Sydney stamps

PNWHS new adoptions coordinator

2010-09-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I became the adoptions coordinator for PNWHS. :) It is a lot of fun but also takes a lot of time. Here are some of the animals I've picked up since I started-

Ball python

Russian tortoise

Ornate box turtle

Corn snake

I'm still stampin but I am the worst about remembering to take pictures before I send out my cards. :P I've got a cool notebook thing I made for my mom to show you. I will try to post it before the end of the weekend. :)

AMUSE world tour for AMUSEA*PALOOZA

2010-07-16T23:55:00.000-07:00

Did you happen to see who won the A*MUSE*A*PALOOZA world tour????

ME!!!! HURRAY!!!

I'll snap pics of my prize when it comes. :D

Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps!

2010-07-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Grand Opening blog hop for Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps! To start at the beginning of the blog hop, please go to the Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps.

Today is an exciting day as we're releasing 8 new darling stamps! And we're giving away a ton of prizes! One lucky person will win the grand prize of all 8 images. There are also 5 single stamp prizes hidden, so make sure you comment on everyone's blogs! You will have until midnight Eastern time to comment and the winners will be announced on the Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps blog.

Here's my card!

Sparkle described this stamp to me MONTHS ago and I knew I had to have it!

Meet Scooter Chloe!

Chloe and her scooter are paper pieced with Basic Grey's Lemonade collection. It is bright, fun and summery, just like Chloe. :) The sentiment is from Doodle Factory. It's hard to see but parts of the scooter are painted with Smooches and highlighted with a Rose Stardust pen.

This is a great stamp and I know I'll be using it often!

Sparkle will be offering free standard shipping for all orders over $25 for the weekend (til midnight EST Sunday), and the code is FREESHIP. Thank you for stopping by and now it's time to go to Stephanie Kraft's blog! She's made something super cute and you won't want to miss it!

Summer pictures

2010-07-08T14:44:00.001-07:00

Flowers

Fresh berries

Grilling

Fireworks

Swimming in the lake

Hurray for SUMMER!

Cornish Heritage Farms closing! :(

2010-07-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am so bummed. Cornish Heritage Farms has decided to close. The carry Kim Hughes stamps and some other ones that I just loved. Here are the details-
Orders for any stamps will be accepted until Thursday, July 15th, 2010.
We will be closed on Friday, July 16th for stock take.
We will reopen Saturday July 17th, 2010 but we will not be pressing any new rubber, only remaining inventory will be sold at gradually discounted rates until it is all gone.
Our last day of trading will be Thursday Aug 5th, 2010.

Happy 4th!

2010-07-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hope you have a wonderful and safe Independence day! We will watch the fireworks show at the Space Needle on TV. Then we bought the kids a bunch of fireworks and are setting them off in "the circle" in our back yard. The stinkies are very excited. :)

A little Paper Makeup!

2010-07-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

I recently ordered a bunch of stamps from Paper Makeup. I LOVE the monsters by Stephen Hammond. :) They have some really cute fairies there and a new line of animals that are simply darling.

My friend Sparkle recently started a new stamp company! Her store official opens on July 10th! There will be a blog hop on July 10th to celebrate her grand opening! I have some cute cards to show off too. :D See you then!

Spring in Washington

2010-05-05T10:14:00.001-07:00

Apple blossoms...

Lilac...

Stuff is just sprouting everywhere!

I haven't been making as many cards as I would like and I am SO behind on my scrapbooking but it is just too nice outside to be inside!!! I do have some new cards to show you using Doodle Factories newest release and some of my new Paper Make Up stamps. :) Check back soon!

Pets

2010-03-05T15:52:00.000-08:00

An animal came to us this week in incredibly bad shape. She can barely walk and is very deformed from poor nutrition. Sadly, she'll need to be put down this evening.

If you're going to get a pet, any pet, please do your homework first. Every health issue this animal has could have been completely avoided with proper housing and diet.

I'm not mad, just so, so sad that she won't get to have a long and happy life.

Baby cards

2010-02-21T15:17:00.000-08:00

I need some baby cards for a shower this week so it was time to get stampin'!

I used Basic Grey Granola and Figgy Pudding for two different looks. I'm not sure which I'll use but I really like how they came together. :)

**I haven't forgotten about my EMERGE project for February. It's all printed and mounted and I just have to add some finishing touches. I'm thrilled with how it turned out and it was very fun to photograph too. :) Here's a sneak peak of one of the letters-

This R is from an old fortune telling machine near a magic shop at Pike Place Market. I loved the bright R against the green patina!

Yeah! Who says Mondays stink?

2010-02-15T19:52:00.001-08:00

Today has been GREAT!

Tracey emailed me and I won the challenge for Jenn's baby card! I won a free stamp set plus the sentiments! I am so stinkin' excited. I am going to try to hold out until the new release but there are stamp sets that have been calling my name for a long time now...

I went to the beach this afternoon and got seven pieces of bonfire glass, one red, TWO pink (this is a very rare color and my first pieces of this color), one orange and a larger piece of bright yellow. I found other really great pieces too (and a bunch of sea pottery) but those were my top finds.

Hope you had a great day too!

You send me!

2010-02-10T22:45:00.001-08:00

The TCP Tuesday challenge this week is paper piecing. It's as if this challenge was made with me in mind!!! :)

I've had this little flying letter and sentiment for a while. Mine are rubber but I think they are sold now in an acrylic set. The swirl is from a Christmas set. I stamped it and then touched it up with a sakura stardust pen. The paper is some of my Basic Grey.

A purple cow kind of day.

2010-02-06T23:57:00.000-08:00

Obviously I'm in a Basic Grey/Doodle Factory mood lately. I just can't get enough! :)
This cow and saying are from the Country set. I paper pieced the cow and colored her spots, ears and udder with my copics. I'm lovin' how this turned out and might pull it from my Etsy store if I need a thank you card before it sells. :)

I woke up today and just felt like getting outside and doing something. It was in the mid 50s here, the sun was shining and it just smelled good and kinda springy outside. We loaded the kids into the van and headed over to the Market. We picked up a bunch of dollar bags at the #2 Arcade (yum!) and went over to Uli's sausage. If you've never been, you are really missing out. I think we've eaten almost every kind of sausage he makes and it is all incredible. I also got all my pictures done for my word of the year. I'm excited to get those developed and do something with them. We also took the kids over to the Bug Safari for one of our famous "Shirk Family Adventures". It was pretty interesting but tiny. Everyone seemed to have a good time, even Kait who wasn't thrilled with the idea said she had fun.
We decided it was too early to head home and went to the beach. It was so nice! They have huge fire pits there so Jason went and got some firewood and we grilled up a bunch of our sausage, some asparagus (this was one of the $1 bags at the arcade! woo hoo!) and roasted marsh mellows for dessert. It was a very nice, picture perfect day. :)

Welcome Jenn's baby!!!

2010-02-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

There's a contest going on right now at the Starving Artistamps blog. Simply make a baby card for Jenn and her hubby with a little baby tip and you can win a Starving Artistamps stamp set AND a set of sentiments! This is GREAT prize! I would love to win a Doodle Factory set with sentiments. :) For all the details, just click on the link.

Here's my card-
I used Basic Grey's Porcelain paper and Doodle Factory's Oh Baby! stamp set. I've had these little safety pins FOREVER (years!) and this was a great excuse to use them.

I hope Jenn likes the card and that everything goes well when it's time for her to deliver. She is scheduled to have her baby on the 11th so that's the deadline for this contest!

A yakking Yak!

2010-02-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

This stamp set came out a while ago and of course I had to buy it because I LOVE Doodle Factory! But... I wasn't really sure what to do with it. It has sat sadly uninked in my binder for months. I am challenging myself this week to use some of my old Basic Grey paper (so I can justify buying all those new amazing lines that came out at CHA) and ink up some unloved stamps (to justify the new ones that are on their way to me now). ;)

I really like how this card came out. It turned out just like I had imagined it would. I love it when that happens! :)

Have you been thinking about your word of the year yet?

Ali Edwards- One Little Word

2010-02-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

One Little Word.
I saw this on her blog.
I saw this on friends' blogs.
But I just didn't feel like I had a specific word that would represent what I wanted to accomplish or focus on in 2010. Honestly, I hadn't been feeling like myself for a few years now. I felt like my migraines ruled everything. When they were bad, I couldn't be the mom or wife I wanted to be let alone have extra time to accomplish much of anything. In the last three months though, that's changed. I've had two migraines in three months when I used to get at least three migraines a week. I have my life and my time back. And because of that, I decided to really sit down and pick a word to motivate and inspire me this year.

