Diva Challenge - Big Shot

I made this card for a swap and for the challenge HERE . I used the Big Shot with the Loopy Flowers die and the Little Leaves die. The flower is the Scallop Punch that I slit and rolled up with a bamboo stick.

Rainy Weekend Projects

What a dreary rainy weekend we had .... cold and rainy!  We took met some friends Friday night at a local fish camp.  Fish camps are big here in the south and our friends are .... Yankees who live here now.  It was their first trip to a fish camp and they loved it!!  Plus, the food was delicious - probably not on my Weight Watchers diet (fried and fried!), but oh so yummy!!

I took a class on Saturday at Stamper's Alley which was really fun.  Debbie taught the class and she is really talented and oh so organized!!  She is doing a series every couple of months of sketches and colors.  This month the colors were Turquoise; Kiwi and Yellow and the cards were very simple but so pretty.

Today is my sister, Marianne's birthday (Happy Birthday, sis!).  We went out to eat with her and her family on Saturday and I gave her some stamping goodies for her birthday.  It was also my nephew's girlfriends birthday.  Here is the little gift I made for Kelly:

 

This is a little Gift Card Folder that we did at convention last year.  It unties and opens to hold all the little gift cards seen below.  Here are the dimensions if you are interested:

Very Vanilla card stock (9 3/4" x 6") scored at 4 3/4" and 5".  Rotate 90 degrees & score at 2 1/2".  Fold on score lines to create card folder.  Wrap ribbon around folder and adhere to front of folder using Sticky Strip.  Decorate front of folder.

These are the little gift cards and envelopes I put inside the folder.  I used SU's Scallop Notes.  I put designer paper inside the envelope and stamped the outside of the envelope.  The stamp set I used was Pun Fun and the little birdie is from Best Wishes & More.

Last night, I cut apart a couple of my wheels.  I had never done this before (I know, a lot people do it!!) and was a little scared.  But, I had bought the Friendly Words wheel for $8.50 and ended up with 13 stamps from it!!  Then I took a retired wheel of baby clothes on a clothesline (don't remember the name) and cut it apart in one long piece.  I backed the stamps with Easy Mount and now, all I have to do is put them on one of my clear stamp holders.  Get brave and give it a try!!  Now, to find a use for the empty wheel!!  Any ideas?

Fifth Ave Floral

Well, I resisted for a while, but finally broke down and bought this stamp.  I love it!!!  It is just gorgeous.  I made a birthday card for Judy with it last week but forgot to take a picture of it!!  But, I did this card this week for a friend.  I found this floral paper that I have had for ages and the stamp matched it really well ... don't you think?

I watercolored the flower and cut it out.  Then, I used a gel pen to go around the edges.  I just love how it turned out!  Here's the flower close-up.

Thank You

As a parent of children who served their country in the US Army ... my daughter is still in the Army .... I found this to be wonderful.

Recently, a gentleman from Seattle created a gesture using an ASL (American Sign Language) sign of “Thank You” (which is then being gestured from the heart rather than from the mouth), and has started a movement to get the word out. A Thank You from the Heart.

Please everybody take just a moment to watch.... The Gratitude Campaign; .... and then forward it to your friends!

THEN START USING THE SIGN.

More Swaps

Here are a few more of those swaps.

The first card is by Maria Richie.  It uses Dream a Little; Gallery; and Sincere Salutations with vellum paper over the flowers softening the look.

The second card is by Beth Weinstein.  She used Hope Happens stamp; the Top Note Die and Sixxiz Flower Layers #3 die.  She used Crystal Effects in the center of the flowers.

The third card is mine!!  I used the stamp set from Garden Greeting and embossed the vellum.

The first card is by Mary Haugen.  She used Simple Friendship with the Simple Flower Embosslit.  I love this pink and gray!!

The second card is by Sabrina Beinlich.  She used Le Jardin Botanique,

The third card is by Maggie Haas.  She used the popular set, Cheep Talk with Good Morning Sunshine DSP.  She also used a sewing machine on the bottom .... something you won't see me doing!!

The first card is by Amber Hight.  She used Quilt Quips and the Eyelet Punch.

The second card is by Toni Sizemore.  She used Three Little Words stamp set with designer paper and ribbon from Saleabration.

Never Give Up .... Plus a little humor!

How do you find the motivation to ‘keep on keeping on’? Abraham Lincoln is an awesome example of NEVER GIVING UP. If you never thought you could succeed on this journey, ponder this:

Abraham Lincoln...

