Where did January go?

I can't believe the end of January is already here. This month flew by for me.

And here we are - still with the Christmas flag and the Christmas pinata up; sad.

Before I continue - let me stop for a second and give a shout out to my girl Jenn aka Jaycie - today is her birthday. Jenn is one of my BFFs - I love saying BFF, I feel so hot like Paris Hilton - and she is just a wonderful person, a real gem in my life. Happy Birthday, dear heart!

After the week I've had, I was so excited to get home last night and just chill at my craft table and look at papers and think. Very relaxing - and productive.

Cupcakes are very trendy in the cardmaking world.

And why not - what's not to love about a cupcake, right?

I saw this great cupcake DP and knew that I wanted to jump on the bandwagon.

I figure if I can't eat them, I can at least enjoy looking at them while creating.

I love this Valentine card! I've paired my favorite Raspberry Fizz paper from Papertrey Ink with some DP that Miss Laura sent me. Isn't this cute? I stopped making Valentine cards because I thought I had more than enough for family and friends, but 'tis the season so I keep making more. I'll probably end up giving one to the mailman and the FedEx guy and of course - the guy that drives the brown truck; I {heart} those 3 fellas.

And last but not least - another composition book. Are you tired of these yet? Because I'm not tired of making them. This is some of my new DP - made a card with it yesterday too. I made this for my Nina Nettie. Nina means Godmother in Spanish in case you didn't know. Anyway, my Nina Nettie is the most beautiful person I know. She is my Nina from Baptism - so she has known me my entire life. She's beautiful on the inside and out. She's like late 50s and she's HOT! She's got this really pale Oil of Olay skin, and dark hair....tall and thin...and she always calls me "babe"; adorable. Anyway - my Nino Mike died about a year ago...out of nowhere, just dropped dead. So terribly sad :( So Nina has been on her own. I sent her a nice purple Brighton earrings and necklace set as a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) soon after he died, and now I am going to send her this. I love sending the unexpected thought - card or a gift - making someone's day makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Have you RAK'd anyone lately? You don't have to be a cardmaker to do it. Drop someone a card or a small something in the mail. Someone you don't talk to all the time. Someone you think about often and will always wish for glad tidings upon them. It would make their day to get something in the mail from you - even a 99-cent Hallmark card.

Have a wonderful Saturday, Girls -

- and thank you very much for sharing my space with me.

It's FINALLY Friday.

Friday - and not a moment too soon. My week was ruined from 7:08am Monday morning and all through last night it was still bad. A dear friend hates me. Work has sucked. The kids have been driving me crazy. The house is a wreck - and we still have a Christmas flag up and the pinata from the kids' Christmas party hanging on the tree next to the house - LOL I couldn't get the lighting right in that overpriced-don't-think-I-need-it-anyway photobox last night. I'm getting all this chocolate mailed to me from a chocolate swap that I am in - I am getting soooo tempted to stray with the gamut of emotions this week; but so far, so good.

Made a couple of cards last night - nothing terribly inspiring. I should have just taken the night off from cards and maybe come back with decent ones tonight, but my body wouldn't let me - I've got a routine now that cannot be detracted from.




This first card is NOT a keeper. My NOT a keeper cards go into a pile that I give to my mother ;) She'll use them on her fat club and church biddies and I won't care who gets them or what they think; ignorance is bliss. I made this for Jen del Muro's SFYTT this week. Not sure where I went wrong - maybe from the beginning? LOL - but I don't care for this puppy at all. I do love the saying however: Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain. LOVE THAT!








Now this card on the other hand I do like. It's much like one that I've made before, but just to keep creating and turn something decent out, it's not a bad thing to go back and repeat a card that you liked before (at least I don't think so). This isn't at the top of the heap, but it's a keeper.

Thanks for stopping by, Girls - hope your Friday is fantastic.

Denied - again.

So I gots turned down for another Design Team. This isn't the one I applied for with yesterday's card. I REALLY want to be on that DT though. This one, to be honest, I can't remember what it was - so could it have been that great? LOL Anyway - I got the big ol' rejection e-mail last night along with an invitation to get 20% off at their store; thanks, but no thanks. Yes, I am the sour grapes kind - heh. So.....I guess this week is going to continue to suck until the bitter end!!





But - you gotta have faith, right? I was inspired by Michelle Wooderson's blog yesterday to use some of the lighter more blase' yet still beautiful Papertrey Ink colors. I have every color of paper, DP, ink and ribbon that they have and I find myself neglecting some that aren't terribly loud, but still quite lovely. These colors were so soft and quiet, and going with my melancholy mood this week, I thought a nice scripture was appropriate. I also have some SU! brads on this and the next card - I'm not head-over-heels for their paper, but I do love their embellishments - especially these brad sets.