My word is EMERGE.

I hope to emerge from 2010 becoming the person I want to be and to get back the person I was.

There is a super fun challenge this week to make your word with pictures of the letters in your word. I'm going to head out and take some pictures over the next couple of days for my word. I'll post my creation on Monday or Tuesday.

Check out the Ali's post. Maybe it's something that can inspire you. If not today, maybe someday soon. :)

Valentine card #1

2010-02-02T01:01:00.000-08:00

***These pictures suck. Jason bought a new camera/video recorder and it sucks. It is going back to Best Buy tomorrow.***

I love the Twitterpated paper. :) It is one of my absolute favorites. The squirrel and saying are from Doodle Factory. I colored him with my copics. After taking this pic, I thought that the green areas looked a little bare. I put some circle/dot things I have from Stamping Bella in the upper left and bottom right corners. It looks better now, more balanced.

A baking/horse birthday party invitation- I think I did it!

2010-01-31T23:37:00.000-08:00

I had an Etsy request for a horse birthday invitation. It is also going to be a baking party. Hope they like it! :)

Now I'm off to make Hello Kitty favor tags...

*I made a million Valentine's day cards today. A couple are going to my Etsy store but the others are for teachers. I'll post them this week. :)

For Valentines day!

2010-01-26T14:08:00.000-08:00

I made the heart with the ribbon through it for another card but it didn't go with the card when it came together. I really liked it though so I put a card together for it. :)
The paper is from Bittersweet (Basic Grey), the hearts are grunge board (this stuff is so cool- it is like chipboard but flexible which makes it so easy to distress) and the rub-ons and ribbon are from my CTMH stash. :)

Celiac disease!!!!

2009-12-29T00:15:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in awhile. :( I hadn't been feeling well at all and things have been slipping. But I have good news! We finally know what's wrong! Woo hoo! I have Celiac disease. This means I have an allergy to gluten. No more wheat anything for me. I haven't had any wheat in several weeks and I just keep feeling better and better. :D Jason and I went out tonight and got 3 gluten free cookbooks and I can honestly say that I am so excited to start cooking again! I love to cook but it had become such a chore. Everything I cooked made me feel ill just looking at it. Don't get me wrong, I'm a good cook but the sight of food was making me sick to my stomach. I am so glad to finally know what's been going on and that by making a simple diet change, I can feel so much better.

Oh the nerdiness!

2009-10-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

This past week was BlueHat at Microsoft. This is a huge hacking conference for Jason and he was very busy. He also has a week of dinners and parties after work to schmooze with other nerds. A couple of these are 'plus one' events and I got to go along. This year we went to a little restaurant off of Post Alley near the Market. Honestly, it was a little dull- And that's saying a lot since Barry and I can entertain ourselves at the expensive of others quite easily. But there were only a few people there and it was really dark. Barry and I went around and harassed some upper level management and this guy who wears Utility Kilts all the time. *I am buying Jason one- just so I can see his legs 24/7. And maybe to torment Dan and Andy...* Adam has promised to let me straighten his hair is I raise money for his alma mater and he gave me a lap dance. I got to hug and squeeze Gorgeous Steve which did something for me but nothing for Barry. So we gave up and went and got ice cream after a little while and waited it out outside.

Then we were led to an after party in the Alibi Room. This is a very tiny restaurant near the famous Gum Wall. Except that once we got into the restaurant (which is already below street level), we were led down two more sets of stairs into a small room. BUT before we could go into the room we had to fill out a bizarre quiz and put on a name tag. Here's a little tip for whoever organized this event-
1. Hackers tend to be suspicious people. Very suspicious. Asking them to fill out a quiz with their full name and favorite things is an exercise in futility, even when the request is made from a woman in a low cut, black, latex outfit and 99% of the hackers at this party are men (true story). This soon became a contest to see who could write the funniest bit of BS.

**We found out that this quiz was for a murder/mystery game. And this brings me to the second point.**

2. Hackers don't think like normal people. They think all around a problem to find the each and every weak point in any situation. Our host 'Scully' told us that every 30 minutes, we would need to stop our conversations, eating and drinking to listen for new clues to figure out who the murderer was. Well, about 5 minutes after her first set of clues, Jason and I had figured out who the murderer would be and went back to chatting with our drunken friends. Everyone else in the room had figured it out too. So they scrapped the game and turned the music up to a deafening level. At that point we decided to call it a night and head home.

I say this with all the love in my heart but no matter how you slice it, nerds and parties don't mix. I'd hang out with Barry any time and I may need to make Mike my new BFF (he has a lovely accent and makes anything sound heavenly) but I can do that stuff anytime. I love you Jason but no more parties with the promise of some hard partying if only nerdiness is going to happen!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN

2009-10-10T22:41:00.001-07:00

Lauren is 8!!! I can't believe it! She is getting baptized today too and is super excited.

This is a pic of her and Herbie. :) She is a great daughter and I love her very much! I hope you have a great birthday Lauren!

My mind is always in the gutter

2009-10-06T22:46:00.001-07:00

The name of this street has brought me so much joy in the past few months. We were just driving along and there it was. This was the best part of the trip for me. :D
Childish? Maybe
Frickin' hilarious? Oh yeah...

World Card Making DAY!

2009-10-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

What did you do to celebrate today?

I went to A Muse and took 2 classes from HRR Julie!!! It was super fun. Sparkle came with me for the first class where we made 4 cards with awesome folds. VERY FUN! I have some fresh, new ideas now for all the birthdays cards I will need for family. :)

The second class was Halloween cards. Julie has a super sense of humor and these cards just cracked me up. There is a MS spider punch that I just have to have because of this class. :D

THEN, as if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, A Muse was having their anniversary sale! Linda had a whole room of clearance product! AND A TABLE FULL OF $2 STAMPS! Of course I went hog wild and got a lot of older, retired stamps that I have always loved but couldn't find. I also drew a card for 25% of my order which was a super happy for me. I added the new fiskars upper crest border punch to my order after I drew that. I've been wanting it since I saw a prototype in a survey on Fiskateers! I've already been punching away and will have some cards showing it's coolness soon.

Oh! And congrats to Joy who won The Cat's Pajama stamps giveaway from my Splitcoast entry. Those went out in the mail a few days ago and should be at their new home soon. Enjoy!

Cake Wrecks!

2009-09-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

Jason and I went to the Cake Wrecks book signing last night. It was so much fun! A friend of ours made one of the fun cakes there. It was really yummy. :D

Jen is a very funny and nice person INL. It was fun to meet her.

If you haven't checked out her blog before, you really should. She said there are more than 9,000 pics of cakes that she hasn't uploaded yet so there's lots more fun to come!

How do you like Survivor so far?

2009-09-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

I'm hating it. :( There's just so much garbage going on and it seems like they found some seriously nasty people for this season. I'm so disappointed.

On the other hand, Glee and Modern Family are absolutely hilarious. You should watch them if you haven't already.

What are you watching?

TCPTUES77 Color challenge

2009-09-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

*** I'm doing a little giveaway here and on Splitcoast. I bought some acrylic sets from the Cat's Pajamas and now I have duplicates in rubber. I have pirates and a chicken soup stamp to give away. If you'd like to win them, just post here or on my Splitcoast post with the pink, black and orange card. I'll draw in a couple of days and send them to you. :)***

The TCP challenge this week was to use melon pink, pumpkin orange and black. I thought it would be tough but it was actually a lot of fun!

And this is a card I made for last week's challenge but didn't get around to uploading it on time. Grrr...
The challenge for last week was to use 3 circles, emboss (either heat or dry) and to add some bling. I added a little silver smooches to the grommets on the port holes for my bling.

DoodleFactory Trick or Treat!

2009-09-23T17:27:00.001-07:00

I am so pleased with how this card came out! :) These are a couple of the newest Halloween stamps from the latest DoodleFactory release. There are several different characters in the new set, perfect for trick or treating cards. Can you imagine how cute this guy would be stamped onto a trick or treating bag? And he's a great size for treats for the classroom.

The haunted house is from last year (I think). I love coloring it. There's lots of detail and the little ghost in the sky just makes me smile. I believe the sentiment is from last year too. I stamped my own B&T paper using a candy stamp from last year and a candy bar from this year. I love making my own paper.

