A Card for Twins!

I thought that I had posted this card but Ashley informed me today that I had not!  Her best friends in San Antonio had twins a week ago.  Lisa and Danny had a boy and a girl to bring home to big brother Ryan.  The babies are still in the hospital and Lisa is going there every 3 hours to feed them.  I know she'll be so glad to get them home in a few weeks.  I think this has been one of the hardest times for Ashley knowing those babies are here and she won't get to see them for so long.

 

I had so much fun making this card!  I used the large wheel, Baby Tees (pg 79 in SU catalog).  I wheeled it once on blue DSP and again on pink DSP and cut them out.  I free-handed the little tee shirt in the middle for Ryan and stamped "brother" on it from Everyday Flexible Phrases (retired) and then just wrote in "big" with a Sharpie.  The background paper is some I had in my stash (non SU).   The silver hangers are brads that I got at CKC a couple of years ago.  I hung them on the twine.  The sentiment is punched out with the Modern Label Punch.  So what do you think???

Now I have to get to work on two name frames for Alex and Julia.  I have bought the frames and they have been sitting amid the mess on my desk for a few days now.  I made a name frame for Ryan when he was born and Ashley told me it is still hanging in his room so I have to make one two for these babies!

Got my Mojo!

I forgot to mention our good Steelers news yesterday.  We always go to a local bar to watch the game with a bunch of other Steelers fans.  They do raffles during all the games of some great Steelers stuff.  At half-time, they draw 5-6 names and at the end of the game, they do one final raffle and it is always a authentic Steelers jersey.  The very first game, we won one of the prizes at half-time - a tee shirt and a Steelers gnome.  Well, yesterday we won the Steelers jersey!!  It was from the 1970's team (Steel Curtain) and was of Mel Blount.  I didn't even get to try the jersey on - it went straight to Sonny.  It still had the price tag on it - $300!!  Pretty cool, huh?

Today I made a card using the Mojo Monday sketch.  It's been a while since I did one of their sketches.  I had picked up this stamp a couple of weeks ago at H. L. and hadn't inked it yet.  I think it worked very well in this sketch.

 I turned the sketch on it's side so I could fit all my elements in there.  The ovals and rectangles are cut from Nestabilities.   The DSP is from a retired SU stack that was in last year's catalog.  I used my nifty Imaginisce tool to melt the bling onto the flower stem and in the center of the flower in the circle.  I wrapped the brown grosgrain ribbon on one side and used sticky strip to adhere it to the card.  I used the bow maker to make the bow.  Don't you love the saying?  Guess who I'm sending this card to!!

I bought a new laptop today and I'm so excited!!  There was a really good price at Best Buy but of course, when I got there, there were none left.  So, we had to order it.  That's ok - I can wait.  I have been using the Newcomer's laptop for two years while I have been Secretary/Newsletter. but I will be giving up that position at the end of the month (YAY! ) so I wanted my own laptop.  That's what I spent my first Social Security check on!! 

Last Chance for Holiday Mini

YAY!!  Steelers made it to the play-offs!!  And we get a bye next week to rest our players.  Our first play-off game will be Saturday, Jan. 15th.

REMINDER!!  11 PM Central Time (midnight / EST) on MONDAY, JAN. 3 IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER YOUR SUPPLIES OUT OF THE HOLIDAY MINI CATALOG!!  DON'T MISS OUT... did you get all the buttons, designer paper, stamps and accessories you want!?

I am so excited about our New Occasions Mini Catalog!  Just when you think it can't get any better Stampin' Up does it again!   And on top of that we have Sale-A-Bration  - our biggest sale of the year - starting the end of the month!   Free stamps, papers and accessories with each $50.00 purchase (before shipping and tax)!    This is definitely my favorite time of the year to purchase SU products so call or email me to schedule your workshop and receive all those FREEBIES!

January Calendar

Happy 2011 to you!  We had fun last night bringing in the New Year.  Today has been foggy and dreary ... a good day for doing nothing but lounging around!  We all need one of those once in a while.

As you know, I have been working on 6x6 calendars for my friends and family.  I am going to try to remember to post the month's calendar on the first of each month this year.  Or in this case, I am posting more than one January idea.  These were done on My Digital Studio.  It made making calendars soooo easy this year!!

Happy 2011!

created with SU's My Digital Studio

Happy New Year my friends!  I hope you enjoy a safe and prosperous 2011!  I am going to my sister's house to bring in the New Year.  I was able to talk to Ashley before she went to bed but by now, it is 2011 for her! 

Finally!

Finally .... I used some of my new toys!   I made a card this morning before tackling  the Christmas decorations!  I used the Blossoms Punch and the stamp set, Build A Blossom from the Occasions Mini Catalog which will go into effect January 1.  So ... if there is anything that you have been wanting to get from the Holiday Mini Catalog, today and tomorrow are the last days that you can order from it.

I also decided to do a Color Challenge from Splitcoast.  If you have been a long time follower of my blog, you know that I love doing challenges.  But, it has probably been six months since I have had time to do a one.  I am going to start to challenge myself more!!  The color challenge was to use Old Olive, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight and neutrals.  Those are great colors for a man's card - which I also need to do for my brother's birthday - but I decided to do a flower instead.

 

 The punch makes it so easy to make the flower.  I stamped the petals onto Shimmery White card stock and punched away!  To adhere them to the card, I punched a circle of SU's adhesive paper (in the Holiday Mini - love it!) and put the tips of the petals on it in a circle.  I ran the Old Olive through the Big Shot using the Little Leaves Sizzix die.  The Daffodil scallop is a Martha punch. 

