A HALLOWEEN SWAP

Happy Friday everyone! I am fighting a very nasty sinus infection and I think it has affected my stamping - LOL! I have been making some simple Halloween cards today for a swap that I have coming up and this is the one I THINK I am going to go with - not final on that decision yet! It is simple because hey, I have to mass produce this puppy. I used basic black cardstock or the background, layered it with yummy DP Creepy Crawly paper and pumpkin pie cardstock and used my corner ticket punch on both. I used my itty bitty backgrounds to stamp in basic black ink and then used both my large and small tag punches to create the tag. The image is from the stamp set Tags So Much - I just love this set! I stamped the image on whisper white cardstock in black stazon and used my pumpkin pie, basic black, and real red stampin write markers to color it in. The ribbon is from my stash but it matched so well I had to use it. I popped the tag up on dimensionals and added orange stickles on the eyes and black stickles for the web. The large saying is a $1 stamp I found at Michaels. I think it turned out cute but it is my no means my favorite - of course I am drugged up! Sorry about the pic, something about using stickles kind of distorts it somewhat. Let me know what you think! All highlighted items are of course SU!!!

A TIME OF REFLECTION

Well, I am officially retired. Because of the long weekend, I could not go in and trade my active duty ID card in for my retired one until now. I have been ready to retire for awhile now and I am excited to be starting a new chapter in my life. I was not prepared for the feelings I would have however, when I received my blue card and was all done officially with the Navy. You see, I joined the Navy when I was just sixteen on a delayed entry contract. Now, 24 years later, I am leaving the only thing that is familiar to me - and that is a scary thing. I know intellectually that it will all work out, but wow! it is quite the feeling to know that I am now not a part of the Navy anymore - at least in an active sense. So, I have been doing a little reflecting back and thinking of the good times and the not so good times - I met and married my husband while in the Navy, had three beautiful kids, I have been all over the world and I have had job security. I have received great education and training and met and worked with some wonderful people who I am privileged to call my friends to this day. There were also some tough times - long deployments away from my family, missed birthdays, school events, major milestones, and some anniversaries. I have been put in harms way several times, all in the name of doing my job. My most recent separation from my family (well, besides the current one) was my several months away while in Iraq. Just last summer I was coming back - it's hard to believe a whole year has gone by since I returned. You are not really supposed to take pictures while over there but I did and I am not sorry I did. I wasn't taking pictures of National security secrets, just chronicling my journey to share with my family. But when I got home, I was not quite ready to see those pictures or share a whole lot - you see some pretty bad things during a time of war and I saw my share. However, I have decided that it is time to start my Iraq scrapbook so that I can have those memories to share with my children as they grow up, allowing them to appreciate what we have in this great country. So, I am sharing this first page with you. No recipe - just sharing. This is me preparing for a night hop in the helo - we tended to travel at night when it was dark for obvious reasons. As I am waiting for my flight, I am wearing approximately 90 pounds of gear - I have body armor, kevlar, a kevlar helmet, a rucksack with emergency equipment, a 45 pistol, and an M9 machine gun. I also have several extra clips of ammo in my bag and on my body. Add to this the over 100 degrees temperature and it makes for quite an experience! The glasses are the finishing touch - the sand is so bad there that you need them to protect your eyes even when it is dark. So, there you have it - my fashion statement. This was an easy one to share - pretty innocuous and gives you an idea of what I got to wear on a daily basis. I know a lot of you who are Army are wondering - isn't she wearing Army equipment, and the answer is yes - that is why Navy folks in Iraq tell people we have joined the Narmy because we typically are not ground troops. But, there is nothing typical about Iraq. I hope you enjoyed my rather lengthy explanation of this page - thanks for reading!

ANOTHER CHALLENGE CARD

Good afternoon all! I hope you are enjoying the extra day off this week! It is as hot as blazes here! I am going to a friends house later this afternoon for a barbecue and I am looking forward to that since I have been living on Cap'n Crunch and PBandJ - LOL! When you by yourself, cooking is not something you are motivated to do - at least I am not. So, it will be fun. But first, I have a card to share! I decided to do another one for Beate's sketch challenge using Big Blooms - I know it's retired, but I really like it and only got to use it once since I signed up as a demo a couple of months before the retired list came out. So, here it is. I made a square card using Purely Pomegranate as my base, then layered it with Blue Bayou and DP Outlaw. I used my ticket corner punch and then paper pierced faux stitching all around the edges using my mat stack, outlining it with Not Quite Navy Stampin Write marker. I used another piece of Purely Pomegranate cardstock and scalloped the edges using my slit punch - love this tool! I stamped the giant flower from Big Blooms in Purely Pomegranate classic ink, cut it out, and popped it up on dimensionals. For the stem and leaves, I used Blue Bayou double stitched ribbon. I also added four brads to the corners. The sentiment is from the hostess set Vases in Vogue which I stamped on Blue Bayou cardstock in Black Stazon ink, punched it out with my small oval punch, and attached it with a piece of hodgepodge hardware. I also added a little bit of dazzling diamonds to my scallops with liquid glue for some pop! I like the way this card came out and I hope you enjoy it too! All the current SU! ingredients for this card are highlighted and can be found in the new catty. I decided I liked the way Beate spelled out her ingredients in her post and wanted to try this instead of writing it all at the end - I will probably switch off depending on my mood! Thanks Beate! Now, off to barbecue - YUM!

A BABY CARD FOR BEATES SKETCH

Hi all! I hope you are having a fabulous weekend! I was able to stamp a little bit tonight so I wanted to post something. I have been busy getting the house ready for another open house. The house actually stays pretty ready since I am the only one living here (well, me and the three dogs) BUT dusting and vacuuming always need to be done. I am pretty anal when it comes to the house, something my crafty friends tease me about saying there is no way a stamper/scrapbooker can be this neat!! Well, I am....I can't help it! It's the German in me I think! Anyway, I had the hardest time making this card. My husband's co-worker just had a baby boy so I needed a card to send so I thought I would use Beate's sketch to get me going. Well, one hour later and I was STILL struggling along so I have decided tonight is not a stampin night for me *sigh*. Maybe I will do better tomorrow. At least this card will get us another Bingo number for Barb's game since I DID use punches - LOL! So, here it is, let me know what you think! CYA tomorrow!
Card Recipe: (all items SU! unless otherwise noted)
Paper: Bashful Blue, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery
Stamps: Zoofari, Best Friends Alphabet Upper, Circle of Friendship
Inks: Black Stazon, So Saffron
Accessories: Corner Rounder, Hodgepodge Hardware, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue
and Apricot Appeal Ribbon, Barely Banana Brad, 1/16th hole punch, Bashful Blue
and Certainly Celery Stampin Write Markers, Mat Stack and Paper Piercer, Marvy
Large Circle Scallop Punch, Small Circle Scallop Punch, Small Tag Punch, Corner Rounder Punch