SUFriends4ever Swap Card

I'm hosting a swap going with a group of my friends using the Fresh Cuts stamp set and/or Fresh Cut Notes. So, IF YOU ARE IN THIS SUFriends4ever SWAP AND DON'T WANT TO SEE MY SWAP YET, DON'T LOOK AT THIS POST!!!!!

I will do the description first and add in some empty lines so that the picture of the entire card doesn't appear at the top of this post for those ladies in the group who don't want to see it.

For this swap, I was really inspired by this card by SCS'er sleepyinseattle. She had used a trusty layout of mine - picture with a bow or strip of paper behind it, and not too much else to the card. While that sounds simple, what I really liked was that she used pastels to color in this Fresh Cuts image that she had embossed. So, I followed her lead and embossed in gold ep and colored in with my pastels. I made kind of a rainbow gradient with my pastel shading for the background behind the flowers and leaves. It shows best in the main image of the card, but the small close-up posted above shows it a bit too. I have gone a little paper piercing nuts lately, so this card has some, along with some trusty scallops. What I did differently for me is place the sentiment in an unusual spot for me. Usually, I would have placed it above the paper pierced holes in the bottom right-hand corner. I instead placed it above the ribbon and white CS strip (that has paper piercing!). I hope that it looks okay there!

Anyway, here's the card along with the recipe:

Stamps: Fresh Cuts (preview stamp set from 2008 Summer-Fall Idea Book & Catalog)

Paper: Cameo Coral, Certainly Celery, and Whisper White CS

Ink: Certainly Celery and VersaMark

Accessories: Pastels, gold ep, Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, piercing tool and template, heat tool, embossing buddy, dimensionals

And Blog Candy Is.....

First, I should mention that TODAY IS OUR ANNIVERSARY!!! Yeah for me and the hubby!!! We are at 6 years married, and add 21 months to that (gives you 7 years and 9 months) for when we started dating and subsequently got engaged. We had only known each other for a couple months before we started dating so it puts us at almost 8 years of knowing/dating/being married to each other. Boy, does time fly!!!!

My DH promised I could get a little time to stamp today and he would take the kids out - stamping without kids in the house hardly ever happens! Because we just moved and don't know anyone to ask, we're taking the kids out to dinner with us to celebrate the day because a stranger wouldn't work as a baby sitter. I gave my DH an iPod and he gave me some flowers and Photoshop Elements 6.0 (I just got my gift early, which was fine with me!). Anyway, here's to many more years to us and since I get to stamp today I'll have something to show you later too!

Now, for the news you've all been waiting for!!! I had a personal preference for Boot Loot since it tied in best with the title of my blog, but that only came in second on the poll. Sorry to say, this is not a democracy here, running my blog, and while Blog Booty is SUPER CUTE - heck, I came up with it and my readers suggested Boot Loot - I just don't want a new reader to come upon my blog candy offering and think, "what the heck is she giving away if it's called Blog Booty?!?!?" Who knows what kind of people would come to the blog too, if they were using key words for searches and my blog came up as a hit!!! Ahhh!!! I would feel like I would have to always slip in an "arrr me matey" just so people wouldn't first think of ANOTHER kind of Booty!! ;)

Thanks so much for sharing your opinions with me on the poll, don't think that I didn't find it fun to see what you liked best. I'll probably do more silly polls in the future, just for fun. For example, on our family blog we just polled our family and friends this question, "who would you vote for for president? Kermit the Frog or Optimus Prime?" Optimus Prime won.

We are getting close (w/in about 75 hits) of hitting 65K and so today I will gather the Boot Loot and take a picture of it so you can see what you'll be getting. I have some goodies!

Have a great day!!!

Great Find!

I just found this blog that is perfect for self-discovery through scrapbooking, with some help scrapbooking along the way. It is just what you need to get you scrapping!! Check out Celebrating Me and you won't regret it!!

Beate's Weekend Sketch

I saw Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #50 which you can see to the left, and knew that it was perfect for the kind of elegant card I wanted to make for a friend who recently lost her sister. I always dislike having to make this kind of card, but do find a little happiness in it because I truly hope that the card and my note to the person brings them some small comfort. I've included a close-up of the stamped image that I sprayed with water (it's on watercolor paper) so you could see it a little better. I tried to make it a little softer since I was using such a dark color like Bravo Burgundy. I actually wanted the card to be a little bit bright - thus the use of So Saffron, but not too overwhelming, and I hope that it was. I don't tend to make my sympathy cards dark and somber because usually most people who lose a loved one are already in a somber mood.

Stamps: Close as a Memory

Paper: So Saffron, Bravo Burgundy, and Always Artichoke CS, Watercolor Paper

Ink: Bravo Burgundy Classic Ink, Bravo Burgundy, So Saffron and Always Artichoke SU! Markers

Accessories: Photo Corners Punch, Piercing Tool, template and pad (from Ellen Hutson's store), So Saffron Brads, Bravo Burgundy 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, corner rounder punch (with guide removed to make the scallops), dimensionals, fingernail - for distressed edges :)

I couldn't help myself....

Well, you'll have to check out Verve Visual stamps, if you've been living under a rock and haven't already. Remember, if you're typically a SU! user, VV stamps are acrylic so you'll need some clear blocks to mount them on in the appropriate sizes for the images you choose.