My friend Laura is on the Storage Units, Inks & More! DT and posts her challenge cards on her blog. Thought I should do more challenges to keep the creator inside of me thinkin'. This week's Whachadoin' Wednesday challenge was simple: any way you want to make it, but you can only use black, red and white. Totally up my alley that color combination is! I really like this card - lovin' that Papertrey sheer white polka dot ribbon lately - isn't it fantastic?

Thanks for stopping in and sharing my new passion with me.

Your kind words are a joy to read every day.

Have a good one, Girls.

Cold & Dreary.

It was bitter cold yesterday - 12 degrees which is nasty cold for us. Just walking from the front door to the car all of 20 steps had me shaking it was so cold. So, cold and depressed - man, that is just not a good combination. But hey - instead of emotionally eating, I am learning to deal like a big girl and just focus my thoughts on to other things: like cards! :)



I made this set of an altered composition book and altered mailbox for the lovely Miss Molly. She got it in the mail yesterday so it's OK to post it here now ;) I go through phases where I love doing these projects...and then other times I dread them. But this weekend, I really had a good time making this for her - maybe because she's just the sweetest thing so I had some of that loveliness come across me as I was creating.




I made this card for Julee's Mojo Monday challenge. The challenge was a sketch and it was on a square card. Now, I don't do 5x5 cards because....um...I just don't? Probably because I don't have any 5x5 envelopes, and if I did, they cost extra postage anyway - even though most of my cards cost extra postage because of the stuff that's on them, but anyway. So I made a square card and followed the sketch - I just made what I'm calling a "mini mojo" - this is a 3x3 card - and I do have little envelopes for it!

And last but not least, this is a card that I submitted to a site today to be on their Design Team. I really want to get on a DT. Most of them you send samples of your best work, but this one gave you a sketch to see what you could do with it - and this is what I came up with. I really like this card actually. I wasn't sure I could pull off the Ripe Avocado on it, but I rather fancy it the more I look at it - and isn't that bow adorable?

Hope you're happy and staying warm, Girls!

Thanks for popping in for a visit.

Hope.

You ever have one of those days where you think you should have just stayed in bed and under the covers and just closed-off from the outside world? Yesterday was that day for me; probably one of the worst days I've had in a long time. My eyes are still red and burning from crying so much. *sigh* But as I assured Miss Molly: today is a new day and it has the hope to be a great day...God I hope so....it certainly can't get any worse (knock on wood).

I made a set of these cards for Jamie - my SS in the fat chick group - she's the one with breast cancer. She's in to the pink and brown thing...and likes pink for the whole breast cancer awareness thing. So I thought she might like these. And hey - scraps! The DPs were both leftovers - 2 points for me!!

Have you done your monthly self breast exam? I have to admit, I don't do it on a regular basis. I figure God already gave me cancer, he's not gonna double whammy me with another kind, right? Probably should get more regular on that though - and you do it too!

Have a wonderful day, Girls.
Thanks for stopping in for a visit.

When life gives you Lemons...

I was a busy little beaver yesterday - made more than what you see here ;) Oh - but check this: I gots me one of those photo boxes and I'm not sure I'm head over heels in love with it. For starters, the background is either black or blue or gray - no white option?? I mean I guess I can put a white something back there, but for the money, why should I have to?? And are the pictures really that much better than my pictures were before? I'm not sure - you tell me? I'm thinking of returning the thing and doing the set-up that Dawn has but I was too lazy and thought this would be easier.

Anyway - it's Monday and I'm off to work...fun times....>sarcasm<




I made this card for this week's OCC challenge. I don't always do their challenges, about half the time maybe, but this one caught my eye and I thought I'd have fun with it - which I did. I love October Afternoon paper...so fun to work with and relatively easy to match.









I made a set of these with different sentiments on them for my friend Vicki's birthday. She doesn't come to the blog so it's OK to show this because she'll never know. She's in to lemons - who is in to lemons?? Isn't that the oddest thing? Whatever. When I saw this paper I knew I had to get it and do something with it for her. It was only 10-cents a sheet on clearance. Know why? Because NO ONE is in to lemons!! I think she'll like these though. She's a quilter and has been coaching me on sewing so I had to get some sewing on there to impress.

Alright girls - that's it for me today.

Thanks for stopping by - I appreciate you!

Hola Gato - ha ha ha....

...OK, that is totally a joke that only Heather would get. Hola Gato means Hello Kitty en espanol...and there was this girl in college...well, nevermind....heh.

Anyway - my cards from scraps idea sucked. My cards looked like poop. And I think it's because I was forcing myself to make something out of the scraps. And then I got to thinking - I haven't been at this too long so while I do have a lot of stuff, I certainly don't have as much as people who have been doing this for years so why am I forcing myself to use scraps now? Yeah - that's right, skip that!





