Home again, Home again, Jiggedy Jig

Just wanted to let yall know Josh is home as of yesterday evening. He is feeling sooo much better, just very tired. He'll have some much needed time off to rest...if he would only relax!

I have next week off so hopefully I'll get some stampin done! My stamp room has been clean since WEDNESDAY!!! And I haven't stamped since then...boo...

Hopefully I'll have some good stuff to post soon. Thanks again for all your kind words, thoughts and prayers. Hugs!!

Thank you!

Thank you all for the notes of encouragement and the outpouring of love. It is so appreciated! Just wanted to post a quick update.

The chief resident came and talked with Josh today, in addition to the drs that were trying to diagnose him last night/this morning. He said that he had personally looked at all the scans and there was nothing wrong with his heart. Praise the LORD! Hopefully he will get to go home on Saturday, but he's upset he'll miss the new iPhone release LOL. Fever was down today to 99, but is now back up. Hmph.

I just got up from taking a nap, and my new SU Catalog and I are going to the hospital to visit. The boys will be back home tonight as well, and my sis is staying here with me to help. I have missed them!!

Thanks again for keeping us in your thoughts...yall are awesome!

Please say a little prayer today...

My husband Josh has been sick for a few days, and he went to work Wednesday (he works at a county hospital) and ended up in the ER. They called me around 4 pm to tell me he was being admitted. He has a really high fever, elevated heart rate, and pneumonia. They've tried everything to bring his fever down, and I've been up there since 8 pm. It's 4 am now and they finally said I had to go home. Just called to check on him and they've packed him in ice...but his nurse assures me that he is ok. He works closely with the people that are taking care of him so I know that he's in good hands, but it's scary not being there. Just keep us in your prayers!

There's a Fine Line...

Between not being wasteful and being a pack rat. I tend to be the latter...I am constantly saying, "No! Don't throw that away! I might need it!" But today I couldn't even open the door to my stamp room all the way, much less walk in it. So it was time to do some cleaning. YUCK.

I waded through tons of stuff (ie. patterned paper and cheapo cardstock) that I purchased last year when I started this fabulous dual hobby of stamping and acquiring stamping supplies. I saved a lot of it, but put it away so I could get to the stuff I really needed. I did throw some stuff away (GASP!) but it was junk, honestly. I don't know why I have so many things to be altered though. Maybe next week we'll have Altered Week and a contest or something. Seriously I think I have at LEAST a dozen items I bought to alter. It's a sickness...

So here are pics of my finished room. Small, yes, but it's my own! I need to figure out the cardstock storage situation...I have a major problem b/c more is on its way and I have nowhere to put it. And I also have a scrap storage issue. Any ideas??





And last but not least is what the floor usually looks like when I'm stamping. And they snore too! The one closest to the camera is Phoebe, and the "little" one is Lucy. They're English Mastiffs and the most wonderful pets ever. Except when they pass gas in my stamp room..... And yes, they really are that big. Lucy's foot is almost touching that storage unit.



One last thing...I've got some exciting news to share soon...so stay tuned! And no, Peyton, I'm NOT PREGNANT!!! LOL

Is it bad....

When you order something and you don't remember everything you ordered? That happened to me today. Ok, other than my Stamping Bella order, that is. I ordered the ones I wanted, and then couldn't remember which ones I got. But I digress. I have been coveting the Petey Penguin stamps at Inky Antics. So I ordered one, FINALLY, and found this great sentiment stamp. I knew I had to have it the moment I saw it, because it is soooo me. Don'tcha think? ;)

I also got my yummy Tres Jolie paper today from Eclectic Paperie...I was torn between cutting right into it and hoarding it. Of course, I had to cut into it...lol I hope you enjoy this card as much as I did...it just made me smile! Happy Monday!

Card Info:
Stamps: Daintybella, Inky Antics sentiment
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Paper Accents Pearlized White, MME Tres Jolie
Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir, Close to Cocoa, Cool Caribbean, Apricot Appeal, Blush Blossom
Accessories: Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Blender Pen, Ticket Corner Punch, Marvy Circle Punches, Paper Piercer, Scallop Scissors, Pop Dots

Howdy Yall

Happy Sunday, people! This is a card I made late on Friday night using this week's Color Combo. I love this cowgirl by Rubber Romance, and Julee is such a sweetie...she let me borrow it! The image reminds me of my mom, so I gave this card to her last night. The image is quite larger than I expected...so I made a 5" square card, which happened to be the Ways to Use it Challenge this week. I love two-fers!

