I've been tagged...

I was tagged by Gaynol over at Self Rising Flour You should check out her blog. She has some amazing recipes and photos of delicious foods!!

Gaynol, I cannot tell a lie. I am posting my 7th photo in my 7th folder. I wanted to post the 8th. You would have loved it. It was from the same trip to Booth Bay Harbor, ME, but it was a plate of fried clams!! I'll post anyway.

So, here's what you're supposed to do. Go to your pix folder. Go to the 7th folder and post the 7th photo. Then you're supposed to tag 7 people.



































I tag:

Stacy at Exceedingly Mundane
Linda at These Are the Days
Terri at Theresa's Life
Betsy in AR at Delight in Simple Things
Dawn from Thoughts Along the Broken Road

If I come up with more, I'll edit. Don't feel pressure, Ladies!! I completely understand if you can't play.

No time and bad deals....

I have not had any stamping time this week!! I'm starting to have withdrawals. I ended up online before my shows last night so I never got the chance to get to my room.

I started selling some things online with our possible move in the future, and to see if I can recoup some money I've spent on stuff I'm not using.

Well...I'm not good at it YET! I went online and calculated postage but I guess the priority box looked a lot bigger than it really was in person. I stopped at the p.o. to get that 4.95 box and saw how tiny it was. The friendly postal clerk said he had another box for 4.95 and it was bigger. Great! So...I pack two punches in the box and he sticks the postage on and then says, "Wow, I didn't realize they weighed that much." It came to $7.10!! I would have sent them regular mail, not priority, had I known. I only collected $4.95. Oh well, too late. I will learn one of these days. I don't think I'm making anything, just recouping a fraction of what I paid!

I'm really hoping to get some crafting in this weekend. I have a gift album to get moving on and several cards that need to be made.

Happy April Fool's....

Well, it's that time of year again. Did anyone get you yet? Not me.

I didn't get much done last night but I did manage to finish the first/title page in a gift album I'll be giving for a 50th. I have a hard time scrapping anyway and when I don't have the photos yet, it's even harder!

I was proud of myself though...I used the free Inkadinkado stamp I got recently on the page!

Th..th..th...that's all folks!!!

The answer....

The Secret of Staying Young is....

to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age. Lucille Ball


Got my tooth fixed. I now have a temporary crown and a $900 bill. Joy!

Bella, Bella....

Now that the pressure is off and I don't feel like I have to post, I want to post! I had a nice lazy day. It's rainy out so I made it an easy one. I did a little bit of laundry, read, etc.

I just finished making two cards. I made the first one for my aunt's birthday but I had two images left. I tend to stamp it twice or three times in case I mess up. I didn't mess up and I thought it would be good to have one of these on hand.

The paper is SU Rose Red, So Saffron, Bashful Blue and Cutie Pie dp. I used Purely Pomegranate ribbon, nesties, primas that were painted with Shimmerz in Sky Blue, Celery and Royal Red. The sentiment is CTMH. Oh, and I LOVE my new EK punch (2nd card - wavy dotted line). I bought it with a 50% off coupon the other day.

Thanks for looking! Hope your weekend was like mine - nice and easy! (oops, forgot that I broke a tooth! There's still a piece attached to my gums so I can't chew on that side. Hopefully the dentist will see me tomorrow and fix it. It's getting sore.) Just what I need, another crown in my mouth! I wish I had decent dental ins.!








p.s. Do you know what the secret is to staying young?

Oh deer.....

My poor son hit a deer last night! Dh and I had just gone up to bed and it was much later than usual. We heard a car and then ds coming up the stairs. He knocked and I was so surprised because he never does that (we are always asleep when he gets home anyway).

He was so upset because he was coming up the hill into our neighborhood when suddenly a deer jumped out in front of him. He said it was down on the pavement and then it got up and went around in circles and ran off to the side and laid down. Then it got up and ran into the woods. He said there were a bunch, maybe 10-12.

He just got new tires yesterday and it's a good thing. He never would have been able to slam on his breaks and avoid having the deer go through his windshield. I guess he has a guardian angel on his shoulder!

He drove back around the circle after it happened, just to see if the deer was still there. He wanted to call Animal Control to put it out of it's misery if it was suffering. I felt bad for him. He was really shaken. I know that neither of my boys would never be able to hunt!!

Blah, blah, blah....

It's been a long, busy week, especially at work. I'm so happy it's almost over in some respects. My mom comes back from her trip after the weekend so I'm not rushing the weekend away. I've enjoyed getting home at night and maybe cooking or NOT. It's been very nice.

I've been contemplating giving up the blog. I don't get a lot of comments (not that I'm out for a contest or anything). I just feel like it takes up a lot of time and I can't say half of what I want to just in case anyone I know sees it. I'll keep thinking on it.

Anyhoo, have a wonderful weekend if I decide not to post!!