• Failed in business at age 21.
• Was defeated in a legislative race at age 22.
• Failed again in business at age 24.
• Overcame the death of his sweetheart at age 26.
• Had a nervous breakdown at age 27.
• Lost a congressional race at age 34.
• Lost a congressional race at age 36.
• Lost a senatorial race at age 45.
• Failed in an effort to become vice-president at age 47.
• Lost a senatorial race at age 47.
• Was elected PRESIDENT of the US at age 52!

NEVER, EVER GIVE UP!

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And here is a little humor for you today -

A very weird thing has happened. A strange old lady has moved into my house. I have no idea who she is, where she came from, or how she got in. I certainly didn't invite her. All I know is that one day she wasn't there and the next day she was. She's very clever. She manages to keep out of sight for the most part, but whenever I pass a mirror, I catch a glimpse of her there; and when I look into a mirror directly to check my appearance suddenly she's hogging the whole thing, completely obliterating my gorgeous face and body. It's very disconcerting. I've tried screaming at her to leave but she just screams back, grimacing horribly. She's really rather frightening. If she's going to hang around, the least she could do is offer to pay rent. But no. Every once in a while I do find a couple of dollar bills on the kitchen counter, or some loose change on my bureau or on the floor, but that certainly isn't enough. In fact, though I don't like to jump to conclusions, I think she steals money from me regularly. I go to the ATM and withdraw a hundred dollars, and a few days later, it's gone. I certainly don't go through it that fast, so I can only conclude that the old lady pilfers it. You'd think she'd spend some of it on wrinkle cream. God knows, she needs it.

And, the money isn't the only thing she's taking. Food seems to disappear at an alarming rate. Especially the good stuff - ice cream, cookies, candy - I just can't keep them in the house. She really has a sweet tooth. She should watch it; she's really putting on the pounds. I think she realizes that, and to make herself feel better I know she is tampering with my scale, so I'll think that I'm gaining weight, too. For an old lady she's really quite childish.

She also gets into my closets when I'm not home and alters all my clothes. They're getting tighter every day.

Another thing: I wish she'd stop messing with my files and papers on my desk. I can't find a thing any more. This is particularly hard to deal with because I'm extremely neat and organized; but she manages to jumble everything up so nothing is where it is supposed to be. Furthermore, when I program my VCR to tape something important, she fiddles with it after I leave the room so it records the wrong channel or shuts off completely. She finds innumerable imaginative ways to irritate me. She gets to my newspapers, magazines and mail before me—and blurs all the print; and she's done something sinister with the volume controls on my TV, radio and phone. Now all I hear are mumbles and whispers. She's also made my stairs steeper, my vacuum cleaner heavier, all my knobs and faucets hard to turn and my bed higher and a real challenge to climb into and out of. Furthermore, she gets to my groceries as soon as I shelve them and applies super glue to the tops of every jar and bottle so they're just about impossible to open. Is this any way to repay my hospitality?

I don't even get any respite at night. More than once her snoring has awakened me. I don't know why she can't do something about that. It's very unattractive.

As if all this isn't bad enough, she is no longer confining her malevolence to the house. She's now found a way to sneak into my car with me and follow me wherever I go. I see her reflection in store windows as I pass, and she's taken all the fun out of clothes shopping because her penchant for monopolizing mirrors has extended to dressing rooms. When I try something on, she dons an identical outfit, which looks ridiculous on her and then stands directly in front of me so I can't see how great it looks on me.

I thought she couldn't get any meaner than that, but yesterday, she proved me wrong. She had the nerve to come with me when I went to have some passport pictures taken.....

Don't you love it?? Rose Mula wrote this wonderful piece. Her page is at: http://www.seniorwomen.com/rosestranger.htm

(borrowed from Copyright © DWLZ, Inc. - 2009, all rights reserved.)

Results - American Idol

Well, my predictions were wrong. It was between Megan and Jasmine and cute little Jasmine was the first to go. Then it was between Anoop and Jorge and Jorge was the second one to go. The judges opted not to use their new "sudden death save" and both were sent home. Not too surprised about Jorge, but I thought the public got it wrong in sending Jasmine packing and not Megan based on last night's performances.

New Ruling on American Idol

Guess we'll find out in a few hours .... BUT speculation is running amuck!! This a.m. on The View (stay tuned in - I may be in the audience in a couple of weeks if all works out!!) Elizabeth told about going to see Idol last night and speaking with the judges about the new rule which will be announced tonight. Here is the speculation:

1) Public gets 1, judges get 1Crack TV critic Verne Gay believes that with two people getting kicked off tonight, one of the bottom three vote-getters will go because they got the fewest votes from the public. But the second person will get booted based on what the judges think....

2) Sing to stay on Idol- "the judges will go all "So You Think You Can Dance" and have the bottom three sing for their lives. Once the singoff is done, the judges will then decide their fates and send two of the three home."

3) Judges get veto power - This is what Reality TV World is reporting:
"American Idol producer Ken Warwick seems to have let the cat out of the bag about tonight's announcement of the "big surprise" that may "alter the face of" the show's eighth season.
It's because of a problem, actually, that's been around since Season 1," Warwick told Idol host Ryan Seacrest during a Tuesday morning appearance on Seacrest's KIIS-FM radio show. "And we've talked about doing something about it -- in fact we tried it in another country to see if it would work first, we tried it in France -- and it does work so we're going to put that into work tonight." Last year, Nouvelle Star introduced a new twist in which the judges were given a one-time veto power right which allowed them to save a contestant that had been eliminated based on home viewer voting at any point during the season. The French judges ended up using it during the season's very first finals round, resulting in no one going home that week.

Hmmmm .... wonder if they will use it tonight????

Idol - Top 13 Perform Tonight

Well, Simon announced that 2 will be going home this week. Wow - getting to the nitty gritty right away. Michael Jackson night .... I like his music as long as I don't have to look at him and determine if he's white or black .... ebony or ivory????

My top 2 favorites are up first!!

• Lil Rounds - The Way You Make Me Feel: Bluesy Michael Jackson!! All loved him .... but of course, Simon!! She's a force to be reckoned with in my opinion as well as one of the judges.
• Scott Macintyre - Keep The Faith: Standing ovation!! He got to play to play the piano which is his forte and he is great at it. As usual, Simon "dissed" him ... hated the song even. I have to agree, it wasn't the most dynamic performance; it was safe, but he should be ok this week.
• Danny Gokey - PYT: His dad reminds me of Kenny Rogers - he had a room full of family!! Fantasia has picked Danny to be the winner of Idol this year ....we'll see. He had Paula on her feet which is always a good sign. Kara & Paula were his backup singers! He can really groove and move. I loved him. I think he could be one of the finalists!! MY VOTE! Simon liked the vocalists but hated the dancing.

What is Kara wearing???? That top should be choking her!! I just don't like her.

• Michael Sarver from Jasper Texas - You're Not Alone: Showing his sensitive side according to Ryan. He's not the best singer, but makes up for it with his passion. I didn't think the judges would like his performance but they proved me wrong. They did like him.
• Jasmine Murray - I'll Be There: She's the baby of her family and is from Mississippi. She's just so darn cute! A tough song but she did great. She looked comfortable on stage for being so young.
• Kris Allen - Remember the Time: An Arkansas boy. He's playing the guitar and I'm not sure that it helps his performance. Kara said he helped out the other contestants all week. Paula thinks he's "adorable sexy." What's with the wife comments from Simon????
• Allison Iraheta - Give In To Me: 16 years old but sure doesn't look or act it! What's with the red hair color???? She's really rocking tonight and giving a solid performance. As Randy says, she was born with it .... rocking the vocals. She's another one to contend with.
• Anoop Desi - Beat It - Chapel Hill boy!! He was the lucky 13th contestant that the judges decided on. Finally, a Michael song that I could relate to!! I don't think he was as bad as the judges said. If they don't want the contestants to pick Michael Jackson's big hits, why do they choose the artist. I have liked him, but it was a safe choice and didn't show his range. Oh well .... they can't all win.
• Jorge Nunoz - Never Can Say Goodbye: from Puerto Ricdo - another room full of family and I think the whole island of Puerto Rico is cheering him on. I didn't know this was a Jackson song. His vocals are great but needs more challenging song. It was too old fashion.
• Megan Corkey - Rockin' Robin: What is she wearing???? The big flower at the waist, the crocheted sleeves, the boobs falling out of the top ..... oh my .... she is such a cute girl (except for all the tattoes) and this outfit is just hideous! Song choice is not what I expected from her. She was one of my favorites, but she is blowing it tonight for me. I think the judges agree - especially Simon!
• Adam Lambert - Black or White: Paula is on her feet!! That's a good sign. He's definitely a contender!! Wow!! That was awesome. He's got a career ahead of him.
• Matt Giraud - Human Nature: I love this song. The piano is his thing! He's a dueling piano player and is certainly at home at the piano. Hope he make it through to next week. Paula thinks he talented and sexy also. Even Simon gave him kudos!! Wow!
• Alexis Grace - Dirty Diana: Another cutey! I don't know this song, but she is nailing it. Bet Simon will be drooling over her! Naughty girl!! Simon .... surprised me - thought she was too over the top.

Favorites & vote getters from me: Lil Rounds, Scott McIntyre; Danny Gokey; Adam Lambert

My picks to leave: 2 of these: Kris; Anoop; Mega

Everyone wants ... Blog Candy

There -away is a great giveaway ..... HERE!!