I've been admiring the VV stamps for a while now, and FINALLY buckled under the enabling pressure of fellow stamper's blogs, and bought a couple of sets. Only four!! I wanted five....Anyway, they have free shipping if you spend over $50 and their stamps are (as I'm so fond of saying) so stinkin' cute!!! I'm sure those of you with blogs that I've commented on have gotten that at least once...I love to say that things are stinkin' cute when they're STINKIN' CUTE!!! :)

Anyway, check out the Verve Visual store here. I'm off to have nightmares that we're not moving to Dover this summer and all of our stuff that's sitting there in storage is going to get stolen or ruined as it is flown/shipped to Hawaii! Not that Hawaii isn't great, but I've settled on Dover and as of 8 pm tonight they told all of "us" here at Altus that are in training to go to Dover to fly the C-17 there that we need to give them a list of our top three bases OTHER than Dover. I sure hope they don't make all of us not go to Dover- I'd rather go to Hawaii next move when I'd have some time to prepare for a move that far away!!!

Okay, I'll go to bed now like I said I was! You all come here for stamping stuff after all, not stuff about me - or I wouldn't keep losing subscribers after long-winded posts, huh? Sad, but true. ;)

A quick thanks!

Just wanted to thank those of you who have stopped over at Chocolate is My Kryptonite. We all need to know that the situations we face are shared by others so that we can know where to turn for a listening ear or shoulder to lean on. We all have different challenges and that blog just helps me with one of mine - though hopefully not for long. Thanks for checking it out!!!

Quick Card

I have a friend that I need to send a gift set of thank you notes to, and I didn't really want to make them too intricate since I had to make 10 of them. So, I pulled out these blank note cards that I got at the Dollar Tree the other day and decided to basically embellish them with a little stamping. They are bright cards, and so the colors I had to use were bright. Not my normal style. For some reason I didn't like the heart on a white background, it made the card a little too neon, so I went with the Taken with Teal that's in some of the stripes. I originally wanted the heart to stand alone on dimensionals with no background behind it, but that was just too busy - it needed a layer separating it from the base of the card. So, the card above is what I came up with. Nothing too fancy - just some Crystal Effects on top of the sponged image, cut out, and a dusting of glitter added to the CE. I added some dew drops under the sentiment. The dew drops were part of my recent order from Ellen Hutson's store (see the link in the sidebar). Anyway, I think what I did to the card is much better than the plain striped cards I started with. It's on the bright side, but sometimes we need something bright and cheerful in mail, huh?

To answer a question that I can't believe I didn't already post about (what's wrong with me!?!?!): Two days ago someone called my husband and said that they had my wallet!!!! So, one of the cart-return employees had found it, and then he forgot to try to find the owner because he was busy graduating from high school. I was SO happy and we made sure to give him a little reward for being honest and doing the right thing by returning the wallet. I am SO relieved and it's nice to know that there are good people out there, even if they take a little while to find you ;)

Well, below are the ingredients for this card, and I challenge you guys to get to Dollar Tree and see if you can find any of these packs of 10 blank note cards to alter. It was fun, and I really want to give it a try again with a card more "my style" and not so bright overall. I'm actually going to get the SAME note cards and see what other look I can come up with. If you do get some, be sure to post a pic on your blog of what you make and shoot me the link. I would love to see what you come up with!!! They make a great, inexpensive gift, and the pattern on the note cards is like having patterned card stock pre-cut and scored for you!!! With envelopes, I might add!!! :)

Stamps: Always, Short & Sweet

Paper: 10-count of striped cards from Dollar Tree, Taken with Teal, Whisper White CS

Ink: Black StazOn, Green Galore and Taken with Teal Classic Ink

Accessories: Dew Drops, sponges, CE, Dazzling Diamonds glitter

PS - 65K hits are almost here!!!! I'll soon release the "new" name for Blog Candy here on my blog, too.

PPS - What do you think of my watermark? Any thoughts or suggestions? I'll tell you, it was HARD to make and I consider myself fairly computer savvy!!!!

New Find!!!

I have found THREE great scrapbook-friendly sites in the past few weeks and thought I'd share them with you here instead of just posting them in my links and hoping you see them.


The first has a forum similar to what you're familiar with at SCS - it has a gallery and chat areas, and challenges, RAK sections, etc.. It is called Go. Be Creative. The ladies on there are AWESOME. Click on the name of the site to go there. The creators of this site offer some GORGEOUS monthly kits for those of you who want everything you need to get scrappin' and creating (you can make LOTS of stuff with the kits). Go check them out and look for the link on the left-hand side of their home page for their Message Board that's like SCS!


The second site also is a monthly kit site, but it's not forum-based. There is a gallery though and their kits are super fun. It is called Scrapcakes.com and once again, if you click on the site name you'll be taken there.

Lastly, I have fallen in love with CPS (Card Positioning Systems) and I have found a site that is similar in format to that for scrappers. I will say that there are lots of plugs on it to buy the creators book, and be in their classes, BUT Valerie's sketches are out of this world and are great if you want some help getting started on page but are stuck. She is a phenomenal scrapper!! So, check out got sketch? for some great scrapbook sketches!!!


Well, enjoy and don't forget to vote in my new, updated poll that ends in a day!! I hope to get to stamp today and share with you later!

This is AWESOME!!

Well, today has been crazy with storms and the power going on and off, so I haven't gotten much done. I did, however, get to see today's post in my Google Reader from Andrea Walford. You HAVE to check it out. She has an incredible tutorial on how to make your very own acetate accents for your cards and other projects. They're GORGEOUS!!!! Click here to be taken to her post and make sure you let her know that I sent you, and that you LOVE her tutorial! :)

Happy stampin'!

Fresh Cuts Promotion

So, have you been wondering how I made the two cards I posted in previous posts, or how to get WHAT I made them with? Well, here is the information, and if you contact me I can e-mail you a very pretty flyer that has all of the information about the promotion in it. Take care!

Fresh Cut Sneak Peek Promotion

Dates: June 1-30, 2008

Promotion details:
From June 1-30, Stampin' Up! is providing an advance purchase opportunity for the Fresh Cut stamp set (#111634) and coordinating Fresh-Cut Notes (#111882). These two products will be included in the Fall-Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog.

