I'm Sure I'm Not the Only One....

I have been SO busy, it's been almost unbelievable!!! For about the whole month of December someone in my family was sick just about every day, and sometimes it was more than one of us. I was busy taking care of sick kids and trying to keep myself healthy too (didn't succeed at that). Then, my dad came to visit for Christmas and to help us do some improvements on our house in town that we will be selling ASAP since we will be moving (that's the Air Force life for ya!) in February. That is ALL we've been doing since Christmas - painting, re-building, tearing off wallpaper ( I HATE WALLPAPER!!!!!!! ) and trying to keep three children on a couch and out of our renter's things. Our renters have a little girl so there's very tempting toys sitting in the living room, but I wouldn't want someone's kids playing with my stuff if I didn't know about it, so we're trying to do the same for them.

Anyway, I haven't even gotten to do any after-Christmas shopping, I've just been working all day, every day, except Sunday (we went to Church and spent some family time together). Sunday, after church, we went home to spend time with my oldest daughter Emma before she leaves Del Rio ahead of us to go to Kentucky with my parents so that she can start school at a Montessori school there (the one I attended through the 6th grade!) when they return to school after the 1st of the year. I'm so excited for her to get to go there and I know that she will really blossom socially and intellectually. Emma is SO smart and is so sweet and will really do well under the Montessori method. I just can't wait to go join her in February. The only downside is that because my husband has so much training to do before we move to Dover in June/July, he won't be going to KY with us. Daniel might have his 1st birthday without his daddy. I guess we knew this could/will happen though, we are owned by the US government, after all.

Well, now that I've gone on and on about what I've been doing (I haven't even mentioned all that I have to do to get ready to move and actually deal with selling the house) I'll just say that I hope you've had a wonderful holiday season and that your new year brings you all that you've hoped for. I hope that you will be blessed with all that you stand in need of and that you will know and feel that you are special and loved. I will try my best to post in the coming weeks, and will at least get my retired stamps for sale up on here ;) Take care, and happy new year!!!!

News From SU! That Demos Might Want to Know

If you're a SU! demonstrator, you might have seen this on the SU! website today. If not, here it is, followed by an address to which you can send sympathy cards. Someone on SCS called Demonstrator Support and asked where to send them. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose your mother, and I'm sure we all would agree that at this time of year when so many gather together and celebrate the season it is probably even more difficult. It is good to know that Shelli's mother doesn't suffer anymore and is, as Shelli says, in a happier, better place.

A Message from Shelli
December 17, 2007

It is with great emotion that I write to you, and I hope you will forgive me for the personal nature of this message, but I wanted you to hear this news from me. Last night (Sunday, December 16), my Mom Heather died peacefully in the Kanab Hospital as a result of a liver disease. She has had this disease for years, but it had been dormant until the last few months. Last Sunday, she went to the hospital in severe pain, and on Friday, she started Hospice care. Even so, we weren't expecting her to go so quickly.

My two sisters and my brother and I gathered in Kanab on Saturday to spend some time with her. I was surprised at how quickly she had deteriorated, and we knew her death was imminent at that point. She entered the hospital late last night, and my sisters and I, along with her husband, Paul, were by her side when she died.

While this is an extremely difficult time for me, I am so thankful for my mother. She has been and will continue to be an incredible inspiration to me, both personally and professionally. Her creativity has been a part of Stampin' Up! from the beginning, her work has been featured in our Idea Books & Catalogs for years, and her support and encouragement have been invaluable. I will miss her dearly, but I know I will see her again, and in the meantime, I know she is in a happier, better place.

Mom Heather was simple and private. At her request, we will be holding a small, family-only service later this week. During this time I draw great support and comfort from my Stampin' Up! family, and I thank you for being there for me in so many ways. I wish you a heartfelt peaceful holiday and encourage you to spend a few meaningful moments during the coming days with your loved ones.

If you're interested in sending a card to Shelli:

Originally Posted by whoopsie daisy

I just called and support said to send it to

Shelli Gardner
P.O. Box 550
Riverton, UT 84065

I've got some uploading to do....

I've taken lots of pics lately of the projects I've found time to work on, but haven't gotten to upload them yet. My camera photo uploading program stinks.

Anyway, here's a card that I CASE'd off of a card-front that I got in a swap. Some of you may recognize it. Evie used to blog, and here's the link to her swap card. I didn't change anything - it's a very blatant CASE :) I did probably go overboard with inking the cracks with my sponges - Evie's looks much better, but you'll have to take a look and let me know if you agree. I love doing cracked glass. Hopefully you like the close-up! For a tutorial on cracked glass, click here to see the SCS one.

I just love this stamp set, Natural Beauty. I wish it hadn't retired last year, it's one of my favorites!!

Well, take care!

For You Small Town Folk....

I finally got around to uploading the Advent calendar that I made. Please click on it to see it in it's full glory.  It's almost an exact CASE of the one that Beate did on SCS. You can see hers/the tutorial for it here. I loved hers, so I kept all of the colors the same I just omitted the round tags that she used and I didn't use the craft ink and emboss the numbers. I just used Classic Inks. I originally thought I would make mine out of the SU! Wintergreen paper (BTW, have you guys seen the Retiring SU! Accessories list?!?!?! All those gorgeous papers!!! :( ) but decided that the Dashing DS paper was just more "Christmas-ey". I'm grateful for the creative genius that is Beate!!!! In case you didn't know, her husband is going to be leaving at the end of this month for a ONE YEAR assignment for the Air Force (called a TDY - Temporary DutY) so she has eased up on her blogging and I sure do miss her, but TOTALLY understand why. Keep her and her family in your prayers.

Inside of our tins I put scriptures to read (like Luke 2), activities (go caroling, drive around and look at Christmas lights, watch specific Christmas videos, invite friends over for Christmas treats, etc.), things to do for others (such as leaving a surprise gift on their doorstep, taking someone Christmas treats, give away a personal item to a charity, etc.), and treats (have hot chocolate, make S'Mores, make Christmas treats, etc.) and I also put in things to prepare for Christmas (like putting out the Christmas globes our family collects - we get one each year, or putting up the outside Christmas lights, putting up the tree, putting out our stockings, etc.). Anyway, that's just for you to have some ideas of what to put in 24 little tins! :) Enjoy!!!

