The Freckled Fairies

Did somebody say chocolate???

2010-07-30T16:16:00.001-07:00

Chocolate is my downfall!!! I love dark chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, semi sweet chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, German chocolate, chocolate with nuts, chocolate with caramel…I LOVE chocolate!!! So when I found this recipe I knew I had to try it. BUT if I tried it I had to make sure it wouldn’t stay in the house for too long because my thighs would pay dearly for it!!! So lucky for me we have a PTA potluck to go to and I won’t sit in the pantry stuffing my face with them!

Doesn’t this look YUMMY!!!!

Here is the recipe I used for them…

Chocolate Cupcakes

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 cup boiling hot water

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour (sifted)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter, or line 16-20 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until it's incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16-20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You can either spread the frosting on the cupcakes with a small spatula or if piping, use a large Wilton 1M open star tip to the swirls.

Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8oz Mascarpone cheese or can substitute cream cheese

2 cups confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Then add mascarpone cheese until mixed well. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes).

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I’ve also been busy doing some PTA stuff. We went to a PTA conference in Austin and had a great time. Here are a couple of pictures of that…

Yes the snake did scare me!!!

This is a really cool sticker and pencil machine to help with raising money at our school…it of course will have our mascot in place of the one they used for demo.

I’m doing the Vanna White…hee hee.

Quick and Simple

2010-07-23T09:10:00.001-07:00

Have you ever needed a REALLY quick birthday present/idea for a birthday party for THAT day? Or in our case in a few hours….Well my oldest fairy was invited to one of her friends’ brother’s birthday party. And even though my fairy doesn’t hang out with the older brother and wasn’t expected to bring a gift I still felt like we needed to do something for the birthday boy.

So we went and got him 4 boxes of M&M’s and went from their. Even though I don’t have any boys, I figure boys like food, and boys like chocolate, and M&M’s would be perfect. I made a card and a topper for the M&M’s.

Here is the card…I actually had cut out the oval to put on the back of the cork I used for the topper. I figured it would make a great card too. I punched out my stars and put the yellowish orange one up on dimensional. I used stamps from Papertrey.

I’m loving the orange dots background….

Here is my topper for the M&M’s. I used curling ribbon to give it that “happy birthday” feel to it…

Here are a few pictures of our outing earlier that day…we had just a little fun.

My oldest fairy sporting the blue and black boa…

The better to see you with my dear…

Here’s my littlest fairy again…she’s got style…

My middle fairy…loving the color combo…

Just a side note…all messes were cleaned up by an experience picker-upper…ME.

Happy Crafting!!!

Rebecca

Party Time

2010-07-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

Whew...I need a tall glass of lemonaid and a nice comfy chair! We have been super busy!!! My parents are in town from Germany and we have been spending lots of time running around, going to Walmart, Target, and all of those other awesome stores they do not have over their. And on top of that it was my sisters birthday this past week. So since my parents were in town we decided to have not only my sisters birthday but we would do my oldest fairies birthday **August 4th** too since my parents wouldn't be here to celebrate it. We had a great time, tons of food, fun and lots of laughs and memories.

I usually go overboard with parties and decorations so this time I went simple, mainly because I didn't have time to go overboard...hee hee. I did make a really cute banner. I cut out triangles and sewed them on to ribbon. I cut out two triangles for each one and placed the ribbon between the two and sewed.

Here's a little picture of that...

I love fresh flowers and all the flowers were super inexpensive...I paid less than $3 for each bunch! Here are some more pictures of the party...

I didn't have a lot of time to make a card for my sister or fairy but I did manage to make this simple card. I made them each the same card. I used the banner die cut from MFT. I really like all their new dies!

Well THANKS for stopping by...and remember Happy Crafting!!!
Rebecca

Celebrate

2010-07-09T10:20:00.001-07:00

These are some of my favorite quotes…

Stop worrying about the potholes in the

road and celebrate the journey!

Barbara Hoffman

The more you praise and celebrate your

life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

Oprah Winfrey

I love these quotes, I think they have a great message. My grandmother would always tell me as a child, “Don’t worry about what other people think all that matters is what you think”. I never truly understood it until years later. We live in a world where we worry about what everyone else thinks about what we do. I try to live my life the way I would want my children, and their children, and their children’s children…you get the point, would live their life. I’ve always heard the saying ‘raise your children like you want your grandchildren to be raised’. This makes me stop in my tracks a lot and think about how I respond to my kids fighting, or when they break something, or do something that I’ve asked them over and over not to do. So today I made this card and bookmark to reflect taking the time to celebrate.

The card…

The bookmark…

I did a little stitching with my sewing machine on the bookmark. I also ruffed up my edges of my flowers that I had punched out. I really like how this turned out.

Also here is a picture of some of the remolding we have done to our house. My super handyman hubby made the mantle for me. I am so very lucky to have such a wonderful husband!!!

Here is a before…I could only find an old Christmas photo…

Please don’t mind our sad little tree, we were short on time for only being in the house for almost a week.

Here is the after…the walls are painted and the fireplace got a coat of paint. The walls in real life are a light tanish green color and the fireplace is a dark dark hunter green.

Here’s a different view…

Happy Crafting,

Rebecca

Life is Busy!

2010-07-08T13:40:00.001-07:00

Well things have been so crazy around here lately with remodeling some of the house and with the holiday weekend! First off, we have finally finished…BIG emphasize on the FINALLY part…painting the inside of our house!!! YAY! I personally do not want to paint for a very VERY long time. And then with the holiday weekend (my 11th anniversary and the 4th of July) it has been busy!

I did manage to make my fairies a 4th of July outfit (skirt and shirt). It turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself.

Here’s a close up of the shirt.

I just sewed some star fabric on top of some red polka dot fabric then made my white stripes with some ribbon that I ruffled. The fairies loved them!

I even had time to make a quick card too. In honor of ALL of the rain we have been getting, I made my own rainbow. Hopefully sometime in the future we will see a rainbow and have some sunny skies!

Here’s a close up of the buttons…

Well I hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Crafting,

Rebecca

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-03T21:52:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope you have a wonderful and fun filled day! My little fairies are excited to watch fireworks and play with sparklers (under Mommy supervision of course,). They also can’t wait to eat these yummy cupcakes I made today, but who can blame them they look and taste delicious!

I hope you have a safe 4th of July!

To all of the Hero’s who fight for my freedom,

Thank You!

Happy Crafting,

Rebecca

It’s a Pretend Party!!!

2010-06-24T08:15:00.001-07:00

In our house we like to do positive reinforcement for the fairies. So we have a little ‘friendly challenge’ going on in our house. A while back I had bought this coupon book “What a Great Kid” at Hallmark or you can get it at the link from Amazon. It has some really neat coupons in it for when your little fairies are being, well Great!

So anyways, back to our ‘friendly challenge’…We have a system for doing chores. It’s basically a white board and when the kids complete a chore they can put their initial in that spot. Well we were having a phase, as I like to call it, where no one wanted to do chores. So the mister and I put our noggins together and came up with whoever does the most chores gets a coupon from the book. It can be anything from, double your allowance, go to a movie of their choice, ect… One of the coupons they were competing for was “It’s not your birthday…but redeem this coupon, and we’ll pretend it is! There will be presents, cake and lots of fun. (at least 3 days notice, please)” So my middle fairy won the coupon and got to pretend it was her birthday! We were a little late in having the pretend party due to illness. So yesterday her and the daddy went to a water park and when they got home we threw her a party and boy was she surprised!!!

We had games…

Bean bag toss…I bought some buckets at Wal-Mart for $1 each and made some bean bags with left over fabric.

Pin the cloud on the rainbow. I cut the clouds out with my cricket and two of my fairies colored in the rainbow that I drew on poster board.

We made a banner with the fairy’s name on it…later we put it up in her room.

Surprised!!!

Bean bag toss…everyone got in on the action…

Pin the cloud on the rainbow…

Getting ready…

Spinning Daddy…

The cupcake…it was yummy despite it was a little burnt on bottom!

Fun with balloons! Lots of Fun!

It was a fun “pretend” party if I do say so myself. My fairies had a great time and we even decided to put this coupon back in the book so that someone else could win it. These coupons have made getting chores done a lot easier and more rewarding for all their hard work!

Until next time…

Happy Crafting!

Rebecca

I’m getting all mushy…

2010-06-23T06:22:00.001-07:00

If you know me you know I can tend to get mushy at times, and with these cute mushrooms who wouldn’t! I thought I would share with you some cute today! I think all these cute little mushrooms are just adorable! Some of these cute mushrooms will be recreated…in my own way.

Enjoy!

Little Mushrooms

Mushroom Plushy

Cutest Mushroom Shoes

Another Pair of Cutest Mushroom Shoes

Sweet Little Barrette

Earrings by Bijunea

Tiny Mushroom Terrarium

Mushroom Coasters

Happy Crafting!

Rebecca

Love is a Powerful Thing

2010-06-22T16:44:00.001-07:00

There are so many things that I love. I love God, I love my family, I love my husband, I love my children, I love my friends, I love watching my children play in the sprinklers, I love fresh strawberries, I love cool evening walks, I love making things, I love being a mom and wife.

But recently, well around Christmas time, I found a new love…

I love my sewing/embroider Brother Innovis 1500D…it is amazing! It does everything except bring me coffee in bed, luckily I have a hubby who does, so I didn’t need that option. So here lately I have been sewing and embroidering. I love making things for my kids, family and friends. Today I made two of my three fairies little outfits. I think they turned out SO ~~cute~~ adorable!!!

Here is my littlest fairy in her little outfit. She LOVED it…her words were “I love it, I just love it!!!”

The back…I think I have a model in the makings…

And of course here she is acting ‘not so fairy-like’…

Here is my oldest fairy. I made her a skirt and a flower pin for her shirt. I’ll have a flower tutorial coming soon.

I think she likes the ensemble…

She is getting so big. I wish I could stop time sometimes and keep them little forever.

Here is my other love…She is my little helper and the fairies love to torment her at times. My littlest fairy tends to squeeze, hug and kiss her a little too much!

I hope you enjoyed my creations.

Happy Crafting!

Rebecca

Simple Times 3

2010-06-21T10:04:00.001-07:00

Today has been a long day and it’s not even noon yet!! Two of my three little fairies are sick, one with an ear infection plus viral yuckiness and the other one has strep and viral yuckiness too. So between blowing noses, giving Tylenol, covering them up, uncovering them, rubbing feet, their isn’t much time for stamping. We have antibiotics so hopefully they will kick in soon and we can beat these germs!

So while they were passed out I decided that I would make a card. I didn’t want to do an elaborate card because I didn’t know when they would wake up needing some ‘Mommy Time’. So I made a very simple card…I even had time to make 2 more!

I made these in less than 30 minutes.

I was going for a 4th of July feel, but it could also be a masculine birthday card. I used CTMH’s “Shining Star” stamp set to finish off this card. I am also loving the paper from K&Company!!

This one was so simple to make! A little button on he last square did the trick! Isn’t this paper from The Paper Studio “Poteeka Souffle” just adorable!!! The stamp was one of those Michael’s dollar stamps.

I had no intentions of making a Halloween card, but when I saw my PTI “Spooky Sweets” & “Polka Dot Basics II” stamps I thought….hmmmmm it’s never to early to get a head start!

All the squares are 1 3/8 inches and are up on foam dots. Well I hope you enjoy these 3 oh so simple cards.

Happy Crafting!

Rebecca

Happy Father’s Day

2010-06-20T16:06:00.001-07:00

Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing dads out there! And especially to my wonderful husband. You are a wonderful Dad! Our kids are very lucky to have such a caring, loving and all around Super Dad! You are always there to help them with homework, give them a push on the swing, getting their helmet straight and a little push to get them going on their bikes. I knew when I married you that you were a wonderful man, and would be a wonderful father! Thank you for being our Hero, our provider, the glue that makes our family work, the monster getter rid of’er, the scary bug removing dad and the best friend I could ever ask for! We love you so very much!

One of the happiest days…hubby coming home from Iraq

& one of my favorite pictures!

Since my hubby loves to golf among many other things. I thought I would make him this card. I have seen a few like this on Splitcoast Stampers. I really liked how it turned out.

I used my punch from Marvy (1 3/8 inch) to make the ‘golf balls’…

Then embossed them using the CuttleBug and sponged with ink. The sentiment is computer generated. I then just layered it on some scrap cardstock and adhered to the ‘bucket’.

I placed the card in a bucket of balls and tees. I think he loved it along with the other goodies.

I hope you have a great day and

Happy Stamping!

Joy To the World…

2009-12-06T18:30:00.001-08:00

Joy to the World has to be one of my favorite Christmas song. I love listening to Christmas songs when I make my Christmas cards, it helps me get in to the festive spirit.

For this card I used one of my favorite alpha stamp sets, Chocolate Alphabet from CTMH. This is just a very whimsical kind of alpha stamp set. I also used Christmas Melodies. I thought the little notes were perfect for this card.