So this card was made with someone special in mind. But check this out - the pink Hello Kitty stuff, guess where I got it? It was the packaging on the inside of my brand new Hello Kitty hair dryer! Props to a sistah for goin' green - wooo! No no, I ain't in to Hello Kitty, but I needed a new hair dryer and this one was on clearance at Target and it was the same wattage that I needed, so, for $10 less, ohhhh yeah I'm dryin' my hair to Hola Gato in the mornings. The sentiment is kinda hard to see in the picture, but it's from Verve's Hundred Hearts and it says: a true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart. How sweet is that for Hola Gato? I am cracking myself up right now and y'all just don't get it...pathetic am I!






This is an altered composition book that I made for my secret sister (from another mother) in my fat chick group. She's battling breast cancer right now :( so I thought the pink going with the pink ribbon kinda thing and the hope paper would be perfect for her. She said she wanted a weight-loss journal, so I hope she likes this.

And this is another Target mailbox altered to match the composition book above for my SS. I got her some sugar-free/calorie-free hard candies to put in it.

Thanks for stopping by to see me, Girls.

Hope you have a fabulous Sunday!

I feel guilty.

Hard to believe, me, GUILTY. Indeed. So Laura is on a spending freeze for stamping/card-making stuff because she went through her stuff and realized she had too much and it would be treasonous to buy more. Julee made a solemn vow to not buy any more paper because she has an overabundance as well. Michelle Wooderson says just buy one piece of DP so as to not be a hoarder. And then there's me. I have told my husband at least 50 times in the last month "I now have everything I need"; and then I come home with a $100 bag from Archiver's, a $30 bag from Michael's; just the day before yesterday I ordered $43 worth from A Cherry On Top (it's all Laura's fault for sending me there to get that sweet apple DP!) and I ordered $19.49 worth of stuff from Star Lit Studio because Michelle recommended it! And then yesterday I see Taylor's ads for her buy 2, get 1 free Twinkles, so I get those and something else for another $24! It doesn't help that I have just started again on the path to super modelness (have you checked the side bar? that's right - 19 pounds, baby!) so I keep myself busy so as not to e-a-t. I doubt that I'm going to change my reckless ways any time soon, but here's what I'm going to do: today I am going to make cards ONLY from scraps (with the exception of cardstock and embellishments, of course). So tomorrow you'll probably see some things that you have seen before, and/or you'll see some things that look like they came out of my....because I paired some turquoise glitter paper with some rainbow stars paper with a poop colored doily-punched border, but know that it's for a good cause!


I made this card for Amber's Viva la Verve challenge. I turned it sideways and I have to say - I am totally diggin' this card. Oh look - more of those cut out Verve flowers! And yes - I will be having black in all my cards until I finish the entire pack of 50 sheets! Hey - who doesn't love black? - it's slenderizing!








And this badboy here - that's all me, sistahs! I had an idea, it didn't work out, so I just kept moving along until I ended up with this. Not sure how I feel about it, but again, being it's all me makes me feel kinda warm and fuzzy inside and like it by default.

Alright, Chicas -
y'all have a great Saturday!

Freestyle.

That's right, I freestyled my cards today - I bet you can tell - ha ha ha..... I didn't use a sketch or check out anything of anybody's - just sat there with my new Papertrey paper and ribbons and put these babies together. I'm happy with them because they are completely my own creations; I had a good time making them and that's what's important, right?

Edited to add: Jaycie said she thought these were all my creations - and they are. But sometimes you do a sketch (like a tutorial) or you see someone's card and you pirate it - and I do say when it's for a sketch or I saw this card on Lisa's blog blah blah blah. So it's your take on their template if you will. They'll tell you that you need to put a circle here and a skinny square here or whatever - but you decide how big to make those things, if you want it scalloped or different, if you want to add embellishments, etc. They just do a sketch with a few components that you use as the foundation of your card - proportions, ornateness, paper, ribbon, all that, is up to you. Sometimes you see a card out there but you don't have the sketch for it and you just make it your own; like you liked the way they had the ribbon here or that they put a circle over here. But sometimes you go with no inspiration at all and just create - which is what I did here. I have done this before, but not totally fresh with new paper and colors and my little creative mind.

It's FRIDAY, Girls - we made it!!

I've been Tagged.

Laura tagged me - and since I want to play nice with my fellow blog girlies, I reckon I'll play along. Thing is though, you're supposed to tag 6 other people and, um, I don't think I know 6 - LOL There's Dawn, of course but I think she's done this a million times.

So, I'll tag Kerri - the other newbie out there and make her reveal details about herself - heh. If you don't know Kerri - at least click on her name and check out that smokin' hot butterfly card she made yesterday - it's fantastic!

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you (as I did above).

2. Mention the rules.

3. Tell 6 things about yourself.

4. Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them.

5. Go to each person's blog and leave them a comment to let them know they've been tagged.

So, here are 6 things about me:

1. I'm a little OCD. Not sure what qualifies as actually being OCD but I do things that have to be done a certain way. For example - when I put on deodorant, I use the roll-on, and I count the number of times I rub it under my armpit...I do 4 from side-to-side....then 3 from side-to-side...then 2...then 1. Yes - I put on a lot of deodorant - probably well more than necessary but I never want to be that fat person that smells.

2. I'm a perfume and purse snob. I figure being a big fat chick, I don't get to wear name brand clothes, so I'm going to go extravagant on purses and perfumes. All my purses are Dooney & Bourke and I have about 20 of them that are all brand new. I bought some for my daughter too and she's only 4 years-old. And perfumes - I wouldn't be caught dead wearing something from AVON or the drug store; usually Lancome and Calvin Klein stuff.

3. I spoke Spanish before I spoke English. My mom was a single parent - father was in and out of our lives until he finally split before I was 7 - and between my beloved Yaya and Celia the next-door-neighbor who spoke no English, that's what I learned first.

4. I have the hots for my Priest. I'm not going to Heaven, I know. But he's hot - in the Simon Cowell kinda way. He's kind of a jerk - and for some reason I LIKE THAT! He also works out and looks pretty good in a polo shirt. Yes - my husband knows all this...he knows he married a crazy one!

5. One of the saddest things about me or to me, I guess is that I can't sing. The sad thing is - I used to be able to. I was a really good singer. Sang all through school and went to State Honor Choir. But when I got thyroid cancer and had the 2 surgeries to get my thyroid out, my vocal cords were permanently damaged and I'll never sing like that again :( It breaks my heart actually because I try to sing and it just comes out sounding like one of those outcasts on American Idol....sad.

6. I'm a shopper, a wrapper and a master planner. I totally get off on shopping year-round and getting amazing deals, inventorying gifts on a spreadsheet, wrapping and packaging the monthly gifts on the first weekend of the month, and starting Christmas wrapping on October 6th. Could be part of that OCD thing, or I could just be anal or something, who knows - but it's like a mission for me to get these things done and in a certain way and by the self-imposed deadlines.

So there you go - a little bit about yours truly.

My favorite day of the month!

Do you know what today is? Do ya'? Guess. Guess!! I bet you'll never guess. It's January 22nd. JANUARY 22. Anyone? No one knows? Give up? It's the day that my Papertrey order gets here!!! Yipppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! I am so excited I could just pee in my chair right now - but I won't, because I need this chair for crafting tonight and that would just be, well, not good. I ordered all the new BLACK stuff, Pine's latest stamp set and I stocked up on things I have been running low on - plus ribbon GALORE; I am completely addicted to ribbon. So yes, tonight I will hurry home and whip something up with my new goodies! Saweeeeeeeeeeet!!

Last night I was falling asleep on the couch during American Idol - love me some American Idol. I want to marry Simon Cowell. He's such an jerk and I think that's dead sexy, baby! Anyway, I was falling asleep and thought I would go to bed but didn't feel right about not making a card. So here ya' be.....:





This was just a quick little card to awaken my senses. Pretty DP that didn't need much done to make it look nice. As if it didn't have enough goin' on, I added some Glossy Accents to the dark purple thingies in the middle because I think I have this obsession with Glossy Accents now - gee, thanks Kerri!














And this little card here, I let young Miss K choose the DP from a SU! DP pack that Dawn sent me. She calls this a "night card" - I guess because it's got that starry night look with the midnight blue and the dots could be stars? I like this one - paired with Papertrey's Ripe Avocado which I think is soooo incredibly YUM-O!

Have a great day, girls - look at that, it's Thursday already!

Frustrating.

I spent most of last night fighting with my sewing machine. I got some really cool paper that's purple and suede-like and was sewing that on to cards and the machine just tore them up - well, the thread got all jacked up on the card and they were trash. I kept trying - and wasting more and more cards. Hate wasting expensive paper. So, I don't really have anything "special" to show you today. I do however have another kind of "special" though and that's K's Valentine cards that we've been working on. Keep in mind she's in pre-school; starts kindergarten in the fall - ack! This paper was sent to me by the lovely Miss Laura - told you I'd put it to good use!

Thanks for stopping in today!

Historic day.

Politics aside - this is a historic day for our country. I've been so excited for this day - and can't wait to watch the swearing-in of our new President. We get to watch it at work - being the politically correct, non-partisan entity that we are ;)

Only 1 card to show today - this card took me all day yesterday to make: before work, at lunch and a couple hours last night. I made several of them so that didn't help (stocking up on birthday cards). This card was made for Julee's Mojo Monday sketch. I used the flash because it really showed better the colors and glitter and shininess of this card. This card is super heavy - the gold cardstock from Archiver's is heavier than normal cardstock, and the DP was super heavy as well. Again I cut the flowers out and put Glossy Accents on them - I whine and cry about how tedious that is, and then I do it again because I like it - heh.