So proud

2009-09-19T02:01:00.000-07:00

Jason got promoted! Yeah!
I wanted to make him a nerd card to slip into his backpack. This computer and saying from A Muse were perfect. This is a great acrylic set if you need to make guy cards. I use it quite a bit. :)

It was a freaking pain in the butt to make the Microsoft thing for the background but I think it turned out okay. Definitely not my normal color scheme but I think it works well for the card.

Dino

2009-09-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

This dino and the sentiment is from Doodle Factory. Isn't he cute?! I touched up his scales and eyes with a white Glaze pen and Crystal Effects. I also traced the letters with Crystal Effects. I love this product because it doesn't distort the color of the ink or warp the paper.

The most recent Doodle Factory release is also terrific. It's a Halloween. :) I LOVE Halloween. I'm going to stamp with them tonight and I'll post later this week. Check them out for yourself at Starving Artistamps because they are must haves in my opinion.

Check the side effects!!!

2009-09-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

So I went to a new doctor about two weeks ago and she mentioned that taking birth control might help my migraines. It is a progesterone birth control so I can take it and not have to worry about blood clots from my factor 5 leiden. Great!
Well, I started taking it on a Thursday. By Saturday I was exhausted. We went out to lunch on Saturday and I couldn't even stay awake at the table. I thought I might be coming down with something and thought I would just try to sleep it off.
On Monday, I was still very tired and my stomach started to really hurt but the pain was very low. So on Tuesday, we called the Microsoft nurse line and they sent a doctor to our house. I was kind of freaking out at this point. He said if I got any worse, I needed to call back.
On Wednesday, things definitely started to get worse and I was throwing up. So I called and we went into the ER. I had a bunch of test that I would love to forget ever happened and nothing showed up. I wasn't getting better either.
The ER doctor called on Friday and said that some other tests had also come back normal and I should come back to the ER because they would run more tests and could get the results immediately. *Throughout all this, I wasn't given any antibiotics or stuff like that because they said that if I had something in my intestines, that type of medication could make it considerably worse. :(
I really hate the ER so I decided to try to figure out what was going on. I thought about what I'd eaten in the last week, was I near anyone sick and what else could be going on. The medicine came to mind so I thought I would look it up.
Well sure enough, there is a rare side effect of abdominal pain and unusual tiredness. S.O.B.!
Lesson learned. Read up on any new medication you get, as much as you can BEFORE you start taking it. I have had a miserable last week and this stupid medicine wasn't worth all this. I have stopped taking it and hopefully it will get out of my system soon. I am 99.9% sure this is what was giving me problems and that I should be feeling great again soon.

TCPTUES74- Halloween!

2009-09-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge was to use Halloween stamps. I've had this card on my mind for a long time but it didn't turn out quite like I expected. :(
I love this Halloween set though. It has a lot of fun images and great sentiments. :)

Time for a change

2009-08-28T23:50:00.000-07:00

I just love how that pic of Mad Eye Moody came out! He's so sneaky. :)

Mad Eye is a veiled chameleon. They can move each eye independently hence the name Mad Eye Moody. If you still don't get it, you've got to read Harry Potter!

Now for a gift card holder. If you open it up, the gift card sticks out from a fold in the center. I should have taken a pic of the inside or done a tutorial. :( Sorry!
Some friends of ours got married last Saturday. They are a great couple and I'm so happy for them. The 'happily ever after' just seemed to fit them perfectly. The stamp came from Green Grass stamps and they are one of my favorite companies. They have some very nice, original art that is fun and easy to work with. Not much has been happening on their site lately and I'm not sure if they are out of business or not. They were going to come out with some new images in March but it never happened. I'm pretty bummed. :( I think they still have some older stamps available (for 50% off) on their site. Get em' while you can! :)

The paper is from Stella Ruby from Basic Grey. I added some TAC flowers that I just had to have but haven't used too much. I like them so much that I keep "saving" them but I've got to get over that. :)

Enjoy and have a good weekend! I've to my TCP challenge card to upload tomorrow and then something special that I made from Jason. :)

Shopping birthday

2009-08-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

One of my old students recently had a birthday. She loves shopping so I made her this card. :) Hope she likes it.

The paper is Basic Grey and the stamps are from Kim Hughes. This is a CTMH sketch. There are new card books available from CTMH. They are amazing. If you need some inspiration every now and then, I would highly recommend them.

2009-08-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

What a fun cupcake! I love it's swirly frosting. Both the cupcake and sentiment are from The DoodleFactory. If you have never seen their stamps, you really should check them out at www.starvingartistamps.com. They are wonderfully wacky.

I don't often play along with Taylored Expressions challenges (no reason, I just get busy) but this one caught my eye. I needed an adult birthday card and this sketch seemed perfect. You can't really tell from the pic but the bottom of the cupcake has a little glitter on the stripes and the outline of the cupcake was traced in Crystal Lacquer.

Cookies for Santa

2009-08-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this sketch from Hero Arts quite a while ago. It was sweet and simple. I like sketches that allow the main image to really stand out without a lot of other stuff cluttering it up. I also liked the idea of a little tag sticking out of the side for the sentiment. :)

The image and the sentiment are from acrylic sets from The Cat's Pajamas. It's hard to see but the right hand side of the brown and blue spotted paper is punched using a tiny scallop punch that is new from EK Success. It is one of the new punches that lock to be super flat. Love it!

The paper is Basic Grey. Hope you're not getting tired of that paper. I really want to use it up to make room for Eskimo Kisses and Indian Summer that were released at CHA.

Sweetie Pie

2009-08-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite stamp from My Cute Stamps' Sweet Kawaii set. Isn't it sweet looking? It's such a cute little slice of pie. When I first saw this, I immediately thought of pumpkin pie and Thanksgiving. I have a couple of relatives that I wish I could see on Thanksgiving but it just doesn't work out. So I think I'll make a few of these and send them out.

The paper is Basic Grey's Stella. I haven't used this in a long time but it is one of my favorites. Most of the paper has a pattern (like a dress pattern) print on it. It's just a neat little detail that I really like.

How can you not love lizards?

2009-08-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

Mad Eye Moody comes to the door of his cage when he wants out. This mood doesn't strike him very often so when he wants out, I try to make the most of it. I brought him outside for some sun and put him in a little pear tree we have so he could catch some rays.

He kept turning to hide his body but kept an eye on me the whole time. He is so cute. :)

Snowman Christmas card

2009-08-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Another one of my Christmas cards for what was supposed to be my weekly card making project. I like doing Christmas cards in untraditional colors. This DP came from Basic Grey's Porceline. The snowman and saying are from a Christmas Kim Hughes set. The heart on his chest is paper pieced and then I put on a little Crystal Effects for some shine.

Dropping you a line

2009-08-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

My finally visiting teaching card. :) My bigger fishes are on pop dots. I colored their fins or bodies with my copics. I stamped them on JuneBug patterned paper.

The smaller fish are DTP and colored with my copics. I added 2 scalloped boarders for fun. There's a little liquid glass on the bobber. :)

Not much stampin'

2009-08-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

I love the new JuneBug paper but it is a little busy for my taste. I was looking at this paper and wondering how I could make it work. So I used my Crystal Effects to highlight swirls and petals on the flowers. There are only a couple of places where you can see it but quite a lot of the card has this decoration.

I stamped 'dropping you a line' on the red dot paper and added some scallops on the end. This is another card for my visiting teachers. :)

Gnome friend

2009-08-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

I am a BAD visiting teacher. I used to be better but when we moved to WA, things just got rougher. I decided to make my visiting teachers some cards and send them in the mail. Hopefully the good mail will make up for at least some of the missed visits. :P

All these cards use Junebug paper from Basic Grey and stamps from Kim Hughes line at Cornish Heritage Farms. :)

TCPTUES71- a sketch challenge

2009-08-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge came from Carole and was a fairly simple sketch. I love that part of the challenge was to round the corners of the card and the parts within it. I have bought several corner rounders but don't use them super often. They were one of those things that EVERYONE was using so I HAD to have one. ;) But I am grateful for the chance to get them out and dust them off.

Here's my card-

The little caldron is from last year's Halloween set but the sentiment is an older stamp (maybe retired?) from The Cat's Pajamas.

The paper and ribbon are from Close To My Heart. I colored the fire with my copics and embossed the caldron.