Inside I used the sentiment from Evergreen. Even though it isn’t part of the tune to “Joy to the World” I still thought it went well with the card. A few musical notes on the bottom and my card was complete.

I really liked how this card came together. It was one that I hadn’t planned out and just kind of went with.

I hope you enjoy this card! I still have quiet a few more Christmas cards to make, hopefully they will all get mailed out BEFORE Christmas this year.

xoxo,

Rebecca

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-04T18:33:00.001-08:00

I was browsing the web and saw someone (sorry I can’t remember where) had a Christmas Tree with their kids pictures as ornaments on them. So I decided to make my own version of it. I used my Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge to make my tree and Plantin Schoolbook to make my circles…umm I mean “ornaments”. I sponged the edges of the tree and ornaments. I then used some twine to make little bows. I punched out a star and added a button. I have to say buttons and ribbons are my absolute favorite embellishments! Then I stamped my snowflakes and Merry Christmas on to my chalkboard. I have to say this is one of my favorite little projects so far. I already have a special place for it.

Recipe: Chalkboard, white pigment ink & Archival Black, CTMH Holiday Trinkets, Topiary & Chocolate paper, and yellow textured paper from craft store, twine, button, glue dots.

Merry merry merry…

2009-11-30T09:52:00.001-08:00

26 days till Christmas!!! I can’t wait! Christmas is one of my favorite holidays…I love being able to spend time with family and celebrate the Reason for the Season. I love all the smells of Christmas, the lights, the happy giggles, and anticipation of Christmas morning! We do a lot to prepare for this special day. We make salt dough ornaments, decorate the tree, make cards to send to family and friends, and so much more.

At my last Stamping Sunday yesterday we made some Christmas cards and a ornament gift card holder. It was a bitter sweet day. I have enjoyed being a Close To My Heart Consultant, but the time has come to move on. I enjoyed sharing my creativity and joy with all who came. We used

Here is what we created…

Gift card holder…I’ve saw these on Splitcoast.

Recipe: circles cut out using Cricut, SU tab punch, Holly leaf punch, circle punch, silver elastic, CTMH Christmas Melodies & Holiday Trinkets,White, Cranberry , Crème Brulee and Topiary paper, Cranberry and Basic Black ink, Christmas Red stickles.

Card #1…We used the snowflake from Holiday Trinkets to create the wreath.

Recipe: CTMH Holiday Trinkets & Grown with Love (for the berries), Sand, Olive, Chocolate, White papers, DP from Back Country, SU ribbon, Christmas Red stickles, Topiary, Olive & Basic Black ink.

Card #2…We added dimensional to make this tree pop!

Recipe: CTMH Holiday Trinkets & Evergreen, Crème Brulee, White, and Chocolate papers, Basic Black & Olive ink, red ribbon from craft store, foam dots.

Abi meets Abby Cadabby

2009-11-30T08:41:00.001-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving we went to Sesame Live “When Elmo Grows Up”. But we didn’t go to see Elmo we went to see Abby Cadabby!!! My Abbers loves loves loves Abby Cadabby! She had such a great time! She was so excited and was about to come out of her skin with excitement!!!

Can you see her EXCITEMENT!!!

Even Abby Cadabby needed some refreshement.

The show is about to start… Abby Cadabby and Zoe

Abby Cadabby!!!

It was Awesome!!

Some little known facts about Abi and Abby Cadabby:

They both Share the same birthday October 21st.

Their favorite colors are pink!

They both love the song “Itsy Bitsy Spider”

I've been away....

2009-11-24T11:07:00.001-08:00

Well it's been a while since I have blogged...life has been crazy! I'm on the PTA and the last couple of weeks in September to the first couple of weeks in November life is...well...BUSY!!! I didn't have hardly any time to craft. I really missed it!! But I did keep a sketch book with lots of ideas, so be ready for them to start coming! Then my littlest got the flu, even with getting the flu shot. Of course I was around her 24/7 taking care of her and helping her to feel better so as luck had it, I ended up with the flu too. I've never had the flu before and wasn't expecting to feel like someone had just beaten me up. I've never felt so sore before!! Plus I was freezing then sweating, then freezing...you get the idea. Then after getting over the flu I felt okay but didn't have a lot of energy. I figured that is how you were supposed to feel after having the flu. Well after I still didn't feel better I went to the doctor. I ended up having bronchitis. So after being on antibiotics I am feeling better. Our school fundraiser is over (Thank Goodness), Red Ribbon week is over, bike rodeo is over and taxes are done, so now I can get back to crafting!!! It's about that time to start making Christmas gifts, cards and of course the Christmas cookies! Oh and if you have a favorite Christmas cookie or dessert, please feel free to send it my way.

I hope you all have a very thankful Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-13T08:58:00.001-07:00

This is a quick and simple Halloween card. I have been seeing tons and tons of punch art and wanted to use some of my own punches to create something different. Well even those these aren’t exactly different, they still turned out cute. I used my oval and circle punches. I really like these little pumpkins, especially with the spotted pattern paper. I used Stampin’ Up “Carved and Candlelit” to create these little guys. Then I snipped some green grass and added some twine to the top.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a great day!

xoxo,

Rebecca

hello

2009-10-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

Just so you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I thought I would post. I have been super busy. First off I'm the treasurer for the PTA and that tends to take up some of my time, especially during tax time and fundraising. Add in all the school PTA and non PTA functions it can get hectic. **By the way, if you get those little fundraising pamphlets in your child's book bag please take the time to order even one little thing, here all our funds come from fundraising, we pay for all of the kids field trips, books for classrooms, Red Ribbon week festivities, Bike Rodeo, Fiesta events, and SOOO much more! We really couldn't do it with out the fundraising and the parents who help us out.** Plus it's birthday season, hunting season (not for me but the hubby), and with all the sickness that has been going around our house, I haven't crafted in a while. I'm hoping that will change soon! Today I'm getting all the laundry done so that I can get some much needed crafting in.

Well that's about it for me, I hear the dryer so it's time to fold and put up some laundry....if you want to help with the laundry feel free to stop by!

xoxo,
Rebecca

OUCH…I hurt myself…

2009-08-31T11:43:00.001-07:00

Okay so here’s a little back story…I’m not allowed near sharp objects. EVER!!! This includes…knifes, plastic knifes, rulers, pencils, plastic spoons (they have a sharp edge), screw drivers, cardboard, oh the list goes on and on…

Well today while helping out at school decorating the first grades bulletin board I stapled my thumb. It went straight through! You could feel the tip on the other side of my thumb. Luckily it wasn’t poking out. At first I was good, I told my friend “um I’m going to go to the school nurse” her response was “oh God”. So I headed on over…walk in and said I stapled my thumb. She had a class of kindergartens getting weighed and measured who all wanted to see. So being the kind compassionate always eager to please I showed them. The boys loved it the most. So the nurse pulls out her plier like scissors and gets ready to pull the staple out. She asked me if I needed a chair but of course I said no, I’m good. In reality I was praying I didn’t pass out. Well she pulled it out, and it hurt so bad I held back the tears and said “oiy”.

So now I have a puncture wound, as the nurse called it, and my thumb hurts! It really hurts! I am now not allowed near the stapler and it has been added to the list. I am really hoping to live this down…news travels so fast in public school.

Oh I refrained from the visuals I figured you would be okay with it. Oh and I have pictures of some cards I did over the weekend and will post them tomorrow, I’m supposed to have my thumb up so it doesn’t throb so bad.

xoxo,

Rebecca

Teacher Survival Kit

2009-08-26T07:31:00.001-07:00

It’s that time again….school has officially started for my girls! They are super excited!!! So far they have loved every minute of it!!! They have wonderful teachers and I honestly think this is going to be a great school year!

Here is the teacher survival kit I made for their teacher. I just put in a chocolate bar, chalk and a dry erase marker. Their teachers all Loved them!!

The card…

Happy Birthday

2009-08-22T14:19:00.001-07:00

This was a quick and easy card. I needed a birthday card ASAP!!! I actually had only a few minutes to get this done right before we headed out the door to a little girls birthday party. I had the gift, and had planned on doing a card later, but things kept popping up all week long and I just didn’t get one done. I used my Cricut ‘doodle charms’ cartridge to make my ice cream cone. I embossed the cone in my cuttlebug and sponged it with Ranger’s brushed corduroy ink. Then I sponged my scoops and added a button for the cherry. Then I used Clear Dollar Stamps ‘happy birthday’ sentiment from “hanging out” to make the background paper. I stamped the sentiment in versa mark ink. Then I layered it and sewed around the edges & placed it on kraft card stock. I love using kraft card stock for the bases of cards!

This is the inside of the card.

This was a very simple and easy card to make!! And thank goodness it was, because as soon as it was done we were out the door to the party!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great weekend!

xoxo,

Rebecca

Just a little gift…

2009-08-18T20:58:00.001-07:00

You know sometimes the best little gifts are the unexpected gifts. I decided to make a batch of cookies and send them over to one of my sweet neighbors. I couldn’t just send them on a paper plate, I needed to send them in a sweet little package. Taking the extra time to create a sweet package for an even sweeter neighbor just lets them know how special they are!

I used my Nice Neighborhood stamps from Clear Dollar Stamps. It was the perfect stamp for this little treat. I love how it all came together. I colored the little house and trees with my copic markers. I used the bush stamp to make clouds. I also used Martha Stewarts opaque marker in icing white to color them in. I punched out my sentiment with SU oval punches. Tied my ribbon and it was off to the neighbor.

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you have a fantastic day!!

xoxo,

Rebecca

Get Ready…Get Set….. & Blog Hop!!!

2009-08-15T07:16:00.001-07:00

There has been a lot of anticipation as to what is going on over at Clear Dollar Stamps and NOW it’s time to find out!!! So get your self a snack, grab a drink and get comfy and get READY to blog hop!! There are prizes around every corner and one GRAND PRIZE WINNER too! So what are you waiting for…go to Lori’s blog to see what all the fuss is about!

xoxo,

Rebecca

Home Sweet Home

2009-08-14T08:19:00.001-07:00

One of the sayings you hear a lot in the Army is “Home is Where the Army Sends You”. And it really is. We are no longer in the Army, but dare I say, I actually miss some of it. I miss how when the moving van pulls up all the neighbors come out to greet you and welcome you into the neighborhood. I miss how everyone understood where you were coming from because we have all been through deployments, TDY’s, when our spouse was in the field training, or when they are out late at night getting in those flight hours. I really enjoyed our time in the Army. I especially enjoyed our neighbors. When your in the military your “extended” family became your neighbors. So, I made this card in remembrance of all of those great memories.

This card measures 7 inches by 4 inches. I used my cuttlebug and nestabilities to make the frame. I actually had to use the rectangle nestabilities twice because it wasn’t long enough to make the whole frame. I also stamped my truck, colored with copics and then cut out and put on foam dots. For the road I drew a road on scrap paper and then placed it on the white cardstock and then sponged my grass. I removed the road and then colored it in with black and gray copics. For the white stripes I used Martha Stewarts opaque markers in icing white. I then put my brads on my frame, tied my ribbon and my circle tag (nestabilities) onto the frame. Then I put the frame on foam dots. I also used Martha Stewarts edge punch and sponged the edges. Put it all together and there you go.

Thanks for stopping by and going down memory lane with me, have a great day!

xoxo,

Rebecca

Ghostly Bot

2009-08-12T07:29:00.001-07:00

I know it is a little early for Halloween, but this little guy just screamed….BOO! Plus I figure Halloween will be here before we know it and why not get a head start. I’m usually panicking the last minute trying to get things done, so this way I will have one less stress. I’m thinking I may see this little guy on some bag toppers for my kids classrooms.

With this card I started out stamping the robot on white cardstock and coloring him in with my copic sketch markers. Then I took and punched out a circle on some scrap paper, placed it where the hole was where I wanted my moon. Then I sponged CTMH’s Buttercup, Sorbet and Honey ink. Next I took Rangers Distressed Ink brushed corduroy and CTMH’s chocolate, cocoa, and outdoor denim to create the midnight sky. I then layered my cardstock on orange cardstock and then put on my green card base. I used my Martha Stewart “slime” punch to make some purple slime. I then layered black and white cardstock (which I stamped “Warning” on over and over). I added a few nuts at the bottom.

Here is the inside of the card. I stamped the same sentiment on the inside…

Thanks for stopping by and have a boo-tacular day!

xoxo,

Rebecca

Got Gears?

2009-08-11T08:33:00.001-07:00

When I first saw this stamp set from Clear Dollar Stamps, I knew I had to make a card that looked like a gear. I thought that this little guy would be the perfect robot for a “gear card”. Doesn’t he look like he spends all day tinkerin’ away on gears? Okay well maybe he spends his lunch hour racing the other ‘bots down the hallways or see who can put the most nuts and bolts in their mouth at one time…okay back to the card….hee hee.

