A Place for Everything & Everything in It's Place!

I've been in another organization mood ... well, I have to since my SU stamps have outgrown their shelves! I am moving them over to another set of shelves that have a bunch of stuff on them already. So, I'm finding new homes for the stuff on those shelves. I'm going slow - just doing a little bit a day because it's been so hot. Right now, I can barely walk through my room for the mess. I hope by the end of the weekend I'll find a place for everything and put everything in that place. But I did find a little room on my desk this evening to make this card!

Here's the "deets" on the creation:  I used my Nesties to cut out a white circle and a Marina Mist (love this color!) circle.  I made a mask with the hydranga stamp and stamped the French Script background in Crumb Cake on the white circle (I have a retired French Script but there is also one in the catty on pg 134).  Then I inked the hydranga (from a Sneak Peek stamp, Because I Care) with Marina Mist and Old Olive and stamped it on the circle.  I sponged Crumb Cake (loving this color too!) on the circle.  I stamped "because I care" in Crumb Cake on white & punched it out with the oval punch & backed it with an oval of Marina Mist.  I sponged a little Crumb Cake on the oval before I coated it with Diamond Glaze.  I used an oval from my Hodgepodge Hardware - cut in half! - and using Diamond Glaze as glue, I adhered it to the back of the oval.  I tied a little bit of hemp on either side & frayed it.  Looking at the card now, I think I will add a little glitter to the centers of the flowers - just a tiny bit!

You may also have noticed the changes on my blog design.  I'm still playing around.  Yesterday I downloaded a design from another website & it didn't work out.  In fact, it made a mess of my blog and I spent a couple of hours trying to restore some things.  This design is from Blogger.  They have recently updated their templates so they are more up to date.  This one is pretty plain but I will be playing around with it again tomorrow since I canceled the class I was supposed to do at Stampers Alley. 

We went out on the boat this afternoon. I think today was the 6th straight 90 degree day. I hate to think what July and August are going to be like!! I ended up in the water most of the time - just too hot to lay on the boat and read like I usually do. Looking at the forecast, it is going to stay in the 90s for next week too.  At least it cools down at night - unlike Texas!  I've about decided I'm getting too old to take this much heat. 

STAY COOL!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

BLOG IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION TODAY!

New Goodies in the House!

There are new goodies in the house!  I got the new catty today along with a couple of new stamp sets, and a bundle of the new color card stock and ink pads.  I've only had time to look through the catalog once but so far, I'm liking it!!  I'm sending one of the stamp sets back - I ordered the wrong Hostess sneak peek but tomorrow I'll be using the other stamp set (Because I Care) and I'll be sharing.

For now though, I made a card using Design Elements stencils that I got last week and just got around to opening them tonight!  I love them!  You get three stencils in the pack for $9.95 - very reasonable I think.  To see some of the other stencils, click HERE. 

Here's my card and my "how-to's" -

I temporarily taped the stencil to my Very Vanilla cardstock and sponged Crumb Cake (the old Kraft - now in an ink pad) over the fleur stencil.  Then without moving the stencil, I stamped some of the images from the Priceless stamp set over the fleur in Early Espresso (a very dark brown).  I dyed my taffeta white ribbon Early Espresso with a sponge dauber.  Then I stamped "wonderful" from Warm Words on the bottom.  I layered the Vanilla piece onto a piece of Early Espresso.  I stamped the swirl from Priceless on my Crumb Cake card.  I love it!!

July Monday Mailers

I got a call yesterday from my daughter.  She had arrived at Ft. Polk (Louisiana) safe and sound.  We all thought (as did she) that she would be roughing it out in the swamp land of Louisiana battling mosquitoes, but we were wrong.  Her group got assigned to barracks which are air-conditioned!  She is in the officer's quarter with 4 other women who are all a lower rank than she is.  She said 4-5 of the guys all told her they would get some lumber and build a partition for her privacy.  She assured them that she was ok and didn't need a partition!  While I was talking to her, someone came into her quarters and issued her a weapon ... but no magazine or ammo!  Luckily while we were in Texas, she went out with her Dad and his friend, Don, so they could teach her to shoot and she did real well.  She'd never shot a weapon before!  She never went through Basic Training when she joined the Army - it always conflicted with her Medical School classes so she's had to learn Army stuff as she's gone along.  She found out more details about her deployment - she won't be going to Ft. Hood until Aug. 25 and will be leaving for Iraq early in September.  She will be going to  Mosul.  She said most of the soldiers are disappointed that they will not be on the frontlines of the action.  Not me!!  I'm quite pleased with safety if such a thing is possible with a country at war.  When my son was over there 5 years ago, he worked in one of Hussain's palaces!

