I'm Late, I'm Late, For a Very Important Date!!

I have to be at my MIL's in one hour for lunch, and I haven't taken a shower yet, do you think I am going to make it!! I cased two of this week's featured stamper's fabulous cards this week. Congrats to you BeckyTE!!! They are pretty self explanatory, so I am not going to go into a lot of detail. The first one is based on her card here, and the second on this one here. Thanks for looking, and I will be back later to add more details!!

EDIT!! Hi all, I am back from my MIL's with a killer headache. Note to self: When celebrating St. Patricks Day, drink the green margaritas in moderation!!! I am not a drinker, at all, and we had a few, ahemmm, glasses of margaritas with lunch, complete with colorful salt!! SOOO yummy, but wowee, who knew such a big girl could get tipsy over a few glasses of margaritas!! I need to practice more or something!!

Tag You're It!

I got tagged by my SCS and blogging buddy Chat aka nitestamper, to list 7 random or unknown facts about myself, so I definitely wanted to play!!

1. I am scared to death to climb ladders. I don't know what it is, but I am terrified of them!!

2. I started working when I was 14yrs(almost 15), and worked up until the summer before my 29th birthday. For that entire time, I held at least one job, sometimes two, and at one point three. So when people ask me why I don't work now I tell them, besides the obvious reason(I don't have to), I need a break!!

3. I was an honor roll student all throughout high school and college, but dropped out to be a Nanny for a Dr. and her husband. I worked and lived with them for 5 yrs. Sometimes I wish I had finished school, since I can't really get a good job without a college degree, but I wouldn't give up one day with the girls I used to take care of. I haven't been their nanny for almost 4yrs now, and not a day goes by that I don't miss them!!

4. My husband and I have been trying to have a baby since we got married 31/2 years ago. We both have infertility issues that are working against each other, so we have to have a lot of help. I refuse to give up though,!! Being a mom is the only thing I ever really wanted to be.

5. I cry A LOT!! I cry at movies, commercials, TV shows,(my #4 made me cry)comments people leave me, songs, you name it. I can cry on demand and it drives my husband bananas!

6. I hate to wear jewelry. In fact, I have to force myself to wear my wedding rings.

7. Last but not least(and by far the most embarrassing), up until about 3yrs(rough estimate)I couldn't tell my right from my left without thinking about it. I would have to hold up both hands in front of my face to be able to see which one was which. Can we say LOSER!!! Now isn't that the saddest thing!!! I was on the math team in high school and only had 1 B my entire high school career!! I was in the honor society for both hs and college, and still had to think about right and left. My family and friends finally gave up on me and started pointing instead of saying right from left. You know what they say though, sometimes people who are book smart have no street smarts!!

Well thanks for reading this!! I want to tag people, but I don't want to force anyone, so I am going to put your names here, but I am not gonna make you do it, OK!!
Linsey-Outside the Lines
Lee-My Reality, it's all good!!
Lesa- Punkydoodle Papers
Laura-scrapnextras
Carolina-Carolina's Creative Pad
and anyone else who wants to play!! If you choose to, send me a link to your post, so I can get to know you all better too!! Now, I really need to go to bed!!

I Finally Did It!!

No, I'm not done with Easter, yet!! Sorry for the false alarm!! What I was referring to is the fact that I finally made my chick from my Just So Hoppy set, hop!! I don't know why, but I just LOVE this Chickie, don't you!! I am exhausted from helping my Mom move today, so I am not going to ramble one, but I wanted to participate in the inspiration challenge for today. It was this SUPER CUTE clothing line called Candy Toss. It is so sweet!! The colors on the clothing are much brighter, but I did start with brighter colors, I just couldn't get it to work out the way I wanted. I thought this paper would work though, cause I think it is a fun pattern. It is from my DCWV Glitter Stack. I paired it with Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery and Lavender Lace. This card also works for Beates weekend sketch challenge. The main image is stamped on Whisper White with Black Stazon and is colored in with SU markers and my aqua painter. The sky was painted on with my AP and Bashful Blue ink pad. I hand drew the dots on the layered sentiment and put some colorful brads in it for some added embellishment(you know how I LUV my brads)!! That's all for me now!! Thanks for looking and have a great day!!

stamps-Just So Hoppy by Gina K.
paper- Pretty in Pink, Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery, Whisper White and DCWV Glitter Stack
ink- Black stazon and Bashful Blue
tools-SU markers, aqua painter, soft subtle brads, pink organdy, key tag-scallop-and circle punches, white gel pen, prismacolor grey marker

Easter Tulips

I went to a SU party tonight for a friend of mine, and man was it fun. I always love getting together with friends to do something I love. We talk, eat, stamp, and goof off, can't beat it. She had an awesome turnout, and was $600+ by the time we left, woohoo!!! That never happens to me when I host a party. I am a demo, but I still go to her parties to support her and my friend Lyndee, who is her demonstrator. Lyndee rocks, and lets me still have the demo discount(part of the reason why I still order, cause let's face it, if she didn't I probably wouldn't, I mean it only makes since, right!!). I think she knows that I would totally give her the discount too!!!

