Girls Rule and Shopping!

Get your sunglasses out...you're going to need them!! How about this ultra-bright card? I just love those bellas!! A friend at work asked me to make a card for her niece - as part of her b-day gift, she's taking her shopping. How cool is that? I could be her niece, I'm available for shopping!

I took some inspiration from 4hounds at SCS. She uses lots of layers and the ticket punch quite often - hence, this card has more layers than I have EVER used before. LOL!!

All solid colors are by SU! The base card is Pixie Pink, layered with Certainly Celery, layered with Pixie Pink, layered with Apricot Appeal and FINALLY layered with some designer paper from DCWV - it's a huge 12x12 pad - I've never bought a pad of paper this big, but it's got some GREAT papers in it. This one has glitter and embossing with no work from me!

Emmybella was stamped on Whisper White and colored with Aquacolors and OMS; layered on Apricot Appeal, layered on Pixie Pink. I sponged Pixie Pink around Emmybella too. Gotta lotta layers going on! :) Added the pink stitched ribbon from Michael's and a jewel to Emmybella's purse.

Here's a close up of Emmybella:


Thanks for peeking in; hope you're enjoying the weekend. ~M.

Swirls

A couple cards I made this week; just slight differences.



Thanks for stopping by; hope you have a great weekend!! ~M.

Turkey Anyone?

Remember "this" post (click on the word "this" to see the post)? Well...we sent that little guy (no, not our son) off to be mounted - full-size mounted. Six months later, the bird has arrived and our young man is so very delighted! It's beautiful; the taxidermist did a marvelous job.

Here's a side view of the turkey:


The pictures don't do the feathers justice, they have a green/bronze coloring to them. This is a turkey in full strut...which as Jared says "that's what he does when he's going to fight another turkey"...what he doesn't know? They do this when they're after a girl too! LOL

We have several other animals mounted downstairs - that's our unfinished basement in the background; hopefully we'll be able to get it finished and put all our magnificent mounts on display. Our children are blessed with a daddy that loves to hunt and has had the opportunity to hunt all over - British Columbia, Argentina, Alaska, Montana, Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and a few others - from those places we have a Boone & Crockett white tail deer, a beautiful elk, Javalena, Dall sheep, moose, caribou, antelope, and a few other items.

Jim's dad loved to hunt, as do his two brothers. They've had some great times together.

Last, but not least, is the man with his turkey:


The turkey arrived yesterday; tonight when we got home I found Jared sneaking downstairs to take another peek at his turkey. :)

Hope you had a great week; thanks for peeking in!! ~M.

Kona & Sam say THANKS!

It all started with "this" card - a doggy thank you card! A dear friend asked me to make some doggy cards for 2 more black labs...even though my stamp doggy isn't a real black lab; they're still pretty cute aren't they?

They were to be a bit more Christmas related cuz they are Christmas gifts, but I couldn't resist doing Kona's (girl dog) in "pretty colors"; every girly girl deserves pretty colors, right?

Here's Kona card:

The background is a burgundy color - you can only see the top portion of the burgundy background card. It's then layered with SU's silver which I stamped with the Linen background stamp - a bit tough to see. I then layered on the beautiful designer paper and tied on some silver ribbon from SU. I stamped Kona on SU's Whisper White paper, layered on silver, layered onto a scalloped burgundy oval. I accented the scallops with a silver Marvy pen - my first time to use it - sure came in handy. And here is Sam's card; isn't he cute too?


His card starts with SU's Brocade Blue layered with SU's Night of Navy which I embossed with a texture plate by Sizzix. I highlighted the snowflakes with white craft ink to make them stand out a bit. I stamped Sam on SU's Whsiper White paper, layered onto SU's Brocade Blue layered onto some designer paper - just found it in the stash. :) I also used my new Photo Corners punch in the corner and added a white snowflake.

I sure hope Kona and Sam like their thank you cards; I made 3 of each.

Thanks for peeking in; I hope you're having a great week. Hugs, ~M.

I've been tagged!

WOW; I got tagged; I love Pink Lemonade (Keri); I love her work, go check her stuff out...and STOP drooling on your computer screen!!

Instructions:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself (on your blog, we all want to know them).

3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok so here are my seven weird or random facts:

1. My favorite candy is Toffifay - love it!!!

2. Our 3rd child was born with orange hair (mine is naturally blonde, Jim's is dark, dark brown (more gray now - tee hee)...does that count as being about me since I birthed him? LOL YES, we get LOTS of questions about where he came from. I always reply "the milk man"...yeah, whatever!!

