About me....

Carole Burrage tagged me on her blog to share 7 things about myself. I have done this before but it's been a while ago so I will do it again.

1. I love my steak Medium Rare. I used to eat it Rare but I have found it tastes better at least warm!
2. I have a mole on my eyelid exactly where my dad had one and one of my sisters has one in the same spot too.
3. I tend to procrastinate. Then again, you guys might already know that about me!
4. I can't have Christmas without listening to Roger Whittaker. I'm serious. I had to have my sister burn me both his Christmas CD's and send them to me because my originals got damaged.
5. I just bought 'The Best of Air Supply' and I haven't taken it out of my van since. Love them!
6. I took 3 years of Spanish in school and can still hold a small conversation in Spanish.
7. My favorite sandwich is Bologna on soft wheat bread with Miracle Whip, American cheese, lettuce, and Doritos.

So, there you go. A peek into what makes me, well, me!

I am the master........of disaster.

Hey guys! When coming up with my post title all I had to do was look at my stamp area. What a mess! I have been stamping and stacking and scooting and pushing things around to finish up all of the Christmas stuff I have needed to get done. And by the way, I'm still not done with tags for my hot chocolate bags or the labels for the cookies and muffins I haven't made yet. No worries! I work better under pressure! Who needs sleep anyway!

I wrote up my top 5 favorite blogs over on Craft Critique yesterday and let me tell you, it was REALLY hard to choose! I think I did a good job though at showcasing the ones I really love and if I was able to do a top 15 that would have been even better! Heather shared a link that I wanted to post here that I thought was pretty cool. SheetLoad of Cards is a blog that has a monthly free ezine for card layouts. Their motto is 'Our goal is to increase your card stash using one layout, a few sheets of paper, and a short amount of time.' Sounds good to me! Anyway, it's definitely worth checking out!

Okay, so I have finished quite a few cards since I posted last and they are all Christmas ones soooooo I am going to post quite a few today. I will save a few for a few days from now but since it's so close to Christmas I'm probably going to pack them all into a few posts. We'll start with the penguin ones. These guys are just so cute! I colored them all with Prismacolors and OMS and then outlined them with my Copic B21 Baby Blue marker. Then of course you've gotta add glitter and rhinestones!

• STAMPS- Penguin Games (Stampendous), Merry Christmas (Studio G)
  
• PAPER- Rob and Bob Studios Christmas Stack (last years), black CS, Certainly Celery CS
• INK- Palette Hybrid Nior
• OTHER- Snowflake brads (JoAnn's), rhinestones, glitter, snowflake button, ribbon

Well, I need to get back to the Photo Story (slideshow with music) I'm making for hubby's grandparents. Still have quite a bit to do. If any of you guys are interested you can go to the Microsoft website and search 'Photo Story 3' and it will bring up a post to let you download it for free. I used it 2 years ago when I did one for my dad's memorial and I had to pay $30 for it but now it is free. I like it and it really does make a special gift. If you decide to try it out and have any questions then feel free to email me and I can help you out as best I can.

Hope you all have a great day! I'll be back tomorrow (trust me, I'm gonna type my entry up tonight while I'm snuggling on the couch with Joe!).

Super Simple Friday

Good morning all! I got a few minutes to make a few cards yesterday for my own Christmas card stash! Woo-Hoo! Now, only 50 more to go! LOL I'm not panicking yet. Yet is the key word though! I have a feeling the majority of them will be 'super simple' which is fine with me because I really like simple designs. AND with the fabu stamps I have it makes cards like that easy peasy! So, without further ado, here are my super simple cards for today.

The birdies are back! These guys don't want me to put them down and that is fine by me! I love these guys! This card seems so Mod to me but I think it totally rocks if I do say so myself! I stamped the birdies and sentiment with Colorbox chalk ink and then outlined it all with my *must have* gray Copic marker. Glue on some rhinestones and Viola! Done! Took me all of about 3 minutes to do!

• STAMPS- DK-04 Birdie Fun (smARTworks), Happy Holidays ($1 stamp from Michael's)
• PAPER- Paper Trey white CS
• INK- Colorbox chalk Warm Red and Olive Pastel
  
• OTHER- Copic gray marker; rhinestones

You also can't go wrong with Paper Trey for a classy card! These ornaments from the Take a Bough set are soooooo easy to work with! Nichole Heady is pure genius! Plus my shipments always come super fast cause the warehouse is only about an hour away. Hmmmm, I wonder if they give tours.......

• STAMPS- Take a Bough (Paper Trey)
• PAPER- Paper Trey white CS
• INK- Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Positively Pink, Going Gray classic inks (SU)
• OTHER- ribbon

Oh, and I HAVE to share is extra cool-super proud-amazingly awesome picture with you that I took yesterday. I LOVE my macro lens!!!!! Here are snowflakes.....

Keep warm everyone!!

Tea to warm you up!

So, it's smARTworks Tea Party time again! Time to share all of our cards we made using a sketch that is provided by one of the team members. This time around Susan Liles gave us the sketch. When I first looked at it nothing struck me, but in true Heidi style (waiting till the last minute that is!) I was able to use my brand new rubber from smARTworks that came in the mail yesterday. Everything I ordered was from the supplement that just came out and I was so happy with what I got! I started cutting out this morning and putting my Tombow glue on the back to make them tacky. I know I am on the DT so it's kinda my job to persuade you to want to buy them but I don't think these really need much persuading!!! For the Combo Sentiments set (designed by the great Dina Kowal of Mama Dini's Stamperia herself!) you cannot beat the price at 25 stamps for $13.50. Then you have the Combo Companion set that goes perfectly with it for $7.50. Here and here are the links that you just have to check out!!!

