How Was Your Weekend?

I had a very good weekend.  Sonny has been talking about getting a new truck for over a year but because of the economy, he kept putting it off.  Last week he went to a few dealers in the area and looked at different trucks.  Friday he visited the Dodge dealership and found "his" truck!  So he and I went together on Saturday and made the deal.  He will be picking up his new Dodge Ram Truck tomorrow.  He's pretty sad about trading his 13 year old Dodge truck - it's like a part of the family but it's time!!  I would have preferred he get a different color but there was not any other colors on the lot of the truck he wanted.  He likes the dark gray - I do too - it's just kinda of close to the silver truck that he is trading in. 

After making the deal, we enjoyed a late lunch / early dinner.  Surprisingly, Sonny wanted to try a Chinese restaurant.  It was very good and what a presentation of the food!!  Almost too pretty to eat!

The rest of the weekend was spent watching NFL football play-offs while I played in my stamp room actually making several cards which I will be sharing with you this week.  Sammie was really funny.  I have a small webbed trash receptacle next to my desk on the floor.  She climbed in it to get a Q-Tip that was in the bottom and rolled around on the floor a few times before turning around (while inside) so she could peek out the open part!  I was surprised she let me take her picture but she was pretty cute.

I found this picture of a card I made several months ago that I thought I had shared.  It is a sympathy card using Fabulous Florets.

Santa Treat Box (for next year)

I was supposed to post this last week but just found it & I had not posted it.  So ......One final Christmas project that you can put this on your "to do" list for next year!  This little Santa Treat Box is sooo easy and is so cute!

SANTA TRIANGLE TREAT BOX

Red cardstock:  4 ¼” x 11”

Score in half (@ 5 1/2”)

Score diagonally from top center to center fold on top and bottom.

Santa:

White :  2 ½” Scallop Circle Punch

White:  2 petals from 5 Flower Punch

White:  5-6 small scallops from Itty Bitty Shape Punches

Pink:  1 3/8” Circle Punch

Pink:  ½” circle punch

Black:  Owl Punch

Black:  4” x ½” strip

Black square for middle of belt buckle

Shimmer Paper:  1” square punch

 This is what I had written a few days after Christmas & thought I had posted it - we were still in Texas!  

It turned pretty cold here and I'm loving it!  The past two nights the temp. has dropped to the low 30's and only warming up to the 50s during the day.  But I think today is supposed to be around 65.  Which will be nice since we are driving to Gruen to have lunch and poke around the shops.  Thursday we went to the outlet shops in San Marcos for a couple of hours.  We also met up with my nephew and his wife and Jack IV for lunch.  Jack is the cutest baby - just like a Gerber baby!!  I can't believe he was a premie since he is such a chubby little baby.  He'll be one in early February and is such a good baby.  Jack and Katrina are doing really great with him.  When we returned to San Antonio, we went to a naming ceremony for one of Ashley's friends' baby, Nora who was born in August.  It was a Jewish ceremony held in their home.  I learned that Jewish parents not only give their baby a secular name but also a Hebrew name which also has a connection to the past and honors those important people in the child's life.  I am totally clueless about the Jewish faith but it was a very nice ceremony similar to the Christian christening.  The thing that really got to me was how irrevelent the guests were.  There were several young parents there with their children for the ceremony and the children were into the food that was laid out for the ceremony - putting their hands all over the cheeses, crackers, etc.  We watched one little girl, about 4-5 years old who filled her plate with about 20 crackers and I never figured out where her parents were - they sure weren't supervising her!  All throughout the ceremony, the children were fussing, talking, eating so much that it was hard to pay attention to the ceremony.  It was just not very respectful to allow them to run wild during the ceremony.  If it was a Christian ceremony and held in a church, they would keep the kids quiet (I hope!)

I had my flu shot today!  I kept putting it off when I was at home before driving to TX and about talked myself out of getting one.  But I kept hearing how bad the flu is supposed to be this year so Ashley brought a shot home to me yesterday morning and gave it to me before we headed out shopping.  Now .... I better not get the flu!  I didn't get to talk to my son for Christmas because they were all sick.  My daughter in law sent me a text Christmas that they were so sick they could hardly move.  My mom talked to Jeff yesterday and she said he sounded pretty bad.  He told her that the flu had run through their family like wild fire - hitting all of them and even Darcie's grandparents who were visiting.  So, I hope to talk to him later this weekend when he feels better!