Customers: Purchase the sneak peek Fresh Cut stamp set and add on the coordinating Fresh-Cut Notes for just $5. Or, you can just purchase the items alone. The stamp set will cost $21.95 and the Fresh Cut Notes by themselves are $8.95.

Hostesses: Hold a $400 workshop, and receive the Fresh Cut stamp set and coordinating Fresh-Cut Notes FREE.


I LOVE this stamp set and the notes and I'm so excited that they'll be in the new Idea Book & Catalog - I can't wait!!

Are you struggling like me?

I am still battling with losing the weight I gained during my last (third) pregnancy. I have small successes followed by things that derail my progress. Well, if you're on this same journey for whatever reason, my sister-in-law started a blog where hopefully through posts and comments we can all lend each other a little support.

It is meant to be a place where we can help each other strive towards our own personal goals and uplift each other when we need a little help. So, go on and check it out - it's called Chocolate is my kryptonite - very fitting name, huh? Kristen's clever like that. Just click on the blog's name, I made it link to the blog. It is in it's infancy, so bear with us! Have a great night!

Happy Memorial Day

I hope you were able to read this post that I put on my blog a couple of days ago. It's nice to know why we celebrate this holiday, not just consider it an extra day to shop the sales.

Thanks for bearing with my blog dysfunction. I still can't believe I lost all of my great links on the side! I hope that I got all/most of them. Let me know if your link is missing, and even better, if you know of any shopping links I forgot! ;)

Below are my two cards for this weeks CPS challenge. You can see CPS #66 here. To the right is the sketch for you to see. I have never made a circle card, and it was a little difficult for me in that it was harder to get the card to feel balanced because there weren't any corners to use as a guide. I think the cards turned out cute - nothing spectacular. The dragonfly one I made for one of my 5-year old's friends who is also turning five. It's for a boy, but she absolutely insisted that the wings sparkle. I guess real dragonflies wings are kind of iridescent sometimes, so hopefully that doesn't make it seem girly to the little man! :)

Stamps: Garden Whimsy

Paper: Bashful Blue Prints DSP (from Hostess Level I Prints Pack), Cutie Pie DSP, Bashful Blue and Whisper White CS

Ink: Bashful Blue

Accessories: Eastern Elegance rub-ons in black, Ice circle rhinestone brads, White Taffeta ribbon, CE, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, hobby blade, dimensionals, circle cutting system from Creative Memories, corner punch (with guard removed to make scallops)

Stamps: Bugs & Kisses

Paper: Brilliant Blue Prints DSP, Brilliant Blue, YoYo Yellow, and Whisper White CS

Ink: Black and White StazOn, YoYo Yellow, Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise and Brilliant Blue SU! markers

Accessories: Brilliant Blue SU! square buttons, White Taffeta ribbon, CE, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, glue dots, dimensionals, circle cutting system from Creative Memories

So, as Nancy says...

This SUCKS!!! I think that I lost all of my subscribers, in addition to my hit counter, and all kinds of stuff. I found this template and I think I've decided to stick with it, no matter how sick of it I get. I like that it has a picture for me and I don't have to do anything but type. I wanted some sort of stamping/cutesy header, but oh well. I'm pretty upset after losing everything. I have made a lot of really dumb mistakes lately. I don't like feeling incompetent - and I don't usually experience that feeling a lot, until this last week. First my wallet, now this. I totally saved my template in a word document, but stupid me didn't think about the fact that pasting that back in would make me lose all of the "code" that makes up my sidebar.

So....if you subscribe to my blog you'll be getting a message from it/me about me re-creating my subscription list.

As soon as I'm done with this post, that's the first thing I'm going to add back. Then my counter which I'll start at 63,500 since I don't know how much past 63,500 it had gotten. If you happen to remember a larger number when you visited I would be glad to know. Then I'll add back the location tracker 'cause I really like it.

Tomorrow I'll start to get back to work on my blog roll, so in this post if you want to be added to it let me know!

Have a great night!

The Inspiration of Children

So, if you want to totally be inspired by the love, sincerity and creativity of a child then you just have to check out Lillian's Place! This little 6-year old has her very own blog and she even has a blog candy contest going on for reaching 300 hits. I've added her to my blogroll for future reference. Go check her blog out!!!

I was asked....

Doris was wondering what I did to edit my photo in Photoshop. Well, so far (I've only had Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 for a short while now) I'm able to "cheat." I just open my photo in APE and click on Quick Fix and it fixes the photo for me - adjusting the brightness, contrast, shadows, etc. Only one time has it made the card look worse, and that was because when it fixed it it altered the colors a little too much for my taste. So, I had to manually fix it and again there's a button you click and then you just adjust the contrast, brightness, highlights, etc. I don't really know how to be much more informative than that.

Kaylyn over at SCS recommended the following to me. She said to get this book if I have APE and that it REALLY helps: "Top 100 Simplified: Photoshop Elements."

Doris, I hope that I at least kind of answered your question. Most photo software has some kind of editing tab where you can fiddle with the sharpness, contrast, etc to get your card looking right/better. If you have a specific question, I might be able to help so let me know!

THREE Challenges in One!!!