Have a great day, Girls!

It's Monday -

- and you know how much I just lovvvvve Mondays...not. I hate this Monday even moreso because it's a holiday and I have to work! Something about the news doesn't stop even for holidays. Ummm - but I'm not a reporter??....and I don't deliver the paper....so why the heck should I have to work?!

I had a really good weekend though - very productive. Got lots of things done around the house, well, I nagged a lot and it got done ;) Our hallway is actually starting to look like people live here! I had Rob put up a couple more things that were meant to be hung like 12 years ago. After a weekend of nagging, I volunteered to make dinner, well, the side dish anyway. I made spinach with turkey bacon and parm - ohhhh was that ever good. Up until the part where I had the runs all night - that part, not so much.

Alright, now that you've heard about the runs I had last night, let's get on to some cards, shall we?

I started the day off with another card that had sewing on it - just a little though. I'm not a butterfly person myself but I know a lot of you girls are and thought this would be something cute to drop in the mail to say hello. I put Glossy Accents on the big butterfly and Stickles on the smaller ones; it's kinda cute, eh?


Now this card I absolutely LOVE. I saw it on Lisa Johnson's blog and loved it. It's so clean. You know, it's funny, I see all these questionnaires to be on design teams and they ask what your style is - and I really can't say. I think I know and then I do a card like this that is so not like my norm. So I dunno - I guess my style is I do whatever the hell I want at the time; how 'bout that?

And last but not least - my bestest sewing card yet! I love this little card, I'll tell you what! I was going to add more to it, but I didn't want to take away from the sewing or the simple and somewhat faint sentiment, so I left it alone. I'm addicted to sewing. I ran out of the thread that came with the machine though, so I'll have to wait or I'll have to make a card that matches the last oddly colored spool of thread I have which is some obscure turquoise color.

If you got yourself a day off today - ENJOY IT!

Thanks for stopping in - appreciate it, Girlfriends!

I ♥ weekends.

Saturday was go-go-go from the time I opened my eyes in the morning. I was done grocery shopping by 8am. I worked on a lot of crafts, took my mom to Wal*Mart, made dinner for a sick friend and did boatloads of laundry.






The first craft I did was finish up the second part of a swap I'm in. I made these party favors - supposed to be for a kid's birthday party. My first time trying the paper around the tube thing and they are not perfect. But heck, they're going to strangers - how good do they have to be? LOL I think the concept is good - just need to work on my execution. I'll be doing the same thing for D's class for Valentine's - think I'll forego the paper...not sure, I'll figure something out though.





And this little beauty - don'tcha love it? Dawn made me one of these I think about 2 years ago? I have it right here on my desk still. And people are always talking about "the Target mailboxes". I found a tutorial online and with the exception of one little glitch, it came out super cute! I tested this one with the intent to give it to K even if it came out jacked up. But it didn't - I love it - and I can't wait to fill it with goodies and give it to her on Valentine's Day!




And last but not least - I worked on this card last night. Notice anything different about it? Notice some stitching goin' on there? That's right - I SEWED! Unbelievable!! I love the look of cards that have stitching on them and again thought I should give it a shot. Not bad for my first effort, eh?

Hope you have a great Sunday;

thanks for stopping in!

Made it to the weekend!; *and a poll*

At last! - Saturday is FINALLY here! I gots a bunch of errands to run: Costco, Albertsons, taking my mother to Wal*Mart; and D is finally going to get to make his cards with the scrap kit I made him. I also have a project to work on - the last swap that I signed up for - making party favors for a kid's birthday party.



Made a couple of cards yesterday, this one before I went to work in the morning. I think now I am finally done with this DP for the year. While I like the card, I think I - and perhaps you - are tired of this same DP! This was for Amber's Viva la Verve challenge.






And this card here was a complete pain in the butt. I wanted to do something different for me - so I stamped the flowers and then cut them out and then put some Glossy Accents on them. I did that, but it was all so tedious and really challenged my patience and precision. I actually think I like it - a little not busy and not overdone like I normally do, but change is good, right?



POLL: Got a question for y'all. So you know how I shop year-round so that I am done with birthdays and Christmas gifts like a year early, right? Well here's the thing - I have a friend who I haven't seen in years, but we e-mail to catch up maybe twice a year...and we exchange birthday cards sometimes...but Christmas presents every year. This past Christmas I didn't get anything from her - not even a thank-you for what I sent (whole different subject - LOL). So I'm wondering if I should not send something for Christmas 2009 because that means she wants it to stop. Or do I still send because I like to, but would that force her hand to continue something she didn't want to do? I've paired down my Christmas and birthday lists now to people who actually care about me and my family. Not saying she doesn't, but, I don't want to be spending on people who you know, aren't appreciative. Responses appreciated - a little dilemma.

