Hey everyone! Just a quick note to say that I was featured today on The Greeting Farm's blog. I've had such a great time being a Guest Designer this month!!! Their images are PERFECT for Copic practice & "color therapy". :) Click on over to see my projects for the month & to read my Q&A if you'd like! :)
I found this paper a while ago and HAD to snatch it up. In a flash, I was right back in the 2nd grade. I will never forget that day. I was one of those shy kids who was soft spoken & always got straight A's --- until this fateful day. My teacher returned one of my worksheets and on the front was a huge "F" written in red marker. I was horrified! Right about then, I saw another boy go up to the teacher and I heard him tell her that he didn't realize that there was a back side to the worksheet. So... she just calmly gave him his paper back and told him to go ahead and finish it and she'd re-grade his paper. I saw my moment of opportunity and went up and asked her if it was ok if I finished my paper too (I didn't notice that there was a back side either... hence the big fat "F"). My teacher told me in an angry voice that I was not allowed to finish my paper late. I was so confused and said, "Well, didn't you just let 'so & so' finish his?". She told me not to sass her. Well... being about 8 years old, I didn't have the slightest idea what 'sass' meant & was even more confused, so I repeated myself. In one quick motion, my teacher raised her hand and slapped me as hard as she could across my face. I was in shock & SO embarrassed. I had inside recess for a week and my name was on the board for the duration (oh the horror!). My parents didn't find out until I was a joking about it as a teenager --- because when I was little, I didn't want anyone to find out. I have a feeling my teacher was lucky that I was scared half to death... or she probably would have gotten in some big time trouble. Good times, good times. SO.... now you see why I 'had' to get this paper. So... here is my card in memory of 2nd grade--- and now... you know the rest of the story. ;)
I used Annika from The Greeting Farm along with a Paper Whimsy notecard from Sassafras, ribbon from Making Memories & May Arts... and a little #2 pencil that I glued in place. This layout comes from CPS's sketch 117.
And... here is a locker magnet that I made for some of my coworkers for Nurse's Week using the Nurse Anya image. (hopefully I haven't already posted this? I can't remember.) :) The alpha is from PTI.
Thanks for listening to all of my gab! Have a good one! :)
I just learned a new trick from this week's SCS Technique Challenge called 'the hinged card'. I was so excited after watching this video by Wendy Weixler because I knew JUST the thing to try it out on! I just got these CUTE chipboard shapes from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird collection and thought it would be fun to have the toast 'popping' out of the toaster!
I adhered my toaster panel at the bottom instead of the top (as shown in the video) so that the toast popped out of the right end. :) The swirl from the bottom of the toaster was just doodled on.
I hid my brad in the front by covering it with a ribbon knot & added a standard card base to the back.
The sentiment is from Rubber Soul. :)Isn't that just so much fun?!? I love it when my plans actually WORK! LOL! :)
And... here is the inside of my card using a little more Early Bird paper. See. I told you I'd be using this stuff like crazy. Get use to it. There will be more. ;)Thanks for 'popping' by!!! :)
Today is Jiffy Monday -- a day when my girls & I made something 'Just For Fun' -- with everyone using the same image & paper. It's always fun to see the 'mystery' supplies when they secretly arrive in the mailbox! You never know what kind of combo you're going to get! But... this time, I think they went to gether really well! Michele picked this haggard looking creature called 'Whimsy Owl' from Whimsy Stamps. This character cracks me up. It reminds me of what I looked like the first few weeks after giving birth to my boys. Basicly - the look of death. LOL!
And... Lori sent us some gorgeous paper from Pink Paislee's Captivated line ("Graceful" & "Beloved"). 
I paired everything with some blue Core'dinations cardstock & a sentiment by CHF. And... here's a close-up of that poor ole' owl. She's got bags so big under her eyes, you could store some loose change in there! Poor gal! Anyway... I know this card will be put to good use. A lot of my friends have small children too and could probably relate.
Make sure to check out what the other 'Jiffy Girls' came up with! It's always fun to see everyone's style coming through. And... starting this month, my sweet friend Kim Hughes will be joining the group! Yippeee!!!
Alli - Michele - Carole - Lori & Kim
Hey everyone! First of all, I wanted to say 'thank you' for all of your sweet anniversary wishes!!! We had such a nice time just being by ourselves... with NO kids! We very rarely get to go anywhere without the boys, so that in itself was a big treat.
My in-laws took the boys for the afternoon and we drove to Louisville. There's a huge outlet mall on the way, so we stopped there and did a little shopping. (I actually got to TRY ON some clothes before I bought them! Usually I just grab and go and wish for the best -- and then later return everything that looks hideous.) I haven't bought any new clothes for myself in almost a year... so it was time. ;) And then, we made our way to our destination and boarded a big steamboat that took us on a tour of the river for the evening. It was so relaxing... and they had dinner for us on the boat too. After that, we got some Starbucks to load us up on caffeine & made the drive back home.
