Blogversary Blog Candy Goes to...

Random.org chose #28, so the blog candy goes to:

denise said...
Happy Anniversary! I so enjoy your blog. I am so happy that you started your blog. You have a beautiful talent. Great blog candy too! Denise G

Congrats, Denise! Email me your snail mail address and I will send out your goodies!

Thank you everyone for your super sweet and supportive comments! It means a lot to me! Hugs and happy stamping!

Friendly Flowers Be Inspired Challenge #15

Don't forget to go here to register for Happy One Year Blogversary Blog Candy! Drawing to be held Friday evening!


Happy Friday! After I posted that Text & Texture card last night, I was really not liking it! So I thought I better go ahead and make another card I could post first thing this morning! lol! I planned on using the So Much set, but then I remembered that Beate had a great new Be Inspired Challenge on Tuesday that I liked, so I played with it. When I saw it, I thought of the Friendly Flowers set right away because of the large stamp with a circle shape. The card is based on this dress from J. Crew:

Okay, gotta run! Hope you have a great Friday! Thanks for stopping by! Have you stamped today?

Recipe Stamps: Friendly Flowers. Cardstock: Basic Gray, Bordering Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive Prints DSP. Ink: Versamark. Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Winter White Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Black Brad, Slit Punch, Old Olive Polyster Twill Ribbon, Rub Ons, Dimensionals.

One More Text & Texture...

Don't forget to go here to register for Happy One Year Blogversary Blog Candy! Drawing to be held Friday evening!

Are you getting tired of this set yet? This is one more quick card I made Monday while playing around with it. I don't feel I've reached the full potential of cuteness with this set yet (it may take resting up after school is out to accomplish this!), but I'll try and go stamp something with a different set tonight to give you a break tomorrow! lol! This card was also made with scraps...no telling why I cut off the edge of the Ruby Red card at some point...I had some Sahara Sand scraps left over from this card, and the polka dot wheel had never been put away from two weeks ago...you get the idea! lol!

Hope your week is going well...gotta love these short holiday weeks! Need to go watch the season finale of Lost here in a minute. I have no idea what's going on (haven't for years), but I seem to watch anyway. I think I'll pull out my So Much stamp set after seeing these wonderful cards by Tara over at Stampalicious earlier. Don't you love them?!

Have a good night and thanks for stopping by! Have you stamped something today?

Recipe Stamps: Text and Texture, Lots of Dots jumbo wheel. Cardstock: Ruby Red, Sahara Sand, Mellow Moss, Ginger Blossom DSP. Ink: Mellow Moss craft ink, Ruby Red classic ink. Accessories: Mellow Moss Brads, Paper Piercer & Guide, Prep School Ribbon.

Wednesday Dig It Out & Use It Up #6

Don't forget to go here to register for Happy One Year Blogversary Blog Candy! Drawing to be held Friday evening!


I'm sure you're thinking "What's she digging out and using up here...she recently admitted she only received this new Text & Texture set last week?!!" (Because I know you read my blog that carefully and ask yourselves questions frequently, like I do! lol!)

Yes, it's true, the stamp set is new and I was playing with it Monday while on holiday (when I should have been grading papers!), but I did dig something out at the last minute: the little pink striped circle! It's from Heidi Swapp, for journaling I think, it's a couple of years old, and I broke open the package to use it! Hooray for me! lol! The rest is pretty self-explanatory, I used the slit punch to make the scallop edges out of the SU Berry Bliss DSP. Need to use up all that precious DSP before the new catalog (and new papers!) come out! You do too! hee! hee!

Just finished up the Wednesday night Stamp Club, thanks for coming girls! You know I love you and you always make my month! We missed you girls who didn't make it!

Thanks for stopping by! Have you stamped something today?

Recipe Stamps: Text & Texture. Cardstock: Pretty In Pink, Whisper White, Berry Bliss DSP. Ink: Pretty In Pink, Brown Staz-On. Accessories: Slit Punch, Chipboard Heart, Heat & Stick Powder, Heat Gun, Light Pink Chunky Sprinkles Glitter, Dimensionals, Heidi Swapp Journaling Circle.

Just Celebrate...with cake!

