Snow Days

We had a snow day today!  The snow started sometime during the night and when I woke up this morning, every where you looked was white and beautiful.  I remember how excited I was as a kid to have snow days and to go out and play in it all day .... making snowmen, having snowball fights, eating snow cream.  Good memories.  My kids were just the same although living in Texas, they didn't get the big snow storms like we had today.  But, what we did get, they made the best of.  We didn't have a sled but they would use cookie sheets for their sledding and pack the snow in a bucket to make their snowmen.   I don't know if kids have this kind of fun anymore.  It seems like they would rather stay indoors playing video games than exerting themselves running and playing outside these days.  Sonny and I took a walk around the neighborhood after lunch and didn't see one kid out playing or even a snowman to show that kids had been playing outside.

So I felt it only appropriate tonight to make this snowman card:

I found this paper tonight while cleaning and thought it would make a great background for my snow couple!

I started this weekend re-organizing my stamp room so today was great to have the snow day to finish it up.  I moved furniture around and everything!  I still have a little bit more to do but I made a good start on getting things in order.

These are my  Stampin' Up stamps organized A through R. 
I still have a couple of shelves (bottom ones) to organize.  Hopefully, I'll tackle that tomorrow.



These are the rest of my SU stamps organized S - W.  I got tired of bending down all the time to get to stamps on lower shelves!  On the top, I have my ribbon in empty plastic jars that used to hold nuts.



This is my cutting station. 

My desk still needs a little work but it looks a lot better than it did about noon today!!  It was covered with stuff.

These are my non-Stampin' Up stamps that are on a shelf in my closet.  I stamped all of them on copy paper by categories - floral, animals, snow, holidays, masculine, etc. and put them in plastic boxes.  The white basket toward the bottom are all my clear stamps stored in CD cases and categorized in a separate notebook.

January Monday Mailer #1

Our Monday Mailer program has started back up.  I am glad!  I missed receiving a card each week.  I love seeing what other people make.  So if you ever want to make a card and don't know who to send it to, just send it my way!  My partner this month is Carol and she made the prettiest thank you card - although it would be easy to add another sentiment and use this card for a birthday or "thinking of you."

 

The card base is Crumb Cake (or Kraft if you prefer!)  She used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder on the Pretty In Pink piece.  This is about the only folder that I don't own.  It just may be on my order form next time!  I had to thumb through the catalog to find which stamp set she used since I didn't recognize it.  It is from Printed Petals (pg 106) and is really pretty!  Only $15 for the clear set .... maybe that one will be on my list too!  It looks like a very versatile stamp set.  

Yesterday I felt like all I did was eat and drink!  I rode with Sonny up to Hickory.  He had to get a part to fix my mom's fireplace.  I needed to go to Hobby Lobby to return something, but half-way there, I remembered the Hobby Lobby bag was still hanging on the door in my craft room!  Oh well - another trip, another time.  While we were there, we had lunch at the Mellow Mushroom which is fairly new to Hickory.  We've eaten at the one in Savannah and really like it.  So lunch with a couple of brews and we were headed home.  Just in time to wash my hair and get dressed to meet some friends in Statesville for dinner.  Not good planning!!  We met them at a favorite Mexican restaurant - really, about the only good one we have found here.  But neither one of us were very hungry - plus, by the time you eat a bowl of chips and salsa and have a couple of margaritas, you're definitely not hungry!!  It was fun anyway. 

This weekend will be a lazy one.  I am going to a jewelry party this afternoon.  But, after that, I'll have my comfy clothes on and settled in to watch some football.  There are two play-off games today and two tomorrow.  After the weekend, we'll know who Pittsburgh will be playing next weekend.

The weather is supposed to get bad early in the week.  High's today just barely above freezing with snow on the way.  Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be snow days.  We'll see!  I'd love more snow as long as I don't have to drive in it.

Valentine Inchy

I received a shipment yesterday from Stampin' Up.  I had pre-ordered the Valentine special but, darn it, the stamp is back-ordered!  It shipped today so I should have it by the first of next week.  I received the Valentine DSP so decided to work with it and a stampset I had on hand.  I pulled out the set, Cute by the Inch, which is a hostess set that I haven't used and found this cute little heart.  This card was simple to make - which is not my usual.  But, it was fun and quick and I like it!

