The Winner Could Be YOU!

I received some good news today from Ashley.  She may be coming home a little earlier than she thought!  Of course, with the Army nothing is written in stone so I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch!  But, she may be leaving Iraq the first of August instead of the end of the month to set up the clinic at Ft. Hood.  I've got my fingers crossed!!

Yesterday I had a really nice day.  Sonny and I started out by taking the boat out for breakfast to a restaurant on the lake.  After a little bit of a ride around, we headed for home before the lake got too crowded and the sun got too hot!!  In the afternoon Marianne and Mom came over and we went down to our neighborhood pool to "veg" out.  It was pretty warm so we ended up staying in the water most of the time but it was a lot of fun.  My mom is like a kid in water so there was a lot of splashing around and playing.  It was good for her.  One of her good friends had died the night before and this helped to get her mind off of that.  A storm came up around 5 so we headed back to my house to get dressed.  We met the rest of the family in town later for dinner.

I have made a few more cards using my retired sets - Chic Boutique and Eastern Blooms - to share with you. 

I've decided to have a drawing at the end of the month for the cards I am making using retired sets.  A few of them will be used for my Monday Mailers but the rest could be sent to YOU!  Just leave me a comment and July 1, I will put all the names in a hat and draw one .... or two .... out and send them to you!!

RECIPE:

Stamp:  Chic Boutique

Paper:  Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy

Accessories:  SU Markers, 1 1/4" Striped Navy Ribbon, Oval Punch, Embossing Folder

 RECIPE:

 Stamps:  Eastern Blooms, Swirls & Curls Verses (hostess)

Paper:  Marina Mist, Early Espresso, White

Access:  Pearls, Markers, White Taffeta Ribbon, Corner Rounder, Polka Dot Emb. Folder

RECIPE:

Stamps:  Priceless, Eastern Blooms

PAPER:  Wild Wasabi, Tangerine Tango, Beyond the Garden DSP

Access:  Rhinestones (non SU), Mat Pack, Paper Piercing Tool

I don't know if you can tell but I've been photographing my cards in a little better light.  After I cleaned out my retiring stamps, I had an extra shelf so I set up a lightbox area in it.  Here's what it looks like:

 I have an Ott-Light that clamps to a table (thanks to Margaret) so I clamped it to the top of the shelf and hung it upside down to shine onto my card.  I just have cardstock behind the card but I can change it out to a dark cardstock if I need to for a white card.

Guess I need to tack that cord up but the switch is midway down the cord and I need to be able to reach it.  So far, it's not bothering me draped down to the outlet that way.

Where Does The Time Go?

Sorry - didn't realize I hadn't posted in several days!  I get to doing stuff at night and next thing I know, it's midnight.  So, I turn off the computer thinking I'll post something the next morning.  But, the next morning, I get distracted blog surfing, playing mindless games of Hearts and Spades, and who knows what else I'm doing.  Then I realize it's lunch time!   Most of the time, I just don't know where the hours in the day go.  

Last Friday I joined a Newcomers group at the firehouse near me to play Hand and Foot.  I had never played before but caught on pretty quick.  The game is a version of Canasta.  I played Canasta a lot when I was a teenager in college.  Also many years ago, my sister, Debra and her husband, Jack, got hooked on playing Canasta.  Whenever the four of us were together, we spent just about every waking moment playing games - hearts, canasta, spades, Oh Hell .... you name it, we probably played it.   I have some great memories of our get-togethers and wish we could all be together just one more time.  Once when we lived in Alabama, Jack & Debbie came down (from west Texas) for their vacation.  We had a den in our basement.  I don't think we ever came out of that den the whole week except to eat and sleep.  We spent the whole week playing card games while our kids played outside or in their playroom.  It was great since our kids were the same age and sex and they got along great.  Another time, they came to Alabama and we drove to Gulf Shores for our vacation.  It rained every day that we were there except for one day when we drove to Mobile to a water park and to see some battleship.  We didn't let that rain stop our fun though.  We were camping - the adults in our pop up camper and the kids in the tent (and that's another story!!).  So every day we drove to the state park where there were covered picnic shelters.  We sat at the picnic tables playing cards while the kids played in the sand.  Whenever there was a break in the rain, we'd run down to the beach and take a swim!  Our kids still talk about that trip but mainly because we put their tent in an ant bed!!