Happy Tuesday! I had a little trouble photographing this card, so thanks for bearing with me on all the weird angles and pictures. I was forced to clean off my desk on Monday if I wanted to stamp (YES, it was that BAD!), and I came across this little, round stamped cake image, mounted on a pumpkin pie circle. I had tried making something with it long ago but it was too big, and I had also picked it up and tried again several times, but nothing ever worked! I also happened to have this Bashful Blue card base with the scallop circle already punched out (another reject from a long ago project), and voila! A card was born in 2 minutes! I love it when that happens...which is why I always save my scraps and stamped reject pieces...you never know when the time will be right for them!

Thanks for all the great comments on the Blogversary Blog Candy giveaway! After reading all those super nice comments, I now feel like it was a thinly veiled attempt for praise and love...but so be it! ha! ha! There's still time to enter, I'll be drawing for the winner on Friday evening, so go here to enter!

Thanks for stopping by! Have you stamped something today?!

Recipe Stamps: Just Celebrate. Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie. Ink: Staz-On Black; Markers: Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Yo Yo Yellow. Accessories: Blender Pens, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Coluzzle Circle Cutter, Scallop Punch, White Snap Eyelets unknown RAK from Splitcoast Arlington Shoebox Swap door prize.

Happy One Year Blogversary!

Wow! I can't believe I've been blogging for one year now! And I thought about it for three years before that! lol! Looking back at my first post, I'm really bummed...I was already out of school at this date last year and here I am now...two more weeks to go still! waahhhh! But I'll try to stay positive and say "Yay! Only two more weeks of school left!"

On to the fun part...here's some Blogversary Blog Candy for you: a Stampin' Up! retired hostess set Small Script, small Star Punch, Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon, and some assorted stars and hearts chipboard pieces! (The ribbon and punch are new in the wrapper still, I just photographed my open ones for a better picture.) All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered in the drawing!

Thanks so much for stopping by...you and this blog help me keep my sanity, so thank you very much!! Hugs!

Life Is Good!

I haven't been feeling very creative this weekend (the horror!), so I went to Splitcoast to check out the challenges. I liked all the options of today's Technique Lover's Challenge #170 Pick Three...you get to pick and combine 1 choice each from the original 1-10 challenges of the Color Challenge, the Sketch Challenge, and the Technique Lover's Challenge.

So for my card above, I chose Sketch Challenge #7, Color Challenge #2 (Ruby Red, Not Quite Navy & Barely Banana), and Technique Lover's Challenge #7 (paint chip cards). It was a lot of fun! I had just received the Text & Texture set on Friday, so it seemed like a perfect time to break it out and use it! I've wanted this set since the new catalog came out, I think it'll be really good for scrapbooking too. I think this card might go to my grandpa for his 88th birthday coming up on June 9th. He always has the best attitude and a smile for everyone, he's the best.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day holiday! Thanks for stopping by! And you might wanna stop back by in a little bit because someone's going to be posting some blogversary blog candy! *wink*

Recipe Stamps: Text & Texture. Cardstock: Ruby Red, Barely Banana, Not Quite Navy, Behr paint chip. Ink: Ruby Red Classic, Not Quite Navy Craft. Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Ruby Red Buttons, Mini Glue Dots, Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon.

Splitcoast Inspiration Challenge 129

Happy Sunday! Got a chance to play a little with the Splitcoast Inspiration Challenge 129...I based this card on this inspiration piece below:

Hmmm, now that I see it, I think I need more white, maybe I'll try again! I found the Bashful Blue card base that had been thrown in the reject pile because the wheeled polka dots weren't straight enough for this card, but I decided it was good enough for this card! lol! Then when I went to put the dimensionals on the back of the Sahara Sand piece, I laid the card front down in a pile of glue, so the upper right corner got all messed up (I tried to hide it sneakily behind the copyright info!). I'll send it to my grandparents...they will love it and not notice the slight imperfections!

Hope your holiday weekend has been good so far! My allergies and sinuses have been killing me, anyone else suffering? Other than that, I'm not sure when I have slept SO much in all my life...awwww, yeah! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Stamps: Spring Solitude Hostess, Everyday Flexible Phrases, Lots of Dots jumbo wheel. Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand, Whisper White. Ink: Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand. Accessories: Silver Stylized Hodgepodge Hardware, 1" Circle Punch, Blue Gingham Ribbon, Pretties Kit Flower, Aquapainters, Corner Rounder, Dimensionals.

