Happy November! I've been Tagged ~

I've been "Tagged" by one of my new blogging friends Tammy Hershberger at "STAMP HAPPY". Tammy is incredibly talented and her creations will "WoW" you. I simply love the name of her blog and wish I had thought of it myself! :) Blog tag is a terrific way to get to know a little more about each other and also a wonderful way of finding some incredible blogs! So, I thought I would play along today and answer the questions listed.

Things I Love:
1. My Faith, Family & Friends!
2. Quiet time to do as I please ~ like stamping & cardmaking
3. Traveling & Sightseeing- especially Hawaii with family
4. Junkin' ~ going to garage sales, flea markets & antique shops


Things I Don't Love:
1. Watching my weight & exercise
2. Politics
3. Gossip
4. Winter (ok, there is beauty in the first snow, but I don't like the COLD!)


Songs on my mp3 player:
Would you believe I don't have an mp3 player or ipod?
Silence is golden to me, but I do listen to the radio in my car and it's on a local country station. :)
I especially love Christmas music and could listen to it year round. My latest favorite cd is "Take the Weather with You" by Jimmy Buffett and another favorite is one my daughter taped for me by IZ (Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole) I also have several Lorie Line cds and love her beautiful music too.
1.
2.
3.
4.


Favorite Foods/Drinks:
1. any pasta entree at Olive Garden
2. pina colada (they are best in Hawaii)
3. peach pie
4. candy corn (I can eat an entire bag myself! thankfully, it's seasonal)


Tag 5 others:
I have no idea who has already been tagged and I have SO many favorite bloggers whose talents I adore, but today I would like to tag a few of my special friends from The Stamp Shack. :)

1. Sherri ~ I Love Flip Flops
2. Ethel ~ The Paperquilter
3. Tami ~ Dapple Designs
4. Jennifer ~ Thimbles, Bobbins, Paper and Ink
and my new blog friend ...
5. Gayle ~ Mountain Moma

I've got some errands to run today but hope to do some stamping later this afternoon. I need to get my Cookies & Cards for the Troops done this weekend! More on that later...

Have a smiley great day!

Happy Mail Day! My Swap with Mountain Moma ~

There is nothing better than finding HAPPY MAIL in your mailbox and that's just what I found when I got home from work tonight! This SWEET AUTUMN card was created by Gayle, also known as Mountain Moma.
We "met" recently via our blogs and decided to exchange cards with a fall theme. My photo doesn't do her card justice as it is just SO pretty and sparkly too! Gayle has used glitter paint in red, orange and yellow to color the leaves and it makes them look so festive. She said the fall paper is from Creative Imaginations and the "Winter Tree" is from Amuse Art Stamps. I just *love* it!

One of the especially neat things about card swapping is that you learn techniques and get ideas from each other. It just so happens that the card I made Gayle had a tree on it too and I would have never thought to color the leaves with the sparkly glitter paint!

My card was created using a terrific sketch posted by Jen at another one of my favorite blogs ~ I {Heart} 2 Stamp. I did some paper piecing and stitching for the background using more of the gorgeous paper from the K & Company Fall Harvest Mat Pad. The tree stamp is "Falling Foliage" by Hero Arts. The little sentiment in the circle is a $1 Michaels wood stamp.




Here is the sketch I used if you want to see it...

Goodness, another week has flown by and tomorrow is FRIDAY already! YaY! :) And it's HALLOWEEN too, which makes it a FUN FRIDAY! :) We have a little "potluck" at work where everyone brings snacks and goodies and a few people wear costumes. Since I've already worn my smiley face costume a couple times, I think I'm just going to wear my candy corn and pumpkin necklace with a black outfit tomorrow. We're hoping to have a few trick or treaters so I've got my pumpkin bucket full of candy and spider rings to hand out.

