American Idol Top Ten

Ryan starts out teasing us with …The Save and then introduces the judges. Aww, isn’t Randy precious in Dreamsicle orange?  Ellen’s sporting a checkered scarf.  Kara is shimmering and Simon smiles in a, what? A v-neck sweater? Who’da thunk?  The group song tonight is "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go."  What's up with all the 70's and 80's songs? Crystal looked a little strange diddly bopping on stage with the rest of the kiddos!   I thought it was kinda cheesey.

 Ryan reminds us how crucial this week is because of the tour and then he chats it up with Casey. Turns out rehearsal was a tad frazzling for Casey.  Siobhan’s boss is not shaving until Siobhan wins. Hey, buddy, you MAY want to reconsider that one. Next to him is more of Siobhan’s friends who look like they have blood drawn all over themselves.   I couldn't figure that out so I did a little research.  This is what I found out:   The bloody girl is part of Siobhan’s entourage and they call themselves, Siobhanbies. A play on Zombies. Get it?  (Don't feel bad - I don't either!)

Katie’s dad can’t watch the live results so he’s across the street at a dive bar or something. Ryan addresses Big Mike’s shoulders and they show footage of him carrying the baby around in a sling/carrier thing on his chest.  Sweet!

Now the lights dim and we find out who the final three are ... Paige, Tim and SURPRISE, Katie (what's up with that???) stand center stage and Ryan sends Katie back to safety. (YAY)  It’ll be between Tim and Paige.  Final lights dim… and Tim is SAFE!!! Paige is going home unless the judges save her. Simon spares nothing and tells her they are not saving her. She is going home. Goodbye.  One big improvement this year is that the outgoing contestants don’t have to sing the song they sang last night. They can choose anything, evidently.

Maybe next week I'll make these American Idol Cupcakes I saw on this blog.

That Old Black Magic

I've been working on mastering the Black Magic Technique today.  I am going to be demonstrating this technique in May at the NC Stampin' Up Quarterly meeting in Kernersville.  I also did this card for a color challenge at Picture Perfect Creations using Elegant Eggplant, Pretty in Pink and So Saffron.

I used the stamp set Wings of Friendship.  Here's how to do the Black Magic Technique:

• 
  
  Stamp a solid stamp in White Craft Ink onto a dark cardstock.  I used Black but you could also use Basic Gray, Night of Navy, Elegant Eggplant, Chocolate Chip .... 
• Let the ink dry or speed it along with your heat gun.
• Color the images with pencils - prismacolors, watercolors, metallic - OR watercolor crayons.  I used a combination of them on my image.
• After coloring, I squirted a little white reinker out and using my Aquapainter, I added white accents along one side of the flowers, bird, etc.  On the other side, I used my White Gel Pen to add more accents.

To finish the piece, I used my White Gel Pen all along the black piece; punched out a corner and did the white gel pen on it.  I stamped the bird's wing again with the white craft ink, cut it out and popped it up.  Then I sprayed the piece with a mixture of alcohol and Shimmer paint to make it sparkle.  I backed the piece on So Saffron.  The card base is Pretty In Pink although the colors did show up too great.

Hope you like it and try one of your own.

Idol Top 11

So on American Idol, we are down to the Top 11.  Someone will go home tonight and miss the chance to go on tour with the Top Ten.  Miley Cyrus was the advisor tonight and I thought she was very truthful with the contestants.  I just think someone should have dressed her better.

• Lee Dwyze -  "The Letter"  I agreed with 3 of the judges and loved it!  Simon didn't think it was a recording performance and it was corny.
• Paige Miles - "Against All Odds"  HORRIBLE!!  This time, I agreed with the judges.  I feel bad for her but she's had her time in the spotlight.  I thought she should have gone long ago.
• Tim Urban - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"   Not good!  He was "smoozing" with the crowd like he was a rock fan.  Paige is going to save him from going home though.
• Aaron Kelly - "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing"  For a 17 year old, he is quite good and reminds me a lot of David Archuletta.
• Crystal Bowersox - "Bobby McGee"  SOLID GOLD!  My husband, Sonny called it last week - he said this was the song she should do.  She's Janis Joplin made over.  Can't wait till next week - she's already planning what she's going to do and said it was going to be different.
• Michael Lynche - "When A Man Loves A Woman"   Perfect for him in my opinion.
• Andrew Garcia - "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"   Not good .. again.  Bottom 3
• Katie Stevens "Big Girls Don't Cry"  What a great song for her!  I think Myley really helped her out tonight.
• Casey James "Power of Love"   He needs to drop the guitar and move around the stage more.  I didn't care for his song choice but I thought he did a good job with it.
• Didi Benami " You're No Good"  It was no good!
• Siobahn Magnus - "Superstition"  Good as usual .... just not her best performance.  I have to agree with Simon - the screeching at the end is getting old.  I don't know about her hairdo tonight and can't believe not one of the judges commented on it!!