Friendly Flowers quickie

Happy Friday! Hooray! Here's a real quickie...made the background piece two weeks ago, couldn't think of anything for it, threw it aside...picked it up this morning and threw this together! lol! Dh is telling me, while I'm sitting in my robe with a towel on my head, "It's 5:47. I'm just telling you this because you may be CRAZY!"

Hope you have a great Friday! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Stamps: Friendly Flowers, Everyday Flexible Phrases. Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Brocade Blue, Hostess Prints DSP. Ink: Pretty in Pink, Brocade Blue, Certainly Celery, Wilid Wasabi. Accessories: Sherbert Ribbon, Designer Label Punch, 1 3/8" and 1/2" Circle Punch, Slit Punch, Dimensionals.

Mini Album Tutorial at Splitcoast

Happy Wednesday! I didn't get any stamping done last night, so thought I would share this mini album. I saw from your comments yesterday (thank you!!) that some of you saw it...it was the featured tutorial on Splitcoast yesterday! I was super excited when Beate and Jenn asked me to make up a version and write up a tutorial of this mini album I posted back in April (I changed some things and made it a little better/easier, so don't real that one now! lol!). I can't wait to see everyone else's versions...I already saw Beate's great one and a few more posted here at Splitcoast that look great, so be sure and share yours if you make it! Here are some of the inside pages:



On quick personal note...we survived the field trip! We were all exhausted afterwards, but it was a great time, the kids loved it. And I must brag on our kids...they were the BEST! There were a LOT of schools there, and our kids were by far the best behaved (I'm not prejudice at all!), it went very smoothly. Although I did have a slight panic attack at the beginning...what on earth was I thinking taking 19 students out and being responsible for them...I don't even have kids of my own to take out anywhere, I've never practiced, etc.! But we survived and had great parents who helped us too.

Lastly, David Cook won American Idol!! Hooray!!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great Wednesday!

Be Inspired #14 & Wednesday Dig It Out & Use It Up #5

Happy Wednesday! I decided I *had* to stamp around 11:00pm last night (I should have been in bed, yikes!), so I decided to try Beate's Be Inspired Challenge #14 in conjunction with my Wednesday Dig It Out and Use It Up Challenge #5. I really liked the inspiration piece, and since I was in a *bit* of a hurry, I used a sketch from the August 2007 Stampin' Success (a monthly SU publication for demonstrators) that was open and laying on my desk from the weekend's search for possible stamp club projects. I didn't intend to add the piece of More Mustard patterned paper across the top, but I got the proportions wrong and there was too much rust, so I had to add something. Oh, and the brown ribbon is what I "dug out and used"...it's from the SU Flirty ribbon offered in an old mini catalog.

Did anyone vote for Idol last night? I'm embarrassed to say I kept voting for David Cook until midnight (except for an hour when I forgot because I got sidetracked looking up crime reports in Dallas based on a news story I saw, doh!). He didn't do as well last night, and I don't think he has a chance against David A. and the throngs of teenage girls supporting him, but I think he'll still do okay in the "biz" after this.

Also, thank you SO much for all your sweet comments about our 3rd grade results this year. We...the teachers and students...all worked so hard, and you're so nice to comment, I love you! The 3rd grade is off on a field trip to the Science Place today, give us (the teachers!) strength!! Hope y'all have a great Wednesday!

Recipe Stamps: Friendly Flowers. Cardstock: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Old Olive Prints DSP, East Coast Prep DSP. Ink: Staz-On Brown, More Mustard marker. Accessories: Scallop Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Flirty Ribbon, Stapler, Pretties Flower, Aqua Painters, Vintage Brad, Dimensionals, Rub-On.

More Dry Embossing...

Happy Monday evening! Just a quick note and a very *simple* card I played around with Sunday using the Pick a Petal Classy Brass Template, but decided it was too simple for stamp club. Oops, I just remembered I was going to stamp a sentiment in Real Red down on the righthand corner, but forgot once I threw it in the reject pile!

