What Was I Inkin'?

Well...it's been a while!

2012-01-29T00:06:00.000-06:00

Yeah! Funny how life slips up on you, and you remember, one day, that you have a blog...and probably haven't posted in, like, FOREVER. So you do. Guess that's what this is.

It actually started with my blog header. Like it? It's new. I made it myself...in My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up! Watched a great tutorial...then did it. It's a start anyway.

It's been almost 2 years since I've posted. I haven't been inkin' that whole time, LOL, but a lot of it. I've knitted and crocheted...and PAINTED...and made a HAT! New hobbies? Maybe.

There's this great place on the square in Murray called Creative Canvas. Jill, the owner, gives classes Tue-Sat. IT'S AWESOME!This is the first painting. I thought it turned out ok for my first attempt. How hard can it be to mess up flowers? Lesson 1 : mix enough color to use...you will NEVER get the same color again. She didn't teach us this...I just picked it up on my own. I'm good like that. LOL.

This is the second attempt. Lesson 2 : mix more than enough color to use...you will NEVER get the same color again. I tried...really I did. Globs of color. But I still ran out. Guess it turned out ok anyway. If you know me...I LOVE lighthouses, and palm trees, and pink flamingos.

My next attempt is going to be a Spanish House with palm trees. I'm so excited about that. It's this coming Tuesday! Maybe I can talk her into a flamingo sometime!

Lets see...oh yes! HATS! I made a hat today. Aleeah finds the FUNNEST things for us to do. How could we resist the chance to make a church hat? Anywho...Playhouse in the Park is putting on the production of "Crowns" adapted from this book, "Crowns : Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats" by Michael Cunningham & Craig Marberry.

Mine started out as this...a hat form. I have been thinking about what I wanted to do for a month now. I knew I wanted it to be black, with pleats & netting over the front. Picture "funeral hat". Maybe with a small splash of red. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's me laughing like a hyena (around 1:30 pm) after I'd taken apart what I had done (3 hrs. b4 lunch) to start again! Now mind you...I've never attempted to decorate a hat before. So what I envisioned...and what resulted...were SO not the same. Here's what really happened.

It turned out to be shiny blue...with LOTS-O-PLEATS...and a top knot...and a pseudo-flower. How's that for vision? I really tried hard to get 3 small pleats on one side and 5 bigger pleats on the other. And the rest smooth. Slinky, stretchy, blue material was probably not the best choice for those pleats. But I LOVED that blue material. So at roughly 4.5 hours into a 3 hr. workshop...this was the result. I'm actually happy with it. It came together in the last 45 minutes really well. AND...I wasn't the last to finish! (Cause my sewing skillz are nothing to write home about!)

Anyway. I got a free ticket to the play. Can't wait to see it! Hope they wear my hat at some point during it. That would be SO COOL! AND...we get our hat back after the play. I don't know if I'm wearing mine to church or not. I really don't have a slinky, blue metallic dress/shoes/gloves/handbag to go with it. I could go shopping though! Aleeah?.........ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!

Oh, BTW...Aleeah's turned out AMAZING! Black & white stripes/pleats. She's got some mad glue gun skillz! :-) Hope they wear hers too.

Well, guess that should be it for tonight. It's almost midnight. Anything else major happen in the last 18 months? OHHHHHH. I've lost 87 lbs. But I guess that's for another post.

L8R,
Tonya ~; }

Happy Blogaversary!!!!

2010-05-16T23:13:00.001-05:00

Happy Blogaversary to me!
Happy Blogaversary to me!

It's the 2d anniversary of my first blog post. I was playing aroung the other night, rereading my posts, and noticed that the first one was May 16, 2008. I can't believe it's been 2 years.

I haven't posted much. But there were a few memorable things that I saw while going back through them. First was 6/2/08...my very young friend, Noah, had given me a big hug and told me he loved me...during the song service that Sunday morning. Gosh...I still get goose bumps thinking about it. It was the sweetest thing. He's getting SO big! He'll be 6 soon. WOW! Ok, gotta stop thinkin' about that.

Next was 3/23/09. Shanna (my sister) making it past her 8th week of pregnancy. It was such a very happy time. I can only imagine how happy she and Jonathan were...cause I KNOW we were crazy happy.

[Rabbit to chase...I'm watching The Owl Box live right now. One of the owlets has stepped out on the perch. I believe he stepped out last night for the first time. I'M SO EXCITED TO GET TO WATCH THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's probably Max -- the first hatched. Two others (Pattison & Austin probably) have their heads in the opening watching. IT IS SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Max is flapping his wings a lot. I'm sure he loves that since it's so crowded in the box w/3 other owls. They're so much bigger now. It's getting crowded even though it is a big box.

I think Pattison wants to get out there so badly too. His head is out -- it just looks like he wants to hop out there too. This is SO COOL. Have I said that already? LOL.

You don't have to agree with me on this...that's ok. You have the right to your opinion, and I respect that...respect me too. It's just mind boggling to think about how God created/creates every living creature...from the birds and fish to cows/dogs/cats/zebras/[insert any living creature here] AND humans. AND he created all the vegetation too...AND everything else that we know (and don't know yet). And you know He's gotta have a great sense of humor...just look at the platypus. :-) I think that's one of the funniest looking creatures I've ever seen. I'm sure I look pretty funny to them too! Anyway...back to God's creation and owls. Ooooooh, here comes Austin, I think, looking out to see what's going on.

Anyway (again)...it has just been an incredible experience to watch these owls/owlets hatch, grow and mature. I'm going to be really sad when they all fledge. Hopefully that won't be for several weeks. Wesley (the 4th) is still a lot smaller than Max and a lot fuzzier. So maybe we still have some time. Oh, he just went back "inside". hmmm is that Pattison looking out now? I was typing and did see what happened. I think it is. He's got a fuzzier chest. I don't think he's brave enough to come out yet. And they're very hungry. They're calling for food. It's very noisy in there. Oh...one foot out! Now back in. You can do it Pattison. You just watched Max. You saw how easy it was. You can do it. Think you can...think you can. HE DID IT!!!!!!!!! Way to go Pattison! He's on the perch. Yep, consensus is that this is Pattison (2d hatched). And Austin (3d hatched) still in doorway opening.

I think they're hissing for food. Molly & McGee haven't shown up yet with any food. I'd hate for Pattison to fall off if they decided to "drop by" right about now. heeheehee That would be mean.

