGS OF 2008( in no particular order)

1. My Cuttlebug. I love this little thing.

2. My new laptop computer....thanks honey:)

3. Fine Cosmo Glitter....this stuff is so fun to play with...may the world sparkle!

4. Dimensionals...ok, I've love them forever not just in 2008

5. Sally Hansen Lip Inflation lipgloss in Sheer Mocha. I REALLY like this stuff. It feels weird when you first put it on but I love the natural look of my lips. I don't know if it actually make them look bigger, but I don't care to have lips like Goldie Hawn.

6. SKIN PRODUCT Principal Secret's Tinted Time Release Moisturizer in Peach. I used to use this and then stopped. My skin looks and feels sooo much better. I was seriously drying out my skin trying to keep it from breaking out. Funny thing, that was making me break out more. Hydration in a bottle.

7. HAIR PROCUCTProclaim Spray On Glosser for my hair. I have BIG hair. This helps to add shine and tame my wild mane. Not recommended for oily hair though

8. CLEANING PRODUCT Ultra Palmolive Oxy Plus. I don't know if this actually cleans dishes better but they sure sparkle when I am done and it smells good too.

9. Organic Produce.... Wheatgrass smoothies and Arugula Salad. This may sound gross to you but wheatgrass is so healthy for you and when you add it to a banana, blueberry, honey, orange juice smoothie it isn't so bad and makes you feel so much better.

ARUGULA SALAD
3-4 cups of Arugula or any greens really
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup real Parmesan cheese
2-3 TBSP Olive Oil
1-2 tsp rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Place in a bowl and SHAKE
I also added some sun dried tomatoes that I made. SO YUMMY!

10. MOVIE Enchanted....I love a good fairytale plus I don't get to the "regular" movies much...I have kids.

11. MOMENT Watching my kids' faces when they saw Magic Kingdom for the first time

12. MUSICAL ARTIST Rhianna

13. PLACE Home with my family

14. DRINK Mama's Milk ...this is my version of Kahlua and Cream. I use regular milk though. It's a great way to get my calcium (wink). I have a funny story about this. My son wanted to know what I was drinking and if he could have some. I said no and that it was "mama's milk". My daughter, with a disgusted look on her face shouts out "That's Gross!" She thought I was drinking breast milk. EWWW!

15. PILATES....ah! I really fell in love with this form of exercise this year. It is not easy. I don't use any of the equiptment that they advertise. I'm cheap remember. So, I just use my Exercise On Demand from my cable company. It's great because even though I'm a "morning person" I don't feel like doing a bunch of cardio right away. This is challenging yet most things are gentle enough for anyone to do and you will see your body change even if the scale doesn't. Because you are building muscle. Add yoga to it and you will feel great. I haven't been commited to it much towards the end of the year and my bod can tell. Aches and pains, headaches, areas of my body shaking that shouldn't. Part of my personal goals for the year- Back to Pilates and Yoga.


16. ABOUT MY FAMILY (this is always not just in 2008) My son has the greatest laugh. It is wholehearted and makes you just smile. My daughter has a great smile and such a tender heart.
I love my husband's hands. They have always been almost therapeutic for me. They make me feel safe and warm. That's one reason why we still hold hands:)

Totally ended that on a sappy note didn't I? I can't wait to see what the new year has in store for us. I just go with the flow and try to enjoy the moment. I do have several personal goals I'm working on. Hope you have a fabulous new year. Would love to hear some of your favorite things. Feel welcome to leave a comment. Also, if you want to keep up with my blog you can subscribe and be notified in your email. Simply sign up on the left side of my blog.
Thanks for checking in today!

One, Two, Three

Just a very quick post today. I am so far behind and what did I just do....offered to work. UGH! Must learn to say "no". Anyways, I wanted to share a few cards that I whipped 1,2,3. The reason it was so quick is because I already had made one before. I swear when you already have the idea the cards come together so quickly. Remember my post here. Well these are the cards I made from those same supplies. It worked out so well. I loved being able to use up the rest of my stuff. I was able to make 4 cards from 2 12x12 sheets and approximately 2 sheets of standard sized cardstock. Here are a few pictures to show you:


Please excuse the quality of these photos. I didn't even take the time to edit them in any way. So sorry they aren't the greatest. I know that I really need a photo box. But, hmmm, let me see....$50 for a photo box or $50 in stamps. Well, obviously I know what I am picking at the moment. Ok, one more thing to share. When I was done with these cards I had one lonely stocking left. There was no way I was putting that back in my drawer and I couldn't possibly throw it out. So here is what I made for my daughter's lunchbox. Mind you, I will not always be making these elaborate things for lunchbox notes. Also, this picture is taken after being in her lunch box for the day. So, excuse the bits of things on the inside. If you look closely there is a riddle that I made for her. Remember that she doesn't eat her lunch much. But on that day she did. Here are a few pictures.
Ok, gotta get going. I think this is a record speed post for me. Hope you have a great Monday!