Anyway, rambling done. Here is the sketch:


And here is my fantabulous card! And bling-y too!

• STAMPS- DK-01 Combo Sentiments (brackets), DK-02 Combo Companion(merry), DK-04 Birdie Fun (smARTworks)
• PAPER- Cranberry Crisp CS, BasicGrey 'Fruitcake' DP
  
• INK- Old Olive, Cranberry Crisp
• OTHER- Crop-a-dile, large eyelets, Slit punch, rhinestones, ribbon, Stickles, pop dots

If you wanna check out everyone else's version of this sketch just click their links:
Donna
Susan L
Dina
Trish
Susan T

Well, we got our first official snow of the winter last night and it's still going this morning. I might try and get a few pics when it slows down later. Hope all of you stay warm and comfy!!! Be back tomorrow!

Christmas is Creeping

Wow! December 3rd already! Christmas is creeping up and before you know it we'll be opening presents by the tree, or at least the kids will! I better get my booty in gear! I have soooo much to do and not a whole lot of time to do it in! Thank goodness I have been done shopping for the kids for over a week already! It's weird though. I don't feel super Christmas-y yet. Maybe it's because I have already done all of the shopping. Maybe wrapping will get me in the mood!

Anyway, I want to share some holiday cards with you done with Starving Artistamps rubber. When I got this holly berry and leaf I was really excited to use it and I must say that I am very happy with my creations!

First is my super simple one layer card. I made a mask for the holly leaf and stamped each 'stem' with 2 leaves and 3 berries all over the front, distressed the edges, added a ribbon, and used my alphabet stamps for 'comfort and joy'. Easy peasy lemon squeezey!

• STAMPS- holly leaf and berry 45.11, alphabet 41.02 (Starving Artistamps)
• PAPER- kraft CS
  
• INK- Versamagic Cloud White, Colorbox Chestnut Roan
  
• OTHER- ribbon, edge distresser
  

Now I am quite particular, but I love this one! The idea for the ribbon just kind of slapped me in the face as I was cutting out the holly leaves. I wasn't even planning on doing it. Don't ya just love surprises!? All I did was take a longer piece of red ribbon, fold it in half, and tie a normal knot in the middle. Then, I cut 2 small slits in the kraft CS (big enough for the ribbon to go through) and then slipped the ribbon through the slits and taped it on the back side so it wouldn't budge. Cool huh?

• STAMPS- holly leaf and berry 45.11 (Starving Artistamps)
  
• PAPER- red, kraft CS
  
• INK- Colorbox Olive Pastel
  
• OTHER- ribbon, scoring blade, craft knife, pop dots

Well, thanks for stopping by today! Stay warm! It's super chilly here!

P.S. No one guessed the sister-in-law right on my last entry. It was Mandy. Thanks for trying though!!

Horse Crazy

Well, my Thanksgiving was nice! And I only picked up a few things on Black Friday because a. I was mostly done and b. Joe ended up working so I couldn't go early like I usually do. So, that meant that pretty much everything that was on my list was gone by the time I got there. Oh well, I'm not too upset about it, everyone will be having pretty good sales up until Christmas anyway. Saturday I tried to organize the house a little and finish putting together my gifts for the annual Sister Dinner my mom, sisters, and I have. I bought everything but the hot cocoa cone that I put in their box. Those were really fun to make (I absolutely LOVE the tag I made for it!) but man, that stuff is not cheap! I used a recipe that called for powdered milk, flavored creamer, Nesquick, powdered sugar, and a few other things. Maybe next time I should just go to Sam's and buy a big can of regular hot chocolate, LOL. Nah, I tried it and it tasted pretty darn good! I will be making those to put in the baskets for Christmas gifts this year. Anyway, Sunday morning came and I had to be up, ready, and out of here by 9:15 because my mom and sister went together this year to buy us all tickets for 'White Christmas' at a local theatre. I really enjoyed it. It wasn't a lot like the movie, which is normal for stage productions but there was a lot of dancing and singing and it was very fun to watch! Plus we were right next to the stage so that was fun! It made me miss the plays I was always in in High School. My Senior year I played Lily in Annie. Remember her? Dumb blonde that only wants money? For some reason my teacher thought I fit that part perfectly. LOL! So, we got out of there, exchanged our gifts, and then I had to drive home in the rain while it was dark. Not fun. I am not a fan of driving at night. My throat started hurting that night and the next morning I felt like a big pile of poo. My whole body hurt, I was tired, had a headache, you know, all the fun stuff! I felt a little better yesterday but still had a sore throat and was tired. I woke up this morning feeling much better and ready to get back on the bloggin wagon!



Ange, Ape, Mis, Nik, Me, Hol, and Mandy (mom took the pic so she isn't in it)

*Little Challenge, if you can pick out which gal is the sister-in-law, I will send you some happy mail!* Family members can't play this one! lol

Singing "Which one of these things is not like the other? Which one of these things is not the same?"






I made some cards with Starving Artistamps rubber that was a bit of a challenge for me. She asked us to do rush batches for a show and I recieved horse stamps. At firt I kind of panicked but once I started playing with them I kind of let the stamps do the talking. Not being that much of a horse person, its really hard to get into that mental state. My niece and cousin's lives revolve a lot around horses which is awesome but it seems like you are either really into them or not at all. That being said I will share my favorite creation from all the horse cards I made. And go figure, the horses are PINK!


