Here are the weekly specials! Hurry before they're gone. I think I need the blossom punch and the garden dies! Please visit my online store to order: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/michellequinno/

Pals paper Arts Color Challenge #175

I decided to try Pals Paper Arts color challenge this week. All I could come up with was a sympathy card. I have a hard time with these colors! I probably could have come up with a masculine card if I had the right stamps. I was trying to use as much Stampin' Up as I could. I used Fabulous Florets from SU and the sentiment is from Hero Arts. I'm looking forward to updating my stash as a new Stampin'Up demonstrator! p.s. Still working on the side bar and the SU blog!

Cure NF with Jack

I've been away from posting for so long now. I just couldn't keep up. I have something really important to post about though. A friend's son has a horrible disorder called Neurofibromatosis (NF). It is a genetic disorder of the nervous system which causes tumors to form on the nerves anywhere in the body at any time. I ask that you read Jack's story and donate, share, say a prayer, or whatever you can do for this handsome little man. It's so not fair for him and others to go through it. I can't imagine what he and his family have been through. Thank you for looking at his page. http://curenfwithjack.com/

Candy to win...

Go and check out this candy on Nikki's blog. Good luck!

It's all in the bag...

(Blogger is being stupid so I will have to try and correct this later - OK, I give up. It will have to stay. It won't show the spaces I've put in.) Just got back from a vacation in Maine. We had the most relaxing time and perfect weather! It was sunny and in the 80s the whole time and not a cloud in the sky. My only complaint is that the mosquitos were brutal!! We practically went through a whole can of Deep Woods Off! Here's our view. I have much better pictures on my iPad!

Before we left, I made this card for my son's girlfriend with a bag stamp from Too Much Fun Rubber Stamps and gave it to her at the cottage. It had a gift card in the little bag. She loves owls so she thought it was cute.

I also made this bridal shower card. I got a thank you from my cousin and it sounded like she enjoyed the card more than the gift! LOL I used ribbon for her tissue paper so it was a little more dressy. I glued the bag to a card because I wanted to add a sentiment inside. It's cute when it is cut out completely too. My biggest issue is the sides seem to lift a little because it's a little thick where the tissue is. If you have any suggestions as to a good adhesive, please let me know. I tried ATG and that white Scor Tape.

Tough cards...

I've had a few difficult cards to make lately and thought I would share one. This was for my niece's high school graduation. I usually use school colors and when I looked online for this one, they were black and white. Boring! So I decided to use paper with black and other colors in it. Tonight I made a retirement card for a woman and a few nights ago for a man. The next one up is a bridal shower. Thanks for looking! If I can remember who this image came from, I will update tomorrow. The paper is Basic Grey Out of Print and the ribbon is SU. The congratulations is a Hero Arts stamp but I'm not sure who the Class of 2012 is from. Update: The image is from Anji's Antics. She has some terrific freebie images to check out!

Card for my little brother

Made a quick card for my youngest brother who is six years younger than me. He's always been my little brother even though he's 46. I used a Stamping Boutique image. They have some cute guy digis. I bought this one last year for Father's Day and decided to use it for my brother's birthday. I used some old papers (yes, I'm really using up my stash!) and some SU cs. Here are the Candi Dots that I love too. Thanks for looking. (excuse the bad photo). Heading out to a SU open house with my friend, Pia.

Softpencil Blog Hop

Welcome to the Softpencil Studios blog hop!
If you've come here from Carole's blog, then you're on the right track. If not, then start at the Softpencil Blog so that you don't miss a thing.

Elizabeth at Softpencil Studios is celebrating her anniversary and a few of us have been asked to join in on the celebration. I was a bit nervous but decided to join in. Here is my card using the adorable Lilly who is available here. I had fun coloring her.

























It's a big celebration, so there will be several prizes you can win!

There will be a winner for each blog hop (three winners) who´ll receive a gift certificate of $15.

All the players who participate by leaving their comments on each blog of 1, 2 or the 3 blog hops will receive a free digi stamp of their choice. You will have to write Elizabeth at elizabethpujalka@hotmail.com to let her know that you've done that.

There will be a mystery blog during the hop with an extra chance of winning a digi stamp.

Now on to the hop. Next up is Debra.

Here is the full list in case you get lost!

