Cheers!!

We had Evan's birthday party last night and it was a ball! Okay, that was corny- but it was tons of fun. He wanted a sports theme party and my super bff MK made this fabo cake. This is her second custom cake and they've both been adorable. I made the baseball cupcakes. The kids played ball while the adults relaxed, it was great!

I can't believe Evan will be 7 in a couple of days. He's growing up too quickly. I wish I could freeze time sometimes and he actually feels the same way. He told me he wishes he could stay 6 forever, because he doesn't want me to get old! Gotta love that boy.

Happy Birthday Evan! We love you!!

Its almost fall ya'll

I've started making a few cards for fall. This card uses the loads of love set. I stamped the truck twice and cut it out. I trimmed the body off of the second truck to make a trailer. I gave the truck and trailer height with stampin' dimensionals. Jamie and I are in the cab, Evan and Sam in the back, hauling a load of pumpkins.

I might do some stamping this afternoon. I probably won't be doing as much stamping or blogging now that I'm working full time and Evan is starting back to school. Hope everyone has a good week!

Lynn's Fab Notebook

I made this notebook for my sister to use during her final semester of college. She bought the goods, I made the project- this is usually how our partnership works. This is just a basic notebook from Target with wild asparagus dp modgepodged on the cover. There are at least 5 different styles of ribbons tied along the spiral. I like it and it is very "her".

Dusting vs. Dazzling? seriously.

Aggh! I should really be cleaning my house and getting everything ready for my open house Thurs. night, but I knew it was vital that I post here before I do any chores. I've also HAD to watch toons with E.T., finish reading my latest book, put on my pj pants, read a few stampin' blogs, ..... the list could go on and on. I'm pretty good at finding a reason not to clean :)
While there is never a good reason to do housework, there is always a good reason to stamp! One good reason for stamping is that it leads people to tell me how fabulously talented I am. Ok, Mary King and I sit around talking about how fabulously talented I am. Ok,Ok, MK eats chips and listens as I talk about how f.t. I am.

I made this sparkle card the other night when I was on my pink/black kick. I stamped baroque's flourish in black on whisper white paper. I stamped the flowers and sparkle in positively pink. I added dazzlin diamonds on top of the flowers (you know how i like 2 dazzle) for just a little sparkle. Another simple and fun card.

Fun Friday

The card at left is another I made for my open house next week. The card base is bashful blue and the fold is at the top . I stamped the flourish from baroque motif in bashful blue twice across the diagonal of the card. The flowers are stamped in certainly celery ink on certainly celery paper and popped up on stampin' dimensionals.
Now if you will excuse me, I've gotta get ready to go swim. The fifth day of the week is known as Fun Friday at our house. We swim, get happy meals, play alot of play station- basically enjoying the finer things of life, according to a 6 yr old boy. The time at the pool is definitely helping me, I've changed from my normal pasty pale to a normal human flesh color. Have a good weekend!!

Golf Card Fore Uncle Huey

It seems like most stamping bloggers have 1000s of stamp sets. If you need a card for your great aunt LuLu's frisbee championship, they've got the stamps to make it. I don't. I don't buy tons of stamps, because I like to buy more accessories. I try to buy very versatile sets and am always thinking of new ways to use old stuff. The card at left is a perfect example of using something you have in a new way.

My Uncle Huey has been golfing for about a year. He entered a golf tournament of about 50 people and he won first place. He won a big trophy and we are all really proud of him, so I wanted to send him a congrats card. Now, I don't have any masculine sets and certainly not any golf sets. After brainstorming for a while I decided to make a argyle background and use a circle punch as a golf ball. The card base is certainly celery. I stamped the looks like spring background diamonds in certainly celery and stamped the dotted diamond background in bashful blue on top of that. My friend Kathryn(redfirekat on SCS) sent me some samples of paper she embossed with her cuttlebug. I used a white piece embossed with small circles to punch the circle for my golf ball. Congratulations is from the new hugs and wishes set. This was a fun card to make and its going to make the person who gets it happy- isn't that the whole reason we stamp?

Fabulous!