Pajama Day was great! I wish we coud wear pjs everyday! The kids looked so cute, they really seemed even younger and more childlike. I took my camera, but then got distracted (with teaching, doh!) and forgot to take pictures. After I got home and accidentally took a 1.5 hour nap, I read Donna's comment about seeing the pjs, so sorry I don't have that to share. However, I will share a picture of my pjs, courtesy of the Target website! I splurged on these pjs last night, figured I could use some new ones for the SU Convention and the trip to see my folks this summer. They turned out to be educational too, because the kiddos had never seen sock monkeys...hmmmm, maybe we should make some before the year is over...

Speaking of the kiddos, I have to share that we received our Math TAKs results today and I'm proud to say our 3rd grade has a 92% pass rate! Our Reading TAKs results are 92% also! I can't tell you how hard these kids worked and I'm so proud of them. It's a Title 1 school, we don't have many resources (like a library!), and 95% of the kids are English as a Second Language learners. I know a lot of you guys are parents and read to your kids, which makes all the difference in their success, so imagine kids who have never been read to in English, kids who go home and speak only Spanish, kids who don't speak English all summer...you get the picture. In 3rd grade they must pass the Reading TAKs to go to 4th grade...they don't have to pass the Math TAKs to be promoted, so in most schools reading is often the main concentration...so then to see their Math scores as high as their Reading scores, it was overwhelming. When I was giving them the results today, I couldn't even get through the "I'm so proud of you speech" without crying! Ugh! Okay, sorry for the long blah blah blah, but they are just such great kids!

Okay, better get ready for bed and try to find an *ensemble* for Western Day tomorrow! Hope you had good Monday! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Cardstock: Kraft, Summer Picnic DSP. Accessories: Pick a Petal Classy Brass Template, Light Table, Stylus, Spiral Punch, Real Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Slot Punch, Build a Brad, 1/2" Circle Punch.

A Little Dry Embossing

Hi guys! How was your weekend? Is it just me, or did it go by way too quickly?! I think this is the first time I've sat down all weekend, and am I ready for school tomorrow? No! Yikes! On the bright side, Spirit Week starts tomorrow and I get to wear pajamas...awwwww, yeah!

I had a great time with the Stamp Club girls today. We moved up our 4th Sunday gathering today, since next weekend is Memorial Weekend, plus Robyn is getting married next Sunday! (Yes, we survived the Bachelorette Party last night!). Now the big question...do I leave the Stamp Club mess out on the dining room table until next Wednesday the 28th?! Hmmm, yes, I probably do!

Last month I ordered the Pick a Petal Classy Brass template so I could demonstrate dry embossing for stamp club sometime. The above card, Bashful Blue-my favorite, is an attempt at using it. Is it just me, or is it tough coming up with projects using this? Hopefully it's just me, so if you have any good projects using this template or have seen some, please post a link in the comments, I'd love to see them. I've got a pile of rejects you wouldn't believe!

Okay, nighty night! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment. Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Hostess Pad Prints DSP, Summer Picnic DSP. Ink: Real Red. Accessories: White Flower Rub-On, Apricot Appeal Button, Chipboard Heart, Scallop Punch, Key Tag Punch, Real Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Pick a Petal Classy Brass Embossing Template, Light Table, Stylus, Dimensionals.

May Stamp Club & a RAK!

Yes, I'm still alive! Crazy busy with end of year school stuff and other life stuff, plus rainy, overcast weather has made it impossible to get good pictures lately (no, still never ordered that light tent, doh!). Thought I would share really quickly one of the May Stamp Club projects so the girls can see it, still working on the other project! *wink* This one is a cute little box based on a template/project from the SU demonstrator website. I was trying to incorporate some chipboard, since it's on special this month!

But for the exciting part...I received an awesome RAK from my online friend Donna Baker over at Serenity in Stamping! What a sweetheart she is! Thank you so much, you have no idea how you made my day! The card is precious, the flowers are TOO much, and the necklace is the BEST! I noticed this necklace she made and left her a smarty comment about sending the necklace to me...and it worked! hee! hee! Well, close enough, she made another *special* one just for me! I'm the luckiest girl!




