Monday, September 29, 2008

Witchy Woman

Happy Monday, folks! I hope you had a good day! I have two quick pics for you, and then I'm off to get some zzzz's.

First one is of the baby with his cute, toothy grin.


Second one is my awesome Halloween card. I LOVE Trick or Treat Peeps from Unity, and I LOVE SU! chunky glitter. How fun to add a border of glitter like this!


Sorry I don't have much to say today. Perhaps I'll be in more of a "bloggy" mood tomorrow! :-)
Until then,

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Trick or Treat Peeps!

Yay for weekends! My whole little family is together for two glorious days! Of course, it looks like it is going to rain, so we may be holed up all weekend, but we'll see!

Yesterday I managed to stamp ONE thing during the baby's afternoon nap, but I LOVE the one thing I stamped!!! Here it is:


I got the template for this adorable little boxy bag from Jody Morrow's blog. I used Trick or Treat Peeps from Unity. I punched the handle with my SU! word window punch, but I don't like the bigger hole, so if I ever do it again, I will follow Jody's directions better! :-) I colored the little cuties in with my SU! markers, because I wanted a nice bold look. You know, Halloween is the ONLY time I would ever consider putting these colors together! :-) The ribbon is from Taylored Expressions Halloween Key Ingredients. I put a bag of those yummy marshmallow creme pumpkins in there. I have to whip up another one of these so I have one for each nephew!!! Do you think these would mail very well? I have more nieces and nephews, but I would have to mail them.... hmmmm....

That's all for me today!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Tired Friday

Good morning, peeps!

For some reason, I'm really tired today, and I don't know why! For the first time in MONTHS, I actually napped when the baby napped this morning, instead of stamping or cleaning. So I'm posting a card I made yesterday. I guess I forgot to blog yesterday! Sorry! This was for a challenge on the Unity forum at SCS--to use our favorite patterned paper and our favorite phrase/quote from Unity stamps. Well, I know you've seen this stamp before, but it is STILL my favorite Unity quote! The paper is not necessarily my favorite, but it is one I really like!



Yesterday the baby decided to take a break during play to sit down, which he did in/on a basket full of toys. He sat there for several minutes, leaning back against the daybed, just chilling out, before I FINALLY realized, "hey, I should take a picture!" So I missed the chilling out, and got him about to get up.


Well, he and I are off to the grocery store! Have a great Friday, and--

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Paper Piecing and Alzheimer's Awareness

Good morning. There was some confusion about whether this week's Unity Customer Challenge was for paper PIERCING or paper PIECING! I think it was finally figured out to be for paper piecing. If you don't know what that is, it is simply (or not so simply, sometimes) stamping your image on patterned paper, and cutting the pieces out to glue on top of a stamped image. In my example here, I have stamped my tree (from Unity's Eco Chic) three times. Once on the white background, once on kiwi kiss and once on chocolate chip (both from SU! Bella Rose paper pack.) The leaves were cut out of the kiwi kiss and the trunk was cut from the chocolate chip. It really gives the tree some nice texture and more of a 3D feel, don't you think?


If you haven't heard about Cammie's Heart to Heart Blog Candy, you need to check out her post. Folks from all over were incredibly generous, offering up over $1000 in stamping goodies to help Cammie promote Alzheimer's Awareness. All you have to do is make a card and send it to a caretaker of someone with Alzheimer's. She even has an address for you to send to if you don't know someone to send it to! Please read her post for more details. This tree card is my contribution to the cause. I recently attended a quilt show with my mom, and was SO moved by the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. It is a traveling display of quilts made by people who took care of/lost loved ones with Alzheimer's. The way these artists/quilters commemorated the experience through the quilts was nothing short of phenomenal. Check the schedule on this website to find out when this quilt show is coming near you, and GO! You will be so moved. I promise you.

That is what I have for you today! Have a great day, and--

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Baby in a Box


I know this is my STAMPING blog, but I just can't help sharing cute baby pics!! He lifted this box and was carrying it around with him, so I couldn't resist tucking him inside it to see what he'd do! He thought it was funny for a few minutes!


Here is a duo of Halloween cards I made for two of my nephews: one who is obsessed with pirates, and the other who doesn't like anything scary. Can you guess which card is which? This cupcake set is so cute from Taylored Expressions. I am obsessed with cupcakes, and when I saw the pirate cupcake, I knew my nephew would need me to make this card for him. Funny how you can justify your stamp purchases in so many ways, huh? Well, since I sold all of my retired SU! sets for a good large sum, I figured a little splurge for my nephew would be okay!


I'll be back tomorrow with some more SU! goodies!! Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I love hearing from you, so please leave me a comment! I'm thinking about starting an SU! only blog, and including some tutorials and more directions for my cards.... please let me know if that is something you would be interested in.

