enjoy

Hello, friends! Happy Friday! :) I don't know about you, but for me, it's been a LONG week. I'm ready for a little R&R! ;)

Here's a card that was inspired by a sketch from over at the Retro Sketches Blog a few weeks ago. I loved this one:


I kinda turned it over.. up and around.. exercised some creative liberties, ;) and voilá!


I love the Untitled Word Shadow set. Lots of fun technique possibilities with reverse-silhouette images like this, but here, I just did some simple stamping and coloring with my Prismacolor pencils.


If you want to use this technique with these stamps, make sure your pencils are really sharp! The details in the images are so fine, they require a nice pointy tip to keep it looking neat... quite unlike what I did here, LOL! By the way, Sahara Sand card stock (Stampin' Up) is the PERFECT match to the Wet Cement (Hero Arts mid-tone shadow ink)!

Thanks for stopping by and reading today... I hope you "enjoy" your weekend, heehee! ;)

SUPPLIES
stamps: Hero Arts AC005 & CG139
inks: Colorbox Frost White pigment & Hero Arts Wet Cement mid-tone Shadow Ink
paper: Stampin Up, Georgia Pacific, The Paper Studio
misc: white embossing powder & heat tool, Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Circles dies, Prismacolor pencils, Hero Arts pearls, WRMK Corner chomper, and pop dots

Welcome!

Here it is! My new "home"... I hope you like it. :)

Have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you here on Monday with some really exciting news!

greetings from tennessee

Hey, there! Just a quick post to say that I'm still alive and well.. err, how about just 'alive'? LOL Not sure how "well" I am just yet - this was definitely a tough move... WOW. However, I'm glad to have it behind me and am looking forward to the exciting adventure that awaits in discovering my new surroundings. :)

And, I've even been stamping! Yay! LOL It took a little while for my mojo to find its way out here, but it finally arrived. ;) I'll have something to share soon, as the cards I've made recently are for friends who *may* just read my blog... wanna keep things a surprise. ;)

Thanks so much for stickin' with me all this time. Be back real soon!

checking in

Hey there. :) I realized it's been a while since I last updated my blog, so I thought I'd check in with an update.

Lots goin' on of course, to get ready for our move, but I'm also working on a few major projects right now. I'm finishing up my sister's wedding favors (she gets married 10/10), as well as starting on TWO Christmas card orders that I got this year! Gotta say, THAT was exciting... to know that not just one, but TWO people love my work enough to want ME to make their holiday cards just blows me away! :D So anyway, for obvious reasons, those things need to be kept private. ;) And with everything else that's going on, I really haven't had a lot of time to sit and stamp just for me, therefore I have nothing to show you at the moment. :)

Next week begins the countdown until our move. We are just a few weeks away, so I probably won't be posting anything until after we're settled. By then, it's almost the holidays, and *whew*! The REAL craziness begins! LOL Anyway, just wanted to post a quick update. If anyone needs to get ahold of me right away, just click "Email me" over in my sidebar. Thanks for reading and for your patience... talk to y'all soon! ♥

back 2 blogging

Hi, there! :) I'm back on the web, looking forward to sharing once again. Unfortunately, I was unable to stamp much during my hiatus, and what little I have done has been for publications. But I promise to have something to see very soon. ;)

I sincerely appreciate those who have stuck with me all this time, checking in and sending me emails... and I plan on showing my gratitude for that very, very soon. ;)

i didn't fall off the planet...

... just taking a bit of a break. My hubby is taking some vacation time right now, we're starting a new year of (home) school, I have lots of projects I'm worknig on for SNR that I obviously can't show... everything's just crazy busy at the moment.

Hope things are going well with you! More soon. :)






9/11/01 - We will never forget.....

*SQUEAL*

I apologize that there's nothing to see again today. Even though I do have a couple cards ready to be photographed, I'm just super busy with some other stuff at the moment. Life, ya know? ;)

BUT... I do have some really cool news that I can hopefully share soon! So stay tuned! :D

Thanks for visiting! :)





**Comments have been disabled for this post.**

*EXHALE*

It's been absolutely killin' me, but look at the big secret I've been keeping.....

