Great Weekend

What a great weekend!  Debbie, my downline, and myself drove to Kernersville Friday afternoon.  We stopped along the way at Enchanted Cottage, a huge stamp/scrapbook store in Lewisville.  I did pretty good .... only spending about $10!!  Friday night we had dinner at Macaroni Grill with a few of the gals who were taking my MDS class the next day.   We discovered a delicious wine that I hope to be able to find around here called Seven Sisters Moscato wine.  Delish!

We woke up this morning to a beautiful snow falling fast and furious.  It snowed all morning, not stopping until around 2 pm.  But luckily, none of it stuck.  The place where we held our class was a beautiful old house on several acres with a pond in front.  The room we were in upstairs had windows on all three sides so it was really nice to watch the snow falling.  I really enjoyed sharing my knowlede of MDS with the gals who were there.  It was most fulfilling to hear the ahh's and ohhh's going around the room when I showed them different things they could do with the program.  I really think everyone who was there left with the knowledge that they could open the program at home and play with it, trying different things, with not blowing up the program.  My favorite tool in the program is the "undo" and delete button and I use them regularly.

At the end of the day, Debbie and I started the ride back home. I was at ease since the snow had stopped and the roads were only wet and not icy. But the closer we got to home - driving mostly south - the more snow we saw. We both felt like we were in the Twilight Zone! Starting about in Statesville, with is about 30 miles from Mooresville, it was like a winter wonderland! The snow was in the trees and looked beautiful. After I dropped Debbie off at her house, I pulled over several times to take pictures. I even took pictures as I was driving from the front windshield. Enjoy the pictures!




Pagoda at our local library



Valentine / Anniversary Swap Card

Hope you had a happy Valentine's Day.  When I was little, I think Valentine's Day was one of my favorite holidays.  I loved to make the Valentine boxes for school and then hope whom ever I had a secret crush on would put a special Valentine in the box on my desk.  But today Valentine's Day makes me a little sad because my son and daughter are not close enough for me to give them a big fat Valentine hug.  Sonny bought me a really sweet card and I made him one.  We decided not to go out to dinner and fight the crowds.  Instead, we used a Groupon that we had for a meat store in Mooresville and bought a Porterhouse steak.  Sonny grilled it outside and I made scalloped potatoes, salad, and mushrooms to go with the steak.  It was yummy!! 

I made Valentine sucker holders last weekend to send to my grandchildren.  Since I had to buy a whole bag of heart suckers, I decided to make enough for my bridge group.  I used the Scallop Envelope die to make them.  I just love that die - it is so versatile!

I am finally going to be teaching the MDS class this weekend in Kernersville to my NC demo friends.  I was scheduled to do it a few weeks ago when the weather did not cooperate.  Friday is supposed to be ok but the cold weather is moving in on Saturday.  It is supposed to be a high of 60 Friday and 42 on Saturday and Sunday!!  Crazy but it is February!!  We are doing a card swap in the afternoon after my class.  The card I made for the swap was a Valentine's card but now I have changed it to an anniversary card! 

I stamped Happy Anniversary and punched it out with the Label Punch and just glued it over the Happy Valentine's Day tag!  I love this two tone ribbon from the Spring Mini - it is great for making bows!  I like the mix of Pink Pirouette and Raspberry Ripple.

Feeling Sentimental!

When I first saw this set in the Sale-a-bration catalog, I wasn't sold on it.  But as time as gone on, I have seen so many great cards using it.  So, since it was free ..... I decided to give it a try.  Most of these cards are CASE'd and I've added my own little touches.

This first one with the bicycle is made with the Naturals Ivory and Early Espresso card stock.  I used the retired Weathered background stamp for the background and stamped it in Soft Suede - stamping it off first.  The stamped tickets are from the set, That's the Ticket held in place with a Glimmer Brad and Baker's Twine. 

The next image is of the English postal box.  I remember seeing those on our trip across the ocean.   I tried to make this card real vintage'y.  I stamped all the images in Early Espresso and sponged all the edges.  The bottom of the card stock is torn with a piece of Espresso card stock torn and sandwiched in.  I stamped some images from French Foilage (the script and the droplets)  all over the card stock.  The twill tape is frayed on one end and sponged with brown ink and anchored with a Designer Brad.

The final card uses all the stamps in the set!  I stamped them on panels of Naturals card stock and adhered the panels to Early Espresso card stock and then to the Crumb Cake card.  Easy!!

Yesterday was Download Digital Tuesday!!  And SU gave us another FREEBIE!!  So make sure you hurry over and download your free Label This template.
There is also a Planner Template for sale also that looks pretty neat.  Check out all the downloads for this week.

