Easter Baskets

I received the cutest Easter basket today in the mail from my Monday Mailer pard, Betsy.  She made this basket using the Sizzix Scallop Envelope Die.  And .... she filled it with packages of M&M's, a pen she decorated, a magnet and the cutest little bunny that sandwiches a chocolate mint patty.

Well, after seeing this, I got busy.  I have a Board meeting tomorrow so decided to whip up a few of these baskets for my friends.  Won't they be surprised!  I didn't have time to do all the little accessories, but I did get the baskets made.  Now, I just have to leave the house a little early in the a.m. and stop by the store to get some candy to put in the baskets!

This one I used the new white Jumbo Grommets that are in the Occasions Mini catalog (p 19). 

American Idol Results

Bottom 3 - Scott, Lil & Anoop

Kelly Pickler sang The Best Days of Your Life. She is soooo cute. When she was on Idol, she was such a little Carolina hick! She was so funny when she'd wear high heels .... like she was on the back of a plow! Tonight she wore some pretty sparkly high, high heels like a pro!

Well, Scott "sang for his life" tonight. And .... it's a tie - 2 judges think he should stay & 2 think he should go. I think it's the girls wanting him to stay. Will they use the "save"? NO!! I'm surprised, but they let Simon make the decision for the group and that was to let him go.

In a way, I am not surprised it was Scott. His time was up. But what an inspiration he was! I figure the judges want to save their "save" for another contestant.

So, that's a wrap!

American Idol Final 8 Perform

Tonight they are singing songs from the year of their birth, and we get treated to baby pictures. They start with “baby” pictures of the judges. Really funny!

• Danny Gokey - 1980 - Stand By Me (Mickey Gilley version) - He is one talented kid! He sets the bar high for the rest to follow him.
• Kris Allen - 1985 - All She Wants to do is Dance - Not liking this song choice and neither do the judges. Ryan used his normal adjectives .... "indulgent, boring, forgettable." I truthfully don't know what he means when he tells them they are indulgent.
• Lil Rounds - 1984 -What's Love Got To Do With It - Not liking this tonight. Judges thought she was copying Tina Turner too much. I have to agree - she's lost her originality.
• Anoop - 1986 - True Colors - Anoop is singing Cyndi Lauper. I repeat. Cyndi Lauper. Well he did good -nice vocals. Judges liked it, even Simon! They thought he made it "his" song.
• Scott - 1985 - The Search Is Over - Just ok - didn't do much for me. At the beginning of the season, I thought he would be the one to beat - not any more though. I think he's a limited singer; he mostly does ballards. He got away from the piano tonight. Judges thought the song was too much for him. Simon thought the song was horrible and he should go back to the piano.
• Allison - 1992 - I Can't Make You Love Me - Funny story - Her mom said as a baby, she talked too much & she took her to the doctor. The dr. said she was going to be a singer - that was why she talked all the time. Good song choice for her. For a young kid, she is very talented! The judges like it! Simon doesn't think her personality is coming out. Randy said Allison reminds him of Kelly Clarkson. He agrees with Simon that she needs to engage the audience a little more.
• Matt - 1985 - Part Time Lovers - Vocally - great! Kara said he was incredible on all levels. Paula gave him 2 words - Standing Ovation!! Even Simon liked it!!
• Adam - 1982 - Mad World - best of the night!! Paula was up on her feet. He did a great performance.

Tonight's bottom 3 - in my opinion - Kris, Lil & Scott .... Going home? possible, Kris

Sonny & I think the final 2 will be Adam & Danny. Sonny predicts Adam will win.

36 years and going strong

Today is our 36th anniversary!  No big plans for celebrating today.  We will save that for this weekend when we go to Savannah.  Here we are 36 years ago in front of Myers Park Methodist Church in Charlotte where we got married on a very rainy April 7, 1973.

Easter Cards

Just wanted to share a few Easter cards made today.  These are all traveling to Tucson.  Only have a couple more to make!

This one uses a Hostess Set, Itty Bitty Buds.  I stamped it in Perfect Plum, More Mustard, Old Olive and Rose Red.

