For the birthday boy.

*sniffles*

My sweet baby boy is turning 7 today. He wasn't due until August 9th, but on July 31, 2002 I was at my weekly check-up and the Doc said this baby needs to come out now *gasp* So much for the little August birthstone bear we got him, eh? Anywho - since I am in birthday mode (party tomorrow, baking the cake today) I just had to post a birthday card today!

This card features papers by Bo Bunny that I picked up at my LSS and Papertrey Ink cardstock, ribbon and sentiment. Tried a little something different with the ribbon - I'm challenged in ways to use my scrap ribbon - the kind that isn't long enough to tie around and in to a bow - but this worked perfectly.

Happy Friday to you!

On the baby kick again.

I'm trying to have one of every kind of card possible in my stash - baby shower is one I didn't have. I think I have some generic baby ones, but they are all blue from a challenge I did a while back. So, I thought a cute lil' baby shower card was in order. Owls are so trendy in the stamp world these days and I so want to fit in *giggles* - - oh look at me with my colored owl...that I not so much colored *wink* My sentiments are from Scattered Showers by the way - you know, my beloved umbrella set! Thanks for checking in - is it Friday yet?

For Aunt Tootie.

I made this card for Rob's Aunt Tootie who showed us the bestest time when we were in Wisconsin. We spent an entire day with her and she took us all over town....she's 80 years old...probably healthier than I am....drives 70 mph without a seatbelt on...made the bestest egg salad sammies you ever did have; she truly is one-of-a-kind. She really made an impression on the kids too - so much so that they would rather go back there instead of to Disneyland for our next vacation! Anyway, her birthday is on Friday, so I'm sending this off to her.

For today's Pez-A-Doodle Wednesday card I went back to Studio G Series 30 and used this one-of-a-kind stamp from a Mother's Day set. This card is the best of both worlds - using up scraps from my stash, as well as repurposing stamps - love it. We are nearing the end of this week's Studio G Challenge - and that is to use buttons with your Studio G stamps. I know everyone reading this has buttons in their stash, and I know you've got at least one Studio G set! So head on over to the Studio G group at PCP and get in on the challenges.

Thanks for stopping in today - much appreciated.

Wonderful. Delightful. Pleasant.

No, not me - my card! *giggles*

This week the Jacksonbelle Embellishments girls are working with Pink Paislee and October Afternoon papers. I have, and have used, a lot of October Afternoon papers, so I thought I'd use some Pink Paislee (that I actually got from Jacksonbelle a couple months ago) for the first time. From the Enchanting line, I used the Wonderful, Delightful and Pleasant papers. I distressed the bottom piece of patterned paper, added some vintage crochet lace and some crochet thread, opened a pack of Martha Stewart letter tabs, and used a little piece of cork to make my sentiment piece pop.

Be sure and head over to the Jacksonbelle Embellishments blog to see what the rest of the girls are up to!

Have a super day!

A little different Baby card.

I just got my new Paper Temptress order and this smokin' hot Copper Metallic Glossy paper was in it. You ever see or buy some papers that are just so cool and then you get them and you are like a deer caught in the headlights with what can you do with it? That's how I was with this paper - loved it, but stuck - how do you work with this color, with this brightness.... Fortunately for me, I had just bought these little metallic puffy alpha stickers by Making Memories at Archivers. The copper (B) was a perfect color match - not to mention they are metallic too!! The rest just kinda fell in to place. This is one of those cards that took longer in thought than it did in execution for sure. With a paper like this, you don't need to do a lot to it - these kinds of cards are all about the base and when you have such a unique color, ain't nuthin' wrong with that!

Don't Forget!!: Paper Temptress has a Christmas Paper Package where you can get 20 sheets of kickin' paper for all your Holiday cards and it's 40% off through Friday. AND, the other specials for the month - the Lustre line and the Sparkle line are 25% off (both these lines also have 12x12 sheets for all you scrapbookers out there). Don't wait - hit the store and shop early...and when you're done there, hit the Paper Temptress blog and see what the DT is up to.
Thanks for stopping in today - have a great week!

