Did You Know?

The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses.

Francis Scott Key was a young lawyer who wrote the poem "The Star Spangled Banner" after being inspired by watching the Americans fight off the British attack of Baltimore during the War of 1812. The poem became the words to the national anthem.

The Netherlands and the United States both have anthems that do not mention their countries' names.

Pilgrims ate popcorn at their first Thanksgiving dinner.

American Indians never actually ate turkey; killing such a timid bird was thought to indicate laziness.

~The Book of Useless Information by Noel Botham & The Useless Information Society

New Catty is HERE!!!

The new catty is available now and it is a beauty!! You can download the new catalog HERE. It could take a while to download it, so be patient OR contact me for a copy. I am offering free shipping on your first order of $20 of more.

In order to make room for more goodies in the catalog, the supply lists for the projects featured in the catalog are no longer at the back of the catalog. They are available HERE.

Breaking News!

Pictures and details to follow when I get home, but for now .....

STEELERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!

Retired Lists

Time is running out!! Last date to order retired items is Jan. 18th!!

To see the retired lists, click HERE. Items that are out of stock are in italics and in Purple.

Brrrrr

Just a quick post this a.m. We arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday to bone chilling temps!! Our thermometer in the car never got above 14 degrees on our drive up yesterday and we watched it drop as we drove north. Last night, we drove out to Sonny's hometown - about 45 minutes from Pittsburgh - to have dinner and meet one of his old friends. On the way home, the thermometer in the car registered -3 degrees!! My friends, that is COLD!! It has gotten up to almost 5 degree this a.m. - expecting snow later today. We are headed out to find some Pittsburgh gear (in our sweaters, long johns, mittens .......). We'll be stopping by the "O" for hot dogs and later in the day for hoagies at Danny's!!

Goody Goody Gumdrops

Here's a card I made before I went out of town using the Level 3 Hostess set in the new catalog, Goody Goody Gumdrops.  I just love this set!!  Don't these gumdrops look good enough to eat????  I colored them with my Prisma colored pencils with Gamsol.  The designer paper is from the new paper, Candy Cane.  And, of course, the Top Note Die!!  The card is made from Pink Pirouette - I'm going to miss this color when it goes away this summer (and Kiwi!)

My New Toy

I got a new toy this week - SU's Sizzix Embosslit Sweetest Stem.  We were able to order a few select items early from the new catalog and I ordered it in mid-December and just now received it!!  I wasn't sure what it was when I ordered it, but figured I had to have it of course!!  But, it is really cool.  It embosses and die cuts together.  Here's the card I made with it -

I used the new designer paper - Raspberry Tart.  I love, love, love that paper!!  It actually matches the flower in the Embosslit which also matches the flower in the new stamp set, Sweet Stems (page 99).  Guess I'll be getting the stamp set now!  On the card, I punched designer square with my 1 1/4" punch and then punched 1 3/8" squares out of Kiwi Kiss and Rose Red card stock.  

SU's new catalog!!

I received my new catalogs this week!! So, I've been busy poring over the pages and making out my wish lists!!! If you want a copy of the Idea Book catalog ($10), let me know. I am offering a special for your first order of $20 or more - free shipping!! So let me know & I'll get one to you. The first day to order is next week - January 19th.

There are a lot of new Sizzix dies in the book AND Texturz embossing plates. Here is a link to Patricia's blog where she has a video tutorial using the Texturz plates. So, it will give you an idea how they work.

More Blog Candy - waiting for ya!

Click HERE for some great blog candy!!

Valentine Share

Here's a Valentine card I made this week for a challenge on a group I am in - Latenight Stampers.  The challenge was to make a masculine Valentine card.  It's always a challenge to make a masculine card, don't ya think?  But, I like how this one turned out and my DH will probably get this on Feb. 14th!!

The card base is Kraft card stock.  I ran the white through my Big Shot with a Fiskars texture plate that I bought in Texas several years ago - it works great with the Big Shot!!  The red polka dot paper is from Stampin' Up as are the patterned paper I punched the hearts out with.  I used my new Stampin' Up heart punch and a Sizzix die heart punch (with the Big Shot).  The "xoxo" definition is from SU Define Your Life.  The ribbon is Stampin' Up also.