[another rabbit...ever go camping and have to sleep cramped up? Then the next morning getting out and stretching? I think that's probably what the owlets are feeling like now. They haven't been able to flap and stretch their wings completely yet. That's gotta feel good.]

Well. I guess I should go now. This has been an awesome way to spend a 2d Blogaversary. Maybe next year I'll revisit this and see if Carlos & Donna still have a web cam on their owl box. (BTW, they're going to get in the RV and take a LONG vacation after all the owlets fledge. They deserve it. They've been watching this owl box since January. Thank you so much, Carlos & Donna (and Austin for the technology help). You have given us a precious glimpse into the lives of this set of God's creation -- and your lives too -- and introduced us to so many new people...via chat/Twitter/FB/books/cartoons/etc. What a wonderful community to grow out of your kindness to keep up with Molly, McGee & Co. [Pattison goes in for now. Maybe Molly/McGee will bring some food.]

Ok, one last Blogaversary milestone...9/16/09...me being 3 weeks late in posting anything about Brooke Lillian Burgess (born 8/27/09)! That's ok though. It was time spent WITH her instead on of the computer. She's still the most beautiful baby on the earth, IMHO. Got to spend a little bit with her last night. What a personality! She is SO precious (as only an Aunt can think she is). I can't believe she's 8.5 months old already. I do have to admit that it's been more fun watching her grow up than then owls. Sorry Molly/Carlos. *snicker*.

Ok. Off to bed now. I've seen the owls come out to the perch. I really wanted to see that tonight. I'm glad they came out early (I think it was between 2-3am last night).

Until next time...

L8R,
TKST ~; }

Molly the Owl

2010-05-14T23:11:00.000-05:00

If you haven't heard of Molly the Owl yet...check her out HERE or HERE. We're (I should say THEY) are on "fledge watch". The owlets should fledge any time now.

I've watched them for the past 3 months. There was just one owlet that had hatched when I started watching. I didn't get to see any of them hatch...except later on video (YouTube).

It's been an amazing journey watching them grow. There are 4 (of 6 eggs, 1st broke, and 6th didn't hatch). The "parents" are Molly and McGee. They are common barn owls. They've nested in an owl box in San Marcos, CA, in the back yard of Carlos and Donna Royal.

I have to say that Carlos and Donna are the most AMAZING couple. I can't imagine how this owlbox/owls/webcam has truly changed their lives. Carlos talks about it being unbelievable how fast it's spread. Millions of watchers from all over the world. It's truly become a phenomenon.

The owlets are (in order of hatching) Max, Pattison, Austin (for their grandson, the tech guy), and Wesley. I haven't heard if they have been "sexed" yet...if they know if they are male/female. They just gave them all male names.

I just know Max is going to fledge tomorrow night (55 days) -- and I won't be home, watching, to see it. I wish he would fledge right now...I need to go to bed. But then I'd probably still be up watching to see him fly again.

Well -- it's late, AGAIN, and I need to pack up stuff for a crop tomorrow. I can't wait to see my "Friday night" friends! It's been SO long!

I'm going to try to post again on Sunday. It will be my 2 year BLOGAVERSARY!

I'm going before I start rambling again.

L8R,
TKST ~; }

Where have I been?

2010-04-20T21:50:00.000-05:00

I didn't fall off the face of the earth...really! I can't believe I haven't posted since September...of LAST YEAR! Yes I can. I've wanted to post -- just something always comes up when I get ready to do it. Not that I haven't been busy or anything. I won't try to catch up. I'll just say that I'm still busy, but I'm going to try to make time to post more regularly.

I'll have to do some highlights...Brooke turned 1 mo., then 2 mos., then 3...now she's almost 8 months old. She is the most precious little girl. She's found her voice and has learned to squeal. She gets so excited when she squeals and everyone notices her. It's quite cute.

She's also pretty good at reverse in her walker. It makes her mad when she gets stuck and can't go anywhere else. She's definitely got a temper...from both sides of the family probably.

Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's/Spring Break all went well. Brooke got to open her presents first this year -- well, Shanna opened them for her. We start with the youngest and end with Dad, the oldest. He tries to be patient...and usually is, but he's really ready to open them by the time it get to him.

We always have a great time. I'm so thankful that all my family gets along really well. There were 20 people there. Three were not immediate family : my m-i-l, my s-i-l's aunt, and my niece's boyfriend. So there were 17 family members present. 10 didn't get to make it. The house would have REALLY been crowded if everyone had shown up. It's a good thing that some of the guys can't sit still. That keeps the living room from being uber crowded. Mom & Dad are just going to have to build on a bigger living room for us! heeheehee

Ok, that's it for tonight. I'm trying multi-focal contacts. They're not working too well. I need to get them out. Today is the first day I've had them in. Last week I tried regular contacts. I liked them. It took a little bit to get used to. And lots of patience trying to put them in. I'm much quicker now. Still have to have a mirror though. Hey, it's only been 8 day.... I'll try the multi-focal ones again tomorrow to see if the right eye clears up any. It's kinda fuzzy.

Good night anyone that happens to stumble upon my blog.

Bad Auntie T...

2009-09-16T22:20:00.001-05:00

I am such a bad Auntie T! Three weeks old tomorrow and I haven't even posted a picture on my blog. Shame on me!

I guess I'll probably have to take the growing baby gadget off since she's already here. She's not due till next Wednesday...LOL. I guess she decided SHE was ready to face the world. I don't know though..she's always been asleep when I've been around her.

Anyway...I know you want to see the pictures and not read about her. She's beautiful (even if she does look like Jonathan...for now). I can see Shanna in her sometimes too...but mostly Jonathan. Bless her heart. :-)

Without further ado...

Brooke Lillian Burgess

August 27, 2009 5:22 pm

6 lb. 9 oz. 18.5 in.

I think this one looks like Shanna above. I definitely see her cheeks! She was just a couple of hours old here. Pretty peaceful. She didn't like being cleaned up. She's got Jonathan's lungs! When the nurses finally left her alone -- she was contented. She was very brave when they typed her blood (I think that's what they did anyway). She got mad when they rubbed the alcohol swab on her foot. Then they poked her...I cried. She cried for 2 seconds and realized it wasn't so bad. Didn't seem to faze her at all. She went right back to sleep! Isn't the bow adorable? They stuck it in her hair w/KY jelly. LOL

This is Uncle Brian holding her @ 3 days old. She (and mommy) missed her "Family & Friends Shower". The shower was the 30th. Even though she wasn't there -- everyone got to see pictures. AND THE CLOTHES...holy cow! She won't need clothes till she's 2 -- maybe 3. She probably has more clothes that Brian and I have together. She likes to be swaddled. At least they keep her that way. She's about the size of a football. This pic looks more like Jonathan...but cute in a baby-sorta-way. All wrapped up and cozy!

