FRIENDLY FLOWERS - I LIKE 'EM!

Good mornin' all! Okay, so it is not another chick card this morning, I actually broke out one of my new stamp sets from the Occasions Mini which will be available to customers on March 1st. I love that one of the perks of being a demo is that I get to order them and play a whole month earlier! This set is called Friendly Flowers and I have decided that it is just FABULOUS! I love the flowers, there are so many things you can do with them! I actually cut the big one out and punched the smaller ones out using my scallop punch and my circle punch - how awesome is that??!! I love that our punches coordinate with so many of our sets, too cool, huh?! Anyway, this card will be going in the mail on Monday morning so I thought I better share it today. I used a lot of embellishments on this one, I was in that kind of mood and so I went with it. The base of the card is Night of Navy card stock and the next layer is Nearly Navy card stock. Then, I took a piece of the Jersey Shore Designer Series Paper and cut it into three even panels for the next layer. I love this paper because the flowers match so very well with this stamp set. Then, I added a strip of Nearly Navy card stock which I punched with my small circle punch all the way across and used my ticket corner punch on the corners to give it some interest. The large flower is stamped in Really Rust ink, the medium one in Old Olive ink and the small one in Nearly Navy ink - these three colors match the DP EXACTLY which is why I went with them. They are all stamped on Whisper White to make the colors really pop! On the large flower, I added brads alternating between Nearly Navy and Old Olive. In the center, I added the small felt flower from the Felt Fusion kit - it is the same style of flower as the actual image! I then threaded it with a Nearly Navy brad as well. The Old Olive flower was pierced around the edges with my paper piercer and then I added a Pewter Jumbo Eyelet to the center. The small flower has a rhinestone brad in the middle that came from my Pretties Kit. Then, I popped them all up on dimensionals. I stamped the sentiment onto Really Rust card stock with Nearly Navy ink, punching it out with my Key Tag punch. I then added a piece of Wild Wasabi Double Stitched Ribbon, and popped that up on dimensionals as well. Voila! A friend card! I really liked the way it turned out because I love the flowers and how versatile they are! Hope you like it too!
FACT #26
I adore shopping! I can shop for hours - it makes me so very happy! But, not just any shopping, I am in search of the ultimate bargain. There is nothing more satisfying to me than to find a beautiful $80 sweater on clearance for $4 - I mean, how great is that?!! I love to browse, and look at all the wonderful displays - I am not a big mall shopper though! I will go to a mall, but I prefer the stand-alone stores such as Old Navy, Gottschalks, Target, Mervyns, Michaels, Joanns, well, you get the picture! A day spent shopping is the ultimate in fun for me - I look forward to them, especially if I get to go with friends! Which is why it is killing me here since I have no friends yet!! Boy, do I hope that changes soon because I am in serious need of a bargain shopping day - LOL!

BEATE'S WEEKEND SKETCH CHALLENGE!

***EDITED TO ADD*****
BLOG CANDY ALERT!! My friend Nikki at Military Wife Stampin' Spot is offering up some yummy blog candy in celebration of her 10,000 hits!! If you have not visited her blog before, you are in for a treat because Nikki has mad talent and always has beautiful creations to share!

Okay, I know you are probably tired of seeing this set, but this little chick is so stinkin' cute, I can't help myself!! Something different tomorrow, I promise. BUT, today I did Beate's sketch to make another Easter card. I just love doing her sketch, they are always so much fun! And, I am proud of myself because I did three challenge cards this week! I am hoping to do more SCS challenges as well because it will stretch my stamping abilities (which need stretching - LOL!) Anyway, here is my card! Sorry about the shadow, don't know why I have that since this is the same time I always take pics! I followed the sketch ALMOST to the letter - I did add a sentiment because it went so well with what I was trying to do! I again went with springy Easter-like colors and some of that yummy Bali Breeze Designer Series Paper - I just love it and need to order more!!!! The card is pretty simple really so I will leave the recipe and if anyone has any questions, just holler at me (loud though because I am in CA *wink*)