Thanks for stopping by, Girls!

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday.

7 to 1 - what?!

How did I go from having my highest number of comments - 7, thank you! - to just a couple days later having only 1? Did Jesus offend y'all?? My girl Jennifer always comes through for me! Where the rest y'all at?

I'm losin' weight, I'm feelin' great - gots my hair done last night "Burmese Ruby". Reminds me of a drink I used to order at a little bar in Emeryville, CA back in college - it was a "Rangoon Ruby". I did karaoke there one night too - "damn, I wish I was your lover....I'd rock you 'til the daylight comes....make sure you are smiling and warm..." - what a kickin' song!




Anyhoo - made me a little card yesterday. I love this paper only I didn't ever seem to have the right sentiment to go with it. But then along comes the January Verve release and whaddayaknow! A cute little Winnie the Pooh saying - LOVE IT!

Thanks for popping in today - it's FRIDAY at last!

A whole lotta Jesus.

....blah blah blah....if you don't have anything nice to say...and I don't - this week has sucked. So I'll just talk about my card - LOL


I saw a sketch and then kind of modified it and then ended up nowhere near it, so I was left with what you see here but I didn't know what to put as a sentiment or where. So I went with the Verve sentiment on the ribbon but it still needed something. I decided to stamp and cut out the cross from the Jeramiah 29:11 Verve set. I like it, but it may be a little to in-your-face-Jesus for some. And that's OK.

Thanks for stopping in today, girls;
it's Thursday...the weekend will be here before we know it - thank God!

Gettin' my Verve on!

My new Verve stamps came yesterday! The release was Friday night, Julee shipped them Monday, and I got them yesterday (Verve is located in the city that's right behind my house) - soooooooooooo exciting! I had some DP (designer paper) out that I wanted to work with last night, but as I was waiting for D to get out of religious education last night, I thought I needed to make Valentines for the teachers at church. So the flashy non-Valentiney paper did not work and I switched to this paper and this layout.

And did you notice? - no Crop-A-Dile holes with ribbon at the bottom - heh.

Got a migraine - that's all she wrote for now.

Thanks for coming by, Girls - always a pleasure reading your comments; you're all so kind to come by.

Hugs & Kisses

I told y'all that Mondays suck. I walked in to my office yesterday morning to find that over the weekend IT had moved my computer and my phone to my new office. It wasn't supposed to be for another 3 weeks! I hate Mondays as it is and then walking in to having to move all my stuff back and forth just made the day suck even more. I did however make it to Paper Cottage and got some more of that fabulous DP from Sunday, and got some other cuties. I only did one card last night as I was busy putting together scraps for D to make cards of his own (he keeps bugging me so finally I started a little kit for him from my leftovers and cut out cute shapes for him to work with).






I made this card for Julee's MOJO Monday sketch challenge. K wanted to watch, so I let her choose the papers and then she told me to make a heart card. So this is it - made from scraps - I feel so environment conscious now for re-using - heh.

Thanks so much for stopping in today - I appreciate you!

Who likes Mondays?

Seriously. If you like Mondays, there is something wrong with you. I have the hardest time getting up in the mornings on Mondays. I wake up at 4am every day and today I just sat there at the edge of the bed and I could not get my body to cooperate and move. *yawn* - but me thinks I'm gonna go back to bed for another hour or so....





So this first card I had high hopes for - was going to STITCH around the edges. I don't sew, but I bought myself one of those handheld Singer sewing machines for $16 and thought "I can do this". Well after wasting way too much of some good DP, I decided that no, I CAN'T do this. But I have to say - I love how this card turned out, totally. Isn't this paper the cutest?? You'll find me at Paper Cottage at lunch time today stocking up on more of it ;)










Miss Laura made an adorable set of teacher cards for her girls' teachers. I was completely inspired to do the same - so much so that I ordered the same DP from where she told me to. I had that folded up corner thing yesterday and decided to do the folded up thing again. I am pretty happy with this card too - and I think Mrs. Wilson will enjoy the set that I made her. I ran out of Ripe Avocado ribbon though - still have some but it's the satin one with the dots - so I'll have to finish the remaining 5 cards when I get my new order from Papertrey that I'll be placing on the 15th! I don't think I've ever been so excited about a release. Last month with the Raspberry Fizz and this month with the True Black and Black & White Basics, these next few days 'til I place my order and then the days it takes for it to get to me just cannot go by fast enough! Now I know what it was like for Dawn waiting for her SU! catty or the UPS man to bring her order!

Thanks for popping in today -

- and have a great Monday if you can!

Yippeeee, it's the weekend!

Good Morning, Girls!