Last but not least...this was taken this past Friday (15 days old) I think. She STILL hasn't woken up for me. That's ok. She'll wake up soon enough. Isn't she beautiful?! The sweetest thing on earth right now. She is definitely one loved little girl. She's got the sweetest, softest, most kissable cheeks...and doesn't seem to mind being kissed. She just sleeps right through.

It's the hardest thing not to go over and see her every day -- but I control myself. I could just sit and hold her for hours...looking at her. Babies are just amazing! So tiny and helpless...yet she has everyone wrapped around her finger already. You should see Granny & Papaw (my parents). They have to see her at least once a week. You'd think this was their first grandchild (it's not -- she's the 5th)! But she's the baby of the baby. Shanna's the youngest...and youngest girl. So she's got a double whammy of being spoiled!

Guess that's all for now. I need to go to bed early for once...and my back is starting to hurt. Off to find an ice-pack.

Thanks for looking at Brooke baby. I know you think she's the sweetest too!

L8R!

TKST

Dad's Day

2009-06-25T20:05:00.000-05:00

Here is the card I made for Dad for Father's Day. I used a couple of retired stamps on this : Flannel Plaid (background, you can barely see it) and Fly Fishing -- but they are two of my favorites. I also used a new set called Oval All. The colors are Not Quite Navy, Bashful Blue, and Chocolate Chip. I really like this color combo. I like the way it turned out.

I picked the fishing image because Dad REALLY loves to fish. I don't know if he's ever "fly fished", but I'm sure he's probably wanted to. He doesn't get to go fishin' much anymore. His health is just not what it used to be. But he still love to eat fish. I guess that's where I got my love of fish. I haven't met a fish I didn't like -- except that stupid catfish that finned my knee one summer when I was a teenager (thank you Brent...). Guess that's a story for another time. Oh well!

Anyway! I hope Dad had a good day. We (siblings) decided not to make Mom cook too much -- she hasn't been feeling well. But she DID cook more than she should have. We all brought food. Yummy! And we can't really have a get-together without Debbie's sugar-free banana pudding. YUM! She make is especially for Dad -- he's diabetic. I made Death by Cream Cheese. YUM also. Hmmm. Think I'll have a piece for my bday. Oh yeah. Happy birthday to me! (I'm not really ADD). Gotta go now. That DbCC is calling my name!

L8R.

Blog Candy from Debbie

2009-04-23T17:00:00.000-05:00

Check out Passon for Crafts. Debbie is giving away blog candy in celebration of her "blogoversary". How cool is that!?! I'd LOVE to win the Nesties -- love the labels!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-04-11T21:41:00.000-05:00

Today is Dad's 76th birthday. We went out to eat : Mom, Dad, Rick, Debbie, Ashton, Jonathan, Shanna, Brian & myself. Lots-o-fun! Ashton is such a cutie! He's my step-great-nephew. What a hoot. He'll be 4 this summer.

Anyway. Here's the card I made for Dad. I like the way it turned out. I used my favorite retired set "Coast to Coast". The colors are Bashful Blue, Pacific Point, and Whisper White. I used the Diamond Texturz plate to give it some dimension. Not too bad for a spur of the minute card.

Guess that's it for now. Mom is cooking for all of us tomorrow. And then we'll go to Brian's Mom's tomorrow night.

Have a wonderful and blessed Easter. HE is Risen! Hallelujah!

In a hurry

2009-03-30T20:34:00.000-05:00

Here is my card for Kristina's CIC#47. I almost didn't make it. I have, like, 4 minutes till she closes the challenge. It let me put up the link...so I think I'll be ok. Here is the inspiration pic. I love the colors : Chocolate Chip, Tangering Tango, So Saffron, and Whisper White. Orange is becoming one of my favorites -- and I HATED it when I was much younger. It's amazing what working with colored paper will do to you. I like brown too. And now green is my FAV...although purple is the closest second. Purple shag carpet. Oh baby! That's all I'm going to say about that!

This was made for one of our friend's son's birthday. It says HAPPY BIRTHDAY (original, I know) on the inside. I thought it turned out rather cute myself. Brian wansn't too impressed. And the nine-year-old --he looked at it and proceeded to open it fast for the moolah inside. That was so much more important than the card ya know.

Anyway, this also covers a challenge on a scrapbook group that I'm a member of. The group held its first online crop over the weekend. And while I only got this one challenge done -- I did play a few games. The other challenges were really good too. But with the birthday party on Sat. afternoon -- and church on Sunday -- this was what I got done. Here is the card sketch challenge for that one. I really liked the sketch. I'm sure I'll use it again. Obviously I didn't take much creative license on this one. I was in a hurry (the story of my life) and decided just to do it straight forward. It really tends to work better for me that way.

Well, I guess that's all for tonight. I don't think I'll make the Top10 in Kristina's challenge -- but at least I played and got it uploaded. And I don't know if I'll win on the other challenge either...but at least I played and got it uploaded there too. I can go to bed now. LOL!

Catch ya L8R.

Pregnant...

2009-03-23T21:19:00.000-05:00

...no! Not me. I'm too old! But my baby sister is. Well -- she's not so much a baby anymore -- she's early 30s. But she's my only sister. So that makes her my baby sister still.

Anyway. She's in her second trimester! Praise God! This is the first time she's made it this far; two didn't make it past 8 weeks. So there is hope! Well, there's ALWAYS hope in Christ, but we're hoping and praying that this baby will be carried to full term.

I'm SO VERY HAPPY for her. We've been praying for this for a long time. I know Shanna will be a great mom...and I suppose Jonathan will be a great dad. LOL! I just can't picture him changing diapers! The mental picture is so hilarious....

Anywho. I'm putting her baby counter gadget on my blog if I can figure out how to do it! Then I'm off to try to knit up a little something for her.

L8R!
T ~; }

Spring Break!

