A Productive Day!

I stuck to my guns on Saturday and stamped all day!  Oh what fun!  Of course, I had to take a little time in the morning to chat with Ashley.  Skype is such a wonderful thing!  We probably talk to each other as much now as we did when she was state-side.  Although this week, we have both been busy and haven't chatted in several days.  We made up for it yesterday though!  She is doing well and making the most of her life in Iraq.  She went to a "Hail and Farewell" one day this week.  All the companies put on skits where they make fun of something (or someone) there and the company who does the best gets to reward the "prize" to the person who was the butt of the joke in their skit.  Ashley's group won this time.  She says they never win and usually end up getting the booby prize.  In their skit, they did it all about the Captain who is in charge of the dining facility.  It seems that she practically strip searches the soldiers as they are leaving because you can only take 2 items out of the cafeteria.  If you can't make it to a meal (which in the doctors' case, is quite a lot since they are on call every other day until 8 pm), you can't have someone bring you a meal.  UNLESS, you have filled out the forms - a month in advance - and presented them to the captain in advance AND she hasn't lost them (which is the case for this month!).  Crazy, huh??  The forms have to be signed by a LT. Col and a couple of others.  Ashley said a couple of days ago, she & the the LT. Col. were at dinner and tried to take a meal back to one of the medics.  They were not allowed to because their forms had been lost - even though the LT. Col. who would have signed the memo was the one making the request.  Needless to say, Ashley eats a lot of her meals in her room - things we have sent her like mac & cheese, pretzels, with mustard, popcorn, etc.  Another problem with the mess hall is she has to be dressed in her uniform in order to go in to eat.  The gym is right next door and Ashley does Yoga there several times a week and doesn't usually want to get dressed again just to go in the cafeteria.  They are not allowed to go in with just their work out clothes (shorts & tee) on.  You would think this was some fancy restaurant - not an Army Mess Hall!!  One of the drawbacks to Ashley eating in her room (in my opinion!) is she is eating way too many carbs.  Even she remarked yesterday about it.  It is hard to think of things to send that she can microwave in her room that are not carb-packed.  Any suggestions out there?  I am sending a stick of pepperoni this week and suggested to a friend to send a stick of summer sausage.  I actually sneaked a few oranges in her box last week.  I forgot you can't send fruit overseas and was afraid it would get stuck in Customs.  But she received the box in the usual time.  It is great that it only takes about a week to get a Priority box to her!  Her birthday is December 22 so I will be getting a birthday box together this week.

While I was working away, my DH hollered up to me to look out the window.  To my surprise, this is what I saw:

 SNOW!!  We had a few flurries - mixed in with sleet off and on for about an hour.  Nothing stuck of course but it was sure fun to see!

Now - on to my creations!  I actually did several Christmas cards AND several Valentine cards!  During my blog reading last week, I came across one of my favorite designers, Gretchen Barron's request for Valentine cards for From Our Hearts who are collecting Valentine cards for the troops in Iraq and Afganistan.  You can read about it - and Gretchen's contest - HERE.  So before I got started with my Christmas cards, I whipped up a few Valentines.  They are pretty simple - using some DSP I had in my stash and/or some embossed cards I have had for a long time.

 This Hugs & Kisses card uses some DSP that I found in a pack.  I just added the Hugs & Kisses sentiment.

 This is an embossed card that I have had for over 5 years  - I made two of them and finally have used up those cards!  I used markers to color the LOVE and chalked the background in pink.

 Another of those embossed cards.  I stamped "miss U" with a retired SU set (All About You) and punched out some little hearts and glued them over the embossed hearts.

Another piece of DSP from a pack I found.  I stamped the boat onto cardstock and colored it with markers.  This is another SU retired set - Boatloads of Love.

Do you notice a theme?  I have my SU stamp sets on shelves in loose alpha order.  I started with the top shelf (A-D) and pulled stamp sets that I could use in Valentine and Christmas cards.  I am trying to use some of my neglected stamp sets!  Tomorrow I will share the Christmas cards I made so come back!!