First I stamped her in Palette Hybrid Noir on Paper Accents Pearlized White Cardstock. Her leg looked kinda funny just hanging there, so I sketched a barrell under it and sketched some grass under her chair as well (just cause I didn't feel like masking lol). I tried watercoloring with blender pens using reinkers and ink from the lids of my pads, and I must say I really like them. It's a little tougher to get the degree of light and dark that I like with the aquapainter, but it was sooo much easier and less mess. I used Real Red, Barely Banana, Buckaroo Blue (sniff! so sad it's going...), Bashful Blue, Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, and Wild Wasabi inks to color the image. I thought the graduation from Guava to Bashful made a nice Sunrise...definitely going to play more with that one! I did end up using my Aquapainter on the sky because the space was so large.

I glued the Real Red and Creamy Caramel pieces together (after stamping the Caramel one with Canvas in Close to Cocoa Ink) and ran them through my Cuttlebug with the Textile Folder. A few black brads, some black grosgrain ribbon, and she was done! I love the image with this sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Green Thumb set. All in all I'm very pleased with myself... this is probably one of my favorite cards in a while!

Card Info:
Stamps: Rubber Romance - Carrie, Papertrey Ink Green Thumb

Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir, Real Red, Barely Banana, Buckaroo Blue, Bashful Blue, Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, and Wild Wasabi

Cardstock: Barely Banana, Real Red, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black, Paper Accents Pearlized White

Accessories: Black Brads, Black Grosgrain, Foam Mounting Tape, Blender Pens, Cuttlebug Textile folder, Aquapainter

Another Bingo Card

I love this sketch that Julee posted for her Beach Blogger Bingo game. I also used this week's SCS Color Challenge, which was to use Creamy Caramel, Real Red, and Barely Banana (which I have NEVER used). I stamped this cowgirl (from Deadbeat Designs) on Paper Accents Pearlized White cardstock, colored her with markers, and punched her out with my Giga Scalloped Rectangle Punch. I layered that on a Basic Black rectangle, rounded the corners, and distressed the edges. I also added some dots to accent the scallops with my Black Sakura Glaze Pen. The background panels are stamped with the polka dots and paisley stamp set in Close to Cocoa Classic ink, and the Banana piece is stamped in the same ink with Linen BG. I wrapped some twine around that piece and layered my sentiment (from up and coming Verve Visual...more to come later on that!) on Real Red and popped it up on mounting tape. A Prima with a black button finished it off!

I will hopefully have some great stuff to share this weekend since my SU Preorder and other goodies are starting to arrive...so stay tuned!

Card Info:

Stamps: Polka Dots & Paisley, Linen, Sentiment by Verve Visual, Cowgirl by Deadbeat Designs
Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, Creamy Caramel, Barely Banana, Paper Accents Pearlized White
Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Distressor, Rectangle Giga Scallop Punch, Sakura Black Glaze Pen, Corner Rounder (small), Twine, Button, Prima, Foam Mounting Tape, Markers

BINGO!

Julee is a genius!! She had this great idea to play Blogger Bingo... and I'm having way too much fun with it! This is my first card for her sketch challenge. I love this sketch because I got to use my new Papertrey Text Boxed stamp set AND my new Marvy rectangle scalloped punches. I was playing around yesterday with my chalk inks and found that it looked kind of cool when I "wiped" the inkpad across the stamp.

If I can ever get the pics to upload, I did an ink comparison using the new set b/c I have had a hard time getting a good solid image. The winner was Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink by Clearsnap, and I found some on sale yesterday so OF COURSE I had to use one of them! This one, called Tangerine, caught my attention today so I paired it with Old Olive, Basic Black and Apricot Appeal. I'm still not sure I love this card, but I figured I'd show you anyway! I am determined to start using some of these Primas I've been hoarding, and this layout was perfect for them!

Card Info:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Text Boxed
Paper: Basic Black, Old Olive, Apricot Appeal, Papertrey White, Paper Accents Pearlized White (shimmer)
Ink: Colorbox Fluid Chalk - Tangerine, Palette Hybrid Noir
Accessories: Foam Tape, Cuttlebug Textile Folder, Small Marvy Scalloped Rectangle Punches, Primas, Brads (Making Memories), Black Sakura Glaze Pen

Some Music Funnies - NSR

My mom sent me these...we are total music people (Dad, sis and I were vocal music majors and Mom was Piano performance). They're one-liners written by little kids. Enjoy!

"I would like for you to teach me to play the cello. Would tomorrow or Friday be best?"

"If you keep moving two fingers real fast on the piano, you get a thrill."

"I can't reach the brakes on this piano!"

"The best way to tune up is to use a pitchfork."

"A good thing to remember about trying to pick up a tuba is don't."