I saw today's Inspiration Challenge over on SCS and couldn't resist making something with it. I had plans to stamp only one card today, and I didn't even do the one I wanted because this challenge was irresistible!!! Here is the link to IC129. BUT, don't stop there, I also incorporated this weeks Sketch Challenge (SC177) which you can see here, and also the Limited Supplies Challenge (LSC169) which you can see here. Above are pictures first of the Inspiration Challenge photo I used and then of the sketch. I felt like there was a hint of a color similar to Blue Bayou in the material that's sitting directly on top of the brown checkered one. As for the Limited Supply Challenge, I'll just tell you that it was to NOT use hardware and instead to use a stamped image in its place. I LOVE this card, sorry, but I do!! :) I really enjoy using glitter in different ways, and this time I added it to some Crystal Effecs for a glossy, sparkly, shimmer.  If you know me, you know I LOVE glitter!!!   This card was very difficult to photograph but I think I did a decent job without a photo tent (on my wish-list!!!) of getting the little sprinkles of glitter to show through the shine of the CE. 

In order to see the "Schumacher" picture larger, for some reason clicking on the picture doesn't work so you'll have to click here. Let me know what you think!!!

Stamps: Always

Paper: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White CS, Blue Bayou Textured CS

Ink: Old Olive, Blue Bayou, and Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, 1/2" circle hole punch, 1/4" circle hole punch, Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, sponges (for shading in the heart), dimensionals

PS - Don't forget to vote in my poll on the right!! You can leave your "other" comment here, or on any post - I'll see it.

A Very Simple Card and What this Weekend's About....

First, I feel compelled to share a PERSONAL opinion here and then you'll get to see a card. I've noticed out there in blog-land that a lot of companies are having sales that people are on the DT's for, and people are talking about how great this weekend is for shopping, and how much shopping they're going to be doing. That is FINE. I just want you to remember the thousands of LIVES that this weekend represents. Here is a REALLY great site to check out on some background on the holiday that even I didn't know about. Click here to go to the site.

Not only does this weekend represent lives sacrificed in service to our country, from police and firemen and women, to the men and women of our armed forces, but it also is a time that we should pay respect to the family members that they have left behind. There are thousands of children that have been left behind by a mother or a father in this current war that we're taking part in. Whether you agree with the cause or not, isn't an issue. It's not an issue for the military men and women either, who are simply DOING THEIR JOBS as they are ordered to, without question. Did you know that if you don't follow a lawful order in the military you can get court martialed for it? So, if a military member doesn't agree with something, it's really not an issue. They are going and dying for our country whether they agree with why or not.

So, whether we agree with the past or present conflicts or not, can we please at least take a moment to reverently think about and offer thanks to the men and women who this weekend is truly about - and offer a little prayer for their families who will never see them again? Please check out the link I listed above if you haven't already. It's a really good one.

If you've done this, then NOW you can go do your shopping! ;)

I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend and that you get to enjoy this special holiday (it is one!) with your friends, family, and those you love.

Here is a very simple card I made using my new Fresh Cuts stamp set and the inchies I got from Ellen's store (check out Ellen Hutson's store over in the right-hand sidebar). I love my inchies!!!



Stamps: Fresh Cuts (2008 Fall-Winter IB&C preview stamp set)
Paper: Soft Sky CS
Ink: Soft Sky
Accessories: Water Dew Drops, inchies (1" square matboard pieces GREAT for stamping on)

CPS #65 - Redemption

I must admit, the last card I made for CPS #65 that I posted on here is almost embarrassing. I really don't like it the more I look at it. I guess we all have different styles, so someone out there might like it, but I don't! So, I REALLY like this one. It took me a long time to cut those square windows so that they would matt perfectly with the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" square punches. The windows are 1 1/2" squares. They're not PERFECT, so don't look too closely, but they're pretty dang good, I think, for my dull hobby blade and some graph paper to make. I popped my image up on top of a layer of Old Olive Prints DSP with some dimensionals. And, that IS Shimmery White CS, I'll see if I can post a small close-up pic. Anyway, the card is below and here is the link to CPS #65 again. Thanks for looking, and don't forget to read the post below and vote in my poll to the right :)

Stamps: Live Your Dream

Paper: Purely Pomegranate Textured CS, Shimmery White CS, Olive Prints DSP

Ink: Purely Pomegranate and Old Olive

Accessories: Stylized Silver HPH, Hobby Blade and Cutting Mat, Small Oval Punch, Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched ribbon, Clear Hero Arts Gemstones from Ellen's store - see it in the link at the right in "places I shop", corner rounder punch to make the scallops, dimensionals

Blog Prizes (aka Candy) Coming....

Just FYI - I want to give out some goodies when I reach 65K hits, BUT, take a look at my poll first and help me out!!

This is the post where you leave a comment for my poll and tell me to stop trying to be funny or creative and to stick to my day-job (wiping noses, helping with kid crafts, going to story time, changing poopy diapers, and stamping the occasional card) and let well enough alone and leave it as blog CANDY, OR you can leave your suggestion for a better name :)

See...I CAN'T wait!!!

Sorry to all you Feedblitzers out there. I explained in an earlier post that sometimes I can't just consolidate my posts or wait until the end of the day and do them all in one. Here's the 2nd for today (but the last).

I just LOVE these Fresh Cut Notes and the Fresh Cuts stamp set!! They make stamping so easy! You just stamp that background on there, add some layers and embellishments to the die-cut flower image, and presto!

For the color combo, I used this weeks color challenge over at SCS. It's CC167 and you can click here to see it. I LOVE blues, greens and yellows together -they're so fresh. This combo didn't call for any yellow, but it still had blues and greens together. I love it!

