Hello Again, HELLO!

HELLLOOOOOOOooooooooooo! (As Mrs. Doubtfire/Robin Williams would say!)

I came across this stamp set yet AGAIN on my shelf!!! I have been wanting to use it, but just kept finding other things to do first! Well, today I made it a priority! I colored in the image with my Copic Markers, scalloped my mini-dot paper with my new Revolution and QuicKutz LONG scallop die and wrapped it with a couple of ribbons to finish it off with a little POP. A pretty little card to send, just to say HELLO!

Now, WHO should I send it to? Hmmm...

Zach's Flowers

Our neighbor, Zach, is best friends with my Eli (6 yr old). These are flowers in his (parents') landscaping facing my living room window. I just had to sneak over and take a picture of these beautiful flowers! Aren't they gorgeous?? And, it looks like there are TONS more coming with all those buds shown there! I can't wait!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Stampin' UP! Decor Elements

Stampin' UP!'s new DECOR ELEMENTS line of vinyl adhesive decorations were officially announced yesterday and the newly released brochure is HERE for your viewing pleasure! You can add personal touches throughout your home (or car!) on walls, glass, ceramics, mirrors or anything with a smooth, non-porous surface.

Product availability begins July 1st, so check out the brochure and see if there is anything that tickles your fancy for ordering! The DECOR ELEMENTS line will NOT be in the regular bi-annual catalogs, however the line will be offered seasonally in its' own brochure. So, be sure to check for those throughout the year, along with Stampin' UP!'s other monthly specials!

Make it a SUPAH NIGHT!

What do you Have to HAVE???

Well, what do you have to have from the Retired list from Stampin' UP!?? For me, there are just a couple things that I have to try to talk myself out of. But, other than that, I am pretty happy with the stamp sets they are retiring. I totally CAN NOT wait until the new catalog coming in a couple of months! I have already seen the new IN-COLORS and love them, too. I am glad to see that they kept a similar color (tangerine tango) to Groovy Guava; I mean, where would we BE without GROOVY GUAVA??????

I wish that I was attending the SUP! convention with my two down-line Tiffany and Kelly that are going at the end of July. Tiffany, I am sure, is in the running for the RISING STAR award! WOW, if I could only say that I helped her achieve that accomplishment! But, I didn't! She did it totally on her own! If she isn't at least in the top three I will be totally shocked!!!!!!!

Anyhoo... I just had to remind you that you are running out of time to get those much wanted and drooled-over stamp sets! Don't forget to check out the list HERE!

Have a SUPAH DAY!

Summer Blooms

I took these pictures earlier this week. I can see these beautiful clusters of lavenders, lilacs, baby blues and yellows outside my craft room window. How inspiring!

I am off to take in a movie and margaritas with a couple of my girlfriends!

Enjoy your evening!

Arbonne Inspiration

Arbonne has a wonderful new Vivacious scent in their wash and wear collection. Ever since I saw this HOT design I have been inspired to use the color combination to make some HOT cards! I finally got to it!! Aren't these just too pretty!?! VERY eye-catching! I made a variety of cards from them and still have a ton of cardstock left over! Here's just three from the batch I made. I varied the Prima flowers' brad/eyelet and color combos and card layouts, these were so much fun to make! I never ever use black, so this was hard for me at first, but now I will be able to use black more often without so much intimidation!

I think these cards look as Vivacious as the body wash and body butter actually smell!

I bought this stamp set just for this type of card; using different textures to create backgrounds that look great together. I have always loved dots, stripes and plaids or diamonds together. I could have also used a floral stamp, but felt it would have been redundant since there are flowers already in the design with the Primas.

I used versamark watermark ink for the designs on the strips of colors and I used versacolor black pigment ink so the black would be very dark. Some black inks tend to look purple, so using a pigment-based black gives it a strong deep color.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

TeeBall with Eli

Eli has really been enjoying his first year of youth baseball. This year he plays TeeBall, and then next year he is pitched by machine. One of his best buddies, Quentin, is on his team, so that makes the games extra fun! These pictures are from last week's game; they won, squeaking by at the end with just one more run than the other team!



They change the kids' positions around during the entire game. Eli says he likes playing on first base the best; here he is on third, with Daddy in the background.
He is getting better at hitting off of a T stand. He is used to Scott pitching him the ball, so hitting off the T is difficult for him. Next year should be bettter for him with the machine.

