Winter Memories

Well, it's not winter yet, but I just got this set from the Holiday Catalog, Winter Memories, and have made my sample cards with the set.  My favorite stamp in the set (and the reason I couldn't resist buying it) is the ice skates.  I've never gone ice skating in my life (and don't foresee that I ever will) but I love those skates. 

I cut the skates out separately and adhered them to the embossed oval that is popped up.  The white piece is also embossed with the Sizzix embossing folder.  

I actually didn't even realize the snowmen were in the set I was concentrating so much on the other 2 stamps.  I stamped the image with Early Espresso on the Naturals Ivory card stock.  I used Watercolor Crayons to lightly color in the image.  The red Core'dination card stock was embossed with the Woodgrain folder and sanded.  But then, I put the tape on the wrong side!  So not much of the sanding really shows through but I think it is just enough.  Plus when I took the picture of the card, I realized I had adhered the image upside down (!) but I was able to pull it off without doing any harm and turn it around.

This card was the hardest one for me for some reason.  I kept coloring it too dark when I used my markers.  So, I finally just used my ink pads and my blender pens and it worked much better.  The DSP is from the Festival of Prints found in the Holiday catalog.

Life is better with your girlfriends in it!  I had a great time yesterday visiting with my girlfriends.  Everyone needs to have good girlfriends.  It's funny about our relationship - over the years we've gotten together whenever we could but with me living in Texas for most of my married life, a lot of the times it would be a couple of years in between visits and then it would just be for a quick lunch visit when I came home to see my family.  But when we are together, it's like we are still back at ECU living across the hall from each other in Umstead Dorm.  I find myself telling these girls things I've never told anyone before and we cheer and comfort each other in our trials and tribulations of life.  Last night as we sat and reminisced over our glass(es) of wine, I remembered a meal we ate at a local restaurant when we were in college.  It was pizza steak and I have never found it again.  It was ground meat with cheese and sauce on the inside and a type of pizza sauce over the top.  They both remembered it too and said they could almost taste it.  Who knows ... it would probably not be as good now as we remember it!  Next we discovered that all three of us have recurring dreams that we are on campus but can't find our schedule to know where our class is or can't find the building that our class is in and we are frantic.  Jackie said sometimes in her dream she has missed the entire course and doesn't find it until it is time to take the final exam.  My friend Brenda is going through a lot of medical tests right now and Jackie and I are praying hard for her.  She has been having some debilitating chest pains and they have not pinpointed the problem yet.  My guess is anxiety pain but I am not a doctor.  Hopefully, she will be given some relief soon.  She drove back early this morning for a test on her gall bladder and said she had to pull over shortly after leaving Jackie's because she started having one of the chest pains.  The test she had today turned out negative as did the heart test and scope test she had last week.  Her doctor increased her blood pressure meds today and told her to stop drinking alcohol for a while.   Brenda is one of these people that takes on way too much - in her family life and her social life plus the fact that she is the most high strung person I know which doesn't help.

Paper Craft Challenge 10

It's time for another Paper Craft Crew Challenge .... #10 already!  I made this cute Christmas card using My Mittens stamp set in MDS2.   I also used the new feature that was just released yesterday to rip the edges of the paper.  This is done using the Freeform Tool.  I gave the sides of the DSP ripped edges and matted the DSP with red.  This really enhanced the torn edges.  I love this feature and will be playing with it a lot more.

Make sure to check out the other cards made by the design crew HERE.

What do you think of my new blog design?  I won't tell you how many hours it took me!  Not because it was hard, but I just kept adding different layers and overlays and recoloring the DSP to get just the right color.  In the end, I love it!  I was so in love with my previous blog design that I was worried I wouldn't come up with anything quite as good.  But I'm patting myself on the back because I like this one too!