Well, I haven't decided exactly what I'm making for treats tomorrow so I better go get it figured out. I'm glad you stopped by and hope you enjoyed seeing our card swap. If anyone else is interested in doing a swap with me, just let me know! :)

Have a Happy Halloween! Smiles, Pam :)

Quote for Today ~

"Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold." ~ Judith Olney

Another Freaky Friday Challenge Card ~

I'm really enjoying the Freaky Friday Halloween Card Challenges at Sunflower Studio! This is week #4 and Leigh has created a terrific sketch to challenge us.


I have a folder filled with of a variety of Halloween patterned paper scraps so I used a few of them here. Also, I've had these "jellishments" by doodlebug design inc. and thought it was high time I used them too. I tend to want to hoard these special embellishments. Isn't that silly? Do any of you do that?



If you're wondering...my card is 3-1/4 x 6-1/2". I've used the Spellbinder scalloped square die for the black cardstock and the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder to give the orange checked paper some dimension. I wasn't sure what to do for the sentiment because I didn't have any for Halloween that would fit. Then I remembered a forever neglected Stampin' Up set ~ "Everyday Flexible Phrases"!


Well, I was planning to create a card with Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge, but it's getting late so I better call it a day. Thanks for stopping by!
Smiles,





Quote for Today ~
"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion." ~Henry David Thoreau

Did Someone Say "Blog Candy"?

It's a wonder I get anything accomplished with all the time I spend reading blogs! The great thing about it is all the wonderful, friendly, creative people I've met. And it's amazing how one blog leads to another!

Such is the case today... LeAnne at Wee Inklings left a comment on my blog so I had to check out her blog...which led me to a couple other blogs...one of them being CUPPY CAKE!

Wouldn't you know that Jennifer at CUPPY CAKE is offering this amazing BLOG CANDY and we get an extra chance if we mention it on our blog. That's how this world of blogging goes around and around!

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away! . . .

. . . An onion a day should take care of everyone else! :)

I saw this funny sentiment on Splitcoaststampers and printed it on my pc to use for the inside of this card. This is a fun card design, but a little tricky to photograph. In the first picture, I had to tape the card closed so you can see how it looks before you open it. The second picture shows how it opens to reveal the inside sentiment. And then the third picture is a closeup so you can read it better.

This is just a standard 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 card, but the front is folded in half again at 2-1/8". The patterned paper is by the Paper Studio - Harvest Stripes. The bucket of apples is from the Stampin' Up! "Give Thanks" set. I've colored it with prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol.

This card is a repost from August 2007. It's one of my favorites and since I'm going for an 'apple theme' here today, I thought I would post it again! :) (Is that legal?) I know there are many of you new to my blog, that may not have seen this one. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :)Besides that, I've been busy picking apples and making an apple pie today so there hasn't been any time to stamp yet.

This has been an exceptionally good year for apples in our area and the tree in our backyard produced more than ever before. They are red delicious, so a great apple for eating, but not for baking. MW (Mr. Wonderful) has been begging for an apple pie so I decided to make a trip to the apple orchard for some yellow delicious. They are my favorite for eating and baking!

Picture this pie with two pieces already gone out of it. SCRUMPTIOUS! It was still warm from the oven when we added a couple scoops of ice cream to the top. I have to tell you that for years I've made my own pie crusts and it isn't difficult, but it takes more time and effort to make a pie. My sweet DIL Jami introduced me to Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts and they are a godsend! Seriously, I made this pie in an hour and it takes about 45 minutes to bake! The recipe I use is from my old trusty Betty Crocker cookbook that I've had for over 30 years.

I think that apple pie is one of the easiest pies to make. The hardest part for me is peeling and slicing the apples. After that, it’s a simple matter to mix the ingredients, mound them on the pre-made pie crust, and pop the pie in the oven.