It's gonna be a busy Saturday - I've got a honey-do list for Rob that's a mile long so my job is to make sure that it gets executed - heh. Would you believe we bought our house over 7 years ago and we still don't have any pictures up in the hallway? That's tops on my list for him to do today. However, I'll have to be *kinda* nice about it because he went and bought some shelves at Lowe's to put up in my crafting area!

I'm taking K to a birthday party this afternoon and then after that the kids are going with my mother to her church for a movie night - they're seeing Wall-E.





I made (2) cards yesterday - but one went horribly wrong so I am not sharing it - LOL But this one I did for Amber's Viva la Verve challenge this week. She gives you the sketch to follow and then adds a twist - this week's was to use some bling....I think I did that! Again, an unlikely pairing of colors - Ocean Tides from Papertrey Ink with purples.













One of the things that I signed up for at SCS was a monthly Secret Sister swap. Every month you send your SS a $10 package. I got my first package from my SS yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised! I am sooo picky - but she read my questionnaire and did good! Got me some diet candies and drink mix, and some BLING and other goodies. Fun stuff.

Hope your weekend is a good one whatever you are up to.

Thanks for stopping by, Girls!

The worst and the best.

About this monstrosity of a card: this is for Julee's first challenge this week. I have been putting it off because I so could not dive in to it - and with good reason. This was a "color challenge" wherein she tells you what colors you are working with. The colors she singled out were Stampin' Up! colors and I don't do SU! So I had the kraft paper (by Papertrey) and I had a comparable peach/pink. But I had NO red! The red that I came up with was some leftover scraps. I so could not make these colors work together. And once the card was all buggered up, there was no turning back. There is no CONTROL-Z in card-making!




Now this card right here - I LOVE IT! It's all blinged and decorated out. It's all dressed up and ready for a night on the town! I had a LOT of fun with this one. And can I just tell you, as I do more of these and put more time in to them, I am not making bunches of them - limited editions of ONE are coming! Oh yeah - this is another one of Julee's for this week.

I meet with the surgeon this morning for my knee - get me out of pain, Doctor!

TGIF - thanks girls for coming by and posting;

I love blogging and sharing and appreciate your continued support.

Tidbits.

My mother sends me random e-mails with incoherent thoughts, and titles the e-mail "tidbits" - I guess I'm following suit.

The snow has stopped - but the ice is slick. Was so sure I was going to bust my butt walking from the car to the office yesterday. The bigger they are, the harder they fall you know.


D lost another tooth yesterday - so now he truly is missing his 2 front teeth....looks adorable.


My boss told my new staff that they will report to me - one mean old lady shook her head the entire time and stormed out of the office after. Guess she doesn't want to work for me - heh. I'm torn between killing her with kindness and making her life a living Hades - haaaa....


I got turned down to be on a Design Team....:( I feel like Jan Brady.


The rats in the attic are back - or never left. They came yesterday to put bait in the attic - AND - they set traps in the kitchen and laundry room. I swear on all things Holy that if they find a rat INSIDE my house, this house is going on the market and we're moving!






I did make a card last night - another one in the series of Julee's 4 challenges this week. Another odd pairing of colors, I think. But I think my style is coming together - I am totally down with the shabby chic thing that Dawn was talking about. I dig it. I'd been seeing those little thing plastic hearts pop up on cards and haven't been able to find them - but my new most favorite store ever ARCHIVER's had them....and in the $1.99 spot!!

Thanks for checking in on me again, girls - the weekend is coming!

Remember when I said I like drama just as long as it ain't me? Well this time, it's me - :( My boss called me in yesterday and told me he wanted me to "think about something". He wants me to take another job - move me over to manage a group of people that I'm not all that crazy about. AND, it would have me reporting to someone who I like, but I just could never work for this guy because I so do not like his style. I asked if I had a choice and he said "ummmm....well...nothing's in stone yet" - translation - I don't have a choice. And for those of you that have been living under a rock for the past few years - the newspaper business isn't exactly flourishing right now. So while I am going to HATE this, and by the way it's going to have me being the boss of my bestest friend in Boise! - I have to do it. This makes me sick :(





I locked myself up in my room creating - trying to escape. I made this card for the day 2 of Julee's Verve challenges this week. I still can't believe I paired Ripe Avocado with Raspberry Fizz and I totally fancy this card. It might just be my most favorite yet (yes, I'm probably going to say that more and more as I learn and try new things, but just like my kids - can't I have more than just one favorite??).

Thanks for stopping by, girls - have a great day!

ETA: Jennifer asked about Challenges. The challenges aren’t really contests. It’s really just like doing a tutorial – like we used to do at the group in PSP, remember? They give you a sketch is what it’s called, says to put the ribbon here and put your focal point there – and no 2 cards end up looking alike because everyone interprets it differently. There are some contests that they do – but they aren’t based on one card looking better than another; most are pulled by random draw. So if I won or someone else won, it wasn’t because one card was better than the other. I want to win because you get free product – a free stamp set, or a bundle of paper – sometimes more, sometimes less…but free stuff means you don’t have to spend money and who doesn’t love that?! Thanks for being interested in my new little hobby!

