Grateful....

I made this card for an online group as a background technique challenge. I'm not the technique queen, I am more of a simple stamper. I remembered something I did once in a class. I used glossy paper, embossed with Versamark & clear embossing powder and then brayered over it with an autumn spectrum pad.

I decided I needed a sentiment and found the grateful one. I made a duplicate and I'll give it to my mom for Thanksgiving.

I used SU cs and I can't tell you who makes the ribbon or brad because I've had them in my stash for so long!! I believe the background leaf is Penny Black and I have no clue on the main leaf. The sentiment is SU.

One card and a lot of paper...

One of my online friends sent me this ginormous stack of paper! I did a favor and was well rewarded! I was so excited when I opened the box. Thanks a bunch, Linda!! I will put it to good use. I took the photo next to my big 16 oz. glass just to show how tall it is. I used the first piece last night to make this twin baby card for my niece.

I kept thinking of cute little ideas like double trouble or twice blessed (so not my niece), etc. I ended up just saying congrats with two giraffes. I don't know what made me use a giraffe on another friend's baby card but I liked the idea and decided to go with blue and purple to match the pp I had.

Why is it my photos are always crooked?! LOL It's not my best card but I had to rush before Grey's came on.

No stamping....

The band was recording last night so I didn't bother going down to the basement to make cards. I desperately need two cards - one for my niece who is pregnant with twins and a 25th anniversary for this weekend. That will be hard one to make. It's my uncle who has ALS. I mean, what do you say? I certainly can't say, "Wishing you many more happy years together." I didn't say that right but you got my drift. Anyway, tonight I will have to get down there and get at least these two made.

I did pop down there briefly to say hello to my son. He noticed my hair cut and said he really liked it and said it looked very "scene". He asked one of the guys if he thought it was scene and then they all looked at me and said it was and that it was awesome! It was cute. I just love these guys! They made me feel not so old and a little "scene." LOL

So that's all folks. I hope to be posting some cards tomorrow.

Blogger challenge....

Got this adorable little ghost in the mail from a stamper friend who challenged me to make a card with it. It was fun but I always hate posting with the talented ladies that will come to see it! My style is simple. I couldn't decide whether or not to put a BOO! on the lower right but I thought the Happy Halloween on the Imaginesce paper acted as a sentiment. What do you think? Should I add boo? I can't believe I actually made a card with a sticker!!

Leaf Peepers....

We went up north this weekend for our anniversary. We were hoping to see some moose while there. We traveled even further north from where we were staying to an area known for having moose walk down main st. We drove up 13 mile road and did not see one moose. We drove up to Dixville Notch (first electoral vote) which is almost on the Canadian border, still no moose (the above was our only viewing).

I will say that the foliage was peak and gorgeous! Unfortunately it was somewhat cloudy so our photos are very dark. It was beautiful in person, really.

Once in Dixville, we went to the Balsams resort and then up to their Panorama golf course. Wow, it was breathtaking! Not only was it gorgeous, but it had to be 32 with the windchill. It was 42 degrees without. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr....

After that, we drove through the Mt. Washington roadway and down the Kancamagus Highway which is also beautiful. We weaved through Maine and NH and finally came home. Here are a few photos. The reflections were amazing in the last couple. They're dark though. We also saw snow on Mt. Washington.


This is the Balsam's Resort. We used to go on ski trips there way back BC (before children).












Dixville Notch view from the Balsams.















Horrible photo of me showing how cold it was!!












Reflections:



























Mt. Washington













Loon Mountain

Misc. & weekend...

I finally finished my first Bella card last night but I didn't have the time to photo & upload. I started late and had to pick out a few cards from my stash for my niece and a couple of online friends.

The band was recording until 10. I was starting to get aggravated but I know they were trying to finish so I didn't say anything. Our rule is usually 9 p.m. They'll be back Fri. to hopefully finish up.

We are heading to Maine for our anniversary. We're staying at a new place (new to us) so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a nice room! We're going up north to see the foliage, almost to the Canadian border. I hope to see some wildlife too. I've never seen a moose in person! I don't want it to be too close but I want some photos. It should be fun.

The most exciting part is I'm on vacation tomorrow through Tuesday!! Yay.

The boys in the band...

To answer Maia's post below as to what the band boys/men (they're all 22-23) call me:

It's funny, they really don't call me anything. They just say hey on the way in and thanks on the way out! LOL Oh, I just remembered, one time the drummer had to call us to see if we were home. He had to pick up his drums. He did call me Mrs. Qxxxxx.

They're really sweet though. On my birthday, each and every one came in and wished me a Happy Birthday! My son must have told them for some reason.

When we went to their concert, they all thanked us for supporting them and allowing them to practice in our house. My dh always says it's fine, but when they make it big, I want to read, "Thanks to the Q's for allowing us to practice in their basement." Too funny.

One of these days...

I still have not had a chance to play with my new stamps. I got as far as mounting and stamping a few Bellas and colored in a few but that's it!!