A Valentine Challenge

Hearts are in the air!  Are you ready for Valentines Day?  I will be making my honey a card today.  We don't have real romantic plans for the special holiday but we will be celebrating it together.  I purchased a Groupon last weekend for a Meat Market in Mooresville - spend $15 for $25 worth of meat.  So Sonny is going to stop by on Thursday and pick up some steaks.   He will grill them while I made potatoes, salad and rolls.  What are your plans?

Here is my MDS2 card for the sketch challenge with the Paper Craft Crew. 

Here is the Supply List for this card:

Background     Color = BLUSHING BRIDE 
Embellishments
    Soft Blooms - embellishments\Soft Blooms - 1 blushing bride (re-colored)
    Soft Blooms - embellishments\Soft Blooms - 2 blushing bride (re-colored)

Stamps
    Designer Kits\Tea Time II\Tea Time II - doily, Color = WHISPER WHITE 255,255,255
    Valentine Defined\Valentine Defined - love

Punches
    Pinking Hearts Corner Punch,
    Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Fill Color
    Extras\Flag Punch, Fill Color = WHISPER WHITE 
    Labels & Tags\Get It Done - punch 1, Fill Color = BLUSHING BRIDE
    Extras\Full Heart Punch, Fill Color = WHISPER WHITE
    Extras\Full Heart Punch,  Filled with: Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Stacks of Millions - designer series paper\Stacks of Millions - 10
    Extras\Full Heart Punch, Fill Color = BLUSHING BRIDE

Photos
    Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Stacks of Millions - designer series paper\Stacks of Millions - 7

 To check out the other cards made by the crew, check them out here - http://www.papercraftcrew.com/

Happy Birthday Cupcake

How about another Patterned Occasions card? These little images are great and there is so much you can do with them.  For this card I used the Clouds embossing folder (love it!) for the background on this card.  I also used the Hearts A Flutter die for the pennants.  I tied them to the card with the Bakers Twine - at least that is the way it looks!  Looks can be deceiving though.  I actually adhered the pennants to the card on top of the twine that is wrapped around the card on the sides.  I just used scraps of DSP that I found - a good way to use up bits and pieces.

I played bridge today and was really got some great cards for a change!  Did you watch the Grammy's Sunday night?  Well, I watched most of it and got a few of the songs stuck in my head.  So, this morning I was singing "This Girl Is On Fire" after hearing it sung by Alicia Keyes with Maroon 5 while I was getting dressed.  So it was only fitting that while I was playing bridge, "this girl was on fire!!"  haha!!

I have to tell you how sweet my dear hubbie is!  Wednesday I forgot to close the sunroof on my Durango and it rained all day and night on Thursday.  I didn't realize I had left it open until I got in the car Friday morning!  Oh, it was wet!!  I sat on 3 folded up beach towels in order to drive to play mahjong and they got wet through too.  So all weekend, Sonny worked on drying out my car!  What a guy!

Well, gotta cut this short and hit the hay!  Early day tomorrow at the Soup Kitchen!

Sammie's New Spot!

I have had a very productive weekend!  I made several cards, a Card Storage Tote and spent a lot of time pinning favorite things to Pinterest!   That site is great but is very addicting!!

It's a good thing Sammie does not weigh much because this afternoon she found a new spot.  We would hate for her to get too far from me, you know? 

Guess she will be helping me make cards next!  I do a lot of my card making standing up at that messy desk above.  Sammie will come in the room and jump from the floor onto my back if I am bending over!   She scares me to death sometimes if I am not expecting it.

So do you want to see some of the cards I made?  I am trying out my Saleabration sets and trying to use them in different ways. 

This set is Patterned Occasions and I made a card using each of the images!!  (I've even mailed a couple of them!!)

This cute little elephant card is made with Crumb Cake and Island Indigo.  I embossed it with the Vine Street folder that you can get FREE with Sale-a-bration!  I used the de-bossed side of the folder for this card.  The banners were made using strips of scraps that I had in my scrap box.

This card is my favorite!  It was sent to Ashley last week so I can post it now.  I stamped the jeans in various colors and even tried to make the blue ones look worn by rubbing a little white ink at the knee area.  Then I inserted a brad in each one and tied a piece of twine around the card for the clothesline.   The sun is a 1 1/4" circle with glitter.  But can you guess how I made the "rays" coming out of the sun?  I used the Itty Bitty Banner punch (also FREE during Sale-a-bration).  Genius, huh?  I hand drew the squiggly frame around the card.

I have a friend who had back surgery last week and this card was sent to her.  The DSP is non SU.  I punched out three circles from the paper and stuck them sticking out the side.  The ribbon is also retired SU - Bermuda Bay I think.

I made this into a birthday card.  The card is made from Crumb Cake and sprayed with the Color Spritzer Tool.  I love the bright colors in this DSP (banners).  It is Sycamore Street ..... again FREE during Sale-a-bration.

