Mudder's Day Budderflies...

Getting caught up before I show off some of my other creations with my new stamps. I am so not a pastel colors kinda gal...but his one was so soft and pretty when I finished it. I love those little pearl sticky embellishment things from Hobby Lobby...I dont know what I would do with out them!

Thank You to.....

Thank You to all of those wonderful people out there that have the time, take the time and make the time to come up with GREAT card sketches. It has made stamping easier on my and has made my work better! This little gem is off of a sketch from Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge. This is a great- easy to use layout that I know I will be returning to as I have an Elzybell that is SCREAMING to be used with this layout. The chick's and the background flower are Studio G stamps, Party Time is from SU! and the green stamped circle on the white cardstock is from Spunky Stamps. Have a great week everyone!!

Fall Palette....

Oh...don't you just love the colors of fall??? They are truly amazing and bring such great feelings to the heart. Feelings of warmth and coziness along with thoughts of family and the holidays ahead. I have been able to work with the flowers at Dillon's recently and talk about inspiring! All the new stuff and deep rich colors are so....yummy and fun. These colors are: Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie and Ruby Red...talk about yummy...that sounds like a feast all in itself! The images are from Spunky Stamps and the background is from SU!

The Diva Strikes Again!

The Dollar Diva has stuck again! Found the notbook at the Dollar Store and the only thing I added was the ribbon and the Scallop with the stamped center (Stamps www.spunkystamps.com) The big papers clips as we all know can be purchases at Wal-mart for a buck a package! Happy stamp'n!!

I am BACK!

Big DUH!!!! moment this morning when I remembered that my computer has a system restore button....It seems as though we don't have to take the computer to the doctor after all...and things might, just might return to normal.

These are pull cards- pull the top and the cardstock on the bottom comes up and a message underneath is revealed...it's a clever little card and after you make a few not all that difficult. I used:
Stamps From SU! and Spunky Stamps, Paper from SU! as well.

Love Box...

Ok so the title isn't all that clever...but the box is kinda cute. This box, stamped with the with swirly gigs has been laying around in a pile for sometime. I know the original pattern had the lid coming over the top of the box so you could see a "rim" around the top--but since I sometimes don't follow instruction well I ended up with a box that resembles a crayola type box. You could put all sorts of stuff in here! Great FUN for Valentines.

Love and XO stamps: http://www.spunkystamps.com/
Swirly Gigs: http://www.theangelcompany.net/
Box Pattern: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ you have to join the Fan Club to get this one :)

Lil' Note Cards With a Clip

These cute little notecards were my gift to my co-workers this year. They were so simple to make! The cards are 3x3 in size...I ran them through the big shot with the cuddle bug embossing folder and then folded them in half. Stamped Merry Christmas in red and tied a ribbon on. The clips are the extra large paper clips that you can find at Wal-mart. Add the scallop circles to both sides of the top of the clip using foam dots or glue gun and place the stamped circluar image in the middle. Embellish with stickles!

I tried on of those paper Christmas trees made from a styrofoam tree...first attempt...not so pretty...and yet I bought more to try again so maybe before Christmas I will get those done...I feel good I actually mailed my Christmas cards today...although my best friend may not get her Christmas from me until February as it is still sitting under the tree and she lives 3 or 4 states away. Stamps SU! and Spunky Stamps

Stuck On Those Stinkin' Ornaments!

If any of you have been watching the weather channel today you have become familiar with the location of Salina, Kansas...I have heard that they are talking about our ice storm...so what does that mean for me...

I am in the house ALONE today...and with the ice...I won't be tempted to wonder to the mall anytime soon. Of course, a little ice didn't stop the husband from heading out to try to find the elusive "BIG Buck" that he shot yesterday but lost while trying to track him. A little ice can't keep a man from the wild! Even when the "wild" is 60 miles away!

This is another of those fabulous clear ornaments from hobby lobby. I love the shape of this one and it is really flat!
I took acetate and stamped on it and then rolled it up and let it go inside of the ornament. The openings on the ornaments are a little small so it is a little tricky. I am sure you have not seen the last of the "ornaments" as I have other ideas to try.