I got home, and of course, was having computer withdrawals, so I had to get on SCS and see if the Limited Supplies Challenge was posted, and it was!!! The challenge was to make a card using no specialty tools.......say WHAT!!!! No punches, no cuttlebug, no paper piercer, nothing. Be still my heart, can you make a card without that stuff??? Well, of course you can, but why would you, unless someone challenged you to do it!!! This card was so simple, and took about 10 minutes to make from start to finish. I don't know if it is my favorite card I have ever made, but I still like it. I made it to send to some of my more religious family members, you know the ones who think the Easter bunny isn't what Easter is all about, which is true(but I still LOVE my bunnies!!). It was stamped with Timber Brown Stazon on Whisper White and colored with SU markers. I put Crystal effects on it, layered it with Chocolate Chip and it was done. The rest of the card is pretty self explanatory, and I just want to go on record and say, I did not use a punch for the tag or the brads, I hand cut the shape behind the hardware and just poked the brads through the paper. That's all for me know, lots to do, and I still need to figure out when I am going to sleep. Thanks for looking and have a great day!!
Stamps-Both Way Blossoms and All Holidays
paper-Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Spring Flowers
ink-Timber Brown Stazon
tools-stylized silver hardware, SU markers, chocolate chip satin ribbon

GRRRRRRRR!!!

I learned a valueable lesson today- do not mess with things you do not understand. Case in Point, my camera. You see, it all started the other day when I took a picture of me and my dh. It was one of those ones where you hold the camera out as faaaaaaaaarrrrrrr as your arms can reach and put your heads really close together. It was the first time that we had both been cleaned up in a long time, and I wanted to post a picture of us so everyone could see my wonderful man. When I went to download it, the file size was HUGE!! I don't have a professional photo shop program(something I do need to purchase along with a computer that doesn't suck), so there wasn't a whole lot I could do with the picture to resize it. I used to have a program that worked, but ever since my computer freaked out, I haven't been able to get it to work, and rather than fix the old one, I am just going to get a new one, I just haven't got that far yet. Anyway, I started messing around on my camera and going through all the menu options. I found an option that said image size, hmmmmmm, so, I clicked on it, and saw that I was using the largest image possible. Soooooooo, I scrolled down and picked the smallest image, it asked me if I was sure and I thought, well ya, I clicked it didn't I??? Oh boy, I wasn't sure at all, let me tell you!!! It deleted my ENTIRE memory card!! The whole thing!!! I am so MAAAAAAAADDDDDDDD!!! I had pictures from my nieces birthday on there that I hadn't developed, pictures of my puppy, my friend's daughters birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, you name it. Yes I know, I should have had them developed a long time ago, but who knew!! Let me just say, lesson learned. So anyway, for the next couple of days, I am going to be messing with the settings, trying to get it the way I want it. What can I hurt now, I already deleted everything right??

My card today is for the Ways To Use It challenge over on SCS, which was to use no white or vanilla, and only one solid cardstock for the base. Basically, you have to use DP on every layer, even to stamp on. I have to admit, the challenge kind of overwhelmed me, so I struggled for a few minutes, and then it came to me-RUB ONS!!! These things are super fabulous, and free with a $50 purchase from now until the 17th, so if you haven't got any yet, call me, call your demo, email me, email your demo, just get some, they are worth their weight in gold,IMHO. I started with a Pretty in Pink Base and sponged the edges with Regal Rose and Chocolate Chip. All of the paper is from the Basic Grey Two Scoops collection. I will be honest and say that when I get a DP and the back side is a solid and not another pattern, I hate it, but It really came in handy today!! I used the Rub-ons for the butterflies and the sentiment, which is a little hard to see in photo but it says "A small thing done in great Love is a great thing", pretty right!! I rubbed the butterflies on to the paper and trimmed around them. Put some white brads in a lot of the corners, and made that pretty bow(attached with a pop dot) and it was done. Any questions? If so, just ask, I always try to answer, emphasis on the word try. Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!!

stamps-none

ink-Regal Rose and Chocolate Chip

paper-Pretty in Pink and Basic Grey Two Scoops

tools-white brads, pink organdy, and rub ons

I Love a Challenge!!