Okay, signing off...I think I would go to bed right now if it wasn't for the American Idol results show! This is the first year we've really watched and participated in it (go David Cook!), but we're fast becoming reality tv junkies. We've always been Survivor junkies, then we started on The Amazing Race two years ago. But last night dh went too far...here's how the conversation goes:

DH: "Hey, you wanna watch Beauty and the Geek?"
Me: "No, that's a little too close to real life for me."

Hee! Hee! Got him good there! Thanks for stopping by!

Box Recipe Stamps: Circle of Friends. Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Whisper White, East Coast Prep DSP. Ink: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise. Accessories: On Board Simon Chipboard Upper, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Stapler, Sticky Strip, 1 3/8", 1", and 1/2" Circle Punch, Pick a Petal Classy Brass Template (for circle piercing), Sanding Block, Crop-a-Dile.

Mark the Date

Happy Saturday! Moving slowly around here today, how about you? Went out early for coffee and Claritin D and finally shook off an 18 hour headache, thanks to the weather, I think. Trying to come up with some projects for stamp club this month, no luck yet, but did make a few cards.

I started out wanting to use the large chipboard star and decided to break out the Mark the Date set...you know, one of those sets I had to have last year on the new catalog pre-order that I think I've used once before! Doh! It did make me realize I still need to get the Full Calendar set to go with it, because I wasn't able to add a month to the top of it. So if your birthday falls on a Monday this year, you may be getting this card! lol!

I was trying to go to a crop tonight with friends but couldn't get around to it. I finished my lesson plans for next week, but still have to go to school tomorrow to prepare (dh said he would go with me for 2 hours max, what a sweetie!), plus grade a HUGE stack of papers...4 more weeks, 4 more weeks, 4 more weeks!

Hope your weekend is going well and you have a lovely Mother's Day tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Stamps: Mark the Date, It's All Good. Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White, East Coast Prep DSP. Ink: Real Red, Craft White. Accessories: Wild Wasabi Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Crop-a-Dile, 3/4" Circle Punch, On Board Simon Upper Chipboard Star, Dimensionals.

Amy Butler "mom"

Happy Friday! Hooray! I ran out of time to stamp Thursday (trying to procure a hotel room for Convention, yikes!), so I'm sharing my mom's Mother's Day card...I don't think she has time to read my blog, so hopefully I'm safe! She's supposed to be retired, but she quilts for people and works now more than ever. Which leads me to the card, since she's the one who introduced me to Amy Butler...

It seemed fitting to use my new Amy Butler supplies to make her card. I love Amy's new line, it even has fabric swatches, which is what the gray strip on the card is. The card base & ink are SU Basic Gray, the rest of the paper is Amy Butler, the stitched border stamp around the edge is Tim Holtz, and the buttons are Foo-fa-La. Don't you love those chipboard letters with the faux stitching around them?! Hope Mom likes the card, and when I go back to Missouri for my visit after school is out, I am coming back to Texas with a new Amy Butler purse (just in case Mom is reading this!).

Hope you have a great Friday! Thanks again for stopping by and leaving your super nice comments, you always make my day!

Recipe Stamps: Tim Holtz. Cardstock: SU Basic Gray, Amy Butler from K & Company. Ink: Basic Gray. Accessories: Amy Butler from K & Company chipboard & fabric swatch, Foo-fa-La buttons.

Wednesday Dig It Out and Use It Up #4

Yes, here is another installment of the "Dig It Out and Use It Up!" challenge!! Thank you to everyone (Tara!) for playing last week! lol! Doesn't it feel good to use that stuff up?! I sure felt good using up the 3 little scraps of paper seen here! hahahahaha!

I made this card last week after making my students' desk nameplates. I had a lot of leftover scraps, so it seemed like the perfect time use them. Then I showed the card to dh...and thus began the debate on whether or not to post this card at all. This is how the conversation went:

me: "How do you like this card?"

DH: (silence, staring, more silence)

me: "It's made from a lot of leftover parts. I was trying to make it not so matchy, but fun and different, you know, unexpected."

DH: "Oh, it's unexpected alright."

Hmmm, maybe that's how Dr. Frankenstein felt from the responses he got when he started messing around with leftover parts. Actually, it cracked me up and I laughed and laughed and laughed. (Side note: for you single people out there, I highly recommend you find that person who makes you laugh...I'm not sure how else you could manage to spend over two decades with a person!)

