True Friend Mini Album

This is the second project my Stamp Club members are making this week. The top picture I photographed at night, so it's not as good, the ones below I took this morning, so hopefully they're a little better.

I've seen this project around for awhile, but then again recently on Patty Bennett's blog...thank you, Patty, you were a life saver this month!! The textured River Rock base is 6x6, so it can fit inside the SU 6x6 envelopes, perfect for gift-giving! I was so happy I finally had a chance to use my new True Friend set! This was my first, and only so far, attempt...hope to have more time to play later.



Now, for scary school stories. Let's just start by saying I have a new appreciation for all you moms out there. My kids have always gone to PE right after lunch, which has always worried me a little. Well, Coach ran them hard on Thursday in a race/contest. When they came back to my room, they were all complaining (which is normal and frequent anyways), but I sent them on their normal bathroom/drink break. Two of them came back, crying, telling me they had thrown up on the bathroom floor. I kept them in the hallway, standing over the big trash can, patting their backs, wiping their faces with cold wash towels (see, I thought, no problem, I could do this mother thing).

Then they started throwing up again. I started gagging, the stench was awful, but I thought I would be okay. No such luck. I had to shout, "Move over!"...and then we were all three throwing up in the trash can. Man, what a wuss I am! How do you mothers do it?! Luckily another 3rd grade teacher was on conference, so she took over, got their stuff, and walked them downstairs to the secretary so they could go home.

Anyway, I hope I didn't gross you out too badly. I just have to send out some praise and love to you moms out there! I'm pretty sure they don't pay you enough to handle situations like that! Have a super Sunday!

School Folder Project

Yeaaa! It's Thursday...which means it's almost Friday! Yeaaaa! And I remembered to photograph the little file book I made for my fellow 3rd grade teachers for their birthday. I used mostly the Simply Scrappin' Kit Primary Colors. I love these kits! The textured card stock and patterned paper are so yummy, and they have sooo much in them to use! I think the only thing I added was their initials from my "contraband letter" collection and some American Crafts school-type ribbon. The next pictures show the inside and back side of the folder.




My upline showed me a project like this they made on the Stampin' Up! cruise. At the time, I didn't have the paper and stamp set they used to copy it, but I loved the project. Then I saw it again on Patty Bennett's blog (love her and her stuff!!), so it inspired me to go ahead and give it a try. I bought the plain white folders on sale at Office Depot during the back-to-school promos, but you can also get neutral colored ones in packages there (see the picture on Patty's blog). Let me know if you have any questions about this, it's super easy!

Speaking of school, did I mention all the teachers got brand-spankin' new laptop computers last Friday?! Are we special or what?! It's not a Mac, but beggers can't be choosers, right?! I just need to get wireless set up at home now so I can be free to "work" from any room in the house! Yipppeeee!

Hope you have a terrific Thursday!

Merry & Bright for Stamp Club

I love this little snowman! So happy I finally had a chance to use this set. This will be one of our stamp club projects for Wednesday night and next Sunday. You make the circle with the round tab punch, you may have seen the tutorials floating around on blogs lately. It's sooo clever, people just amaze me! I finished the other project too, but still need to photograph it, I love the way it turned out.

I think I mentioned my two fellow 3rd grade teachers had birthdays yesterday. I had jokingly told them I was moving my birthday because I didn't want to be left out. Well Mrs. Myrick's husband sent flowers to all 3 of us! Can you believe that?! It certainly made my day! They loved their gifts...little file folder albums made from the Primary Colors SS kit. (I didn't have time to photograph, hopefully will at school today.)

The cake was a hit too. (Didn't photograph that either, ugh!) I stamped "happy birthday" with the Typeset Alphabet Lower in Only Orange punched out in 1 1/4 inch circles, backed with Tempting Turquoise 1 3/8 inch circles, attached to Only Orange Scallop circles. They were precious. The cake was pumpkin with cream cheese frosting and orange sprinkle sugar on top. (By the way, Jenn asked last week about the cream cheese frosting...I found Duncan Hines Homestyle Cream Cheese frosting, and I'm never bothering to make home made again, it's soooo good!)

