Easter Cards plus bummed about the Idol Results

Easter will be here before you know it.  Have you made all your Easter cards?  I decided today that I better get cracking and get mine made so I can get them in the mail.  There are a couple of cute little boys in Texas that I will be sending these cards to!

These are not Stampin' Up stamps but some other stamps that I bought locally last year.  I just think these bunnies are so cute!  I used my Copics to color them.  It felt good to just make some fun cards today!

I'm bummed!!  I just finished watching the results show for American Idol and Paul was voted off.  He was my favorite!!  He was an ultimate performer in my opinion.  But he closed the show with one of my favorite songs .... Maggie May!  Love me some Rod Stewart!

American Idol Top 8 2011

Well, I had a marathon American Idol watching party today!  I had taped all the Idol shows while I was gone.  But when I got back, I decided I wouldn't watch them.  Well, today I changed my mind.  I was busy working on my Quarterly projects, so I turned on the DVR and watched all the Idol's that I had missed while  crafting.  I thought that was the best way to "connect" with the contestants and see their growth.  Of course, I already knew about the eliminations and the save.  I was surprised that Pia got voted off.  I really thought it should have been Stefano.  It is really a tough year - they are all sooooo good!!  But, I think it will be a guy winning again this year - especially since there are only 2 girls left.  The guys are so much stronger in my opinion.  My favorites at this time are Paul, Scotty, Jacob, James and Casey ... well, guess that's about all the guys, huh???

The talent this year is unmatched compared to seasons past, that is undoubtable.  I remember years when contestants in the final three couldn’t even sing on pitch.  These guys are uber talented, and it is so much fun to watch them sing and grow. Plus it seems that they are getting better advice from the mentors. But the judging? Leaves something to be desired.

This week is Movie Week or “Songs of the Cinema” and the contestants are choosing songs from the movies, which, basically means anything’s fair game.  Here's my thoughts on tonight's performances -

PAUL - Old Time Rock and Roll -  I was not as blown away with this song as I was with his other performances.  I love his energy and stage presence but felt he could have done more with that song tonight.  I really expected to see him come out like Tom Cruise did in the movie, Risky Business - sliding across the floor.  I think Paul could be in danger tonight, but hopefully he won’t go home yet. I love how you never quite know what you’re going to get with him, and he’s always interesting.

LAUREN - The Climb - Miley?  Please!  Although I do like that song, I think she could have picked a better one.  She was ok but not great.  I could almost hear Simon saying, “I’m sorry, but that was a mess. An utter mess. No, really. When you watch it back you’ll see what I mean.” Can’t you hear that?  But alas, the judges had nary a negative word to say about it. I don’t get it. Are we listening to the same song? Lauren REALLY needs to take it up a notch. She looked cute though.

STEFANO - End of the Road -  Wow!  He did great - best he has done I think.  He pulled out all the stops tonight but is it too late for him or will he knock someone out of the competition this week?  

SCOTTY - Cross My Heart -  George Strait is one of my favorite singers so this song choice was great for me!  I just didn't think he did as well as he has done in the past.  He got lost under the backup singers a couple of times and even lost pitch at one time.  I wish he'd stayed with his first song choice (Everybody's Talking by Harry Nillson) and given his spin on that one.  Instead he stayed safe with a country song.  I didn’t think it did much to showcase his talents. I much prefer it when Scotty takes a non-country song and puts his Scotty spin on it.

CASEY - sings Nature Boy against other recommendations.  I think it was a mistake - it was just WEIRD!  I guess I just didn't "get it" like the judges did.   Although I will admit that this song shows his versatility as an artist and sets him apart from the others who are content to just sing whatever pop number they remember best from their childhood.

HALEY - Call Me - I disagreed with the judges on this one.  They praised all the other contestants but didn't care for Haley's performance.  I thought she was the best one except for Stefano tonight (so far).  She turned up the heat tonight and is getting better each week.

JACOB - He might have hurt himself after his comments last week. I love it when Jimmy says to Jacob, “Don’t preach to people.” Last week Jacob found himself in the bottom three after saying to America, “if I end up in the bottom three it won’t be because I sang the song bad . . . it will be because everybody in America wasn’t ready to look at themselves in the mirror.”   Really? I can’t believe America didn’t send him home after that.  He sang Bridge Over Troubled Waters - He has an incredible voice. I liked his performance but can't say that I loved it.

JAMES - Heavy Metal - Well, he definitely brought his energy to the stage tonight.  I just hope he didn't hurt his chances of America's vote with that song.  I guess he was good - I just don't care for that type of screaming "music".  That high note at the end was INSANE. in a good way though.

Simon, where are you when we need you???  I still find myself longing for Simon’s colorful commentary and his uncanny ability to cut to the chase, but Steven keeps me laughing so at least there’s that. Simon just has that innate ability to separate the men from the boys that I miss dreadfully. I’d do anything to hear one of his zingers right about now.  What is up with the judges….way too much love when it is not deserving.  They just don't give any constructive criticism.  Everyone is great according to them.

This is a hard one to predict as to who will be voted off - especially after the Pia vote last week.  I'm predicting it will probably be Haley even though I like her, she was the only one the judges criticized.  I'm guessing the bottom three will be Haley, Stefano and Lauren but that is clearly a guess!!  I could be wrong and it might be Casey down there.  Who knows???

March Monday Mailers

I received 3 beautiful Monday Mailers today.  These are for March.  Since I was out of town in March, Naomi waited until this week to send me all three cards at once.  They were definitely worth the wait!

This is my favorite one!  I will probably be CASE-ing this one for my stamp club soon. 

This one uses the stamp set, Always.  I love seeing how other people use stamp sets that I have overlooked in the catalog.

Great card using the darling Owl Punch!

Quarterly Rejects

I am going to a Quarterly NC Stampin' Up demonstrator meeting this weekend in Fayetteville.  These are always so much fun.  We have a Shoebox Swap on Friday night where each participant puts the ingredients for a card together in a shoebox.  Then each participant makes a card from each shoebox.  On Saturday we have several people who demonstrate various projects and techniques.  I love teaching others about card making so this is a fun part for me.  I will be doing one of the demonstrations.  We will be making the little Hand Sanitizer holders that I made at Christmas.  (I'll share it with you later this week.)  It is such a fun weekend visiting with friends from all over the state.  The past couple of years, Marianne has gone with me as my guest.  Unfortunately, she has a soccer tournament to attend this weekend so guess I'll be going solo.  I'm still trying to talk Sonny into driving down with me but not having too much luck!!  After being gone for 3 weeks, he is not eager to leave home again so soon.  Plus, he and his brother-in-law are planning a fishing trip the week after Easter.  

We do a lot of different kinds of swaps at Quarterly.  I signed up for a punch art swap, the shoebox swap and a spring/summer card swap - plus I have to get the project that I will be demo-ing cut out and prepared.  Monday I was getting a little worried.   I just could not come up with any good ideas for the card swaps and that clock kept ticking!  Here is one of my rejected ideas:

Card Recipe:

Cardstock:  Sahara Sand; Very Vanilla; Marina Mist; First Edition DSP (winter mini)

Accessories:  Marina Mist Ribbon; Big Shot; Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder; Circle Punches; Sponge Dauber; Distressing Tool

Stamp:  Friends Never Fade (pg 99 catalog)

Ink:  Marina Mist; Crumb Cake

Today though, I got my mojo back after I finally got out of bed!  I took a decongestant last night and just could not wake up this morning.  Once I got up, took my shower and ate some breakfast though, I was ready to go!  Here is the card I finally settled on for my Shoebox Swap.  It needs to be an easy card to make since we just have a few hours to do 19 cards plus visit and eat!!  

Card Recipe:

Cardstock:  Pink Pirouette; Whisper White; Melon Mambo

Access:  Big Shot; Finial Press Embossing Folder; Label Punch; Pearl

Stamps:  Awash With Flowers (pg 99, catalog); Four Frames (a sneak preview from Summer Mini); Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Melon Mambo; Pink Pirouette; Peach Pizazz

So, what do you think?  Would you like to make this card????

I'm Back!

I'm back from my trip and experiencing major jet lag!!  We got back Saturday night.  We flew from London to Detroit with an hour to go through Immigration and Customs.  Then boarded the plane (with 10 minutes to spare!) to Charlotte.  We were supposed to arrive in Charlotte around 7 pm but when we got close, there were severe storms in the area and the pilot announced he was going into a holding pattern for about 30 minutes to wait it out.  The airport ended up closing because of the storms and we headed to Columbia, SC for refueling and to wait out the storms.  We ended up staying in SC for about 3 hours and getting to Charlotte around 11 pm!  My sisters and mom spent several hours waiting for us at the airport - wasn't that sweet of them??!!  By the time we got our luggage, drove home and got in the bed, we were 1/2 hour short of being up 24 hours!!  To top it off, I also picked up a sore throat in the last few days.  I think it is mostly allergies and sinus problems - I start off the day feeling bad but as the day progresses I'm ok.  I haven't had the energy or inclination to go to the grocery store since getting home and our cupboards are looking pretty bare!  Tomorrow Sonny is taking my car and I am staying home waiting for the cable man.  The water pump went out on his truck today and our DVR cable box died while we were gone.  So, guess the groceries willl have to wait another day or two! 

I am working on some projects for the SU NC Quarterly meeting this weekend in Fayetteville and I will be sharing them with you soon I promise!!

In the meantime, here are a few pictures from our trip.

Ashley in Hyde Park

Sonny in front of the pub/restaurant (built in 1364!) where we celebrated our 38th anniversary - April 7

Ashley and me at Trafalgar Square - London

Ashley with the Eye of London in the background

The 3 of us with London in the background

Ashley & I going into Harrod's to do a little shopping (HA)

Good night!!

A Few Cards I Found

Here are a few cards that I have received at swaps. They are ones I keep thinking I will CASE one day. Most of the stamp sets used are retired but other ones can be substituted.

Remember when this song was popular?  The Loads of Love truck set is still available!

This is a square card.  The stamp set is retired but it would be easy to recreate this card with another flower set.

Changing of the Guard

Just a quick post before we head out this morning. Yesterday we headed out bright and early and caught the underground Tube to Buckingham Palace. We took a leisurly stroll through St James Park snapping photos of the geese, swans, ducks and flowers. It was quite lovely. We wandered around the area outside Buckingham Palace where loads of people were "que-ing" up to watch the changing of the guard. We walked over to the Guard Barracks area where the Guards were in the courtyard being inspected and practicing their instruments. Our guide yesterday had advised us where to stand in order to get the best view of the ceremony. And he was right. We got a close look at the Guard as they were marching to Buckingham Palace. I could reach out and touch them!

After that experience, we walked over to the Churchill War Museum. We did an audio tour there and it was very impressive. I am not big on war and that kind of stuff but it was really a good museum. You could experience the bombing of London during WW II as well as listen to Churchill's speeches. The museum is actually in the shelter that Churchill and his staff used during the war.

Last night we took a Jack the Ripper tour and was quite spooky! But it was fascinating. Our guide was definately a Jack the Ripper expert and a great story teller. I was afraid I would have nightmares last night.

The weather has been good so far - no rain although I think we may have some today. It has been cool and windy. Yesterday was the coldest day we had and we ended up having to come back to the hotel for our jackets and a brief rest.

Well, gotta run and get ready for today's activities - Westminster Abbey.

March Monday Mailers

Here are the Monday Mailers that I sent to Brenda last month.

WHY?

Why Is It?

Why is it that if someone tells you that there are a billion stars in the universe, you'll believe him, but if he tells you that a wall has wet paint, you'll have to touch it to be sure?

Why do we press harder on our remote control when we know the batteries are flat?

Deep in the jungle, why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

Why isn't "phonetic" spelled the way it sounds?

If money doesn't grow on trees, then why do banks have branches?

Why is it that people who spend their day sitting down often earn more than people who spend their day working on their feet?

Ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face he doesn't like it, but when you take him for a ride in the car, he sticks his head out the window?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up every two hours?

~~Quick and Simple Magazine

The Tower of London

We had a full day today. Started out this morning with a panoramic overall view of London with our own personal tour guide. It was a good way to see a lot in a comfy car and then decide what we have time to see and do the rest of the time we are here. We started out in Hyde Park and drove by Buckingham Palace, Westminister Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Picadilly, the US Embassy, many museums and statues of famous Brits, over the London Bridge, through an area where Harry Potter was filmed and on and on!! We stopped off and watched the Changing of the Horse Guard which was very impressive. Tomorrow we will go to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. After our 3 hour tour, we were dropped off at the Tower of London. We grabbed a bite to eat before heading into the Tower. We were able to get in free as guests of one of the Beefeaters there so we felt pretty special. This was arranged for us through our Brit / Texas friends!! We took an hour guided tour and then wandered around on our own. The most impressive thing for me was to view the Crown Jewels. Here all the crowns, orbs and scepters from the various royal ceremonies are on display and are really something spectatular! We saw Queen Victoria's diamond crown as well as the crown of the Queen Mother who died in 2002. We also saw the scaffolding site where enemies of the crown were beheaded and heard a lot of gruesome tales of traiters and killings. The Beefeaters loved telling those tales.