For this card I used my Martha Stewart circle cutter on a piece of CTMH paper. I cut the circle 5 inches. Then I went and cut out the notches of the gears. I cut out 2 more circles and stamped my sentiment on the white cardstock. Then I stamped a part of the robot onto the white cardstock. I planned on cutting him out and wanted to make sure he had his little antenna on top of his head. Then I stamped my robot multiple times so that after he was colored I could layer him up on foam dots. I put some stickles and crystal effects on parts of his body. I even gave him a light on top of his antenna. I think he turned out so cute! I wouldn’t mind having a robot at home like this, especially one who does laundry!!!

Here is a close up of him…

Here is the inside…

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a fantastic day!!

xoxo,

Rebecca

CDSTAMPS USED: Bitty Bots, CARDSTOCK AND PAPERS: CTMH, INK: Memento graphite black, MARKERS: Copic Sketch Y13, Y15, RV14, RV29, G07, YG03, C3, ACCESS. AND EMBELLISHMENTS: stickles, rhinestone, crystal effects, foam dots, Martha Stewart circle cutter

Built With Love

2009-08-10T16:51:00.001-07:00

Don’t you just love this little robot! I think this stamp set “Bitty Bots” from Clear Dollar Stamps is just way to cute and is definitely one of my favorites!! The robots are just so versatile! I have used them for Halloween (which you will see soon), for birthdays, even to tell that special someone how much you love them.

Over at Splitcoast, the Monday technique challenge was to make a Tri-Fold Card. I of course wanted to ink up my “Bitty Bots”. This little robot made me think of Mars. I remember watching a show when I was younger and the robot was all rusty and came from Mars and befriended some teenage kids. It was one of those after school specials that I would race home to watch!

I used paper from Basicgrey and CTMH ‘Chocolate’. The Basicgrey paper just screamed Mars, even though it is from the dino collection.

Here is a close up of my "’Bot.

I used some wire to create the voltage going across his antenna. I also stamped him in Memento ‘Rich Cocoa’ ink and colored him with my Copic Sketch markers. I added silver eyelets from Memory Makers, SU ribbon and some silver stretchy cord to hold my tag and washer on.

Here is the inside…

I really like how this all turned out. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

xoxo,

Rebecca

CDStamps Used: Bitty Bots

Cardstock and Papers: Basicgrey & CTMH

Markers: Copic Sketch

Access. and Embellishments: silver eyelets, staples, ribbon, washer, silver stretchy cord, wire, and foam dots

Special Techniques: Splitcoast TLC233

A is for Apple

2009-08-06T10:51:00.001-07:00

It’s almost time again to get ready for Back to School!!! My kids are getting so excited!!! They can’t wait to see who they get for their teachers. I have mixed feelings, I’m ready for school to start yet… I’m not. Either way it will be starting soon. So I made this cute little set to get the year started off right! I love this little apple basket!! So you can understand the size better, it will hold one large apple.

I made the handle out of a 2 clothes hanger. I took one metal one and used just the bottom straight part cutting it with wire cutters. Then I took another hanger that has the cardboard tube and cut off a 3 inch piece with kitchen shears. The shears seemed to do the best job. Then it was all bending and maneuvering it in to some holes I punched on the side. Make sure BEFORE you start bending, you put the cardboard tube on, or you will never get it on…don’t ask how I know…hee hee.

Here are the card I made to go along with my basket. The apple is cut from my Cricut “Plantin Schoolbook” Cartridge. I used CTMH’s Cranberry, Chocolate, Bamboo, Olive paper. I also used the Silhouette paper pack. I really am loving this apple!!!

Here is the post it note and notepad holder I made. I just got my notebook punch and I LOVE it!!!! I used CTMH’s “Classmate Alphabet” set to make the writing tablet on the olive paper.

Here is the inside…

Thanks for stopping by…have a wonderful day!!!

xoxo,

Rebecca

You’re a Hoot!

2009-08-05T08:06:00.001-07:00

While I am anxiously awaiting for my Clear Dollar Stamps to arrive, I decided to make this little owl card. I used CTMH’s “You’re a Hoot” stamp set. I stamped my owl with chocolate ink then wiped off his feet and colored them in with SU’s pumpkin pie marker. His beak was colored in with pumpkin pie too. I then used my nestabilities circles and cuttlebug and cut him out. Then I used my Marvy scallop punch on kraft paper then pierced the edges and attached the owl. I sewed the orange polka dot paper and then the turquoise paper. I’m trying to use my scraps up so I’m not really sure where these came from. Then I added my button and with the embroidery thread bow.

For the inside I stamped my sentiment in chocolate on white cardstock. Then I stamped my branch in chocolate and wiped away the leaves and colored them in with SU’s old olive. I added more polka dot paper that I stitched and there you have it!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a great day!

xoxo,

Rebecca

Happy Birthday!!!

2009-08-03T15:45:00.001-07:00

My oldest, Zoey, is turning 9 tomorrow! Where did the time go, it seem like it was yesterday I was in the hospital starving, but only allowed to have ice chips and wondering when I was going to get an epidural. Then all of the hunger and pain went away when I saw my beautiful baby girl!! That was one of the happiest moments of my life. And now this is the last year that my baby is in her single digits…*sigh*. She on the other hand is ecstatic!!! She can’t wait for school to start so she can have a birthday party with her school friends. Since her birthday falls so close to the first day of school we wait 2 weeks after it starts and then have her party. So tomorrow we will just have an intimate family party. She is just beyond excited!!!

Here’s my little green eyed girl…

And if you know Zoey, you KNOW Zoey LOVES bugs and lizards. She will catch them, bring them inside, give her Momma a heart attack and then go outside and collect more! So to celebrate this side of her I made her a caterpillar card. She loves butterflies and wants to get some caterpillars and watch them turn into butterflies. Little does she know that her Mom is one step ahead and has it wrapped and ready to go…thank you Amazon.com!

Here is her card…

I used my cuttlebug and some scraps of paper to make the caterpillar’s body. Placing this little guy was kind of tricky. I didn’t want him to be long but also didn’t want him to be too short. I then stitched the antenna and feet. I added brads to the ends of the antenna. I stamped a few sentiments from , CTMH’s “Fringed Phrases” on scraps cut them out keeping only the words I wanted, then layering them on white cardstock. After attaching and stitching I adhered it on to kraft cardstock.

Here is a close up of the antenna…

I love the mix matched eyes. I think it adds character to the caterpillar. I hope she loves it as much as I love her!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!

xoxo,

Rebecca

Guess What???

2009-08-01T18:16:00.001-07:00

Oh My Goodness, I am so EXCITED!!! Do you remember me telling you about the Guest Designer Challenge from Clear Dollar Stamps…well guess what…I made it!!! I actually tied with a very talented lady, Karen Green. Check out her blog. I’m so excited, beyond EXCITED!! Thrilled doesn’t even come close to how I’m feeling right now. I feel very honored to have been chosen. I really hope that I can meet there expectations. I am just so thankful right now.

Get ready to see lots of creations with Clear Dollar Stamps.

xoxo,

Rebecca

Clear Dollar Stamps Guest Designer Challenge

2009-07-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

It's that time again...Clear Dollar Stamps is having their end of the month guest designer challenge. For the August challenge they are doing a sketch. You could make whatever you wanted as long as you used the sketch.
For the challenge I decided to make a box. Now this is no ordinary box, this is a special box to hold a special gift for a soon to be here special little boy. We are anxiously awaiting his arrival! I used Clear Dollars "Charlie Baby" stamp set. I have to say Charlie is a favorite of mine! I stamped Baby Charlie on white cardstock using Brilliance graphite black ink. I also stamped Baby Charlie on some brown fabric using the same ink. After coloring Baby Charlie with my copic sketch markers I adhered the blanket that I cut from the fabric. Then it was off to get the cuttlebug to cut and emboss my circle. I sponged around the edges to give it a little rustic feel. I then added the blue button with a glue dot. I took strips of Adornit paper ("Old West Collection-just seemed fitting) and Sand from CTMH and did the faux ribbon technique and sewed it on the sewing machine. I then layered my cardstock (CTMH's Crystal Blue, White, and Sand). I added some brads to the corners, put my oval up on demnsionals, and added my faux ribbon. I stamped the word 'Baby' on the corner of the flap of the box. **Which by the way measures 7 x 3 1/4 x 3/4 inches.

I also stamped on a plain white onsie, colored and added the same fabric & button from the box.

Here is a close up of the box...

In this picture you can see the fabric a little more clearly...

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and visit!

Until next time,

xoxo,

Rebecca

I’m back!

2009-07-29T08:46:00.001-07:00

It seems like I’ve been away from blog world for a while. As I told you I ended up getting Cellulitis on my nose, and was given some antibiotics to heal me up. Well while taking the medicine, Clindamycin, I had a sever reaction to the drug. I started to break out in a different kind of rash, the whites of my eyes turned yellow, my chest felt as if it were tight causing me to have difficulty breathing. I was fine if I didn’t move but once I started to get up and say walk to the kitchen and back I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I later found out that this was not good. I was told to keep taking the medicine because it was the lesser of the two evils. I was also put on some Benadryl to counteract the side effects so I could continue to take the medicine and get rid of the infection. But I was also informed that I should never take this drug again because next time the side effects will be much worse and possibly end up in the hospital. So this is why it took me longer than anticipated to get back to blogging. Also for any of you who might have to take this drug be aware that it does cause serious side effects and you should contact your doctor right away if you experience any of them.

Now on with the blogging…I made this cute little “note book” for a friend. I used CTMH’s ‘Be Yourself’ for the sentiment, stamped with Brilliance graphite black.

I am loving the paper Sunrise by Cosmo Cricket!!! It is becoming one of my favorites!

Inside…

I took my little notepad and placed it on my paper and just started scoring using my score pal. I didn’t take measurements, which I regretted later on, but it is pretty easy to figure out so I can do it again. Plus I figure I do have some notepads that are larger and smaller than the one I used. I used a velcro dot to adhere the flap closed. I really like how it turned out. I’m thinking this might become part of a gift idea for the girls teachers in the near future. Only 4 more weeks till school starts!!!

The whole set….

xoxo,

Rebecca

Just a Little Me update….

2009-07-21T11:53:00.001-07:00

I haven’t posted anything lately because I haven’t been feeling to well. Thursday I used some new sun block and broke out in a rash plus it caused me to blister on my shoulders and nose. On Friday I noticed my lymph nodes on my right jaw line were swelling and starting to hurt. Then shortly after that I could feel my left side starting to hurt as well. I thought I was having an allergic reaction to the sun block the day before and took a Benadryl. Well, later on that night I noticed my nose hurt really bad. I felt it and could feel blisters on the tip of my nose. So I go into the bathroom and my nose is swollen and bright bright red!!! I took another Benadryl hoping it would work and stop the swelling. I didn't sleep at all that night and Saturday morning I woke up to excruciating pain. So after cleaning the house, getting breakfast ready we headed to the walk in clinic. And can I say thank goodness for these places, because my doctor does not work weekends! Well after all was said and done, it looks as though I got Cellulitis on my nose. It is basically an infection of the cells. The doctor thinks that one of the little blisters on my nose got infected by the sun block and caused the infection. So I’m on antibiotics and will be on for the next few days. The medicine does make me feel light headed, so I haven’t been doing much of anything. I promise in a few days I will be back up posting projects again real soon!

Oh the swelling has finally gone down, and the redness is going away slowly. But most importantly the pain is gone!!!

Thanks for be so understanding,

xoxo,

Rebecca

Your Hip!

2009-07-16T10:05:00.001-07:00

I made this card for Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #26. This was a fun sketch challenge. Plus I got to use two new stamp sets that I haven’t been able to find the time to use. I used CTMH’s “Life’s A Jungle” for the sentiment and Stampology’s “Mindy’s Zoo” for the hippo clouds and palm tree. I love both of these stamp sets!

I really like how it all came together. I even got out my sewing machine and did a little stitching around the edges.

I just love that little hippo! Isn’t he just the cutest! I also decorated the inside too. I really like how it adds just a little more to the card and lets someone know that you really care about them.

Thanks for looking and I hope you have a wonderful day!

xoxo,

Rebecca

Recipe: Paper: Martha Stewart pattern paper, Hobby Lobby paper, white cardstock, Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, and copic sketch markers, Misc:SU’s Build A Brad, foam tape, Friskers' Apron Lace punch, small circle punch, sewing machine.

A little gift set

2009-07-15T09:27:00.001-07:00

I made this little gift set a while ago, but never got around to posting it. I made some little note cards, a tic tac holder, some magnets and decorated some pencils.