Card Recipe:
Stamps - A Good Egg
Paper - Ruby Red card stock, Pink Passion card stock, Whisper White card stock, Bali Breeze DP
Ink - Black Stazon, Ruby Red Stampin Write Marker, Pink Passion Stampin Write Marker, So Saffron Stampin Write Marker
Accessories - Large and Small Oval Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Paper Piercer and Mat Stach, Taken with Teal Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon, Two-Way Glue, Dazzling Diamonds, Rose Red Brads, Taken with Teal Buttons, Stampin Dimensionals
FACT #25
Christmas is my ultimate favorite holiday! I love the decorating, the baking, the stores, the music, everything! I always go overboard every Christmas - I just love to see my kids' face light up on Christmas morning! I love that my whole family is together and we celebrate the birth of Jesus together every year. I look forward with anticipation to the Christmas season every year and always feel a little bit let down when it is all over.
Hope everyone enjoys their weekend! I am going to a movie and eating Mexican food with my two SILs tonight so that should be fun! Bye for now!

MOJO MONDAY ON FRIDAY

Happy Friday to all! I love Fridays - it is the best day of the week because the kids get home and there is no homework, no rushing to get ready for school the next day, it just is a relaxing sort of evening and I love it! So, today I want to share the card I did for Julee's Mojo Monday challenge - yeah, I finally had time to do it! She does it every Monday and her sketches always look like fun! This one sure was! Her blog is awesome too, I drool over all her creations because she is mega talented. Go check out her blog Poetic Artistry if you have not been over there - you certainly won't be disappointed! So, for the challenge I used A Good Egg stamp set again figuring I could get ahead on some of my Easter cards. I just love the little chick in this set, it is so very cute! What I really enjoyed about this sketch was all the layers - I love layers, I really think it makes the card! For my image, I cut out the chick by itself and popped it up on dimensionals. I also cut out two of the shells, colored them in, and covered them with dazzling diamonds. I put this together so the chick looked like he just popped out of his shell - what do you think??!!! I also put dazzling diamonds on the background flowers just to give them a little pop. The rest is self-explanatory (I think) and I will leave the full recipe below.
Card Recipe:
Paper - Green Galore card stock, Gabe Green card stock, Brocade Blue card stock, Cameo Coral card stock, Whisper White card stock, Jersey Shore Designer Series Paper
Stamps - A Good Egg
Inks - Black Stazon Stamp Pad, Cameo Coral Classic Stampin' Pad, Stampin Write Markers
Accessories - Mat Stack and Paper Piercer, Ticket Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds, Two-Way Glue, Green Galore Brads, Brocade Blue Brads, Certainly Celery Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon
FACT#24
I love to dance. And, I am actually pretty darn good at it! I taught dance for about 10 years which coordinated nicely with my group exercise teaching. My favorite class to teach was Step with Funk where we incorporated funk moves into our step routine - it was a blast! Unfortunately, I cannot teach anymore because I tore my achilles tendon and so it won't hold up unde the intense strain but I still love to get out there and dance! In fact, Tony and I are supposed to be starting line dancing lessons soon (he soooooo cannot dance so we shall see how it goes - LOL!) and that should be fun!
Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

LOOK AT WHAT THE MAILMAN BROUGHT ME!

Wow! I am completely and utterly blown away by what I got in my mailbox! I am so touched that people would think enough of me to send me a card! I have to share! This first one I received from Charmaine aka Oodabug Alley. I told her how much I adored this hippo and she sent me some images along with this very cute card - how lucky am I??!! Charmaine is such a sweet person and UBER TALENTED so if you have never been to her blog (I don't know how THAT is possible!) get on over there! Thanks Charmaine - big cyber hugs to you girl!!! Next, I received this absolutely beautiful card from Nikki aka Military Wife Stampin Spot. Isn't this a stunning card??!! Nikki is phenomenally talented and has become a great bloggin' friend - thanks so much Nikki, you rock!! Visit her blog if you haven't already, you will definitely not be disappointed!

I received this beauty from Dawn aka Treasure Oiler Designz. I love this Dawn, it is absolutely gorgeous! Dawn lives in Canada and we met through blogging and she is one of the sweetest, most talented people! I just love her! She is another mega talented stamper who blows me away with her creations - thanks Dawn, I love it! And last, but by no means least, I received this wonderful blog candy from Michele aka Thoughts of a Cardmaking Scrapbooker. Isn't is awesome??!! She included a beautiful card with it which I love because all of her work is so gorgeous! Thanks so much Michele! So tell me, did I have a great mail day or what??!! Thanks to all of you wonderful ladies for making my day - you will never know how much it means to me that you took the time out of your very busy lives to send me something - I am truly touched by all of you! I feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to come in contact with so many wonderful people through blogging!