Absolutely Fabulous.

This month's blog hop called for working with text - be it Papertrey's text patterned papers or some of those stamps that are made to show a text pattern. I really wanted to work with this color combo: Pure Poppy and Raspberry Fizz plus the new lush Enchanted Evening. So I chose this text page from the Raspberry Fizz Mix paper pack and then I paired that with a piece of Pure Poppy from the new In Bloom paper pack. I did some wonky stitching around the In Bloom piece and then some on my Enchanting Evening ribbon. My flower is a Hibiscus (ghost) from Heidi Swapp accented with some Glossy Accents and some Angel Dust Art Glitter topped with a vintage button from Papertrey in Raspberry Fizz.

Thanks for stopping by - - enjoy the Hop!

Playing catch up -

Man, I am so behind on posting cards. I have so many new things to show you but I see I have some old stuff to share first.

Not sure what I did on this first card - I have my watermark on there twice. I guess I really really wanted to take credit for this one - LOL For my lil' star card I've used some great Paper Temptress papers: silver metallic cardstock, dark blue vellum and Blanc Sparkle cardstock. My sentiment is from Papertrey's All-Star Team stamp set. I've even got a lil' Glittered Skittle from Pez-A-Doodle on there.

This second card is a pretty simple one showcasing some great October Afternoon DP - they have got the greatest paper...and you can almost always tell it's October Afternoon even without reading the signature line.

I'm heading out at 4am to work on my rose bushes. They are out of control - you can't even make it up the front walk. This evening young Miss K and I will be all alone doing girl stuff - shopping, baking cookies and giving her a pedicure.

Be sure and come back this afternoon - 3pm my time - for my Papertrey Blog Hop post.

Have a super Saturday!

Sweet little one.

My friend Heather asked me to make her a card for a baby shower she is going to. Rules were: duckie and boy. I had this piece of DP from Creative Imaginations that had a lil' duckie on it and as it was the only duckie element I had, I used some Summer Sunrise Bitty Dot Basics paper to supplement in with the same color. I dipped in to my Pez-A-Doodle goods and pulled out some Studio G Series 32 stamps for my little sentiments, and I also used some Baby Blue Glittered Skittles. Heather - it's in the mail!

Thanks for stopping in, Girls.
TGIF

Hey.

I say "hey" a lot. When I'm walking around the office and pass someone and they say hello to me or good morning or whatever, I say "hey" - I just do. And I love the look of chipboard on cards - I just don't do it very often because I don't know, I think I want to change up the letters so that they aren't all perfect and matchy, and/or I don't think I'm creative enough to use them in a really cool way. So, this is an attempt, colorful, cute, but not all that clever - LOL I really do love Hibiscus Burst from Papertrey Ink by the way -it's just a really rich pink and it matches with a lot of non-Papertrey things which is nice. Nice to see you - have a great day!

Have a blessed day!

Who says you can't make a nice card using Studio G stamps? Those poor little inexpensive stamps got a bum deal, I tell ya'. The way I look at it is this: the less you have to spend on one element of your card, the more you can spend on others *giggles* So for this week's Studio G challenge over at PCP, the challenge was to use your Studio G goodness along with some buttons. Buttons? Hmmm....let me think on that one - ha! The perfect not-at-all-challenging challenge for me!

I really have been challenging myself to think outside the box with my Studio G stamps. So I took one of the Easter packs from Series 26 and thought - it doesn't have to be Easter to wish someone a blessed day, does it? My mom's voice mail ends with "have a blessed day!" - and it ain't Easter anymore.

I had fun with this card - can you tell? I tried a new stitch on my sewing machine, used some new Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts that I picked up at my LSS, played with some more Scarlet Jewel, and of course: buttons!

I don't want to part with this card ever!

We're half way to Friday, Girls!
Thanks for stopping by.

Thank u.

