Crafty doesn't just happen

OMG!! Yummy yummy yummy goodness from the Pioneer Woman!

2010-05-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I made another of the Pioneer Woman's recipes from her blog, "Apple Dumplings" and they were oh-so-good-melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness. I am still thinking about them. They were incredibly easy to make and the kicker? They contained Mt Dew. Yes, you read that right, Mt Dew. Who would have thought to add Mt Dew to any dessert I don't know. I mean I don't even like Mt Dew, but we should have taken out stock in the Pepsi corporation because of the amount of Mt Dew that my husband drinks. So, when I looked over the recipe and saw Mt Dew was an ingredient, I knew I had to try them. My husband said they were better than my apple pie (which is my mom's recipe) and that shocked me! So, this will be a recipe to keep and make again. But not very often! So bad for you, but so good to eat! YUM! Total yum fest for the tummy! Of course I had to bake it in my cobalt Fiestaware 9x13. Love those dishes!!! And then we had to choose what colors to eat them in when they were done!

Ack

2010-05-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I feel this is a safe place to post this considering no one has been here for awhile except for me. I am turning a new page soon and starting back to college. I am terrified. I really want to do well, yet, I find myself procrastinating in looking over the books I have acquired. I am really scared that I will not do well this summer. I am taking Intermediate Algebra and Introduction to Chemistry. SCARY!! I think I am even more psyched out by the fact that my advisor was worried how I would handle taking Chem when I haven't had biology.

I just noticed that I hadn't said what I am going for. Nursing. I am hoping to get into the program and finish before Brett has to retire.

What's even more shocking is that Kurt is starting college this fall. He will be in Idaho. That will be hard to realize that isn't home anymore. The only thing making it a little easier is the fact that his senior year has been so busy that he isn't home a lot. I am worried about the choices he may make, but I hope that we have raised him to choose wisely.

I still have to finish cleaning this house. Yuck. I am slowly getting the kitchen in order. I absolutely love the Fiestaware. It still makes me happy to use it and just look at it.

This Saturday I have my fingers crossed that I keep the day off. We are planning to go to Lewistown to check out the antique store and hang out. It should be a fun day. I am going to make us some bentos and sandwich fixings. I am planning on taking my Chemistry for Dummies (that's me!) book and hopefully read a bit.

On to good news, I am trying lots of new recipes lately. If you know me then you know that I looooveee cookbooks. I love to look through them and find new recipes, however I don't always try them because I hate it when no one here dislikes the recipe. Well, let me tell you that I am done feeling like that. I have decided that if I want to try something, I am going to try it. I have found some great crock pot recipes from not only my HUGE crock pot recipe book, but also from my Taste of Home cookbook. Let me tell you about some of the greatness. A few of my past posts have shown the Mexican feast that I made, with a little help, earlier this month. OK, let me talk about the foods.

Yesterday I made a very simple dish that was pretty good. It was a cheesy meatball casserole.

The night before I decided to make a Pioneer Woman cooks recipe: Cinnamon rolls. They are incredible. The recipe makes a ton of rolls. I have only made half the batch so far. The rest is still in the fridge. Anyway when I say it makes a lot, that's is no joke. I bought some round aluminum pans at the dollar store to make them in and half of this recipe used 3 of those pans. Wow! So, I haven't decided when I am going to make the rest of the batch, but when I do, watch out! Yummy!

Today I am making BBQ chicken in the crock pot. It smells so yummy. I am also going to make scalloped potatoes for the first time today. Wish me luck.

Next time I don't have daycare kids for dinner I am planning on making some more of the Pioneer Woman's scrumptious recipes.

Ah, I better go. Be back soon hopefully to talk. :)

More of the feast!

2010-05-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I worked on that dinner for quite some time that day, and even needed Brett's help, because I bit off more than I could chew. For dinner we had chicken enchiladas, taquitos, mexican spoon bread, and dirty rice. I have since found out that dirty rice is cajun, but it was oh so good! Brett made that dish and did it justice (thanks Paula Deen for the recipe!). The kids didn't even know they were eating chicken livers! Ha!!! I will definitely make it again. The enchiladas were delicious! However, maybe I should have read the recipe a little better because I didn't realize until I started that the recipe was for 2 - 9x13 dishes!!! Huh, oh well, it made a ton and that was actually a good thing because we ate it the next day too! Kurt hated it but at least he tried it. It did look pretty in my cobalt 9x13 dish.

The Mexican spoon bread was delicious, at least according to Mitch, Brett and myself. Kurt and Kelsey hated the fact that it had corn and chili peppers in it. I thought it added to the overall yumminess. And let me say that my cobalt casserole dish was the perfect dish to serve it in. It will be on the menu again at some point in time.

The kids and Brett thought that I had made this dinner because I wanted to create something festive in my fiestaware............I don't know. Maybe it was perfect timing all the way around. I did enjoy trying something new. I have my fingers crossed that I keep next weekend off, because I am on the hunt for something fun to make. What will it be this time??? I don't know. I just need to make sure whatever it is it looks great in my fiestaware.

By the way, the lime soda recipe was from Sunny Anderson on the Food Network.

Uno de Mayo!

2010-05-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we fudged a little and did our cinco de mayo on the 1st. I wanted to make sure at least one of my daycare kiddos could enjoy the feast. Kurt even brought Kelsey over to partake in the event. I found out from Kurt, Kelsey, and Mitch that their favorite part of the day was getting to sample the dessert. I had made sopapilla cheesecake pie. It was soooo yummy. I think the only one not thrilled with it was the daycare child. Party pooper..............

I had started with our snack that day. I made churros(I still have burn marks on my fingers and forearms to prove I made them) and homemade lime soda. I am showing the pictures that Mitch took showing some of the foods we had that day. The pot on the stove is boiling our lime syrup for the soda. Can you tell we drank them in my special glasses?? I mean, come on, we worked so hard to get those glasses from McDonald's. Huh, we can't even remember the last time we ate there..... Delicious. The churros definitely tasted like funnel cakes to me, so that was a plus.

You can see a little bit of the sopapilla in the tangerine fiestaware 9x13 dish off to the side. We saved that for after dinner.

Yummy on the plate

2010-05-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

Doesn't food just look better on fiestaware? I believe that it does. I find that I choose which plate I am using based on what I am eating. Who wouldn't? Right? I mean you wouldn't want to eat homemade mac and cheese on a tangerine plate? Or scrambled eggs on sunflower? No, you must choose your dishes according to the food that is going on them. I have to admit that I am not a fan of blue normally, however, the cobalt fiestaware is striking, and the food looks so appetizing on it! Try it, you'll see what I mean...........Who would have thought that a pb&j would look great on a scarlett plate? or a meat and cheese with lettuce would look so yummy on lemongrass? Superb!

Fiestaware

2010-05-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

Oh, the joy of my dishes. I am so pleased with the pictures that my husband took of my dishes. I probably will need to have more pictures taken soon, because I have a few more pieces. I have the 19" platter in peacock, and two pie bakers (one in cobalt, one in scarlett), and some ramekins. I have decided that when I catch a good sale again I want more pie bakers and more individual oval bowls. Those are great for a little salsa and tortilla chips. Yum.

My Happy Place

2010-05-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided to get new dishes and I loved the colorful pieces in the Fiestaware. I also love that it's made in the USA, it's durable, and it makes me feel good. I love to mix and match the plates, bowls, and silverware. Sometimes I will open the cupboard and look in just to raise my spirits. Ah, what a feeling.........

More from Kurt

2010-03-02T19:19:00.000-08:00

Well, not to be outdone with his birthday gift to his girlfriend, Kurt also made her Christmas gifts. Need I say that my own birthday is the day after Christmas and I don't remember receiving a handmade card, hmmmm, maybe it got lost. Anyway, he was busy making her gifts and they turned out so cute! Lots of purple again! He chose to make her several altered notebooks and got her the first two seasons of the "Flying Conchords" in a great box set from Amazon. I really don't get that show, am I that old?? Yes, I am that old............sigh...........oh well. I will just crawl under the covers and watch something great like "The Breakfast Club", and I will have you know that I bought both of them their own copies to take to college! Ha! Plus this way they can't take my copy! Can't have any anarchy going on here, can we?

Catching up

2010-03-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been forever since I've done this. My work schedule is just now beginning to get a little easier after going strong all winter. I know that I should have posted lots of pictures on here by now. Maybe I can make some of that up now!

