Heartfelt Thanks in Groovy Guava

The New Year is upon us - are you making New Year's resolutions? Anyone going to a party for New Year's Eve or staying home and celebrating?? Tell me, spill all!!

If you read my last post, you know we've had a rough weekend. Our poor little girl is still very anxious each time she coughs - can't blame her, and I'm trying so hard to reassure her that she'll be fine, but she continues to be anxious. She panicked in a store Saturday afternoon, came running and grabbed my hand. I reassured her to go ahead and cough; it was okay. Poor, poor thing, it breaks my heart!!

I haven't been able to find my mojo for stamping lately so I perused several blogs and galleries today and decided to do last week's sketch challenge from Splitcoaststampers. So...here's what I made:

I need to replenish my stash of birthday cards, so I made two of these. See the ribbon on the left-hand side? The card is actually glued together under the ribbon and opens just in front of the ribbon. Hard to explain, but it's different than any I've done before. The ribbon was actually white with polka dots; I ran it through the stamp pad to change the color. Cool, eh?

The base card is actually blush blossom (a really, really pale pink) but stamped using the linen stamp in groovy guava. Groovy guava is the main color throughout the card. I started out with a totally different idea in my head, but that didn't work out at all. LOL That's okay; I like this card!

The center circle (ivory) is actually distressed and edged in the groovy guava. The flower is from the Heartfelt Thanks stamp set.

Thanks for peeking in; I hope you have a marvelous 2008. Celebrate safely please! Hugs, ~M.

Police, Paramedics...Are We Having Fun Yet?

It's 12:30 a.m. and I'm just winding down the day. After a really rotten day at work but a fun evening, we came home to quite the nightmare. Our youngest daughter has been sick with a sinus infection; she's off her antibiotics but has a very productive cough. She got choked and 1.5 hours later, the police and paramedics have left; I'm a wreck - but trying to appear calm and both girls are now in bed.

DH and DS are in Texas hunting, so it's just 'us girls'. That's more stress than I need in one night, let me tell you.

If you'd be so kind as to offer up a prayer for my little tyke, I would appreciate it. Thank goodness for kind, professional workers that don't think "mom's gone off the deep end"; but truly listen and work with your child to help them through the situation. We have a ways to go; but for now, shes sleeping peacefully and I'm right behind her...I hope. Sometimes sleep eludes you under this much stress.

I try not to share too much 'personal' information - well, I should say I share the "fun" a/k/a "good" side, but not the rotten times we sometimes have but tonight...I needed to write.

Thanks friends; hope you had a great week! Hugs, M.

Final Christmas Cards

Merry Christmas friends! I hope you each find yourself blessed when remembering the REASON for the SEASON!!!

These are the last 2 Christmas cards I made; they were hard to get good pictures of due to the embossing.

I LOVE these new ornaments, they're so elegant looking! I used the stem of a flower to make them appear as if they are hanging; kinda cool I thought! For the first card, I embossed the ornaments and "string" with iridescent embossing powder; they're very glittery!

The 2nd card, I embossed the ornaments and "string" with clear embossing powder - these are really hard to get a good picture of; but I love how the clear embossing powder feels so smooth when you run your finger over it!

The first card is done on classic red card stock; the 2nd card is done on a Memory Box cranberry note card. I love these note cards as the color is so rich, but the card is white inside. I purchased these from All That Scraps - love that store!!


I hope you are each having a very merry day! Thanks for peeking in; hugs, ~M.

More Cuttlebugged Christmas

My new word - cuttlebugged! Do you like it? Sounds warm and snuggly, doesn't it? LOL

These are the cards I made as teacher's gifts this year; several colors - turquoise, pomegranate and brocade blue. I cuttlebugged on either white or ivory paper and love how they turned out. I also embossed white/ivory envelopes to match. I gave the teachers mixed colors so they had some variety; I hope they liked them!!

Here's a close-up picture, this one is Ivory and Pomegranate. The one I posted last night was White and Pomegranate.

You can also see the different fancy corner dies I used in the group picture; I love both of these dies!!

DH and I are taking a little trip this weekend while my amazing parents watch our 3 little ones. We are so blessed. My parents live 2 hours away - it'll be a quick trip; but it'll be so much fun!!!

I hope you have a marvelous weekend; and in case I don't get to post before Tuesday...I hope you each have a blessed Christmas!