Stamps: Autumn Leaves and Spunky Stamps

An AHAA Moment....

This afternoon I sat down at he kitchen table with a empty scrapbook and my daughters awards, report cards and a few photos from her K-6 grade years. My goal was to get these things into some sort of order and into this book. So using the white pages that were provided in the book ( I can hear your gasps here in Kansas) I began to stick the articles that I had saved over the years on the pages in chronological order. And with in 2 hours, I was done. I will say that it is nothing fancy and I will be going back and writing a letter to my daughter telling her how proud I am of her for all that she has accomplished and become in those first 7 years of school...and yes I will be doing this in the next 2 days. But it is done and she LOVES it! The AHAAA moment was that I realized that I have become way to worried about the art of scrapbooking. If something happened to me tomorrow there would be all of these pictures in boxes and on my computer but none of my thoughts and feelings would remain with them. So here is to the future of Plain Jane scrapping and journaling...after all it is my thoughts,feelings and memories that will be important to my daughter in the future--not what patterned paper or stamp set I used (although I haven't completely lost it...there will be patterned paper).

Celebrate U!!

Just a little something.... I have also added some additional photos to my flickr gallery on the side bar. Have a wonderful weekend!

Mixing It Up!

Well I am back from vacation and thought I should give you all something new to look at so here goes!!
I did a little mixing it up on this card...A little TAC and a little Spunky Stamps- add a little cuddlebug, scalloped punch, and We-R-Memory Keepers embellishments and whalaaa. I love this card! I learned a little trick making this...I bought these cool embellishments thinking I could use my regular setter on them...NOT SO MUCH! I smashed the jewell in the center the first time I tried and had a hard time getting the thing to set because they are heavy metal. I don't have a Crop-A-Dile...and as much as I'd love to buy one...I keep holding off- thinking the last hing I really need is another eyelets/hole punching tool. (yes, I have used it and yes it is awesome!!) So how to solve my problem. I took my little wire cutters that I have for jewelry making and pre-snipped splits that naturally occur when you set an eyelet. I then tore a cotton ball in half and put it on my mat so that the front of the embellishment would have something soft to rest on- mouse pad might work well also. With the slits already cut in the back of the embellishment the metal bent down so simply! It was great and although it sounds complicated at first...it was an easy, cost effective answer! Flower Stamp: Spunky Stamps all other stamps TAC.

Lesson in Life!

Well-- it is Saturday night and all the "Angels" are in Kansas City being recognized for their amazing accomplishments this past catalogue year with The Angel Company. I am sure that they are having a blast at the banquet!

