Robyn's Creative Space

SFYTT Challenge Spiral Thanks

2008-07-20T14:37:00.006-04:00

Well apparently today I got to play in my craft room. After this card I have to clean up the mess I made. LOL. So I have been reading Jen Del Muro's blog i{heart}2stamp since my demo introduced me to blogs last year. This is the first time I have tried one of her sketch challenges.
Here is the sketch:

Here is my card:

Recipe:

Stamps: PTI Spiral Bouquet, Clearly Wordsworth Thanks

Paper: Very Vanilla, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink

Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi, Always Artichoke

Accesories: Wild Wasabi ribbon, coppper Vintage Brads, Scallop Punch, Circle Punch (CM)

I really enjoyed making my own background paper. I think I might have to do that more often.

FS76 Susie Stamp Alot

2008-07-20T12:24:00.003-04:00

This was my first try at SCS's Featured Stamper challenge (FS76). When I started going through Susie's gallery I thought no way am I going to try and CASE this lady. And then I saw a Halloween card that spoke to me. My daughter's birthday is November 1st and she has always had a Halloween themed party. So I pulled out the papers that I wanted to use and let her pick which of my Halloween sets to use. Here is a link to the card I chose to CASE. And here is my card:

Recipe:

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Only Orange, Basic Black, DP is retired SU Halloween Paper
Ink: Basic Black, Only Orange, Apricot Appeal, Elegant Eggplant, and Orchid Opulance
Stamp Set: Haunting Halloween
Embellishments: Pumpkin Pie Ribbon
Tools: SU oval punch (I think), blender pens and aqua marker (I don't have the SU markers yet)

The things that I changed are the stamp set, the use of ribbon, the DP, where the file folder tab is, and I added a second sentiment.

I also followed Beate's File Folder tutorial to complete the card.

CC175 Almost Wild Saffron

2008-07-19T22:52:00.004-04:00

Tuesday's Color Combinations challenge on SplitCoastStampers was Almost Amethyst, Wild Wasabi, and So Saffron (CC175). As soon as I read it I rushed to my craft room and pulled out those stamp pads, then I turned to my stamps and figures out what I was going to do. This is what I came up with.

Recipe:

Stamps - SU Fresh Fruits, PTI Spiral Bouquet (sentiment)

Ink - Almost Amethyst, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Chocalate Chip

Cardstock - Almost Amethyst, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla, DP Sampler Prints

Fresh Fruits is one of my favorite sets. I don't think I will ever let it go. Apparently I also have a thing for tearing paper this week as well. Pears are done with the Rock and Roll technique in Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, and Chocolate Chip. I also masked them to get a layered look. Friends is stamped in Almost Amethyst on the DP in So Saffron.

ARGGG!!!!!!!

2008-07-14T17:38:00.002-04:00

I don't know what happened but a ton of my stuff disappeared. Off to try and fix it.

AFSS26 and TLC177

2008-07-14T11:55:00.004-04:00

I started off my day checking my e-mail and I got an e-mail letting me know that someone had commented on my blog. I have to say I love these e-mails, but today was a special one. Nicole Anderson over at Anderson Arts had left me a comment saying congratulations for winning Allison's AFSS25 challenge. SHOCK!!!!! I was on the phone with hubby and just gushed. I've never won any of the blog candy's or challenges that I have done. I have wanted to do more challenges and this was just the incentive that I needed.

Today I combined Allison's AFSS26 using white ink and SplitCoastStampers TLC177 Got Grid? challenges. When I went downstairs to my craft room I found the card that I did for Allison's last challenge lying in the middle of my desk so I used it for my inspiration. I used Regal Rose, Rose Red, and Pretty in Pink cardstock as well as the DP from the Prints Sampler again. I of course used my white craft ink as well as Regal Rose and Rose Red inks. I used my Scor-Pal to make my grid and then I ran the white ink pad over the grid to add some color and texture. I then stamped one of the flower stamps from my favorite set, Paint Prints, three times in white and three times in Regal Rose. I then stamped the sentiment and flower centers in Rose Red. I love how it turned out.

AFSS25 Dare to be Fabulous

2008-07-08T21:00:00.006-04:00

One of the blogs that I visit regularly is Stampin' When I Can. Allison started Suggestive Sunday's a while ago but this is the first one that I have participated in. This week's challenge is Words, Words, Words... The challenge this week is for the sentiment to be the only stamped image on the page. The card I created is not the one that I had first envisioned. I stated off with Ginger Blossoms DP and Close to Cocoa cardstock. I went looking for another DP and found one that I really liked in the Prints Sampler, but it didn't look right with the Ginger Blossom paper that I had. Then I had my aha moment. Last month at the monthly crop I go to we had a field trip to the LSS and I found crushed velvet flock by doodlebug design inc. The single butterfly on the 6 x 6 page just screamed flock me please. So I did. I also flocked the sentiment Dare to be Fabulous and I think the flocking does just that. The pictures do not do this card justice but the flocking is just not showing up real well. The flocking is pink almost like Regal Rose. I love the way it feels and I so wish you all could see it the way I do.

Here is a close up of the sentiment (sorry it's blurry). In the lower right hand corner you can also see the butterfly that got flocked as well.

Please visit Allison's blog to read more about Suggestive Sunday's and see the other really cool stuff that she posts.

Teacher Gift

2008-05-26T13:55:00.003-04:00

These are the items that Regan and I made for her Kindergarten Teacher, Miss Bryant. It took awhile but we finally found out that her favorite color was pink, so we used lots of it.

We used all Stampin' Up! papers and ribbons and we used My Favorite Things Back To School stamp set.

We made a regular sized and mini composition book along with 10 3X3 Just a note notecards and a pen wrapped in ribbon.

China Album Finished

2008-05-26T13:50:00.002-04:00

Well I finally finished my China album a couple of weeks ago. I used a Creative Memories album but all Far East papers. I also used my alphabet diecuts instead of stickers and I have to say I love how every thing goes together now. On our trip we went to Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai. We spent most of our time in Beijing and its surrounding area. I hope you enjoy my slide show.

31 Days of March Finished

2008-04-06T22:48:00.002-04:00

YEAH!!!!!!! I am done. Thank God. I absolutely loved this challenge. It did take awhile but i think that once I finish the album, hopefully Friday, it will be totally worth it. Once I am finished with the actual ablbum I will post a slide show.

Day 31 Me

2008-04-06T22:42:00.003-04:00

Barb posted:

Get someone to take a photo of yourself or you take it by setting up the camera on timer. Now write about one feature you like about yourself and one you don’t. Write a little about what you’ve chosen.

The picture I choose to use is of me and the kids on St. Patrick's Day.

One feature I like about myself is my hair. I can do just about anything with it. Now I just have to remember to make appointments, in a timely manner, to get my roots done. It looks so much better. Both kids got my hair. Regan's hair is very thick but fine just like mine was before puberty. Alek's hair is thick and very course, like mine is now.

The thing I don't like is the extra weight that I carry around my midsection. It is something that I have decided needs to be fixed. And now rather than later.

Day 30 News story

2008-04-06T22:28:00.002-04:00

Barb posted:

If you could make a news story about one of your family members to put on the TV news, what would it say? Take a photo of something that represents that, or of the person you are talking about.

This was an incredibly had one to do so I will pick one that has already been in the news this month. And that is my daughter Regan. She is a Daisy girl scout and she amazes me every day. She imbibes the girl scout promise: On my honor, I will try: To serve God* and my country, To help people at all times, And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

She was recently up on the wsls7.com website for her participation in Crazy Daisy Days and in the news paper for officially becoming a Girl Scout.

You can check out my early post where I talk about her more here.

Here is a picture of her and her troop. Regan is the second from the left.

Day 29 Driver

2008-04-06T22:25:00.001-04:00

Barb posted:

When you go somewhere, Who drives the vehicle most of the time, you or your spouse or your children? Take a photo of that person driving the car, then tell a little about why they seem to drive most of the time. If it’s yourself, get someone to take your photo behind the wheel.

Baker almost always drives when we go out. I think he drives most of the time because he is a cop and has had specialized driver training. He also gets very frustrated with other drivers and with me when I am driving. Thus he drives.

Day 28 Books

2008-04-06T22:18:00.004-04:00

Barb posted:

Take a photo of the books you have autographed from the author. If you don't have any autographed then take a photo of either the books you'd like to read this year or one's you've read in the past. If you don't read any books take a photo of a magazine where you read an article and then write a little about what you've read. If you have read some books list your favorite and least favorite and write why you picked those books. Same thing if you are listing magazines.

I do not have any autographed books which I find amazing. I read so much you would figure that I would find some. I do collect books by two different authors so that is what I took a picture of. The authors whose books that I collect are Laurell K. Hamilton and Nora Robers writing as J.D. Robb. Here is a picture of their books.

