Happy Birthday to a Special Boy

Yesterday was my niece's son's birthday.  Jacob turned 8 yesterday.  Wow!  Hard to believe she has a child that old!  Melinda (my niece) is the same age as Ashley and lives in Texas.  I've kind of become her second mother since my sister passed away and hate that we are so far away from them.  She has done a great job raising her two boys.  Jacob is the most polite and mature eight year old you will ever meet.  Hope he enjoyed his card as much as I did making it .... and the treat tucked away inside!

I swear it took me almost a whole day to make this card but it was worth it!!  I love it.  I sponged a lot on this card - the sky, the grass, and the cupcakes. 

Supplies:

• Paper:   Whisper White, Brillant Blue, Bashful Blue, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Peach Parfait
• Ink:   Black; Soft Suede; Real Red, Always Artichoke
• Stamps:  Bugs and Kisses, Party Hearty, Tart and Tangy (cherry); Watercolor Minis (for grass)
• Punches:   Tag Punches
• Accessories:  Stampin’ Sponges,  Dimensionals,  1/4" Circle Punch; Crimper; Pearl Pen (Viva); Scallop Punch

Happy Mother's Day

I hope all you mother's out there are having an enjoyable day and were able to spend it with your children.  I got to talk to my daughter this morning and she wished me a Happy Mother's Day.  Unfortunately, didn't hear from my son.  I didn't expect to but one can hope, can't she?

We met my sisters and my mom in Mooresville this afternoon and had a great day.  We had lunch at Sonny's BBQ where mom's ate free so that was nice.  Then we went over to a new wing restaurant that had opened to try out their desserts.  We all had chocolate chip cookies with chocolate sauce and ice cream served warm in a small frying pan .... except for Sonny who had fudge brownie with ice cream.  Needless to say, I think we all needed wheelbarrows to roll us out!!  Sonny won't have to worry about finding something for us for dinner that's for sure!

Now that I have given all my Mother's Day cards out, I can share the last ones that I gave to some special mothers locally.

 This is a 5 1/2" square card that I made for Brenda at Stamper's Alley.  I used the big flowers from the SU Sizzix Die (Flower Fold) in Melon Mambo and Regal Rose DSP.  The spinner wheel is from the Occasions Mini (Take A Spin).  I sure hope this stamp set makes it into the big catalog this summer!  The leaves are petals that I ran through my crimper.  I also pierced the card all along the edges.

This card I made for my Mom.  She kept fingering the flower trying to figure out how I made it!   If you missed the directions, you can find them HERE.

This is the card I made for my sister - in purple of course!!  The stamp set is Because I Care, a Level 1 Hostess set.  The card is Concord Grape.  The Certainly Celery pieces sticking out of the sides of the Top Note is the Curly Label punch cut in half.

 This card is the same as Marianne's (above) EXCEPT for the flower!!  I CASE'd this flower from Kristeen Gill whom I came across while blog-surfing.  I love this card but it will probably not be one I make again or any time soon!  It would also need a special box to send it.  Luckily, I was delivering this one to my neighbor and friend, Judy so just put it in a cello bag and took it to her.

For the flower, I cut a syrofoam ball in half and sanded the bottom to get it as smooth as possible.  I punched a bunch of small flowers with the Itty Bitty Shapers Punch Set.  (I just got these punches and don't know what I did before!!)  I sponged the flowers with Baja Blue.  To get them to curl up, I used my stylus and a piece of foam and pressed the flowers in the middle.  Then I sponged the tips in Marina Mist.  I inserted them into the styrofoam ball with straight pins with the pearl heads.  I had to cut about half of the pin off with wire snips because they were too long.  Oh - I also put a layer of  glue on the styrofoam ball before inserting the pins to make sure they would stick.

Mothers Day Cards

I've been busy the past few days working on my Mother's Day cards.  I don't know why I always wait until the last minute to do these things!!  Oh well, makes life interesting!

Supplies:

• Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
• Ink:  Melon Mambo
• Stamps:  Medallion, All Holidays
• Dies:  Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die, Elegant Bouquet & Tulip Embossing Folders
• Accessories:  Stampin’ Sponges,  Dimensionals, 1 3/4" Circle Punch

Supplies:

• Paper:  Whisper White, Springtime Vintage DSP (retired), Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi
  
• Ink:  Cherry Cobbler
• Stamps:   All Holidays
  
•  Accessories:  Bird Punch, non SU punch, XL Oval Punch, Sponge Daubers

Notice how I cut away the top of the Label Punch to simulate a vase!