Journal Challenge

Stampin' Up offers a challenge every two weeks or so for digital creators.  It is open to anyone who has MDS or MDS2 - not just demonstrators.  I have entered a few of their challenges and even got a Honorable Mention a couple of months ago.  But I want to WIN!!  This week the challenge is to create a journal to write your goals or New Year's resolutions down.  They say that it can’t hurt your chances if other people think your sample is grand too. So I would love your you to sign up at MyDigitalStudio.net so you can comment or just click on "like" or "favorite" on my journal creation!  Here is a link to my journal but I think you have to sign up first (link above). 

If you are a MDS creator, why not create something yourself for the challenge and post it!!  

I had so much fun creating the journal.  Here is what it looks like:

Loving the Honeycomb!

I got to play with my new stuff and let me tell you, I'm loving the Honeycomb embossing folder!  I can see myself using it a lot!!
I wish now I'd gotten more stuff with my mini catalog preorder.  At first glance, I wasn't totally in love with many of the products in the catalog.  But as usual, as I've seen what others have done with the products, I'm wanting them!!  But for now, I'll just make do with what I have!

This card uses the Polka Dot Parade DSP  (pg. 164, #126902) in Rich Razzleberry along with Pink Pirouette card stock that is embossed with the Honeycomb folder.  The banner is made using the Hearts A Flutter Framelits Dies.  I also used a (SNEAK PEEK) item from the Sale-a-Bration catalog - can you spot it?  It is the Petite Curly Label Punch.  It works great with the stamps from Tiny Tags.  Other punches used are the Itty Bitty Punches (flower) and the tiny heart in the center flag from the Owl Punch.

And another card using the Honeycomb folder. It would be nice to have a punch that matched the Honeycomb though. But until we do here is what I did for my card - embossed the DSP with the Honeycomb folder and just cut the individual hexagons out  (I used Twitterpated DSP - pg 165).  Then I just glued them to a few of the embossed hexagons.  The stamp in the middle is another SNEAK PEEK from Sale-a-Bration called Vintage Verses.  It fits nicely in the Labels Framelit Die.  I really like the simplicity of this card.

Challenge #24

It's Wednesday - time for my weekly challenge card with the Paper Craft Crew.   We are excited to welcome 3 new design team members this week.  You may even recognize their name as all three have been very consistent participants with the Paper Craft Crew and are also Stampin' Up! Demonstrators.  

Here is this week's sketch:

We hope you play along this week.

• You may flip or rotate the sketch, change or replace the shapes, but please make sure the general layout is recognizable.
• Share a direct link to your creation, not just your blog, using the InLinkz feature at the end of this post. If InLinkz is down, please add a link with your comment.
• If you don't have a blog, don't worry!  You can still use inLinkz by linking to your photo posted on Facebook or a similar social media site.
• The Paper Craft Crew Design Team are Stampin' Up! Demonstrators and as such, we would like to see a minimum of 2 Stampin' Up! products or stamped images used on your card but don't let that stop you from participating.
• Only those individuals that have at least 2 Stampin' Up! products or stamped images are eligible for any blog candy that may be offered along with being a "featured participant."
• When uploading to online galleries, please use keyword PCCCS024.
• POSTING END TIME:  If you'd like to be considered as one of our Featured Friends, please be sure to link your project by Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST
  

• VOTING:  Voting on submissions starts on Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST.  Voting ends on Friday, January 18th at 10 AM EST.

 Here is my card using My Digital Studio 2:

Check out the rest of the Design Team' creations HERE.

New Downloads, Tablet Apps and a New Card for You!

It's Tuesday - Digital Download Day!!  Check out this week's new downloads, full of Valentine's Day stuff and spring things.  Don't miss  the Officially Awesome Valentines Designer Template with its tiny, trendy valentines that fit in tiny, trendy envelopes.