First things first, did you know Kurt was a crafter? Neither did I, but when it comes to his girlfriend, he becomes a master crafter. I mean, really, he goes to Tim Holtz's blog to get ideas!! I think I will post some of his creations. He made his girlfriend quite the altered paint can in September for her birthday. I was impressed (read: jealous!) and proud! Can you tell from the pictures that she loves purple?? And the card? Yes, he made that too using a stampinbella stamp. See all that purple? Good thing I had plenty of Stampin' Up paper, huh? He did an awesome job and I know she was impressed!

Wow! It's been forever!

2009-09-03T06:31:00.001-07:00

I can't believe I didn't post all summer! Well, it's been quite the summer. I feel like I only had a week where I wasn't working this summer. Wait, I did only have one week off. And that was right after I posted about Apple. To put it in perspective, in June I worked about 150 hours, then in July I did about 350 hours. The big finale was August where I worked 772 hours. I only had one day off for the entire month of August! My last day off was August 26, and I'm patiently waiting for my next day off, September 6.

Can you believe that on September 7, Brett and I will have been married for 18 years. As of September 6, we will have been together for 22 years. Hard to believe. So looking forward to going off for the night the following weekend for some alone time together. We're hoping to go to Fort Benton.

I so wish I had something new to share craft-wise, but because I have had such a busy summer working there is nothing new. The only thing I'm looking forward to is the Stampin' Up! order I am going to place next week! Happy Anniversary to me! Brett got his anniversary gift ages ago: Apple. Lucky Brett! Ha!

I have been working on my food stockpile (Marcy- you will appreciate that!). I have been adding to my cereal stockpile. We only had about 25 boxes, so I was glad that the sales hit! I know in the past week I got more than 20 boxes. I forgot to take a picture but I'll explain my latest Smith's trip.

2 cantaloupes: each nearly 4 pounds, 0.25 per pound (1.81)
7 navel oranges: $1.09 per pound (4.57)
loaf of french bread: $1.00
10 boxes Betty Crocker Fruit chews: $1 a box after coupons and store promotions
10 boxes Hamburger Helper
10 boxes cereal (6 boxes Fruity Cheerios, 4 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch)
20 bottles Sobe Life Water

Total: 36.55!!

The manager checked me out and he had to take a double take on my total! Loved it!

Ok, hopefully I get to post again soon, because I took some great pics this summer that are still on my camera!

That darn dog!

2009-06-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm, you may be wondering what all these pictures have in common?? Well, that adorable beast of a dog, Apple, gets into many, many things. A few days ago while the boys and I were out doing our errands, we left Apple out in the house. We do this a lot, and just close the kitchen gates. Normally, she finds something in the living room to occupy her time, such as daycare toys, magazines, or Kleenex. On this particular day, we left her for a little while and when the boys and I walked into the house we found her in the kitchen! So, we figured she now could get over the smaller gate. Great. Then I looked at what she was doing. She was eating the trail mix. She had ripped open the brand new package and was eating away. I was pretty worried because of the raisins in the mix. So, I grabbed the rest of the bag from her and shooed her outside while I called Brett. After talking to Brett, I called our vet to find out what we needed to do about this situation. The vet tech called me back and told me to have her drink hydrogen peroxide until she vomited everything in her stomach. We were lucky she said because she hadn't had time to digest anything yet. So, off to the backyard I went and forced that dog to swallow the vile liquid. She did what she was supposed to do and doesn't seem to be any worse for the whole episode. I also realized that she had eaten many, many crayons while we were gone too. So, I have to say that she is worse than a baby, but maybe only because we leave her alone at times and I would never do that with a baby. Anyway, now we moved the daycare shelves in front of the smaller gate, and I am thinking of buying a second gate to put on top of the gate in the front doorway. Do you think she'll get any better? I'd say not, because yesterday I left out a brand new book (again) on the couch and came home to several pages ripped out. Ugh, she's lucky she's so cute............

It's lunchtime!

2009-05-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that I have started making lunches for my guys again?? I worked so hard to get them all to be independent and now I'm doing it for them. I must really love them, huh? Well, I know that they are all happy with what I am sending them off with in the mornings. Maybe it's because they aren't having to make them, or maybe they are enjoying a little healthier food. Whatever the cause it's a lot of fun.

I have been researching "bento" lunches, and while I am not making anyone here a traditional Japanese lunch I can make their lunches slightly decorative and put in some yummy foods for them.

I bought several different types of containers for them to carry their new lunches in. My favorite was one I found on the bay that is just like a lunchbox I took to school in 5th or 6th grade! I loved that lunchbox, and my mom told me last week that someone stole it and that's why we don't still have it! Can you believe that? I hope that person enjoyed taking their lunch in my lunchbox! Anyway, it's made by Tupperware and I couldn't resist. Mine from years ago was red, but this one is brown. I asked Mitch if he wanted to use it, and at first he said no. So, I didn't push the issue. Well, he found out what types of foods I had been putting in the other guys lunches and decided that he wanted one too. I have a feeling that he thought I was making a traditional bento for the other guys and he didn't want any of the rice and Japanese foods. He did let me know that one of his friends thought his lunchbox was "ghetto", but he told him that his lunchbox was awesome!

I did find out from Kurt that some of his friends think it's pretty cool that I'm making his lunch. The pictures show some of what I have been putting in their lunches. I know that Mitch's favorite part is the cheese!!

I don't think I actually got a picture yet of one of Brett's bentos, but these pictures are Mitch's on top, and two different bentos that Kurt has taken on different days. The two bottom containers have a removable ice pack that helps to keep all foods cold.

Top lunch: pudding, caprisun, smucker uncrustable, assorted cookies, cheese, apples, oranges, cantaloupe

Middle lunch: apples, oranges, cantaloupe, summer sausage, cheese, crackers, dove chocolates

Bottom lunch: cantaloupe, black grapes, oranges, apples, crackers, cheese, summer sausage.

Mother's Day cards

2009-05-17T23:20:00.000-07:00

For the Mother's Day cards I made this year I chose to use some Sugar Nellie stamps. They are sooo adorable. I just love to color using my Copic markers. The colors are so vibrant and blend so nicely. I was so happy when my mom received her card and told me an interesting tidbit. See, years ago when I was a little girl my mom had painted a picture of this little blond-haired girl. I just recently received this picture from my mom and dad when Brett came home from visiting in Michigan in March. The box had all sorts of paraphernalia from my senior year in high school and earlier. Well, my mom was so excited to tell me that the little girl I colored reminded her of the little girl she painted and she felt it was the perfect touch to her mother's day card. So, I know what stamps will mean the most to my mom! Anyway, I wanted to share my mom's painting and my card.

Why won't they play with me??

2009-05-17T23:11:00.000-07:00

I caught several pictures this day of the dogs trying to get along. Bug and Gnat tolerate Apple if she is laying down somewhere, but once she starts jumping around they get upset. I don't get it, who could resist that sweet, sad face, right? Well, she does get crazy at times, but I'm wondering does Apple deserve that snarling chihuahua in her face? Maybe, maybe not. You'd have to be here to witness how Apple doesn't stop until she's done or I put the puppy girls away in Kurt's room to get away from her.

Skittles taste the rainbow

2009-05-17T23:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's time again for Kurt's ever changing band colors on his braces. He went in on the 12th of May and had no idea what colors he wanted this time. So, he let Stephanie the hygienist choose for him and I love what she did! Very cool job of making his teeth colorful. I told him he needs to start thinking of what the next colors are going to be when he goes in at the end of June, because those colors will be in his senior pictures.

Easter

2009-05-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

I know I'm posting this late, but better late than never, right?? This past Easter we had little Nathalia over because mom was working. So, I had Nati and Mitch color our Easter eggs. I had them all set up in the living room working on individual trays and they each colored half a dozen eggs. On Easter morning I turned Mitch's eggs into devilled eggs, yummy! Even Nati tried some of an egg!! You can tell that they each have their own style on coloring eggs. Mitch tends to be more of a Nirvana fan of egg coloring, hence the "x" eyes and "u" squiggled mouth. Nati's are more colorful. I'd say that they all turned out fantastic!

Then Nati and I tried out hand at making some cake balls. Yummy! If you haven't tried them you need to check out Bakerella's blog and try to make some. Incredible! Even though ours are no where near as fancy as her's, they tasted great!