***All ingredients (minus the ones I mentioned omitting/changing above are listed in the SCS tutorial which is linked above)

So, what's of interest to those of you who live in small towns? This!!! Here are the links to the best deals that I found (there's a chance there are better ones out there, but I spent a lot of time looking) and two really great companies to work with. I don't have anything but a Wal-Mart here, so for the tins and the canvas' I had to buy them on-line. The tins are slightly different than the ones Beate used, but I like them better because they close REALLY well. My calendar was made spending OVER $20 on the ones at Michaels (I sent a friend who was in San Antonio and neither of us had a coupon) so that it is exactly like Beate's. I had 10 friends make these also so I ordered on-line and found cheap prices for individuals (and about a 10-cent discount PER tin for bulk orders) if you're like me and can't just go into town and buy these items. Making the calendars takes some time, but it's well worth it and they would make a wonderful Christmas gift for someone you love. Anyway, here are the links:

- 16 x 20 blank art canvas' at Cutting-Mats.net where the service was EXCEPTIONAL and the shipping was very quick!

- Metal tins with clear-view lids at WeddingAccessories.net where they cost only 55 cents each or if you buy 100 you get them for 44 cents. Just get four friends together and buy 25 each. Use 24 for the calendar and one for an ornament (I'm posting one I made tomorrow for an idea). They sell these tins in the same 2" diameter you need, but have both silver and WHITE finishes!!!

Hopefully these links will help someone out - I was glad to find decent prices. The cost of one of these comes to less than $25 (if you don't have to expedite shipping) - what a nice gift idea!

Take care and have a great night!

Black and White

I really like black and white cards, and I was asked to make a gift set for a group of us to give a friend so I just knew I needed to include a black and white one because Chelsea (the birthday girl) really likes that combo. So, this was the card I made to include in the gift set. I will show the others, after I figure out who I cased for some of them. A few, to save time because I had to get all 10 made in a short amount of time I can claim no credit for. They were CASE's of swaps I received. Some were exact replicas, others there were slight changes. I think there were 3 or 4 of the 10 that were CASE's. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Stamps: So Many Sayings, Jumbo Outline Alphabet (love it!!!), Short & Sweet
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, unknown 12 x 12 patterned paper
Ink: Basic Black, Tombow gray shadow marker
Accessories: White Taffeta ribbon (SU!), corner rounder punch, 1/8" circle punch

Cutie Pie Birthday Cake

Here's a simple but sweet card I made for a friend using the Eat Cake stamp set and the Cutie Pie DS paper. I LOVED that Paper Party promo that SU! did and took total advantage of it and stocked up on some papers I might not otherwise have gotten. I hope she likes it and you do too!

Stamp Sets: Eat Cake
Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Brocade Blue, More Mustard, Whisper White
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Brocade Blue, More Mustard, Certainly Celery, YoYo Yellow
Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch (for scallops), Brocade Blue Brads, Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched Ribbon, Dimensionals

Can Everyone Just STOP Blogging?!?!? :)

So, if you need an excuse to take a day (or three) off from blogging, here it is: ME!!!! I have gotten so far behind on reading and posting that I have OVER 340 posts to catch up on on my Google Reader and I will NEVER catch up!! We're all sick, I've been super busy, and to top it all off, I started getting sick last night and today my DH is going on an over-night trip so he won't be home tonight to help out. Poor me, I know, where's the tiny violin playing my sad, sad music? ;) I need to upload the pictures I've taken over the last two weeks and hope to do so this evening when the kids are (hopefully) in bed and I will post then. So stay tuned, and take a day off "on me" from your own blog! Just post that "Marie made me do it." Have a great day and I hope to post to you later!

Is he hinting at something????

My husband forwarded me an e-mail from work titled "What to wear when the wife has chores for you." Well, I'm curious if he's trying to tell me something? ;) I hope this provides a quick laugh. It's all I have time to post. Friday afternoon/evening I should be able to post some pics of what's been keeping me so busy! Have a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you get to spend it with those that you love. If you want a good laugh as you embark on your stressful Thanksgiving preparations, see my cheesecake disaster here. Hopefully it will make you smile. I hope to do some stamping this weekend so look for some posts next week from me. Take care!

Quick Post

I'm trying to get at least a picture up today for you to see. I won't go into details except to say that this is the other address book and pen I had to make for a friend who's moving. She was the secretary in the Relief Society Presidency (of which I'm the Education counselor) so we got pretty close while she was here. I'll miss her tons! She requested the colors. I really like it a lot - it's simple, and cute. I hope she likes it!!! Everything is SU! as far as papers, stamps, ink, and accessories. Have a great night!

PS - all you moms out there might recognize my background as a receiving blanket :)

Everyone's Leaving Me!!!

The latest rush of friends I have made here at Laughlin AFB are moving on to bigger and better things (airplanes and cities, really). I made an address book for my friend Kris. I have one more to make for another friend - before Monday - so I've got lots to do over the next couple of days. I know it will be us moving soon enough and I just can't wait to begin that chapter of our lives to begin. Peter will be flying the plane he wants, and I'll be living a day closer to my family in an exciting area of the country. It takes two days to get to my family from here where we live now (20+ hours), but will only take 10 hours from Dover. How exciting!! Anyway, this is a picture of the plane Peter will be flying (I have always thought the pictures of the planes releasing flares are cool!) - it's called the C-17 Globemaster III. Below is the picture of the address book and pen I altered for my friend Kris. I wanted her book to have a touch of "Texas" to it, so the colors/pattern of the paper and the stamp set I felt worked really well. I apologize for not remembering the names of some of the older papers I used!!!


Stamps: True Friend
Paper: 12 x 12 paper from CostCo paper pack, 12 x 12 paper from previous SU! mini - Au Chocolat, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and Whisper White CS
Ink: Ruby Red, Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Fire Circle Rhinestone brad, Chocolate ribbon from previous SU! mini catalog, ruby ribbon from previous SU! catalog, chocolate grosgrain, spiral punch, photo corners punch, antique copper brads from HPH, microbeads, sticky tape sheet

SC142 Re-Visited

So, I've played around with this sketch from SCS before and I really like it. I made this card for a friend who's expecting. I'm not really supposed to say who it is yet, but eventually I'm sure the news will be out. I'm SO excited for her, I know how excited she is for this pregnancy. Anyway, after I had sealed up the envelope and was walking over to her house I realized I had left off the 3rd button I wanted to put on the card. Like the two on the top corners of the card, I wanted one in the bottom left corner too. Oh well, it's okay, but if I had kept the card in my house a little longer it would not be staying this way! :)

Anyway, the stamps are from TAC and for the life of me I can't think of what the name of the set is. If you know, feel free to put it in a comment. I got the stamps from my friend Anne and if you need a TAC demo, let me know and I'll refer you to her. She's AWESOME.

Well, have a great night!

