WISHING YOU A CHRISTMAS FILLED WITH PEACE AND JOY

Just want to wish you all a wonderful, peaceful, joyful Christmas and new year 2008.

This is my last post for 2007. We will be going on a Christmas trip to Disneyland, leaving on the 26th. This is a surprise trip for our kids. As I may have mentioned before, this has become kind of a tradition. For the last 3 years we have gone to Mexico to spend Christmas with our family, and our trip back, we would stop in
Disneyland for a day or 2. Since we are not going to Mexico this year, this is an extra thing we are doing. My dh has had a very stressful year at work, so to be able to really get away from it and spend some time with family, this is our solution.

This frame is a one of 3 that I made as a present for my aunts.


See you in 2008!

ALL WRAPPED UP FOR ONE OF THE TEACHER'S

What I surprise it was, when I found that I had done Julia's Ways to Use it Challenge 145 already. This is a scarf I knit for one of the teachers, and I decided to put it into a coffee can. I did not do any stamping, I just used last year's Winter SU DP to cover the can.
I have a bit of a problem coming up with something to give the teachers. I think they might get all sorts of odds and ends, which just end up cluttering their homes, well intended as they are. So, I came up with the idea of knitting them a scarf, which is something they can use during the winter. Hope they like them.

I HAVE BEEN TAGGED!

Gabby has tagged me and now I am supposed to tell you 7 weird or other things about myself. Thanks Gabby! I must say, I'm having a hard time coming up with these. I guess I'm so used to my weirdness that it seems normal to me LOL!

So here they are:
1.- I was born in Mexico to my parents, who were born in Canada. My grandparents were born in Russia. Their forefathers came to Russia from Holland and Germany. Can anyone help me out. What nationality am I?
2.- I speak 4 languages, but find I can express myself using at least 3 of them in one sentence.
3.- I was diagnosed with Cronic Fatigue syndrome. So, you can blame it on that if I don't post everyday. I'd rather be sleeping.
4.- My favorite food is definitely Mexican, and I find it hard to cook it here in Canada. Also love Italian.
5.- I'm addicted to crafts. My problem is that I don't finish things, because there is always something new to start.
6.- Our bathroom looks as if Picasso was at work. My dh and I have been trying to refinish it, and we're always not quite happy with the results, so that's were it is now.
7.- I am also addicted to coffee. Have to have my coffee everyday. This is an addiction I got from my MIL. She had the habit of making a coffee when we came over. We'd sit down and talk. I guess I do this in her memory.

So, I am supposed to tag 7 people. So, as I see so many of you have been tagged, I will leave it up to you, who have not been tagged to take this as a tag from me. Please leave me a comment so that I can come and read your 7 things. Would love to get to know you better too.
Thanks for playing!

VANESSA'S BIRTHDAY CARD

My dd Vanessa is turning 7 tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I find it hard to have birthday girl close to Christmas. I've had trouble in the past years to set a date for a party, because everybody is busy with something. So this year, I asked her if she is okay with having a party in the new year. She wants her friends to be able to come so she is okay with it. We will make her day special though. She gets to choose what she wants for supper. She choose Spagghetti and meatballs! I can do that! She also wanted a Bday cake (obviously), and she wants a cake made by me. She loves my chocolate cake. So of course she will get that. We all love Chocolate cake. She asked if my Aunt Margaret could come. She is kind of like the grandmother figure, as my parents live far away. So of course, that wish will be granted. And, of course she will get some presents. She is also going to help me bake some cookies, which she is taking to school to share with her friends. It will kind of be like having 2 bday's. Lucky girl!

For her card I used yesterday's SCS Card Sketch 154. I did omit one layer. Just didn't work with me.

Thanks for dropping by!

A CARD FOR GABBY

This card is for GABBY's challenge. I really liked the sketch, the colors, so I just had to play along.

BAROQUE CHRISTMAS

Hi you all!
I've been enjoying reading your comments. Thank you so much!
I love the Baroque Motifs SU set. Love the flourishes, so I wanted to make something quick and simple.

Details: I used a gold pigment ink, which almost looks like River Rock, to stamp the flourish. The flowers and sentiment are stamped with Bravo Burgandy Craft. I used the shimmery white paper, which unfortunately does not show up on the scan. The photo corner is brushed gold.

Hope you are enjoying your Christmas Season. I have a Birthday card to make for my dd Vanessa. She turnes 7 on Friday. I can't believe it.

JESUS' BIRTH CERTIFICATE

So, I have made another Criss-Cross Card. I came across this birth certificate last year already but didn't do anything with it. Now I came upon it again through Christina on SCS. She showed me where I could find the template again.
It took me awhile to come up with an idea of how to use it. I am not completely happy with it yet either. Will keep thinking of making it better. But I am posting it because I am feeling very guilty for not having posted for a whole week without a reasonable excuse either.
The card details are:
Paper: Rose Red, Very Vanilla, Brushed Gold
Stamps: Barroque Motifs, PSX Nativiy
Embellishments: Gold embossing, Gold organdy Ribbon

Thanks for coming by.