Another month of Monday Mailers.  Seems like I'm not the only one who struggles with making masculine cards.  I asked the gals what they wanted the theme to be for July and I got a couple of requests for masculine cards.  When I was at Ashley's, my supplies were limited.  She has this "Cheer to You" stamp set that I don't have so I made my card with it.  I wanted to make the beer foam with a white gel pen, but she didn't have one.  I even went to Michael's and JoAnns in search of one but with no luck.  So ... I stamped the foam onto white cardstock and cut it out.  There's more than one way to skin a cat!!  I used Brillant Blue, Creamy Caramel and More Mustard.  This was my card for the first week of July.

So, this weekend when I wasn't feeling so good, I managed to made this card.  It's pretty simple and uses BoHo Backgrounds which will be retiring in a couple of weeks.  I used Bordering Blue with Creamy Caramel and Close to Cocoa on this one with a brown Jumbo Brad.

This is the card I received last week from my MM partner, Danielle.  These colors are great!  She used the Butterfly Punch making it easy!!

Card Challenge 411

Sorry my posting has been sporatic.  Ever since I returned from Texas, I just have not felt good - allergies, vertigo ...!  I don't know how I lived in Texas for 22 years.  Of course, I had constant sinus drainage the whole time we were there and just thought that was normal.  And, every year, like clock work, I had sinus infections in February and October.  Since Ashley moved back there, we have visited her twice and I have come home sick both times.  Saturday, I was feeling good and thought I was on the road to recovery.  Yesterday, Sonny  & I went over to Concord Mills and then to Ben Franklin.  By the time I got home, I was so nauseous -  I crashed on the couch for a few hours and had saltines and butter for dinner!  Guess that was better than Sonny's dinner of ice cream & nuts!  Today I felt better so I took my decongestant and went to play bridge but I am dragging now. 

I did have a little time this weekend to make a card just for fun!  I did it for the Stamping 411 challenge.  I had seen this really cute flower and wanted to give it a try.  Here's the link to making the flower if you want to give it a try. 

This is the sketch I had to follow:

This is my card:

I used the designer paper from the Summer Mini, Island Oasis.  The piece of paper on the top actually has a white background but I sponged Rose Red over it (see sample below).  The flower is made with Rose Red cardstock; the leaves are from the Island Floral Die from the Summer Mini in Old Olive (I creased them down the middle and sponged them).

Here is a close up view of the DSP:

See, you can alter your paper any way you want it!

Well, Ashley left today for Fort Polk in Louisiana for her training for Iraq deployment.  She will be there for 2 weeks "roughin it".  I can't even imagine how hot and muggy it will be and I figure the mosquitoes will carry her away!  She'll be here late in July for a visit with us before leaving for Fort Hood in August and Iraq in September. 

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Whew, it's been hot the past few days!  When I got home yesterday after playing mahjong, Sonny was down at the boat chillin' (if that's possible when it's 90 degrees!)  I joined him about 4 pm with the hopes of the heat dying down some.  We rode around a little and then threw the anchor and he read his book while I napped.  The only problem was, I kept waking myself up with my snoring!  I'm still congested and was laying on my back ... otherwise, I don't think that I snore!!  We went to a restaurant on the lake - catfish for Sonny & BBQ for me - yum! 

This morning, I did a card demonstration for a friend's church group.  My sister, Marianne, came along to help out.  We had 12 ladies and I think they really enjoyed making the simple cards.  I always enjoy teaching others what I love.  Here is the card we made:

They had their choice of stamps from Pun Fun and Fun & Fast Notes.  We didn't emboss their cards - I did this one when I got home.  Simple, but cute.