2009-03-17T18:43:00.001-05:00

Yay! It's Spring Break for me...well...not officially until tomorrow. But I took a vacation day today. I haven't gotten much of anything done today. I did pay my electric bill and go to the grocery. Oh -- I did the dishes and ran the dishwasher. I need to vacuum the floors tonight or tomorrow morning -- before my chiropractor's appt.

I uploaded a couple of things to my SplitCoastStampers gallery. So I thought I'd upload them here too. The first is the card we made at our March stampin' club. I don't have a St. Patrick's Day stamp set -- I don't really celebrate it, because I'm not Irish...or Catholic. But some people do/are, and that's fine with me. But I wanted to do a green card -- because green is my all-time, ultimate favorite color. And I wanted a SPD feel -- so I made a shamrock with hearts. I've seen this done dozens of times on SplitCoast. And the new Sale-A-Bration (SAB) set "Polka Dot Punches" just lent itself to the heart. I stamped the image with VersaMark and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder (EP). The stem is cut free-hand. The sentiments are from "Celebrate Everything" and the small hearts on the background is from "Goody-Goody Gumdrops" a Hostess set. The colors are Gable Green (lt.), Glorious Green (dk.), and Whisper White. The word "celebrate" is embossed too. The hearts are just stamped with VersaMark. Does that make sense? It was fun!

Our other project was a 6x6 scrapbook page. MY FIRST!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!! This is the first time I've attempted a scrapbook page for my stampin' club. And since 12x12 scares me -- I went for the 6x6. I actually really like this page. This picture shows with the tag in the pocket and out of the pocket. The tag is for journaling. The colors used are Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla, and Close to Cocoa. The Designer Series Paper is from Candy Lane. A 3x5 picture goes on the Red piece. I used the swirl image from the SAB set "Yummy". The tab is punched with the Round Tab punch. I think I'm going to use this for an "About Me" book. I just bought a new scrapbook (like I needed that...). And I want to do pages about the things that I like or that make me...ME!

This will be the first scrapbook that I've made since I've started stamping. I had a "scrapbook" in high school -- which I desperately need to take apart. It was long before acid-free stuff came along. So we'll see how it goes.

That's about all for today I guess. If I can find January and February's stamp club projects -- I'll post those too.

Oh, and I'm going to Gatlinburg, for the weekend, to a Women's Conference. The two ladies I'm going with are a lot of fun -- so this should be a blast. I need to find batteries for my camera...better go do that now.

L8R,
Tonya

Yeah, baby!

2009-02-23T22:21:00.002-06:00

I'm liking this background from thecutestblogontheblock. I didn't know you could do just backgrounds. Sweet!

Ok. I'm off to bed now. TTFN!

Why, oh why?

2009-02-23T21:43:00.003-06:00

Why did I start this blog? I'm such a loser at posting! I love reading other people's blogs...but can't seem to make time for my own. (And now it's bedtime, and I need to not be on the computer...).

Oh well. I do want to post pictures of my first two S-10 club cards. I'll have to get them scanned and uploaded. Maybe...sometime next week. Too much going on this week.

Geez!

2009-01-03T00:34:00.002-06:00

I'm trying to edit my blog template AGAIN. It's not doing what it said it would do. There should be a WONDERFUL picture of an ocean with a palm frond...it's not there. :-(

I'll keep trying till I find the right one...oh, actually I DID find the right one. It has an error, and I can't upload it. It figures!

Happy New Year! 2009

2009-01-01T22:38:00.000-06:00

WOW! Can you believe it? It's 2009! Hard to imagine so far. Today has been "Saturday" all day long. I think it's really Thursday. Right?

Anywho...it's good to be back. Maybe if I keep this post short -- the rest of my posts for the year will be short. That's the way it's supposed to work right. Whatever you do on January 1st you will be doing all year.

If that's true -- I'll never get out of my pj's. LOL. Seriously. I guess I'll be sleeping late, making cards, listening to music, eating leftovers and blogging. How am I going to work WORK into my schedule? Oh yeah, Brian cooked breakfast this morning. Gotta love that. He's going to be cooking me breakfast all year. (OK, I have to admit, he already does that most Saturdays. That's the only morning we get to eat together.) Oh well.

Let see...what's been happening in my world?
1) Christmas was awesome again. I have the greatest family in the whole world.

2) New Year's Eve was hilarious. I have the best church family in the whole world.

3) Two weeks off is spectacular! But I dread having to get up early next Monday. I'm definitely ready to go back to work. Just not ready to get up early. These two weeks have really spoiled me. As if I needed THAT!

Confessions time : I didn't send out Christmas cards this year. I know, I know...don't stone me. I made maybe 60, and 40 of those were a small, tag-like cards for church. I do want to make some "after Cmas, after NYD" cards. Haven't come up with anything I like yet.

I have made cards this week. I'll try to post them later. Definitely cases. I'll let you know who I cased them from too.

Guess that all for now. I'm in the middle of scanning all of the cards (made yesterday). Sooooo, until (dare I say tomorrow?) the next post.

L8R

Top 10 Thankful List

2008-11-26T12:15:00.000-06:00

My pastor blogged his top 10 favorite things he's thankful for. I thought I'd do the same.

1. Salvation through Jesus Christ (his top one too). Without this nothing else matters!

2. Brian : the best husband in the world!

3. Simmons family : parents, siblings, and all that comes with them. And that we get along well and like each other -- most of the time. :-)

4. Thompson family : my in-laws, and all that belongs to that clan.

5. Friends : I have the best friends in the world.

6. Church families : all of the people that have come into my life by being a part of local congregations.

7. Jobs. We both have good jobs.

8. Living in the USA. We are SO VERY blessed!

9. Kids : all the children I've watched grow up -- sometimes from birth! Justin, Kaci, Whitney, Dalton, Zachary, Patrick, Paul, Briana, Heatherly, Abigail, Kara, Noah, and now Logan, and some new ones, namely the Waddey clan, along with all the other children at church.

10. Oscar & Calli : our cats. Can't have children so they are the next best thing. They are our companions and keep us entertained. It would be very lonely without them.

Ok, one more:

11. My stampin' buddies. All the friends I've made through stamping. We have so much fun!

I'm a what? Cool!

2008-11-12T10:02:00.000-06:00

Ok, just took this test. Who knew I was a Mercedes? I'd change my color though -- to something like spicy chili pepper.

I'm a Mercedes SLK!

You appreciate the finer things in life. You have a split personality - wild or conservative, depending on your mood. Wherever you go, you like to travel first class. Luxury, style, and fun - who could ask for more?