I won't be posting tomorrow.  I am going to Forest City and Rutherfordton after my Newcomer's Coffee to visit with two of my ECU girlfriends.  Jackie still lives in Rutherfordton and Brenda's family is there although she lives on Baden Lake (west of me I think).  Brenda is going through some health issues which is hard for me to believe.  Of the three of us, she has the healthiest lifestyle.  She runs, plays golf, eats naturally, takes all kinds of vitamin supplements, etc.  Jackie and I ..... not so much!!  So it will be good to visit and find out what all is going on with both of them.  We usually always visit over a glass bottle of wine or a pitcher of frozen strawberry daiquiries and reminiscence about our college antics!  We've known each other for 46 years!  Wow - hard to believe.

Baby Cards Plus Lots of Stampin' Up Specials!

• Baby time!  I made two cards last week and then just waited for the babies to made their grand entrance.  Last Thursday Elliott Pierce Frazier was welcomed by his parents, Brittany and Travis and their daughter, Ryan.  Travis and Brittany are good friends of Ashley's and are both Army docs in Washington.   Ashley is excited to be able to meet Elliott this week since she is at Madigan in Washington teaching a class this week.  This is the card I made for them using a retired SU set:

Next was the arrival of Reed Alan Coskey on Friday.  Jeff and Heidi were super excited to welcome their first child!  I can't wait to meet him when we go to Texas in December!  Here is their card:

I used a non-SU stamp set on this one.  Their nursery is done in yellow and gray with giraffes so this card should work!

Several big announcements today from Stampin' Up to kick off October:

#1  -  Do you ever see a stamp set and wish you could purchase JUST ONE STAMP out of it?  Stampin' Up is trying something new and selling some stamps from a set INDIVIDUALLY!


Promotion Details:
These stamps are available on any order type-customer, workshop, or online.
To find the item numbers, click on the flyers. You have to use these item numbers.  The stamps won't be sent to you in our typical cases or packaging; they'll be packaged in cello bags. If you'd like a case for your stamp, you can buy our Clear-Mount Stamp Cases that come in packs of four (item 119105).

This offer is available for clear-mount stamps only.  The stamps won't come with a Clear-Mount Block, and you'll need to buy a block separately if you don't already have one. The recommended block sizes can be found on the flyers.

There's no limit on how many pieces you can buy.

Remember that this is a pilot program and currently available until January 2, so take advantage of it while you can!

The stamp sets they are trying this out on are as follows:  Word Play  / Perfectly Penned  / Seasonal Sayings
So click on the stamp sets and check it out!

#2  - Here's a big MDS announcement that will save you money!  Stampin' Up has lowered all of their My Digital Studio print products permanently! Now you can print your photobooks, cards, calendars, and other projects for less. Some have even been lowered up to 50 percent!  If you have MDS, a new update was added today so make sure you run an update when you use MDS next to reflect the new prices as well as the new features that have been added.
#3  - Christmas is just around the corner and Stampin' Up! would like to give you a gift- You can read more below or check it out HERE

You can order on line here.

Whew - a lot of news to share!

Joy with Watercolor Winter

I was working on Christmas cards last week.  The Watercolor Winter set is so pretty.  I made this simple card in a flash.  Stamped the holly with black ink and use markers to color it in.  Stamp "Joy" at the top and wrap plaid ribbon around the middle  -  done!!  'Joy" is from a retired stamp set and the plaid ribbon is some ribbon I've had for a long time and have no idea where I got it but I have a bunch.  This is a one layer card which I don't usually do but this one works for me.

I have been watching football today while I cleaned house.  I can't believe how many games came down to the final seconds with field goals - Carolina & Atlanta with Carolina losing, Green Bay and Philadelphia.  I had mixed feelings about the Carolina game.  I bet against them in my football pool but they are my second team so I really wanted them to win. 

I have bridge at my house tomorrow.  I made my grandmommy's vegetable soup on Saturday to serve Monday for lunch and I made a type of Boston Cream Pie with Vanilla Pudding, Cool Whip, Graham Crackers and Chocolate Icing.  Yum!!

Have a good week!

Sick?

Just a quick post before I head out to play cards today.

I made this card a few months ago.  I CASE'd it from one I received at convention a couple of years ago.  I had kept the card because I thought it was so adorable.  Don't you?  And easy to make!  That's the key, huh?  Use a large circle punch for the "cookies" and the Scallop Punch for the "bites"; then punch out some Chocolate Chip's with a small circle punch and glue them on.  The glass, I cut freehand - Whisper White overlayed with Vellum.  The sentiment is from Word Play and is stamped on the Whisper White.

We took my mom with us last night and tried out a new (to us) restaurant that a friend recommended to me.  It was delicious!  Really good Mexican food!  Sonny said it wasn't as good as the Texas restaurants, but it would do for here.  It is Azteca Mexican - if you live local, it is at Exit 18 (Hwy 77) off of Harris Boulevard.  Mom told Angela when I took her home that it was much better than the Mexican places in and around Mooresville.  I think she really enjoyed it and just getting out.  I was supposed to take her to the eye doctor yesterday morning, but Angela called me to tell me she didn't have to go to work until later in the afternoon so she could take her.  Mom was not happy!!  She likes me to take her because I take her to different places to eat. 

Have a good day!!

Anniversary Preserved

I made an anniversary card last week for my son and his wife.  They celebrated 8 years last week.  It's hard to believe!  Just doesn't seem like it has been that long.  Darcie wrote a sweet post on her blog on their anniversary.  Jeff travels a bit for his job and was in Atlanta on their anniversary.  When he returned home, she was headed to California for a writer's conference so their anniversary celebration was going to have to wait.  Perhaps until this week when they are flying to Florida and going on a Disney cruise.  Of course, Jayce will be with them but I think those Disney ships have built in babysitters so they should be able to steal a bit of together time.  Hope so! 

I used the Perfectly Preserved set to make their card.  I thought it was cute to put the hearts in the jar.  Hope you can see the card well enough - not the best photography on this one.  I used some of the retired Spice Cake DSP that I had.

I've really been on a roll the past few days with making cards!  I've been working on Christmas cards!  Whoo Hoo!!  I'll be sharing them with you in the next few days. 

Have you been watching any of the new tv shows this week?  We tried out Vegas tonight and have watched The Mob Doctor also.  I'm excited to see Nashville but it doesn't start until Oct 10.  Also one of my favorites, The Amazing Race starts this Sunday.  I think it is one of the best reality shows out there, although I also love The Voice.  I just love Adam Levine (Maroon 5) and Blake Shelton.  Their bantering back and forth is so funny.  We watch entirely too much tv but hey .... that's what we do!

Paper Craft Crew Challenge #9 MDS Style

It's Wednesday which means it's time for another Paper Craft Crew Sketch Challenge.  I wanted my MDS card to be a fall card this week.  It's starting to feel fall-like here and I like it! 

Here's this week sketch:

In making this card, I used one of my favorite techniques .... overlays.  I used Textured Kraft card stock and applied a textured Vintage Overlay on top.   The wheat is from Autumn Days and is applied as a watermark over the card stock.  The circles are from the Rough Type set in Early Espresso with leaves from various sets (mostly Autums Days kit) placed in the center.

I hope you will stop by the Paper Craft Crew blog and check out what the other members have done with this week's sketch.

MDS Download Tuesday

I love the downloads for My Digital Studio today!  Have already got mine - what about you?


Here are the latest Digital Downloads for My Digital Software.