I really like adding the vellum layer and this time I added it to the top and curled it up a bit so that the flowers stand out from the card. I also sponged Soft Sky ink onto it so it would stand out a little more. I've inserted a couple of views of this below, above the recipe. Just click on them to see them enlarged. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Fresh Cuts (2008 Fall-Winter IB&C preview set)
Paper: Fresh Cut Notes (2008 Fall-Winter IB&C preview item), Spring Fling DSP, CS vellum, Soft Sky Textured CS
Ink: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky
Accessories: Ice Circle Rhinestone Brad (in celery color), 5-Petal Flower Punch, corner rounder punch (with guide removed to make scallops), sponge

CPS #65 and VVPP02

I tried my hand at another version of the Card Positioning Systems #65 sketch layout. I also wanted to use the Verve Visual May Challenge color combo (VVPP02). Hopefully you can see this in the above card :) I'm really not so sure about this card, for many reasons. I'm sure we all have cards like that that we don't really like too much when we're done with them. I love the color combo and the original CPS sketch, I'm just not sure about what I did with them :) Can we say "butchered" them?!?!

This color challenge was a little difficult for me. I like bright colors, but 4-5 of them on one card?!?! I wanted to use all 5 since that would make the challenge even more difficult. The challenge colors can be seen to the left here. I had to fudge a little. I didn't want to use the Regal Rose, I just felt like a more orange pink looked better. Well, as many of you know, most of my stamping stuff is in storage through most of July and I don't have any Cameo Coral CS on-hand. So, I hope that Groovy Guava is close enough? The whole card was inspired by this color challenge, so hopefully that's good enough that picked a color super-close to Cameo Coral. I must add that I don't have any Verve Visual stamps yet because my wallet (now non-existent since it was stolen - this is REALLY figuratively speaking now - LOL) is drained. Their stamp images are AWESOME - check the Verve Visual store out here.

Anyway, to the right you'll see the CPS #65 sketch. This has been a fun sketch for me. I tried to make my own single image this time, and then cut it up into three pieces for the three panels represented in the sketch. I think I should have made the rectangles a little longer vertically. I rotated the sketch this time and have it going horizontally. I also didn't fill up my whole card with the three elements, just like last time. I've been having a lot of fun using the CPS sketches for inspiration. It is a talented group of ladies that take their time each week to put these challenges together for us AND give us cool prizes from some really great sponsors. Make sure you check out their link that I inserted above!

I don't know how obvious it is from the picture, but only two of the glitter-covered flowers are popped up with dimensionals. I wanted the card to have different depths to it, even if they were only through small little flowers. The two that are popped up are the So Saffron one and the Groovy Guava one. Can you tell? I also left my finger print on the card in Pumpkin - don't you hate that?!?!?!

Stamps: Fresh Cuts (2008 Fall-Winter IB&C preview set)

Paper: Soft Sky, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive Textured, Groovy Guava Textured, and Whisper White CS

Ink: Soft Sky, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Groovy Guava, Old Olive

Accessories: Ice Circle Rhinestone brads, liquid glue, dazzling diamonds glitter, piercing tool and template, 1/16" circle hole punch (for holes under sentiment)

Question for ya,and a card a little bit later....

I will be posting a card shortly, but first I wanted to ask all of you how I can get my name in each post as a signature? I'd like it to be a handwritten-looking "Marie" at the bottom. I've seen them on several blogs, cursive-like signatures that you can tell are computer generated, not actual signatures. Thanks in advance for any help!!!

Daniel Took a Nap....

My baby took a suprise late nap today, so even though the DH had left for work at 4:00 p.m., as dinner was cooking, I got to stamp!!!!!!!! Yippee!!! Well, it's nothing much, but here it is:

What stamp set did I use, you ask? You don't know if you've seen it before? Where did I get this cute little note card with a flower punched out of it?!?!? Stampin' Up! has given demonstrators an early chance at a stamp set that will be in the 2008 Fall-Winter Idea Book & Catalog. The BEST PART is that customers can also order these stamp sets and note cards in JUNE!!!! So, remember to contact your demonstrator (or me, if it is me) in June to order this sneak preview set and cards (they DO come with envelopes!).

Stamps: Fresh Cuts
Paper: Fresh Cut Notes, Old Olive Prints DSP, Vellum
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: 5-Petal Flower punch, corner rounder punch (for scallops - guide removed), white Taffeta ribbon, Paper Pretties Kit (pearl), Flower Fusion (olive felt flower)

What do you think?!?!?

Photoshop is here!

I thought I would show you the difference between an un-photoshopped (yes, now I'm making up words) photo and a photoshopped one. Here are the before and after-being-edited shots for your viewing pleasure since I didn't get to stamp today.

The before is the last card I posted - here it is:

The after is THIS!!!!

Yippee!!!!! One good thing does make me get over yesterday a little bit. :)

It was a bad, bad day....

That reminds me of that song that starts out, "I've been a bad, bad girl...." At least, I think there's a song that sounds like that and that line is stuck in my head now. Anyway, I'm being humorous because there isn't much humor in the situation.

I left my wallet in the shopping cart at Wal-Mart after trying to be a good mommy and get my kids quickly in the car and put my car away in the little cart receptacle thing. Even pushing it across the aisle to the receptacle my 20/20 eyes didn't notice I was leaving my wallet.

I get to McDonald's because the kids were starving and I was going to treat them to McDonald's because they hadn't had it yet here in Oklahoma and I was going to just make dinner for me and the DH to eat a little late.

I order the kids food, get to the window, and OH NO!!!!!!!!

I call Wal-Mart enroute back to it to see if it had been turned in. Of course, it's not the perfect world I try to assume it is, and no one had turned it in.

I hit EVERY SINGLE stop light on the way back. I get to Wal-Mart and get stopped at the light where I can see the parking lot for about a minute (I said every light, didn't I?). I can see the cart guys go to my cart receptacle and get the three carts in there. I know mine was the 2nd one. I know they haven't already gotten my cart because I've only been gone a little under 10 minutes and when we were leaving they had JUST gotten the carts - that's why mine was only the 2nd one in the receptacle when they put it there.