I stamped the heart inchy in black and mounted it on black which I mounted on Real Red. 

I'm excited!  I made our airline reservations today for our trip to IRELAND!!  We are going there mid-March and will be meeting Ashley on her leave.  Our plans are to tour Ireland for a week and then travel over to England for a few days.  Just working out all the logistics will be a hassel but at least I've made a start by making the plane reservations.

A Card for Twins!

I thought that I had posted this card but Ashley informed me today that I had not!  Her best friends in San Antonio had twins a week ago.  Lisa and Danny had a boy and a girl to bring home to big brother Ryan.  The babies are still in the hospital and Lisa is going there every 3 hours to feed them.  I know she'll be so glad to get them home in a few weeks.  I think this has been one of the hardest times for Ashley knowing those babies are here and she won't get to see them for so long.

 

I had so much fun making this card!  I used the large wheel, Baby Tees (pg 79 in SU catalog).  I wheeled it once on blue DSP and again on pink DSP and cut them out.  I free-handed the little tee shirt in the middle for Ryan and stamped "brother" on it from Everyday Flexible Phrases (retired) and then just wrote in "big" with a Sharpie.  The background paper is some I had in my stash (non SU).   The silver hangers are brads that I got at CKC a couple of years ago.  I hung them on the twine.  The sentiment is punched out with the Modern Label Punch.  So what do you think???

Now I have to get to work on two name frames for Alex and Julia.  I have bought the frames and they have been sitting amid the mess on my desk for a few days now.  I made a name frame for Ryan when he was born and Ashley told me it is still hanging in his room so I have to make one two for these babies!

Got my Mojo!

I forgot to mention our good Steelers news yesterday.  We always go to a local bar to watch the game with a bunch of other Steelers fans.  They do raffles during all the games of some great Steelers stuff.  At half-time, they draw 5-6 names and at the end of the game, they do one final raffle and it is always a authentic Steelers jersey.  The very first game, we won one of the prizes at half-time - a tee shirt and a Steelers gnome.  Well, yesterday we won the Steelers jersey!!  It was from the 1970's team (Steel Curtain) and was of Mel Blount.  I didn't even get to try the jersey on - it went straight to Sonny.  It still had the price tag on it - $300!!  Pretty cool, huh?

Today I made a card using the Mojo Monday sketch.  It's been a while since I did one of their sketches.  I had picked up this stamp a couple of weeks ago at H. L. and hadn't inked it yet.  I think it worked very well in this sketch.

 I turned the sketch on it's side so I could fit all my elements in there.  The ovals and rectangles are cut from Nestabilities.   The DSP is from a retired SU stack that was in last year's catalog.  I used my nifty Imaginisce tool to melt the bling onto the flower stem and in the center of the flower in the circle.  I wrapped the brown grosgrain ribbon on one side and used sticky strip to adhere it to the card.  I used the bow maker to make the bow.  Don't you love the saying?  Guess who I'm sending this card to!!

I bought a new laptop today and I'm so excited!!  There was a really good price at Best Buy but of course, when I got there, there were none left.  So, we had to order it.  That's ok - I can wait.  I have been using the Newcomer's laptop for two years while I have been Secretary/Newsletter. but I will be giving up that position at the end of the month (YAY! ) so I wanted my own laptop.  That's what I spent my first Social Security check on!! 

Last Chance for Holiday Mini

YAY!!  Steelers made it to the play-offs!!  And we get a bye next week to rest our players.  Our first play-off game will be Saturday, Jan. 15th.

REMINDER!!  11 PM Central Time (midnight / EST) on MONDAY, JAN. 3 IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER YOUR SUPPLIES OUT OF THE HOLIDAY MINI CATALOG!!  DON'T MISS OUT... did you get all the buttons, designer paper, stamps and accessories you want!?

I am so excited about our New Occasions Mini Catalog!  Just when you think it can't get any better Stampin' Up does it again!   And on top of that we have Sale-A-Bration  - our biggest sale of the year - starting the end of the month!   Free stamps, papers and accessories with each $50.00 purchase (before shipping and tax)!    This is definitely my favorite time of the year to purchase SU products so call or email me to schedule your workshop and receive all those FREEBIES!

January Calendar

Happy 2011 to you!  We had fun last night bringing in the New Year.  Today has been foggy and dreary ... a good day for doing nothing but lounging around!  We all need one of those once in a while.

As you know, I have been working on 6x6 calendars for my friends and family.  I am going to try to remember to post the month's calendar on the first of each month this year.  Or in this case, I am posting more than one January idea.  These were done on My Digital Studio.  It made making calendars soooo easy this year!!

Happy 2011!

created with SU's My Digital Studio

Happy New Year my friends!  I hope you enjoy a safe and prosperous 2011!  I am going to my sister's house to bring in the New Year.  I was able to talk to Ashley before she went to bed but by now, it is 2011 for her! 

Finally!

Finally .... I used some of my new toys!   I made a card this morning before tackling  the Christmas decorations!  I used the Blossoms Punch and the stamp set, Build A Blossom from the Occasions Mini Catalog which will go into effect January 1.  So ... if there is anything that you have been wanting to get from the Holiday Mini Catalog, today and tomorrow are the last days that you can order from it.

I also decided to do a Color Challenge from Splitcoast.  If you have been a long time follower of my blog, you know that I love doing challenges.  But, it has probably been six months since I have had time to do a one.  I am going to start to challenge myself more!!  The color challenge was to use Old Olive, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight and neutrals.  Those are great colors for a man's card - which I also need to do for my brother's birthday - but I decided to do a flower instead.

 

 The punch makes it so easy to make the flower.  I stamped the petals onto Shimmery White card stock and punched away!  To adhere them to the card, I punched a circle of SU's adhesive paper (in the Holiday Mini - love it!) and put the tips of the petals on it in a circle.  I ran the Old Olive through the Big Shot using the Little Leaves Sizzix die.  The Daffodil scallop is a Martha punch. 

This is the center of my flower - how cool!  I got this neat tool for Christmas.  It is an I-Rock Bling heat setting tool.  You put the bling where you want it and heat set it with the tool.  The heat transfers through the bling and activates the glue.  Probably overkill on the bling, but I was having fun!

Well, I'm off to work on taking down the decorations while Sonny is here to help!  Hope you have a great day!

Final Christmas Cards

I need to start the dreaded chore of taking down the Christmas tree and finding all the boxes the decorations go in.  Then hauling it all upstairs and into the attic!  Wish I had a closet that I could just put the tree into - decorations and all - and just pull it out next year!  Before I pack everything away, thought I'd share a few of the hand-made cards I received from my friends this year.

This first one is from my up-line, Carol

From Cathy.  She is in my card group and just started stamping this year.  Isn't she doing a great job?!

From Vicki.  She inspired me with this card and I made quite a few similar ones.  I also had to go out and buy this Just Rite stamp set!!

From Brenda who owns Stampers Alley.  This was also an inspiration to me using non-traditional colors.

From Margaret.  This stamp set was the most popular SU set this year I believe.

Another one using Greeting Card Kids.  This is from Jennifer who was in my Stamp Club in Gig Harbor, WA.

This beauty is from Sharon "girlfriend".  Love the jewel in the center!

Last but definitely not least, this is from Judy.  I just love the vintage cardstock.  No stamping involved (except inside) and it is a beauty!

I drove up to Hickory today and had fun just going from store to store!  I had to go by the Social Security Office so while I was in town, I took advantage and went to Hobby Lobby, AC Moore, Best Buy and the mall.  I left the house a little after 1 pm and didn't get home until close to 7:30 pm!!  Sonny said he was sure glad he didn't go with me!  I scored some good buys at Hobby Lobby that I'll be playing with tomorrow.  I also will be working on two name frames for new babies.  Ashley's best friends had twins yesterday - a boy and a girl.  I think this has been the hardest thing for Ashley while she has been in Iraq - not being in San Antonio to see Lisa and Danny's new additions.