I finally got some serious stamping done this weekend. First, I organized my stamp room. It will only be clean until the next stampfest! I'm not very good at putting my stuff away when I finish with it. I've got some ideas about what I want to do with the space and I'll post pics if I ever get it done. My dream would be to have a fabulous pink room. Pink, black and white polka dots, perhaps a chandelier. Ok, enough dreaming. This frame was inspired by my dream stamp room. Before I explain the frame, let me make a confession: I haven't memorized all of the Stampin' Up colors. This is the bright pink from the bold family, positively pink- I think :) I stamped the flourish from baroque motifs in white on the pink paper. I used whimsical lower to spell fabulous in black. Very simple, very fabulous!

This little 3x3 card was fun. Bright pink base again. Image from double line doodle is stamped in bright pink on whisper white paper. SU has a new scallop circle punch, but I don't have it yet.Never fear, I do have a pair of scallop scissors from the $ store! Ok, my circle is a lil bit lopsided but I'll get better with practice. The sentiment from double line doodle "I just love you", is stamped inside. Wonder whose husband will be lucky enough to get this card?

Happy 5th!!

Ok, so I'm a day late in making a 4th of July post. We had so much fun yesterday. MK and her girls came over and we made yummy goodies for the day. We made a fruit bowl topped with star pastry puffs and a side of delish cream cheese dip. We also made star shaped cupcakes and blueberry sticks for our drinks. Our family always celebrates the 4th with a few neighbors. We spent the day chasing babies at the pool. Around 7 we had BBQ at the cabin. We ended the night with sparklers this year since fireworks were banned because of the drought. It was a perfect day, and could have only been better if Jamie were home with us.

I got it, I got it, I got it!!!

I got my new catty on Wednesday!! I have finally taken a break from staring at the pages long enough to post a new blog entry. It is be-yoo-tiful!! There are so many must haves, a few that I was able to pre-order as a demo. Baroque motiffs is a new set from the tapestry style. It makes fab cards that work for girls or guys. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time finding masculine style sets that I really like. I made this card for my Dad's 54th birthday. The card base is taken with teal and the baroque flourish is stamped in choc. chip. Baroque's flower/shape thing is stamped on choc. chip in white ink and is also popped up with dimensionals. The sentiment is from the new hugs and wishes stamp set. Simple, easy, and I love it.

8 Days and a Wake Up.....

Until the new Stampin' Up! catalog is in our hands!! I can't wait! The new in-colors are awesome and the new accessories are exactly what I was wishing for. I want everything from the preview catalog, so I can't imagine what the big catty will be like.In the mean time, I've got some stamping to do. I haven't made a card in a week (gasp)!

Weekend Update

We spent last weekend in North Carolina with MK and the girls. It may sound hard to believe considering we had 4 kids in the back, but we had fun in the car. It was a great chance for us to spend 4 hours talking and laughing. While in NC we went mining for gem stones. After collecting a bag full of rubies and other stones, Evan wanted to know how much he was going to be paid for his finds! lol We also spent some time playing in the nearby creeks. The water was freezing, but the kids loved it.

Evan and Sam spent alot of time flirting with Sophie and Lilly. Lilly was fascinated by Evan. Sam caught Sophie's attention- I imagine the 2 of them will be a handful in a year or so! It was a fantastic weekend. I have a Stampin' Up party tomorrow night, so I'll finally have new stamping pics to post. Until then- Happy Stamping!

All Dressed Up!

We made these fun favors at my niece Mallory's birthday party. I pre-stamped the paisley background, but the girls did the rest. The dress and names are stamped in close to cocoa. We used crayola color pencils to shade the dress. Color pencils are an inexpensive choice for kids to use. They save your chalks and the kids can work better with them anyway. The girls tied the bottom of the acrylic frame with chocolate grosgrain and their choice of assorted pink ribbons.

This was a really fun and simple party project. It kept the girls busy and they took home something cute for their rooms. Sure beats the whoopee cushion Evan brought home in his last goody bag :)

Meagan's Birthday Card

Meagan turned 15 on May 1st. Its hard for me to believe she is 15, and I've only known her since she was 12. I can't imagine how Jamie feels knowing that his little girl is almost grown up.She will be down for a week later this month and we will have her party then. We'll also definitely do some stamping together.


So, its only appropriate that I made her card. I used cool Caribbean as a base and a sheet from the paisley dp as the second layer. I stamped happy b-day onto whisper white in cool Caribbean ink using my new whimsical alpha set. I used whimsical to stamp an m onto a frame stamp and mounted that atop a turquoise grossgrain ribbon strip.
I've got a few stamping events planned during June, so contact me if you want details.
Happy Stamping!!