Now I better go try to help MW with the floor base in the bathrooms. We had new flooring installed and now we need to reinstall the wood base. He's got bad knees so he's not too happy about doing this. Now you know why I made him the apple pie today! ;)

There are some really great sketch challenges this weekend so I hope to get in some stamping later. Thanks so much for stopping by today....have a wonderful weekend everyone! Smiles, Pam :)

Easy Apple Pie

[you'll need pastry for two crust 9" pie]

I recommend Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

dash of salt

7 cups sliced apples (yellow delicious or jonathan are my favs)

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

---------------------

1. Heat oven to 425F. Prepare pastry.
2. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Stir in apples. Turn into pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with butter or margarine. Cover with top pastry; seal and flute. Cut slits in the top crust and sprinkle lightly with a sugar/cinnamon mix.
3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Serve warm and top with vanilla ice cream if desired. DELICIOUS!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goodness, this turned out to be a looooong post! I want to mention just one more thing...if you like APPLE RECIPES and BEAUTIFUL CARDS, you really should check out a blog that I just found ~ STAMP HAPPY! {why didn't I think of that name for MY blog? I love it!} Tammy just posted an apple muffin recipe that looks and sounds YUMMY! Not only that her cards creations are outstanding too! I'll be back tomorrow to tell you about Operation Baking Gals ~ making cards and cookies for our troops!

"Shuggy" wins my Squirrely Card!

Thank you so much for all your comments! There were 9, so I quickly used random.org to select a number, and it is lucky #7 ~ Shuggy !

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers: 7
Timestamp: 2008-10-25 10:12:47 UTC

shuggy said...
what a great stack of paper!! i love the card!!
10/23/08 10:52 AM

A Squirrely Happy Fall Y'All!

For tonight's creation I used Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge.
I'm so grateful for Beate and all the talented gals out there in blogland who take the time to design these fabulous card layouts for the rest of us.

Since the design was done for me, all I had to do was pick out my stamps, colors, paper and embellishments. That done, this card took just a few minutes to put together! :)

You can't tell the size by the photo, but it is 3-1/4" x 6-1/2". (6-1/2" square folded in half) I really like this size and don't make it often. The "squirrely" paper is from a designer mat pad by K & Company. I've used this paper on several of my recent autumn cards. I *love* them all...even this squirrely one! :)



If you have time, be sure to check out Beate's blog "Fresh & Fun" to see all the incredibly beautiful samples using this sketch. You'll be impressed!

You know, I would really enjoy sending this "Happy Fall" ludic squirrel card to one of my special blog friends. If you would like to be the happy recipient, please leave a comment on this post by Friday and tell me what you like most about FALL. If there is more than one comment, I'll do a random draw and let you know who it is. :)

Now, I must apologize for giving sweet little lady bugs a bad rap in my previous post. I've been informed that what I thought was a lady bug infestation, was actually the "Asian Lady Beetle"! Who knew? Now I do. :)

Until tomorrow....keep smiling!




Supplies ~
Stamps: Stampin Up - Happy Everything; $1 Michaels stamp - Happy Fall
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia, clear embossing powder, Tim Holtz Tea Dye Distress Ink used to sponge edges
Paper: K & Company Fall Harvest Designer Mat Pad with Johnny Yanok artwork. DCWV brown textured cardstock.
Other: large bronze brads, 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" circle punches, stitching done with Janome Sew Mini.

Quote for Today ~
"Never feel self-pity, the most destructive emotion there is. How awful to be caught up in the terrible squirrel cage of self." ~ Millicent Fenwick

Word for Today ~
ludic \LOO-dik\, adjective: Of or relating to play; characterized by play; playful.

It's a Lady Bug Epidemic!

I've never seen so many lady bugs in my life! Seriously, they are literally swarming the house. It's a perfectly beautiful day today and Mr. Wonderful and I were washing windows indoors with plans to do the outside too. But, I gave up on doing the outside because of all these crazy lady bugs! It wouldn't be so bad, but they BITE! No kidding, this must be a new strain in an innocent lady bug disquise! :)

Check out the photo taken in front of our garage. This is just one small area, but our entire house is covered like this!