I don't have any sneak peek items to share with you.  I actually haven't ordered anything yet.  I think I am going to wait until the catalog is released to buy any of the stamps.  So far, the ones that we can buy haven't thrilled me except for one which is a snowman one.  I may get it early so I can use it for Convention swaps.  I am also going to order the new In Color package.  But my new catalogs arrive next Wednesday!!  I am super excited.  If you are in my club or are a regular customer, I have a catalog for you.  If not, let me know that you want one and I will save one for you ($10).

I am going to concentrate in the next few weeks making cards with some of the Retiring Stamp sets.   Also, that is the theme for June's Monday Mailers - Old or New stamp sets.  There are a few of the sets that I am sad to see go - Party Hearty, Always, Pun Fun, Cheep Talk, Great Friend, Priceless, Pick a Petal.  I took a pretty good hit on stamps that are going away - lost about 25 not counting the hostess sets which I know won't return each year.  I'm anxious to see which sets from the past Mini Catalogs will make it into the new catalog. 

So today I used Chic Boutique to make a couple of cards.  Wouldn't you know it - I just got this set at the Used Stamp Sale.  Luckily, I didn't pay much for it so I'll be holding on to it and using it in the future.

 RECIPE:
Paper:   Blushing Bride, Pear Pizazz, DSP (from hostess pack)
Accessories:  Pear Pizazz Taffeta Ribbon
The dress forms are paper pieced using the DSP

RECIPE:

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, Newsprint DSP

Stamps:  Chic Boutique, Autumn Days, French Background, Sanded Background, Bliss

Ink:  Cajun Craze, Basic Gray, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Versamark

Acces:  Clear Embossing Powder (on leaves in corner)

I sponged gray and crumb cake around the edges.

Let me know if you want to order any of the retiring items before they are all gone!!

Hot, Hot, Hot!

I went to my Newcomer's meeting today wearing a cute little straw hat.  I love hats!  Unfortunately, my family always makes fun of me when I put a hat on so I'm never sure if I look good or bad in them!!  But I got several compliments today on my straw hat.  If you're wondering, I wasn't the only one with a hat on.  Everyone was asked to wear a hat in honor of our speakers today.  We had two ladies who volunteer with the Mooresville Museum present their traveling trunk program entitled "The Story of Cotton - from Seed to Cloth."  It was quite entertaining.

After my meeting, I went shopping for a bathing suit!  I don't know about you but that is not a good experience!  I HATE it and I normally don't mind shopping.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I need to lose weight.  I need to find a plan and stick to it!!

Tonight Sonny and I went to Hickory Tavern in Mooresville for dinner and to play live trivia in the bar area.  Except ..... trivia was yesterday!!  I know I looked it up and it said Wednesday!!  Oh well, we watched the hockey game for a bit and then came back home.  It was better than having to cook something in the house for dinner.  The weather has been horrible!!!  Can you say HOT and HUMID?   It's been in the 90s for the past several days with no relief in sight.  If it's already this hot now, I shudder to imagine what the rest of the summer is going to be like.

I do have a couple of cards to share with you.  One of them is my final May Monday Mailer from Becky.  So elegant!  And the other is the Monday Mailer that I finally got in the mail today to Tina (a little late!).

 This is the Criss Cross card that I made for Tina.  It uses the DSP from the Summer Mini - Beyond the Garden.  I used the Triple Layer Punch for the Blossom.

 This is the card that slides into the pocket.  Along with the Triple Layer Blossom Punch, I used the Priceless Stamp.  I had a feeling this one was going to retire and I was right. 

This is the card from Becky.  She used the Flower Garden Embossing Folder on vellum with pearls in the center.  I love the Crochet Trim ribbon!

Memorial Day

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  Ours was nice - pretty quiet but we did spend some time with family.   Yesterday Sonny and I took the boat out on the lake early before the lake got too crowded.  We threw the anchor in our usual cove and read our books.  When we first got there, there were only about 4-5 boats but when we left around 2, there were probably 10-15 boats just in that cove.   Later in the afternoon, Marianne and Mom came over and we sat out on the deck and visited.  One of the chairs (mine!) was covered in baby praying mantis.  I've never seen such a thing! 