TIM HOLTZ - 12 DAYS OF TAGS

You HAVE to go check these out, maybe learn something and have a chance to win something too!

CRISS-CROSS PEACE-JOY-LOVE

Here is a card I made this week-end. I have not made many criss/cross cards, so here it is:
Details:
Paper: Bravo Burgandy, Very Vanilla, Provo-craft Holiday Slab V
Ink: Choc. Chip
Stamps: All Year Chear 1, In My Thoughts SU
Accessories: Punch, Brad, gold cord
Hope you are having a happy stamping day!

MAKE YOUR OWN SNOWFLAKE!

I just had fun making my own snowflake. I think my girls are going to have a lot of fun with this too. If you don't have anything better to do, have some fun.

A PRESENT FOR EACH DAY TILL CHRISTMAS

Good morning,
I just came upon this site Ten Two Studios, where she will have a special printable for each day before Christmas. The only catch to this is that you have to link to this site to be able to open it.

GARDEN WHIMSY BDAY CARD

This card is a birthday card for a friend of mine.
Card details:
Paper: Mellow Moss, Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink, Unknown DP
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss, Close to Cocoa
Stamps: Garden Whimsy, All-Year Chear 1(retired SU)
Accesories: Brads, Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds, Corner rounder for scalloped edge.

Thank you for dropping by!

FRESH SIMPLE NATIVITY

Hi guys!
Thank you all so much for your comments on my previous post. I really appreciate them.
I read through them and tried to apply the suggestions that were given. Tonje said she would like to see some glitter and also like to see it in Blue or Purple. I don't have Eggplant. I have Night of Navy cardstock but not ink. So I was stuck for awhile. Yesterday I suddenly had an inspiration. I should use my Pearl Ex in the blue color. That would take care of the color and the glitter. So here I am looking for it and unfortunately I cannot find it. I have moved my stamping stuff around the house a number of times during the last year, and being the Pearl Ex is not something I use a lot, I have misplaced it somewhere. But I did find a blue ink Colorbox Midnight.
So, the details of this simple card are:
Cardstock: Cardbase: Night of Navy; Image on Very Vanilla, layered on Brocade Blue
Ink: Colorbox Midnight
Technique: Sponging
Extras: I versamarked the oval image and put dazzling diamonds over it. Unfortunately you cannot really see it. The scanner did not pick up the glitter, but it's there.
Stamps: Nativity, unknown; Holidays and Wishes, SU

Thanks again for all your kind comments. I really enjoyed coming to read them.
Hope you are all having a wonderful day!

IS THIS TOO SIMPLE?

Hi there,
Yes, I am posting. Had to use my dh's computer last night to scan my card and, because it was quite late already, I emailed them to myself so that I can do this this morning.

What do you think? Is this card too simple? My reason for making a simple card is that mailing cards with lots of layers and embellishments can become somewhat costly. But I am trying to make a pretty card without too many extras.
Details:
Cardstock: Choc. Chip, Confetti White
Ink: Sponging: Close to cocoa.
Stamping: Craft Choc. Chip
Stamp: Nativity, no name on it. I've had it for over 10 years.
Other: Round punch for corners, small circle punch for gold cord.

UNABLE TO POST

I would love to post a Christmas card I made, but both my scanner and camera decided to go on strike. I don't think I treated them bad, but who knows what they think (as if they do. I have computer problems, which included renewing all the software. After I installed my printer/scanner, my scanner did not function. So I decided to reinstall it. So I unistalled it and tried to install it again. And now there are some driver problems. Anyway, this means I have to find out what to do with this computer or wait for my dh to bring his computer home so that I can use his for uploading. I'll try to post somthing tonight. Thank you for your patience.
Have a great day, with some stamping included!!!

SISTERHOOD OF THE BLOGGING STAMPERS

I joined the SISTERHOOD OF THE BLOGGING STAMPERS from a forum on SCS.
I joined because I am a stay at home mom, who does not get together with other women to stamp, talk, or do anything for that matter. I started a blog with the purpose of meeting other stampers, and have met a few great women. But, I would love to make more friends.
I have 3 kids, 2 girls who go to school, and a little toddler who is being toilet trained (going pretty well). Married for 11 years to a great husband, who works long hours most of the time. Don't have family in the area, so I do get quite lonely. So this is where I hang out.

