45

Read THIS blog and scroll down till you see the heading "45." in lime green and read it - I think it's hysterical. Julie has such a great sense of humor and I need to borrow it. I came home today to the contents of a bottle of nail polish IN THE SINK AND ON A FRYING PAN. Hot pink in case you were interested.

Now why, oh why do I not think to take pictures? Is it b/c steam is rolling from my ears and my hair is on fire - is that why?

I'll be able to laugh about it.........in a year or two!!!

Calgon...take me away!!

Did you see how much my blog is worth?

Not much! HA!

Depends if you're using Internet Explorer or Firefox to view my blog as to where you'll see the new information (about the value); but it's in the sidebar. BTW, Firefox works much better in viewing my blog; but if you're using IE, it's probably at the very bottom of the page, right-hand side. Gave me a chuckle.

Gina K. did her blog and it was worth about $125,000; I've got a ways to go!

:D

Thanks for stopping by today; make it a great day! ~M.

Remember the great white hunter?

Now he's a handsome cowboy!

H-A-P-P-Y
B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y
K-A-N-S-A-S!!!

The 1st graders did a Kansas program today - what fun it was and THIS is how our young man dressed:

He did great during the program and I thought he looked mighty fine! AND this young man is celebrating his 8th birthday tomorrow; he has been counting down since January 1st - LOL! Anyone that knows me well knows he takes after me in celebrating birthdays - I LOVE them and can't wait to celebrate my own every year.

Hope you're having a great week; I'm in the middle of baking 2 batches of brownies for Jared to take to school tomorrow. Yummy!

Have a great day; hugs, ~M.

Baby Thank You Gift Set

We're having a baby shower for a co-worker tomorrow - they chose not to find out if they are having a boy or a girl, so I tried to use rather neutral colors. I guess they're a bit more feminine than masculine, but I hoped by adding the green dew drops that would help??

I did several with groovy guava as the base color and a few with apricot appeal. Both are topped with white card stock. I used my Big Shot and 2 small Cuttlebug embossing folders - one says "thank you"; the other is little baby's feet - aren't those feet sooo cute? I added feet on either side of the thank you.

I then used my Scor-Pal to add the two horizontal lines right above the "thank you" and baby's feet; tied on some fun, colorful ribbon, added the dew drops (I purchased mine at www.ellenhutson.com) and voila; that's it. I like them - they were quick, easy and colorful. Hope my co-worker likes them.

We've had a very busy weekend, 2 basketball games on Saturday, basketball pictures today at 1 and 3 p.m. and then I met my mom in Wellington to pick up our oldest daughter. She was treated to a weekend with Grammy and Granddad - the BEST kinda weekend to have!

Our little man turns 8 on Wednesday and his birthday party is next Sunday - so we have another busy week and weekend ahead. Hubby comes home late Tuesday night (yeah); life is always easier with a 2nd set of helping hands. I have so much respect for single parents!

I hope you've had a great weekend; thanks for stopping by. Hugs, ~M.

Emerging Color

I tried the Emerging Color technique from SCS - not too thrilled with the results - but hey, I tried! :D

The base card is actually two-tone by Bazzill; it's a darker blue on the side that you are seeing and then it's a lighter blue inside - I love that. I layered the Bazzill paper with Night of Navy. My focal point is the "emerging color"; but it's really hard to see. There are smaller snowflakes stamped in various blues; then I stamped the large snowflake with Versamark, then used clear embossing powder. I then used Brilliant Blue and brayered the entire piece of card stock - amazingly, the card stock I started with was Ivory - you'd never know with the blue brayered on there huh? I then stamped the swirls with Night of Navy.

I used the ticket punch in opposing corners for both the emerging color piece as well as the white card stock; then added the small pearls and ribbon.

We had a BB game at 10 a.m. and another one at 2 p.m., then I'm headed to work for a bit, then to church. Whew - what a busy, busy day!

I hope you're having a great weekend; thanks for peeking in! ~M.

One brave...and cute...girl!

I haven't had the chance to "create" all week long - life keeps getting in the way. LOL!

The craziness began January 2nd when our oldest got 6 braces on the top. I didn't think 6 was all that bad; but holy cow, was she in pain. She's our "strongest" child by far and she cried for 3 days. I was shocked at how quickly - just those 6 braces - began to move her teeth!

Then came oral surgery; last week they removed 2 baby teeth on the right side of her mouth. I love my dentist, but I HATE the work they do!!! I'm a crybaby, I admit it, I'm not ashamed. But she was so very strong and her dentist is incredible - he sings to the kids as he "wiggles" the teeth - which is what he calls it when he's pulling teeth. Our children see a pediatric dentist that is the *most* amazing guy. I told him one time that I loved him and my OB-GYN - LOL. Awww...I'll share that story some day.

OK, roll forward to this week - hubby leaves town for a week, our oldest has oral surgery again. This time they are taking 3 teeth on the left side - all baby teeth; however, one molar does not have a successor, so there's no tooth underneath to eat away the roots of the baby tooth and make it loose.

So...if it's not loose...then it's REALLY stuck, right? Oh yeah, it sure was. It left a hole about the size of the end of my pinky finger - I can gag just remembering all this.

My dear, dear mother has come to town both times to help me - praise God for my mom; she's our saving grace!! So....our daughter did great during the surgery, but I guess when they came home, they weren't putting the gauze padding directly on the extraction sites so it wasn't stopping the bleeding. I came home to quite the mess - more blood than I really care to handle.

We ran out of the padding they gave us, so I resorted to paper towels rolled up and tucked in all 3 places. The 2 smaller teeth finally quit bleeding, but that large molar just wouldn't stop. She was so sweet, she would put the padding on the spot, with my help; then flip it around to the other end then we'd change it again. We changed padding every 15 minutes until 8 p.m. WHEW!

She was so tired; she finally went to bed at 8:30 p.m. even though it wasn't totally finished bleeding - but it was definitely much better. Let me just say, when she awoke this morning? Well....um...it was DISGUSTING, oh so disgusting; I thought I was going to toss my cookies. No need to give you the details of that!!!!

BUT she awoke feeling much better today and as she was getting ready for school, she wanted me to put her hair up this morning - she's got that pre-tween thing going on. So here are two pix of the bun we did - pretty good for my first bun, right? tee hee

I have semi-long hair and love to do fun things with it; now I have a daughter growing up that's ready to let me fix her hair. Pray for them. HA HA

Our youngest daughter doesn't really feel it necessary to brush her own hair - surely there's hope for her right?

Tomorrow is another big day - she gets all her bottom braces on - and they'll need to hold a spot for the tooth that didn't have a successor underneath - she'll eventually need an implant there. :(

So...that's what we call "life getting in the way".

I hope YOU are having a great week!! I hope to squeeze in some stamping time this weekend, I have lots more Valentine treats to make. Thanks for stopping by; have a great weekend! ~M.

Candy Kit - BOY STYLE

These cute candy kits don't have to be just for girls!! This one was made for a former co-worker's son who loves basketball!

I used the basketball to choose the colors and stamped the basketball repeatedly to give the image of it shooting towards the hoop!

I added the words "you rock!" in Chocolate Chip and edged the scalloped rectangle and white rectangle in Chocolate Chip also. I used my nestabilities for the rectangles - I'm really liking those things; I can't wait to get other shapes of them. I tucked the ribbon behind the rectangle so you could bet a better view.

I made my own orange stuffing for the bottom of the candy kit and then added Hershey's mini candy bars - yum, yum!

Hope the young man likes the treat!! And I hope each of you are having a great week! Thanks for stopping by; hope to see you again soon! ~M.

Paisley Butterfly Kisses

Believe it or not, I bought this blue & chocolate paisley paper on Friday and used them Saturday morning to make 4 cards - YAY for me; I didn't hoard the DP like I usually do. LOL

I love just about any color with Chocolate Chip. My BFF's favorite color is blue although she likes sapphire blue better; I thought this combo would still work - it's soft and pretty!

I used the same layout I used in THIS post. The base card is a beautiful light blue, layered with chocolate chip which I distressed the edges, then I layered the blue & chocolate paisley paper. Believe it or not, I had "just enough" of the light blue ribbon - tell me, it was just meant to be, huh?

I stamped the paisley butterfly from Papertrey's Butterfly Kisses set in chocolate chip onto whisper white and mounted on light blue card stock. I edged the white circle in blue and the scalloped circle in chocolate chip. I added some 'bling' to each butterfly; various size rhinestones. Each card has a different verse inside; a nice variety she can use as needed.

H0pe she likes them! Thanks for popping in; hope you come back soon! ~M.

Porcupine Valentine

I participated in the Stamp Simply # 16 challenge by Sharon of No Time to Stamp; it was my first time to participate; it's a long and low card. I made it for a stamping friend that I sent some images to. Isn't the porcupine so cute??

The card actually fits a business-size envelope; the border across the top is stickers. Yeah...I've had them about a year and NEVER used them - what a shame. I had to use 2 of the stickers to fit all the way across the card; but hey, after not using them for a year; it's about time I put them to work.

Anyone have big plans for the weekend? We have 2 basketball games and then I'm going to meet a friend for a very late lunch and I hope a movie. It'll be nice to have some girl time AND we're exchanging Christmas gifts - whee! Can't wait.

I hope you have a great weekend; thanks for popping in. Come back soon! ~M.

Yummy Candy Kits

So...what do you think?

Come on...don't they look YUMMY? Wait...maybe it's that cupcake that looks so yummy?? <*wink*>

I have lots of these to make and I can't wait. I bought lots of different candy to put in them too! If you click on the picture, you can get a better view. The cupcake is covered with Dazzling Diamonds and aren't those Dew Drops in the corners so stinkin' cute? I cannot WAIT to get more colors. The pink cardstock is also shimmery; just scrumptious!

Great treats for Valentine's Day - I'm making these for our little one's teachers.

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

Butterfly Kisses

How can it be that something you want to mass produce can take SO LONG to make??? Is it because I only get to stamp about 30 minutes at one time - and that's on a really good day and I only have really good days which allow me to stamp 2 maybe 3 times a week if I'm lucky? LOL

These cards are totally CASE'd from Prairie Paper & Ink, check out Amy's blog; I love her work.

The base card is Whisper White layered with Chocolate Chip in which I distressed the edges. Then I added a layer of Purely Pomegranate a small piece of DP (4" x 4"), then I tied it together with the Chocolate Chip ribbon. The butterfly is from Papertrey's Butterfly Kisses set - I never use that set enough!

I used the Nestabilities for the scalloped and embossed rectangle in which the butterfly is stamped on. The Just Because and Thank You are from Papertrey's Paper Tray set and are both stamped in Chocolate Chip. Lastly I added the flower and brad in the lower left-hand corner.

What do you think? I love these colors together; a few things I'd do differently, but overall I thought they turned out nice.

Today has been a rough day; our oldest had 2 baby teeth pulled - yeah baby teeth - no biggy right? Well, it is when they aren't even REMOTELY loose. I was with her; they did 3 "tubes" of shots - holy moly! Me...I'd be crying! I, um, truly, totally, HATE THE DENTIST. Love my dentist; just hate the work they do. LOL! She was a real trooper! She's doing good this evening, she's had some ice cream and an orange. Next week she gets 3 more pulled as well as getting all her bottom braces on - whew - we'll need a break after that; momma's heart can't handle it!

Thanks for peeking in; I hope you have a marvelous week!!! ~M.

Long and Low

I participated in Sharon's (No Time to Stamp?) card challenge from 1 week ago - better late than never right?

The card needed to be horizontal in orientation and fit a business-sized envelope - or along those lines. So, here's my card:

Valentine's day is quickly approaching, but I'm sending this one to a friend of mine. I have to admit...I didn't know what to do with all that elongated space - LOL! It turned out okay though; hopefully my friend will like it!

How was your weekend? Ours was B-U-S-Y!!! Two of our babes are playing basketball, so we have at least 2 games each Saturday as well as practice Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the evening. Nuts, absolutely nuts! Kaitlyn played in a nearby town at 11:00 a.m. and Jared played in our town at 3:00 p.m. - by that time, they were running 30 minutes behind, so we didn't finish till 4:30 p.m., then off to church at 5:33 p.m.

Today was just the girls and I; Jared went to work with his dad. We've had a great day and I had some time to stamp (makes for a happier mommy). Fun, fun!!

Hope you had a great weekend; thanks for stopping by! Hugs, ~M.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

How about those Jayhawk's at the Orange Bowl?

My boss is a huge Jayhawk fan (not to mention Alumni) and his son is currently a sophomore at KU. His son had a biopsy this week - very scary; they are currently awaiting the results, so I used the SCS Sketch Challenge from last week to make a Get Well Card for him. I don't know - it was kind of hard to do.

Anyway, here's the final card; I'm okay with how it turned out; not thrilled, but okay. I had to adhere my 2nd panel pretty low to the bottom as I had an oopsie I had to cover up. I don't think you can see the oopsie, so it's okay. I really struggled with what to add to that panel, so I settled for a yellow bandaid. It's adhered with dimensionals and I punched all those holes in there, just like a regular band aid has!

The 3rd panel with the Jayhawk is also mounted on dimensionals. The 3 white brads are like little buttons, they're so cute! Got those from Michael's.

The outside of the envelope says "Not feeling so hot?"; the inside of the card says "Hope you're back to your "cool" self soon!" I thought that worked well for a college-aged kid - right?

Thanks for peeking in; I hope you have a great week! Hugs, ~M.

Warm Winter Wishes

The snowflakes have passed...for now; but I made this card for some friends that invited our family over for a New Year's Eve party. I told my DH, "you know you're getting old when you're excited to go to a New Year's Eve party because you've missed midnight the last several years". LOL Our two girls got to spend the night after the party; so to celebrate the new year it was just DH and our DS...thank goodness, as the girls all stayed up till shortly after 2 a.m.!!!

The base card is Night of Navy, layered with Whisper White. The snowflakes are all 2nd and 3rd generation Night of Navy. The white card is layered with a strip of silver and wrapped with a Night of Navy organza ribbon; the final snowflake is stamped on whisper white and layered on silver also. I love blue and silver together as winter colors.

Hope you're having a great week; thanks for peeking in! ~M.

Update on our youngest daughter

Many of you probably remember THIS post. I wanted to let everyone know she is doing MUCH, MUCH better! Thank goodness. We've completed 1 round of antibiotics, we will start another round on Wednesday of this week. She still has quite a bit of 'gunk' to cough up; but overall, she's doing so much better.

Thank you for your concern and prayers; we appreciate it so much!!

Hugs,

~M.

Another City Divine

Happy, happy Sunday friends!!

Our oldest daughter attended a b-day Hip Hop Dance party this weekend...interesting. LOL - I couldn't stand to listen to that music for 4 hours; but she said she had a good time. The b-day girl invited both classes so that's like 45+ kids - WOW!!!

Anyway, this is the b-day card and matching notebook I made to go with her gift; nothing fancy, just some fun stamping time! I love these little notebooks, can't wait to make some up for Valentine's Day - it's never too early to start on Valentine's Day treats. :D

I used mod podge to glue the paper on and as a final sealant; love that stuff! I was hoping to use my Sakura Quickie Glue Pen and add glitter to the chick's shirt; but my pen doesn't work - talk about sad...gotta buy a new one!!

Here's a close-up of each item, don't forget, you should be able to click on each image to get a larger view. Hope you're having a great weekend; thanks for peeking in!! ~M.

The Great White Hunter...(WARNING: dead animal)

Have you met this man? He's a fierce hunter!!! He's formed the most awesome bond with his dad. Here's the deer he shot:

I have so many friends that have such different reactions to hunting that I thought I should add the warning! :) Yeah, you know who you are!!!

My DH took our DS to South Texas to hunt after Christmas. He took 2 Javalina's (weird looking things) and this 10-point buck. He was soooooooo happy! I can't blame him; almost every morning they sent me a message with a picture of his newest animal; I so looked forward to receiving those!

New Year's Eve they got up and drove to Padre Island and watched the sunrise...WAIT...even I haven't done that with my DH - now I'm jealous. LOL The pictures of the beach are gorgeous; I'm so glad they had this special time together.

Check back later; I'll have some new creations up! I've been itching all week to stamp; I snuck in about 30 minutes this morning - now I'm off to work and hopefully will get more time tonight or tomorrow to stamp. Thanks for peeking in; I hope your new year is off to a marvelous start. Hugs, ~M.