Gotta run so I can decorate my tree before I attend an Open House Tour in my neighborhood.  There will be four houses in the tour all decorated for Christmas with different themes.  There will be appetizers and wine at each home.  The proceeds will go toward a Palliative CareCenter & Hospice that will be built soon in my town.  Then back home to get dinner ready so we can eat in front of the TV tonight while pulling on our Steelers in a TOUGH game!! 

Another Holiday Planner Winner

Since I never heard from Becka who was one of the winners of my blog candy, I picked another number today.  The winner is:  Cindylu2u

 Cindylu2u said:
I'm just in awe of your work, fantastic cards!! I am now a follower and can't wait to see more!! Thanks
 

November 28, 2010 1:50 PM

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

45 

Timestamp: 2010-12-05 15:49:38 UTC

 

 

Contact me Cindy and I will send you one of the Holiday Planners!  Congratulations!!

As Promised - Christmas Cards

Best plans .... you know what they say!  My plan for today was  to stay home and work on Christmas cards.  Well .... didn't happen!  I got an e-mail from a friend this morning asking me if I would come and help out at Christian Missions sorting through our angel gifts we had collected for under-privileged children.  Unfortunately, the way the program was run this year (through Newcomers) was not good.  The gal in charge didn't quite understand how it all worked.  So, some children in the same family were receiving 4-5 packages while others in the family were only receiving 1-2.  And remember - we collected about 85 gifts!  But we got it all sorted out this afternoon - taking from some and giving to others and going to the store to supplement a few.  I think it will all be good and a lot of children will be happy at Christmas.  So that was my afternoon.  My morning was spent on the phone with Social Security trying to sort out my benefits.  I have an appointment next week in Hickory at the Social Security office and hopefully, will get it all sorted out.  I was told to bring my marriage license!  After 37 years, I was a little worried about that one.  But, never fear, my husband is a great one for putting everything in its place and even knowing where it is so he was able to find it. 

After dinner, I found time to make a couple of cards and hopefully, tomorrow, I will make a bunch more!!  I received my first Christmas cards today so I've gotta get cracking!!  It's supposed to be cold here for the next several days - the highs only in the low to mid 40's all week - so it will be good weather to stay inside and get some things done.  I opened the box the Christmas tree was in today and put it up but I haven't done anything else to it!  We got a new tree last week - just a small 5" artificial tree but the best thing is, it is PRE LIT!!  I love it - I don't have to fight with the cords - or with my husband - to put the lights on!!  He was thrilled tonight too when he came to dinner & saw a lit tree.

 

Isn't this adorable?  I CASE'd this from a card that was sent to me last year.   I just used the SU Square Punches for his body and used my Copics to draw on his eyes, nose, etc.  The brown pieces are Early Espresso and Soft Suede punched with the Word Window Punch.

  

This cute little guy is a retired SU stamp - Twigster.  I found the background paper in my stash.  I used my Big Shot and Spellbinders for the circles.  The paper is Poppy Parade (SU Incolor).

It's that busy time of year

Another busy day today - but think most people's calendars get pretty full this time of year.  I'm hoping to stay home tomorrow and work on Christmas cards!!  I went to a Southern Living Luncheon today.  We had 12 ladies there and great food.  We each made something from the Oct, Nov or Dec issue of Southern Living.  Yum!!  We had appetizers - meatballs & bruschetta; 2 salads - a pear and lettuce salad and another one with broccoli, cheese, mayo, cauliflower; potato-onion soup; 2 kinds of bread - Sour Cream Cornbread (my contribution) and Jordan yeast rolls; ham and sweet potatoes.  Then of course we had to finish it off with 2 desserts - a fruit tart and apple cake.  Needless to way, I could have waddled home!!  Luckily, we only have these luncheons every 3 months so we can diet in between.  I made little favors for everyone as seen below.  I used the cute Candy Wrapper Die from the Holiday Mini (it will be carried over after Christmas!)  I put a couple of chocolate nuggets in the box and they looked so cute on the table.

Didn't the table look nice and festive?