Unfortunately, in order to sit in the chair, I had to brush all of them off it!!  Felt like a real killer. 

Later Marianne's husband, Greg, came and Sonny cooked some burgers and hot dogs for us.  I made potatoes and a yummy peach cobbler!  After dinner, we took a boat ride.  When we got back home Angela (my other sister) had gotten off of work and come over to enjoy some dinner.  Then we watched the Coca Cola 600 race .... what can I say - we live in Race City USA!!

Marianne spent the night and we did some crafting today.  We both worked on our Button Farm mini scrapbooks.  It was a fun relaxing day.

Here is the Memorial Day card I made tonight.  It uses another SU stamp set that I bought at the used stamp sale for a steal ($4).  It is pretty old but a good one.  I'll be using it again soon to celebrate Ashley's homecoming.

Speaking of Ashley, I chatted with her on Saturday (instant message) and again today.  She didn't see any patients today and she said she's only seen a few patients the whole time she's been there.  She's read several books,  watched 3 episodes of Off The Map and several movies.  She's only been there since Friday!!  Luckily, she said they have a pretty extensive library since she only took 10 books with her.  She'll read all their books by the end of her 2 weeks!!

Monday Mailer / May

Here are a couple of the Monday Mailers I have sent and received this month.  I'm trying to think of a theme for June's Monday Mailers.  I'm leaning toward Retiring since June 1, Stampin' Up will announce their retiring stamps.  Got any predictions?

 

I am loving this stamp!  I sponged the water and the sky onto Glossy White paper, masking a circle for the moon.  I heat embossed the moon with Vanilla Embossing Powder (used Versamark on the circle first.)  The sails are cut out separately.  I used the Modern Label Punch and put 2 Itty Bitty Buttons up top with a blue circle behind the buttons and linen thread through them.

 This is a great card from Becky using Flower Fest from the Summer Mini.  I just bought this stamp set and will be making some cards from it this weekend.

This is another beautiful card that I got this week from Becky .... great for a wedding card!  She used the new Flower Garden embossing folder and debossed the front of the card.  Just lovely!!

Ashley arrived at her new location yesterday.  She took a 20 minute helicopter ride to get there.  She will be relieving a doctor who is on R&R for a couple of weeks.  The new post only has about 60 soldiers so it is much smaller than her post.  She said she will probably only be seeing 1-2 people a day!  Conditions there aren't as nice as where she is stationed - no cable in her room, food not as good ...  We have not been able to Skype - only talked via Instant Message.  She is hoping to be able to Skype with us tomorrow.  There is only one computer there that has a headset and video and it was in use today.  So, tomorrow she is going to take her own headset to call us.  She said she will be catching up on her sleep and her reading while she is there.  She also took a bunch of movies to watch.  Any of you who know her know that she likes to be on the go all the time.  My guess is she is going to go nuts over there!!  But the good news is it is almost June so her countdown to coming home has begin!!  Mid August doesn't seem that far away.

One Flaw in Women

 God doesn't give you the people you want; He gives you the people you NEED... to help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be.  

 One Flaw In Women 
 Women have strengths that amaze men.....

 They bear hardships and they carry burdens,

 but they hold happiness, love and joy.

 They smile when they want to scream.

 They sing when they want to cry.

 They cry when they are happy

 and laugh when they are nervous.

 They fight for what they believe in..

 They stand up to injustice.

 They don't take "no" for an answer

 when they believe there is a better solution.

 They go without so their family can have.

 They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

 They love unconditionally.

 They cry when their children excel

 and cheer when their friends get awards.

 They are happy when they hear about

 a birth or a wedding.

  Their hearts break when a friend dies.

 They grieve at the loss of a family member,

 yet they are strong when they

 think there is no strength left.

 They know that a hug and a kiss

 can heal a broken heart.

 Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

 They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you

 to show how much they care about you.

 The heart of a woman is what 
 
makes the world keep turning.

 They bring joy, hope and love.

 They have compassion and ideas.

 They give moral support to their

 family and friends.

 Women have vital things to say

 and everything to give.

 HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN, 

 IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Dublin Pics

I've been working on my Ireland pictures using My Digital Studio.  It's slow going but enjoyable.  I really like all the things I can do with MDS.  Here are the pages I've done so far.

Happy Days Are Here Again

I'm happy - first off, Hines Ward took home the Mirror Ball Trophy on Dancing With the Stars.  And last night, Scotty won on American Idol!  So I didn't have to get mad at Idol (or America's votes!) this week!!

It was a fun show last night.  The final 13 contestants kicked off the show with a Lady Gaga song.  I like her songs - just don't like to look at her!!  Next the contestants did duos with stars.

James Durbin was singing with Judas Priest. I was hoping he’d be singing with Steven Tyler.   THIS is the kind of performance I was looking for in the finale. It was fun even though I am not a fan of heavy rock and metal.  Rock on James!!

Jacob’s duet. He’s singing with some dude named Kirk Franklin who is a gospel singer AND Gladys Knight!! Jacob must be in heaven.  This is Jacob's element.  I sincerely hope he has a successful career in Gospel music ahead of him.

Next Casey comes out with Jack Black!!!  Sooo funny!  They did Fat Bottomed Girls.  That was entertaining!

The girls come out singing  Single Ladies.  I like that song.  They were good too.  Turning out to be an entertaining night so far!  Beyonce joins the girls with her hit, Crazy In Love. They’re really pulling out all the stops with the celebrity guests tonight. Fun, fun, fun. This beats that boring finale any day.

Haley sings with Tony Bennett. Very classy!

Another ladies performance… with TLC this time.  Not my thing, so we fast forwarded through it!

It’s Scotty’s turn to sing his celebrity duet, and he’s singing with Tim McGraw… Live Like You’re Dying. Wish Scotty had sung with this much passion last night.  He held his own with McGraw!!  Would have loved to see him with George Strait but Tim McGraw is FINE!!

I do believe this is the first time I’ve ever heard Marc Anthony sing. He’s kind of homely looking to be married to such a knockout as JLo?  Oh well, to each his own.  And then she comes out and shakes her booty.  Sorry - I just don't think that was appropriate for Idol!!  We were fast forwarding until JLo came out and Sonny slowed the VCR down!!

And the top thirteen guys take the stage with their medley of Tom Jones songs.  Except Scotty sang Green Green Grass Of Home - did Tom do that one?  Not sure.. And then Tom Jones, himself.  This certainly is a blast from the past. How many face lifts (or tanning beds) do you think this guy has had? 

Scotty and Lauren get to introduce a special teacher that they invited to the show. And Ford gives each teacher a Ford Focus. Who knew being a teacher could bring you such perks??  Good for them!  Lauren's teacher was actually her principal.  Bet she won't be serving any detentions when she returns to school!  Ford also have Scotty and Lauren a car of their choice - bet Scotty's will be a Pick Up!

Now Lady Gaga takes the stage. She is so bizarre. Another un-appropriate act for Idol I thought.  Glad I don't have young children watching!

Once again, Lauren gets the best spot.  And surprise (not) - she’s singing her duet with Carrie Underwood.   She’s having so much fun.  I wish I had watched Idol back when Carrie won.  It would be fun to see how she did back then because she is certainly on top of the world now!

Beyonce is back, singing her new single, One Plus One.  She does have a spectacular voice, though, can’t deny that.

 After this show, the results are going to be rather anticlimactic.

Next performance was Bono and a group from the Broadway show of Spiderman.  I love Bono but another fast forward!

Then Steven performs.  He’s at the piano, singing Dream On.  Fun, for sure, but he doesn’t have the voice he once had.  But he still throws in that signature screech at the end, although it looks like it might have almost killed him. And it’s over almost before it started. Guess you can’t expect the guy to have the endurance that he had 30 years ago, huh?

FINALLY time for the results. Lauren looks about ready to puke.  And the winner issssssssssssssssss…SCOTTY!!

Scotty pulled it off.   YAY!!!  I'm happy for him.  Just hopes he makes it big as a country singer once he is through with his Idol committment.

Idol - Final Two Perform ... Rigged???

Sorry - I didn't post this earlier but I was too mad at Idol!!   Read on and you'll understand why.