FACT#23

I am a very Type A person - yep,I am! I am sure it has to do with spending 24 years in the military or maybe that is WHY I did - LOL! My friends tease me because I love to scrapbook and stamp but have a fit if there are things out of place and have to ensure that EVERY time I am in my stamp room, everything gets put away when I am done! They say it is not natural for a crafter to be that way! I can't help it though, it drives me crazy not to clean it up because when I get up in the morning, I love to walk into my room and see it all ready for me to sit down and begin again. Oh well, I am who I am....now I have to go and clean up my work area from this morning *wink*

DOUBLE POST: A LITTLE BIRDIE...AND ANOTHER SCRAPBOOK LAYOUT!

My sister has been in the hospital for about a week and I made her a card and sent her flowers to let her know that I am thinking about her! I used the A Little Birdie Told Me Stamp Set, so cute, and I know she will smile when she sees it! Very simple card - details are listed below!! This card also satisfies a sketch challenge posted by my SBS9 sister Suzann which I am thrilled to finally have had time to do! The inside has the umbrella image and the sentiment "your under the weather" but I had already written personal stuff in the card so I did not want to post that here. So, you will have to use your imagination - LOL!
Card Recipe:
Stamps: A Little Birdie Told Me
Paper: Pink Passion card stock, Tempting Turquoise card stock, Whisper White card stock, Flowers For You Designer Series Paper
Ink: Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad, Black Stazon
Accessories: Tempting Turquoise Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon, Corner Ticket Punch, Mat Stack and Paper Piercer, Tempting Turquoise Stampin' Write Marker, Mellow Moss buttons, Glue Dots

I was so excited that I got some more scrappin' done! These two pages are inspired by a post I found on Heather's blog which she in turn posted about Cyndi's weekly scrapbook challenge. Every week she posts a new one that she has created pages for and I decided I was going to use them too to help me along with my commitment to more scrappin'! I actually started with layout number two because it fit the pics that I wanted to do tonight but I AM going to go back and do number one as well! I have to catch up to this week (week four) and then I will do them each week as she posts. (I will also be doing my own as well!) Anyway, here are my pages! This is my oldest son Zach who is currently at the Naval Academy experiencing his Plebe (Freshman for civilian colleges) year. These pictures are his senior photos and I loved how they all turned out! His senior year was really hard for me because I am very close to Zach (all my kids really) and I had just gotten back from Iraq and felt like time was rushing by and he would be leaving! He has turned out to be such an awesome young man and I am very proud of him! I miss him terribly though - I never knew how hard it would be until he actually left. I speak to him three times a week or so, but it is not the same especially since I have had to realize that he will never live at home again *sigh*. But, I digress - back to the pages! I used the new stamp set Great Grads as my main stamp set and stripped my journaling which I printed out on Kraft paper. Here is the total recipe:
Paper: Kraft, Rose Red, Nearly Navy, Wstern Sky DP
Inks: Nearly Navy, Rose Red
Stamp Sets: Great Grads, Best Friends Alphabet Upper, Big Deal Alphabet, In the Stars, Boatloads of Love
Accessories: 1 3/8 inch circle punch, scallop circle punch, SAB rub-ons, Big Star Punch, Crop-A-Dile, Hearts and Stars Chipboard, Jumbo Pewter Eyelets, Stampin Dimensionals

I hope you all like it as much as I liked creating it!

FACT#22
I love to do laundry! There is something deeply satisfying to me to see an empty clothes hamper and stacks of folded, clean clothes - ahhhhh!! And of course, my family does not complain because they always have clean clothes! In fact, when I tell my son to put his clothes away, he said "you did laundry AGAIN!" And, I don't tell THEM I like to do laundry because I want them to appreciate it! Needless to say, it does not build up around here which is a good thing!

WANTED - ONE CUTE LITTLE HORSEBACK RIDER!