I made a bunch of thank yous and I can't post since there are recipients who may read! I finally got those written and addressed last night. I really hope to play tonight.

Last night as I was writing the thank yous, I realized the one I made to look sort of manly for a guy at work was not really that manly. So....my son's band was recording in the next room and most were sitting around waiting for the drum part. I asked one of them to give me an honest opinion. He looked at two that I held up and said, "I like this brown one but then you throw the polka dots in and it becomes female." LOL I remade the card with just a brown background and some blue and yellow. I showed him and he said, "Now that's nice. It looks like a cigar!!" LOL, gotta love those guys!

The weekend...

What a weekend! First I went to a Lia Sophia party - got a cute necklace and earrings. After gabbing with friends, I didn't get home until 11:30.

At the crack of dawn, or so it seemed, on Saturday I met up with a bunch of family to participate in the ALS Walk. My sweet uncle bought us all bracelets as a thank you for walking. They all had messages on them and mine says, "An act of kindness is never wasted." I just love the guy and it really breaks my heart he has this horrible disease.

So...it wasn't raining when we got there but we were prepared with ponchos and umbrellas. It started to rain pretty hard just as we started to walk. The walk was almost all uphill. It was really rough. There were puddles, mud, crushed apples, potholes, etc. We were soaked right through at the end, sore and exhausted. We headed to Ruby Tuesday for a big lunch and a beer.

The great news is it was the largest walk ever for that location. Over $185K was raised and our little team raised $5K. It was well worth the effort.

Then I had to go home and clean the house to get ready for a Sun. showing. DH and I took off and had breakfast, bought a new wireless mouse, and went grocery shopping during the showing.

TGIF...

Not much going on. Last night I put white paper inside some thank yous and that's about it. I had to make spinach squares for tonight, do laundry so my son could have a clean work shirt, and sit down to Grey's Anatomy at 9. I barely made it. I was up and down during commercials trying to cut the spinach squares after cooling and then packaging them up, cleaning the pan, etc.

I have a busy weekend ahead - Lia Sophia tonight, ALS Walk first thing in the miserably raining morning, clean the house (Sun. showing) and grocery shopping. I hope I can squeeze in some play time because my stamps are calling me!!

Have a great weekend!

Misc. talk...

I'm so excited...I got donations for the ALS walk. I never expected to. I even surpassed and then raised my goal and reached it again! It was so last minute and I'm very happy I could make a contribution to my team. I will have to think of a scrapbook layout for the photos. Someone recently took a photo of my uncle and I and I will include that. It's going to be a tough one.

I mounted the Bella stamp last night. It's my first unmounted stamp. I am placing an order for a few more and now I need a storage system for UMs!! Any ideas?

ALS Walk...

I've decided last minute to do this walk on Saturday. I will take any donation that you are willing to give! ;-)

My dear Uncle Bob is failing fast. He was diagnosed with ALS a few months ago and it's so sad to see what it has done to this fit man who used to golf every day. I'm just pasting what I sent in an email.

Dear Friends,

I am excited to announce that I am participating in the ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter’s Walk to D’Feet ALS® to be held

this September 27. I will be making this 3.5 mile walk to raise funds and awareness for the fight against ALS

(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and am writing to ask for your support.



In order to reach my fundraising goal, I need the help of individuals like you to help sponsor me in my endeavor. Rather than participating in this walk solely for a day of exercise and fun, I have pledged to raise $100 to help aid the ALS Association
Massachusetts Chapter in their fight against ALS. Money raised through registration fees, Walker fundraising, and sponsorship funds helps to support services for more than 250 local patients and families living with ALS, and national research initiatives into a cure for ALS.

Any amount of contribution would be greatly appreciated. You can sponsor me in whichever format is most convenient for you - cash, check (made payable to the ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter), or credit card. Secure donations can be made online

at www.TheALSWalk.org. Just click on the “Support a Walker” link, then look for my name (Michelle Q).



Thank you in advance for all of your support and generosity. Regardless of my excitement to embark on this adventure, I realize that I could not do this without your help.



Sincerely,

Michelle

Pond smoke....

I took these photos on the way into work yesterday. I go by three ponds on my way to work and I'm amazed at the way they look in each season. This time of year it is so cold at night and nice during the day so I guess that's why you get the smoke effect. I call it pond smoke.

Let me out.....

Here's some of the stuff I bought on my shopping spree. I got another card yesterday with cash in it and one with a master card gc so I'm going to be doing a little more shopping...

I still need gamsol & stumps (I know, that sounds really weird if you're not a stamper) and a tan pad for my Nesties. And I just may get the Pandora bracelet my mom was going to get me but gave me cash instead, just in case.

I hope to play with some of my new stamps tonight! They are just yelling to get out of the package!!

Monograms, schmonograms...

Ok, I just love my JustRite monogram stamps but those little tiny letters are tough to work with!

I was making some thank yous for a friend (wink, wink, you know who you are) and I did the outside ring for the first time. Those little things kept popping out and flying across the room. Then I'd have to get down on my hands and knees to find them on my GRAY burber carpet, not easy!!