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Order Stampin' Up! products online

2008-09-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

You can now order Stampin' Up! products online and have them shipped directly to your house. This is the greatest thing since sliced bread--I'm tellin' ya!

Click on the Share What You Love 24/7 banner, and see if you find anything you like. Or you can always contact me through my site. I place an order about once a month.

If you live in the the WTN/WKY area, I'd be happy to be your Stampin' Up! demonstrator.

New Product from SheetLoad/Short Cuts

2008-09-10T08:25:00.001-05:00

Short Cuts has a couple of new products : clear and frosted card bases. Check these out! I think I might have to have some of these. The clear ones are 10 mil thick and the frosted are 14 mil thick. Heavy-duty stuff here. Should stand up to any embellishments you put on.

oops! Edited. Had this down as SheetLoad of Cards. It's really their sister site Short Cuts.

New Template

2008-09-03T22:54:00.000-05:00

Ok. I guess I like this new template. I think it's very nice!...even though green is my favorite color!

So anyway. I'm not great at editing html, so it's kinda just out-of-the-box.

Gotta go to bed now. Having catered breakfast @ work tomorrow. Have to be there early to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be.

Hohum....

2008-09-03T21:25:00.003-05:00

I really need to post more. Started out good. Too many things going on right now. I've got to come up with some cards for next weeks stamping group. I have ideas floating around in my head -- it's just getting them down on paper that takes time. Maybe I'll get to play this weekend. So far no plans. But Brian did mention going bowling. That should be fun -- until the next day -- and soreness sets in. We're definitely not as young as we once were.

I also think I want a new background for my blog. I'm ready for a change. Off I go to search.

L8R!

Back?

2008-08-12T22:38:00.000-05:00

I think I'm back. I'm not quite sure where the past week has gone. I'll try to catch up.

CONVENTION WAS A BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (just so you know). I had a GREAT/WONDERFUL/SUPER/FUN time. Made so by my new good friends (after spending 8 days with them -- they're GOOD friends), Shelli/Stampin' Up!, and 6000+ other demos.

First of all I have to talk about Tammy, Debbie, and Kay. They are the best roomies! We laughed so hard and so much (except when Kay was sick. That wasn't so fun for her.)! I now have a permanent grin 'cause my face stuck that way from laughing. Oh, the stories we told...right before bedtime that kept us giggling. Brian said that we must have partied all the time, because every time he called we were laughing.

We talked about being tentative to room together. Debbie & Tammy say they've grown up together since childhood. And Kay is Debbie's mom (and Tammy claims her like a mom). So throwing me in caused a little apprehension. I think because we've only known each other about 15 months and have only seen each other 3 times -- although we've messaged and e-mailed quite a bit. I definitely thought I'd feel like the odd man out -- but they made me feel like one of them. And for that I am so thankful!

Well, there is so much more to tell about Convention '08, but I really need to go to bed. So I'll try to post some more later.

Hit the road Jack....

2008-07-27T17:10:00.004-05:00

It's about time for me to hit the road. The road to convention that is. Stampin' Up! Convention. I'm Salt Lake City, Utah bound. WOOHOO!!!!!!!

I am so excited. I can't stand it. I want to go now!!!! NOW! Too bad my plane doesn't leave until Tuesday (figures).

"My bags are packed. I'm leaving...." Oops! Not yet. My bags are NOT packed. The only thing packed right now is my sinuses. I've had a terrible head/cold/sinus/congestion/allergy something going on all week. I was able to taste food yesterday, and today I can taste AND smell food! Hopefully I'll be over it by tomorrow night.

My friends, Tammy & Debbie (and Debbie's mom that I haven't met yet, but I'm sure we'll be friends) and I are headin' out to Nashville tomorrow night. Our flight leaves early on Tuesday. We have a lay-over in Atlanta. How weird is that. Get on a plane in Nashville, fly to Atlanta, and THEN fly to Salt Lake City. Somebody made a "screwy" flight pattern.... heehee. We also have a lay-over in Atlanta on the way back too. Crazy!

Anyway. I plan on having a BLAST at convention. This is my first one. It's also Stampin' Up!'s 20th anniversary. I'm sure we will be treated royally well at this one. There is only one session this year instead of two. I think there are 6000+ registered. It should be a super-fun time.

Here are my swap cards. I only made 64 (32 of each patterned paper design.) I like it. It uses the new In Colors : Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette, and Riding Hood Red. The patterned paper is Bella Rose -- beautiful! It is new and will be in the new Fall/Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog which we get on Wednesday.

SUPER STOKED ABOUT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure I will have lots of goodies and tidbits to share when I get back. I'm not taking the laptop -- so unless you have my cell number....you'll just have to wait!

Guess that's it for now. I need to go help Brian pack my suitcase. He packs so much better than I do (thank you Army). Have a great week.

What have I been inkin'?

2008-07-17T23:37:00.001-05:00

Jiminy...where have I been? And what have I been doing? Where have the days gone? Enough questions already...I need answers.

July 2 was my last post? Sorry, I know that's another question.

Well, I have been pretty busy. I transferred to a different department at work on July 1st. UGH!!!! Trying to find where the last bookkeeper left everything. Not so good. But, finally today, I think I've found most of the paperwork for all of last year's purchases/transactions. I hope to have everything reconciled by Monday afternoon when Accounting (with a capital A) should put out THE FINAL WORD on what we spent. I just have to make sure what I have is what they say I have. They are the final authority on the money.

After that I can start on this new fiscal year...well, I have already. We have a new "system" for the university. The finance section went live July 1. That's the part I have to deal with. So it's been a learning experience. And the people in Accounting and Procurement have been WONDERFUL!!!!! They always sound like they're smiling on the other end of the phone. I have called several times, and they assure me that I'm not the only one calling. Whew! That's a good thing.

So, what else has been going on? Oh yeah, we did go back to Alabama to pick up Brian's mom and aunt. We left early Friday (July 4th) morning. Got there in plenty of time to go to the fireworks display in Athens. It was really neat! I love fireworks. It wasn't too hot or crowded. I highly recommend going to the fireworks display in Athens, Alabama if you're ever down there on the 4th of July.