"Will we ever get to the point where music is no longer taught in schools? The chances are 999 out of a hundred."

"When I learned we were going to take a trip to hear a symphony Orchestra, I told my feet to quiet down, but they felt too Saturday to listen."

"A diminuendo is something only encyclopedias know for sure."


"Tutti means everybody toot at the same time."


"I know what a sextet is but I would rather not say."


"Fortissimo means real loud. It is the way a composer yells on music paper."


"Refrain means don't do it! A refrain in music is the part you better not play."


"Poignant music is music you hear before the stork comes."


"Flats are okay in music but bad in tires."


"Pieces written in minor keys sometimes make me feel nervous, like when my mom is looking at me under her breath."


"Just about any animal skin can be stretched over a frame to make a pleasant sound once the animal is removed."


"By shortening and lengthening tubing filled with air, high and low sounds can be made. Only wind instruments can understand this well enough to make it work for them. When electric currents go through them, guitars start making sounds. So would anybody."


"When we blow into a whistle, the air is pushed together in some places and pulled apart in others. Naturally it screams and that is the sound we hear."


"Many things about electronic instruments that were once thought to be science fiction now actually are."


Question: Who composed The Hallelujah Chorus? Answer: "George Fredric Doorknob."


"Although Rossini was once considered a great composer of operas,we now know of operas he failed to compose."


"I like to listen to the Sorcerer's Appendix."


"Richard Wagner was born in 1813, supposably on his birthday."


"Bach died from 1750 to the present."


"Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died from this."


"Haydn got married when he was 28 years old and became the father of classical music."


"Handel was a deeply religious man because in some of his music he talks about Ye and Thee and people like that."


"Handel was half German, half Italian and half English; he was rather large."


"Felix Mendelssohn seems to have been happy, honest and well-liked, although a musician."


"Berlioz proved he was a wonderful composer by going insane."


"Music is one of our most anesthetic arts."

Happy Fathers Day!

We are having quite a lazy Sunday since it is STILL raining... and it's supposed to rain even more. I'm not really complaining because it is the middle of June and my yard is as green as can be! Usually we are at drought stage by now and up into the 100 degree weather, so I'm enjoying it while I can. But at the same time, 2 boys under the age of 8 cooped up all weekend is no fun, especially when there's a pool calling our names 5 miles away!

As promised, this is a stamp I found at Stamp Salado during my travels last week. It's from Stampendous, and I think you can also get it at Eclectic Paperie. I stamped the main image on Paper Accents Pearlized White Cardstock in Palette Hybrid Noir Ink, and then colored with my prismacolor pencils and Odorless mineral spirits. The center is accented with Liquid Pearls, and I stamped the Hello with my Karen Foster 1/8" Casual Snap Stamps. Using buttons is a huge challenge for me, even though I love them, so when I saw Jen's sketch for this week (http://www.iheart2stamp.com/) I thought it was a perfect opportunity to use one of my buttons!

This card started out to be another one for Jen's sketch, but it really wouldn't fit on a 4 1/4 square card. I had my heart set on using that A Muse sentiment stamp (which I have wanted forever and finally found at Stamp Salado) and my new mega scalloped circle punch, so I just changed to a regular card. I love masking these strawberries into the bucket...so cute!

I'm off to dinner with my father in law...have a great night!

Card #1:

Stamps: Stampendous flower, 1/8" Casual Snap Stamps
Paper: Shimmer White, Cool Caribbean, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, MME DP
Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Prismacolors & OMS, Liquid Pearls, Pop Dots, Button & Hemp twine

Card #2:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Green Thumb, Berry Much & Skinny Oval by A Muse, Paisley BG

Paper: Basic Black, Old Olive, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Pretty In Pink, Papertrey White

Ink: Regal Rose, Old Olive, Palette Hybrid Noir, Certainly Celery

Accessories: Mega Scallop Punch, Super Jumbo Circle Punch, Black gel pen, Paper piercer, Pop dots, Ribbon from Mike's

Father's Day cards...If you're Josh, don't look

No, I have not been kidnapped. I did not run away, and I have not been taken to the funny farm (just yet). Our modem died on Sunday and then I went out of town - San Antonio on Monday and Austin Tues-Fri. I had a whole plan...I made a ton of cards to post while I was gone but boy were we busy!! I just didn't have time to do much of anything. I was able to upload a few cards to Splitcoast, so I'll post them here. For info and recipes, click on the card and it *should* take you to my gallery. I've never done this before, so fingers crossed that it works!