I am still' lovin' BasicGrey's new Lemonade and June Bug papers. For today's Jacksonbelle Embellishments sketch I am using the Lemonade papers along with the Lemonade stickers and as you can see, not only is the name yum, but so is everything else in this line!

I was reading a thread on SCS and it sounds like there are a lot of people that hate on the stapling gig and think it's tacky *cries* Tacky? My new thing? Oh no! Oh well...I guess we're supposed to create for ourselves and not others, right? *wink* Be sure and head on over to the Jacksonbelle blog for this week's sketch and to see what the other girls have made.

Thanks for stopping by today.
Have a great day!

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #12

It's been a while since I participated in Dawn McVey's Raspberry Suite Color Challenges. I made the top 15 one week...didn't the next...and I guess I just took my Barbies and went home *giggles* However, I could not resist this color combination for it was another opportunity to play with my new Scarlet Jewel. Not only that - BUT - I got a bunch of new Spellbinders stuff!!! - - and I have used the Tulips Borderabilities in this card. Not sure I'm going to be able to work with the Borderabilities as well as I thought, but, I love tulips (they're my favorite flower in case you were ever going to send me flowers - ha) so I had to give this one a go first!

Thanks for checkin' out what I'm up to!

Christmas in July!

Christmas in July works for retailers, and it also works for the cardmaking world because if you want to get published, you have just been working on cards for December magazines which naturally are going to be chockfull of Christmas cards.

What I have for you today are a couple of Christmas cards featuring the new Green Crepe Rouche paper from Paper Temptress. This paper has wonderful texture, the word that comes to mind is organic, it looks like it's handmade and pressed, just appears to be very delicate paper but is surprisingly hearty. I love this paper and plan on making mucho more Christmas cards incorporating this paper.

Paper Temptress has a Christmas Paper Package where you can get 20 sheets of kickin' paper for all your Holiday cards and it's 40% off for the rest of the month! Plus, the July specials already available at Paper Temptress: the Lustre line and the Sparkle line are 25% off (both these lines also have 12x12 sheets for all you scrapbookers out there). Don't wait - hit the store and shop early...and when you're done there, hit the Paper Temptress blog and see what the DT is up to.

Happy Monday, Girls!

My latest find.

A Million Memories

Can I just tell you how much I love this store? I was looking for some sheets of Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird because it was available online before anyone had it here locally, my normal online stores didn't have it, so I Googled and found this place. I am ashamed to admit that I have placed about 6 orders since then. Madness, I know. But they send me these e-mails giving me 25% off - and it counts on clearance and their bargain of the day! This is the bestest store for vintage stuff - - all the neat little embellies you see the pros like Betsy Veldman use on their cards. They have the bestest crocheted lace and other frilly things, I finally found those mini clothespins I have seen on cards - and they were super cheap!

So here are a couple of cards I made with some Great Escape paper by Making Memories and some crocheted lace from AMM. I have only been making cards for almost 7 months and I have to tell you, I think I have finally figured out my style and what I like to create. It's been a process of trying to emulate, pick up tips, be inspired, follow sketches, and I feel like finally my own style has found it's way to the surface. Just so you know though, I have bunches of cards to show you that I created before this movement of mine, so you'll have to look at some other junk before it's all the real me *wink*

Have you made it over to Digiments to see the new releases yet? Lots of fun and different sentiments this month - Kid's Bible Songs for one! 24 Digiments for $10.

Hope you have a super Sunday!

It's gonna be a hot one.

I am so dreading today. We have been fortunate - unless you're in to fun in the sun - to just have had our first over 100 day yesterday. Well today it's going to be 105. Oh my heck that is hot and if you're carting around as much fatness as I am, that's just brutal! I would love nothing more than to stay in the air-conditioned house today, but it's my company picnic day and I have to go. Also, it would cost us $80 to go there on our own which is just madness, so going when it's free and getting lunch to boot, oh yeah, we'll take advantage for sure.