Laurell K. Hamilton writes about vampires, werewolves, zombies, and faeries to name a few.

J.D. Robb writes about a futuristic female cop.

Day 27 Game Show

2008-04-06T22:11:00.003-04:00

Barb posted:

Take a photo of something that relates to your favorite Game show on TV. Example: If you watch “Cash Cab” you might take a photo of a taxi or some cash. If you watch dating shows, take a photo of a couple holding hands or fighting (who knows?). Write about why you like this game show. Or, list your favorite and worst game show. Or, make a list of all your favorite game shows you watch.

The only true game show that I watch any more is Cash Cab. I grew up watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with my mom and brother. We used to eat dinner watching them and seeing who got more answers right. It was my favorite time of the day. Baker started watching Cash Cab and then so did I. Since Barb took a picture of cash I decided to take a picture of Cash Cab's website.

Day 26 Purse

2008-04-06T21:59:00.002-04:00

Barb posted:

What’s in your purse or wallet? Dump it out and take a photo of it. Come on! You know it needs cleaned out anyway. Why do you carry around the stuff you have in there?

Here is a picture of my purse:

These are the things that I always carry with me. I have my little betsy purse that I keep my wallet and phone in so that I can grab that for a quick run into a store or the gas station. Then I have my coupon holder, almonds, lip glass, pens and pencils, work key chain, eye glasses, check book, digital camera, a book, and itch gel.

I always carry a book and my camera. You never know when you will get stuck in traffic or when a great photo oppurtunity might present itself.

I even had to dig out my old digital camera that my 6 year old now uses to take the photo with my camera in it.

Day 25 Potholders

2008-04-06T21:53:00.002-04:00

Barb posted:

Take a photo of your potholders in your kitchen. Do you like them because they match your décor, or were they just something on sell? Were they a gift? How long have you had them? Why did you pick this one?

These are my favorite potholders. Baker bought them because they match my kitchen in the Blue Ridge house. They don't match the kitchen in our new house, but one day I hope they will. I just have to get rid of the green countertop.

Day 24 Wall Hanging

2008-04-06T21:45:00.003-04:00

Barb posted:

Take a photo of something in your house that you’ve had on the wall for at least three years. Why is it still there? Do you still like it or has it just blended in the woodwork? Who hung it up, you or your spouse or someone else? Would you like to replace it or keep it?

We recently moved and have not hung up anything yet. I did take a picture of a tryptic that we have had for almost seven years and this will be the third house whose walls it will grace. In our house in Alexanderia the set of 3 paintings was in the living, in Blue Ridge they were in the dining room, and here they will be above our bed in the master bedroom. The really amazing thing about the paintings is that my mom got them at a garage sale for $25. We planned out our living around the painting, we planned out our dining room around it, and it fits in with the 9 photos that decorate our bedroom that I took while I was in China. These are definately something that we will be keeping.

Day 23 Reflection

2008-04-06T21:38:00.003-04:00

Barb posted:

Take a photo of a reflection in the mirror. Tell about who or what it is and where it was taken. This could also be a reflection in a store window or a building. This is also Easter Sunday. You could always take a reflection of the Easter Bunny, the basket, etc.

I laughed when I read this post. The condo that we rented in Key West was just covered in mirrors. But I didn't like how any of the pictures turned out. The reflection picture I like the most is the one of Regan at the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. One of the exhibits is a mirror for you to see if you can roll your tongue. Apparently only 1 in 10,000 can do it and Regan is one of them.

Day 22 Movie

2008-04-06T21:31:00.002-04:00

Barb posted:

Go to your local movie theater and take a photo of a movie poster playing this week that you want to see. What is it about this movie that you’d like to watch?

This week not only did I get to the movie theater to take a picture of a movie I wanted to see I got to see it. The movie I wanted to see was 21. Baker and I went to Vegas for our first anniversary and we both like to watch poker on TV. I liked the idea of counting cards and that it was based on a true story. I really liked the movie but I could have waited for it to come out on DVD.

Day 21 Car

2008-04-06T21:13:00.005-04:00

Barb posted

Take a photo of a car, truck, motorcycle or any vehicle you’d like to own. What kind of vehicle is it? Will you ever own one? Why or why not? Write about the best vehicle you’ve ever owned?

I would love to own a mini Cooper but it will never happen. In Europe these are inexpensive cars that don't take up a lot of space. Here in the US they are not inexpensive cars at all. Plus now that we are a family of four it is not a great car to have, being as small as it is. Here is a picture of one we saw while we were on vacation in Key West.

Ok I have to switch to hubbies computer to get the photo.

Day 20 Morning Routine

2008-04-06T21:05:00.004-04:00

Barb posted:

Ladies, take a photo of your makeup or your routine in the mornings. For the guys: Take a photo of what your morning routine is or the things you use like a razor, shaving cream, etc. Now, write about how long you take each morning to get ready. What is your morning routine?

My morning is simple. I wake up to my husband's alarm and turn on Channel 7 morning news. I get up and take a shower and brush my teeth. Then while Baker is showering I pack my lunch and Regan's snack for school. After Baker is finished in the bathroom I blow dry my hair, get dressed, and put my make-up on. Then I help Baker get the kids ready for school. The last thing I do is take Regan to the bus stop and Alek to preschool. Then it is off to school for me too.

Here is a picture of my make-up. I just went and got it updated. Until a week ago I did not wear eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, or lip gloss. I use only Clinque make-up. It is about the only thing that doesn't make my face break out or get too dry.

Day 19 Dinner

2008-04-05T22:34:00.007-04:00

Barb posted:

Take a photo of your lunch or dinner today. How often do you eat this each week? How is it made? Add the recipe here if you’d like.

A couple of year's ago I found a recipe called Spicy Ranch Chicken Fajitas in my Cooking Light magazine. I love to try new foods, as does my husband, so we gave it a try. All I can say is that every week since I have asked Baker what would he like to see on the menu this week and his answer is always Spicy Ranch Chicken Fajitas. I usually give in and make it about once a month, and that also happens to be today. Here are some photos and the recipe.

And now for the recipe:

Spicy Ranch Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 pounds skinned, boned chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 1/3 cups chopped seeded tomato

I add cheese to the top of mine instead of lettuce and tomato

Directions:
1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken; seal and shake to coat. Remove chicken from bag. Combine the buttermilk and next 5 ingredients (buttermilk through garlic) in a small bowl, and stir well with a whisk.
2. Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken, and sauté 2 minutes or until chicken is done. Add the buttermilk mixture; cover and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat.
3. Warm the tortillas according to the package directions. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture onto each tortilla, and top each serving with 3/4 cup chopped lettuce and 1/3 cup chopped tomatoes. Roll up wrap. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 wrap)

CALORIES 362(20% from fat); FAT 7.9g (sat 1.8g,mono 2.2g,poly 3.2g); PROTEIN 38.7g; CHOLESTEROL 87mg; CALCIUM 84mg; SODIUM 724mg; FIBER 2.9g; IRON 3.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.9g Cooking Light, JUNE 2000

Day 18 Porch

2008-04-05T22:27:00.005-04:00

Barb posted:

Take a photo of a porch you’d like to have at your own home. What is it about this porch that you like? What would you be doing on this porch? Playing with the kids, swinging on a swing, talking on the phone, visiting with friends or family, etc.?

The front porch I wish I had is my in-laws. It has enough room for a couple of chairs and the view of Roanoke is to die for. And you can see the Roanoke Star. This past summer we sat on the porch and watched fireworks on the fourth of July.

Picture of the porch:

Pictures of the view:

Day 17: A door

2008-03-22T08:21:00.005-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 17, march 17th. Take a photo of a door or something you like on a door. What is it about this door or hanging item you chose? Was it about the color, the arrangement? Do you like the door because it has a lot of glass in it or no glass, etc? Also, today is Saint Patrick’s Day, I’m sure you can find something on someone’s door.

I teach at a middle school and one of my fellow teachers always decorates her door every month. I find it rather amusing that she is the photography teacher and I am taking pictures of her door.

Day 16: Whispering

2008-03-22T08:19:00.002-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 16, March 16th. If you could whisper something in someone’s ear, what would it be? Take a photo of someone whispering or set it up yourself. If you don’t want to take this type of photo, then take a photo of who’d you’d be whispering to. Write about what you’d say, who’d you’d say it to or why you maybe whispering?

I love it when my kids tell me they have a secret and want to whisper it in my ear. 9 out of 10 times they tell me that they love me. The other time they might actually have a secret to share. And here they are.

Day 15: the Phone

2008-03-22T08:16:00.002-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 15, March 15th. Take a photo of someone in your household who talks on the phone the most. You can take a photo of them while they’re on the phone. How many hours or minutes do they spend on the phone a day? Who are they talking to all the time?