I also wanted to show that we all got Easter baskets, can you believe that peeking out of Brett's basket there were items for Apple?? This dog is more spoiled than mine are!

2009-05-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, I had to share my deal that I got at Albertson's this week! I love a good deal, and this week was awesome because soooo many great coupons came out online. I hope everyone was able to get some of the super Kraft coupons that hit the sites. I don't know if you can see everything in the picture, so I'll just list it all off:

1-gallon milk-(free because I received a catalina last week by buying four boxes of specific cereal)

16 easy mac cups

10 bottles of BBQ sauce

6 bottles of mayo

4 bottles of salad dressing

4 boxes of Velveeta shells and cheese dinners

1 box of Planters Big Nut bars

5 boxes of Bagelfuls

1 pack of Juicyfruit slims-free

This entire haul cost me $10.63 and I got another catalina good for $3 off my next purchase!!

Let me tell you the boys were tickled with the bagelfuls and the bbq sauce! I should be set on sauce for awhile because I bought some last week too.

Free lunch at KFC

2009-05-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

I came across an awesome coupon last week for a free KFC meal made possible thanks to Oprah. The coupon was for the new grilled chicken. Let me tell you the chicken was yummy(and I paid for it later)! With our coupon we received two pieces of grilled chicken, a biscuit, and two sides. We added a couple drinks and had a delicious together.

Stephanie's Prom Card

2009-04-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it was pointed out to me that I haven't updated my blog in forever, so I thought I'd post a card made last month for my niece's junior prom. She wore a lovely yellow gown and looked fabulous! So, I made this card as a memento for her scrapbook. I love this stamp called "Prom Queen" by Penney Torrente. Isn't it awesome?? I'm just hoping that Stephanie had an awesome night at her prom!

Stamp: Penney Torrente distributed by Stampotique
Inks: Adirondack Pitch Black
Paper: Stampin' Up! DSP and CS
Accessories: brads, staples, primas, foam letters, rhinestones, copics for coloring!

Easter skeletons??

2009-03-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

So, I got these awesome stamps from Sugar Nellie called Skull Boyz and I love them! I kept looking at them and wondering what I would do with them. All I knew is that they were calling to me. Fast forward to a week later and I'm looking at the Skull Boy holding a sign in his hand and looking at my Michael's carrot stamp......skull boy.....carrot.....skull boy......carrot. Then it came to me!! Mask out the sign and have my skull boy holding the carrot. So, I set to work and for some reason I had a really hard time masking out that sign. But I didn't give up! I got that sign out of there and after stamping and masking I was able to add the carrot to his hand. Of course I colored the skull boy and the carrot with my copic markers. I had also stamped out another Michael's easter stamp with a bunny hiding in a flower pot. I knew I wanted him on the inside of the card, so it came to me what I needed my skull boy to be saying. Now, I want you to think of Elmer Fudd when you say the senitment I computer generated. He's saying "Shhh....be vewy qwiet....I'm hunting Easter bunnies". I chose to make this card into a gate card and the skeleton and sentiment are tucked under the brad to hold the front of the card closed. When you open the card inside is the hiding bunny which I decided to turn into a bookmark! I love that! So you just slide out the bookmark and you can remember this card all year long! I know that this is not a typical Easter card and trust me it's not going to very many people. Probably won't even leave this house! But for those of you that may want one, just ask and you may receive. The Easter cards that are going in the mail will be a surprise until I mail them out!

Stamps: Sugar Nellie, Studio G

Papers: My Mind's Eye, Stampin' Up! CS

Inks: Adirondack Pitch Black

Accessories: eyelet, fibers, Stampin' Up! horizontal punch, pop dots, copic markers for coloring

Oompa Loompa Ian

2009-03-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

Well, this is the first week that I decided to play along with the Cinema Saturday Challenge.

I've never played before but I was turned on to this site by my friend, Libby! She loves to play and her cards are awesome!! Anyway, I saw that the challenge this week was to use bright colors based on the movies Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I knew what stamp I wanted to try out, so I just needed to refresh my memory and rewatch these movies. Luckily, we own them both so I put in the original first and then followed it up with the Johnny Depp version. I find that both of these movies are awesome visually, but boy do I remember having bad dreams about a little girl blowing up into a huge blueberry and being rolled out of the room! I don't have those nightmares anymore!! I chose to use Happy Chef Ian from the Greeting Farm as my stamped image and afeter watching both movies I decided to color him as an original Oompa Loompa! I love how he turned out with the orange skin and green hair. Also, in honor of Libby, I chose to use some polka dots in the background. What do you think? I think he came together nicely. I know you probably can't tell but some of the candy is pop dotted to add dimension. Hopefully you can tell what he is! I want to thank the wonderful ladies who host this challenge every week and let them know their hints are so hard but so much fun to try to guess.

Stamps: The Greeting Farm, Stampin' Up!, Studio G

Inks: Adirondack Pitch Black, Stazon Pumpkin

Papers: Basic Grey, Bazzill

Accessories: buckle, ribbons, copics for coloring

Prom Queen

2009-03-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

For this card I used the "Prom Queen" stamp that I got from Stampotique. The artist who created the design is Penney Torrente. I can' t get enough of these stamps! I always have so much fun coloring them! I used my copic markers to color her, and gave her pasty white skin. I added some bling crystals to her dress as well as the side of the card. And the bats and raven were cut from the same piece of Cosmo Cricket as was used behind the Prom Queen. Don't you wish you had a Prom Queen who looked like her?? I also used acrylic glitter paint on the Stampin' Up! pumpkin pie cardstock. Although you can't tell, the birds are pop dotted and the Prom Queen is pop dotted to give added dimension. I love how my staple flowers turned out, so very not perfect!! All in all, I love her! And I can't get enough of using orange lately, probably because I love orange.

Stamps: Stampotique

Papers: Cosmo Cricket, Stampin' Up! CS, Bazzill CS

Inks: Adirondack Pitch Black

Accessories: crystals, acrylic glitter paint, brads, staples, copics for coloring, clear spica on eye shadow, black velvet ribbon, orange sheer ribbon

Seriously?

2009-03-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am making a card in an odd size again, but I feel that I need to because of the sheer size of the stamp that I chose to use. Do you love her? I love her! And I love how she turned out! This is "Two Barrettes" from Stampotique. The artists that created the stamp image are Penney Torrente a husband and wife team, and I love the images they make!! And Carol at Stamptique is soo nice. Ok, so I've been coloring these goth girls for a few days now and finally had time to put a card together. I wanted her clothes to be bright so I pulled out my copics and found some colors I loved (which colors do I not love??). I don't know why but I normally color my images before I pick out papers, strange, huh? I can't help it. So, once she was colored I went on a search in my stockpile and found a slab that I had bought at Michael's. I can't remember what slab it was, but it was certainly something to do with teens! I used a sheet that had colors similar to what I had colored. I had to find a quote or word that I thought would fit in with my goth girl and chose the "Seriously" from Stampin' Up!'s Seriously Sassy. I can picture her stamping her foot and saying in a bit of snotty tone (or a teen tone!) "seriously?" I chose to emboss the word to make it pop. I used my paper crimper with Stampin' Up! Sahara Sand cardstock to use as a background mat. I also decided to use some orange acrylic paint topped off with some black glitter paint to create a little shimmer. I love my homemade dew drops! Thanks to a post on splitcoaststampers.com that lead me to the Frugal Crafter's blog on how to make your own dew drops with a hot glue gun. I then colored my dew drops with the same copic marker that I used to color "Two Barrettes" skirt. Of course I had to use some staples on a goth card! Well, maybe I didn't have to, but I really wanted to! I just love how she turned out and I hope that you do as well.

Stamps: Stampotique, Stampin' Up!

Papers: Michael's Me and My Big Idea's Slab, Bazzill CS, Stampin' Up! CS, GP CS

Inks: Adirondack Pitch Black, Versamark

Accessories: paper clips, staples, copics for coloring, homemade dew drops, embossing powder, acrylic paints

Sweet Apple

2009-03-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

Isn't she cute in that sweater?? I love to put her in it, probably because she doesn't really care, unlike Bug and Gnat. Brett, however, gets very upset when he sees his puppy wearing clothes. He will immediately take the sweater off of her and try to console her like it was a punishment. Can you believe that?? Well, let me know what you think! Maybe we can convince Brett that it's not so bad!