So my card today is one that I made with Cosmo Cricket's latest and greatest - Early Bird. I thought this would be nice for a summer birthday as it's nice and bright. Got a little trinket pin action goin' on there from Maya Road - - love those pretties!

Today is the big Digiments release day. There are 24 new Digiments on sale this morning and you can get the entire new set for only ten bucks! Head on over to have a looksie.

Enjoy your weekend, Girls!

Reinventing me.

I'm not sure if my style has taken a detour or what, but I am loving the vintage look. Or at least infusing vintage in to my cards lately. The stapling is a big thing - I am loving that for sure. And using more of the lacy/frilly embellishments has been fun too. Yes I love my bows with Papertrey ribbon, but I am having a good time dabbling with new stuff. That's what it's about, isn't it?

Anyway so on this card I have a base of some Pink Lemonade Pop Tones cardstock from Paper Temptress. Now this is a lighter weight paper so make sure you are OK with that if you are using this as your card base - it's 65# and typically my Papertrey stuff is 110#. But I love the color and thought it would be perfect on a lil' baby card. My lil' heart is a piece of Metallic Gold punched with the large EK Success heart punch. My sentiment is from Studio G Series 32 available at Pez-A-Doodle, as are the shimmery blue Glittered Skittles.

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Today is the last day of Digiments sneak peeks before the big release tomorrow morning. Head on over to see what's being released tomorrow - a set of (24) Digiments for only $10!

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Woo-hoo, it's Friday!!

About buttons.

If you've been to my blog more than once - {LOL, there's a few regulars} - you know how much I love me some buttons. And you also know that I insist on threading my buttons. Typically I tie them up through the front so that you see the ends sticking out, or even tie them in a bow. However I do like the look that I have here today. Thing is, I don't know how to thread buttons in my sewing machine, so I just tied them this way but then I had a bulky knot in the back so these aren't lying flat which is bothering me right now - ha. I've seen people actually thread their buttons like this with a needle and thread and essentially sew them on to the card, but come on, that's like work!

Anywho....this week at Jacksonbelle there is a big sale on Daisy D's. All Daisy D's products are on sale most are 50% off or more! Daisy D's has some really cute stuff - I actually bought the lil' monkey paper pack as one of my very first cardmaking purchases back in January. Daisy D's also has some cute lil' embellies like gems and photo corners - like the sweet pink ones I have here which by the way are only $1 at Jacksonbelle right now!

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Digiments sneak peeks continue today!
Head on over to Digiments to have a look and also get in on the contest for your chance to win the entire new release come Saturday.
24 Digiments will be released - - for only $10!
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Thanks for stopping in today - - have a good one!

Oooooo, purple!

Today I've got a lil' purple card for this week's Studio G challenge over at PCP. If you like free stuff, you really need to play along in these challenges, Girls! Last time I checked there were less than 5 people playing along - those are good odds to win free stuff, don'tcha think? This week's challenge was the sketch, plus to use some extra Studio G - I chose the ink because it went so well with my purple cardstock. The sentiment here is another one from Series 26 (Holiday/Valentine) and I used it because my son is very cuddly. He always pops his head in when I am crafting and says "mom, can we cuddle?" - and so we go and flop on my bed and tell silly stories for a bit and just laugh and cuddle together. My daughter on the other hand is not so much the cuddly type - so this card is for her because I want her to know that I would love cuddle time with her too! This card also features Glittered Skittles from Pez-A-Doodle and Grape Jelly cardstock from Paper Temptress - yum-o!

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Digiments sneak peeks start today!
Head on over to Digiments to have a look and also get in on the contest for your chance to win the entire new release come Saturday.
24 Digiments will be released - - for only $10!
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Thanks for stopping in today.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Oh look - more stars *giggles*

OK, so I wasn't quite done with the Star Prints set yet - ha. I kept it out for this week's Jacksonbelle Embellishments sketch challenge. Be sure and head on over to the Jacksonbelle blog for this week's sketch, all the details and to see what the other girls have made.

