Should I do it?

Look out, I'm in a mood to organize!! Must be due to the new year coming.

My question for all you stampers out there in blogland is:

I'm thinking of reorganizing my stamps and sorting them according to themes. For example, put all of the thank you stamps together, etc. I bought a bunch of jumbo stamp storage boxes to consolidate many of my stamp sets that go together well.

What do you think. Am I crazy? I know that to resell them later, I'll have to put them back into their original boxes. Also, as a demo, I keep the more recent and new sets in their original boxes. I'm just wanting to consolidate my old favorite stamps mostly the sentiment stamps.

I'd love to hear what you all think about this plan.

Happy Sunday!
Vera

Embrace Life!

Embrace Life! Sounds like a good New Year's Resolution, doesn't it?

My resolutions are simply a continuation of current resolutions. All of them center around getting organized, prioritizing, and simplifying. General, I know, but let me share a few rules I try to live by:

1. Clear out clutter every day. I don't even bring junk mail into the house. I throw it out immediately unless it needs to be shredded. Whenever I feel overwhelmed by clutter or chores, I just walk into a room and find 10 things that need to be thrown out or given away. I keep a bag by the back door or in my car that goes to Goodwill.

2. When overwhelmed, just get up and do something! Usually there is laundry to be done, or at least a random dish that never made it to the dishwasher thanks to the kids!

3. Reevaluate my purchases. Do I really need more ribbon? (don't answer that) Do I need more Basic Grey Christmas paper? I try to use what I have before I place another online order!

So how does "Embrace Life" fit these resolutions? If I'm organized and on top of things around here, I have more time to be with my family and friends and I'm more relaxed! It's that simple!

So, how will you Embrace Life in '08?

By the way, this card uses the Embrace Life stamps from SU as well as River Rock, Really Rust, Choc Chip cardstock and Ginger Blossom DP. All supplies and ribbon by SU!

A Very Merry Christmas

Well, the presents have been opened, and I'm exhausted, but happy! My children are very happy too! We were able to give them some great gifts that they really love, and we also received some very thoughtful gifts from friends and family.

Most importantly, Chris was home this Christmas. Santa could have brought me coal and I still would be happy.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I'm really looking forward to church on Sunday when we can sing my favorite Christmas hymns!

This week, I've got to complete and mail out my swaps! I'm also hoping to start to tackle a painting job in my home. I'm getting plantation shutters and before I can pick out the exact color, I've got to start repainting the moulding in my home. We've got crown moulding and chair rail moulding in a number of rooms on the first floor and that means I'll be painting until I'm blue in the face!

See you soon!

Taking a Break

Hi everyone. I've decided that I must take a break from blogging. I have many other things in life that I'd like to accomplish, and the blog must go for now.

As much as I love to hear myself chat, I need to put more time into my kids growing list of activities and crazy schedules.

Thanks for reading and leaving such nice comments. I'll still read your blogs and comment as much as I can!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Vera

Feeling overwhelmed

Ugh. I just made my to-do list and it's huge! It's actually the fifth to-do list I've made this week, and it keeps getting bigger! And, More Expensive! Argggh!! I'm totally overwhelmed by my list and I don't know where to start.

Sometimes when I get overwhelmed like this I have to say to myself, "Get up and just do something!"

So, I thought I'd type it in addition to saying it out loud. Maybe that will motivate me.

I really would like to just sit and stamp for fun without a to-do list. Send some motivational thoughts my way!

Be back later....

A quick tag time!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to check in and say hi! Kittie tagged me also, so I wanted to say a virtual HI to her and respond to her tag.

This tag is another round of "7 Random Facts About Me" so I'll add a few more random facts about me that are holiday related.

1. I used to be so obsessive/compulsive about my holiday decorating. Everything had to match and coordinate. Now, I let the kids have at it and decorate however they want. Nothing matches and we have both white and colored lights on the tree. I think it looks great!