Meanwhile,

Saturday, September 20, 2008

A Baby Goatee?

Yup! See?


Okay, so it is really mushy biter biscuit, but it kinda looks like a goatee, doesn't it? *grin*

Here is another card I did with embossing on patterned paper. I love this effect!


This Urban Garden Designer paper is my favorite!

And I finally started using my Pretties kit!!! The Tombow Multi glue works so well to adhere these flat back pearls! Oh, and if you haven't used that new double sided kiwi kiss ribbon, you MUST! It is divine!
In fact, you can order it online from me! Just click on the online ordering button on the right, and it will take you to my Stampin' Up! website. Click on shop now, and enjoy your shopping!

Friday, September 19, 2008

Saturday Snow

Happy Saturday, friends!

No baby pic today, sorry Aunt Chris! :-) I'll try to remember to take one tomorrow. He had a really good day today. He is having a blast eating "real" food--chicken, peas, pasta, beans, cantaloupe, all sorts of fun stuff! He is also learning to KISS, which is really cute. Today he was sitting in the middle of a bunch of books, looking at them, and babbling like crazy--it was like he was reading them! I think he understands the word and sign for book, because whenever I say/do that, he goes looking for a book! So smart! :-) Not that I am biased or anything!

Here is one of a few cards I made tonight. I will save the rest for future posts. I love monochromatic, and I was just thinking how this chunky glitter made me think of snow. That's how this card was born. :-)


I am looking forward to the first snow, although I know it is WAY too early. Ah, well. Hey, have a great weekend!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Bathtime, Rainbows and Vampires

Hey there, friends! Happy Friday! (unless you are reading this late Thursday night, then Happy Thursday!) :-)

On the home front: baby likes his bath again! Wahoo! See?


On the stamping front: I have no place to work because my table is a mess, and I don't feel like cleaning it. How sad is that? I did manage to shove a few things aside to make this tonight for the Dirty Dozen/Fan Club central theme challenge (rainbow):


How many of you are reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer? I NEVER thought I would enjoy a book about vampires, but as my friend Bryn told me, it isn't *really* about vampires, it is a love story. I am not very patiently waiting for book 3 to come in for me at the library. Hurry, book!!!! I'm looking forward to the movie at Thanksgiving!!!


Love you all! Really, I do!

Hip Hop Thursday!


HIP HOP!!!


Yup, it is Thursday again! Head on over to the Unity forum on Splitcoast if you feel like getting your Par-tay on!!! (from 11am-??? EST) Most Thursdays the party lasts late into the night, with LOTS of fun and giveaways! Make sure you wear your Party Pants, as Heather B would say!!!

Here is a Unity card that I haven't shared with you yet!

The ribbon on this card was a total accident! I tied it too loose, and was too lazy to do it over, so I attached the knot to the card with a glue dot, and then pulled the sides up and the back up on the inside, so it was wrapped tight. I love the effect of the angled ribbon! What do you think?

Here is a Stampin' Up! card I whipped up yesterday:


I've been seeing lots of cards lately with embossing done on top of patterned paper, so I decided to try it. I LOVE this effect! How fun!!! Thanks to my secret sister for the inspiration. Here is the card she sent me last week, which I had to CASE!!!


I love how she did the ribbon at the bottom of the image panel, and the placement of the sentiment. So I "borrowed" the layout for my own card. Thanks!


Card #1
Stamps: Best Friends and Floral Fantastical (Unity)
Ink: Bashful Blue, So Saffron (SU!)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Whisper White, unknown stripe
Accessories: Taffeta ribbon, Nesties, glue dot

Card #2
Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Versamark
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP
Accessories: ribbon, detail white embossing powder, embossing gun

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Wonderful Wednesday

Hi friends!

We are home from Michigan. DH missed us much more (especially the baby) than we realized. This was the first time he was away from the baby. We had a lovely time with family, and DH's grandma is doing well (she had surgery.) Here is the baby playing the piano with Grandma.


Today's Unity Customer Challenge was to use pink and black. I liked this challenge card from a few weeks ago so much:


that I had to re-make it in pink and black. I switched a few things up. Sorry about the bad lighting and weird colors, but it was dark outside, so I had to take the pic inside with yucky lighting.


I hope you have a WONDERFUL Wednesday!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Wonderful Weekend

I hope you had a great weekend! I did. I am in Michigan, visiting my parents. I had a workshop Saturday morning that was lots of fun! Today I saw my brother playing hockey, which was pretty cool! The baby had some trouble going down for a nap today. At one point he was so tired that as he was walking around the living room hardly able to stand up! He would take a few steps and then fall over onto the carpet. I hate to say it, but Mom and I were cracking up. I finally got him down around 3pm. Here's a pic of the cutie pie about to explore Grandma and Grandpa's living room.