And one of my favorites - RAIN or SHINE


Check out ALL of today's downloads HERE

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Did you get a tablet for Christmas?  In partnership with Google Catalogs, Stampin’ Up! is thrilled to announce its first tablet-friendly catalog!  It’s interactive, it’s easy–and it’s now available for iPad and Android tablets in the US.

 To access the catalog:

• Download the Google Catalog app (available through iTunes and Google Play).
• Sign in using your Google or Gmail account. If you don’t have a Google account, you can create one by tapping the Sign Up button in the app.
• After you have signed in, search for Stampin’ Up! in the Select Favorite Catalogs list.
• Select Stampin’ Up! by tapping the small stamp icon next to the name, then tap Done.
• Click the “Favorites” icon at the bottom of the app, then tap the Stampin’ Up! catalog cover to open it. That’s it!

Cool Features of the app:

• Browse the catalog with ease on your tablet.
• Get more information, see additional images (beyond what is available in the catalog), and zoom in on your favorite products.
• Watch videos from our YouTube channel right inside the app! Jump to the Stampin’ Trimmer on page 180 (page 182 in the app) to see it in action.
• SHOP ONLINE! Order products directly from the app with just a few taps through Stampin’ Up!’s online store.

Note: Google Catalogs is currently available in the US only and is not supported in Canada at this time. We will test this app in the US and make it available in Canada as soon as Google opens up their product to that market.


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 AND I have a new card to share with you!!  I used some of my new goodies from the mini catalog to create this card.  I made the flower vase using the Blossom Builder Punch and snipping away the top and bottom.

Supplies used:

Paper:  Perfect Plum, Pear Pizazz (retired), Pink Pirouette, DSP Stacks Patterned Paper
Ink:  Elegant Eggplant
Accessories:  Blossom Builder Punch, Heart to Heart Punch (retired), non-SU heart button
Stamp:  Feel Goods Clear Stamp (mini catalog # 129684)

Home again!

We are home!!  We got home Friday afternoon.  Sammie thought it was about time!!  She was really meowing loud the last few hours of the trip and had had enough of the car.  We didn't blame her - we had too!!   Sonny and I did most of our unpacking Friday and spent Saturday just vegging out.  I really needed to go the grocery store but just couldn't make myself get back in the car again! 

Today we had our family Christmas at Marianne's house.  My brother even came up from Charlotte.  It was so good to see him.  Unfortunately with his job and family, we don't get to see him as often as we would like to.  We had a great dinner and then exchanged gifts with each other.  I got a great tee shirt from Marianne!!

It is a family joke that I - who is the oldest by 11 years - is the favorite of Mom's.  When I first moved back to NC, 6 years ago, I started having Thanksgiving dinner at my house.  After dinner, while we were all still sitting around the table, we played this "table talk" game that had been gifted to me.  Each person gets 2-3 cards from the box and has to answer the question on his/her card.  The questions are very thought provoking.  Well, mom's question that year was something like what is the greatest thing that has happened to you in your life.  Her answer was the birth of me!  Of course, after she said it, she wished she could have taken the words back.  But what she meant was having her first child (which happened to be me!!)  Anyway, my sisters have not let her forget about it since then.  Marianne also included a Christmas ornament she found this year that says "FIRST BORN - Mom's favorite"  

I got my Spring Mini goodies today so hope to be making a few cards and project with me in the next couple of days to share.  I am playing bridge tomorrow and going to the grocery store (our cupboards are bare!) but have no plans for Tuesday except Soup Kitchen in the a.m.

Valentine Bundles

VALENTINE BUNDLES ..... Get yours today!!

Stampin' Up! has some sweet treats for you!!  Through January 21st, you can order these Valentine Bundles.

From January 3 through January 21, you will have the opportunity to purchase the exclusive Valentine Treat Bundle. This bundle, created specifically for this special offer, contains the brand-new Happy Valentine Heart Single Stamp  and a package of 1" x 8" cellophane bags. The  Heart Single Stamp coordinates with the Full Heart Punch (item 119883; $16.95), but the punch is not included in the bundle.   Purchase the Happy Valentine Heart Single Stamp and the 1x8 Cello Bags and get a 20% discount.  Please use item #132771 to receive the discount. if you are ordering on line.  This Single stamp is only available in the bundle.  