Stamps: TAC set
Paper: Fall Flowers DS paper, Soft Sky and Whisper White CS, Really Rust Textured CS
Ink: Black, Soft Sky, Old Olive, Really Rust
Accessories: Blender pen, Soft Sky Double-Stitched ribbon, rust buttons, linen thread, dimensionals, gray Tombo marker (from TAC)

Another Taste of Wintergreen Joy

Here's the 2nd card that I made with my Wintergreen DS paper and the new stamp set I got called Love & Joy. I hope to get some time to stamp today, otherwise I have nothing to show you the rest of the week! ;) My husband goes out of town tomorrow, basically until Sunday. I say "basically" because he comes back very late Wednesday night, but then turns around and leaves again early in the morning on Thursday. So, if I don't get some stamping done today, I'm not sure I'll have the time or energy with my three little munchkins to get much done any other time. Take care!

Stamps: Joy & Love
Paper: Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke and Whisper White CS, Wintergreen DS paper
Ink: Certainly Celery and Always Artichoke
Accessories: White Taffeta ribbon, Ice Circle Rhinestone brad, paper piercing tool and template, dimensionals

A Quick Post for Saturday

Saturdays were "supposed" to be my recipe day, but that didn't ever happen, so here's a card I made. I've got lots to do today before we leave for a District Conference for our church and some leadership training my husband and I have to attend before the actual conference session tonight. There's also a session tomorrow so we'll be spending the night there in Eagle Pass. Hopefully it will be some fun too! My sponsor-sister from my days at the Air Force Academy just happens to be TDY in San Antonio this whole weekend so we'll miss her today and part of tomorrow, but she's going to come spend the night Sunday night and I'm super excited to see her. I probably won't post on Monday since she'll be here visiting but wish you all a very happy weekend and ask you to remember our troops on this Veteran's Day holiday.


Stamps: Love & Joy
Paper: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Whisper White and Wintergreen DS paper
Ink: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery
Accessories: 3/4" circle punch, photo corners punch, celery 5/8" grosgrain, Stickles, dimensionals, Ice circle rhinestone brads (they're the green ones)

For this card I wanted to use my new Wintergreen DS paper that I got, and I was also trying to use my new Photo Corners punch. I'm not sure how I like those photo corners. They are supposed to layer, I think, but my smaller piece doesn't have a straight edge so unless I want it on there crooked, it shows part of the layer behind it on an edge. Is everyone's like this?????? Should I send it back to SU!???? Anyway, I had fun making the card but I'm not sure what I think about it. Do you like it? Is the rock-and-rolled edges of Joy a little distracting, or does it look good? Can you even see the Stickles on the snowflake? Hmmm...just not sure about it. I would love to hear what you think. Take care!!!!

Happy Birthday Leslie!

My friend Leslie has her birthday today and I made this candle to give her a while back. I haven't gotten to give it to her yet but hopefully will get to today. To my knowledge she doesn't come here so I won't be spoiling the surprise. :)

I enjoy making candles like this because they're fun to dress up with a little paper, ribbon, stamped images and other bling to your preference. They end up being very pretty and you can make them cute, elegant, or however you want depending on the colors, stamped images, and embellishments. I hope she likes it!

Stamps: Flowers & Flourish
Ink: Regal Rose
Paper: Very Vanilla, Linen Prints DS paper (you can get this as part of this month's SU! special!!!)
Accessories: Fire Circle Rhinestone Brad, Linen thread, dimensionals, distressing tool (SU!)

I should explain....

You all must think I'm stamping-deficient with my question in my last post. SO, I thought I'd let you know that I didn't want to color on the stamp with my markers because there's just the tiniest bit of a line (negative space) between the mane of the lion and the body. I thought that would take a long time to do ten time (for 10 cards). Also, I was worried about stroke marks being visible in the stamped image. BUT, I really liked the suggestion that TALIANA gave of coloring the mane first and then wiping off any smudges that perhaps got on the body part of the lion and then coloring his body. That just might work. I was thinking if I didn't care about possible ink contamination, I could also ink up the lion in MM and then color his mane with my RR marker and then stamp. All the possibilities!!! Thanks so much for your suggestions, and next time I make a card with this stamp set I'll definitely give some of them a try.

As for me not posting today (a card that is) - I've had a headache for 4 days now. Nothing too strong, but a nagging pain nonetheless, so I may need to call the clinic and try to get an appointment on base sometime soon. Until it goes away, I don't see much stamping taking place. I'm sorry! Take care!

A Couple of Cards

You may recognize this first card from a kit we were able to buy as Demonstrators a while back. I kept it all the same except I trimmed a little extra off of the top and bottom of the Always Artichoke, and I changed the sentiment to a stamp from the Hugs & Wishes set. This card is part of 60 cards I'm trying to finish up for an Army Sgt who's deployed and wanted specifically some children's cards. Well, this isn't a child's card, but I hope it can be used too. The next card more fits the "bill."

Stamps: Simply Said, Hugs and Wishes, Canvas BG
Paper: Bordering Blue, Real Red, So Saffron, Always Artichoke and Naturals Ivory CS
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red, So Saffron
Accessories: Pewter HPH, Twill Tape, Dimensionals, 1/2" Circle punch

This next card is one of two the "kids" cards I'm sending him. I'm going to have 20 kids cards in the package, along with 10 of the first card above, and then I hope to have the other 30 be Christmas/Holiday cards and maybe some of those might end up being more feminine (flowery) Birthday cards too. I asked if I could mail them to him a long time ago and haven't forgotten, but haven't had time to make them! I really want to get them in the mail by next Tuesday so he'll have them ASAP!

Here's a close-up of the lion's mane. I thought coloring it in with Really Rust after it had already been stamped in More Mustard would be easier than trimming it out of a second image in RR and mounting it on top of the MM. That idea is up for debate - I'm not sure it was easier to keep in the lines!!! :) What do you think? Have any of you colored his mane a different color? How did you do it? Cut out the 2nd image with scissors and then put it on top, or color it like I did with a marker over the original image? Or perhaps did you use a hobby blade to cut out the 2nd image? I would love to know!

Stamps: Wild About You
Paper: Brocade Blue, DS paper from last year's catalog (can't remember the name), Whisper White
Ink: More Mustard, Ballet Blue classic inks and Really Rust marker
Accessories: stapler, Brocade Blue 5/8" grosgrain

Happy Birthday Honey!

Today is my husband's birthday. He turns the "BIG" 30 today and thinks he's old now :) I keep telling him wait until he's 50 and then he'll feel differently - 30 will feel like it was in his teen years! I must be one of the few that doesn't really care how old I am, or others are. I don't think you have to be older to be mature, maturity is a character trait that some have and some don't, regardless of age. Anyway, above is the card I made him. I am still needing practice with pastels. The grass was much brighter than I had wanted, but oh well. Below are the cards Sarah (3 year-old) and Emma (4 (AND 1/2) year-old as she makes me say!) made him. They used the same stamp set that I did and colored and glued everything themselves. Too cute!