Quick baby card....

An online friend just had a baby boy so I made this quick card last night. I hope she doesn't read my blog! I used my SAB dp again!! I guess it's a good thing that it's not sitting in my stash like the rest.

I used SU cs in Bashful Blue and So Saffron and colored in with Prismas and Gamsol. I colored over the yellow with Butter Cream Shimmerz and the blanket with Sky Blue. You can't see it too well. I tried shooting from the side like Kristen suggested but it didn't work. It must be my lousy lighting in the basement. You can definitely see the shimmerzy blankie if you double click. Just don't look too closely for any mistakes!! LOL

I'm so excited that the ponds are finally melting which means spring has finally sprung!! It's still cool here but it's supposed to warm up by the weekend.

Good friends....

I just love this stamp set by My Favorite Things. My friend lent me her stamp set so I was making up a bunch of images in what little time I had today. I ended up making this card so I felt like I got something accomplished.

It was my day off but I ended up doing lots of things (banking with my son, laundry, looking at houses, baking banana bread).

Anyway, no sense in whining, right?!!

I used SU Groovy Guava and Old Olive for this. It's an odd combo but I think it worked with this Heidi Grace paper. I got a little carried away with the pearls. I thought I'd add a few tiny ones to the hat.

I colored in with SU inks (close to cocoa, certainly celery and old olive). I'm anxious to try it with prismas. I think it'll look much better.

More candy.....

I hate to post two in a row but I absolutely adore the bunny stamps at:

Artfully Ila

Whiff of Joy candy....

Check out what Bev is offering for candy at:

All the Things I Love

A Mousy birthday....

I got this image from my friend, Paula. I just love House Mouse stamps. They are so adorable!! Unfortunately you can't see the shimmery frosting. I painted it with pink Shimmerz after coloring with Prismas & Gamsol. This is for my future DIL who loves little mice.

I used SU Wild Wasabi and So Saffron cs & WW ribbon. The pp is from my stash. The lines are textured and shimmery. It's so hard to see in the photo. I forget who makes it. If you double click, you can just barely see the shimmery effects. Just don't look too closely at the circle stamp (SU Riveting). I colored the present with pink shimmerz too but the yellow isn't the best job ever.

Thanks for looking!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!

I have nothing to post today. I was busy last night making homemade mac & cheese for the band guys for tonight.

I just wanted to say that green is my favorite color. I love lime, celery, olive, chartreuse, sage, moss, kelly, etc., but I do NOT like Christmas green. I guess Pine green is ok but I really hate Emerald green. I have an olivey color on today because that's all that fit.

Hope you're wearing your green - whatever shade you choose, and I hope you find your pot of gold.

Three Clovers Thursday Challenge #4

I knew I had to play along when I saw this photo. I have seriously been trying to use up ten years worth of stash!! I thought of this flowery paper when I looked at the gorgeous cake.

I made this for my niece who LOVES orange. She has a big furry orange chair in her room and all kinds of orange decor. I wish she lived closer to her Godmom/Aunt. She loves crafts and her mom doesn't. I could keep her busy!!

Don't laugh -- her birthday isn't until August but I made this with her in mind. I used SU Regal Rose cs and also Marigold Morning (I think?) and some Bazzill Bling in a celery color. The cupcake & flower bling are Hero Arts and sentiment is Amuse. I painted over the Pumpkin Pie marker with Shimmerz on the cupcake.





Go and check out Kerry's blog and see how the talented ladies over there got inspired by this cake.

Cool beans......

My friend Paula and I did an image swap and I got this cute little guy and a bunch more. I couldn't wait to use this one! Paula, I hope you really didn't mind me posting this one!

I used the C'ordinations cs and put it through the Swiss Dot Cuttlebug folder and then sanded it. I used SU green galore with it. I colored in the image with my usual gamsol & prismas. I guess that's what I'm comfortable with at this point. Thanks for looking!

Nothing much accomplished...

I ended up having to run to the mall last night to return something and cash my son's check (he was working up there).

By the time I got home, there wasn't much time before my shows. I pulled out one of the adorable images I got from my friend, Paula (thanks a bunch!!!), and I colored it in with my prismas & gamsol. I was hoping to use some of my new C'ordinations paper to make an Easter card but I didn't get that far. I did color a couple of the jelly beans in purple so that I can use the black/purple paper.

Don't know if I'll have time to finish over the weekend. My dh is still talking about going snowmobiling and I have a feeling it'll be the last weekend this year. I really like to plan and hate last minute trips though! I also have mixed emotions...I'd like to go one last time but I also want to stay home.

The boys in the band (oldest son & friends) will be over to record and I haven't seen them in a long time. They are supposed to be going on a tour soon. I was thinking back to when he went on his first one. He was only 16 or 17. I cried as I watched the van & trailer pull away. I was so scared the entire time he was gone that something bad would happen. It ended up getting cut short which was fine with me!