Ok, so it didn't work. I'll just suck it up and post the recipes, I was just being lazy. The first card is for my DH, Josh, for Father's Day. I used All Around Argyle, which I just got in a trade, Office Accoutrement, and Linen & Weathered BG Stamps. I did a lot of sponging and distressing and for some reason this card took FOREVER, but I did it! Probably b/c I did the argyle with my Stampamajig. I just love that thing. I love my Buckaroo Blue too. Gonna miss that color. I have also had these little photo holder thingies from my Hodgepodge Hardware kit since November and for the love of Pete couldn't find a way to use them. I've tried, really I have, but this is the VERY FIRST time I've used them. Maybe I'll try again soon.



The next card is for my dad for Fathers Day. This time I stamped Lovely as a Tree in Artichoke ink on watercolor paper. Then I went at it with my aquapainter and reinkers. I distressed it and layered on Chocolate Chip and Bashful Blue paper. I used the sentiment from All Around Argyle (used my Chocolate Chip marker) and tied a knot in some narrow twill tape to finish it off. I pierced the top corners of the Artichoke base (stamped with Canvas BG) and also pierced a row across the bottom.

I got some FABULOUS goodies at Stamp Salado this week, so I'll try to post some pics using them, and I have some stuff on the way too! Yay for new stamps!!

Card #1

Stamps: All Around Argyle, Office Accoutrement, Weathered, linen
Paper: Buckaroo Blue, Vanilla, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Buckaroo Blue, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Paper Piercer, Twine, Pop Dots, HP Hardware, Distressor Tool, Chocolate Chip Marker

Card #2

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, All Around Argyle, Canvas
Paper: WC Paper, Artichoke, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Artichoke

Accessories: Foam Mounting Tape, Twill, Aquapainter, Distressor, Paper Piercer, Chocolate Chip Marker

What a busy week!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, it has been crazy nuts around here! Thursday was my baby's last day of first grade. Man that went too fast. Here's a pic from the first day of school and one of the last. He has changed a bit this year!



Friday night we went with my husband's family to Studio Movie Grill to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. We had a great time, and what an awesome movie! It was looooong, but thank goodness they serve dinner and drinks there! Yay for the blue margarita!!

We didn't do much today except hang out, but tomorrow I have to get ready for my trip. I'm going to San Antonio on Monday and then meeting the rest of the crew from work for the Texas Principal's Conference in Austin on Tuesday. We'll be there until Friday. Not to worry, I have plenty of stuff to post this week due to the outage of SCS today. PLUS I'll stop at Stamp Salado and Archivers...so I may have new toys to show you too!

This is the card I made for this week's Featured Stamper Challenge on SCS. The FS was Sarah aka Seewah, and the card I chose to CASE was this one. I had a hard time creating mine because I didn't want to change anything!! But alas I finally made some MINOR changes and got my card done. Love this card...I think this is one of my favorite challenges. Hope yall have a great Sunday, I'll be packing and pulling weeds!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Little Lady & Faux Ribbon Sets
Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir, Rose Red, Craft White
Cardstock: Papertrey White, Kraft, Rose Red
Accessories: Eyelets, Tim Holtz Distressor Tool, Crop-a-dile, Ribbon from Joann's, Foam Mounting Tape

Hoppy Birthday Bella!

This has been a crazy week...things are really busy at work getting ready for our trade show next week in Austin, and it's Caleb's last week of first grade. Yesterday was his end of the year party and we had so much fun!! They had banana splits and then went outside to play with bubbles, frisbees, and water balloons! I am so blessed that I can do these things with him even though I work full time.

I did a little stamping today since I had a request for 2 birthday cards. So here they are!

The first card was so fun to make...I'm going to have to practice a little more on my hoppy trails (get it?! LOL) but other than that I like it!

For my Birthday Bella card I used a sketch from a couple of weeks ago from the SCS Sketch Challenge. Flowahbella is outlined with my Sakura Clear Glaze Pen, and the dress trim and polka dots are done with my Sakura Black Glaze Pen. There are stickles on the flowers for a little more bling.

Hoppy Hoppy Birthday:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Green Thumb

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Basic Black, Pretty In Pink, Pearlized White

Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue

Accessories: Ribbon from Mike's, Making Memories Brads, Paper Piercing tool, Scalloped Scissors, Foam Mounting Tape

Birthday Bella:

Stamps: Flowahbella, Papertrey Ink Faux Ribbon

Cardstock: Papertrey White, Basic Black, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise, Loves Me DP

Ink: Palette Hybrid Noir

Accessories: Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls Embossing Folder, Prismacolors & mineral spirits, Sakura Glaze Pens in Clear and Black, Diamond Stickles, Ribbon from Joann's, Foam Mounting Tape

I love Pumpkin Pie...

