A Scrunchy Vellum flower

What a beautiful weekend we had here in the Carolinas!  The temperature was finally out of the 30's and we saw the sun!  Sonny worked outside - changing oil in our cars, raking leaves, etc. and the ball of ice that is in our heat pump is almost all melted!!  At least it is melted down enough so we were able to run our heater and not on emergency power! 

I made the most gorgous card (in my humble opinion!) yesterday! 

I used Blush Blossom (a color I don't use often) with Soft Suede.  I ran the piece through my Big Shot with the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder.  Then I used my Scor It and scored diagonal lines over the whole piece.  For the flower centers, I chalked Pretty in Pink on a small piece of Blush Blossom.  (I think it was Pretty in Pink!  Last year I dropped my chalks & had to guess which colors were which to put back in the holder.)  I punched out the flower centers with my 1/4" circle punch and glued them down.  The flower is vellum that I chalked with a little Blush Blossom and a little Pretty in Pink (???).  I punched 10 circles with my Scallop Circle Punch and punched a hole through the middle with my piercer and put a brad through the middle.  Then I just scrunched up each petal to the middle.  Here's a close-up of the flower -

The leaves are from the Big Shot also using the Little Leaves die and Certainly Celery.  Tie a piece of Soft Suede polka dot ribbon and mat the piece onto Soft Suede.  Then adhere the whole thing to a Blush Blossom card.  Then sentiment is from Whimsical Words (Saleabration).  I punched it out with my small oval punch and chalked the edges. 

Monday Mailer Technique

I received my Monday Mailer yesterday and it was so cool, I had to try the technique.  Of course, it is a Zindorf technique .... she always does the greatest cards!

So, here is the card I received:

And here is the card that I made:

Isn't it cool??

If you want to try this technique, click HERE.

We went to Concord Mills today and while Sonny was browsing in Bass Pro Shop, I wandered around in AC Moore.  I haven't been to AC Moore since it moved out of Concord Mills and was quite impressed.  They have done a good job in stocking their paper craft area and have Sizzix Dies, Nesties, Cuttlebug, 7 Gypsies brand and others.  If you're in the area, check it out.

More news on the Idol Scandal

If you're interested in American Idol and its scandals, here is an interesting read -

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/316970/idol-scandal-chris-golightly-does-not-go-quietly/

American Idol Top 24!

Well, American Idol is starting to get down to the "nitty, gritty."  After dragging Hollywood week out .... can anyone say "boring" .... they have their top 24.  But not without a little drama and intrigue (don't we expect that each year anyway????)  One of the guys, Chris Golightly, was shown in some clips during  the 24 reveal on American Idol and was shown on stage on Wednesday night, but he was not included in the Top 24 in the end. Instead Tim Urban was in the Top 24. Tim Urban’s entry into the Top 24 was not aired, except in the end when his name and face was shown.  The bloggers are claiming that Chris was formerly under a music contract and believed the contract expired 30 days before he auditioned for Idol in July 2009. Unconfirmed blog chatter says when an alleged scuffle developed as to whether Chris’ contract did or didn’t expire in June 2009 with one person allegedly claiming Chris was still under contract, Chris allegedly failed to provide proof he was in fact released from contract in June of 2009.  Wonder if we'll hear anything about it from the judges?  Doubt it.

The male finalists are:  Andrew Garcia, 24, Moreno Valley, Calif.; Tyler Grady, 20, Nazareth, Pa.; Alex Lambert, 19, North Richland Hills, Texas; Joe Munoz, 20, Huntington Park, Calif.; John Park, 21, Evanston, Ill.; and Jermaine Sellers, 27, Joliet, Ill; Lee Dewyze, 23, Mount Prospect, Ill.;  Aaron Kelly, 16, Sonestown, Pa.; Casey James, 27, Fort Worth, Texas; Todrick Hall, 24, Arlington, Texas and Michael "Big Mike" Lynche, 26, Astoria, N.Y.and Tim Urban, 20, from Duncanville, Tx.

The female finalists are:  Crystal Bowersox, 24, Toledo, Ohio; Lacey Brown, 24, Amarillo, Texas; Michelle Delamor, 22, Miami; Siobhan Magnus, 20, Marstons Mills, Mass.; Paige Miles, 24, Houston, Texas; Ashley Rodriguez, 22, Chelsea, Mass.; Lilly Scott, 20, Denver; Katie Stevens, 17, Middlebury, Conn.; and Haeley Vaughn, 16, Fort Collins, Colo' Didi Benami, 23, Los Angeles; Katelyn Epperly, 19, West Des Moines, Iowa; Janell Wheeler, 24, Tampa, Florida.

The top 12 women will perform live next Tuesday with the top 12 men taking the stage live Wednesday. Viewer votes will determine which two women and two men will be eliminated.  Stay tuned!

Mojo Monday Challenge

It's been a long time since I've done any challenges.  So, today I did two cards for the Mojo Monday challenge.  I needed a birthday card and a "just because" card, so these are what I came up with.

This one is really bright!  But, I figure, we old ladies like bright colors!!  Don't we???  The inside says "Don't let your age get you down, You might not get back up!"  The stamps are from Little Paper Shop except for the Enjoy sentiment - it's SU.  Hope this card doesn't offend my friend!!

I love this one.  I used Baja Blue and a retired stamp set that I think is my all time favorite and one I'll never get rid of - Art of Life.  I also made a "crinkly flower" with my circle punches.  Here's a close up of the flower. 

I punched one circle from my 3/4", 1", 1 1/4", 1 3/8" Circle Punches and 2 circles from the Scallop Circle Punch.  Then I just wadded each of them up into a tight ball.  Then I straighted them back out and using my paper piercer, punched a hole in the middle where I inserted a Rhinestone Brad.  Then I "poofed" the flower back up and glued it on my card!  A lot of technical terms here but I think you get the picture!!

Just wish I could see my sweet little grandson, but guess I'll settle for pictures on his mom's blog instead like this one -

Playing Mahjong today .... wish me luck!!

FIVE years plus Quilt Square

Today I celebrate FIVE years as a Stampin' Up demonstrator!  And, I still love the product just as much.  My favorite things about Stampin' Up is the two-step stamping and the coordinating products.  I love the fact that I don't have to guess if my cardstock, designer paper, ink and ribbons match.  With Stampin' Up's 48 colors (plus the additional in-colors), there are so many choices.  During the five years I have been a demonstrator, there have been many changes within the company ... new products, new colors, catalogs that have been annual, then bi-annual, then back to annual ....  I never would have thought I would love my Big Shot like I do.  When it first came out, I thought, I don't need that - I don't do die cut images.  But, little did I know, how I would come to use it as much as I do.  And now, I'm using fabric with my Big Shot!  Who woulda thought it?!!  I haven't done a quilt yet - saving that for my sister, Marianne - but I have made other things.  Fabric is one of the industry's hottest trends right now, and the best part is, you don't even need to be a seamstress to get in on the action! You can create gorgeous fabric accessories and home décor, all without ever touching a sewing machine. There are myriad of options for seamstresses and non-seamstresses alike, and presenting fabric-oriented projects allows you to introduce Stampin' Up! to a whole new group of customers.

Here's a pattern for a quilt square for you to make with your Big Shot!

Folded Paper Frame for my Monday Mailer

For my Monday Mailer card this week, I did a Folded Paper Frame.  I got the tutorial from Splitcoast.  It took me a couple of tries since I kept cutting the paper to the wrong size and couldn't figure out why it wasn't working!  Duhhhh!!  Anyway, if you cut your paper correctly, it is pretty easy!!  Here is my card:

 

I used Crushed Curry and Rose Red cardstock.  The DSP is from the Occasions Mini Catalog - Sweet Pea.  There is some gorgeous paper in that book!  I had held off ordering it because I though it was a little pricey, but actually it is a whole book of 12 x 12 paper - 2 each of 24 double-sided designs.  (Again, I didn't read all the fine print - I thought it was a 6x6 pack of paper!)  I used the stamp set, Great Friend and embossed the butterfly.  The scallop punch that I used is from the Saleabration catalog (FREE)!!  

If you want directions on this card, to HERE and follow the directions.

Weather update - we only got rain last night!  But, it sure was cold today .... again!!  Tomorrow is supposed to be in the low 40's but warming up by the end of the week to the 50's!!!  Maybe Spring is around the corner.

Happy Valentine!

Hope your Valentine's Day was sweet!  Mine was pretty quiet.  We met my Mom and Marianne and Greg in town tonight for dinner and I gave them some Valentines.  I made Mom these flower pins that I made today.

 I woke up Saturday morning to more snow as I said in an earlier post.  Here are a few pictures I took yesterday morning.  It was a real pretty snow but by mid afternoon, the sun had melted most of it from the trees.  We still have some in the yard (along with some left over from 2 weeks ago!)  Our heat pump has been frozen solid for 2 weeks.  We keep waiting for it to thaw out to see if the motor is burned out or not.  In the meantime, we have it on emergency electrical power.

 Here are a few Valentines that I received.

 

This is a darling little box .... with Hershey kisses inside that I got from Judy.  It's so cute!!   I actually recycled it today and put some Hershey Nuggets (I ate all the kisses!) in it and gave it to Sonny!!

  

This is a pretty card that I received in the mail from Brenda today.

I received this cute bear from my upline, Carol.  Isn't he cute?? 

 And this card I received from my friend Margaret.  It's an easel card.  I haven't made one of these yet but I think I will give it a try tomorrow.  Thanks, Margaret!!

Well, the forecast is calling for more snow tonight!!  We'll see.  I don't think we are supposed to get much but it will be cold all week.  I'm ready for SPRING!!

To Realize Values ....

To realize
The value of a sister/brother
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one

To realize the value of ten years:
Ask a newly Divorced couple.

To realize the value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize The value of one year:
Ask a student who Has failed a final exam. 

To realize The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize The value of one month:
Ask a mother Who has given birth to a premature baby....

To realize The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize The value of one minute:
Ask a person Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize The value of one-second:
Ask a person Who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:
LOSE ONE.

SNOW

Snowing again here in NC .... what a winter!!  Marianne & I were planning on driving to Columbia, SC tomorrow to a craft convention.  Guess I'll be upstairs in my craft room instead!!