Stamps: Wildlife Reserve, Sanded BG, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Sahara Sand Textured CS, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla CS
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chalks, Aged Copper brads (from HPH), Chocolate 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, dimensionals

Here's Sarah's beaver for Daddy - I think she chose it because it's one of the smaller images in the set and she likes little animals:

Here's Emma's "goat" for Daddy - it HAD to be PINK:

Blog Candy Winner - She Gets a Choice!!!

We were at the park and when I realized what time it was, I made my girls come home - it was 5:30 p.m. then. I'm still a little late, but no one posted this afternoon anyway so it didn't really matter.

Random.org gave me the number 6, which was this post:

Mary said...

I am thankful that I am able to stay at home and raise my children - never missing a moment.

Mary, send me your snail mail address via e-mail (mcclellans@stx.rr.com) and I will get you your gift.

You get to choose from the current SU! 12 x 12 patterned papers (pages 170-173 in the current SU! catalog and there are also 2 packages in the current Mini Catalog - see my link to them on the right) and pick TWO of them!!! Any two packages of 12 x 12 patterned papers on those pages - or the two in the Mini - that you want (they're all $9.95 each)! PLUS, since the papers you choose will come to me in my SU! order and then I'll have to send them to you, I will enclose a bunch of other goodies like die-cuts, ribbon, and other embellishments.

Congrats on winning!!!

I just thought I would add that I echo so many of the sentiments of my readers. I am so thankful for my family, for our health and safety, for my knowledge of my Savior and that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me, for my friends who are support to me as we live this military life far from family, and for all of the opportunities I enjoy that so many others are not fortunate enough to be able to have. I am so thankful to be out of the military and able to stay at home with my children - no one could raise them the way I can, and I'm so lucky to be able to do it! I was truly touched by each of your comments and thank you for taking the time to leave them!

Blog Candy - I've Hit 45K!!!

You have 48 hours from NOW to enter into this blog candy contest. US residents only. I will be putting the goodies together and will try to post a picture on Monday for you to see. I originally wanted it to be only 24 hours to enter, but I don't blog on Sunday. SO - since Thanksgiving is around the corner, all I ask is to hear what you're thankful for in your comment. Please only comment once, thanks and good luck! I'll use random.org to draw a number at 5:28 p.m. on Monday. Take care!

Getting Closer....

To what? See this post.

A Quick Card

This was a quick card to make, but it took more than 30 minutes to get this card uploaded from my camera to the computer to here. SO...my husband is waiting for me to finish a movie we started and I don't want to keep him waiting any longer. I am getting so tired of my camera/photo software that came with it, that I'm about to chuck it all in the street and let someone run over it. I hate how long it takes. Someday I really hope to buy a new program so that it all goes faster (and fix our computer so that it's not so slow -- defragmenting it and clearing out temp files, etc. hasn't seemed to be enough). Anyway, I'll skip the card details today and leave you with wishes for a great evening!!! Take care, and enjoy the card - I hope my Stamp Club members like the one they're going to make that's super similar!

Kaitlyn's Blessing Invitation

First, I apologize that the image isn't that great. I was in a bit of a rush when I took the picture and the sun was behind the spot where I took it so I noticed there is some glare after I had alreayd sent Christina on her way with the cards. Also, I didn't take the time to crop the image to get rid of the part of the couch that's showing. :)

A friend of mine recently had her first baby, a little girl they named Kaitlyn. She wanted to invite a few people to her baby's blessing that aren't members of our church, so she thought a pretty little invitation would be nice and asked me to help. Well, I designed one with color inputs from her and she decided she wanted to leave the sentiment off (I almost always put a sentiment on the bottom right corner of cards that I use this layout on) to maintain simplicity on the front. As I mentioned yesterday, it's not a complicated card, but it's great for stamp-a-stacks, or gift sets, or anytime you need/want to mass-produce cards. It can be jazzed up with some bling or different ribbon placement, or a tab added to the edge of the image using the round tab punch that SU! carries. Lots of options from the simple to the more complex. Inside are the details of the invitation for those invited. I love this layout.

I'm super excited and thought I would share with people who would care. :) I'm FINALLY getting a piercing tool to replace the one that "disappeared" from my SU! Crafter's Tool Kit. SU! wouldn't sell me one singly to replace mine and I didn't think that a piercing tool was worth the $39.95 it would cost to buy the Tool Kit again, so I found out that my friend Anne who is a TAC demo has them to buy all by themselves. I placed my order today and I'm also getting some Acetate from her that you can EMBOSS on (not like the flimsy un-embossable stuff I thought was a great deal at OfficeMax!) and I'm going to buy some Liquid Appliqué and try my hand at using that on some Christmas cards (when I get the chance - probably 2 Christmases from now! ;) he he). I guess SU! used to sell it, but they haven't as long as I've been a demo. Anyway, I can't wait to get my stuff - I'm getting a stamp set from TAC too. It's the one that has cute preggo mommy images and can be used for expecting moms or new babies. SU! got rid of theirs and I didn't like it much anyway. The image in the SU! set was hard for me to work with because it was so wide because she was holding a book, plus it's one of those images that cuts the woman off at the waist or about there, so it's not a full-body image. I like the TAC ones better. Click here if you want to check out the TAC website and you can e-mail Anne at: tac_anneharrison@yahoo.com if you want to place an order. This month if you hostess with TAC you get double the hostess rewards, and if you are just placing a customer order you get double the "gift with purchase" rewards. It's a great deal, they have some really great stamps and other products, and today's the last day for this special (sorry to tell you about it so late)!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Stamps: I'm Here, Sanded BG (LOVE IT!!!!!)
Paper: Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Sponges, Pink Taffeta ribbon

Upcoming Blog Candy

When my hit counter gets to 45,000 (can you BELIEVE it's close?!?!?) I will do a blog candy drawing that day. You'll have 24 hours from the time I post the blog candy announcement to comment on THAT post and then I will use random.org to draw a winner. Unfortunately, I will only mail to US residents due to the crazy shipping cost I paid last time a Canadian won - I guess it increased back when stamps increased in the US???? I'm super sorry ladies, but I don't want to go broke on blog candy or I'll not be able to do it as often as I would like. Tomorrow I will post a card, yes a REAL card. It's a simple one that I helped a friend to make, but it's a fail-safe layout that I use quite often when I need something attractive and also pretty quick. Take care and Happy Halloween!!