After that, I stopped at a local produce stand in Mooresville and got some fresh veggies.  Sonny & I had good tomato sandwiches for lunch.  I know it's summertime when I can eat a wonderful tomato sandwich.  I have some tomatoes planted in one of the Topsy Turvy Tomato Hangers and I actually have 3 good sized tomatoes on it!  We went out again later in the afternoon on the boat but this time, there was not a breeze to be found.  It was soooo humid!  We kept moving our location trying to find a breeze.  It was another night of no cooking for me!  We went to a place on the lake and got a "to go" wedge salad with blue cheese and ate it right in our boat!  

I'm probably going to stay in tomorrow and work on getting my stamp room in some kind of order.  It's just a mess right now.  I need to make room for the new stamp pads and paper that I'll be getting next week along with a couple of stamps from the new catty.  I should also get a copy of the new catalog with the order too.  Can't wait!!

I've had a few people inquire about the designer paper I printed off My Digital Studio in THIS post.  If you don't have MDS (you really should get it!!) but want to print off the papers, you can do it with whatever design program you have - like Kodak, Photoshop, Corel, etc.  You just need to download the papers as a .jpeg file and download them into your program.  It's really easy and the downloads are pretty inexpensive.   Click HERE and look under Digital Crafting.

Designer Paper from MDS

I'm still not feeling my best but at least I didn't have the vertigo today.  I attended a Southern Living Luncheon today.  Each one of us make a dish out of a current Southern Living magazine and share.  After the meal, we critiqued the recipe - not the cook!  I chose a Two Cheese Summer Squash Casserole and it was delicious!  You can get the recipe HERE.  We started out the luncheon with two appetizers - Shrimp & Bacon Deviled Eggs and Stuffed Mushrooms w/pecans (both in April's mag.).  The salads were:  Greek Caesar Salad (April) and Picnic Potato Salad (May).  The entree was Lemon Chicken (June) with my squash and Oregano Green Beans (April) plus Herb Spoon Rolls (June).  For dessert we had Pecan-Peach Cobbler (June).  The hostess also served us Kentucky Mimosas .... yummy (March mag.)  Everything was delicious.  I don't like mushrooms but I was polite and tried one.  The only thing I didn't care for was the green beans - the flavor was good but the beans were tough.  It is a great way to try dishes you wouldn't ordinarily make. 

When I came home, I played around a bit in my craft room with My Digital Studio.  I was so pleased with the results!  I printed out some Designer Paper that is a recent download and I love it!  I was able to print out 4 to a page.  Here are the pages I did and a few of the cards I made with the DSP.  It is such pretty paper that you don't have to add anything to the card other than a sentiment.

 

 

Clearance Items

Stampin' Up is continuing to offer deals in the Clearance Rack.  The Crafter's Tool Kit is being offered now for $15.99.  It was $40 when it was offered in the catalog!  What a deal!

Other items include lots of Designer Paper, eyelets, ribbon and a new card kit.  Place your order by visiting my SU website and clicking on shop now HERE.

I got back home late Tuesday night with no problems.  We had a change of planes in Dallas.  We had an hour between flights but it was tight.  There were 5 wheelchair people on our flight into DFW.  So, we had to wait for each one to be brought off the plane; then wait for the cart to pick us all up and take us from Terminal C to Terminal A.  Just as we got to our gate, they were paging Mom to put her in the wheelchair to put her on the plane to Charlotte.  When I got all our stuff stored, I realized I'd left my electronic bridge game in the plane that I'd just gotten off of.  I love that game!  I've had it about eight years and would hate to lose it.  Today, I called the AA Lost & Found in Dallas and, of course, only got an answering machine so I left my message.  The flight was continuing on to Oklahoma City so I tried their Lost & Found.  Not only did I get to talk to a real person, but she had my game!!  Yay!  UPS will be delivering it back to me on Friday.   Today I haven't felt too good.  My allergies only seem to bother me when I'm in Texas and they really gave me fits last week.  I've been taking nasal decongestants, allergy decons, and Motrin. That on top of a touch of vertigo had me laying on the couch a lot today. I haven't had vertigo in a few years.  It's real weird - I get it every so often.  It always comes on while I'm sleeping and turn over, turning my head too fast.  Hopefull, I'll feel better tomorrow and be able to make a card to share.  It's been a long, dry spell!

Weight Watching Snacks and Tips

SNACK SIZE SWEET PINEAPPLE CORN MUFFINS
These muffins have a natural sweetness from the combination of corn and crushed pineapple. They are great as a snack or with a nice garden salad.