SC149 FROSTY OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE

I totally think that FROSTY must be feeling a little bit out of his comfort zone, but I don't care. I like him like this. This is a CASE of Rox71 who is the sketch challenge moderator at SCS. Her card is of a snowman and snowflakes too!
So it took me about 4 hours to make!!! In between toilet training, which involves asking my little ds if he needs to go to the toilet, insisting he goes, putting his wet panties in the laundry, taking the wash out of the dryer,...etc. etc.
IMO this card could go for yesterday's color challenge too! The colors were Wasabi Green, Sky Blue and Ruby Red. My colors are Mellow Moss, Bashful Blue and Ruby Red. The DP is from the '06 SU Winter Mini. I did several steps to make the image. First, I used a Choc. Marker to color the arms of FROSTY, and the versamark pen to draw the snow he is standing on. I stamped this onto Bashful Blue and quickly stamped the swirl images with versamark, covered it with white embossing powder and embossed. Then I stamped Frosty on Whisper White and cut him out. I colored him with water color crayons and inkpad/blender pen. Then I glued him onto the bashful blue. I was not quite happy with the embossing of the snow on the bottom, so I added some white liquid aplique. The snowflakes on the side are also both white embossed.
So I put it all on paper and thought I was done and took a picture. Then I looked at it again, and said to myself: "I'm sure that some of these awesome stampers out there would know how to add some embellishment to make it look even better!" So, I thought for a little while and I decided to add a photo corner. I found a stamp that says MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, but I didn't like the LITTLE, don't know what's so little about Christmas. So I used my choc. chip marker to ink the words Merry Christmas, and made a tag to hang from the photocorner. I rounded the tag with the circle punch.
So, here is my story about FROSTY and I'll stick with it! (I think this toilet training has made me kind of weird, but it's working so I'll stick with it too!)
Thank you for looking! Feel free to leave a comment!

TECHNIQUE CHALLENGE - HORIZONTAL POCKET CARD

Hi there!
Today's Technique Challenge at SCS is to make a horizontal pocket card. I have not made one of these before, so I want to try it.
I honestly have tones of cards to make and send, so I think it is such a great way to get me to make these if I go and do the challenges.


So, while I was putting this card together I had somewhat of a Dejavu. The colors are so similar to last weeks TLC card. But, in my defence, I don't have any other autumn colors. The only earth elements cs I own is ruby red, close to cocoa and choc. chip, so these are the colors I use for fall colors. I like to use my marigold morning '06 In color with these colors.
Details:
Paper: marigold morning, choc. chip, ruby red, confetti white
Ink, choc. chip, marigold morning
Stamp set: Give Thanks
Accesories: Brads, punches

Thanks for coming by. As I said before, I need to make a ton of cards, so I hope I can make one again tomorrow. (I haven't started with my Christmas cards yet!!!)

WOW A SMILE AWARD FOR ME!

Thank you so much Tonje! I feel honored.
Now it is up to me to send an award to other bloggers who make me smile. All of them have shown me in their own way that they are special people, which makes me smile.

Gunhilde
Kerry
MJ
Yanitza Ramos
Julia Stainton
Sarah
Nancy Grant

Thank you for making me SMILE. Pass it on!

CRACKED GLASS CHALLENGE ON SCS!

It's Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend. We just had a normal weekend. Nothing out of the ordinary.
So being Monday there is a technique challenge on SCS. So today's challenge is cracked glass. This is one of my favorite techniques, so I just HAD to play.

Card details:
Paper: Barely Banana, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, COSTCO DP
Ink: Same as paper
Stamp: Measure of a Life (2006-07 hostess set)
Accesories: Micheals Ribbon, paper piercing, Ultra Thick Clear EP, sponging

Thanks for dropping by!

FALL - SO BEAUTIFUL!

Hi there,
Just want to share these pics I took the other day. We had this gorgeous double rainbow after a rather dreary rainy day.

The sun shining through the leaves gives them such a great color!
I really love the fall colors. The sad thing about fall is that it is followed by a long dreary winter season.

CALENDAR COASTER MAGNETS

These coaster calendars are also for the swap I am in "ANYTHING BUT A CARD". I again used some designer paper which I had lying around. The calendar is a free calendar courtesy of http://www.incompetech.com. The stamped images are from the OFFICE ACCOUTREMENT set and GARDEN WHIMSY (Thank you Kerry for letting me borrow it!).

COASTER FRAMES

I made these coaster frames for a swap I am in "ANYTHING BUT A CARD". I used a variety of designer papers I had lying unused, variety of accessories. I hope they will be liked by whoever receives them. They are all unique as I did not have enough of each to make for of the same. I also thought as it is something that will be displayed in the home it should be unique. It was quite a fun project.
Thanks for your comments!

WOOD - LOVE THIS CHALLENGE WT136 SCS

So, I did not make these today, but they so totally fit into today's "Ways to use it" challenge, that I decided it is time to upload them.
I made these as presents for my Mom, my sis and my SIL's when I went to Mexico. Something they can remember us by even though we will not be there this Christmas.
Details:
Letters cut out with scrollsaw
Paper: 2006 winter mini SU
Accesories: Gold cord, Ribbon, Onboard Chipboard stars.
Poinsettia is the Delight in Life flower.
Finishing: Painted with Americana Burnt Umber Acrylic, Modge Podged, Drybrushed with antiquing medium and gold acrylic paint.

Thanks for dropping by.
God Bless!

LOOK AT THIS BEAUTY!