The good news is that I had a terrific excuse to retreat to my stamping room. At least we got the inside of the windows washed and new weather stripping on before winter. This was just another project on our "to do list" that feels great to have done. :)

All the lady bugs outside reminded me of a card we made last year at Stamp Club so I made one like it. It's really a super simple card to make and took just a few minutes. You could make the bugs any size, but I used the 3/4", 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" circle punches for mine. The antenna {antennae?} are drawn on with a fine tip black marker.


The flowers along the bottom are from the Stampin Up "Simply Said" set. The "my friend" sentiment is from "Blossoms Abound", another SU set.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!





Quote for Today ~

"Give yourself a perfect day. Do what makes you happiest. Look upon what gives you joy. Speak to those who warm your heart. Listen to that which lifts your spirit. Surround yourself with sights and sounds and people who give you pleasure. For all the happiness you give to others all year long, give yourself a perfect day." ~Author Unknown

And then tomorrow, repeat the process. :)

Isn't this a beautiful quote? I hope it blesses your day as much as all of you bless mine.

Freaky Friday Challenge #3

Today's card is another entry in the "Frightfully Delightful Freaky Friday Challenge" at Sunflower Studio.

This is week #3 and Leigh's challenge is to create a Halloween card using only the following colors - black, olive green, dark orange and purple. White was allowed as an accent and we could use any stamps we wanted.

I immediately thought of this cute little witch stamp I have from Lockhart Stamp Company. The sentiment is from Tag Time by Stampin Up!

Be sure to check out Leigh's blog and all the entries she's had so far. Everyone is so creative!

Until tomorrow.... Best Witches! :)

Wishy Washy with a Boss's Day Card ~

Yesterday was Boss's Day and I decided to make a card for my new boss. Honestly, I actually looked at the Boss's Day cards in two different stores and didn't find the right one or I would have bought it. I was being very wishy washy that he might think it was "lame" to get a handmade card, but at the last minute that's just what I did, like it or not. :) Of course, I also baked a pan of chocolate chip bars because I knew he would like those!

Anyway, he opened the card and said "where did you get this cool card?" and when I told him that cardmaking was one of my hobbies and I made it for him, he was so impressed and appreciative. It really made my day...probably more than I made his. :)

Sorry, I totally forgot to take a picture of his card! It was almost idential to this graduation card I made earlier this year, except I wrote "Happy Boss's Day!" in the memo box with my chocolate chip Stampin Up marker.



I didn't get much time for any other stamping or cardmaking this week, but I hope to this weekend!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a wonderful weekend and try to find time for YOU!


Quote for Today ~ from my friend Gayle at Mountain Moma:

"A woman who works with her hands is a laborer,
A woman who works with her hands and head, a craftsman.
A woman who works with her hands, her head, and her heart is an artist."
~ St Francis of Assisi

Trying Mish's Mass Production!

One of my stamping idols ~ Michelle Wooderson of "MISH MASH" blog fame ~ is often creating in mass production. In one of her recent posts, she encouraged us to try it to build up our "stash" of cards, by simply mass producing them. What a wonderful idea! I've done this before when participating in cards swaps, but don't do it this way on a regular basis. Usually I create a one-of-a-kind card and find it hard to part with it afterwards. Now, that's just wrong! :) So, from now on, I'm planning to create at least 3 cards of each design. That way, I'll develop a "stash" and hopefully send out more cards too!


This is an ATC I made for a recent swap. You'll notice that I incorporated Michelle's mass production techniques by cutting out all the paper, stamping & coloring all the images, assembling in layers and adding the embellishments.















Do most of you create one-at-a-time or do use the mass production way? If you haven't tried it, I recommend you check out Michelle's blog because I know she'll inspire you too! She's incredibly talented and you'll be amazed.

Back to my ATC...isn't this image just as cute as can 'bee'? :) It's called "Biker Bee" by Stampendous. I've colored the images with prismacolor pencils and distressed the edges with tea dye Distress Ink by Tim Holtz. The denim background paper is by K&Company and the distressed red polka dot by My Mind's Eye. I printed "liberty" on my computer and cut out the little tags. You may think I'm a little 'out of season' with this, but patriotism is always in season. God bless the U.S.A!