I took this plain wooden container (I call it a tool box) and painted it green, added decorative paper, stamped my image (Nouveau Corner from Stampabilities), sanded the tool box, aged edges with ink, then added stickles all over it. I made my tags using the collage technique and stamp my friend’s initial on the tag. Next I found coordinating SU paper and made her some little 3x4 cards using SU's "Because Of You". I colored them with my SU markers and added stickles to the centers. For my magnets I used some scrap paper that was left over cut to fit marbles and glued on to the back and then glued on magnet. For the topper of the bag I stamped my image on and colored with SU markers and used stickles. I also made the tic tac holder using more of the scraps that were left over. I added some more sparkle using my stickles, and then tied some hemp around it. For my pencils, I learned this from Martha Stewart. She took and painted some regular #2 pencils with craft paint. The she took painters tape, cut to desire width and wrapped all the way around the pencil. Then paint in a different color. Immediately take off the tape, that way it doesn't pull any extra paint off. I added some ribbon and I was done.

All in all I think this little set came out beautifully!

My Favorite Colors

2009-07-14T06:14:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite cards because it was made with some of my favorite colors! They are….CTMH’s Tulip, Chocolate, Ocean, & Honey.

This card measures 5 x 4 7/8. I used CTMH’s “Circle Around” & “Treasure Life” stamp sets. I really like the little flower in the Circle Around stamp set, I think it is just way to cute! I also thought it would make great pattern paper. So I started just stamping one color and then added more and more. I then stamped the dashes and distressed & sponged the edges. I also used my picking shear nestabilities. Added a few buttons and ribbon and the card was done. I am really loving this card. Now off it goes in the mail box to a special friend!

Here’s a close up….

You’ve heard of Christmas in July….

2009-07-13T11:30:00.001-07:00

….but what about Halloween in July. I originally had made this card for a Whipper Snapper Challenge but ended up not sending it in because, well to be honest I procrastinated. It was supposed to be in by the 15th of July and with it being the 13th that doesn’t give me much time to get it in. So I opted to not send it and keep it for Halloween. I had a lot on my plate this month and I had to prioritize. But on a happier note, I am getting a head start on my Halloween cards. Yay!!!

Here is a close up of the card…

For A Good Cause…

2009-07-11T13:14:00.001-07:00

I love when companies, like Cosmo Cricket, do things to make the world a better place. With that said have you ever been hungry, wondered where you would get your next meal, or how you would feed your kids? Fortunately I have never had to worry about this, but I know many other’s have. Cosmo Cricket is going to donate $1 for every comment made to this post… Cosmo Cricket to their local food bank. They are not asking you for donations, just post a comment. So stop on over and leave a comment…you will be helping someone who is in need.

See Ya Later Alligator

2009-07-11T10:31:00.001-07:00

You know you want to say it……After A While Crocodile! Hee hee, my kids and I say that a lot here at home. As I was blog hopping the other day I saw Chicken Scratch make these cute animals out of punches. So I decided to make this oh so cute alligator. I just couldn’t resist! Plus I had the “Life’s a Jungle” stamp set from CTMH and then sentiment was perfect for this card. Plus I was able to use up some scraps that had been lying around my desk.

Hope you like it….

inside view…

Aloha

2009-07-10T09:41:00.001-07:00

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Aloha, I’m back!!! Did you miss me? I know it’s been about 3 weeks since I last blogged but I just didn’t have the time to fit blogging into my life. Life has been BUSY!!! I had 2 weeks of family visiting and then my anniversary (10 years!!) then the 4th of July and then I decided it was time to have a little break and relax from all the fun and excitement that had been going on. Plus I was exhausted!!! I did miss crafting!!! I would walk into my craft room, take a deep sigh, and think maybe after family is gone I will have some time for you my poor neglected stamps, ink and paper. I did enjoy spending time with family since some of us are spread all over the place. But it was so nice to sit at my desk and create again!! I made these little creations for my stamp group at my sisters house. We went over to hang out, bounce ideas off each other and just veg! She actually is the one who came up with the idea of stamping on newspaper….and that led to stamping on pages of a book I had. My sister, Sheila, is like my other half. She gives great advice, listens to my problems and helps me figure out a way to solve them and is always there for love and support! And to her I owe a ton of Thanks You’s!!!

For these cards I used this pretty color combo of….CTMH’s Hollyhock, Chocolate, Crème Brulee, Garden Green and Sweet Leaf. The stamp sets I used were CTMH’s Surf’s Up, Extreme Happiness, and Treetops. The pineapple card is 7 1/2 x 4. I pierced my white squares then sponged the edges. I used sweet leaf for the tops of the pineapple and crème brulee for the pineapple. I also tied some natural cord around each square. This cord is actually for jewelry so look in that section of the craft store for it. I tied a button on for just a little more added detail. I also stamped the big flower from Extreme Happiness on to the Hollyhock paper. I really liked how this card turned out. The Luau card is 5x4. I used my score pal to add some detail to the side of the card. I really like how the flower turned out too. I think stamping on newspaper, book pages, music paper is really cool! I also put the center of the flower up on foam dots and added glitter to the tip of the flower. For this card I also used some paper from the Bella paper pack and then used my fiskars edge punch. I think this is my favorite of all the cards.

I always like to do a little project at my stamp club so I made this coaster post it note holder/picture holder. The coaster is 4x4 and then I just added paper and stamped my sentiment. The cute little clip was bought at Michael’s (6 for a $1=BARGAIN!!!).

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Well thanks for checking out my blog! I hope you have a great day!

xoxo,

Rebecca

Happy Father’s Day!!!

2009-06-15T15:42:00.001-07:00

Happy Father’s Day to my hubby! I have to brag for a moment…my hubby is the best husband and father in the world to our 3 girls! There is not a moment that goes by that he isn’t doing something for us or treating us all like princesses. He always has our best interest at heart. He is loving, kind and compassionate. Not to mention very handy!! He just put in a brick side walk along the side of our house and I have to say he did an awesome job!!! He is my Mr. Fix it, Mr. Find-It (long story short, I looses something he ALWAYS finds it for me :o), and Wonderful Daddy, and Loving husband! He is my rock, and my soul mate. I don’t know what I would do with out him!

Okay now back to my little project…

I had this little white cardboard box and a vision…and THIS time my vision actually transferred into a reality!!! I love that when it happens.

Here’s what I used: CTMH’s “Sarsaparilla” paper pack, barn red ink, momento black and brown ink, foam dots, twine, nestabilities, jars, Martha Stewart circle cutter, computer generated sentiments, candy, fishing bobber, fishing hooks, “happy father’s day” stamp by Paper Inspirations and Campin’ Fever stamp set.

The top…

The sides….

What I put inside….

Bubba’s Texas Caviar & Worms *Not fer fishin’

The “caviar” is cream soda jelly belly’s, and gummy worms…

Close up of the “caviar”…

The fishing pole with some fish…

I know my hubby will love this. He loves Swedish fish and he’ll love his “caviar”. We plan on going fishing after our BBQ at my sisters, so this will be perfect for him!

I hope you all the father’s in your life have a wonderful Father’s Day!!!

Rebecca

Simple and Sweet!

2009-06-08T13:46:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I get in a mood where I just want to make a simple card and just have fun making it. I don't want to worry about the color combo, what accessory am I going to use, just simply play with my stamps and see what comes of it! So I decided since I hadn't used my cuttlebug in a while that I would dust it off and get out some new spellbinders that I haven't played with. I am really bad about buying something with the intent to use it right away and it sits on the shelf for a week, or *gasp* a month or two!!!

For this card I just used my flower die cut, and circle die cut to cut out the center. I cut out a larger circle for the middle of the flower, embossed it and adhered it behind the pink flower. I stamped my flowers with CTMH "Spot On Backgrounds" stamp set in Watermelon. For the stem and grass I used CTMH "Circle Around" stamp set in Citrus Leaf. I'm not sure where my cardstock is from, I decided to recycle and use what I had laying around. I tied some ribbon, stuck it on with a glue dot and added some stickers for the sentiment.
This card was basically created the same way as the one above but I used buttercup ink and paper, and cranberry paper from CTMH. I also used the sentiment from "Treetop". I love that little sentiment, it has to be among one of my favs!!

This card is for my card class. We do one simple card, one technique card, and one project. So I decided it would be fun to show my class how to make a shaker card. My girls have had a blast shaking the stars all over the house!

For this card I used cranberry and buttercup paper, magic moments paper pack and regular white cardstock from walmart. I did use my cricut a lot with this card. I made my scallops, stars, and frame using my cricut. I added some white buttons and cranberry waxy flax tied through to the stars. I also stamped the stars and sentiment from "Shining Star" stamp set from CTMH. I added a touch of pixie dust from Shimmerz to my stars at the bottom. I felt they needed to sparkle! To make the frame I stamped my sentiment, cut my clear projector paper a little smaller than the frame, adhered it to the frame, cut strips of foam tape to each side leaving no space for stars to fall out, added some stars and adhered.
I really had a fun time just relaxing and creating! No stress, no worries, no problem!

Have a great day!

Rebecca

Schools OUT!!!!

2009-06-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

Can I get a Whoo Hoo!!! School's out for summer!!! Okay now I have Alice Cooper's song playing in my head...

Here are just a few things I made for the teachers. This little tin was one that I had gotten from Oriental Trading and just never used it. Since it was being neglected, I decided now would be a good time to use it! I used stamps from Snag 'Em, paper from Imaginisce "Teacher's Pet, Welcome to Room 10", and cardstock from Hobby Lobby in brown, red and olive green, ink is Momento, and the accessories are ribbon, buttons, hemp, glue dots, red lined tape, and a pencil. I filled the tin with chocolate nuggets and wrapped them with the paper. There was a little bit of room left in the tin so I had my 3 year old make a picture for her teacher and we rolled it up and tied it. I think this turned out very cute and my 3 year old was very excited to give it to her teacher!

Here are some autograph books I made for my kindergartner's class. They are just red cardstock from Hobby Lobby, brads and I used my nestabilities to cut out the computer generated sentiment. I did stamp the star (CTMH's "Shining Star") in Sunflower.

Here I used MFT's new stamp set, "Teacher, Teacher Label Set". I stamped the images in Momento ink. I colored the books and the ruler with my copics. I used Ranger's Adirondack Lights in Snow Cap for my sentiment to make it look like it was written in chalk. I paper pieced my border for the chalk board with paper from DCWV Grade School stack. The
rest of the dp is from the same paper stack. The solid cardstock is from Hobby Lobby. This gift card holder is really neat. When you open it the gift card seems to slide up into view for the recipient. I got the idea from Julie of Paper Pleasing Idea's....here is the blog I got it from...

http://paperpleasing.typepad.com/my_weblog/page/6/ She is a very creative lady, so go check out her blog.

Here is a close up ...

Another close up side view of the inside...

Thanks for looking. I hope these help inspire you!

Making Pattern Paper

2009-05-30T06:11:00.001-07:00

Do you ever have one of those moments where you just can't find the right pattern paper you want to go with your card? I do! So my simple solution was to make my own pattern paper. After I had stamped my flower & leaves, from CTMH's "Cottage Floral", in Hollyhock, Buttercup, Sweet Leaf & Olive, I used coordinating paper (Hollyhock) to use for the pattern paper. I then used Papertrey's "Spots & Dots" to create the pattern paper. I stamped my "spots" in Smokey Plum since that was the color of my base. I then accented some of the "spots" with Momento's Tuxedo Black. Then my pattern paper was complete. All I needed to do was assemble my card. I used my Fiskars border punch, foam dots and some ribbon to complete this card.

Here is a close up of my flower...

And here is a close up of the pattern paper. This really was a fun and easy project!

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

2009-05-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

I hear the train a coming!!! Choo choo!!! I made this for a birthday party we are going to this Saturday. The little birthday boy LOVES trains, so I thought this would be perfect for him! I had cut out the train on scrap paper then just modified it for the layers. I hope he likes it...I am sure this party will be a fun!!!

Recipe: Paper: "Good Times" paper packet, Ink: Sweet Leaf, Buttercup, & Crystal Blue, Momento's Tuxedo Black, Stamps: "Circle Around", "Express Postage", and "W189" alphabet set, Misc: CTMH clear buttons, ribbon, and Shimmerz "mellow yellow" glitter paint for the star, embroidery thread, stickles for underneath the buttons, hemp, foam dots, and nestabilities to cut out circles.

*all products CTMH unless otherwise stated*

Friends "Furever"

2009-05-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

This little set was made for MFT's Idol Judges Challenge. This week it was to be creative with packaging. MFT has come out with some neat new ideas on packaging gifts...check them out here... http://www.mftstamps.com

I made my little set for my puppies. They can drive me crazy from time to time, eat my brand new flip flops, pee on the carpet...but they always are happy to see me and great company when the kids are at school! I filled it with their favorite treat, milk bones. One of my pups even knows how to get them out of the box they come in. Sneaky little thing she is! I hand cut out a "buckle" for the ribbon to make it look more like a collar. I also added crystal effects on the "buckle". I sewed the end of the ribbon and used my crop-o-dile to punch the eyelets in. I used Martha Stewart's circle cutter to make the perfect circles for the lid. **When it comes to getting a good circle, that circle cutter is AWESOME!!!**

Here is the top of the container...