Ah! New bands for braces

2009-03-20T16:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been 6 weeks so Kurt had to go in to get new bands put on his braces and get the wires tightened. He couldn't decide what colors to do, so I suggested gold and silver because next week he's a part of the Jazz festival in Wyoming. About that time a girl from his math class walked in and heard what we were talking about and said he should get pink. I had no idea what he was going to do when it was his turn in the chair. So, when he came out these were the colors he had chosen----PINK and SILVER!! Wow! Enjoy Kurt!

Nathalia's picture!

2009-03-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, Nati, this is for you!! I have shown my blog to one of my daycare children and she really liked the idea of posting the items you create. She even saw the pictures that Mitch colored and I added to my blog. She asked me if I could put her colorings on my blog, too. So, I asked her mom and her mom said yes! So, here is the wonderful job she did coloring a fairy stamp that I got from Paper Makeup stamps. I think she did an awesome job! She even turned it into a card that she surprised her mom with! She's so sweet like that. And since I know someone else will read this, Hey Marcy! What do you think?? I know you will like this post because of who colored it! She still talks about you,December, Anthony, Mr. Henry and Homer!!

Junky car or classic in the weeds?

2009-03-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, I love this stamp set by Stampin' Up! And I think it turned out pretty good when I colored it with my copics. My favorite part is the rust spots!! I think I'm going to have to do some research though and find out what colors they actually used on cars during that era. I love the blue, but I want a little more variety.

My 16 year old son thought my weeds were too green and needed to be browner, but , well, I love green and had to fit it in. So, maybe on the next image I'll really tone down the greens.

Stamps: Stampin' Up!

Papers: My Mind's Eye, Bazzill CS, Stampin' Up! CS

Inks: Adirondack Pitch Black

Accessories: eyelets (ha! from the sewing dept at Walmart!!), Copics for coloring, crochet thread

They're here!!! My Penney Torrente stamps from Stampotique!!!

2009-03-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

I am so excited!!!! Can you tell??!! My stamps came today and I love each and every one of them!!! Those gothic girls are amazing!! And Mr. Stripes! Who wouldn't love that spider!! And look at that letter "T"! It's actually double mounted and includes the upper and lower case t. I can't wait to start stamping with them!! I am planning on going in and stamping out several images of each girl and then sitting down to color them with my copics! Aren't they beautiful? Well, maybe they aren't supposed to be beautiful, but they are red rubber on wood mounts and I LOVE that!! Can you believe that all my guys think these stamps are awesome? I still can't believe that I was able to find stamps like this. I owe the finding to splitcoasterstampers.com. Love that site! I can find everything I want, and there are so many enablers on there!! And just in case you want some of these stamps for your very own, please go to Stampotique. Ok, I will let you drool over my new stamps while I am going to have so much fun stamping with them!! After that I will be able to dig out all my awesome skull papers and have some more fun!

Paper Makeup Blog Hop

2009-03-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

YAY! I'm so glad that today is the day for the Paper Makeup Blog Hop!! This is my first blog hop and I had to scramble to get my card done because I've been working all weekend. I couldn't wait for my kiddo to go to sleep so I could work for just a few minutes to put my pretty "Sprout" on a card. I decided to go simple to show off my Paper Makeup stamp. I love how she turned out! I am super excited to see what fantastic creations all the other "hoppers" have created. My suggestion would be to start at Katie Cotton's blog for the fun! There will be challenges, prizes and fun all day long!

Stamps: Paper Makeup

Ink: Adirondack

Paper: Stampin' Up! DSP, Stampin' Up! CS

Accessories: primas, brads, Copics for coloring, Spica clear pen on wings and water

The other hoppers you can check out at their blogs:

Lisa Kind - http://kindcreations.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Greco - http://glitterinmyhair.blogspot.com/
Tangii Crain - http://www.tangiink.com/
Danyel Owens - http://www.psychostamper.blogspot.com/
Lisa McKinney - http://www.lisabeesponderings.blogspot.com/
Dawn Knight - http://dawnsrubberroom.blogspot.com/
Melissa Craig - http://stampitscrapitshareit.blogspot.com/
Ashley newell - http://hearthugsdesigns.blogspot.com/
Ceal Pritchett - http://simplybeautifulcreations.blogspot.com/
Tina Hale - http://woodedviews.blogspot.com/
Jamie Morris - http://www.jaymerzstamps.blogspot.com/
Shannon Bracken - http://shannonssentiments.blogspot.com/
Cheryl Penner - http://mycreativetherapy-cheryl.blogspot.com/
Tenia Nelson - http://www.jazzypaper.blogspot.com/
Nancy Bush - http://www.southernyankeecrafter.blogspot.com/
Joni Wilson - http://astickysituation.blogspot.com/
Kimberlee Doktor - http://craftingforsanity.blogspot.com/
Sara Henton - saracreativemind.blogspot.com
Cassie Larson - http://www.fortheartofit.blogspot.com/
Shaela Odd - http://www.shaelaodd.blogspot.com/
Heather Lee-Reppen - http://www.inkonmyear.blogspot.com/
Kim Stewart - http://impressyourself.typepad.com/
Christi Thorsen - http://cici510.blogspot.com/
Katie Cotton - http://papermakeup.blogspot.com/

Paper Makeup Blog Hop

2009-03-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yay! It's the big day for the Paper Makeup Blog Hop! It will be a day of fun, challenges and games all day. This is the card I quickly made up last night while I was working after my kiddo fell asleep.

Here is a list of the blogs that you can go to during the Blog Hop! I suggest starting at Katie Cotton's blog and traveling through all the fun stops!

Lisa Kind - http://kindcreations.blogspot.com

Jennifer Greco - http://glitterinmyhair.blogspot.com

Tangii Crain - http://www.tangiink.com/

Danyel Owens - www.psychostamper.blogspot.com

Lisa McKinney - http://www.lisabeesponderings.blogspot.com

Dawn Knight - http://dawnsrubberroom.blogspot.com

Melissa Craig - http://stampitscrapitshareit.blogspot.com

Ashley newell - http://hearthugsdesigns.blogspot.com/

Ceal Pritchett - http://simplybeautifulcreations.blogspot.com/
Tina Hale - http://woodedviews.blogspot.com/

Jamie Morris - www.jaymerzstamps.blogspot.com

Shannon Bracken - http://shannonssentiments.blogspot.com

Cheryl Penner - http://mycreativetherapy-cheryl.blogspot.com/

Tenia Nelson - http://www.jazzypaper.blogspot.com/

Nancy Bush - www.southernyankeecrafter.blogspot.com

Joni Wilson - http://astickysituation.blogspot.com/

Kimberlee Doktor - http://craftingforsanity.blogspot.com/

Sara Henton - saracreativemind.blogspot.com

Cassie Larson - http://www.fortheartofit.blogspot.com

Shaela Odd - http://www.shaelaodd.blogspot.com/

Heather Lee-Reppen - www.inkonmyear.blogspot.com

Kim Stewart - http://impressyourself.typepad.com

Brandi Burns - http://sparkleshimmerandtwinkle.blogspot.com/

www.hoveyhut.blogspot.com it's anita Hovey's!

dawn barrett'shttp://dawnmercedes.blogspot.com/

Christi Thorsen - http://cici510.blogspot.com/

Katie Cotton - http://papermakeup.blogspot.com

Wishes

2009-03-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

This card I decided to do a size that I don't normally do. And I love the way it turned out. I love, love, love this fairy from Paper Makeup Stamps. Kirsten is just sooo fun to color with my Copics! I got my inspiration for her skintones from one of my daycare kiddos, and she loved her! This card was made for the challenge this week at the Paper Makeup blog. The challenge was to use two different kinds of bling. I chose to use some Heidi Swapp blings that had been waiting to be used forever. For my second type of bling I used my clear Spica pen on her wings and her breath on the puffball of the dandelion. I also thought since I was pulling out that bling that I'd had forever that I'd use a tool that hasn't seen much use lately. I got out my paper crimper and crimped a couple sheets of cardstock to go under my Stampin' Up! sentiment. I hope you enjoy her as much as I do! I can't wait to show my daycare kiddo the card tomorrow when she wakes up.