This one uses the egg from A Good Egg.  The little bunny is a Great Impressions stamp.  I used the Swiss Dot Cuttlebug folder for the Gable Green card.

This is the Sock Monkey .... gone Easter!  The Easter eggs on the bottom is a wheel from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  Isn't he cute?

GO CAROLINA!!  CHAMPIONS! Michigan was never ahead the whole game!

Good Morning America

While we were in New York, we went to a taping of GMA.  If you ever get the chance ..... don't bother!!  Our letter advised us to be in line by 6:15-6:30, so Ashley and I got up at 5 A.M (!!!) and left the hotel at 5:30.  It was still dark outside!!  We walked to Times Square and got in line.  Not bad - there were only about 15 people ahead of us.  We waited and waited and finally, about 6:45, they let us in.  After going through a metal detector, we were told where to stand (no seating available).  The show is on air from 7 - 9.  But, what they don't tell you is most of the show is done in another studio!  We stood around till after 8:00 when finally the weatherman, Sam Champion came down and did the "meet and greet" thing with us.  Several of the ladies in the crowd went "ga-ga" over him.  He was pretty fake looking and acting!  He did a weather segment and actually said "Happy 60th Mom" on air (Ashley had a sign!). 

The big guest on the show was Christina Applegate (tv show, Samantha Who).  They told us they always ask the guests to come in and see the crowd and you just never know if they will or not.  Well, she stuck her head in the door and waved and was there for about 2 seconds!  We were about 20-25 feet away so there was not a chance to really see her.  I'd hate to take up too much of her time!  Please!

Around 8:30, Diane Sawyer came down and talked to all of us.  She is beautiful and seemed really friendly (compared to the others!)  She's really thin too.  Then Robin Roberts came down and she was really down to earth.  She saw Ashley's sign and asked who was 60.  When I raised my hand, she told me I sure looked good for 60 and I shouldn't lie about my age.  Made my day, for sure!

We got to see one segment being filmed - about 8:40, they did a kitchen scene about how to make your food last longer.  After they were through filming, Robin, Diane and Bob Woodruff posed with each of us for pictures.  I thought that was pretty nice.

Academy of Country Music Awards .... and Easter cards

I just finished watching the Academy of Country Music Award show while making Easter cards.  It was very entertaining.  It was broadcast from Las Vegas.  Darn .... I was there last year this time!!

Here's a few of my thoughts on the show (if you care!)

• I loved seeing Heidi Newfield sing "Johnny and June" - love that song!  I didn't realize she was as old as she is ... figured she'd be another Taylor Swift. 
• Thought it was odd that Jamie Foxx was on a country awards show??  Guess it's just to make another point about Obama in office.  I like Jamie, don't get me wrong.  It's just odd.
• Cute Julianne Hough made Top New Artist.  She ripped her designer dress while going on stage!  Jack Ingram leaned over and tried to fix it!  I saw on some internet site some people discussing that she was still a virgin!  Where do people learn this stuff and why is it there business???
• Top Vocal Duo - Sugarland!  Yay!
• How much more mileage will Billy Ray be getting off Miley?  Think he'll still be introducing her as "my little girl" when she's 30?
• Top Female Vocalist - Carrie Underwood.  Yay!  Just love her.
• Trace Adkins sang "Til the Last Shot's Fired" with the West Point Glee Club.  WOW!   The performance is in support of the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), which is the charity selected by the ACM's charitable fund.  If you didn't get a tear in your eye watching the soldier who was missing both legs introduce Trace and Trace Adkins singing the song plus the West Point Glee Club performing, you aren't an American!
• Matthew McConaughey was a presenter.  That is one hot dude!  I could watch him all day.  He just seems so down to earth ... but sexy!   

                                       

 

 

 

 

 

Ok ... here are a couple of the cards I was working on tonight.  They both use the stamp set, A Good Egg.  This is my only Easter set so I use it a lot.  I used the designer paper from the Saleabration catalog and paper pieced the eggs.  I cut a slit to thread the ribbon through.