2. I am not at all creative at the holidays. I'm in too much of a hurry. I just use techniques and templates that I'm comfortable with and get it done fast! I always go back to my favorite stamp sets, City of David and Cold Play. Sorry, my holiday posts and photos will not be that creative!

3. Both my parents and my in-laws live within one hour of me! No traveling on the holidays!!! woo hoo!!!

4. I bought my own Christmas presents this year and last year. Last year, my hubby was in Iraq, and this year, he travels almost constantly, even on weekends sometimes. So, this year, I let him off the hook and I bought myself a coat and I'm getting plantation shutters. Works for me!

5. I did ask my husband to take me out on a real date for a Christmas present. He had to plan it all. None of this, 'where do you want to go?' 'I don't know, where do YOU want to go?' He has to do all of the planning and take me out like the good old days before we had kids.

6. I have red snowflake flannel pj's that I bought for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. I wanted to look festive on the holiday video! (pathetic, huh?) I also buy my children cute pj's to wear on Christmas Eve so we all look festive on the Christmas morning video. I'm never sure what my husband will put on. He's the wild card in the family.

7. I would really like to have a Christmas where I don't hear about anyone else who has a tumor, or any type of cancer scare. I just hear the words tumor and cancer too many times these days. I just visited a friend today who had a HUGE tumor growing around her ovary. They removed it as well as her ovary and some other fibroid tumors. She's doing well fortunately, and another aquaintance of mine also had a recent scare, and she's recovering well. I'm praying for them both as well as their families that they both heal quickly and have a Merry Christmas!

I'm not sure who to tag at this point. I'll blog hop and see who has not been tagged. It's time for bedtime stories with the kids here. Night night!

Offline for a bit...

Hi everyone. I'm packing tonight for a scrapbooking retreat with the girls. I always love these retreats, but I hate packing for them! Choosing which accessories and supplies to pack is like Sophie's Choice. So, I end up packing EVERYTHING! My minivan is stuffed with supplies. If I got into a wreck, I can only imagine the looks on the first responders' faces at the contents of my car.

Still nursing a sinus infection. Hopefully the meds will kick in and not compromise my creativity this weekend!

See you next week!

Ugh...too sick to stamp

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today. I was a bit feverish last night, and my head is splitting. Ugh.

I have a stamp retreat this weekend, so cross your fingers that I'm feeling better soon so I can stamp with my friends this weekend!!!!

Kerry, I read your comment about cutting for cards. I totally agree. My stamp space is just too messy to pull out that side thingy!

Have a great everyone. Stay healthy!

Cutting for Cards

Hi everyone! I'm cleaning house and prepping for upcoming stamp classes, but I want to quickly answer a question that a reader asked.

Marty asked why I cut my cards vertically. Frankly, I don't have a good answer for that other than I just like to shake things up a bit sometimes. I do vertical and horizontal cards and I turn them up and sideways depending on my mood.

What can I say? I'm just quirky like that! : )

I've got to get back to cleaning, then I wanna stamp tonight and watch TV. Tune in later for more cards!

Sketch Challenge Correction

Ok, here's my sketch challenge correction. In my previous post, I altered the sketch a bit, so on this one, I got it right!

Supplies: Baroque Motifs, Star Studded Season, and Sanded BG stamps; Baroque Burgundy, River Rock inks; SU Burgundy grosgrain and True Thyme (retired) ribbon; Burgundy, River Rock and Vanilla cardstock.

By the way, I discovered that True Thyme is a nice compliment to River Rock!

Ok, now I'm really gettin' off this computer!

Card Buffet Sketch

This morning is a glorious morning! I woke up and had no where to go!!!! No school, no errands (except a quick supermarket run later) and no phone calls! So, I stamped!

I've got a Card Buffet coming up on Monday night, so I combined today's sketch challenge with my Card Buffet supplies and came up with this card.

Details: (all Stampin' Up!) City of David and Star Studded Season stamp sets, Baroque Burgundy, Vanilla, and Dashing paper. Baroque ribbon, punches and dimensionals.