Okay, I'm way late. Have a terrific Tuesday!

RAK from AJ!

Thank you, AJ! I love your spooky Halloween card! I received it on Friday, and it totally made my day! If you haven't been to her blog The Willow Garden, you must go check it out! She's sooo talented, and she's become one of those online blogging friends I couldn't imagine doing without now! Thank you sooo much, AJ!

Things have been crazy busy, as usual. The last two Thursdays after school I've had to present training meetings to fellow teachers, which was fine, but just one more thing to prepare for...plus, they fill out an evaluation on you, so you have to do a good job, using good teacher techniques, etc.! If there was no evaluation to turn in, we'd just go to Starbucks and talk about how tired we all are! lol!

Then Wednesday they had me attend a teaching seminar in Fort Worth about how to teach math to struggling learners. I was hoping to get some good information to teach to the rest of our team, but it was a little disappointing. The worst part...getting things ready for a sub when you are going to be gone...STRESSFUL! I didn't leave school until 7:30pm the night before...in that neighborhood...after dark...which caused a little trouble with dh, but I won't bore you with those details!

I ended up working Saturday from 8-1 at school, thinking that would catch me up. No luck, still worked the rest of yesterday at home and today. BUT, I'm done now and ready to stamp! Whoo! Hoo! I've given up the Scrapbook Sunday Challenge...for now. (Here's why: my father-in-law's and my grandmother's birthday cards were over a month late getting sent...and my Mother's birthday was October 9, and still no card or gift sent to her! Ack! I'm a terrible daughter/daughter-in-law/granddaughter!) So I'm going to focus on cards and gifts first, scrapbooking second!

I'm off to work on birthday gift projects for my Mom and for my two 3rd grade co-worker teachers (who are the BEST and I love dearly!) who share the same birthday tomorrow. I did make them a cake, and it's going to have little scallop party toppers, I'll try to remember to photograph it. And, I need some stamp club projects FAST for this Wednesday night and next Sunday! Their challenge cards have started rolling in, which means more good stuff to post soon! Yeaaaa!

Stamping wishes and hugs to all of you!

Autumn from Beverly

Isn't this a beautiful Autumn card?! I was lucky enough to receive it recently from my friend Beverly. Not only is she a first-rate scrapbooker, she also makes beautiful cards! She did a fantastic job on the watercoloring, something I'm usually too *lazy* to attempt!

Gotta run...somehow I forgot to make the Pumpkin Bars for the potluck lunch for Principal's Day today, so I just threw those in the oven...now will have to stop for store-bought frosting on the way to work. This won't bode well for my diet...one teacher always brings these Oreo Balls that are little round, sweet, chocolaty bites of heaven...trouble!

Season of Joy & the Saga of a Sage Creation

There's nothing too spectacular about this card...just the fact that I made a card was a feat unto itself! By the time I finally got around to stamping a week ago Saturday after a prolonged hiatus, the mojo was lacking, to say the least!

This card started with me trying to use the Wintergreen DSP and Beate's sketch challenge SC145. Sadly, neither worked out. I finally gave up and threw this together. I forget now why I didn't like the DSP after all, but I ended up using the emboss resist technique: stamping the snowflakes with Versamark on glossy card stock, then embossing with clear embossing powder, rubbing sage shadow ink over the cardstock with a stampin' sponge, then finally wiping the excess ink off with a paper towel. I added a second embossed layer with the little snowflake stamp, but I should have used white embossing powder for it to show up better.

I do clearly remember stamping the focal image the 1st time on glossy card stock using the Sage Shadow & Basic Black markers to custom color the image. I waited forever (it felt like forever!) for it to dry, then used the heat gun to make extra sure it was dry. When I finally turned it over to apply the Mono, it smeared. #!$%#@Q and across the room it went! That's why you see this image in PLAIN black on PLAIN whisper white card stock! lol!

Ahhhhh, the trials and tribulations of stamping. Won't you share a story with me? Come on, make me feel better!