Baker spends the most time in our house on the phone. A lot of his job is done over the phone and people are constantly calling. He even has 2 cellphones: one for work, one for personal use.

Day 14: Sibling

2008-03-22T08:14:00.003-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 14, March 14th. Take a photo of one of your siblings doing something they love or a hobby they love. How did they get into this hobby or whatever it is? When did it start? Don’t have any siblings? Take a photo of one of your best friends.

I will be seeing my brother this week at the beach. I am sure I will be able to get a photo of him will he is reading or playing cards.

It was really easy to take this photo. My mom, brother, and I are all readers. None of us leave the house without a book in our possession. You never know when you might get stuck in traffic.

My brother, Gary, is reading a book by one of our favorite authors, Laurell K. Hamilton. She writes fantasy novels and they are great.

Day 13: TV Show

2008-03-22T08:11:00.002-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 13, March 13th. Take a photo that relates to your favorite TV show. Example: If you like to watch “Lost” you may take a photo of the woods, an airplane, someone sexy. Use your imagination. Just think about your favorite show and you will come up with a lot of options. Now, write about why you like this show so much or your favorite character in the show. Make a list of your other favorites if you want.

I took a photo of Baker's badge because I love cop shows. We watch all the CSI's, all the L&O's, and even Cops.

Day 12: Mailbox

2008-03-22T08:09:00.003-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 12, March 12th. Take a photo of an unusual mailbox. Or several. What draws you to this particular mailbox? Is this something you’d want in front of your own house? If you could have any mailbox and it wouldn’t be a problem to make, what would you like to have?

I am hoping to see an unusual mailbox while I am on vacation in Florida. Look back next week.

Well I got to see a lot of unique mailboxes while I was in Key West. We drove from Miami down to the keys. One of the more popular mailboxes that I saw were some manatee mailboxes. Try as I might I was not able to get a picture. Got lots of pictures of moving cars though. Since I couldn't take one, Baker even offered to turn around several times, I googled them and found this photo.

Now for my photo. I saw several of these on our drives around the island. Don't you just love cats.

Day 11: Sign

2008-03-22T08:06:00.002-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 11, March 11th. Take a photo of a sign that brings a smile to your face. Did it make you laugh out loud? What is it about this sign that you liked?

I used to live in Michigan where signs like this one were all over and you never thought much about them. I moved to Virginia 15 years ago and to Southwest Virginia 5 1/2 years ago. We don't see signs like this very often but everytime I do they bring a smile to my face.

Day 10: Tree

2008-03-22T08:05:00.004-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 10, March 10th. Take a photo of your favorite tree. Write about the smells it gives off, the color, and/or the textures. Why is this particular tree your favorite?

My favorite trees are lilacs and willows. I will update once I have some photos.

I never made it by my old house to take a picture of my lilacs. One of the reasons it is my favorite tree/bush is that when I was growing up there was a huge one just outside my bedroom that smelled wonderful when it was blooming.

The willow is my favorite tree for several reasons. One, I love the way a weeping willow looks when the wind blows. It just looks majestic. Another reason I like it is because of a story I read when I was little. It had to do with a woman who lived in a willow tree and about getting her house in order because a storm was coming. If anyone knows the title please let me know. Here is a picture of a young willow on the edge of our property.

Day 9: Keys

2008-03-22T08:02:00.003-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 9, March 9th. Take a photo of your key ring. Don’t take anything off before you take the photo. Do you know what every key is to? Is there a mystery key? Write or list what those keys are for. If you have a mystery key, how long are you going to keep it on there? If you have other stuff on your key ring, why are they there? What does those things represent?

I have to key rings: one for home and one for school. The home key ring has a key to our Pilot and a key to our house. It also has a CVS card, Kroger card, Foodlion card, and a BAC card. My school key chain has my room key, a key to my house (it is the blue one), a chapstick in a lepord print holder, and my school id. My keys are really simply and I use everything on them.

Home:

Work:

Day 8: Two People

2008-03-22T08:01:00.003-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 8, March 8th. Take a photo where there is at least two people in it. Why did you choose these two people? Was it random? Are they people you love? Strangers? Where was it taken?

I choose Dave and Michelle for my two people because they are about to be three. This photo was taken at their baby shower. Dave is one of Baker's co-workers. And the baby shower was thrown by Tiffany, another co-worker. The shower was at Famous Anthony's Restaurant.

Day 7: Clothing

2008-03-22T07:58:00.002-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 7, March 7th. Take a photo of the same piece of clothing you wear at least twice a week. Do you love this item or is it something you have to wear because you just haven’t gotten out to buy something new? How did you feel about it when you first got it? Did someone give it to you as a gift or did you buy it? Where did you buy it? Was it on sell? Write about it.

This photo and one of my student's comments finally got me to have my roots done. I can't believe I let it go this long. On to the prompt.

I love this sweater. It replaced a sweater that I got my senior year in high school and still had up until about a year ago. I think that the laundry fairy threw it away. I did have it for close to 15 years and it did have lots of holes. This is the sweater that I wear when I get cold. It is wool and it is incredibly soft and warm. And I love the color. I got it 2 years ago for Christmas from my in-laws and I LOVE IT!!! It is from L.L. Bean and the style is still available but not the color. They have different colors every year. It is called the Swift River Cardigan.

Day 6: My Town

2008-03-22T07:53:00.006-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 6, March 6th. Take a photo of something about your town in which you either love, hate or find unique. Write about why you either love or hate this about your town, or that you find unique that other towns may not have. If you want, you could choose all three things to write about.

One of the places I love about Roanoke is the Star. I liked it even before I learned anything about it. You can see it from my in-laws front porch (which I would love to have that view). And it is one of my daughter's favorite sites around town.

Like:

One of the things I dislike is the new art museum building that is being built. It is way to modern for a medium size town. It sticks out like a sore them.

Dislike:

Day 5: Weather

2008-03-22T07:51:00.002-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 5, March 5th. Today, take a picture outside of your weather. If you are someone who can’t get outside, then if it’s raining then take a photo of boots or a raincoat. If snowing maybe a photo of your winter hat or winter coat or gloves. Now, write about why March is your favorite or not favorite month of the year.

Our weather has been great this year. Only one snow day and it happened on a teacher workday. This means that we have not had to use a single one of our make-up days. We actually get to have scheduled 3 day weekends. YEAH!!!!!!!! This is a picture of the kids playing in the cars that they got for Christmas. It has been really windy lately but in the 40-50's.

March is one of my favorite months because one of our family traditions is this month, the St. Patrick's Day Parade. We have gone every year since Regan was born. We will miss it this year because Regan has a Daisy Girl Scout event, but may be next year her troop will be in it.

Day 4: Parents

2008-03-22T07:50:00.002-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 4, March 4th. How long has it been since you captured a recent photo of your parents? If your parents are deceased, then take a photo of someone older that you respect. Write a little about what you respect about them.

I will be seeing both my mom and my dad and step-mom this week so I will post pictures later.

One of the things that I respect about my mom is that she is always trying new things. It doesn't matter if it is traveling to a new place, like China, or taking wine classes by herself. One of the things my mom is not real great at is all the new technology that is out there today. For this trip she finally bought a digital camera and entered a new world for her. YEAH MOM!!!!! Baker snapped a picture of her taking a picture of the kids.

Next up are my Dad and step-mom. I respect both of them a great deal. One of the reasons I respect my Dad is that he has never, ever said a bad thing about my Mom even after they have been divorced for more than 20 years. He did want my brother and I to ever think anything bad about her so he left us to think that he was always the bad guy. It wasn't until I was in my 20's that I finally understand why my dad did some of the things that he did. Thanks dad for always putting us first even if we didn't get it. And then there is my step-mom. The thing I respect most about her is that she stayed. No matter what my brother and I did to her or my dad she stayed, and I have to admit we were both total monsters at times. She and my dad have been together for a really long time, around 20 years I think they have actually been married. I hope you two have at least 20 more together. Here is a picture of the two of them from this past week.

Day 3: Artwork

2008-03-22T07:47:00.004-04:00

Barb posted:

Day 3-March 3rd- Take a photo of your child’s artwork or your own if you don’t have children. You could take a photo of any type of artwork you’d like. Write about how you make the decision on how long to keep this artwork. Do you give it as gifts, make it into cards, do you take a photo of it and then throw it away?

Here are pictures of my kids artwork that they brought home. We keep everything for a year unless it is made from food, in that case we take a photo and toss the object when the kids are not looking. After the school year is over, Baker and I sit down and go the box for each child deciding what to keep and what to get rid off. We keep everything that is all theirs, in other words it is not a coloring page or a work sheet. We keep a few examples of their school work and I take pictures of the 3-D items. This mask will probably go in a shadow box and be put in our craft room or Regan's room. The duck might make it in the keep pile, ask me in July.