Anyway, enough rambling for today. Hopefully I'll have photos to post (either snowmobiling or cards) over the weekend. Have a good one!

Great cause....

Check out this blog to see the details on a fundraiser for the victims of the Victorian Brush Fires. What a great cause!! The fundraiser is live on Splitcoast Stampers.

Also, if you post a link to spread the word, you can possibly win blog candy at The Craft's Meow. So go on and check it out to donate or for a chance to win!

The Craft's Meow

Why now? ....

It's been nuts at my house. Suddenly I have several showings scheduled out of the blue. I have a feeling it will be a busy weekend too.

Anyway, after I cleaned like a wild woman last night, I sat down to organize my desk and ended up making this little guy. I had the SU So Saffron card already cut and the striped dp sitting on top of it. What a better way to clean than to just USE it. Do you do that? I cut papers, put them with my images, don't like them and put them to the side for later. Later doesn't always come. LOL So I added SU certainly celery and bashful blue and the ribbon is bashful blue. I added MM brads too. That sentiment is CTMH. Oh, and I used my new EK zigzag punch. Thanks for looking!

All is quiet....

Ok, what is going on? It's way too quiet in bloggy land! My usual stops are all "already read" posts on Google Reader!

I admit, I have nothing to blog about today either. I made a quick male teen card last night that is not post worthy in my opinion. I find it really difficult to make it manly enough, yet still on the childish side. I think he's turning 16. I used a white card, SU Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive combo. I had a star stamp that I stamped onto those three cs' and then cut out. There was also a piece of blue plaid dp involved and a Happy Birthday from Cheery Chat. I need to get an opinion from my 19 yo as to whether it's too primary-ish.

So what's happening out there? Is everyone just plain busy?!! I need some reading material, people! LOL

Bridal shower card....

Someone at work asked me to make her a shower card that matched the invitation somewhat. This is what I came up with. I used SU Pixie Pink & Certainly Celery and Bazzill Tutu pink. I put that through the CB. It's a close match to Pink Pirouette which I forgot to order last time. The stamp set is SU Blooming with Happiness. I used pink Shimmerz on the dress and primas & plopped a pearl in the middle. Thanks for looking!



















p.s. Got my free Inkadinkado stamps today!! (see their newsletter - send in up to three cards and get a free stamp back for each card you send in). They're cute!

Made a bunch of cards....

Not only did I make 3 St. Patty's Day cards this weekend, but I also finished the rose one, made a bridal shower card, and I also scrapped two pages!

Now I need an opinion on what should go on the outside of a bridal shower card for a sentiment. I used the Blooming with Happiness set (SU). Can I use "May Your Day Bloom with Happiness"? I used the wedding dress stamp. My other options are Congratulations, Best Wishes, Something for You. I'm going to ask my friend who is giving the card, but I just wanted to know what you thought so I can give her my opinion.


Here's the finished rose card. Thanks for the suggestions on the sentiment. This one just seemed to fit to me.

Second try at Three Clovers Thursday Challenge #3

I had so much fun with the green the first time, I just had to try Kerry's challenge one more time. I made this for my mom. I od'ed on the Wild Wasabi! LOL I used WW ribbon & cs. I made the shamrocks with hearts (bad attempt, I know). I used some Bazzill Blingz paper that I got on sale at Mike's. It's almost the same as Certainly Celery which I think could be my favorite SU color. It's hard to choose just one.

I used my MS punch and also got to use my circle nesties for the first time, I think!

Thanks for looking!

I have a real sweet tooth...

Can you tell I love sweets, especially blog candy?!! LOL Here's another for you to check out. Heidi is giving away a really nice package. Go check it out!

Three Clovers Thursday Challenge #3

This is for Kerry D-C's challenge over at Three Clovers Designs. This week's challenge was to use mostly green and three embellishments on your card. I used Icons green rhinestones, SU ribbon and some glittery shamrocks I bought at Mike's.

I didn't have any St. Patty's stamps and couldn't find any at Mike's yesterday. I had these images of penguins sitting on my desk. I was stamping some for a friend (wink, wink, you know who you are) and some weren't the greatest. I hate to throw things away so I kept this because the flipper was not inked right. I fixed that by sticking a shamrock on top. I ended up just printing out the sentiment and adhering to cs before cutting with my Nesties. That was the cheap way! LOL After all, I'm supposed to be on a spending freeze.

I made this for my bff in Michigan. She's pretty Irish with a name like O'Betts!

So go and check out the amazing cards Kerry and "the girls" made! Also, Kerry has some yummy candy you can win by a simple guess!

p.s. Used SU cs & ribbon, Memory Box stamp, Karen Foster paper (old - from my stash!).

Got some candy....