Another Sunday, another Featured Stamper Challenge on Splitcoast. This week was Tosha aka stamps4funinCA, whos cards frequently make my faves! I chose this card of Tosha's to case. I changed the stamps, colors, and Cuttlebug Folder. I loved the layout so I really tried to keep it the same.

I finally mounted my Big Blooms set and used it today! I stamped it in Tempting Turquoise on Papertrey White Cardstock, then stamped over it in the Tsukeniko Glue Pad and sprinkled on the glitter. Added brads and Pop Dots, and layered over my card. AGAIN I was needing a Polka Dot BG stamp...if there's not one in the new Stampin Up Catalog I will order the one from CHF, mark my words! Hope yall had a great weekend, back on your heads!

Stamps: Big Blooms, Papertrey Ink Faux Ribbon & Paper Tray, Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Cardstock: Papertrey White, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise

Accessories: Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls Folder, Brads, Scalloped Edge Scissors, May Arts & SU Ribbon, Tim Holtz Distressor Tool, Tsukeniko Glue Pad, Art Glitter, Pop Dots

Polka Dot Boots

I got this brilliant idea to "make" a polka dot background using the 3 dots (to be used as peas I think) in the Papertrey Ink Green Thumb set. I lost interest about 1/2 way through and was wishing I'd ordered a polka dot backgrounder from Cornish Heritage Farms!!! Luckily I made it through alive, but just barely. LOL

I never had yellow rain boots when I was a kid (at least not that I remember), but I saw the boot and wanted it to be yellow! Marigold was perfect. It didn't stand out very well so I sketched around the edge and did a little something underneath to make it more defined. I meant to doodle a frame around it, but forgot. I colored a few of the dots in with my Teal and Caribbean markers. Added a few layers of Taken with Teal and Marigold Morning and then a faux scalloped rectangle in Basic Black. These are just 2 scalloped squares layered togther to the right height. Tied it all together with a Kendra Bow and layered everything onto my Papertrey White card base. This is the most awesome paper, I have to tell you. So thick!! Love it! Can you tell I kinda like my stuff from Papertrey? *grin*

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Green Thumb

Ink: Marigold Morning, Palette Hybrid Noir

Cardstock: PT White, Basic Black, Taken with Teal, Marigold Morning, Cool Caribbean

Accessories: Ribbon from Joann's (I think), Pop Dots, Giga Scalloped Square Punch

It will Never Be Noticed on a Galloping Horse

This is something my Great Grandmother always used to say (among other nuggets of wisdom) and it's meant to be used when something is not quite perfect but you don't want to work to fix it.

I made this card today for Beate's sketch challenge, which I glanced at and ran off to stamp, without paying much attention to the layout. I really didn't do it right, and at the end I realized I needed to add the 3 embellishments on the left side. So I cut the prongs off some brads and glued them on with Diamond Glaze (aka Crystal Effects). Thus "It'll never be noticed on a galloping horse!" LOL

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Green Thumb, A Muse Treasure Friendship

Ink: Pretty In Pink, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, Palette Hybrid Noir

Cardstock: Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery, Basic Grey Lilykate

Accessories: Foam Mounting Tape, Pop Dots, Giga Scalloped Circle, Mega Circle, SU & May Arts Ribbon, Making Memories Brads, Cuttlebug Textile Folder

Tagged AGAIN!

Susan tagged me...so I have to answer the following in 1 word. Wish me luck.

Yourself: Loud
Your Partner: Fun
Your Hair: Cute!
Your Mother: Indomtable
Your Father: Stubborn
Your Favorite Item: Mattress
Your Dream Last Night: stamping
Your Favorite Drink: Coke
Your Dream Car: Land Rover
Dream Home: Grand
The Room You Are In: Living
Your Fear: Failure
Where You Want to be in Ten Years: Skinny
Who You Hung Out With Last Night: Josh
You’re Not: Skinny
One of Your Wish List Items: Stamps
The Last Thing You Did: typed
You Are Wearing: clothes
Your Favorite Weather: spring
Your Favorite Book: shopaholic
Last Thing You Ate: pizza
Your Life: Circus
Your Mood: Restless
Your Best Friend: Peyton
What Are You Thinking About Right Now: Sleeping
Your Car: Disaster
What Are You Doing At The Moment: DUH
Relationship Status: Married
What Is On Your TV: News
What Is The Weather Like: Yuck

Ok, I have to tag 5 people...let's do Cindy, Julee, Linda, Jen, and Joy, let's have it! LOL
When Is The Last Time You Laughed: YESTERDAY