Regan's Artwork

Alek's Artwork

Day 2: Newspaper

2008-03-18T22:12:00.002-04:00

Here is what Barb posted:

Day 2 –March 2nd Take a photo of your daily newspaper. Add beside it what you have for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Whatever time of day you normally read the paper.

Every morning Baker goes out and gets the paper and does the crossword puzzle. He leaves the rest of the paper either on the stove or on the kitchen table. While I am getting the kids lunches and mine ready I usually flip through the paper. I am not a morning eater and I don't drink coffee. My breakfast of champion is a Mt. Dew.

Day 1: Goals

2008-03-18T22:02:00.004-04:00

Here is what Barb posted:

Day 1 –March 1st-I know most of you have set some type of goal for this year. Take a photo of something to do with one of your goals you have for this year.

One of my personal goals this year is to get my kids photo albums up to date. As many of you know I just finished Alek's baby book this past fall and he just turned 4 in January. Not to mention Regan just turned 6. I have a lot of work to do. Because I am usually the one taking pictures there are very few pictures of me. Last summer, when I went to visit my friend Pam, she took a picture of me working on Alek's baby album and I thought it would be perfect for this.

31 Days of March Challenge

2008-03-18T21:56:00.003-04:00

At the end of last month a lady on one of my yahoo groups challenged us to participate in her 31 days of March Challenge. Everyday in March she is going to post a prompt that requires a photo and some journaling. We have the option of also creating a scrapbook for it. I am doing mine in a 7X7 CM album but part of the challenge is to have it all of it posted by April 1st. What does this mean. You all are going to see a ton of posts because I'm going to go ahead and post my pictures and journaling now and not what for the finished pages. If you want to check out the challenge go visit Barb's Blog.

Crazy Daisy Day

2008-03-18T21:04:00.002-04:00

This past Saturday my daughter's Daisy Girl Scout troop participate in an outing called Crazy Daisy Day at our Roanoke Girl Scout Center. They got to earn 4 petals, have fun, meet new friends, and learn fire safety. Check out some videos that have been posted on one of our local news stations, WSLS. Once you are there scroll down a little to the videos, there are 3. Let me know what you think of the videos by leaving a comment on this blog. Thanks for taking a look at the girls. Here is a photo of them having fun.

Pam's Creative Memories Cards and Tags

2008-03-16T21:23:00.007-04:00

A couple of years ago my friend Pam asked me to make her some cards and tags to use in her business, Creative Memories. I said sure and I have been making them every since. This is the first batch where I used the new, current SU set Taking Care of Business. My wonderful demo, Melissa, let me borrow her set. All of Pam's cards and tags are made with Creative Memories papers. (By the way I am out of solid colored paper, still have lots of patterned paper). Pam provides the paper, I provide the stamps, ink, and work, and I get CM products in return. All in all a great deal.

I hope you like them this time Pam.

Pammy, here is a sneak pick at the cards and tags that are going in the mail tomorrow. I hope you like them all.

Finally Scrapped

2008-03-09T11:53:00.003-04:00

I finally found time to craft. The church that we go to has a scrapbooking fellowship that meets the 2nd Saturday of every month. One of my friends runs it and has been trying to get me to go for a year, but I have always had a reason not to go. And it's free. I had a blast. I got 13 sides (pages) completed while I was there. I finally learned how to use my Cricut that I have had for almost a year. I used it on the Jade Factory lay out. I had started this album almost 3 years ago. As soon as we got home I had the pictures developed and I power layed out all the pictures. I then bought my consultant Pam out of all her Asian Myabi/Mysabi CM paper and stickers. I did about 5 pages and hated every single one. While I liked the paper and the stickers, none of it was my style. Last fall while on a trip to AC Moore I found a slab of paper called Far East. It was on sale for $9.99 and I loved all the papers in it. I bought 2 and then get some metallic mat stacks that matched almost perfectly. I love how the pages turned out. Now I just have to find the time to finish the album. LOL. And Pammy check out all the journaling. There is a ton on the shen lu page but it just blended in. The whole time I was there you were in my head saying, "Crop those photos! Write, write, write!"

Greetings from over the ocean

2008-01-21T15:32:00.000-05:00

Two of my brand new friends from England sent me the greatest cards. Both made with Tilda stamps. They also sent me stamped images for me to use on my own cards or in my daughter's scrapbook. Regan's first response was "that's me" when she saw the cards. Here is what Annie and Andrea sent me. Click on their names to go to their blogs too.

I have also found a website that will let us Americans buy the Tilda stamps too. Yeah!!!!!

Visit Magnolia Stamps to see more.

Diego Game Book

2008-01-03T18:52:00.000-05:00

A couple of people have e-mailed/commented on this book so I wanted to make a clarification. I did not in any way alter any of the game parts. This book was created to compliment the game. My children would never talk to me if I did anything to this game. We have played it every day. And now my children are more knowledge about the different animals that are on the four different boards. I took the picture of the book while it was sitting on top of the game pieces so people could see what game I was talking about. Sorry if I confused anyone. I made the book from using that thick piece of paper/board that comes with CM page protectors. I cut it in half and then in half again into 4 6 x 6 pieces. I used 2 for this and am saving the other two. Hope this answers any questions. Here is the book again:

New Year's Day and the WINNER!!

2008-01-01T15:39:00.000-05:00

Last night was a fun family night. We stayed in a had steamed lobsters for dinner. We watched Night at the Museum and then I fell asleep watching Gone in 60 Seconds. So once again I did not make it to midnight. Baker did though.

Today we had lunch at my in-laws and played dominoes. My FIL was nice enough to snap a family photo for us.

And now for the winner of my first blog candy is....

Lucky number 4: Linda who said

"We go to a party at our next door neighbors -- just stay a couple of hours and then come back home to rest up from all of the holidays.I love the color of your new room."

Linda I am sending you a private e-mail to request your address. CONGRATULATIONS!

Featured Stamper Challenge FS47

2007-12-30T16:15:00.000-05:00

This is one of SCS challenges that I always avoid even looking at, but being that I am in a new house with a new craft room I decided I would try all the challenges over Christmas break. Now for a little background on why a chose this project from Danielle's album. My kids got a game from my mom, Gibby is what the kids call her, called Go Diego Go 123 Game. It is a counting game but it is done with animals, since we are talking about Diego here. And of course my husband and I have never heard of most of them and naturally the kids want to know about all the different animals. So this morning we played a round of the game and then I got online at SCS and peeked at the Featured Stamper's album. And I found this wonderful Happy Holidays Picture Book and the light went on. Make the kids a book to go with the game. We could read about the animals as each one is drawn.

So here is my Go Diego Go 123 Game Animals book that I made for Regan and Alek.

I still need to print out the information on the individual animals but I couldn't wait to share. Thank you Melissa for letting me borrow your Bind-It All, I finally found something to use it for.

Here is a picture of one of the tabs as well and that is one of the game boards in the background:

Recipe:

Paper: black, pumpkin pie, tempting turquoise, green galore, white

Ink: Basic Black

Stamps: Zoofari, Silly Sealife, Rough Edges Alphabet, Brushstroke Upper, Lower, and Numbers

Accesories: Ribbon: Black, Orange, Turquoise

Tools: Bind-It All

Blog Candy to Celebrate my New Room

2007-12-29T13:30:00.000-05:00

In honor of my new craft room I am going to offer up my first blog candy. While unpacking I found out that I had three duplicate acrylic stamp sets, so they need a new home. Will it be yours? To qualify to be in the running please leave a comment on this post about what your New Year's Eve/Day plans are. And please sign in to my guestbook. Thanks. I will choose a winner during nap time (around 2 PM EST) on New Year's Day. Here is a picture of these wonderful sets. You can even see my new paint color.

Limited Supplies Challenge LSC148

2007-12-29T13:17:00.000-05:00

Here is the other card that I made last night in the wee hours. I made this one for SCS's Limited Supplies Challenge.

The Challenge (LSC148) Follow the list #6

Stamps

one stamped image that can be colored

optional: sentiment

optional: an image to ground the main image like an oval, grass, etc.

Paper

any shade of white

2-3 patterns of designer paper

NO other colored cardstock

Tools

NO specialty tools (No punches, No CB, No Piercer, etc)

any coloring tools

sponges OK

Embellishments

one piece of ribbon

Dimensionals are an adhesive!