We went to the Davidson Center for Space Exploration while we were so close to Huntsville. It was incredible. Rockets seen on TV do not do them justice. They are magnificant. I was blown away by the sheer size of the Saturn V...and all of the other rockets on display. I knew they had to be big, really big, but I had no idea. I felt very small next to it (and I'm a large woman...). ;-) And the force it takes to get them out of the earth's atmosphere....amazing! Anyway. Another must see if you're down that way.

What else have I been doing? I had my stampin' group last Thursday. We made 2 cards. This is the first one we did. It's an off-take of the card I made for Kristina's CIC challenge. We used all retiring sets/colors. This one uses Polka Dots & Paisley, Polka Dots & Petals, and It's Your Birthday stamp sets. The retiring colors used are Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, and Soft Sky. I used Basic Brown and Chocolate Chip also. They're not retiring -- thank goodness!

This is the second card. I LOVE THIS SET!!!!!!! I just got it. I should have gotten it long before now. I've loved this set since it came out -- just didn't get it. When I saw it was retiring -- I had to have it -- even though I can't demo it anymore. It's called Carte Postale. I also used the Print Pattern background. I can't believe it's retiring too! UGH!!! Stampin' Up! is killing me.... I have 14 sets that are retiring (14 of the 115 retired sets that I have!) I have about 25 current sets now. I'm sure that will change. I've already bought 5 sets that will be in the new catalog. So that's 5 of the 14 replaced (heeheehee).

Sorry. Rabbits. The retiring colors on this are Blue Bayou and Soft Sky. Really pretty. Basic Black is not retiring -- ever -- probably. You can't see it too well, but the large white square is stamped with a leaf pattern for the background. I used Soft Sky stamped off once for it. It's very faint. But it reminds me of old-timey couch fabric. Kinda like damask. Love it!

Good gravy! It's late. Guess I'd better go to bed now. G'night.

CIC #14 Johnny Cupcakes...

2008-07-02T22:46:00.000-05:00

Whew! What a whirlwind weekend. A trip to Alabama on Saturday and back on Sunday. And guess what? We get to do it again THIS weekend...except we're leaving Friday and will be back Sunday.

Anyway, I wanted to get Kristina's challenge done. And since I'll probably be packing, again, tomorrow night -- I decided to do it tonight. Here's the inspiration picture. I love that it's mostly B&W. And who doesn't love cupcakes?

I didn't really have a design in mind -- or any stamp sets picked out. But then I looked down at my B&W stripped pants and voilà, a card is born. Then Doodle This just hit me, and I went from there. I think the Ruby Red just makes it pop. I put Dazzling Diamonds (glitter) on the frosting. I don't know if you can tell that or not. And I ran the "cup" through the crimper and hit the ridges with River Rock ink. I think it's cute. I also water-colored the "leaves/stems" with River Rock. It kinda looks green IRL.

I hope you enjoy this too. Makes me hungry for a cupcake though...

G'Night!

Where's the rope...?

2008-06-26T23:14:00.000-05:00

It's soap without a rope. But it does have it's own knitted sweater. This is the COOLEST birthday present! Wool to boot. My knitting/co-worker/"twin lost at birth" made this for me. Ok, so she's not really my twin -- since she's 8 months older than I. But people do mistake us for sisters/twins. We don't see it, but others seem to. Lots of others.

Anywho. She says that as it is used it will felt together. I can't wait to try it out. I'm very interested in felting. I haven't tried it yet, but it's on my list of things to do -- eventually. What a great way to combine soap and cloth!!! Find out all about it here at her blog: Fruit of My Hands.

I consider her one of my crafting mentors and one of my best friends. She's a wonderful knitter and quilter. She inspires me to keep learning and trying new things. I know, I know...socks are on the list too. I just think my hands are too big & clumsy for DPNs.

I guess that's all for tonight. I really need to go to bed. Moving to my new office tomorrow. WOOHOO!!!

L8R

p.s. Edited to say that she must think highly of me. Wool makes her itch -- badly.

The Limelight has faded...

2008-06-26T22:50:00.002-05:00

...another birthday come and gone. It was a very good one though. Forty-four (44) isn't so bad -- yet. But then again, it's only been a day.

I received lots-o-goodies from my friends and family. Everyone should feel special on their birthday. I know I surely did!

This is the first card I received. It's from my mom (and dad. She made it.). It reminds me of the purple shag carpet in my bedroom (1976-1983). I got to pick the carpet & color. I used to LOVE purple. I still LIKE it a lot -- I just love GREEN more now. I love this image. It's from Summer By the Sea. She used clear EP (embossing powder) so it's shiny IRL.

She's doing very well in her cardmaking I think. It only took us (sister & I) about 5 years to convince her that she could do this. She always admired the cards we made, but thought it was too hard. We showed her the easy stuff. She's taken off since then. Guess that can happen when you're retired!

Can you tell who this is from? Yeppers. From Brian. He's getting better too. It looks like red hearts and flower, but they are really Rose Red. Pink & green are two of my favorite colors together. I don't know if it was by accident or if he remembers me saying it. I love it anyway. He even used a rub-on and stamps on the inside. I won't gag you with the mushy stuff. It's very sweet though...just like him! He's definitely a keeper. I would never find another man that would love me like he does. God put us together for sure. I always tell him, "I don't know what you did bad enough to deserve me, and I surely don't know what I did good enough to deserve you!" And that's the truth!

Moving on before I cry....

This card is from my mother/daughter friends. They are in my monthly stamping group. The mother is also a co-worker of mine. We have lots-o-fun at our stampin' get-togethers. I enjoy sharing my love of stamping with them. And they teach me things too. I love the colors of the patterned paper. Very summery and fun! Thanks gals!

Last but not least is the card from my sister. Did I mention she owns a scrapbooking store? Remember When Scrapbooking? (Ok, biased plug for her store. She can pay me later...heeheehee.) This one had 4 gift cards to my some of my favorite restaurants (in the holder on the front). That's a very clever card! She said the gift card holder came premade from My Mind's Eye (paper company). I haven't noticed them before. I'll have to go look tomorrow night.

She the best sister in the world!!! She knows most of my faults and loves me anyway.

I need to post separately for one of my gifts. I hope I can get it right. More to come....

1930's Wife?

2008-06-26T15:50:00.000-05:00

Saw this test on In Em's Closet blog and had to take it. Here's my score:

109

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Superior

Take the test!

Definitely not my era, I probably should have been born in the early 50's instead of the mid-60's. Or at least I used to think that. I'm not really as liberal as that 50's generation. And the older I get -- the more conservative I get! I guess that's a good thing.

