***WARNING*** Dead Animal

If you don't hunt or your hubby/brother/boyfriend doesn't hunt, this picture may offend you!

Our livelihood is guns; my DH is a custom stockmaker meaning he builds custom rifles and shotguns and has lots of opportunities to hunt. Our oldest daughter and our son went hunting with DH in Texas over the Thanksgiving holiday. They arrived Wednesday afternoon and Jared took this 8 point within 30 minutes of being in the blind on the afternoon they arrived. Unfortunately, our daughter didn't get one - but that's okay; she'll try again!

The other gentleman in the pictures is a frined of my DH's; its his land they were hunting on and staying with he and his wife - they all had such a great time!

Don't miss Bev's Blog Candy

It's DEE-LISH!

:D

Hugs, ~M.

Naughty or Nice?

I have been working on these two cards for a week; hence my frustration with needing to find Liquid Applique. Wow, spent too many hours doing that; thankfully Barbra B. from my online stamping group convinced me to use the puff paint I had...AND I didn't have to let it dry before I could make it puff. YEAH - what fun. Next time I'll add some sparkles to it...it'll make great snow!

I made these cards for Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge - I really love her challenges!

The "Holiday Girl" is by Inky Antics; isn't she cute? And yes, she's looking a bit naughty AND a bit nice, don't you think? I colored her using Copics and then added the puff paint for the fur around her dress and hat. Her boots were colored using a black glitter pen. She's stamped on SU Very Vanilla and then layered onto Old Olive and Real Red. I distressed all the edges because she's a bit 'rough around the edges'. LOL Don't panic mom, I'm kidding!

The Naughty or Nice stamp comes from My Favorite Thing's Tis the Season set. The inside says, "Don't worry. I hear Santa grades on a curve!". How cute is that? The polka dot paper is Dashing by SU layered on Old Olive; the base card is also Old Olive. The scallops are made with SU's slit punch and doodled with a white gel pen.

These cards were fun to make and I just love how the puff paint turned out. So...which are you? Naughty or Nice? Santa knows; I'm telling you!

I'm glad you stopped by; hope you're having a great weekend. Hugs, ~M.

Is it REALLY this hard?

I have gone to 3 stores looking for Liquid Applique - no one seems to have a clue what I'm looking for. URGH...HELP...I know I can buy it online, but is there not anyone local that carries it? Wal-Mart, Michael's, Hobby Lobby? I've looked everywhere...it's driving me nuts! I know...that's really not a very far drive. LOL!

And a little update on our daughter; we decided to take her to the doctor today...good move...she has pneumonia. She's on the tail end of it and feeling MUCH better today; but we got an antibiotic and she'll be back to her old self in no time flat!

Hope you have a great weekend. Hugs, ~M.

SCS Challenge - Christmas Style

But first, let's start with a joyful picture I received from our middle daughter. Poor babe has been sick since Monday. She's had a fever, tummy ache, headache, nasty cough and just feels rotten. She made it through 1/2 a day of school on Monday, then missed the rest of the days they attended. Needless to say Thanksgiving was spent at home just the two of us; however, I must report she is feeling MUCH better. Praise God! When I finished my shower this morning and headed to the other bathroom to get ready; this was propped up behind the sink waiting for me.

Pretty good little artist huh? She was so proud of the picture and I was beyond thrilled with it!

If you've stuck with me this long, I'll move along to stamping stuff now.

:D

I used the SCS sketch challenge and was totally inspired by "sn0flakes" card which you can see HERE. Isn't it GOJUS? Seriously!

Not sure mine does it justice, but I love the inspiration she provided, so here's a sneak peek of mine. Lots of red for Christmas and some sparkle to go along!

I love this swirly ornament from Inkadinkadoo; its one of my all-time favorite Christmas stamps. For card stock, I used Pure Poppy from PTI, SU! Very Vanilla and one small square of DP from SU! The ornament is stamped in Pure Poppy and then colored with a clear Spica Glitter Pen for the sparkle. I added "Wishing you" from PTI's Snowflake Serenade set and the inside says "Joy". I cuttlebugged the base Very Vanilla and the small strip of Very Vanilla with the D'vine Swirls folder and then highlighted the swirls with more Pure Poppy. The ribbon is actually from my stash, just a small piece received when I placed an order with Ellen Hutson (*heart* her store); it matched nicely, added 3 medium sized pearls and we were good to go.

So, what do you think of my first Christmas card? Are you in the mood for Christmas? Making your list, checking it twice? Santa is you know!

I hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving with your friends and family...Christmas is just around the corner!!



Thanks for stopping by; hugs, ~M.

Wallet Gift Card Holder

WOW; another b-day party today for our oldest daughter to attend. Have you ever noticed I'm horrible about waiting till the last minute to make a card or whatever we decided to do. LOL You think I'd learn!

I knew we were going to purchase a gift card for the young lady and I remember seeing an awesome wallet-like gift card holder, so I went in search of it this morning and ta-da...found it! And oh my gosh; is it the simplest thing ever; I can't wait to make more, I'll use this time and time again.