Hugs, ~M.

Cuttlebug does Christmas

This is the Christmas card I made for my boss; it is TOTALLY CASE'd from "No Time to Stamp". I also made several of these for our children's teachers in several different colors - I'll get those posted soon.

The first picture shows the card and the envelope - the envelope is on the left side of the card; it's embossed to match the card. I used the Cuttlebug Fancy Corners (you can purchase these embossing folders from All that Scraps, or many other local or online stores) and embossed the middle of the card; then embossed again on either side. Then I added the Scor-Pal embossed line to the right of the embossed images. I also embossed the same image on white cardstock, cut out and mounted on Purely Pomegranate cardstock. The entire card is also mounted on Purely Pomegranate, added the PP double-stitched ribbon and ta-da - all done. I think they are so elegant!!

On the cards I made for the teachers, I used 2 different Fancy Corner embossing folders. I'll hopefully get those loaded tomorrow.

Hope you're having a great week and winding up your shopping! Thanks for peeking in; take care!! ~M.

City Divine Does Orange!

Happy holidays friends - how are you?

We're doing great! Nope, not ready for Christmas...I'm kind of ignoring that it's just around the corner - LOL. Think that will work?

I got this stamp a couple of weeks ago and used it for a birthday party our youngest daughter attended. The birthday girl loves orange so I tried to use a bit of orange. :D

The base card is Apricot Appeal; layered with one of SU's blues (anyone know WHICH blue this is? - LOL); layered with more DP from my Nana's Kids 12 x 12 paper pad by DCWV. The girl stamp is "City Divine" by Penny Black. I stamped her on SU's Whisper White; doodled around the edges and mounted on Apricot Appeal. I also doodled around the envelope to match the card.

Finished it off with a couple flowers and a large brad. She is SUCH fun to color. I used Aquacolor Crayons, OMS and SU markers. I also added the orange flower to her hair. My daughter said the card was a hit...I hope so; sure tried to get some orange in there. LOL

Here's a close-up picture of the girl:

I've been busy with a few more Christmas orders; stop back by later this week; I hope to have some new postings.

Take care; have a great week and from our family to yours H-A-P-P-Y
H-O-L-I-D-A-Y-S!!!

~M.

Blue & Silver Snowflakes

I had a request for 18 Christmas cards using blue and silver. Here's the finished product.

These are called tent cards; I got the idea from Michelle Wooderson's blog - she ALWAYS has such wonderful gift ideas!

The cards are very basic and easy; nothing fancy - which is the best way to do it when you have multiple cards to make. I tied silver organza ribbon where the designer snowflake paper meets the blue base card; then I used silver cording to tie on the snowflake shrinky dink (the white circular item in the very front). I love doing shrinky dinks - I need to use them more!!

The circle at the top is a snowflake stamped on a Super Jumbo Circle punch, layered on silver punched from a Mega Circle punch layered on a blue Giga Scalloped Circle punch. I added silver dots to each scallop.

Here's a close-up picture:

I hope she likes them!! I have a few more Christmas projects to get wrapped up; should have those done early this week.

Thanks for peeking in; hope you have a great week!

~M.

Our newest family member!

If you've followed my blog; you've read the story of Patches and Snowball! Well, it wasn't going to be long before we had another addition to our family..."it" arrived yesterday! We don't know yet if its a girl or a boy; but we'll find out this weekend. DH has a friend that used to raise snakes - eeeeekkkkkk - he helped us get Snowball and now he's helped us get STRIPES!!

Here's our newest member!

What do you think??? He's a Leopard Gecko; he's very - um - different looking. He's a pale yellow in color with stripes and his eyelids are blue. Strangest looking thing - LOL!!

Now here's a picture of Stripes and his proud owner!

Yeah, that gecko's cool; but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that little boy holding him!!! Doesn't he have killer eyes - they are a gorgeous blue color (click on the image to see a larger version).

So our fun of a new family member has begun. After church tonight we're headed to the pet store to get a few more things we need for him.

And in case you're curious...no, I don't hold Patches, Snowball OR Stripes! I allow them to have them, but they know the rules. :D

Hope you're having a great Saturday; we have had 2-3 inches of snow today. Thanks for peeking in; take care! ~M.

Oh Santa...I've been good!

L@@K how good I've been? I had a secret elf and she has blessed my socks off!!!

Look at all the cool stuff I got...when you get THAT much stuff; it's hard to get it all in the picture - LOL! AND THERE IS CHOCOLATE!

Cindy is my secret elf and boy what a great elf she is! I'll list everything I got starting from the left bottom corner and working around (also called clockwise - lol):

This fabulous blue card with snow...which it is doing outside our home right now! See that big canister? It's laying on its side and its filled with chocolate covered pretzels individually wrapped - can you say YUM? Isn't that the cutest tag; it's Sandy Claws by Gina K. Designs. A Book in a Box, chipboard sheet, beautiful 6x6 K~ology Hannah Paper Pad, a nugget tin with L-O-T-S of chocolate nuggets - ooooo yeah baby, Mary Engelbreit Dimensional Stickers, epoxy stickers; 3 rolls of ribbon, 3 stamps (tis the season, Merry Christmas and candy cane) and numerous bella images.

Can you believe it? I cannot wait to play with all my goodies!!

And, I was fortunate enough to win some blog candy from Amy Rysavy - look at these treasures too!
A fantastic card by Amy; two stamps by Amuse (lingerie and glasses); an Amuse sucker and lots of bella images!!

I should have a great weekend of stamping and playing; however, I have several holiday orders to finish first.

Hope you have a great weekend! Hope to see you again soon. Hugs, ~M.

Ready for Christmas?

If not, see if THIS puts you in the mood! How do they DO THAT???

Hope you've had a fabulous week! ~M.

I've been tagged - again!

But it was such fun and who wants to be a party pooper at Christmastime? So, I'm participating again. Check out my tagger - Debi; isn't her blog header the CUTEST thing??

Here are the simple rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Here are my random facts:
1. My middle name is Tandree (pronounced Tahn-drae (long a))
2. I love NASCAR
3. I can flip and roll my tongue both ways. :D That's a weird one!!
4. I'm VERY short....under 5' tall!
5. My favorite ice cream is Baskin Robbins Chocolate - good old fashioned chocolate - LOVE THAT STUFF!!!
6. I love to eat ice cream and plain potato chips mixed together
7. I had a benign tumor the size of a football that weighed more than a pound - ACK!!!


:D

Fun, fun; hope you learned something new about me...and maybe you learned something you didn't really want to know - LOL!!

Have a great week! ~M.

Styled to Go, Girls and Guinea Pigs

My BFF had a b-day in November; I posted earlier this week the purse and cards I made for her - this was her b-day card. I love this girl, she's called "Styled to Go" from Inky Antics' Monica Lee Collection; she's fun to color!!

The inside is also from Inky Antics, but from the Ronnie Walter's Collection - I love both of these collections. It says "The fact that you are getting older reminds me that I am getting older and that makes me slightly uncomfortable... So cut that crap out!" Kinda funny huh? (Don't forget, you can click on any of the pictures to see a larger image)

The base card is SU's Tempting Turquoise; layered with some pink Bazzil, layered with SU's Soft Sky and then some DP I had been hoarding. :D

The embossed flower is a cut and emboss template I recently purchased from Sizzix when they had their 70% off sale. I LOVE the flower. Layered it with a couple primas and a brad. I colored the girl in with Aquacolor Crayons and OMS; also used some SU Markers.

Now for some fun family pix - today it was just the girls and me; our son went to work with his dad (remember the one that was in the trash can LAST weekend?). Anyway, the girls had their guinea pigs out today and wanted their pictures taken. Patches (brown, black and white) has gotten soooooooo BIG. He was just a baby when we brought him home, but he has really grown. He was snuggled up with our oldest on the couch today - too cute.

Snowball (white & black) was full grown when we got her; she used to be HUGE compared to Patches, but he's quickly catching up to her.

Our youngest daughter attended a b-day party this afternoon so I took our oldest and 2 friends to see Fred Clause. It's been a great Saturday - but all that means the laundry didn't get done. LOL

Thanks for stopping by; hope you're having a great weekend too. ~M.

Bella Jr. Legal Pads

ETA: Several people have asked how to make these notebooks; here are some instructions taken from Mish Mash.

Cut card stock 8" x 10" for cover of notebook. Score the short end at 1" (this section will be adhered to the back of the notebook with sticky tape, I typically don't cover the entire backside of the notebook). Continue to wrap and score the card stock around the book. I typically score at 1" and then score at 1.25". You will then have a "spine" for the notebook. The front panel should be 5" wide from your 2nd score mark (approximately 1.25"). The remaining card stock will end up as a pocket on the inside of the notebook.

Cut the inside portion at an angle to make the pocket. The bottom of the pocket will be adhered with sticky tape. I also adhere a piece of cardstock to the top of the notebook (jr. legal notepad) to make it look finished.

I find that sticky tape (redline tape) works best and holds FOREVER! However, when you use this tape, the notebooks will not be refillable. Happy Stamping!

I made one of these not too long ago for a friend; they're so easy yet so cute and handy! They are jr. legal notepads covered with cardstock and decorated but they also have a small pocket on the inside.

The inspiration came from Mish Mash; she has suuuu-pah ideas!

Two are identical and say "sisters"; the middle one with the flower is for my friend's mom. I need to make one more for her sister-in-law and then we're set. I believe she might be giving these for Christmas gifts.


The "sisters" notepad has huggybellas from Stamping Bella - I so love her images! They're just flat out cute to begin with but also fun to color. The floral stamp is also by Stamping Bella - Em is just multi-talented!! She's having her one-year "Da Bella Ball" over at Splitcoaststampers tonight - she's releasing 3 new bellas AND she's offering free shipping all weekend long (enter code 12531d to receive free shipping). Guess that means I'll be forced to put a dent in the bank account. :D
Here's some close up pix for you to look at.


Hope you've had a great week and I'm thrilled you stopped by to peek in! Enjoy the weekend - have some fun, get some rest and stay warm...it's very cold here in Toto-land!

~M.

One Sheet Wonder & Purse

FINALLY - I've spent an hour looking for the inspiration behind my most recent creation!!! It's by akstampmama of SCS.

My best friend's b-day was in November, but we just got the chance to celebrate this week and this purse and card set was a portion of her b-day gift.

Her favorite color is blue and even though she likes bright blue; I thought she'd be happy with these. All the cards are made by using the One Sheet Wonder pattern. The instructions for the purse and each card is fabulous - you should give it a try! I was happy with my first go-round; can't wait to try it again with some bright paper and more embellishments.


This is a little bit closer picture of the purse & a few of the cards.

Hope you like the set; and I really hope my BFF liked it!!!

Thanks for stopping by; I hope you've had a great week! Take care, M.

Verve Visual

L@@K what I won from Jen @ i{heart}2stamp!!!


She has such great creations! I'm so excited, I don't own a single Verve Visual stamp set...but now I do! I can't wait to play and see what I come up with - I have some specific card designs in mind, so we'll see what happens!

Did you notice the new Christmas tree on my sidebar? I can't seem to get the whole image on my sidebar, but it sure is cute huh? I got to choose what color ornaments I wanted, what color lights I wanted, what topping I wanted, etc., etc., it was such fun to do!!

Thanks for peeking in; I'll have some new images to show you very soon. ~M.

Trash?

THIS is what happens when your son goes to work with his dad! The owner of the company works downstairs; DH rents shop space from them up above; but our youngest loves talking to the owner and playing with him. Not sure the owner is thrilled with this arrangement, but he is soooo good with our kids!!

Our son, age 7, was all dressed in camoflauge. He's hunting over Christmas break with his dad and can not wait - he talks almost nightly about it. LOL

Thanks for peeking in; have a great week! ~M.

**NEW** Blog Candy Winner!!

Well, I never heard from the winner I drew last week with random.org; so I've drawn again.

The NEW winner is:

NormaJ said...

Let's see what do I want? - Well,
I have made and received lots of
ATC cards lately, so a book with
card holders would be nice. But I
haven't found one yet.

11/24/2007 2:06 AM

NormaJ - contact me with your snail mail addy and I'll get your treats sent your way. Thanks everyone for playing; I hope you had a great weekend!!!

Elf Name?

Your Elf Name Is...

Sassy Stocking Stuffer

What's Your Elf Name?

Target Notebooks

I got these little notebooks at Target, they come in sets of 2. There is a larger size I like a bit better, but they were out of those, so I decided these would work just fine! Our youngest daughter has a b-day party to attend this weekend and another one next weekend, so these are for the b-day girls.

The one friend is a K-State fan so we had to make hers purple and grey!! I covered both the front and back of the notebook with the grid purple paper - just some extra I had. The grey and white rectangles were made with the Nestability Dies. The white rectangle is also embossed; which I love. It took me awhile to figure out how to use the Nestability Dies with my Big Shot, but now that I have it figured out; I L-O-V-E using them!! I didn't purchase my dies from Ellen Hutson's store; but she is carrying them and I love working with her; so if you're interested in all the different shapes and sizes, check out THIS link!

The next little girl loves orange, so this one is pretty self explanatory huh? :) The base paper is from my Junkitz Salsa Paper Pad - I love that paper; so many great papers in the pad; always something fun to play with!

I know the girls will love their little notepads; always fun to get personalized things too.

I hope you've had a great week; thanks for peeking in!!! ~M.

With Sympathy

A former co-worker's younger brother passed away Sunday; a sad day, but a happy day knowing he is no longer in pain and discomfort and instead is walking the streets of gold!!!

Kirk was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) in April 2007. If you'd like to read Kirk's story - it's amazing, go HERE. I wanted to make a simple, yet elegant Sympathy card so this is what I came up with tonight.

The "With Sympathy" and inside stamp is from SU's Hope for Comfort set.

The base card is SU's Going Gray, layered with SU's Black, layered with Basic Grey's Scarlet's Letter. Nothing fancy, but it will be sent with loads of prayers and love.

I hope you are having a great week. Cherish those you love! ~M.

Mom's Butt?

HA! - How do you like THAT title? LOL

More brand new stamps from Inky Antics, these are by artist Ronnie Walter's. He's got some great stamps; check them out!!

These are basically the same; one has SU's new rhinestone brads; the other has turquoise jewels. I also did paper-piecing on one. She was a fun image to color - she's a 'natural chick'; not air-brushed you know? LOL

The best part? The inside stamp says "How did my mom's butt get back there?" I think that's hysterical, do you?

Hope you have a great week; thanks for peeking in; leave a comment and let me know you stopped by!! ~M.

And the winner is....

UPDATED: 11/28/07 - I have yet to hear from the winner; if I do not hear from "Reality Show Reject" by Sunday, December 2, I will draw another number using random. org!!!

The winner was chosen via random.org (that's a cool website to use); and the winner is:

#15
Reality Show Reject said...

Like a bunch of others, I too want a Cricut. But...I'd also like clothes, and a bunch of random scrapbooking / stamping stuff! Thanks for the chance to win!

I visited your blog - you've won several blog candy giveaways lately - if Christmas goes as well as your blog winnings, you'll be doing great!!!

Send me your snail mail information and I'll get your treasures out to you right away. Have a great week.

Thanks for playing everyone!! ~M.

Pink & Chocolate Flourishes

I've had quite a bit of time this week to create - more than I've had in quite some time! I had one night where I couldn't seem to make anything I liked! I wouldn't go to bed until I made something I liked, so here's the card:

The note card is "Cotton Candy" from Ellen Hutson's store. The designer paper is by Treehouse Designs - I love those flowers; there are also yellow flowers on that chocolate paper - don't think you can see one in this picture, but the DP is yummy!!

The flourishes are clear stamps from Rhonna Farrer called "Swirls V: I; they're really fun!

The small pink flowers are from SU's Roses in Winter set; what you can't see from the photo is they are stamped in two colors, Moonlight Path and Twilight by Brilliance. I only used the pink portion of Twilight - their ink is so sparkly; I love the shimmer it added to the card; tied off with Chocolate Chip and white ribbon and scalloped the bottom of the designer paper.

Hope you like this card! Thanks for stopping by!! ~M.

Hanna Went Shopping on Black Friday

Hanna went shopping yesterday - Black Friday...did you? I didn't!!! Many people love black Friday, but I've never gotten into it, besides I had to work. Guess it keeps me from spending money - LOL!!

Hanna and her twin went shopping though; look at those sacks!




Here Hanna is decked in a purple little dress and a bit of paper-piecing on the bags; isn't she the cutest thing? I think everyone owns this stamp set but me! I also added some Stickles to her dress and the large Amuse oval to 'ground' her as she walks.


Now here's her twin:



This young lady went to the store and loved it so much, she bought a dress and wore it out of the store! LOL Look at all that paper-piecing! Just wanted to see how much I could do - and actually the original card had even more paper-piecing...but um....bad things happened to that image. :( I edged her dress (bottom, sleeves and neckline) in Chocolate Chip and added Stickles also.

Isn't that what all of you said when you were shopping Friday, "But I need it...". :D

Hanna Stamps new website is up - make sure you check it out; Kristi has done a marvelous job with all the new stamp sets; I really like them! This is the only one I've played with so far, but give me some time!!

AND, look what I found when I woke up this morning..........SNOW:

This is a picture I just took this morning by stepping out our front door - isn't it pretty? It won't last long, the sun is shining and the ground is pretty warm.

I hope you have a superb weekend; thanks for stopping by! ~M.

**NEW** Blog Candy Winner!!

Well, I never heard from the winner I drew last week with random.org; so I've drawn again.

The NEW winner is:

NormaJ said...

Let's see what do I want? - Well,
I have made and received lots of
ATC cards lately, so a book with
card holders would be nice. But I
haven't found one yet.

11/24/2007 2:06 AM

NormaJ - contact me with your snail mail addy and I'll get your treats sent your way. Thanks everyone for playing; I hope you had a great weekend!!!

Yum!

Can you say Y-U-M-M-Y???

I tried a new recipe called Turtle Pumpkin Pie - oh so easy to make and oh so delicious!. That's all that was eaten when I left today, I meant to bring it home and take it to work tomorrow, but I forgot. I also made a new recipe of pumpkin bars and they were great too! I left those with my mom and dad - mom can take it all to work tomorrow. Better they eat it than me. :D

The shell is a Honey Maid Pie Crust drizzled with carmel topping and pecan pieces. Then you mix:

1 C cold milk
2 - 4 oz. servings instant vanilla pudding
1 C canned pumpkin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmet

Whish until blended, then add 1 1/2 C whipped topping and pour into pie shell. Top with remaining cool whip. Before serving drizzle with caramel topping and pecans.

YUM, YUM. I hope you had a splendid day! Thanks for stopping by! ~M.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy, happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you!!!

It's the night before Thanksgiving, our two youngest are staying with my parents as they don't have school the rest of the week, so we have the oldest home with us. Tomorrow she and her daddy will leave for Texas to go hunting. But for tonight...

Let me just tell you all you can accomplish without 3 kids underfoot - LOL! I got home about 5:15 p.m., we have:

baked chocolate chip cookies - not from scratch - but they're yummy (it was the big tub that you just scoop out and put on the pan to bake)

1 Turtle Pumpkin Pie

1 Pumpkin Bars

1 Nut Clusters (butterscotch and milk chocolate morsels melted, then you added lightly salted peanuts, drop by spoonful on wax paper to harden - then stick in the fridge)

Unload the dishwasher, load the disherwasher and wash dishes.

WOW, we're roaring along here huh? I should take pictures of the turtle pumpkin pie as Alyssa helped with that one...then she disappeared. :D

That's okay, it's been a marvelous evening. I hope you get to spend some time with family and friends and cherish every moment!!!

Thanks for stopping by; hugs,

~M.

More Fall Flowers

Hmmm...the weather has turned mighty cold here in Toto-land...should I turn to winter flowers?

Nah; I'm sticking with this trio of flowers for now:

Instead of using a white background, I used an apricot background; can you see the card? Click on the image, it'll make it bigger so you can see it up close! It's yummy!

The base card is Apricot Appeal layered with So Saffron. I used the swirls embossing folder on the So Saffron and also on the black layer you see behind the designer paper. I highlighted the swirls with Pumpkin Pie and also edged the entire card in Pumpkin Pie. The flowers were from the stamp you see in the picture, I just punched out and colored the portion I wanted for the card. The Trio of Flowers is by Gina K - did I mention she R-O-C-K-S? :)

There is a pearl at the center of each flower - I love those little pearls! Added the orange ribbon to tie it all together (tie, get it, tie)...ok, bad humor. LOL The floral stamp is colored with aquacolor cryons & odorless mineral spirits.

Here's another picture - but I'll admit, it was getting late so there is quite a shadow on the picture, sorry about that.

Hope you're having a great week and may you each have a splendid and blessed Thanksgiving.

Thanks for stopping by!! ~M.

Wagon of Fall Flowers

Happy Monday - how's everyone doing? Today was a wild, wild day at work...but then again, the last few weeks have all been like this!

I love this card layout; it's so neat - the message can be hidden and revealed when the ribbon is pulled. Both the wagon and the sentiment are from Gina K Designs (she R-O-C-K-S!!!).

This picture shows the card closed - to see the message, you have to pull the ribbon and slide the inside card (with the green background) out. The outer portion of the card is chocolate layered with some beautiful striped DP paper - I love that paper! Yummy!

The wagon was stamped and then masked and the flowers added. I colored the flowers with SU Classic Inks and a blending pen - nothing fancy. While I had the wagon masked, I also added the oval to ground it. I distressed the edges of the ivory cardstock on top; it's then layered on burgundy. The sentiment "my mother, my friend" is one of my favorites from Gina K. Here's the inside message:

Isn't that sentiment just incredible? I love the flowers and the pearl brad too; it ties everything together and gives it that elegant touch...or so I think!

We have had incredible weather today - almost 80 degrees, unheard of in November in Toto-land. Tomorrow is supposed to be very nice too - then the REAL November arrives.

Thanks for stopping by; have a fabulous week! ~M.

Special Card for DH

Happy Saturday morning - the weekend is here!!! AND I had a date last night with my DH - what a great start to the weekend!

I've read on other blogs where people choose to keep their personal life just that...personal; others share it all. I've never really asked my readers which they prefer, I've always given bits of our personal life; after all, I work full-time outside the home and we have 3 little babes, so stamping doesn't happen near as much as I'd like! But life with the family is always happening!

Yesterday, 11/16/07, was one year ago that we lost DH's dad. He was much too young, just 66. I wanted to make a special card for DH; I also asked the children to write something they remember about Grandpa so I could tuck those into the card also.

Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. I headed downstairs to work on the card - really not knowing exactly what I was going to do. I've owned the Nestability Dies for about 2 mos. and had never been able to get them to work with my Big Shot. So, I first decided I wanted to see if I could get them to work and I knew I wanted to put DH's dad's initials on the card.

So...here's my finished card:
The base card is SU's Brocade Blue, layered with some designer paper I've had forever - I got it on sale and just haven't used it yet. Kind of hard to see in the picture, but I added Chocolate Chip ribbon where the paper meets the card base and then tied on some matching blue ribbon on the left-hand side. And yes, I figured out the Nestability Dies - WOO HOO; each letter is stamped on a small rectangle that I cut and then embossed. It's actually very easy to do - just gotta figure out how to do it! I also edged each rectangle in Brocade Blue and then Chocolate Chip.

I didn't get the "g" stamped all the way, but that's okay; it was the meaning behind it all that made the card special.

I wrote a loving note inside, added the notes from our children and left it for Jim to find Friday morning b4 he headed to work. For some odd reason, he went into the kitchen and found it Thursday night; which was okay; except it made winding down the night rather emotional as the memories come flooding back.

Here's a close-up of the card; if you click on the image you can see the embossing of each rectangle:

I won't continue on and on, but I do want to say, Jerry (f-i-l) and DH were the BEST FRIENDS! They talked 2 to 3 times per week. The day of the funeral, the 3 boys (DH and his 2 brothers) did the funeral service as their dad had asked. DH stood up and said (through a shaky voice and a few tears); we haven't just lost our dad. I have lost my best friend, my counselor, my confidante...and beyond that I have no idea what he said as the impact of the loss for DH really hit home for me!

As I always say...hug those you love and tell them you love them; life is always much too short!!!

Thanks for peeking in; hope you don't mind the glimpse into my personal life! Have a joyful weekend. Hugs, ~M.

Altered Clipboard

L@@K!! I haven't done many altered items, but I really like how this one turned out! It's a small clipboard I got at our LSS. The paper is from DCWV 12" x 12" Nana's Kids paper stack - it has some fabulous papers in it!!

I adhered the paper with mod podge both front and back - yep, the paper looks just like that, didn't add a thing (except for the initials). I then sanded the sides so it's smooth and 'finished'.

After it was dry, I applied a layer of glitter mod podge; love that bling and sparkle! :)

I then wanted to keep the initials very simple and not overwhelm the paper as I think the paper alone is very pretty; so I cut them from some lime decorative paper I had. Adhered them with mod podge also.

This is for a co-worker that is going back to college to finish her teaching degree. We gave her some fun, gag items and then some more serious items.

Hope she likes the clipboard. Thanks for stopping by; hope you're having a fabulous week!

~M.