My Card:

My Recipe:

Stamps: Voila and Backyard BBQ (retired)

Cardstock: Whispering white (sponged with Apricot Appeal)

DP: unknown (I do know that I bought it at AC Moore last summer)

Ink: Apricot Appeal, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Green Galore,

Tools: Blender Pen and Aqua Painter (haven't bought the markers yet, they are on my list)

Splitcoast Stampers Challenge CC146

2007-12-29T13:05:00.000-05:00

Well I finally decided to break down and stamp in my nice new room. I have done a couple of SCS's challenges in the past and decided that was the quickest way to get my juices flowing last night. I decided to try the color challenge (cc146) because I hardly ever use my SU Bold Bright colors. I even had to open the Glorious Green ink pad. I love how the card turned out.

The Challenge (CC146) was to use Glorious Green, Green Galore, and Real Red as the color combo.

Recipe:

Cardstock: Whispering White, Real Red, and Green Galore

Ink: Real Red, Green Galore, Glorious Green, Basic Black

Stamps: Paint Prints (retired)

I sponged the Green Galore ink over my stamped image because the white was just way to bright for me. I don't think I will ever get rid of this stamp set. I love it. Plus one of my closest friends sells Creative Memories and I use it for all of her tags that she uses for her business. (Hi Pammy.)

Painted

2007-12-28T08:12:00.000-05:00

Last Friday my room got painted. It took 3 coats to cover my 3 little walls. The paint was super thick. It took a week before the room didn't reek of paint. Sorry little brother for the stench during your visit. I have been very slowly putting stuff away, mostly during the kids nap time. I stole an idea from one of my sister SBS3 with how I have my stamps displayed. THANK YOU and I'm sorry I can't remember which one of you posted the picture. It took me two weeks to find a CD holder that would fit in the space that I have. I haven't taken the holders for the stamp pads down at the old house yet so my inks are in baskets. I have two more cubes to put together that hold 12 x 12 paper. I have lots of space so any ideas on how to move stuff or display stuff would be greatly appreciated. I have lots of boxes to unpack still.

NO SCHOOL

2007-12-21T08:07:00.000-05:00

Well today is the first day of Christmas Break and it snowed. Okay not that much, just a dusting. But it was enough to get me back in the holiday mood. My kids are at their preschool/after school program today to give me a day off and so Regan can go roller skating with her friends.

Last night Baker and I painted the corner of my room. It took three coats and was the thickest paint I have ever seen in my life. My mother-in-law will be here at 9 AM to help me get the house in order before my mom gets here tomorrow. I am hoping to get to unpack THE ROOM as Baker calls it today. If I do I will post some pictures. I might even get to do some crafts. I am so in withdrawal.

I've been Tagged

2007-12-11T21:19:00.000-05:00

My new SBS3 friend, Chris, has tagged me. So now I have to tell you 7 things that you don't know about me. To my friends and family in the outside world none of this is new, but it is all new to my blogging friends.

1. I was born in Bitburg, Germany and lived there until I was about 4 years old. In my 20's I returned and went to school in a small town, Staufen, to brush up on my German after years of taking it in school.
2. I grew up in the town that the movie Grosse Pointe Blank with John Cusack and Minnie Driver was filmed in: Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
3. I lost touch with my best friend from high school and she found me 2 years ago through the internet and it turns out we had both moved to the South and lived about 2 1/2 hours from one another.
4. We are not Jewish but celebrate Hannakuh every year because two of my close friends are.
5. I am a total neat freak at work but love to have my piles of junk all over the house. It drives everyone but me crazy.
6. I used to say the word crap all the time and then I had kids and I started to spell it out instead of saying. The only problem is that I was spelling carp not crap so now I just say carp and everyone just stares at me and it makes me smile everytime.
7. Today is my 8th anniversary. I married my wonderful husband Baker 8 years ago today. I still ask myself how I got so lucky.

Now I guess I have to tag people. Here goes: Melissa, Malia, Marie, and Maren

All Packed

2007-12-06T22:01:00.000-05:00

Sob! Sob! I finally packed. I cannot believe how much stuff I had in my space. Here are pictures of my empty, packed up space. Tomorrow Baker is moving the boxes and cubes while I'm at work. Then I will move the little stuff.

This is the view from the stairs. I only packed the cube that had albums. Other wise I just pulled them apart so they could be moved.

Don't the shelves just look so sad!

6 big boxes. And a bunch of little things, like baskets, bags, and paper holders.

My New Space

2007-12-06T20:16:00.000-05:00

The house is ours. Baker was nice enough to take pictures before he started unloading boxes this morning. This is my new craft room. The picture with mirrored doors is the side of the room that the day bed is going on. The second picture is where my area is going to be. My colors are going to be teal, green, and purple. The main color is teal. All the bedding and curtains are from my Mom who changed her mind on what color she was going to do her guest bedroom in. I am thinking about painting my corner teal as well and leaving the rest of the walls white. What do you all think?

My Craft Space

2007-12-03T18:07:00.000-05:00

I still can not believe that this is my craft space. 5 years ago when we moved into this house I had two Creative Memories bags, everything fit into it. I used the dining room table when I wanted to do anything. Now I have the corner of the basement which we finished into a family room. While I love my corner, I love my new space in our new house. I get to have a craft room, 15' X 17', that I am sharing with the kids. They each have a table and an art easel. Tonight is the last time I will be making anything in my current space. Starting tomorrow, I have to pack it all up. We close on our new house this week and are moving this weekend. Anyone have any suggestions on a good way to pack all this stuff up? Anyone have any ideas on how I should set up in the new house? I will not be having an L-shaped desk at the new house, it is being divided into 2 desks.

Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers

2007-12-02T19:23:00.001-05:00

I found this group in a very round about way. But I am glad I found it. It will give me a chance to meet more bloggers that are interested in crafts. I am also hoping that it will motivate me to work more on my crafts. That it will make me take time out of my busy schedule to remember that I need me time to. If you want to find out more click here.

Marie you made my day

2007-11-26T06:42:00.000-05:00

This morning I woke up and realized that I had to go back to work after having 5 days off from my wonderful 7th and 8th graders. I decided to check my e-mail instead of waiting until after school and guess what I found? An e-mail comment from a fellow blogger that just totally made by day. This is what Marie sent:

Yay! you are back! These mailboxes are cute cute cute...what a great idea.Congrats on the new house! We move into out new home in three weeks! :-)Again, so glad you are back posting.Cheers,Marie

I started this blog so that I wouldn't be "annoying" my husband with all my banter about stamping, scrapbooking, and various other crafts that I do. I must say that it has made my home life a lot happier. I love it that other people like what I make and I love looking at what other crafters are making. So thank you again Marie for making my day.

Please take a moment to go visit Marie's blog Stamp Lounge.

My Advent Calendar

2007-11-23T16:04:00.000-05:00

Every where I look someone is making an advent calendar. I love the one that Beate did for her tutorial on SCS, and might have to make it once we move to our new house (Beate's Advent Calendar). But for now I needed one that was small, easy to make, and portable (since we are moving in 2 weeks). When I was putting up the Christmas presents that I bought today I found a bag with 3 Target Dollar Bin Mailboxes from last January in it. I thought these would be perfect, and I had enough to make one for each kid so there would be no fighting. Baker even thought they were great.

Recipe:

Paper: Provo Craft Holiday Slab IV , SU whispering white, and Real Red

Stamps: Alphadots (retired) and Perfect Presentation (hostess set) both Stampin Up

Ink: Real Red

Other: Crystal Effects, double sided tape, glass pebbles

SU Preview Catalog

2007-11-17T14:38:00.000-05:00

I ran into Melissa, my SU demo, when I was picking up the photos for my card this morning. I asked her about the preview catalog and she was telling me about the great new papers. So I just got done scrolling through my subscriptions on google reader and found a link to the preview catalog and I wanted to share because I was so excited.

SU Preview Catalog

CM Christmas Card Workshop

2007-11-17T14:25:00.001-05:00

Wow! Time has flown by. I can't believe that I haven't posted anything in 3 months. Well I went to a Creative Memories christmas card workshop at TJ's today. I got to make a card and catch up with old friends I haven't seen in awhile. Here is the card that I made. I love how it turned out. Now TJ takes it to the printer and they shrink it to size, add Merry Christmas, and put our names on to. Woo Hoo!!!!!!!

.

At the Beach

2007-08-07T17:48:00.000-04:00

This is the last week of summer vacation for me as I start work again on the 13th. We are spending the week in Sandbridge, Virginia just south of Virginia Beach. We have been having lots of fun going to the beach and to the pool. Today we took a break from the sun and went to the Virginia Aquarium. The kids loved it and it was super kid friendly with buttons and windows at their height along with a couple of touch tanks and lots of other things to do. Here is my favorite picture from today, Baker took it.

More Jam Today

2007-07-29T23:44:00.000-04:00

I got two more batches of jam finished today. One batch of blueberry jam, it was on sale every where this week. I usually like to pick my own berries but I just didn't have time this time. Then the kids helped me make a batch of blackberry jam from berries we picked in the backyard. We had a lot of fun, even Alek decided to help.

