Tomorrow's Workshop Projects

I have been busy today getting things together for my workshop tomorrow.  It has been so long since I have done a Stampin' Up workshop, I had to "get back to basics!"  We are expecting about 11 ladies and I don't think any of them have any stamping experience, so I have tried to make the cards really simple but still nice.  Sometimes, I have trouble with simple!!  I have all the pieces pre-cut so they really just have to stamp them and put them together.  Seems easy to me but I've been fooled before!! 

What do you think .... simple enough?

This first card uses Pocket Silhouettes stamp set.  The card base is Sahara Sand with Red and Crushed Curry paper accents.  I used the Pinking Hearts border punch that I just got!!

The next card uses Vintage Vogue (from mini catalog) and Whimsical Words (from Saleabration catalog).  The card base is Bermuda Bay with Designer Paper from Thoroughly Modern.  I matted the main image on Mellow Moss cardstock.   I punched the edge with the Scallop Punch but will give them their options on punches.  The brad is a Designer Brad. 

These are samples of the little treat bags we will be making.  I have everything cut out and scored.   They will have their choice of stamps from the Love You Much set.

These are little sucker holders I made to give out tomorrow.  I think I will stamp Happy Valentines on the top tonight while watching TV!!

Chocolate!!

Well, I think I've eaten more than my share of Hershey Nuggets this week!  I bought a huge bag last week because I wanted to make some matchboxes for Valentines and put the chocolates in.  Well .... 2 went in the boxes and 2 went in my mouth, ..... etc. - you get the picture!!  I am doing a workshop this week and am making these little matchboxes to give to the ladies.  These are ladies that don't have a clue about stamping but always ooh and aah over my cards.  So, I don't know if I will get any orders but I told them they would each make a couple of cards even if they think they can't!  I'll share the cards with you later this week.  But here are some of the little boxes I've made.

 

 

Life is Too Short

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.
Love the ones who don't just because you can.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Kiss slowly.
Forgive quickly.
God never said life would be easy.
He just promised it would be worth it.


I am only as strong as the chocolate I eat,
the hair spray I use and
the friends I have.
To the cool women that have touched my life. Here's to you!

Super Bowl and Commercials

SAINTS WIN the Super Bowl!  Wow - their first trip to the Super Bowl and they win all the marbles.  What a good game, but also a fast game.  Guess that's due to hardly any penalties and not that many time-outs either.  I really didn't expect the Saints to win although that's who I was pulling for.  I bet the French Quarter is wild tonight!!

OK and the commercials .... some good and a lot bad!  A 30-second Super Bowl commercial is costing companies $3 million!!  Here are a few I liked:

•  Doritos had a commercial where a man is picking up a women for a date, and she introduced him to her son and leaves the room. The son, who is around 4-5 years old hit his mother's date's hand and tells him "Keep your hands off my mom. Keep your hands off my doritos." He is absolutely adorable.
• The Doritos bark collar commercial was clever. Animal commercials are the ones we remember and talk about.
• The VW commercial making fun of the time honored "slug bug" rule was cute, especially with Stevie Wonder and Tracy Morgan at the end.
• Betty White's Snickers commercial was another favorite.
• The Bud Lite commercial that is a spoof on the TV show "Lost" where a plane crashes onto an island and the survivors of the crash are stranded. A man finds a refrigerator of Bud Light in the back of the plane and worry subsides and a party ensues.
• The Motorola commercial:   A woman sitting in a bubble bath taking a photo of herself and then theorizing what would occur if she sent it out. What followed was a series of vignettes in which a gay couple alternatively slap each other, a man falls to the ground while high on a ladder, etc. Does sex still sell?   Motorola thinks so
• 
  Dennys puts chickens on alert. Silly with bad effects but sometimes silly is good. The TruTV commercial with Punxsutawney Polamalu was funny.

What did you like about the game & the commercials?

Super Bowl Sunday

Got your chips, dip, beer, etc. ready for the SUPER BOWL?  Although, I have to say, I'm not as excited about it this year as I was last year.  I couldn't help thinking all weekend that I was in snowy Pittsburgh last year this time feeling the hype of the Steelers being in the Super Bowl.  Oh well, I'm hoping next year we'll be in it again in Dallas!  Ashley has season tickets to the Cowboys games so I assume she would get a chance for Super Bowl tickets since the Super Bowl will be at the Cowboys stadium next year.  Of course, who am I kidding?  She would either sell them to get the big bucks or she and her Dad would be sitting in the stadium while I was watching from home!!