Whacks of Snow!

We had BUNCHES of snow yesterday in Boise. It snowed allllllz day. Took me an hour and a half to get home when it should only take me 20 minutes. Snow is so pretty - but it can be a complete pain in the butt sometimes!

Thanks for the kind words from yesterday's post, girls. Some of you who have known me forever know all about my stuff...and my fatness. I even got an e-mail from my girl Liz who knows me from waaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day - she reads the blog but doesn't know how to post a comment? Huhlow LEO, welcome to the 21st century.

I am so stinkin' in love with this card! I was inspired by the snow today. This card is for Julee's MOJO68 challenge. This week's is actually a contest. Not sure how you win or if it's just some random draw, but I hope it's meeeeeeeeeeee!

Thanks for stopping by, girls - I'm happy to hear from you all!

My BIG Day.

As some of you know, I'm a big fat girl.

That's right - I'm a fattie. I've been fat my entire life - grew up with *lots* of issues, and food was my escape and way of dealing. A few years ago I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer - had to have (2) surgeries to get my thyroid taken out - so I've got that going against me now too. I still battle with the thyroid issue - on a thyroid hormone, and I have radiation treatment once a year...fun fun. So anyway, in all my years I have only gotten serious about losing weight just one time and that was the year before last: I LOST 145 POUNDS!!
I was the hottest fat chick you'll ever see - heh. But, I've since put most of it back on.

Well now I've gone and busted up my knee, and carrying the weight does not make it any easier for me to get around. That was sort of my wake-up-call to get back on my plan and get the weight off - again....and hopefully for the last time.

So here it is, January 5, 2009 - and I AM BACK ON!

I will weigh-in every Monday and post over there on the side ------------->

my progress. You can support and encourage me...or you can say nothing, it's all good.

JUST DON'T BE A HATER; I hate haters.

What a weekend!
Busy with shopping....inventory...housework...church, and of course - some crafting. The dryer took a big dump yesterday - actually it's not the dryer, it's the vent something system and some HVAC dude has to come tomorrow to clean it out because clothes are taking like 9 cycles to dry - and that just can't be good. Tonight we're having dinner at my mother's - it *should* be good - she is making enchiladas: the one thing she used to know how to make GOOD.
But that was then and this is now, so, we'll see if it's as good as it used to be.

I made this card for the OCC - Sketch Challenge. And a challenge it was. This is the best one of the lot. I made a couple other versions and they came out, uh, overblinged - just not pretty...pretty gaudy actually.







And this thing here is a party favor for a birthday party. One of the many swaps I signed up for when I joined SCS. I got all excited and wanted to jump in and do everything - and now I'm sick of it - LOL Anyway, this is a CD case with some Ghirardelli chocolates in it and I decorated the outside.

Hope you're having a great Sunday - and staying warm.

It's bitter cold for us. I hate it when the sun is out and it's freezing - you're fooled in to thinking it's warmer than it is and you get out there and freeze your butt off.

OK - let me address the making more than one card thing. As for it losing it's value if there are more than one of it...uh, last I checked, my simple cards weren't collectibles. And, if I sent a card to Rob's mother in California, and the same card to Jennifer in New York, chances are neither would know that it wasn't a one-of-a-kind. Furthermore, I call my crafting "crafting for the working mom"; I work 50 hours a week, and I have (2) little ones, along with church, church classes, soccer, laundry, trips to Target - heh, and a hundred other things. So if I'm spending 2 hours working on a card, might as well make 4 of it - it's called working smart. Sorry if there are haters out there, but that's what I do. It's all good - I ain't mad atcha!








I ordered myself one of those photo boxes - can't wait for it to get here so I can take good pictures. This card is so pretty - the colors anyway. I was practicing with the CropADile that my mother got me for Christmas. Not sure the 4 corners belong on this card - ha - but I was just messing around.

Yippeee!! - it's the weekend!

I came home whooped last night - but not too whooped to make cards - heh.

I can't get enough of Papertrey's Raspberry Fizz stuff. I think I have made more than enough Valentine's cards - but I haven't seen in my mind how to transition this paper to being something unValentiney. Think that's my challenge for the weekend!





And then this card was made for Amber's Viva la Verve challenge on SCS. I actually really like this card. But was it ever complicated! No wonder people only make one of a card and move on. Me, wanting to build up a stash, I make 4-8 cards of everything I make and it ain't easy, I tell ya.

Getting back to usual weekend routine today, I think - laundry, Target, card-making and I need to get all the gifts inventoried. Not motivated to do that yet - but I need to.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!