{THIS PHOTO HAD TO BE REMOVED}

• 6012-B, 6012-C (horses), Medium stitch set, 6012 (sentiment), ornate tooled leather background stamp sets (Starving Artistamps)
• Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa CS
• Versamark, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink inks
• Cuttlebug flower die
• brown felt
• rhinestone brad
  

I tried and tried to find a glue pad to use with my flocking but nada! The essential glue pad wouldn't have gotten here in time (not that it mattered in the end because I mixed up labels on packages and she didn't get it in time anyway! I'm such an idiot!) and the Pallete glue pad just sucks the whole way around! I cannot get that thing to work any way I try it. Heat, no heat, extra glue from their re-inker bottle. I just want to throw it away for taking up space. Can anyone tell me what I might be doing wrong? Maybe I am too late for help. That is very likely!

Well, I should be back tomorrow with a card made with the new pregnant lady image from Artful Inkables (via SA). She is so pretty! I really like this one!


So, hope all of you had a great Thansgiving!!! Now, go put up your Christmas tree!

Yet another Tea Party

I am going to ignore the fact that I haven't posted in a while and just act like I posted yesterday!!

It's the smARTworks Tea Party Wednesday again! I really enjoy doing these sketches and the sketch today was provided by the smARTworks owner, Susan Trask.

• Birthday Dreams WD-180 stamp (smARTworks)
• Cosmo Cricket 'Dutch Girl' DP
• black, white CS
• Palette Nior ink
• Cuttlebug flowers die
  
• red felt
• brads, ribbon, pop dots

Make sure you check out what the other Cookies did with this sketch! And if you'd like to play along, we'd love to see!
Donna
Susan L
Dina
Trish
Susan T

I have lots of cards to share so hopefully I will be able to share a few a day for a week or so. I'm planning on that!!

Now, I am off to clean up the rest of our computer/stamp room because it just might become our bedroom as well! Right now we have the kids in a bedroom upstairs but we might move them downstairs for the winter since fuel oil is going to be 40% higher this year than last. Just don't know if we can swing a $1,600 heating bill for the winter (electric bill not included). I think we are going to move my big metal rack out along with a few small things and put our bed in the corner. If we do that then the kids will move into our bedroom which stays warmer than any other room in the house. We are getting Clinton a race car bed for Christmas (used of course, those things are $400 new!) and hopefully everything will fit in that room okay. We're keeping our fingers crossed!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Turkey day!!! Oh, and don't get trampled shopping for those deals on Friday!! Stay safe!!!!!

*One more thing to add. My article on glitter re-inker ornaments ran on Craft Critique yesterday so check it out if you want the tutorial!*

Tea Party, smARTworks style!

Well, it's Wednesday and we all know what that means! No, I'm not talking about America's Next Top Model. It's Tea Party time!! I can't believe it's been two weeks since our last party! Time is flying!! This week Donna provided the sketch for us!



We were supposed to do something 'different' with the strips in the background. I do realize that ribbon isn't that creative but I thought it went nicely with the paper and image. Kind of 'lightened' up the card.

• CMS-11 Old St. Nick stamp set (smARTworks)
• Make it Possible 'Holiday Wishes' paper stack
• Colorbox Warm Red, Olive Pastel chalk inks
• ribbon
• pop dots

If you'd like to play along we'd love to see your work! Put a link to your card here or on any of the other DT members' blogs! If you need some inspiration, just check out theirs sometime today!
Donna
Susan L
Dina
Trish
Susan T

Thanks for stopping in!! I made a few more cards with my Take a Bough set from Paper Trey! I'll share those tomorrow!! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Candy Winner!

Sorry I didn't get back to you guys yesterday! I put the numbers 1-38 into the random number generator at 12:30 yesterday and it gave me #30! Starqueen, you are the wiener, I mean winner. {wink} Get me your snail mail addy and I will get your goodies sent out to you this week! Thanks for playing everyone!

Real winter weather

Well, today I don't have to worry about getting in that 'holiday feel' with the weather as cold as it is outside! High of 42 today which will probably feel like 32 with the wind blowing as hard as it is!

I finished some cards on Sunday but have been busy running here and there picking jeans up for Joe for his trip to Chicago next week and doing some Christmas shopping while I am out. And trust me, Christmas shopping while your kids are with you is no easy task! But when I was in Kohl's yesterday I hit the jackpot with tops for the girls. They had a lot of adorable (I got 6) long sleeved tops in Ava's size for $4.80 each and they also had a lot of short sleeved 'girl power' like shirts (I got 7) for Jolee. I figured she could wear a long sleeved shirt underneath of them. That is still in, right? LOL Those were only $3.40. She will love them! Anyway, sorry for my rant!

Here is one of the cards I made on Sunday. I used Beate's weekend sketch challenge #26. I really liked the layout of this one and it came together pretty quick. I used that chunky glitter again for the snow and to be honest, I will probably use it again soon!

• ABC-Sweater Teddy stamp set (smARTworks)
• Make it Possible 'Holiday Wishes' stack paper
• Stazon jet black ink
• Chalk ink and blender pen
• Copic grey marker
• light blue crayon and OMS for sky
• ribbon
• pop dots

And HOORAY! I got my Paper Trey Ink sets yesterday!!! And the paper and labels! Well, come on, I had to see what all the fuss was about the paper! It's awesome! Very thick and white. What more could you ask for? This is my first card with the Take a Bough set. I literally made this card in about 3 minutes. It only took that long because I was trying to choose which ornament stamps I wanted to use since there is such a selection! Now I know that if it gets down to the wire for my Christmas cards I can always pull this set out and have a very sophisticated quick card!!!

