Jazzy Creations...

Mini Album Sneaky Peeky!

2012-01-30T14:12:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday to you! So I have a sneak peek of an album I am making for a friend. She doesn't look at my blog (I don't think) so I know she won't see this beforehand, but wanted to share a little with you. I LOVE it!! LOL! Tell me what you think so far....

I will have more later, so check back soon! :)~ Have a wonderful day!
Hugs!!

Easel Snowman Christmas Card

2012-01-18T21:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday everyone! Here's hoping you had a wonderful day! It was wicked icy today. If I had a pair of ice skates, I could skate across my entire driveway! LOL! But of course I don't have skates, and even if I did I wouldn't be able to make it 2 feet down the driveway! LOL! I would be smushed in the ground just like my snowman on this easel card! j/k...

This is an easel card. You can find the tutorial for this easy card at Splitcoaststampers in the Resources section. I used Recollections Kraft cardstock from Michaels for the base of the card. The green and red from Stampin' Up. The white is just white Georgia Pacific cardstock from Walmart. I used circle punches to make the three sections of the snowman and used dimensional adhesive in between. I tied a tiny strip of bakers twine and attached it between two layers to make a little scarf. The eyes and mouth were just drawn on with a black sharpie marker. "Merry Christmas" is stamped on the white cardstock and the red cardstock is punched from the Word Window Punch from Stampin' Up. I used a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder to emboss the snowflakes on the white cardstock. Then I used the red distress ink from Tim Holtz's winter ink colors around the perimeter. The ribbon is grosgrain ribbon from Michaels. I used the Swirls Cuttlebug Embossing folder on the red cardstock under the snowman. The scallops are punched using the Fiskars Scallop Sentiment Border Punch.

This was my first easel card attempt. I was a little intimidated to try them; I don't know why because it was one of the simpler cards I've made. I really could have made more but I only made three of them. Anyway, if you haven't tried these yet, you must! They are easy, fun and you can produce these assembly line style! Thanks for stopping by for a visit and if you have any questions, please let me know! Hugs!

Beaded Stick Pins

2012-01-17T23:04:00.001-05:00

Hi everybody! How was your Tuesday? I hope it was good to you! Had to run some errands today, so it was a busy day but I did get to do some crafting! I wanted to share these stick pins with you. I have jumped on the stick pin wagon, at least that's my new craze! lol. Aren't us crafters all alike? See something on You Tube or blog hopping and we just have to try it?? Thank goodness I already had these beads from jewelry making, my previous crafting craze. LOL!

I used 3 inch stick pins found in the floral section at Jo-Ann Fabrics. The round pearls at the tops were originally white and I used various Copic markers to color them to match the beads that I used.

I used Glossy Accents to glue the bottom beads into place. These little things are super quick to make and highly addicting! So beware! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit! I wish you all a wonderful Wednesday! :)

Christmas Mini/Planner with Beaded Binding

2012-01-17T10:27:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone; happy Tuesday to you all! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend with your extra day off! It was a very mellow weekend for us; lots of football and lounging! :)

Here is my Christmas Planner/Organizer that I made. You will see lots of Christmas projects for a little bit because I haven't posted much. But the way I figure it, it's hard for me to make a mini album without pictures and so I don't usually have an easy time making a mini well before Christmas. This album doesn't have pictures in it yet but I do have them printed and ready to add. The only thing that isn't complete in the pictures is the beaded binding. I have it halfway done in these pictures because it's easier for you to see what's going on.

This album is very thick and I have hinges between every page so that each page moves freely. Because it is so thick, covering the binding was a little challenging so I settled on stringing beads all the way across to hide the hinges.

There is no rhyme or reason to the order of the beads. I just strung on beads that matched the paper collections I used. There are so many colors on the papers that pretty much anything goes! lol.

Inside, are sections that are labeled. I used my Just Rite stampers alphabet stamps (the itty bitty ones that require tweezers) to stamp each divider tab.

The pages are either white cardstock, coin envelopes, page protectors, or patterned cardstock. The coin envelopes all have magnets or velcro to keep them shut.

Thanks for stopping by today! If you have any questions about this project, let me know. I would be happy to try and explain anything in further detail or take more photos. I may do a video of this book to explain how I constructed it. In the meantime, please leave a comment! Thanks! ;-) Hugs!

Cleaning my craft room

2012-01-16T16:25:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday and (MLK) day! My day has consisted of painting my nails. lol :) I contacted Bona @ LiveLoveScrap last week about a color I saw on her nails in one of her YT videos. For those of you who love glittery nails and love pink, this is the combo for you! I used one coat (just on the tips of my nails) NYC 242B Uptown and then 1-2 coats of Wet n' Wild Shine 435G on top of that. Bona used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 200 Strobe Light, which is also a gorgeous color!! I also purchased the Wet n' Wild color and used that one instead (I bought 8 different polishes yesterday! lol) So anyway, I love them!! :)

The other thing that I am seriously considering doing is cleaning out my craft room. Out with the old and in with the new right? I have been collecting scrapbook and stamp supplies since 2001. We are talking years of shopping! But to fully grasp the impact of my shopping experience (and addiction), I have to break it down even further and think..... I am looking at months,.... and months,.... and months, (say it with me really slowly for full appreciation), and months.... of shopping!! The amount of projects I have made doesn't even come close to the amount of items I have purchased over the last 12 years! ROFL!! Sooo....what do I do with it all? Do I sell it? Do I give it away? Do I donate it? Whichever the case, to whom?? This is hundreds (I don't have the guts to say thousands) of dollars worth of stuff. I could make my room look so nice if I didn't have so much STUFF in it! LOL!! Sooo, anyone have advice? Anyone want to see what I have? I am open to anything at this point. It's a new year, it's a fresh start, and one way to start over is to remove the items that I will never use and see them go someplace where I know they will be enjoyed. So much of these things are still in packaging because I've never used them! So sad and pathetic, isn't it? ;-) Anyway, leave me a note and give me your thoughts; I would really appreciate it and would be overjoyed! Thanks for stopping by and saying hi! ;-) HUGS!

I've joined Pinterest!

2012-01-15T20:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday everyone! Had a pretty mellow day except for venturing out into the bitter cold to go grocery shopping. I also paid a little visit to Jo-Ann's for some organza, satin, ribbon and thread!

Guess what I did last night in the wee hours of the night?!?....I joined Pinterest! Yep, another addiction to feed! LOL! So far, I love it!! There are so many cool things, I am re-pinning like every 30 seconds! lol! I tried to add my button to the sidebar on the left but blogger is not behaving tonight. I have been trying to do this post for over an hour.

I also made a couple of satin rolled roses last night but they aren't my favorite.... :( .... kind of disappointed with how they turned out. I haven't taken pictures of them yet because they are so darn ugly! LOL!! Just kidding. I will take photos tomorrow when I have some daylight. I also have some stick pins to share with you tomorrow!

Got my favorite shows on tonight; can't wait! Desperate Housewives and Pan Am!! Hope you all had a wonderful Sunday! Talk to you tomorrow, lots of hugs....

Favorite Tools

2012-01-14T16:29:00.003-05:00

Good Saturday afternoon to you!! I wanted to share some of my favorite tools today! First, is the QuicKutz Quick Stik. Love this thing having long nails! lol

http://www.amazon.com/QuicKutz-IND-QUICKSTIK-Individual-QuickStik-Pen/dp/B001BQ2HJO/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1326573041&sr=1-1

Janome Sew Mini Sewing Machine. So cute and portable! Great for beginners! http://www.amazon.com/Janome-Sew-Mini-Sewing-Machine/dp/B005TL10AY/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1326573328&sr=1-1

The Cinch Version 2!! Love this thing!!! Love that I can do larger books! I have the Bind it All too but I don't like it as much; I always mess up the holes!

http://www.amazon.com/Cinch-Book-Bindery-Tool-V2/dp/B005571KKC/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1326573969&sr=1-1-catcorr

Love the larger surface space on this trimmer!!

http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-12-Inch-Surecut-Deluxe-Trimmer/dp/B0038F1A0S/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1326574252&sr=1-1

Favorite Scoring Board!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Scoring-Envelope-Martha-Stewart-Crafts/dp/B0036FDKZS/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-
crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1326574556&sr=1-1

Fiskars Compact Stamp Press. Best stamp positioner!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Compact-Stamp-Press-Friend/dp/B005QSGH8A/ref=sr_1_8?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1326575840&sr=1-8

Fiskars Rotary Cutter. Perfect for cutting chipboard, or when you want to save your trimmer!!

http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-45mm-Contour-Rotary-Cutter/dp/B000B7M8WU/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1326575960&sr=1-1

Perfect Layers. Love this for getting perfect mats!!

http://www.amazon.com/PERFECT-LAYERS-Set-Tools-Crafting/dp/B005GGTMHK/ref=sr_1_3?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1326576111&sr=1-3

Ok, is that enough for today?! LOL! All of these things I keep readily available. Just some of my favorite things! Thanks for stopping by and visiting me! :) Hugs, Rachel.

Paper Bag Flip Album

2012-01-11T12:14:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a great Tuesday! Thanks for stopping by for a visit! This year, (and I don't normally make New Year's Resolutions), I am hoping to keep up with my blog more regularly. When I first started a couple of years ago, I was doing pretty well. LOL! But of course you all know how life takes over! Unfortunately, I let it really take over! LOL! Anyway, I have a mini to share that I made several months ago for a dear friend who lost her father. I used a tutorial from Laura @ Follow the Paper Trail on her paper bag flip album.

This was a super fun mini to make. It came out rather thick as you can see! lol. It is made with a chipboard cover and spine and the closure is Grunge Paper from Tim Holtz. It is held in place by a small disk magnet from Basic Grey.

The spine is covered with brown canvas from Joann Fabrics. All of the fibers and ribbon are tied onto 2 D-rings from Tim Holtz. The charms are assembled on a Swivel Clasp, also from Tim Holtz.

This is the first page. I have yellow sticky notes on the photos to protect identities. The reason this album is called a flip album is because you flip the direction of the opening of the bag from page to page. So the opening on the first page is to the right. The second page the opening flips to the left, and so on.

I have handmade most of the flowers in this book, except for the really small ones. In most cases, the flowers are punched from paper first and then distressed and layered together.

The phrases in the frames are ones that I printed from my computer. The dangling charm is a Tim Holtz Fragment with paper adhered to the back.

I used ribbon and silver washers from the hardware store. I distressed the washers with Tim Holtz alcohol inks to get the desired color. They came out a bronze-y, aged finish.

The side pockets are made from Tim Holtz on the edge dies. The pearls on the edge of the lace are individual pearls that I hot glued on. The tags are made with my Cricut.

The initials are from Making Memories. I printed Twinkle Toes on one of the tags because they loved to dance.

A rolled rose that I made and some Prima Bling!

Like I said, this was a super fun album to make! It wasn't super fast, but it was fun. I enjoyed every minute I spent making this very special album.

Thanks again for stopping by and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Hugs,

Rachel

Shopping Organizer

2012-01-07T14:54:00.002-05:00

Hi all! Wanted to share this shopping organizer I made for 2011's Christmas Season. Laura at Follow the Paper Trail has a wonderful you tube video showing how to make one. Super easy instructions and very quick to make! I added a pad of paper that I made (not shown) to the right side of the organizer under the word Lists. I will take a picture of that and share that as well. I didn't use a post it note paper pad as Laura had done. This was AWESOME to carry around with me as I was shopping!! It kept me very organized and kept everything in one place. No more separate notes on different pieces of paper all over my purse! All of my gift recipients had a separate sheet on my pad of paper and I check marked each item from their wish list as I purchased them. This made sure that I bought the same amount of gifts for each child, which is very important in our house!! LOL!! I kept all the receipts in the pockets as well. I tied a jingle bell on a string and wrapped it around the snowflake on the front cover so that I could hear if "someone" was being snoopy!! :) Anyway, this is going to be a tradition from now on; to make one of these every Christmas or simply re-use this one every year! Thanks for visiting me and please ask if you have any questions.... hugs!

Christmas Goodies!

2011-12-09T00:15:00.001-05:00

Hey Everybody!! I can't believe I made it back to my blog! It had been so long since I had logged on that I couldn't find it! But TaDa!! I found it. lol.
I can't believe the Christmas Season is here again already! I have been hard at work finishing up some projects! Today I have a curly paper wreathe that Shellyb140 (on youtube) showed how to make. Hers are so stinking cute I had to try on. I will probably make a few more! But here is mine. I used some old Stampin Up paper that came in a scrapbook kit. I also used some odds and ends that I had stashed away in my Christmas decorations.They are so easy to make and they don't take long at all. This was done in one evening. You just cut 1/2" strips from 12x12" patterned paper, curl them like you would curling ribbon and use stick pins with the tiny heads on them to poke through the paper and into the hard green styrofoam wreath. Not the white wreathes that crumble when you touch them, but you want to use the green hard ones (in the same aisle at the craft store). Really there is no rhyme or reason to this, I just poke away! And I love how it turned out. I have it hanging to the left of my dining room window. I have to make another for the right side lol!! Anyway thanks for stopping by. If you have any questions, please ask away!! Take care!!! Hugs, Rachel

Hello Friend...

2011-02-15T20:37:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I have posted!! I tried to post yesterday and for some reason I couldn't log on and see my dashboard! So I posted pics to my facebook page instead. I thought that my blog was deactivated or something! Anyway, I have several cards to share but I am only going to post one a day so it looks like I make cards everyday! LOL But in all actuality, I made them all in one weekend! ;) I have been watching and following Kristina Werner's blog forever now and she has been the inspiration for all of my cards lately. I love her designs; the simplicity of them and how easy it is to finish a card! Here is the design I fell in love with. The cardstock is from Stampin' Up, as well as the ribbon. I also used Versamark ink and Martha Stewart Crafts embossing powder. The scallops are made from 3/4" circles. The corner rounder I used is the Corner Chomper from We R Memory Keepers. Thanks for stopping by; I know it's been awhile! :)

Happy Summer!!!

2010-09-04T14:30:00.002-04:00

Hi!!! Man I miss blogging and keeping up with projects. :-( I haven't done a thing creatively in SO long! This year has just been so rough with this deployment. I don't have any free time with both kids in Taekwondo and soccer. I am constantly running the roads! But the good news is that I have purchased some huge shelving units from a LSS that is closing and right now I am in the process of cleaning my room and packing things up to get it ready for the new shelves. I am so excited because they were made specifically for stamps so they are shallow and don't take up a lot of floor space. I will finally look organized! Sad thing is that i actually have enough stamps to fill two units, both 8 feet long and 8 feet tall!!! It's amazing what you accumulate in just 5 years! LOL. Anyway just wanted to check in and say that very soon I will be able to create in my room again! I can't wait! Have a wonderful September! Summer is winding down......

Happy New Year!

2010-01-06T14:15:00.002-05:00

Wow it's a new year! I can't believe it! It would be awesome if I could say that I've been swamped making projects and cards and scrapbook pages! Not the case! I did make a few Halloween cards and Christmas cards, and a couple little Top Note boxes for Christmas, but I don't have pictures yet to share. One of my new hobbies is Facebook! OMG! I never thought I would start that but it's been addicting! I now have a farm on Farmville, a farm on Lil' Farm Life, and an apartment at Yoville! LOL. It has been one of those mindless activities that has proven to be very distracting for me. And right now I need some distraction, believe me! The deployment I referred to is fast approaching and I am not looking forward to it! But hopefully, I will be busy enough to pass the time quickly. I plan to keep up with my blog this year. I am not one to make New Years Resolutions since I never complete them, but keeping busy is going to be a priority! My kids, my work, my friends, and my hobbies should be all I need to get through this deployment! Thanks for checking in with me! I hope that you all have a wonderful New Year!!!!!

Long time no see....

