Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day to everyone.  Please give thanks to the great men and women that are out there protecting our country.

I arrived safe and sound in Texas last Monday and have been going non-stop since I arrived.  We spent several days with some good friends from Dallas before heading off to Austin for my nephew's wedding.  It was a wonderful wedding last night and I have pictures to share as soon as I can download them.  The only problem was the HEAT!!  It was sooo hot - in the 90's.  Sweat was literally pouring down the groom's face during the ceremony (not to mention the guests) and his bride kept mopping his face!  It was rather funny.  When we returned to our motel at midnight last night, it was still 85 degrees!  We have another wedding to attend tomorrow night and it is also outside!  Maybe this heat will melt some pounds off me while I'm here.  Today we went to a Brunch for the newly married couple at my niece's home (still, hot!)  But when we arrived back in San Antonio around noon with my niece's two little boys, we all hit the pool and didn't come out until dinner time!!  They were out like a light when they hit the bed tonight.

Have a safe Memorial Day and I will try to post more details about the Carnaval wedding and pictures next week.

American Idol Finale Season 9

Can't believe the finale is here already!  When they're doing the talent search from city to city, it seems to take forever, but when they get to Hollywood ... bam, it goes so fast!

All season, I've been pulling for Crystal.  But tonight before watching the show, I was feeling like Lee would beat her out.  He has improved so much during the season.  Crystal started out strong and leveled out.  Whatever happens, it's going to be a tight race and I will be happy with either of them winning.

Round #1 - Contestant's Choice

Lee started out singing "The Boxer" a song he sang earlier in the season.  It was great and he got into it no matter what the judges said.

Crystal did the Janis Joplin classic, "Bobby McGee" which was my guess as to the song she'd do!!  I love it!!

Round 1 goes to Crystal I think.

Round #2 - Producer's Choice

Simon Fuller picked "Everybody Hurts.  I wasn't familiar with this song but I hate that he's doing another slow tempo song.

Crystal is singing "Black Velvet."  Not a favorite song of mine but she did a great job and it really showed her range. 

This might be a tie.

Round #3 - Their Song

This is different this year.  Usually this is a cheesy song that is written for whomever wins but not this time.  Lee will record "Beautiful Day" a current song by U2.  Lee's nerves are showing a bit tonight.  Simon had some really sweet words for Lee but I think he was basically telling him he is not the front runner tonight. 

Crystal sings "Up to the Mountain."  This is another one I'm not familiar with but Crystal knocks it out of the park and wears her emotions on her sleeves.  Randy summed it up nicely with “this is one of the greatest performances and at the perfect time on this show.”   Yep.  Pretty much.  This round goes to Crystal. 

Crystal just might be the next American Idol, guys.  Unfortunately, Lee just didn't have his "A" game on tonight.  Don't know if it was song choice or nerves that got to him. The Crystal we loved during the first half of the season made her comeback just in the nick of time, and I predict she’s the next American Idol.  Lee doesn't have anything to worry about - he will do well. They both have successful music careers ahead of them, but I think Crystal will be taking the trophy home tomorrow night.

Monday Mailers for May

I spent yesterday packing for my Texas trip.  I actually started packing on Saturday night but yesterday I took everything out of the suitcase I had packed and redid it .... about 4 times!!  I am trying to get around not having to pay $25 for my suitcase and $25 for Sonny's suitcase - that's $100 roundtrip!  Ridiculous!  I've also heard that they now charge you for the blanket and pillow on the plane.  When will this madness stop?  So I decided to combine our clothes and stuff in one large suitcase and we would each take a carry-on.  Good idea ... then it has to be under 50 pounds!  I was doing ok until I put the case of Cheerwine Ashley requested in the suitcase.  Oops .... about 65 pounds!  The dang suitcase itself empty weighs 10 pounds.  I need to buy a new lighter weight one.  Finally, I ended up leaving the Cheerwine out and hoping my mom can bring it next week.  If not, it would be cheaper to UPS it to her I think!  So, I am packed and ready to go today.  Just hoping for a smooth flight and not a repeat of the last time I flew to San Antonio.  That time when we landed, my sinuses went beserk.  I had the worst pain I have either had in my life in my gums and teeth.  I'm going to try taking a decongestant this a.m. before I board the plane.