That helmet is bigger than he is! He just turned six in April, but is smaller than his teammates, obviously! HA HA!

He is the little guy there, #9, giving the other team a High-Five for a game well-played! Oh, and that is my honey, Scott, there on the left. He is an assistant coach for our awesome Devil Rays!

Check back later for a cool card collection, inspired by a BODY WASH!

Got ya curious, don't I?

My Heart is with You!

Once again using the Infuse Basic Grey Paper line, I made this card, TOTALLY inspired by Liz of The Crimson Moon . I feel like I need to lighten my load sometimes when I make cards. I usually tend to layer, then layer some more, ribbon, ink, tear, embellish and layer some more and then pop-dot to finish... Well, as you can see the layers are limited, the inking is minute and NO ribbon and NO tearing AND NO POP-DOTTING! Just a little splash of glittered-brad-bling with a double-dash of paper Prima flowers and a simple sentiment to match this more simplistic card. Appropriate for someone going through a tough time or an illness or having experienced a recent death. Thanks to Liz for the inspiration!

ENJOY YOUR EVENING!

I am off to see Eli play TeeBall; GO DEVIL RAYS!

Good Morning, DEER!

I just had to share what I saw this morning! YEP, a cute little doe under the apple tree in my backyard. Our lot backs up to some woods that are surrounded by streets upon streets of housing, so it is always neat to find deer meandering around in the yard. It must have some type of taste-disorder to be wanting to eat those tart apples that are obviously not ready to eat yet! I can't believe that my hubby didn't SHOO them away as he was leaving for work after I told him about it.

{ OH, yeah, I said "THEM" because there was actually a little baby deer off to the right behind the shed in this picture having her morning apple-breakfast, too. I couldn't get a picture of both without going outside and exposing my neighbors to my frightful hair-do from just waking up; and I would have just ended up scaring them off anyway! }

My hubby was apparently okay with them stealing apples, and I guess he was assuming that I would keep watch so they didn't eat out of the garden which is closer to the house. There's not much to eat in there anyway, just some flowering tomato and cucumber plants. The watermelon cantalope, zucchini, radishes, lettuce and carrots are just sprouting. We got a late start this year. Oh, and we do have a nice row of corn growing and we planted another yesterday in hopes of getting another meal or two of corn on the cob out of the BBQ grill. You have never seen kids eat corn on the cob like my children; they are like mini-typewriters gone wild! HA HA!

Catch ya later with another card!

Thank You Cards

In my opinion, you can NEVER have enough cards that say THANK YOU!!!! Whether it is for someone who helped mentally OR physically, I can never have enough of these on hand! I love the new Basic Grey Infuse paper-line. I almost didn't buy this package of patterned paper because of this peagreen yellow and neon pink, but I am sooooooo supah glad I did! There is NOTHING detailed to these cards; just one 4" x 4" patterned piece of paper and some ribbon from Hobby Lobby and VOILA!... POOF, beautiful notecards!

Sometimes less IS more! Check back later to see another newbie card, it uses this same paper line, but looks totally different!!!!

Enjoy your day!

Pool Party!

I think the kids had more fun on Father's Day than their dad! Scott had to work today, but just getting the pool up for the kids. As you can see, the hose is still filling it up, but they just couldn't wait! Our other pool had a hole in it, so while we are repairing it, we dug this old one up out of the garage! Glad we did! They had SUPAH fun jumping and splashing each other! They were in it for over 2 1/2 hours! If I didn't know that we would be moving from Jasper, I would seriously invest in an in-ground pool, but for now, this will have to do! I hope you all enjoyed your Father's Day as much as the kids! { Stay tuned for some new cards I cooked up late last night! }

Get'R Done!

In honor of Father's Day, I would like to share some pictures that my father sent me just last night. He is in a photography club and went out scouting for barns. He came upon this one and took a picture. He then got closer to see what it was made of or what type of paint it was covered in because it seemed to be falling off....

Can you tell yet???

What are those things??

SHINGLES??

NO!!!!!

YEP, some one Got'R done with License plates! Apparently Tennessee has a bunch of cars running around without them, ha ha! What I found interesting is that if you look closely, some of the license plates are numerically in order!! GEEZ, some people have Sooo much time on their hands!