We stopped for some gas in Indianapolis & thought we were going to die. (What a bum way to end a perfectly good day!) There were some shady looking characters on the other side of the pump who kept staring at us... and I could see what looked like a gun in one of the guy's front pocket. I was trying to translate what they were saying to each other & praying my husband would hurry up and get us out of there! The guy with the 'gun' slipped his hand in his pocket and finally my hubby just put the pump back and got in the car.
So... as we pulled back into our drive far in the country.... I was happy to be home. :)
And now... if you're bored to death with my personal blabbering... here are some projects I made using some images from The Greeting Farm. I LOVE this little gal (Annika) from the Wild Sprouts Collection! She's colored in Copics & paired up with some fun paper from Jenni Bowlin & Graphic 45. The apple paper lace is by KI Memories.
Emery, my 3 year old, had his last day of preschool & I made his teachers each a little desk organizer filled with chocolate & goodies. These are so easy to make! (The template can be found at Papertrey Ink.) I used some cute 'Teacher's Pet' papers from Imaginisce, Teacher Anya from The Greeting Farm, and the Fresh Alphabet set from PTI to spell out the teachers' names.
And... here is part of the stash that I tucked inside. I think every teacher deserves a healthy dose of chocolate to make it through the day!
I hope you stop back by in the morning! I have a new Jiffy Girls post all set up and ready to go! :)
Well... I can hardly believe it, but today marks my 10th wedding anniversary! Man, does time fly by! So... in lieu of the big day, I thought I'd share some pictures from the archives. :)
Here we are... young as can be! I think this might have been taken late in '97 or early '98. I was around 20 years old. --- Still a baby, but I felt so grown up. Man! All I can think of is... I use to be really skinny! ;)
And... here is my little hot tamale on our wedding day. He was 23, I was 21. Craziness!
And... here's the blushing bride:
We drove away in our little red VW bug. I loved that little car! Actually, we met because of a VW. My husband and his friend restored antique Volkswagens and and I had wanted one ever since I was 14. They had a little white VW bug convertible for sale in their front yard and I spotted it one day on my commute to college. I stopped with a friend later that day to check it out... and out walks my future husband all covered in grease. He tells me now how freaked out he was when he saw us walking up their drive. He was wearing mustard colored sweats and hadn't showered in 3 days. They'd been pouring all of their time working on another project in the garage and didn't expect to have company. ;) Well... I guess I saw through the grease, because even though I didn't get the car.... I did get a ring on my finger. (No... not the same day!) ;) 
My hubby's come up with some sort of secret get-away... so I'll see you all when I get back! :)
I have a couple more cards to show you using the newest releases from Whipper Snapper! This first one is one of my favorite images from the set Swimmin' By. I just LOVE that little octopus! :) I used some of Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird collection along with a sketch from Jen del Muro.
And... just to show you some of the versatility of these sets, I made a baby card for one of my friends using the cute little sailboat image from the Beach Bum set. The paper is from October Afternoon & the sentiment is a rub-on from Crate Paper.
Well... I'm going to scram and try to get a little more craft time in before I have to hit the hay! Thanks for stopping by!!!
I had a little free time and decided to whip out a couple of cards using this week's CPS sketch!
First up... here's a card I made using a little of my new Early Bird collection from Cosmo Cricket. I have fallen head over heels in LOVE with this new line. Oh! It's good stuff! Mmm! You'll be seeing a LOT of things made from this collection from me... so I hope you like it too!
I stamped and embossed the dotted background and distressed everything with "Old Paper" Ranger ink. I added a little chipboard salt shaker too, just to give it a little dimension. :) The blue CS is from Memory Box & the dotted paper is from Scribble Scrabble (and punched with a Fiskars tool to create the scalloped edge). I think I'll give this card to my hubby for our anniversary on Friday. Of course, I always steal my cards back after I give them to him. He doesn't seem to mind. ;)
This second card is one that I made for a girl I grew up with who just lost her son. (he was born with a lot of health problems and suffered with them for a long time.) The card is a lot softer in real life... and hopefully it looks ok to use as a sympathy card. My heart just aches for her. I can't imagine how she must feel right now.
The inside of the card reads, "Look to the Lord & His Strength. Seek His face always" - which is a stamp from the Something Within set by Unity. All of the images on the front are from the Floral Fantastical set. The paper is from Crate Paper.
Well... I've been up since 5 am for work and it's nearly midnight... so I've got to scram! Thanks for stopping by!!!