Getting a jump on Christmas

2009-08-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Sparkle told me about and idea she had back in January. Every week she has made 2 Christmas cards so that by December she has all her cards done. And she doesn't get bored with making the same thing over and over. I thought this was a GREAT idea and decided to try it.

Guess how many cards I've made? Maybe 5. :P

But I have renewed my commitment to get this done and get caught up. :)

Leigh O'Brien made a card identical to this (I just change the paper) last year and I loved it. I put it in my file of things to copy and here's my version.

I used Basic Grey's Wisteria. This isn't my favorite paper packet but I want to challenge myself. I think it works well for a Christmas card.

I shaded the gingerbread man (stamp and sentiment from the DoodleFactory) with a copic and made his frosting face and buttons white with a gel pen. He's popped up on pop dots for dimension (I love those things. I think I use them on every project.) Super simple but I love how it turned out.

My Cute Stamps- a half dozen

2009-08-13T14:03:00.002-07:00

How stinkin' cute is this donut? I love the little grin and eyelashes. :)

This is from My Cute Stamps and the set is called Sweet Kawaii. It is only $7.99 and has 7 images. The other images are a slice of pie (my favorite image in the whole set), the donut, a popsicle, a piece of candy, a soft serve cone, cherries and the sentiment 'You're Sweet'. And this is an acrylic set, which I prefer.

I stamped the donut six times on a standard A2 card and colored them with my copics. But wanted to jazz it up a bit. So I stamped the donut two more times on some scrap card stock, colored them and ran them through my Xyron upside down so the sticky was covering my image. Then I added some clear microbeads. However, they picked up a bit of the color from my stamp pad ink and turned a few of the beads rainbow colored. Totally unintentionally but a nice touch. :) I love it when that happens.

I wanted this to look like a box of donuts so I made a simple frame with some Blush textured card stock and added some transparent film. That is mounted to the card stock with pop dots for dimension.

Very easy but also very fun.

For Ruby

2009-08-07T21:18:00.002-07:00

My friend Nona has adopted a BEAUTIFUL baby girl named Ruby. She is such a cutie and the story of her adoption is truly an inspiration. They have amazing faith and the Lord has blessed them because of it. I can't wait to meet Ruby. :)

Supplies-

paper- Wisteria (Basic Grey)

stamps- Baby Love, A Welcome Hug and an alphabet by Kim Hughes (can't find the name) (all stamps are by Kim Hughes from Cornish Heritage Farms)

Ribbon- Close to My Heart (Desert Sand)

3D Crystal Lacquer

I colored her with my Copics.

Happy Birthday Greeting Farm

2009-08-01T08:15:00.004-07:00

Today is the 1 year anniversary of the Greeting Farm. I LOVE their stamps. They are so fun and whimsical. They are fun to paper piece and color, which makes them easy to use IMO. I signed up a long time ago to make a card for the anniversary blog hop so here it is-

There is a darling dress up Anya in the Dress Me stamp set. You get tons of super cute outfits in the Wardrobe 1# set (she has other clothes but I am partial to this one). I used the new Lemonade paper from Basic Grey and colored her with my Copics.

Don't forget to check out the other blogs in the hop! It should be fun and full of inspiration! And don't forget to pick up your own Anya or Ian stamps and play along with their fun challenges. There is a FREE birthday Ian digi stamp on the Club Anya blog today. Try it out and let me know if you make something. :)

My CTMH anniversary!

2009-07-24T15:34:00.002-07:00

Today is my 4th anniversary with Close To My Heart! It has really flown by. I can't believe it. I got into it so that I could make cards "at a discount" and look at what it has turned into?! :D

Here's to more conventions, catalogs and to my CTMH sisters- THANK YOU!

Because you asked-

2009-07-16T04:52:00.002-07:00

Here are the rules - post this list on your profile (in Notes) replacing my answers with yours. Tag as many friends as you wish to do the same thing. If I tagged YOU, it's because I want to know more about YOU!
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Rachel in the Bible.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Not sure. I get choked up but don't cry very often.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Yup.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Chicken, sliced thin.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Four. Three girls and one boy; yes the boy is the youngest and no, we didn't keep trying until we had a boy.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I think so.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Yes. Probably more than I should.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Yeah, I'd totally try it.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Cereal is just not my thing. I will buy something on occasion if it catches my eye but for the most part, I don't even buy it.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
I am a flip flop kind of gal. In the winter and in the summer, you will always find me in my croc flip flops.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road by Ben and Jerrys. Hoping it makes it as a permanent flavor. I also love my own homemade ice cream. I usually make different flavors depending on what's fresh in the yard.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their smiles, their eyes, whether they look happy or grumpy.

15. RED OR PINK?
Both. Depends on the day.

16.YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
I wish I was in better shape. I have some extra Rachel going on because of the migraine meds and I'd love to get it off.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
I miss lots of people. It depends on what I am doing.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
Sure. If you read this on my blog or off my Facebook, I'd love for you cut and paste it. It is fun getting to know stuff about others.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Barefoot, black pants.

20. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Telemarketer. :P

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Washer and dryer.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
One of the colors with a wacky name like Mac and Cheese. :D

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
The ocean, Jason, my kids, the outdoors in general.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Of course I do.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Football. I also like the Olympics.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Dark brown with white. Bummer...

28. EYE COLOR?
Blue.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Yes. Or else I can't see a darn thing.

30. FAVORITE FOOD
I love all food. I'll try anything.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Depends on what you define as a happy ending. I hate chick flicks but don't mind movies with a general happy ending.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Don't remember.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Purple.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer here. It is just right. Much cooler than any summer day in CO. Plus, I love to put my lizards on leases and bring them outside with me.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
depends on who

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
I hope a few will.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
??

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Shack and a book on sea glass.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
I don't have one (laptop).

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
I survived a Japanese game show and Warehouse 13.

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
Ocean waves running over tiny rocks. My kids.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Depends on my mood.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Florida.

5. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
CA.

46. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Anyone. I love learning new things about people.

47. WEEKEND PLANS?
PNWHS meeting and a neighborhood picnic.

48. DOGS OR CATS?
Depends on the cat or the dog.

Win $1,000 at TheCuttlebugSpot.com

2009-07-12T16:43:00.002-07:00

I have just discovered that The Cuttlebug Spot is having a contest - "The Journey to 1,000"! They are trying to reach 1,000 followers by the end of July and need your help. To enter all you have to do is go to their site, sign up as follower and complete a few easy steps and you could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Custom Crops (www.CustomCrops.com)! GO NOW and check it out atwww.TheCuttlebugSpot.com

Sounds like fun, doesn't it? :)

Finally

2009-07-08T15:34:00.004-07:00

The camera and the camera cord have been located. Finally.

Here's my sea glass marble-

Isn't it cool? It frosted perfectly and it is such a cool shade of green. I couldn't believe it when I found it.

I will post some cards tomorrow. I have been playing along with a ton of challenges and have lots to share. :)

Sea glass marble

2009-06-30T07:47:00.002-07:00

I was out the other day beachcombing for sea glass and found a perfect, green marble! Woo hoo! It is perfectly frosted with no chips. I love collecting sea glass and this is a true, once in a lifetime find. :)

I am off to beat Madisen so that she will find the camera so I can take a pic for you.

On a card/scrapbooking/paper craft note, Michaels seems to be clearing out a lot of good stuff to get some great stuff in the store. No complaints on my part. I got 3 paper packets there yesterday and can't wait to start cutting. One of the paper packets in a Sassafrass kit I saw at a show a few months ago. I loved it then but had shot my wad at Basic Grey. Glad I waited now because I got the $25 paper packet for only $15.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T15:22:00.003-07:00

Happy Father's Day Jas! I love you honey.

They have these awesome origami books at Amuse and I am having fun making stuff other than cootie catchers. ;)

Cosmo Cricket paper with Kim Hughes stamps!!!

2009-05-30T10:49:00.006-07:00

I reached another level at Cornish Heritage Farms recently and got some free stamps. They have a cool customer appreciation points thing and occasionally offer double points. I just happened to hit both at the same time and got $45 worth of stamps for free. Woo hoo! Of course, I bought up a ton of Kim Hughes stamps that I have had my eye on.

