Sweet Thoughts

Good morning! It's Monday and I am really loving this Monday! Even though I don't have to be at work, there is much to be done around this house! We are still trying to decide if we will be leaving today or tomorrow as there seems to be a storm moving in that could affect our travels. We should know more by lunch time. I think we will be fine with leaving early tomorrow morning. Yesterday we had Christmas with my in-laws. That was a lot of fun. And I ate way too much! I got everything I wanted!! And a little more! What a great Christmas! One more to go! Today I will be cleaning up and putting away the Christmas things so that when we get back all I will have to do is the laundry. It is so much easier that way! But I do hope to find some time to stamp because I am running out of things to show you. And I have some great new toys as well!!

Today's card is not Christmas. I borrowed a stamp set from Becky and made this valentine card. I just love the little mailbox. I did use markers for the ink but it came out really cute. Aside from using the markers it is a very simple card. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Wandering Words; Paper- Sahara Sand, Real Red, Pretty In Pink, Whisper White; Ink- Old Olive, Sahara Sand, Real Red, Pretty In Pink; Accessories- large brads, ribbon originals Mistletoe; corner rounder, dimensionals

Herbal Thanks

Good Sunday morning! I hope that I can find some time to stamp today. It feels really good to be able to do that again! Today we are going to my in-laws. They don't live too far away from us and since we are both traveling over the holidays we are getting together today. My husband's sister and her husband are coming as well. Should be really fun! And then Tuesday we are traveling to spend time with my family in Kansas!! Can't wait!! Last night I had a Christmas party with some of my very closest stamping friends. Sherry made us beer can and coke can chicken, cheesy potatoes, green beans, dinner rolls and a truly yummy dessert!!! YUM! Isn't your mouth watering as I tell you about it? Then we traded gifts. We always try to make each other something. And, yes, yesterday I told you that I would take a picture of mine to show you all. Well... Ummmmm... Yeah, I kind of forgot to do that. I am such a dork sometimes. But maybe one of the other gals will take one and send it to me? Anyway, it was a really fun evening. We even had time to stamp a little. Since I have a card swap coming up I thought I would try to get something done for that. I will show you all those later (I promise).

Today's card is the third one we did at stamp club this month. Again, I was trying to stay away from Christmas. I have always loved this stamp set! This layout comes out of the new Occasions mini catalog. And it is one that will be used a lot!! Thanks for stopping by and have a super Sunday!!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Herb Expressions; Paper- Kraft, Whisper White, Rich Razzelberry, Old Olive; Ink- Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive; Accessories- large silver brad, Rich Razzelberry polka dot ribbon, dimensionals

Sense of Time

Good morning, Friends! It feels so great to be on vacation!! Last night we did our family Christmas. I know it is early but we travel during the holidays so we do ours early. What a great Christmas we had!! Nick is just so thrilled! I feel like I didn't get everything I wanted to get my husband but I pooped out! Between working and then Nick being in the hospital and then trying to find time with everything else going on. And then I would go looking for something for him and end up getting Nick a few more things... Well, I finally had to say enough! But my husband was VERY kind to me! He got me a brand new chair for my stamp room!! I LOVE it!!! I couldn't wait to get to my room this morning and start working! That and I do have to get some Christmas presents made before tonight. Yikes! Nothing like waiting till the last minute! I will post what I did once they are done and I have given them out.

Today's card is one that we did at our stamp club this month. I wanted to stay away from Christmas as most have their Christmas cards done (except for me who wont be sending any out). So, I borrowed a stamp set from my friend, Becky. This one is Sense of Time. I thought it could fit in well with a New Year's theme or it also makes a nice masculine card. Either way, this card was super easy! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Sense of Time; Paper- Kraft, Chocolate Chip, To The Nines designer paper; Ink- VersaMark, Chocolate Chip; Accessories- vintage brads, dimensionals

Real Love

Good evening everyone! Wow! It's Friday!! Ahhhh! Yes, that is the sound of me finally getting to relax. Our Christmas vacation has finally started! We had a half day of school today so it was filled with parties. Then the teachers got together to reveal their secret santas. That was too much fun!! I really tricked mine! And we are always together! Then I went to have a massage. Ahhh! In a few minutes we are going to go out to dinner at one of my very favorite restaurants. It's shaping up to be a very nice vacation.