I opened an envelope yesterday and found my prize from Kristen's blog from Limelight Paper Crafts . You really should check out Kristen's latest candy as mentioned below! Wow!! And check out Limelights great deals!!

Oh, I forgot to tell you what I got! LOL I got a package of Kaiser clear rhinestones which I can always use! Thanks, Kristen, and thanks to Limelight!

Oooooh, some nice candy here....

Go to my friend Kristen's blog, Scrap-Creations and check out the delicious candy she has for a lucky winner! I have been dying to get my hands on one of those punches and I love, love, love those Pink Cat Studio stamps. Kristen does an amazing job with them!!

Books...

I know you non-stampers must be sick to death of seeing cards (and probably the stampers too! LOL). Last night was my t.v. night so I didn't have time to stamp anyway. I decided to post about the books I've recently read.

The one I finished yesterday was The Faraday Girls by Monica McInerney. I thought it was going to be just so-so, maybe too much on the silly side (like Janet Evanovich). I just don't understand what people see in her books. It's not funny to me, it's pretty goofy (sorry if I'm offending anyone here).

Anyway, the more I got into The Faraday Girls, the more I was intrigued. I had a hard time putting it down toward the end. It's a good read in my book, pardon the pun! Ok, now I'm sounding like Janet E. Sorry!












I am now reading Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian. He also wrote another book I loved called, The Double Bind. I'm hoping this will be a good one!











If you're a big reader, do you know about www.Goodreads.com? I keep track of the books I read there and also get book recommendations from friends.

Have a good weekend!

Sans sentiment....

I made this card last night because the image has been sitting on my desk for at least a week. Do you do that? I stamp and color an image and leave it there because my paper doesn't work or I'm not nuts about it. Anyway, I wanted to clear up some of the mess.

My problem is I wasn't sure what sentiment would work for this one. I was going to stamp something in black in the lower right corner. I think I could get away with Get Well, Thinking of You, Have a Great Day/Bday, etc. What I was wondering is what you would use it for. I don't think it would work for sympathy which is what I really need more of. Let me know what you think. Looking at it, I also think I need some Dew Drops or something either below the image or to the right on the image. Thanks for your opinions and for looking!

p.s. I have to stop reaching for my Rectangle Nesties! I'm getting sick of them.

Used: SU cs in Riding Hood Red & Kiwi Kiss, SU Bella dp, SU RR ribbon, Inkadinkado Doodle Flower stamp, Shimmerz Royal Red & Celery (I colored in with Prismas & Gamsol under the shimmerz).

Two more for Inkadinkado...

I copied the one for my son in red and made another. I think I like the red better than the teal. I sent off my package of three to Inkadinkado. I'm hoping for some cute new stamps!! Thanks for looking.

Inkadinkado...

Well, my friend, Paula convinced me to send a card or two to Inkadinkado to get free stamps. I would never submit my cards to anything but this is not a contest. They just want to see your projects using only their stamps.

I started using the cool guitar/rock star set I bought with my oldest in mind. I have three musicians in my family so I knew it wouldn't go to waste. I made a drum card for my drummer son and a guitar card for my hubby on Father's Day. When I finished this one, I decided I better make another to send out. This one is for my oldest's birthday in April. It's the right color for his guitar. I don't have enough of these eyelets so I'll have to do red for the submission.

Three Clovers Thursday Challenge

Kerry at Three Clovers Designs has a challenge to use Blue, Brown and Buttons this week. Here's mine. I don't use a lot of blue so it wasn't that easy. The colors are a bit off in the photo. The middle button is brown and the outer buttons are blue. The ink on the Make a Wish (by Scrappy Cat) is brown. The mouse is Whipper Snapper (most of you have seen him a few times!!). The CS is Bazzill and no name and the brown is SU Choc. Chip. I used Primas & Gamsol to color. Thanks for looking! Go on over to Three Clovers and check out all the amazing cards!

Late snow....

Well, we could have stayed in Maine overnight after all. The storm was supposed to start at 4 a.m. Sun. It started snowing around 10, I think. Oh well....

We did have fun riding but it was a long day. We left the house around 6:30 and drove up to Maine (2:45). We went for a decent ride. It was sort of the conditions you get in the spring, only much more covered. There were some slushy puddly spots but the rest was great! There weren't any bare spots which we were expecting. They got rain on Fri. night and it continued all night. We were very lucky!

My son's fiance was on the back (she's never been before). Her bad knee was killing her so the girls were brought back to the house and the boys went out for another ride. They could clearly see Mt. Washington.

The two dogs got along pretty well. Reese was sinking into snow much deeper than she is tall!

Here are a couple of pix.

Whazzup for the Weekend?

I ran around like a nut last night, starting to clean the house. I have a ton to do tonight - food shopping, cleaning and packing. We are probably not going to stay over becasue we're getting another storm on Sun. and we can't take the chance on coming home to a driveway full of snow with the snowmobile trailer.

