Yikes...

It's 1:39am, and I should be in bed. I have to get up early for a Shoebox Swap tomorrow -- THIS morning. Geez!

I think I've got everything ready now. Thought I'd post my cards for the swap. It's taking place at my favorite LSS: Remember When Scrapbooking.

Anyway. Here's my first card. It's a Father's Day card. I hope Dad likes it. He's not really into cardmaking like Mom, Sis, and I are. Imagine that...!


I always think of Dad when I use this set (Bronc Buster from Stampin' Up!). But alas, he sold his last horse not too long ago. Bought two 4-wheelers.... Some things I'll never understand. Oh well, if it makes him happy -- he can have all the 4-wheelers/boats/etc. he wants. Just gimme my stamps...and yarn.


I hope the other participants will like it too. I can't wait to see what all they're bringing. I think we're only having 15 projects. We had hoped for 25, but didn't get that many takers. Probably a good thing for our first attempt at a shoebox swap.


OH, btw, I DID get the clear plastic paint cans finished. I don't have a pic yet. I'll have to get one tomorrow before they're given away.


Gotta hurry. Here is the other card I'm offering. One of the ladies had to drop out -- so I decided to make another card in her place. This was a fun card to make. It smells good too. I put a little bit of Avon's Orange Blossom body spray on the oranges. I decided to do that rather than the scratch & sniff technique. Didn't want to make a mess tomorrow. This is the Tart & Tangy set from the Occasions Mini. (I'd link to it but I'm too tired!)

Anyway. Guess that's all for now. I've REALLY got to go to bed now. I'm exhausted!

I'll try to post pics of the other projects from tomorrow later. Good-night/morning.

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Memorial Day

Just taking a minute to remember those that have given their lives for our/my freedom. Knowing what I know now --I wish I had had the chance to go into the military. I don't even remember anyone saying anything to me about it. But that was 1982, and "they" did not make a big deal about females joining. So I didn't.

But I wish I had. I think it is a great honor and priviledge to be able to serve the country as guardians and peacekeepers. And, yes, sometimes that means fighting to keep our country a democracy, and sometimes fighting to keep others from harming us.

I am thankful for those that have served and that serve now. This includes close family members. My father-in-law served in WWII, my father in the Korean War, my brother-in-law in VietNam, and my husband during the first Gulf War. I'm very proud of them and the sacrifices they made.

And now one of my best friend's daughter is thinking about becoming a nurse in the Army. She is at the university now, and in ROTC. She loves it! It's just about all she talks about. I'm happy for her. I'm happy that she will have a chance to do something she loves and do it with/for a purpose.

I guess that's all for now. Thanks, again, to all the servicemen and servicewomen for keeping America free, strong, and brave.

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Bummed out...

I'm really bummed out right now. MY David didn't win American Idol. I was SO wanting David Archuleta to win -- mostly because he's younger and has (hopefully) his whole life ahead of him. And there was no doubt that David Cook would have had a very good career anyway if he hadn't won. But I have to say that DC is very deserving of the title too. He has brought something unique to the stage.

Last year was the first year that I really followed the show. Of course, I was wanting Melinda Doolittle to win (fellow Tennessean). But Jordin was really good too.

So, I'm so glad we upgraded to DVR! I LOVE DVR!!!!!! I have recorded SO many shows. I'm still not good at editing my list -- I usually happen up on it by chance. Guess I could do it if I read the instructions. LOL!

I'm really going to keep it short tonight. I know! My friend said that I need to get a shirt that says, "Help! I'm blogging and can't shut up!" Boy does she know me well.

All right. Good night.

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Gettin' some Inkin' done

Well, I didn't get to work on the clear paint can on Sunday afternoon. Yep. I took a nap. Out like a light. I'm pretty much a night owl, and mornings are not my best time of the day. Needless to say I only get about 4-5 hrs. of sleep a night. I know it's my own fault -- I'm just usually not sleepy when it's "bedtime". Sooooo, Saturday is catch-up day for sleep. But then I stay up late because I've slept in that morning...a vicious circle!

BUT, I did get to work on then Sunday night after church. I worked on the medium sized one. It turned out SO cute, IMHO. I'll try to get pics when I'm done with them all. Did I mention that I have to have these done by May 31st? They are a prize for a contest at our shoebox swap. I need to work on the other ones -- but no, I'm bloggin'. Oh my! What have I gotten myself into?

But to prove that I really have been inkin' lately I'm going to try to upload a couple of things I've stamped. I've said that I love to watch ink go on paper -- but my favorite way of gettin' it there is to STAMP it there. Rubber stamp it there. That's what I do.

And what I do, mostly, is make cards. I LOVE CARDS! (I know. I use LOVE a lot! You'll just have to get used to it.) I have probably 90% of the cards I've been given over the years. I know I haven't thrown any away since the early 80s. I had my appendix removed in 1983, and I remember keeping all the get well cards that I received from that. It just kinda stuck.

I think, no, I know the reason I love cards so much is that they are hand-picked. Hand-picked to convey a wish, a blessing, a word of cheer or sympathy...a "hang in there", "I'm there for you", or "way to go!" When you give a card to someone -- you put a little bit of yourself into it. Just by the card you choose. It can be serious, funny, quirky, funky or just plain silly! Something that's just YOU!

For instance (before I started hand-making cards) -- my bff, Michelle, and I sent each other the same card the same week. Now we don't send cards to each other very often. Just a spur of the moment type thing. But it was the PERFECT card for that time in our lives. It was hand-picked by each of us, to convey our thoughts/feelings/emotions for the other friend. It was the COOLEST thing.