3. I'm under 5' tall....um, yes, only 4'...the rest will be left unknown!

4. I can roll my tongue both ways in my mouth.

5. I love NASCAR and am passionate about it - headed to TX Motor Speedway next weekend!

6. I'm fiercely competitive (almost detrimental, particularly watching my children play sports)

7. Hubby's a Cornhusker, I'm a Sooner and we landed in KS - how'd we EVER get together??

8. I know, it didn't say give 8, but when I asked our oldest daughter what's weird about me..."she said, you have old fashioned clothes"...hmm.....

This is fun...let me see who I can tag?


Creating Impressions by Toni

The Pink Stamper (Robyn)

Chic n' Scratch (is that not the CUTEST blog name)

Alison's Angelic Whispers (check out those super cute ornaments!!)

Out of the East (Manna is a doll)

Taylored Expressions

Stamping and Stuff


I've left my 7 comments; hope they play!

Pretty Girls!

Not often do I post up-close pictures of our kids; but this one of the girls is cute...I think. It was taken at a 50th anniversary party we attended this summer - see how dark the oldest one is (with glasses). We had a great summer with lots of swimming and playing outside; both our girls get so tan...but that red-headed little boy we have? HA - he doesn't tan a bit!!!

Notice anything else? I "think" I might have my watermark where I want it - boy has this been a painful process!! It's still more noticeable than I would like...but for now, it'll work I think.

Hope you're having a great weekend; thanks for stopping by!

~M.

Still trying!!

Oh my; I have had 3 different people try to help me and still no luck...but we're getting closer! :D

I have all these watermarks and I've never been able to use them...this is as close as I got tonight!

It's still not as transparent as I need it to be...but it's a start. I've got to get to bed or I'll be miserable tomorrow. URGH...tomorrow, I'll play again.

Have a fabulous Friday and thanks for peeking in and tolerating my ramblings as I try to get this watermark 'thing' to work!! ~M.

Greetings friends; how's everyone doing? I've had some great play time (stamping) this week; ah...what relaxation it brings!

We had a co-worker pass away at a very young age; I made this card to send to her family. The base card is Bazzill paper - I love how it's ultrasmooth on one side and textured on the other. I stamped "With Sympathy" in Chocolate Chip in the lower right-hand corner.

I then dry embossed a softer shade of Bazzill paper with one of my new texture plates from Sizzix (it comes in the starter kit). I lightly sponged pink passion onto the flowers; then mounted this onto a thin frame of pink passion cardstock.

I then used a Clever Lever Mega Scalloped Circle Punch and a Jumbo Circle punch for the main focal point. I colored the solid flower in with pink and SU's Mellow Moss (leaves & stem); stamped off once b4 stamping onto the light pink circle. I then colored in the outline of the flower with Chocolate Chip and Mellow Moss and stamped directly onto the prior image - I didn't stamp off or anything. You can certainly see I didn't get these two lined up real well, but I still think it looks nice. Added the really beautiful pink, chocolate and white ribbon, put it all together and voila - I like it! Do you?

Remember, life is very short; don't forget to tell those you love how dear they are to you as we never know what tomorrow may hold. We're quickly approaching the one year mark of the passing of my DH's dad; how quickly the tears still come for all of us - including our children - even though we know he's in a MUCH better place and is no longer in pain. THAT brings us comfort, but the missing him goes on forever.

Thanks for stopping in; I hope you're having a great week! ~M.

Martini Anyone?

I don't even drink...but I love this stamp (which I purchased from Inky Antics). Isn't she a hoot? The paper is identical to the bella card I made last week; just changed it up a bit...but not much! What I love the most is the inside quote, it says "One Martini, Two Martini, Three Martini, Floor!"; that makes me laugh!

The flowers in the lower right hand corner of the image were punched with Stampin' Up's trio flowers; one in each color, layered on top of each other and then some pink bling/gemstone added to the top of the flowers. I colored the martini mix inside the glass and the girl with a combination of crayons, markers and odorless mineral spirits. Also added some green bling to the bubbles coming out of the glass. She's having a really good time!!!

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend - thanks for peeking in!! ~M.

Altered Junior Notepad

I saw this great tutorial on Mish Mash's blog (<------ Click Here to Check it Out-scroll down a bit). I finally got some notepads and had a chance to make one last night - very quick and easy. THAT I like!

I gave this to my dear friend today...and the inside shows the purse card I made earlier this week that is "so her".You can see when you open the cover up that there is a small pocket on the left-hand side. Perfect for holding coupons, stamps, envelopes to mail, etc. Great little notepad for the grocery list and then put all your coupons on the left-hand side, wouldn't that be snazzy? The top of the junior notepad is covered with decorative packing tape - it has polka dots, just like the outside paper!

The outside of the holder has the word "friendship"; I think the picture below shows that a bit better. There are also 4 pink jewels in each corner which this picture shows better (click on any picture to get an up-close view). I colored the huggybellas with a combination of crayons, markers and odorless mineral spirits.