Easy peasy card, beautiful results. This is definitely a candidate for my Christmas card this year! Now, I'm signing off so I can go stamp and enjoy my day off!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Featured Stamper Papermoon04!

Good morning everyone! I woke up early today and immediately logged on to Splitcoaststampers.com to see who the Featured Stamper is! It's papermoon04 AKA Shelly and her gallery is here.

She always comments in my gallery and is super sweet! Here's my tribute to her fabulous gallery! I cased this card. I changed a few things like the shade of pink and I used Chocolate Chip and Au Chocolate SU paper (retired). I also lowered the scalloped element.

First, I stamped Tres Chic in Pixie Pink on a Pink Passion card base. I then markered the round stamp from In the Spotlight with Pink Passion and Chocolate Chip markers on Very Vanilla paper. I punched it out with the SU scallop punch, and then punched out a scallop mat with my Marvy punch on Chocolate Chip cardstock.

The strip of paper is Chocolate Chip and Au Chocolate DP. I wrapped some ribbon around that strip and knotted it. Then I tied some more ribbon around the knot and hung a charm from one of the local craft stores around here (can't remember which one) from the ribbon.

I am extremely pleased with the final result, and these challenges on splitcoast are helping me find my mojo! Go try one for yourself!

Have a great day!

Quick Gift and some cards!

My MIL is cooking on Thanksgiving Day so I thought I'd give her a little something to show my appreciation. I have a TON of Christmas paper lying around from past Michaels Slabs so I covered a Michaels wooden frame and had some leftovers to make 3x3's for future gifts.

I'm not particularly fond of Mod Podge, but this project was fairly quick and painless.

1. Measure your paper to fit on the frame. I work in thirds, so I picked a piece of paper for the top two thirds, and a piece for the bottom third. Trace out the center opening and trim the paper.

2. Paint the back and sides of the frame to match the paper if you'd like. I took my paper to Michaels to find a matching acryllic paint.

3. When the paint is dry apply a thin coat of modpodge to the frame and place your patterned paper onto the frame. When the mod podge is dry, use a sanding block to sand off any rough edges and to give a nice smooth edge. My favorite sanding block is one you get at a home improvement store.

4. Touch up with paint if you got a little crazy with the sanding. : )

5. Optional: add a top coat of mod podge if you'd like. I've done it with and without the top coat, and I prefer it without, but in my house, things get dirty and little fingers touch everything, so I'll top coat anything that goes in my house.

Click on the photo to see a closer look at the details if you'd like. I kept this frame pretty simple. I wanted the photo to be the star of the show on this frame.

Thanks for checking it out!

Adapt and Recycle!

Sometimes I have leftovers from classes or workshops that I want to use up before I cut more cardstock. So, this week, I took some pink and green cardstock leftovers (see back card) and adapted them to make a winter card. I'm really pleased with the results, and I hope you are inspired to do the same!

The card in the back uses Bud Basics stamps from SU along with Sincere Salutations. The card in the front uses a newer SU set called Snowfall. I added a little rhinestone brad to the center of the snowflake, and the Ticket Corner Punch adds a bit of interest as well.

Both cards have a Pretty in Pink base, a Certainly Celery panel behind the white stamped panel. I used Classic Black ink to stamp the sentiment and the snowflakes are stamped in Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery.

Today, I've got to start my Christmas shopping list! In years past, I've made my big ticket list for electronics, etc and I shop online in my pj's early Black Friday morning. I usually find the cameras or electronics that I want at Sears online. I have no idea what everyone in my family wants this year. I think I'll be making more homemade gifts this year!

Have a great day everyone!

SC150 Beautiful Season sketch!

Hi everyone! Here's a quick post before work!

Today's card is for sketch challenge 150 on splitcoaststampers.com. I used some retired stamps from SU called Beautiful Season. I love that set, but the detail intimidates me. I used my SU markers to color each section of the stamp. Then I realized that I should have stamped on Vanilla instead of white cardstock, so I sponged Close to Cocoa all over to tone down the white.