I also went to Ben Franklin and found these Cosmo Cricket paper pads that have two collections in one. I love that! I needed a mom break the other day so I made a few cards with my new stuff. A couple of birthday cards and one just because. :D

This paper is Snorkel and Lil' Man from Cosmo Cricket. I used some old (and I think retired) Quick Cutz dies to make the gears. The stamp set is Little Guy from Kim Hughes. The robot has crystal effects on him so he has a little dimension and shine. The gears also have a thin coat of crystal effects. If I put too much on, they tend to curl slightly and won't stick down. Maybe it is the humid air here, but this is a problem I have always had with any product like crystal effects or liquid glass. :P

I used Girl Friday paper from Cosmo Cricket for this card. I added some Close To My Heart bling on the sentiments (the bling is actually a frame that I cut in half to make brackets).

I used Kim Hughes stamps from her Birthday Bash, Little Gal and one other set (for the life of me, I can't figure out what set I got the word 'girl' from...).

The purse is fancied up with crystal effects and sakura pens.

I used Snorkel paper from Cosmo Cricket for this little card. The bear, sign and sentiment are from Kim Hughes Bear Hugs set. Colored with my copics. :) The bear is popped up with some 3D tape. I love the shadow that this gives my images.

***There is a Judkins Rubber stamp trunk show going on at Ben Franklin in Redmond, WA right now. I picked up a couple of new things that I hadn't seen before. I am going to try them out and will post pics on Monday. I am also taking an Amuse copic class tomorrow with Sparkle and my friend Saille. I will share my new knowledge and some of the new Amuse designs with you next week.***

Did you know I have a thing for owls?

2009-05-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Of course you did! :D I am owl crazy. I saw this owl online and had to try to make my own. It is done with punches.

I love making images with my punches. I love it when I find new ways to use product.

Tonight I am going out for sushi and then we are heading to a funky circus. I can't wait. I'll post more about it tomorrow but it promises to be weird and fun- right up my alley. ;)

Tons to share!

2009-05-21T21:38:00.004-07:00

This tricycle was one of the new Amuse images released in spring. Isn't it cute? I just love the simplicity of the design and I thought it was the perfect image for the 'life's simple pleasures' sentiment.

This paper, Lil' Man, is new from Cosmo Cricket (this is a very cool collection, a must have in my opinion). The buttons are from The Angel Company. And the little paper with the sentiment on it is from Martha Stewart.

I added some Liquid Glass on the tricycle to give it shine and dimension. The spokes are traced with a Sakura stardust pen. I colored the image with my copics. As if copics weren't great already, they are one of the only markers I can use with Liquid Glass. Nearly all other markers change color with Liquid Glass but the copics keep their true, bright color. Awesome!

It has been so nice outside!

2009-05-18T22:42:00.002-07:00

I've been super busy getting my garden in and enjoying the warm sun with my babies outside. Everything is blooming and the backyard smells amazing! Baby ducklings are swimming in the pond and it has just been awesome to be outside.

I have been stamping though and will start posting some long overdue projects tomorrow including a super cute lion I cased. :D

This is an apple blossom from our tree. These will turn into the most amazing apples I have ever eaten in my life! I can't wait!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T20:51:00.002-07:00

I hope everyone had a beautiful Mother's Day.

Happy Anniversary A Muse!

2009-05-05T09:46:00.003-07:00

You can find me at A Muse every Wednesday with Alex. We LOVE to do the make and take and do a little shopping. Amanda always gives Alex a balloon and it is the highlight of his week. Did you know that he asked to go to A Muse for his birthday? *sniff* That's my baby...

A Muse is having a terrific sale to celebrate their 8th anniversary. There are also contests on the blog so check it out.

I missed the 1st contest (grrrr...) but the second one was to post what your first A Muse stamp was. Mine was this dragon. I fell in love with him because he was so quirky and cute.

This is not my best pic. Sorry. It is pouring rain today so I had to take the pic in my dark basement...

Have you seen the new releases from A Muse? There is a rubber fortune cookie stamp and this acrylic sentiment stamp that goes with it. Want to know the best part??? Maybe you've heard of the game where everyone reads their fortune but adds "in bed" at the end? It is a riot. Anyway, the fortune cookie sentiment set comes with those two little words. :D Isn't that hilarious?!

This little card is for Jason. I'll stick it in his bag tomorrow. And yes, inside the card it says, "in bed". *snicker*

Remember Super Parents?

2009-04-26T22:15:00.003-07:00

I blogged about Doodle Factory's newest release several days ago and finally got a chance to use these great new sets.

This is Super Mom with her sentiment. How awesome is she?! Doesn't she look great? I wish I could be her- perfect make-up, perfect hair, a snappy outfit and a kick butt attitude! ;)

The paper is Marracheck from Basic Grey. I also used one of the new EK Success punches- scallop photo corner. These punches are great because they take up a lot less room and have great designs!

TCPTUES55- Pirate birthday

2009-04-22T22:59:00.002-07:00

Lauren needed a birthday card for a classmate's party. I thought he might enjoy a pirate card. :)

The sketch was simple and fun. It called for an embellishment on the bottom left part of the card. I had some bigger brads that matched nicely but they needed something. I cut up Yo Ho Ho and stamped each word onto each brad with Jet Black Stazon. It was a little messy but I think it turned out alright.

Tired of death

2009-04-17T22:54:00.002-07:00

Man, this last month has been so hard.

I lost my third friend in a month today. I am feeling overwhelmed and unable to grieve.

I may take a couple of days off to just process things.

Hope your 2009 is going better than mine.

2 Sketches 4 You-Kazan's sketch 24

2009-04-16T19:50:00.003-07:00

My TCP card and this card look very similar. I just loved this sketch and used it for my other challenge. It was fun and easy.

Stella Ruby paper and Saltbox Designs stamps. The brown behind the stripe paper is actually ribbon! :D

TCPTUES54- Cactus card

2009-04-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge was to use stamps from the Havin' A Pow Wow stamp set from the Cat's Pajamas.

Guess what?

I don't have that set!!!

Wow. I seriously heard everyone's gasp of shock and horror from here! I like the set but didn't buy it because I'm just not a cowboy kind of gal.

I still wanted to play along though. I love TCP tuesday and look forward to it every week. Hmmmm... what do I have that will work... I have this little cactus (old TCP stamp), maybe some flowers, what saying will I use though...

This is what I came up with-

I lived in Tucson for years and remember the beauty of the cactus flowers. They are amazing colors! Very bright and so pretty.

Hope you liked it. :D

Make a card in 20 mins or less challenge

2009-04-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am not at the point in my card making skills where I can throw away a crappy card. I will peel off the layers, cut more paper, cut more ribbon, stamp another image, etc. until I am happy with it. Sometimes it takes me way more than 20 minutes to make just one card. :P So when I saw Glenda's challenge on the A Muse Lounge, I decided to give it a try. Can I really make a card in less than 20 minutes?!

I discovered that no, I can't. But it's not what you think...

3:30 Sit down to make card

3:34 Kids friend comments that my house is messy but theirs is clean. Wallow is self pity and wonder if I should be cleaning instead of card making... Put away some paper and then decide to get back on track and make the card. Cleaning can wait.

3:39 6 year old comes and says, 'Look at the menu I wrote for dinner!' Admire said menu with pictures and sounded out words until 6 year old happily skips away to recruit siblings to make the dinner and play restaurant tonight.

3:42 7 year old comes and says, 'Can I dance ballet upstairs?' Yes, go dance ballet.

3:45 3 children come through the living room on the way to the office to print copies of the menu for the family. I must stop and tell them that their 3 year old brother took all the paper out of the printer to make pictures of all the pets he wants to get for his birthday (April 20th) and they need to go find the paper, stack it neatly and put it back into the printer.

3:47 Mom calls and had a bad day at school. Little stinkers at school are stealing. Talk to my dad too and tell him thank you for sending the 3 year olds train table for his upcoming birthday. Hand the phone off to the kids to talk with grandma.

While talking on the phone with my mom, holding the phone with my shoulder and trying to make my card-

The 13 year old says, 'Mom, move your eyebrows!' My eyebrows are not moving very well since I had Botox yesterday (for migraines) and the 13 year old laughs in an EVIL way.

The 6 year old has returned with a penny. She says, "Give it to me when I am done." Done with WHAT? I wonder...

*Now I am holding one penny, the phone and various card making supplies all at once.

Everyone seems to be running in and out of the basement. No one is remembering to shut the door and chilly air is creeping inside! Brrrrrrr!

4:14 Hang up with Mom. Tell 13 year old that she may not charge family members for their meals at the restaurant tonight. Listen to her argue that it will only be $3 a person. Anyone in need of a teenager?