It'll be fun because my son and his fiance are coming with us. They've never come before (she hasn't). I have to pack double the trail snacks and sandwiches but it's all good.

Maybe I'll have time to play on Sunday. I have a new stamp set I haven't opened. I'm a little disappointed in the size. I thought it was much bigger but it's my own fault. I'd love to get some scrapping in soon too. I have so many layouts just waiting to be completed. Some will be fun - my son's dog, Reese, and her cute outfits. One will be really sad - my uncle and our ALS walk. I may wait awhile on that one.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I finally managed...

I don't cook on Wed. nights. I made that my night off. Everyone (all three of us adults) are on our own. My hubby usually makes himself salmon. I don't cook or eat fish. Yuck!

Anyway, I didn't even eat right away. I rushed down to my room and started making a get well for my friend. She's a very bright and colorful person so that's why I chose the colors I did. I used an old set of SU dps (forget the name). The cs is SU Old Olive and Cool Carribbean, odd combo, I know. I always have trouble matching up the orange in this paper. It's not Pumpkin Pie and it's not Only Orange. I also tried Groovy Guava but that wasn't it either. I gave up. I did a little bit of sponging and I know that's probably out but I prefer it over all white. Not my best but here it is.
























After that I went about trying to figure out what kind of card to make for my cousin who just got engaged. I had a hard time because my usual engagement congrats is either two hearts tied together or "A toast to you" with champagne glasses. I did this for his sister and didn't want to repeat. So....after all that chatter, here's my card. I made it very muted because it reminds me of them - very neat and classic, not bold and colorful. Do you do this when you make cards? I obsess over what the person is like and what they would want. Crazy! (used the new SU dps from SAB, Kraft cs and ribbon because I didn't have Sahara Sand. Congrats is CTMH, glitter flowers are Heidi Swapp, pearls are Hero Arts.

Who me?!!!....

I was surprised to see this award on Paula's blog. She is an amazingly talented stamper who I visit every day. I really appreciate the luv, Paula!!! You're the best!

Now I'll be "The Spreader of Love" and here are the "rules":


The winner may put the logo on their blog.
Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
Nominate 5 blogs.
Put links to their blogs.
Leave a message for your nominees.
Or you can just enjoy the love!!

It's so hard to choose. I have a group of blogs I visit daily and I'd be lost without all of you! Here are my nominees:


Maia at Ianne'osphere
who always gives me a chuckle, posts great projects and is very sweet!

Stacy at Exceedingly Mundane - who always has great questions to ponder, great food chatter and lots of great book recommendations! And an adorable pup to boot!

Linda at These Are the Days - I'm always brought back to the days when my boys were little like Linda's gorgeous boys. They give me happy memories and many chuckles. She is an incredible mom.

Terri at Theresa's Life - Terri has lots of great movie reviews and wonderful photos of the amazing places she's been to.

Betsy at Delight in Simple Things Who gets me hysterically laughing with her humor. She is incredibly talented at scrapping and has older kiddos like me.

Terri Turbo Tax....

I had no play time again last night. I played Terri Turbo Tax and did my son's returns. I highly recommend filing this way, if you've never tried it. It's very easy to use and if you have your return deposited directly into your account, you see the money in just about 5 days. My oldest didn't have his checking info on him so he'll get a check in 3-4 weeks. It's free to use for a simple Federal return. I got a discounted rate on the State return through my union. I think the regular price is 29.95 and he paid $22.05.

Anyhoo, I seriously need to make a get well tonight for my friend.

p.s. I'm getting bored with PJ Man....plain black today. I'm sure the rest of you are bored with him too!! LOL

New schtuff, no time...

I picked up my SU order. It wasn't huge but I still wanted to play! I had to run to Babies R Us to grab something off a registry before the invitations go out for my niece's baby shower. My hubby came along for the ride and I'm so glad he did. I bought the Pack & Play and boy was it heavy! I have no idea how I'm going to get it into the restaurant. And the wrap job, you would have died laughing if you saw us at the wrapping station. I was ready to strangle my husband. I am very picky and he was taping as I was folding up the ends and things started tearing, bumping, etc. I'm not happy with the results but I don't want to find huge wrapping rolls and do it over.

So, after I got home I started unwrapping my stuff. I love the dp but I need to figure out how to put the colors together. They're pretty light but they're colors I love. I was going to make a get well for my friend in MI who is having surgery tomorrow. I started off with So Saffron, put dp on top and the Bashful Blue didn't look great as a mat to my image. I feel like maybe the card has to be blue and the mat SS or Certainly Celery. I'll have to play some more. I was too tired at that point so I quit for the night.

Challenge at Three Clover Designs...

Ok, this was supposed to be a Thursday Challenge by Kerry at http://threecloversdesigns.blogspot.com/2009/02/3-clover-thursday-challenge-1.html . Better late than never I guess!!