The card base is Always Artichke with some old Holiday Slab patterned DP from Michaels over it. The card is 5 1/4 square. That pretty much does it for the details. I tied some pretty chocolate ribbon to finish it off. The ribbon is also from Michaels. It comes in several colors. I love the picot edge!

Gotta go to work! See you later this week!

Featuring Stampowl!

This morning, I took a few moments and participated in splitcoast's Featured Stamper Challenge. Today, we were challenged to case a card by Stampowl. Her card is here.

On my card, I used Bundle Up stamp set on whisper white cardstock. I inked up the sweater in Rose Red and used a Basic Black marker to accent the sweater collar and trim. I stamped snowflakes with Rose Red as well. The card base is Basic Black and I used a Rose Red Designer Print panel on the card base. Very simple card.

I also used my SU ticket corner punch as well as the Word Window punch for the sentiment. The sentiment is from the newer Snowfall stamp set by SU. I added a strip of basic black under the gingham ribbon so the ribbon would pop a bit more.

I'm off to run errands and spend time with the family before my husband travels for the week. He travels a lot, so our weekends are precious!

Have a great day everyone!

Quick Sketch

Here's a quick card for today's Sketch Challenge on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/. This was an easy card to make and didn't take much time at all. I am not the best at coloring in images, but I learned on Nicole Heady's blog how easy it is to color in without streaks on Stampin' Up's kraft cardstock. I just used my Stampin' Up! Many Marvelous Markers as well as the SU white gel pen and I'm pleased with the results!

I stamped the Dotted BG stamp on Real Red Cardstock with Ruby Red ink. Then, I used a scrap from an old Christmas slab of paper for the green strip along with a black mat. The diamonds are made with an SU punch and I trimmed the one inch kraft squares. The Santa and the snowflake are from my favorite set, Holiday Tag Team by Stampin' Up! The ribbon is misc grosgrain. I also used Stampin' Up's ticket corner punch on the Santa panel.

Thanks for stopping by!
Vera

Sketch Challenge

Hi again! Here is my card for the splitcoast sketch challenge today. This card is a five minute card and I made it before I went to work this morning. I used a scrap of Brilliant Blue DP from SU and a Wild Wasabi card base.

That's it for today. DH needs some office space here at the house, so I'm clearing the desk for him. We'll be sharing an office for a while. So, I promised him that I'd keep the stamp stuff off the desk for him!

Supplies:
Stamps: Simple Stripe, Season of Joy and non SU sentiment
Paper: Brilliant blue DP, wild wasabi, real red and white
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Black
Accessories: non SU ribbon, Marvy punch

Party Favors

Here are the completed party favors. I really enjoyed making these. My favorite part is the felt flowers. I had a lot of fun picking out felt colors and running them through my Big Shot die cutter.

At the top, you'll see the pink notebook in the cello bag. I used a gussetted cello bag with shredded paper, a bit of candy and the notebook. I'll bag all of the notebooks and put them in a basket.

Gotta go finish prepping for the party. We're going to Dish it Out, a paint-your-own-pottery place for the party. I'm bringing the favors, food, and a cookie cake. They do the rest!

Have a great Sunday!

The Elusive Family Photo

Yesterday, we took a day trip into Blowing Rock, NC. The weather was beautiful, and we saw amazing Fall color on the trees. I thought I'd take the opportunity to get the Perfect Family Photo. Maybe I'd get lucky and get my photo Christmas cards done early!

Every year, I get everyone dressed up for the dreaded Family Photo. Lots of weeping and gnashing of teeth. DH has no patience, my children make funny faces to antagonize me, and I resort to threatening and bribing everyone to participate!

This photo was taken by my mom, and it's ok. I'm hoping that her camera has some good shots too. I didn't realize that the sun was in my face, but otherwise, the colors are really pretty.