So, my postings may be rather sporadic the next couple of weeks.  Don't know how much creative time I will have.  Some of our friends from Dallas are meeting us in San Antonio so we'll be busy with them.  We will drive to Austin Thursday am for the Rehearsal Luncheon and spend Thursday - Saturday in Austin.  Then we'll be go back to Ashley's for a day only to return to Georgetown (just past Austin) on Sunday for another wedding!  After that, Sonny will leave to return home on Tuesday and my mom will join me for another week.  Hopefully, the second week will be a little more relaxing - laying out by the pool and "chillin."

So, here are a couple of Monday Mailers to share with you:

This is one that I received.  I love the colorful flowers!  I thought the white lines were done with a scoring tool, but she said she used the DSP on page 15 of the Summer Mini.  Isn't it cool?

This is a card that I sent using the Black Magic Technique again.  I just love this technique!

Have a wonderful week!!

Historic Tour of Homes

A quick post before I hit the sack.  I'm so tired!  I was a docent today at the third annual Historic Mooresville Tour of Homes.  Check out the lovely homes HERE.   The home that I was in was the original home of Annie Rankin.  There are three houses side by side that were built by Annie's father, S.C. Rankin, the first President of the Bank of Mooresville. Mr. Rankin built the three homes for his daughters. Two of the Rankin sisters were married in a double wedding ceremony in 1902 and set up households at the same time in twin Queen Anne cottages on South Academy Street.   The housees have undergone extensive renovations.   While the other two sister's houses take you back in time, the Annie Rankin home has been "modernized" but still has kept the historic look.  A young couple live in the house now and have updated the kitchen in particular.

I finished the wedding cards that I will be taking to the weddings I am going to in Texas next week.  I CASE'd them from a card I saw at the Kernersville Quarterly.  The DSP is the Bride DSP on pg. 158 of the SU catalog which I brayered with black ink.  I used decorative punches in the comers. 

Rag Purse

Lookie what my sister made for me!!

Isn't it pretty?  We picked the fabric out when we were in Kernersville last month and she made it using her Big Shot ... and her sewing machine, of course. 

This is the cell phone holder that is hanging on the purse handle with a fabric flower.

I love it!!  Thanks, Marianne!

Sorry I've been MIA!

Sorry I've be MIA for a couple of days.  Yesterday I left the house at 9:30 AM and didn't return until 8:30 PM.  I started out playing Mahjong and was on a winning streak.  We only play with $2 but I wiped 2-3 people out of their $2!!  After that, I had a lot of errands to run all over town - Belks, WalMart, Dollar Store, Staples, Stampers Alley ....  I picked up the collage pictures (from THIS post)  from WalMart and they turned out great.  I am so pleased.  I ended up buying some super large binder clips which I am going to decorate and clip the pictures (8x10) in them.  I'll have to support them somehow from behind so they don't flop over.  After all my errands, I met Sonny and Marianne and her family at Fusion Bowl for dinner. Yumm!! Marianne and Greg had been in Asheville for a conference.

I went to Stampers Alley to see the BEE-U-TEE-FUL Northwoods Board that had just come in.  I will be doing a class on June 19.  We will make 6 of the cards.  Then, later in July or August, we'll do the other 6 cards.  You can view the cards HERE.  The Northwood cards are always so beautiful and glittery.  Call Stampers Alley (Mooresville) to sign up!!  If we get a full class, I can add another date.

Today was my Stamp Club.  We had a small group today - one gal was sick, another out of town and the third had Book Club earlier in the a.m. and couldn't make it.  But, we had fun anyway!!  We made two great cards and a tea-bag (chocolate squares) holder. 

This card is a great one for using up your scraps.  The stamp set is Circle Circus and the colors are Chocolate Chip, Barely Banana and Brocade Blue.

This is a great cheerful card!  We made that speckled background using Itty Bitty Backgrounds stamp in Only Orange, Pink Passion, Turquoise and Old Olive.  We put Crystal Effects on the drink.  Just wish I was in Hawaii!!

This is one of the tea holders.  They had their choice of this one or another one.  This one has a belly band that slips off.

This is the inside.

This is the second tea bag holder.  It has a ribbon closure and uses the truck from Loads of Love.

inside

I got the directions for these little tea bag holders on Splitcoast. 

My Digital Studio & Idol

My nephew is getting married in a couple of weeks in Austin, Texas.  The wedding is to be outside with a Carnival Theme - complete with picture booths, corny dogs, cotton candy, etc.  I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures!  I am helping out my niece with the rehearsal lunch.  When Ashley was in Seattle a couple of weeks ago, she took a bunch of pictures at the Seattle Center of a carousel, hot dog stand, ticket booth, etc.  So, using My Digital Studio, I downloaded the pictures and a few others I found on the 'net.  Then I put a picture of Jack and Katrina on top of the whole collage and made it transparent so you could barely see them with the carnival things in the background.  I love using MDS and love what you can do with it.  I've sent these off to be printed and will pick them up tomorrow.  Can't wait to see them!  I'm having them done in 5" x 7".  I'm either going to find some clear frames for them at the Dollar Store or get some binder clips at an office supply store, decorate them and use them for a picture holder.

As of today, these are the items that are SOLD OUT and no longer available:

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  Sweet Pea Designer Series paper stack
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  On Board Heart Book
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  Sweet Pea stitched felt
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  Sage Shadow 12 x 12 card stock

I watched Idol tonight.  The contestants each sang two songs - one they chose and one chosen by the judges.

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  Casey was up first singing "It's All Right With Me" and it was only just all right with me.  His second song was "Daughters" chosen by Kara and Randy.  I like that song and he did it well, but was it worthy of making him a finalist?  I don't think so.
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  Crystal sang Melissa Etheridge's "Come to My Window" and did it well!  She was on the harmonica and I loved that.  Her second song was chose by Ellen, "Maybe I'm Amazed."  She is amazing!  She has not compromised herself once during this show.
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  Lee sang "Simple Man."  I loved it!  He's finally feeling comfortable on stage.  He could edge Crystal out!  Lee's second song, chosen by Simon, was "Hallelujah" and he knocked it out of the park!  He is in the contest to WIN.

I have been pulling for Crystal the whole season but Lee has started to sway me.  He has improved sooo much and has a great attitude.  He graciously accepts the judges criticism.  Sometimes I just get the feeling he wants it more than Crystal.  Anyway, I won't be disappointed in either one being the winner.

I am assuming Casey will be leaving Wednesday night and it will be down to Lee and Crystal.  What do you think???

June Birthdays = Retiring Colors!

I have been making birthday cards for a couple of days.  I have a bunch of friends having birthdays in June.  Since I will be out of town for a couple of weeks, I wanted to make them now and have them ready to pop in the mail.

This one uses the stamp set, Flight of the Butterfly and the Butterfly Punch.  I stamped them in white and used Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder.  I drew the antenna onto the cardstock.  The background is a retired butterfly wheel.  I used retiring Gable Green cardstock.

This card uses Party Hearty stamp set and a Cuttlebug Birthday Embossing Folder.  I used another retiring cardstock, Glorious Green.  I have a bunch of this color left - it's probably one of my least favorite colors.

This card uses Fifth Avenue Floral.  I stamped the flower in Versamark and embossed it clear.  Then I sponged Pink Pirouette ink over the flower.  The DSP is one I just got.  Don't know why I waited so long!  I love it.  It is the Bride carstock (pg 158).  The paper is white embossed on white.  When you brayer or sponge a color on it, it changes the paper.  This one I brayered in Pink Piroutte.. 

This card uses Inspired by Nature.  The grass and the flower are stamped in black and embossed clear.

This card uses some of the retiring purples - Orchid Opulence, Perfect Plum and Almost Amethyst.  The stamps are retired.

This card uses a stampset from the Summer Mini - Watercolor Trio.  I love, love, love this stamp!!  Again, I used retiring colors - Summer Sun and Only Orange.