So Sorry...

to be a boring blogger. My husband's grandmother came into town today and we only knew she was coming as of Tuesday night, so I've been scrambling to get the house in order while still going to appointments and getting things done for church, and all sorts of other things I do on a daily basis. No stamping time. Thanks for the suggestions/referrals for ribbon stamps. I'll take a peek at each one as soon as I get a chance. Tomorrow night we get to go to a family camp with Cub Scouts (no, Daniel's obviously not a Cub Scout yet, but Peter volunteers with them here in Del Rio and on the base), so I won't be home until late Saturday night. So, don't count on seeing me until at least Monday :) If any of you have any more ideas about where I can find a ribbon for a cause stamp, please add your suggestion to my post from yesterday (Wednesday, Oct 17th). Thanks, and take care! Enjoy this little forward I got from my friend/downline Jennifer. I always get a kick out of it when I get it in an e-mail forward:

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.

In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?'

She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?'

'Yes,' was his incredulous reply.

She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

Help?

Hopefully one of you can help me. I have a friend who's looking for a stamp to use for Breast Cancer awareness month, and I KNOW I have seen a "ribbon" stamp out there in blog-land somewhere. The one I'm looking for is the one that is the image of a ribbon, and it's fairly decent in size, and you can write your cause in the image after you stamp it and color it in, so that it can be for ANY cause. Help, anyone?

Finally....SC144

I finally got time to stamp, but it was for a workshop I had this past Saturday. I really liked the sketch from two challenges ago so I used it for my layout. You can see the info on the challenge here. I hope you like it! Happy stampin'!

Stamps: Booglie Eyes
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Creepy Crawly, Whisper White
Ink: Black StazOn, Black SU! marker
Accessories: SU! eyelets, crop-a-dile, font from free font site, dimensionals

Scallop Circle Punch Ornament

This is not an original idea of mine, and I can't remember which blog I saw it on to save my life (please let me know if it was your blog and I'll edit this post to give credit where it is due), but I loved the idea of a simple ornament that you can make for teachers or friends, or even YOURSELF (can we do that - make things for OURSELVES?!?!?) to hang on the tree. It was SO EASY to make and I think it's adorable. I only punched five scalloped circles but you could add more or even use only four - it all depends on what you want to do. It's a great little project and with the upcoming Designer Series Paper special (buy 3 and get your fourth FREE!! but wait until November 1st to contact me to order some - when the special begins) it's just perfect for the holidays! Hopefully the different views of the ornament will help you see how it's made. I just glued each scallop to the next. You fold them each in half and glue just one side to the next scallop. Before I glued the last scallop on I put my cord in there with a little bit of glue and then added the last scallop. SU!'s elastic cord will make a nice loop for the ornaments. We'll be making these as a little bonus project at my upcoming workshops and Stamp Club. Enjoy!

Before and After

So, I thought I would show you what an extreme difference a little 5/8" grosgrain can make. I LOVE this stuff and am so happy that SU! has it!!!! I planned this project around the 5/8" grosgrain. I made the card for a workshop that I have coming up, but then I found that I didn't have enough of the red 5/8" grosgrain left to make enough for all of the workshop attendees. SO....I thought that I didn't want to waste all of the pieces for the card that I had just cut up (or the time I spent doing it - I only get snippets of it to do things I want to during the day between all of the kiddos), so I figured the "regular" grosgrain would have to do. SO LUCKY for me, the 5/8" that I ordered last Saturday hoping it would arrive before we go out of town on Friday (my workshop is at my friend's house that we're going to visit in San Antonio) DID arrive before I had to leave. As you'll see,the "skinny" ribbon isn't too bad, but wait until you see the AFTER picture. These are the EXACT same card, I simply took off the skinny ribbon and replaced it with the wide. Here's the before:

BEFORE:

And here's the AFTER:

Stamps: Merry & Bright, Hugs & Wishes
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Dashing DS Paper
Ink: Black StazOn, Old Olive and Real Red markers, white StazOn
Accessories: 2-way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, 1/4" and 5/8" Real Red grosgrain ribbon, 1 3/8" circle punch, scallop circle punch

7 Things About Me....and a CARD!!!!

First, this is a card I made for an upcoming workshop. It is TOTALLY CASED from this card by Sherri. I loved it and so I changed the colors up and tah-dah!!

Stamps: Season of Joy
Paper: Prints DS paper in Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Basic Black
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches, Silver brad, Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched ribbon

Lastly, I was tagged by Jill over at InkGenious (love her blog!!!) and it was so funny, I was reading her answers and getting a kick out of them (plus she posted cool pics with each answer) and then there I saw "Marie" at the bottom and thought, hmmm....I bet that's not me. I clicked on it, and was surprised to see my own blog come up :) So, here are 7 Things About Me that maybe you didn't know (and probably never wanted to!). I've also done this tag before but think it's always fun to learn more about other people so hopefully you'll enjoy my answers. Forgive my descriptiveness. I tend to write exactly how I speak.

1. I HATE dancing, except maybe for "slow dancing" because I really don't feel blessed in the coordination department. So, you'll find it funny to know that when I was about 12 or so I took African dance lessons. Talk about out of my element!!! African dance is something only someone with incredible rhythm and who is totally comfortable in their own skin should be doing - not me!!! (My mom put me in it)

2. I think that I've always wanted to be a lawyer but just won't admit it to myself. I LOVE teaching and that's probably what I'll end up doing when my kids are in school, but I was always interested in law. We'll see what I do when all my kids are in school, I guess.

3. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This may seem very paradoxical to those of you that know me or are even just getting to know me, but it felt very comfortable to me when I first started attending the church at the Air Force Academy and I feel it has absolutely made me a better person. It is not something that I intend to thrust down anyone's throat, I chose this faith for ME. It has truly enriched my life beyond measure and if you would like to know more about what I believe, just click here. I find that no matter what faith you are, as long as you have a love for other people and other creatures and you live by the "golden rule" then that is really what makes a "good" person. I'm also always interested in learning what other people believe and what makes them who they are. As outspoken as I am, my faith is not something that I usually just blurt out to people. I would rather have them get to know me and like me for me before they make judgments based on my religion. Having NOT been Mormon before, I know what some people believe about Mormons and hope that some day people will be interested enough to find out the TRUTH about what Mormons or even those of other different faiths believe before just believing what they hear. You would not even begin to fathom all of the falsehoods I've heard about my faith since I converted. Anyway....enough on that :)

4. I used to make fun of a very good friend of mine at the Air Force Academy for scrapbooking. While I am not an avid scrapbooker, I have done it now because of Stampin' Up! and I find it very funny that wouldn't have given stamping a 2nd though in college but now it is what I do to unwind and relax.