I guess I'll dress up the kids later this month in their holiday attire and try again. Not sure if DH will go for it, but I'll keep trying to get the Perfect Family Photo!

Party Prototype

Ok, as I posted earlier, I did indeed go back to Target to find more notebooks. I prefer the type without the snap, but, alas, they have discontinued it.

On this notebook, I used Terrifically Tacky Tape to adhere the patterned paper to the notebook. This patterned paper is from Target as well. I don't think they carry it any more. I ran a strip of Tempting Turquoise grosgrain by SU along the left edge. Then, I used a craft glue dot to adhere the felt flowers and brad to the notebook. I used my Big Shot to cut out the felt flowers. I have some cute Sizzix Bigz dies that can cut chipboard, felt, fabric, etc. Lots of fun!

I'll package these up in cello bags with a little candy and a pen for the party on Sunday.

Now, I'm off to work and then we're going to the mountains with my parents for a day in the mountains. See you back on Sunday!

What to do, what to do...

Ok, so we all have a drawer, closet, garage FULL of 'alterable items'. You know exactly what I'm talking about. The endless array of dollar items that you bought thinking, 'that would be so cute covered in cute paper...'

So, here I am ready to alter some notebooks for party favors and I don't have enough of any one style of notebook. My dilema: do I go buy more or do I make a bunch that are all different. These are for children, so I really need for them to all be the same.

Sigh, you know I'm going to end up at Target again to buy more of these little notebooks. Why do I do this to myself!!!!

Tune in later to see what I end up with. I'll be altering 10+ little notebooks with matching pens for my daughter's friends. Most likely at midnight tonight. Nothing like a little last-minute pressure to get me stamping again!

Challenged Again

I was stamping with my friend, Liz, last weekend, and she mentioned that she didn't care for Taken with Teal. Liz, this card's for you!

I made this card for this week's splitcoast sketch challenge. I put the image off center and added the scalloped sentiment, but other than that, the sketch is basically the same.

I'm totally rusty with my stamping, and I still am not feeling inspired, but I did enjoy making the card. I think right now, I'm more interested in scrapbooking and making gifts for various friends, teachers, etc. I haven't given up on cards yet, though. I'll find my mojo sometime!

Supplies:
Stamps: True Friend, Circle of Friendship, Polka Dot BG
Inks: Regal Rose, Choc Chip, Taken with Teal
Accessories: SU punches, SU button, Misc ribbons, SU rhinestone brad

Back in the Saddle

Yes, at long last, the wayward stamper is back. I sort of ignored my blog in August when we all were getting a little antsy for school to start back up, and I lost my stampin' mojo. Plus, my DH had lost his job after they held his position the whole year he was in Iraq due to company restructuring, so he's been home THE WHOLE SUMMER! Those of you who are SAHM's understand how having DH around all the time can just plain throw off your schedule a bit. I felt guilty stamping while he was trying to find a job. So, except for my Stampin' Up classes, I quit stamping.

So, fast forward to now, DH has an AMAZING job! He was in medical sales for years, and he managed to land a job with a new company Valor Healthcare which builds health care clinics for veterans!!!! This is one of those "God led us to this" jobs for my DH. He's a wounded veteran who needed a job and this is perfect for him! He's now able to talk to veterans and help them find good health care.

The other reason that I'm blogging again is simply because two stampin' buddies of mine, Liz and Michelle told me, "post some cards will ya!" I also went to Liz's house last weekend and case'd some of her cards that she had lying around and that did the trick. Now, I'm itchin' to stamp again, and it feels great!

This card was for this week's color challenge at http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ and we were challenged to use pink. I still have some of this SU retired patterned paper lying around, so I went with it. This is a 4" square card that I made from some Creamy Caramel scrap cardstock.

Thanks for visiting again. I've got another card to post later, and lots of new things to share!