I got this card with a blog candy I won at MY STAMPING SMILES. Isn't it gorgeous! I won a square punch some flower brands, some red plaid brads a cute THANKS stamp among other things I can't remember. I think this card is made using the round and oval punches, the SU Petals and ? set (don't have it so the name has slipped my mind). I really like the extra detail, like the black brads for the antenae and the great piercing. THANK YOU!!

10/10 WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?

This blog quiz caught my eye as I have only taken ENGLISH for one semester in Bible College. I have basically learned my English at home. My Mom got some workbooks for us and I love to read.

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

As for me and my stamping, I don't know what to say. I have not been inspired at all. Will have to set some stamping goals for this week. Give me a push!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL CANADIANS!

I'M BLUE

Hi there,
Just thought I'd share this little blog quiz with you.

You Are a Blue Crayon

Your world is colored in calm, understated, deep colors. You are a loyal person, and the truest friend anyone could hope to find. On the inside, you tend to be emotional and even a bit moody. However, you know that people depend on you. So you put on a strong front. Your color wheel opposite is orange. Orange people may be opinionated, but you feel they lack the depth to truly understand what they're saying.

What Color Crayon Are You?

I AM BACK

Hi everybody,
Have you missed me? I was on vacation. My 3 kids and myself went to Mexico to visit our family for a week. We left on Sat. the 22nd and flew back into Seattle yesterday. We arrived at aprox. 10:30 pm, so we stayed there for night. And we came back home this afternoon.
I am quickly writing this on my dh's computer as I am never sure if I will be able to sign in. As was the case when I was going to let you know that I was going to be MIA.
I must say I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment. It was a quick trip back home, which is really such a different culture... And now I have to get back to reality. Our boiler is not working, so that is one thing that has to be fixed ASAP.
Okay, I have to get my kids to bed and get organized.
I'll be back soon.
Have a great week.

3 DAYS IN A ROW! WOW!!!

Can you believe that I am actually posting again? I hardly can.
I made another journal. I am having so much fun with them. Trying out different ways of making them pretty. Trying not to do exactly the same way. I have a way of getting into a rut.

For this journal I used:
Cardstock: Certainly Celery and Basic Gray Lilikate
From those papers I took as ink: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, and Brocade Blue.
I added the Certainly Celery Ribbon.
For accents I used the stamping set: Office Accoutrements. I clearembossed the flowers on Pretty in Pink and Brocade Blue, and added a green brad.
I think it is pretty selfexplanitory.

Thanks for coming back!

THANK YOU IT WAS SO DELICIOUS!

A friend of ours sent home a pot of soup with my dh the other day. It was so delicious! It is a vegetable/beef soup for which I had never gotten the recipe (I now have it). Mind you, I think like most men, my dh is not really a soup lover, but this is one soup he really likes. So I made her this card.

Details:
Colors: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Red Rose
Stamps: Big Blooms, Small Script, Warmest Regards
Technique: Clear embossed the Big Blossom

WHILE I WAS SLEEPING

I have something to post! YIPPEE! And I could sign into Blogger!
I just finished this card. The other day I was trying to take a nap. You say, she takes naps? Well, I have cronic fatigue syndrome and there are days when I just have to lie down for a little while. But, having my dear Matthew around is not very helpful. So that is why I am saying that I was trying to take a nap because Matthew was making some incredible noise. I think I had just dosed off when there was another noise, but in that same instance I had this vision of this layout. I have noticed it before, that my creative juices start flowing when I am horizontal. Today I finally played with this layout and this is what I came up with.


The card details are:
Cardstock: Close to cocoa for cardbase, Bravo Burgandy and Marigold Morning
Stamps: Give thanks, Crosshatch
Accesories: Hodgepodge, brads, ribbon
I used my inkpads and blenderpen to color the image.

I CANNOT UPLOAD MY PHOTO!!!!! I WILL LEAVE THIS POST SO THAT I NEED ONLY ADD THE PHOTO WHEN IT IS POSSIBLE. I WILL BE TRYING! I NEED A NEW COMPUTER!!!!!!!

EDIT TO ADD: I was able to upload this card. Thanks for looking!!!

WHAT CAN I SAY?

Hello,
What can I say? I have not blogged very well lately. Not a post in over a week. Not good! I did actually make some cards and altered some letters, but I have not been able to post. Why? For some strange reason I have trouble signing into Blogger most of the time (that's why I am posting something since I was able to sign in today). And also my internet services was not working well during last week. I was getting a bit frusterated with them. First I have to wait about 1 hour on hold till I get to talk to somebody, then they have no idea how to fix this. First of all they told me that there was something wrong with my computer, which I was willing to believe, because this computer is old. So I thought I'd ask my dh to bring his laptop home from work, and I found out that I could not connect with that one either. So, now I know that it is not my computer. And I call them again, and now my 'old' computer freezes while we are trying to fix this, which means we could not fix this. So I let it go for a couple of days. I have been waiting for my highspead ADSL modem, so I figured it should be here any day now and then I would fix the problem. But, it had not arrived here yet and my dh needed for me to do something for him online (I'm kinda his secretary). There I go again and wait for about an hour to talk to someone. Fortunately this guy knew what to do right away and it did not take long at all.
Here's my excuse and I stick with it.
I have to get my scanner connected and then I will post a card I made.
Thank you for letting me vent.