I'll be watching the game tomorrow night from home.  No big plans this year.  I'll be pulling for New Orleans too.  I think it's like a Cinderella story that they are in the Super Bowl (plus, I get a little sick of hearing about Peyton!!)

Marianne and I enjoyed "Dear John" today.  I would recommend it to you chicks out there.  The only drawback was the theatre was filled with teenagers with their cell phones and whispering and snickering during the love scenes.  I was about to make a scene and tell them to SHUT UP!!  I'm used to going to the movies during the week when Sonny & I are about the only ones in the theatre!  Just getting old and crotchety, I know!

American Video

This video makes you feel like an American.  It hits home with me since my daughter is currently in the Army and my son graduated from West Point and wore that gray uniform that the Glee Club has on.

Headed to see Dear John at the movies!

Monday Mailer for Feb and Jan

Sorry I didn't post yesterday.  I left the house at 9 AM and returned at 9:30 PM!!  I played bridge at a friends house most of the day.  Then I had to pick up my mom from her Assc. for the Blind meeting and we went to Target so I could return something.  After that, we met Sonny and Marianne for dinner at Chili's before my class started at Stampers Alley.  I had six ladies in my class and we had a good time!  This was the class that was scheduled for last Saturday but got delayed because of our snow so I was glad to get it done before more bad weather moves in.  We were supposed to get sleet/freezing rain last night.  Don't know what other areas got, but it is just raining here this morning.  Maybe it was freezing during the night but I can't vouch for that and it's only supposed to stay in the 30's today!  More bad weather is being forecast for tomorrow - sleet and snow with temps still in the 30's.  But next Tuesday and Wednesday is supposed to be more snow and sleet!!  I think we have gotten our share of bad weather this winter.  We will definately be ready for SPRING!!

Here are the Monday Mailers I have received this week.  I lucked out and received one from Ashanti from last month and one from Becky for February!

This is the one from Ashanti.  She used the Scallop Circle die cut (SU) to make the card.  The paper is from the Occasions Mini Catalog, Sending Love - isn't it pretty?  The stamped portion hs Shimmerz over it and is so pretty and shiny! 

This is the card from Becky using Vintage Vogue from the Occasions Mini.  I love the ribbon rosettes in the middle of the flowers.  I'll have to find out how she did them and let you know!

A few techniques

Today I actually went out on my own!  I figured the roads were clear enough for a non-snow driver like myself to venture onto.  Although, most of the area schools were still out.  I heard a lot of mothers bemoaning this fact when I was in Michaels!  I had my Newcomers meeting this morning.  We did installation of officers for next year.  I was Corresponding Secretary (in charge of the newsletter) last year and am doing it again next year.  I will sure miss my old board members.  We got along so good!  Hopefully, the upcoming board will work just as well together although I don't know many of them.  But, that's what the club is all about - making new friends!

I want to share some of the cards I've made since I've been stuck in the house for the past few days.  It's actually been a pretty productive few days.

This one uses the Embossing Resist Technique on glossy paper.  After running my Embossing Buddy over the glossy cardstock, I stamped the French Script and Inspired by Nature with Versamark ink.  I then embossed it with clear embossing powder and melted it with the heat gun.  Next, I sponged a few colors on the card - Ruby Red, So Saffron, Old Olive.  Then use a tissue to buff the color off the stamped images.

For this card, I stamped the glossy white paper with Black Staz-On ink and sponged colors over the flowers - Bermuda Bay, Pixie Pink and Green Galore.  I then cut the flowers out and mounted them on a piece of glossy paper that I had stamped with the Canvas Background stamp (stamped in the same colors randomly.) 

This is a square card.  I stamped Riot of Petals on the 5" square card and the 3 1/2" square of Pale Plum.  Then I used my Copics to color in the petals of the flowers.  I put a little yellow Stickles in the middle of the flowers and mounted the smaller piece of Perfect Plum.  I tied a Rich Razzleberry ribbon around.

Oh - I have a little Ashley / Haiti news.  Looks like she will not be going to Haiti any time soon.  After getting her address changed so her mail would be coming to us, getting a Power of Attorney, etc, and waiting for two weeks to find out something, she was told yesterday that the deployment had been pushed back and they don't know when (or if) it is going to happen.  Needless to say, she is very disappointed.