• Designer Rosettes #131525

Download includes:
* 20 embellishments
Features:
* Full of four rosette styles in five holiday colors
Coordinating colors:
Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Real Red, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Price: $3.95

• It's a Wrap Kit - Digital #132190

Download includes:
* 11-page designer template (11" x 8-1/2")
* 6-piece stamp brush set
* 5 Designer Series Papers
* 7 embellishments
* 6 punches
Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* A cool way to make adorable, trendy bows for all your gifts
Price: $7.95
Coordinating colors:
Basic Gray, Calypso Coral, Gumball Green, Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, Very Vanilla, Whisper White

• Snowday Woodcuts #131523

Download includes:
* 10 embellishments
Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* A collection of cool, cut wood pieces to add a natural, unique look to your projects
Price: $5.95

• Unknown Blessings Ensemble #131311

Download includes:
* 7 1-page décor designer templates: invitation, place cards, pie box, napkin rings, menu cards, framable décor, feathers (8-1/2" x 11")
* double-sided postcard designer template (9 x 4-1/4")
* 17-piece SVG stamp brush set
* 6 Designer Series Papers
* 8 embellishments
* 1 punch
Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* Everything you need to create a fun Thanksgiving atmosphere for the whole family
Coordinating colors:
Apricot Appeal, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Chocolate Chip, Crushed Curry, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Starfruit, Very Vanilla
Price: $17.95

Card Box and 3x3 cards

I forgot to share some little projects I made earlier in August.  My mom is legally blind, having a degenerative eye disease, Retinitis Pigmentosa.  She and my sister who lives with her are active in the Association of the Blind and Lions Club.  While we were in Texas, they had a state convention in our area.   Angela did a lot of work for the convention and had asked me if I would make some raffle items for the convention.  So this is what I made for them:



Card Box holds 3x3 cards



3x3 cards and envelopes (made with the SU Diagonal Score)



Box to hold 3x3 cards

 

3x3 cards using A Flower for All Seasons

 

A long Memo Pad from Dollar Store is inside

I just finished watching Monday Night Football and I just have to say that Green Bay was robbed!  I am not a Green Bay fan but they intercepted the pass in the final second and the replacement ref's gave the game and touchdown to Seahawks.  That was just wrong!!  Something needs to be done about the referees.  I know the replacements are doing the best they can but there have just been too many mistakes made.  I'm just afraid someone is going to get hurt on the field. 

Memo: Good Recipes for you

Well, another good weekend is in the books (except for football!).  Friday, Sonny and I went to the movies to see Trouble With the Curve with Clint Eastwood.  That man just gets better with age.  I love him.  The movie was very good I thought even though I have heard it is not doing great at the box office.  It's much better than some of the sci fi junk that seems to be showing all the time.

Saturday I had planned to go into town to visit my friends at Stampers Alley but just never got motivated enough.  Instead I worked on several projects at home and got a few things finished which I'll be sharing later in the week.  One of the projects is a memo board that I bought at a craft store in Greensboro in July.  I really like how it turned out and now need to get a sawtooth hanger for the back so I can hang it in my kitchen.

 I painted the wood a dark brown and used some DSP that I had bought at the scrapbook store when I bought the memo board and glued it down.  I really like those sunflowers so I decided to put the memo pad to one side so you could see the flowers.  I glued the wooden flowers to the front after painting them with Copics.

Sunday we went to Big Al's to watch football but it wasn't such a great day.  Not only did my Steelers lose in the last few seconds but not many of my picks in the football pool did well either.  I think I had 7 wins and 8 losses.  Just have to hope Green Bay wins Monday night to make it even 8-8!

I have been pinning a bunch of stuff on Pininterest since I discovered it but hardly ever go back and really do anything with my pins.  So last week when I made my grocery list out, I included several recipes that I had pinned.  Saturday night I made pepperoni rolls and they were delicious!  If you are interested, click HERE for the recipe.  I thought they were as good as any I've had in Pittsburgh.  Next time though I will add more cheese.  Sonny came in the kitchen while I was making them and thought he'd help and he put the cheese on - I would have put it on more heavily.  But when he wants to help with cooking, I'm not one to criticize or turn him down, know what I mean?  I also made a yummy French Dip sandwich one night.  If you are interested, check it out HERE.