Speaking of that, now I'm off to watch the lastest presidential debate. No, I don't care for politics, but I want to be an informed voter...or at least TRY to be. :)

Have a HAPPY week! Smiles, Pam :)

Quote for Today ~

"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him. " ~Abraham Lincoln

Edit to Previous Post: I'm Frightfully Forgetful!

I am so forgetful these days! Yesterday, I told you what my sister and I found while we were out junkin and I said I didn't find anything exciting. I had put the little box in my purse and forgot all about it until this morning. Geez! These earrings were my best find of the day, how did I forget them?!

This is the style of earrings that I like to wear and the type that I want to try to design myself. Sorry, I know my photo isn't the best. The stones are a pretty amber color...maybe a yellow topaz? :) They look like sterling silver, but I'm not sure. Anyway, better than that...the back is stamped with the designer and they are from the Bead co. in Downtown Sioux Falls, SD. I had to check out their website at www.bead-co.com and does it ever look like a FUN place to shop! Now I can't wait for our next trip up to Sx Falls! :)

Just had to share...that's all for now. Thank U so much for stopping by today...have a super Sunday everyone!




P.S. To my blog-reading friend GAYLE, thank you so much for your sweet comments. Please send me an email or leave your blog address so I can visit your blog. I would love to see your autumn photos. :)

Frightfully Delightful!

You're all going to take one look at this card and wonder what I was thinking! LoL :) But, let me explain...

This is my entry in a "Frightfully Delightful Freaky Friday Challenge" at Leigh O'Brien's blog "Sunflower Studio". Her challenge is to use any HALLOWEEN stamp to create a NON-HALLOWEEN card. I thought it sounded like FUN, and even better than that, Leigh is offering an awesome prize to the winner! If you haven't checked out Leigh's blog, you really should. She's amazingly talented and one of the BEST!

Let it be known...I HATE spiders! But, there is something really CUTE and harmless about this one, don't you think? :)

If you read my post yesterday, you're probably wanting to know what great treasures I found when "junkin" with my sister this morning. Well, we had a terrific time and she found quite a few books, most for .25-.50 cents, but I didn't find anything exciting. I bought a couple necklaces for a quarter to recycle the beads in my jewelry making. And I bought an old tin recipe box and some small glass bowls that I didn't need. :) One sale had a bunch of the magnetic rubber stamps by Making Memories and I was tempted, but didn't think I would ever use them. We saw several super cute and creative children's Halloween costumes and I hope someone bought them because they looked like new.

I'm listening to the Nebraska-Texas Tech football game and they just tied it up 31-31! We need a WIN and hopefully will come out on top. GO BIG RED!!!

Good News! When I filled up my car this morning, gas was down to 2.93! And I had a .15 cent off coupon that brought it to 2.78/gal! That made me SMILE!

Enough rambling now... I should get something else done around here. Have a wonderful weekend!

Supplies ~

Stamps: Spider Window & Hang in There by Stampendous

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, clear embossing powder

Paper: Basic Black, Green Galore, Pink Passion by Stampin Up; floral paper by The Paper Studio; yellow polka dot scrap piece

Other: stitching with Janome Sew Mini, large black brads, black & white polka dot ribbon

Quote for Today ~

"I'll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween." ~Author Unknown

Word for Today ~

circumlocution \sir-kuhm-loh-KYOO-shuhn\, noun: The use of many words to express an idea that might be expressed by few; indirect or roundabout language. (is this what I did in this rambling post?) :)

Celebrating Susie!

Today is my OLDER sister Susie's birthday and this
is the card I made for her. I've always introduced
Susie as my OLDER sister and now that we're really getting older, I think she would like to strangle me when I do that. :) But, in my defense, she IS 4 years older than I am . . . and we do have a YOUNGER sister too.