• Take a Bough stamp set (PaperTreyInk)
• Colorbox Olive Pastel, Lime Pastel, and Warm Red, Chestnut Roan chalk inks
• Prismacolor silver pencil (for the strings)

Well, you guys still have a few hours to leave a comment on this post to win my blog candy! I have gotten so much enjoyment out of reading all of the wonderful gifts you have given that have meant so much to others! Keep on giving! Until later, see ya!

Old St. Nick

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope everyone has had a good morning so far! I have been searching Ebay looking for a large LEGO lot for Jolee for Christmas. She loves building things so I think now is a really good time to get her some. However, I don't want to pay $60 for a new set that is very boyish and only has 100 pieces or so. Which is why I have a 23 lb. lot on my watchlist! If any of you have tons of regular (or girly) legos you'd like to sell, EMAIL ME!! {grin} Anyway, here is my card for today. I tried him simple at first (since stamping with this guy is waaaaay out of my normal boundaries!) but I will try another card in black and color him too. I think I am going to mass produce about 10 of these for family since I only have about 3 Christmas cards done so far! Normally most of my 60 cards are different, but I don't think I'll have a lot of time for that this year!

• CMS-11 St. Nick, FL-31 Bough and Cone (background) stamp sets (smARTworks)
• Cranberry Crisp, Going Gray CS
• Cranberry Crisp ink
• Copic gray marker
  
• glitter
• ribbon
• pop dots, sponge
  

I just love how this looks like sugar! I need to use this on some Christmas treat cards! Speaking of which, I ordered my Paper Trey 'Holiday Treats' and 'Take a Bough' sets the other day. I also got their CS since I heard such wonderful things about it!


Don't forget to leave a comment on this post to win some Christmas blog candy!! Have a great weekend everyone!!

Happy Fall and Candy! Finally!

I hope everyone had a great Halloween with their kiddos! My kids made out like bandits! Before they dumped all of their candy though we did the yearly 'clean out the bowl' ritual. Dumped candy out from last Halloween and most of this years Easter. This candy will last them until next Halloween when we will do the ritual once again!



Before we get to the 'good stuff' AKA blog candy, I want to share a card that I am super proud of! This is a wintery type bear but I wanted to step outside the box cause he is just too cute in his sweater! And yes, I know people (or bears) don't drag a sled when it's not snowing, but come on, if a bear is pulling a sled then anything is possible. Right? The pumpkin is from a different set but both are still smARTworks. Speaking of which, Susan just released the new supplement on November 1st and it has some AWESOME sets in it! Some adorable birdie sets!!! Here is a link to my favorite page and here is a link to the supplement. It starts on the bottom right but make sure you click 'next' because there are some more pages to check out!

• ABC-Sweater Teddy, Autumn #1 stamp sets (smARTworks)
• BasicGrey Mellow DP
• Pumpkin Pie CS
• Stazon jet black, Chocolate Chip ink
• Prismacolors, crayons, and OMS
• corner rounder
• velvet ribbon
• pop dots

So, here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for! Blog candy! I decided to go with a wintery/Christmas feel this time around. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I get my snowmen out, spray my holiday scents, and wrap presents! I love wrapping presents! I also love shopping for them! I'm sure there are a lot of you out there like me who enjoy shopping for others more than yourself! So, what I want you to post for a chance to win this candy is what is the best gift you have ever GIVEN? I have asked before what the best present you have recieved was but I am twisting it this time. Other than giving my hubby the gift of delivering his beautiful children, it would have to be the time I found an autographed picture of Judy Garland by chance in a tiny shop. My sister collects Wizard of Oz anything and although in the picture she wasn't dressed up like Dorothy, I knew it would be a great piece for her collection! It's those once in a lifetime little finds that excite me the most!!! So, what is yours? Leave me a comment and I will draw a random # to see who wins! Open to US and Canada residents only. Sorry guys! You have until Tuesday the 6th at noon! Good luck!

Blog candy includes:

• Real candy! Russell Stover Vanilla Bean Brulee chocolate!
• Daisy D's Winter Fun pad. 24 8x8 sheets plus 4 die cut sheets
• Various 6x6 Christmas paper (some more Daisy D's to coordinate)
• 8 1/2 x 11 Christmas paper from The Paper Studio
• American Crafts felt flowers in Christmas colors
• Pot of untrafine green glitter
• Lots of stamped Christmas images (not shown) from my collection

Lizzie Anne

*This is actually getting posted the morning after I had planned. Isn't life crazy sometimes!?*

Wow, this post was started this morning. I got side tracked and forgot to finish it up! So, sorry for the late post!! My article on Lizzie Anne Designs ran on Craft Critique yesterday so I wanted to give more details on my projects.

This first one uses the Fairy stamp with a Chritstmas twist. I used BasicGrey Dasher paper and used watercolor papers and re-inkers to color her in. I also added stickles once I gave her wings time to dry. I also used velvet ribbon which I think gave it the perfect touch!

• Fairy, Christmas stamps (Lizzie Anne Designs)
• BasicGrey Dasher DP
• Cranberry Crisp CS
• Stazon Jet Black ink
• aqua painter and re-inkers
• Marvy Giga and Mega scallop circle punches
• Coluzzle oval template
• Stickles
• ribbon, pop dots

I just love this snowman one! Too bad Clinton got ahold of it and wrinkled it beyond repair! It was so easy though that I can remake it, or even a few more. The card is 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 and I just put the top half in the embossing folder to run through the Sizzix. I inked up the embossed snowflakes with Cloud White and added glitter to the edges and under the snowmen. Can't get much easier than this!