Go over and check out all of the talented ladies who posted their interpretation of the sketch.

My brad was a little off and it was bugging me. I fixed it but don't have time to retake the photo. I used Cosmo Cricut pps, SU Kiwi Kiss cs, Whipper Snapper Koala, Amuse ribbon.

An altered N....

I finally finished my N for Norah! It wasn't as bad as I thought. I ended up just putting the paper down with my ATG instead of Mod Podge. It matches the baby's room pretty well. She has pretty celery green walls and bedding. Her valance is pink with celery and just a tad of lavender. The buttons here look really dark. They're not in real life. They're pretty close to the colors I sponged onto the flowers and the ribbon I used.

I used some things that have been in my stash forever! That paper is from way back and I bought a set of three chipboard flowers a couple of years ago and used two of them. I did buy the celery polka dotted ribbon because I knew I'd use it for other things. It's one of my favorite colors. Thanks for looking!

Keeping my fingers crossed for not a lot of snow. It just changed over and the original prediction was 8 inches. I think it's now down to 4-6. Fingers and toes are crossed.

TGIF....

Well, I didn't get a thing done last night. I ended up doing a little bit of cleaning because my dh decided we will be going snowmobiling again this weekend. I don't mind but I'm tired and I don't feel like cleaning, shopping, packing tonight. I did get a few things done last night (cleaning toilets - my favorite! NOT).

I haven't had a phone call yet for a showing but I know I will, just because I won't be home to make sure my son cleans up after himself.

We got another inch or so of snow and it looked really pretty when I woke up. I guess they got 6 inches or more up north and this is why my hubby wanted to go again.

So...my N is still sitting on my table with all the ribbons, flowers, paper I pulled out to use on it. Maybe Sunday night...

Have a great weekend!

Chatter...

What a night we had! I went to bed around 10:30 and zonked out. Around 11:30 our power went out. It came back on, went back out, over and over. It finally came back on. I went back to sleep after worrying about my son not being home yet and driving in the snow. At around 1:00 or so, it went out again, back and forth with loud buzzing and then a humungous flash that lit the entire house. I thought for sure that we wouldn't get power back for hours. It came back and stayed on. I resest the alarm and went back to sleep. I'm really wiped out today.

My back is aching and I'm almost ready to see a dr. for it. I've been procrastinating. It's starting to take my breath away at times. Sorry to gripe.

p.s. I saw PJ Man the other day and he had shiny RED shorts over black sweatpants. I don't know what happened to the pink?!

Simple card...

I have nothing else to post so I thought I'd post this really simple birthday card. You can't see the textures which make it a little better in person. I used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots for the pink and the cardstock is Bazzill (look familiar, Linda?!). It's a nice striped texture. I love this paper!! If you click, you can see it close up and the textures will show up.

I bought this doodle flower set from Inkadinkado at Mike's yesterday with a 50% off coupon. My aunt loves tulips so I thought I'd make her card now for March. The sentiment is from a set I got really cheap at Mike's by Scrappy Cat. I colored with Prismas & Gamsol.

I'm finally getting along with clear stamps. The trick is to use a Brilliance or chalky pad first, then you're good to go.

Nothing finished...

I started to alter a wooden N for my little cousin's wall last night. I painted the letter white and then went through my papers. I couldn't find the right one. I went back and forth and finally chose a Basic Grey pattern that was pink and green. Her walls are a pale celery green and the bedding is pink and green.

I cut the letter out and kept looking at it. I decided to go to the registry at Babies R Us to see again what the bedding & valance looked like. It just wasn't working. I was about to give up and go to the lss today to find the right paper when I stumbled across a piece just wide enough to work. So that'll be my project tonight. This is my first altered letter so I'm a little nervous!!

If you have any tips, please leave them for me!

Shout out to Sheet Load....

I love seeing how to make the most of your paper at Sheet Load

They have some blog candy right now. You have the chance to win one of two Fiskars punches! Love the apron strings one.

Change in plans...

I had planned on staying home all day and stamping and/or scrapping a page or two. That changed completely. My aunt called to see if my mom and I wanted to go and visit my cousin and her newborn. I jumped at the chance.

We went to lunch first and met up with another cousin who has an adorable 6 month old boy. We ate at The Cheesecake Factory which I never get to. It was delish.

Then we went to see the beautiful baby girl who is my second cousin.

After I got home I made a quick card for the grandparents since it's their first. I'm not sure who makes the pink cs but I know it's not SU. The pp is SU and the certainly celery is as well.

Baby card...

This is for my cousin who just had a baby girl, Norah! I can't wait to meet her. I finally got to create without CASE'ing. I still cannot get that outine thing right. I mostly used Prismas and Gamsol to color in. The terrible outline is a Copic. If anyone has hints for me, please leave instructions!!

I used SU cs in Certainly Celery and Cool Caribbean. I'm pretty sure the pink is non su. The plaid pink is from my huge stash of paper from Linda! The duck is Rubber Stampede and the sentiment is Savvy Stamps. Pearls are Hero Arts, ribbon from Mike's.

Yum....

More candy here!

Weekend...

Last night I had a little bit of time before my shows (Grey's and Private Practice) so I CASE'd another card. Shame, shame. I just haven't had enough time to relax and create. Hopefully I can do that on the long holiday weekend (Mon.).

Tomorrow we have two showings so we may go out for a Valentine's lunch because you know the restaurants will be packed for dinner.

What was I doing 19 years ago tomorrow? I was in labor with my youngest. Sunday is his birthday so I'll be cooking dinner for the family. We always let them choose whatever they want for dinner and cake. We used to let them choose a restaurant but they always chose one of their favorite meals that either I or my mom had to cook. Fine, it's much cheaper. I always keep my fingers crossed for the chicken, broccoli, ziti so my mom has to cook! LOL The last two times it's been me. So....when I asked my son what he wanted, he said, "I don't really care what meat but I want those cheesy potatoes." They're the Cracker Barrel potatoes. I'll try to post the recipe later if anyone is interested. I thought I'd have ham with them but he said he doesn't really like ham so chicken or turkey will have to do. They pick the weirdest things - homemade mac & cheese or chicken lasagna. I'd be going out for a nice Outback or Longhorn's filet mignon!!

I'm still waiting to hear the cake choice. It was always a standard Carvel since my boys don't really like cake. Last year he discovered an ice cream sandwich cake found in the Kraft foods magazine. I'm not mentioning it this year!

Wishing you a happy heart on Valentine's day!!

Here I go again....

Did I mention how through I am with Valentine's?!! A coworker asked me to bring some in for her to buy. So....I had a few at home that were extra and I made a few quick ones. I ended up CASE'ing again and, of course, I have no idea where I got it!! I'll look. I thought it was Dannie's Designs but it's not. **I found it!! It's from Stamphappy Tammy on SCS. Hers is really pretty!

I used CTMH heart stamps, My Sentiments Exactly sentiment, SU real red dp & black cs.

Another valentine...

I know I said I was sick of Valentine's Day already but I saw this card and decided to CASE. I will need to dig to give proper credit. All I had beside it was SSSSC03 sketch. If you know, let me know please! I hate when I do that. I need to start writing it down when I print out! Ok, I found it! It's Karen over at The Sweetest Thing. Hers is so pretty!

I realized I am out of SU pink pirouette and I already gave my order to my rep!! Grrrr... I used all SU CS & dp (riding hood red, pink pirouette, bella), Hero Arts pearls and CTMH stamps. I feel like I have too much white space again.


Also, I have to share this even though it's horribly blurry. I saw this out the front door and had to take a photo from inside. It was so incredibly beautiful but it only lasted for about 5 min. and then it went back to pink.


















p.s. Pia, you would have laughed out loud this a.m. PJ Man was in Street Paint yellow from head to toe since he didn't have his heavy jacket over the sweatshirt.

Quick valentine...

I needed one more valentine for my son and his fiance. I pulled out some Chipboard stickers I had and slapped it all down. It's not my best work but it's done! Like some of you, I've had it with Valentines!!

Sorry for the crooked photo, as usual! I feel like I should sponge the edge of that white. I've seen others use white and I like it but it's hard not to mat it.

Wow, more candy....

There's some amazing candy at Ink Something!! I would love to win!!

Talk about limited supply stamping...

I forgot to say that after my ride on Sunday, the boys brought me back to the house before going out again for a quick ride, and I stamped with my friend.

She asked me to show her how to get started and use what she had. It wasn't the easiest. She has some stuff but not a lot. She has some SU stamp sets and a limited supply of paper (no brown or decent white!!). She has some store bought markers that were horrible and bright. She had three stamp pads to choose from so this is why I chose the color combo I did. She had SU Basic Brown, Almost Amethyst and Mellow Moss and a nice pad of dps. I ended up ruining my card by stamping the sentiment that wasn't cut right so I had a mess around it. When I got home, I cut out the sentiment, used AA instead of CC and added a little color with pencils. I added some primas too. She didn't know what primas were. Oh yeah, and I had to use a gunky glue stick to adhere.

On my next trip up, I'm bringing her some brown, nice white, primas, etc. I told her she should order some SU markers at her next party. (Please excuse the lousy photo/crop job)

Blog sweets....

You *need* to check out my friend, Kristen's, blog. She's incredibly talented and she has some sa-weeeeeet candy you can win!!

Ok, I won't lie...I hope I win!! hehe

Oh, the sights you see....

You see some beautiful and not so beautiful sights while snowmobiling. You go through sand pits, junk yards, fields, orchards, across streets, etc.

On Saturday, we got to this pretty field and then saw a dead animal on the side. It was so disgusting. Apparently some coyote got a small deer and mangled it apart. A hawk flew off as we drove closer. Just when I thought it was over, I saw Bambi's poor legs off to the side. It really freaked me out.

On to the good stuff....here are a few shots. There's one farm (Pike's) that we see from up 9on the mountain. It's surrounded by mountains and lakes. And then there will be some lake shots. There were quite a few fishermen out there with their huts and ATVs. I get very nervous on the lake. You can see a few wet spots. We stayed on the side while our friend drove for a bit.

The basics....

First off, let me start with some of the things you need.

Here's my perty helmet. It used to match my "sled" but then I got a new one. Oh well...






Trail snacks - what would riding be without them?! We always take beef jerky (YUCK!), trail mix (usually consists of yogurt pretzels, nuts and a bunch of sweet stuff), water, rice crispy treats, sandwiches, twix and other candy bars, cheese and pepperoni, etc. It's all about keeping up our strength HAHAHA!






More later

Snowmobiling 101...

Let me start by saying this may be incredibly boring for some of you. Feel free to skip~! I'll post pix in the next post.

We went snowmobiling this weekend in Maine. The conditions were excellent! We found some new wider trails and were having so much fun on Sat. The weather was beautiful! I think it got close to 40 degrees. No ride is without issues though.

We always stick with the same old local trails that are pretty narrow and windy, and sometimes rocky or muddy. My dh has been studying the maps to figure out how we could connect with the ITS 89 trail. It's like a highway for snowmobiles. It's groomed and wider, well marked, etc. So we were speeding along since the conditions were so nice and then we got lost. The local trail wasn't marked so we drove around and around. We went down some dirt roads and the machines tend to overheat when you're not in snow. So you try to go up the snowbank slightly to get snow under the tracks. I hate that part.

Anyway, we found our way and loved it! The way home was much easier when we realized the mistake. We do have trail maps but, like I said, the trails aren't always marked.

Oh, and I forgot, we were heading around a corner going pretty fast because it was beautiful and we seemed to be the only riders out there. Well, we weren't. My hubby isn't used to being "point man" (the front guy). He saw the oncoming snowmobilers and took the turn too wide and got stuck in the deep snow. The guys quickly pulled him out and we were on our way. Whew!

On Sunday, I went out with the guys (Sat. was us and another couple). The conditions were slightly different than Saturday because it was warm and the snow had turned to what we call mashed potatoes. It's not bad but when you are coming around a corner a little fast, sometimes you get caught up in a pile of mashed potatoes and swerve a little.

They took me to Sebago Lake. It's a huge, beautiful lake which we usually go to during the summer. The trail leading us to the trails that lead to the lake is railroad tracks. We drove for miles around 50-60 miles an hour. It was fun. The little local trails leading to the lake were very windy and bumpy. Oh well, we can now say we made it to Sebago.

I'll try not to be so gabby in my next post with the pix.

Didn't happen....

Well, I forgot I had a hair appt. last night so I got home at 8, cooked a quick dinner and then watched my shows. I'm so mad....I missed the first minute or two of Grey's!! Tonight I have to food shop & pack for the snowmobiling trip.

Over and out for the weekend! Have a great one.

Want to win a Cricut Expressions?!!

This is amazing!! Danielle at Life, One Layout at a Time is giving away a Cricut Expressions. Just go there and leave a comment and send your friends too. If they win, you get a prize. Just tell her I sent you over, please!! I only have the little bug. I'd love the expressions!!

Sorry, bad blogger here....

I just haven't been able to play lately. Things have been a little hectic. I thought I'd get to stamping last night but my spoiled son got to me once again.

He works at a shoe store at the mall. Since he started in Nov., the kid has purchased at least 6 pairs of shoes. Yes, you can say he's addicted to fashion. He shouldn't be working there because he's actually not collecting a paycheck. It all goes back to the store. Grrrrrr.... So yesterday he called to see if he could borrow money because the shoes he's so desperately wanted finally came in. I said no. He already owes me money. Then I kept feeling bad all day. I texted when I got home and said if he REALLY wanted them, I could go up to the mall and buy them as part of his birthday gift (next week). He was thrilled! Why do I always cave?! I can't stand myself for it but I can't help it either.

Ok, I saw PJ Man this morning. It's been quite a while! He had on the street paint yellow with the same color shirt. He looked like a street light base. LOL

I hope to get something done tonight but I may not. We are going snowmobiling this weekend so I have to get some cleaning, packing and shopping done today and tomorrow.

More sweet treats....

Go and check out the candy here at cards and coffee.

It looks like a fun package!! Hope one of us wins.

More sweets.....

Check out the candy here at Kristine's blog

She has some adorable cards to check out while you're there as well!