Bottom 3 in my humble opinion
Paige Miles
Tim Urban
Andrew Garcia

Going home:  Paige Miles

Top 3:
Crystal Bowersox
Mike Lynche
Katie Stevens

Sweet Treat Easter Cards

I've been working on Easter cards lately.  I've been trying to come up with different ideas for 3 cute little boys in my life - my neice's two boys and my grandson - using the Sweet Treats Cups.  They are such fun to work with.  I don't know why I have let them sit on my desk for about 4 months without doing something with them!!  One problem I have though is I keep eating all the candy that I buy to go in them!!   I had some yummy Starburst Jelly Beans and some gummy rabbits but .... they're all gone!  So this weekend I bought some regular ole jelly beans at Big Lots and they are not near as tasty to me so I think they will be safe!!   Anyhow ... on to my cards!

This little fellow is made from punches.  Isn't he cute??

And who can resist Big Bird at Easter???  Plus, I love the red and yellow combo. 

Hope these give you some inspiration for your Easter cards!

Color Combo Challenge

What beautiful weather we had yesterday!  But today is overcast and rain is expected ... to be followed by a chilly day tomorrow.  Hey, at least we're not in Dallas where it snowed yesterday!!  Hard to believe that!!

Just a quick reminder.. there are only about 10 days left to take advantage of Sale A Bration!

Did you know that there are over 60 stamp sets you can recieve for FREE during Sale a Bration!?   In addition to the wonderful sets in the SAB mini catalog, you can also get a 72 sheet pack of designer paper, or a great new scallop edge punch FREE with each $50 order!

I worked on a Challenge last night and finally finished the card today.  I think I had everything I owned on my desk when I finished (trying to get the card just right)!!  Here's my creation in response to the Color Combo on Picture Perfect Creations.  These colors were hard for me!!

The Not Quite Navy card (and dots) didn't photograph well - they look almost black!

Recipe:

Cardstock:  Not Quite Navy, Lovely Lilac, Whisper White, DSP from Daisy Bucket (Beach House)

Ink:  Not Quite Navy

Stamps:  A Little Birdie Told Me (SU); Doodles (Inkadinkado)

Access:  Nestabilities; Word Window Punch; beads, wire; SU Scallop Punch; 1/2" Circle Punch; Pretties Kit 

Here's a close-up of the beaded antenna.  I definately gave my eyes a work out stringing those beads!

I entered a color challenge from this same blog last week (HERE) and got runner-up.  Here's the link to the winning card.    I'm hoping to win this week!!

Megan (Picture Perfect Creations) is also doing a Design Team Call.  If you are interested, you can learn more on her blog 

Happy St Patty's Day & 2 Monday Mailers

(This is posted late because I just realized it didn't get posted when it should have!!)


Happy Saint Paddy's Day to you all!  These are the cookies I made for my Mahjong group and this is what I have left!  I doubled the recipe because the single recipe said SIX Servings!  I think I would have been fine without doubling because these will be gone by Friday .... in mine & Sonny's stomach!  Although I'm having Stamp Club tomorrow so I'll tempt them with the cookies too!

Here's the recipe for the cookies .... they are really good and easy!

IRISH SHAMROCK COOKIES

1/2 C butter, softened (I used a Crisco Shortening Stick)

1 3-oz package instant pistachio pudding mix

1 1/3 C baking mix (Jiffy, Bisquick)

1 egg

1 T white sugar

• 
  
  Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease baking sheet. 
• 
  
  Cream together shortening (or butter) and pudding mix.  Blend in baking mix, egg, and sugar.  Mix well.
• 
  
  On lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 3/8" thickness & cut into cookies with cookie cutter.
• 
  
  Place cookies on prepared baking sheet & bake 9-10 minutes or until lightly browned on edges.  Let cookies cook on rack.  Frost with green icing.

Now for my Monday Mailer cards!  Here is the card I made and mailed to my partner.

I found the pattern for this egg in the March CardMaker magazine.  All supplies for the card are from Stampin' Up.  The DSP is from the Good Neighbor pack that is in the Saleabration Catalog.  I ran all the pieces plus the white square through my Big Shot with the SU Texture Plate.  The felt flower and leaf are in the Occasions Mini Catalog.  The cardstock is Melon Mango and Bermuda Bay.  I love the White Satin Ribbon!!  "happy easter" is from the Abundant Hope set in the Occasions Catalog.

Here is the card I received today! 

Isn't it great?  She embossed the cardstock with the Texturz Plate and I think she inked her plate yellow when she ran it through the Big Shot.  The butterflies are from the Occasions Mini - Embosslets.  I have to get those butterflies - they are on backorder right now though. 

A little of this and that

Whew!  What a crazy busy day!  Remember  a couple of months ago when I had that spot floating around in my right eye and the eye dr. told me it was a sign of aging and was called a vitreous detachment??  Well, yesterday, I noticed with my LEFT eye, a cobweb like matter floating around in my field of vision and a couple of times, a few light flashes.  I remembered that the eye dr. had asked me if I had seen any light flashes with the right eye when I was there last month and I had not.  So this morning, I was able to get in to see the doctor right away.  Turns out, this cob-webby thing is blood.  Doesn't sound too good, huh? Last month when I saw the eye dr, my vision in my left eye was 20/20 ... today it was 2/40.   I am going to see a retina specialist in Charlotte next Friday.  This could mean that the vitreous is pulling away from the retina or that the retina itself is becoming dislodged from the inner back of the eye that contains blood, nutrients and oxygen vital to healthy function. When the retina is torn, vitreous can invade the opening and push out the retina — leading to a detachment.  Right now, my eye dr. doesn't see that but he wants to be safe than sorry.  Yeah - me too!  What I've read about this is:   "A study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in late 2009 found that sudden presence of eye floaters and flashes means that one in seven people with these symptoms will have a retinal tear or detachment. And up to 50 percent of people with a retinal tear will have a subsequent detachment."   So,  if you believe in the power of prayer, please say a prayer for me this week.  I'm really pretty scared.  And I just hate that there is nothing I can do but wait.

On to happier topics!  Today was the first day for my Stamp Club.  I had 7 ladies and they really enjoyed stamping.  I just need to remember to make simple cards!!  They really don't know anything about stamping and that's hard for me to remember when I was like that!  But, really, the most challenging thing to them was tying the bows!!!  We did 2 cards and a little Easter basket.  Unfortunately, I only remembered to take a picture of one card and I gave my samples away!  I am going to make the other card and the basket tomorrow for one of the ladies who was out of town so I will share it with you then.  Here is the first card we made.  I wanted them to know watercoloring because I think you can get a really pretty look very easy by using watercolor pencils or crayons.

This uses the stamp set, Abundent Blessings from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

I also colored this panel in different colors to give them another idea of how to do their flowers:

Most of them just did the yellow flowers but I did have one lady who "stepped out of the box" and did multi-colored flowers.

After the ladies left, Sonny and I hopped in the car to meet a group of his Golden Boy members at the movies.  We saw "The Green Zone" - a real action packed movie.  The focus of 'Green Zone' is on the early stages of the 2003 US Iraq invasion.  The war being fought in the film is more between the Pentagon and the CIA than the US vs Iraq which makes it all the more interesting and the film allows you to see things from Iraq's perspective for a change.  No matter what your view is of the Iraqi war, this film will make you think as it deals with looking for the non-existant WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction.)

Idol Results

The very first one up on stage is Paige Miles and she is in the bottom 3.  I am surprised.  I thought she did good last night.  Plus, I thought she would get the sympathy vote because she had laryngitis.

Tim Urban is in the bottom three.  That is not a surprise to me.  I predicted him.

Lacey Brown is the third one in the bottom three.  Another surprise for me.

Well, America voted for Lacey to go home.  I don't agree. I don’t think she was a contender to win it, but I would have sent home 2 or 3 others before her.   I think it should have been Tim or Andrew before Lacey.   The judges can save her so she does a final song for them.   They are all huddled together, pretending to discuss whether or not they are going to “save” her. Sure, with 11 contestants left, they are going to use the save tonight? I seriously doubt it.  And they don't. 

Rolling Stones Night on American Idol

Well, we've made it to the Top 12 on Idol and now the fun begins!  Tonight the contestants are singing Rolling Stones songs.  I was never a big Stones fan so a lot of these songs didn't do it for me.

• Big Mike Lynch singing "Miss You"  I'm not familiar with this song but thought he did great!  He's a real showman.  The judge loved it ... but of course, Simon had to add his two cents worth - thought his dancing was a little corny. 
• Didi Benami - "Play With Fire"  I thought it was a little "dragging" but guess I was in the minority - all the judge thought it was one of her best performances.
• Casey James "It's All Over Now"  It was just ok for me.  Of course Kara loved it and thought it was one of his best.  Not Simon though.
• Lacey Brown "Ruby Tuesday"  I liked this one.  I hope she makes it back next week.  Her outfit was just a little strange!
• Andrew Garcia "Gimme Shelter"  No - too pitchy; just not great.  His family interview was weird - his mom is like a zombie!
• Katie Stevens "Wild Horses"  The beginning wasn't so great but then she got into the groove and did a great job.
• Tim Urban "Under My Thumb"  I'm with Randy and Ellen - I didn't like the Rolling Stones Reggae version!  I do give him kudos for trying something different though.
• Siobhan Magnus "Paint It Black"  WOW - best of the night so far!!  I can see her as a front runner for winning this competition.  She looks so different tonight with her hair all curled.
• Lee Dewyze "Beast of Burden"  I like it!  He's one of my favorite of the guys.  I love his voice.  As Randy says, "it was dope!"  I'd love to hear him sing country!
• Paige Miles "Honky Tonk Woman"  Wow - she really surprised me!  I didn't think she would do good with Stones songs but she hit the big notes with this song and worked the stage.  According to the judges, she had laryngitis this week.  Don't think she'll get voted off this week.
• Aaron Kelly "Angie"  Another good solid performance.  He has a good voice and he chose a good song for his range.
• Crystal Bowersox "You Can't Always Get What You Want"  Still my #1 Favorite!!  She is just awesome.  She was born to do this.  I wonder about her family life.  During her family interview, no mention is made of her mom.  If it weren’t for Siobhan, I’d say  just give Crystal the American Idol titleand send the rest  of them home.

It's going to be tough to vote someone off this week.  My pick for the bottom 3 is:  Casey, Tim and Andrew.

50 Years and still Laughing!

Uh oh - I thought I posted this already - oh well, here it is - Marianne turned 50 Tuesday!!


My baby sister, Marianne, turns 50 today!!  It is hard for me to believe she is that old!  Our winter has been one for the books this year, but in 1960 when Marianne was born, it was another one to remember.  It snowed or sleeted every Wednesday that month!  And Marianne was born on a Wednesday!  It was really weird because we don't usually have that much cold weather in March.  I remember that we got out of school a day or two every week that month!  I was 11 at the time so that was a big deal especially since I had to walk to school!! 

We celebrated Marianne's birthday a little early this year.  Her husband, Greg, surprised her Saturday night by taking her to The Melting Pot Restaurant.  We surprised her by picking her two boys up earlier and beating them there so we were at the table waiting when she got there.  Oooh that chocolate was good .... as you can tell by the picture of Marianne licking the plate!

Last night, we continued the party at my house.  My mom and sister, Angela, came over.  Angela brought balloons and decorations and the guys cooked Ka-Bobs out on the grill.  I made a chocolate cherry cake (yea - we like chocolate!!).  It was a fun family get-together.

Here's Marianne and her husband, Greg.  She's trying to blow out the candle!

This is one of the cards I made for her.

Here's the other card I made her.

I also made this photo tray.  It is from 7Gypsies and I bought it at AC Moore.  I tried to find different pictures through out her life to put in it as well as family sayings.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS!!