Roomie Card

Since I am not going to Stampin' Up's convention this year (boo hoo), I joined VCRocks. We do swaps, etc. in the summer while others are at convention. They even have a make-believe hotel and assign roomies. You're supposed to send your roomie cards each week and during convention, send her a package like you would if you were at convention. My roomie is Clara and she lives in West Virginia. This is the card I am mailing to her today. I actually CASE'd this idea off another blog, but isn't it cute???? I'm also trying to use up my Designer Paper instead of hoarding it!

Lost in the mail

I've been stamping like crazy this weekend! We're going to DC to see my daughter for the 4th - leaving Tuesday - so trying to get everything caught up before we leave. I did 2 cards for my Monday Mailer since we will be gone all week. I'll be ready to put the second one in the mail when we return.. In July, we are supposed to use Bold Brights. They used to be my favorite color combo, but I think Rich Regals have taken their place. Anyway for next weeks card, I used yellow and red. Wow, is it bright. So bright, you might need shades!! I used the Enjoy stamp. I'm loving this set - don't know why I waited so long to buy it.

Last night I found out that one of my swaps that I did for VCRocks arrived in Washington empty!! She said all that was in the envelope was my return envelope. Someone must have opened it en route because I used a kraft envelope, licking the seal and securing the fastener PLUS I ran scotch tape over the seal. The swap hostess said it looked like packing tape was put over my scotch tape. I should have said just forget it and dropped from the swap. But .... no, not me. That would have been too easy! This afternoon I worked on making another card for the swap using my Boho Blossoms punch and the One of a Kind stamp set. I only had to do 11 so they went pretty quick once I figured out what I wanted to do (the hardest part for me!) The card that was lost was the blue Riot of Petals one that took me forever to color (you can check them out in an earlier post). Anyway, here is my new swap.

Our new couch!!

Yippee!!! We got our new couch delivered this week!!! It is so nice. It's looks so different in my living room. You have to understand, we've had the old couch as long as we've been married - actually longer (and we've been married 35 years!!) It was Sonny's couch when we were dating (yes, it probably saw a little action in it's day!!). So it is really great to have something new and totally different. When we found out it was arriving on Thursday, we had Stanley Steemer come out on Tuesday to clean the carpets. So I've been busy all week moving stuff out of the room and then today, spent the afternoon moving everything back. Now, I just have to wait patiently for our new end tables to arrive - hopefully in about 2 weeks. Just in time for our Texas friends who will be staying with us a few days in July, along with our daughter.

Check out this blog for mitering corners! Great tip!!

Enjoy - going to miter some corners!!

Sharon

I've been tagged by Linda - a Texas gal! (Linda - I lived in DFW area for about 20 years!!) Check out her blog - you'll love the pictures of her daughter jumping off the Macau Tower in Asia!!

Seven random/weird things about me ..... guess I should be glad I'm the one coming up with these and not my family!!

1. I hate to exercise - even though I'm a member of the "Y" - probably wouldn't go if my guilt didn't kick in when my hubbie goes!!

2. If I lived alone, I would probably always eat all my meals standing at the kitchen sink or at the computer!!

3. I hate to clean!! Especially, the bathroom.

4. My favorite childhood memories include trips to Lake Waccamaw and the ice cream truck driving through the neighborhood on hot sticky summer nights.

5. I don't like confrontations. (although, I've had more than my share in the past few months!)

6. The toilet paper roll HAS to be pulled over the top. I go crazy when I visit my daughter because she does it the other way!! So wrong! LOL

7. Me and a posse of friends once followed (while in college) a couple of bands who had backed up the Beach Boys at a college (ECU) concert from Greenville to Raleigh (they invited us to a party!). It was the Strawberry Alarm Clock (Inscense and Peppermint ...) and Buffalo Springfield (Neil Young & Steven Stills). We got to Raleigh only to join them while they were eating in a motel restaurant. That was the extent of the "party"!! So we headed back to campus only to find the whole town locked down because of Martin Luther King being assassinated. We were stopped by the National Guard!! A whole other story!

Well, that was a trip down memory lane!! I am tagging:

Lisa - http://glitternfool.com/
Jackie - http://shortwizard.blogspot.com/
Beth - http://papertrailz.blogspot.com/
Brenda - http://tappstampers.typepad.com/tappstampers/
Jan - http://stampspaperscissors.typepad.com/stamps_paper_scissors/
Roxy - http://stampingwithroxy.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Kim - http://kimevans.typepad.com/stamping_with_kim/

Punch a House

I got this card today from my Monday Mailer - making a card and using our punches. Didn't she do a great job?!! This took some time and she said she made 45 of them!! I can't imagine. Wow, Tammy - you are great! Thanks!

I LOVE lemonade!!

I got the greatest card yesterday from my Secret Sister!! How did she know my favorite summer drink is lemonade???? I just love those little Crystal Light individual packets that you put in water and lemonade is my favorite. Although .... I found a new one today that I really like also - White Grape - give it a try! My other favorite is Pomegrante, but lemonade is the most refreshing to me and makes me drink my water!!! So, I'm getting off the topic! Check out this super card:She used vellum for the glass and colored the backside of it with a yellow marker (I think). Then she put Dazzling Diamonds (by SU) on the rim of the glass and around the lemon. The lemon is from the Tart & Tangy set which is in the mini catalog. The last day to order this set will be Monday. It is a great set. I'm hoping it might be in the new catalog but we won't know until August.

I have been working on my swaps for VCRocks (a new group I joined this summer). Finally got them finished and all but one set in the mail. Wow - mailing them cost me over $30. I'll remember that the next time I enter that many swaps.

The different categories of the swaps I did are:





FRESH AND FUN (using a stamp set that will be in the new catalog that comes out in August)
I did this card in blues using Riot of Petals - my very favorite background stamp. It will be on the dormant list instead of in the catalog (but we only just found this out). I hope that does not mean it will be gone when the Winter catalog is released!




CLEARLY COOL swap - making a card using acetate. I just love these cards! I used the leaf from the set, With Gratitude.











TECHNICALLY TERRIFIC (utilizing a technique)
I did the grid technique. It is super easy with the Scor-Pal!! I used the leaf set from Embrace Life and the saying is from All Holidays.











HOW THE WEST WAS WON (western themed card)

For this card, I used the Western Sky designer paper. I just love that paper!! I made a tent card and used my star punches.







COASTER SWAP (making something from a chipboard coaster)

This is the sticky note holder that I showed you how to make in an earlier post.

WINGED THINGS- self explanatory!

I embossed in white on the black cardstock and used the bird from the Always set that I just ordered.

I also did an ATC (trading card size) technique swap. That was rather easy and the hostess will make a card from our ATC and send it to us.

Hope you enjoy seeing these cards!

Sharon

Raining Cats and Dogs

I've been MIA for a few days! Just catching up on life! Sunday we went to Hickory to look for a couple of end tables. Our new couch is arriving on Thursday and I wanted new tables to go with it. Lucked out at Ashley Furniture and they should arrive in a couple of weeks. We had breakfast at the local Shoney's and enjoyed watching the "locals" there. There were a few bikers that came in as we were leaving - 3 guys and 2 women. Wow ... what a group. Let's put it this way - I had to use the bathroom before we left but the 2 women went in first. I waited till they left to go in!!! They were scary!!

I invited my mom and sister to come over for dinner Sunday night. We were going to put some chicken and shrimp on the grill and I was going to boil a few ears of corn. Plus, we stopped at a roadside stand on the way back from Hickory and purchased watermelon and cantelope, so thought I'd cut that up and serve it. Well, about 6:00 the skies opened up and we had a gully-washer .... raining cats and dogs, thunder, lightning, hail. Around 6:30, our electricity went out. Sooooo ..... what to do about dinner??? Mom and Angela got caught in the storm coming to our house and had to stop a few times to wait it out. Sonny was finally able to go outside a little after 7:00 to start the grill and do some cooking. We ended up putting the corn on the grill with the chicken and shrimp and it was delicious. We ate about 8:00 - by candlelight. After dinner, it stopped raining long enough for us to sit outside for about 20 minutes before the storm came back. After our family left, Sonny and I enjoyed a nice game of Scrabble. Don't know how long it's been since we played that game, but it was fun and I ALMOST won. We don't take the time anymore to just do things together like playing games without the TV or computer being our entertainment. It was nice. Not knowing how long our power would be out, we turned off the A/C and opened our bedroom windows. We actually stayed comfortable all night. The power did not come back on until about 4:30 in the morning.

Pick a Color!

Ever wonder why taxicabs are yellow? Believe it or not, almost all cars and taxis were black in the 1920's. John Hertz owned a taxicab company in Chicago at that time and was looking for a way to make his cabs stand out from the competition. Hertz decided to paint his taxis a distinctive color. He went to the University of Chicago and asked them to make a study of what color was the easiest to see at a distance. The result was yellow, and thus the tradition of yellow taxis began.

In the meantime, ever-resourceful Hertz had another idea. There were cars sitting in his company garage that hadn't been converted to taxis yet. Why not offer his excess autos to people who wanted to rent a car for a brief time? Adding to his fleet by buying out a man who had started a small rental operation, Hertz went on to create the first major car-rental company in the United States. The Hertz Rent-A-Car company still uses yellow as its corporate color.


~Strange and Interesting Facts About Famous Brand Names by "Dr. Knowledge" Charles Reichblum

Card Making Marathon

A good time was had by all, I believe! I had several friends over today for a card making marathon! We made 10 cards. Some I posted in an earlier post. But, thought I would post the other four we made.

Enjoy the ride - This is not Disney World!!

40 Ways to Live a Better Life ~ If only everyone would read and try these!!

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'
5. Live with the 3 E's—Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Play more games and read more books than you did in last year.
7. Make time to practice meditation, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the negative blues away.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. (MY FAVORITE along with the next one)
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
26. Forgive everyone for everything.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. Remember God heals everything.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. (I HOPE)
30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
33. The best is yet to come.
34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
35. Do the right thing!
36. Call your family often.
37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for _______. Today I accomplished ____.
38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
40. Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can't change.

Heart Attacks in Women

Here are the stats for the average number of heart attacks among women every year:

Age 65 and older [352,000]
Ages 45 to 64 [74,000]
Under age 45 [9,000]

Total heart attacks among women for year [435,000]

Did you know that most people believe heart disease is mainly a man's disease? Not true. Cardiovascular disease does strike men about a decade earlier in life than women but once women reach age 50, their risk quickly climbs. Over a lifetime, two out of five women die of cardiovascular disease, making it the leading cause of death in women.

The Lifetime Risk... After age 40, the lifetime risk for developing coronary heart disease is 32% in women and 49% in men. As women age, the risk approaches almost that of men. Here are some stats that are mind-boggling (at least to me). Beginning at age 55, more women than men have high cholesterol levels. About 37 percent of women aged 45-54 have high blood pressure. More than 7 million women have been diagnosed with diabetes. Another 2.3 million have the disease and don't know it. After menopause, heart disease rates are 2-3 times higher. Why? It is because estrogen is believed to increase levels of high-density lipoprotein (good cholesterol) and reduce levels of low-density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol). Estrogen also boosts levels of a chemical called tissue plasminogen activator, or TPA, which dissolves blood clots.

Did you know... For a 200-pound woman, losing just 6.5% (just 13 lbs) of her body weight can have a positive impact on heart health. Dropping just a few pounds, even if you are seriously overweight, will reduce your cardiovascular risk. Think on this... Eating a low-calorie diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains and increasing your level of physical activity will lower your heart disease risk—even if you don't lose much weight. The American Heart Association (AHA) has established the following specific goals for women:

Blood pressure: less than 120/80 mm Hg
Total cholesterol: less than 200 mg/dL
HDL (good) cholesterol: 50 mg/dL or higher
LDL (bad) cholesterol: range of less than 100 mg/dL to less than 160 mg/dL, depending on risk factors
Triglycerides: less than 150 mg/dL
Body mass index: less than 25
Waist circumference: less than 35 inches
Exercise: at least 30 minutes a day, all or most days of the week
Don't smoke
Eat a balanced diet
See your doctor regularly

As you can see you can turn this around in your favor. We don't have to go down this road. We can help keep these health issues from coming through that door and staying. I will be the first to admit that there are times you can't keep trouble from coming—but you don't have to offer it a comfortable chair to sit in.

Sheetloads!

Here's a great site to visit and check out some of their card samples. .. Sheetload of Cards. They will even show you what to do with all those mini dollar stamps you pick up at Michaels!!

Sharing Time!

Just have to share with you the cool card my talented daughter made for my husband (her father!) for Father's Day. Isn't it cool?? I sure miss the "U" stamp set - wish SU had not retired it!!

Decor Elements

Introducing Decor Elements.....Stampin' Up!'s new addition to our Definitely Decorative product line!
Decor Elements designs coordinate with many of our exciting products, so you can combine them to make beautiful, handcrafted home decor pieces. Personalize your surroundings with a variety of exclusive images designed to create a customized, unique space. With our self-adhesive vinyl elements you'll discover how easy and cost effective it can be to do your own decorating!
This exciting new product will be available to customers on July 1st. I will have brochures available in about a week. Please email me if you would like one. You will love the new artwork, phrases & alphabets available to transform your room in just minutes.

Stamp a Stack

If you live in the Sherrills Ford / Lake Norman area, you are invited to a Stamp-a-Stack! We will be making 10 cards for $20 on Saturday, June 21. Come join us!! We will be using some of the recently announced Stampin' Up retired sets as well as a few new ones.

Here are a few examples of what we will be making.

Tab Punch Flower

Here's a card I made for my Monday Mailer this week. The flower is made with the tab punch and a circle punch in the middle. Thought it turned out real cute! I used the Stem Sayings stamp for the stem and used the Oval Punch for leaves.

Mountain Trip with Gabby!

We took a spontaneous trip to the mountains this weekend. Haven't done that in a long time. It was a great opportunity to test out Sonny's Father's Day present! Ashley bought him a GPS and we had a great time trying to figure it out on the road. We kept trying to come up with a name for the GPS. Many times, her name was "Dumb Azz" but think Sonny finally settled on Gabby!!

We drove up on Saturday and spent the night in Maggie's Valley. It was so pretty. We drove over to Cherokee also. Boy, has it changed since I was a kid. I remember going to Cherokee and Ghost Town with my Aunt Deese & Uncle Butch. There would be an Indian Chief standing on the sidewalk waving to everyone. And, during the trip to the mountains, we were always on the lookout for bears - even seeing one once in a while. Now Cherokee is pretty commercialized with junk stores abound and even a casino!! We walked into the casino (Harrah's) and looked around. It was pretty smoky and the Blackjack tables were video blackjack. If I play, I prefer to touch the cards!!! Later we found out that there is no alcohol in the casino either - the county is totally dry!! Unbelievable!! We had hoped to see the play, Unto these Hills but it was raining and we didn't want to take a chance on buying tickets and have to sit out in the rain!! Our motel in Maggie's Valley was quaint. We had a hot tub in the room, so I had a nice soak before going to bed - even ate a piece of cheesecake with chocolate dribbled on it while in the tub! Talk about decadent!! We walked down to a sports bar after dinner and played some NTN Trivia. But, were we surprised when their "last call for drinks" was at 9:30!! The place closes at 10:00 (and it was Saturday night). We hurried back to our motel before they rolled up the sidewalks!! The next morning after a yummy pancake breakfast, we drove into Tennessee. We drove up to the Douglas Lake and just looked around. Then drove to Gatlinburg. We had never been there and don't know that we were missing anything!!! We had lunch at a nice English Pup restaurant and then hit the highway back to NC.

Stampin' Up's Retired Stamps 2008

Ah, to be retired and sunning on the beach . . .

Oh - I forgot, I am retired .... just not sunning on the beach at the moment!!

For those of you anxiously awaiting to see which stamp sets from the Spring-Summer Collection 2008 will retire in August, you can find them here: Retirement List. So, which ones are you sorry to see go? Which ones are you relieved to see hanging around?

If you want to order any of them (or some that are not retired), give me a shout!!

Bling'y Shoes

Just wanted to let you know, a viewer let me know where you could order the shoes with the ribbons like I pictured in an earlier post. Here's the website - www.shoesthatloveyou.com

It's the same company - Okabashi & Oka. B - don't know why the different names & different sites. I guess cause at Oka B all the shoes have a little "bling" and you know, a gal can't get too much bling! But, they are pricier - gotta pay for the bling!!

I think my mom, my sister and yes, me are going to get a pair of the less expensive slide and I'll be buying a pair for my daughter too! Now, which ones???? Decisions, Decisions!!

Tagged

Got this little questionaire off another blog - thought I'd give it a shot!

What is the worst meal you ever had? When I was a child, one of my Grandmother Burke's favorite dishes to fix was Goulosh. I just remember I didn't like it any better than when she cooked liver!!

Name one place you could vacation every year? I really don't like to go to the same place year after year. Too many places to see .... too little time!! But, guess I could go to Hawaii every year if I was forced to!!

5 things that drive you crazy?

1. Not turning off the lights when you leave a room

2. The little ads that are always stuck in magazines.

3. People who never believe they are wrong and can only see things in black and white - no gray areas!

4. Dumb people

5. Smokers who hold their cigarettes away from themselves but right in your area!

Name 3 people from your past that make you stop and think, “Hey, I wonder what ever happened to…”
Cheryl - my high school girlfriend; Sandra - my Burlington/ Elon College girlfriend and Guffy - an ex-boyfriend

Kids TV show you might actually enjoy more than your kids do? I don't like cartoons at all and don't even know any kids TV shows!!

Worst movie you’ve ever seen? The Accidental Tourist Jeff & I went to see this and just kept waiting for it to get better - it never did!!

Most under-rated TV show you watch regularly? Nashville Stars

Most popular TV show you never watch? Grey's Anatomy

Celebrity whose looks you’d like to have? maybe Faith Hill

Celeb you can’t stand? Rosie O'Donnell

What did you do today? made cards for my swaps

Who are you tagging? Anybody who wants to play along.

eScape with Stampin' Up

#1 -- The Occasions Mini-Catalog and the expiration date has been extended until the end of June because this popular publication has so many fantastic summer-y stamps and designer series papers that are perfect for so many summer-y celebrations, including Father's Day, which is fast approaching!




2 -- Stampin' Up! is offering a SNEAK PEEK at one of the awesome new items in the upcoming Fall-Winter Idea Book & Catalog (if you are a customer of mine, look for your new FALL SAMPLER in the mail soon after August 8th, or you can contact me at smaranich@yahoo.com and I will drop one in the mail to you).



#3 -- Every heard of 'e-Scape'? Well it is a fantastic idea that Stampin' Up! has to help us all ESCAPE from the numerous tethers of our day-to-day work and home life. Put down the phone, turn off the computer, and break away free from the 'e'! Remember when you got letters in your mailbox instead of your inbox? On June 25, 2008, Stampin' Up! is taking the day to unplug and unwind, and reconnect on a personal level with friends and loved ones through handmade cards. And we invite you to eScape with us throughout the month of June!

Take advantage of the 25 percent discount on select items in the eScape bundle to help you create that special message from the heart.



eScape Bundle:

Love Notes assortment (p 167) $ 8.95
Circle of Friendship stamp set (p 143) $17.95
Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad (p 165) $ 5.25
Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon (p 191) $ 7.95

Total (non-bundled) $40.10

eScape Bundle price $30.00