I traveled to KC on Wednesday to pick Awna up from the airport and spend the afternoon Power Shopping all of the scrapbook and stamp stores in KC. Wednesday morning was a great morning to travel. A little rain in places but the roads were good. Now, I know very well how to get TO the airport and the expo center...but here is the deal...I knew the exit to take to get to the airport but after that it was all new to me!! This was my first trip to an airport all by myself. I did the map quest thing and I even looked at the map from the airport and figured that I was a BIG girl and I would wear my big girl panties and everything would be JUST FINE!As I turned off I-29 on the airport road exit...yep you guessed it, I started to get a little rattled. There was not just one road to simply get to the airport---entering a terminal at MCI is like entering a major metropolitan city!! Awna told me terminal 3...my choices were A, B, C...so C it was! I am sure that the poor fella behind me in that blue truck could see the word "panic" in my tail lights! So I get into the terminal and go right past the parking area. Worried that I would end up back on the road I just came off of or worse...having to go out and start all over...I stopped to ask one of the nice security folks if I was in the right place for the flight and were I needed to go to park. The kind gentleman pointed two doors down and told me that was the door I was to go in and if I go just a little further round the circle... I could indeed get into the parking area. Thanked the kind man and went to my running vehicle...pulled on the door handle---PANIC was no longer just in my tail lights...it was all over my face. I had hit the door lock button when I jumped out. Fortunatley, I had done this one oher time as well and once I stopped to THINK realized I should try the back door and rear hatch/door. The back door came right open and I jumped in...pulled the keys out of the ignition and with a big sigh of relief plopped down on the back seat...right on top of my roomates gifts! So the first lesson in this is...if you lock yourself out once be smart enough to realize that this could be an issue in the future and always take your keys with you when you get out!
So as I happily sit in the airport with my vehicle parked and my keys in my hand...I watched all of these teen age youth walk by...loads of them. No adults just them... Having a great time... no panic, no worries...While I was in the restroom I asked one of the gals what conference they had come from--It was a national student council conference hosted in different cities each year. They have youth come from as far away as Australia and this year it was hosted in Overland Park Kansas.
Me- by this time I am doing the compulsive worry thing... Am I really at the right terminal? I don't see the flight number listed on the screen that I was given...so I ask not one, not two, not three but four different people...the second lesson...just go to ticketing and ask your question...the flight number had been changed--the plane had landed and the passengers were coming off...fortunately it was just 100 feet from were I was! Snagged up Awna and her bags and off we went to conquer KC!
On our way out of the airport I was thinking about the third lesson... "teach todays life skills lessons that I experienced to my daughter early!!" I had previously thought about how I really want my daughter to experience traveling via airplane...and yes I still want her to do this...but now I see how much more important it is to get her comfortable getting to the airport and knowing how to navigate her way at an airport...I want her to be one of those teens...no fear- flying across the US in a strange airport and completely confident that she will get to were she needs to be with out her mama. So although we will not be flying when we go on vacation this year...maybe we should stop by a few airports for some major life lessons!
Above card made with Cudle bug and Spunky Stamps.

Don't forget about Dad!!

Stamps used: Spunky Stamps (www.spunkystamps.com)
Ink: Kaleidacolor Cappuccino Delight

As I am sitting here tonight making this card as a sample, it dawned on me that father's day is this weekend and Oh My Gosh!!! I haven't made or picked out a card for my dad yet...Bad, Bad daughter!!! Nor- have I done anything for my husband for the role he has played in my daughter's life for a very long time now!! So my focus tomorrow besides work...will to be to get "my men" taken care of for Daddy's Day!! If it were only as simple as going to hobby lobby and buying them some colorful ribbon to add to their stash I would have it made!! Hummm, let's see is there a power tool that we don't have that I need for crafting?
My dad has always been my "go to guy" in life when it comes to dealing with life. He has an amazing way of telling me like it is, reassuring me that it will all work out , he helps me to see my accomplishments and is always there for encouraging words. Wow- I never put all that down in writting before--I need to scrap all of that important stuff and send him a great big singing card!!

And with that said-- todays life lesson in stamping is...it is not all about the physical or creative part of stamping something on paper and finishing a project. It's about the thoughts that go into what we are making either before, during or after when creating for someone else. But most of us already know that! And to think this was just to be a simple sample to post on my blog--when in reality it turned out to be a time of reflection on my relationship with my father.

Spunky Stamps

I love the name of the website that these stamps come from...everyone needs a "Spunky Stamp" or two or three or four! Yesterday was a pretty productive day...I was able to finish 12 card samples for submissions to magazines. Worked my stamp'n fingers to the bones! I didn't get much done today though as I decided to nap most of the day away. Of course, now I am up because I slept all day--and I wonder why I dread Monday mornings!! My next projects will be to finish up some projects for some great gals that I will meet up with in KC at the end of the month. I better get busy!

Mama's Got New Stamps

And she is doing the happy dance! Nothing like getting new rubber! I can't wait to play more with my new stuff this weekend. These little jewels came fron Spunky Stamps www.spunkystamps.com they have some really cool designs that are fresh and fun. This card was created by using the rock n roll technique on the flower petal stamp- yellow ink and then orange ink around the edges. Then directly stamping the circles for the centers...It was actually stamped on white cardstock...someday I will get the white balance figured out on my scanner- or maybe I should just buy a new one! Hopefully I will have some more new cool cards or projects to show you using these stamps after the weekend.