• Snowmen stamp (Lizzie Anne Designs)
• Cool Caribbean CS
• Stazon Jet Black, Versamagic Cloud White chalk inks
• Cuttlebug Snowflakes EF
• aqua painter and re-inkers
• glitter
• ribbon, pop dots, edge distresser

I found this last project to be pretty humorous! Why? Because I do all of the stuff that would be in here for my hubby anyway (yes, he is spoiled!)! Between you and me, I only filled out the first 4 because I couldn't think of anything else to write! After I was done with it I gave it to my daughter to play 'tickets' with. Now, I really love the idea of this! It just doesn't really work for me. I embossed the black and matted the ticket with Tempting Turquoise. I then hole punched them all and threw them onto a ring I had picked up at Walmart.

• All Guy stamp set (Lizzie Anne Designs)
• Tempting Turquoise CS
• Versamark ink
• black embossing powder
• large jump ring
• hole punch
• ribbon

Well, seeing as how this is being posted way later than I expected Happy Halloween! I hope any of you who are taking your little ones out to trick or treat have a good time tonight! Jolee is going to be a Doctor, Ava is going to be a Leopard, and Clinton is going to be a Pirate. I can't wait to get pictures!! I'll probably share some tomorrow!!

By the way, I'll be posting some blog candy this week (FINALLY!!) so keep an eye out!!!

Warm Wishes

I had been a little caught up in my design team and Craft Critique stuff lately that I hadn't had too much time to use my Inque Botique or See D's stamps that I got last month. So, I pulled them out, along with my BasicGrey Mellow 6x6 stack and got this card done. It's starting to cool off more and more and there have been a few days lately that have been down right cold! So, who can't use a good cup of warm coffee or cocoa on those days!?

• See D's Christmas stamps
• BasicGrey 'Mellow' DP
• Stazon Jet Black, Cocolate Chip inks
• ZIG markers
• Marvy Mega scallop square punch
• Cuttlebug sliders die
• ribbon
• push pin, pop dots, sponge
  

I wanted to share a card today that was made by Amy over at Snips and Scraps of my Life. She used the smARTworks Tea Party layout that I posted on Wednesday. Isn't this just the cutest!?! She flipped the layout to make it suit the stamp she wanted to use and it looks great! Thanks for playing along Amy!! Be sure to check out her blog for her other cute cards! If you made a card with the layout be sure to let me know (or one of the other DT members) and we'll post it!

I'm hoping the weather gets a little nicer today because Joe's cousin Jenny is having a 'harvest party' at their farm. They were planning on doing a hayride and lots of other fun stuff but if it rains (which it looks like it's gonna) we'll all just be hanging out inside. That's fine with me because we'll have food and eachother to chat with! I know the kids will be dissapointed though, especially Jolee if she doesn't get to visit with the horses and other animals they have!

Hope you all have a great Saturday!

Snowman again!

I just can't help to want to make cards with this guy, so if he pops up every other post, sorry. He is the perfect size to be able to add other things on the card but not too small to become the image that's not the focal point. Plus, I love snowmen! I challenge you guys to show me some snowmen as cute as he is! There might be a few but I haven't seen 'em! SO show me! Show me cards that you have made with snowman stamps or post a link to where you can buy them! Trust me, I'd LOVE to see!!!

• ABC-Starstruck, Middie Messages #2 stamp sets (smARTworks)
• The Paper Studio DP
• Word Window punch
• aqua painter and re-inkers
• ribbon
• pop dot

This was one of the final cards for my first quarter DT batch for smARTworks. I have been on a kraft paper kick lately (yes, admitting you have a problem is the first step!) so I wanted to try it with my little birdie! I stamped everything on the kraft paper and colored except for the middle balloon, which I stamped on a piece of scrap kraft, colored, and popped up on the card. I did the same with the star. I used my pen to draw the 'hill' and the balloon strings.

• ABC-Birdie Bitties, Middie Messages #2 stamp sets (smARTworks)
• kraft, black CS
• Stazon Jet Black
  
• Prismacolor pencils and OMS
• Sizzix folk star die
• black pen
• pop dots

I don't have a whole lot of time to chat today but I wanted to post these cards. I had fun with the 'Tea Party' yesterday with the Cookies! Can't wait to do it again in a few weeks! Don't forget that you can view all of the cards made by the smARTworks DT by vising From The Cookie Jar ! You'll find the sets we have used so far listed on the left side of the blog.

Hope you guys have a great night! Enjoy your Grey's!!!

smARTworks Tea Party!

Good afternoon everyone! Today will be a pretty fun day because it is the first 'Tea Party' of the smARTworks design team! Every other week (Wednesday) we will be taking turns posting a challenge for ourselves and hopefully you guys as well, if you'd like to join in the fun. This week it is a sketch done by the fab-u-lous Dina from Mama Dini's Stamperia. She is our DT 'momma' and she threatened to take my stamps away if I didn't participate. Just teasing! But isn't that what moms usually do? I know I do! Anyway, this sketch was really fun and as soon as I saw it I knew which smARTworks stamp I wanted to use! He is one of my favorites!! So, without further ado, here is the sketch and the my version of the sketch!



I do have to admit that I completely *heart* this card! It helps though that I also *heart* this snowman oh so much! Can snowmen really get any cuter than this!? And he even has a little birdie on his hand!

• ABC-Starstruck, Middie Messages #2 stamp sets (smARTworks)
• MME 'Front Porch' DP
• Certainly Celery, white CS
• Cuttlebug Swirls EF
• Stazon jet black ink
• aqua painter and re-inkers
• Copic gray marker
• brads, pop dots

Check out the talents of my smARTworks DT buddies! Susan T, Susan L, Dina, Trish, and Donna!

So, if you get a chance sometime this week play along and post your results here! I'd love to see them!!

