JANUARY 2010

Well, here it is, January 2010 and my resolution, (aside from losing weight, as usual) is to be more organized, craft more, blog more, and play with my kids more, they are so fun and the whole reason that I live and breathe and walk this earth. That should be enough of a resolution list, right? I even thought about getting them tattooed to the inside of my left wrist just to remind me of my good intentions. Yea. That would be only slightly psychotic. Anyway, here is the first entry to the year of 2010 blogging. It should surely get better from here. 2009 was a great year for our family, there are so many reasons to be thankful, grateful, ever appreciative of the Father. He has blessed our little family with far more than we deserve. I hope that all of you, my whole probably two readers, (thanks mom) had a wonderful 2009 as well. Happy year to you all!

Sympathy for a Furry Family Member

For those of you who don't know me, I am a huge Boxer fan. Yea, I like boxing, but I am talking FURRY boxers, the sweet kind, the ones that like to lean on you while you rub them behind the ears, the ones that are excited to see you when you come home from work, no matter how crabby you are....But for a friend of mine.... her boxer slipped away. You see, boxers are "prone" to certain cancers as they get older, and poor Cayman developed one and he quietly slipped away. He was a great friend, and protector, to three really sweet little kids, and I know the whole family misses him deeply. That is why I created this card, for Wendy, and her family, because I know that I would be beside myself if something ever happens to Jack, my boxer.

I used a hodgepodge of product here, SU! papers, SU! baroque motifs flourish and flower, MFT Gone to the Dogs stamp set, and PTI Mixed Messages as the sentiment. I used the swirly cuttlebug folder to emboss the layered piece, and small oval punch for the sentiment hang tag. Ribbon is from Ellen Hutson online store. I hope you like this quick little sympathy card. I am off to spend one more free day with Scout before he starts school. Big brother Gavin started middle school last week and we are sooooo lonely without him :(

I am such a baaaaddd blogger!

I am such a bad blogger! But, I have been having so much fun with my boys, going to the pool, taking them to the beach, hunting for shells and sharks teeth, working in the garden, watching the humming birds too. I snapped this picture yesterday morning, so I thought I would post it, whilst I make something to post for later. I thougth it was pretty cool, even thought I am NOT a photographer in any sense of the word!

SHUT the FRONT Door!

I cannot believe it has been so long since I posted. I mean, I knew it had been awhile, but since APRIL?!!! I am one bad blogger! (Not to mention my computer was down for three weeks and it is really hard to post from my phone!) And now I can't get blogger out of ITALICS. Hurumph, annoying. Anyway, I was checking on my dusty blog today and found two comments in waiting....WHAT? Two COMMENTS? Nuh-UNH! Yep (thanks Alma),I read the comments and laughed my aspirin off! It spurred me into motion and here is what I will post for tonight. This little notecard set is a spin off of the one that we created on the cruise with Nichole Heady and Papertrey Ink. I used the little acetate box that some stamps came in, nipped off the top, stamped with my French Script backgrounder by SU! in dark chocolate ink by PTI onto my cardstock. I then used some Adirondack paint daubers and painted my flower from the SU set Looks like Spring and stamped it on top. The ribbon is from the dollar bin at Michaels, and the buttons are from my stash and each one is a little different, but all pink. There are six cards and envies in the set, none with sentiments, so that they may be used for any occasion. I hope you like 'em and maybe can find a reason to make some for yourself or to give away!

What? I haven't posted in soooo long!

I have to apologize to the three...ok...maybe four people that read this blog, (one of course is my mother, thanks mom) because I haven't posted in sooo long. My oldest son just had eye surgery and in the flurry of getting ready for that, recouping, and getting back into the swing of things, I simply forgot. I have two little somethings to post today after getting them photographed so come back later tonight if you have time. Thanks for stopping by!

When Things Just Kind of Happen........

I love it when things just kind of fall together, and it makes you smile inside. Even though, it may not be anything fabulous to anyone else, in your mind, it is just right. That is what happened with the two cards I am posting today. It has been rainy, and crappy here in NC for most of the week. With the weather being so oppressive, add a little cabin fever, and your mojo can be sucked out of you like Dorothy out of Kansas. I even asked my husband, "Have you seen my mojo?" his reply, "Its probably under the bed with the rest of your shoes and the dust bunnies,"....smart----! No, really, he is precious, and funny too...and hot...ok...I digress. Back to the cards, the first one is made with Hearts and Flowers from the Cats Pajamas. I have a friend who is going through some medical issues with her dad, and after seeing little tears well up in her eyes, I thought she needed some positive vibes, hence the card. I used watercolor crayons from SU, black Memento ink, die cuts from SU's birds and blooms, and a little pewter brad from the Hodgepodge Hardware SU set. The patterned paper, again SU, Ginger Blossoms, and the envelope from the same pack.

The second card happened quite by accident. I had been browsing at Big Lots and found this really cool pack of rub-ons, of course, there were not big lots of that, just one pack. If there had been more, I would have loaded up, LOTS of possibilities for these, and I don't normally like to work with Rub-Ons. I aged the paper, every layer, with a little Sahara Sand ink. I really like the effect that it had on the paper along with the old world look of the rub-on. The die is from SU birds and blooms again, and the little pearl brad, a little leftover in the "stash". I hope you like these little accidents, because they both came together, quite by accident, just the way I like it.

"Who is that?", said the Cat in the Hat.....AND PAJAMAS!

I recently received something special in my mailbox, really special, and there is not one stamp in this acrylic polymer goodness that I was not IN LOVE with! I am talking about the new release from The Cats Pajamas ! If you haven't checked 'em out, I suggest you slink on over to that swanky scene and shop awhile! This first card was supposed to be for last weeks TCP tuesday challenge, but of course, I was a bit late to photograph and upload. My loss. If you haven't participated, try it sometime, it is alot of fun. I used Barely Banana Cardstock with vellum stamped with the border from SU baroque motifs. The Cat was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and color with Copics, I added a little glittah to the ribbon (after I dabbed some on my face because that is where it will end up anyway). I used some little rhinestone brads to the punched flowers for a little added interest. I am not sure whether I like them or not, but I had already punched through the flowers so it was a "go".

The second card was stamped with Memento Tuxedo black and colored with Koh-I-Nors and blended with odorless mineral spirits. I layered the "scrap" from the punched flowers over the yellow cardstock, scored the grid with my Scor-Pal and added the flowers with the "not naked" buttons that I had in my stash. I used Glassy Glaze over the jar to make it shiny and embossed the edges of the image with baby pink glitter embossing powder. The ribbon was a litte scrap that I had left over, it was just enough to added some interest to this card. I hope to get alot more fun stamping done this weekend, it is rainy and cold here in North Carolina! And to think that the first part of the week it was almost 80 degrees! Tonight it is in the 40's! Happy weekend and Happy Stamping!