Valentines Sweet Treats Cup with a Slider

I've been on a roll the past couple of days with making cards!  I finally got out of the house yesterday.  We were able to get our car out of the driveway in the afternoon and, with Sonny driving, we went to town!!  We had lunch/dinner out; then headed to the grocery store!  Such fun (ha)!  A new Lowe's grocery opened up last week and I had not gone yet so we checked it out then headed over to BJ's to stock up.  Today, we drove to the YMCA and then had a delicious Italian late lunch at Portofino's!  Yummy!!  Now, I don't have to cook dinner (2 nights in a row!!)

So, I got these Sweet Treat Cups 2-3 months ago and for some reason, I was just intimidated by them.  Don't know why I didn't just sit myself down and just DO IT!!  But, I always found an excuse.  So today, I made this cute little Valentine card using the round Sweet Treat cups.  I didn't buy the heart shaped ones since I had never used the round ones!  I found these little heart shaped candy wafers at Michaels - believe me, they look better than they taste!! 

I made little 3" x 3" cards.  I think tomorrow I'll try a larger card.

So you don't have to tear up the card to get to the goodies inside, I made a little slider door. Here's a picture of the inside with the door partly opened.

Here's the inside with little slider closed.

It was really pretty easy.  If you want to make one of these, check out Becky Roberts' blog HERE.

Bling!

If you love BLING, here is a new blog site that has some beautiful beaded Bling!  Check it out HERE.

Feb Monday Mailer #1

We still have a lot of snow outside.  The sun did come out today but did not do much for melting the snow.  I don't think it got much above freezing and it is supposed to go down to the teens tonight.  So any of the snow that did melt, will freeze over tonight and make the roads treacherous tomorrow.  I am assuming that school will be canceled around here tomorrow.  So even though the snow came over the weekend, the school kids will be happy tomorrow!  We didn't venture out today so I don't know what the roads around here are like. I just enjoyed a lazy day, watched a couple of movies I had taped earlier and made a few cards.  I'm making a few cards to send to some magazines. 

This is the card I made for my Monday Mailer.  We are starting a new month with new partners.  We don't have a theme this month so we can do anything we want.  I used the Big Bird punch that is in the Occasions Mini Catalog and I made him into a cardinal.  The little peak on his head is from a wing that I glued on.  I sponged a little black on him.  The leaves are from the same punch and I found some scraps of Old Olive that had been crimped so that is what I used.  The paper is from the Good Neighbors DSP pack that is FREE in the Saleabration catalog with any $50 order.  It's a great value!!

Snowy Wonderland

Well, we definately got the snow last night!  Probably about 6-8" of the white stuff.  Sonny and I went to the movies yesterday afternoon (Edge of Darkness - pretty good) and it started snowing while we were in the movies.  We met the family for dinner at a Mexican restaurant and it continued to snow.  By the time we got home, the snow had stopped but sometime during the night it started back up with a vengence.  When I woke up this a.m., everywhere was white.  It was so beautiful.  Sonny and I walked over to the boat in the afternoon to clear some of the snow off the cover before it got messed up.  But .... we were too late.  The heavy snow had weighted down the cover and one of the poles had ripped through the canvas cover already.  We worked for about an hour trying to get the snow off the cover with little success.  So we walked back home (about 3 blocks) and Sonny got a shovel and drove back down.  (I had had enough fun for one day!)  He was down there close to 2 hours!!  I was actually getting worried that he'd had a heart attack or somehthing.  But, he was fine and I think actually enjoyed "playing" in the snow!!  Of course, I had camera in hand and snapped a few pictures.

Here's Sonny trudging up the driveway!

I'm pretty bundled up!!

Don't think we'll be grilling today!!

This is my favorite!  I put that mixing bowl out last night before I went to bed to collect snow for snow-cream!  This is what it looked like this morning.  And come to think of it, it is still outside and I haven't made my snow cream.  Guess what I am going to do next????  Yummmm!!  Wonder if it still is good as I remember??

Here is a card I made yesterday.  I really love how it turned out! 

I cut the 2 ovals out of SU Vanilla cardstock with my Oval Nesties.  The base card is Rich Razzleberry (in color).  I wheeled the Vanilla cardstock with the Very Vintage Wheel in Rich Razzleberry.  The Vintage Vogue flowers (from the Occasions mini) are stamped in Rich Razzleberry (some full strength and some stamped off first) and cut out.  The leaves are stamped in Always Artichoke (some full strength & some stamped off).  I put copper brads through the centers of the flowers and glued them down.  A couple of them are popped up with dimensionals.  I'll be sending this card to one of the NC SU demos in Charlotte who lost her husband recently.

What do you think?  Please leave me a comment!

I'm Older Than Dirt!