Today's card is one that I did at my stamp club this month. I decided to go with a valentine's theme as we won't meet again until February and then it is almost too late to do valentine cards. You will probably be able to see the resemblance. Yes, it is the same layout of other cards from a few days ago. But it just works out so well!! A super easy card. Try it out with one of your favorite sets! Have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Happy Heart; Paper- Real Red, Whisper White; Ink- Real Red; Accessories- silver brad, Mistletoe ribbon originals, corner rounder, dimensionals

More Delightful Decorations

Good evening everyone! I am so happy to be able to post to you all again! I just got back from a very delightful staff Christmas party! Our school's PTF had it catered and gave some extremely NICE gifts!!! All the teachers got gift cards (five) to various places worth $25 each! How cool is that!!! It is so great to have people recognize your hard work. So I am feeling extra special right now. Too bad it is time for bed because I feel like spending some time in the craft room cranking out some cards.

Tonight's card is the same layout of a card I posted a few days ago. I just love this layout! So clean and simple. Just my style! Not too much work on this one either. Just stamp the ornament and punch it out. I did use the 'make merry' stamp from Berry Christmas. I just inked up the merry part of it. It is hard to see from the photo but I stamped the snowflake looking stamp from the Delightful Decorations set down the left hand side. Thanks for stopping by and sleep tight!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Berry Christmas, Delightful Decorations; Paper- Real Red, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Merry Moments designer paper; Ink- Real Red; Accessories- silver brad, silver cord, corner rounder, dimensionals

Delightful Decorations

Good morning, Friends! I am so sorry about waiting to post again. But this time I do have a good excuse. Last Sunday evening my son complained about not feeling well. He sounded congested so we let him sleep upstairs with us. But what was worse was that his breathing sounded so labored and he complained about it being hard to breathe. Well, no parent likes to hear anything like that from their child (or from anyone for that matter). So the next morning I tell my husband to take him to the doctor. And he does. And the doctor admits him into the hospital. At first they weren't sure if it was a virus or the flu or what so they did a chest x-ray which showed inflammation of the lungs. They also said that his oxygen levels were extremely low. So they put him on oxygen and gave him a nebulizer which seemed to help but there was still a lot of wheezing. So, my husband and I spent Monday night in the hospital with our son who was hooked up to all kinds of machines. Nick was also very dehydrated and once the liquids got pumped into him he immediately looked much better but still couldn't breathe very well. That first night in the hospital was scary and we didn't get much sleep. Well, it snowed a TON here and they cancelled school on Tuesday which was a good thing for me since I wasn't going anyway. And we were kind of expecting to be able to take Nick home as well. But the doctor came in and didn't like his oxygen level. It was still real low on room air. Well, that was very upsetting to Nick (and us) but that's the way it is. I did go back home to go to work the next day and Pat stayed at the hospital. Same routine for Wednesday. No real changes and again they stayed at the hospital and I went home to go to work the next day. Thursday the doctors ordered new chest x-rays and blood work but they came back normal. By this time, Nick is going stir crazy. He is ready to be up and around. So my husband asks for a portable oxygen tank and gets Nick to walk around the hallway. He also took a shower and by the afternoon his oxygen levels were up with just room air. We were so excited and we knew that we would be going home that night. And we did!! I am sorry that was such a long story. The doctors determined it was a severe asthma attack and so we have inhalers and are learning how to recognize the triggers and the signs that he needs to use them. It just seems so odd that someone so active as our son would need them. But I don't want to end up at the hospital like that again!!

So do you still want to hear about my card? Well thank goodness it is an easy one. I just love the ornament punch for that!! Anyway, have a super day and stay warm!!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Delightful Decorations, Four the Holidays; Paper- Very Vanilla, Read Red, Chocolate Chip, Merry Moments designer paper; Ink- Real Red, Garden Green; Accessories- silver cord, silver brad, ornament punch, dimensionals

I'm Back!!

Good Sunday morning to all my wonderful blogging Friends!! I just have to tell you how blessed I feel right now! I have gotten so many e-mails and comments about being missed these last few weeks. I don't even really have any great excuses for my absence. I just took a little sabbatical. And then after a while, when I did feel like working in my craft room, I found that it was really hard to come up with a card that I even liked. So, on Friday, I spent some quality time with my good friend, Becky, and we worked for about 3 1/2 hours just stamping and chatting. And I made six cards!! And it all started with this card. This is a card that Becky found on splitcoast and I just fell in love with it. So, I started by copying it. I did change the ribbon and the colors (I did keep the Old Olive color). I love the layout and you will see more cards using this layout! So, I guess the moral of this story is that when you want to get back into stamping and you are having a hard time (like I was) finding your mojo, just sit down and copy something. At least you are getting those creative juices moving around. Thanks for sticking by me and with me. You are all the BEST!! Have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Christmas Punch; Paper- Ruby Red, Very Vanilla, Old Olive; Ink- Old Olive, Ruby Red; Accessories- Old Olive taffeta ribbon, corner rounder, curly label punch, Little Leaves sizzlet, Big Shot, Ruby Red brads, dimensionals

A 3 x 3 Card

Good Sunday morning everyone! It snowed again but not near as much as yesterday. Now the sun is out and it looks to be a beautiful fall day. Maybe on the chilly side but sunny! I do plan to stay inside and get the laundry done but I also need to do some birthday and Christmas shopping. We will see. I really hate the crowds!