Another Dirty Challenge

Good morning everyone! I mounted some of my new stamps, and I love this sentiment stamp from the new SU set called All Holidays. The butterfly is from Garden Whimsy, and the paper is Brilliant Blue Prints DP. I rarely use Bold Brights colors, but yesterday I used Real Red, and today, Brilliant Blue. It's fun to break out of my normal color schemes!

This card is for Genie1314's sketch challenge on Splitcoast's Fan Club challenges! Go check them out, and if you're not a Fan Club member, you ought to consider subscribing. Go check it out on www.splitcoaststampers.com.

Have a great day!

Dare to Get Dirty 1

I'm finally getting around to trying some Dirty Dozen Challenges over at Splitcoast. I really like the challenges that have been posted, so now that my new catalog order has finally come in, I'm hoping to trim the stamps and dive right in!

On these cards, I used Real Red as my card base and I ran some Whisper White through my Big Shot with a Cuttlebug A2 embossing folder. The card on the right is the simpler of the two, but on the card on the left, I brayered Real Red over the embossing to bring out the pattern. I also added a red Prima flower with a flat-backed pearl that I got at my local scrapbook store. I can't remember the brand. Also on both cards is red velvet ribbon and my new Justrite monogram stamp punched out with a non SU circle punch and a marvy scallop punch.

Thanks for looking!

Quick Card for the Hubby

I made this card for my hubby and this card was also for my crop night at my house. The card we made at my crop night, was a little different, but pretty much the same.

I'm slowly falling in love with this paper from Stampin' Up!. Initially, it can be intimidating to work with. These colors are a little dark and muddy for me, but when I pull in some solid paper to balance it out, it really is pretty! I found the olive satin picot-edge ribbon at Michael's, and I'm seriously considering going back and getting another spool of it. I love it! The center medallion is from Brocade Motifs and the brad is from Making Memories.

I'd like to try out a scrapbook page with this paper, but I'm not sure what pictures I'd use for it. I might try a nice black and white family portrait, or maybe a cool heritage photo.

Speaking of scrapbooking, I'm working on my albums this summer and I'll be posting some random tips I've learned along the way that might be helpful to some of you.

Playing Catch Up!

Hi everyone! I had another sleepy weekend, and I chose sleep instead of blogging, so I'm here to play catch up and fill you all in on what's going on in my world.

First, here's a card I made at my downline's house several days ago. I wanted to try out her Priceless set, and I love it! My dilema now is which set do I like better, Garden Whimsy, or Priceless? Ahh, decisions, decisions.

I also wanted to try out the new Basic Grey cardstock by Stampin' Up!. I thought it would be nice, and I really didn't think it was a must-have color, but now, Basic Grey is officially a Southern Style Stamping Must Have! I love it simply because black can be too dark on a card sentiment sometimes. Basic Grey is just right!

On this card, I started with a Wild Wasabi card base, and a strip of Almost Amethyst DP with a Basic Grey mat. I stamped the butterfly and flourish from Pricelss in Basic Grey, Almost Amethyst, and a bit of black marker for the antenna and butterfly body. I punched out a Wasabi tab with the SU round tab punch and stamped the sentiment from All Holidays in Basic Grey. I finished off the card with a bit of ticket corner punching, and a bit of Wasabi stitched ribbon and made myself stop embellishing before I ruined the card.

Next on today's agenda is to say a big THANK YOU to the awesome bloggers who nominated me for Rockin' blogger!

Kathy, at http://kathatstamps.blogspot.com/ nominated me. Thanks Kathy! Go check out her fun blog! She has some cute cards posted, and some other really funny stuff too!

I was also nominated over here: http://www.myinkyescape.blogspot.com/. She has some really cute cards posted there! Thanks for nominating me!!!

Finally, Samantha over at http://www.ascrapaddictsblog.blogspot.com/ nominated me as well. She's super sweet and she has lots of great cards posted on her blog as well. Thanks Samantha!

Whom should I nominate? I can't pick anyone over another, so check out my list of blogs on the sidebar. I'll be adding more as well, so keep clickin' on the links for more great bloggers!