She had her tree - and entire house decorated and ready for Christmas.  I haven't even started ....what about you?  After lunch we did a Chinese gift exchange.  I received a set of cocktail plates and holiday napkins.

This evening we met my mom in Mooresville for a Christmas dinner/party with her Blind Association group.  Our family was well represented with mom, my sister, Angela, my sister, Marianne & her husband and me and my hubbie.  My mom is legally blind - she has Retinosa Pigmentosa.  They also did a Chinese Gift Exchange.  Since, I didn't go home after our luncheon to get my gift for the exchange, I used the gift I'd received earlier in the day.  So, when my number came up, the gift was still available, I picked it and hoped no one would "steal" it from me.  Well .... I should have known - my sister, Marianne, stole it!!  So I got to pick another gift.  Unknowingly, I picked the gift she had brought - a cute pair of soft slipper socks with a cute reindeer on them.  When we left, she gave me back my gift - I would use them more than she would.  She just stole it to "get my goat!"

I promise - I'll have some cards to share with you tomorrow!!

WINNERS!

THIS WILL STAY ON TOP UNTIL SUNDAY - STILL WAITING ON SCRAPPERBECKA - IF I DON'T HEAR FROM HER, I WILL DRAW ANOTHER NUMBER SUNDAY.

Welcome to my first Blog Giveaway!!  I was blown away by all the wonderful comments I received in my Blog Hop.  So I decided to do THREE give-aways instead of two!   

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

28 42 36 

Timestamp: 2010-11-30 22:36:18 UTC

Winner of Tag Holder and Tags:  

 CardMonkey said...

Love, love, LOVE your cards! Beautiful and inspirational. I am now a proud follower! Merry Christmas and happy New Year, with all the blessings of good health and prosperity to you and your family.

Winner of Holiday Planner #1: 
scrapperbecka said...
Very cute cards! You did a awesome job! I am now a follower, love your work.

Winner of Holiday Planner #2:  Giselle Varela
Giselle said...i love all of your projects. New follower :) the planner is soooooooooooooooooo beautiful!!

Contact me with your mailing address and I will get your goodies in the mail to you!  If I do not hear from you by December 5 (Sunday), I will draw more names.


Congratulations!

Thanksgiving Cards

I'm playing catch up!!  I received two great Thanksgiving cards that I want to share with you.

 

This one is from Margaret.   She stamped the leaves for the background onVanilla cardstock and used the Scallop Punch to scallop the edges.  It is matted on Soft Suede.  The apples in the center are from a retired SU set.   She pricked holes all around the edges of the apples and the sentiment.  Love it!

This masterpiece is from Judy.  She used non SU stamps and embossed the leaf in the center (I think!)  It is just beautiful!

Thanks gals!

I have been working on a couple of calendar pages today for a stamp club that I am in.  We each take two months and make a full page calendar page.  When we get together, we bind them and Leslie usually makes a cover sheet for all of us.  The months I chose this time were January and October.  I had actually almost finished them last week but I wasn't 100% sold on them.  So, today it was back to the drawing board!!  Now, I'm satisfied!

 I am loving this digi-download!  I was able to copy it to my word processing program and make it a little larger.  I paper-pieced his hat and used Flower Soft on his scarf.  Here is a close up:

Here is my October page:

This is actually more digi!  I did a search for free digital paper and found this great plaid and the little tag.  I embossed the paper with SU's Spider Web embossing folder.  I found the Trick or Treat ribbon in my stash and cut it apart and secured it in the corner of the page.  The little ghost is a brad that I have had for about 5 years!  "Spooky" is from SU's Wicked Fun stamp set.  Here is a close up:

 Hope these inspire you today.

Final Days to Sign Up Plus Christmas Cards

If you're considering signing up as a demonstrator during Stampin' Up's great Half-Off Sale, time is running out.  You have until Tuesday - Nov. 30!!  Contact me to get your password and you can sign up on-line!!

I had so much fun yesterday blog hopping!  I visited all the sites on the Christmas Card Blog Hop that I participated in and got so many great ideas!  I appreciate all the people who left wonderful comments about my cards and became followers of my blog.  You inspire me to work harder on being creative!!

So, yesterday and today, I found time to make a few Christmas cards.  I hope you enjoy them.

This is probably my least favorite.  I have just never liked this green color (retired anyway!) but it matched the ribbon and the green leaves (plus I have a bunch of it left over).  I stamped the Cardinal on watercolor paper and used Tombows to color him along with my Aqua Brush.  I cut him out with SU's Top Note Die and matted it with Real Red.  I glued down 2 strips of ribbon on either side of the red strip.  Both the green card and the red strip, I ran through an embossing folder.  The sentiment is a digi stamp and I found.

This is my favorite!!  The snowman and the "Building a Snowman" are digis that I purchased from The Cutting Cafe.  I haven't used digi stamps much but I really loved this one!!  I paper pieced his hat and used Flower Soft on the scarf.  The red ribbon is from Stampin' Up.

This is another digital stamp that I found on the internet.  I colored him my Copics.  The pink ribbon is Stampin' Up.  I dipped the pink brad in glitter after putting Towbow Glue on it.

So which is your favorite?

Christmas Card Blog Hop 2010

Welcome to my Inkie Fingers!  We are so excited to have you join us today.  You may have just come from Courtney's blog or you may be one of my followers or you may have just stumbled here…however you got here, you’ll be very glad you did!  Be sure to take the whole tour! - welcome!   There are about 30 blogs included in the hop and some of them are giving away Blog Candy.   

I decided to make my theme Christmas Trees and used a variety of stamps and folding methods to create three cards for you to enjoy.  The first one uses a retired set from Stampin' Up called Patterned Pines.  I just purchased this set last year and wasn't ready for it to retire!  Oh well, they didn't ask me, did they?  I stamped the trees on white cardstock and then embossed them in copper and cut them out.  The base of the card is Night of Navy with Pear Pizazz and Poppy Parade.  I used the oval Spellbinders dies and my Big Shot for the ovals.  The sentiment ("be merry") is also from a retired set (Warm Words) but there is a very similar set in the current SU catalog (Short & Sweet).

 Here is a close-up of the trees:

 My next Christmas Tree card uses a folding technique that I discovered on someone's blog but do you think I can remember whose it was???  (remembered - it was on Connie's blog!)  I cut out a 5 1/2" circle from Designer Paper with the Circle Scissors Plus (SU - pg 199), cut it in half and then made 3 folds to create the tree shape.  The base card is Crumb Cake and the DSP is retired.  I found this great ribbon in my stash and had to use it!

 Here's a close up of the tree - love that Glimmer Brad from SU's Holiday Mini Catalog!

My next card uses SU's Snow Swirled.  I stamped it on the Bride & Groom DSP and embossed it with Dazzling Diamonds.  I just love the elegance of this card with the pearls.

 Here is a close-up of the tree and the pearls:

I realized after I did these three cards that most of the things I used were retired.  So, I had to do one more and use a beautiful SU Sizzix Snowflake Die!  I just love the simplicity of this card!!

This card uses Night of Navy for the base card and Cherry Cobbler (one of my favorites!) and Shimmery White card stock.  The navy striped ribbon is included in the Ribbon Bundle in Stampin' Up's Spectacular Sale that is going on right NOW but ends Tuesday, Nov. 30.  Details can be found HERE .

Well, I hope you have enjoyed my Christmas Cards as much as I enjoyed making them.    I will be giving away BLOG CANDY if you leave a comment. And I hope you will come back to visit me or even become a FOLLOWER of my blog!!  Here is my Blog Candy - Holiday Planner and a Tag Pouch for 2 lucky people:

EDITED TO ADD - I'll draw for Blog Candy on Tuesday.  Deadline will be noon EST Tuesday, 11/30.

To continue on the blog hop, visit Holly - 1Crafty Dame!!