5. I thought that when Daniel first came home and I had THREE kids under the age of five in my house, I was going to go crazy. I felt like I was a horrible mother and must be nuts for having always wanted four. Now, I realize that I had already forgotten what it was like to have a newborn. It was the same way when Sarah (my 2nd) was born, but I guess there's a reason we forget how it is - so we'll want to have another kid someday :) Unfortunately I was only with Emma for 2 months before my maternity leave (3 weeks) and additional 5 weeks of leave from the Air Force was up and I had to go back to work - so I didn't really experience a whole lot of newborn time with her. Where I'm going with this is that I learned that you have to remember to take life a day at a time. Now it's so much more normal again around my house. Daniel still has a little bit of reflux from time to time, and isn't the happiest of babies, but I can manage all three and it's really OKAY!!! Yippe for me I guess!! I am in love with my children :)

6. I think I'm a little OCD in collecting writing utensils. I really like them, and because I frequently buy new ones I don't remember (remember being the operative word, maybe it has happened) ever having used one single pen all the way up until it is out of ink. They usually dry up on me first. Is that crazy?!?!?

7. I really like to surprise other people and one time managed to sneak to my parents house for a visit they didn't know was coming. We put Emma on the doorstep in her infant carrier (she was under a year old when we did it), rang the doorbell, and ran around the corner. My dad opened the door and we heard, "Oh, look at that baby!!!" and started dying of laughter. He REALLY thought someone had left a baby on his doorstep. When he realized it was us after seeing us come around the corner laughing so hard, he snatched her up and took her inside to play with her. We had to remind him to say hello to us - it had been a 10 hour drive!!!!

As for who I'm going to tag...I'm going to totally cop-out on this one. If you want to play, consider yourself tagged. I have a screaming baby that needs me and I've spent about a minute too long on this instead of going to get him from his daddy. Take care!

PS - Check out this previous post to see the pictures I just uploaded to it.

Tying Bows

I was asked by Renée how I tie my bows. I don't think they're always that great, but thanks for the compliment! As for how, I do mine the very same way that Sherri Barron showed her readers in this post on her blog, Fun to Stamp. I LOVE her blog and her creations are marvelous. You should check it out!! I didn't have time to make my own tutorial, so I'm just referring you to hers, so let her know you love it when you check it out.

I hope to get some stamping done and posted on here in the near future. Peter has the day off today, and we had a very busy weekend, so I've not gotten the chance. I have my first workshop for SU! tomorrow since FEBRUARY so needless to say I've got a lot to do to refresh and get ready for that. Anyway, take care and check out Sherri's blog!!!

Cards for our Airmen was a HUGE success!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that the stamping event I held today at the base went wonderfully! Many people came (I don't have the sign-in list to know for sure) and enjoyed some drinks and yummy sandwiches provided by the Airmen and Family Readiness Center (I hope I have the name right - the AF changed their name from Family Support Center recently) and got to do some stamping and relax over their lunch break. A few people brought their kids (see the pictures below for proof) who did some stamping too, and overall I think that the 19 deployed Airmen from Laughlin are really going to feel the love from the base when they receive their care packages with the Halloween treats and cards from us. They will each get a Halloween card just for them, from all of us at Laughlin, and then a bundle of blank "thinking of you" and holiday cards to send back to loved ones. I know the cards are more simple than I normally make, but I had to have cards that anyone who had never even seen a stamp could duplicate. The sponging was a little hard for some of them, but overall I think everything was a hit and I love to stamp for a cause!! I was so surprised that even a few AirMEN actually came to stamp some cards for their fellow comrades today. It was great!!!Take care!

Another Celery and Bayou Card

I was really liking this color combo when I made Jennifer's card, so when I made one for Michele I used the same colors and stamp set. Michele had surgery last week, so I wanted to send her a little note in the mail. This little close-up shot shows you another neat view like on Jennifer's card of the image stamped on Shimmery White CS with Stickles added on. Michele said she liked it and I hope you do too! Here are the details:


Stamp Sets: Event Full, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Certainly Celery Prints DS Paper, Blue Bayou, Certainly Celery, Shimmery White
Ink: Black StazOn, Blue Bayou, Certainly Celery, Rose Red
Accessories: Celery 5/8" grosgrain, Circle Ice Rhinestone Brad, Blue Bayou Double-Stitched grosgrain

I'm Going Pink for October!

In support of national breast cancer awareness month, I am turning the background of my blog pink for the month of October. It's not meant to look pretty with my site, but to make you notice and then perhaps you'll click on the link to your right in my sidebar where you will be taken straight to the American Cancer Society's "Donate" page. Every penny helps in the efforts made to find a cure for not only breast cancer, but all of the cancers out there taking loved ones away. Please think about it - even pennies help! I will hopefully post a card a little later today. Take care!

Happy Birthday To You...

My only remaining downline left (she's actually in my 2nd level) had her birthday today, so I waited to post her card until I was able to give it to her. Jennifer has a blog too, and you can check it out here. She's super sweet and always offering to help me out because of the baby or with whatever. I hope you had a happy birthday, Jennifer!

I wanted to combine the Certainly Celery with the Blue Bayou, and this is what I came up with. For accents, I thought that Stickles would be cute, and I really liked the touch of Regal Rose added in to the card. I hope she liked it and that you enjoy it and this close-up. Gotta love that Shimmery White CS!!!




Stamps: Event Full, Hugs & Wishes
Ink: Black StazOn, Regal Rose, Blue Bayou, Certainly Celery
Paper: Certainly Celery Prints DS Paper, Certainly Celery, Blue Bayou and Shimmery White CS
Accessories: Ice Circle Rhinestone Brad, Celery 5/8" grosgrain, Blender Pen, Stickles

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

To give myself some family time, Saturdays I will begin sharing a recipe. Today's recipe is based on my response in that name game for my favorite cookie. It is one that I make. Here is the recipe, and I'm a picky eater so I PROMISE that if I post the recipe on here, it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll like it :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

1 Devil's Food cake mix
1/4 c light-brown sugar
1/3 c oil OR 1 stick butter (I usually use the butter)
2 eggs
1/3 c mini chocolate chips
1/2 c (don't be stingy) peanut butter chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together cake mix, brown sugar, oil/butter, and eggs. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips. Drop dough balls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 10 - 12 minutes (or to desired "chewiness"). Allow them to cool slightly so that you can remove them from the pan and allow them to finish cooling on a baker's rack. I enjoy eating them while they're still warm and the chips are still melted :) Enjoy!!!

ETA: I meant to save this post so all I had to do was publish in the morning. I did post it Friday night, but changed the date in the post options, so no, you're not crazy if you thought you saw this yesterday. ;)

Bright Birthday Card and a NEW STAMPING TRICK!!