Tomorrow we're going "junkin" (garage sales) which is one of our favorite things to do together. She especially *loves* books and hopefully she'll find a few for her collection. If not, all is not lost because I got her the new best seller "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle". Have any of you read it? I read a review that said it was one of the best novels of the year.

Back to the card... I've used this rubber stamp by Inkadinkado quite a bit as it makes a fun & simple birthday card. The designer paper is by The Paper Studio ~ "All Over Doodles" is on the bottom and "All Over Dots" is on the top. This line also has a fabulous floral that I'll have to use on another card.
The image is stamped with Versafine vintage sepia and clear embossed on a scrap piece of yellow. I sponged all the edges witht he vintage sepia too. The cardstock is Stampin Up ~ chocolate chip and certainly celery. The front is stamped with the Linen background stamp.


You'll notice I decorated the inside a little to...

That's all for tonight. I'll be back later tomorrow and hope to tell you about all the great "treasures" we found while junkin! :)





Quotes for Today ~ for "Sisters" ~

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." ~ Marion Garretty

"It was nice growing up with someone like you - someone to lean on, someone to count on... someone to tell on! " ~Author Unknown

"If sisters were free to express how they really feel, parents would hear this: "Give me all the attention and all the toys and send Rebecca to live with Grandma." ~Linda Sunshine

"I'm smiling because your my sister, I'm laughing because there is nothing you can do about it! :)"

Happy Autumn!

What comes to your mind when you think of Autumn?

Do you think of the changing colors and falling leaves, a visit to the apple orchard, raking piles of leaves and jumping in, cool crisp air, warm cider, football games, combines in the cornfields, a flock of ducks quacking overhead, carving jack-o-lanterns and the pumpkin goo on your fingers...
Your description of autumn may be different than mine, depending on where you live. Here in the great state of NEBRASKA, this is an especially beautiful time of year and one of my favorite seasons.

When I was shopping at Micheal's in Sioux City last week, I spotted this fantastic "Fall Harvest" mat pad with gorgeous colors and illustrations by Johnny Yanok. I have to tell you though, that as much as I *love* this paper, I struggled to make a card with it tonight. Why? Because it speaks for itself and I didn't want to cover it up. I played around with different sentiments and images and this is what I came up with...not one of my favorites, but I guess they can't all be, right?

In case you're interested, the
K & Company Fall Harvest pad includes 18 sheets of double-sided cardstock mats sized 4.75" x 6.75", three each of six designs.

The tree rubber stamp I used is "Falling Foliage" by Hero Arts and the "Happy Autumn" sentiment is a portion of a rubber stamp is PSX.

I would enjoy hearing what season is your favorite...or what Fall is like where you live. I read all your comments and appreciate them so so much.

Have a Happy Autumn!

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." ~Albert Camus

Upsy Daisy! A Warm & Fuzzy Challenge

This card was created especially for Barb's {grammastamper} World Cardmaking Day Challenge yesterday at the Stamp Shack. Her challenge was to make a card using a stamp that made us feel "warm & fuzzy" inside. You all know I have a lot of stamps that would have been appropriate for this challenge, but I really wanted to use my new Stampin Up "Upsy Daisy" set. So, I selected one of my favorite "warm & fuzzy" sentiments by Hero Arts to go along with it. The inside sentiment is "You're on my mind" from the Upsy Daisy set.

My daughter in Hawaii has been on my mind a lot lately so I'm planning to send this card to her. She loves living in paradise, but I know she misses home and our beautiful autumn season here in Nebraska. I hope this gives her that warm & fuzzy feeling... love ya KT girl! :)

I suppose I've been playing long enough and should get a few things done around the house today. I've got the bedding washed and need to make the bed and do a little more laundry. I rarely bake goodies anymore...mainly because I love to eat them, but I've been craving one of my favorite desserts, "Hawaiian Pineapple Cake". Since it's super easy to make and I had all the ingredients, I whipped one up this morning and put it in the refrigerator. Here's the recipe if you want to try it... ENJOY! ~ Pam :)

Hawaiian Pineapple Cake
1 yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1 stick oleo
1 can mandarin oranges (11 oz)
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat together until well blended and orange pieces are small.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes
Topping: 1 small pkg instant vanilla pudding
1 can crushed pineapple (20 oz)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 oz Cool Whip
Blend together & spread on top of cooled cake.
Refrigerate until serving. Enjoy!