Here are the two batches of jam:

Here are some pictures of the kids helping:

Christmas Stamp Camp "It's a Wrap"

2007-07-28T16:28:00.000-04:00

Today I went to what I think is the best stamp camp ever. My demo Melissa is great. She and another demo held a stamp camp at our local library from 10-2. We made a ton of items and it was all for Christmas. Melissa is coming to be posting more about how we did everything on her blog, The Stamping Chick, later this weekend. Here is a group photo and some individual shots of what we made.

The first thing that I made was a whole bunch of gift tags using the new level 2 hostess set Perfect Presentation. We also used the new In-Colors Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, and Blue Bayou.

The next item that I made was the Five in One Template Box using the new Baroque Motifs set and the new Pretties Kit. We painted the flowers and it was so much easier than I thought. Got to use one of the pearls and the hat pin too.

Next up was the wrapping paper using the All About Christmas wheel. And then it was on to the cirlcle tote that Melissa won an SU contest with. I am thinking about making these as the favor at Regan's birthday party.

After that we made one of Cambria's gift tag holders. Melissa premade the holders for us so all we had to do was stamp and glue. After that I got to make a Christmas Organizer using the On Board 5X5 Art Journal so that if we own the spiral punch it can be refillable year after year. I think this was my favorite Christmas item that we made today. I believe I will be making some as presents.

Only two more items to go. Next up was a nice little gift tin. I even have some left after the spa kits I made last year. And last but not least was the Joy gift bag. I know I will be buying plain bags and dressing them up from now on, it was so easy.

Whew!!!!!!!!!! All done. And the most amazing part is that we got all that for $25. I can't believe that I got all this done in about 2 1/2 hours. Check out Melissa's blog, The Stampin' Chick, later this weekend for more indepth details.

Friday Dirty Girl Challenge - Camria's Pink, Pink, Pink

2007-07-28T09:37:00.000-04:00

I have only got one of the Dirty Girl Challenges finished yesterday and it was Cambria's Pink, Pink, Pink. I used a new technique that I recently learned called Faux Tearing because I only had one piece of pink cardstock. I even wrote a tutorial for it, check it out. Here is my card:

Supplies:
Stamps: Paint Prints
Paper: Pretty in Pink
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Non-SU white craft ink
Technique: Faux tearing

Faux Tearing Tutorial

2007-07-28T09:17:00.000-04:00

I recently learned how to do this from my demo and I loved it. Faux Tearing is so easy to do and it comes in handy when you do not have a lot of cardstock in a certain shade or hue.

Supplies:

Card base
Ink to match
brayer
paper/cardstock to rip

Step One:

Fold cardstock base in half and decide which way the card is going to go, vertical or horizontal.

Step Two:

Take your piece of paper or cardstock and rip it in half, making sure that there are some curves in the paper.

Step Three:

Place your ripped cardstock on top of your card base so that the part of the card showing is where the ink will go.

Step Four:

Ink up your brayer.

Step Five:

Hold down the white paper and run your brayer over the base card. You will have to reink it several times to get full coverage.

Step Six:

Finish your card. Here are two examples.

Thursday Dirty Girl Challenges

2007-07-26T19:50:00.000-04:00

Today I only did 3 of the 4 challenges on SCS's Dirty Girl Challenges (I didn't have any flocking).

Challenge 1 was to make an elegant card and to say why we thought it was elegant. Here is my card:

Stamps: French Script and Too Terrific Tags
Ink: Versamark
Paper: Basic Black and non-SU silver (came from one of those scrapbooking mat stacks)
Other: Sterling Silver embossing powder and silver square brads (three in each corner)
Why it's elegant: I always think of anything French as being elegant and anything that is embossed so I combined the two.

Challenge 2 was Beate's sketch challenge.

Stamps: Carte Postale, Sincere Salutaions, and Leaves a la Carte wheel
Ink: Basic Brown and Versamark
Paper: Pale Plum and Heidi Grace double sided patterned paper
Other: Non-SU ribbon (brown)

I love how this card turned out. At first I didn't have any ribbon underneath the stamped flower of the wheeled background but the card needed something. I added the background image and that still wasn't enough. Then I thought about making a bow with some thick brown ribbon that I had and that was awful. That is when I got the idea to use smaller ribbon and make petals that woule make it look like a flower. Each petal is an individual piece of ribbon. The back is a total mess but I love how it turned out.

Challenge 3 was to only use clear stamps. This was the perfect excuse to break out my new stamps from PapertreyInk.

Stamps: Butterfly Kisses and Thanks (Clearly Wordsworth)
Ink: Almost Amethyst
Paper: Almost Amethst and Palette o' Prints
Other: Primas, brads, and ribbon

I am having a blast with all of these challenges.

Busy Day

2007-07-25T19:44:00.000-04:00

Today has been a really busy day. And I didn't have my kids after 10 AM until about 6:30 PM. Baker got the kids fed and I got them dressed. While they were eating, I cleaned my dining room. This is the room where I just dump stuff on the table and walk away. VERY BAD HABIT. So today it got cleaned and dusted. Wahoo!!!!!!!!! Here's a picture.

After the kids got picked up it was time to make jam. We have a slope behind our house that has a ton of wild blackberry bushes. Baker and I have been picking them for days to try and get enough. We didn't quite make it so we had to add a few half-pints of store bought blackberries to the mix. As it turned out we didn't have enough sugar so I ended up having to go to the store and buy some, and of course a few other items like sushi (spicy shrimp and soft shell crap), Brie, and French bread. Then I came home and made jam. The recipe made 8 containers of Wild Blackberry Jam.

After that I had a late lunch and then went to work on the SCS challenges that I posted earlier. Baker came home right after I finished them. I took my pictures, uploaded them to SCS, and then made my blog posts. I also made Beer-Can Chicken for dinner. I learned how to make it last month when I visited my friend Pam in PA. Thanks again John. We loved it and it was so easy to make.

Whew!!!!!! I'm wiped out and it's not even bedtime yet. I will try to be better about posting to here and to Smugmug's, which I will be doing after bathtime.

Wednesday Dirty Girl Challenges

2007-07-25T18:36:00.000-04:00

Dirty Dare '07

WHAT IT IS: A week of stamping challenges for SCS Fan Club Members only, presented by the Dirty Dozen Designers Past and Present. The challenges may consist of something as simple as a single layer card, use of a particular color combination, technique, or even a 3D (non-card) project.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to participate in any or all of the challenges all week long! You may, or may not, have *all* the supplies and materials on-hand to participate in every single one of the 36 challenges presented this week. However, it is highly likely you already have the supplies needed to participate in the majority of them!

Here are Wednesday's Challenges and my cards to go with them.

Challenge #1: DTGDSweetMissDaisy Pet Card
Kock-a-doodle-doooo Fan Clubbers!With my menagerie of farm animals and pets I thought it would be fitting for me to host a challenge that has everything to do with pets! My challenge to you is to create a card that's either For a Pet, From a Pet, or Of a Pet... can be your pet or someone else's.There are all kinds of occasions worthy of a pet card!- Birthday- New Litter- New Critter- Thanks for Pet-Sitting- Get Well...etc... Be creative!Please use the keyword DTGDSweetMissDaisy when uploading. (No spaces)

Stamps: Fish Friends (SU) and Thanks (Clearly Wordsworth)
Ink: Cool Caribbean, Taken with Teal, Tempting Turquoise, and Gable Green
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Taken with Teal, and Whisper White
Markers: Brocade Blue and Certainly Celery
Other: Dazzling Diamonds glitter

Challenge #2: DTGDtexasjodylynn Using Brads

Hi Fan Clubbers! Thank you for joining the kick off day of challenges! After a long day of participating in challenges you may be ready for a nice long bath, but FIRST I want you to bathe your card in BRADS! Don't be shy... you know you have tons of brads sitting there begging to be used, so why not indulge and use lots of them on your card? If you don't have any brads, feel free to use any other material you can think of that has the general appearance of a brad.

Stamps: Little Lady (PapertreyInk)

Ink: Ruby Red and Cameo Coral

Paper: Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Very Vanilla

Other: Copper Brads

Challenge #3: DTGDStamperSharon - Toile Inspiration

Welcome to the first day of many fun challenges this week, Fan Clubbers! This challenge is easy, all you need is one color of cardstock and/or ink (and embellishments, if desired) and a white or vanilla/cream neutral! We are using toile patterns as our inspiration . . .Wikipedia defines toile as: "…a type of decorating pattern consisting of a white or off-white background on which a repeated pattern … consists of a single color, most often black, dark red, or blue. Greens and magenta toile patterns are less common but not unheard of. Toile is most associated with fabrics (curtains and upholstery in particular), though toile wallpaper is also popular.” So my challenge to you is to create a toile-look card or project that is one color on a white or cream/vanilla background (think of Grandmother’s blue & white patterned china!).