Stamps: Paper Makeup, Stampin' Up!
Paper: My Mind's Eye, Bazzill, SU! CS,
Inks: SU!, Adirondack
Accessories: Heidi Swapp bling, brads, Copics for coloring, Spica pen

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

Yay! I finished one of my cards today. I was supposed to be cleaning, but you all know how that goes. I really loved this fairy from Paper Makeup Stamps and had to show her off. These stamps are so easy to color! I just love to use my copic markers on them.

Stamps: Paper Makeup, Studio G
Paper: SU! Fall Flowers, Soft Sky, Old Olive
Inks: Stazon Olive Green, Adirondack Pitch Black
Accessories: brads, ribbons, copics, clear spica, felt flower

Mitch's creations

2009-03-08T10:38:00.001-07:00

Well, Mitch has been very interested this week in my stamping because he has had his eye on my new copic markers. So, I had stamped out about a hundred images and now I can sit and color, right. He was watching me and I asked if we wanted to try them. He jumped right up and came over to pick out some images. I wasn't surprised when he chose two images from Paper Makeup Stamps. I can tell that I am going to have to buy the rest of the monsters and aliens from Katie. Well, that won't be such a hardship! Anyway, I thought he did a great job of coloring, and we will be turning his artwork into a card soon, so be on the lookout!

Happy birthday Bellas!

2009-03-08T10:24:00.001-07:00

Ok, so my mom's birthday was on Friday and I didn't want to post her card on here in case she might see it. Now that her birthday is over I think I can post it. I actually made three cards, but only sent her one. I had to color it with my copic markers. I am sooo happy that I took the plunge and bought them. I was on the fence for at least a year, and for the past six months I went back and forth. I did a lot of research and was really worried about them because some people had said that they couldn't get used to them and preferred their pencils or watercoloring. Don't get me wrong, I love my pencils and love to watercolor with my SU! classic inks, but copics are so easy! Who knew?

I miss you

2009-03-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

I have to say it again, I just love this stamp! I turned my sad gorilla into a grape ape!! He's too cute to be sad. I decided that I would create this card for the challenge at the Paper Makeup blog using designs by Diem Bach Pascarella. I used her "Sensual Alligator" as my inspiration for the purple and bluish colors. Great work Diem! I have to say I was very impressed with all of her artwork, including her medical designs. Wow! I used my Copic markers on him and just love how rich the colors turn out. Now, off to work on some other projects, such as making zucchini bread.

Stamps: Paper Makeup
Papers: Baja Breeze CS, Provo Craft Slab
Inks: Baja Breeze, Dusty Concord Distress Ink
Accessories: Copic markers (W1, RV13, BV13, BV02, BV17), cuttlebug and sizzix texture plates, eyelets, brads, book plate, ribbon

Welcome Baby!

2009-03-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know I've shown this card before, I just wanted to show that it easily translates to other color schemes. I needed to make another baby card and didn't know if the baby was a boy or girl, so green it was! Hope you enjoy!

Just playing with my new copics!!

2009-03-01T14:44:00.001-08:00

I was just having fun with my new markers. My Copics are awesome. Please keep in mind with the "grape ape" that I took the picture on my lap. They are all the same size and not blurry in real life!

Guilty Gorilla by Paper Makeup Stamps

2009-02-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

Ok, when I first saw this gorilla at Paper Makeup Stamps I knew I had to have him!! I mean look at those sad,sad eyes and that pouty lip! Who wouldn't love him?? When I saw the challenge this week at the Paper Makeup blog I knew that I was going to use him. I had fun creating this card. I wanted the card to be a little dark because of how sad my gorilla is. I pulled out my cuttlebug and some Coredinations cardstock and embossed and sanded away. I colored my gorilla with prismacolor pencils (I am anxiously awaiting the FEDEX man tomorrow!! Thanks Katie for all the help!!) Of course a project rarely seems finished without some glimmer mist, so not only is a portion of the middle matting misted, but my whole gorilla was misted!! The sentiment is from the same stamp set! I even pulled out my sewing machine, which is never far away, and sewed around the edges. When I finish a project I always ask my guys what they think, and this guy got three thumbs up!

Ingredients:
Stamps: Paper Makeup Stamps
Papers: Bo Bunny, Coredinations, Baja Breeze CS
Inks: Versafine Onzx Black, Fired Brick Distress Ink, Faded Jeans Distress Ink, Riding Hood Red SU! classic ink
Accessories: Glimmer Mist (Oyster, Robin's Egg Blue), prima, brad, ribbon
Techniques: sewing, embossing, sanding, glimmer misting

Chelly!

2009-02-25T11:57:00.001-08:00

Don't ya just love her?? I love how she turned out!! This is Chelly from Paper Makeup stamps. I was so tickled that she came on Friday of last week! I had to work Friday night for daycare, though, so no playtime for me. Then on Saturday we went geocaching to Havre. It was a great day! So, even though no playtime still had lots of fun. I knew on Sunday that I wouldn't get to play because I had to do daycare all day. So, when Monday morning rolled around, I headed to my desk!! I watercolored her with SU! classic inks. I even used some stickles on this card. Hopefully you can see the stickles on the clover, wings, and scallop punch. I painted my stickles on the clovers that Chelly is kicking up with her heels! So much fun. The background paper turned out just like I wanted it to! I used some of my glimmer mists to create a sky with clouds and a meadow. I hope you like how she turned out!

Ingredients
Stamps: Paper Makeup, Studio G, Rollagraph Wheel
Papers: Stampin' Up! River Rock DSP, River Rock CS, Garden Green CS, GP CS
Inks: SU! classic inks (Garden Green, Old Olive, Blush Blossom, Apricot Appeal, So Saffron, More Mustard, Pretty in Pink, River Rock, Mellow Moss, Riding Hood Red, Bravo Burgundy
Accessories: Versamark and embossing powder, brads, white twill, River Rock grosgrain, Stickles (Lime Green, Frosted Lace, Burgundy), Glimmer Mists (Robin's Egg Blue, Olive Vine, Green Tea), pop dots

Yay! New Rubbah!!

2009-02-23T13:31:00.001-08:00

Ok, I finally got a chance to sit down. I actually received these stamps on Friday. I love them so much. I had to get the Squirrel set, because I am always saying "you're a nut", even my daycare children know this about me. And who couldn't love a sad gorilla. You should see his eyes! And I love, love, love fairies! I mean come on, I did get two fairy tattoos. So, these stamps are a must for me. I didn't get to play on Friday, though, because I had to do daycare. My guys went to the High School basketball game. I did get lots of images stamped out and I started working on the fairy, but I'm not posting her yet. You'll just have to wait. I didn't get a chance to get much done on Saturday, because we went geocaching on Saturday to Havre. Loved it there! And Sunday was a bust because I ended up having to do daycare all day. Phew, from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm. Long day. So, this morning I got up to get everyone ready and had intentions to go back to bed. But, alas, my cell kept texting me. I wonder who was calling? Brett must have known what I was up to! Anyway, I decided to go and work on my fairy card and I love her! That's another post, though. Just wanted to let you know how excited I was to get the stamps!! Can't wait for my preorder to come in!! shhhhh.....

Welcome Baby

2009-02-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

Yay! I got the email that I needed to make more baby cards. So, late last night, around 10 pm after receiving the email I headed right down to my space to begin. I thought this time I would do inchies! Actually, they are 1 1/4", but we won't quibble. LOL! I knew that by making inchies I would be forced to use some of my many, many dollar stamps. Don't we all have a ton of these? I can't resist them. I didn't check what series these came from, but I'm sure you have them too, right?? It's not just me, right? Some day I will show you where I keep them. Ok, so now I knew what I wanted to do, now I needed to pick the paper. I chose Crate paper. More specifically- Dragonfly from the Baby Bee collection. I love it. But I wanted to make it more mine and match the cardstock I wanted to use--SU! Baja Breeze. So, out came the cuttlebug and my sizzix texture plates. After embossing the background I sponged it with SU! Baja Breeze classic ink. Love how it turned out, and if you see by the picture, what a difference! For the inchies, I stamped in Saddle Brown Stazon and used my prismacolor pencils to color. I hooked them together like a clothesline using embroidery floss. I have tons of that around here from my cross stitch days. I should pull something out to work on again. Maybe. The white twill ribbon was sponged with SU! Baja Breeze and stamped using Saddle Brown Stazon with a sentiment from SU! Bundled in Love. All in all, I really like this card and let me know if you do too!