Thanksgiving Fun

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  It's always so nice to be with family and friends.   We had a great day.  We were able to visit with Ashley via "Skype" which was great.  I was worried Mom would not be able to see Ashley on the computer screen but she did and cried while talking to her.  Which started the rest of us crying!  Ashley told us she didn't want any crying while talking to her.  She had already had her Thanksgiving dinner and treated several soldiers for "turkey bowl" football injuries!  I am always thankful for my guests but what I enjoy about having Thanksgiving at my house is that everyone pitches in to help.  My sister, Marianne, and I do most of the cooking, but the others help with setting up the table, fixing beverages and, best of all, the clean-up!!  My sister, Angela, is the best dishwasher there is!! 

Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving.

This was Derek (Marianne's oldest) BEFORE dinner!! 

 Angela, Marianne & Me

Angela, Sharon (girlfriend) and my Mom.



 Harrison (Marianne's youngest) lighting the candles before dinner

 I made these the night before and put one at each person's plate.

Ashley surprised me with the table decoration!

Be sure and stop by tomorrow.  I am participating in a Christmas Blog Hop!  I've prepared some great Christmas tree cards for you.  There will be about 34 blogs in the hop so you are sure to get some great ideas for your Christmas cards.  The hop will go live at 10:00 am Saturday.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010



Made with My Digital Studio (which is 50% off right now!!)

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey be plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the friends and family that you will share it with.  I will be missing both my children this Thanksgiving.  I know my daughter-in-law will be cooking a delicious meal for my son and their children in Arizona.  They will be in our thoughts today.  My daughter will be eating her meal in Iraq while protecting our country.  We will talk to her later in the day via Skype.  Her grandmother is coming over early so she can "talk" to her also.  This will be the first time they have talked since Ashley left in August.  We received a beautiful centerpiece for our table yesterday from Ashley.  I was very surprised!  So she will be with us in spirit.

Our Pittsburgh Trip

Are you getting ready for Thanksgiving .... making the pies, thawing the turkey, getting ingredients together for the stuffing?  I've been to the store and gotten most of what I need.  I'm sure I'll be making another run to the store later today (or maybe talk Sonny into it!)  We always have Thanksgiving at my house with me doing most of the salads, veggies, pies and cooking the turkey.  But, Marianne usually comes over a day or two before Thanksgiving and spends the night so we can get started on our preparations.  She makes the sweet potato casserole and dressing each year.  She arrived late yesterday afternoon and we  played in my stamp room most of the night while watching tv (Dancing With the Stars).  She's making calendars and I'm trying to finish up my Thanksgiving cards  I was really pulling for Brandy but she got eliminated last week so my next favorite was Kyle.  I really figured Jennifer Gray would win but I was not pulling for her.  I was pretty sick of hearing her whine and cry every week about her injuries.  But, of course, she was the winner. 

I realized I hadn't shared my pictures from my recent Pittsburgh trip!

Don't these look yummy?  We went shopping down at the Strip District and these were for sale.  Can you believe I didn't even buy anything???

At the Steelers game all decked out in my black and gold.  It was raining a little bit when we first got there but it quit before kickoff.

This is the doormat that is now at my front door!  This is how the Pittsburgh'ers talk!

 Isn't this gorgeous?  This is Franco Harris'  Super Bowl Ring from the 70s!! 

Mr. Rogers!  We went to a History Museum while we were there.  Mr Rogers was from Pittsburgh.  My kids loved his show.

This is how Sonny would like to fix his car up!!  This was actually someone's car and he donated it to the museum.  Ain't it cool?

Sonny at the Consol Energy Center where the Penguins (hockey) play.  Unfortunately they lost in overtime but we had fun anyway!

Details about the On Line Spectacular

Call me with your order OR order on-line HERE

Click HERE for the details of the great sale!!

On Line Spectacular!

Stampin' Up is offering an Online Spectacular--a one-week sale with discounts up to 50 percent!!   "Door busters" include:

My Digital Studio - 50 percent off!
Designer Fabric - 50 percent off!
Free shipping on online or demonstrator orders of $150 or more!
 
More details will be available on Monday!!
 
*****************************************************************
 
Also, here are the answer to a few questions I've gotten lately about becoming a SU demonstrator:
 
1. What are the minimum sales requirements?

You only need to submit $300 in sales per quarter or $100. per month.