2009-06-12T12:49:00.002-04:00

Holy cow it's been a long time since I posted! I haven't made a thing since that flower pot card except for bracelets! Katie and I started beading a few years back and we made a bunch of earrings. Recently I bought a couple of new blouses and wanted to make matching bracelets so that's what I have been doing lately. But the month of May was really busy for me. I had my brother and sister-in-law visiting and we had the burial for my uncle. My boss was on vacation AGAIN so I had to work a lot. Katie decided to go to another high school prom even though she's in college now, so we had fun preparing for that. The kids have been very active with Taekwondo this year and Monday is their last day of school. Right now, Katie and one of her best friends are vacationing in California. They flew out yesterday. And hubby is guard training this week. So the kids and I have been trying to come up with things to do! Last weekend on the 6th was my birthday so the kids and I went shopping and out to dinner, which was really fun. We didn't get home until 10:30 pm! My boss decided she wanted to deploy overseas to work at an AAFES there and she leaves in July. We have been desparately trying to find another employee since I will be temporarily promoted to her position. We need someone to fill my position while she's gone. I can't work in that store by myself for 6-7 months! Her timing really sucks because with hubby deploying early next year, he's training a lot this year and I wanted to take some time off. With her gone, I can't do that so I was really upset when she announced she was leaving. But I just have to deal with it and make the most of it, right? Anyway, I can't believe it's been so long since I checked in. Sad to say but I just haven't had the time! But I appreciate you continuing to check in! I hope you have a wonderful weekend and hopefully I will see you soon!

Flower Pot Pocket Card TLC215

2009-04-27T16:57:00.003-04:00

I loved making this card!! What a fun challenge. A little time consuming because you have to glue lots of layers together and I had to use tweezers but it was relaxing to be honest. I love how it turned out. I used a multitude of flower punches and leaves and the branch punch. I used dew drops and brads for each center. This requires LOTS of wet glue; not glue stick or glue tape runner thingies. I used a paper piercer to apply the glue to the backs of each flower to stick them on. My husband came down and I showed it to him and he said, "now why don't you mass produce that and send it out to people???" I whipped my head around to look at him with this dumbfounded look on my face and said to him, "WHAT???.......do you know how long it took me to make this card????" LOL I started making this last week! Then I got sick (brochitis) and I finally finished it this afternoon! Sometimes he kills me! LOL

This is a technique lovers challenge on SCS. I posted the link in an earlier post but in case you missed it, here it is again. You gotta check out the gallery; so much inspiration there! Here is the card laying down so you can see the dimension.I used a larger size stylus and a foam pad and laid the flower on the pad and made little circular motions with the stylus in the center of the flower. This brings the petals up and pushes the center down. Then I glued each layer together and added a dew drop. The ones that have brads, I didn't use glue to put the layers together. The brads hold the layers together.Here you can see the embossed pot and the punched edge of the pot. I used a Martha Stewart border punch and I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the pot. After both of those things were done, I used a sponge and close to cocoa ink and swiped it across the pot so the dimension would pop.Here you can see the card with the flowers taken out. I used the same border punch to punch the blue cardstock.

This was fun fun fun! And not that hard. The instructions for the pot are very simple and you can find those instructions by clicking here.

Thanks for stopping by today! I am glad you checked in! What do you think of my cute little pot? :)

Happy Sunday

2009-04-19T11:49:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! Thanks for checking in! Kids are on spring vacation this week. I am so excited I get to watch my shows tonight and stay up late and not have to get up early tomorrow! LOL. Today I am taking my daughter to her play date while I run some errands.

Spring has finally sprung here in Vermont..........I think! LOL. Our mountains still have snow and they have still been getting some random snow even into April. But here, we are in the high 50's low 60's and my daffodils are sprouting! I love living in a place where I can plant perennials once and forget about them! :)

With Spring here, I've really been wanting to make a card called the Flower Pot Pocket Card. Have you seen it? SCS has a great section dedicated to challenges. They have Color Combo Challenges, inspiration challenges, cards sketches, etc. The flower pot pocket card is in the Technique challenge. Look at the gallery of cards people have made. They're awesome!!! You can find the directions to make this card here. I have made the pot portion but haven't gotten around to making the flowers yet! LOL. You should check them out. You will probably get farther along than I did! LOL

Have a wonderful Sunday......I am off to get ready to take my daughter to her playdate! I hope you are enjoying your spring weather as well!

Happy Saturday!

2009-04-04T11:47:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone; thanks for stopping by and checking in with me! I have a busy weekend planned starting with today and birthday shopping! Lauren turns 7 on Monday! I can't believe it! She has some birthday money she wants to spend today starting with going to get a new bike! So we are visiting the mall, Toys R Us, Walmart, Michaels (for me), and then daddy is meeting us for dinner. He has drill this weekend. :( Tomorrow is Lauren's party. She chose to have a bowling party with 5 of her friends. We did this two years ago for our son and Lauren had a run in with a bowling ball and busted her chin open. She swore against bowling parties forever! Poor thing. But she recently had a day trip to the bowling alley with a spring vacation camp she was in and she saw that the step she tripped on at the bowling alley had been removed and now the whole bowling alley is flat! She loved it! LOL She she was eager to have her party there this year. Monday, I am taking cupcakes to her classroom, so I have to get all the fixins' for that as well. A busy weekend with not much time for playing in my room. But that's okay; it'll be a fun weekend for the family. The only downside is that yesterday I came down with a cold! I don't feel horrible but it's just irritating! Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I bet most of you are enjoying the long-awaited springtime weather! We are just about there temperature wise but we are getting one rain storm after another these days. I do not like "mud season." LOL. Have a great weekend and I will see you soon! ;)

Punched Bunny and Easter Card

2009-03-30T14:25:00.005-04:00

Hi All! Can you believe I have a couple of projects to share? I can't! I seem to have no time for fun this year! But I saw this little bunny on Amy's blog, and had to try one. I went over to a friend's house and together we read Amy's great instructions and made one! Look how cute!I love him! He's much smaller than I originally imagined; only fitting maybe two chocolate nuggets inside. But the great thing is that he's made from punches only! A little bit of white gel pen and black marker, ribbon, pompom, and dew drop, and viola! You have a bunny! I love this little card. He came in a clear stamp set from SandyLion. I found it at Michaels. I stamped him on SU watercolor paper using India ink, colored him with SU watercolor crayons, filled his belly and ears with fun flock, and cut him out. I stamped flowers from the same set using the Rock n' Roll technique. I then sponged in clouds, and the grass and added some yellow with a sponged on top of the flowers. I then cut a strip of garden green cs and made tiny little cuts in it and rolled the top edge with a pencil and my fingers and attached it at the bottom. I added sheer ribbon and three dew drops. He's a little more yellow than I intended but I think he's pretty cute! :) Watcha think? Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great week!!

I unsubscribed from my updates....

2009-03-29T11:51:00.002-04:00

Hi all! Thanks for visiting me! I wanted to explain something that I did today......I have a TON of blogs that I subscribe to. I've accumulated quite a list of updates in the last year. So much so that I had almost 2000 emails in my inbox!!!! I can't check my email daily like I used to and I got overwhelmed by all the updates. So I'm in the process of deleting them from my inbox which isn't fast with Comcast, I am down to 1437 now! LOL .....I went to FeedBurner and unsubscribed from all my updates! Not sure if I am going to regret that in a few days or what! lol........But I wanted to let you guys know that I didn't do it as an insult to any one of you. And I didn't pick and choose from my list; I deleted them all. I DID put all of you on my favorites list so I can visit you all often though! I realized afterward that individually, you will receive an email stating that I unsubscribed from your blog and I wanted to explain why so that you wouldn't feel I was being mean.
I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your weekend and thanks for checking in and reading my explanation! :)

St Patrick's Day card...third post today

2009-03-15T16:37:00.002-04:00

Hi again! Just got back from soccer and grocery shopping. Even got my van washed today! The weather has been awesome the last few days! Spring might be here.....lol. But I won't hold my breath because you never know when a freak snowstorm will hit here in Vermont! I made this card a couple of weeks ago. I love how it turned out. It's much better IRL though! I have to admit however that this is not the layout I intended when I started making this card! There weren't supposed to be 5 mugs going across the card, but I made a boo-boo and had to cover it somehow. Believe me, cutting 5 mugs out wasn't my first choice for this layout, but when I finished I loved it! There are lots of dimensionals on this card!

I used my Prismacolor markers to color the mugs in. And I love this Martha Stewart border punch. This card was a little time consuming but in the end I think it turned out pretty cute! :)

Thanks for stopping by and visiting me today! Have a wonderful day!

Second post for today

2009-03-15T11:43:00.004-04:00

These cards were really fun to make. Sorry I am showing them to you so late! lol I really love the card with the scallop cut out at the top. This idea came from Dawn's Stamping Thoughts.
Have a wonderful day! I am off to take the kids to soccer! Thanks for stopping by!

More pics related to yesterday's post

2009-03-15T11:31:00.005-04:00

Hi again! Thanks for stopping by today. I couldn't get back to my computer yesterday so here I am today. These pictures are related to the cards I showed you yesterday but with different angles; just to share with you the depth of each card. It's amazing how much detail a little dimension adds to your card!

In the card above, I used a square punch and then cut the middles out with scissors. I don't have the photo corner punch otherwise I would have used that. The scalloped one is a Cuttlebug die. I added dots with a glitter pen.

On the card with the lion, both of those stamps are from Rubber Soul. I stamped the lion on the card itself and then I stamped him again on a scrap piece of paper and then cut the head out to add to the card. The red heart is on a dimensional and I used a glue pen and glitter to make it stand out from the other hearts.

Thanks for stopping by today; I do have more photos to share....have a wonderful day!

Wow it's been so long!

2009-03-14T12:24:00.005-04:00

Thanks so much for checking in! I haven't been on my computer for 12 days! And I haven't posted on my blog in over a month! So sorry I've been away for so long. I don't have the time I wish I had to create, or even be on my computer. But I do have some pictures to share with you. I did manage to make some cards while I've been gone! lol. I had a friend over to make Valentine cards last month. I was happy with what I was able to finish! Now I know Valentine's Day is long gone and we are fast approaching St Patty's Day but I really wanted to share them with you. Some of these ideas I saw on Dawn's Stamping Thoughts. She is super creative and her layouts are so fun and easy to recreate. For these cards I used a combination of Stampin Up paper and a paper pack from Michaels. The inks are Stampin Up.

Here's a supply list for all the cards above:

Stamps: Stampin Up Love You Much set, Bear (Rubber Soul), Hello Friend (Wordsworth by Rubber Soul), tiny Heart (Rubber Soul)

Ink: Stampin Up Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Close to Cocoa

Accessories: Markers from Stampin Up and Staedtler, Glitter pen, glue pen, Martha Stewart border punch and glitter, heart punch from Love You Much Bundle, 5/8" circle punch from EK Success, 7/8" circle punch from EK Success. Marvy scallop circle punch, Stampin Up Scallop Circle Punch, dimensionals and foam tape, paper piercer, white gel pen, Cuttlebug and embossing folder.

I have more to share with you but I will come back in a little while and post again. Thanks for stopping by!!!!

MIA...

2009-02-02T09:31:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! I've been MIA lately. But that isn't much of a surprise is it? LOL. Life has been a blur these past couple of weeks. I haven't been able to sit down and make anything for awhile. Well, since my last kitty card! I am itching to try so many things but don't have the time or the motivation right now. I hate those days! I have a new MS border punch that I wanna try, and several Valentine's Day stamps.

Today I have some running around to do, but later on today I might be able to get down here and make some cards. That's if my hubby goes to play basketball tonight! LOL. So I may see you later. Have a wonderful Monday!! Thanks for checking in!

Valentine Kitty Card....3rd Post

2009-01-21T13:48:00.007-05:00

My camera isn't the greatest these days! Sorry about that! This little kitty comes from DRS Designs, as well as the sentiment. Isn't he cute? I colored him with my Prismacolor Markers. I added some detail with Diamond Glaze to his nose, Martha Stewart Fine Glitter around the scallop circle, which I punched with my new Petite Nesties, some piercing along the bottom of the card, ribbon and dimensionals.

Bedroom Pictures I Promised....2nd post

2009-01-21T13:38:00.003-05:00

Back at Christmastime I promised to show some pictures of a gift I received from Katie and my husband. Taking pictures slipped my mind and I just forgot about posting it. Well here they are finally! I came home from work the day before Christmas Eve to find my bedroom door covered in wrapping paper and a big silver bow in the middle of it. Katie and her friend had spent the day changing the bedding and the curtains so when I came home from work, this is what I saw.....
It just happens to match the paint color that I did a few years ago too! Before, nothing seemed to match and nothing seemed to "belong" in this room. Now it all looks like I meant it to look this way! LOL Thanks for stopping by! I have one more post today.

My Uncle's Wake

2009-01-21T12:20:00.002-05:00

Hi Stampers! I am home from work today because I have to work on Saturday and the company doesn't like to give out a lot of overtime, so I am enjoying my day off with Jared.

I went to my Uncle's wake on Monday evening. I was extremely saddened that day while waiting for 7 0'clock to roll around. I was dreading the trip to the funeral home. When we arrived I was struck by how many people were there and that somehow, someway, we were all related. There had to be at least 200 people there in that little funeral home. Most of them I had never met! I did not take my younger two children, so they stayed home with dad and I took Katie, who is 18. When we walked in, we were taken aback because he reminded us so much of my dad, her grandpa. So to see him brought us to immediate tears. We were also struck by a picture taken in 1956 that was in the casket with him.........it was a picture of both my dad and my uncle ages 19 and 23, respectively, in a bar in Japan. I wasn't expecting to see that picture. This infamous picture was at my dad's funeral as well 8 years ago. I knelt in front of the casket and sobbed. I discovered that this picture was my uncle's favorite and that he kept it in a frame at his bedside all these years. One of my cousins made several copies of this picture and gave them to anyone who asked. I learned many things about my Uncle that night as well as my dad from all the people who approached me, many of which I met for the first time. It was amazing that so many people were my cousins and I didn't know them! They all spoke so highly of my father, which was heart warming.

My Uncle looked peaceful and he had all of his favorite things with him; his hat, his military ribbons and buttons, letters, pictures, and even a deck of cards. There was laughter and stories and many tears but most of all I felt an overwhelming love in that room. It was a beautiful wake and a lovely celebration of his life. His funeral and burial won't be until the spring and he will have full military honors.

He was a strong, happy, funny and very much loved man! He will be sorely missed. Thank you to those who left comments for me here on my blog and as SCS. Your support has been wonderful and appreciated.

Big Hugs!
Rachel

Sudden Passing of my Uncle & Information on JustRite Stamps

2009-01-19T11:05:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone~ sorry I haven't posted in a few days; been a rough weekend. Starting with the sudden passing of my Uncle on Friday afternoon. Tonight is the wake and I am trying to decide if my younger two children should go or not. They have both said they want to go but neither of them have been to a funeral/wake and neither of them have seen a deceased person, so I am nervous and it's worrisome to me how they will react. Have any thoughts or suggestions???.........

I wanted to share some info on JustRite stamps that I find very helpful. Here is a valuable link about using them for the first time. If you are like me, have purchased them but haven't used them, OR you have used them and are unhappy with them, visit this tutorial that Sharon did for SCS.

Today I am just hanging out; cleaning, doing laundry, maybe some playing, but mostly being nervous about tonight. Please keep us in your thoughts today; I would greatly appreciate it!

Cuppa Love

2009-01-12T13:03:00.004-05:00

Hi all! I missed posting yesterday; sorry about that! I wanted to share this card but I was out most of the day. So here it is....Supplies Used:

Stamps: The Stamp Barn (Ottawa, ON) Cuppa Love, Hero Arts Polka Dot background

Inks: Adirondack Pitch Black, SU Ruby Red, Pretty Ink Pink, Close to Cocoa

Paper: Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink from SU, Watercolor Paper

Accessories: Zig 2-way glue pen Squeeze and Roll, Crystalescent Glitter Pink Ultra Fine, Pop Dots, Ribbon from American Crafts, EK BrusH2O Pen Detailer Tip, Sponge

Do you like cute things?