Supplies:

• Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Pear Pizzaz, Whisper White
  
• Ink: Black, Markers:  Pear, Cherry Cobbler
• Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes; Four Frames
  
• Punches: Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Bird Punch, 3/4" Circle
  
• Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Cutter Kit (for distressing), Pearls

This is the paper that you could have ordered last month.  It will be in the 2011-12 catalog.

Supplies:

• Paper:   River Rock, Bravo Burgundy, Paisley Petals DSP
  
• Ink:  Bravo Burgundy
• Stamps:  All Holidays
  
• Dies:  Spellbind
  
• Accessories:   Daubers, Rhinestones

Supplies:

• Paper:    Whisper White, Peach Parfait, non SU DSP
  
• Ink:  Peach Parfait
• Stamps:   All Holidays
• Punches:  XL Oval, Bird Punch
  
• Accessories:  Stampin’ Sponges,  Dimensionals, 

This is a non-SU card that I watercolored with my markers and used Stickles for sparkle!

Idol - Top 5 - 2011

Only five left! We’re getting down to the wire. I’m always a little bit sad when a season of American Idol draws to a close, how about you? I was excited that they each got to perform twice last night. There were some surprises, and I found myself disagreeing with the judges a few times. 

Sheryl Crow was the guest mentor and the theme was “Now and Then” — they each sang a current song and one from the 1960s.   I really didn't think Sheryl Crow added much to the night!

James sang Closer to the Edge.   His voice got lost in the background music or something.   The other singers didn’t sound like that. It was weird, but the judges loved it so I have to assume it sounded better live. He was good and I'm starting to think he has a good shot at winning this thing.

Jacob sang No Air. I love this song, but not on Jacob, and the judges felt the same way. They kept telling him it’s about finding the right song.  Jacob is getting a little old for me.  Let's see what he does with his second song.

Lauren sang Flat On the Floor.  I think she could have taken it further, but it was a great fit for her voice and she did a respectable job with it.

Scotty was in his element last night singing Gone.  He reminded me why we all fell in love with him to begin with. It was playful, he was working the stage like an old pro, and it showed his vocal range. I thought he really took his performance power up a notch last night.

Haley sang an unreleased Lady Gaga song, You and I. The judges thought she was taking a risk by doing an unknown song and criticized her but I actually thought it was pretty impressive. I particularly enjoyed the first half.   I thought it really showcased her voice. Haley’s come a long way and I thought the judges were a bit harsh.   And maybe they were right on, but if so, then they were too easy on a lot of the other performances. Sometimes I think the judges are deliberately trying to sway the audience to vote for the ones they want to see make it to the end.

Round Two kicked off with James’ emotional performance of Without You.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, or in my chair!   Despite that, the vocals weren’t his best and I can’t help but remember former Idol hopefuls who went home before their time because of one unfortunate performance. I hope James isn’t in danger tonight.

Jacob sang Love Hurts, and while the judges loved it, I thought it was way too… Jacob. The beginning was lovely but by the end I was hoping that Jacob goes home tonight.   I think his time has come.

Lauren sang Unchained Melody, and I’m surprised the mentors let her get away with that. It is just way over used and while parts of it were beautiful, she brought nothing new to it despite the judges saying “there’s nothing to judge.” WHAAA??? Cop out. I think they just didn’t want to be negative. Simon would have been all over that.

Scotty sang Always On My Mind.  Another solid performance and a wise song choice for him. It was totally different from his first song, and like the judges said, it gave us a taste of what a Scotty concert might be like.  I think he secured himself a place in the final four.

Haley closed the show with House of the Rising Sun, which I thought was fantastic. She’s been growing on me in recent weeks, and this clinched it.  She made the song her own.

Best Performer of the Night: Scotty
Bottom Two: Jacob and Haley or James
Going Home: Jacob

I Made A Quilt!!

Well .... a Quilt Card!  My sister is the quilt maker in the family.  I followed a tutorial over on Splitcoast Stampers for making a quilted card and was quite pleased with the end result!