See ya later alligator!!

Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

Thanks for the *sweet* comments ladies! Here is the recipe for the cream cheese icing:

8 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup butter - softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and softened butter together and then add the sugar and vanilla. I added a food coloring to give mine some color but it makes a really white icing and looks excellent the way it is!

Oh, and for the marshmallows, I just melted the chocolate, stuck the pretzel in the marshmallow, swirled it around in the chocolate, let the excess drip off, coated it in whatever topping I wanted (toffee bits in the pic), and threw it in the fridge for a few to harden. Wow, that was the longest run on sentence ever!

Cupcakes and Marshamallows

Well, I had quite a crafty weeked! I got to make some cards and on Saturday I got in a serious baking mood! Joe had to work this weekend so the girls and I went to the store and got all kinds of baking things. Halloween mini muffin/cupcake cups, white cake mix, an icing decorator gizmo, apples (for home made apple crisp which I haven't made yet), marshmallows, bakers choclate, toffee bits, walnuts, Reeces Pieces, and a few other things. We used most everything! I took a few pics of the final products. I know I have shown you guys my marshmallows before but I have never taken a pic with my 'nice' camera. {grin} So, here they are.




I made the cream cheese icing for the cupcakes myself. I have had this recipe stashed away and can't remember where I got it from. It the the most awesome and simple icing recipe anywhere! And, in my opinion, cream cheese icing is the best icing for any cake! If you want the recipe or have any questions on the marshmallows just leave a comment or email me!

I kind of got in the whole baking mood because our new neighbors who have been building their house across the road all summer have finally moved in. I thought I would bake up a little something and say hello. I've done things like this with neighbors before when we lived in the apartment years ago but I was thanked and then ignored any time I would see them. I told Joe it would be nice if I could make a friendship out of this. I'm not holding my breath though because it's been a no go with others before. Plus, I'm younger than she is and probably won't realize how much better I get along with people 10+ years older than me. Most women at 25 are at a completely different stage in their life than I am right now. But I love where I am and don't feel like running around with gals my age. I think they'd get sick of me talking about my kids all the time!! But really, what else is there to talk about!? They're my life!

Anyway, sorry for the rambling, I got kinda carried away! Here is the card I made for them. I really wanted to use the paper from the BasicGrey Mellow stack of the kids playing in the leaves. So I did. {grin} Actually, all of the paper is from that stack. I pulled out the huge stack of chipboard I got from JoAnns and used the leaf. Gave it 2 coats of acrylic paint and once it dried, sanded it down and slapped it on. I popped up the bottom piece with the playing kids on it too. I think I might do that more often as it really gives nice dimension! I used my edge distresser on the word and stuck it on pop dots. All in all, I like the feel of it. Very fall-ish!

• Purple Onion Designs alpha stamps
• BasicGrey Mellow DP
• Chocolate Chip classic ink
• JoAnn chipboard leaf
• acrylic paint
• fine grit sandpaper
• pop dots, ribbon, star button, twine, edge distresser

Well, now I need to get off here and get the kids ready to go outside. Joe and I took Jolee to get a new 'big girl' bike yesterday since she was riding her other one without training wheels. I thought she would have some trouble riding this one because it was so much bigger but she hopped right on and was doing great! Man she is growing up way too quick!!

Gotta love Doodle Factory!

How can you not love these adorable little guys!? I swear I am so addicted to them! I'm going to be getting a few more! And for those of you who love these guys too, the artist is supposed to be drawing up some holiday/winter ones!! I absolutely cannot wait!!

This one is made with Pip & Oggy. I kind of strayed from my usual colors with this one and I also had a hard time not adding a black matt to every piece. I Versamarked the harlequin pattern on the yellow but it didn't show up so I added some chalk to it to make it stand out a little bit. I paper pierced above the yellow piece also and added stickles around the edges.

• Pip & Oggy, 42.02 The best thing, P25.01 Harlequin BG (Starving Artistamps)
• DCWV CS
• Stazon Jet Black, Versamark inks
• Copic markers
• chalk
• decorative edge scissors
• push pin

For the next one I thought I'd use my DF stamp that I had yet to ink up. This guy is Zot and apparently he is in need of his daily caffeine!

• Zot, 41.02 Alpha (Starving Artistamps)
• Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, kraft, watercolor paper
• Stazon Jet Black, Chocolate Chip inks
• Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Pretty in Pink re-inkers
• Cuttlebug circle embossing folder
• Slit punch
• hole punch

Tracey over at Starving Artistamps will be announcing the rest of her new Design Team soon! And boy did she pick a perfect group of gals!!

Until next time, have a fantastic day!

A little bit Christmas

I have a feeling that if I stepped outside right now I might be blown away. Although, with my 10 lb. weight gain in the last few months, maybe not. It is really windy though and since I am so important to so many people I don't think I'll take the risk. By the way, those 'so many people' are my kids and hubby who depend on me for food and clean clothes!

I feel guilty lately that I haven't been blogging as often as I would like. It seems like when I get a project done, I don't have time to immediately take a picture, resize, watermark, upload, and write an entry. Then, once I realize I don't have time to do it that day I just tell myself that I'll wait to post once I make another card. Sometimes that doesn't happen, sometimes it's a card I can't share yet, and sometimes, just sometimes, I actually make more than one card and still don't have time to post. A lot of that has to do with switching computers to do the photo editing and then switching back to the laptop to post. If I could just do it all on the laptop on the couch while I watch a movie with the kids, it would solve oh so much! Since I use hubby's there is a 'don't load up my laptop with a bunch of programs and pictures so it's turtle slow' rule. Oh well, guess I'll just have to bat my eyelashes for my own!