Today's card is another project that I made at the regional meeting. Very quick and easy. Even the cutting wasn't that bad. It just shows that this Christmas set can be used all year. This is supposed to be a poinsettia but I thought it looked like a flower just by changing the colors. The berries were stamped in celery on the celery cardstock and then punched out with the Flower Trio punch. I thought that was clever. This is a 3x3 card. I don't make many of these because you can't mail them. But they are great for gifts. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Berry Christmas; Paper- Soft Suede, Whisper White, Certain Celery, Soft Sued designer paper; Ink- Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery; Accessories- Flower Trio punch, silver brad, dimensionals

Berry Christmas

Good afternoon, Friends! So it has been a while since I last posted. I have just been having the hardest time getting myself motivated to stamp! I know that is a horrible thing to say but it has just been hard! I seem to go to bed before 9:00. I did finally get a massage yesterday and I do feel a little more energetic. Boy did that feel good! Nick's birthday is coming up and so we are trying to figure out what we will give him for his birthday and what will wait till Christmas. We went out and about today to try and figure out what we will be doing for parents, nieces, nephews, etc. And we found some new carpet that we are going to have installed. Soon, hopefully. Our carpet now is a total wreck! So new carpet will be a much welcome feature! We are excited about that. And to top everything off today, we woke up to about two inches of snow on the ground! It's all pretty much melted off now and the sun is even trying to shine. But I guess it is that time of year.

So last weekend I went to a regional seminar that two of my downline were putting on with their teams. We used the set Berry Christmas to make six different projects. This was one of them. I thought it was one of the easier ones. The only thing that I would change on this is the staple. I don't like staples in my cards for one thing, but the other thing is that it shows on the other side of the card. From the front it looks great but the inside is another story. But I did it the way they said and now I can figure out something else. But pretty cute overall. Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Berry Christmas; Paper- Certainly Celery, Soft Suede, Whisper White; Ink- Soft Suede, Real Red, Certainly Celery; Accessories- Real Red polka dot ribbon, 1/2" circle punch, dimensionals

Make Merry

Good evening, Friends! I really hope that you all haven't given up on me. I just haven't had much time to stamp and that makes me sad. I thought that I would have more time after all the sports were over but I am finding the opposite to be true. Last weekend I signed my son up for a lacrosse camp. He has been interested in the sport but has never tried it. So I thought this would be a great opportunity. Well, he loved it, of course. I don't think that we will pursue it, though. Then today I signed him up for a soccer clinic put on by a professional soccer player from the Kansas City Wizards! Woohoo!! He is also set to play indoor soccer. But that won't start up until January. Also, last Saturday I was invited to attend a Stampin' Up! Regional seminar. This year Stampin' Up! made it possible for everyone to be able to attend a seminar by putting it on a DVD and then allowing us to purchase the make-n-take packets. The stamp set that they used was the Berry Christmas. So, I do have some cute projects to show from that as well.

Today's card uses the Berry Christmas set. I hadn't planned on purchasing this set but I did to make it easier for more people to stamp at a time. So, I had to play with it a little. I came up with this card from a card that I did in card class quite a while ago. I did use a cuttlebug embossing folder because I didn't have the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder (that's what I would have used instead). It's all pretty simple! Thanks for stopping by and have a super evening!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Berry Christmas; Paper- Old Olive, Real Red, Very Vanilla; Ink- Old Olive, Real Red, Chocolate Chip; Accessories- Sleigh Bells twill, linen thread, snowflakes embossing folder, Big Shot, scallop border punch, dimensionals

Single Snowflake

Hello, Friends! I hope that you are having a super week so far! I can't believe that we are already on the "downside" of the week. I came home from school and immediately got into my pajamas. I am ready to settle in and watch the baseball game and probably fall asleep on the couch. But I will have to find some time to spend with my son to help him get some homework done. I sometimes wish that he was one of those motivated kids that just sat right down and did it without having to be told. It sure would make my life a lot easier!! Oh well.