Yoo Hoo! Let's Get Punchy!

One of the World Cardmaking Day challenges
at The Stamp Shack was to get out our punches and use at least one punch on a card. Well, earlier this week one of my stamping friends {Hi Sara! } showed me the cards she made at her Stampin' Up Club and one of them had this super creative punched owl. Isn't he just a HOOT?! :)

Whooo-ever thought of this deserves an applause. How unbelievably clever! So, if you know whooo...please let me know so I can give them credit, ok?

The second challenge I did was the "Cuttlebug Negative Effect". This is something I would have never thought to do, but I really like the result and may try it again sometime. If you're wondering how we did it, below are the instructions that Sherri {Iloveflipflops} posted at the Shack. She said that it was originally found at Splitcoaststampers, but again, I don't know the original creator of this technique.



1. Take your cuttlebug folder and open it up so the negative side is facing down on your table. This is the side where the CB logo is.
2. Using whatever color ink, and whatever type of ink, ink up the negative side using either a sponge, brayer or the ink pad itself. (Don't use Stayz-On as it will not come off!)
3. Lay your cardstock over your inked side, close the folder and run it through your CB.
4.Make sure to wash your folder ASAP, to avoid any staining from the ink. I used SU ink and it rinsed right off.




For my little 3-1/2 x 3-1/2" card, I used the same color ink as my cardstock, so my results aren't as obvious as if you used a variant shade of ink. Basically, the background is getting ink and the embossed design is not. It's a terrific way to add texture to your design. :)

I'm not going to go into anymore detail about these cards, but if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I still plan to make a card today with my new "Upsy Daisy" set. And I have some new designer papers too, so stay tuned for more later!

Have a Happy Day!




List for Today ~ [borrowed from "Lists to Live By-the First Collection"]

A Better Life

Feel positive emotions
Think positive thoughts
Focus on the positive in people
Offer positive prayers
Speak positive words
Practice positive actions

Life Gives You Many Reasons to Smile

It's been a long time since I've participated in one of Beate's {Fresh & Fun} "Weekend Sketch Challenges". There is something so special about her layouts and they always inspire me.

For today's card, I started out with the sketch and this fantastic designer paper my sweet DIL Jami gave me. It is "Haiku" by Stampin' Up! Aren't the colors wonderful? The sentiment is one of my favorites from the Stampin' Up! "Reason to Smile" set. As you can see, I did a little zig-zag stitching around the edges and added the felt "Flower Fusion" flowers. Do you think they're too much with this background? I was determined to use them since I've had them for a few months and hadn't even opened the package yet! :)


I received my new SU order today and was thrilled to see my new "Upsy Daisy" stamp set was already die cut for me. What a pleasant surprise! I've already got it assembled and my next card will be with this fabulous set. Are you wondering what else I got? I am the happy owner of the new scalloped edge punch and paper and ink in two of the awesome new In Colors ~ kiwi kiss & tangerine tango.


Do you have plans for the weekend? Whatever your plans, I hope "life gives you many reasons to smile." Enjoy!




Supplies ~
Rubber Stamps: "Reasons to Smile", Stampin Up!
Paper: Stampin' Up! - old olive, tangerine tango, so saffron, vanilla; Haiku Designer Series Paper
Ink: old olive
Other: stitching with Janome Sew Mini, Flower Fusion felt flowers, so saffron brad, old olive twill ribbon

Quote for Today ~
"Autumn....the year's last lovliest smile." ~ Bryant

Word for Today ~
effulgence \i-FUL-juhn(t)s\, noun: the state of being bright and radiant; splendor; brilliance.