2. What if I want to do this as a hobby and not necessarily a business?
Stampin’ Up! supports all demonstrators, no matter their goals or the level at which they choose to run their business.  If you choose not to hold workshops, you can simply place your own orders and/or collect orders from family and friends to equal the $300 quarterly sales minimum.

3. Can I be my own hostess?
Yes. Invite your family and friends into your home and have a workshop, or place your own order equaling $150. or higher to receive these benefits.

4. How does the 30% Discount on my first order work?
Once you sign up, you have 45 days from that date to place a $150. or higher order and receive a 30% discount on the entire order (plus hostess benefits). If you need a small amount of supplies before you are ready to place this order, you can order then without forfieting this Special Offer.

5. How much does it cost to get started as a demonstrator? 
The Starter Kit is only normally $175.00, and it includes everything you will need to get your business up and running, including stamp sets, ink, paper, catalogs, order forms, a training video, and more ($310 value). You have your choice between the Standard Starter Kit or the My Digital Studio Starter Kit, and if you’re interested in scrapbooking, you can also select the Stampin’ Memories Add-On for an additional $50 ($80 value).

UNTIL NOVEMBER 30th, both of these kits are available for $87.50

Punch Info

Please note that the following items are temporarily unavailable for ordering due to quality issues:

2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch (item 118874)
Ornament Punch (item 119847)

Stampin'Up! is currently working with the vendor to solve these quality issues. We understand these problems with two of our punches pose issues.  Please be assured that wSU is doing all  they can to solve this problem as soon as possible.

Since the Ornament Punch is part of the ABCs of the Perfect Handmade Holiday promotion, the following bundles will be affected by this issue and will not be available for ordering:

Tags 'til Christmas Bundle 2 (w-124478; c-124477)
Tags 'til Christmas Bundle 2 (Spanish w-124482; c-124481)
Tags 'til Christmas Bundle 2 (French w-124480; c-124479) 

Update on other punches :

Decorative label punch # 120907 is NO longer on backorder.

The XL Fancy Flower punch #118073 and the 2 1/2" Circle punch #120906 should be available after Dec 1, 2010

So sorry for the inconvenience .

Club Projects

I had my last Club meeting yesterday.  We will start again in January with making calendars.  We had a small group yesterday - only 4 gals but we made enough mess for a dozen!!  They wanted to make tags so I had gotten out all my Christmas stamps, punches, paper, and ribbon so they could create on their own.  We also made tag holders to put the tags in like the ones HERE.  They turned out really cute with everyone making a different one.

We also made a Gift Card Holder that is really cute! 

Isn't he darling?  Of course, this is the Owl Punch.  I used the Snowflake Punch for his antlers.  The gift card holder uses the Sizzix Two Tags Die (pg 206).  This is a very versatile die.  Not only does it make great tags but if you put the fold of your paper above the cut line on the die, it makes this holder.  If you don't understand, let me know and I will take a picture of what I am talking about!

Gift Card Holder opened - insert gift card where green paper is.

I also showed them how to stamp on candles.  Don't you love how this candle turned out?  I used the Bells and Boughs stamp set from the mini catalog for the poinsettas.  My club gals stamped on tea lights.

Well, I am headed out the door to get my hair cut, meet my sister for lunch and do some Angel Tree shopping!  Hopefully, when I return home, I can begin to dig through the mess that I call a stamp room!!

What a Deal!

Just a reminder about the great special Stampin' Up is offering right now!  

As many of you know Stampin Up! is having an amazing deal for those who want to join Stampin' Up! What I just found out was you can buy this kit (which has over $99.00 just in stamps OR the My Digital Studio and starter kit...the MDS is worth $79.00) right now until the end of November for an unbelievable price of $87.50 (plus free shipping.)  This is worth over $310.00 in total products (paper or digital items plus business supplies.) AND you do not have to sell anything every again.  Or you can place your first order within 45 days and get a 30% discount. You don't have to live near me to join - anyone in the USA can do this.

Let me know if you are interested in signing up!