Today's card was inspired by this card. Just plain and simple. I love Stampin' Up!'s new snowflake punch but it is hard to put a brad through. You have to be really careful when spreading out the prongs. I wanted to attach it with a dimensional but that wasn't going to happen. So, I just put a glue dot right in the center and stuck it on. It still looks a little 3-D. Super simple!! Have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Four The Holidays; Paper- Kraft, Very Vanilla; Ink- Soft Suede; Accessories- snowflake punch, vintage brads, paper piercer

Another One From The Catalog

Happy Monday everyone! It always feels good to get Monday over with. And without too many tragedies! It turned out to be a beautiful day! It is pretty quiet around here. I do have scrap class in a while. I look forward to eating out with Becky and then having class. She always does such fabulous pages!! I just wish I could find some equally fabulous pictures to put on them!

Today's card is right from the catalog! Right from page 141. I really liked this card in the catalog and decided to make my own. It was pretty simple. And I love the look of the black against the pink. Super simple! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Baroque Motifs; Paper- Pretty In Pink, Basic Black, Whisper White, Melon Mambo; Ink- Basic Black, Pretty In Pink; Accessories- Pretties Kit, Beautiful Butterflies die, Big Shot, corner rounder, dimensionals

Thinking of You..

Good Sunday morning and happy November! Did you all remember to set your clocks back? We didn't do it before we went to bed so I forgot about it when I woke up. But, thankfully, we don't need to be anywhere for a while so we are doing o.k. So I was counting the weeks until Christmas break and we only have seven! That means only seven more weeks of this quarter!! Then school is half way over!!! I know that I sound like a broken record but I just don't remember the school year going so fast! Now I am not complaining. I am just amazed.

Today's card is one that I just kind of came up with on my own. That in itself is pretty amazing, I know! I had an idea in my head and it actually translated itself to paper! Yea!! I did this card for a recent card swap that I participated in. The card itself is pretty simple but the coloring of the tree was pretty tedious. Anyway, it reminded me of fall and I really like it! Thanks for stopping by and have a super day!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Thoughts & Prayers; Paper- Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Dusty Durango; Ink- Dusty Durango, Soft Suede; Accessories- flower trio punch, Top Note Die, Big Shot, vintage brads, dimensionals

Happy Halloween

Good afternoon, Friends! Or should I say, Happy Halloween! Our Halloween weather is turning out beautifully! It is still a little chilly with the breeze but the sun is shining! This morning I was up very early as I had signed up for a breast cancer awareness walk. The organization is called Making Strides for a Cure (I think). Anyway, my friend, Coleen, got me to sign up with her team. And when I signed up (way back in early September), I thought, no problem, I can do this! Now the walk was only a 5K which is just over 3 miles. I haven't walked that much on purpose and so I began to stress about it as the time came nearer. However, I did it with no problem! And it didn't take very long either. And the other great thing is that my son wanted to do the walk, too! He, of course, could probably walk the whole thing 10 times and not become one bit tired. He loved it!

Today's card layout comes from another one of Becky's card class cards. This is another simple layout and very versatile. Thanks for stopping by and have a delightful Halloween!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Eat, Drink & Be Scary, Grateful Greetings; Paper- Old Olive, Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Day and Night specialty designer paper; Ink- Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive; Accessories- Old Olive grosgrain, scallop border punch, dimensionals

Happy Holidays

Good evening everyone! I hope that your week has gone by just wonderfully! Be sure to enjoy the last few days of October! And, we get to turn our clocks back this weekend. WOW! I was looking at my lesson plans for the next few weeks and was just shocked to see that there is not much time until Christmas! Is anyone else just as amazed as I am that the year is going so quickly? My goodness! This morning I had outside duty. Thankfully, I had just bought myself some warm gloves and a warm scarf. It was just plain COLD! I teased my students that they need to bring me a cup of coffee!! We will see if they remember next week.

Today's card layout is one that I got from my friend, Becky. She used a similar layout in her last card class. I thought it was just so versatile and made my own Christmas card. A super simple, quick and easy layout. If you are looking to do multiple Christmas cards, then this might be the layout for you. I used linen thread to 'hang' my ornament but I would have rather used silver cord. Maybe next time. I also thought that the square rhinestone brad in the middle of the ornament was a cool touch! Thanks for stopping by and have a great evening!

Card Recipe: Stamps- Delightful Decorations, Four the Holidays; Paper- Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Merry Moments designer paper; Ink- Real Red, Chocolate Chip; Accessories- square Ice rhinestone brads, scallop border punch, ornament punch, linen thread, dimensionals