The card. Now I know my dogs won't really care to much about the card, but I figured it made the set, well a set! I cut out the ovals with my nestabilities and then propped the red one up on foam dots. You can't really see it very well but the collar, hair, shirt, shorts and shoes are all layered. The shirt is layer three times and the shorts, hair, shoes and collar are layered twice.

Recipe: Stamp: MFT's "Friends Furever", Ink: Copic Sketch markers, Momento Tuxedo Black, Paper: Hobby Lobby cardstock, Misc: Crystal Effects, foam dimensional, silver elastic, eyelets, ribbon, nestabilities, Martha Stewart circle cutter.

Celebrating Flopsey!

2009-05-13T09:45:00.001-07:00

It's time for another MFT Idol Judge Challenge! This week we were to use one of the Flopsey sets to Celebrate Flopsey. For this week I chose to use my "Flopsey Flowers" set. I also used "Congrats All Around" for my 'congrats' sentiment. I just got a Cricut Expressions for part of my Mother's Day gift so I used it to cut out my Flopsey letters, grass and scallops. I am used to the regular Cricut and this one has more bells and whistles so it will take some time to get familiar with it...but while I am, I'm enjoying playing around with it for now.

For this card, I wanted it to be more simplistic, so I didn't go crazy with all the little add ons. I really had to hold myself back...I had thought about adding some stickles here and there, some bling...but literally sat on my hands and talked myself out of it. I did decide to add some little buttons and some whiskers to Flopsey. The whiskers are just embroidery thread that I tied in a knot, colored the knot black with my copics and then let the ends unravel. I used Zip Dry to hold it on. I figured those added just the right amount with out going overboard!

You can see Flopsey's whiskers more clearly here...

Thanks so much for stopping by...:o)

Recipe: Stamps: MFT "Flopsey Flowers", "Congrats All Around", Ink: Copic Sketch markers, Momento Tuxedo Black, Paper: White cardstock, dp is from the Scrapbook 911 store (can't remember the names of the dp right now), Misc: buttons, Cricut Expressions, embroidery thread, foam dots

Teacher Appreciation...Part 2 & Blog Candy Winner!!!

2009-05-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some more little projects that I have been making for my girls teachers this week! I made them a cute little book bag filled with Hershey Kisses and a dry erase picture frame. I think they turned out really cute!

This is a very simple project to make. Plus you can change it as often as you change purses!

I really enjoyed reading all the wonderful stories about moms this week! Moms truely are amazing! I hope you all have a Wonderful Mother's Day!!!

Drum roll please....................................brb brb brb brb brb.........okay that is about as good as it gets for a drum roll....

The WINNER is VICKIE!!!!

Blog Candy!!!

2009-05-04T08:04:00.000-07:00

Who wants some blog candy???

It is almost Mother's Day, and I know a lot of us are Mothers....so I thought what better way to show my appreciation to you by giving away some blog candy! I'm giving away...Martha Stewart glitter in yellow, golden and peridot; K&Company chipboard die cute shapes and Recycled 4x6 double sided mat pad; glass bead in green, and 3 rolls of brown and green ribbon!

Now all you have to do is become a follower, comment to this thread, leave an email where I can reach the winner for their addy and tell me one of your favorite memories of Mother's Day (can be yours or something you did for your mom). If you tell a friend and they comment that you sent them here...then you get your name thrown in the pot again...for 2 chances to win!

I will post the winner on Friday! I will write all the names on a piece of paper and my 3 year old will pick the winner. Good Luck!

Teacher Appreciation...Part 1

2009-05-03T18:00:00.001-07:00

It's Teacher Appreciation at my girls school this week. Monday is "Sweets for a Sweet Teacher" day. So we are giving our wonderful teachers a Hershey chocolate bar and some popcorn. We have been very blessed to have 2 wonderful teachers. They are such loving and caring people. I am glad they are my girls teachers, I couldn't of asked for better!

The complete set...

Here is the giant Hershey bar...

The popcorn bag...

The gift bag...

I used MFT's "Spring Sprouts" by Sara Williams. Love this little set! I stamped all images in Momento Tuxedo Black and colored with my copics. I did put Shimmerz "Pixie Dust" on my clouds to give them a little sparkle. The paper is from K&Company and Hobby Lobby cardstock. I added a little ribbon...because...well you just gotta have ribbon! I hope they enjoy their little treats as much as I enjoyed making them!

Life IS Good!

2009-05-01T11:19:00.001-07:00

I am surrounded by wonderful family, wonderful friends, and a wonderful Heavenly Father...so Life Is Good!!!

Here is my newest creation...a dry erase frame.

Perfect for leaving the kids notes, my hubby notes or the grocery list.

I used my new CTMH "Treetop" stamp set. Love this little stamp set!! I think it is just way to cute! So many possibilities, so many creations just waiting to be made! I also used CTMH's "Moon Doggie" & "Back Country" paper packets. I modge podge the paper on the outside of the frame. I figured that would help protect it against sticky little hands.

Here is a close up of the trees...

Dry erase markers wipe off easily off the glass.

My card...I didn't want to throw away the extra squares so I decided to make a quick card with them.

Recipe: Stamps: CTMH "Treetop", Paper: CTMH "Moon Doggie", "Back Country", & Colonial White, Ink: CTMH Garden Green, Brown Bag, Olive & Black, Misc: buttons, hemp, frame, modge podge, glue dots

Ernie Never Forgets

2009-04-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

This is Ernie, isn't he cute! Ernie is also never forgets...especially the kindness of others. This little set was made for Clear Dollars Guest Designer Challenge, CDSGDC0509. The theme was to have something dangle from your project. I dangled hearts from Ernie's trunk and the handle of the bag.

Here are some closer looks...

the card...

the bag...

Ernie...

My thread and heart bow...

Recipe: Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps Ernie Elephant & Farm Critters, Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Paper: pattern paper from Walmart, cardstock from Hobby Lobby, Punches: Fiskars border punch, heart punch from dollar store, Nestabilities "squares", Misc: thread

Simple Thank You

2009-04-29T18:34:00.001-07:00

I am always needing little thank you cards. So tonight, I got my CTMH kit, thank you UPS Man!!! So I decided I needed to play!! I made these cute little and so very simple 3x3 cards. I used CTMH's "Dream Big" & "Fringed Phrases". I stamped the little flowers in Garden green, tulip, indian corn blue & goldrush. I stamped the "thank you" in Memento tuxedo black. I popped one flower on each card on half a phone dot and adhered. I then tied my ribbon and I was done.

Passions for Crafts Blog Candy...

2009-04-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

Yupe you heard right...one of my blogs that I stalk is giving away blog candy!!! This is not just any blog candy...BUT MAJOR BLOG CANDY!!! Click on over to see for yourself!!! You don't want to miss it!!!

http://passionforcrafts.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogoversary-candy.html

Baby Boat

2009-04-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

This was my entry for the "Bellie Up to the Buffet" over at Splitcoast. You can find more information on it here.... http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=433896&page=6

For this challenge you were to use at least 3 embellishments ('bellies) on your card. You could use as many as your hearts desire...so I used...

ribbon

buttons

hemp

safety pin

seed beads

my punches to make my boat

I also used my nesties and swiss dots embossing folder to create this card. I did have another card I made for the challenge...but honestly I wasn't happy with it.

Close up of the safety pin with seed beads...

Here is the card I made first that just wasn't cutting it for me...

This card was made with...ribbon, glitter, blings, safety pin, seed beads, eyelet. I also used my nesties on this card as well as some crystal effects. The image and sentiment is from Doodle Factory and is colored with my copics and SU markers. I find that when I use crystal effects the SU markers tend to bleed. You will see that on the part above the star and the pink.

Framed Tulips

2009-04-26T13:07:00.001-07:00

I love flowers, but tulips are one of my favorite flowers. Fresh cut tulips seem to brighten up any room or any mood. I'm hoping my paper tulips do the same thing. When I was browsing through my MFT stamps I found these tulips in the "Bundles of Bouquets" and just had to use them in this weeks Idol Judges Challenge. I painted my pencil holder barn red and then got coordinating cardstock and wrapped around it. I used my Fiskars border punch on the yellow gold cardstock. I masked my flowers and colored with my copics. I added a little shimmerz to the leaves and the flower. I then wrapped it around my pencil box. Then I had some spare flowers, so I used my cuttlebug and nestabilities to make a frame for them. Hence the title Framed Tulips...hee hee. For the pencil holder I added the sentiment "from the heart" and made it look like the butterflies were carrying it away. The butterflies were stamped multiple times and then colored with copics. I used shimmerz on the top layer of the butterflies to give them a little sparkle. For my card I did the same thing I did with the pencil holder just used a larger size nestabilities. In both frames I used the clouds from MFT's "Hooga Booga" stamp set. I stamped them on vellum and ran them through the cuttle bug. Then just added a touch of shimmerz around the edges for that silver lining. For the sky I used light blue chalk to give it a little color. I think it turned out pretty well. This pencil holder will sit nicely on my desk and will brighten the day.

Here is a close up of the pencil holder...

A close up of the card... You can really see the details in the clouds in this picture and the butterflies.

Recipe: Stamps: MFT's "Hooga Booga", "Bundle of Bouquets", Ink: Copic markers, Memento tuxedo black, Shimmerz- Royal Red, Green Olive, Pixie Dust, Gold Glimmer, Paper: Cardstock from Hobby Lobby, Pattern Paper from Hobby Lobby, Vellum from Hobby Lobby, Misc: Ribbon, glue dots, pencil holder and a little TLC!

Happy MFT Day!!!

2009-04-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

Today is Celebrate My Favorite Things Day! So today I decided to play with one of my Flopsey stamp sets that hadn't been inked yet...I know shame on me for waiting so long to ink this cute lil' "Flopsey Flowers" stamp set! I wasn't really sure on which sentiment I was going to put, but I started thinking...scary huh...but sometimes things in life happen and you either need an apology card or a sympathy card. And when these things happen normally we are so consumed with everything we don't have time to make a card to say we care. So I figured why not make one now, so that heaven forbid one of these instances do occur I will be ready. Plus this set is so versatile for any occasion, I am absolutely sure it will be inked over and over!

Here is a side view..

I stamped an additional trio of flowers, cut them out, colored with copics and used Crystal Effects on the flowers.

Love this ribbon!

My Recipe: Stamp: MFT "Flopsey Flowers, Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic Sketch markers, Paper: White cardstock, Yo Yo Yellow cardstock (SU), Simple Grid Red and Simple Dot Red from Simply Luxe, Misc: SU Red sticky mesh, foam adhesives, white embroidery thread, metal clip from Spare Parts, Crystal Effects, Glue Dots.

Zoom Zoom

2009-04-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

This is my card for this weeks MFTIJ06 challenge. The challenge was to make a single layer card. It normally takes me a little while to figure out what I am going to come up with, but this week, it came to me right away...thanks to those new sprint commercials! You know the one where they say 234 thousand people are breaking up right now on the phone, 127 thousand of them are breaking up via text message....well anyway they had a lot of yellow and black and it made me think of taxi's which in turn made me think of the little car in one of MFT's sets...and well this is the result. I am very pleased with myself. I think it turned out cute!

Here is a close up of my red taxi...

I love tying bows on buttons!

Recipe: Stamp: MFT's Congrats All Around, Bundles of Bouquets, Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic markers RV29, Y15, Cardstock: Plain white from Walmart, Misc: Ribbon, button, embroidery thread, silver elastic thread, making memories yellow eyelet, SU small oval punch, glue dots.

What happened to Ben?

2009-04-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

So this weeks MFT challenge was to create ANYTHING!! Well that sounds simple enough, but it was actually hard for me. What do I create? Should it be bright and with lots of sparkle? Should I make it fun and bright? Too many choices. Well after sleeping on several ideas I finally decided to do a picture frame. I took a plain wooden picture frame from the craft store, painted it lime green, and modge podged paper on it from AC Pattern Paper "Teen". I then punched out stars from the pattern paper with my marvy star punch. I used shimmerz on the edges of those stars to give it a little sparkle. I had bought some really cool glitter paper a while back and used it in my cricut for the other stars. I then tied my ribbon on the sides but still something was missing. So I added the chipboard words to the frame and added stickles to make them sparkle.

The frame was complete....now it was time to work on the picture. I decided to use MFT's "Ben Paper Dolls" by Stephanie Fizer. Now in my house it is all girls, the only boy is my husband, so naturally everything is pink, purple, shiny, sparkly, glittery, you know girly! So poor Ben he had to be made a little girly for this project. I stamped him out using Brilliance Graphite Black ink, then colored with copics. I then used different colors of shimmerz to paint sections of his space suit. I cut him out and then took wire to make the wires coming from his helmet. I also added crystal effects to Ben's face to make it look like the helmet had a clear visor. I then stamped his little puppy and colored with copics. I stamped him twice so I could cut out his cape. I added shimmerz to his cape and added foam tape to make it look as if the cape was blowing forwards. I also added Crystal Effects to his nose to make it shiny. For the moon, I used my cuttlebug to give it the "craters". I then stamped VersaMark Dazzle in 'frost' all over the moon and used clear embossing powder from CTMH. It gave it a nice shimmer to moon. I cut it to fit the paper. I put Ben and his puppy up on foam dots and adhered it to the page.