If you are interested in ordering any of the Retiring Colors, you should do so ASAP!  Here is some of the info I have received from Stampin'  Up about these orders:

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  For re-inkers in retiring colors, as we run out, they will be placed on backorder status and those orders will be filled as quickly as we receive the product. We will continue to do this to the best of our ability through May, and then the re-inkers will be available while supplies last in June.
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  As for cardstock, we can't order significant quantities at this point in time without putting the production of the new colors in jeopardy.  We will be substituting textured paper for some of the smooth colors--including card stock in 8-1/2" x 11" as well as 12" x 12"--where the smooth is no longer available. These colors will go on backorder, and we will be filling as many of those as possible with textured card stock. Because the demand for each color varies, we are unable to provide a list of what colors of card stock will be substituted with textured, or at what point that will happen. However, if you receive a package of card stock that is textured instead of smooth, there will be a sticker on the package indicating that change.

I am anxious to watch Americal Idol tonight!  Who will the final two be???  My bet is Crystal and Lee.  I just heard that Chris Daughtery, a former idol star, and his wife are expecting twins!!

Sticky, Icky Humidity!

In the three summers we have lived here, we have been pretty lucky with the weather ... mainly the humidity.  It hasn't been as bad as what we remembered when we lived here some 30+ years ago.  But this summer may just be different.  Yesterday was sticky, icky!!  We went to Newton, a small town near us, for a street fair.  We had read about it so figured we'd give it a try.  We walked the whole downtown area in less than an hour and weren't too impressed!  There weren't many people there - hopefully, they had been there earlier or came later.  It's a lot of work to put something like that together - bands, craft booths, games, car show, etc. but we noticed a lot of empty spaces on the street like maybe they had some no-shows.  We didn't even eat any funnel cake!!!  We decided we'd rather go to a restaurant where we could sit down in air-conditioning to eat instead so we drove to Hickory for Mexican food.  Today we had storms but they didn't come until dinner time.  I bet tomorrow will be another sticky one.

I worked on a few cards today.  I have a lot of friends having birthdays in May so I made a couple of birthday cards.

This one uses the new set from the Summer Mini, Watercolor Trio.  I also am trying to use my retiring colors.  This one is Pale Plum, Perfect Plum and Mellow Moss.

Another birthday card.  This one uses a retired set, Older & Wiser along with retiring cardstock, Cameo Coral and Apricot Appeal.  The DSP is some I just off the Clearance Rack.

This car is for a class I am doing in June for a neighbor of my mom's church group.  There will probably be at least 20 ladies there so I needed to come up with a simple card.  I am going to give them the option of using one of the stamps from Pun Fun or Fun & Fast Notes.  For a simple card, it's kind of cute, don't you think?

Cotton Ketchie

We had a little excitement last night.  My mom has been having back pain for quite some time - or as she describes it, pain in her butt!  It's her sciatica and I know from past experiences how that feels!  She's gone to a chiropractor for almost a year, but the last time I took her to the doctor, he suggested she try Rehab instead.  So, for the past month or two that is what she has done.  She called me Tuesday night and was really hurting.  It got so bad yesterday that my sister took her to the doctor.  They sent her to the hospital - in an ambulance since she hurt too much to get in my sister's car.  They gave her an injection for pain and sent her home with a prescription for pain pills.  Today she was much better so let's hope she continues to feel ok. 

Tonight my two sisters, myself and my mom had dinner at the Prickley Pear Restaurant in Mooresville.  Marianne and I love their Prickley Pear Margaritas!  Yummm.  After a delicious dinner, we headed to the Mooresville Library to hear Cotton Ketchie speak.  Mr. Ketchie is a local artist who does some wonderful watercolors.  He also has started writing and has written 3 books.  Pulling out two of his books, "Memories of a Country Boy," and "A Country Boy's Education," Ketchie read passages from two of his books.  His purpose in writing the books and doing some of his art is to portray Mooresville the way HE remembes it and to preserve the town's heritage.  Excerpts Ketchie read included tales about his former neighbors; sleeping on a corn husk mattress with his siblings; his school, which had the greatest lunchroom cooks he knew and his family.  If you are in the area, I would suggest a visit to Landmark Galleries to look at his work.  Check out some of his paintings HERE.