   

On this one, I cut the card 5 1/2" x 7 1/2" and cut the scalloped strip 3" x 4 1/4" and let it hang over the card.  I cut a slit for the ribbon.  I received a card that used this layout in a swap a while back and I've always like it.  This is the first time I've used it.

New York City View from the Top

We arrived in New York about 3 pm on Sunday. The bus ride was not bad. It was a little over 3 hours - comfy and we had internet connection. What more could you ask for! After we got checked into our hotel room (The Wellington - a block from Carnegie Hall), we walked over to the Empire State Building. The lobby is beautiful in itself. The interior is in a 1930's Art Deco style and there is a metal relief sculpture of the Empire State Building (see picture below). After buying our tickets (it's good to have a military person with you for those discounts!), we rode the elevator up to 86th floor. It was quite cold and windy out on the Observation Deck so we made a quick walk around, snapping pictures and trying to see the view through the crowd that was there. But, it was quite breath-taking and fun to figure out some of the other buildings in the view.

(remember - click on pictures to see the full view - then click back button to return to site)

Did you know? The Empire State Building took only one year and 45 days to build, or 7 million man hours. This is still a record for a skyscraper of such a height. The building is 1,453 feet, 8 9/16 inches or 443.2 meters to the top of the lightning rod.

This picture was taken in the lobby.

Next on our agenda was an visiting an Irish bar that we had passed along the way. I tell you, there is an Irish pub on every corner in New York!! We lucked out and found a "locals" hang out. Whenever we travel, we try to find placed where locals tend to go instead of just going to the tourist-y places. This one was a good one. Ashley struck up a conversation with a gentleman next to her who turned out to be an Acupuncture Doctor so they had quite a lively conversation about pediatrics, infectious diseases and the like. Plus, he gave us a list of a few bars and restaurants to try (although we never got to them).

After having a couple of drinks, we were both hungry for some dinner. I had read about a restaurant that was nearby that served French/Mediterranean cuisine. Since this is not a place I would get Sonny to go to, Ashley and I decided to try it out! I had Parisian Grilled Hanger Steak and it was excellent! The presentation of the food was just great. I don't remember what Ashley got but this is what is looked like! Isn't it cool??? Too pretty to eat!

Quilt Cards

Friday was my day to play Mah Jong ... at my house. So, Thursday was spent cleaning - a job I don't relish doing!! But, since it is spring, figured it was time!!

Marianne came over last night "to play." She had dinner with us and then she and I got creative! I had seen these quilt cards on Splitcoast and never made one before. I thought they were the perfect card for us since she is a quilter. Also, she is driving to Florida this weekend to spend spring break with her girlfriend, Sharon, who also is a quilter. I forgot to take a picture of her card before she left, but here are my two. One is a birthday card for a friend and the other is an anniversary card for my dear hubby. We will be celebrating 36 years on Tuesday!

These card are really easy to make. Using the 1 3/8" or 1 1/4" punch (we used 1 3/8") punch 12 squares. Glue them down to a piece of cardstock that is cut about 5 1/4" x 4 1/4" (using glue stick works best - then you can slide them around to get them tight to each other). Then you run them through the Sizzix or Cuttlebug with the Top Note Die. I then cut around the perforated edge and used a coordinating piece to layer them.

This one uses Manchester DSP, Always Artichoke and Kraft paper. I was trying to make it look masculine.

This card uses Not Quite Navy with a pack of patterned paper that was a hostess gift in the last catalog. The sentiment and the one used in the card above are from Hugs and Kisses.

Here is another card I made before Marianne got here. I just got this Butterfly Die and wanted to try it out. I used my Nestibilites to make the circles and the Dotted Swiss Cuttlebug folder on the So Saffron card. The Designer Paper and ribbon is from the Saleabration catalog with a piece of vellum for the small butterfly. The pearl is from the Pretties kit.

Get Connected with Stampin' Up!

During the month of April you can participate in Stampin' Up's special Get Connected promotion and earn free product for purchasing at least $40 worth of products from the Occasions Mini or hosting a $150 workshop.

Connect with those around you by creating homemade and heartfelt items to share with those you love.

Read about the promotion HERE.