And let me apologize now; the pictures are awful, I honestly took them as we were running out the door!

This first picture is the inside; see the little slot? That's where you insert the gift card, it was the perfect size - first time I've eyeballed something and it worked out perfectly. LOL Our DD wrote her message inside on one of the flaps. This next picture shows the outside of the gift card holder; I used another cupcake from "It's a Cupcake Kind of Day!". I paper pieced and crimped the bottom of the cupcake; love the way it looks!

I kept the top of the cupcake simple and outlined it with grey and soft pink. I added some green dew drops to the corners (not that you can tell they are green from the picture, you'll just have to believe me!). We tied it all together with a green ribbon.

Woo hoo, quick, easy and cute; gotta love it! Thanks for popping in; I hope you have a GREAT week! Hugs, ~M.

It's a Cupcake Kind of Day!

WOO HOO - look ma - more time to create this weekend! I've had about 3-4 hours with NO KIDS. Yeah I know, the laundry needs to be done, the house needs cleaned, etc., etc., etc., but hey, I never have alone time so I took advantage and enjoyed myself!!

The MFT forum on SCS has a weekly sketch challenge; and I loved the layout this week and wanted to play along. I pulled out my new cupcake set from MFT called "It's a Cupcake Kind of Day!". We have some b-days on the horizon so I thought I'd get a head start.

I went with some really bright colors for this card - Pixie Pink, Only Orange, Tempting Turquoise and DP by Junkitz (Salsa Celebration); aren't those cupcakes adorable? Nothing fancy here, just stamping, paper piecing and layering - all lots of fun. I doodled a border on the Only Orange and around the cupcake just for fun; lots of polka dots on this card.

I did add Crystal Effects to the cherry and that chococlate topping - YUM! Looks good enough to eat, don't you think? And you know me, two cards are always better than one!

Thanks for popping in; I have lots more creations under way so stop back soon. Hugs, ~M.

Vintage Values

I saw this technique (Vintage Values) on Julee's blog, Poetic Artistry. I {heart} her work; she's also the owner and illustrator of Verve Visual stamps - oh yes, they rock! I made the two layers of Vintage Values on SU! Very Vanilla cardstock in late October, but as you know, with the Van vs. Deer accident, looking for a new vehicle and being sicker than a dog, I haven't had much time to stamp! :(

I've been itching to stamp and finally decided I wanted to finish this card and give it to my DH! He's been in Florida this week and arrives back home tonight around 11 p.m. (Friday); so this will be waiting on his corner of the counter along with his other mail. I hope he likes it; its pretty girly, but it says everything I want it to say. The inside has the "perfect" quote; its one from Papertreyink; but I don't want to give that away just yet.

For the 3 vintage values, I used Regal Rose, Rose Romance (retired) and Pretty In Pink; I think my favorite color right now is Regal Rose...not my typical choice; but I really like it with about any other colors! You can click Julee's link above to go directly to her awesome directions for the Vintage Values technique.

The base card is Regal Rose layered with black and then layered with the largest Vintage Value piece which is also embossed with the Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers (purchased from Eclectic Paperie...BTW, they are having a GREAT sale right now - check it out!).

The smaller Vintage Value piece is also embossed with the same Cuttlebug folder and then layered on black. I punched a Very Vanilla circle and used SU!'s rub on for the "happiness is You & Me"; then I punched a Regal Rose Scalloped Circle, added black dots and then finally punched a Black Scalloped Circle (all punches by Marvy). I mounted this piece with dimensionals and tied on some sheer black ribbon from Michael's. The "Love You" in the corner is also a SU! rub on. The only stamping on this card is on the inside! Gotta love that.

I hope you like this card as much as I do and as always; thanks for popping in. Hugs, ~M.

I'm B-A-C-K...

Said in my most sing-song voice! How in the world are you? I haven't seen all of you in ages! Between that deer vs. van accident and a horrendous sinus infection; I haven't stamped in over two weeks. Talk about withdrawal!

I didn't start feeling better till Sunday; but fortunately for me I had a reason to stamp Saturday. Ah...love when I'm *forced* to stamp - LOL! Our oldest daughter had a b-day party to attend; she's a tweenager now, so finding just the right item can be rather difficult. We bought the birthday girl a Nintendo game and then I made some monogrammed note cards for her - I mean really, what tweenager doesn't want her own monogrammed note cards?

But first, let's start with the b-day card I made. I used SU!'s Simple Birthday Thanks to make the card; you can see from the link, I omitted the words from the stamp and I paper-pieced everything but the cherry.

I also used a paper crimper on the bottom portion of the cupcake so its just like a real paper cupcake holder - its so cool IRL. I again, paper-pieced the top of the cupcake and added pink, orange and red jewels; nice sprinkles eh? Then doesn't that cherry look scrumptious and real? I colored it in using Copics and then added Crystal Effects for some shine. Here's a close-up of the cupcake so you can see the jewels and shine on the cherry.