My favorite part of this card is the little chipboard buttons. These are from Crate Paper and available at Jacksonbelle. I love that these are buttons but with a fun masculine feel to them. I just got my new BasicGrey paper pads and mixed some in with this card which was created with a lot of scraps. That little star border strip is made with a lil' piece of the new June Bug paper, and the star pattern punch is from my new Martha Stewart punch that I got from Jacksonbelle (I think I got the last one, but Lindsey's got some cute fall and winter ones that you can order now and be one of the first to have when they ship at the end of the month!).

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It's time for another Digiments release, Girls!

Head on over to Digiments and check out the pre-release contest for your chance to win the entire new release come Saturday.

24 Digiments will be released - - for only $10!

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Thanks for checkin' in.

Have a super Tuesday!

Back to the grind.....

...off to work this morning after 2-weeks of vacation - ugh!

Because I don't color images, my cards typically have a lot of textures and embellishments about them. I love that Paper Temptress has so many fine papers that are already rich with texture and character and need nothing done to them but to be used. I've used some Epic Black Columns paper as the base of my card here - - it comes with all those chunky uniform score lines so you don't have to worry about using the Scor-Pal or Cuttlebug to get a nice pattern on it. And instead of going with a stark white, I decide to go for more of a vintage look and use more of a cream for my light neutral in the form of Recycled Natural White Classic Linen paper. This paper too has some texture to it with its beautiful woven lines. And for my Halloween orange I used this Metallic Orange which had some sparklies in it, ran a piece through my Cuttlebug to get a pumpkin pattern on it and then another piece cut with a Nestibilities die and all I had left were my embellishments.

I also wanted to share with you today the birthday party invitations I made for my son's party we're having in a few weeks. He wanted a BSU (Boise State University) party - so I had to find just the right blue and orange for this. I sent Patricia the BSU logo because it was very important that the colors be spot on. The colors she recommended were a perfect match and both my son and my husband said these were "cool" - - I guess that's good enough for me!

The blue is this amazing bright and shiny Cadillac Dark Blue and just so you know, this is great for a card base because it's white on the inside so you can write on it. My orange is Cosmic Orange which surprisingly is a bright cardstock - - sometimes with cardstock it's hard to find one with pop - this one has it. The Cosmic Orange - an Astrobright paper - is also very affordable: 5 sheets for 84-cents. I know it's easy to go and buy the pack of invitations at Target or your local party store for $3, but for a few extra bucks you are creating memories for your child that will last a lifetime.

Cost breakdown for (7) invitations:
1 sheet Cosmic Orange - $.17
3.5 sheets Cadillac Dark Blue - $2.07
BSU paper from local stamp store - $.99
Papertrey Ink ribbon - $3.00
- - - $6.23 total - - keep in mind $3 of that was my ribbon, you can easily use a less expensive ribbon from Michael's for $1 and get that price down even more. But at the end of the day, can you really put a price on your child thinking you are the bestest mommy ever?

Thanks for stopping in today.
Hope your week starts off great!

Wish Big

As I mentioned yesterday, I love me some Star Prints. It seems that every Papertrey release there is one set that I love all pieces of. It's challenging for me because I don't color images, so I need sets that are either heavy on sentiments, or have images that can be stamped all one color and/or easily cut out: Star Prints is all of that. Trying another color combo here - - Lemon Tart and Ocean Tides (BTW Rebecca - the star yesterday was done in Ocean Tides) and a little Pure Poppy for the pop factor.

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I also wanted to share with you what I got from my Battle of the Bulge Secret Sister over at SCS. Yes, I am still trying to lose weight. I have lost 60 pounds since the beginning of the year, went through some health things and think I put about 10 pounds back on, so we'll say I'm down 50 for the year right now. Which is good, but, when you're as fat as I am, that's not that much. So - the battle continues. I'll be Tweeting my progress once a week if you're interested. Anyway, so my super cool SS sent me this big ol' paint can that she decorated and it was loaded with craft and diet goodness.