Clickabella

2009-02-19T16:10:00.000-08:00

Ok, I was so pleased with my last pink and gray card that I decided to make another. I even used the same papers. I chose to use one of my bella stamps for this one and I love her! The background pink paper was from the DCWV Luxury Stack. I ran it through my cuttlebug and embossed it with the Sizzix filigree texture plate. Then I used my Ranger foam applicator to shade the embossed sections with SU! Going Gray classic ink. I decided to paper piece my bella and used the silver and pink papers used in the contruction of card! I even paper pieced the tiny flowers! Love them! I watercolored the desktop, fleshtones, shoes and hair with several SU! classic inks. I even colored the white ribbon. I used my foam applicator tool to sponge on SU! Going Gray and then stamped "chat*im*text" with a Studio G stamp set. I hope you enjoy her as much as I enjoyed making her!!

Paper Makeup Challenge!!

2009-02-17T10:50:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I was surfing again and came across this great site with these really awesome stamps. (I have quite a few in my cart!) And checked out the blog. Well, they are running a challenge and I just had to try it. The challenge was to create a card with pink and gray. I rarely get to use these colors because I have only boys surrounding me here. So, I went to work. I knew I wanted to make a simple looking card so I decided to go easy on the embellishments. I started by choosing a silver sheet of cardstock for the base and the pink was a sheet of DCWV from the Luxury Stack. I found a couple of SU! stamp sets to use. The first set was Butterfly of Happiness and I chose the quote. I used Jet Black Stazon on a transparency and attached it with two tiny silver brads. The other set was Upsy Daisy and I stamped it on the silver cardstock using my Tsukineko glue pad and went old school and used Flamingo Pink Pearl Ex to create the pink flowers. I love them!! I added some sheer silver ribbon and went to work on my little butterfly. I brayered on Pink Ink glimmer mist and stamped a clear butterfly stamp by Martha Stewart using SU! basic gray classic ink. I love the effect of the shimmery butterfly. Hope you enjoy this card as much as I do.

Love card

2009-02-16T13:49:00.000-08:00

I had some fun making this card! Man, do I love to use Glimmer Mists! I started with a base layer of white cardstock. First, I brayered on a layer of Stampin' Up! Sahara Sand classic ink. Then I brayered on Bolivian Blue glimmer mist, and heat dryed. Next, I brayered on a layer of Frosty Nights glimmer mist, and heat dryed. Are you seeing a pattern here? Then, I brayered on a layer of Daffodil glimmer mist and heat dryed. I was happy with the night sky effect this created. My next step was to stamp my trees. I used a background stamp from Viva Las Vegas Stamps that consists of huge branchy trees. I brayered (there's that fun technique again!) on a layer of Jet Black Stazon ink. I love the smell of Black stazon!! Nothing like it! None of the other colors smell so good. Aaahh, now my background layer is done. I can rest a bit. Ok, that's done. Now on to the couple. I love this stamp. You've probably noticed a lot on my blog. Ok, I again began with a piece of white cardstock that I spritzed with my own concoction of a light walnut stain mixture. Heat dry. Then spray Sandy Beach glimmer mist and heat dry. You could also brayer the glimmer mist on! The ribbon started as a white twill. I sprayed it with my walnut stain mixture then heat dryed. Then sprayed with Sandy Beach glimmer mist and heat dryed again. I love to use that heat dryer!! Add a small prima with a tiny brad and tada! It's done. I'm happy with the results! Hope you like it too.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2009-02-14T12:29:00.000-08:00

Phew! Too many pictures for one post. Here's the rest!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2009-02-14T12:08:00.000-08:00

Well, I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning making a special Valentine's Day basket for my guys. Maybe I wouldn't have had to stay up until 2:30 in the morning if I hadn't decided to wait until February 13th to start this project. I bought some heart shaped baskets, plastic champagne flutes, heart napkins, and heart tissue paper at the Dollar Tree. Then I went to Great Harvest and bought cookies and savannah bars to put in each basket. Yummy!! So, last night I started making some tags for all the baskets. I made 4 tags for each basket and on the back of each tag is a coupon for some fun little treats! I'm shocked that none of my guys wondered what I was up to, because I kept showing them tags as I finished them! Sneaky me!! Are you wondering what the coupons are good for?? Well, let me tell you. My favorite tag is the same stamp that I used for Brett's card the other day. I love the technique, probably because it's one that Tim Holtz showcased for his Christmas tags. The coupon reads, "This card entitles the bearer to get a chome made dinner of choice with at least two day notice". Fun huh?? Tag number 2 is the masked music staff and states "This card entitles the bearer to choose one Netflix movie to be placed at the top of the queue". We love our Netflix here! On to tag number 3. This tag was stamped with the SU! set Define your life. Then I had to use one of my favorite techniques: cracked glass! I love to do that!!! Ok, the tag says "This card entitles the bearer to a book of choice with a maximum value of $12.00". Let me tell you that Kurt's eyes lit up with that one!! Finally, that brings us to the fourth tag. I again used a SU! set and love how this tag turned out! The one states "This card entitles the bearer to receive control of the living room TV for a non-daycare night". This one was made with Mitch in mind and he loved it!! When I was making the tags I decided to not put names on them because I wanted everyone to be able to trade for what the wanted. Let me tell you, the boys wasted no time. Kurt and Mitch traded so that Kurt gets an extra book and Mitch gets more TV control. No surprise there. I told them that I think on my TV control day I am going to shut it off! It turned out that Brett and I traded a tag too! He wanted the dinner choice (good decision for him to be in charge of what's made!) and I took the TV control! More quiet nights! I'm just glad that my guys were so thrilled to wake up and find the baskets with the special touches I added. And my shortbread cookies from Great Harvest? Wonderful!

Playin' around

2009-02-14T11:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I tried to get some posed shots at home and some candid. Some of the shots ended up having extra elements in them. I was trying to get a shot of Kurt texting on his phone and it seemed like every time I went to shoot I get extra items pointed directly at Kurt's head. *sigh* little brothers. Yes, that is a sword being pointed at Kurt. Then I wanted to play with my remote and that was fun. Of course, I always seem to want to go in and change things about my photos or crop them. One picture I softened the entire picture. I kind of like the effect. And, well, it wouldn't be me if I didn't turn something antique or black and white. Hopefully, I will get some more time to play with the tripod and remote soon.

Valentine's Day Card

2009-02-11T22:04:00.001-08:00

Well, I spent some time today trying to come up with a card that I hoped my husband would like. I tried my best to make a card that he would like. I chose a stamp that I knew he liked (I think he may have picked it out!) and colors that would appeal to him. I really got to play around. Let me tell you, I must have stamped the image out half a dozen times with different effects until I got what I wanted. I ended up brayering Sandy Beach glimmer mist on white cardstock, then heat drying, then brayering Pewter Radiant Rain, then heat dry again. Finally I was able to stamp my image! Love that couple! On the inside I again used glimmer mist. I believe I used Jasper Red and Sandy Beach. Then after heat drying, I used my Sizzix Top Note die from SU! and cut out the pattern. I love how it turned out, and because I couldn't wait, I gave it to him early! Happy Valentine's Day, Brett!

Sergei

2009-02-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday was a very sad day. Brett and I had to take Sergei to the vet because we had noticed that he was not eating anything and he was just laying in front of his water bowl and hovering. We even spread out an extra water bowl in the kitchen for him. This happened very quickly. It only took him one week to get to the state he was in at the end. We found out at the vet's that he had lost a little over 5 pounds in that one week. He looked like a shell of his former self. The vet made me feel the mass in his stomach which was very large and hard. Poor cat was dying from cancer. So, we did the right thing by taking him in and we'll miss him. I will miss hearing him "reow" from the top step of the basement stairs because he wanted in the kitchen. I included a picture of Sergei to show what he used to look like before the past week happened. Still hard to believe that it only took a week for him to get to the point that he ended at.