Hope you had a great Wednesday! We're on the downhill slide now, uh-huh, uh-huh, awww, yea! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Stamps: Always (heart and bird); Tim Holtz (stitches). Cardstock: Kraft, Ruby Red, Ginger Blossom DSP, other misc paper; Ink: Chocolate Chip craft, Versamark. Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder (bird); Heat & Stick Powder, Embossing Gun, Three for You Flower Punch, Scallop Punch, Chocolate Chip Poly Twill Ribbon, Crystal Iris Chunky Sprinkles Glitter, Vintage Brad, Dimensionals.

Friendly Flowers for Mother's Day

Happy Tuesday! I'm running a wee bit late today! lol! I started this card last evening and worked on it until 1:30...getting nowhere! Argh! And why on earth do I think I can stay up until 1:30 just because I'm going to a reading workshop instead of school?! Crazy! I seem to be slipping into summer mode (aka staying up all night) and that can't happen yet!

I got the idea for the background piece of this card at the Arlington Shoebox Swap last Saturday. I wish I could remember whose card it was, but she had prestamped a whole sheet of the circle flower from the Priceless set on a Soft Sky piece of cardstock. We had to cut the flowers out, so she was helping us to save time by prestamping. Anyway, the sheet of stamped circles looked so cute, I knew I had to try it. I started playing and stamped the circle 3 times across the top, and miraculously, it was pretty close to straight! That's when I decided I'd better get the Stamp-a-ma-Jig out to finish it! lol! I knew the fluke wouldn't last! Oh, and the color inspiration...

I saw this great picture of Osborne & Little wallpaper on the Oh Joy! blog. She has such trendy, inspiring pictures, go check them out. I used Old Olive, but I think the new Kiwi Kiss In Color 2008 is going to be the perfect shade! (Waiting not so patiently until August!) Then, on my way to the Shoebox Swap, you may remember that I had to run into Michael's to get some dimensionals. Well, they had the some new Amy Butler stuff that I could not resist! I love her designs! This new Lotus line is so yummy...all basic grays and blues and limes with a hint of pink! Awwww, heaven! So this inspired my card.

Okay, still a few more things to do before I hit the hay...yes, I'm shooting for 9:00! I do have to teach the children tomorrow, after all! Have a great night and thanks for stopping by!

p.s. I'm going to SU Convention! Are you?!

Recipe Stamps: Friendly Flowers, Always, All Holidays. Cardstock: Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Brocade Blue, Old Olive. Ink: Basic Gray & Brocade Blue pad, Old Olive marker. Accessories: Pretties Kit, Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Ticket Corner Punch, Slit Punch, Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Waterfall Stickles.

Just Celebrate Shoebox Swap

Argh! It's Monday! Where did the weekend go?! Oh yeah, I was having a blast Saturday at the Arlington Splitcoast Shoebox Swap! 12 hours! Mama Mia! That's a lot of stamping for an old gal like me! I was working on a special project all day Sunday (more on that later!), so I didn't get a time to upload my photos from the event yet, but that's my goal for tonight. Bev (TexasGrammy) has uploaded a bunch on Splitcoast that you can see here. I was lucky enough to chat with Tex for hours while stamping. ((((hugs to Tex!)))) Everyone was so nice, and it was great meeting people in person after seeing them and talking to them online for so long!

This card was my shoebox swap for the event. If it looks familiar, it's because it is a case of this card of mine. Nothing like a good case when you're pinched for time! I used the butterfly from the Just Celebrate set in the SU Occasions Mini Catalog. I know I bought that set just for the owl, but I've really loved using all of it. And that's big for me, as you know I'm not a natural-born colorer!

Okay, need to get ready for my reading workshop today! Whoo! Hoo! I get to be the student! Hope you have a great Monday!