I made this card for a certain someone who's birthday is next Sunday and really likes Orange. Well, I couldn't come up with a layout where there was A LOT of orange, so I went with this one. I hope she likes it! I made up a neat trick, too, that I've not seen anyone else ever mention, so I thought I would tell you what I did.


See how the orange vase has blue on it? Well, it's not as vibrant as I would have hoped, but it's blue enough. We don't have Craft ink markers, which would allow us to put colors on top of other colors and have them remain true. If I had used my SU! markers, I would have gotten a kind of brown by coloring with Ballet Blue on top of the Only Orange CS. SO...what did I do, you ask? I first colored where I would put the blue with my white Signo gel pen. Then, I allowed that to dry and colored over it with my SU! Ballet Blue marker. Make sense? Anyone need to actually see a mini tutorial? If you do, let me know. If not, just take a peek at it with my close-up shot. You'll see that I wasn't so great at staying in the lines, but from a normal distance I don't think it's that noticeable. :)


I also tried to turn my yellow grosgrain into Summer Sun grosgrain by pressing it in my Summer Sun ink pad. It's the loop of ribbon on top of the blue ribbon. It's pretty close - close enough for me at least. I like doing these little loops of ribbon as a quick way to add some balance to a page without going over-board. Also, it's a fun way to tie colors in together in a layout.


Here's a close-up of my paper piercing. Nothing special here, but I thought it was cool to see how the holes go through the layers of CS and you can see it when you're this zoomed in on them.





Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new trick with the Signo gel pen and the card!!! Also, this card was inspired by the one on page 150 of the SU! Fall-Winter Collection 2007 Idea Book and Catalog.

Stamps: Vases in Vogue, Hugs & Wishes, Sanded BG, Canvas BG, Three For You Punch Box stamp
Ink: Black StazOn, Ballet Blue classic ink, Ruby Red and Ballet Blue markers
Paper: Ballet Blue, Only Orange, Summer Sun and Real Red CS
Accessories: Three For You Punch Box punch, Fire circle rhinestone brads (yellow on the orange flower and orange on the red flowers), paper piercing tool and guide, sponge, blue, orange and yellow grosgrain (dyed Summer Sun with classic ink pad), corner rounder punch, White Signo gel pen

Cards for our Airmen, CC133 and UHU product rating

First, here are the details for those of you in the Del Rio area that would like to attend my Cards for our Airmen event. This time around we're sending Halloween care packages with treats and Halloween cards, PLUS a bundle of assorted blank cards for the Airmen to send back to loved ones and the care packages are going to deployed members of OUR base - thus they're Airmen since we're in the Air Force and we're calling it "Cards for our Airmen". I kind of got a tiny chewing out (more made fun of) for calling it "Cards for Troops" as I always have (I've been doing these for 3 years now), since Troops are technically Army military members. As for the specifics, here they are:

Where: "Su Casa" on Laughlin Air Force Base (call me to be sponsored on if you don't have a military I.D. or if you just need directions to "Su Casa")
When: October 4th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

A lunch will be provided as will all of the supplies to make the cards.

*****If you would like to donate cards to this event, we will take any Thinking of You, Holiday, Thank You, Missing You, Birthday cards, etc. but they would need to arrive in my hands by Tuesday the 9th of October. If you ARE planning on sending me some, e-mail me so that I can give you my address and so that I'll know to expect them if you already have my address.*****

Following are two cards that I made for the Color Challenge on SCS - CC133. The colors were More Mustard, Old Olive and Bashful Blue. The first card was one very similar to the last "Sweet Pea" card I did - I even used the Shimmery White CS again. The second was made from a piece of scrap CS I had leftover and so it's an odd size, and I again made a Christmas card from non-traditional colors (like I did with last week's color challenge - you can the card here). I know that freaked out a few of you ;)

This card was fairly quick to make and I don't have much to say about it :) I am really loving the wide grosgrain ribbon that SU! has now. Some of you were in my last ribbon share and got it and I hope you're loving it too! The card itself was simple to make, without any frills or complicated techniques. I simply colored in the sweet pea with my blender pen and my classic ink pads. What WAS special about this card was that I used my free UHU glue stick that I received in the mail a week or so ago. In order to get it free, I was asked to provide feedback via my blog and link you to the blog where I found out about the free UHU samples. Here is the blog, and next are my comments on the product.

Here is a close-up of the image stamped and colored in on SU!'s Shimmery White card stock. I'm loving this stuff, especially for holiday cards like you'll notice below. It really is pretty when you catch it at the right angle and in the right light. I wish it always looked this shimmery!!!



Stamps: Event Full, Word on Word
Ink: Black StazOn, Old Olive and Bashful Blue classic ink
Paper: Old Olive textured CS, Shimmery White, Bashful Blue and More Mustard CS
Accessories: SU! 5/8" Olive Grosgrain

I got the sample in the mail and must admit that I wasn't super excited because I don't use glue sticks. I don't like them, I prefer glue and am always found with the Scotch 3M brand of Quick-Dry Tacky Adhesive (now found at my local Wal-Mart - the only store in town - yippee!!!). I like the control of glue dispensed from a fine-tip applicator and the fact that it holds REALLY well. So, I tried this UHU glue stick on three different paper-to-paper combinations. I used it on the card above, as I mentioned. I glued the More Mustard card stock to the Old Olive textured card stock and found that it did not work very well in adhering the smoother Mustard CS to the textured Olive. I think the texture is what made this occur - with texture comes less surface area for contact, and it seemed like this glue stick needed a lot of surface area covered with it and in contact with the surface you were adhering it to. The Shimmery White card stock was glued to the More Mustard layer and I found that as long as I got the glue everywhere, especially along corners and edges, it adhered these two layers very well. I didn't like how if you were trying to go along edges it would sometimes actually get on the outside edge of the paper if you weren't super careful, and then you risked smudging it onto the top of you layer, or in this case, on top of my Shimmery layer with my image on it. There's definitely not as much precision possible with a glue stick as with a glue coming out of an applicator. As I said though, it did adhere these two layers just fine. The More Mustard layer I also used the UHU stic on to adhere it to the Bashful Blue layer and I observed the same thing, that it worked fine on this smooth card stock as long as you adequately covered the card stock with it. I did not use it on the Blue Bashful layer, that one is mounted onto the textured card stock with dimensionals. Overall, for the price (under a dollar!) these little sticks would be a good investment for mass producing items (like for swaps) as long as you aren't using any textured papers. I will continue to use mine in such instances. Where I'm really worried about quality (edges not getting glued down) I won't use it, but that's just my personal preference and the things I observed when using the product. Check it out for yourself at Maria's blog listed above!!!