Garden Sunday

The kiss of sun for pardon,

The song of birds for mirth--

One is nearer God's Heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

-Dorothy Gurney

I've finally got a little flower bed in front of the house. We have hydrangeas, gardenias, and roses.My favorite thing is the cedar tree trunk on the right. The bird bath came from my great-great uncle Bruney. Scattered through out the yard we planted native azaleas, an umbrella tree, and a ginko tree.

Flowers and gardening always make me think of my Dad and my Mamaw (great-grandmother). Every summer Mamaw had a big garden that we all helped in. As she got older, and wasn't able to keep up with a big garden Dad always made sure she had at least a few tomatoes and cucumbers planted. Now Daddy grows just about everything, and all of it from cuttings he picked up here or there. They both loved working in the garden and its something they passed along to me. I'm just now beginning to plant my flowers and I haven't tackled a vegetable garden yet, but I hope someday that my children will remember spending time in the garden with me and my Dad and it will inspire them to plant their own someday.

Rock n Roll All Night

Not the Mother's day weekend picture you were expecting, huh? Let me explain: The youth at my church put on talent shows every 6 months or so. The youth and other church members dress up and perform as Grease, Tina Turner, Conway Twitty, Elvis, etc. As you can see we were KISS. It was so much fun ya'll. I was a little nervous until I got my make up on, but then I felt like a rockstar! My parents and grandparents were there and they were totally suprised to see me drumming for KISS. Wowzers, that was a hard secret to keep.

Tagged

I've been tagged twice! Each time you are tagged, you are supposed to tell 7 things about yourself and tag 7 other bloggers. I'm kinda lame and don't have 14 cool things about myself to tell you so I'll stick with 7!
1- My favorite meal is my Mom's meatloaf and potatoe dumplings. Her meatloaf is topped with cheese instead of ketchup and its delish!
2- I can sing with my mouth shut.
3- Paula Deen just topped Martha Stewart on my list of personal faves, incidentally Rachel Ray was crossed off the list.
4- Today I made the first entry in my gratitude journal. Evan and I are doing this together each morning. Today he was thankful for the birds and my biscuits.
5- I was in Drama club in high school.
6- I'm having fun planning my yardscape with my Dad.
7- I'm making my rock-n-roll debut this weekend.

I'm tagging these 7 bloggers: Daniela -http://danieladobson.blogspot.com/, Vera- http://www.cropsandcards.blogspot.com/ , Kurtis- http://www.stampinkub.com/blog/ , Lori- http://loricraig.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/, Tracy-http://inky-doodles.blogspot.com/, Kendra- http://inkinitupwithkendra.blogspot.com/, Emily-http://waterpixie.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/. Check out their cool blogs.

Love Notes

Told you I'd be back today. I don't have anything new, but this is a little project I like alot. My anniversary was last week, so I got the hubby direct tv a few days before the big day. (Yes, we have lived with 3 channels for the past year and it really wasn't bad.) To make it extra special for Jamie, I added Nascar hotpass. Now, this means absolutely nothing to you and me but to Jamie it means I'm the best wife ever- I mean tons of kisses and a lift me off the ground spin style hug. I also think it prompted him to upgrade my gift to something better than the slippers I received for Valentine's- but thats a whole other story :)

Of course he had to have something on the actual day, so I altered this $0.25 walmart journal I've had for a couple of years for him. I used the doodle that and paisley stamp sets in close to cocoa ink. The background is certainly celery and happy is stamped on bashful blue paper with paper piercing in the corners. I used the tab punch to make the tabs for each page. The tabs are stamped with sayings like you're sweet and simply adorable on each side. The inside pages are stamped with the doodle flourishes .The binding has celery and taupe ribbons knotted around each coil. Simple, cute and he liked it alot.

We found out Sam had a double ear infection on our anniversary, so we weren't able to go out as planned. Instead, we had a meal at home and danced the night away in our own kitchen. Good times.

"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."- ford

Slacker Stamper

So, school has been killing me the past week or so. Who knew nutrition could be so hard and who really wanted to know the complete workings of the digestive system-eeks! I've been doing a little stamping, but its all been secretive. No, I'm not submitting anything professionally- I only wish I were half that good. I've been doing things for other people that are surprises, so I've had to keep it on the low.