Great pictures, DAD!

Thanks for sharing your wonderful excursion with us!

Happy Father's Day!

Stampin' UP! Retired List HERE

Click HERE for details according to page number...

Click HERE for details alphabetically...

Happy Father's Day, DAD!!!

Here is my dad's Father's Day Card I made for him earlier this week. He is a lover of Corvettes and, of course, WOMEN (only mom obviously!) ! So, I made this card for him, claiming that NOW I MUST be his favorite daughter (I have one sister, no brothers) because I not only gave him a Lowe's giftcard, but also a Corvette and a hot chick to look at too! HA HA!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Wish we were closer so that I could take you out to eat!

I love you and will be thinking of you today!

{Patterned paper is by Basic Grey, image is by Stamping Bella (provided by my wonderful friend, Robbi, in Canada!) & colored in using Stampin Up inks and blender pen, and scalloped circles by Spellbinders/Nestibilities, ribbon by Hobby Lobby}

Stampin' UP! Retired List Reveal TOMORROW!

Just a quickie post to remind everyone that the SUP! Retired list is revealed tomorrow! So, in between the BBQ's and foot-rubs that you will be lavishing the men in your life with for Father's Day, be sure to check with your SUP! demonstrator for the list! Of course, I will have it, too, so if you are interested in getting the list ASAP, comment here or email me and I will send you the list, NO PRO-BLEM-O!

Enjoy the rest of your night!

Happy Father's Day, HONEY!

Here is a card that I made this afternoon, following Jen del Muro's sketch on her blog. It is really hard for me to follow a sketch! Everyone says that it does the thinking for them, but for me I just feel like I have to switch it around a little! I did pretty good with this one, though. See Jen's sketch HERE.

I had one Father's Day card for Scott from the kids, but not another for me to give him. So, this will be for him from ME! I do need to thank him for taking care of me during my recent surgery and for being so great and understanding during the recovery. I am still NOT fully recovered and it has been almost 6 weeks! He has been so supportive, I can't even begin to tell ya!

I wanted to embellish this one a bit more, but figured if I did he might think it was 'girly' for a man's card, so I refrained! HA HA! All paper is Basic Grey's Periphery line and the stamp is from Stampin' UP!'s True Friend stamp set. Be sure to take care of the 'Fathers' in your life tomorrow! Whether it is a hubby, dad, step dad, father in law or ex-hubby/father of your child/ren together, they deserve to be acknowledged for their role in our lives! Click to enlarge to see the purty details!

Happy Father's Day, Honey!

Thank U for being my hubby

AND

the father to my three little ones!

You are an awesome Daddy!

Isaac's Saturday Suggestion

I think we should all take some advice from Isaac on how to enjoy a Saturday afternoon! Play some video games (notice his vsmile at right), lay down to watch some car-races and then let the lids get heavy until you fall asleep and drool on the leather couch!

A neat new card coming up soon. Check back in a bit!

I LIKE MARKERS, TOO, MARIANNE!

Marianne Walker, who works for COPIC, has started a blog and has been posting helpful tips and techniques using COPIC markers. Today she posted this sketch, WHICH SHE DREW HERSELF!!! Yeah, I know, totally amazing, isn't she???? Anyhoo.... She also posted it BEFORE she colored it! AND she said that we could print it out and color it in ourselves, SO I DID!!!

You can see her blog at : I LIKE MARKERS . BLOGSPOT . COM (just click on that and it will take you right to her!) I really enjoyed coloring in this image this afternoon, and my kids enjoyed seeing it come to life. The sunrise was a happy accident. After I thought I was done with it, I decided to crop the picture down... well, it turned out that some type of ink residue was left on my paper cutter and left some ink in my sky. SO, I did my best to color it in and it got worse. I couldn't believe it! Here I was finished and it looked great (at least to me and the kids!) and here I cut it down to take a picture of it and the stupid paper cutter left crap in my sky!! UGH! (you can see it above the mountains) So, I decided to color in the sky darker and then it was tooooo dark. SO, I added the sun to add yellow and lighten the sky. {NOTE: I do realize that the back of the tallest rock should be dark gray, but didn't realize that much of the rock was still showing until AFTER I took the pictures, so I will color it in for myself, but you have to imagine it darker, ok?? HA HA!}

What do you all think? (Click to enlarge) I don't think it is half bad for not having gone to art school or had ANY type of classes teaching me how to use these markers, or just to teach me how to illustrate in general. I totally could do this allll day long!!! It was the best Friday afternoon I had in a long time! I soooooo enjoy coloring, I told ya'll that before, remember?