2009-01-10T20:32:00.002-05:00

Do you like cute things? And do you like cute things falling asleep? This morning I was watching the Today show and saw a man who started a blog with just videos of cute things falling asleep; like puppies, kittens, babies, bears, bunnies, and more! If you are an animal lover like me, and love any baby version of an animal, you have to check out his blog. It's so cute! Here's the link.

Well, it's the weekend! Yay! I got some new Nesties in the other day but haven't been able to use them yet. I plan to soon! I also have some ideas brewing for Valentine's Day projects. So stay tuned.....

Hopefully you all had a great week! What are your plans for the weekend? Thanks for checking in. I will be posting tomorrow and will have something cute to share with you! Big Hugs!

In Loving Memory...

2009-01-04T23:26:00.003-05:00

Sometimes things happen in life that we just can't explain. It's amazing how our blogging friends become such a huge part of our lives, and that it's hard to picture a day going by without checking in with them on their blogs or receiving an encouraging word from them. They are friends just like the ones we have next door or in the next town. We become just as close and their friendship is unconditional. We share so much in common and share so many of the same pitfalls or frustrations. We also share the same excitement and joy when we've made something that puts a smile on someone else's face. We enjoy and cherish those friendships but don't always tell them how much they mean to us. I wanted to take this time to thank each and every one of you who come here to visit me, drop me a note, encourage me in some way, and open your own hearts and creativity to me every day!!! I can't tell you how much it has meant to me.
Joanne Johnson, {My} Adventures in Cardmaking, died suddenly on December 12th after touching thousands of people through her blog. Her family made a final post on her blog on December 13th. If you visit her blog you'll see that everything appeared normal even the day before her death. I have read many posts where Joanne mailed Christmas cards the day she died and those people received those cards on December 13th. This just amazes me; that life is that unpredictable. That life is just that short. We take so many things for granted. We live our lives sometimes with total disregard for how quickly it can be taken away from us.
This year, I plan to tell those I care about how much they mean to me, how much I care about them, how much I value their presence in my life, and how empty I would feel if they were gone. I speak from experience when I tell you that having regrets after someone dies is a horrible feeling!! Don't go through life wishing you had said something, done something or written something to someone. You can't get that time back, you can't get that opportunity back once it's gone. Live every moment as if it's your last!!
Please visit Joanne's blog, see her work, see her creativity, feel her spirit through her family's post and all the comment's left on that final post. Remember those bloggers who you visit everyday and just make sure you appreciate all of those friends you've made in this wonderful stamping world. Because each of them have been blessings just like each of you have been blessings to me!!
Thanks for visiting me today! Big hugs!!!

Get that thing outta my face!

2009-01-04T20:55:00.003-05:00

Did that title intrigue you? LOL My Jazz needed a bath BAD and I thought that would be the perfect time to get a few pictures of him since he would be locked in the bathroom! LOL Well, here he is, Mr. Scaredy Cat! This is my daughter sitting on the toilet; yes she has shorts on! LOL And he has his head jammed between her back and the toilet tank! Could he be any more pathetic?? This is how much he hates the camera!Here I've coaxed him out long enough to give him a treat, but look at him........he's still got that eagle eye on my camera! LOL
Maybe if I stare long enough at this door, or press my nose really hard against it, it will open! LOL.

I just had to share these pathetic pictures of him! Thanks for stopping by and visiting! Did you see, I've changed some things again. I've re-arranged some elements on the page and I've added to my slide show. I also added a new feature at the bottom of each post. There are 4 little rating boxes. Isn't that cool? :) So now maybe it will help me with making my blog more interesting or helpful! Have a great night!

Teacher's Gift Set

2009-01-03T11:48:00.008-05:00

Hi everybody! How is your weekend going so far? I have some pictures to share of one of the teacher gift sets for my daughter's teacher. They are really fun to make! The hard cover book is a blank-page sketchbook from Ben Franklin (Creative Habitat). I have also seen them at Michaels but I happened to be a Ben Franklin that day. The smaller book is a 2009/10 calendar that I found in the dollar bin at Michaels. I just took it out of the protective cover and recovered it with red cardstock and some pattern paper from the DCVW paper stack. The jar is from Michaels and the basket is from Michaels. I used my Cricut with the Mini Monograms cartridge to make the scallop circle and the regular circle. The scallop circle for the apple is from a Cuttlebug die. The apple is colored with Prismacolor Markers. I used white craft ink from SU to stamp the "make every day one to remember" and close to cocoa to sponge the edges of the scallop circles. Thanks for visiting me today! Have a wonderful weekend!

Bedtime Stories

2009-01-02T00:11:00.002-05:00

Hi all! As planned, we took the kids to see Bedtime Stories today. It's a really cute movie! Very funny. Adam Sandler cracks me up and that guinea pig is so goofy looking! Great family movie!
After the movie, we went to Best Buy and I got a flash drive to clear up some space on my puter. And guess what?? I need to get another one! I had copied all kinds of documents to the flash drive and then I wanted to transfer some pictures over.....I discovered that the pictures that I download from my camera are taking up a whopping 4 1/2 gigs of memory!!!! OMG!! I didn't realize that they take up so much space! No need for that! So I may weed through them and delete some that aren't worth keeping and then transfer the rest to another flash drive. Crazy huh?
I also downloaded the trial version of a video editing program tonight. I can't wait to play with it tomorrow. Supposedly, you can download directly to You Tube. I get to play with it and see how easy it is for 30 days. Hopefully it isn't too difficult. I can't stand it when my computer has one over on me ! LOL
I am still dying to dig into my new JustRite Stamps! It's killing me that I don't have the free time that I used to. And I want to place an order for that Love You Much Bundle from Stampin Up! I see all these samples and I am chomping at the bit! LOL Tomorrow is going to be another sub-zero day so I imagine the kids and I will stay home and we can all play with our new toys! ;)
Anyway, hope you all had a wonderful time for New Year's Eve!! Nobody's left me any comments yet and I can't wait to hear what y'all did! Talk to you soon! Off to bed now...

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-01T13:47:00.002-05:00

Woohoo Happy New year! I hope you all had a safe and fun New Years Eve!! We stayed home last night and watched Dick Clark, who makes me cry everytime I see him. :( We also put together a gingerbread house which I forgot to do on Christmas Eve! LOL. Lauren didn't have a clue, nor did she feel she missed out by not making it on Christmas Eve. Jared didn't want to make one unless he could just sit there and eat it! LOL.
Yesterday I worked until 3 and then went to Best Buy to look at movie editing software. Decided I wanted something and was going to get it until I realized my computer is ancient in computer world! I don't have a DVD drive. And I guess that's what software comes with now to download it to your computer! So I am investigating an online download. So far this video tutorial thing has me beat and when that happens, it drives me crazy until I come to a successful, or tolerable :), result! LOL. I will keep you posted....
Today we are hanging out. Kids can't play outside because it's less than 10 degrees out and with the windchill, forget it! We might go to a movie though. That would be fun. What are you doing today? What are your New Year traditions? Jot me a line; I'd love to hear what you guys do for ringing in another year!
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Teacher Journal and Basic Grey Distress Kit

2008-12-28T14:18:00.005-05:00

Happy Sunday! I am just hanging out today doing laundry and cleaning up and I remembered that I was supposed to post one of my teacher journals. Oops! So here is one of them...This is patterned paper I found in the Grade School Stack from Die Cuts with a View. The argyle paper is really sparkly! The apple in the center I cut out from the same stack of paper. You can purchase this 8x8 stack here. The green cardstock is old olive from SU and I used green Dew Drops for the first time! I love those little things!

Next I wanted to share with you The Basic Grey Precision File Set. I saw it used on the internet and I was determined to find them! LOL I found them in my local stamp store. This is how it comes....

Inside you get 4 different pointy files and two boards. They have a rubber tip to grip on to. They are awesome when you cover chipboard letters and you want to clean up the edges and the small holes in certain letters! You can use them on chipboard, plastic, paper and metal. You can get it at All That Scraps or Eclectic Paperie. Right now at Eclectic Paperie it's on sale for $3.50!! The regular price is $6.99. The price right now at All That Scraps is $7.00.
Thanks for visiting me! I have some things to make today and tonight so I will try to post again later. Have a wonderful day!

JustRite Stampers Huge Sale

2008-12-27T23:18:00.002-05:00

Hi all! Just a quick share before I head off to bed. JustRite Stampers is having a huge sale again! They even have a dollar store! They are making room for new products coming soon! Check out the dollar deals here. They have Bonus Buys as well making it easier to add to your current collection! OH and check this out!!......they have the Rectangular Monogram Stamper with two sets of alphabets and 5 sets of embellishments for only $5.00!!! The set's normal price is $29.95!! It also comes with tweezers and black ink pad. Check it out by clicking here. You can't beat these current prices. If you have some of these awesome stamps and need some inspiration they have a beautiful gallery with tons of samples. Click here to view the gallery. I just got a few of the sets and I haven't used them yet. I am trying to find the time to sit down and play! I have managed to open the boxes however and look at them. The packaging itself is awesome! LOL So check 'em out. They are really cool! Have a wonderful evening and thanks for visiting me!

Oooo Purple Hearts!

2008-12-26T12:07:00.003-05:00

Happy Friday! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!! Are you out braving the malls and taking advantage of some sales?? :)

We were up really late last night watching a movie and playing new video games. I couldn't get online for some reason even though we re-started the computer a few times. That was a bummer.

I wanted to share a couple of my presents with you! Jared and I don't normally get things for each other, so this year was a special treat! Look at what he hid under the tree in tiny gold boxes!!

They are heart shaped stones in two different shades of purple. The ring has tiny diamonds on either side as well! I love the shape of the pendant and I love the thickness. The chain actually goes between two layers of hearts instead of a loop on top. And the bottom portion has tiny diamonds as well. I love, love, love them! I was shocked! I haven't taken the ring off since I put it on yesterday morning.

I have to share another gift with you as well but I haven't taken pictures yet so I'm not gonna tell you what it is yet. ;) I will be back in a little while to share....

Thanks for checking in on your busy day! Hope you all have a great day!

Peppermint Bark Recipe

2008-12-24T21:14:00.002-05:00

Good evening! Happy Christmas Eve everyone! I am finally done wrapping presents! My back is killing me! LOL Hopefully you are all enjoying your evening and having fun with your family and friends. Katie let Jared and Lauren open a present so they are currently occupied! ;)

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of days; work is kicking my butt! Here is the peppermint bark recipe. It's so yummy!

What you will need:

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate. Use a good brand, or a brand that you would eat by itself. I actually used Baker's chocolate.
6 ounces white chocolate. Again, I used Baker's chocolate. Just make sure whatever brand you use, that the white chocolate has cocoa butter in it.
1/3-1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy; candy canes or starlight mints.
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
9x9 pan
aluminum foil

First line your pan with aluminum foil. I actually used a plastic tupperware bowl instead. But I did line it with foil because it makes removal easy!
Melt the semi sweet chocolate with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. I used a clear glass bowl and it does get hot! LOL Immediately pour the melted chocolate into the pan and tilt the pan from side to side to spread it out and it makes an even layer. Refrigerate until it hardens; about 30 minutes.
Then, melt the white chocolate with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted white chocolate over the dark chocolate and tilt the pan from side to side to flatten it out. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes evenly over the white chocolate while it's still melte. Refrigerate until it hardens; about 30 minutes.
Remove the Peppermint Bark from the pan by lifting the edges of the aluminum foil. Peel back the foil and cut it with a knife or break it up with your hands.

Thanks for checking in! Have a wonderful night!!

Snow, snow, snow and more snow!

2008-12-21T23:42:00.002-05:00

Holy Camoly we have gotten some snow today! LOL. We must have gotten at least 12 inches today. You should see my poor little dogs go potty! LOL.
I made peppermint bark and fudge tonight! OMG the peppermint bark is so stinkin' good! I have never made it and was a little nervous but pulverizing the candy was fun! LOL I am definitely going to make more tomorrow!
I also decorated one of my teacher journals today. It's so cute! I will share pics of it tomorrow, along with some more snow pics!
I ventured out four times today! Stupid me! Driving was treacherous! I had to take Katie to work this morning at 10, then at about 2 pm, I went back to her work to buy some stuff for making the candy, then at 6:30 I had to go pick her up from work, and then at 8:30 tonight we drove to Michaels, which took a good 40 minutes! All four trips, my van was having a hard time gripping the road everytime I went uphill or turned! So stupid to go to Michaels. When I got on the highway, a big diesel passed me in the fast lane and kicked up a bunch of powdery snow into my windshield and I couldn't see A THING for a good 20 seconds!! I was so mad and my heart was pounding! I had to let off the gas pedal and start really slowing down. I was trying not to just mash on the breaks! In the meantime, I couldn't see where I was going. Thank GOD that part of the highway is straight. Otherwise, I would have gone off the road. I just kept the steering wheel still and was preparing myself for hitting a guard rail or something. I was freaking out! But then the dust settled and no one else passed me the rest of the way. But the roads weren't even plowed! Not the highway or the surface streets. Not good to be driving out in a snow storm like that. LOL. Don't ask me why I went! LOL. I had a coupon for an extra 15% off my total purchase including sale items. So I got a great deal on wrapping paper and christmas cards! LOL My friend was picking on me when I told her where I was going! :)
Anyway, just wanted to share my day. Oh, and I also had to snowblow the driveway! Nice fluffy snow so it wasnt' too bad but sometimes that thing is such a beast to manuever.
So I will check in again tomorrow, share some pics and some other stuff. I think the kids are going to have a snow day tomorrow. Oh and I will share my recipes too. Have a wonderful evening. I am off to bed. Thanks for stopping by!

What a long week!

2008-12-20T22:48:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! What a long week! I am exhausted. I can't wait for my boss to come back. I don't like working alone!
If you live in New England, you've been getting this crazy snow too!!! We are expecting a big storm tomorrow into Monday! We just went through a snow storm yesterday and the one coming tomorrow is supposed to dump more snow than this last one! We are also getting a storm on Christmas Eve! We are defintely going to have a white Christmas this year!
Today is my Friday and I have lots to do this weekend! Food shopping, wrapping, cards, and finishing some teacher gifts! Looks like we are going to be snowed in with more than 12 inches of snow up here close to the Canadian border in Vermont! This is supposed to be tomorrow's storm alone! Our snowblower is going to get quite the workout in the next week! LOL.
So I'll be home, doing crafty stuff and drinking hot chocolate! :) If you have to be out on the roads during this storm, stay safe! Drive slowly! I was fish-tailing this morning on the way to work on the highway.
Thanks for checking in! See you tomorrow!!

Glue Glider and JustRite Stamps!

2008-12-15T21:39:00.002-05:00

Hi all! Hope you're having a great Monday evening! A friend of mine came over today and we worked on our Christmas Planners. She is saving it to use for next year but I have already written in mine for this year! LOL. We used our new Glue Gliders and we love them! You know what I love about it? It is really strong adhesive and instead of one continuous stream of glue/sticky tape like the tombo mono adhesive, it's divided into tiny little rectangles. I have been using the red Tombo tape/glue runner and it gunks up a lot because it's a continous piece but also because it's thicker and stronger than the blue Tombo Mono adhesive. Those gunky little chunks drive m crazy!!! They look like a booger! LOL. So the Glue Glider isn't separate glue dots or separate tabs like the Hermafix. It's tiny little rectangles right next to each other and when you glide it across your paper upon first glance it looks like a continuous piece but it breaks off so nice when you lift it off your paper and it doesn't gunk up! I love it!
Now on to the JustRite Stamps. Hopefully you all took advantage of the buy one get one free sale they recently had on starter sets!!! Right now they are having a sale 25% off select items so check them out! You can still get stuff in time for Christmas!! Well my friend ordered all of the buy one get one free sets except for the baking one. I can't wait to play with them!!! We got three different fonts and the Christmas set and one more set, I can't remember what it is right now. But I have to tell you, I even love the box they come in!! Really cute sturdy cardboard boxes! I cannot wait to rip the cellophane off! LOL. I have the Small Letter Set and the Harmony Classic Circle II Stamp Ensemble coming soon!!! :D (that's me smiling really big!!) LOL
Anyway, thanks for checking in tonight! Off to bed. Got a long work week this week; won't have much time for fun! :( So you may not see me much this week. Have a wonderful night and I'll try to update you soon with my new stamp sets! ;)

Love my little tool!!