The card with the girls was made over spring break while I was in Tennessee. The pocket is paper pieced with random designer paper. Graduation is coming up and I needed a couple of cards for Granger grads. I'm not sure what the actual mascot is, a granger or the granger star- but since I had a star stamp I went with the star. I think its cute and simple, which is important since 18 year old boys will be putting them in the trash soon!

Ok, so maybe not my best work ever but I'll post something good tomorrow - I promise. Speaking of good, I just finished reading the delish book "Savannah Blues". Its part mystery, part romance, and 100% southern fun. The best friends remind me of my relationship with my #1 top best friend (she insists that I call her that). What great books would you recommend?

Spring Break is Over!!

Thank goodness, er, I mean poor kids finally had to go back to school. We had seven kids in the house for the most part of last week, and it was busy to say the least. We started spring break with a visit to family in Tennessee. Meagan and I had tons of fun stamping with Nanna. Meagan said she could really get hooked on stamping, so I guess it is contagious ( one visit to SCS tells ya that!). I don't have pics of anything we stamped, but I have a picture of all of the kids while we were there- the wind was in Sam's hair!

I've got lots of stuff I want to work on this week, but I've got to do some organizing (again..grr) before I do anything. I think I'll do some work tonight while everyone is at Evan's ball game. Before you flame me for being a bad mom and skipping a game to stamp, let me explain that I'll be home with the baby who has an earache. Maybe I'll skip stamping and take advantage of the new swing I got for my anniversary. Yes, you heard that right my terrific hubby got me an outdoor swing/ futon type thing with canopy for our anniversary yesterday. Now to see what surprise I get for my birthday on Thursday!!!

Buckets of Fun!

I know, I know- Where have I been all week? How can I expect all of my many loyal readers to wait a week for a post? Well, I don't have a good excuse. We've been busy with the regular fam stuff, but nothing that should have kept me from my legions of viewers (like how ya'll are growing lots by the second?)!

Last Monday MK and I made these fun buckets. They are actually used for painting and can be found at your local hardware store for $3.50. I think the Easter Bunny may borrow hers to leave goodies for the girls. I plan to use mine as a drop box for door prize drawings, etc... Simple to make: cut strips/squares of designer paper and adhere to bucket with modgepodge. Paint another layer of modgepodge on top as a sealer. I used the big flower from my sellabration sets as a fun embelli. Finish by tying a ton of ribbons on the handle.

We had a fabulous weekend. Friday night was girl's night at my house. A few of us got together and stamped from 6-10pm. Friends+stampin+80's music= Fun. Saturday morning was opening day of baseball for Evan. How cute was this little catcher? The weather, minus the pollen, was beautiful.

Everyone knows Mondays are craft night with MK, but Evan has a game tonight so maybe tomorrow night. We are working on scrapbooks this week, since we are both sooo far behind.

Happy Stamping!!

Simply Sunday

I had a fabulous weekend, and I didn't do any stamping/crafting at all! All of our kids were home for the weekend and I usually do something crafty with Meagan, but we are saving our ideas for our time during spring break. We all went to the movies to see Wild Hogs and it was very funny. It was great to spend an entire weekend doing nothing but enjoying our time together.

I went to a ladies retreat at church yesterday and it was awesome! It was very empowering and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has the chance to participate. The theme/ title is " One flew outta tha coop: A gathering for chicks who want to fly higher" and info can be found at Kingdom outpost ministries. We actually broke wooden boards with our bare hands -to the tunes of Top Gun and Rocky, no less!

Ok, back to stamping. This is a little card I made for a friend's daughter. I love the doodles and must add the larger Doodle This or Bundle of Joy baby doodle set to my collection. There are so many fantabulous sets, how can a girl ever choose just one?

Charmed, I'm sure!

Sit tight, because I have lots of good stuff to share today. Lets start with Monday's craft night with MK. We made our own charms and stamped on them with the floral background stamp shown here. First you make the charms and stamp on them. The next steps are cooking, painting, and distressing the charms. This was a fave project for us because it has built in breaks perfect for chatting and snacking, of course we do that during the entire project anyway!