Stamps: Carte Postal and French Flair

Ink: Cranberry Crisp

Paper: Cranberry Crisp and Whisper White

Other: Scallop Scissors

Challenge #4: DTGDgenie1314Sketch Sketch Challenge

Welcome Fan Clubbers to the Dare To Get Dirty Challenges. One of the first challenges that we have for you is a sketch challenge. These are some of my favorite challenges to do, so I figured it would be super fun to host one! For this sketch, you will create a square card or standard dimension card. The sample that I have created uses a card base that measures 5 x 5. Whether creating a square or standard dimension card, you will need to follow the layers as shown. Here is the sketch:

Stamps: Solo R and Solo Y (CTMH)

Ink: Vintage Violet, Lavender Lace, and Almost Amethyst
Paper: Vintage Violet, Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst, and Whisper White

Other: Vintage Violet Grosgrain Stiched Ribbon

Make n' Takes from Upline Meeting

2007-07-25T17:33:00.000-04:00

My demo is great. I use to be in her downline and she still includes me in with them. Melissa had a make n' take party on July 2nd so that we could all ohh and ahh over the catalog along with making a few new cards. I provided 2 projects, one card and one 3-D item, and Melissa had 3 cards set up. She had a brand new demo coming so we tried to showcase some techniques as well.

My card used Carte Postale along with the coordinating wheel, Leaves a la Carte, and background stamp, French Flair. I got the idea for the layout from one of Beate's Sketches.

Paper: Certainly Celery, Handsome Hunter, More Mustard, Glossy, and Very Vanilla

Ink: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Handsome Hunter, More Mustard, and Versamark

Techniques: I used the Stampin' Around Wheel Guide with the Leaves wheel and Versamark ink on the base of the card. I also sponged Certainly Celery, Handsome Hunter, and More Mustard on to the glossy white paper after I stamped the French Flair background stamp in Basic Black.

This card was really easy to do.

My 3-D project was a wood frame that I got at Michael's for $1

To make the frame I added about 15 drops of Tempting Turquoise Reinker to plain white craft paint. It makes a very light blue color that I painted on to the wood frame in 3 coats. I then used Taken with Teal and the new Baraque Motifs stamp set and stamped away. Nice and easy.

Melissa had 3 cards for us using the following techniques: Faux Tearing, Faux Metal, and Dry Embossing. It was great I hadn't used any of them before so I was really excited.

Came Home to Lots of Goodies

2007-07-02T16:27:00.000-04:00

I went out of town for a day and a half and came home to lots of goodies. First off I got the mail and there were two packages in there for me, one from Rebecca Bacon and the other from Stamping Bellas. Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!! And then I turned into my drive way and hanging on my front door handle is a Stampin' Up! bag. I was totally shocked as I am going to Melissa's house tonight to do a few make n' takes and ohh and ahh over the catalog. Inside the nice pretty bag is my retired accessories order and a BRAND NEW CATALOG!!!!!!!!!!!! Here are pictures with descriptions of what I got.
From Stamping Bella I got the chefabella, diplomabella, sistahoodabellas, and veggiebella. Now I just need to figure out how to mount them.

I got a bunch of stuff from Rebbecca Bacon. My upline introduced us through e-mail as I live in VA and she lives in IN. Rebecca was nice enough to stamp me some images from Ahoy, Matey stamp set and the Matey's Map wheel so that I can make a name frame as a birthday gift for one of Regan's friends. She also made me a wonderful cardfront to use for the birthday card and she made me a card using Baroque Motifs and the new SU palette paper. It is so pretty. Wasn't sure I was going to like it but I do. Thank you Rebecca!!!!!!!!!!!!

And last but not least the Stampin' Up! bag on my front door. I got all 3 Pearl Ex's. I am so excited about these. My mom is doing her guest room in teal and I am making some frames for her using Baroque Motifs and the pearl ex. Now that I have seen the new designer papers there is one in there that would go perfectly with what I want to do. YEAH!!!!!! I also got one more ATC album and a pack of refills for it. Along with the 3 ribbons that went with last year's In Color colors. And then there is the new catalog. I love it. I got home at about 2 PM, unpacked the car, got the kids situated, opened everything up, called hubby to say we were home, finished up the frames for tonight, and then got to look through the new catalog. It has lots of pretty yellow sticky tabs sticking out, and that was just from my first run through. I want all the halloween stuff and a bunch of the new wheels and backgrounds. First order is going to be really hard.

Faux Ribbon Tutorial

2007-06-30T12:49:00.001-04:00

I found this really cool tutorial for faux ribbon on Croppycatter's Corner blog. I love ribbon but I hate to buy it because I hardly ever use it all. Case in point I still have the ribbon left from making my BIL's wedding invitations 3 years ago and I use it as often as possible (french blue from SU, now retired). So I was very excited when I ran across this post. I am going to have to try it when we get back from the beach.

Faux Ribbon Tutorial

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #8

2007-06-29T16:45:00.000-04:00

I came home last weekend to a box on my front porch from Papertrey Ink. It had my three new stamp sets: Green Thumb, Butterfly Kisses, and Little Lady. I was dying to use them but today was the first day I got to. I was reading all the blogs I follow on GoogleReader and there was Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #8. I immediately wanted to use the Green Thumb set to make the card. Here is what I came up with.

I used the dandelion stamp and stem plus the saying "If friends were flowers, I'd pick you."

Paper: Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, and Very Vanilla from Stampin' Up!

Ink: Rose Red from SU

Thanks Beate for these great sketches.

Check out Alek's Baby Book!

2007-06-29T13:49:00.001-04:00

This is all the layouts that I have in Alek's Baby Book so far. I am about half way through his first year. The 23 pages that I did at Pam's house start with First Bath and 1 Month Portrait. After the first couple pages I started to use pretty much all CM stuff, especially the new Once Upon a Baby Boy Album Kit, Soft Baby Boy Perfect Fit Paper Pack, and the Baby Borders Workshop. Using all of Creative Memories Soft Baby Boy line made it much easy to do so many pages. In addition to the baby papers I used the Great Escapes Perfect Fit Paper to do the beach pages. On the Aquarium page I used CM's Circle Makers to make the fish. Each one is made out of one circle. Thanks Pammy for that workshop too. Check out Pam's website to order any of this or to see what workshops she is holding.

Scrapbooking Pictures

2007-06-29T12:50:00.000-04:00

Okay, these are pictures of Pam and I in her craft room in her basement. The one of the two of us is self taken. Once the kids go down for a nap I am going to post some of the 23 pages that I got finished in Alek's baby book. Yes I know he is 3 1/2 and I am really behing. Enjoy the pics.

If you want to spend some time in this great scrapbooking room Pam has a crop night once a month and I am sure she would love to have you. If I lived closer than 6 hours away I would be there. Check out the calendar on her website for a list of her events.

Creative Memories Everyday Display

2007-06-29T12:29:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I went to visit an old friend who moved last summer to Eastern PA. She is a CM consultant so of course we spent the weekend scrapbooking while her husband watched her kids. THANK YOU JOHN!!!!!!!! Before we got down to scrapbooking she pulled out CM's new Everyday Display frames, she got one in white and one in black. I am in love. Some how I am going to have to convince hubby that they are must haves. I want two in white to go in my craft area, one for Alek and one for Regan. Wait okay maybe three I think I have the space. I digress, back to last weekend. Pam asked me to help her with what to put on them. On the black one we put stuff for her business. I didn't take a picture because it isn't finished, I have to send her a picture of her at a CM event that I have to finish it off. Then hopefully she will take a picture and sent it to me. The other one, the white one, she wanted to do of her two girls, Elsa and Zara. I love how it turned out. The picture on the left is the blank frame and the picture on the right is our finished project. Check out Pam's CM website if you want to get one for yourself.

Baroque Motifs Sample & SC 129

2007-06-29T12:13:00.000-04:00

I thought this set would go perfect with a technique that I was dying to try using Pearl Ex. I found the tutorial on Amy's Prairie Paper & Ink blog. The tutorial is using Pearl Ex with heat and stick powder from SU. I was going to do a swap with this at my demo's house this Tuesday but I'm not sure if I still am since Pearl Ex is retiring and she won't be able to use it next year. I used the sketch challenge from last week as well (SC 129).

Really Cool Project

2007-06-18T21:48:00.001-04:00

I found this really cool project today involving embossing photos. I love it. This project used coasters as a 3-D project but I think I am going to try it in my scrapbooks, I really love the effect.