I can't wait to make a few more of these; they were fun and have endless possibilities.

Thanks for stopping by; have a great weekend. Hugs, ~M.

Happy Birthday - without using those words!

I found this new blog today and there is a challenge listed to create a b-day card without saying "Happy Birthday" on the card. I have been wanting to make this card and that was all the inspiration I needed. Here's the blog where you can see the challenge: {Just Me} (she has really cute stuff!) I received the cakebella image from Jillian Winters (thanks bella dear); I don't have this bella yet; but I think I need her! :D

I made her apron with striped paper...you know, vertical stripes make you look thinner! LOL

She was looking all fine and dandy till I had to mess her up at the end. :( So sad!!! So...I added a prima and pink polka dot flower with an aqua rhinestone in the middle. I also added 3 aqua jewels across the bottom.

The saying on the outside is "Don't sweat getting older!"; the quote on the inside? "Oh, those are hot flashes? Sorry!". It makes me laugh every single time. Those two sayings came from Hambo Stamps - another place to buy great products.

The base card is SU's Taken with Teal, layered with Pink Passion, the DP paper is Junk Padz Salsa Celebration - I really like all the paper in this collection - so fun and bright!

I hope you'll jump in and participate in the challenge; always fun to see what others come up with! Thanks for stopping by; I hope you have a great week! ~M.

Jayhawk Birthday

I am forever making more Jayhawk cards than K-State cards! And after KU beat K-State this weekend; everybody should request one. LOL

I like Jayhawk basketball - but that's about it; for college football, I have to stick with the Sooners (my home state) and the Cornhuskers (hubby's home state).

This was a b-day card made for a friend of our son's; he went to his b-day party at Laser Quest last weekend - talk about fun - they had a blast!!!

I doodled around the edges of the card and also around the bird. I like that doodling business every now and then. :D

We also got a coupon for buy one game, get one free from Laser Quest, so we may have to check it out again, the girls have never been but I know they would love it!

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend; thanks for stopping by! ~M.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

It may not be Monday night football; but it still R-O-C-K-S at our house! Our son lives for football; he loves scoring touchdowns, loves to play - thus is makes it very fun for us to watch. His coach, Preston, calls them the "Thunder Rats" - I have no idea why and beyond creeping me out because it has the word "rats" in it, I think it's pretty funny!


Here's a picture of Jared, age 7, lined up as the 2nd running back in the I formation; blue shorts, hands on knees. So far his team is 3-0, not sure how may times Jared has scored; I know he has at least 2 touchdowns and 1 extra point...but sometimes I get to chatting and miss what's happening. Hmm...can THAT be so? :D

They won the first game 22 to 0, as we left the field Jared said "now that's football, winning 22 to 0"; I had to chuckle (to myself) and explained - they won't all be like that you know. Well, so far they've held all their opponents to 0!!!

I hope you're having a great weekend; thanks for peeking in! Up next - a Jayhawk card. Hey...did you see KU beat K-State this weekend? Ah, I don't care - I'm a Sooner and hubby is a Cornhusker, just thought I'd mention it!

Take care,

~M.

They followed me home...really, they did!

Hey, hey; how are you? It's been a crazy week at our house; I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. I won't bore you with all the details; but I'm serious - it's been crazy!

I got some new stamping toys in the mail this week; I should give this card to my best friend - I believe she is addicted to purses, shoes and watches. :D Seriously - she is!

One of my new gadgets was a thin cut sizzlet...I know, most of the people reading this blog are thinking "what the heck is that"!! It works with my big shot which I love; but I've only used it for dry embossing until last night. I hadn't ever used a die cut...till last night at 11 p.m.! I had to watch Private Practice b4 I could play.

So all day I've been thinking about this card. I used my big shot to cut the 3 patterned purses last night; the paper is Stampin' Up's cutie pie. I'm always like a season behind - have you noticed? Most people are breaking out their fall colors - not me; I'm still hanging with summer for as long as I can!

Anyway, I cut 3 more purses out of black cardstock tonight b4 the volleyball game and put the entire card together. I like the way the black kind of shadows the purses. The middle purse is glued down flat; but the other two are raised with dimensionals. Click on the picture for a closer view.

The base card is Certainly Celery layered with SU's Cutie Pie DP. I then cut a small strip of Apricot Appeal (I think?) and dry embossed it (also with my big shot) and then put it all together. The saying across the bottom is from Stamping Bella (love her stamps) and says "they followed me home..."; that's what you say when you come home with 3 PURSES instead of just one! LOL

Hope you're having a fabulous week; enjoy the weekend and sneak in some quiet time for yourself and rejuvenate! Thanks for stopping by! ~M.