Here is a card I did last week for a fun inspiration challenge on SCS last week. I suppose it is a pretty limited card, with this sentiment (it better go to my husband, right?!) but it is cute!!!


I am hoping to get a little more sleep tonight. Mainly, the baby has been doing GREAT with his new sleep habits, but last night was BAD. I'll just leave it at that. I'm tired, and will hope for some good zzzz's tonight. I hope the same to you!!!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Blog Candy Winner and More!

Good morning, friends!

Thanks for all the recipe ideas. I think because I made you work for the blog candy, people were scared away---I can't believe with all the goodies, I only had 29 entries, and not all of them were actual entries! I think maybe I jumped the gun on how "popular" my blog is... or maybe my blog candy was not as great as I thought it was!!! Hopefully, though, STAMPIN' MEG thinks it is good blog candy, because she WON!!!!!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

8

Timestamp: 2008-09-12 12:20:15 UTC

Meg, you were comment number 8! Send me an email letting me know your mailing address, and I will get those goodies out to you soon! Thanks for entering! I'm looking forward to trying all the yummy recipes you all left for me.

I also have a baby picture for you:

He is learning to drink from his sippy cup, but he is not sure how he feels about it yet. Some times he likes it and sometimes he gets mad! He ate out at a restaurant with Grandma, Grandpa and me last night, and he did a wonderful job. I brought peas, carrots, watermelon and cheerios with me, and he ate lots! Believe it or not, he actually also went crazy eating fresh broccoli from my plate!

Finally, I have one of my OWN cards to share with you. Thank you for understanding that for the past week or so, I've been posting other people's creations that they have sent to me. I have been busy stamping some change of address cards for a kindredarts.etsy.com order, and I finally finished last night. So I needed some "fun" stamping. This is the card I whipped up:

I am going to a quilt show with my mom this morning. Grandpa is babysitting. Hmmm....
Have a great day, and--

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Even MORE Fun Surprises!

Good morning, friends!

As if all the goodies from Christi yesterday weren't enough, another sweet gal, Brooke, sent these gorgeous creations with her swaps for the Unity Swap I am hostessing. What an awesome little notebook, and I love the colors on this card!



Of course, if any of you read my blog regularly, you know I have a thing for cupcakes, like so many others right now! So this little gift was such fun for me! Thanks so much, Brooke! You are so sweet! Make sure you go to Brooke's blog to see all the other amazing things she does... she does some great scrapbook layouts too!

Still having baby withdrawal? Hang in there... I have to find just the right picture to share with you! :-)

Don't forget to check this post for BLOG CANDY! Only one more day!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Another FUN Surprise!

Good morning, good morning, good morning to you! (sing this, for full effect!)

I got some more swaps in the mail for the Unity swap I'm hostessing, and inside the box from Christi were not only her awesome swaps (which I will post in a couple of weeks), but also this super sweet and thoughtful bag of goodies and a beautiful thank you card for hostessing the swap! I can't believe how nice she was to send me these goodies! It was like winning a prize! The baby was laughing at me when I opened it because I was saying "oh my goodness! Wow! This is so cool!" with a giant grin on my face!

Thank you SO much, Christi! I love this card. Be sure to check out Christi's blog to see even more of her super-creativity!! Christi is one of Unity's very talented design team members.

If you are envious of all the yummy goodies Christi sent me, don't forget to check this post of mine for BLOG CANDY!!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Secret Sister Fun!

Oh, I can't believe I forgot to share this with you! This is the first card my secret sister sent me this round. (I participate in a SU! demonstrator secret sister program from SCS. The current round of three months just started. I have a fabulous big and little sis, already!)


I love the bright colors! That snake is so much fun, and the circles make this card so much fun!

I bet you are going through cute baby withdrawal, aren't you? :-) Don't worry, I'll be sure to post some cutie-pie pics again soon. He's even cuter than ever! Check back soon!

Don't forget to check this post for BLOG CANDY!

Monday, September 8, 2008

A Fun Surprise

I am busy getting ready for a Stampin' Up! workshop, so I may not have time to stamp for fun and share with you. So, I will share some cool things I've gotten in the mail recently! If I manage to get a card of my own done, I will post it, don't worry. In the meantime, enjoy the major talent of some of my virtual friends! :-)

This card was sent to me by a sweetie, Maggie, along with her swaps for the swap I am hostessing. Isn't it stunning? I love the bold colors with the black, and all the fun bling she added to the bird! Be sure to go see more awesome creations by Maggie at her blog!


Thanks so much, Maggie, you made my day!

Dont' forget to check this post for BLOG CANDY!