Last night I spent a couple of hours in my stamp room with Mom and Evan. I made a couple of cards for friends using the paisley & petals stamp set from the spring mini. I also used the paisley designer paper and new tab punch. No card is complete without a lil bit of glitter, so I gave the small flowers on the paisleys a little dazzle.

My fabulous husband is cooking burgers for lunch today, but after that I'm going back to my stamp room to make even more good things. Stay tuned for more items from the spring mini, altered lunch pails, and whatever else I can put a stamp on!

Happy Stamping!!

Mahvelous Monday

Regionals was SO much fun! Jennifer (light blue sweater, sis-in-law), Nanna (rose sweater, Jamie's Mom), Kathryn (redhead,new stampin buddy & member of our stampin downline group) and I were in ATL and swapping cards with other demos by 8am. I have tons of samples and pics of samples to share with ya'll, but way too many to post because I seriously took over 100! I learned lotsa new techniques and project ideas, including a BLING theme project night. I learned about embossing, which I've never tried, but now I have to because their ideas were too cute!! So, needless to say I'm going to be spending lots of time locked away in my stamp room trying out these fab-o ideas.

We learned how to make sparkly things like this marvelous m card they had on display. How fun is that? I'm def putting a bling night on the calendar! Speaking of calendars, under Stampin Up guidelines, I'm not allowed to post events on a non-S.U. site so if you want to be added to my email list for updates let me know.

Snips, Snails, & Puppydog Tails

So yesterday was an emotional day- Sam got his first haircut! He doesn't look like a baby anymore

:( He looks like the toddler that he is. All of the milestones of growing up are harder with the second child, because you are fully aware of how painfully fast time flies. Sam's first year passed in what seems like the blink of an eye. I guess that is why I take so many pictures!

I spent most of today dreaming about the Stampin' Up regional seminar that I'm going to tomorrow. Jamie's Mom and sister are also demos and we are going together. I should come home with lots of fabulous new card samples and ideas. Also, a new stamp set! I'll post pics tomorrow night!

Today was a light crafting day for me. I got a wooden letter from WalMart (1.99, I think) and painted it with white with acrylic paint. I traced it onto the new paisley designer paper (love it) and cut it out. The next step was to cover the letter with modgepodge and place the paper tracing on top. Coat the whole thing in modgepodge again and let dry. Embellish with ribbons, flowers, whatever makes ya happy! I kept mine pretty simple, but I like it. What do you think?

Frap Happy

Last night was so much fun! The frappucino bottles and crate were much easier to do than we thought. I covered mine with the new Stampin' Up paisley designer paper. We are going to fill these with jelly beans and m&ms. These can be covered with paper and filled with items for any occasion. For a more masculine vibe, fill the bottles with peanuts and m&ms. Next week we are going to make stamped charms...stay tuned!

Of course I had to spend some time holding the girls and taking their pictures. Lilly was all giggles last night and Sophie wanted to snuggle with Mom. Anyone who knows their story knows what a blessing they are. Can't wait for the day they join us at the craft table!

Just Another Manic Monday

Today is my first weekly craft night with Mary King and I'm so excited! We plan to meet on Monday evenings and make a different craft each week. Our project for tonight will be altered frappucino bottles. I'll post the pics tomorrow or maybe later tonight :) Even more exciting than making a craft with MK will be seeing my favorite twin girls!
I love all of the peeps cards everyone is making http://emilygiovanni.com/?p=245. This is my spin on it. Stamps: Best of Cluck. Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink,Certainly Celery, and Bashful Blue. Ribbon: Certainly Celery, Blue Gingham, Light Pink. All Stampin' Up! supplies.

My first Blog Post!!

I decided I've been stalking the blogs of other papercrafters long enough and its time for me to get my own blog. I mean really, I owe it to my legions of fans out there. With my blog, you can keep up with the new ideas I'm working on, learn a few techniques, and learn all about my fabulous and exciting life as a stay at home mom.

I had a chance to get in my craft room today and create a few cards. I created the Easter card at left using Loads of Love. I used my blender pen and chalks to color in the image. I also used stampin' dimensionals to make the truck 3d. For a little extra fun, I used my 2way glue stick and dazzling diamonds glitter on the eggs. Cardstock colors are certainly celery and almost amethyst, ribbon is rose.

Happy Stamping!!!