I'M HAVING LEFT-OVERS

Hi there,
I did something!!! I made this journal for my SIL. To make it I used the following:
for the cover I used the retired SU spring flowers. I added some leftover stickers from the SellABration kit, which I don't remember what it was called. I think it was something Delightful. I stamped "DAILY NOTES" from OFFICE ACOUTREMENTS. The inside cover also uses this set for MEMO where I will print her name, and DATE so that she can have a reference to when she started this journal.
It is the first Altered Journal I have done, but it will not be the last. This was fun!

LIFE DOES NOT WANT ME TO POST!!!!!!

Hi guys,
I'm writting this on my dh's computer at night. I have not been able to sign in to blogger on my old computer. It is so frusterating!!!! Can you hear me scream?!!!
I have something to post!!! But life is just not wanting me to post anything. You say, post on this computer as you are working on it already. Well, to start off with. My camera bateries are dead. Have to be charged. Then go charge them. Well, my dh took the charger with him to work a couple of weeks ago and now claims that it does not work anymore. So, I don't have new batteries at home and I cannot take a picture of what I have made. So let me tell what I have done. I cut out the letters for JOY and PEACE with the scrollsaw. Modgepodged them with last years SU Christmas DP, antiqued it a bit, added some chipboard and ribbon. I would LOVE to show this to you. So, I will keep on working and as soon as I can post something you will have something.

My dh's company situation is still not resolved. It does seem as if they will have to close, and this is quite hard for my dh, as this is what he has been working for, for many years already. So it is quite hard for him to let it go.
Thank you for your thoughts.

Good night and God bless you!

I GOT MAIL!

Hi there,
I'm back. Kinda. I decided to try out my OLD computer, since I have absolutely no idea when my other computer will be fixed. So, If this thing works I will work with it.


I received this beautiful card in the mail from my little sister Katie. I had signed up with the Secret Sisters on Splitcoast. It is really a great way to get to know a friend. Katie received her reveal package and sent me this great THANK YOU card.
I am the one who will have to say THANK YOU. I LOVE it! I just absolutely love the combination of pink and brown. Love the velum layer with the spots stamped on it.
THANK YOU KATIE!

COMPUTER CRASH AND PRAYER REQUEST

Hi,
Well, my computer crashed yesterday. I am posting from my dh's computer which he takes to work with him. I don't know how often I will be able to use it to post.
I hope you understand.
I would also like to ask for your prayers for my dh's job. He and 2 other men own a company, and by what he told me today, they might have to close it next week. Since we have basically invested everything in this business, it would be a terrible loss. Please pray that God may lead in this situation. Thank you very much!

DIRTY OR DISTRESSED?

I thought I would have a lot of time to stamp coming August, but I have not stamped much at all. I have finally come up with a couple of excuses:
1) - I have been feeling very depressed
2) - I have to deal with cronic fatigue syndrome
3) - My craft room is downstairs in the PIT and since I don't want to be down there when my kids are playing outside. Just can't do it.
So, today I did something about my last excuse. I put my stamping tools in a basket and went outside on the table on the deck and stamped while the kids were playing outside.



I used the sketch callenge 138 on SCS. I really liked it. I used mostly SU supplies minus the watercolor paper.
Paper: Card - Ruby Red, Layers - Marigold Morming and Choc. Chip. Layer under image is ruby red.
The Tiled layer is POLISHED STONE. I used reinker colors: creamy caramel, marigold morning and gold. To do this you take a cotton swab add some alcohol and a few drops of the reinkers. Dab this on glossy cardstock. When it has dried, spray with matte acrylic sealer.
The image is from the set GIVE THANKS. Stamped with Stasz-on Black and colored with watercolor pencils and blender pen.
On the one card I sponged the edges of all the layers making it DIRTY
The other card I distressed all the layers: DISTRESSED
I'm not sure which I like better. My dd Vanessa likes the dirty one.

THANKS FOR DROPPING BY. Hope you are having a beautiful day.

RAK from MJ

This is a RAK I received from MJ during my BUSY summer. I have it sitting here on my desk, and I suddenly realized that I have not shared it with you. Thank you so much MJ. I absolutely LOVE it. Love the colors and everything about it. It is so great to get such wonderful mail.

MY FIRST ATC!

I have seen ATC's and I think they can be very pretty, I'm just not sure what to do with them. But I got invited to an Italian themed swap on SCS after I posted this card. So, I have a hard time saying NO, especially if somebody is telling me that I did a good job. It took me quite awhile to come up with what to do with this ATC. Since it is supposed to be Italian, this (provencal) was the only stamp that looks Italian. I finally decided to do a tile look. I cut a piece of confetti white into 2" x 2 1/2" and scored it at every 1/2". I inked the stamp with versamark and put it on the paper. As it is scored the scored lines do not get ink. I then did Poppin' Pastels on the image with my pastels. The cardstock I used to layer it are: Bravo Burgandy and Marigold Morning (I stocked up on some). I added some brads as an extra accent. Not quite sure about them. What do you think? Would you like this ACT?

AND THE WINNER IS....

Thank you all for coming by and giving me your comments on your summer activities. Sounds like you all are having a great summer. I'm very glad that a part of your summer activities is checking out my blog. It is so much fun to meet you all from all over the place.

....Oh yes...
The reason why you're here right now is to see who won!
The winner is No. 13 from Random Number Generator. Who says 13 is an unlucky number?
So the 13th comment was from SHARON IN NE
Her comment on her summer activities:
"We went to Miami and Key West in May, so that just seemed to make the summer feel much longer. I love it. LOVE summer. Wish it were "lazy days" like the song."

Please email me your address so that I can get your snack out to you ASAP.

Thanks again for your lovely comments. And have a GREAT DAY!

AUG 3, 1996 - AUG 3 2007 11 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Yesterday was my DH and my 11th wedding anniversary. We did not do much to celebrate yesterday. My DH had worked till 4am the previous morning and he was dead tired. He did ask me to see if I could get a babysitter for the kids, but she was not available and also my little Matthew got sick in the afternoon. So, we just had a relaxing evening at home.
As a gift for "us", I made this picture frame with one of our wedding pictures.

I was not sure what to give John as a present. I had bought the heart charm on Sunday when we were in Victoria. It says "God blessed me with you". But I was not sure what he would do with the heart. All of a sudden I got inspired and decided to add it to a picture frame - Micheals $1.5. I used the retired RECOLLECTIONS SU DP. First I sponged some Antiquing medium on the frame. I used ModgePodge to adhere the paper. I sponged onto the frame over the paper too. I tied the charm with ribbon and added some more ribbon and gold cord for accent. The little tags in the bottom read LIFE LOVE & FOREVER. I had received these as a present from my Secret Sister on SCS. Just perfect. I really like how it turned out and John liked it too! It is hanging on our wall already!

Don't miss out on my Blog Snack further down!

SCETCH CHALLENGE TRY OUT

Hi everybody!
I'm having a hard time getting my stamping mojo back. But I need a card so I tried to use yesterday's scetch challenge on SCS.


I wanted to use some dp that I had lying around and that is where I came up with this color combo: Pale Plum, Pixie Pink(A BOLD COLOR!) and Olive Green. Something I definitely would not have come up on my own. I used the BIG BLOSSOMS SU set for the flower. I am not happy with the words. I used a clear set I got at Micheals. It is not a sharp image. Will have to learn how to use them.

Remember the BLOG SNACK . I will draw a name on Sunday. Be back on Monday so see who won!!!

I AM BACK - WITH A BLOG SNACK!

WOW! What a month July has been. We had company for almost the whole month. First my sister and family came and spent 2 weeks here. That was 12 people in the house. After they left I had 2 days to get ready for the next family. My 2 SIL's with their families came and spent 9 days with us. That was a total of 13 people. Now I am trying to get used to it only being us again. I have absolutely not had time to stamp. I have hardly had time to go on SCS. Now it is time for me to catch up. So I want to try out the challenges. Let's see if that will help me get creative again.

I want to share a blog snack with you. Just leave a comment on how you are spending your summer, how do you keep your kids ocupied when at home from school, your favorite food, anything.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

THANK YOU!

Hello everyone,
First of all I want to thank you all for coming back to my blog, even though I have hardly posted in July. Life has been very busy with visitors. So I have not taken the time to stamp. We have been doing things with our family. On Wednesday we went to Vancouver to see the CELEBRATION OF LIGHT. Spain had the show, and it was awesome. Today we went to Harrison Lake for the day, and had lots of fun. The guys and kids have been fishing and swimming. On Sunday we want to go to Victoria. I myself have only been there once before, so I would love to hear some recommendation on where to go, what to see, etc. They are leaving Monday evening. So, life will go back to normal. It is going to be very empty after a month of visiting. I am sorry we live so far from family. It is hard when you only get to see them once or twice a year.
Looking forward to checking out all your blogs too.
Have a great weekend!!

MIA JULY 2007

Hi there,
I am so sorry not to be able to post. In my last post I told you that my Sister and Family were on there way here. Well, what can I say? It has been so busy! I have hardly had a chance to think, to check my email, haven't checked any of your creations either. My sis and family are leaving middle of next week and on Sat 21st my 2 SIL's and their families are coming. They are leaving on the 31st. So I will not have a chance to post till probably August, which seems to be empty. I want to work on things to sell at a craft fair. Would love to receive comments on suggestions on what to make for a craft sale.
WISH YOU ALL A GREAT JULY!!!