I watched from the stop light as they grabbed the 3 carts and I could see that they didn't discover anything in any of them, or reach in and take anything, so I sure the wallet was not in the cart anymore.

Just in case, I drive up to the cart guy like a crazy woman and ask if he found a wallet. He says no. He says I can check the carts at the front of the store. My kids are whining now - "Mommy, we're really hungry!" I ask them to please let mommy be.

I go to the front of the store to the hundreds of carts, hear my kids crying in the car - I didn't turn it off, I just kind of pulled it up to the sidewalk where all the carts were. I realize that my wallet wouldn't have let the cart guys push the next cart in because it would have stopped the basket from opening all the way for the next cart to be shoved inside. All of the carts look perfectly pushed inside one another.

I scan them as quickly and as best as I can and get back in the car and pull into a parking spot to call my bank to close my debit card with them. That was the most important card and I didn't want anyone to go on a Wal-Mart shopping spree.

The good news is that by the time I got home (I only called the bank before going home to give the girls cereal for dinner since we had no left-overs, I hadn't gotten to cook, and that was easiest) and called all of the other cards in there, none had been used. I didn't have any cash in there, just an endorsed check for $35 (I know, dumb me - I was going to take it on the base and cash it but hadn't).

The BAD news is that between my Air Force Reserve ID and my dependant one, and my AND EACH OF MY KIDS social security cards, EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF MY FAMILY has their social security numbers compromised!!!!!!!! How stupid could I be, you ask? Pretty stupid. Most of you probably hardly ever use your SS numbers much anymore. Well, in the military, you use them ALL THE TIME. I can't tell you how many times at random places I've had to supply my kids SSN's and I don't know them, so I've started carrying the cards around. Now I know how stupid that is!!!

Anyway, lesson learned - don't be like Marie and carry stuff like that. I've never lost a wallet before and this is what happens when I do, because of what I carried in the wallet.

I don't even really know what to do about it, other than to get replacement cards. I sure hope because it's a small town and whoever took the wallet out of the cart obviously took it to steal from it since they didn't take it into the customer service desk, that they won't go through the effort to "steal" our SSNs or anything. They can have the check, I don't care, but I just wish I could have everything else in there that isn't a credit/debit card or that check. Those things are easy to replace. All of the other little cards and things I shove in there, my military IDs and SSN cards aren't. Oh well....now you know what I've got going on the next few days.

I called the police like USAA (my bank) said to do. Hopefully they'll review the security camera footage today. MAYBE something will come of it. I'd rather just see my wallet get stuck in the garbage then see it drive off with someone!

I'm going to go get a new driver's license today, and get new military IDs. We may have to get SS cards today too. So, no stamping for me in the near future!

Please learn from my mistakes!! People aren't all nice and won't just turn in a wallet they find, so make sure if they find yours it's all things you can cancel quickly and won't compromise your credit/identity future.

Have a great day!

PS - now I have to get a license and military IDs before I've lost the weight I want to from the baby I had TEN MONTHS AGO (I know, I'm pathetic at weight loss), so that's STINKY in and of itself. I have to be FAT on my cards!!!!!! ;) Again - trying to be humorous since I feel so angry.

Inchies and CPS #65 Sketch Challenge

So, I saw this beautiful trio of cards on Lisa Strahl's blog. I immediately clicked on her link to see where I could find "inchies." Here is a link for you, too. :) I went to Ellen Hutson's store and got some right away, along with all the other items I mentioned to you in a previous post. Well, after getting my package yesterday I couldn't wait to play with the stuff I got. This card features the inchies I got, and the "Water" dew drops out and had this idea for a mosaic on an inchie. I really wish I had my silver ep because I want to fill the cracks with it and emboss it so that it really does look like a mosaic - I'm pretty sure I could figure out a way to make that work. Oh well, that's in storage too. I also thought that this weeks CPS sketch would be a great one for my little mosaic tiles. You can see the CPS #65 here. This card also can be filed under SCS challenge WT166. So, without further ado, here is my card and the recipe:

Stamps: Fresh Cuts (NEW Fall-Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog preview set - I'll explain more about this later)

Paper: Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery and Whisper White Card Stock

Ink: Almost Amethyst

Accessories: Water Dew Drops, inchies, glue dots, white Taffeta ribbon, paper piercing tool and template

SWAP Card - CC166

So, I used CC166 from Splitcoast (Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie and Ruby Red) to make this swap card. I hope the recipients like it. I had fun making it - it took a while and it's all I got done today. I went to the gym this morning during the baby's naptime (when I often stamp) and then I promised the girls that as part of our family activity this evening we would make Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats with chocolate/butterscotch melted topping. Yum!!! So, enjoy the card and have a great evening!!!




Stamps: Always
Paper: Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White Card Stock; Soft Sky Prints DSP; Ginger DSP
Ink: Pumpkin Pie and Ruby Red Classic Ink; Black StazOn
Accessories: 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Scalloped Circle Punch, white Taffeta ribbon, Build-a-Brad, Piercing Tool & Template

A Thought for my Readers

I have lost a couple of readers who subscribe via Feedblitz recently (because I'm back into stamping!!! ;) ) and I thought I would make my annual plug for Google Reader. I lost my subscribers because I tend to post several times a day and that means you get several e-mails every day if you use Feedblitz. I'm sorry, I just CAN'T wait until the end of the day to post everything all at once. I promise I will try from now on to post once, at the end of the day (but that means sometimes I will put things on SCS before they're on here), but just in case, read the following.

While Feedblitz flatters me and my blog because we can all see how many subscribers I have, I PERSONALLY don't use it to subscribe to others blogs. I use Google Reader because I simple click on my Reader link and then every blog I subscribe to is listed there and next to each blog's name is a number that indicates the number of new posts. You just click on the blogs name and it lets you read the new posts (and old too).