Recipe Stamps: Just Celebrate. Cardstock: Kraft, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White. Ink: Chocolate Chip pad. Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds, 2-Way Glue Pen, 5/8" Brocade Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Dimensionals, Pure Color Pencils (on my swaps, I switched to markers because my pencils need to be sharpened...I was told at Stamp Club last month...I ordered a sharpener last week, but it's not here yet! =)

Dilly Dally

Happy Saturday! It's the Splitcoast Shoebox Swap Day in Arlington! Hooray! Am I ready?! Yes, I finished *almost* everything up at 1:00 last night and just finished a few details this morning. I'll have to stop at Michael's along the way and get some kind of dimensionals. I must go through more dimensionals than anyone in the world! I buy several packs a month and am somehow down to own sheet...I have an order arriving next week, but that's too late! doh!

Anyway, I messed around with a few more designs last night, but could not come up with anything I liked better than my original, so that's when I frantically started cutting and gathering materials at 11:30 pm. So this little Dilly Dally sheep is another reject from last night. I thought it might be fun to use this set because I remember when it first came out last year, it got a lot of bad press...seemed like no one really liked it...most seemed to HATE it even. I made it my mission to convince people otherwise! lol! I used it one day last month too for the little hat turned upside down birthday banner card...that has to be a record for digging out an "old" stamp! lol!

Hope your Saturday is great! I'm looking forward to the Splitcoast gathering and already packed my camera, so I'll share lots tomorrow!

Recipe Stamps: Dilly Dally, Fun & Fast Notes. Cardstock: Kraft, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Apricot Appeal Prints DSP. Ink: Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip. Accessories: Small Star Punch, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, 5/8" Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Dimensionals.

Spring Solitude

Hooray! It's Friday! Oh no, it's Friday! Why a mixed reaction? Well, tomorrow is the Splitcoast Shoebox Swap in Arlington and I have to come up with a card and prepare all the parts by tomorrow morning...and skipping school today is not an option, unfortunately! lol! Plus, since I'll be at a teaching workshop three days next week (YAY!), including Monday, I'll have to have everything ready before I leave today or I'll have to go in Sunday and prepare (boo!). But even if I do, it will still be worth it!

Back to the card and the Splitcoast Shoebox Swap...I just opened and read the details last night (I'm so bad!) and see that I have to prepare materials for 45 FULL cards! Yikes! That seriously limits my options with cardstock and ribbon (yes, a card must have ribbon to be complete!). I tried to work up some designs last night, and this is one of the rejects, lol! I came up with a case of one of my own cards (one that a lot of people seemed to like here, thanks so much!), just changing the stamps and the colors a bit, and it's the one dh liked the best, so unless something else brilliant strikes me tonight, that's probably the one I'll go with. I am so excited to see/meet a bunch of the Splitcoast girls in person! I'll be sure and take my camera to get lots of pics and share with ya here.

Hope you have a happy Friday and a great kick-off to your weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Stamps: Spring Solitude Level 2 hostess. Cardstock: Kraft, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Afternoon Tea DSP. Ink: Blue Bayou, Wild Wasabi. Accessories: Vintage Silver Brad, Blue Bayou Double Stitched Ribbon, 1' and 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Dimensionals.

Tim Holtz Day

I guess we will call today the Tim Holtz day. I visited a local stamp store in Plano a few weeks ago, just to check things out you know. I usually feel overwhelmed and can't imagine myself using any of them, but I fell in love with a few new stamps by Tim Holtz. He has a super cool style, very distressed and grungey with super cool techniques that are WAY beyond me...I just like pressing the stamp in ink and then onto the paper...but he has some great stamp designs. I especially like his sayings, like this one. I bought one last year, too, that I used in year-end mini scrapbooks/memory books that I made for all my students, and that's what I'll use this one for also.

I digress, sorry! I wanted to see if I could use one of his stamps in a "simple" way, so I made this quick card before bed last night. I think it turned out okay for simple, much more simple than his cards, and I'm looking forward to playing with them some more. That bird is just gorgeous. I ordered some black embossing powder last night (how I never had any, I'll never know!), and I think it will look good embossed in black.

Okay, running major late now...two days in a row I have turned off the alarm clock and stayed in bed, I never do that!! Hope you have a great Thursday! The weekend is near! Hooray!

Recipe Stamps: Tim Holtz for Stamper's Anonymous. Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Ginger Blossom DSP. Ink: Chocolate Chip. Accessories: SU Library Clip (retired), 5/8" Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals.