Idol .... Top FOUR!

Tonight is Rock. The mentor is ..... Slash .... the drummer for Guns & Roses, my favorite group! (just kidding) Actually when my daughter was in high school, I told a boy she was dating that Guns & Roses was my favorite group ... I had actually mistaken the group for another one (obviously) and this has been a joke between us forever! She called me tonight to tell me my favorite band member was going to be on Idol.

• Adam is first singing Led Zepplain's Whole Lotta Love. I don't know if he could have gotten any more black eye liner on. He's actually scary looking. I've always thought he reminded me of Elvis, but I know Elvis would not be looking like this! I thought he was screaming but that's hard rock for you. I know the judges will love him. Yes, Randy says everyone will forget about his theatrics with this performance. Kara says he's a rock god. Of course, Paula says's he's a whole lot of perfect. Simon loves it too and says it's one of his favorite performances.
• Allison is singing Cry Baby by Janis Joplin. I can totally see her doing Joplin! She sure has the pipes and I'm loving her performance!! The judges don't look so happy though. Randy didn't like her choice of songs. Kara thinks bluesy rock and Joplin is right for her but didn't like the song choice. Simon thought it was a terrific vocal but lacked originality. She showed a little sass to them tonight. Good for her!!
• Kris Allen is singing The Beatles Come Together!! This is my favorite group - for real!! Well, he's got my vote before he even sings and I know the same is true with Ashley. He didn't try to do that hard rock stuff because that is just not him. Randy agrees with me. Boo Kara - she didn't think it was great. What does she know? I was waiting for this .... Paula says it is risky to do a Beatles song; he needs a little more energy on stage. Simon didn't like it. He said it was like eating ice for lunch???? The judges weren’t impressed at all. I think he was better than they’re giving him credit for
• Danny Gokey sing the classic rock anthem, Dream On by Aerosmith. You'll have to hum a few bars because I don't think I know this song. OK, now he's singing it and I have heard it. Paula is on her feet so I guess she likes it. He made the scream at the end which Slash was worried about. The crowd loved it. Randy said it was just ok. He realizes that this is not Danny's genre as well as not Kris'. Kara commended him for taking a chance but it was not great. Paula gives him an A for effort. Simon didn't like the scream and thought it was too over the top.

A new twist to the show, tonight we are getting treated to two duets by the contestants. First Kris and Danny sing Renegade by Styx — very cool. Ooooh, I like rock-and-roll Danny. This is fun! They SO need to record that. Their voices really harmonized and worked well together. Adam and Allison rocked a duet together of Slow Ride. It seems like their solo parts are better than the harmony parts. The judges loved it and think they should do a duet together.

Unfortunately, rock is NOT the genre for two of the contestants (Danny & Kris) but it is for the other two. This really sucks that it is down to the final 4 and it has to be rock and not something like their favorite songs or something they could all shine in their song selection.

Well, my personal picks for the final three are Danny, Allison and Kris. But, I don't think that's likely to happen. It's hard for me to predict who's going home tonight. I'm afraid it'll be Kris but he definately wouldn't be my choice. We'll have to wait till tomorrow night to see!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Enjoy this yummy margarita while celebrating the day.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Sprite Zero (or any diet lemon-lime soda)

One shot (1.5 oz.) tequila

One serving (half a packet or 1/8th of a tub) sugar-free strawberry powdered drink mix (any variety, like Crystal Light Strawberry-Kiwi.

4 frozen unsweetened strawberries

2 tbsp. lime juice

1 cup crushed ice or 5 - 8 ice cubes

Optional Garnish: lime wedge

Directions: Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until uniform and slushy. Pour into a nice glass and, if you like, garnish with a wedge of lime. Drink up!

MAKES 1 SERVING POINTS value 2

A regular margarita that you would get in a restaurant has about 350 calories and is 7 Weight Watcher points! The one above has 125 calories and is 2 Weight Watcher points. Enjoy!!

Jump on the watercolor bandwagon!

Well, I have seen these roses on everyone's blog lately as well as on Splitcoast and several Yahoo groups.  So .... I am not one to not follow trends so I had to try them today.  Be warned .... they are addicting!!

Here are my watercolor roses:

And here is a card I made with a yellow rose.  I used Taste of Textiles paper (the white and the bronze).  

Aren't they gorgeous?

House Mouse Balloon!

I used another one of my new stamps today - the House Mouse one.  It's sooo cute!

I stamped this one on Whisper White paper and colored it with my Prismacolor Markers using the Gamsol method to shade.  The confetti was colored with SU's Metallic Pencils (I think they are retired).  I punched a hole in the balloon and tied a string around it.

This one was stamped with Staz-On onto watercolor paper.  I colored it with my Watercolor Crayons.  Then, I used Shimmerz and Radiant Pearls to color the confetti.  I used a punch for the two corners and I embossed lines all around the pink paper using my Scor Pal (hard to see in the picture).  I also stamped the mouse separately and cut him out and raised him up with dimensional tape.

Sonny and I went to the movies today.  It was a cloudy day all day with rain threatening so we couldn't take the boat out.  We saw Obsessed (with Beyonce).  It was really good!  I would recommend it.  It's one of those movies that the crowd is cheering on the heroes out loud.   You really get involved in the story.

Speaking of rain, did you see on the news the story about the Cowboys practice field getting destroyed yesterday in the storms that went through the Dallas area.  (click HERE  for a video)  Well, we used to live just a few miles from that area.  I did my grocery shopping at the Tom Thumb grocers right across the street (plus, my daughter worked there in high school).  Scary - I haven't talked to any of my friends yet to see if they had any damage.

Three Great Stampin Up Offers

Since this is National Scrapbooking Month, Stampin' Up is offering several good deals!



If you're like me and you love PAPER and can never have enought PAPER, you better sit down. There are three great offers!

1. Buy three packs of Designer Series paper--including Specialty Designer Series paper--or 12" x 12" textured card stock and get one FREE!* Oh my, who doesn't love paper? Especially our gorgeous textured paper.

2. Become a demonstrator for only $75 with the limited-time Scrapbooking Starter Kit! Get all the demonstrator benefits (yep, great discounts and sneak peaks), and make some extra spending money (for more paper!).

The kit includes the following:

Schoolbook Serif Alphabet Set; Simply Scrappin' Petal Party; Earth Elements Textured Cardstock (12x12); Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

The Scrapbooking Starter Kit also contains all the business supplies contained in the standard Starter Kit:

• Getting Started DVD and Guide


• Guest Invitation Postcard (100)


• Idea Book & Catalog (8)


• Occasions Mini Catalog (8)


• Recruit Folders (5) and Brochures (20)


• Hostess Benefits Form (10) and Envelope (10)


• Customer Order Form (50)
  

3. Buy the new Jumble Alphabet stamp set -a sneak peek from the upcoming 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog--at 20% off! Isn't this set a great one? I can see a lot of uses for it.

I'll be putting an order in soon! Contact me if you want me to add your items to the list.

Stamp Finds

Fun weekend I have had!   Yesterday Marianne came over to work on some projects we needed to do for an upcoming visit to a Stampin' Up Quarterly meeting in a few weeks.  This is the first time we have been able to bring (only) one guest to the quarterly.  We are going to do a 3D Sizzix Swap as well as a convention-style swap.  Marianne is making a cute Big Note Purse and I am making Big Note Boxes.  I'll share later. 

My Texas friend, Margaret, also joined us on Friday.  She and her hubbie are here babysitting their grandson (in Charlotte).  So, she came upstairs to visit and stamp with Marianne and I and we let the guys babysit Noah!!  He's almost 5 so it wasn't so bad for them.  You know what they did with him though?  They put him in the car and drove to Hickory to Home Depot!!  What a man thing!  It worked out for them though cause he slept the whole way there and back! 

Today I met Marianne at Stamper's Alley at 10:00 for the big SALE!!  We had to wait in line for the starting time and then it was "off to the races!"  This is the first time I've been able to attend the sale since I've lived here and it was all I've heard it was!  There were tables lined up on the patio that stretched about 12-18 feet and they were full of stamps - about 5 deep!  I did pretty good though and only spent $18!!  I bought 3 Stampin' Up stamps that are retired (All In A Row; Party Hearty; and Mixed Bouquet), one "saying" stamp (Know, that today a friend is thinking about you); a cute House Mouse (Balloon Ride); and a blank Mirror Image stamp.

So, here are a the cards I made tonight with two of the stamps.

This one uses the Mirror Image stamp.  You stamp the main stamp (Summer by the Sea) onto the Mirror Image stamp.  Then you stamp the Mirror Image on the bottom and the main stamp on top.  I embossed the main stamp.  This was colored with my Copics.

 

This is the Mixed Bouquet stamp set.  I got the whole set for $4!!  It sold for $28.95 when it was in the SU catalog!  I stamped the flowers onto Summer Sun and Tangerine Tango cardstock and embossed it.  You can't tell it, but I added some Shimmerz to the flowers also.  It's really pretty and sparkly IRL.  "Sweet" is stamped on a Cuttlebug tag.

National Scrapbooking Month .... join the SU team

Celebrate a popular hobby and enjoy the social, emotional, and financial benefits! It started as National Scrapbooking Day, but this popular pastime quickly required more than a day to celebrate. Scrapbooking, a $2 billion a year industry in North America, is gaining popularity around the world at a rapid rate. From preserving precious memories and spending time with friends to earning a supplemental income, scrapbooking offers something for everyone, and it’s no wonder the hobby has become such a phenomenon. Stampin’ Up! joins with scrapbookers everywhere in this celebration of creativity, inspiration, and fun!

It’s no secret that many people are facing tough times. In times like these the social aspect of hand-crafting activities tends to be a welcome emotional release, and do-it-yourself hobbies are still growing. National Scrapbooking Month is a welcome occasion perhaps like no other time in recent history!

It’s a dream for most people to be able to make money doing something they love, and Stampin’ Up! demonstrators are able to live that dream. The Stampin’ Up! business opportunity offers an ideal way for people to enjoy their crafting and scrapbooking hobby, while tapping into the multi-billion-dollar industry for a supplemental income. Some women are able to earn extra money, and are able to accomplish financial goals from being able to pay for their crafting supplies to contributing to the family finances—which might be more important now than ever before.

Stampin’ Up! offers the creative opportunity of the exciting crafting industry, the enjoyment of the social aspect, and the potential for financial benefits. National Scrapbooking Month is the ideal time to celebrate creativity and enjoy the benefits that a hobby like scrapbooking presents. Contact a ME or visit www.stampinup.com to find out more about the Stampin’ Up! opportunity.

Stampin' Up!, a 20-year-old, multimillion dollar, direct-sales company, offers an exclusive line of decorative stamp sets and accessories for home decor, greeting cards, craft projects and scrapbooking. Currently, tens of thousands of demonstrators from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom teach the art of stamping. Stampin' Up! operates two state-of-the-art facilities, including an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Kanab and a 300,000-square-foot corporate office, distribution center and demonstrator support call center in Riverton, UT. For more information, call 801-257-5336 or visit www.stampinup.com.

In celebration of National Scrapbooking Month, join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator for only $75 with our limited-time Scrapbooking Starter Kit. The Scrapbooking Starter Kit contains the following:

Schoolbook Serif Alphabet stamp set*
Simply Scrappin' Petal Party
Earth Elements Assorted textured card stock (12" x 12")
Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

*Substitute any stamp set with another one up to $43.95

Each of the products listed above may be substituted for like items. The Scrapbooking Starter Kit also contains all the business supplies contained in the standard Starter Kit.

Hat, Hats, Hats

A few people have asked me for the directions for the Top Note Box that I made HERE.  So, without further ado, here they are:

I got the directions from THIS blog.  Enjoy!

Yesterday a few of my Newcomer Club friends came over to work on making hats and baskets for our upcoming "Hats Off to Spring Tea".  We worked almost 5 hours and made 60 little hats (wrapped around Hershey Nuggets) and 50 baskets.  The hats were really labor intensive.  The hats consist of about 20 circles punched with the 3/4" circle punch.  The brim is punched with the 1 3/8" circle.  I had a lot of the circles punched out in advance, but it still seemed like it took forever to glue all of them together!!  Hope the ladies attending the tea appreciate our efforts!  We are going to fill the little baskets with Easter grass but haven't come up with what we will put inside them.  It has to be something cheap because most of the budget is going toward the food, teas, renting a clubhouse and the entertainment!  Any ideas?

The boxes are made using the Scallop Envelope Punch and the Sizzix.

American Idol Results Show

And here we are again. Well, whaddya know? Simon’s backtracking. Now he says that everyone was good last night.

OMG. That food fight. What a mess! All I could think of was, who is going to have to clean up that mess? Well, the bill for $6,000 maid service was given to Danny!! Ha Ha!! Guess he'll have to win now to pay for it.

First up to be critiqued - Matt .... to the right of the stage

Danny ... to the left of the stage

Allison ..... next to Danny

Kris ..... next to Matt

Adam .... next to Kris

Bottom three ..... Adam, Kris, Matt .... WRONG!! This is the first time Adam and Kris have been in the bottom. Well now. This is certainly interesting, but in light of the Chris Daughtry upset of 2006, not at all surprising. And it ain’t over yet, now is it?

I know someone has to go home, but this is the hardest year ever to pick just one winner. They are just all so good.

Natalie Cole performs while we're waiting for the results.

Next is Taylor Hicks ... my choice a few years ago. Unfortunately, he hasn't done much in the recording industry. My son and daughter-in-law recently saw him in Grease live in .... Tucson!! I'm not so into this song he's doing tonight. Maybe the album is good though.

Kris is safe! Whooo Hoooo! That was what I was hoping for.

That leaves Matt and Adam. I'll be ok with either one but I believe it will be Matt going home.

Did American get it right this time?

Now, Jamie Fox performs. I really like him .... maybe not this song exactly even it it's the Number One song in America. He's sorta singing like my boy from a couple of years ago, Blake!! He has it right though when he says these final five are true artists.

Ok ... the moment of truth. American got it right - Matt is going home.

Top 5 ... American Idol

Tonight is Rat Pack songs ... big band standards. Most of the singers from that era are dead but Jamie Fox can relate to the songs and he is the guest tonight. Cool! I loved him in the movie, Ray. Should be a good mentor.

OK .... what about Paula's dress????

First up is .....

• Kris Allen - he gets the unlucky number one. The Way You Look Tonight - can he croon it? Jamie Fox thinks so. He said if Idol doesn't work out for Kris, he & Kris can get together and make it happen! I love this song. If was a favorite of mine when sung by the Letterman in the "old days" and it is still great. Kris makes it new and gives it his own touch. Randy thinks it is his best!! Kara thinks he set the standard high for the evening and he is truly a dark horse in the competition. Of course, Paula loves it and calls him a "contemporary crooner." Simon is not as enthusiastic and thinks it is a little "wet". What the hell does that mean???? Not dry is what he says! Simon is WRONG this time and is all wet! Is Simon trying to discredit a contestant that he doesn’t want to see win, even if he doesn’t really think the performance is that bad. Is American Idol rigged? Hmmm…
• Allison - the only chick left in the competition. She celebrated her 17th birthday yesterday. She looks cute tonight. Someone to Watch Over Me is her choice. Jamie thinks she is too young to have the incredible voice that she has. I agree .... she has a great voice and should go far in the music world. Just don't know that she will go much further in this competition against the guys. Randy says she looks "dope"!! Go figure - where do they get this language? Guess I'm just not hip! Kara thought it was a gut wrenching rendition. Paula has been waiting so long for Allison to do a ballad and is really proud of her. Simon asks her if she thinks she can win and of course, she says yes. He doesn't feel like she has confidence in herself and thinks she could be in trouble. Simon, you are a jerk. Kara, you tell him! Simon really seems like he’s trying to throw the competition. Unlike past years, at this stage, I think it’s anybody’s game. Let America decide!!
• Matt - My Funny Valentine - Someone needs to sing an upbeat song. It was just too much like the last two, and I’m ready for something modern and rockin’. Randy thought it was "pitchy"; Kara wasn't thrilled with it either. Of course, Paula likes everyone and never criticizes so I have to throw her comments out. Ironically Simon is full of praise for Matt after informing him when he used the Judges’ Save a couple weeks ago that he had no chance of winning. I really don’t get Simon tonight AT ALL.
• Danny Gokey — Come Rain Or Come Shine: A really jazzy number! I love it which is no surprise since he is my favorite. How many pairs of glasses does he have?? He keeps upping the intensity. This is definitely a different sound for him, and it suits him. Randy was worried about everyone singing ballads but he thinks Danny is the only one he has heard that could do an album of ballads and he could WIN! Kara has been missing the "rat pack swagger" all season! Paula's one-liner .... stellar! Even Simon is coming to his senses. Simon even thanked Jamie Fox for bringing out the incredible-ness in Danny. This performance by Danny overshadows the first three. It had that little something extra that the others didn’t seem to have.
• Adam Lambert — Feeling Good Another quintessential Adam Lambert performance. He is so incredibly talented. He just seems like a "kiss up" to me. I don't know what it is about him but he rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it's his theatrical and dramatic actions. The audience loves him. Randy thinks he is consistently "in the zone" even if he is theatrical. Kara thinks he is "shocking" in a good way and loves him. Paula .... words cannot describe. Simon thinks it was the best entrance (strut) they've had all year.

They were all incredible tonight. I cannot pick a bottom 3 ... but my bottom 2 picks are: Allison & Matt. I think their time is up and I think it will be Matt although I am worried for Allison too.

My favorite of the night is Danny with Kris a close second.