I sometimes have trouble mixing and matching Designer Series Paper.  But I decided to go for it with this card.  The DSP is again the Sycamore Street (FREE ..... you know the drill!)  The card base is Island Indigo.  All of the DSP pieces are sponges in Island Indigo.  The Tangerine Tango large circle mats the cupcake circle.  I used my markers to color the cupcake.  The shapes in this card were made using some templates I bought at CKC last year by Kiwi Lane Designs.

So, there, what do you think?  Was I productive or what?!!  I challenge you to pick one of your stamp sets and make several cards using ALL the images in the set!!

Happy Birthday!

My great nephew turned 1 Sunday and his parents went all out with his party!

 Isn't he a cutie pie?  Wish I lived closer to pinch those sweet cheeks.

 
So, I hope they liked this cute birthday card I made for him. 

I'm loving making banners and flags lately it seems!  With the Perfect Pennents Punch, this banner was easy. 

Supplies used:
Card Stock:  Island Indigo, Whisper White, DSP stack (green polka dot), Polka Dot Parade DSP, non SU plaid paper
Stamp:  Elebration Single Stamp (retired), Whimsical Alphabet stamps (retired)
Ink:  Basic Black, Basic Gray, Island Indigo
Accessories:  2 3/8" Scallop Punch, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Perfect Pennents Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Bakers Twine, SU Markers, Aqua Brush, Heart Buttons (non SU), Crystal Effects

Paper Craft Crew Challenge #28

I'm a little late in posting my Paper Craft Crew Challenge card today.  So sorry!  I ended up not doing the color challenge part and only the sketch challenge this month.  But after seeing the great cards made with the color challenge (Perfect Plum, Wild Wasabi and So Saffron), maybe I should have given it a go.  The main reason I didn't do the color challenge was that I wanted to make a Valentine so that is what I did.

So - how do you like it?

Ahhhh Chooo!

Got a cold?  This project's for you!

Here is another little 3D project I made Sunday while watching all the pre-Super Bowl interviews. 

The DSP is non Su - some paper I found in my closet where I have my stash!!  The ribbon flower is one I made months ago and never used.  I found it on my desk and it matched!   This little tissue box was much less complicated than yesterday's project.  I found a "how to" video on You Tube that I watched to make this tissue box.  Here is the link to the video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0cducd4pcw&feature=related

What did you think of the commercials during the Super Bowl?  My favorite was the Chrysler Dodge Ram's tribute to the farmer and my least favorite was the GoDaddy.com commercial - really tasteless and revolting!  I also liked the Tide commercial and the Budweiser Clydesdales.  What was your favorite?  Watch them all here -   http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=super+bowl+commercial+2013
 I think Sonny was fast forwarding through some of them because I don't remember seeing a lot of the commercials that I saw at that link.  I really like this Coke one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGkD8uIqCGU but don't remember seeing it either.

Get Well

Whoo Hoo!  The Ravens won the Super Bowl tonight.  I was pulling for them rather selfishly.  I didn't want San Francisco 49ers to win because they would have had as many Super Bowl Rings as the Steelers did.  It was a really good game and at the end, I was on pins and needles pulling the Ravens through.  In the last 20 seconds, the Ravens scored a safety which I didn't like.  See, I was playing in one of those football squares games and I had the winning score UNTIL they scored that safety.  I would have won $250!!!  Grrrrrr .... I was P.O'd!  But Sonny and I did win the football pool we have been playing all year.  Sonny came in first and I came in tied with 2nd place.  We had to guess what the total points were going to be at the end of the game and I came closer than the gal I was tied with so I got second and she got third.  I think I get $40 but beggers won't be choosy!  Sonny gets $200 for first place!!  Quite a difference in pay out for 1st and 2nd, huh?  At least we are keeping it in the family.

I spent today working on a couple of projects.  I am going to NC Demos Quarterly in March and am participating in a 3D Swap.  So, I tried out a couple of things today.  I just love this Get Well Box that I made but I think it is too involved for a swap.  It will depend on the number I would have to make.  We'll see.  Right now, I'm just auditioning projects!

I found the tutorial for this cute box here -  http://kingsonpaddington.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/get-well-kit.html

I used a sheet of DSP from Sale-a-Bration, Madison Avenue and paired it with Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango, and Sahara Sand cardstock.  The band-aide stamp on the front is also from Sale-a-Bration - Patterned Occasions.

Here is the inside:

There is supposed to be a throat lozenge holder next to the kleenex holder but I didn't have any to measure so I could make the holder for it.  I will have to buy some and add them later.  This might be something cute to make in Stamp Club.  I'll keep that in mind.

Have a great week!