It's SNOWING!!  Really coming down too!  We went to the movies this afternoon and it started snowing while we were there.  Then we met the family for dinner - it's my sister's birthday on Monday - and it started snowing big time while in the restaurant!  I'll be posting pictures tomorrow!  A good day for stampin!

I just love these!  A friend sent it to me so thought I would share.

How many do you remember?


Head lights dimmer switches on the floor of the car.
Ignition switches on the dashboard.
Trouser leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.
Soldering irons you heated on a gas burner.
Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.
"Sturmey Arches" 3-Speed Gears on bicycle handlebars
Empty Orange Juice Plastic Orange shaped balls on car aerials
Acrylic Fake Fur on car dashboards and shelf behind backseats
Wooden Floor Polish and Floor Polishers

Older Than Dirt Quiz:

Count all the ones that you remember, not the ones you were told about.

Ratings at the bottom.

1. Sweet cigarettes
2. Coffee shops with juke boxes
3.Home milk delivery in glass bottles
4. Party lines on the telephone
5. Newsreels before the movie
6. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning.
7.Peashooters
8. 33 rpm records
9. 45 RPM records
10. Hi-fi's
11. Metal ice trays with lever
12. Blue flashbulb
13. Cork popguns
14. Wash tub wringers
15. Going into town for a Saturday Matinee
16. Trading Comics
17. Sherbert and liquorice in a small greaseproof bag
18. Tricycles
19. Red step/verandah polish
20. Bakers delivering bread by bicyles to the door
21. Barber's planks across chairs to make boys "taller"
22. Cardboard pegged into bicycle spokes to make "engine noise"
23. Collecting/swapping themed cards
24 Going to the outdoor "Drive-In Theatre" for a movie
25. Swimming with rubber bathing caps on

If you remembered 0-3 = You're still young
If you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older
If you remembered 7-10 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 11-14 =You're older than dirt!

Flower Brooch and SNOW is coming

Last weekend Marianne and I went to Hancock's Fabrics and I bought a bunch of material to make some flower brooches / pins.  They are made with the Sizzix Flower Folds Die (page 201 of SU catty) and my Big Shot.  I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with them, but it was fun making them!  I'm now on the look-out for some cute buttons for the center.  Unfortunately, the SU corduroy buttons I have weren't the right colors, but if they were, they would work great.

Can you tell I like pink?????

We're expecting big weather changes here tomorrow.  It was over 60 degrees today and just beautiful, but that won't be the case for the next few days.  Sonny and I volunteer with the Red Cross and are on stand-by alert in case we are needed to help staff a shelter this weekend.  Here is the weather alert we got late this afternoon from the Red Cross and National Weather Service:

• System is slowing down meaning that precipitation should not start until late afternoon until early evening Friday  
• Rapid increase of intensity Friday evening is expected  
• Storm snow totals are showing 10+ inches in northern Iredell to around 6 inches in southern Iredell  
• NWS is issuing a WINTER STORM WARNING effective from 2 PM Friday through Saturday  
• Low Temps Friday night in the mid 20’s  
• High’s Saturday will not be above freezing  
• Winds will increase during the period to 15-20 MPH with gust to 30 MPH  
• Temps Saturday night in the teens / Sunday in mid 30’s / Sunday night possible single digits  
• There may be significant icing up to 4/10” along the I-85 corridor  
• This forecast is fairly certain however a small change in the track could bring the icing event further north  

I'm supposed to be teaching a Valentine Northwoods class at our stamp store on Saturday afternoon.  Hmmmm - don't think so!  Hopefully, it will be re-scheduled to next weekend.

Another Calendar - can you believe it?

Last week when we thought Ashley was going to be deployed ASAP, I quickly put together a Care Package Box to mail to her.  Ever since our return from Texas, I've been putting things in the box - books, stamp items I brought back with me (by mistake), etc.  So I decided to make her a calendar real quick to take to Haiti with her.  I had this great Silver Photo Flip Album (4" x 6") that was perfect for holding the calendar and looks really pretty sitting on a desk.  So I got to work and got these calendar pages done in about 3 days!  Looks like I could have taken my time since she is still waiting to hear when they will be leaving.  But, in the meantime, she found out yesterday that she passed her medical BOARDS!!  Now she is a Board Certified Infectious Disease Pediatrician!!  There was no doubt in my mind that she would pass but she was not quite so sure.  Needless to say, I am very proud of her.

Remember - you can click on the pictures to make them bigger - you just have to click the back arrow to come back to my blog.