I used pieces of DSP from the Saleabration catalog and Tangerine Tango, Pink Passion (retired) and Tempting Turquoise cardstock.  The ribbon is also from Saleabration.  After putting the "quilt" together, I ran it through the Big Shot with the Finial Press embossing folder.

Here is a picture of my fishermen!  They went out on Lake Norman on our boat on Friday but didn't even get a bite so they didn't have any fish on their lines to show you!

I got a call yesterday from the Red Cross about going to Alabama  for two weeks to help out with the storm damage.  They need about 80 people to be case workers.  They wanted me to leave on Wednesday (today) for two weeks.  I have an obligation on Saturday at Stampers Alley so I was not able to leave that soon.  I told them I could be available on Sunday so we will see if they need me or not.  I would really love to be able to help.  There are so many people that were affected by those tornadoes.  Our Red Cross office here in Lake Norman was already deployed to the eastern part of NC from the tornadoes that we had here a couple of weeks ago.

A Beautiful Flower

Well, the news of the past few days has been terrific, don't you think?   My heartfelt thanks goes out to those US Navy Seals who stormed Bin Laden's compound and killed him.  I know everyone has a different opinion with regards to the morality of this killing - at least in our family there are differing opinions.  As a citizen of the US, I believe the killing was just but as a follower of Jesus, I'm torn but I believe the earth is safer today than it was a few days ago.  It's just too bad that our world is in a place where killing an enemy of the US is necessary.  I understand that violence does give rise to violence.  But then I think of all those innocent people who were killed on 9/11 and I rejoice that the mastermind of that horrific deed is gone.  Already the expectation exists that Al-Qaida will attempt attacks to retaliate.  The sooner that the United States leaves Afghanistan and Iraq and Libya, the closer we will all be to a time of peace.

OK - on to lighter issues!!   I made this flower a few days ago and tonight put a card together to put it on.  This will be a card that will need to be hand-delivered so as not to crush the flower.  Directions are below:

Start out by punching out 3 flowers with the XL Fancy Flower Punch.  

On one flower, you'll cut directly to the center. On the second flower, you'll cut to the center and completely remove one petal. On the third flower, you'll cut to the center and completely remove two petals.

You can sponge the edges which gives the flower some nice depth once you've put it all together.Then take your bone folder and gently work the pieces by rubbing them over the bone folder, forwards and backwards, to break down the fibers in the card stock. This step is essential because it makes the paper much easier to bend and work with while you're forming your rose.  
Take some Tombow adhesive and run a small glue line along the back of one side of the slits of each flower. You'll then move one petal completely over on top of the other petal and paper-clip them together until they dry. It doesn't take long. You'll end up with four petals, three petals, two petals, and then your extra little pieces.

Use a small dowel, paper piercer, etc. to roll the single petal into a cone as shown above and glue closed.

Snip off the bottom of the each petal piece and place Tombow adhesive all around the inside. Then place your bud piece into the hole and position it where it looks best. You'll need to hold it in place until it dries.

Look what you end up with! I know you're smiling and happy now even though you have glue all over your fingers and you've probably said a few choice words while making this! You'll have to snip off the bottom of the rose to make it flatter so that you can adhere it to a card.

But isn't it pretty??

And here is my finished card:

I actually put a little Crystal Effects inside each petal to make it stick a little better.  (As you can see, it wasn't quite dry when I took the picture!)

Retired Darling Dots

I've been making a few more cards to sell and using some of my retired SU stamp sets.  I love this stamp set - Darling Dots.  I think it was a Saleabration set from a few years ago but I have held on to it because I really like it!  It's really versatile with hearts, flowers, leaves, stars, etc.

 On this card, I used the Scallop Square punch along with the 1 1/4" Square Punch.  The card base is Crumb Cake and the Chocolate Chip ribbon is Stampin' Up.

 Just about everything on this card is retired!  The cardbase is Dusty Durango and the piece across the middle is Kiwi Kiss.  The DSP is also retired from SU.

I ran this card base through the Dotted Swiss embossing folder.  The DSP is from our recent Saleabration.  The rest of the cardstock is Daffodil and Pacific Point.  I should have used the Stampamajig for the sentiment!

Summer Mini Ready plus Other Great Deals!