Happy Birthday....

2008-06-25T13:16:00.000-05:00

to me! WOW.

Mom called to say she had a hard time believing that it had been 44 years. She said she was as big as a cow (thanks Mom), and they stuck a needle in her back that would reach to New York (from Kentucky). Such fond memories. No wonder she waited 4 .5 years to have my little brother. And before me it was 8.5 years (big brother). And yes, one more time...6.5 years after my little brother, I got a little sister (who just turned 33 last week. Hi Shan!)

Anyway. So far I've celebrated with my co-workers (FOOD DAY!), and friends/sister (LUNCH). No tellin' what's in store tonight @ church.

AND, so far I've received 5 cards, 3 of which are handmade. One of them, by my DH, Brian...has my favorite colors...bright green & fuchsia. What a sweetie!

I'll post again later.

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-24T21:32:00.001-05:00

I made Kristina's top 24. Oh yeah! Go girl! It's my birthday -- well, close. I'm so STOKED!

Ok, so I didn't make her top 10 or her random 10, but I did get a mention/link. In her first paragraph she says to click on each of the orange linked words to view other cards that had the same inspiration as she. I'm the "how" link. That's too cool! My first time to make deadline....

Thank you so much, Kristina, for linking to my card & blog. You made my day!

OMGosh!

2008-06-21T14:20:00.000-05:00

I couldn't post any more last night. My eyes were so heavy after posting my CIC card. But I just have to post about this.

A little background.... Friday nights are usually my night to stay up late (i.e 4-6 am), because I'm usually at Remember When untill 11pm. So I usually make cards or just play around on the computer. That being said, there's not much on TV that late. I have "What Not to Wear" DVR'd every week. But last night I got to watch it. Actually both of them. The previous week's is usually aired before the new one.

Anyway. After those were over, and I had watched "10 Years Younger" (I like that too. I would refuse the Botox and other stuff they inject into you -- ick!), I was flippin' channels and came across CMT. Now I'm not a CMT fan. My favorite music is Contemporary Christian. But "Trick My Truck" was on, and having a hubby that's a truck driver, I like that show. So I watched 2 episodes. And yes, I cried!

And guess what comes on after "Trick My Truck"? Yep, you guessed it..."My Big Fat Redneck Wedding". It's the first time I've ever watched it. It will probably be my last. But I ended up watching 3 episodes of it. This is all I have to say about that. ".............................................................. OH MY GOSH!!!!!"

CIC #12

2008-06-20T23:55:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking about this all day long. I made challenge #11, but I forgot to post it to Kristina's blog by the deadline -- can we say DUH! I blame it on it being late when I finished and put it on my blog. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

I love this place mat. I reminds me of cutwork/hardanger. Something I've always wanted to try. But I've given away most of my x-stitch stash. I traded it for ink, paper, and stamps. A trade up I'm thinkin' (although I will always love x-stitch).

So. I really wanted to take this one literally. It's a very classic/classy look. Super crisp.

I'm so glad that Stampin' Up! came out with textured CS. It looks just like the linen place mat. I used it in Whisper White & Sahara Sand. I used smooth CS for the So Saffron and Wild Wasabi circles (I'm going to miss that color!).

Anyway. Here's the card I made. The sentiment says, "I'm here for you always...". And inside it says, "please know that I care". I thought the Curvy Verses stamp would go with the circles.

You can't tell from the picture, but I used a clear Glaze gel pen (by Sakura) around the circles -- to mimic the edging on the place mat. It looks good IRL.

Guess I'd better go and link is to Kristina's blog before I forget!

CIC#11

2008-06-15T00:10:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post for Kristina's Color Inspiration Challenge #11. This is first one I've attempted to do. The idea is to take a color combo and create a card or scrapbook page using those colors as inspiration. This is the inspiration picture. You can get the details here. Then she picks her favorites and a few random ones.

I think these are pretty cool. I enjoy seeing everyone's interpretation. That also usually links me to other blogs -- blogs that I probably never would have found. There are some incredibly talented papercrafters on the WWW.

Anywho. Here is my card. I thought the colors were great. So Saffron, Rose Red, Old Olive, Going Gray, and Whisper White. I combined the challenge with a birthday card I needed for tomorrow. It would have been much better if it hadn't needed to be a masculine card.

I only have a few sets that are "masculine". And this one isn't -- necessarily. But it was quick and easy. The inspiration picture was mostly yellow and white -- so I tried to keep my card mostly those colors. I used the other colors sparingly. I never did see the Old Olive in the picture. Maybe I'm just missing something. I also added a little Taken with Teal for the bubbles.

Also, you can't tell from the pic, but I clear embossed the fish strip and the fish/words images. I was going for a watery look -- and it kinda looks wet IRL.

I think I could have done a better job with the challenge if I had made it more feminine. Oh well. Maybe next time.

I did make one more card for tomorrow. I used the same stamp set (Very Puny, a 2007 SAB set). It's also for a male, but this one is 3 years-old. It's totally more fun. And I had more fun making it. I guess it's because I've made a similar card before. This is one of my favorite color combos : Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, and Gable Green. Very "oceany" to me.

Ok, that's it for tonight (eeks! this morning). HEYYYYYY! Stampin' Up's retired list comes out in an hour. I can't stay up for it. I'll just have to check it in the morning....phooey!

Good night.

What Happened?

2008-06-11T18:29:00.002-05:00

Something happened to my header/title. I'm going to have to try to fix that after church.

Ta ta for now.

Quick post...

2008-06-09T00:10:00.000-05:00

Ok, this is supposed to be a quick post. We'll see....

Just wanted to post since I hadn't in a few days. Seems like Sunday night is "my" time to post. This weekend was busy.

Saturday morning was spent with my mom, sister, and two nieces. We went to sister's scrapbook store to scramp (scrap & stamp).

Mom stamped a little. But mostly she organized my sister's box of ribbon. That's mom -- always cleaning up after us.

My oldest niece made the cutest paint can. Her friend is decorating a nursery in frogs (for a little boy). I don't know the company that made the paper, but it jumping frogs on a brown background. She paired it with green/lt. green polka dot paper. TOTALLY CUTE! Wish I had gotten a picture of it. I think she may have taken a pic w/her phone. I'll have to see.