My card featured on the Hero Arts Blog!!!

Isn't the blog awesome?! Daily doses of inspiration, special guests, challenges, prizes... for a HUGE Hero fan such as myself, this blog is a dream come true!

My love affair with stamping began with a Hero Arts stamp. It's a surreal, come-full-circle feeling to have a card of mine featured on their website. I can't even BEGIN to describe the thrill...

I know it's been a while, but now that I don't have to worry about letting anything slip LOL, I'll start posting again. Thanks for sharing in my excitement! :)

A major facelift and LOTS of projects...

...that I just can't post yet. Sorry, I know I said I would have something to look at very soon, and I did! Weren't the flowers lovely?! Kidding. :) The projects I'm currently working on are for friends who *might possibly* read my blog. ;) So in order to maintain the element of surprise, I've decided I must refrain from posting until said projects are received by said friends. LOL

Brown says I can expect my Stampin' Up SAB order to arrive tomorrow. YAY - new toys! :D It's been quite a while since I last ordered, but a little leftover birtday money took care of that. ;) I can't wait to get them all cut, mounted, and inked up. There will definitely be something to see once that happens!

In other news, I thought I'd freshen up the ol' blog a little bit. What do you think? For those who have visited my blog since its inception... did you ever think that someday I might actually abandon the black? Yeah, me either. LOL But I really like how it turned out! "Custom" header and all. ;)

Time to get back to work. I haven't been doing so well with the resolutions lately. Eek! Have a great day and thank you for taking the time to stop by. :)

WOW!

So I won the circle/dot challenge over at the bucket, AND my wee little ol' blog made the 10,000 hit mark! :D Maybe I should run out and play the Lotto while I'm at it?! LOL ;)

Chirp, chirp, chirp!

That's 'bug' for "Happy, happy, happy!" :) Look what my darling hubby gave me for my birthday last night:


Isn't he cute?! :D

It was a complete and total surprise, since I thought we had agreed that he wasn't to get me anything. But being the sweetest hubby in the world, he said he just couldn't agree to that. :)


We were shopping at Sam's Club a couple weekends ago and I saw this box over in the office supply section, near the registers. I casually checked it out, remarking that with everything the pack included (three cartridges instead of one as well as the tool kit), it was a pretty good bargain. But that was it. I've always admired the Cricut, but never really thought that it was something that I needed... especially considering the cost. And I was more than content with my li'l Cuttlebug that I received for Mother's Day last year.


Apparently though, Hubster has always wanted to get me a Cricut, after seeing them at Michael's that day he took the kids to pick out my Mother's Day gift. (Men... they always gravitate toward the fancy, schmancy electronics, don't they?! ;) LOL) The kids insisted that it was the 'Bug I really wanted, so he eventually gave in to the majority. :) But when he saw the Cricut again at Sam's, and after hearing me mention that it was a good deal, he knew he wouldn't be able to resist and had to get it for me this time. And I LOVE IT!!! Thank you, honey! XOXO

And my wonderful, sweet friend Tami also spoiled me! Look at all the yummy goodies she sent:


Stamps, ribbon, carms, and of course, lots of BLING! ;) All wrapped in this gorgeous, white, embossed paper, and enclosed with an absolutely STUNNING birthday card! Honestly, it's the most beautiful card ever... it looks like it was professionally manufactured, that's how incredible it is! I certainly don't want to steal her thunder or mislead anyone by posting it here, so instead, I will direct you to her rockin' fab gallery. Watch for it to be posted soon! Trust me, you don't want to miss it. ;) And thank you so very much, my friend. You are such a sweetheart and so thoughtful. :) Hugs!

And thank you to my girlie, Dawn, for her lovely, thoughtful birthday card, too! I hope you know your friendship and support mean the world to me, and I am so, SO grateful. :) To everyone who remembered me on my birthday... THANK YOU. :)

I promise I'll post a card (maybe two) real soon. This last week has been so distracting for me, but I vow to get back on track. ;) Thank you for stopping by today... have a good one!

Update (EDIT)

Just a quick note to say that my Dr. appt. went well. :) The specialist was not quite as alarmed/concerned about my situation as the optometrist was, and he's decided to take a 'wait and see' approach, for now. I go back in two months. We celebrated by enjoying a fabulous dinner at Joe's Crab Shack (yummy!) and saw The Spiderwick Chronicles. Good movie! Very interesting.

As for stamping, I don't usually get much done on the weekends when hubby's off, but now that it's Monday, its time to crack the whip. ;) I want to do a few more cards for the circle/dot challenge over at the bucket, and I also have TWO scrapbook layouts to do in order to keep one of my '08 crafting resolutions. I've made my Christmas cards this month, as promised, but because many of the recipients of those cards read my blog, I don't think I should post pictures. You'll just have to take me on my word. ;)

I should have something to post in a day or two. Hope you have a wonderful week and thanks for checking in! :)

EDIT TO ADD: Shame on me for not thanking those that held me in their thoughts this weekend. Thank you so, SO MUCH... from the bottom of my heart. :)

Checkin' in

Hey there. :) Just a quick note to say that I've been a little distracted with some concerning health issues lately. A visit to my optometrist's on Saturday revealed an issue that requires immediate testing and an evaluation with a specialist (neuro opthalmologist). I had another Dr.'s visit this morning, and I have an appointment with the specialist on Friday. I'm holding postitive thoughts, though! ;)

Anyway, my mind has been preoccupied and I haven't done much stamping as a result. But I hope to have something to post in a day or two. See you soon and thank you so much for stopping by today. :)

Crafty Resolutions For 2008

1. CREATE MORE! (this means MAKING THE TIME... I am SO bad at that...)
2. blog more (heh heh...)
3. make a card for every single occasion (no more running off to Halmark at the last minute because I couldn't get a card done that I was content with - just GET THEM DONE!)
4. make cards for no occasion at all... and send them :)
5. make (at least) 1 card a week
6. make 3 Christmas cards a month
7. make 2 scrapbook layouts a month
8. use more of what I have
9. spend less (yeah, right... LOL)
10. BE HAPPY WITH WHAT I CREATE

What are your crafty resolutions for 2008? :)

Here we go again...

I have SO many projects I need to get done, as well as a bunch of new ideas that I really want to try out. But lately, I just can't seem to get my ideas to come to a satisfactory fruition. And that makes me not want to play AT ALL.

I'm feeling really insecure about my work lately, too. I think I'm falling into the infamous trap of comparing my work to all the other incredible talent out there and letting that intimidate me, which ultimately, makes me unhappy with anything I might try to do.

I think it's time to take a break from the galleries and blogs for a bit.......



ETA: The intent of this post was merely to vent and in no way to garner validation, therefore I have temporarily disabled comments.☺

Greetings... from 5,280 feet up!

Hello! Thanks for visiting. :) I know it's been a while... quite a while! After moving and unpacking, I decided to take the rest of the summer off. Completely. No blogging or (hardly any) stamping... nothing but taking our time getting settled in and discovering our new surroundings. What an adventure this all has been! :)

In a nutshell, we are really loving it out here. Of course for us hot, dried out desert rats, the weather has taken some getting used to, but we're certainly not complaining! ;) I've also been quite surprised by the people out here and their attitude toward life - very friendly, very laid back, very family oriented. I guess I've just become so jaded by big city life and living so close to the west coast. ;) All in all, we felt right at home as soon as we got here and are excited about what the future holds. :)

As for stamping, I haven't done much, I'm sorry to say. Being in this new house has afforded me my very own stamping/scrapping space, which sounds exciting, doesn't it?! :D However, coming from a house where the only space I was able to create at was the dining room table, I had no furniture for my new "room" (which is technically the formal dining room). And no furniture meant no stamping! Being on a very restrictive budget as a result of the move originally left me a little perplexed as to how I was going to furnish my new digs. But I managed to come up with something. ;) Stay tuned for a tour of my very first, ever so humble, (but MINE-ALL-MINE), brand new, craft space! :D

As for the blog, I debated closing it down, feeling bad for having "neglected" it for so long. But, after gaining a little perspective and remembering why I started it up in the first place, I decided to keep it going. ;) Since deciding to continue the blog, I have made a few changes. Obviously, the URL is different... so be sure to change your bookmark accordingly. I also removed my slideshow viewer (for those on dial-up), a few miscellaneous buttons, and all but one of my stat/rank counters. I've also taken down the FeedBlitz sign up box, but if enough people would rather receive updates by email, and make those preferences known to me, I will strongly reconsider using it again. These are just a few things that I found myself putting too much focus on, instead of what the blog is truly meant to be about, so I hope my changes don't offend or inconvenience anyone. I've also added a LOT more blog links over in my sidebar! The small amount of blog hopping I've done this summer has revealed a plethora of talent out there that I'm sure you will enjoy, so take a look! :)

I have several things in the works for the next couple weeks... Diane tagged me back in April, so I'm going to get back to that first... there's some tips to share and perhaps even a pic tutorial on using Perfect Layers that I'm thinking about doing (so many people have a difficult time visualizing how this product works, that I've decided to try my best at an explanation - it's one of my favorite and most-used tools, so I really want to try to help people understand it)... then there's the previously mentioned tour of my new space... a couple of cards too, of course... I even plan on celebrating my belated one-year blog anniversary with a modest treat. ;) So check back whenever you can and thanks again for reading. Have a great weekend! :)

Checking In

Hey there. I know it's been a while since I've stamped or posted anything... AGAIN.

Unfortunately, this move has completely monopolized all of my time. And even when I do manage to salvage a few precious minutes for myself, I find I'm just too exhausted to create. So, I've decided to put away my stamps and "close down" the blog until we get completely moved and settled, which should be another 2-4 weeks. The fewer 'pulls' and 'things to do' I have hanging over my head for the time being, the better! ;)

Now's a good time to take advantage of the FeedBlitz sign up box over in the sidebar, if you haven't already. Guaranteed privacy, safe and spam-free, it's the best way to know when I've started posting again (without having to check my blog all the time) because it will send the new post directly to your email inbox. I've also heard that IE 7 and Google have feed trackers that you can use, too.

Anyway, I hope you are well and ask that you hold positive thoughts for us in the next few weeks - we sure could use them! Even though I don't get to sit and create all that often to begin with, not knowing exactly when I'll be able to again makes me kind of sad. I miss it already. :( But, the time will come... eventually. LOL

Meanwhile, ink a stamp for me! ☺
XOXO

(PS - If you have sent me a PM or an email recently, I humbly and sincerely appreciate your patience until I can get back to you.)

Can you relate?

Ever have those days where you sit down to create and and you just can't make ANYTHING come together right? I have all of these really great ideas swirling around in my head right now but no matter what I do, I just can't seem to get any of them to work.

**sigh**

And I get so little time to sit down and play as it is..... :(

Happy birthday, indeed!

I must say, considering I'm officially another year older today, :P the week has started out pretty well! On Sunday, my huge family of in-laws all got together for a yummy birthday dinner (surf -n- turf at The Keg!) and afterwards, hubs gave me my present. (He can never give them to me on my birthday... he always gives me my gifts early. Fine by me. LOL) Wanna hint as to what it was?



Or how about this? Does this give you a better idea? ;)



:D


Is it totally wrong that my new baby was the last thing on my mind before going to sleep and the first thing on my mind when I woke up the next day?! ROFL Hopefully my scrappin' friends will understand. ;)

I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how over the moon I am...... :)

ETA: Can you imagine the kind of shots I'm going to get once we move out to gorgeous, scenic Colorado?! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Future Rubber Stamper In Training

Remember that big SU order I got recently? Well, I'm happy to report that I FINALLY got it all cut and mounted! :D But not without a little help.....


My youngest daughter, making a silly face and having immense fun with the rubber remnants. No, I did not put her up to it... I took a break from my feverish mounting at one point and just found her like this. She's my adorable little ham helper. ;) Anyway, I came across this photo when retrieving my Christmas card pic from my camera the other day and just had to share. :)

Happy weekend!