Scrapbook Sunday #9

Hmmm, at this rate, this blog is turning into a scrapbooking-once-a-week blog! I think I need to make myself a Card on Saturday challenge, so I'll make some cards! I actually did make 3 cards last Saturday, but I only photographed the one I posted. I tried to photograph the others later, but I could not get a decent shot since I leave home everyday in the dark and arrive home after dark. Ugh! But I did photograph them today, so I'll have some more postings this week, yea! On to scrapbooking...

I started this layout a long time ago (summer of 2006!) after seeing this one by Ali Edwards. She is the ultimate scrapbooker, I'm sure you've seen her in Creating Keepsakes magazine. I thought it was a great idea to save little pieces of all your Christmas cards. I think she had scanned and resized some of her Christmas photos so she could punch out squares of them for her collage. I was too lazy to do that, so I just made a second page to include the photos that my friends and family had sent with their cards.

There really was no stamping involved, unless you count the chipboard numbers, but I like it and am SO happy to have an old Christmas page done. The green, oval "happy holidays" embellishment was cut out from one of the Christmas cards. I stamped the chipboard numbers 2005 (a 50% off Joann's purchase) to match, using Garden Green craft ink and Iridescent Ice embossing powder.


At first I had the layout on SU white textured 12x12 cardstock and was going to add some Snow Blossom punches in red and white polka dot paper, ideally. While searching through my paper, I found this polka dot paper in a Marcella paper pack I had bought while home in Missouri for Christmas one year. In the paper pack were some Martha Stewart "Good Things" Christmas projects torn from her magazine. I vaguely remember deciding I had to make these projects, bought the materials, but never made them. Story of my life! (I don't know about you, but sometimes the thought of having "downtime" while on vacation sends me into panic mode, so I make up a lot of necessary projects that I MUST do!)

Okay, I must go tackle the 9 unfinished things on my "to do list" for today. You already know about me and my lists. And yes, making a scrapbook layout was not on the list, but I just added it and scratched it out. *wink*

A Balcerrific Banner!

I know I mentioned before (with a link) that I received an incredible Spooky banner as a RAK from Jenn Balcer, but I wanted to show you a picture of it in all its glory, hanging on my old white screen door inside my house. (On a side note, I found this old screen door by the trash cans at our old, rented townhome, drug it inside and hung it horizontally from the ceiling, over the sofa. The next day I noticed the maintenance man had removed all of the screen doors and was painting them white. Oops! I was too embarrassed to take it back! They later tore down these beautiful old townhomes to build new apartments, so I felt glad I had liberated it!)

But I digress. You can see Jenn's beautiful banner in more photographs with close-ups here. She is one of the most amazing stampers you'll ever meet. She is an especially talented scrapbooker, you must check out her pages on her blog! She's also an incredibly nice and generous person. I feel super lucky to have come to know her in the "cyber world." (On another side note, I met her personally when I went up and introduced myself to her and Britta like a super stalker at Leadership in Memphis several years ago. I recognized them from their pictures on Splitcoast. They were very polite about it, I'm sure it happens to them all the time!)

One last thing, while grading papers last night (six weeks grades are due at midnight tonight, and I'm still not done, yikes!), I found one student's journal writing on the back of a math assignment. It was from a day when the topic was "I like/dislike 3rd grade because..." This is from a very bright boy, new to our school this year, and it cracked me up. Luckily, he likes 3rd grade and writes "I love the sensitive brain of her, and she is a very nice teacher. It reminds me of family. These people are like family to me." Is that not the sweetest thing? No one has ever noticed my sensitive brain before...

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Scrapbook Sunday #8

These precious twin girls are Brooke and Morgan. My best friend Cindy from back home and her husband Brian adopted them from the Ukraine 2 1/2 years ago. These were the pictures I took when I got to see them about 2 months after their arrival here. They are just the cutest, happiest girls ever.

I took them the big, doggy stuffed chairs, which they loved, and cute coordinating (not identical) outfits. It was funny because when they opened them, Brian asked me "How did you know Cindy doesn't dress them in identical outfits?" We've been best friends since we were 2 years old, and somehow I just knew because that's what I would do too.