My youngest niece needed a graduation thank you card for her boyfriend's mom. So we worked on that. I have a new punch from Easycut Craft. It's the LACE design. We used it on the bottom front edge and we made a small circle. We also used the Quickutz Revolution to cut a "t" (the bf's mom's name starts with T). We put it on the circle. It turned out really cute. She liked it. Wish I had taken a picture, duh!

Sister had to work -- so she didn't get anything made -- not that she had planned on it. But she did help out with the paint can. She used the Silhouette to cut the baby's name. She also helped the other women that were there scrappin'.

I got cardstock cut for one of my projects for this coming Thursday night. It's our monthly Stamper's 10 meeting. I really look forward to our stamp night. We have so much fun!

The card that I cut the paper for is the Father's Day card (see May 31st post). It's the Bronc Buster card. I love that card. It's so fun to make. I hope they will like it too. The girls at the swap did!

I also put some "pages" in a scrapbook. My first time to try a scrapbook. I received it in my door prize at the Shoebox Swap. It's a 5 x 7 book. And it had coordinating paper with it. I've never really scapped before. So 5 x 7 isn't as intimidating as a 12 x 12. I got about 4 pages put together...without photos. I'll have to find some to add to it. But it is cute, and I think I could get hooked on scrapbooking too. Although cardmaking will always be my favorite papercrafting love.

Saturday night, Brian & I went to the movies. We saw the new Indiana Jones movie. I really liked it! But then again, I like most movies that I see. They transport me to another place/time/world. I like to get taken away like that. I love going to the movies. Brian doesn't understand why I like to see movies on the big screen. He's happy to rent a movie and watch it at home. That's ok too sometimes -- but there's just something about the big screen and getting caught up in the "reality" of the movie that can't be experiences at home. Maybe the feeling that I'm in the movie too...right there with them. Or maybe it's the larger-than-life size. I don't know what it is, but I REALLY like it. Maybe if we got a big screen TV... (hint, hint). LOL!

Today. After church I worked on another card for Thursday night. I didn't make it long though. I got up to go to the bathroom and ended up taking a nap (no, in the bedroom). I was only going to sleep for about 45 minutes. Ended up being about 2 hrs. I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

So I worked on the card tonight after church. I cased the card from SCS (Split Coast Stampers). Actually, it's from 2 cards in the gallery. I'll post it later in the week. I think it turned out really cute. It's using the new Fresh Cut/Fresh Cuts Notecards. It's one of Stampin' Up!® June specials.

Now, I just have to make another card for our meeting. I will use the other special. It's about eScaping -- from the "e" (electronic world) -- and making a handmade note/greeting/card. I'll post pics when I get it finished too. And links to the Stampin' Up!® website.

Well, I wanted to keep it short tonight. Yeah right. Didn't happen. Oh well. No biggie. It's my post, and I'll make it as long as I want.

Going to bed now. L8R.

Ch...Ch...Ch...Changes

2008-06-03T21:56:00.003-05:00

Ok. So how do you like my new template? Can you tell that green is my favorite color? I came across this template and fell in love with it! It looks like it's been stamped. It's at Jackbook.com. I am by no means a html guru (like my friend/co-wkr.). But I did figure out how to tweak it a little. The font was really small. So I changed it. I don't think I did it right -- but it's ok until she (the friend) can look at it.

So far I've only told a couple of people about my blog. I wanted to get this template uploaded and ready before I sent it to everyone I know (heeheehee). I'll probably send out an e-mail tomorrow. I'm too tired tonight.

That's all I wanted to talk about tonight. Gotta go let the cats out. Then I'm going to read for a few.

L8R

Shoebox Swap a Success!

2008-06-02T00:06:00.002-05:00

Here it is Sunday night already. And look...it's late again. But I just had to say that Saturday's RWS (Remember When Scrapbooking) Shoebox Swap was a success. I had a really great time. I hope the other ladies enjoyed it too. We made some awesome cards and a mini-album. They totally rocked! I'll scan and upload pics later. This week is going to be pretty busy. Maybe I'll get to them on Thursday.

Anyway. I just want to say thanks to Shanna for letting us have our swap at the store. We had lots-o-space, and we got to shop too!

And thanks to the ladies that participated. It was fun meeting the new ones and seeing the "old" ones. You guys are too funny!

Anywho. I've got to go to bed now. I have to be @ work early for a training session. We're getting a new "system" for the whole university. I can't wait to see how it works. I've taken a few tutorials...but it's nothing like hands on.

What else before I go? OHHH, the highlight of my day. My 5-year-old pseudo-son (my friend's son) gave me a BIG HUG this morning during song service and said, "Tonya, I love you." It was all I could do to not cry. He's such a cutey! Of course I told him that I loved him right back. It was a priceless moment. I'll never forget it.

It's too bad that Brian and I can't have children. But then again, I wouldn't be as close to all my friend's children if we had our own. Someone asked me the other day if we had children. I said, "No, but I'm not childless." I have several friends with children. I've helped raise some of them. The oldest ones are now 24 (yikes), 22, and 19. I met them when the 19-year-old was 9 months old.

My best friend's two girls are now 15 (in Aug.) and 11 (in Sept., born on our 2nd anniv.). Where has time gone?

And my other friend's children are 7 (Nov.) and 5 (July, he's the one that gave me the hug). And these are just my friends' children.

My nephews are 27 and 11. My nieces are 24 and 18. And my great-nephew is 8. How crazy is that?

Wow! I can't believe I've watched these kids grow up. I can truly say that they ALL have been such a blessing to me. And they're not the only children I've been around. I really love kids! (Although I'm not as tolerant in my old age as I used to be.) We've played with most of the kids at the different churches we've been to. DH love to pick at people -- especially kids. Who am I kidding? He's the biggest kid of them all. He loves to laugh and have fun with them. And they seem to love picking at him too. I'm glad. It makes life so much more fun to hang out with kids. Keeps us young (wishful thinkin').

Jiminy!!! I've started rambling again.... Ok, gotta go. More L8R.

Yikes...

2008-05-31T02:02:00.001-05:00

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.

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T18:34:00.002-05:00

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.

Bummed out...

2008-05-21T21:17:00.002-05:00

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.

Gettin' some Inkin' done

2008-05-20T23:05:00.003-05:00

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

Clear Paint Can frustration...

2008-05-17T22:06:00.000-05:00

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

Now to continue what I started...

2008-05-17T01:28:00.000-05:00

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.

My Entry Into the Land of BLOG

2008-05-16T22:03:00.005-05:00

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....