It's that time .... time for a new mini and do we have a doozy this time!!  I LOVE the Summer Mini and I think you will too.

DOWNLOAD HERE









And if you want to do know what SU used on the various projects in the catalog, you can download the list of supplies  used HERE.


Stampin' Up also carried over some items from the previous mini catalogs.  You can find that list HERE.

Stampin' Up is also celebrating National Scrapbooking Month by passing along some deals to YOU!! You can get 30 percent off a wide selection of scrapbooking products including:

• Select stamp sets
• Select professional print products for My Digital Studio
• Special digital download bundles for My Digital Studio 

Click Here for the list of products that are on sale until  May 31. 

Here are a few of the images that are on sale:

WORD PLAY

Printed Petals

Grunge Rock

Party Hearty

Animal Stories

Simple Friendship

Sweet Shoppe Alphabet

 Contact me to place an order or place your order on-line HERE!!

The Royal Wedding

In honor of the Royal Wedding, I decided to scrapbook a couple of the pictures I have of Westminster Abbey.  Then I got carried away with watching the wedding.  It was soooo beautiful.  No, I am not one of those people who arose at 4 a.m. to watch it.  I recorded it on my DVR.  Luckily, I couldn't decide which station to record so I recorded two different ones because one of them didn't record.  I ended up watching the Meredith Viera and Matt Lauer version of the wedding.  I'm one of those people who just couldn't get enough of the royal couple.  They are just so cute.  And the hat that everyone wore!  Wow - I loved most of them .... not so much Princess Beatrice's pretzel shaped hat though!

It is going to be hard to break the habit of referring to William and Kate as Prince and Princess.  William received a dukedom from his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth. The prince will now be known as the Duke of Cambridge, and has also received the titles Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus.  A duke is the highest rank below that of monarch in the British nobility.   Kate will be known as the Duchess of Cambridge. Kate will officially become Princess William of Wales, although this title will not be used.

So back to my pictures.  I left the pages pretty plain - Westminster Abbey speaks for itself.  After I did my pictures, I found a few images from the wedding and put them together with the help of My Digital Studio.  Enjoy! 

Idol Top 6 2011

Just realized I forgot to post this yesterday!!  I haven't watched the Results show yet so I am going to post this and then go watch it.

The Idol contestants celebrated the songs of Carol King .... songs I know this week!!

First up - Jacob - what an outfit!  He sang "Oh No, Not My Baby" and it was all right for me.  He started out rough but brought it home in the end.  Stephen told him "We all knew you could sing, it's just about time you shook your tailfeathers!"  I don't know about that!!

Lauren sang "Where You Lead"  They told her she needed to stop being safe and GO FOR IT!!  I give her credit - she did give it an E for effort.  She's just so young - it's hard to imagine doing this at 16.  Just don't know if she's ready to be America's next Idol.

To fill up the time, the contestants sang duets in addition to their solos.  I enjoyed them.  Haley and Casey sang "I Feel the Earth Move."  I love their pairing.  Their voices compliment each other.  Nice job!

Next up is Scotty singing "You've Got a Friend."  He did ok ... it just wasn't my favorite of his performances.  I wish he'd done just a little bit of his signature bass in the song somewhere.  But he should be safe this week.

James was next singing "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow."  He is starting to become my favorite.  He just does his own thing.  The mentors tell the other contestants what to do, but James tells them what he's going to do!  He is a true artist.  I think the judges are seeing that too since they predicted him to win the whole thing after his performance!   Loved it!!

Scotty and Lauren sang "Up On the Roof."  I just love this song by the Drifters!! 

Next was Casey doing his typical Casey style with "Hi De Ho."  Lots of growling.  He is beginning to grate on me.  The performance was entertaining but he's not showing anything new.

Haley was the last single and sang "Beautiful."  She nailed it!  She has really come a long way.   She will probably end up in the top 3.

Jacob and James finished off the night with a rendition of "I'm Into Something Good."  Steven summed it up when he said  “I’m not sure if that was the award-winning performance it should have been, but you guys were having fun and you can both sing great. But, man, where were you going with all that?!”

So, best of the night in my opinion was James.

Bottom 3 ....probably Jacob, Casey and maybe Scotty or Lauren.  I wouldn't be sad to see Casey go home but who knows???