Good morning all! I have decided that is has been waaaayyyy to long since I have scrapbooked - after all, that is my first love and I have neglected it because I have been trying to practice my card making and stamping! But, last night I decided to do a layout and ended up with a double 12x12 layout of my daughter at Horseback Riding Camp. This was a Girl Scout trip and she stayed at the camp for one week - YIKES! I really really missed her - she was only nine and she had never gone to overnight camp before but my BF's daughter Joey went too and the camp was only an hour away so I gave in and let her go! She had a wonderful time and the last day Tony and I drove up to watch her perform on her horse - she cantered, pranced, walked, and ran around the ring and was so very proud of herself! She even won an award for being the Most Natural Horseman! So, I used the pics from that last day to make this layout. I incorporated some chipboard, rub-ons and stamps into this layout and I think it turned out pretty well. I will put the recipe for this on the bottom so you can see what I used. It sure felt good to scrapbook again and I have decided I am going to do a lot more in the future - I have TONS of pics that have not been scrapped yet and it is high time I get going. So, you will be seeing more of these but still some cards because I still need the practice - LOL! Cardmaking does not come easy to me AT ALL - give me a 12x12 layout anyday!! So, here is the recipe:
SCRAPBOOK RECIPE
Paper: Not Quite Navy card stock, Mellow Moss card stock, Whisper White card stock, Western Sky Designer Series paper
Stamp Sets: Wanted, In the Stars (available March 1st)
Ink: Not Quite Navy Classic Stampin' Pad, Mellow Moss Classic Stampin' Pad
Accessories: Hearts and Stars Rubons, Hearts and Stars Chipboard, Large and Small Star Punch, 1 3/8 inch Square and Circle Punch, Crop-A-Dile, Scallop Circle Punch, Jumbo Pewter Eyelet, Stampin' Dimensionals, Corner Rounder Punch, Paper Piercer, Blue Bayou Double Stitched Ribbon
FACT #21
I have always wanted to write a book and have it published. I have actually started one and hope to complete it and send it in. I have written lots of short stories and actually had a real-time journal while I was in Iraq.

BEATE'S SKETCH CHALLENGE AND SOME TURKEYS!

Happy Presidents Day!!! Sorry I have been so quiet the last few days, but I had so much to catch up on around the house that I had no time *gasp* to stamp!! But, I decided today I wanted to do Beate's sketch challenge because I love her sketches and try and do them every week. So, here it is! (Everything is SU!) I used my new stamp set A Good Egg - isn't it cute??!! I also used some of my new DP Flowers for You which is really yummy! The base of this card is Tempting Turquoise which I mounted with my DP and then layered Pixie Pink and Whisper White for my cute little chick! I stamped my little guy in Black Stazon used my Stampin' Write Markers to color him in. I also used them on my flowers. I paper pieced the shell with the flip side of the DP and then added another one up in the corner - there is ALWAYS two pieces, right???!!!! My sentiment is punched out using the small and large oval punches, mounted on dimensionals. I added a piece of Tempting Turquoise Narrow Grosgrain ribbon which I love and is perfect for Easter. I used silver brads from the Vintage set and mounted them on two pieces of DP that I punched using my Word Window Punch. I faux stitched all around the image and then the layers as well. Very easy but cute, yes?? I really like how it turned out, so bright and cheerful - I hope you like it too!! Now, I wanted to share these pics I took this afternoon - my daughter came running in the house yelling for me to "come see" so I grabbed the camera (always!) and ran outside to my front yard (which is six acres so it is quite large). And, this is what I saw: wild turkeys! Now, this is not something you see everyday! There were a LOT of them too and they are walking toward the woods and probably heading down to the creek area. I just had to share - living out here in the country now

I have seen so many new things that you just don't get to see when you live in a community setting. (We also have a momma bear and two cubs that visit every now and then, but I have not been able to get a picture yet!)

FACT#20

I am a night owl. I love to stay up really really late after everyone else is in bed because it is so quiet and peaceful and I tend to get a lot done. Usually I am either reading or in my craft room stampin and scrapping. It is not unusual for me to stay up until around 2a.m. My husband takes the kids to school in the morning but I am usually up having coffee before they leave. So, I usually get about 4-6 hours a sleep depending. Then, one night a week I go to bed early and sleep for 9-10 hours and recharge my batteries. Then, I do it all over again - LOL!