2008-12-14T20:14:00.002-05:00

Having a nice Sunday? I did as planned and Michaels today! They are having a great sale on wrapping paper right now! 60% off! All of my rolls of paper I got 1.59 each!

I wanted to share with you a great little tool I recently purchased made by Making Memories. It's very inexpensive too! It's a paper piercer/sylus in one! Click ~here~ to see what it looks like. I love it love it love it! I have the standard piercer but I had used it so often to re-open glue bottles that it doesn't poke as nicely anymore. I found this at Michaels but you can also get it at Addicted To Rubber Stamps. It makes very tiny holes which I really like and it fits nicely in the holes in the SU Paper Piercing Template. My other piercer was making the holes bigger in my template! It also has a nice shape to the handle so it's easy and comfortable to hold. It has a lid that covers the piercer but it also has an indentation in it and this indentation fits onto the the piecer so that when you turn it (like unscrewing a cap) it comes out. You can flip it around and re-insert it to use the stylus end of it. It's cool! For less than 3.00 it's a steal!

I also have the Making Memories Edge Scraper for Distressing your paper, chipboard, or cardstock. It's awesome! Easy to hold and really roughs thing up! LOL

And just arrived!!!.....My Glue Gliders!! Yay!!! I can't wait to try it! I will let you know what it's like soon! Have a wonderful night!! Thanks for checking in!

I'm such a dork!

2008-12-14T10:21:00.002-05:00

Okay, so the wheel's been around a long time right? LOL. So has the SU's Stampin' Around wheel and I've had one for almost a year now, well actually, longer than that. That's not the point. I've had this little gem and an unopened black cartridge (which all this time I thought was green because of the casing), and a stamp thingie, and NEVER used it!!!!!!! Then last night I watched Dawn's video on Dawn's Stamping Thoughts demonstrating how to use them. And guess what? I just now opened the cartridge (after searching my messy room for 20 minutes), and put it in, and grabbed a piece of scratch paper and started rolling away!! LOL. I can't believe I didn't use it sooner! Now I have to get the jumbo one (used in Dawn's video). LOL I love it! :D Isn't that funny? I am such a dork sometimes and the smallest things make me happy! LOL Head over to Dawn's by clicking >>here<<>

Brrr....it's freezing! Really cold pictures! LOL

2008-12-13T22:23:00.005-05:00

Man, you wanna talk about cold!!!! I was only 8 degrees when I woke up this morning to get ready for work!! Our snow is crunchy now! LOL. We got several inches Thursday night into Friday. I feel like I told you that already.........my brain must be frozen! LOL. Here are a couple of pictures I wanted to share with you all. This first picture was taken about 7 in the morning, just after Jared left for work. This is a view from our front door looking into our front yard. I love when the trees sag from the weight of the snow! This is Lauren covering Jazz with snow! He didn't hear me come outside so I was able to sneak a few pictures of Lauren hard at work. Jazz LOVES the snow so he didn't mind being covered! And then he caught me! LOL Here he is running from me, facing AWAY from the camera! LOLHere's Sophie, our Chihuahua, being held by the kids. She hates the cold. I don't blame her; she's only 5 pounds! LOL The kids put snow on her! She's black, you may not see her in this picture! And here she is taking off as fast as she can into the garage! This was sooo funny!!! LOLThis is Kayla, our Pomeranian, who loves the snow like Jazz. Must be the fluffy thick fur! LOL. Look at that face; she is sooo sweet! She is a rescue dog. Of the four dogs, she is the only rescue. The rest came from breeders. There's something about rescue dogs; they seem to know they've been "chosen" and they're the perfect dogs!And the two of them waiting to go inside.....They are standing on the landing in the garage. Aren't they cute?
Where's Jazz, you ask? I dunno! I tried to ambush him and take pictures of him, so I went to the backyard to find him and as I got to the deck in the back, I peek underneath it, and I see him on the other side of the house, just rounding the corner!!! LOL. He heard me coming, little stinker! Anyway, I hope you are all having a great weekend so far! I get to sleep in tomorrow, thus the late post! It's almost 11. I never stay up this late on a work night. Well I take that back.....Sundays I do because my shows are on! Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow I plan on cleaning my craft room, making some stuff and go to Michaels. Maybe not in that exact order but something like that! heeheehee. Take care!!!

Glitter Star Ornament

2008-12-12T19:38:00.003-05:00

Happy Friday! Everyone having a nice night so far? I made this Gltter Star Ornament today after seeing it on Martha Stewart Crafts. I bought a few of her things the other day at Michaels and hadn't used any of it yet. And I can always use more ornaments!! The link to her tutorial is >>here<<. This one >>here<<>

~Paper Trimmer

~2 colors cardstock

~Glue pen

~Martha Stewart Fine Glitter

~The Ultimate Glue (to glue cones to circle template)

~Colluzle Circle Template and swivel knife

~Snowflake punch

~Brad

~Paper Piercer

~Marvy Scallop Circle Punch (blue one)

~3 Pop Dots

~Ribbon

~1/16" circle punch

~Stickles
~Martha Stewart gel adhesive

~Little paintbrush to spread the glue inside the cones

I cut 12 squares out. Mine are 1-1/2" squares but you could go larger or smaller depending on what size ornament you want. I made the cone shape with each square and glued the edges together, slightly overlapping them. I used the blue glue pen to do this and held it still for a second with tweezers. I cut a circle out (white cardstock) as the base (with my colluzle) and folded it in half once, unfolded it, and folded it in half again the opposite way. This makes a nice "bulls eye" in the center so I could make sure the cones were straight. As I made the cones, I glued them on the base with the Ultimate Glue. Then I started the glittering process! I spread glue in the cones one at a time and poured some glitter in and swirled it around. Then tapped the excess out. Do one cone at a time!! After they were all glittered, I set this aside and worked on the medallion. I punched the circle out with my marvy punch and then I did lots of paper piercing! At first it started out as just piercing on the scalloped edges then I started making lines going into the center and then I just filled it up! LOL. I added stickles to each scallop but you can't see it very well in the photo. I then put 3 pop dots (stacked) in the center of my cones so that the medallion would stick up enough. Then I punched out two snowflakes and layered them alternating the points. I put a brad in the middle and then attached it to the medallion with a glue dot. Lastly, I put stickles all over the snowflake. Oh and added the ribbon! What do you think? I love it! LOL I am definitely going to make more!! If you haven't tried them, you should; they are fun and so sparkly! ;) Thanks for stopping by! Happy stamping!

Snow Day!!! And a shaker ornament

2008-12-12T08:49:00.005-05:00

Woohoo snow day! LOL... I bet many of you got that Nor'Easter that rolled through here yesterday and last night! Vermont saw quite the mix of precipitation! Northern areas, where I am, got snow.......the central parts , where my work is, got ice......and the southern part got lots of rain! Massachusettes, where a sister company is, got lots of ice and rain too. We are supposed to see another few inches of snow today but so far, we are close to a foot of snow.

I made this coaster shaker ornament last night. I saw the idea on Chic N Scratch. You can see hers >>here<<.Instead of using a die cut frame, I used my colluzle cutter to make the circle cutout. The coaster is 3-1/2 x 3-1/2". I used SU and Staedler markers to color in the snowman. I used bashful blue and a blender pen to color the mounds of snow. The image is stamped with Versa Color black ink and embossed with clear detail EP first though. This was easy and fast to make. I think I'll make some more! :)

Thanks for stopping by! I will post again later today. Happy stamping!

More of my Christmas Planner done!....2nd post

2008-12-10T17:10:00.004-05:00

Hi again! I hope you're having a great day. I still don't feel good. :( Snow is still coming here; kids are outside playing in the dark! I just love the snow! :) I worked on my planner a little and wanted to share it with you all. I am trying to keep track of my kids' wish lists and stocking stuffers! Jared and I looked through the closet today (where we hide everything) to see what we were lacking, cuz I couldn't remember what I had purchased! LOL. So the sooner I get this book done, the sooner I can get organized! I have to get Christmas cards out too; haven't even made them! Bad!!!!
This first picture shows the second section of my planner; the card list. I stamped the owl twice, colored him, layered him and adhered him together. The letters are individual clear stamps.The next one is on the back of the card list page. This is a pocket to hold postage stamps. Sorry it's a little blurry; I dont' know what happened.
This is the next section called Wish Lists. This is where my kids' lists will go. Each one will have their own page or so. And this is the inside back cover. This list pulls out so I can write the groceries that I need, and take it with me.I have two more sections to put in, and haven't gotten to them yet. But I will soon! Thanks for stopping by; let me know if you have any questions!

Been Sick.....new photos

2008-12-10T14:39:00.004-05:00

Hi Peoples!! I am a sickie-poo!! I stayed home from work today and yesterday! Today I've been up and around but yesterday I was in bed all day. I hate getting the flu! Yesterday morning when I woke up, I was so weak that when I had to get the kids ready for school, I just laid down on the hallway floor between their two bedroom doors and talked to them from the floor! LOL. I couldn't stand up long enough to help them get out of bed, or make their beds, or anything. Then when we went downstairs, Jared got them breakfast really quick before he left for work and I just laid on the couch while they got dressed in their winter gear and ate breakfast. From there, I went back to bed! Yucky day! Today I have more energy but my stomach is still girgly no matter what I put in it. :(

I managed to take some pictures today though. This morning started out with rain....then it turned to snow about 10 am. Here is a view from my back door. We had more snow a few days ago when our temps dropped into the teens and then it warmed up and melted it all and now today we have this dusting of snow. I hope it stays this time. :)

Then I took some pictures of our tree and some ornaments I have made over the years. A couple of them are a little blurry but I wanted to share them anyway because I think they are so cute! :)

The first I made with pom poms, felt, cotton fabric, ribbon, and glue. I cut out the head and ears from white felt. The body is the printed cotton. The feet are all pom poms, so is the nose. There is lace stitched around the neck for the collar. I sold lots of these at craft fairs over the years!

I found this little snowman and stars at Michaels a long time ago and wanted to do something with them but didn't know what. (you know how we crafters are)..lol.......I then found these little wreathes also at Michaels and I loved them and thought they'd make cute ornaments, so I bought the ribbon and rafia and added it all together and voila.......an ornament. I also made some without ribbon to use as napkin rings! Really cute!

The ornament below I LOVE!!! In the section of Michaels where they have all the wooden pieces, I found tiny wooden boxes and snowmen. I decided I would paint them and use them in a snowy scene on the wreathe. The wreathes are about 2-3 inches in diameter. The snowmen are about an inch tall, if that. The trees I found in the section of the store where you can get all those village houses and trains. The snow is that pasty snow that comes in a jar and when you apply it it's like whipped cream cheese and it dries where you put it and looks like sparkly snow. Then I tied tiny bows with floss and added them to the presents in the snow. I have about 30 of these on out tree, all with slightly different scenes.

For this one, instead of using the pine trees, I used a real pinecone from our yard. It's about an inch and a half tall. I added the chunky snow to the edges along with some green paint. Oh I forgot to mention that the snowmen all have scarves on as well made from floss.This wooden rocking horse came unfinished and assembled. I stained him brown with spray stain, let him dry, added this little bear on the rocker, added some wooden alphabet blocks which I also painted, added some presents in various places and also added a very small wreathe around the horse's neck. The wreathe has one tree on it with a snowman. This was Jared's ornament for his first Christmas in 1999.
My ornament making days are over. LOL. I actually started making clay ornaments too and have some of those still but on one, the snoman's head fell off and on the other, the big snowball fell off. I have to fix them! LOL. I love making ornaments but I just don't have the time this year. I may try to fit in some time on Christmas Eve when the kids are doing their gingerbread houses, but we'll see! Thanks for stopping by. If you have any questions about the ornaments above, please let me know! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Got a Christmas Tree yesterday...went to a party today......oven broken!

2008-12-07T20:20:00.002-05:00

Hi All!!! Thanks for dropping by! Yesterday was such a blast!! I took the kids to a Christmas Tree Farm (hubby had guard duty so he couldn't go) and it was the first time I had been there. My hair dresser recommended it and I can't even tell you how awesome it was! First of all this place is huge! And guess what???? I didn't bring my camera!! How stupid is that?? I had a hair appointment at 12:30, had the kids with me, and decided during my appointment that we would get a tree afterward. So we didn't go home and get the camera. I didn't even think about it until after we arrived there! Dummy!!! So anyway this place is probably two acres?? I dunno.....but it's nice and flat and they let you DRIVE through the lot on dirt pathways every 20 or so rows of trees! When you pull into the parking lot there is an attendant waiting with a handful of saws. I didn't even have to bring one! LOL. He hands you a saw and then you drive around looking at the trees! I had never been to a lot like that! Most of the time, you have to walk through the lot and drag your tree back to your car. Well, we were there for almost 2 hours looking at trees! It was so fun! We had pocket and foot warmers in our pockets and pants and shoes, so we weren't as cold! Well, when you find a row of trees you like, you park at the end of the row and then walk to the tree, cut it down, and then go get your vehicle and drive TO YOUR TREE and put it in! So fun! You can't park in the pathway because they aren't wide enough for a car to pass you. So we picked our tree, put it in the van, and went to pay for it. They put the tree on a shaker thing and it shakes like crazy to drop any loose needles or little things that might be living in it! LOL Then they wrap it up for you and help you load it.........all for 30 dollars! I was so happy. You even get free hot chocolate and candy canes! LOL.
So we put our tree up last night and decorated it. I have to take some pics so I can show you! We had to move our TV stand to free up the corner of our living room! LOL
Today we went to a family Christmas party. Everyone in Jared's guard unit had to go. It's a small unit so we all fit in one house, very squished though! LOL. That was fun except for this evil cat that was there! LOL. I took Lauren to the bathroom and when we came out, there was a cat on the bed and so I went to pet it. I put my hand by it's face so it could smell me and IT BIT ME!!!!!! Then as a split reaction, I was mean and flicked its butt with my finger! Then it hissed at me! LOL. I couldn't believe how mean this cat was! LOL
Then we drove home in a snow storm; snow and wind like crazy! It took us almost an hour to get home when it should have taken about 20 minutes. I was going about 20 MPH on the highway. There were emergency vehicles all over the place helping cars and SUV's out of the ditch and median! I swear people just don't slow down enough in the snow! We have a wind advisory tonight with sub-zero temps! Brrrrr.....
Okay on to the oven........we were baking fries and all of a sudden the oven starts beeping and the display was flashing and it locked on me!! The oven door is locked and no matter what we tried, it won't open. So tomorrow I have to call Sears for a repair service!!!!! Not happy about that! Hopefully we have an oven for Christmas! :(
So needless to say, I didn't get to make anything this weekend! :( In about 20 minutes my Sunday night shows start, so I won't be able to post anything even if I made it beforehand! I'm sorry, I know I promised. I'm bad!
Oh I forgot to say that I have been getting wonderful Christmas cards from my Kota buddies!!! It's a group of ladies on SCS who started a pen pal list and we exchange cards. It's a small group and many of us have gotten to know each other pretty well. It's a really fun, and sweet group of women! Thank you so much for the beautiful cards, ladies! They are awesome!
Anyway, this post is so long! Sorry about that! I will see you all later.....have a wonderful night!!!!

Sorry I've been MIA!!

2008-12-04T20:24:00.002-05:00

Hi all! Sorry I've been MIA for a couple of days! The work week is so busy for me! I wish I had more time to play! But you know what? I am getting some new toys soon! A friend and I have some Just Rite Stamps coming!! I can't wait for that! She purchased all but ONE set that was on the buy one get one free sale! Woohoo! I am so excited! I am also waiting for that Glue Glider! I have two of those coming too! This weekend I have a lot going on but I hope to play at some point! Saturday I am getting my hair trimmed and Sunday, hubby and I have a Christmas party to go to. But that's early on in the day. I am hoping that Saturday at some point, we can get our Christmas tree! Wednesday my boss leaves for vacation and doesn't return to work until the 30th!! So I will be all alone at work for 3 weeks! Jared jokes that I need to get another organ taken out or something so I don't have to work alone! LOL. Real funny huh? ;) So I am going to be busy this month. I can't even tell you how exhausted I am when I get home from work!! Working stinks! LOL
So anyway, just wanted to check in real quick. Thanks for stopping in! I promise to have something creative to share this weekend! ;)

Glue Glider.....gotta have it!

2008-11-30T14:58:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! Happy Sunday to you......anybody out there still shopping? :) I have to share something totally cool with you that I just ordered.....it's called the Glue Glider and I found it at Joan's Gardens. It's like the ATG tape gun only much much smaller! LIke 1/2 the size and 1/2 the weight!!!! You must go look at it. She is having a buy one get one free sale until tomorrow!! She is offering it for 12.99. So you get TWO gliders for 12.99 plus shipping. The refills are 7.99 right now. This is a fraction of what the ATG costs! Sharon and Jerri both have it. If you click on their names it will take you to their testimonials. I can't wait to get mine. I have been wanting an ATG gun ever since I saw it demonstrated on Chic N' Scratch! So I am so excited. Just had to share!! Have a wonderful Sunday!

Hot-linking....And a journal jar...

2008-11-27T22:02:00.007-05:00

Hey all! Hope you all had a fun time shopping today! (if you went out). I was out briefly this morning and it wasn't too bad where I went. I didn't buy much, just some fleece to make one blanket! But I didn't try to brave the malls or the huge "box stores" as they call them in Vermont. When we moved here and heard that term we were like, "what are box stores???" Well people here refer to Best Buy, Staples, Toys R Us, Circuit City, Bath and Body Works as "box stores." I am not sure why....maybe it's because they are all shaped like big boxes!! I had never heard them called that before we moved here! LOL Thought that was funny.

So there's been A LOT of posting recently about "hot-linking." Have you heard of this? Here and here and here and here are some posts on the subject. Julie Ebersole and Kristina Werner have valuable information on their blogs. Those are the links I just provided. Please check them out. I wasn't aware of it....

So on to my project! I am so happy with how this Journal Jar turned out! This one will be for my daughter's teacher (1st grade). I absolutely LOVE this idea. I hadn't seen one before and it's easy, fast, inexpensive, and super cute! Here is the jar I saw that inspired me to make my own. I just love Nicole's blog! So many wonderful creations!

This glass jar came from Michaels. It is approximately 4 inches tall and the top is approximately 4 inches in diameter. I used a combination of my Cricut Mini Monograms Cartridge, my purple Marvy Scallop Circle Punch, regular circle punches, and my Cuttlebug Scallop Circle Dies to make all the layers. The ribbon came from MIchaels as well. It has a satin feel to it.The little strips of paper inside the jar are individual questions that you or an interviewer might ask a teacher. They were made using my computer and printer. I can email you my list if you are interested in making one of your own. I used the list Nicole provided but I also added two more pages of questions that I found on the internet when I googled "questions to ask a teacher." First I cut them out into strips and then I curled them with my bone folder, just like curling ribbon! Instead of using a butter knife or scissors, I used my bone folder because I was afraid of tearing the paper.

The top was made with my purple Marvy Scallop Circle Punch and my Cricut Mini Monograms Cartridge. I inked the edges of the scallops using a makeup sponge and Close to Cocoa ink. The apple image is stamped using VersaColor black ink and then embossed with Clear Detail Embossing Powder. I then colored the apples with my Prismacolor Markers. I added a little white from a gel pen on the highlight of the apple.The sentiment is from Hero Arts. It is one long sentence but I wanted to break it up into two lines so I used my Stampa-ma-jig for placement. I decided to use this sentiment since the journal jar is meant to be used on a daily basis, and hopefully the questions in the jar will help the teacher document her career over the years. The small medallion on the front of the jar was made using my Cricut (same cartridge), my Cuttlebug Scallop Circle Dies, and regular circle punches. There are some dimensionals in between two of the layers. I love that look!

If you'd like to make one for your child's teacher, and wish to use the questions I cut out, please let me know and I will email you the word document. It's a really cool project and one that I really enjoyed making! If you have any questions please let me know! Thanks for stopping by!!

Some pics...and new music

2008-11-27T22:02:00.005-05:00

You like the new music? I love Christmas music and today after all of our traditions, I decided to come down and make a new playlist with just holiday music. I could sit here and listen to it all day! Of course if you don't like it you can hit stop on the player. ;)

Today was a great day! We ate like piggies and then played some family games and then called the family down in Florida and the phone was passed around the room here and down there. We even got some snow flurries while we sat an ate! In case you didn't know; I LOVE SNOW! LOL You'll be seeing lots of snow pictures this winter!

I tried to create something tonight but I was having too much fun listening to the Christmas music! I did make up these journal jars the other night for my younger kids' teachers this year. I saw the idea on Nicole Heady's blog. I thought it was an awesome idea!! I found two small jars and two baskets at Michaels and I got two sketch books from Ben Franklin. (Michaels carries the same kind.) I will also add a pen, a small datebook that I found at Michaels, a bookmark and maybe some notecards for each teacher. This is the first year actually that I will make something for their teachers. The teachers always send a note home before Christmas asking parents not to buy gifts for them, but when I saw these jars I couldn't resist making them. I have printed out the journaling questions and cut them into strips and have curled them. I used the list found on Nicole's blog but I also found other questions on the internet; questions that teachers would be asked during a job interview. My little jars are crammed with curled up strips of paper! LOL I had to smoosh them down a little as I filled the jars so that all of them would fit. LOL. I haven't decorated the outside of the jars yet, that's why I haven't posted pictures. The jars are cute though without decoration! :) I will post them this weekend....

Anyway, I just have a couple of pictures to share with you. First is my Jazz.....he hates his picture being taken. I opened my camera in another room because as soon as he hears the lens pop out (a little mechanical noise) he goes running and hides wherever he can! So I snuck up on him! He looked up at me and then I snapped the picture. Well he looked away to get up off the floor and that's the picture I ended up with! Crazy dog! Yes that is my vacuum and my shampooer behind him! LOL

Then there's Hershey. He is so photogenic and loves his picture being taken. He looked at me before he started to walk away and when he saw the camera in front of my face, he sat down for me! LOL. I wish Jazz would do this!!!! Little stinker! Hershey is a Shitzu-Poodle mix. He used to be very dark brown like chocolate; hence the name. But then he lightened up and now he looks like caramel!Then there's Jared carving the turkey...........look how interested our son looks! LOLAnd last but not least, are the pies! I tried to take a picture before Katie cut into them, but I missed my opportunity! The one on the left is a 4-berry pie! YUM!! Looks sloppy but it's oh so good! LOL.Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Anyone getting up at o-dark thirty to go shopping???? I am taking Katie early, like 7:30, to Joann's. She wants to get some big thread holder display thingie. That's as early as I am getting out the door! So I will close for now.....sorry this is so long! LOL. Have a great night; happy shopping and stamping!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2008-11-27T10:16:00.002-05:00

Good morning! Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I can't believe today is here already; seems like yesterday I was eating turkey! LOL. I have had my turkey in the fridge for 5 days now, and this morning, I pulled it out and he's still somewhat frozen! I couldn't get the neck out and the gizzards out of the cavity. So now he sits in water.........and we wait......lol

Meanwhile I am going through all my blog updates. I have signed up for so many newsletters that it takes me a good 2 hours to view them all! That's okay though, I love it! I also had to check out the SU sale that's been so excitedly talked about! I plan on ordering some things but I also want to take advantage of the sale at JustRite stamps that I shared with you earlier. It's so hard to pick a starter set though; I love them all!

This year I have much to be thankful for. First, my family. We are healthy, we have a roof over our head, we have food on the table and we have each other! After two major surgeries in the family this year, we are grateful that we are all healthy now. In case you are new to my blog, I had emergency surgery at the end of March to remove my gall bladder. And my 9 year old son had emergency surgery just a few weeks later to remove his appendix! Not a fun spring this year! But we are all recovered and back to normal; whatever that might be! LOL.

I am also grateful that we both have jobs! So many people we know lost their jobs recently and I can only imagine what that must feel like just before the holidays!

Of course I am grateful for all the little things in my life and my beloved dogs, but I am so lucky to have the relationships that have with my family and close friends. I have made a few very close friends this year and it's been wonderful. And I feel this year, my family is a much tighter unit; it's awesome. So many of our friends have "lost everything"; their homes, their wives or husbands, children, pets, jobs..... We feel so lucky to have each other.

My thoughts are with those of you who have lost something close to you this year; whether that be a loved one, a pet, or an income. This time of year makes us think of those things much more and it's extremely hard during the holidays. I miss my parents all the time but the holidays are hard. I just count my blessings, which are many, and focus on the positive things that we have encountered this year. I always say to myself when I am feeling sorry for myself, "someone out there has it worse than me....." And it's true! So I count my blessings and thank GOD for all those things that I might take for granted!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! Have a happy, healthy, and safe holiday!!!! Thanks for stopping by today!

Christmas Planner.....Just a Peek!

2008-11-23T16:15:00.004-05:00

Hi all! Hope you're having a great Sunday! Today I've been working on my Christmas Planner. I'm just showing you a little of it since I don't have it done. lol. The book itself is a sketch journal from the art section at Michaels or Ben Franklin. It measures about 8" x 6". It has a hard faux leather cover and is spiral bound. I believe I paid about 6 dollars for it. The paper inside isn't lined.

The stamp I used on the cover is from Inkadinkado. It is SO cute. I just love that fat little bird! The bird is really what made me buy the stamp. LOL I stamped it with VersaColor Black and then embossed it with clear detail EP. Then I colored it with my Prismacolor Markers and shaded the edges with a sponge and light blue ink from one of my Marvy Matchable pads. I layered with old olive cardstock, and patterned paper from KaiserScrapbook. I used my new Martha Stewart border punch along the bottom. The ribbon is from Michaels. The whole piece is adhered with square pop dots.

I took both covers off before I did anything to the front. I wanted to cover all of the black faux leather stuff. First I laid the cover down on the cardstock and with a pencil marked the holes. Then I trimmed the cardstock to allow for 1 inch excess all the way around. I adhered the green cardstock with Perfect Paper Adhesive and a 1 inch foam brush. I allowed this to dry and then started the image. Once it was dry, I turned the cover over so I could see the holes and then using my crop o dile, I re-punched the holes into the green cardstock. I layered the cover with old olive and then the pattern paper from KaiserScrapbook. And finally my stamped image.
The inside of the front cover is also adhered with PPA. I cut this paper to allow for 1/8" border all the way around so the green cardstock would show. I again covered up the holes with the paper so when it was dry, I flipped the cover over so I could see the holes again (from the front side) and then re-punched the holes. Then I put the covers back on the book.
This little snowman is from Inkadinkado as well. I stamped him, embossed him, and colored him in with my Prismacolor markers. I added the light blue ink to the edges as well.
You can see in the picture above a calendar peeking from the right side. I made that up in my computer. (the grid and month part) and then I stamped all the numbers. I stamped some images to coordinate with the month of November and colored them in the same as the snowman. I wish I had smaller numbers to use but I didn't. And I didn't feel like typing them in when I made the month template; I don't know why.... But I'm not showing you the calendar part because I'm not done with it. LOL I will show you more of the book as I complete more of it. :) So far, I like how it's turning out and it's fun to make.
Thanks for stopping by! Check in again to see more of my Christmas Planner!

Happy Saturday! A few things to share...

2008-11-22T12:06:00.002-05:00

Hi All! Hope you are all having a nice Saturday so far! I have been cleaning this morning because Lauren has a friend coming over from school at 1 o'clock. But I am taking a brief break so I can share a few things....

First if you don't know about JustRite stamps, or you do and you haven't purchased any yet, now is the time to do it! They are having a buy one get one free sale until Nov. 30th. Click here and check it out! I have been dying to get some of these stamps!

Next, did you know that the Cuttlebug and the Stampin Up's Top Note Die can be used together??? I didn't know that, and I asked Angie over at Chic N Scratch and she wasn't positive so I did a search on SCS and I found this thread! I want one of those dies but I didn't want to buy the Sizzix machine! I think I might try my friend's first in my CB and see how it comes out.

Next, Krissy at Hanna Stamps lost her dad this week and her story really touched me since I lost both my parents and I sent her an email. Read her story here and I'm sure she'd appreciate some more cyber hugs....

And I know there was something else I wanted to share but now I can't remember. LOL. I will be back later and I am going to try to make something when I have a chance today! Thanks for checking in! See you soon!

I re-posted a tutorial

2008-11-18T19:06:00.002-05:00

I guys! I wanted to let you know that I re-posted the tutorial for the Countdown to Christmas Box. Click here to view it, if you would like! :) I had offered it as a class last month so I took it off temporarily but since that time has passed I put it back on.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful night!

Making video tutorials...

2008-11-17T19:06:00.002-05:00

Good Monday night to you! Hope you all had a great weekend! I was sick with a nasty cold all weekend, but I did manage to make a video tutorial for the recipe portfolio!!! Woohoo!! It has pictures and subtitles and cool effects and credits...........Do you see it in the list under tutorials?????? NO! You know why???? Because I can't upload the stinkin' thing! OMG. I don't know about you but when I can't figure something out on my computer, I get really frustrated!! I usually will keep at it for hours on end until I figure it out. Well not this time! LOL. The video needs to be converted to a different type of file in order to upload to veoh or you tube, so I downloaded a program that is supposed to convert files like that. Well, the program that I downloaded won't import the type of file that the video is so that I can convert it!!!!!!!!!! How stupid is that?? So in order to convert the movie so veoh accepts it, I have to convert it to a different file so the conversion program will convert it! That doesn't make any sense! So I give up unless someone out there can explain to me how to do it! LOL Anybody know? :)

So I am going to type out a tutorial right now and post it on another post. So here I go..........off to type it up... lol

I haven't forgotten...

2008-11-15T12:35:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone! Sorry about not posting this week. I was so busy at work and I am so tired when I get home. And I have caught a nasty cold! I feel awful! But it doesn't take much energy to sit at my computer with my feet on my desk and my keyboard in my lap! LOL. I am planning to make a video today showing you how to make the recipe portfolio. So check back later for that!

Are you getting any Christmas shopping done yet? I have been doing most of my shopping online this year and am almost done. This is the first time since I've had kids that I have started this early! But I am determined to stay away from the mall this year! LOL. I have only had to make one trip there so far.

I plan on getting myself some things as well ! LOL I am in love with JustRite stamps and want to get a starter set soon. And I want some more Prismacolor Markers. What are you dying to have? I"d love to get more ideas on things I need! ROFL!!

Thanks for checking in!!! Have a wonderful day! Leave me a comment with your wish list; I'd love to see it!

Webcam and Microphone all set up!

2008-11-11T16:55:00.002-05:00

Hi!!! I am so excited to tell you that I have my webcam and microphone set up!!! Yayyyy!!! I can't wait to do my first tutorial!!! I think the first one will be the recipe portfolio. I know a couple of you have asked for it. So that will be coming. I might be able to get back online and do it after dinner.

Hey I added the logo "stamping top 50" to my blog and I am excited to see that right now it's at 103!! I couldn't believe it when I saw it the first time. I thought it had to be mistaken. LOL. So thank you for visiting me and making that possible!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful night!!!!! Talk to you soon!

Hi All! Friend coming over....

2008-11-10T18:28:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to say hey! I have a friend coming over to "play" tonight! So excited! We went shopping earlier today so now we have to try out our new stuff! LOL. I will post whatever it is we make.

I did dig out my webcam today and I am going to figure out how to do some video tutorials. I am off work tomorrow and I have to go find a microphone, cuz my puter doesn't have one built in and then try it out! I also have a video camera but I need another cord I think to make that one transfer over to my computer. Anybody have any clue about that? It's an older camera so it doesn't have a USB port on it. It has a S-Video connection so somehow I can get movies onto my computer with that. I know I've done it before about 4 years ago but one of my dogs chewed through that cord a few years back! Stinkin' dog! LOL

Anyway, check back later tonight or tomorrow morning and I will have something posted. Thanks for stopping by! Have a great night!

My Recipe Portfolio is done! Look-see!!

2008-11-08T16:55:00.005-05:00

Having a nice Saturday evening? It's been dreary here today. But I did finish my project!! Yay!! Like I said in my earlier post today, Lauren Meader made this and I saw it on her blog recently. I absolutely loved it and had to figure out how to make it. She said she was going to post directions but I am impatient! LOL So here's mine!The base of the card is cardstock (SU old olive) and the decorative border is double sided paper from KaiserScrapbook, made in Australia. I found it at my local craft store. I punched the border with a corner punch with the guard removed. Underneath the patterned paper is a small piece of vanilla cardstock punched the same way. I felt that the vanilla color made the pattern paper "pop" off the green. The words holiday recipes was stamped using my Stamp-a-majig and individual letters. I searched my stamp stash first for words and didn't like my options. The bow is like a velvety feeling cord. You can see from the side view below that I have eyelets set in the cardstock with the cord pulled through. They are little holly leaf eyelets.My portfolio was made with Christmas baking in mind. I don't know about you but I love the holidays and all the baking I get to do! :) So each category stands for something you'd bake for Christmas; cookies, cakes, breads, pies, bars & squares, and breakfast & brunch. There are 6 pockets and each pocket holds 5 recipe cards. I struggled with ideas for making the cards. I tried different stamps I have and didn't like any of the options...So instead of going and buying more stamps, which I could have done, (hahaha) I chose to use my computer. I used the Gigi font and just made a text box with a dotted border and then typed in what I wanted on the card. I printed several pages before I got the size right. Then I made a dotted circle for the titles. They are 1" in diameter and then I used my various sized circle punches for the layers.The pockets are decorative paper matching the one I used on the cover. The strip across the top is paper, not ribbon.

Here's what the pockets look like with no cards in them. (picture above) And in the picture below, you see what it looks like partially folded.

And below you see it completely unfolded. I really liked this project. Fun to make and like Lauren said they would make great gifts! Thanks for looking!! What do you think??

Recipe Portfolio

2008-11-08T12:51:00.003-05:00

Happy Saturday~ Recently I saw a recipe holder that Lauren Meader made and she called it her Recipe Wrap. It is awesome!! I love her blog! And I love her creations!! Check out her other "stuff" here. Well...... she is going to post instructions soon but I had to figure out how to do it myself since I am impatient and I couldn't wait to make one! LOL. So I have been working on it during the week and am almost done with it. (I'm not claiming the design as my own; I just figured out how to make one by looking at her pictures) It's been a fun process trying to figure out the size and measurements. And it's been a lot of trial and error! I will be finishing it and posting my portfolio this weekend and can't wait to show you! Hope you're having a great weekend so far!! Thanks for stopping by!

Autumn Moo Cow

2008-11-01T15:52:00.005-04:00

Happy Saturday! Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! I wanted to share a card that I started during the week and just finished today. That's what happens when there aren't enough hours in a day! Things get set aside all the time around here! LOLI started my card with the cow. He is from Stampabilities. I stamped him on whisper white cardstock with Versacolor black ink. I then heat embossed it with clear detail embossing powder and my heat gun. I then colored him with my new Prismacolor Markers. I used Light Umber, Sand, Golden Rod, and Peach. Once he was colored in, I heat embossed him with the clear detail EP again making sure that I didn't go outside the lines with my Versamark Marker. Just to be sure he was completely covered I did this step twice. Then I got out my Marvy Matchables ink pads and my brayer and sponges and went to town. I used Salvia Blue, Light Blue, Prussian Blue, Dark Brown, Light Green, Turquoise, and Green. I started with the lightest blue and my brayer and progressed to the darkest blue using the brayered sky technique. Then I did the grass using the same technique. I used a torn piece of paper and a sponge to do the grassy hills. The grass is a stamp from Impress Rubber Stamps. Once I was happy with how this looked then I punched the corners with my ticket corner punch from SU and mounted it on creamy caramel cardstock from SU. I distressed the edges with my distressing tool from making memories. Then I mounted that to really rust cardstock from SU and distressed the edges again. I added copper brads to each corner. Then I moved on to my tree. The tree is from Hero Arts. I stamped it with the versacolor black inkpad and heat embossed it with clear detail EP. Then I used my Prismacolor markers to color in the trunk and leaves. I used Poppy Red, True Green, Spanish Orange, LIght Umber, Sand, Crimson Red, Dark Green and Golden Rod. Once it was completely colored in, I used my versmark marker and heat embossed the whole thing with clear detail EP. Once I was done with that, I grabbed my brayer again and marvy matchables ink pads in Salvia Blue, Light Blue, and Prussian Blue to do the sky. The grass was done with Light green, Turquoise, and Green. I used the torn paper again to do the grassy hills. I used a green staedtler marker to hand draw some grass here and there. I mounted the tree to the same cardstock colors as the cow, punched the corners and added copper brads. Then i grabbed another piece of white cardstock and stamped another tree. I did the same process to color it as before but this time I picked a section I liked and cut it out. I added this to the card between the tree panel and the cow panel. I thought this would tie the two elements together. Once I put these three pieces together, I adhered the entire thing to a large piece of creamy caramel that I embossed in my Cuttlebug. After that was put together, I attached it to my card base which is chocolate.Here is the finished card! I like how it turned out. Very colorful and vibrant in person. What do you think? Thanks for stopping by! If you have any questions please let me know!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T21:34:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! Had a fun night of trick or treating with the kids and my friend and her baby! We live in a great development with a 1 mile circle loop and a couple of side streets with cul-de-sacs. We live in one of the only true "neighborhoods" where the houses aren't on large lots or acres. Most of the houses have their land or acreage in the rear of the house with maybe 100 yards or so in between each house. So it makes for great trick or treating and the kids can run from house to house. With that being said.........just about all the residents with little kids in my little town bring their kids to our neighborhood because they either live on farms with no neighbors or they live where the neighbors are like a block away! LOL. So we usually get about 250+ kids running through here. People park their cars at one of the two entrances and then walk around the mile loop. You usually see about 20-30 cars at each entrance. Sometimes you see trucks pulling flatbed trailers with about 20 kids riding in it and the truck just drives through the neighborhood stopping at each house and the kids all jump off and run to everyone's house! I remember the first year we lived here (coming from apartment living in California where we had no trick or treaters) I just about died when I saw the first truck load of kids running down my driveway! LOL What a riot that was! We buy about 10 bags of candy each year and we always run out before all the kids have left our neighborhood! It seems like every year the number of kids coming through gets higher and higher! LOL. When the weather is bad or cold, it doesn't stop the trick or treaters! The parents just drive their cars or mini vans and in front of every house, you see the car door fly open and kids run out, get candy, and get back in the car! It's pretty funny. I've never seen so many kids on one street! What usually takes about 20 minutes to walk around the block, Halloween takes more than an hour.
Since we've accumulated 4 dogs over the years who are barkers (and our biggest is the watchdog), we lock them in my office in the basement and turn on music really loud so they can't hear the kids or the knocking on the door constantly. It's so funny. When we let them out, they run around the house all crazy and then run around the yard with their noses to the ground! It really is a fun night, to say the least. Jared was an army man, wearing daddy's uniform and his bullet proof vest which weighs a ton to a little kid! But he wore it the entire time! I dragged the wagon along with us in case he wanted to take it off halfway around the block. Lauren was a bat. A nice fuzzy bat with a pink belly and purple face on the hood. So cute.
Anyway just wanted to share our night and wish you all a safe and Happy Halloween! Hope you are all having a great time and enjoying all the costumes! We saw some pretty crazy ones! LOL
Thanks for stopping by! I will have some cards and projects to post this weekend!
Lots of hugs,
Rachel

Tutorial for Snowman Card Box

2008-10-27T15:28:00.015-04:00

Happy Monday Y'all! Had some errands to run and totally forgot that I was supposed to post the directions to the snowman box! I am so sorry! DUH! LOL. There are LOTS of pictures in this tutorial so that hopefully it makes sense. I don't have my webcam set up yet to do videos so I have to take a ton of pictures and catch each step. Now just to re-iterate, the original box for 6x3" cards came from Kiyomi and I posted her link in my first post here. You can see her box and her video. The box I made is for standard size cards but I follow her same basic instructions on how to put the box together. Thanks Kiyomi for your wonderful ideas!!! ;) Okay so on to the tutorial....

Cut a piece of 12x12 Cardstock to 7-3/4 x 12". Set the extra piece aside, you will use this later to make the belly band.

Using a Scor-Pal, line the short end of the cardstock against the left side of the Scor-Pal and score at 1". (If you don't have a Scor-Pal, use your method of choice to make the score marks). 5-1/2", 6-1/2", and 11".

FOR SCOR-PAL USERS: Turn the paper so the long side is against the left side of the Scor-Pal and score at 1". Now slide the cardstock toward the right side 1/4". That would be the second line from the left side. Now score at 7".

FOR NON SCOR-PAL USERS: Score at 1" and 6-3/4".

Now to make the cuts:

On the LONG side of the cardstock make 1 inch cuts on EACH score line only up to the perpendicular score line. Do the same thing on the opposite long side. Make an additional angled cut at the left edge by trimming just a hair off, the 5-1/2" line, and the right edge. These slight cuts make assembly much cleaner and straighter.

Decide which side you want the top to be and make a small x on it. On that same side, use your circle punch to make a half moon cut on the edge so that the box can easily open with your thumb.

I used a 1" circle punch and you just slide your paper in halfway and punch.

Next, attach your decorative piece of paper to the top. This piece should be cut to

4-1/4" x 5-1/2". (Not pictured)

Important: Now flip your paper over so the X is not visible and it's facing the table.

Fold up the "tabs" that your previous cuts just made. Flatten them against the cardstock when you fold them up. This is where you place your adhesive (on the side facing up). I use double sided tape. It holds very well! I cover the entire tab with tape. Cover all 6 tabs and begin to assemble your box. I start with the bottom of the box, making sure to line up the top edges. Make sure your tabs are stuck inside the box so they are not visible. If you put your adhesive in the right spots your tabs can only get stuck on the inside anyway. LOL Below is the top of the box. I haven't added the decorative piece yet.

Now you can do the belly band. Cut the leftover piece of cardstock that you aside at the beginning. You need two pieces each cut to 2"x9". Hold one piece against the box with the short edge aligned with the top of the box.

Now slide your thumb and forefinger down the box along the strip and pinch the strip where the edge of the box is, as shown below.This will make a nice crease right in the right spot. Now turn the box slightly so that you can crease the next edge, as shown below.Set this piece aside and do the same thing to the other strip of cardstock.

Once you have them both creased well, you need to attach them together. This is how they will stick together....each short flap is attached to the INSIDE of each long flap. So that all you see on the outside of the box are long flaps. The short ends will be hidden. Place adhesive on the short sides as shown below.

When sticking the two strips together, take the edge of one LONG side and lay it down on the SHORT side of the other strip. Be sure to come just short of the first crease. Don't line the edge and crease up perfectly. You need about 1/16" of an inch space between the crease of one strip and the edge of the other strip, as shown below. My two strips are adjoined at the crease on the right and there is the slightest amount of space right there. This allows a little extra room in the band so that it slips on an off the box easily. Attach the other end the same way.

And voila, you have a belly band and your completed box. Decorate as you wish! :) Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful night!

Stationery Box ~ Class

2008-10-26T20:39:00.004-04:00

This class will be offered on November 30th from 1pm-3pm at Stamp On It in Essex Junction. Class fee is $25. You will leave with a completed box including everything that goes inside: a small address book, tags, notecards, standard cards, a decorated pen, and a lid that holds everything inside and the box closed! **NOTE**The colors used will be different than the box shown in these pictures. Please call 872-0877 to reserve your seat!

Countdown to Christmas Box ~ Class

2008-10-26T20:25:00.005-04:00

This class will be offered November 10th from 11am-1pm, at Stamp On It in Essex Junction. Class fee is $20. You will leave with a decorated wooden box with a complete set of numbers. Please call 872-0877 to reserve your seat!

**If you happened to notice that one of the letters is upside down, please be assured that this has been fixed.**

Good Saturday Morning to You!

2008-10-25T11:13:00.002-04:00

Well, as you might be able to tell, I made some color changes last night to my blog. Just the link colors, the text color, the title color.........that sort of thing. And put my blog name and description up at the top in the picture. I love changing things.......keeps it fun! Anyway, today I am going to our BIG fall craft fair in Essex Junction. Ohhh I can't wait. I love this time of year when craft fairs are going on almost every weekend. This fair usually has over 400 crafters and vendors. Lately though it's been smaller so I don't know what to expect this year. I will let you know! I can't wait to find some more dichroic (sp?) glass. I love to get the pendants and the earrings.
I found a blog last night that just blew me away. Not just for the beautiful cards and projects she makes but for the kind of person she is. She is a foster mom. She has grown children of her own and grandchildren and now she takes in newborns and infants who need loving environments. I read her latest story and it struck me because the parents of the babies are both in the military and are BOTH leaving for a year up to 14 months to serve their country. They chose Barb and her husband Bill to care for their children while they are gone; twin infants and a toddler! Read their story...it just blew me away. Their generous hearts really touched me..... Here is their story. Then read this link, and this one, and this one. It will describe the process of getting their house ready and tells a little about the family.
Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the fall weather!

Pumpkins in the Night

2008-10-20T20:41:00.003-04:00

Oh I have to say first that I love these new markers!!!!!!!! Super easy and fun and really awesome! LOL I only got to color the pumpkins for this card but that's okay. I need to practice with all the colors. I only used two colors, a yellow and an orange.

Supplies used:

Memories Dye Inkpad Black for swirls

Versacolor black to stamp the pumpkins and then emboss with clear detail EP

Marvy Matchables in Prussion Blue, LT. Blue, Salvia Blue,Turquoise, Green and Dark Brown.

Versamark Marker for pumpkins

Brads, brayer, corner punch for border, scissors, white gel pen, ticket corner punch.

I will post complete instructions tomorrow but wanted to share this with you all because I was so excited to use my markers! Have a great night!

Happy Monday! Prismacolor Markers

2008-10-20T15:09:00.004-04:00

Hi guys! How was your weekend? I checked out a small craft fair with my oldest daughter (gearing her up to do it next year) and today (which is still my weekend) I went to Michaels. I had a cricut cartridge that I've been holding on to for a long time still unopened and I finally decided I was going to take it back. I knew that if/when I decided to use it, it could be months or even years from now! LOL So instead (since I didn't have my receipt) I picked myself up some Prismacolor markers!!!!! Woohoo! I can't wait to try them out! I had read Michelle Zindorf's question and answer page and almost at the bottom of the page, someone asked her why she used Prismacolor markers instead of Copic and then she provided a link to a video tutorial on how to use them. Along with her answer and watching the video I decided I would try Prisma instead. Here's Michelle's q&a and also the link to the tutorial. At the bottom of the Prismacolor page are 4 links to videos and you want to click on the 3rd one. I was convinced to try them out. I found a website last night who sold them for 1.99 each! Here is that link. If you purchase 24 or more markers they go down to 1.89 each! That's the cheapest I have seen them online. I know Michaels carries them for 3.99 each and so does Dick Blick online. If you know of another site who sells them this inexpensively, please leave me a note. Thanks!

So I am going to go color now! :) I will post some pics later! Thanks for stopping by!!

Card Boxes

2008-10-18T08:46:00.007-04:00

I found this great template and tutorial at KiyomiKrafts, and thought I would make some myself. I love this template and I figured out how to adapt it to make different sizes! This box was made using her dimensions. This stamp is from Stampendous. I love Fluffles the Cat! He is so cute! He is colored with Staedler markers and blended with my dove blender. He is mounted on light blue cardstock and then adhered with dimensionals to the belly band. I added three buttons on the opposite end that match the colors of the designer paper. And this is a box I came up with for standard sizse cards using the same basic tutorial. I don't know if someone else has already come up with these dimensions, so I apologize if I am stepping on anyone's toes! :) The snowman is from a Hero Arts acrylic set. I did a little bit of paper piecing with his hat and gloves. I am suffering with the flu right now. I thought I could sit here at my computer and catch up but I don't feel very well, so I am off to bed again! I will post dimensions to my box when I feel better! Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend.

Countdown to Christmas Box and Tutorial in Previous Post

2008-10-13T11:45:00.004-04:00

Countdown to Christmas Tutorial!

2008-10-13T07:53:00.015-04:00

This tutorial was typed up a couple of weeks ago but since the class I had has passed, now I can put it on my blog! :)

So on to the project. I made this Countdown to Christmas box after seeing all the wonderful creations at SCS. Here and here are the galleries. I read in a few uploads that storing the unused numbers can be challenging. So I came up with this wooden box from Michaels! I happened to have two of them that I bought months ago, intending to use it but didn't know what for! Well, when I saw those calendars and countdowns, the boxes were screaming at me! LOL Here is what you will need:

3 different colored cardstock/patterned paper (I used 8.5 x 11 cs)

1"foam brush

Sanding block

Diamond glaze or Crystal Effects (SU)

Decorative edge punch (I used a scallop corner punch and took off the guide so I could make a border) OR decorative scissors

Cricut cartridge Christmas Cheer (this makes the lightbulbs. If you don't have a cricut or this cartridge, you could use purchased diecuts)

Cuttlebug embossing plate Swiss Dots

Small Alphabet Stamps (I used Image Tree lower case brush letters)

Small numbers set (I used Image Tree brush numbers)

Christmas stamp (mine is from a Hero Arts set)

1" chipboard circle (optional)

Bone Folder

Wooden box from hobby storeThese adhesives plus dimensionals. Perfect Paper Adhesive, Crafters Pick The Ultimate, Zig 2-way glue with a chisel tip, mono adhesive.

I used this inkpad. And these magnets. I bought this roll from Michaels for less than $5.00. It's sticky on one side.Circle punches ranging from 5/8" to 1-1/8". These are from EK Success.Here we go:

When giving cardstock sizes, I will refer to the colors I used on my box, just to make it easier to understand.

Cut dark blue cs to 8-1/4" x 3-3/4" and 4-1/4" x 3-3/4"

The larger piece is for the front and sides of the box. The smaller piece is for the back only (no sides).

Adhere the larger piece, using a small amount of the Perfect Paper Adhesive and the foam brush. It's best to lightly dampen the brush first with water. Do not soak the brush! (I noticed with mine that the initial amount of glue soaked into the wood, so I applied a thin second layer.) Lay the box on it's side, brush the glue on the box on the side facing you. Lay your piece of cardstock on the box lining up all the edges and using a bone folder flatten the cardstock to smooth any bumps or bubbles. Now lay the box on its back, and place glue on the front in the same manner. Smooth the cardstock over the front of the box. Turn the box so the uncovered side is facing you. Place glue on that side and smooth the cardstock over it.

Leave the box alone for a little while and allow it to dry, about 30 minutes. Once it's dry, sand the edges a little, especially where the sides meet the back. You want this edge to be smooth before you adhere the cardstock on the back. Once you complete that, adhere the back piece in the same manner as before and sand the edges where the two pieces of cardstock meet each other being careful not to lift the edges of the previous cardstock you glued down.

Next, cut the light blue piece of cardstock to 4 x 3-1/2". Run this piece through your Cuttlebug then center and adhere it to the front of the box using your mono adhesive. You could also use double sided tape.

Next comes the decorative square on the front of the box.Cut a red piece of cardstock to 2-1/2" x 2-1/4".

Dark blue to 2-3/8" x 2-1/8"

Light blue to 2-1/4" x 2".

Use your ticket corner punch (not pictured) and punch each corner of each piece of cs. If you don't have one, use any corner punch that you like.

Adhere them together in the following way:

Center the dark blue piece of cardstock on the red piece and adhere them together using your mono adhesive. Set aside. Next, cut two pieces of the magnet about 1 inch long. Stick them to the back of the light blue piece of cardstock in the CENTER. Then put dimensionals all the way around the edges of the cs. Center this piece on the dark blue piece of cardstock. Next put dimensionals on the back of this whole piece and center it on the box.

Next cut a white piece of carstock to 8-1/4 x 1-1/2". This is for the trim of the box. Make the decorative edge using your chosen tool. I then trimmed the other long side so that when I adhered the strip to the box, it would only hang down about 5/8". Stick dimensionals along the straight side of the strip, OR place dimesionals along the top edge of the box and stick the strip on.

Next I stamped the letters on the white cardstock leaving plenty of space in between each letter so I could punch them out with the 5/8" circle punch. The red circles are punched with the 3/4" circle. They are adhered together with the Zig pen.

Oh I forgot you have to do the handle. All I did for that, was lay the box down and trace the curves on the dark blue cardstock and then cut it out with scissors. I adhered it to the box with mono adhesive.

The word "countdown" is mounted on pop dots. I adhered the u first so that it would be centered and then the o and n (which I am just noticing that I put on upside-down!!!!!!!!!!) and then the c and t. OMG I can't believe I did that! LOL.........okay I just fixed it. Whew!

Okay moving on.....the word "down" is also attached with pop dots but the letters overlap slightly. I lined them up first and decided where I wanted them and then attached them.

The word "to" is stamped on white cs, then layered on light blue and dark blue. The size punches I used are, 7/8", 1", and 1-1/8". This is stuck on a 1" chipboard circle for added durability and strength. The chipboard piece is attached to the box with the Ultimate Glue and then the layers are all attached together with the Zig glue pen.

The word "Christmas" is stamped on white cs and then mounted to the dark blue and attached to the box with square pop dots.

Okay on to the lightbulb numbers! I used my cricut on the 1-1/4" setting and I cut out the white lightbulb (background) on the shadow setting. The red part of the bulb is cut on the 1-1/4" setting without the shadow setting, and the grey piece is the accent piece on the same button as the bulb. All pieces are attached together with the Zig glue pen. The fun part is using the Diamond Glaze! There are some tricks to making sure you get no bubbles! First, don't shake the bottle EVER and always "burp" the bottle after each use. To burp the bottle, hold the bottle upright and slightly squeeze the bottle. This releases any air in the tube. Slow and steady squeezing is the key. Tip the bottle over to make contact with the bulb. Slowly squeeze the bottle. DO NOT RELEASE PRESSURE AND RESTART THE PRESSURE. THIS WILL MAKE BUBBLES! Don't worry about the color of the glaze. It does come out cloudy. Move the tip of the bottle down the lightbulb until it is covered. Don't worry it won't spread past the edge of the bulb. It's super cool! If you happen to get a bubble, I use a piercer to poke it and sometimes I have "dragged" my needle through the bubble and it moves over to the edge of the paper and I can get it out that way. They must dry on a flat surface!

Once you have all your bulbs covered, leave them alone for several hours. I typically let them dry overnight. After I am positive they are dry (you can tell they are dry when the entire piece is clear; no more cloudiness left.) You can now attach the magnets to the backs. And viola! You have completed your box! Yay! I will post another picture of the diamond glaze process. I tried to add it to this post, and for some reason I can't. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Gorgeous Fall Pictures!!

2008-10-11T20:46:00.012-04:00

OMG! I was in awe today as I drove around. I went by myself actually and just drove around for about 3 hours. I went to areas I hadn't been before and let me tell you, that was worth it! I drove up to Mount Mansfield, which I had never been. I drove through Smuggler's Notch and into Stowe. I visited Jericho, Westford, Fairfax, Jeffersonville and everything in between those towns! I plan on going out tomorrow again but to some different areas. The colors this year are amazing! The best I have seen in the 7 years we've lived here. Okay, so here they are. I have a lot of pictures. Not sure what I am going to do; make a slide show, or just post some. Anyway, look at these..... The picture above is just a couple of miles from me, on a side road. I just love water in fall scenes!

This is out in Cambridge I think. I get confused still in Vermont! LOL The sun's a little weird in this picture; sorta hazy, but I love the mountains.The pictures below are heading out to Jeffersonville. The speed limit here is 50 mph, so I had to stop, turn around, and stop several times to get these pictures because there were always cars behind me and I couldn't just pull off the road.Isn't that little steeple so cute? I tried to crop this picture to get the Audi out of it, but everything I tried took too much from the picture, so the car had to stay! LOL This is in Jeffersonville.This picture below, is going up the mountain to Smuggler's Notch/Stowe.
Look you can see the ski slopes in the picture below. Sorry about the power lines; can't avoid them in a lot of the pictures. They mess up the pictures though! I was lucky to be able to pull off to the side of the road a lot or onto side streets. There were many times though I just wanted to stop in the middle of the road! LOL I couldn't believe how many tourists were out on the roads! I saw license plates from all over the place! I even saw one from California!In the picture above, I remember seeing a sign, and I think this is considered Westford, but that doesn't make sense to me. Oh well! It's pretty! LOL

The pictures below are on the mountain near Smuggler's Notch/Stowe/Mt. Mansfield. It was absolutely stunning up there. I had never seen anything like it. I want to take the kids there tomorrow. There were these huge boulders as tall as my house that you could climb on and some of them were situated to make caves. It was really cool. I love the bright yellow in this picture!It sure was a lot cooler up here! And my ears kept popping when I was driving up one side and then down the other, and then I turned around and came back up and down the other side. I was having a ball! LOL

Okay the last 5 pictures are below! Hope I didn't bore you! When I got home, I changed into jammies and took a nap! LOL. But I can't wait to venture out tomorrow! Hope you'll check back and see where I went! Thanks for stopping by and visiting me in Vermont!

Some Fall Foliage!

2008-10-10T16:49:00.004-04:00

Today I had some errands to run and just took a few pictures along the way. Tomorrow we are going real leaf peeping and I can get some really amazing pictures! But just wanted to share these; they are really pretty.As I was driving, I would see something that I wanted to take a picture of and I would "ooo and ahhh" at the scenery and my youngest would say to me, "I don't want to go with you when you look at this stuff!" And I would say, "why?" And she would say, "because I don't like your reaction to it; I don't think it's sooooo beautiful!" What a stinker! LOL

These lake pictures are about 5 miles down the road from us and you can boat on it and some people fish from the shore but it's really a dam and so it's not meant for recreation. But it's just beautiful!This one is still in the same area (below). Over to the far right (out of the picture) is the dam. There's a little store and gas station closeby called The Dam Store. LOL
This picture (below) is looking to the far left of the lake. Go up that road about 5 miles and you'll get to my town.
This is a different area (below). This is the area I was stuck in that morning on the way to work and the highway was shut down. Remember that story a little while back? Originally I was on the highway and then I turned around and went down this back road to work. This is alongside the right of the road. So tomorrow, like I said, I will have many more pictures to share. I love this time of year! :) Thanks for checking in! Have a great night!

Leaf Peeping!!!

2008-10-10T10:34:00.004-04:00

Oh I can't wait! I am off until next Wednesday and this weekend the weather is going to be gorgeous, so I am going to be like one of those tourists and go leaf peeping! LOL I am even dragging my husband with me! LOL He can't wait! (just kidding). I am going to take a ton of pictures because last year it was overcast when we went driving around (like the picture on my header) and it drove me crazy! Well this year the color is even better because we got so much rain this summer! I will definitely post pictures this weekend! So be on the lookout! Thanks for stopping by. I have to make a ton of stuff on my days off because Katie and I are amping up for the craft fair next weekend. So you'll see plenty of those pictures as well! Have a wonderful day!

Fall Pictures

2008-10-06T19:38:00.004-04:00

Hi everybody! The craft fair this weekend was "ok". Nothing to brag about that's for sure! It was a disappointment because it wasn't advertised enough and the sign out on the street was so tiny you couldn't see it when you drove by! The craft sale hours weren't condusive to success either. 12pm-3pm. So we made 70 dollars during that time. We have another one coming up this Saturday in another town so we are hoping for better results.

I wanted to share these photos with you......this is a maple tree right outside my bedroom window. It's on the side of the house so you can't see it from the front as you drive by. We have birch and pine in our front yard, so I love this tree! I also changed my header on the blog too. If it were a sunny day, that picture would have been amazing! This week is peak foliage and the weather isn't cooperating on my days off from work! Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny but I am at work all day! My next days off aren't until this weekend. By then the leaves will be falling! So I am going to have to carry my camera with me this week so I will just pull over on the side of the road to take pictures! LOL. Anyway just wanted to share these pics. I am working on an advent calendar and hopefully I will have that done tomorrow night. Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful night!

Tags and Date book for the craft fair

2008-10-05T00:43:00.002-04:00

Katie made these tags for the craft fair tomorrow. She used my cricut to cut the tags from the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge. She added black stitch marks to the border of each tag and she punched out a snowflake and added crystal effects to each of them. I thought they came out rather cute! This poor guy isn't happy! LOL. I love his grumpy face! LOL. He just cracks me up and I love the sentiment........."wine about it! It'll make you feel better." So true isn't it? LOL The wine glass is colored in with watercolor pencils and blended with my dove blender. The cat is colored with two different color markers and blended with my dove blender. Not my best coloring, but hey, cats come in all different colors, right? LOL This by the way, isn't a card......it's one of those date books from Wal-mart that come in a plastic cover.

Okay that's it for tonight! No more pictures! Gotta get to bed now. I will post tomorrow and let you know how we did. We have a ton of other stuff but I don't have pictures of it. Sorry! LOL Hope you all have a wonderful evening!! Thanks for stopping by!

Calendar Cover

2008-10-05T00:38:00.003-04:00

This one isn't a card actually. It's a premade date book that I found at Wal-mart. It is slightly bigger than a checkbook. It came with a plastic cover; pretty cheap! I took the book out of the plastic cover and then covered the book with yellow cardstock. The front and back is made with two separate pieces of cardstock. The back piece is white. I left the staples uncovered that bind the book together.I love this stamp. It's so funny! The mouse is just so pooped from eating all that cheese! LOL. These images are colored with markers and SU blender pens. I love the vivid color!

This is one of the items we are taking to the craft fair tomorrow. Isn't he cute? LOL

Christmas card

2008-10-05T00:29:00.003-04:00

Finally some cards that I made. LOL. This layout came from the current Paper Crafts Magazine. It's an easy and fast one to put together! I like that! LOL I used Christmas paper that Katie and I have been accumulating over the last few years! Yeah we are hoarders too! The red paper has glitter around each of the circles. It's really pretty paper! I made that scalloped border with a corner punch I recently bought and you can take off the corner guide so you can punch borders with it. Pretty cool. The stamped image is from a Hero Arts set.

This layout came from the current issue as well. This was fun. I had to figure out a template for the tree and how big to make it and where to cut it into sections. After that part was done, the card went fairly quickly. The star is adhered with a dimensional, and it's inked around the edges with chalk ink. The ornaments are punched from a 5/8" inch circle punch. I then inked the edges and added the copper brad to each of them. I then adhered them to the tree with glue dots. This card is for the business size envelope, so it's a large card.

Halloween Card

2008-10-05T00:16:00.003-04:00

Isn't this so cute? Katie made this one too! LOL. I love this new Penny Black stamp I got just the other day. I also got a couple of Martha Stewart punches. I love that border punch! Michaels had her Halloween punches on sale last week, so that's when I got that one and the bat and the scaredy cat (which isn't on this card). Katie used watercolor pencils and the dove blender to color in the image. She used chalk ink to age around the image and the sentiment and the card itself.

Halloween Card

2008-10-05T00:13:00.002-04:00

Katie made this one too! This is a standard size card. She used torn strips of white paper which she aged with chalk ink. She had a lot of fun making this one. They are super easy!

Notecards

2008-10-05T00:09:00.003-04:00

Here are couple more that Katie made. 3x3 notecard. She used Hero Arts Stamps, the Cricut to cut out the word friends, she used watercolor pencils and the dove blender to color the cupcake and topped it off with a glitter pen.

Notecards

2008-10-04T23:17:00.005-04:00

Katie and I are doing a craft fair tomorrow and we took several pictures of what we are bringing with us. I thought I would share them with you! I think I am going to separate them in different posts though and not all in the same one. So here goes... this is one that Katie made. It's a 3x3 card. The image is from Hero Arts and all the paper she used is from scraps. She used watercolor pencils and the dove blender. Then she used my glitter pen to add highlights. Friends is cut out using the cricut on the smallest size setting. She used a white gel pen to add stitch marks. Pretty cute!She loves the cupcake cards! Same techniques as the first one.

I've been tagged!

2008-10-04T09:02:00.002-04:00

Okay, little stinker Siobhan, tagged me which means I have to list 7 facts about myself and then tag 7 other people to do the same thing. Here are the rules.

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Okay, so here are my deets....

1. I am deathly afraid of the water; ocean, lakes, pools.......if I can't touch and SEE the bottom then I am not getting in it! That means, no ocean or lake swimming for me! Something about the ocean really freaks me out......the color of the water, I think.......just so dark and scary! LOL Maybe Hawaii or the Caribbean oceans wouldn't scare me with their crystal clear oceans!

2. I don't like the color black especially combined with bugs! LOL Let me explain; when I see a black bug, I can't go near it. This is especially the case with spiders!! I cannot look at spiders on tv or in real life. If I have one in the house, I don't pick it up with tissue, I suck it up with the vacuum and I use the long extension tubes!! I can't look at scorpions, manna rays, or even killer whales on tv. I don't know why they freak me out. Even if they are toys, I can't touch them! I wonder if this fear is related to the water one.....

3. My favorite music is from the 70's and 80's. I love Earth, Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross........just look at my playlist! LOL

4. My favorte food is Japanese, since I am half Japanese!

5. I love to re-arrange my furniture; makes me feel like I've moved! LOL

6. I can drive with my knees. LOL. And I like to put makeup on in the car. LOL

7. I can play the piano; my parents bought me one for my 9th birthday, and it's moved with me everywhere I've gone. I love to sing in my car too! LOL

So that's it. That was hard! I struggled for 7 things! LOL Here are my tag-ees: Kathy, Connie, Shell, Tonya, Bonnie, Becki, Julie.

Thanks for stopping by! Off to make some things......

Fall Card.......4th post for today!!!

2008-09-30T19:45:00.002-04:00

Starting to get in the Fall mood! The leaves are changing here and I think we are going to have an early "peak" this year! I love this time of year! I just love this stamp from Serendipity Stamps. I used Staedler markers and my SU blender pens to color it in. I stamped it on vanilla cardstock by the way. Then I adhered that to Really Rust and then Ruby Red cardstock. The card is made from Kraft cardstock. I added copper brads to each corner. I really like how it turned out! What do you think? Thanks for stopping by!! Have a wonderful night!

Inkadinkado Sympathy Card

2008-09-30T19:34:00.005-04:00

My boss asked me to make her a sympathy card for a friend whose son recently passed away. I looked at sevearl of the sympathy cards on SCS and these two struck me right away. The first one is from stamps4sanity, and the other is from angelladcrockett. I love the nighttime scenes. They are so beautiful. My moon is punched from my 1-1/8" punch. The sky I sponged on with Marvy Matchables Dye based ink pad Prussion Blue. I don't have SU's Night of Navy. I then stamped the birds and then the swirls. I really love how it turned out. I added some clouds in front of the moon because the moon wasn't completely crisp all the way around. This card ended up being 5x7. Luckily I had an envelope that big! Thanks for stopping by!

Purple Haired Witch!

2008-09-30T19:24:00.003-04:00

Okay, I couldn't decide which color hair to use, purple or orange. In the end, I chose purple, with an orange bow! :) My husband doesn't think she's a witch. He called her a female gobblin or something and my 6 year old daughter thought she was an alien! LOL. She's got a wart on her nose! And she has one snaggle tooth. Hubby thought she needed a hat. Well if I added a hat then the card wouldn't be standard size! I saw this candy box from Carole and I loved the eyelashes! So I had to add eyelashes to my witch! And the hair was just haphazard cutting! LOL Pretty funny! The eyes were punched with 1-1/8" and 1-3/8" circle punches. The nose is SU's smaller oval punch. And the wart is a 1/4 inch punch. LOL. Then I added those cute little freckles! The ribbon is from Michaels and has little witch hats on it. I wanted to add bats in her hair but it didn't look right. After I assembled her, I added purple stickles in her hair. Isn't she just gorgeous? LOL

Frankestein!!

2008-09-30T18:59:00.003-04:00

I had to try this Frankenstein that I have been seeing a lot of lately! He is so easy to make with just a couple of punches and scissors! I used the 1-1/8" and 1-3/8" circle punches. I wish I had the grass die cut that akjuda uses on hers but I don't, so I just free handed his hair with scissors. In both of these pictures, I couldn't get the right angle to show that his eyelids and nose are raised with dimensionals. Sorry about that. But they are so fun to make. I crack up laughing every time I see him! LOL Don't you think he's cute?

Prayer Request...

2008-09-27T11:25:00.002-04:00

I came upon this post this morning from Cammie. I don't know the family she is speaking of but when I clicked on the link she provided and saw pictures and read her post, I felt compelled to post her story. (Click on the word "story" in the previous sentence and it will take you directly to Christine's post). She and her husband Caedmon, lost their 13 month old daughter on the 23rd, just 4 days ago, after a very brief and unexpected illness. Her funeral is today, and as I write this post, they along with family and friends, are at her visitation in Texas. Her funeral follows right afterward. I can't even imagine what they are going through.........I was speechless when I read their story. So I am asking those of you reading this post to please pray for her family, and keep them in your thoughts today, and in the days ahead. After the funeral, when all the activity is over, and the visitors have left, is the most silent and painful time. I have buried my brother, both my parents, and both my in-laws. I can't describe what that time is like; it's just devastating and lonely.

Thank you so much for reading this post, and for your friendship. It's amazing to reach so many people with just this little keyboard in front of me. It's during times like this when all your thoughts are greatly appreciated!

My First Bind It All Book!!

2008-09-24T20:56:00.002-04:00

OMG I actually finished a project! LOL. It's my first Bind It All book! I had covered these coasters about a month ago and they sat and sat. I was afraid to use my BIA! LOL. So tonight after work I decided I was going to do something with them. I used my little owl from Hero Arts and stamped him 4 times. I colored them all different colors to match the DP. Then I cut them out and placed them in the centers of three flowers and used one for the "O" in Notes. I love it! LOL So cute! Not so scary that BIA! What do you think? Thanks for stopping by!

Baby Journal #2~Edited on November 2nd, 08

2008-09-23T20:58:00.003-04:00

** Edited November 2nd, 08 ~ I was asked how many sections are in this book and how many pages are in each section.....Sorry I didn't include that info before. There are 12 sections and about 8-9 pages in each section. I changed the amount slightly in certain sections because I knew that I might have more writing in one section versus another. When you make your own, you will know just where to add or subtract pages. :) Thanks so much for the question and your interest! **

Here are a few more pictures of my baby journal and some details about how I made it. I started with an ordinary regular sized composition notebook that you can find in any office supply store, grocery store or discount store. I first covered the entire book including the spine with solid color cardstock. I used a wet glue that I brushed on called Perfect Paper Adhesive. I found this at Michaels. I placed something heavy on top of it and then let it dry overnight. I then covered the cardstock with pattern paper leaving a pink border all the way around. I stamped a bunch of babies with black ink and did the watercoloring technique withe markers and SU blender pens. I LOVE this way of coloring! I then cut them out and cut a piece of coordinating cardstock to adhere along the left side of the book. I adhered the babies and then trimmed around them leaving a 1/8" border of blue/periwinkle showing. I then attached a strip of different pattern paper along the left with two different ribbons. The tabs I stamped using my Making Memories magnetic stamp sets. You can find them here. I used my Stamp-a-majig to center them on the tabs. I liked the idea of using these words versus other ones because someone could use this book starting from birth for several years. It isn't dated with the year or separated by age in any way. So someone could just journal things like when their baby was "naughty" or "discovered" something. I thought it was a cool idea. As you can see, these sets come on different fonts, not all the same font included in one set, so that's kinda cool too. Oh I forgot to mention that the other stamps are from Outline Stamps. I used two different baby ones.
Along the side of the paper where each tab is, there is a 1 1/2" wide strip of pattern paper. I added this under the tab to provide extra strength. The strip is 3 inches wide and it's scored at 1 1/2" and then wrapped around the edge of the paper. This is also glued on with the same wet glue I mentioned earlier. Then I added the tabs using the same glue. I thought it would be cute to have someplace to add the birth announcement, so this is adhered to the inside cover.
I also added a bookmark. The ribbon is sandwiched between two pieces of yellow cardstock and the stamped image is only on one side. The end of the ribbon is attached at the back of the book between the cardstock cover I added and the cover of the book.

So that's it. What do you think? I really like how it came out. Now that I know the measurements and know what I am doing, the next few won't take me so long! LOL Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful night!

Baby Journal

2008-09-22T20:15:00.004-04:00

As promised I finished my baby book today and here are the pictures! Yay! I have to post a few pictures of the process and some dimensions but I don't have time to do that tonight; gotta get up for work! LOL. But this is the finished product, and I am SOOO happy with how it turned out! It only took me like 4 days to complete! But now that one is done I could do more much faster! This started out as an ordinary composition notebook (standard size) and I covered it with DP, cardstock, and ribbon.
All of these divider tabs came from Making Memories Magnetic Stamp Sets. I will post the link to all the supplies tomorrow night after work. I will tell you though this was a lot of fun to make and I can't wait to make one for boys.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful evening and I will see you tomorrow! ;)

Happy Monday Morning!!

2008-09-22T08:27:00.002-04:00

Really? Is there such thing as a happy Monday morning? After sleeping in all weekend, Mondays are really hard for me! I don't like Mondays. However, my store is closed on Mondays so I don't have to get ready for work! Woohoo! LOL. My little ones are off to school and I am getting ready to leave to take my eldest to school downtown. Then I am coming home and finishing a baby book that I have been working on. Right now, I am adhering the tabs in it. I am totally excited at how this is turning out! I wasn't too thrilled when I got parts of the cover on it, but I managed to work through my creative funk! Yay! Don't you hate those days? It's really hard to come up with anything creative on those days. I seem to have more of those than any other!
Anyways, I am going to post those pictures today and then start working on other things for my upcoming craft fairs! Katie and I are doing a few together, so that will be fun!
Thanks for stopping by; check back later today! Have a wonderful day!

Thank you's!!!

2008-09-16T20:31:00.002-04:00

Hi guys! Hope you are having a good night! I am just checking my email and then heading off to bed. But I wanted to say thank you to Connie in Michigan and Pearl in Montana for the beautiful cards they sent recently! I love happy mail! It's so fun to go to the mailbox and find cards with happy little notes in them! :) I love my pen pal group! It's been an awesome addition in my life for the past year+. Thanks ladies for being such wonderful new friends!

I thought I would have finished my baby journal last night but I spent a lot of time coloring the images and didn't get much farther than cutting them out! LOL Maybe I can sit down tomorrow night and get a little farther! We'll see. Hope you have a wonderful evening! Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday Night Live...

2008-09-15T14:22:00.003-04:00

I don't watch the show because I can't possibly stay up that late anymore! You know you're old when you don't count your birthdays anymore, don't look forward to birthdays anymore, have to think for a LONG time when someone asks you how old you are, and bedtime is 9 o'clock!!! That's me! 37 years old and can't stay up for SNL!! LOL But it's great when you wake up in the morning to get the kids off to school and on every news station, you see snippets of "Palin" and "Clinton" standing at a podium together speaking to the nation!!! OMG! It was so funny I had to go to the SNL site and see the skit in its entirety. If you are like me and can't stay up that late, or you are like me and saw snippets and now want to see the whole thing, here is the link. If you clicked on the word "here" and nothing happened, here is the link again. http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/
Note: I am no means trying to be political or voice any opinion whatsoever!!! I just thought it was funny!!! So please don't take offense to my mentioning it. I think it's hilarious when SNL can copy anybody and do it so perfectly! ROFL!! Anyway, check it out if you haven't seen it already.

Now I am off to make a baby book/journal thingie. I will post it when I am done. Have ideas floating around in my head and have to jump on them when it happens! LOL Thanks for checking in!

I tried to be creative today...

2008-09-14T19:42:00.008-04:00

I tried to get something done today but I just couldn't pull it off. Too many interruptions and I really have to be in a creative mood to make anything decent! Instead I blog hopped and scrap-lifted. I also did some laundry and went grocery shopping. I am off work tomorrow so maybe I can get something done then. I do have an idea floating around in my head but to actually sit down and do it is another story! I've had a nagging headache today too. So I have no projects to share with you. Sorry.....but I could share with you some painting that I did. I didn't do this recently, probably about 6-8 months ago I guess. This is my dining room. However NONE of that stuff below the picture is there anymore! LOL (I love to re-arrange stuff). This is done with a solid color gold basecoat and then a darker glaze on top, applied with a brush and then smoothed out with a rag. This is one picture that came out okay! LOLThis is my kitchen. I used to have ordinary brown oak cabinets. Since I have very few windows in my kitchen, this new paint job lightened it up quite a bit! This picture was taken during the winter months and the kids were getting ready for school; thus the backpacks on the stove! LOL This was done with an off white base coat, two different colored glazes applied with a dry brush and ragged off and then several top coats. This isn't in my house; it's a client's home. This is in their entry to their condo. This wall started out white. The owners wanted a linen finish, so this was done using different colored plasters and a trowel and brushes. Not something I would want in my home but they liked these colors. This short wall you see when you enter from the front door and also from the garage door. The white wall is a hallway that leads to the living room.

This long wall was shot from the living room looking toward the front door. Crazy colors, huh? LOL

So that's it. Not what I normally post .....LOL. I don't paint much anymore but this is just a little of what I have done. I will post a project tomorrow if I can focus long enough to finish one! LOL

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful evening!

More of my room...

2008-09-13T16:45:00.008-04:00

Happy Saturday! Just got back from Michaels; didn't get much just some adhesive and stazon cleaner. I had some of the inkadinkado clear stamp sets in my hand but then put them back. LOL

I wanted to share the last of my room pictures with you before I start working on some projects. This cabinet is on the right side just as you enter the door. This cabinet is full of "stuff." Albums, pictures, supplies, you name it. It's a mess as well! LOL. That why I love that it has doors! :) The canvas thing hanging on the door holds my smaller punches and different fibers that I use for scrapbook pages.

This is a picture of my desk that my computer is on. It's also on the wall to the right. There are two desks butted against each other so it's in the corner. Those little drawers are full of little things like buttons, bottle caps, pom poms, key rings, staples, letter brads, etc. Then I have several boxes lines up on the wall (with my kids' artwork above it!). Then you see just a small portion of my computer monitor all the way to the left.

Then you see the other desk that my computer stuff sits on. Above it on the wall is more pegboard and shelves. I have photo boxes with miscellaneous stuff in them. This picture was taken before I cleaned my desk off so it's a mess! But it shows the shelves and my punch storage. I need to put curtains or something on the edges of my desks cuz I hate to see the mess under them! LOL

There is my printer and my phone and it sits on some drawers that have more buttons and templates and magnetic stamps in them.

This is the wall that is right next to my punch storage. It's another section of pegboard. I purchased a bunch of plastic bins the size of shoe boxes and drilled two holes on one long side so that i could put a hook through the hole and then hang the box up on the board. At first all the contents were organized in these bins but I have since moved things around and these bins are no longer organized. They just house "stuff" that has no where else to go. LOL

This wall is opposite the wall that my other desk sits on that I showed you in my previous post.

So that's it. There's my room. It's messy to everyone else but believe it or not, it's organized to me and I know where everything is. LOL I'd love to see what your rooms look like; it's always fun to get new ideas!

Thanks for stopping by. Now I'm off to start some projects. We'll see if I actually get anything done. LOL