I also made a "bibbity boo" (magic wand) as they are called in our house for my 3 year old. I took a wooden star wand, colored it lime green and pink. I used AC Pattern Paper "Teen" and modge podge it on. Then I colored, cut and put on foam dots to adhere the puppy. I added some crystals around the puppy to give it a little sparkle. Tied my ribbon and I was done!

Close up of Ben's visor and wire antenna...Close up of the puppy...I added crystal effects on his nose...Another close up...The foam tape to make his cape look like it is blowing forward...
Close up of the "bibbity boo"...
Thanks for looking!

The kiddos...

2009-04-10T14:41:00.001-07:00

I thought I would share a few pics of my kiddos. Here's my girls right before the Spurs basketball game tonight...which we should be leaving in a minute or so.... They are super excited!!! We are going to go eat and then head to the game!!! So they got all decked out in the Spurs gear. And of course it is pink...what other color is there?

This was yesterday outside, a nice 80 degrees outside. They were using the bottoms of some of my plant containers. I haven't planted anything yet so they decided they made great hats. They were too funny!!!

And here is when the "rain" came down.

Well I know this is short blog but I hope you have a great day!

Hey there cupcake!

2009-04-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make my friends little girl a really cute birthday card & what says happy birthday more than cake...well cupcake that is! I used my cricket and the Doodle Charms cartridge to create this card. I cut out several cupcakes, tops of cupcakes, bottoms of cupcakes, & candles until I got it just right. I used paper from AC Pattern Paper "Teen" and SU cardstock to create the different layers of my cupcake. I also used my scor pal to make the lines for the cupcake liner. Inside I stamped "Make a Wish" from Studio G stamps. It needed some sparkle so out came the stickles. And of course we have to add ribbon for that just right touch.

Wild flowers...

2009-04-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

It's feels like spring here...so I decided to make a springy card!

I stamped my images (MFT's "hooga Booga" sentiment, & "Spring Sprouts") in Brilliance graphite black ink. I then colored them with my copic markers and cut out. I added stickles to a few of the centers and to the sun & butterfly. I layered my paper (AC Patterned Paper "Teen") and used glue dots to adhere all my flowers. Some flowers were put on pop up glue dots to add some deapth. I also used the pop up glue dots on my sun.

It's a Boy!!!

2009-04-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

Before you get the wrong idea...NO I'm not pregnant!!! My friend on the other hand is and she is having a BOY!!! This will make 4 boys for her...brave woman! We are throwing her a baby shower at my house and I wanted to do something special for her. So I decided to go with a car theme for my baby gift. I found a cute little pj set with the exact same little car that matched my stamp...how lucky can a girl get!! So I made her a few note cards, decorated a little cotton ball & q'tip set, made her bag all cute-sfied and then filled it with all the baby necessities! Here are a few pictures of her gift. I really hope she likes it. I have all girls so it's not very often that I get to make something boyish.

I made a set of 5 of these.

Cocktails Anyone?

2009-03-30T06:56:00.000-07:00

This is my entry for the MFTIJ03...

The theme was Girls Night Out! The only catch was you had to use one of the MFT's Who's That Girl sets. Well I used my Hanging With My Peeps set. Originally she is holding a little bird, but I thought since it's GNO, why not hold some purses. Someone always has to stay behind and hold the purses while your dancing right?

So for my card, I paper pieced her outfit, using decorative paper from Luxe's Cocktail Dress series...Amaretto Sour & Martini. Appropriate wouldn't you say so... I even paper pieced her shoes as well. Then I stamped and embossed my purses from my MFT "Monsters Ink" set, and placed a rhinestone on top. Colored with copics, arranged purses, layered my card and added ribbon.

For the purses I found this cute template...http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=424164. I used both sides of the Martini paper to create these. I added a Velcro button to the inside and put a red button on the outside attached by a glue dot.

For the martini glasses, which I got at the dollar store ($2 total) I used Martha Stewart's glitter glue and added Martha Stewart chunky glitter around the edges. Then I used some left over paper (Martini) and made olives. Attached them to the toothpick and stuck them in the glass. I used my nestabilities to cut the circles for the glass charm. I stamped her shoes and colored with copics, cut out and glued to the charm. I had some silver stretchy cord so I used that to tie it on to the glass.

I think this little set came out really cute! I really like the glasses but I think they will just be for show. Don't want to swallow a bunch of glitter! TFL

Meow meow meow...

2009-03-27T07:00:00.001-07:00

I have a sweet little one eye kitty named Peaches...who meows all the time!!! In the middle of the night, she's meowing in my ear, during the day she's meowing. The only time she isn't meowing is when she is eating. Now I've heard cats only meow when they are hungry...but I don't know. I think Peaches is telling me to pet her, okay she's demanding me to pet her. If I pet her as much as she would like, she would be bald!! She is a very spoiled little kitty.

For this card I used my Clear Dollar Stamps: Momma Kitty, Simon (x 3), and Kitty Toys. First I stamped my kitties in Brilliance graphite black ink and then colored with copics. I then stamped my fish onto gray cardstock to make background paper with the versamark then added CTMH's black embossing powder. I put brads on the corner of the fish background paper and then tied ribbon around the layers of cardstock. I then added layers of cardstock and pattern paper to the actual card. The pattern paper is from Making Memories small black dots. I attached the fish paper to the other layers by putting it up on foam dots. I really like the gray and turquoise color combo. This was one of those things that just happened...no planning involved. Hope you like it!

For a Friend

2009-03-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

One of my good friends last day at her 'old' job is Friday. She's my two older girls school nurse. She is the one who bandages my kids when they get there hand caught in the door, run into the door, fall and scrap a knee, get a splinter, or just need some TLC. She is not going far off, she's going to a local high school. Crazy, yes she might be, I hear high school kids are SCARY!!! She will be closer to her kids, same school, so that is a plus. I sure am going to miss her.

I decided to make her this little band aid tin and a few band aids to go with it. The band aids are just one inch by 3 1/2 inch strips and I used my one inch square punch for the middle. I stamped little dots with CTMH's "Dots All Around" and the heart with Scrappy Cats, heart stamp. Then I sponged the edges and adhered the middle to the strip. I put a few little sayings on the back of each band aid. Then for the tin, I used Foof-a-la "Hall Pass" paper and adhered it to the tin with red double sided sticky tape. Next I used SU's ribbon for around the top and the bow. I had some left over green that I decided to add to the mix. I cut a strip to fit the top and used my Marvy corner rounder. Then for the tag, I used SU's "Happy Hearts" (stamped in CTMH's Vineyard Berry" and CTMH's "Whooo Loves You" stamp set for the sentiment (stamped in Jim Holtz Distress Ink brushed corduroy). I free cut the red cardstock and then punched a hole and placed an eyelet. I attached the ribbon with stretchy silver elastic. On the back of the tin, I put a little band aid. I used SU's slit punch and then cut a square to match. I also sponged the edges and added dots with a marker.
The front...
The back...

K-I-S-S-I-N-G...

2009-03-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

I got caught kissing! Kissing my stamps that is. I love how you can take a solid stamp "kiss" it to a stamp that has a pattern and wam bam you have a new image. I used CTMH's "Cottage Floral" stamp set for this card. The flower was a solid image. Then I stamped them in Hollyhock, Goldrush, and Indian Corn Blue. I then took and stamped the inked stamp in to Martha Stewarts "Clear Patterns" Stamp set and CTMH's "Spot On Backgrounds". Then I stamped it on to white cardstock. I did do this process a few times to get the 'just right' look I was trying to achieve. I then cut out two flowers glued them together and then used my crop-o-dile to punch a hole in the center of the flowers and put big black brads in the center from Spare Parts. I also stamped Celebrate in Brilliance graphite black ink from CTMH's "Shining Star" stamp set, then sponged my edges. I used my Martha Stewart edge punch on white cardstock and then sponged those edges as well with Jim Holts, Distressing Ink. Then I started layering my card on red and light blue cardstock. I love this color combo! The pattern paper I used was from Best Occasions. I placed the flowers up on foam dots and that completed my card. This was actually a really easy card to make. The hardest part, which really wasn't hard was getting the right "kiss" from my stamps. Thanks for stopping by~

Who is that Masked Planter?

2009-03-25T05:07:00.000-07:00

This was for the MFTIJ02 challenge. We were to use masking on our card or project. So first I drew it out and numbered what I needed to stamp first so I wouldn't get all confused and have to start over...like I had done earlier and that's when I got the great idea to draw it out...LOL.

Then once I had it all masked I realized it was way too BIG for a card...so that's when my inner Pooh Bear came out and I had to "think think think".

Here's a close up of my masked carrots...I was still thinking....

Then it hit me!! I would make a gardening kit. It IS that time of year to start planting flowers and veggies so this would be perfect. I cut my image in half, which really stressed me out. I mean what if it didn't look right how do I fix it if it's cut in half...what if I mess it up and how do I go back to recreate it...very stressful!!! But luckily none of those things happened...whew!

I made the little "seed book" with my bind-it-all. **I really need to use it more because it does make cute little things, and my hubby says I don't use all of my stuff that I have...so this is me saying see I do USE my things! hee hee**

The inside...

A MFT kind of day...

2009-03-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

Last night when I went to bed I dreamed of a little bunny reading around a mushroom. This is not unusual for me because I have on occasion some weird dreams, but they do help me with my creativity. So when morning came, and all my mommy chores were done and (most importantly) I had my first cup of coffee I sat down and made this card. I cut out my little mushroom, now it may not seem like a normal mushroom but it's what I pictured in my dream. Then I stamped Flopsey (Ancient Page archival ink) from MFT's "Reading Flopsey" and colored him with my copic markers and cut him out. I then decided he needed to be sitting in some soft grass. So I used the grass from MFT's "Hooga Booga" stamp set. Added a few layers of cardstock and then stamped my sentiment (MFT's "What's the Story") on my strip of cardstock. I'm thinking of adding some more "pages" and making a book, I think this would make a great cover for one.

I made this card using MFT's "Tea with Flopsey". I stamped my image in Ancient Page archival ink then colored the tree and Flopsey with my copic markers. I sponged on my clouds and then I stamped an extra tea kettle, and leaves to give it a little 3D effect. I decided to rough up my edges on the light yellow cardstock and distress them. I used SU's "Linen" to stamp the back of the Flopsey image so that when I folded the corner down you would see it instead of just plain white. I wrapped the ribbon around the light yellow cardstock and then through the white cardstock which I punched with my slot punch from SU. Tied the knot and ta da...there you have it.

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch...

2009-03-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

I love that saying...and I love my "Doodle Factory Country" stamps. I did a lot of cutting and layering with this card. I really like how it turned out. It's so bright and has a lot of depth to it. I love how sassy these little cows are...to me they are saying..."what now...can't you see I'm 'udderly' exhausted!!!" Hee hee I stamped my images on white cardstock with my Ancient Page archival ink and then colored them with my copic markers. I colored the grass in and then sponged it. I also sponged the sky with a light blue. I put the front cow, chicken, fence and mail box up on foam dots. This was a very fun card to make.

Close up:

Inside:

**the sentiment (Tell The Udders) is from Clear Dollar Stamps "Farm Critters"**

Are You Chicken?

2009-03-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

Well I guess it depends on the situation....I mean if it is to try some new strange food and it was pleasing to the eye, not at all. I am willing to try new things every now and then. BUT if it were to bungee jump, climb the side of a Cliff, or be locked up with 10 two year old children, then YES I AM CHICKEN!!!! I think it is okay to be chicken every now and then...I mean those things can harm you!!! Really!!! Being chicken isn't bad, this little gift set is "chicken" and it can't hurt you, or run around screaming while coloring on walls...okay that is another rant for another day.

The complete set...

Notebook set...this was cased from "lisa lara" on SCS...here is hers...http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1270313?cat=500&ppuser=153096...make sure you leave her some love!!!

The candle...I used the egg from Clear Dollar but the sentiment is from SU "Loads of Love"...

The card....

The popper, I got it for $1 at Michael's, it is filled with bath leaves that dissolve when you put them in warm water...

The magnet...I had some friends save the bottle caps from there "adult beverages" and I'm sure they think I was crazy, BUT I wouldn't of been able to make this cute little magnet if they hadn't of...

**Recipe...STAMPS: Clear Dollar Stamps "Farm Critters" and SU "Loads of Love" (sentiment), INK: Ancient Page archival ink (brown), PAPER: Decorative Paper from Hobby Lobby, white card stock, SU's always artichoke (tag on candle), Kraft paper, SUPPLIES: ribbon, bottle cap, match box (from Oriental Trading), clear circle stickers (for magnet), magnet, Clear Accents (to attach magnet to bottle cap), candle, twine, raffia, scallop punch from Marvy, Fiskars border punch, SU tab punch, double sided red sticky tape, pen, brown paper bag, and gift bag.**

Little Monster...

2009-03-14T10:02:00.001-07:00

This is a little set that I made to go with the other goodies I got for my Secret Sister. I used MFT's "Monster Ink" stamp set for this set. I also used SU tab punch and Fiskars border punch...

Complete set...the popper is filled with bling, pen, notebook and I even decorated the ribbon...

Here is just a little card set I had made. I wanted to paper piece this MFT set and figures why not make a few little cards. You never know when you just might need a gift and this wrapped all together in a little ribbon would make the perfect gift...

A Little Monkey Business

2009-03-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

Today I saw that the SCS "Try a New Technique" Monday (LLC211)was to make a cute little treat purse, so I decided to play along. I have been wanting to use my new little monkey die cut (who I've named Sam) and thought this would be the perfect opportunity! So after running my monkey through the cuttlebug a few times I pieced together "Sam". I think he turned out so cute! If you want to make this cute little treat purse go to Julie's blog...http://paperpleasing.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/02/valentine-treat-purse.html

Recipe: Pattern Paper-K&Company, Cardstock-from Hobby Lobby, Stamped Sentiment-from MFT's "It's a Jungle Out There", Ink-(sentiment) Ancient Page archival ink, (sponging on "Sam") Jim Holt Distress Ink brushed corduroy, Misc.-some shredded card stock to fill the little treat purse and edge punch by fiskars.

Ahhhh Beep Beep...

2009-03-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

....Toot toot! Doesn't that make you want to sing! Well today I was singing to my own tune in my stamp room. I didn't know what I was going to make then I started humming and of course that led to this stamp. Of course now I have that song in my head...and of course I don't know all the words! Hee hee!!

Here is my little transportation set I made with SU's "By Land" stamp set. I stamped a few dump trucks and then cut them all apart and reassembled them. For my card I put the truck up on foam dots. I also used the lil' smoke from SU's Boatload of Love. I used my stamp-a-majig to help with the placement of my "beep". Then I used my slot punch for my ribbon.

Here's the set...

Lil' notebook...

Lil' luggage tag...

Charlie...

2009-03-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

This is Charlie....shhhh he's praying. He wants his little plant to grow up big and strong. He planted a seed, gave it some water, sunshine and most importantly LOVE. I think in a few weeks it may bloom!! I guess you'll have to check back to see....

Inside...

I love the stamps from Clear Dollar...http://www.newcleardollarstamps.com/servlet/StoreFront . I especially love Charlie! He's one of my favorites! I made this card with all the things I love...this plaid paper from Hobby Lobby, these buttons, raffia, and my Spellbinders. So I guess you could say this card was made with love just like Charlie's little plant. I added the little sentiment to the inside...I thought it worked better there.

Here is some other things I have made with Clear Dollar Stamps.

"Happiness"...

Tooth Fairy container...

This was a container of Ice Cubes by Ice Breakers. I was in Wal-Mart getting a few things and thought hey I need some gum. So as I was reaching for the gum, this container caught my eye. I immediately went into craft mode and thought what can I make out of that?!?! Well after I got home with it, it wasn't long till my kids had devoured the gum and I could craft! The white "floss" really is embroidery thread that I just stuck in there to give it the affect of being a dental floss type container.

Spellbinders Challenge

2009-03-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

No I'm not brewing up any spells but over at Spellbinders....http://spellbinderspaperarts.com/blog/splitcoaststamperscom-contest-update/ they have a great challenge going on where you can brew up your very own master piece! All you have to do is make something creative with their die cuts. They have 3 categories...Cards, Scrapbook Layout, & an Altered Item. I came up with this for the card category and the altered items. I used the scalloped die cuts to make my flowers and the background of the card with the "fancy square" (as I call it.) I also used the Spellbinders dies to make the tags that are in the little case I made. This was a really fun challenge and if you are up for it pop on over to get all the details!

My card....
My tag carrying case....Side view of the tag carrying case...The complete set...

A Little Birdie....

2009-03-06T21:34:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen something and just had to have it? I'm like that with shoes, chocolate, craft stuff and paper! I love paper! I love all the things you can do with it and create with it. And I love love love this little birdie! I found this really cute paper and just had to make my own little birdie. The paper is "Happy Bird-day" from 3 bugs in a rug. Very cute, eh! I made this little box but I'm not finished yet...it still needs something...hmmmm....

I also wanted to get a head start on my Easter cards and thought this was kind of a cute idea. I was playing around with my spellbinders and came up with an egg. I think these cards are just too cute! The stamp I used for the sentiment is from SU's "Loads of Love Assecories".

Well thanks for stopping by and taking a look!

Just Stuff...

2009-03-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

I've been a slacker lately, so I thought I would post some pictures of some of the things I've been up to lately. So I thought I would post a few things I've done in the "recent" past.

Here one of the many of the cards I've made for my Lil' DSS (Dear Secret Sister) on Splitcoast Stampers. For those that don't know how that works, I have a BIG DSS, have no clue who she is, but will once the 3 months are up, and I have a Lil' DSS who she doesn't know who I am but will in 3 months. She of course has a Lil' DSS and I'm her BIG DSS and the cycle continues....ah kuna matata!

The stamp set is from MFT and I used copic markers and SU markers to color it...

I made this for a dear sweet friend. She also happens to be my neighbor, so I get the best of both worlds!

The sentiment is from Verve...I love the pattern paper, I think it goes good with the buttons!

I made these for Christmas for some of the teachers and staff at my girls school. Our mascot is a FOX, so the MFT fox made these perfect!!! I filled them with mints, and chocolate.

The stamp sets are: Fox- MFT, and the tree and gifts are from Doodle Factory.

I made this for another friend. Abigail & Mrs. E are buds...Abi always asks about her & is constantly wanting to go see her.

The stamp set I used is from Doodle Factory.

MFT Idol

2009-03-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

Do you love watching American Idol? I love that show....so much talent! And speaking of talent there are a lot of talented crafters "auditioning" for MFT's Stamping Idol. The best thing about this Idol is no singing...thank goodness I'm not sure I could carry a tune in a bucket! MFT (My Favorite Things) is even giving away a grand prize to winner of MFT Stamping Idol...a $250 gift certificate! I know I had to sit down for that too! They they are going to have "judges" that will select the Top 12 out of all those entries. Each Wed., the MFT Idol contestants will post a new card or project that YOU, the people of the internet, will vote on! Each week the person with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated and on June 3rd, the MFT Stamping Idol will be crowned! Sounds fun huh! Well if you want to join you can go to....http://www.mftstamps.com/blog/ where you can learn all about it!

So here is my entry for the MFT Stamping Idol...So what do you think?

I did a little stitching on the trees and around the pattern paper. I think it turned out cute, hopefully it gets me a slot on the top 12, fingers crossed!

My Recipe: Paper: DCWV- The Pet Stack, SU cs; Stamps: MFT's "What's the Story?" & "Nature Calls, Ink: Copic sketch markers, SU pastel ink pads, Ancient Page archival ink; Extras: foam tape, red sticky tape, staple, beads, sewing machine.

What a way to spend the weekend...

2009-02-21T21:14:00.000-08:00

Well our weekend was filled with excitement...not the kind that makes you say yay either. My little Abigail broke her arm. We were at this bouncy place where they have all kinds of inflatable things to jump on and apprently off. Well she was playing on one of those little bouncy things and fell off and landed wrong. My heart skipped a beat then I went into Turbo Mom mode. I told my sister to go get my husband, and then said your in charge. I left her in charge of my girls, Zoey and Lachlan, and all the guest. I think the girls were having too much fun to even notice we had gone and I know my sister took care of everything. Thank God for family!!! My sister doesn't know it yet, but now she has to be at any event that I have Abi...you never know when I'm going to have to go the ER again. Abigail is definately our wild child.

Valentine's Day at the Zoo

2009-02-14T17:58:00.000-08:00

Today we decided it would be a great idea to go to the Zoo! And you know what...It WAS!!! We had such a good time...but you know what we found out something VERY interesting...humans are not the only ones who celebrate Valentine's Day. I know I am as shocked as you are...but I did catch it all on film (well okay you know what I mean afterall it is a digital world).

Here are the girls....
Zoey on a turtle...

Lachlan on the turtle...

Abigail on the turtle...yes she had to be different!

We also saw that some animals feel the need to step on others to get where they want in life...

...While others kiss a little bootie.

The Dozer...

The Diva...

These bears remind me of my parents...My mom is the one on the left..."What is he up to again?"....Dad "Hmmmm I know it was here yesterday...now where did she run off with it?"

I love you like no "otter"!

K-I-S-S-I-N-G first comes love, then comes marriage....

Love Birds....

Ssssooooo Romantic!

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!!!
**No animals were harmed in the attempt to capture them in their natural habitat**

Bugs N Kisses

2009-02-13T15:30:00.000-08:00

If you know my girls then you know they love being outside and they love catching BUGS!!! And if you know me...you know I do NOT like BUGS!!! I think they get that trait from their Daddy! Well I was at WalMart and I found these really cute bug boxes and immediately thought..."These would make AWESOME Valentine's day gifts". So I made these cute little tags to go on the sour gummy worms. The stamp set is Bugs N Kisses by SU and the paper is all from Micheals. I used my brights & pastel inks from SU. I thought it would be cute to add the little wiggle eyes to the bugs. I think the lady bug is just adorable with the wiggle eyes. And what says "I love you" more than "here's a bug box go catch some bugs!"

Hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Feeling Kind of Corky?

2009-02-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

I had this idea for quiet some time and decided that a Valentine teacher gift would be the perfect time to create it. I used cork board...bought from Walmart in the office supply department (around $5 for five 12 x 12sheets)...thumb tacks, buttons, red tacky tape, bottle cap, clear circle stickers, punch, dp paper, black stazon to stamp my image from MFT, and ribbon. I stamped my image in the corner...*side note* its a really good idea to practice stamping your image on a spare piece of cork board, then added the red tacky tape to my buttons and stuck on the thumb tacks. I punched out my circles for my bottle caps which were purchased at StampAntonio...but you can just ask the hubby to save some tops when he pops a top again...I did have some clear circle stickers that I put on the paper to give it a nice finish. Next I tied my ribbon on the frame and assembled. It was a very easy project to do. The hardest part of this whole project was getting the cork board to sit in the type of frame I had bought.

Coaster Calendar

2009-01-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

Ever in a jam and need a quick gift? Well I was and here is what I came up with...

You need a package of coasters. These were from the Dollar Tree...can we say bargain! Or if you want you can "borrow" with the intent of never returning them from your local eatery. :o)

Then I used mod podge. I find this is easier and holds the paper on to the coaster better than double sided tape or tape runner.

Add paper. I also like to use my brayer to make sure I get all the air bubbles out and to make sure it is on good!

I trimed the edges of the coaster with my craft knife. Then I used my cuttlebug and dies and cut out my paper. I used nestabilities. Then before I stamped my image I used a white eraser and erased the stamp. I have never used this stamp and I find that if I do this first on brand new clear stamps, I get a very clean image when I stamp it.

Then I stamped. What is that orangish thing? It is a piece of foam paper. You know that foam craft paper in the kids section of the craft store (Hobby Lobby). I find that it helps me achieve a better image. They sell other items similiar to this but cost a lot more. This is just my ecomical solution.

I then sponge my edges.

I use my crop-o-dile to punch holes and add the clasps. I also put my blank months inside. Those were just printed on the computer (lines and months) and then cut pasted and punched out my months. I added some brads. Then I adhere the stamped image and ribbon to the coasters using red tacky tape (double sided tape) and tied a bow.

Here is the inside.

This was a fun quick project to make and I hope my friend likes it as much as I do!

A Tribute To Rocs--We will miss you!!!

2009-01-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

We lost a member of our family on Thursday the 8th of January. Our hearts break and we are filled with sadness. Our beloved rottweiler, Rocs has passed away. She was one of a kind! She was the best dog anyone could ever ask for. Rocs was great with the kids, never knew a stranger, friendly, compassionate, loving, protective, and nurturing! Rocs was my friend, my baby, and my protector. If the kids went outside to play she would too. She would sit under the tree and watch them, looking over them, keeping them safe. She was always looking out for us. I remember one night when my husband was coming home late from flying and she almost took him down in the hallway. There was no way she was going to let someone hurt her family. She always let the kids play all over her and loved every moment of it. I will miss seeing you when I come down for coffee, I will miss you rubbing your mouth on me after you get water, I will miss your barking at the squirels, I will miss our walks, I will miss your love you showed me, I will miss YOU!!! I know she is in heaven looking down on us now and free from pain. We love you Rocs!!! You will forever be in our hearts!!! Till we meet again....

That's a Match!

2009-01-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Good bye 2008, hello 2009!! Where did the time go? It seem like the year flew by way to fast! 2008 was a great year. Many memories were made, friendships were started and life was great. I have made some new year resolutions...but they are to cherish each day, play a little longer, hug a little tighter, smell more roses, and to live each day to the fullest!

Well to start off the year I decided play a little more...with some stamps and my favorite little three year old!! I made my little Abbers a match game. I loved this game when I was little so I knew she would too. You see we are two peas in a pod! She loves playing games, puzzles, coloring...she's 3 she loves everything! I used some stamps that I got from Clear Dollar Stamps. They have some really cute stamps there. I highly recommend you visit their website...http://www.newcleardollarstamps.com/servlet/StoreFront I used also a little box that I got from Oriental Trading a while back...not sure when I got it, but I've seen a few like it recently on their website too. Then I used my copic sketch markers to color the images that were stamped in stazon. I cut them out and sponged the edges, then layered on black cardstock. I had some lament paper and decided that would probably increase the life of the cards. My little Abbers has a tendency to have sticky hands 80% of the day! But I think most 3 year olds do too! :o) Then after making sure everything was all stuck down good I cut those out too. We have already played a few games. She was very patient while I was making it, so I figured why not play a few dozen games...the laundry could wait!

My Husband ROCKS!!!

2008-10-01T04:17:00.000-07:00

I've had this problem lately, well I didn't consider it a problem but I guess others did. I was unorganized!!! My crafts were everywhere, hidden away in drawers, packed tightly in boxes, all over my desk, under my desk, around my desk, across from my desk, it was just a mess!!! Plus I had that other problem....I would buy something I already had because, well I couldn't find it. (blushes) So a few long hours and some quizzical questions...like why are you keeping an old soup can? Is this trash? Why are you keeping this? My craft area in my bedroom was organized!! And yes my craft area is in my bedroom and I was known for putting things on the bed as I tried to organize things, which made it difficult for sleeping. But now it is perfect!!! I can find everything, see everything and NOW I can get to crafting!!! I am so excited!!! My hubby did such a wonderful job!!!

Primary Doodle

2008-09-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

Doodle This, Doodle That...Doodle all the Day!!

I love my Doodle Factory stamps!!! They are such cute, fun, and unique stamps! They could possibly be my favorite stamps, okay they are my favorite stamps!!!

Well over at Starving Artist they are having a challenge...to make a Swedish square card. What is a Swedish card? Well it's square, lots of color, lots of pattern papers, the use of chipboard, staples, and buttons or all of the above! These are really fun cards to make and look at. So here is my entry....

I call it my Primary Doodle! I used buttons and chipboard. I took my chipboard frame and stamped my glue on and then sprinkled with black glitter. I loved the bold primary pattern paper and of course I used Doodle Factory stamps.

If you would like to enter the challenge go on over to... http://starvingartistampsgallery.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-09-19T07%3A52%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7

Even if you don't want to enter the challenge stop on over anyways, and browse through the gallery!

Twice in one day, oh my!!!

2008-09-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

I know what your thinking...twice in one day...what has the world come to...not to worry your precious head I will still post at least once next week. I know you are relieved now...ahhhh breath in, now don't you feel better! I do. I hope you were doing the breathing exercises.......:o).

Well I wanted to show my little gift sets. These have been works in progress for a little while. I would work on them and then put them away because things would come up. This first one is my berry set. I have this wonderful stamp set from Papertrey Inc. called My Punny Valentine. It is just the cutest! Well I've been thinking of this idea for a while and finally got around to making my vision into a reality. In the gift set I made 4 cards with 6 envelopes (you never know when you just might mess up an addy), a little note pad, a magnetic clip an a little strawberry just because. I had saved a plastic strawberry container to put it all in.

The next set I had gotten a wooden box with handles. I painted it and then applies paper to the outside. I had used some stamps from Stampin Up and Close To My Heart as well. I made 6 little 'thank you' cards and envelopes to match. I think it turned out really cute!

Bike Rodeo

2008-09-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

It was that time again at school. Time for the bike rodeo!!! The girls were super excited and couldn't wait to test their skills. They did wonderful too! Lachlan had a few falls but she did great and didn't shed one tear! I think I was most proud of that in itself!!! Zoey had a great time too! She did a fantastic job! I was so proud of the girls!

Here are a few things I have been doing as well. I made this cute little clip for Zoey. It went perfect with her Hannah Montana shirt she was wearing....

And here is a card I made a few days ago...

I had made that card for my secret sister on Splitcoast. I hope she likes it!

Shame on me...

2008-09-18T11:45:00.001-07:00

I have to appologize for not posting lately. I guess life has gotten in the way of blogging. I have been getting rather crafty lately. I need to download my creations from the camera. I plan on doing that this weekend. I have made a promise with myself. I would try and post once a week. I figure I have 7 days, that should be plenty of time, right? Between being a full time mommy, gymnastics, girl scouts, soccer and all those extra little things that pop up I should have time. So check back on Saturday and hopefully I will have some of the things I have been working on. Here are a few cards I have made since last time...

Recycle!

2008-08-10T20:02:00.001-07:00

Here, in our family we have started doing something new. Well it's not really new, we've been doing it for a while, but now I've decided to take it a little further...into my crafting!

We are RECYCLING! We recycle cans, plastic, cardboard, all kinds of things. But now I'm recycling my old ribbon spools. I saved a few, because you never know when it just might come in handy, like today. I took and old cardboard ribbon spool and made something "new" out of it!

I made a pumpkin out of some felt, stitched it, stuffed it and then hot glued a wooden rob into the pumpkin and into the hole of the cardboard ribbon spool. Then I cut a circle piece of felt to hide the hole on bottom and to make it not slide around when displaying. I wrapped some of my crazy fibers that I got at the Dollar Tree around the spool and around the wooden rod. I finished stitching the pumpkin and added a little bit more of hot glue. Hot glue is amazing!!! Then I made a cute little tag and ta da...there you have it! I think it is cute! Soon it will be time to display him for Halloween!

Summer Tag Box

2008-07-29T20:05:00.001-07:00

I made this cute little Tag Box today and loved how it turned out. It is so summery! I got the template here...http://www.jersgirl.com/temps.html So many templates, so little time!

First I stamped all my images, which by the way are from studioG...got to love those dollar stamps!! I used black stazon so my ink wouldn't run...

Then I colored them in using my Stampin Up markers. I don't know what I would do with out my markers!!! I tried giving my images a little depth by first marking the area with a darker color then going over it with a lighter color. I think it gave it a nice effect.

Then after I colored all my images...

I sponged my water. I masked my fishes, by stamping an extra fish covering the already colored fish and sponging around them.

Then I cut out my images, pasted them on and put my Tag Box together. I think it came out pretty good, if I do say so myself!

My Halloween Dollar Frame

2008-07-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

I went to my local Dollar Tree the other day to browse around and see if there was anything I could add some magic too and transform it into something Fab. I came across this plain orange picture frame. My first thought was....Halloween! I love Halloween, it's such a fun holiday and the fact that my birthday is also during this spooky month just makes it even better!

I took my Papertrey "Spooky Sweets" stamp set and stamped those cute little bats all over. Then I used my circle stamp from Stampin' Ups "Basic Shapes" stamp set for my moon. Inside I stamped some Halloween icons using Papertrey's stamps and my spider from Stampendous. The bottom of the frame I used a Trick or Treat stamp that is from G Studio, which I got for a $1 last year...whoot whoot! Also you can kind of see a faint spider web (from Inkadinkado), I wanted it to be kind of suttle looking. I also used my scallops punch from Fiskars and then sponged the edges with some brown ink from Distressed Inks. I used my new rub ons from daisyd's to add some faux stitching. I love the new roll on rub ons, very easy to use! I then added a little ribbon and I was done! Over all I think it turned out cute! I can't wait to put it up for Halloween this year!!

Is that Speed Racer....ummm close enough!

2008-07-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

We took the girls out to ride bikes the other day. It was fun! We stopped off at Sonic so I could get my drink on....Route 44 Cherry Coke with extra cherry please! Then we drove all the way to the girls school, about a block from our house if that. The girls got out of the truck, we got the bikes out, they said "Whoo Hoo!", then they were off! They rode and rode and rode around the parking lot. We had to MAKE them stop to take a drink so they wouldn't get dehydrated. We were there for almost 2 hours letting the girls "drive" their "cars" around. They were such a riot. My little Abi-dab-a-doo was hilarious! She loved riding her bike and having daddy chase her. Of course she went a little off course too...

Mean ol' mommy made her get down. You can tell she thought about it and decided a trip to the ER wouldn't be as much fun as riding her bike around the parking lot, so she hopped off. Litterally hopped off. I almost had a heart attack, but it was all good, once I calmed down and had a moment.

Zoey was our little speed demon! That kid flies when she's on a bike. She's had her training wheels off since she was 3. She's an early learner, takes after her mom, hey don't laugh...I could be an early learner...okay so she takes after her dad. Are you happy now, ha ha ha ha!!!

Now Lachlan is a cruiser. She just takes her time and drives over here and drives over there wonders from place to place, never in a hurry, just cruis'in. It is almost time for her to get those training wheels off too. She only uses one when she rides. I'm always worried she's gonna tip, but she doesn't. I think I'm supposed to worry. If I recall it was somewhere in the fine print that moms were supposed to worry about their kids, forever! Yup, I just got out my handbook, oh you didn't get one...hmmm...well mine says we are supposed to worry. Hmmm..It also says that when riding bikes we are supposed to run behind them with pillows, foam or other soft surface. I'll have to remember that next time.

Here are just a few more of our bike riding experience. Even daddy got in on the action. I was afraid he was going to bust his bootie, and had my video camera ready but no such luck, I mean thankfully he didn't fall.

Slip-N-Slide Fun!!!

2008-07-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

You know it's summer when the slip-n-slide comes out! Lachlan and Abigail had a blast "sliding" on the slip-n-slide. Zoey said it was too hot and choose to stay in side, smart girl. I almost went down the slip-n-slide myself because I was sweating bullets! Here's a few pics of the girls having fun in the sun!!!

Not only did the girls get to have fun, but so did Mommy. Girls night is this Friday and I made some cute little "treats" for a few lucky ladies. My sister made some shoe cookies to take and whoever has the lucky shoe, or should we say...if the shoe fits...then they get a special surprise. We plan on doing this at each of our girls night outs. It makes hanging out with your girlfriends just that much more fun! Imagine...No kids, girlfriends, food, fun, and a special surprise=priceless!
Here's a few pics of what I've made....

Purse and shoes... 3x3 cards inside of purse...

lil bag with some "kisses" in it...

a wrap with orange slices candy inside...

Busy Busy Busy!!

2008-07-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

Yup that's me! We cleaned the whole house, up stairs, down stairs to the left to right, all over! And a bonus...my house is STILL clean!!! It may have something to do with the fact that we weren't really home this past weekend, but eh....that's besides the point, it's still clean!!! YAY!! I find it hard to keep this house clean sometimes with 3 active little girls who are a princess one minute, a kitty the next and then a ninja warrior with pretend dress up shoes on with a matching purse. I always knew my girls had a unique sense of style!! They must get that from their mommy.

These are a few things I have done over the weekend when we were home...These are for a swap I am doing on Splitcoast Stampers. I know it's a little early for Halloween, but if anyone knows me they know I love Halloween! One of my favorite holidays!! I hope you like them as much as I liked making them.

The Little Things...

2008-06-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

We went to Claire's the other day and my little Abbers "needed" these bracelets and rings. She was so funny, each finger had to have a ring on it. She played with them for what seemed to be an eternity, and for a 2 1/2 year old I'm sure it proably was. Something so simple, made of plastic, made her smile from ear to ear with joy. The little things in life are the things that make us the most happy. I mean seriously, a simple smile from a passing stranger, finding money in your coat pocket, realizing the kids didn't eat all the ice cream, sticky kisses....oh the list could go on. So take some time out and enjoy the little things in life.

Got Stamps?

2008-06-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

I've been crafting a little bit here and there. This summer I have been so busy being Mom and throwing elaborate pool parties (aka blow up pool with juice boxes and homemade chocolate chip cookies made from scratch--we try not to do the ones you pull apart, there's no fun in sneaking chocolate chips that way). I thought the summer would mean relaxation, but I have found out it means, swim lessons, going to the zoo, endless errands, and school work. I know it doesn't sound like much but you know how life likes to throw in a birthday party here, musuem visit here, play date there...it adds up. And YES I do have my kids do school work during the summer. Monday, Wednesday and Friday my girls gear up to be taught by there favorite teacher...Mom. We make it fun, bring out the microscope then go search the yard for things to look at. And Math is fun when you get to eat it your project after your done. Who knew learning could be so much fun! Anyways, here a few things I've managed to do while managing, mom duties, life, and my diva duties....