My Cosmo Cricket chipboard review was posted on Craft Critique today. I did the following project to show how awesome it is!


I used 3 4x4 chipboard coasters, covered them with BasicGrey Fruitcake paper, and sanded the edges. Then I covered the edges with red antique glitter that I found at a yard sale. This is the first time I have used this glitter because I am seriously hoarding it! I have a light gold and green too. Just beautiful! Anyway, I gave each letter 2 coats of acrylic paint and sanded them down too. Added large eyelets and pop dotted them onto the chipboard. As I was making it I was wondering who I could gift it to but the more I thought, I decided to keep it for myself. I always give away the things I make. Not this time. It's a keeper!

• 4x4 heavyweight coasters
• BasicGrey Fruitcake DP
• Cosmo Cricket buck naked chipboard alphas
• green acrylic paint
• fine grit sandpaper
• BasicGrey file set
• eyelets
• glitter
• ribbon
• spiral clip and brad

I really love how this next card turned out! This is an Artful Inkables flower from Starving Artistamps. When I got it I knew I wanted to do something different with it. Since I have been stuck on using kraft paper lately I thought that emboss resist would be the way to go. Well, one thing lead to another and it ended up getting more colorful than what I had first imagined. I'm glad one thing lead to another though!

• KSAI-103 Blossom and leaf, 42.02 Best thing in my life (Starving Artistamps)
• kraft, black CS
• Stazon Jet Black ink, Veramark
• black embossing powder
• Versamagic Cloud White. Pixie Dust, Aloe Vera Chalk ink, Colorbox Rouge chalk ink
• sponges
• ribbon
• push pin

This is also done with all Starving Artistamps products. I actually pulled out my crimper for this one too! Love the brown and the teal together!!

• P24.02 Tight weave, 46.04 Thanks a bunch, 45.12 Snowflakes (Starving Artistamps)
• Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal, white CS
• Chocoalte Chip, Taken with Teal classic ink
• crimper
• sponge
• ribbon

I saved a few to share for tomorrow. Maybe I'll get a chance later tonight to write up my entry so I make sure it can get posted tomorrow.

On my last note of this really long post, I love you guys! Really, I do! I appreciate everyone who visits my blog and leaves encouraging comments and sometimes helps remind me why I love doing this so much! Hope all of you have a great evening!

Just can't wait!

Okay, so as part of Craft Critique we recently got a chance to get some Lizzie Anne Designs stamps! How cool is that!?! When I say recently I mean I got mine yesterday! I just couldn't wait to play! We (CC) will be doing a review on their stuff soon so those of us who recieved their stamps have to make some projects to post. Well, these stamps are so stinkin' easy to use I decided to go ahead and share my first card with you all. However, I will probably have to keep the rest a secret until the Craft Critique articles are posted. Oh, I also used the latest SCS sketch challenge with this too. I think I will be doing that one again! So, here is this beautiful lady in all of her glory!

• Fairy, Fairy Saying (Lizzie Anne Designs) stamps
• Stazon jet black ink
• Copic (body, wings, dress) and ZIG (hair, star) markers
• Chocolate Chip, cream CS
• Floral (Sandylion) and Polka Dots (*I think* Wild Asparagus) DP
• crystal Stickles
• decorative scissors
• pop dots
• push pin

The next one is a super (and I mean SUPER) simple card! No layer! My fave! The boxes are going slightly downhill though but isn't that part of the charm!? I inked up my Stampabilities square and stamped the middle one first so I could *try* and line up the other ones. Then I masked the bottom of the box and stamped my smARTworks flowers in each box. I also added glitter to the flowers with my Stardust jelly roll pen and then swooshed {for lack of a better word} it around with my finger while it was still wet. I also used a push pin for the paper piercing in between the diamonds.

• Flowers FL-18, Delight WD-27 (smARTworks), square (Stapabilities), diamond border (See D's) stamps
• kraft CS
• Versamagic Cloud White chalk ink, Stazon jet black ink
• Stardust gitter pen
• post it (for masking)

The next card is one I did for Jen del Muro's sketch challenge over at i{heart}2stamp. I really liked the card until the very end, when I added the stickles. Adding those things to my red ink totally funkified it! So, for future reference, don't use stickles on dye ink. The green ink is chalk ink and it turned out just fine which makes it look even more weird. Oh well, I'll just send this one to somebody I don't like very much. LOL That's what my cousin Amy and I always say when we aren't thrilled with how something turns out. Then we proceed to say 'I better not see it in MY mailbox!' I miss you Amy! Come visit!

• All of this paper was scrap, so I have no idea who makes it! Sorry!!!!!
• Whimsy Christmas (See D's) stamps
• Colorbox Olive Pastel chalk ink, Real Red classic ink
• Coluzzle circle template
• Stickles
• pop dots

Now I am off to throw some more laundry in the dryer and stamp some more!! Thanks for looking!

Today is reserved for crafting!

Hello! Hello! Hello! I have decided that today will be a very productive craft day for me!! The weather is kind of stinky outside so the kids will be inside all day, I've only got 2 loads of landry to do, and there are a few deadlines that I need to meet. Plus, I deserve it! I didn't even get to stamp on WCMD!! How sad is that! I've only gotten to make 1 card since my post last week so my precious babies {aka my stamps} need some real lovin'! My real precious babies have gotten plenty of lovin' lately, hence the no cards made!