First, let’s discuss Lauren’s injured vocal chord.  Evidently she busted out a vocal chord; the doctor described it as a sprained muscle. She’s on some sort of medicine and I guess she can still sing.  But I thought it was a major way to gain her some sympathy votes.

Round One - Contestants' Choice

They chose their favorite song from the season to perform again.

Scotty chooses Gone.   I love country rocker Scotty, and he’s bringing the house down. Nice job.

Lauren chooses Flat On The Floor. So they’re both going for the fun, upbeat songs first.  Another smart choice, I like this song on her.  It’s a strong performance and America will like it.
Round One goes to Scotty. I thought he was stronger over all, but then he generally is.

Round Two: Celebrity Picks

Each contestant gets to choose a music icon to choose their song.
Scotty’s music hero is George Strait, and George chooses one of his own songs for Scotty to sing — Check Yes Or No. It’s a cute song and all, but it’s not going to win Scotty the coveted trophy.
  
Lauren chooses Carrie Underwood, who picks Maybe It Was Memphis for Lauren’s celebrity pick. It’s good, but  I think she’s just too young to really connect to this song.  But as usual, no one seems to notice.
That said, I’ll give Round Two to Lauren. I thought Scotty’s Round Two performance was a bit of a sleeper.

In fact, the whole show was a sleeper. Is it just me, or is this the lamest finale show in Idol history?

The judges finally speak!  And they agree — Scotty gets Round One and Lauren takes Round Two, and they really haven’t got much else to add (but what else is new?)

Round Three: The Next. Big. SINGLE! 

First I had to fast forward through some guy named Taio Cruz sing some repetitive hip hop number called Positive. 

Okay, getting on with it. Scotty’s new single, should he win the season, is called I Love You This Big. Uh-oh. I have a bad feeling about this. It actually started out great, but I kept waiting for it to go somewhere, well, BIG.  But it did not. Although I did like the high note at the end, and I like how it shows his range, I will not be downloading this from iTunes and I doubt anyone else will either.

Okay. So. Lauren’s big hit single is called Like My Mother Does.

Now HOW is Scotty supposed to compete with this? It seems like a set up to me. They give him some generic sleeper song and they give her this emotional Momma, America and Apple Pie number. She actually goes down to the audience and sings to her momma. Yeah, they might as well have brought out the confetti and saved themselves (and the rest of us) from the two-hour spectacle they’re promising us tonight.

The judges are pretty much handing the trophy to Lauren right here and now. Ya think they have a favorite in this competition? Couldn’t you tell?

So yeah, anyway, Round Three, and the Season 10 Idol crown just might go to Lauren Alaina.   I would really like to be surprised and see Scotty WIN as he well should but we'll see.

Dancing with Anniversary and Birthday Cards!

I'm gonna try and write this while I'm watching the finals of Dancing With the Stars!  Sonny even taped it downstairs so he could watch it with me!!   All season I would tape it upstairs and watch it the next day.  He would come up and just watch Hines Ward perform.  I'm hoping Hines wins tonight!!!

So, I have a couple of anniversary cards to make.  Last year this time, I was headed to Texas for two weddings (and luckily, not a funeral - get it??  a movie title!)  I forgot to take a picture of one of the cards today before I mailed it.  I made it using the (retired) Wild Rose stamp set that I got for $3 recently at Stampers Alley's used stamp sale.  What a deal!!  But, here is the second anniversary card I made using the wonderful Sizzix Daisy Die.

I love this die and used it to cut out 3 different sizes of the daisy in Real Red.  The leaves are Pear Pizazz punched out with the Owl Punch.  The heart border punch is non SU.  I used the Polka Dot background stamp (retired) on the white cardstock for the background and then ran it through a Polka Dot embossing folder for some added texture.  The brad in the middle is also retired from SU - I think I got it in the Clearance section.

I have also been making birthday cards.  I have about 10 birthdays in June!  Here is the one I made tonight using the Wild Rose stamp set ($3!!!).

This is my favorite style of stampin - two step stamping.  It is what got me involved with Stampin' Up to begin with. The colors I used on the flower are Peach Parfait and Pumpkin Pie.  The leaves are Pear Pizazz and Wild Wasabi.