That's it for now. I've got another card to post later, so stay tuned!

Super Simple, Super Cute!

I love this new Garden Whimsy set from Stampin' Up! While I was on vacation, I drove down to Savannah to see my upline, Michelle to visit with her and of course, stamp! She had just gotten in some new stuff and I was more than happy to help her stamp some samples!

This is an extremely simple card and it came together very quickly. We just started with a So Saffron card base, added a strip of Rose Red Palette O' Prints DP and a black mat and tied a bit of black gingham ribbon. In my opinion, you can make any project pop with a bit of black.

The ladybug is actually inked up with the new pomegranate color and I went over the head and body with a black marker. The pomegranate is similar enough to the Rose Red to coordinate just fine.

If you're a demo, this would be a great card for beginners or for a workshop.

Thanks for stopping by!

Didn't wanna come home

I just got back from the beach, and I didn't wanna come home!!! On the recommendation of some stampin' friends, my family visited Fripp Island for the first time. I grew up visiting North Myrtle Beach back when it was quiet and and quaint. My dad grew up vacationing in N Myrtle as well and still goes there, but I just don't like it there much anymore. Too busy, terrible traffic, a little dirty, etc.

So, we drove out to Fripp not knowing anything at all about it. It took what seemed like forever to get there because we kept driving past a whole lot of nothing. All you see is marsh and lots of bridges going over rivers. I loved the scenery! So serene and untouched! You can't build huge condominiums on marshland!

We finally got to Fripp Island and it's beautiful. It's a resort island and everything is lush, tropical, and meticulously maintained. We rented a house on the back of the island overlooking an unspoiled view of the marsh and intracoastal waterway. Fabulous!
We'll be going back next summer and we're considering staying for two weeks next year!

We didn't have computer access for a whole week (detox!) so I'll be catching up on my fav blogs, SCS, etc today then I'll post some stamped stuff later!

Have a great day everyone!

Ladybug Petals

Here's a card we're making for my July Stampers club meeting. On this card, we used the SU large oval punch to make the flower in white and So Saffron. We stamped Pick a Petal in Pomegranate onto white cardstock and cut the petals out. Using two circle punches, we made the petals into a ladybug. Black wire from Michael's make the antenna. I used some of my non SU green stitched ribbon and sticky strip tape to make the flower stem and a black SU marker makes the ladybug trail.

I finished it off with an SU sentiment and the card measures 5 1/4" square.

Today, I'm continuing my efforts to catch up on my 'puter stuff and then I'm hoping to do some fun stampin' this week! See you later!

Tagged!

While I was out I was tagged by the super-talented stamper MJ Albright. Check out her blog! http://mjalbright.wordpress.com/

This tag is about posting little-known facts about yourself. I think I'm supposed to post seven facts, so here goes:

1. I go back and forth between really neat and very sloppy. Some days I'm too pooped to clean, then all of a sudden I'll just clean the heck out the house. It drives my husband crazy. He's more regimented and cleans a little at a time.
2. If my husband had been full-time military, I probably would not have married him. I couldn't imagine moving all around! I never anticipated him being deployed. It all worked out in the end and I'm very proud to be married to a soldier!
3. I spend waaaaay too much $ on my wardrobe. My fav store is a bit pricey, but I love it! That's another fact that drives my husband nuts.
4. Every six months, I cut my hair drastically. I let it grow for six months, then cut it out of frustration. I'm about to get it cut. It's that time again.
5. I drove almost four hours to adopt my Saint Bernard, Pickles. I hadn't even met her before, but had just seen a picture online. Something in me just had to have her. She was drastically underweight, and needed a home that loves drooly, messy, loving dogs!
6. I love Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch!
7. I absolutely hate doing laundry. I hate folding it even more. It's yet another thing that drives my husband nuts. He once suggested that I do a load of laundry each day to keep up with it. I told him no way, and went out and bought everyone in the family enough underwear to last two weeks.
8. I can be a bit excessive and dramatic sometimes. See #7.