4:21 Have a wrestling match with my Koyoto adhesive thing because it is at the end of the roll and gummed up. I think that happened when I was trying to stick my card together, hold a penny and phone at the same time. Make a mental note to buy more adhesive at A Muse tomorrow. Take a second to do the happy dance!

This card took 20 minutes or less. I am sure of it. Minus all the distractions, I probably had that puppy whipped up in 20 SECONDS!

Yeah, right...

A Muse lounge challenge #4- think simple, think A Muse

2009-04-14T14:01:00.003-07:00

I love A Muse images. They are simple but they also have a ton of character and are really fun. I just bought my first Saltbox Co. image from the on saturday and thought I would ink it up for this challenge.

It doesn't get more simple than that. :) I just cut out the rectangle and stamped the image inside it. I colored it with my copics and added some new ribbon I recently bought. I really like this card even though it is very different from my normal style.

Double points at CHF until midnight tonite (mst)

2009-04-13T16:31:00.002-07:00

Who doesn't love Kim Hughes designs?! She is an AMAZING artist, scrapbooker and card maker. If you haven't seen her blog, what are you waiting for? I am inspired by each and every one of her creations! I make a lot of my cards with her designs and they can be found at www.cornishheritagefarms.com.

Cornish heritage farms has the coolest points system. For every purchase, you earn points that can be added up to $ off your order! How cool is that! Every now and then, they have a double points offer and it is totally worth taking advantage of. They are having one until midnight tonight (mst). It is a great time to build up a super coupon if you are already signed up for the program or a great time to earn your first points if you are a new customer.

I bought many of Kim's sets that I have been dying to have and will post some art with them later in the week. I just got some emails that they have shipped so I will be stalking the mailman until they come! LOL

Did you have a happy Easter?

2009-04-12T20:32:00.003-07:00

Spring is coming to Washington. Everything is turning green, budding and blooming. I am reminded of the resurrection and the renewal of life. I am so grateful for my family and friends. :)

AMYRS64- Song of my heart

2009-04-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

Amy had a fun sketch up this week. I bought this set a long time ago but haven't inked it up. I like the sketchy look of it. :)
The paper is from Cosmo Cricket. It is a little fancier that I usually like but I thought the colors were very pretty.

TCPTUES53- searching for jelly beans

2009-04-08T18:07:00.004-07:00

Susiestampalot was the hostess with the mostess this week. The challenge was to use-

Raspberry Pink

Pumpkin Orange

Sunny Yellow

I just got this new paper from a company called Orange Milk Lab. It is from the morning milk collection and was just the right. :)

I also just got a new set of Nestabilities- Labels Two.

The super cute rabbit totally caught my eye in this set. :) I love that he is digging out of the bottom of the jar for the very last of the jelly beans. :) The sentiment says- 'There's no such thing as too much candy'. And guess what??? It's a Halloween stamp! I guess my Halloween bug wasn't out yet.

Wanna win some Starving Artistamps?!

2009-04-07T11:55:00.002-07:00

If you read my blog on a regular basis, you will know what a SUPER FAN I am of Starving Artistamps Doodle Factory line. They have some insanely cute characters, great sentiments and they recently added background stamps for your images. And these background stamps are SO COOL! There is a jungle scene and a city scene, just to name a few.

Hop on over to Starving Artistamps or click on these links to see the NEW stuff-

DoodleFactory Oh Baby!

Sentiments Baby!

DoodleFactory Super Parents

DoodleFactory Neighborhood

Don't you love it?! Wanna win your VERY OWN SET? Click here for the details.

Personally, I have the patience of a gnat and already ordered my set. I can't wait to ink it up.

Enjoy!

My poor Mel

2009-04-05T20:39:00.001-07:00

Today has been a tough day. We took Mel to the park and had a great time. Then I ran to the ATM to deposit a check. While I was there (maybe 5 mins), Mel began to thrash and threw up on the drivers seat. Then he was dead. I am just sick about it. I don't know what could have happened. I KNOW he was healthy and getting stronger everyday. He died within seconds.

I loved Mel. He was sweet and gentle. He was loving to the kids and a great pet. I miss him terribly and would do anything to have him back.

Casing Tobi's Place

2009-04-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

I saw a super cute card layout on the Tobi's Place blog. This is another blog I stalk but I don't do the challenges. :P

I bought the Urban Prairie rub-ons but haven't used them yet. I love the Urban Prairie paper though. It is almost time for me to buy another 6x6 paper packet. ;)

I have a Cuttlebug die that makes different postage stamp shapes. It is fun to use and a gives everything a cute frame.

The scalloped edge is made using a Martha Stewart punch. These are about $14.99 at Michaels but you can use a 40% coupon on them. Woo hoo! This makes them very affordable IMO.

If you live in Seattle,

2009-04-03T23:37:00.002-07:00

I hope you will come to the Spring Fling at the Pacific Science Center tomorrow and see me. :)

I will be in the touch area with reptiles. Mel (pictured in my blog header) and I will be there teaching people about bearded dragons. It is going to be a lot of fun and we'd love it if you can come by.

2 Sketches 4 You-Kazan's sketch 23

2009-04-02T15:53:00.004-07:00

Sparkle plays along with the challenges on this site so I thought I would give it a try. :D

Both sketches were really fun.

I needed a pet sympathy card :( and thought that the circle sketch was elegant and simple. The paper is from Papertrey, the flowers, paw print stamp and buttons are from TAC and I make the sentiment with my snap stamps.

The happy day card is made using Papertrey paper, A Muse stamps and TAC flowers and buttons.

TCPTUES52- Froggy grills

2009-04-02T06:00:00.001-07:00

Man! This was a HARD challenge for me this week! I think I cut up paper for 3 different cards...

I was at Ben Franklin today and saw this new Cosmo Cricket paper. I had to have it! In order to justify my purchase ;) I used my new paper on the card.

I am not sure what got into me either... maybe it was starting over so many times and then all my ideas crashed together...

Ideas-

1. I love this BBQ stamp and have had it for a long but I don't think I've inked it before. Isn't that tragic?!

2. My Halloween stamp set was screaming to be used. Why? I don't know. IRL, the frog had a wizard hat. I chopped that off and gave him the chefs hat. The smoke coming off the grill is also from that set. It looks a little like heavy smoke. I guess that's what happens when frogs cook.

3. I wanted to make a masculine card. The butterfly isn't exactly masculine though.

I still like the card and the layout. It is just wicked busy. Here's a card tip- Decide on one idea and stick with it. Otherwise you will have a Halloween birthday card made with girly paper.

Please come again. The cards will get better. I promise.

AMYRS63- Blooming

2009-04-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Amy Rysavy had another super cute sketch that I wanted to try. :)

I got this paper from Papertrey Ink last year. I haven't used much of it but I love it. It is a warm green but so fresh and springy too.

How often do we have patterned paper and don't even think about stamping on? It is a great look and can really compliment your stamped images.

I stamped the flower 3 times on different patterned papers. Then I cut up the different layers and layered the flower. It gives it great dimension and I think it makes a fun focal point.

No tricks here! Origami book give away!

2009-04-01T18:33:00.003-07:00

I love reading the zakka life crafts blog.

I get tons of great, crafty ideas. And I love the variety of projects found here.

There is a great give away going on right now for a terrific origami book! Here's the link-

http://zakkalife.blogspot.com/2009/04/book-giveaway-origami-card-craft.html

There was a post on the 30th that shows you some of the projects in the book. One of my favorites is the Secret Slipcase. I would love to make this project. Wouldn't it be a perfect way to give some gift cards?!

I am also hoping that the project on the cover is included in the book. :)

Something fun and springy

2009-03-31T00:24:00.002-07:00

We have had a couple of nice days here in Washington. We have been busy getting the garden ready for this years plants and doing a little landscaping. Jon got us some jicama to use as a border for around the garden. I can't wait for it to grow so I can eat some fresh. :) Jon is also picking up some hibiscus and kiwi. Did you know that kiwi grows really well here? I can't wait to come out to my yard and pick my very own kiwi...

Man! I got totally off track! Sorry about that! :)

I haven't used this Basic Grey paper in forever. I think it might be retired now. I love it because it is very bright and flowery.

The stamp is from the new Cat's Pajamas release. I just can't get enough of these! I got some new Doodle Factory stamps last week and have plans to pick up some stamps from A Muse on Wednesday so keep an eye out for those projects!!!

I finally set up my sewing machine to sew on my cards. I am a good seamstress so I think it is a little humorous that I am sewing on paper. Normally this would be a big no no because it dulls my needles. LOL

She is paper pieced and her wings have a little Sakura stardust sparkle. I extended the stem a bit so it came out of the frame. I think this adds a little visual interest and fun. The little tag is from Martha Stewart. This little package was very inexpensive and had a ton of tags in it. I use them a lot and they were a great buy.

World Record Blog Hop- I'm late!!!!

2009-03-28T16:48:00.003-07:00

I am so sorry for being late! I thought I scheduled this to be posted on time and I'm not sure what happened. Ugh!
I made two cards for blog hop.
This first one uses US-505A Shine!

I love this quote. I used some inchies to highlight the artwork found in the quote.

This one uses one of my favorite stamps from Unity. For the life of me, I can't remember the name. I love it because you can personalize the carvings on the trees. :) I used my Koh-I-Noor pencils and gamsol to try to make this look as realistic as possible. Simple and clean.

Please visit
http://simplescrapandstamp.blogspot.com/
next. There is some seriously cute stuff here! Have fun!

TCPTUES51- Poochie's carrot car

2009-03-26T22:51:00.003-07:00

I love Poochie in his carrot car! It is so cute and fun. :)
Once again, I paper pieced Poochie (what a tongue twister!) with my Mellow paper from Basic Grey. I really love how this turned out. Leigh came up with a great sketch and I am so sad that she won't be the hostess with the mostest anymore. :( She has done a great job. Thanks Leigh!

I added a few eggs flying out the back of Poochie's car just for fun. :) I think I need to Liquid Glass his carrot car for a little shine... I am especially pleased with how his checkered sweater turned out.

After making this card front, I had a thought... I haven't made a postcard in a LONG time! Wouldn't this make a great postcard??? So Poochie the Postcard it is. :) I am not sure who is going to get it yet but I'm excited with how it turned out.

George Weber

2009-03-25T09:23:00.002-07:00

When I was in high school, I used to listen to a talk show host on KOA in Denver named George Weber. I looked forward to listening to him every night. I was disappointed when he got a job in California and left Denver. I wrote to him and he wrote me back which meant the world to me. I wanted to go to college be a radio talk show host.

Years ago, George was laid off from his job in New York but started a blog which I read often. The last post was on the 20th of March.

He was murdered on Sunday. It was a very violent and terrible way to go. No one should have their last minutes be as terrible as his were. I hope he is in peace now. I'm heart broken today to know that he is gone.

AMYRS62 sketch challenge- Do you smell carrots?

2009-03-22T16:21:00.002-07:00

Amy Rysavy has challenges on her blog (Prairie Paper and Ink) every week but I don't usually participate. I am a faithful stalker ;) but don't often have time to play along. She makes great cards and I get a lot of color combo inspiration from her.

The sketch was super cute this week and I just got the new Porcelain collection from Basic Grey. Time to create!

This stamp from the new Cat's Pajamas release cracks me up. That sneaky rabbit!

I colored the image with my Koh-I-Noor pencils. I used gamsol on the sky to soften it up a bit. These pencils work amazingly well with gamsol. I am using it much more now that I have pencils that blend well with it. These pencils are also very inexpensive. You can pick up the whole set of 24 for $15.99 at the A Muse website. They are all pigment with no wood so they will last forever.

Anyway, back to my card. The flower is from The Angel Company. They have several new button and blossom sets in the spring magalog (magazine + catalog). These collections are so great that I just ordered the rest of them. :) Fun stuff.

The ribbon is from my retired stash of Close To My Heart organza ribbon. I think this color is Garden Green.

Enjoy! :)

You're HOT!

2009-03-21T09:56:00.002-07:00

Jason has been in Canada for the last week. :( I usually try to send him a card so he has "fun mail" when he gets back.

This dragon and sentiment are from the new Cat's Pajamas release. This was my favorite stamp out of them all. It is just so cute. :)

New A Muse stamps- Brides and Blooms

2009-03-18T14:55:00.002-07:00

This is Modern Poppy. It is such a pretty stamp that it didn't need much.

I stamped this on an A Muse base. I stamped it a second time on some white cardstock. I cut out the blossoms after coloring them with my copics. I stuck them to the card over the first stamped image with glue dots so I had a little dimension but not as much as if I'd used pop dots.

If you happen to be in the Seattle area, go check these out. There are several flowers that are 'must haves' for me. :D

I was lucky enough to see these before some of my other A Muse sisters so I think a little RAK is in order. Post a comment here and the winner will get this card and some other stamped images. :) The contest will close Saturday at 7:00 pm pst.

TCPTUES50

2009-03-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

Wow! 50 TCP tuesdays! Can you believe it?!

This week's challenge was to create a St. Patrick's day card. I don't send cards out for St. Patrick's day so I don't have any stamps that would work. Hmmm... got to get creative.

I had this fun background stamp and this sentiment. I stamped the background stamp onto Sweet Leaf (CTMH) with Topiary (CTMH) ink. Then I cut out four hearts. *Actually, I cut out five. The fourth one ran away and I can't find it so I had to stamp and cut another. I hate that...

I sanded the edges and the center to make the vein in the leaf pop.

I stamped the sentiment in Topiary but it needed to say lucky. I got out my Dyno label maker and quickly punched (is that the right description???) out Lucky. I sanded it to make it pop and attached it a white embellishment.

Still, it needed something. So I traced some of the images on the leaves with my Sakura stardust pen. I also traced over the letters in lucky.

Perfect! :)

I heart Peeps

2009-03-14T14:51:00.003-07:00

I have two favorite Easter candies- Cadbury mini eggs and Peeps. I freeze the mini eggs and let the Peeps get stale. It may sound weird but there is nothing yummier. :)

This is my ode to Peeps. :) Nibble off those sugary ears first. Bite off the head with in one bite. Then gobble up the rest. :) YUM
My Peeps are covered in micro beads so they look like that yummy colored sugar. The Peep is one of the new spring stamps from A Muse. [got candy?] is also from A Muse but it is an older stamp. I like the sentiment because it works for this and for Halloween. :)

I saw this color combo in the spring Close to My Heart catalog and loved it. I think it is really different but fun. The colors are cocoa, tulip, creme brulee and vanilla cream.

TCP tuesday- Hello

2009-03-13T22:51:00.003-07:00

I often play along with TCP tuesday but usually space entering my cards. I am making it a goal to get the entered.

This week we needed to use baby blue, baby pink and light yellow. An optional color was brown. I was looking through my paper and came across Stella Ruby. Can you believe I haven't used this yet??? I loved this paper when it first came out because of the pattern designs on the paper. I love the colors too. I think it was a sad case of hording...

Anyway, here's my entry. Maybe it is a little dark but the colors are there. I love the table from Cat's Pajamas. I have several stamps that work with it to mask onto the table like a lava lamp, this phone and a few other fun things.

This was last weeks entry. I made it but didn't post. It was inspired by a bedroom linen set from Pottery Barn. These sheep are fun. I love to paper piece them with crazy colors to match the sentiment. :)

Green Grass monsters

2009-03-10T23:59:00.004-07:00

Forever ago I told you that I wold post some cards using my Green Grass stamps. Well, I finally found the stupid camera cord so I can keep my word. *rolling eyes*

This is from a monster set. It was the first set I purchased from them and my favorite.
The outside of these cards (from A Muse) are colored. So I turned them inside out. I stamped on the white and cut around the empty part behind the monsters. I colored the yellow monster with my copics and the green monster with my Koh-I-Noor pencils. The sentiment for the yellow monster is from Starving Artistamps and the other one is Green Grass stamps. Very simple but VERY fun cards to make!

New Ketto stamps

2009-03-06T20:11:00.002-08:00

I'll be honest, I used to be really into Stamping Bellas. They are cute, sassy and there is a huge variety of Bellas available.

However, the shipping takes forever and the prices are quite high for unmounted rubber (and you only get the rubber, no ezmount).

Because of that, I haven't ordered in awhile. I still love the images but haven't ordered.

But Emily released a new line today called Ketto and I LOVE THEM! They are really darling and just my style. I am definitely going to get me some Ketto! :)

You can see them at http://www.stampingbella.com/index.php?cPath=185

ENJOY!

DoodleFactory Easter awesomeness!

2009-03-01T23:00:00.002-08:00

You've got to see this blog candy that is being offered up by Starving Artistamps! Go ahead and check out there blog- www.starvingartistamps.blogspot.com Look at those amazing Easter/Spring stamps! How cute is that little lamb? And those bunnies are to die for!!! If you want to win them, post a comment on that entry. Good luck everyone!

BTW, I just placed a huge order for some of their stamps. I am hoping they come tomorrow. I'll post my creations for you to see when they come. :)

Hope everyone had a super weekend.

The Cat's Pajamas meets Kim Hughes

2009-02-26T20:48:00.002-08:00

I love this font that The Cat's Pajamas uses for several of their sentiments. It is just really fun and seems to go with everything.

This slice of cake is from a Kim Hughes set. I stamped it on some pink paper and than ran it through my Xyron. I added some ultra fine micro beads. This is a great size because it doesn't distort the image much and adds a sugary sheen. :) Perfect for a slice of cake!

Visit A Muse!

2009-02-25T15:39:00.004-08:00

Love this little soft serve cone from A Muse! Yum! The sentiment is from the clear cupcake set from A Muse too. The card base is also from A Muse but it is turned inside out- a trick I learned from Her Royal Rubberness, Julie Ebersole. :)

I plan to head over to A Muse next Wednesday to get some of the new Spring stamps! Especially the Peep and the Carrot car. ;)

Do you make Easter cards? When I get my Peep, I'll show you what I have in mind. :)

Bald is beautiful... I hope!

2009-02-13T22:04:00.002-08:00

A dear friend of mine started chemo today. She was the first person to really welcome our family here and made me feel excited to be in our ward at church. When she found out that she has cancer, she was worried about losing her hair. So last night we had a head shaving. She shaved her head. I shaved my head and so did another friend in church. We did it to support her and show her love.

I am so glad I did it. I love my friend and pray that she gets well and this time will be quick for her.

Shaving my head has given me an unexpected perspective... I never realized how much I let what I look like (or thought I looked like) affect my day to day life. I thought I had good self esteem. But I didn't. If I didn't do my hair before going out, I felt frumpy. I don't even like styling my hair and yet I continued to get hair cuts that I had to style to look "good". Why?Shaving my head as gotten rid of all of that. I have nothing to hide behind now and it feels so great. What a difference. :) I just feel like smiling all day. People have said how nice I look, how my eyes stand out now. All compliments I wanted to hear but I things I didn't believe.

So glad it's done!

Goo goo for U

2009-02-05T11:57:00.004-08:00

I will be in need of a baby card next week. :)

I love Kim Hughes. She is such a nice person and designs awesome stamps!

Green Grass stamps

2009-02-03T17:27:00.002-08:00

I love Green Grass stamps. It looks like they are closing up shop though. :(

If you have ever wanted any of their stamps, head over there now. All the stamps are 50-60% off.

I'll try to post some pics of cards I've made using their stamps later in the week.

In better news, I just added some cards to my Etsy store (stamp4hobby). :) I've had it open forever and just got around to adding to it. I have a goal to add something new to it everyday to keep it fresh. I worked my rear off last night making cards so that I can stick to that promise.

Freakie Peakie (my sister) also set me up with making some cards for the vet she works for. They wanted some cards to send out to people who's animals pass away. I am hoping to sell some cards and offer to make scrapbooks for pets through the store too.

Anyway, that's what's up with me this Tuesday. What are you up to?

ps- Did anyone catch the new Heros last night? OH! Looks like a good season!

paint chip book

2009-02-01T12:13:00.003-08:00

A while back, I told you about a paint chip album I was working on. I finished it but spaced showing you the final project.

Here's how it turned out and a brief tutorial if you want to make your own.

You will need to start off with a subject in mind and a collection of paint chips. The paint chips are the pages of your album and can be any size, color or shape. I found a nice collection of chips called "waterscape" and grabbed one of each color.

I laid out the pages in and then measured the width and length so I would know how big to make my cover. For the cover, all you need is some chipboard. I got mine at the art store for 50 cents for a 8 1/2x11 piece. I covered my cut chipboard with background and texture paper from Close To My Heart. I think this paper is from the Aspen collection. You can see the rest of the paper on my website www.shirk.myctmh.com <--- shameless plug for my store ;)

I went over to Akli beach one afternoon and just shot pics of things I found and saw there. I love going to this beach which is why I picked it for my subject.

Each photo was cropped and then mounted on the paint chip. I tried to coordinate the color on the paint chip to highlight something in the picture.

If you cut 3/8" pieces of paper, the strips will fit into a label maker. Just punch the words and when they come out of the label maker, you can sand them and get these awesome labels. Cool, huh? A white or black core card stock works best to do this.
I embellished a few of the pages for fun. Some have ribbon and others (like the sea glass pic) just have the subject punched out and made 3D. You can see an example of a couple of pages below.

I have a Rubi Coil and can bind my own books. You can always get yours bound at a copy store or do it yourself with ribbon, rings, binding tape, anything you want. :)

These are very fun to make. It is also a very inexpensive way to create an album for an event.

Please email me or post a link here if you create your own album. I would love to see it!

A couple of things

2009-01-28T23:44:00.002-08:00

I have to go in tomorrow and get a spinal tap. :( This is to check for things causing my migraines. No fun.

I have made a bunch of cards and will try to post them tomorrow. I have to be still for a few hours while my back heals so I should have time to do it.

My friend Jessica tagged me. :) Here are the rules-

*You can have this post to your Facebook too and include those friends.

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you (and because I am nosey!).

1. I love lizards. I only have Mel (bearded dragon) right now but I would love to get a Uromastyx.

2. I am stressed about this spinal tap. I am worried about what they might find but I want to know why I get migraines.

3. I am thinking about going back to school (online classes) so I can go to work when Alex is in school full time. I don't know what I am going to study though. So many choices...

4. I miss my friends in CO but not CO.

5. I have a crush on Shepard Smith!

6. I love painting my nails but rarely make the time to do it.

7. I love the smell of coffee.

8. I want to paint my house but I am at a total loss for where to start. Any suggestions?

9. I'd love to get published in a magazine this year. I need to make some cards and send them in.

10. I'd love to get my CTMH business going here in WA.

11. I have a goal win a Keynotes contest this year.

12. I love to cuddle with my kids. They are so warm and comforting.

13. I miss Jason when he is at work.

14. I know I can lose weight. I would like to get in better shape this year.

15. I want to feel better this year.

16. I want to get some purple streaks in my hair. I got a cool haircut but need a little color... anything to distract from the gray!

17. I am mad and disappointed with my SIL Bridget. I worry about my nephews.

18. I miss my relatives in CA.

19. I am happy with the direction my life is going.

20. I have a bad habit of letting my house get too messy before taking the time to deep clean it. I want to change that this year.

21. I enjoy making jewelry for myself. I have made some bracelets, necklaces and a pair of earrings.

22. I wish I knew more Russian. That culture has become a huge part of my life and I wish I understood more.

23. I have really enjoyed getting to know lots of different people through my blog. I love "meeting" new people! :)

24. A couple of people I know are doing a 365 scrapbook. I may not do something everyday but I am going to try to do more than I do now. Kind of combine my journal and scrapbook.

25. I could live at the beach but I do not enjoy being out in the woods. Both are outside but I love one and hate the other.

I am tagging people through my Facebook so if you want to see more, look me up there.

Tagged- fun list

2009-01-20T11:13:00.001-08:00

I've done the ones in BOLD.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo *I sing badly and it didn't go well :P
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money (For what?)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke *Why do I sing in public if I do it badly???
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason *From someone or just bought them?
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car *The stinkmobile was new when we bought it. :P
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox twice
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby I have 4!
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

I tag Angie, Wendy, Sharon and Christine.

Where have I been???

2009-01-13T10:08:00.002-08:00

Sorry about my lack of posting. :( I haven't been stamping a ton lately because other stuff was going on.

I had Botox this morning. No, not because I am vain. I get migraines and paralyzing certain muscles in my face, head and neck might make them stop. *In case you were wondering, Botox hurts like a *insert bad(s) word here*! I really hope this works...

Anyway, I was having stress about that upcoming appointment. I am trying to have a sense of humor about it too. Maybe I will make a Botox card...

FYI, if you live in or near Seattle, A Muse is going to be having a free make and take on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Doesn't that sound like fun? You can go to their website for more details and the address. I am going to try to get over there more often for a little inspiration and fun. :)