She also made me this card that says "you are one of a kind" - - that's right people, I iz one of a kind!

Hope you have a fantastic Sunday!

Shining Star

Yes, I am singing "honey you, are my shining star, don't you go away girl...ohhhhh baby...." - - man I love the soulful 60s (and no, I wasn't born yet). So today - and tomorrow - I'm sharing some cards I made with Papertrey's Star Prints set. I really do enjoy this set - coordinating punches always get 2 thumbs up from me - the first card I made when I got home yesterday also was using this Bitty Star Basics paper and the coordinating punch (not this card - one you'll see next week). So yeah - a pretty simple card - I keep them simple when I am trying out new color combos just in case it doesn't work out *wink*Thanks for stopping in today.

Have a wonderful Saturday!

For my sweetheart.

- and that would be my little girl. I call her sweetheart. Just a quick lil' card I made with some scraps; I really do love the challenge and fun of creating with scraps. It's challenging but creatively and not at all stressful. The sentiment is from Studio G Series 26 - the one with the Valentine stuff in it. So again, get your money's worth and find uses for holiday stamps for non-holiday occasions.

TGIF, Girls!

Postcard -

- the last postcard BTW as we are making our way across the country and will be back home tomorrow afternoon!

One last pic on the way out of NYC - - we had to get a photo of the kids by this NYPD car....didn't know there were (2) police officers in the car and this nice officer just offered to get out and take a picture with the kids; whatta guy!
In front of the Obama's house in Washington, DC - - I personally loved hanging out here.A less-fun visit with the police. It was so hard getting around DC and we made a turn and the second we turned we saw the "do not enter" sign, asked the nice officer how to get out and he wrote us up!Made it to Chicago and had a great dinner with the lovely Miss Laura - - her accent is so stinkin' cute and I love hangin' with someone who gets me *wink* A great time and super pizza Chicago-style!

Thanks for stopping in today.

It's almost Friday, Girls!

Hello!

Every time I see a simple HELLO I think of that song by Lionel Richie - hello, is it me you're looking for? Wasn't that the video with the blind girl? I thought that was so wrong. Maybe I missed something...that was like 7th grade...decades ago (yeah, I said it).

Again workin' the vintage, just playin', but havin' a good time too - and that's what it's about, isn't it? I've got the lil' hello here from Studio G Series 30, and then the first part that led me down the vintage path was adding in some German Scrap - I love this stuff! I think all my cardie friends are getting German Scrap for Christmas this year - it's cheap, and I can tuck it into a Christmas card and call it a gift *giggles*

Thanks for lookin' - have a good one!

Jacksonbelle sketch time!

My first Tuesday sketch as part of the Jacksonbelle Embellishments DT. The sketch was for a square card *gasp* - - have I done that before? Maybe once, I think? So totally a challenge from the get-go. I made this card 4x4 so that it would still fit into a regular A2 envelope. I used my most favorite BasicGrey Porcelain paper along with all my favorite embellies: ribbon, button and lace trim. Huhlow - it's called Jacksonbelle EMBELLISHMENTS, right? Gotta love a place that's right up my alley *wink* And yes, I know this is the sentiment I used yesterday - I am totally lovin' the stamp-and-cut sentiment thing.

For the sketch and all the details, head on over to the Jacksonbelle blog - {can you say prizes??} - and when you're done with that, head on over to the Jacksonbelle store where COSMO CRICKET!!!! is 25% off this week, and brand spankin' new BasicGrey June Bug & Lemonade paper is in stock! I placed my order this week and can't wait to get home and play - woooooooo!

Have a super Tuesday, Girls!

Hello, friend.

That's what I'll be sayin' today as we are headed to Chicago to meet up with Miss Laura. I thought it only fitting that I post this card today as it's from a kit that she sent me. We were doing card kits at the now-defunct Fun-Frilled *sniffles* and I never got to post this one. So here it is - perfect timing though.