Rocky Mountain Oysters

2009-02-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

Well, last night I decided that I really needed to get my "swap" recipes put away in my albums. I had several swaps worth sitting on top of my albums. I really need to stop procrastinating as much as I do, like right now with the cleaning. Anyway, I came across one recipe card that I had made about a year ago (told you I'd been putting this off) of a "copycat swap". So, in a "copycat swap" you need to get the recipe from a restaurant. Well, one of the swappers hated when people used recipes that she already owned. So, I happened to have a recipe book from Dixie Dave's in Birch Run, Michigan, and used his recipe for "Rocky Mountain Oysters". I figured this would one recipe that she didn't have. I really expected to get some flack from some of the participants about my choice, buy no one said anything negative. I still wonder if anyone has tried this recipe out. My husband said no way!! I am thinking, however, could I use some red food coloring....hmmmm.......

Baby card

2009-02-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I didn't have a lot of time this week to play, but I had to create a baby card for a new baby girl. I love that stamp set by SU!, too bad it's retired. Oh well, I'm still going to use it because it's so cute. Hopefully next week I'll get the make some valentines for the special guys in my life. I even told my hubby that on valentine's day I'll make a dinner that is red in honor of the occasion. Our ideas for the dinner weren't quite the same......He's thinking more red foods, tomatoes, apples, that kind of thing. I'm thinking more red food coloring!! HA! We'll see what actually happens! May be a surprise to both of us! Too bad we don't really drink anymore, although there is a nice bottle of German Riesling Spatlese (2003) in the fridge. I don't know though, I haven't drank since around the time Mitch was born. We did get hooked on this particular wine when we lived in the region in Germany and I remember the festivals! Wow! Every day is a fest of some sort, right?? I'm sure that Brett remembers much more than I do, because my memory is so spotty. Ok, I think I went far enough off track in this post, that I should end, but hopefully more to come later......

New Colors

2009-02-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

Well, on Thursday Kurt had his orthodontist appointment, and luckily he's been taking really good care of his teeth and the ortho said it shows. As you all probably know the bands on the braces come in many, many colors. The colors Kurt chose last time bothered me because he chose white and black bands. They alternate the colors on the brackets and so, to me, the black bands looked like he had food or something stuck in them. Ewww. This month he chose green and yellow. They look much better to me because I am not thinking he has food stuck in his teeth! He chose the colors because green and gold are his high school colors.

By the way we went to the girl's basketball game last night and they won! Kurt goes to all the games because he is in the PEP band. Man do those band kids love to play! And let me tell you the 80's hair bands sound great coming from them! Love it when they play "The Final Countdown" by Europe. I can just picture Joey Tempest singing now.......sigh...... And they play "We got the Beat" by the Go-Go's faster than you've ever heard it before.

Ok, now I am so tempted to pull out some dvds and watch American Pie or Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Decisions, decisions........

I got Mail!!!

2009-02-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

Well, I was tickled to get this great package of goodies from Chara! Lots of stamps, primas, and a great new Scentsy warmer (that now is in my living room where it fits perfectly!) and some new scents for the warmer. By the way, I love the Vanilla Walnut scent! I really wanted to show how wonderful the post office was to my "insured" package. Wow! As my husband said I must have had Ace Ventura taking care of my package! Can you believe that they couldn't even tape up the box where they must have ripped it open? I can't even believe that they are allowed to charge so much for shipping. I have to tell you I was not pleased to know that the prices went up in January and I didn't even know they were doing it until I went in one day. Gosh, to mail a card with a brad now costs 62 cents! Can't wait to see if the prices go up again in May. Anyways, sending a HUGE "Thanks" to Chara for the awesome goodies! Now, I need to use those stamps and do some posting, huh??

Happy Anniversary cards

2009-01-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

"The dishes are done, man!" Remember that from "Don't tell mom the babysitter's dead"? Well, my dishes are done, or as many as could fit in the dishwasher. So, I'm done with that for awhile. So, I thought I'd post up some more "old" cards. I really should have kept up with this blog. Oh well, I am now. So I needed a card for my in-laws anniversary which is coming up and thought I had a few left. I love this stamp set by SU! My husband had a very hard time picking out which one he wanted to send out, but eventually chose the reddish-rust card! I love them both, but realize now that because I only have one more anniversary card left that I need to get working and stockpile some more. The horror of having to create!! Well, I am off to my next chore, sweeping and mopping the floors. Wish me luck.......sigh.....

Fairy Bandaids!!!

2009-01-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I need to clean my house, but today I'm working on the reward system for myself! I'm going to play around on the computer for awhile, then go do the dishes, then I'll be back, then mop the floors, etc, you get the idea. I do this all the time. So, you can see a portion of my desk and let me tell you that is a huge improvement. I have a huge roll top desk that is covered! Anyway I cut myself yesterday and was digging around in the cupboard for some bandaids. Well, I found this box and was tickled! I forgot I bought it ages ago. The fairies are created by artist Amy Brown. These fairies have a special meaning to me, because I chose to use one of her fairies as a tattoo on my back about a year and half ago! Who would have thought that I would have gotten a tattoo. I was so against it. But this tattoo is so feminine and my tattoo artist did a wonderful job! Crazy thing is, a week after I got it, I went back on got a second tattoo. Let me tell you, my Mitch was so ticked at me for doing this during the summer! My tattoo artist had told me they weren't to get wet until they healed, so that meant no swim park! I'll post a pic of my fairy tattoo, but I don't know about my other tattoo. She's also a fairy, but not for the faint of heart!

Santa card

2009-01-27T20:39:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know I am supposed to be cleaning off my desk, which has many items about to topple over if even a feather were to land, or mabye even the speck from Horton Hears a Who, but.......I found this card in the rubble. I know I made it over a year ago, and some of you may recognize it. I still love it! It's crazy! It's one of those stamps that you have no idea what you are looking at until you stamp it, but it's gorgeous! Don't you just love Santa's eyes peeking over his glasses?? Anyway, thought I post it here rather than clean for a few minutes!

Guess what?

2009-01-26T11:22:00.000-08:00

Well, these pictures may need explanation. Kurt has this bag in his hand and when you open it up---guess what----it's my truck passenger mirror!!! Saturday night he had his first knick. He bumped the mirror on a car and because it's so cold out, my mirror shattered. He didn't know what to do, so I had to let him know to call the cops and wait. The other car was barely scratched, but we'll see........ Anyway, he's fine and at least it wasn't a lot of damage for a first accident. So, on Sunday he had to go to Johnny Mac band practice, and when he got home I asked if anything happened. Sarcastic Kurt said, "Oh yeah, the driver's mirror is gone, but it's ok, I know how to call the cops now."

Sailboat card

2009-01-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, these are some cards I did for a swap. I always make extras, in this case about 12 extra, and keep them for myself. Well, I never finished putting them together and I decided that today is the day. The technique can be found on splitcoaststampers.com. It's called "split negative" and I love how it turned out on this sailboat card. I used the Stampin' Up! set "Winds of Grace" and fall flowers paper by Stampin' Up! Man, I love that paper! I soo need to get more, why did they retire it??? Anyway, I feel this is a perfect man's card for any occasion.

Mitch and my babies!

2009-01-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

I just had to post this picture of Mitch and my babies! I love them so much, even though they can be very, very bad. Gnat is laying down, and Bug is standing. They each weigh 4.1 pounds and are almost 3 1/2 years old now. Right now, they are both under the couch blankets ready to nap all day long!

Sympathy card

2009-01-26T07:20:00.001-08:00

Well, here is one of the sympathy cards that I have been working on for the hospital and the spouses group. I used one of my favorite techniques! I used the cracked glass technique, and I would use this on everything if I could!

My BDU Purse

2009-01-25T21:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, I really needed a new "bigger" purse. My family knows that I have to carry all kinds of useless junk with me everywhere so they were not surprised at all when I said I wanted to turn one of my husbands old BDU shirts into my new purse. Well, I made one and I LOVE it!!! I can carry full size magazines, such as my new SU! catty, and a ton of other non-essential goodies. Tell me what you think!

Fun card

2009-01-25T21:28:00.001-08:00

I love the orange background of this card. The palm tree image was colored in with prismacolor pencils and then glimmer misted in a golden hue.

Spinner Card

2009-01-25T21:26:00.000-08:00

This card is so much fun! I love that the flip flops will spin across the card! If you want directions please go to splitcoaststampers.com in the resource section!!

One of my favorite cards!

2009-01-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love this card!! I love the colors and I wish I could get more of this paper, but SU! retired it. This is my manly fisherman card.