What a fun time I had at the Gina K. release party on Monday. If you can keep up, which is terribly hard to do on dial-up(I know wahhh-wahhh), it is a ton of fun, and the conversation is always interesting. The design team had some fabulous samples, and the new sets are awesome!! During the party there were 4 challenges issued. The first was a sketch challenge, the second was a scrapbook sketch challenge, the third was a color challenge, and the last one was to make a scene. I am not really a scrapbooker, so I only participated in three of the challenges. You can check out the challenges in the Gina K. member forum over on SCS. You have until tomorrow night to upload your cards, so there is still time to enter!!! I may get brave before then and make a scrapbook page, but it doesn't seem likely!! Anyway, onto my cards!! The first on was made using the Gina K. stamps for a cause stamp set How Sweet It Is. My cousin Mandy just had a baby boy, so I am going to send it to her. I stamped the stork in black Stazon on Whisper White. I colored it in using my SU markers and my aquapainter. I then outlined it in Prismacolor cool grey marker. It was matted with Ballet Blue and Bashful Blue. I ran the white piece through my cuttlebug with my new Perfectly Paisley folder. The bottom sentiment was also stamped with black Stazon and layered the same. The brads are from SU Soft Subtles and Rich Regals brads. I used a strip of paper from the SU Prints Pack and created the layered scallops with my corner rounder. I thought it needed a little, so I added the silver clips with ribbon on them. All of the ribbon is SU except for the dark blue gingham, which is by American Crafts.

The second card was for the third challenge which was a color challenge. I will go ahead and say that I don't like this color combo, BUT I do LOVE my card!!! I stamped the kangaroo from the Gina K. set Just So Hoppy. I colored it with my SU markers and blended it with my aquapainter. I outlined it too, because I really think that it makes it pop!! The balloons were stamped separately, colored with markers, and then had crystal effects put all over them. I don't know why, but the photo looks a little wonky, but it looks really good in person (IMHO). I hand drew in the lines for the balloons. The sentiment is from the retired SU set Riveting. It was stamped once in Taken With Teal and once with Pumpkin Pie. I layered them all together along with the other challenge color Soft Sky, punched holes in the scallops, and added a couple of silver brads The top panel is the challenge colors plus a piece of DP from Bali Breeze(SU). I put three white brads in the top and it was done!! This card measures 5 1/4square by the way!!

My final card is for the fourth challenge, which was to make a scene. Well, we all know I LOVE to do that. I stamped the image with black Stazon on watercolor paper. I used the bunny and tulip from Just So Hoppy, the grass stamp is from the Whipper Snapper set Spring has Sprung. I colored it in with SU markers and blended it with my aquapainter. The colors on this are Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and Lavender Lace. I think it is pretty easy to figure out, and this post is terribly long, so I am going to leave it at that!! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me!! Thanks for visiting, and have a great day!!!

Sketch Challenge

Okay, so if you came to visit me in the last, we'll say 30 minutes, I am an airhead!! I push enter instead of tab all the time, and post before I have done anything!! I guess I could call it my own little way of building suspense!!LOL Speaking of suspense, go check out Melanie Muenchinger's blog(she's listed over there in the blogs I stalk), she posted her Hoppy Mentions today, and guess who was mentioned, ME along with some other SUPER talented ladies, including my favorite blogging buddies(you know who you are, ALL of you)!!! I am so excited!! I love what I do, and I hope others do to, but it always helps to get a little affirmation, if you know what I mean. Anytime I am having trouble with a card, or life in general, I go to my gallery(or my blog) and read all the wonderful comments people leave me. They really help me through the rough spots and the blah days!! My card tonight is for today's sketch challenge over on SCS. I LOVED this sketch, and will probably use it often. It is so simple, but you really can do some cute stuff with it. I wanted to go all out, and really bling it up, but I got to the point where it is at, and thought, you know what, this is cute, leave it alone!! Sometimes I can spend an hour embellishing something that took me 5 minutes to put together, am I alone in this??? I stamped the chick from Just So Hoppy with Black Stazon on Whisper White, colored it with markers, went over it with an aquapainter, and then cut it out with my circle nesties. I drew the white dots on with my white gel pen, because I was in a dotty mood!! The rest is pretty easy to figure out, but as always, if you have ANY questions, just ask!!! I am always around to answer any questions anyone has!! Thanks for looking and have a great day!!

stamps-Just So Hoppy
paper-Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery CS and DSP, and Prints Pack
tools-SU markers, aquapainter, cirlce nesties, cuttlebug, swiss dots folder, white taffeta, blue and celery grosgrain, white gel pen, prismacolor marker cool grey

Color Challenge

Tonight at the Gina K. release party Emily gave us a sneak peak at the color challenge, so I went straight to work(after the party was over of course). I knew I needed a thank you card, so I decided I would use this challenge for my card. The colors are Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black, and Basic Grey. I thought and thought of how I could use them for Easter, but decided since I needed this, it would work so much better!! The image is from Rubbernecker and can be found in the Stamp Oasis section. I stamped it with black Stazon on watercolor paper and used my markers and aquapainter. I used a heck of a lot of black tie pearl brads from Bazil, but I love the elegance they have to them. I really think the rest is pretty self explanatory, so if you have any questions please don't hesistate to ask. I did get a question yesterday about Nestabilities and the cuttlebug, and the answer is yes, you can use the Nesties with your bug(Ellen Hutson has a great tutorial on it). Thanks and have a great day!!
Stamps- All Holiday, Hearty Vase
ink- Black Stazon
paper- Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black and Basic Grey, Very Vanilla
tools- aquapainter, SU markers, stylized silver hardware, black pearl brads, black organdy

More Easter....we're almost done!!

I really, really, want to be able to be done with my Easter cards, so today I stamped out three scenes using Melanie Muenchinger's set Just So Hoppy and got to coloring!! She has created two of my all time favorite sets in the WORLD, which quite frankly is saying a lot, and tonight will release two more that I am sure I will not be able to live without. I know that one of them, thanks to sneak peeks, will be used for decorating altoid tins. As soon as I saw this I thought to myself, that girl is a genius!!! I can't wait to party tonight over on the Gina K. forum and see what other new goodies we have in store!! All of these cards, as I said before, were done using the Gina K. set, Just So Hoppy. I stamped all the images on Whisper White with Black Stazon, then colored them in with my SU markers and aquapainter. The only stamps that aren't Gina K. in these scenes are on the frog one. The grass stamp and the tulip are not from that set. I had stamped and colored that tulip(from My Favorite Things' Eggstra Special) and hadn't used it, so I cut it out for this card. The grass stamp I got from JoAnn's but I have no idea who it is by, but I think it is perfect for a water scene!! The colors I used on the frog card are Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace and Prints Pack DSP. I cut out the frog and tulip and popped them up. The ribbon is from American Crafts(blue gingham) and Embellish Online. I used my matt pack to punch the holes along the bottom, I am loving the way this looks on cards right now. The second card with the bunny, used Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery and the prints pack. I did some ribbon tabs with pink gingham and taffeta from SU. The last card is Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Lavender Lace, and the Prints Pack. The ribbon is white taffeta and blue gingham, both from SU, and green polka dot from Embellish Online. I was missing my button brads so I had to throw a few on here. Well that is all for me now, got a lot of commenting to do and not a whole lot of time!! Thanks for looking and have a great day!!
stamps-Just So Hoppy, Eggstra Special, and Prarie Grass
paper- Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Lavender Lace, and Prints Pack
ink-Black Stazon, Bashful Blue
tools-aquapainter, SU markers, button brads, ribbon, scalloped circle punch, circle punches, key tag punch, matt pack

Happy Sunday!!

I have to go to a visitation today for my dh's Granny's best friend. She died suddenly from a heart attack and it has really hit Granny hard. Since most of you don't know me personally, one thing you need to know is that this is my least favorite thing to do. I don't handle death, mourning, or funerals well at all, but really, who does. I know it is the right thing to do to go, but I seriously have to force myself. In fact, I refuse to make sympathy cards ahead of time because I don't want to think about having to give them away, so I don't make them. I had a couple of cards laying around that would work for a sympathy card, so I didn't have to make one for today, but I did make another Easter card to cheer myself up. I started with Lavender Lace, then Certainly Celery, Barley Banana, and then Whisper White which I got to run through my Cuttlebug with my new folder Swiss Dots. I tell you what, I had to look all over for this thing, and everywhere that said they had it, would be sold out. I finally went to Embellish Online the other day and saw that they had it in stock, so I hurried up and ordered it, before it disappeared again. All three ribbons that are used on this card were bought by the yard at Embellish Online too, yummy right!! The images were stamped in Black Stazon on Whisper White. They are from the Gina K. set Just So Hoppy. I colored it in with my SU markers and aquapainter. I cut out the image and all the layers using my classic circles and scallop circles nestabilities. I still believe that Nestabilities along with the Cuttlebug are by far the most genius things I have bought in a long time. I put my three button brads up in the top corner, and it was done. Any questions, feel free to comment or send me an email, I am usually pretty quick to answer. Thanks for looking and have a great day!!

stamps- Just So Hoppy and Spring has Sprung

paper-Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Lavender Lace and Whisper White

ink-Black Stazon and Bashful Blue

tools-button brads, ribbon, aquapainter, SU markers, Swiss Dots, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug