I've been busy!

I've been staying pretty busy while Sonny and Jack are gone fishing!  They called last night and told me they caught 6 pretty good sized catfish.  Guess what we'll be doing when they come home???  Yep, a good ole' fish fry with hush puppies and catfish!!   Yum!!  (Marianne - you better get home soon!)

In the meantime, I've been doing a little organizing.  Ashley told me she thinks I move my stamps around more than I stamp!  They were outgrowing their home .... again!  So, I just spread them out a little better.  Today I took out all my desk drawers and cleaned them out and tried to get them a little bit more organized.  All the excess junk that was in the drawers that I don't use much I am going to put into my storage area that is just off my stamp room.  (Right now, it is all sitting around me on the desk and floor - I got tired and had to take a rest!)  I was so industrious today that I even went for a 30 minute walk this morning after I ate my breakfast!!

Plus, I have been stamping.  One of the gals that signed up for Monday Mailers this month has not received any of her cards.  I have e-mailed the gal who is supposed to be sending them with no response.  So, since I am not participating in the Monday Mailers this month (since I was gone during sign-ups), I decided to make Beth some cards.  The theme this month was masculine and I wanted the challenge anyway.  So here are the cards I sent her yesterday:

 I hope this Loads of Love stamp set never retires.  It is such a good masculine one.  I used Crumb Cake, Red, and Night of Navy cardstock.  I watercolored the truck.  The "ribbon" is the twill tape and Hodgepodge Hardware.

 This Medallion stamp was sooo popular when it was first released and now everyone has forgotten about it.  But, I thought it met the masculine challenge stamped in Cajun Craze with the Jumbo Brad in the center.

 This is a another stamp set that I had to rescue from the back of the shelf.  I only seem to use it in the fall (maybe because it is called Autumn Days), but it makes a lovely card.  The DSP is Elegant Soiree with Espresso grosgrain ribbon and a little piece of Marina Mist satin ribbon tucked into the knot.

My Digital Studio came into play with this card with the "wish big hand".  I printed it onto white card stock in Night of Navy and used brads in the corner.  The DSP is from Celebrations.

I forgot to share the little Easter baskets I made to put at everyone's place for Easter dinner.  I put chocolates in them.  Jack and Sonny forgot to take them with them  .... good luck on having any left when they return!

Mom and Angela brought me this lily.

Stamp Club for April

I had my Stamp Club at my house last Thursday.  One of the gals had requested a baby card so we made the Baby Dresser card that I learned to do at Quarterly a few weeks ago.  A couple made the baby dresser card while a few more made an Easter dresser card and another couple did Mother's Day dresser cards.  It was one of the first times my club has used their own creativity on the cards so it was a good thing (as Martha would say!).

I just love these cards!  They are such fun to make.  If you are interested in making one, you can find the tutorial HERE.

The other two cards that we made are these:

 This card uses one of my favorite stamp sets, Awash With Flowers.  It also uses one of my favorite techniques - Two Step Stamping.  It also uses the Sneak Peak set, Four Frames.  You can purchase it now (until the end of April) with any $20 order.

  Another fun card!  The "pink button card" is from My Digital Studio.  The two buttons on the card are stamped with the Button, Button set (pg 34 of Occasions Mini) and popped up with dimensionals.  We also used the Button, Button set to stamp all over the white cardstock which we then matted onto the colored card stock pieces and ran through the Big Shot (using a lot of muscle power!).  Inside the card is the saying, "Sew Glad We Are Friends".  Cute, huh?  That saying is from the set, Puns From the Past (pg 130 in the big catty) but I bought it through My Digital Studio and just printed the saying out.

Happy Easter!

All I need to know

I learned from the Easter Bunny!

 

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.

There's no such thing as too much candy.

All work and no play can make you a basket case.

A cute tail attracts a lot of attention.

Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.

Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.

Some body parts should be floppy.

Keep your paws off of other people's jelly beans.

Good things come in small, sugar coated packages.

The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.

To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.

The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

May the joy of the season fill your heart.

AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU! 

 

Happy Easter!

 

Happy Easter

The story of Easter is the story of God's wonderful window of divine surprise.  ~Carl Knudsen

I hope you have a joyous Easter and enjoy the day with loved ones.  My mom and sister will be coming to my house to enjoy an Easter lunch.  My brother in law arrived yesterday from Texas so we will be celebrating the day with family.   I'm hoping we will be able to get  in touch with Ashley via Skype to complete our day!  Sonny and Jack will leave after lunch for their fishing trip to South Carolina.  Let's hope they come back with a bunch of fish!! 

Quarterly Punch Swaps

A new swap that we did this time at Quarterly was a Punch Swap.  I hope we do it again so I can add to my collection.   They turned out so cute.  I don't do many punch critters because when I finish making one of them, my desk is littered with almost every punch I own!  But ... it's great to know all the different uses of a punch.

Heart Punch

PUNCHES:  Owl; 1" Circle; Bird; Blossom Petals

PUNCHES:  Oval; 1 3/8" Circle; Itty Bitty Punch; Cupcake

PUNCHES:  Small & Large Oval; Word Window; 1 1/4" Square

This one is mine!  PUNCHES:  Ornament; Circles Punches (see sizes above); BoHo Blossoms; Heart to Heart; Bird

Bird Punch

PUNCHES:  Scallop Circle; Circles (see sizes above); Small Oval; BoHo Blossoms; Bird

PUNCHES:  Heart; Small Oval; Wide Oval;  Blossom; 3/4" Circle; 1/2" Circle; Heart to Heart

 Aren't they so cute???

American Idol Top 7 2011

Down to 7 tonight.  The contestants were singing songs from the 21st Century .... interesting theme!

SCOTTY - Scotty really sang a 1983 song by John Anderson but was able to pass it off as a 21st Century song because Leann Rimes sang  it. Was that a clever move or a deceptive way to dodge the theme?  I hope he is not in trouble this week.  I love Scotty and I guess since my favorite, Paul got voted off last week, I'm pulling for Scotty.  But I hate the song he sang - "Swinging" and maybe that's why I didn't like his performance tonight.  I think he is being too safe especially this late in the game.  Not that it wasn’t fun, and I like how he showcased the range of his voice, but it’s time to take it up a notch. The competition is getting heavy, and I think Scotty is getting too comfy in his spot on the couch. I hope he’s not in the bottom 3 tonight.   He needs to take more risks and go out on a limb with his vocals.

JAMES - He sang "Uprising" by Muse.  Not only have I never heard of the song but I also have never heard of the group!  Am I showing my age?  Probably so!  I hated it but according to the judges, I am in the minority!  They LOVED it!!  Underneath all the screaming and crazy heavy metal stuff he does, he has a beautiful voice. We really got a glimpse of that during the first half of the song.  I just wish he'd do another type of song.  I enjoy rock and roll but the heavy metal stuff grates on my ears.  Whereas Scotty only seems to do country, can James only do screaming metal?

HALEY - "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele ....

I have to confess my ignorance again, so I went to Google to find out who ADELE is and why I should know this song. Evidently (for the rest of you who live under my rock) she’s an English singer/songwriter who won two Grammys in 2009. It’s a great fit for her voice, and I have to admit that I actually really enjoyed it.  Haley's growing on me.  She's getting better every week.

JACOB - "Dance with my Father" by Luther Vandross    Jacob has the chops for this song.  He actually brought tears to my eyes with his rendition.  I lost my step-father and my father and I still miss them both so I know how he feels.  There was a glitch at the beginning but he did a good job of recovering.  Luther Vandross passed away in 2005, and this song was on his last album which was released in 2003.  It’s hard to separate the emotion of the song from the performance, but I thought he did a good job although he struggled for composure in parts.

CASEY - "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5  OK - I like Maroon 5 but this was WEIRD .... again!  How many times is he going to get away with singing these weird-o songs??  The faces he makes along with his movements ... I just don't get it!  Well, the audience loved it and of course, the judges or maybe it was just the kiss he gave Jo-Lo at the end.  He definitely gets more than his share of time with the judges each week.  No matter what Casey sings, he ALWAYS makes it his own. 

STEFANO - "Closer" by Ne-Yo   Another song I didn't know.  I’m just going to put on my grannie panties and call it a day. Well, there weren't too many words to that song so it gave him plenty of time to dance around the stage.  Even though I don’t know the song, I actually kind of enjoyed this performance. If nothing else, he showed his vocal range and sang a song with a modern vibe to it.  Not bad.

LAUREN - "Born to Fly" by Sara Evans  I like this song and she did a pretty good job with it - not great but good.  Jimmie told her she needed to quit holding back and give it her all. She is intimidated by the competition and admits as much.  She has SO much potential, but I can’t help but think that she’d have been better off waiting a year or two for her American Idol debut. She’s just so young. 

As usual, the judges didn't give much constructive criticism.  In their opinion, everyone was great!  They beat up on Lauren a bit but it was good constructive criticism and they were trying to pump her up.

It's hard to predict who will be in the bottom 3 this week.  My guess is:  Stefano, Casey and Lauren but it could be Haley just because she always is!   Probably going home:  Stefano just because it's his turn

Quarterly Swaps

The Quarterly swaps were, as usual, inspirational!  I always come away from Quarterly with so many good ideas.  This time was no exception.

Here are the cards I received in the Spring Swap:  A lot of them use items from the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog so you are getting a Sneak Peek!!  (I've identified the creator if I know them - a lot don't sign their work!!)

Travel Log stamp (Summer)  By Jeria

Dogwoods

The Open Sea stamp plus Nautical DSP - summer mini (by Janie)

Bold Blossom stamp (summer mini) 

Flower Garden Embossing Folder (summer) plus Beyond the Garden DSP (no name but I think it was Danielle's)

Strength & Hope (summer mini) by Tina

Bold Blossom (summer) 

New Triple Layer Blossom Punch (Nicole)

Easter Blossoms (Martinette, I think)

Sew Suite (Alana)

by Becky

I'm off tomorrow to meet an old high school friend for lunch.  We are going to meet at 131 Main Restaurant in Cornelius.  I'm looking forward to seeing Judy.  In the 5 years I've lived here, we've only gotten together twice.  That's pretty bad!  She just lives in Charlotte but she has 5 kids and several grandchildren and still works.  So, her time is pretty tied up.  We have known each other since 4th grade!!

Stampin' Up Promotions

Stampin' Up is offering several promotional deals at this time.  Since I was out of town, I've not been able to let you know about all the things going on with Stampin' Up.

SPRING IS BLOSSOMING! 
April only! Spend $20 on Stampin' Up! products and qualify to pre-order two new products from the Stampin' Up! 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog.  For details, click HERE.  Take my word for it ... the DSP is gorgeous!!  See the samples below using the Four Frames stamp set.

GRAB BAGS:  While supplies last, you will be able to purchase special "grab bags" in the Online Store. These grab bags will come in three sizes: the $5, the $10, and the $15 grab bag. Each bag will contain a variety of discontinued products that could include a combination of any of the following: ribbons, Accents and Elements, chipboard, Designer Series Papers, and Simply Sent kit components. Grab bags will not contain stamp sets or tools.  This promotion has proved so popular that all the original $15 grab bags sold out.  But SU is kitting together $10 and $5 grab bags together for the $15 grab bags.

•Grab bag orders can only be placed in the Online Store.

•There is no minimum purchase required to participate in the grab bag special offer.
•There is no limit to the number of grab bags a customer may purchase; however, grab bag items are only available while supplies last.
•All grab bag sales are final. There are no refunds or exchanges.
•Not all grab bags will be unique.
•You should use the following item numbers when ordering grab bags:

125873 - $5 Grab Bag (containing at least $20 worth of products!)
125874 - $10 Grab Bag (containing at least $40 worth of products!)
125875 - $15 Grab Bag (containing at least $60 worth of products!)

My friend, Margaret, recently ordered one of these GRAB BAGS and it contained a lot of goodies in it.  She was very excited about her bargain.

CLEARANCE ITEMS: On-line shopping only - Click HERE and click CLEARANCE on the left side.  Then on the right side where it say's "SHOW" click "ALL" to see all the products at once.


THE STAMPIN' UP! SUMMER MINI CATALOG STARTS MAY 1!  If you are one of my customers, you will be receiving a copy of the catalog in the mail.  In the meantime, if you have your eye on something in the Occasions Mini Catalog, you better order it now before it is gone (April 30).

MY DIGITAL STUDIO - Check out the new Stampin' Up! MDS catalog and stay on top of the latest My Digital Studio updates!  Every month new downloads are added for purchase with no shipping and very inexpensive.  Choose from a variety of exclusive artwork and styles to order and download in minutes!

Spring SU Quarterly

I am getting tired of unpacking - gonna stay home for a while!!

Got back from Quarterly last night.  We had some scary weather in the part of the state I was in.  Our Quarterly got cut a little bit short when there were reports of tornadoes in the area over by Ft. Bragg and we lost electricity at the school where we were meeting.  A lot of the gals went to Becky and Danielle's homes to wait it out before going back to finish the projects.  Not me though!  It was already 4 pm and Sonny was waiting in the parking lot patiently.  He was such a good sport to drive me down there!  So, we got in the car and hauled a** home.  We both needed a potty break but everywhere we looked, the power was out as well as the traffic signals.  The sky looked bad and I was a little nervous - it seemed like we were driving into the storms.  I got a radio station from Raleigh and they were giving detailed weather reports.  Seems a tornado had gone through Raleigh and through Sanford.  I got the NC map out and tracked the counties  they were mentioning.  Luckily, we were traveling west and the storm was moving to the east.  The Weather Channel reported Saturday's tornado tracked across a 50-mile stretch.   A Severe Weather Expert  said that the record number of tornadoes in a year for the state of North Carolina is 67 and that was in 2004. As of 9 pm Saturday, there were 81 preliminary tornado reports setting a record.  Wow!!  Guess we won't forget this quarterly!  Here is a picture that says it all:

This is a neighborhood near Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville.  The flag got caught on the fallen tree.

OK - enough weather.  On to the fun stuff .... the sharing of the great projects!  These are the Shoebox Swaps that we did on Friday night.  Unfortunately, I can't give credit to all the wonderful ladies that created most of these cards because I'm not sure whose they are but I've tried to give credit where I know the designer.

New Four Frames stamp set

 This card uses Strength & Hope stamp set (from Summer Mini).  SU is donating $2 from each purchase of this set to Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  This card was designed by Pat Wilkinson.

Bold Blossom stamp set (Summer Mini)

Priceless stamp

cute little bunny box - holds 1 Hersey Kiss!

Inlaid Embossing technique - I goofed - the leaves are supposed to be embossed also!  Designed by Lynn Creech.

Land of the Free (Summer Mini)

The Open Sea (summer mini) by Janie Murphy

Sew Suite (Alana I think)

Flower pot is Ornament Punch / leaves and petals are from Bird Punch 

Using new 4 Frames set and Awash With Flowers - designed by ME

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!