This is the center of my flower - how cool!  I got this neat tool for Christmas.  It is an I-Rock Bling heat setting tool.  You put the bling where you want it and heat set it with the tool.  The heat transfers through the bling and activates the glue.  Probably overkill on the bling, but I was having fun!

Well, I'm off to work on taking down the decorations while Sonny is here to help!  Hope you have a great day!

Final Christmas Cards

I need to start the dreaded chore of taking down the Christmas tree and finding all the boxes the decorations go in.  Then hauling it all upstairs and into the attic!  Wish I had a closet that I could just put the tree into - decorations and all - and just pull it out next year!  Before I pack everything away, thought I'd share a few of the hand-made cards I received from my friends this year.

This first one is from my up-line, Carol

From Cathy.  She is in my card group and just started stamping this year.  Isn't she doing a great job?!

From Vicki.  She inspired me with this card and I made quite a few similar ones.  I also had to go out and buy this Just Rite stamp set!!

From Brenda who owns Stampers Alley.  This was also an inspiration to me using non-traditional colors.

From Margaret.  This stamp set was the most popular SU set this year I believe.

Another one using Greeting Card Kids.  This is from Jennifer who was in my Stamp Club in Gig Harbor, WA.

This beauty is from Sharon "girlfriend".  Love the jewel in the center!

Last but definitely not least, this is from Judy.  I just love the vintage cardstock.  No stamping involved (except inside) and it is a beauty!

I drove up to Hickory today and had fun just going from store to store!  I had to go by the Social Security Office so while I was in town, I took advantage and went to Hobby Lobby, AC Moore, Best Buy and the mall.  I left the house a little after 1 pm and didn't get home until close to 7:30 pm!!  Sonny said he was sure glad he didn't go with me!  I scored some good buys at Hobby Lobby that I'll be playing with tomorrow.  I also will be working on two name frames for new babies.  Ashley's best friends had twins yesterday - a boy and a girl.  I think this has been the hardest thing for Ashley while she has been in Iraq - not being in San Antonio to see Lisa and Danny's new additions.

My First White Christmas

We had our family Christmas yesterday at my house in spite of the snow!  We probably had about 4-5" of snow at our house - more than they had in Charlotte or Mooresville.  Marianne came over a little early by herself.  She had to go to work this morning at 3:00 AM to do inventory in Lincolnton.  So, she left around 4:30 pm to drive to Lincolnton to get a motel room so she wouldn't have to navigate the icy streets at that time in the morning.  (Better her than me!!)  Her husband, Greg, swung by and picked up my mom and Angela.  The streets in Mooresville were not bad they said but when they got closer to my house, it was a different story!  Everyone made it safe and sound except my brother who lives in Charlotte.  He didn't make it here. so we had Christmas without him!  

Even Ashley joined us for our Christmas gift giving!  We set up Marianne's laptop in the den and Skyp-ed her so she could watch us!  That was so special.  Wow!  Modern technology is great!  Someone mentioned at the end of the day that we should have set her up in the dining room while we were eating our Christmas dinner.  I just think that would have been cruel!!  Don't think she would have enjoyed watching us eat the mashed potato casserole that is one of her favorites or the apple pie!

This morning I put some of the Christmas pictures on a scrapbook page using My Digital Studio.  So fast and so fun!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

 I had a nice and quiet Christmas - just Sonny and I.  I told him we'd gone full circle - from when we first were married and it was just the two of us to now when our kids are gone and it is just the two of us once again!  We were able to "skype" with Ashley this morning and also with our bother-in-law and our niece and her kids.  Later in the day, we went to the movies.  Now we know where everyone goes on Christmas!   To the movies.  We wanted to see True Grit but it was sold out so we ended up finding a couple of seats to see The Little Fockers.  It was funny and good entertainment.

One of the neatest things about today was the snow!  It was my first white Christmas!!  It snowed almost all day and was so pretty!  In fact, as I'm writing this post, it is 11:00 pm and it is STILL SNOWING!! We probably have a couple of inches with more predicted for tonight and tomorrow.  My family is supposed to come over tomorrow for our family Christmas.  Sure hope they are able to - I've been making casseroles and salads for a couple of days!  I would hate for Sonny & I to have to eat it all ourselves.  We're about sick from all the junk  we've eaten today!

This was taken about 5 pm - my Steeler man is getting cold blowing in the wind!

Now that Christmas is over, the next holiday celebration is Valentine.  Did you know that Valentine's Day is the second biggest holiday for sending cards?  Stampin' Up has a Filled With Love Promotion going on.  During the Filled with Love promotion, you can get an exclusive package of Designer Series Paper perfect for creating cards for family, friends, classmates, and more!  From December 17, 2010 through January 24, 2011, you can get a FREE package of Bitty Buttons--a $4.95 value--when you purchase an exclusive Filled with Love Bundle.  For details - click HERE.

Contact me with your order OR you can order on-line from me.

Wishing You a Merry Christmas!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Sonny and I will be spending Christmas Day with each other.  Our family celebration will be on Sunday when my mom, sisters and brother and all their respective families will come to my house.

Please say a prayer for me that Skype is up and working tomorrow so we can visit with Ashley and other members of our family that are many miles away!

Here are the final things that I have made in the past few days - mostly holders for gift cards and money!!

 I did several of these little plastic Christmas jars with candy inside and a gift card hanging off.

 This holds a little hand sanitizer.

Open Hand Sanitizer

These little guys hold money inside their little packages.

Gift Card Holder

Gift Card Holder

Gift Card Holder

Gift Card Holder

Gift Card Holder