Some cards I've made in the past several months

2009-01-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

Well, since I haven't really been on here in so long I thought I'd just post up some of the cards I've made in that time. These three cards all have the same theme: Halloween. I love the Booglie Eyes card, because even though you may not know it, it was very time consuming and well worth the time. In person you can see how I glimmer misted the background using the brayer technique. Even the moon is glimmer misted! Anyway, these are some of the cards I have done. More to come later.

My own "dirty shanks" card from a swap I joined a while back.

2009-01-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

This card was a lot of fun to create! The saying is "Have fun at the dance! Remember to keep it in your pants!"

One of my own "dirty shanks" cards from a swap I joined.

2009-01-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

Phew! It's been ages!

2009-01-18T01:03:00.000-08:00

Well, even though it's been forever since I've done this, I'm trying again. I am promising myself that I will be on here more often and keep this site updated with my happenings!

My First Clear Album

2007-06-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

I decided to give clear albums a shot, and I love how this turned out! I used lots of acrylic stamps with Stazon black, white, and red inks. I also used transparency and rubons. Hope you like it!

Bellas and Glimmer Mist!!

2007-06-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Did I say how much I love Glimmer Mists?? Well, I also am loving my Bella stamps. This card was made for my mom with Grumpabella. I used Bazzill cardstock, and a smooth white cardstock for the Bella image. Patterned papers are MM Kraft. I colored Grumpabella with prismacolor pencils. I know that I used at least 4 Glimmer mists around the card.

GLIMMER MISTS!!!!!

2007-06-20T10:52:00.001-07:00

I love Glimmer Mists!! I just can't get enough of them and don't know when to stop! I did a We R Memory Keepers recipe box with Bo Bunny Paris papers and acrylic stamps. I used Honey Amber and Jasper Red Glimmer Mists.

more of the altered blocks

2007-04-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

These were some wooden blocks that Jenn gave me alter for the store

2007-04-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

Oh, Mitch!

2007-04-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Here's one of Kurt's favorites!

2007-04-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the boys playing guitars.

2007-04-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

This layout was titled by Kurt, "If it's too loud, then you're too old"

One of my favorite layouts!!!

2007-04-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

This layout is of the boys shortly after they got their Wii. They must have played all night. What I'm still wondering is how Mitch could sleep with his brother's feet in his face!!

Another view of "Betty"

2007-04-14T00:33:00.000-07:00

2007-04-13T23:36:00.000-07:00

Phew! It's been a long time! Well, I had so much fun altering this Bare Elements manequin! I named her "Betty"! It did take a long time to sew on all the prima flowers! But, I think it was worth it!

Altered composition book

2007-02-03T22:11:00.000-08:00

I used Marah Johnson Caution Girl papers, velvet ribbon, jeweled ribbon slide, bazzill, distress inks, dauber paints, heidi swapp flowers, big brads, rubons, and glitter tulle.

Altered envelope "Mitchell's lunch money" holder

2007-02-03T22:08:00.000-08:00

I used Tim Holtz paper and doodads, chalks, distress inks, rubons, and created my own masks using stickers.

Challenge~ 5 foods I hate/love

2007-02-01T18:02:00.000-08:00

5 foods that I love:

cookie dough
hubby's ribs
cherry pie
taco bell chalupas
jerk chicken

5 foods that I hate:

raw peppers
liver
chocolate ice cream
candy bars with coconut
plain popcorn

Snuggle buddies

2007-01-31T23:06:00.000-08:00

This is Mitch sleeping with Bug, Gnat, and Sergei! They are all so cute when they are asleep!!

Great Grandma Butler

2007-01-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

I came across this picture of my great grandma, and just had to make a layout. I still miss her!

Special Quotes mini album

2007-01-28T00:49:00.000-08:00

I love this mini album! Love the quotes and love being able to share them with my boys!! I hope you enjoy reading through them as much as I enjoyed creating the pages in this album. If you don't want to read through, there is a slide presentation at the bottom of the page, scroll down.

Special Quotes front cover

2007-01-28T00:47:00.000-08:00

Title: "Special Quotes"

I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, chipboard "Q", rubons, prima flower and leaves, KI color lab jewels, sepia accents, brad, and distress inks.

Special Quotes pages 1 and 2

2007-01-28T00:43:00.000-08:00

left page (1)

MME Bohemia patterned papers, Gin X coaster flowers inked with fluid chalk, prima daisies, KI color lab brads, and distress inks.

right page (2)

Quote: "I love thee with the breath smiles and tears of all my life." ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, photo turns and brads, KI color lab jewels, ribbons, and distress inks.

Special Quotes mini album pages 3 and 4

2007-01-28T00:39:00.000-08:00

left page (3)

Quote: "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched... They must be felt with the heart..." ~ Helen Keller.

I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, prima daisies, rubons, KI color lab brads, computer font arrow printed on vellum and colored with zig marker, and distress inks.

right page (4)

Quote: "Just as pieces stitched together in a quilt warm our bodies, scrapbooks bind together memories to warm our hearts"~ author unknown.

I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, prima daisies, photo turns, rubons, KI color lab brads, and distress inks.

Special Quotes mini album pages 5 and 6

2007-01-28T00:35:00.000-08:00

left page (5)

Quote: "Take time to do something silly."

I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, prima, KI color lab brad, Gin X coaster flower, acrylic and glitter paints, hand doodling, and distress inks.

right page (6)

Quote: "the work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you do the work."

I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, primas, KI color lab brads and paper clips, hand doodling, and distress inks.

Special Quotes mini album pages 7 and 8

2007-01-28T00:30:00.000-08:00

left page (7)

Quote: "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~ Elizabeth Stone

I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, ribbons, staples, cheeky clip, KI color lab jewels, sassafrass lass border stamps, and distress inks.

right page (8)

Quote: "If your children spend most of their time in other people's houses, you're lucky. If they all congregate at your house, you're blessed." ~ Mignon MdLaughlin

I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, bazzill blossom, prima daisy, KI color lab brad and jewels, cheeky clip, rubons, sassafrass lass border stamp, and distress inks.

Special Quotes mini album pages 9 and 10

2007-01-28T00:21:00.000-08:00

left page (9)

Quote:"Success is never a destination... it's a journey."

I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, ribbons, KI color lab brads, Imaginisce jewels, sepia accents, Lil Davis glitter glaze, and distress inks.

right page (10)

Quotes: "Enjoy the little things in life-for someday you will look back and realize they were the big things."

I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, maya rod clock, ribbons, staples, KI color lab brads, Lil Davis glitter glaze,and distress inks.

Special Quotes mini album pages 11 and 12

2007-01-28T00:17:00.000-08:00

left page (11)

Quote: "Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?" ~Fanny Price

I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, BasicGrey velvet ribbon, KI color lab jewels and brads, hand doodled circles, distress inks.

right page (12)

Quote: "As you grow older, you'll find the only things you regret are the things you didn't do." ~Zachary Scott
I used MME Bohemia patterned papers, ribbon stamped with Technique Tuesday love petal stamp, KI color lab jewels and brads, hand doodled circles, distress inks.

Special Quotes mini album pages 13 and 14

2007-01-28T00:12:00.000-08:00

right page (13)

Quote: "Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe"

I used MME Bohemia patterned paper, bazzill blossoms, buttons, sepia accents, distress ink.

left page (14)

MME Bohemia patterned paper, Gin X coaster flower, KI color lab jewels, sepia accents, distress inks.

Special Quotes mini album

2007-01-28T00:06:00.000-08:00

This mini album was a lot of fun! I based it on many quotes that I really loved. There is a slide presentation at the bottom of the page where you can see the close ups. I'll start at the back and go through the mini album.

Back cover: "Although these quotes are not my own, I believe them. For my boys: please live your lives right. Don't give up! Most important: Be yourselves!! Love ya, Mom!

I used MME Bohemia patterned paper, primas, KI color lab brads, rubon, Autumn Leaves journaling stamp.

More of the puppy girl album

2007-01-19T06:07:00.000-08:00

WOO-HOO!! The puppy girls mini album is done!!!

2007-01-19T06:02:00.000-08:00

This was a really fast album to do! Now my puppy girls have their own little book!

"Mom"

2007-01-06T23:36:00.003-08:00

"Lazy Summer Days"

2007-01-06T23:33:00.001-08:00

"Love that Smile"

2007-01-06T23:32:00.001-08:00

Baby face

2007-01-06T21:46:00.000-08:00