The only disadvantage I've found to Reader is that it doesn't show you the actual blog page unless you click on the blog title or post title. That means you don't get to see anything that the author has in their sidebar. BUT, I like it and even prefer it to Feedblitz. No e-mails clogging my inbox when authors have multiple posts a day.

So, if you choose to unsubscribe I totally understand, just please let me know why. I hope that this info about Reader helps you to still be able to access my blog when it is updated. That's why I love it! I don't have to check every blog I like every day just to know if there is a new post.

Take care, and have a great night!

ETA: Read Nancy's awesome tip in the comments section of this post!!!! Thanks Nancy!

I'm one of the Reader Spotlights....

On CPS, I was chosen this week as one of the Reader Spotlights for the week's sketch challenge (#64). Woo hoo for me!!!! ;)

This card is the one that was picked. It was the first card I had stamped in a long while and I owe thanks to CPS for getting me on the roll again with stamping. It was a really fun sketch. I even made another more simple but elegant card for this sketch, that you can see here.

One lucky lady who submitted a card got randomly picked to win a Scor-Pal and some other fun items!

CPS is a must-check-it-out site for stampers. So, click here to check it out or see it in my list of links on the side bar.

Have a great evening. You won't hear from me until Monday as Sundays are family days for us. Take care!

WSC48 and IC128

Well, I decided to combine two challenges today. I used Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #48 which you can see here or in the picture to the left. I really loved her example card and wanted to take some of the elements she had used and incorporate it into my own card. What I liked about her card was the piercing and the three brads at the bottom of the card. Go to her blog at the link above and check our her card, and then come back here.....Okay, you're back!

Now, for the Inspiration Challenge 28 over at SCS, which you can see here, I thought that the candles were beautiful. I'll post one of them to the right here so that you can see the inspiration I used. I thought that the bright color was gorgeous, and I liked how it was just a solitary image on white. I decided to stamp a solitary flower (or two) with nothing else around them. I did want a sentiment on the card so I thought putting it with the flowers was a good idea. Well, now you'll get to see where all of my blunders started happening....

For balance, I wanted to paper pierce at the top right corner of the card, but after beginning, I noticed 2 things. 1. My paper piercing guide was not straight - the manufacturer's holes, that is, and 2. The piercing didn't show up well on the DP I had chosen. SO....I could only come up with covering my botched holes with photo corners like Beate had. Having limited supplies here with me while my stuff is in storage per the Air Force meant I didn't have many options for hiding those holes but I do have my photo corner punch. Anyway, I just felt like explaining the similarities since this wasn't how I wanted the card to turn out.

As for the way IC128 comes in, I wanted to have some bright flowers for the focal point, and this stamp set is the only one I have besides Close as a Memory and those flowers were too bunched and not "solitary" enough for what I envisioned based on the candles.

I wish I had used one of the Soft Sky papers from the Afternoon Tea papers. One where it's the Soft Sky with soft white flowers on the paper. I would have used it in place of the background striped Afternoon Tea paper. I think the focal image would have stood out more if I had done that. Oh well!!! Let me know what you think!

Stamps: Live Your Dream (2008 Occasions Mini Catalog)
Paper: Whisper White, Textured Soft Sky CS (behind brads), Soft Sky and Chocolate Chip CS, Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper (2008 Occasions Mini Catalog)
Ink: Groovy Guava and Wild Wasabi re-inkers, Chocolate Chip marker
Accessories: Paper Pretties Kit, paper piercing tool and guide, Soft Sky double-stitched grosgrain ribbon, 1/2" circle punch, photo corners punch, distressing tool

CPS #64 - Amethyst Sketch

This is the 2nd card I made using the CPS #64 sketch. The layout to the left is the sketch and if you click here you can go to their most recent blog post with the sketch. I had fun making this and wanted to do another monochromatic card - hopefully the black words don't ruin it! I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks for looking!!!

Stamps: Happy Everything

Paper: Almost Amethyst and Whisper White CS, Almost Amethyst Prints DSP

Ink: Black StazOn

Accessories: Paper Pretties Kit, white taffeta ribbon, small corner rounder punch

Link-age Issues

Please let me know if links in my posts don't work. I seem to be getting too many "http://"s in the link when I build it so it doesn't work. Thanks!

IC127 Afterall!

Well, since I just got re-addicted to stamping every day, I haven't ever done an Inspiration Challenge that SCS has hosted and I thought I would wait for the new one tomorrow...until I looked at this last week's challenge and had an idea pop into my head. The picture to the left is the suncatcher that was the provided inspiration and here is the link to the challenge. I immediately thought of my new set from the 2008 Occasions Mini Catalog and wondered how I could get the petals white without embossing powder (I don't have my heat gun here in OK with me) or white ink (since I wanted a plum outline and that would have been hard to do with white ink if I didn't want it to look like I drew the outline). So...I figured I would try markers, and this is what I came up with using the markers to outline the petals (sorry, not the best lighting - can't wait for my Photoshop to get here!!!!!):

Stamps: Live Your Dream

Paper: Whisper White, Pale Plum and Certainly Celery CS

Ink: Pale Plum marker, Certainly Celery pad

Accessories: Ice Circle Rhinestone brads, Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, piercing tool and template, dimensionals, distressing tool for bottom edge of Pale Plum CS

LSC168 - New and Old Alphabet Cards

Hi there! Today's Limited Supplies Challenge can be found here on SCS. The challenge was to make an image using alphabet stamps and to have that be the focal point of the card. So...if you'll check this link, and this one, you can see two cards that I made previously that are perfect for this challenge! BUT....I didn't just use my old cards as examples, I made two more! Probably all the stamping I'll do today because I have lots of laundry to do, I have to go work out, and I've got to go buy some black-out curtains so that my children will sleep past 6:00 am!!! Anyway, here are the two cards, and I'll put the recipe first because they use the exact same things except for the accessories. Those will be listed beneath each card.