So as I was cursing Beate earlier (not really!) for starting me on this Sunday scrapbook challenge nonsense (because it takes me sooooo long to scrapbook and I still have laundry to wash, papers to grade, bills to pay, errands to run, and rooms to clean), it donned on me if I really keep this up, I would have 52 completed layouts after a year! That's more than I would ever get done normally! So thank you, Beate! (I also have to admit if I would turn the tv off while trying to scrapbook instead of watching 6 mediocre movies on HBO and Starz, it would probably go a lot faster!)

I hope you have a super week and get some scrapbooking done, along with all those other not-so-fun-to-do things!

Recipe Stamps: Happiness, All in a Row, Typsets Alphabet Lower. Card Stock: Wintergreen DSP, Whisper White, Pixie Pink, stripe unknown. Ink: Pixie Pink, Pink Passion, Certainly Celery. Accessories: 1", 3/4", and 1/2" circle punch, On Board Blossoms & Basics chipboard, 5/8" Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon, QVC floral adhesive ribbon.

I stamped! A Season of Joy!

I'm not saying it's anything great, I'm just excited because I stamped *something*! Other than a couple of scrapbook pages (where I only stamped the title basically) and some Halloween projects (that weren't anything original), I haven't stamped since I started back to work in mid-August! Yikes! I sat down around noon and tried, then gave up after 30 minutes. I came back around 3:30, saw this striped paper, confetti card stock and wide grosgrain ribbon laying on my desk (these are card challenge materials for my stamp club members this month to make a fall card with) and came up with this in about 15 minutes. I'm anxious to get back and try again now! Whoo! Hoo!

As you may know, today is World Card Making Day. I've been working so much, I had no time to plan any special event, and I was really regretting it earlier. DH had to work some today, so when he got home around 3:00, here's a conversation we had (and yes, the d is for "darling" today):

Me: It's World Card Making Day today, and I'm such a loser, I didn't even plan anything.
DH: Let's you and I have a celebration then.
Me: Okay. What will it involve?
DH: Well, there'll be a celebration. And a parade, definitely a parade.
Me: A parade? Around the house?
DH: Yes. I'll pick out my favorite 2 cards and march them around in a parade. Then you can pick out your favorite 2 cards and march them around in a parade.
Me: Okay! Are we going to stamp any new cards?
DH: Let's not go crazy.

He's having a nap now...resting up for the parade I think.

Hope you're having a great *holiday* and going *crazy* with stamping!

Recipe Stamps: Season of Joy. Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Confetti White, Old Olive Prints DSP. Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Versamark. Accessories: Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals.

Simply Sent Card Kits Special!

Don't miss this exciting SALE from Stampin' Up!! 20% OFF all 5 of our Simply Sent Card Kits with NO other purchase required!! Offer Valid ONLY October 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th!

You can view them on pages 12, 13 and 14 in the Stampin' Up! Catalog. Each kit COMES WITH Cardstock, envelopes, accessories, ink and full-color instruction sheets, PLUS a Stamp Set! Here are the stamp set images from the 5 available kits:

October 1-while supplies last

Make your holiday cards glitzy this year with a little help from the Holiday Glitz card kit. With our precut card stock and Designer Series paper, festive zigzag ribbon, and Rhinestone brads, spreading handmade holiday cheer has never been this easy!

Each Holiday Glitz card kit makes 15 handmade cards and includes:

• Precut card stock and Designer Series paper (15)
• Whisper White Envelopes (15)
• Rhinestone brads (15)
• Real Red zigzag ribbon (15)
• Full-color instruction sheet (1)

There are two ways to take advantage of this fantastic kit while supplies last:

1. Purchase one of holiday stamp sets (below) and get the Holiday Glitz card kit for the special price of $24.95, or
2. Purchase the Holiday Glitz card kit for $28.95 with no additional purchase required.

Qualifying stamp sets include:

Item	Stamp Set	Price
109234	Snowfall	$23.95
106786	The Snowflake Spot	$20.95
109266	Big on Christmas	$18.95
110359	Love & Joy*	$23.95

* Holiday Mini Collection 2007

CONTACT ME TODAY TO PLACE YOUR ORDER!