1- Annette Bowes http://mypommiepurplepatch.blogspot.com
2- April Lower http://allaboutthelowers.blogspot.com
3- Stephanie Serrano http://www.stephaniesstampinspot.blogspot.com
4- Julie Masse http://stampinwithjulie.blogspot.com
5- Farida Rone http://frcreaciones.blogspot.com
6- Monica Torres http://scrapandomeconlosrecuerdo.blogspot.com
7- Melissa Craig http://stampitscrapitshareit.blogspot.com
8- Carole Rinear Chesser http://fibrejunky.blogspot.com
9- Michelle Quinno http://shellsq.blogspot.com(You are here)
10- Debra Miller www.creamcityangels.blogspot.com
11- Heather D http://stampingdesignsbyheather.blogspot.com
12- Pauline Guttrey http://paulineguttrey.blogspot.com
13- Cyndi Kim http://strwberizncream-cyndi.blogspot.com
14- Mervi http://leikkaan.blogspot.com
15- Lola http://littlecardmaker.blogspot.com
16- Jessica Shelton http://jessicascraftshaque.blogspot.com
17- Monica Flores www.monicascreativemadness.com

Upcoming Blog Hop...

Hi Everyone, it's been a while. I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be participating in a blog hop soon (April 15-20) for Softpencil Studios. There are actually three hops starting on April 10 and going through the 25th. Check back for details! There will be chances to win some adorable free images from Softpencil.

Another freebie...

Boy, I'm not doing so well with blogging lately. I really just can't seem to find the time!! I still have not played with the My Memories software either. I need to take a couple of days off to play! But then again, I would end up babysitting for a lot of it. I love spending time with my C, but I also miss my play time.

Here is another freebie for you:

Hopefully you will get to play more than I do!

Bad blogger....

So much for my fresh start this year on blogging! I've been so busy, it's ridiculous. My stamp room needs dusting at this point. I got home a little early today and thought I'd have extra time until my hubby asked if I wanted to go to Best Buy to pick up his order. UGH....well, at least he paid me back with dinner at Fudruckers! Love that place.

I promised a freebie, so I will post again without a finished lo. I hope to catch up soon.

Here is your freebie from My Memories.com. Just click on their name to download. Isn't it cute?!! I can't wait to use it!



























I'm excited about taking a trip with the girls on Saturday to a not so lss (about an hour away). I've never been, but my stamping friends love this place so I can't wait. It'll be fun just getting together.

Winner of My Memories Giveaway...

Well, I couldn't get the random integer without paying (or at least I don't' think I could! LOL) so I had Cadence pull out a number and she chose.....







Carla!!!

Carla, please send me your friend's email and I will get the code to her. Congrats and thanks for playing!

Don't forget, if you missed playing, you can get a $10 discount on the software and another $10 for a purchase on the My Memories site. Just use my code: STMMMS41834 at checkout!

Stay tuned...I will have another freebie to post on Wednesday!

Yikes, I forgot!!

So sorry! I completely forgot to pick a winner yesterday! I will try the random integer thingy tonight and if that doesn't work for me, I will have my granddaughter reach in and pull a name out of a basket.

Stay tuned...

A freebie for you...

My rotten cold is still kicking my butt so I haven't had time to play with this freebie. I hope you can use it and post a lo with it! To get it, just click here to go to My Memories Suite and download. I will try to post a layout using this soon.








p.s. Final date for the software giveaway below is Sunday, January 8th. If you don't win, don't forget you can get a $10 discount using this code at checkout: STMMMS41834

My Memories giveaway...

It's been a while since I've blogged and I thought I'd start up again with the new year.

I'm really excited to tell you about this digi software for scrapbooking and cardmaking. It's called My Memories Suite. I've never tried digi scrapping before but this software made it really easy! Here is my first page. My granddaughter had her picture taken just before Christmas so I used that to start.


























I'm giving away a copy of the software to one lucky person who comments! What I need you to do is visit My Memories.com, pick your favorite paper pack and leave a comment here. Please leave your email address so that I can contact you if you win! Good luck!

Also, if you don't win and you'd like to purchase the My Memories Suite, you can get a $10 discount by using my code at checkout: STMMMS41834

You can also find My Memories Suite at:

Blog- http://www.mymemoriesblog.com/
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593
Twitter- http://twitter.com/#!/mymemoriessuite

Time to celebrate...

It's been so long since I've posted. Life is just too busy these days. My granddaughter keeps us hopping! She's almost 14 mos. and she is absolutely obsessed with electronics, especially my laptop. She knows how to turn on the dvd player and open the door, take out a dvd and put another in it's place. It's really amazing! I can't have my laptop on when she's in the room because she slams on the keys and changes my desktop and opens all kinds of windows.

I made this for an online friend who is really funny. She's always teasing me about the flavored beers I drink. I hope she likes it. This image came from Paper Craft Essentials. It was one of their free downloads. The sentiment is from a Hero Arts set that I use all the time. Thanks for looking.

My girl....

I haven't really had the time or energy to post lately. When I get home from work, I cook dinner, clean up and try to get up to my scrap room but sometimes I stop to check Facebook or email out. When my little granddaughter sees me, she practically runs to the gate and laughs. She knows if she's cute enough, I will get right over there and pick her up. Then she proceeds to run to my laptop and try to type or use my mouse. It's impossible to do anything online when she's awake.

Anyway, my son and I were out running errands one day with Cadence. She was getting fussy between stores so my son passed her back the canister of beloved puffs to play with and shake. She inhales those things! So it suddenly got quiet. We both assumed she fell asleep. Got to our stop and opened the door and the little devil just smiled at me. She had at least half of the container of puffs on her, stuck to her face, in her mouth. What a riot! By the time my son got around to take the photo, she was looking at us like she was saying, "What's wrong?!"

I am scrapping with some friends tomorrow so I hope to work on Cadence's album. Have a great weekend!

Baby Boy album

Here are a few pictures of an album I just finished for my cousin's little baby boy. I found the paper by My Mind's Eye when I was at CKC and used cardstock from my big stash. It's pretty simple because I find it hard to embellish boy pages! I hope my cousin likes it. She is a scrapper so I thought she could add to it once the photos are on. Thanks for looking!

A card for a boy...

My friend sent me an email yesterday about a little boy who has cancer. She volunteers for a wonderful organization called themagicalmoonfoundation.org and they were asking for cards for a six year old boy named Thomas who was having a tough week. He loves getting mail and they thought it would be fun for him to get some cards, especially from out of town. I automatically went to my Dustin Pike file because I knew there were some knight images I could use to make his card. I ended up with a knight and a horse. Maybe I can post the card later. I'm not done yet.

As I was making the card, it hit me that I should ask Dustin to post on his blog. I didn't expect him to do it since I'm sure he's innundated with requests. I was blown away tonight when I opened my email. He put a freebie up with Thomas' story. I am forever grateful to him. He's so kind and generous!! If you don't know about him, please go and check out his talents and the story of Thomas.

Happy Easter & 29/50

Happy Easter! Here is our little bunny and a card for her first Easter.

28/50

I know, I've been MIA again. Just a quick post today to share this cute one of Cadence on her laptop. Her dad bought it so that she would leave mine alone. She still practically hyperventilates when she sees the path to mine but she likes hers at the dinner table.

I can't believe she's almost 8 months. Where does the time go?! She's officially crawling and pulling herself up now. She is a leetle devil. It's a good thing she's cute!

I'm looking forward to the weekend. I am taking a class with Jennifer McGuire on Sat. I can't wait!!

26 & 27/50 and a flower...

I made an Easter card tonight and then decided to play a bit. I printed out some ledger papers yesterday from Mel Stamps. A few of the sheets were regular copy paper which I wouldn't use as a background on a card so I punched them with my SU scallop punch. Then I inked the edges with Antique Linen Distress Inks and my Inkessentials tool (win from http://www.jennifermcguireink.com/). I crumbled two of them in a ball and started layering. I think I ended up with four layers. I put glue dots in between layers and just kept crunching them. Then I topped with a button and some
Twinery twine. I think I may put a bit of black distress ink on the edges. I did have fun and will probably make more. I think it would be better to use different size punches but not necessary.


The last two photos are Cadence reading a book. She's finally interested in looking at the pictures instead of shutting the book on me when I'm reading! I'll do a layout in her scrapbook of this. Her parents don't like to read so they informed me that it's my job to teach her how to read. I don't mind a bit!

24 & 25/50 and a card...

Here are a couple of pictures of Cadence on St. Paddy's Day. She was just sitting there posing for my mom! (sorry for the duplication FB friends!!)

My aunt sent up an adorable pair of boots for Cadence. They're zebra print with pink trim. I made a thank you with this cute little bird who had boots on. I will edit with the image info within the next day or so. Again, I used the SU designer paper I got from the sale-a-bration.

Happy St. Paddy's Day & 22 & 23/50....

I couldn't resist posting these pics my mom took. She was babysitting yesterday afternoon and took her scarf of and tied it on Cadence's head. She didn't even try to take it off. I bought her some cute socks that look like step shoes. I can't wait to see what she wears today! I hope they take pictures for me.

Also just had to share this...My hubby always takes the trash out. I usually help by going into each bathroom to empty. This morning I thought I'd take the bags and down to the garage before I left. I then took the trash barrels out and headed down the driveway. The barrels kept going at the end and so did I. Apparently there was some black ice. I nearly killed myself! I couldn't move without slipping. I finally decided to take my clogs off to see if my socks would hold me up. They did. I walked up the hill with clogs in hand and had to change my socks. I'm sure it was pretty hilarious for anyone who could see me! So much for helping!!!

Hope you have a nice St. Paddy's Day!

21/50

I know...I've been slacking again, along with my friend who is doing her Year of 50 (wink, wink, Betsy!!).

I had a fun time babysitting Cadence overnight for the first time on Thurs. I had her for most of the day on Friday as well. We had a fun time but I cannot keep up with her! I pulled my back out so I was trying not to hold her constantly. As I probably mentioned before, the little bundle of energy loves to walk up and down the kitchen and into the bathroom where the laundry closet is. She is amazed by the washer and dryer. She stares when the clothes are going around and around. When we walk in and nothing is running, she just looks as if to say, "What happened?"

Anyway, here is a picture from a week or so ago and also one of a card I made recently. I'm getting caught up! I'm now working on Easter and all March birthdays are done. Yay me!

I have two packages sitting in my car. I will mail them tomorrow. One has this card and some ribbon for my friend. I know she doesn't check blogs so I'm safe. I had to try out my Amuse ribbon (see previous post) and this SU paper from SAB. I love this paper. I've used it on three cards in a row!

Luck o' the Irish...

I've been incredibly lucky lately with blog and Facebook wins. I won a Paper Crafts prize on Facebook a little while back and then I won a $25 g.c. recently on Wizard's Hangout blog. It was a gift card to CSN stores.com. Then I won some goodies on Jennifer McGuire's blog, as mentioned previously. The next win was from Paper Crafts on Facebook again. I thought I was getting two or three rolls of Amuse ribbon because the photo had two or three rolls. Well......I received my package today from Amuse Studio. Are you ready?!! I won sixteen rolls of ribbon!! I am in Heaven!! I can't wait to play with it tomorrow.

20/50 and a card....

We recently had my niece, her hubby and her 18 mo. twins over for dinner. The twins were running around wild and Cadence was amazed at them. She was observing everything they did which made us a little nervous! LOL She was so happy to have other kids around!
























Here's a card I made for my aunt who is a golfer. The inside has a sentiment by Create with TLC - "Two words, par tee"! I'm pretty sure the lady golfer is TLC as well.




p.s. I'm sooooo excited! I just won a prize on the incredibly talented Jennifer McGuire's blog!

19/50

Here's our little technology princess. She looks at my phone like it's ancient. She is used to her parents iPhones and loves the apps! Her uncle gave her his phone the other day and she looked at it like she was reading the texts he was getting. Too funny! She loves trying to type on my laptop too. I appease her by playing Bejeweled with the sound on.

Mia and some turkeys...

Ok, second time. My post just up and disappeared!!

I haven't had much time to myself at night so I haven't had the chance to post or upload any new photos.

I came up over a hill after a snow storm to see all these turkeys on both sides of the street. I had to wait until a group crossed. They were marching up one driveway and across the street going toward a house. They were very bold! I've never seen them with their feathers up like this. I apologize for the picture quality but it was from my car.

15, 16, 17, 18/50

I love watching Cadence eat. She is the most anxious to eat baby that I've ever seen. She sits patiently with her little mouth open, just waiting for the next spoonful. When the container is gone, she still has that little mouth open for more! You'd think she was starving. She's also really neat about eating which is so nice!

I tried to get some pictures for her scrapbook but she moves so fast and they turn out blurry. Here are a few...