This next little card is the one I mentioned that I made out of a scrap piece of Old Olive textured card stock. I used one of the stamps in the Winter Mini Catalog called Season of Joy. I did not, however, use the images that are ON the stamp with the word "JOY". I used my handy-dandy Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to take one of the flower images on that same stamp and place it in the "o" and I also took the little flower with a circle around it and colored it with my marker and placed it in the spot where a star was over the "j" to "dot" it. I'd love to hear what you think.

Here is a close-up of the pretty shimmery paper and the pretty "Fire" rhinestone brad that I added to the flower in the "o". I'm really having fun with these brads, but the "hoarder" in me doesn't want to actually USE them on any of my cards or projects!!! I tend to do that with embellishments... :P LOL






Stamps: Season of Joy
Ink: Black StazOn, Bashful Blue and More Mustard markers
Paper: Old Olive textured CS, Shimmery White, Bashful Blue and More Mustard CS
Accessories: SU! Bashful Blue Taffeta ribbon, SU! Fire rhinestone brad, Stamp-a-Ma-Jig


I've got to run, I'm supposed to be somewhere by 5:00, so I'll post the recipes to these two cards later. Take care!!!

I've Been Tagged!

So there I was (how military stories from war usually start)....checking my list of blogs I love to read and the very first one with a new post was Andrea's and I am reading her funny answers to that name game that's going around and I see that I have been tagged by her! Thanks Andrea, and make sure you go check out her blog, you will love it if you don't already! It's Andrea's Stamping Blog. Anyway, for the game:

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet, current car) Lily Sienna (too bad I don't have my Mustang anymore!)
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream, favorite cookie) Peanut Butter n' Chocolate Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip (Okay, that's retarded - maybe I should just steal Andrea's and say something simple like Oreo Oreo, but my answer's the truth for me, I LOVE peanut butter and chocolate together! The ice cream is at Baskin Robbins and the cookies are ones that I make)
3. YOUR FLY “GUY/GIRL” NAME: (first initial first name, first 3 letters last name) amcc (could prounounce it a-mac I guess)
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Blue Penguin
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Marie Lexington
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters last name, first 2 letters first name) mccann
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink and add” the”) The Green Cherry Coke (another dumb one!)
8. NASCAR NAME: (first names of your grandfathers) Hector Reza
9. STRIPPER NAME: (favorite perfume, favorite candy) Delight Starburst
10. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s and father’s middle names) Jo (my Dad doesn't have one, Jo is my Mom's - LOL)


Now to tag some other people who have great blogs:

Jennifer at Stampin' Crazy
Tina at Wooded Views
Laura the Stampin' Soldier
Renée at Nee's Kreative Korner
Lori at Inking Aloud

Tomorrow I'll post my first card for CC133 on SCS. Unfortunately my opportunities to stamp slowed on Saturday and haven't gotten any better. I had these grand ideas of stamping lots every day and doing at least 7 of the 8 SCS challenges...oh well. Also, I'll give out details of the "Cards for our Airmen" event I'm organizing here on the base for World Card Making Day.

Kathryn's Box

Here's the other 2-5-7-10 box I made for my other friend. How cool is it to have a good friend share a birthday?!?! Mari-Ann and Kathryn are not only really good friends of mine, but they are super close with each other and they have the same birthday! They're a year apart in sharing it and Kathryn won't let Mari-Ann forget it! :) Anyway, this was her box and below is the recipe. Have a great day!

Stamps: Doodle This, See You Around jumbo wheel
Ink: Black StazOn, Taken with Teal, YoYo Yellow, Green Galore
Paper: Green Galore, Taken with Teal, Whisper White
Accessories: Corner Rounder punch, Crop-A-Dile, Black Grosgrain Ribbon, Liquid Glue, Dazzling Diamonds, Dimensionals, Blender Pen

Mari-Ann's 2-5-7-10 box

I wanted to give my very good friend, Mari-Ann, just a little something for her birthday. We don't get each other big gifts or anything (there are enough birthday parties for kids and baby showers around here to last a lifetime as far as gift-giving!!), but we do give each other little treats on our birthdays. She gave me some yummy cookies before I went to my sister's wedding in August for mine to eat in the car, along with a card.

Anyway, I made this little box for her from THIS tutorial on SCS, and filled it with the little goodies you see to the side of the box. She's one of my friends that really appreciates my stamped gifts so I always enjoy giving her random cards, or things like this. Did I mention that she lives right across the street from me? What a blessing to have such a good friend so close! Anyway, happy birthday to you, Mari-Ann! Our friend Kathryn also has a birthday today, but I haven't made it over to her house to give her her little treat, so I won't post it until tomorrow. Until then....

Stamps: Doodle This, See You Around jumbo wheel
Ink: Black StazOn, Soft Sky, Green Galore, Barely Banana, Elegant Eggplant
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Soft Sky, Whisper White
Accessories: Corner Rounder punch, Crop-A-Dile, Soft Sky Double-Stitched Ribbon, Liquid Glue, Dazzling Diamonds, Dimensionals, Blender Pen

Carved & Candlelit

Whenever I hold off of purchasing a stamp set for a significant amount of time (a year, for instance) then it retires. I have been wanting this stamp set since at least last year before Halloween, but didn't get it, I got Booglie Eyes instead last year. Well, I finally got it, so I fully expect it to be leaving the SU! inventory at the next retirement!! :P

I started making this card for LSC142, but decided to go another route with it after putting on that first layer of patterned paper. I thought that the layer of patterned paper with circles would work awesome as a band if I could get a strip to exactly cover one or two rows of the circles - and I did. I also wanted to punch out one of the pumpkins in Carved & Candlelit and mount "him" with a black scalloped circle punch-out. I thought it looked cute, but then decided to pierce the scallops and outline them with my white Signo gel pen. After that, I felt like it was a tad too small on top of my band, so I added 2 layers to it, coordinating them with the colors on the patterned paper with the circles. Of course, I had to do something to one of those two layers, so I drew in some faux stitching with my white Signo gel pen. As I sat and looked at Mr. Pumpkin, I felt like he needed some sparkle, so out came my Stickles again!!

Here is a close-up of all of these little details. I just love how Mr. Pumpkin looks with glitter on him - almost like he really does have a candle in there! I'm just loving my Stickles lately!!! The whole entire pumpkin "layers" are mounted on some dimensionals, but are glued directly to each other in each of the four layers. I sure hope you like it!!!




Stamps: Carved & Candlelit, Happy Everything, Flexible Phrases Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Black StazOn Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Creepy Crawly DS paper Accessories: 1 3/8" Circle punch, Scallop Circle punch, CM circle cutting system, White Signo gel pen, Stickles, Black brads, piercing tool