A little bit about this card - it's SU! stuff....but the white is Solar White Columns from Paper Temptress and the ink is from Papertrey. I don't work with SU! stuff so this was a little odd to me. I don't know these colors - although I think the green is called Kiwi Kiss - and I even felt at one point like I was two-timing Papertrey *LOL* I don't do brads. Do y'all hear me? I DON'T DO BRADS!! And there were brads in the kit. I used ONE of them just to show that I'm a trooper! Ha!

Have a super day - I know I will!

Postcard -

Yes, more pictures! - - you had to know there would be extra when it came to New York City, right? Oh man, we have had the most amazing vacation so far. K said to me that this is the best vacation - "even better than Disneyland because all you do at Disneyland is go on rides" - they love learning and seeing so many different things; just a really wonderful time.

So yesterday we were up bright and early braving the New Jersey drivers and catching the ferry out to see Ellis Island and then the Statue of Liberty. She really is larger than I thought - unlike Mount Rushmore which I thought would be bigger.

It started raining buckets on us - and us with our umbrellas back in the car in New Jersey - we are truly brilliant people *giggles*

All Rob has talked about since we got to NYC was going to Carnegie Deli. If any of you are foodies and watch the Food Network, this place has been on there bunches of time. So we went there for dinner last night. The portion sizes are insane. K's Muenster sammie had as much cheese as you get in the Finlandia package at Costco. Madness - but ohhh soo good!

Here's me in a NYC taxi - ha. I wasn't going to show y'all any pictures of me because I'm a fattie, but, what the heck, I am who I am - - I ain't too proud to be fat *wink*

And yes, we went to Tiffany. And yes, I completely spoiled my daughter. But hey - you only live once and who knows when we'll ever make it back to NYC, right? I bought her her first Tiffany & Co. necklace....and some other things. And got myself some perfume.

We're in Washington, DC today celebrating the 4th.

Hope your Holiday is wonderful as well!

All American Boy.

And here's the 4th of July card I made for my son. I try to think outside of the box when it comes to colors for Holiday cards - that's why this one isn't overly red, white, and blue although it does have those colors in it. The stars and the sentiment are what make it 4th of July. Speaking of the sentiment - this is another cutie from Studio G Series 30 available from Pez-A-Doodle.

I mentioned recently that the previews for the fall Studio G stuff are now available, well now the previews for the Christmas stuff is up!! Check out the Studio G Christmas stamps here. There's also coordinating Studio G Glitter Glue and ink - - you can pre-order all this stuff now and have it all shipped next month. Order all your fall and Christmas stuff at once and save on your shipping too!

Thanks for coming by - have a great day!

Postcard -

Sorry I don't have photo-editing software on this computer so I can't change the size of this picture to make it better to see, but you can click on it to enlarge and see it better. Wisconsin with Rob's family was an amazing time for all of us. Rob's aunt and uncle are farmers and have this huge operation - almost 5000 acres of corn, wheat and soybean - and they've made it the family business so their oldest son and all of his kids have a role in the business. They took us out to the fields to see how corn starts, the fertilizing of it, cultivating of it, and then we went to the big silos and saw uncle Bruce load it into the big rig and drive it off to market. Truly an education for the kids. D also got bucked by a goat *gasp* one of those "remember the time" moments.

We got in to Pennsylvania last night after a long day of trekking through Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and then here. And this morning we're off to Manhattan. Manhattan - only ever seen it in movies and on the television. Cannot wait to see that skyline!

Hope you're having a great week!

American Girl.

I made each of the kids a card for the 4th of July. I really do try and make a fuss for every holiday - maybe it's using special plates and napkins, or buying them something special like a pinwheel for the 4th of July parade - but now that I am making cards, I think it's important to make them a card for everything too. They see me making cards all the time, I know it makes them feel so special when they get one that I made just for them.

I love this lil' sentiment from Studio G Series 30 - the font is just so cute! In the short time I have been with Pez-A-Doodle, I feel like Studio G has come a long way - just so many fantastic things they are coming out with these days.

Hope you have a super day - thanks for checkin' in!