Serves 12
Ingredients
♦ 1 cup whole-wheat flower
♦ 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
♦ 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
♦ 1/3 cup sugar
♦ 1 tsp baking powder
♦ 1/2 tsp baking soda
♦ 1/2 teaspoon salt
♦ 3/4 cup buttermilk
♦ 2/3 cup fresh corn kernels, cut from 1 lg ear of corn
♦ 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in juice
♦ 2 eggs, lightly beaten
♦ 1 egg white, lightly beaten
♦ 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, flaxseed, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, corn, pineapple with juice, eggs, egg white, and butter. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the cornmeal mixture until moistened.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the muffins are lightly browned around the edges and have pulled away from the sides of the pan. Remove the muffins and let cool on a wire rack. ~~~Prevention Fiber Up, Slim Down Cookbook

100 CALORIE FROZEN TREATS
Frozen treats are good anytime of the year. You can indulge and enjoy without going overboard. It's a treat, not a meal.
♦ Nonfat frozen yogurt, 1/2 cup [2 golf balls]
♦ Light or fat-free ice cream 1/2 cup
♦ No-sugar-added ice cream, 1/2 cup
♦ Italian ice, 1/2 cup
♦ Chocolate ice cream, 1/3 cup [1/2 tennis ball]
♦ Super premium chocolate ice cream, 4 tbsp [golf ball]
♦ Sorbet, 1/2 cup
♦ Fudgsicle

How about those toppings? How 'safe' are they? Here are a few toppings listed with their corresponding calories per tablespoon.

♦ Whipped cream, 10
♦ Raisins, 27
♦ Granola, 28
♦ Chocolate syrup, 41
♦ Chopped almonds, 47
♦ Butterscotch topping, 52
♦ Chocolate chips, 52
♦ Strawberry topping, 53
♦ Hot fudge topping, 70
♦ M&M's, 71
♦ Chocolate sprinkles, 72
♦ Peanut butter candies, 75
~~~Heart Healthy Guide from Providence Hospital

DRIVE BY EATING!!

One thigh of Original Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken, 20 grams of fat. Make it Extra Crispy, and then it's 27 grams of fat. Oh heck, throw in the mashed potatoes, gravy and biscuit. That is a whopping total of 660 calories and 40 grams of fat in a single serving.

A Grilled Stuft Burrito with beef at Taco Bell, 680 calories and 30 grams of fat. Switching to chicken doesn't bring the totals down much, 640 calories and 23 grams of fat. (even though chicken is less fatty than beef, this menu item contains saturated and trans fats.)

A Big Mac at McDonald's, 540 calories and 29 grams of fat. The medium french fries bring in 380 calories and 19 grams of fat. Let's have water for our drink. Think it helps much? This meal comes to be a total of 920 calories and 48 grams of fat.

Burger King's Whopper, 670 calories and 39 grams of fat. Add cheese and the fat rises to 47 grams. Let's make it a combo, adding the medium fries, 20 more fat grams. With a medium coke added to your combo, your total calories and fat for this meal are 1330 calories and 67 grams of fat.

How about a Wendy's Baconator? It comes in at 830 calories and 51 grams of fat. Adding a medium order of fries and a medium chocolate Frosty and your eating a total of 1670 calories and 81 grams of fat in one meal!    ~~~Eat This and Live by Don Colbert, MD

Monday mailers for May plus a BD card

I have a few card shares for you.  These are cards I mailed out before I left NC.

This is the Monday Mailer I sent.  I used the die cut notecard and embossed it with a Big Shot embossing folder.  The paper behind the flower (die cut) is Pink Flamingo DSP and is on the Last Chance List.  The flower in the center is from Tropical Party (in the Summer Mini).  I made a Cameo Coral backing for the card using the Corner Punch and Scallop Punch.

This is a birthday card I made using some retired DSP.  The stamp is from Party Hearty (I think - I don't have my catty with me!).  The arrow punch (My Way punch) is being RETIRED and is on the Last Chance List.

This is a birthday card I mailed to my friend, Margaret's husband.  This is a Northwood stamp.  I will be teaching a class at Stampers Alley in a couple of weeks using this stamp and several other water/nature scenes similar to this one.