PLAYING WITH "OLD" STUFF

How is your summer going? Since it has finally arrived with vengance and heat, it has been flying by. We are expecting Family to arrive in the next few days. My sister is driving up from Mexico with 3 of her kids. I pray they will have a safe trip through the scorching heat in the States! So, we have been busy getting ready to see them.
I came upon this card the other day and it just called out to me. As you may know, one of my favorite techniques is the cracked glass. And I just had to use the retired Provencal set. I used my ww pencils and blending pen to color the image. The paper I took from the color I had used in the image. So, since I am using retired stuff I thought I'd make it a "retired" card for most of the parts. Cardstock: Confetti white, Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum, Marigold Morning (retired), Chocolate Chip. For the "ticket punch" I used a round hole punch, since I do not have the ticket punch. For the words I used Around the Block, also retired. I stamped the background with French Script, also retired. Accesories: Gold brads, eyeledts and Gold Cord, retired.
Have a great day!

THANK YOU TEACHERS!

Today's my 2 dd's last half day of school. It is kind of a glad/sad day. I had them both make a THANK YOU card for their teacher last night. When Vanessa was writing in her card, she started crying. She has grown so fond of Mrs. Tindall. She had been her teacher for K and G1, and I must say she is an awesome teacher. I had to cry with her. So of course Melanie had to start crying too. My dh had fallen asleep on the couch. He woke up and saw is all crying. He was a bit puzzled!

I made this card for the teachers. The cardbase is REGAL ROSE. The stamp set OFFICE ACCOUTREMENTS and WARMEST REGARDS. The DP is SPRING FLOWERS SU.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

I STAMPED - FINALLY!

I probably should apologize for not having posted a card. I have been quite busy doing some homedecor (plastering the walls, yeay), so I have not given much time to stamping. I did want to make a card one day, and tried several things and it just did not turn out as I had envisioned. So I gave it up. I made a card today! It's inspiration is from this card on Jaqueline's craft nest. It took me awhile to make the diamonds. My moto seems to be: "Why make thinks simple if they can be comlicated". So I was trying out some complicated stuff to make the diamonds LOL!
I used BASHFUL BLUE as the card and CERTAINLY CELERY for the mat. The image HAPPY HARMONY is stamped on VERY VANILLA. The diamonds are DP which I bought at COSTCO. Don't remember who. The ribbon is SU.
Enjoy your day!

YOU ARE UNIQUE - DO SOMETHING FOR YOU

I just read my online devotional and really loved it. It reminds us that each of us is made unique. That God wants us to have a dream and to enjoy life. So it suggests for us to take time to do something for ourselves besides the things we 'have to' do. Very often we get so involved in our 'have to' life, that we forget to dream. You can read it here: http://forum.christianwomentoday.com/.
And go and to something special for yourself!

If you are fan of the Splitcoast challenges, I encourage you to check out today's Ways to Use it 118B challenge . Julia Stainton's mom passed away on Sunday and the challenge is for us to send her a card. I think that is very thoughtful. I just noticed that Julia has posted her regular challenge, so off I go to check it out too.

COMMENTS BACK ON

Sorry, and not so sorry. I posted the comment missing post and notice that the option is back on. GOOD! g

COMMENTS WENT MISSING

Hi,
Just a quick post about the comment option. I don't know what happened, but the comment option went missing. I love reading your comments, so if you want to leave a comment, send me a quick email. I would love to read it.
Thank you for stoping by.

COLOR CHALLENGE 119

Hi there,

So I finally have stamped something. Like I have told you, I like to check out Splitcoaststampers challenges. Today's color challenge is to use real red, barely banana and creamy caramel. I have substituted real red with ruby red. The size of the card is 5 1/4" x 5 1/4". I started out with deciding to use Both Way Blossoms today. And since these stamps are quite large, I had to make a larger the usual card that I usually make. The sentiment is from Happy Harmony.

CHECK OUT TLC 121 - SPEEDY CARDS FOR GOOD CAUSES

Good morning!
And it is Monday again! Time just seems to fly. As you may have noticed I do not post on weekends. This is time that I spend with my family. I hope you don't mind. I love spending time with you too.
I have not stamped for several days due to having life going on around me and actually lacking some stamping mojo. So usually the first thing I check out online after I read my mail is the SCS challenge for the day. Today's challenge is to make a quick card to send to someone who needs some cheering up, who needs to be thought of, who needs to be prayed for. This is a great challenge. It is a challenge for me to make a pretty simple card. So how about trying this out with me?
I have a number of erands to run, so if I could come up with something quick and pretty, that would be perfect.

POSTING PROBLEM?

I guess you have noticed my multiple post. This morning when I tried to post it didn't show up, so I tried it several times, and now I have multiple posts??!! I am glad that they did show up though.

CELEBRATION OF YOU - WINNER!

Good morning !
Thank you all for celebrating YOU with me! It was great to get to know you all a little better. I enjoyed reading all your comments and checking out your blogs. This is a great stamping community and I love the fact that I have the oportunity to meet ladies from all over the place, whom I would never have heard of before.