This is the cover of the calendar.  I used a Northwoods stamp and a lot of glitter!

This is another Northwoods stamp and Stickles!

This is the Stampin' Up set - Love Bandits from the Occasions Mini.

This is by Great Impressions (I think!)

This one is My Favorite Things and I paper-pieced the dress.

These little owls are from Stampin' Up.

This is a retired Stampin' Up set.

These stars are punched with my SU star punches.

This is another retired SU set (boo hoo - I love it) - Scene in a Garden.

This is Vintage Vogue from SU's Occasions Mini.  Isn't this paper wild?

Here's the great Sock Monkey (SU).

Another retired SU set!  It was a hostess set last year.

This is Delightful Decorations from the Christmas - sure hope it makes it into the next catalog.  I also used the raindeer from the current SU catalog - Holiday Lineup.

Chicken Chili Blanco

Yum...and good for you too!  Make some this weekend while you're waiting for it to snow!

Chicken Chili Blanco

♦ 6 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs
♦ Nonstick cooking spray
♦ 1 large onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
♦ 2 cloves garlic, minced
♦ 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
♦ 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
♦ 1 (15 1/2 ounce) can reduced-sodium kidney beans, rinsed and drained
♦ 1 (8 1/2 ounce) can cream-style corn
♦ 1/2 cup chopped red or green sweet pepper
♦ 1/2 cup dry white wine
♦ 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies, drained
♦ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
♦ 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
♦ Dash salt
♦ 1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley

Rinse the chicken; pat dry with paper towels. Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces. Spray a large saucepan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat saucepan over medium heat. Add chicken, onion, and garlic. Cook about 2 minutes or till chicken is no longer pink. Stir in chicken broth, mushrooms, kidney beans, corn, chopped pepper, wine, chilies, cumin, oregano, and salt. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in parsley.

Makes 4 servings

Per serving: 240 Calories, 18 g Protein, 3 g Fat, 0 g Saturated Fat, 39 g Carbohydrate, 628 mg Sodium, 22 mg Cholesterol, 7 g Dietary Fiber

(from  DWLZ Recipes)

Bon Appetite!

When I'm an Old Lady ....

When I'm an old lady, I'll live with each kid,
And bring so much happiness...just as they did.
I want to pay back all the joy they've provided.
Returning each deed! Oh, they'll be so excited!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)

I'll write on the wall with reds, whites and blues,
And I'll bounce on the furniture...wearing my shoes.
I'll drink from the carton and then leave it out.
I'll stuff all the toilets and oh, how they'll shout!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)

When they're on the phone and just out of reach,
I'll get into things like sugar and bleach.
Oh, they'll snap their fingers and then shake their head,
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)

When they cook dinner and call me to eat,
I'll not eat my green beans or salad or meat,
I'll gag on my okra, spill milk on the table,
And when they get angry...I'll run...if I'm able!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)

I'll sit close to the TV, through the channels I'll click,
I'll cross both eyes just to see if they stick.
I'll take off my socks and throw one away,
And play in the mud 'til the end of the day!
(When I'm an old lady and live with my kids)

And later in be d, I'll lay back and sigh,
I'll thank God in prayer and then close my eyes.
My kids will look down with a smile slowly creeping,
And say with a groan, "She's so sweet when she's sleeping!"*

God Bless All Moms and Grandmas EVERYWHERE - EVERY DAY!!!

What to do on a rainy Sunday?

Yesterday was a rainy day here in North Carolina.  Nothing to do except watch football and make a few cards, etc.  So that’s what I did!  I still had a few items from the CK Convention (last summer) that I hadn’t finished, so I pulled them out and worked on them. 

This is a “pop up” card.  The “Good friends ….” pops up from the little box but folds flat for mailing.  Here’s a side view to get the idea -

This is a box that holds an accordion type little photo album.

Here it is coming out of the box.  All it needs is a few pictures!

This is a sideways view.

This is a little photo holder made with chipboard.  I thought it turned out really cute.

I enjoyed watching the play-off games on Sunday also.  Since My Steelers weren’t in the running, I was pulling for the Jets against the Colts.  Our neighbors and good friends from Gig Harbor are die-hard Jets fans.  I know they were not happy yesterday.  In the later game, which I thought was the better of the two, I was pulling for the Saints.  I wasn’t disappointed in them although the Vikings really just gave it away.  Now, it’s time for Brett Favre to retire …. and STAY RETIRED!!  You know, last year this time, I was in Pittsburgh, elated that the Steelers were going to the Super Bowl.  Oh well, better luck next year!