Stamps: Best Friends Alphabet Lower, Bud Basics

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Certainly Celery (on the first card)

Ink: Black StazOn, Soft Sky and Certainly Celery

Accessories: Stylized Silver flower ribbon slider (2008 Occasions Mini), Stickles, Piercing Tool and Guide, Black grosgrain ribbon

Accessories: Paper Pretties Kit, Dimensionals

More CC166

Well, I posted one of the three cards I made for CC166 the other day, and here come the other two. The colors we were to use were Soft Sky, Ruby Red and Pumpkin Pie. Click here to see the challenge on SCS. For both of these cards I was going for "simple."

The more I look at the little birdie one though, the more I don't like the black grosgrain. I thought I would have put Pumpkin ribbon there if I'd had it with me (yes, it's in storage in DE with my stuff) but the more I look at it the more I think that I should have just used my Soft Sky double-stitched ribbon, which I HAVE WITH ME!!! Oh well, what's done is done, and even if I do change it before using it, I don't want to re-take a picture of it. I'd rather STAMP!! :)

So, here they are:




Stamps: Defining Alphabet
Paper: Pumpkin Pie and Ruby Red CS, Soft Sky Prints DS paper
Ink: Ruby Red pad, Basic Black Stampin' Write marker
Accessories: Silver brads, dimensionals





Stamps: Pun Fun
Paper: Soft Sky CS, Pumpkin Pie textured CS, Ginger DS paper
Ink: Black StazOn, Soft Sky, Ruby Red and Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Crop-a-Dile (for embossing on PP CS), black grosgrain, distressing tool (on PP layer)

WT166

As mentioned before, using "inchies" was the Ways To Use It challenge for today on SCS. You can check it out here. This was a fun challenge. I started out really simple with it, as you'll see from the first card. Then I tried to add a little more detail with the little bugs on the 2nd, and then I REALLY stepped it up to a many-layered card not really typical of me. It is also a HUGE card. It's 6" x 6" because I wanted the papers I used to really get to show in the layering and if it was smaller I didn't feel that they would. There are a few details about the card under it to explain some things.


Here's the first card I made. I do like it for it's simplicity and it's perfect for the girls to give to one of their friends that they miss. He's a little "inch" worm :)

Stamps: Bugs & Kisses
Paper: Brilliant Blue, Only Orange and Whisper White CS
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Only Orange (pad and marker), White StazOn

Here's the 2nd card. I added the detail of the little bugs crawling towards the flower and made them go on two layers of the card - both on the inchies and on the base of the card.

Stamps: Garden Whimsy, All Holidays
Paper: Wild Wasabi and Whisper White CS, Cutie Pie DSP
Ink: Wild Wasabi and Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: stamp-a-ma-jig


Stamps: Garden Whimsy
Paper: Groovy Guava CS, Groovy Guava Textured CS, Shimmery White CS, Groovy Guava Prints DSP
Ink: Groovy Guava
Accessories: Paper Pretties Kit, Stylized Silver Hardware (2008 Occasions Mini Catalog), paper piercing tool and guide, cotton ball (for sponging), Groovy Guava Double-Stitched Ribbon

This last card was very time consuming to make. With no sponges, I used a cotton ball to "sponge" my background using a circle mask that I made with my Creative Memories circle cutter (love that thing!). I used a piece of Shimmery White CS for the base and I tried to keep my sponging light. To go monochromatic, I stamped off my butterfly after I inked it in Groovy Guava and then I rock n' rolled it in Groovy Guava again. Next I adhered this layer to a piece of Groovy Guava so that when I cut it into inchies (measuring against the Shimmery White CS layer, NOT the Groovy Guava layer or else the inchies would have not been inchies) there would still be a matte around the edge. I noticed that my SU! tabletop trimmer must have slid a little, but don't tell - the inchies are a tiny bit crooked. At that point though, I didn't want to start all over. Next, I popped the inchies up on the Polka Dot GG designer series paper and then I added some half-pearls from my Paper Pretties kit. I layered this layer onto a piece of GG CS that I distressed and then added to another layer of patterned GG DSP. Next, I put this whole thing onto the textured GG CS, added my clear rhinestone brads from the Paper Pretties Kit, did some paper piercing, and then added the rest of the embellishments. I think they're pretty easy to understand how I did them. Anyway, I hope you like it. I REALLY do. Thanks for looking!!!

I Ordered Some Goodies Today...

So, I've seen Dew Drops all over SCS. I think they're a really neat embellishment, so I finally caved and I'm getting some from Ellen Hutson's store. I'm also getting some "inchies" from her. The really ironic thing is that after I placed my order, about 30 min later I got on SCS to check today's WT (ways to use it) challenge and it's to USE INCHIES!!! They said you didn't have to have actual inchies, but could simply cut your CS 1" x 1". I like the fact that inchies are made of matboard instead of just CS so they're a little more durable for watercoloring, etc. Anyway, when my stuff comes I'll make sure to point out what I use from my order on my cards that I post.

Ladies I left in Del Rio, you should check out the Dew Drops on Ellen's site. There's nothing like them at Wal-Mart in town :) I think they'll be lots of fun to use - you get TONS of them in a container. You just stick 'em on with a small glue dot. Anyway, just sharing my anticipation with you and recommending Ellen's store.

Here are some pics of a few of the things I ordered (
and with tax/shipping my stuff was UNDER $60 and this isn't EVERYTHING I ordered!!!!):