So I asked my hubby to pick a random number between the number of comments 1-38, and he quickly said: "26, what for?" So I told him that this was the lucky winner.
S0, number 26 is CLAUDIA F - SCFRANSON
She said: "You have a wonderful blog. I'll be back often. I sometines stamp/scrap in the afternoon when my daycare kids are sleeping but mostly on Saturday's while my DH is at work. I wish I had more time and lots more work space. Claudia F"
Thank you for your comment Claudia. Please email me your mailing address so that I can get your candy in the mail ASAP.

So, I'm off to read my mail and check to see if SCS is in a better mood today. LOL!
Thank you all again ahd have a great Friday!

CELEBRATION OF YOU - WINNER!

Good morning,
Thank you all for celebrating YOU with me! It was great to get to know you all a little better. I enjoyed reading all your comments and checking out your blogs. This is a great stamping community and I love the fact that I have the oportunity to meet ladies from all over the place, whom I would never have heard of before.

So I asked my hubby to pick a random number between the number of comments 1-38, and he quickly picked 26 and said: "What for?" So I told him that that was the lucky winner.
So, number 26 is CLAUDIA F - SCFRANSON
She said: You have a wonderful blog, I'll be back often. I sometimes stamp/scrap in the afternoon when my daycare kids are sleeping but mostly on Saturday's while my DH is at work. I wish I had more time and lots more work space.Claudia F.
Thank you for your comment Claudia. Please email me your mailing address so that I can get your candy in the mail ASAP.

So I'm off to read my mail and check to see if SCS is in a better mood today. LOL!
Thank you all again and have a great Friday!

SKETCH CHALLENGE 128

This is a great sketch challenge today! I really like it because it came together for me very quickly. I KNEW right away what I wanted to do with it.

I used the dp I bought at Costco which matches very vell with Bashful Blue, and Certainly Celery. I got out my Seaside Sketches and used watercolor pencils and crayons. I stamped it on watercolor paper with staszon black first.

So, now I want to go and make another one. I have another idea floating in my head. Better go with it before it leaves.

CELEBRATION OF YOU - BLOG CANDY

Just scroll down to celebrate YOU with some blog candy!

THE TOOTHFAIRY FORGOT - AGAIN!

I am so ashamed!!! My dd Vanessa lost one of her front teeth yesterday, and of course expected her toothfairy reward this morning, and was very disapointed to find her tooth still under her pillow. In the Toothfairy's defense, I was so sleepy yesterday evening, I could have fallen asleep standing. My dh had to work late and I tried to stay awake, so I started painting the dinningroom wall and completely forgot about the Toothfairy's responsibilities.
So now the Toothfairy has to write an apology and leave her reward when Vanessa is in school. She probably came when I walked the girls to school!
The sad part is that this is the second time this has happened to her. Mind you, her sister lost her eyetooth on Sunday and she forgot and did not check her pillow first thing, which gave the Toothfairy the chance to sneek her reward under her pillow before she went to school. So she did not feel special at all. So now the Toothfairy has to make up for this mistake. And then I want to do some stamping. The scetch challenge is great today on Splitcoast. I want to try it!

BLOG CANDY - A CELEBRATION OF YOU!

Good Morning YOU,

It is a lovely Monday morning and I just have the urge to celebrate. So I want to make a celebration to YOU. Thank YOU for dropping by and leaving your comments on my blog. I want to give YOU a small gift.

It includes:

SCRAPBOOKING ON THE GO - great small scrapbooking ideas

2 6X6 pads of decorated paper, 1 in soft green tones, 1 in classic earth tones (I really like this one!)

2 clear stamp sets

2 finishing accents

I would love to get to know you a little better, so I would like for you to tell me something about your stamping life. It can be: what is your favorite stamping technique, what time of day are you most inspired, where do you get your inspiration, who is your favorite stamper, where do you stamp??? I will ask my hubby to give me a number Thursday night. So be back on Friday for the WINNER!

I have found out that I get the best ideas when I am lying down. Unfortunately that is usually at bedtime and I am tired. So, that is a very short time. I really like the layering, and am trying to practice it. I love the cracked glass technique. I love the doodled look and am working on that. I love altering items, because they can be displayed in your home. My stamping space is in our unfinished basement. Unfortunately I do not get very inspired being in the dark, so most of the time I pick up my stuff and go to the dinning room table. So here is a bit about my stamping life. I will be looking forward to reading about yours!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

MATTHEW'S FUNKY HAIRCUT!

Hi,

No stamping yet today. Today the girls are having Sports Day at school so I am spending most of my day there. Thankfully the weather is great. It has been rainy all week and is supposed to rain this weekend, so this is an answer to prayer that the sun is shining.

I just want to share my ds first professional haircut experience. My dh needed a haircut so he suggested that we get Matthew's hair done too. He is a very active little boy and has not let us give him proper haircuts at home, so I really hoped this would work. He was a bit hesitant to sit on the chair and I had to hold his hands for quite awhile, but after that he actually seemed to enjoy this experience. So here is a before and after picture of Matthew. They added the green colored spikes, which his sisters thought was really funky.