Good morning everyone!!! I'm super excited that it's Monday! (crazy, huh?) BUT... I finally get to tell you that I was asked to be a Guest Designer for Whipper Snapper for a couple of months!!!! I've always loved Anna Wight's designs! They're so cute & have a little bit of humor tucked in here and there... so they always make me smile!
Today is a release day for two new Summery sets that you're going to LOVE! This set is called "Swimmin' By" (feel free to click on the image to enlarge it). It's perfect for those Summer birthdays too (note to self: BOTH of my boys' birthdays are in the Summer. Hmmm...)
I just HAD to use this little submarine image. And... it just 'needed' to be yellow, don't you think? :) I stamped the waves from the set below and carefully cut away the excess. The sentiment & submarine windows are covered in Glossy Accents. (you'll have to trust me on this one). Papers are from Cosmo Cricket & Colorbok. The fun gingham ribbon is from Sharon Johnson.
And... the second set is called "Beach Bum".
Is this sentiment awesome of what?!? LOL! I LOVE it! That's definitely me on the beach. I stamped the waves again in the background, added a little sand castle & a few seagulls. The papers are from Pink Paislee.
Check out this little guy! Can't you just feel the pain of that sunburn? Ouch! LOL! His floaty is covered in Glossy Accents... and this time my camera actually picked it up. What do you know? :)
I have a lot more Whipper Snapper goodness to show you over the next couple of months, but in the meantime, make sure you check out what the other designers have in store for you. I've peeked & they're SO wonderful!!!!
The Who's Who of May/June Featured Designers:
Joanne Basile
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/basilefamily
Blog: http://stampedbyhand.blogspot.com
Sandra MacLean
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/b-gin-r
Blog: http://paperfuntastics.blogspot.com
Shellie Daniel
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/shellied
Tab Robinson
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/tabbycrafts
Blog: http://tabbycraftdesigns.blogspot.com
and Anna Wight
SCS Gallery: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/go/sweetmissdaisy
Blog: http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com
Hello everybody!!! Today is Unity's AMAZING KOM (Kit of the Month) Blog Hop... and if you started at the beginning, you've made it ALL THE WAY to the end!!! (and you deserve an award... & maybe some chocolate!) ;) I'm your last stop on the grand tour, and I'm SO excited to have you here!
So... just a couple of quick things!
I hope you've enjoyed your KOM Hop! Thanks for making it to the end!!! :)
I think I've found a new favorite sketch! I kind of went overboard with it... and probably won't stop with just these. :) Here is this week's 'Sketch For You To Try' by Jen del Muro:
OK! First up... here's a card I made using Unity's Floral Fantastical set along with a sentiment by Kim Hughes. The papers are from a K&Company pack that I've had for awhile. My ivory & green ribbon is from Sharon's shop.
And here is the same sentiment paired with Chatterbox's 'Fabulous' paper:
This is the one I used for my Mom's Mother's Day card (my parents raise chickens... so I thought it looked kind of like them). :) This paper is from the Cherry Hill line by October Afternoon. Oh! And this gorgeous silk ribbon is also from Sharon Johnson's ribbon store. It's yummy!
And, finally... this is a card I made using Crate Paper's Lillian collection, along with another Kim Hughes sentiment.
Check out my button! I just used one of the rub-ons from the kit to make my own custom embellishment. :)
See! Isn't this sketch awesome? It's perfect for pairing up all of your favorite papers! Thanks for visiting!!!
After 2-3 weeks of being sick as a dog... I'm finally feeling well. It's a wonderful feeling!!! And... even though I had to get up at 5 am & work all day, I still am almost giddy because I can move & breathe & eat... and stay awake for more than a couple of hours. I know I take my normally healthy state for granted most of the time. Being sickly is a great reminder to count your blessings. :)
And so... I finally felt like being crafty again. (A lot of my previous posts were done pre-sickness and I just posted them later.) I inked up this cute little sweetie pie named 'Dahlia' from The Greeting Farm's Wild Sprout line and made a couple of cards with the same supplies.
This first card is for the Weekend Sketch Challenge by Cambria. I used patterned paper from Crate Paper's Lillian Collection along with some 'Fabulous Glossy Vintage' paper by Chatterbox. And yes. It really is fabulous! I wish you could see it in real life. Mmmmm!!! :)
And... here's the same sweet Dahlia using a sketch for Mojo Monday by Julee Tilman. I used more of the Lillian Collection & another print from the Fabulous line... and distressed it all to give it a more 'country' look. I also added a few Kaiser pearls here and there (LOVE these things!).
Well... it's almost 11 pm & it's been a long day! I think I'm going to call it a night. Thanks for coming to visit my blog! I really appreciate you guys!!!
