Rag Purses

Yesterday I spent the day at my sister's house (Marianne).  She helped me make a few rag purses with the Sizzix die.  I love how they turned out!

 This one is made from a piece of material a friend gave me last week.  She gave me about a yard of the material and the whole piece was patchwork-like with all these beautiful individual squares.  We just cut the squares apart and ran then through the die.    The flower I made blends in with the purse so it is hard to see.

 This one is made from some fat quarters that I got from a local quilt shop in town.  Again, I made a flower from the Flower Fold Sizzix die and pinned it on the purse.

 I think this one may be my favorite .... sometimes, simple is best!  I already had the flower made from bits of material - good thing because I used all the material on the purse and didn't have any left over - we even had to piece together the straps.

These are two cell phone holders I made.  I am going to hang one of them off the first purse.  The second one, I will add a fabric flower brooch to it.

These will all go in the craft fair I am working on.

My Digital Studio Website!!

Stampin Up has just released a new My Digital Studio Website!  It is a place to share My Digital Studio creations for both Demonstrators and Customers!

http://www.mydigitalstudio.net/ is the place to go for inspiration, product training, and up-to-date information about My Digital Studio software, downloads, and printed products.

Just click the link above and set up your profile. Then start sharing and learning more about My Digital Studio today!! 

I have been playing around with MDS all week.  I am working on an invitation for a Rehearsal Wedding Party for a friend of mine.  I am so excited with how it is turning out.  I will share with you soon.

In the meantime, here is a scrapbook page I did yesterday.  My sister, Angela, unearthed these pictures of Marianne, Angela and me taken way back when (probably late 70s or early 80s)!  Just wish I was that skinny today!!  Looks like we were all three into big glasses - guess that was the fad back "in the day"!

Angela, Me & Marianne - back in the day!

Ashley is back in business with her computer.  She received her charger cord in the latest mail drop so we were able to "skype" this morning.  It was so good to be able to talk to her again as well as see her.  She is going to have to make a trip to Baghdad in the next few weeks.  She thinks they will probably send her there by helicopter.  Her bullet-proof vest fell apart - the whole side of it came off.  So, she has to go to Baghdad to return it and be issued a new one.  The upside is she will be able to visit the PX there which is supposed to be really big.  She also has a friend/colleague stationed in Baghdad whom she will be able to see.

Sonny and I went to see Wall Street today.  It's a sequal to the film Michael Douglas won an Oscar for in the 80s.  The movie was pretty good but had a lot of financial stuff that I just had a hard time following/understanding.   I really like Michael Douglas.   His hair in the film mirrors his mood, from scruffy to bouffant and then greasily slick.

Fifth Avenue Floral

I met with a group of ladies on Thursday for a card making session.  We take turns with the projects and I volunteered this month.  The card we made is so pretty and one that I learned to do during the Shallotte Quarterly (thanks, Becky!).  It is made with the Fifth Avenue Floral Sizzix folder (exclusively SU) and the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set.

These are the cards closed.

Yellow Card open

Pink Card open

If you notice the pink card is cut a little different than the yellow one.  It just goes to show even when you mess up, it can turn out all right! 

Directions:

• Cut cardstock 5 1/2" x 12"
• Score at 4" and 8"
• Put one side of the card (up to the fold line) in the Fifth Ave Floral Sizzix folder and run through the Big Shot (with the words on the die facing up).  This side will be embossed.
• Put the other side of the card (up to fold line) in the folder (with the words underneath this time) and run through the Big Shot.  This side will be de-bossed.
• Trim around the floral shape (see samples above).
• Corner round the top edges of the inside piece of cardstock.
• Cut a piece of white cardstock 3 3/4" x 5 1/4" and corner round the top edges.
• Stamp on the white with the Fifth Ave Floral stamps.  Adhere to the center panel.
• Stamp one of the flowers on a scrap of white & cut out.  Adhere it on the inside with dimensional tape.
• Punch two holes at the top and thread ribbon through.
• Make a belly band to go around the card.

This card can be used for a wedding invitation, sympathy card, birthday, etc.  Very versatile!

Supplies used:

• Fifth Avenue Floral Sizzix Embossing Folder (pg 214 - $7.95)
• Fifth Avenue Floral Stamp (pg 122 - $24.95)
• 12 x 12 cardstock (pg 166 - 169 - $6.95)
• Whisper White cardstock (pg 169 - $8.50)
• 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon (pg 191 - $6.95)

Women & Heart Attacks

Thought this was worthy of passing along -

Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack .... You know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies. Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.


'I had a heart attack at about 10 :30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might've brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up..

A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about5:00 p.m.

After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).

This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws..... 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!

I lowered the footrest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else .. But, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in moment.

I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics .. I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.

I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stents to hold open my right coronary artery.

'I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already told to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents.

'Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand.'
1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up ....... which doesn't happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics.' And if you can take an asprin.. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard to others on the road. Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.

Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MIs are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.

Christmas Monday Mailer

It's a new month for Monday Mailers and I decided to switch it up a little bit.  This month I am letting the recipients ask for the type of card they would like to receive.  As for me, I really don't care - just don't need any more Halloween cards!  Becky, who I am sending to, requested Christmas cards.  That's great because I need to get my butt in gear with my own Christmas cards so I can do mine right along with doing hers.  I really tried something different with the first card I sent her.  She should have received it today (or tomorrow) so I figured it would be ok to share it with you.



Front of card

 

View of card opened

I used the DSP from the Holiday Mini, Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler.  The sentiment is from Word Play.  The ribbon is actually vanilla ribbon - I used my dauber to color it.

Here's how I did it using the Sizzix Movers & Shapers Die.  I only wanted to cut half of the ornament out on the fold of my paper.

• I started with a piece of  cardstock 4 1/4" x 11". 
• Score at 2 3/4" & 5 1/2" (or instead of scoring, fold in half; then fold 1/2 back onto itself). 
• Line the cardstock up so the fold is lined up on half of the ornament punch.    

Your "sandwich" will be an acrylic plate on the bottom (I used a long one) and a short acrylic plate on the top.  Run it through the machine and you will have half of the ornament punch!

If you would like to watch a video of this technique, I found one on You Tube.  You can watch it HERE.

I hope some of you took advantage - well, you still can - of the Clearance Sale.  I was putting an order in last night around 8:00 and it took forever to get to the Clearance page.  I think everyone in the country was checking out the great deals!  Stampin' Up made some server optimizations and code changes to enhance the Online Store's performance so now you should notice that Online Store orders will be processed faster.

CLEARANCE RACK BLITZ!

Up to 80% off Stampin Up Clearance Rack items!


From October 5 to October 18, Stampin' Up! is having a Clearance Rack Blitz, where you can purchase great products at amazing prices (up to 80% off!).  All discontinued items are while supplies last, so ORDER NOW! 
 
Click on the button on the left side of my blog to view ALL of the Clearance items!!  The easiest way to make sure you see all the items is to click Show All on the Clearance pages - don't miss anything.
 
I have 2 posts today so scroll down for the second one!

Treasure Chest

I have re-discovered an old recipe that a friend gave me when I was a Girl Scout leader - way back when!!  It is for granola and I have been putting it on my yogurt each morning and wow, is it yummy!  It's great to have something good for you that also tastes good!  If you want to try it, here you go:

GRANOLA ... makes about 6 cups

• 3 Cups Oats
• 1 C shredded coconut
• 1 C chopped nuts
• 1/4 C honey (or more)
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

Mix all together & put in a 13"x9" pan.  Cook @ 350 for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  After cooking, add:

• 2/3 C raisins
• dried fruit

Instead of raisins, I added Craisens.  I bought a big bag at BJ's and also a big bag of mixed dried fruit & nuts.   So, I put a scoop of the granola over my greek yogurt & add an additional handful of dried fruit and that's all there is to it.  Try it & let me know what you think.

I made a little Treasure Chest Box yesterday to hold tags.  It turned out really cute.  Now, I think I'll make one for Christmas tags.

Look On the Bright Side

Found this recently in a forwarded e-mail .... I'm trying to follow this!

For every negative that consumes your happiness,

Affirm two positives that sustain you.

For every "should’ve" you wish you’d done,

Acknowledge something you’re glad you did.

For every loss that has altered your world,

Count from it something you have gained.

For every limit that has ever beset you,

Consider your possibilities.

You can’t always change the way things are,

But you can change the way you wish to see them.

Never stop looking

Here is the last Monday Mailer I received last week.  I really like the size of the card she made!  You can mail it in a business envelope.

My face painting experience turned out pretty good.  I wasn't too sure to begin with though.  My first customer of the day, a little girl about 8 or 9, wanted a butterfly.  So, I painted a butterfly on her cheek.  She looked in the mirror and didn't like it (it wasn't exactly like the one in the picture she had seen), so I offered to do a flower on the other cheek.  When I finished that pretty flower, again she looked in the mirror and pouted.  Her mom told her to say thank you and get up - she started crying and pitching a fit!  It took her mom a little bit to drag her up out of the chair and leave!  What a brat!  It got much better after that though.  My most popular request was a dog face!   After I did one, a lot of the little boys wanted one.  I made black circles around both eyes - coloring one in all the way and colored black spots all over the face.  Then I blacked the tip of the nose and made a red tongue from the bottom lip to the chin! 

After the festival was over, I still had time to made it to the Open House at the stamp store in town.  It was nice to see a lot of my "Alley" friends there who I hadn't seen in a while.  A couple of them have been real pals and have sent Ashley cards while she has been deployed.  I did a great make-and-take with Karen and watched a good demo about making your own background papers.  I bought the small Scor Pal (for cards).  It was the last one in the store so I was pretty lucky.  Plus, I had a full punch card and got $15 off my purchase!  I'll be keeping this on my desk all the time.  It even comes with a zippered bag!

 

 

Saturday night, we met Marianne and family in downtown Mooresville for a benefit concert.  Harrison & Derek's ex soccer coach plays in the band, Cold Bait & Live Beer.  They were very good.  The venue was rather strange - in the parking lot of Ted's Famous Chicken but it was a benefit to raise money for Kellie Dayton who is the daughter of Ted's Chicken.  She is battling melanoma cancer.

 

Sunday was football watching at Big Al's.  When we got there, the place was packed so we didn't get our usual "lucky" table!  We finally scored a few seats at the bar to watch the game.  It was a nail biter (aren't they all though?) and we ended up losing in the last 32 seconds!  Guess we were due but I was hoping for 4-0 when Ben returned.  We have a bye week this weekend, then Big Ben will return Oct. 17.  Sonny keeps hinting that he'll look for tickets for that game and we would make a road trip to Pittsburgh.  We'll see! 

Fall Festival Face Painting

Just a quick hello tonight.  I went to a seminar today put on by the Golden Boys about exercising as you get older.  Hopefully, it will be the catalyst that gets my butt up and moving!  They held it in the gym area of the YMCA with several doctors speaking.  The bad part was due to the acoustics in a gym, it was very hard to understand everything they said.    Afterwards, Sonny & I did some running around - to Ollie's, WalMart, Walgreens, BJ's ... all the really fun places in town!!  We also went over to Best Buy and I bought my birthday present (about 3 weeks early!)  I have been shopping for a new printer so I could print some off some of the things I do on My Digital Studio and there was an Epson on sale this week at Best Buy.  I came home and set it up but I didn't have the right cable so have to go back to Best Buy tomorrow .... grrrr!

If you are in Sherrills Ford tomorrow and want to get your face painted, come on by the library!  I'll be doing face painting from 11 - 3 during their Fall Festival!  I've never done face painting before, so we'll see how this turns out.  I'm not planning on any real elaborate painting.  Hopefully the kids will be happy with stars, flowers, cameoflage, etc.  Unfortunately, tomorrow is also the open house at our local stamp store in Mooresville that will have to miss.  Just can't do it all I guess.

Headed to bed now - have a wonderful weekend!  It is supposed to be good Fall weather here this weekend!  Temps in the mid to low 70's.  I'm ready to break out the sweaters and sweatshirts!!

Another Sympathy Card

How do you like my new blog banner?  I made it using My Digital Studio!

Well, my guys finally made it home.  They spent Tuesday night in Myrtle Beach.  This was the first time my brother-in-law had seen the Atlantic Ocean!  They took their time driving back on Wednesday - going to South of the Border!  Sonny used to stop their when his family would drive from Pennsylvania to Florida when he was a kid.  He said it used to just be a junk store  - now it is a whole complex with convention center, amusement park, etc.  Their fishing trip was pretty successful.  They didn't catch many fish but Sonny caught the biggest fish he'd ever caught.  They are already planning another trip in the spring.  Of course, we don't know if Jack will come bck to see us or not.  His flight here was pretty rocky with bad weather and lots of delays.  Well, today his flight was scheduled for noon.  They left the house about 9:30 and by 11:00. they hadn't made it very far due to a wreck on I77 - said the interstate was like a parking lot.  They finally arrived at the airport around 11:45 but it was too late.  They would not check Jack in.  American put him on standby and he finally got out on a flight around 4 pm.  He called us about 8:00 tonight and is now stuck in Dallas trying to get a flight to Austin but they are all booked.  I think he is going to have to spend the night in Dallas.  Travel can sometimes be frustrating!

So, I had a little time today and made another sympathy card. 

Cardstock:  Mellow Moss, White, Cherry Cobbler,  retired DSP

Stamp:  Watercolor Trio; Punch Potpourri

Accessories:  Boho Blossoms Punch; Butterfly Punch; Oval Nestabilities, brads

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Mellow Moss