The background of the card is stamped with SU!'s Linen background in Regal Rose (same color as the cardstock); I cut the entire cupcake out and mounted it with dimensionals on the actual card. My tweenager thought it was great, so whew, passed that one!

Now to the monogrammed note cards. I purchased 2 packs of these polka dot cards from the Target $1 spot quite some time ago. I've used them before, but never in anything I really liked; but I thought these turned out great!

I used the JustRite Curlz monogram set and inked it with two Dew Drop inks (nope, didn't write down the colors - sorry) stamped onto SU!'s vanilla cardstock. Punched it out with a Marvy Circle Punch and then punched a color coordinated Marvy Scalloped Circle. I added dots to the scalloped circle and to finish them off, I tied a ribbon across the top. They were so quick and simple, but the young lady was thrilled. Turns out I made just enough for the number of people she invited to the party, so her mom said she would use them as Thank You cards - YES, another home run!

Here are some close-ups so you can see them a bit better.

Sunday was spent in OKC at a baseball tournament; we had 3 games and got home about 10:45 p.m., what a great day we had!

Thanks for peeking in, its so good to see you! Hugs, ~M.

Those Shoes Make You Look So Skinny!

Good morning!

I made a couple of cards before my mini-vacation using the SCS Sketch Challenge #199 and Stamping Bella images (Savvyshoppabella & Frizzybella). This sketch was fun as they provided two different layouts; great to get your creative juices flowing!

Aren't these girls cute? Savvyshoppabella has lots of glitter - her purse, her shirt and those extra cool boots! The great part of the cards? The inside says "those shoes make you look so skinny!"; love that quote which comes from Inky Antics.

Here's a close up of Savvyshoppabella:

And a full-size picture of Frizzybella - is your hair like this? LOL Every girl that has curly hair wants straight hair and vice-versa; ALWAYS seems to be that way!

I used the Stylized Flowers embossing folder by Cuttlebug on the base card, then on one card I sponged SU craft white to highlight the flowers; the other I sponged on SU Regal Rose to highlight the flowers - can you tell the difference?

On both cards I used the long rectangle nestabilities, one I backed with a scalloped long rectangle, the other I just sponged the edges of the scallops. One of the purses is paper-pieced on the Frizzybella card. Both were colored with Copic Markers and Spica Glitter pens. DP is SU's Georgia Peach - such pretty colors!

Thanks for popping in, I so appreciate you visiting!!! Hugs, ~M.

Van vs. Deer

WOW; what a whirlwind we have been through! I may have mentioned a little mini-vacation to Ft. Worth, TX for the Dickies 500. Oh yes, I'm a NASCAR geek!!!
I love Tony Stewart, but I also love lots of other drivers. I was set to depart Friday, October 31; my DH had left Tuesday for San Antonio, TX...I certainly had lots to do to get the kids ready to stay with some friends, get all my things together AND pre-post some creations.

I'm pretty organized, so I had a plan and I was working my plan! Time is pretty limited around here since we both work a full-time job outside the home and all 3 children are in sports. Anyway, 10/29 rolls around and the 3 little ones and I head to town to do some Halloween shopping. Yeah, I'm organized, but I hate buying costumes. LOL I'm pretty picky about what they can wear and sheesh - they're so expensive! Anywho, we found 2 costumes, grabbed some grub and headed home. About 2 miles from home, I turned off the highway and had an encounter with a very large deer. URGH, my tummy just flips thinking about it. The deer was over 200 lbs., 8 points. Nice buck - but who wants to take one with their vehicle?? Here's some photos of my van which was totaled.

Both airbags deployed; what a mess that is! I couldn't open my door AND there was traffic coming towards us on the 2-lane road. Needless to say we were all scared speechless; lots of tears; me trying to call 911, it's 9 p.m. at night, pitch black, etc., etc. You get the idea. Not much fun!

However, we are blessed with so many dear, dear friends. Someone came and picked up the children; that same individual also had access to a flat-bed tow truck so he came back and got the van and me. Delivered me home and then brought the children home. His dear, sweet wife gave all our children a shower and got them into some jammies. How sweet is that? Two of our babes were eating ice cream so that ended up all over them and the van.

Wednesday night was pretty shaky; I was able to reach my DH and many others to talk with. So I had a friend take me to work Thursday, another friend pick me up and take me home after work and then that same friend took me back to work on Friday until I left for the races in Ft. Worth, TX. It was great to get away for a few days and leave the stress behind.

DH and I are both home and now we're working to find a new car. Another stressful event - ya know??

BUT I do have a couple pix of me at the races, this was on Sunday before the Dickies 500 (we also went to the Nationwide race on Saturday). It was very hot out, but don't you like my pretty, sparkly shirt? :D That dear friend that bathed my children also made the shirt; LOVE IT. Tony's main color is orange and his # is 20, so I was all set. This first picture is me sitting in the bleachers sweating like a pig, the 2nd picture is me doing what I do best - jacking my jaws. LOL

Thanks for popping in; I'll be sharing some new creations soon. Hugs, ~M.