Thanks, Marianne! You are so talented and still I think you need to design your own stamp line!


These are the colors I used in the picture; I think there were close to 30 that I used, and still I found myself wishing I had some certain oranges and blues for the sky and starfish.

Have a Great Friday Night!

Postage Change

I forgot to post about my latest experience at the Post Office. I was sending a card that I had made, which (of course) was thicker than a normal letter due to its embellishments of ribbon and a pop-dotted image.

In the past all it took to send this exact type of card was an additional .17 stamp. Well, since I was sending some other packages at the same time (Lisa & JenMarie, they are coming!), I had the post office gal double check to be sure that I had enough postage on it. I had even put on TWO of the old .41 stamps. OKAY, lets do some easy math here.... .41 + .41 = .82 !! ((I couldn't find my .17 stamps, so I figured I would just make sure it got delivered with two of the old .41 stamps.)) Well, the gal weighed it and put it through a 1/4" slot to ensure its pass-ability (I am sure that is a word!) through the automated machines. And she comes back to tell me that it needs .83!!!!!! WHAAAA??? I said, "I used to have to just put on a .17 stamp to ensure hand-cancelling the stamp, in case it was too thick and couldn't go through the machine." And, she said that since the postage went up again, that this policy has also changed. The only time that .17 is needed is when it just weighs more than an ounce (heavy paper layers) and is of normal paper thickness; and that when it is thicker than normal, that basically an additional stamp (.41) is needed on top of the first current .42 stamp. SO, I gave her a penny for the additional postage and NOW I guess I will be using those old .41 stamps for sending my handmade greeting cards!

If anyone has any information that negates this or has experienced something different, please let me know with a post here on with an email. I know that the gal I was speaking to is not the head post master of this office, and I know she hasn't been there very long (that's not to say that she hasn't worked at another post office in the past though) so, I really question the accuracy of the info she has given me. I certainly don't want to pay for extra postage when I don't have to.

This may just warrant a trip to the post office in the next town over. That gives me an excuse to see one of my favorite customers anyway, PLUS, SHE WILL KNOW 100% how much I should be paying for sending thicker cards. I say this because on more than one occasion, she has corrected information that Jasper's post office has given me. IF I can manage it, I will head over there today and get the info from her and let ya know! Until then...

Have a FABULOUS FRIDAY!

COPICS, as far as the eyes can see!

I had a few requests to post some pics of my Copic markers... Here they are in their wonderful rainbow-beauty! I will clean off my desk soon and re-take pictures of my hobby room. I have changed it a weeeeeee little bit.... hee hee. So, for now, this will have to do! I have 4 other grays that don't fit in the racks, but I don't tend to use the darker ones anyway, so I have them nearby on another shelf. I apparently don't know how to add, so I ordered a few too many markers in my last order. (This is my excuse and I am sticking to it!!)

As you can see, I arranged them in a certain order, not only according to ROYGBIV colors. I tend to use the lighter colors, so I positioned them closest to me in front with their coordinating colors away (behind them) from me.

After the blue-violets and violets, I put the earthtones on the end, with the blacks and grays, and ever-so-popular blender pen with "magic juice" wrapping up the right side. I know where every single pen goes by memory! HA HA! Nah, just joking!

Have a nice evening!

NOTICE to my regular readers

This is to inform you all that I have implemented comment moderation on my blog as of now.

Unfortunately, someone decided to post a comment in one of my posts that I don't feel was appropriate for public viewing, so I have since decided to moderate ALL comments. After you comment, I will be sent an email and will "decide" whether or not it gets published.

OF COURSE, this person didn't leave contact info or a way to figure out who they are, {{ although I know they are near Lincoln and Culver Blvds. in Marina Del Rey, California }}, so that in itself says something about the comment/posting they left; and I think it says a little bit about them, too, don't ya think??