I joined the SCS WishRAK group and I have really enjoyed it so far! My wishes haven't gotten granted as of yet but I have granted 6! That has also kept me a little busy! I really can't imagine all of the work that goes into that though! I wish I had time to volunteer some help but with my DTs, Craft Critique (working on some cool things!), and regular life I have plenty on my plate! I love it though! I love having something to do when I sit down to craft. It cuts down the 'sitting at my table, staring at cardstock, wondering what stamps to use, my brain is melting' time!

By the way, I am in an image swap hosted by babitoons for Stampendous images so if you have a Stampendous stamp and wanna join here is the link. We still need to fill 6 spots so don't be shy!

So, now on to share my slighty stressful news! Monday, Joe rode his bike (motorcycle) into work. He parked it, went inside, changed his pants (has to wear flame retardant clothes), and got paged to go outside. Guess what he sees when he gets outside? His bike laying on top of a another bike, a Harley-Davidson to be exact. WHAT!? Apparently he ran over something on the way into work and when he parked his bike and went inside, his tire went flat. As his tire went flat, it leaned and fell over, resulting in hitting the other bike and knocking it over as well. Who knew!? I guess the other guy was pretty mad at first but cooled down later in the day. We have to have an adjuster come out today and give an estimate on the damages. As much as that sucks, I'm just glad he wasn't on the bike when the tire went flat! Making lemonade from lemons people, lemonade from lemons!

Alright, so I'm going to make one more card before I post both of them. I promise I'll be back by noon with both of my cards! See ya then!!

P.S. I realized that my hit counter is past 31,000 soooooo I'm overdue for blog candy so I am going to think about what I want to do this week and I'll probably post it next week. I'll definitely be throwing lots of images in!

Pirates, bears, and sweets, Oh my!

I definitely have a mix of cards for you guys today but first I want to say that I am so looking forward to Grey's Anatomy tonight!! I was on vacay last week with the season premier so I had to watch it online yesterday (the first chance I have had this week!) and I was pretty impressed! I cannot wait to see what happens with Izzy and George! One part of me hates their relationship because he is married but the other part of me wants him to drop Callie and be with Izzy. How many of you feel the same way?

Alright, I'll get to the cards now. My first one is an invite for my niece's 4th birthday party. They are going to Build a Bear but after that they will go to my sisters house and dig up burried treasure by following a map. I think they will have lots of fun! My sister is going to give out pirate attire as part of the goody bags.

I paper pieced the bottom of the boat and the brown flag. I also paper pieced the sail but popped it up. I tore the paper for the waves, chalked it to darken it a bit, and added stickles. I also added hair to the pirates on the invites that were going to girls.

• Ahoy Matey (SU) stamp sets
• Bashful Blue, Creamy Caramel, white CS
• Copic markers (except for the pants)
• stickles
• pop dots
  

The next one is for the same sisters birthday. It is the first time I have gotten to use my Tier of Treats stamp. I just love that stamp! I also got to try out flocking for the first time. They had 2 pack for 1.99 at Hobby Lobby plus 40% off so you know I couldn't pass it up! I got 4 different colors, light green, pink, white, and blue. There wasn't a yellow in sight (obviously not a Christmas color) otherwise I would have snatched that up too! They did have pack of red and green though so I'll probably get that next time I am in. Anyway! I flocked all of the pink, white, and green on this card. You can't really tell but it looks (and feels) really cute in person!

• Tier of Treats (Stampendous), 1/8 inch snap (Karen Foster) stamps
• MME and SEI patterned paper
• black, white CS
• Stazon jet black ink
• Copic and ZIG markers (can YOU tell the difference?)
• glue pen
• ric rac
• pop dots

The next two are for my design team for Starving Artistamps. These stamps seem to make my creativity flow so easily! Although I have noticed that I seem to do a lot of cards that focus on the left side. If you take a took at all of the creations I posted today you will see what I am saying! I guess it's just a 'classic' way to layout a card. I am going to challege myself though that for the next 5 cards I make I won't do one that looks so similar to these in layout. I don't think it will be too hard. At least I hope not. {wink}

I ran a piece of Bashful Blue through my Sizzix with the snowflake Cuttlebug die and then I dragged my Versamagic Cloud White ink pad over the top to highlight the snowflakes just a little bit. I highlighted the bear with my gray Copic marker **If you never get any other Copic marker, invest in the gray one! You will not be dissapointed!!!!** and added some flocking to hs hair, ears, and the hair on his legs. Once I was done with that I colored under him with my blue C. (Copic) marker and added stickles and a black line.

• Polar Bear KSAI-317 (Starving Artistamps) stamp
• Bashful Blue, white, black CS
• Satzon jet black, Versamagic cloud white chalk inks
• Cuttlebug snowflakes embossing folder
• Copic Markers
• glue pen & white flocking
• black pen
• stickles
• ribbon

This one highlights the fall/winter scene from the set of two from SA. I wanted to make the colors very muted so after I colored them with my Prismacolors and OMS I sponged Chocolate Chip over the whole piece. I also used the new Mellow paper from BasicGrey. Now that is a sick obession of mine! BG paper! But that's a whole other story! **sidenote: When I just typed 'whole other' I wanted to type 'whole nother'. LOL That's how I say it out loud.....whole nother.**

• Tree Duo KSAI-208 (Starving Artistamps) stamp
• BasicGrey Mellow DP
• Chocolate Chip ink
• Prismacolors and OMS
• brads
• push pin

I also decided to start labeling my posts. I think I am going to try and go back and label most of my previous posts from this year too. I never even noticed it in the beginning and then when I did notice it I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Now, after browsing through blogs that have easy ways to get to the cards you wanna see, I definitely think it's important. So, keep an eye out for it!

Gotta go! Have a great TV night Grey's fans!!