Once they were on, it was so easy to stamp a bunch, but when I decided to change ink colors, I spritzed my SU stamp cleaner, rubbed into it and a lot of my little letters fell out! Grrrr.....so I proceeded to pop them back in, got my nails all navy blue and decided the best way to clean them is by stamping on a baby wipe and then stamping off on a scrap piece of paper. Something to file away for the future.

I never got to play with my goodies from the shopping spree. I'm hoping for tomorrow night. Tonight hubby is taking me to dinner.

Busy weekend...

Wow, it turned out to be a busy weekend! Fri. night we went shopping and then out to dinner. I actually stuck to the diet at Chili's. I skipped the margarita and had a low carb beer and I had ribs and steamed veggies.

I went shopping with some stamping friends today. It was a lot of fun! They took me to a store that's about 30 min. away. She had some stamps that my lss doesn't carry and she was really nice. I got some cute stamps and I finally bought my first Nestabilities in classic scalloped rectangle. The only problem is that I didn't buy the mat yet. I might try to put some kind of block on there to see if it will cut.

We stopped at a brand new Mike's on the way back and then to ACM. I bought a really cool guitar stamp that my son is going to LOVE! It also has a drum set so my other son will be happy too.

So....I was just about to either nap (I didn't sleep last night) or sit down and play with my new stuff. My cell phone rang and it was the realtor asking for a showing tomorrow morning. UGH!! I ran around crazy cleaning the house because I will have to be out early in the a.m. I'm meeting a friend from way back who I haven't seen in about 24 yrs.!!! I'll try to post later about my purchases or maybe I'll make some cards but I doubt it.

Tomorrow night I have my son and his gf coming to my house for a bday celebration. Whew, I am wiped out.

Food 4 Thought

Got this from Stacy @ Exceedingly Mundane.



Food 4 Thought Friday


It is generally the same idea, with just a little twist. Feel free to play along for some yummy fun! I will post a new one each Thursday afternoon for those that are on a different time zone. JOIN IN!!!

Food 4 Thought Friday ~ This week's questions

Breakfast
What is one thing you look forward to each day? Each week? I really look forward to 5:00 each day and then getting into my pjs and heading to my stamping room after dinner. I also look forward to Saturday each week. Nothing complicated here!

Lunch
Are you a hoarder or a chucker? Oh, I hate to say it but I'm a major hoarder, especially when it comes to my sb/stamp supplies.

Dinner
Do your dinner meals consist mostly of home cooked meals, convenience foods (i.e. boxed, frozen, heat & serve, etc.), or fast food? Who does most of the cooking in your home? Well, somehow out of three adults, I got the job of chef. I hate to cook and I hate getting home after work starting from scratch when two others are there before me just waiting. I typically have home cooked meals but they're simple meat & veggie type meals. They have to fit the South Beach diet when I'm on it.

Midnight Snack
Has the rising cost of gasoline caused you to restrict, limit, or alter anything in your life? If so what? Well that's not all that has changed me from a shopaholic to a spend thrift. I don't make unnecessary trips any more. I used to go out for a ride every day during lunch. Sometimes I just bring a book and sit in the parking lot. So, yes, it's definitely restricted me from excursions.

Recipe for this Week (instead of your recipe for life - what is it for just this week?) Be nice to others even if they're not nice to you. They may come around!! (found this out today)

PLEASE PLAY !!!! Come on you know you want to!
To play along go here

Secrets.....

I love secret image challenges. I always get a few adorable stamped images from one of the moderators and previous owner of the card group I belong to (thanks, Kristen!). Here's my version. I think the paper is Heidi Grace but I've had it for a LONG time so I have no idea. The cs is SU in certainly celery and bashful blue. The ribbon is Mike's and I do not know who makes the stamp.

Wellllll......

I had to do two sketch cards for my card group. I had a hard time with one (#2). I don't know why but I did. I finally gave up and decided to send them anyway. So last night I was packaging up the cards and decided I REALLY don't like the card and tried for another. The card came out decent enough. It's much better than the first card. I forgot to bring my camera so I'll have to upload later. Here are the sketches and one of the cards. I guess I better add that I used: SU cs & dp and Eastern Blooms set. The Thinking of you is CTMH, flower brads by MM, ink - no clue.










































I also had an image challenge. It's a cute stamp and I had the right papers and all. I just whipped that one up and was as happy as I can be with any of my creations. Of course, that'll have to be posted later too.

I finished....

I wish I had taken more time to make this gift. I finished the monogrammed cards and made this cool holder/box for them (lower left in photo). I used a tutorial from splitcoaststampers.

I ended up finding a brag book and a scrapbook in my stash in the wedding color that I will never use. I put those in the bag along with some other things. I should have taken the time to complete the pages but she's a scrapper so she'll do it to her needs which will be better.

p.s. Don't mind my stained art desk. It belonged to my son and this is my temporary space while showing the house.