[oops! IM interruptus. having a convo w/my SIL. brb]

Ok, I'm back. So, cards are personal usually. Most people DO think about the card they're sending. You don't just go to the card rack, close your eyes and say "eeny, meeny, miney, mo" [GUYS! this means YOU]. So that's one of the reasons I started sending my own, handmade/handstamped cards. I get to make the card special, for the recipient...personalized in ways that no store-bought card can do. A one-of-a-kind! AND, I hope that the recipient I send it to feels like they are SO special -- the way a card is supposed to make you feel. Or at least I feel special when I receive a card. I know that someone took the time out of their day to pick out a card or handmake a card for me...ME. THAT makes me feel special.

So (geez I'm windy tonight), here's the card I made for my mom for Mother's day. I found this gorgeous card at Pattystamps by Lee Conrey (sorry, I don't have a website for her). It uses a bleaching technique. I loved it so much that I we made this at our May S-10 (Stamper's 10) club meeting. I let them choose the sentiment, because not everyone needed another Mother's Day card. I also made one like this that said happy birthday. It was for my DH's aunt. The colors are Blush Blossom, Ruby Red and Black (black embossing powder over VersaMark). The stamp sets used are Stampin' Up's Embrace Life and All Holidays. Love it! Love it! Love it!


Ok, I've GOT to go to bed now. I've been working on this post for 5 hours. That's crazy. But Kristy & Mark won Dancing with the Stars. I think David Archuleta should be the next American Idol, and I'm voting for him. The cats are fed and happy. DH is at work, and my eyes are very heavy. More tomorrow -- maybe!

L8R

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Clear Paint Can frustration...

I've worked all day decorating one, count it, ONE, clear paint can. There are 3 that I need to make: small, medium, and large. I worked on the large one.

I've never attempted to do these before and have no instructions or measurements. I've seen several on Split Coast Stampers. I didn't go through all 18 pages of photos, but I didn't see any instructions for the clear cans. There are several tutorials for the metal paint cans. The difference is decorating the outside for metal and the inside for clear. Although some of the clear cans have embellishments on the outside. I'll have to consider that.

I used paper from My Mind's Eye. It's from their Wild Asparagus series called Mother. It's so pretty. I can't wait to get it finished. I'll try to upload a pic once it's done.

I also used Stickles. I LOVE STICKLES. Ok, I don't just love them -- I have a habit. I'm sure there's a 12-step program for it somewhere. Eh, what the heck, I'll just have to keep my problem, I mean habit.

I guess I'll work on it tomorrow afternoon after church. I'm letting the Stickles dry overnight. I don't want any smears. I only bought enough paper to get it right the first time. Did I mention that I've never done one of these before? Anyway. I can always go back to my LSS (local scrapbook shop) on Monday for more if I need it.

Speaking of my LSS...it's Remember When Scrapbooking. It's a great place to feed my habit. And even though I'm not a scrapbooker, yet, there are TONS of papercrafting supplies to make cards with. The owners are GREAT and the employees are very knowledgeable -- and fun to hang out with. Ok, I admit I'm biased. Can't help it if I'm related to the owners. It just happened that way. :-)

Good grief. Look at the time. I need to feed the cats and go to bed. DH has been out in the shop building me ANOTHER bookshelf. Seems my papercrafting supplies are overrunning my craft room. He's building a tall, narrow bookshelf for my music books. Then I can have the bigger bookcase to store supplies.... Geez, I'm ramblin' again....

L8R

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Now to continue what I started...

I was at my local scrapbook store (that's a whole other post) with some friends when I first posted. I was on my laptop. Let me just say it now ... I HATE LAPTOPS! Maybe because I'm just not used to the keyboard. And maybe that's because we've only had it for about 3 weeks. And I'm not the primary user. So, anyway...my first post was short and sweet. I'm sure some others won't be. I tend to ramble.

I don't know what this blog will end up as. Probably just my ramblings through the days. I'm not a writer [that will be obvious so please don't blast me about my grammar or punctuations. English was, and still is, my least favorite subject], but I love to write. Or doodle more specifically. Whether it's doodling, writing in a diary (which I haven't done in 15 years or so -- guess this will take it's place), or rubber stamping -- I LOVE watching ink go on paper.

I am so amazed at how we communicate with ink and paper -- or used to. (Is that an oxymoron because I'm typing and communicating on a computer now?) Did I mention that I have a very twisted sense of humor? Well, I do. Just ask my friends and family. They will verify it 100%. Anywho. Just had to chase that rabbit for a second (from here on out aka rabbits!).

Back to ink on paper and me being amazed.

When I was younger I kept a diary. Only I outgrew the small, bought diaries and used spiral notebooks. LOTS of spiral notebooks. LOTS and LOTS of spiral notebooks. This is when I discovered my love of ink. I used to think how amazing it was that each letter, or group of letters (word), that I drew, could communicate a sound, thought, or image. And then I thought that it only worked with people that were like me -- American English speakers/readers (I was probably in middle school when all of this was going on). And then I would think about Chinese characters or foreign (to me) languages and how that was a way of communication too. It still amazes me to this day.

Well, that's enough rambling for now. My eyes are getting very heavy. I need to let the cats out so I can go to bed. Maybe I'll post on doodling tomorrow.

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My Entry Into the Land of BLOG

So, I've finally stepped off the deep end into the land of BLOG. It really wasn't a big step. I've been commenting and lurking in the blog world for a while now. AND...some of my friends are doing it so I thought I should too. Stayed tuned. There's more to come....

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