Isn't it sad that there are people out there that just can't "live and let live"?

And, what really angers me is that the comment, basically, insulted my father! Suggesting that he needs to go to some religious website (or so I am assuming, but will not indulge them by actually going to the website they suggested) because he used to have a saying (20 years ago!!!) that involved a curse word. OH GEEZY PETES! Give me a break! I mean, I don't think he is going to go to hell for saying a cuss word in the past! And, if they only knew that he is very active in his church and has Christ as his right hand man, they would feel so silly and embarrassed!

So, just know that after you leave a comment, it will be saved and then posted unless you decide to insult me or someone else in my family!! Thanks for understanding having to implement this change on my blog.

Have a good afternoon!

I stink you're sweet!

Isn't this little skunk CUTE?? AWWWWW! This is the ONE card that I made at last weekend's Fundraiser/Scrappin Crop event in Evansville. YEP, took me all day! HA HA! Of course, we had to make a quickie trip to Hobby Lobby and Chic Fil A, because my friend Tiffany swears it is the best place to eat on earth!

I also had to chat with my two newbie friends, Sheri and Shari, so making cards had to come second after those things! I used Always Artichoke, and Groovy Guava and this Scrappin Kit (edit in name of it later) by Stampin' UP! with this cute stamp set called PUN FUN by SUP!, too. I used my cool COPICS to color in the image! I will post pics of the COPIC stash later!

I do want to add that I DID start making three more copies of this card at the crop, too, so I did get MORE done than this ONE card, I guess! (I finished up the other three cards last night!) It is always that first initial card design that holds me back. Oh, well! Here it is FINISHED! ENJOY! (click to enlarge!)

UPdate

I spent the evening with the scrap-girls making some last minute cards... SO, uh Dad, when you read this, know that I DID think of you DAYS BEFORE Father's Day and that it is of course the United States Postal Service that made your card late YET AGAIN!!!!

{do ya'll think he's buying it??} ;o)

I worked on the house today, the cleaning is WAYYYYYY behind, and I started getting the online store ready for it's big Grand Opening!!! YEAH, you heard it! The store should be open soon! I am aiming for the end of the month, so let's see what happens. I really do hope to get it going soon, but with four kids you can just never tell what is going to happen next around here; SO, let's keep our fingers (and toes) crossed!

Oh, and I got my second shipment of COPICS today. I have two full racks of these lovely sketch markers and am SUPAH DUPAH HAPPY! I will post a picture of them tomorrow for those of you who care to see that type of thing. I am going to seriously hit the paper hard with these suckers and make some FAB-U-LOUS things!

And IF you were wondering, YES ~ The online store IS going to have a paper-craft section, as well! WOOHOO! Some items will be already made for purchase AND others will be Custom examples that you can order similar items from. WHEEE!

I am too pooped to poop, so I better head to bed! I hope everyone is doing well and having a wonderful summer so far like I AM!

HUGSSSSSS!

KeyBling for Ms. Lisa

Happy WEDNESDAY Hump Day to you all! My hubby took my laptop to work with him today, so I have been forced to resume to my son's computer. I cannot believe the difference in the photos on my blog. From my laptop computer they look bright and crisp and the right colors in life. THEN I get on his computer and they look dingy and yellow. OK, so which is it? What is it you all see? And if they look dingy and yellow, why didn't you tell me to take a photo-editing class, HA HA HA! Oh, well...

Here's a YUMMY KeyBling for Ms. Lisa in GA. I had to share this beautiful summery keychain with you all! Isn't it purty, MA? HEE HEE! This color combo is just awesome and the little splashes of the Carribean (blue) Opal, Crystal-Satin (silver) Swarovski crystals and chunky silver just make it POP!

Custom made just for Ms. Lisa!!

Hope you like it!!

Using your ProvoCraft Cricut for Iron On Fabric Transfer CUTTING!!?!!

Another YouTube Video by the same company as the last two posts... WOW, who has time to figure these things out?? HA HA! It seems the possibilities are nearly endless!

Creating CUSTOM STAMPS on your ProvoCraft Cricut??!!

Found another VIDEO on YouTube that uses your Cricut or Expression to make stamps! WHAAAAAAA??? Yeah, another thing I didn't realize I could be doing with my little BUG! Check it out HERE!!

Using your ProvoCraft Cricut for Engraving!!!???

Check out THIS YouTube video I found!! You can use a special tip for ENGRAVING! WHAAA?? Yeah, I never heard about this! Check out the video!

Spellbinders Universal Dies

Hi ALL! I just wanted to let you know that I found a YouTube video on Spellbinders Dies and how to use them in an assortment of different diecut machines, including the Revolution, Cuttlebug, BigKick and more. I was told that you couldn't emboss their dies with the Revolution, which is what I have, but Stacey Caron, co-owner of Spellbinders has proved that otherwise! Please note that some machines, including the Revolution, will not stand behind their warranty if you use other manufacturers dies besides their own. So, unless your machine is a 'universal' die cut machine, you may be putting your warranty in jeopardy when stepping into other diecut brands.

Click HERE to see the different options you have with Spellbinders!!

Questions on the June Freebie

YO! I guess the June Freebie is a HIT since I have had three emails asking about details on it! WOOHOO! I figure answering them publicly might help those out there that don't have time to email or are just wondering about my customization-options. SO HERE YA GO!

OK, first, the necklace itself is a 49 strand, nylon coated beading wire (best for flexibility) with clear high quality glass seed beads strung on it. Yes, believe it or not, there are different qualities of seed beads. These are Delica seed beads and are uniform in color and consistant in size, so it sparkles and wears comfortably. I have a batch of colors to choose from, if clear is just not your thing, so don't worry about that!

YES, second, I can also design this type of necklace with with sterling link chain instead of seed beads, I just wanted to change it up a bit for myself!

Third, YES I will accept custom orders on necklaces like this one. The price will vary depending on the lampwork and type of chain (sterling link will raise the price some over using seed beads), and amount of sterling incorporated into the design, BUT I expect the price would start in the $35.00 range.

Fourth, I have nearly every color of Swarovski Crystal imaginable and available, so YES, I should be able to color-match to a specific attire piece or wardrobe ensemble. You can email me a picture of the item you attempting to coordinate your necklace with and I will email you back my suggested crystal colors for your approval. After that we will discuss your design-desires and I will begin working on your order.

Fifth, customizing to a specific length (to fit a dress or blouse's neckline perfectly) is totally do-able, just find a necklace that you already have that has a length that works for you and measure it's entire length (unclasped) and give me that measurement. OR you can use a shoelace or string of sort and wrap it around until it falls where you want it to hang and then measure that length. Just remember that your necklace will have this dangle-pendant and so the necklace will actually need to be a tad shorter so that the dangle will not hang too low into your cleavage line, poor little beads could suffocate! HA HA!

Sixth, matching earrings ARE an option! From simple ($8.00) to sophisticated ($28.00), give me your style and length and color choices and I will make them work for you!

If I get any more questions, I will answer them HERE!

Thanks so much for the compliments and questions regarding my designs!!

I LOVE FEELIN' THE LOVE!!

Two Great Gals

Yesterday two of my friends and I went to a fundraiser-croppin' event in Evansville to help support a Pregnancy Resource Center that helps all women who are expecting a baby. Well, if you have ever gone to a scrapping-all-day-crop event, you would know that it totally kills all the fun when you end up having to sit next to two fuddy-duddies at nearby tables.

Thank goodness that didn't happen to us! We ended up sitting next to two great gals, both by the name of Sheri and Shari, I am assuming. They spelled their names different, but I didn't get the details of that. Sheri and Shari were both so fun and easy to talk to. I hope that we cross paths again at future crops and wouldn't mind having arrangements to sit with them again, not just to ensure NOT getting put next to fuddy-duddies next time, but because I really think they are just two great gals!!!

{ IF YOU are one of the Shari's/Sheri's please be sure to email me your contact info so we can keep in touch! }

Well, I am off to the craft room to cook up some goodies today. I am going to attempt to catch up on EVERYONE's orders so that I can ship all of them complete this week! Josh returned from camp late last night at 4am! They had to take numerous detours to get home due to flooding in the northern part of the state, but they finally made it home, 3 hours later than expected. I guess I should go wake him up so that he can fill me in on all of the details of his week! I am glad to see him home, and so are Eli, KayLee and Isaac, too! They asked about him each and every day!

Enjoy your SUNDAY!