Debbie's Coaster Project

Alek's Altered On Board ATC Trio Album

2007-06-18T10:32:00.000-04:00

I totally CASED my album from my demo. I made a few changes but the overall idea came from the album she made for her son. Check it out in her SCS Gallery. I changed out the spine paper and instead of using just his first initial I did his whole name in chip board. It was so much easier than I thought. I just modge podged the letters, stuch them on the paper I wanted, waited 5 minutes and then cut off the excess paper. I used the Designer Label Punch Box's Real Life stamp with the grosgrain ribbon. I thought it was perfect since I am going to keep a wallet of all of Alek's school pictures in it.

Wow just went to SCS to link to the tutorial to do this and there wasn't one. I still have Regan's to do so maybe I will make a tutorial.

I have been wanting to do this for months but I finally got spurred on by one of SCS's challenges. Check it out: WT116 - Never Bored with Chipboard.

Some Cool Tutorials

2007-06-17T21:24:00.000-04:00

I can not wait to try these out, especially the tie box.

Colleen's Tie Box

Faith's Baby Wipe Tutorial

Faith's Faux Matting Technique

2 More Sketches

2007-06-17T15:41:00.000-04:00

Here are two more sketches that I really like and want to try when I have a chance.

Amy's Super Sketch Sunday #17

Diane's Sunday Morning Sketch

Adding Tutorials and Challenges

2007-06-16T13:44:00.000-04:00

The more blogs I read the more techniques, tutorials, and challenges I find that I might want to try. I don't know about you but when I finally find time in the evenings or on the weekends I can't remember whose blog something I wanted to try is on. So I am going to borrow an idea from Stampin' When I Can's blog and just post links to the ones I want to try on my blog, that way I will always know where to find them. YEAH!!!!!!!!!

Tutorials
Cracked Glass
Pearl Ex with Heat & Stick Powder

Challenges
Meg's Sketch
Beate's Weekend Sketch #6

Beate's Weekend Sketch #5 and TLC 119

2007-06-09T23:11:00.001-04:00

Again I combined two challenges into one card. This time I combined Beate's Weekend Sketch #5 with SCS's Try a New Technique Challenge (TLC 119). I used More Mustard cardstock and the new print palette in So Saffron. I really enjoyed making the origami shirt for this card. Beate's challenge was to make a gate card and I love how that turned out. The only stamping is the sentiment and I stamped that right on to the shirt instead of putting a tie on the shirt. This is the last of the four Father's Day cards that I have to make. I have to say thanks to my SU Demo for reading my blog and giving me more paper to make more cards for last week's challenge. I am still going to do it but instead of more Father's Day cards I am going to do Thank you cards.

Oh I used the tutorial on Cambria's blog to make the shirt.

SCS Color and Sketch Challenges

2007-06-09T23:01:00.000-04:00

This week I combined two of SCS's challenges: color challenge and sketch challenge. I didn't use any SU stamps but I did use their paper: Ruby Red and Elegant Eggplant (and Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon). I have started getting into using acrylic stamps and I used two differnt sets on this card: Cleary Wordsworth Thanks stamp set and Autumn Leaves Swirls V:I stamp set. I had to have the thanks stamp set because it has merci (for my mom) and danke (for me). My mom loves to go to Paris and I was born in Germany and went back there for a semester in college.

Color Challenge - CC 117 was to use Certainly Celery, Elegant Eggplant, and Ruby Red on a card.

Sketch Challenge - SC 127

Year End Teacher Gifts

2007-06-09T20:17:00.001-04:00

These are the teacher gifts I made for my childrens preschool teachers. The boxes are for the 4 classroom teachers and the 2 name frames are for the director and assistant director. There is no stamping but they were still a lot of fun to make. I also posted these under the SCS TLC 115 challenge.

Lowes Kids Clinic

2007-06-09T20:13:00.000-04:00

The kids had a blast at Lowes today. They got to make picture frames for Father's Day. This week they were able to pretty much do it all by themselves.

Comment on Comment

2007-06-02T23:29:00.000-04:00

Wow. Wow. And more Wow. Beate left me a comment on the card I made for her sketch. Sorry but that just made my year so much better. See the little things do matter.

Double Challenge Card

2007-06-02T23:03:00.001-04:00

I made this card for my daughter who is graduating from preschool on Tuesday. I got the idea from Beate's Triple Challenge Card and some of the comments she made about her card, hence the yoyo yellow. When I read about the yellow I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I had a patterned paper that I have had forever that had yellow in it. I had a dark pink metallic cardstock that matched and it all came together. I even gave the primas a try for the very first time. I love this card. This card qualifies for two of the SCS challenges this week, the Sketch Challenge and the Way to Use it Challenge.

Beate's Weekend Sketch #4

2007-06-02T22:52:00.000-04:00

I had so much fun this afternoon that I decided to play with my stamps once my kids went to sleep. I really liked the sketch used in this challenge from Beate's blog and decided to give it a whirl. My father-in-law loves martinis and I had this awesome paper that I bought to use on a card for him, so this is the Father's Day card I came up with for him. The red part of the olives is actually a red rhinestone. How cool is that?

Make 'n Takes

2007-06-02T22:38:00.000-04:00

Well I went to my demo's house today to do a buy, sell, trade with her and some of her customers and she surprised us with 3 make 'n takes when we got there. She is just the coolest. Here are the three cards that we made. Oh, she got the idea for the cards from someone else's blog and threw it all together this morning. Check out her blog for more info, The Stampin' Chick.

The first card is for Dad and can be used for several occasions, including Father's Day. Melissa used the left make n takes from this card to make several new ones, or makeovers as she calls them. This is the only card we made that did not use retiring sets.

The second card used a set from last year's summer mini and at the moment the name escapes me. I love the color combo she chose.

The third card uses the soon to be retiring Best in Cluck and it was my favorite. I have never been a fan of this set but I love how it was used in this card.

Thanks again Melissa for a wonderful afternoon.

Lowes Kids Clinic

2007-06-02T12:08:00.000-04:00

My kids are just as crafty as me so I thought I would share some of their items as well. We go to the Lowes Kids Clinic every month, now twice a month, so the kids can hammer a way. In May the kids made herb garden containers for Mother's Day and race cars over Memorial Day weekend. They love it. The first time they go the kids get an apron and a name tag, after that the get a badge to sew on the apron and a signed certificate to take home. How cool is that!!!!!

My First SCS Challenge Card

2007-05-30T20:19:00.000-04:00

I haven't been stamping lately and with Father's Day coming around I needed some help. I decided to check out the daily challenges at SCS and loved the color challenge this week: chocolate chip, cool caribbean, and garden green. All the dads in my life golf so I pulled out the retired Back Nine set and gave the challenge a whirl. I really love how it turned out. I wish out had more chocolate chip paper to make the other 3 cards I need. Oh well, maybe I will try another challenge and come up with something else.

Mother's Day Gifts

2007-05-28T21:19:00.000-04:00

These are the mother's bracelets that I made for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law this year. They are my copy of the bracelet my step-mom got me last year. Thanks again Sharon I wear it all the time.

Birthday Card

2007-05-28T21:14:00.000-04:00

This is the birthday card I made for my grandma this year. I love artfully asian. The greating is an acyrlic stamp and I'm not sure if I like it. It will take awhile to get used to using them.

Other Mother's Day Card

2007-05-28T21:10:00.000-04:00

This is more of a traditional card using the same stamp set but different colors.

Mother's Day Card

2007-05-28T21:04:00.000-04:00

This was my first attemp at a tri-fold card. I think I will be making a lot more. They were so easy. I made this version for my mom, mother-in-law, and step-mom.

Stamps at Michaels

2007-05-05T14:17:00.000-04:00

Holy Cow!!!!!!!!!!!! I was at Michaels today to do the Kids Craft with my two children and I always look at the stamps in the dollar bin. Today they had acrylic stamp sets in there. I want them all. I stopped myself with only 6 sets plus 2 blocks. I have attached a picture of the 6 that I bought.

Altered Tins

2007-03-11T12:59:00.000-04:00

I made these two tins for a silent auction at our church. That is if my mother-in-law can part with them. One is a recipe tin that I used paper from my local scrapbook store, Scrapbooks Galore & More! Inside I included 10 blank dividers so that the person who buys it can decide their own categories. The other tin is for cards and I used the SAB Simply Scrappin' Kit. These were both so easy to do. Usually I use Modge Podge as my adhesive but I used sticky tape instead. NO MESS!!!!!!!

Stamped Coasters

2007-03-11T12:51:00.000-04:00

We made stamped coasters about 2 years ago at a stamp camp. After that I went out and bought a bunch of tumbled tiles but never got around to stamping them until yesterday. I used one of my favorite retired stamp sets, Fresh Fruits, to make these 2 sets of coasters. I also used 2 different background stamps as well, French Script and Crosshatch. They are a lot easier to make than I thought they would.