Ooops, I wrote 8 things. Told you I was excessive!

I'm not sure who to tag who has not already been tagged. I'm usually last on the tag chain, so I'll leave at that. Have a great day everyone!

http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/184314.html

Well, I'll be... My husband made the front page in our newspaper yesterday on the Fourth of July!!! This is the picture they used! It's a photo of my husband holding the photo of our children that he carried in his front pocked the whole year he was in Iraq.

We're honored! But, I must admit, I speak for my husband when we say that we're a little embarrassed by all of the attention. My husband did a great job over in Iraq, but there are hundreds, thousands of soldiers who were killed or horribly injured over there.

We're so blessed. My husband made it home will all ten fingers and toes.

Go thank a soldier today and God Bless America!!!

Finally! I got some scrapbooking done! Now that I've completed a page, I'm hungry to do more! The feeling of accomplishment and completion is intoxicating! So, now I've got my albums out and I'm looking for my next layout!

This layout highlights pics of my kids playing in our backyard when we first moved into our house. I love to look at these pics and see how much our home has changed. New drywall, new floors, etc. One of fun things about scrapbooks is looking back and seeing how much has changed! (like the new wrinkles on my face.... but I digress)

I still need to figure out how to take better pics of double layouts like this. I used my Canon Digital Rebel and the shot without the flash was the best, but it's still hard to stage a double layout compared to a card. If you have any tips on how to prop up layouts and take pics let me know!

Thanks for looking and I'll get some more pics up soon!

I'm So Proud!

My husband Chris is quite the stud if I do say so myself.

Some of you might remember that he was in Iraq until March. That pic is of us the night he got home. The neighbors had an impromptu welcome party for us in the cul de sac. Recently he was asked to be on a panel selected to be a part of some media relations interviews for the Army Reserves. That included interviews with NPR and CNN.

He was on CNN last Friday on the Lou Dobbs show and here's the story. Let me know if you can see this!

http://mms.tveyes.com/playlist.asp?stationid=100&clipdatetime=06%2F29%2F2007+18%3A55%3A04&mediapreload=14

Where have I been?

Hi everyone! You might have been a little disappointed if you've checked in and haven't seen anything new in a while. Sorry about that!

I've been teaching at the preschool for a little summer camp for four weeks, and with the kids at home all of the time, that has not left much uninterrupted stamping time! And, the stress of stalking the mailman and the UPS man for my new Stampin' Up catalog has not helped! Now that I've seen the new catalog, I'd rather look at it than stamp! That's just sad!

I have to say that I have been overwhelmed by the new catalog. It's sleek, fresh, updated, fashionable... well, you get the point. I LOVE IT!

So, I've made list after list trying to figure out what to order first. I've settled on lots of new ribbon, punches, and accessories. Then, I'll pick out a stamp or two to go with the new stuff!

Finally, thanks to you all, my little blog has had over 10,000 hits! Thanks for checking in on me and leaving such sweet, encouraging comments on my cards! It really makes my day!

To thank you, I'll start stamping some projects for you and put together some awesome Southern Style Sweets! (aka Blog Candy)

Check in later to see what I come up with!

WOW!!!!

Hi everyone! I just noticed that we've passed 10,000 hits!



So, you know what that means! Blog Candy aka Southern Style Sweets!!!



Stayed tuned for a pic and an opportunity to win some goodies!

Courtesy of Michelle

My upline, Michelle sent me this cute card several months ago and of course, I keep all of her cards. So, I pulled it out and added a snip of ribbon and a sentiment strip and now this is another card for my Card Buffet!

Not much to tell about this card. The sentiment strip is a strip of 1/2" cardstock that one end was slid through a 1/2" hole punch to get a rounded corner.

Thanks, Michelle for a great card!

Supplies:

Stamps: Wishing You the Best and Crosshatch BG

Ink: Tempting Turquoise and Basic Black

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Black and White

Accessories: SU punches and grosgrain ribbon.