 

Purchase the four piece My Little Valentine stamp set for $9.95 and receive the Sealed with Love Simply Sent Kit FREE!  The kit includes 10 notecards, 10 double sided envelopes, 20 paper buttons and Real Red Baker's Twine for the closure. This four-piece set was created exclusively for this promotion and will not be available again after January 21!

Check out the details HERE.

 As if two new stamp sets weren't enough  for you to go absolutely GAGA over, the 2013 spring catalog is now available!   If you haven't received your copy, you can check it out HERE online.  If you need a copy, contact me and I will get one to you ASAP!

Pictures from our trip

made with MDS2

Hope you are having a wonderful 2013 so far ..... 364 more days to go so make the best of each and every one of them. Sonny and I enjoyed a good movie last night (Jack Reacher) and are just "vegging" today while we watch my favorite parade, the Rose Parade. Some day I will be there watching it in person.

Thought I would share a few of the pictures I've taken while on our trip. I haven't done any card making so don't have any creative items to share. My new catalog items are waiting for me at home so I hope to be sharing some new things with you next week. We will start the drive back home tomorrow and have Christmas with my NC family on Sunday.

A Spanish Terrible Towel - these people were from Mexico cheering on the Steelers!  I tell you, Steeler fans are everywhere!

I got to meet Reed Coskey!  Such a cutie!

Sammie's favorite spot at Ashley's house!

Sonny & I with Heidi and Reed

Christmas Day - my pillow and scarf from Ashley

Another cutie - we met one of our son's best high school friends (Landon & wife Rachel) for breakfast in Grapevine and I got to play with Liam Montgomery

Happy 2013

Well, I watched the last Steeler game of the season today.  They won't be going to the play offs this year - the first time in a long time!  Hopefully, they will do some major rebuilding during the off season and come back stronger than ever next year.  It always amazes me how fast football season goes - seems like it just got started.  Since the game was a "no-count" game today, it was not on tv here so Ashley & I went to Buffalo Wild Wings and watched it there.  The past two Sundays, Ashley and I have been on our own watching the Steelers since Sonny went shooting with our brother-in-law.  After the game, she and I visited Michael's, Kohl's, Bed & Bath, and the mall (which was crazy!!) to do some returns and also to check out the After Christmas Sales.  We got some good deals today and yesterday when we went over to her base and picked up a few things at the PX. 

Last night we went over to Ashley's friends house, Lisa & Danny for dinner.  Danny is the cook in the family and he cooked us a delicious meal.  After dinner and visiting with them for a bit, we headed off to a local club, Martini's which was a popular hang out for Ashley and her friends in medical school.  Ashley had told some of her friends about the place recently and they wanted to check it out so we met them there.   We always enjoyed going to Martini's when we visited Ashley and listening to the owner, Wayne, perform.   He puts on an amazing show doing a Vegas style act and covers songs by Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, Willie Nelson, the Beach Boys, all the greats.  His voice imitates these singers remarkedly.  He has a full band backing him up and he often switches instruments from guitar, banjo, saxophone, and trumpet.   If you ever visit San Antonio, you need to check this place out!  Their martinis aren't bad either (just a tad expensive)!!

Hope you have big plans for New Year's.  What will you be doing to welcome in 2013?  Sonny and I are going to a movie while Ashley goes out with her girlfriends.  Be safe and have a wonderful New Year!!

I made this card using MDS2 but it would be super easy to recreate using paper and stamps.

Supplies Used with MDS2:

Oh What Fun Overlays\Oh What Fun Overlays - new year
    _Designer Kits\Happy Hour\Happy Hour - glass 3
    _Designer Kits\Happy Hour\Happy Hour - glass 4
    _Designer Kits\Happy Hour\Happy Hour - glass 1
    _Designer Kits\Happy Hour\Happy Hour - olive
    _Designer Kits\Happy Hour\Happy Hour - umbrella
    _Designer Kits\Happy Hour\Happy Hour - orange

Paper:

Black Cardstock, Designer Series Paper \Glimmer - gold
    Card Stock\Whisper White