My baby girl is 5, American Girl, and more!

I can't believe how fast the week flew by - I got a new camera so I'm just now getting to know how to unload the pictures on my computer. I also got some quilting projects done this week, but have yet to take pictures of them. For now, I'll share a couple cards I made with my new TAC - and a birthday layout that I love (thanks, Gretchen http://www.in2stamping.blogspot.com/) This layout uses the cuttlebug happy birthday folder, and just a simple image makes this card a fast and cute card! I added glitter to give the girls some extra bling!

My oldest child, an only girl, turned 5 years old today. Last night she asked me if she was still my baby - brought tears to my eyes. We surprised her with a trip to American Girl in Dallas. I don't know that I agree with spending 100$ on a doll, but the look on her face when we walked in that store was worth much more than that. We didn't tell her where we were going - when we walked through the doors, her face turned a little red, her eyes teared up and she said "mommy, do I get to get an American Girl?" Mommy, daddy, and her ate at the bistro and even had her own cake! She loved it - that's what made it fun. I know that the extravagence of the whole store is a little over the top - but it made for a fun and memorable moment. Besides - I have one girl and three boys - it was a girl's paradise! Here are a few pictures of us from our night. Tomorrow has soccer games and Hannah's birthday party at Young Chef's Academy! Happy birthday, Hannah - you'll always be my baby!!!

Monkeys and Monday!

I have stamp club tonight - and I have someone to watch the kids so I get to go! I haven't been for a few months so it should be fun! Who knows what I'll get - there are a few things in my mind but once I see the projects, I always seem to change it!

I have some beautiful quilting projets that I'm almost finished up with - so I'll post those in a couple days. I can't wait! In the meantime - here are a couple cards I made using the Monkey set from CC Designs. The monkeys are some of the cutest I've seen. I really would like to find some banana paper for these. I have banana material - so there has to be paper out there somewhere! Let me know if you know where! On the second card I used my Cuttlebug and love the way that worked with the stamps.

Also, I was pleasantly surprised from my in-laws with a Canon Digital XT camera - I've wanted one since they came out. The camera I had is a great camera, but I'm excited to get this SLR camera. We'll see if my pictures/photography will get any better. I'd like to take a photography course to learn more about my camera - my FIL is doing just that and I think he's really become more of a "professional." I'll check into it - maybe the community college has something for me!

Happy Birthday to ME!

OK, so I am technically young - but I'm feeling so old lately. I look old, and tired, and worn out...and this birthday isn't helping! Another year older...but the kids are getting old enough so I had them singing to me all morning. I didn't get my wish of no whining/fighting/crying - but I'll ask for that next year again!

Not much going on here - I did some quilting last night (I hope to finish tonight so I'll have those to post this weekend). And I got some fun new stamps from TAC that I've been playing with. The first is an old set called "Sew Fun." The details on these stamps are amazing!

And the second set is another old one from TAC "Chocoholic" - I figured this is a low fat alternative to the real thing.

Do you ever wonder if sometimes God slows you down for a reason - no matter how painful. Yesterday I was juggling twelve balls at once, went to get my one year old before he climbed any higher, and I stubbed my toe on the wall. We've all done it - wanted to cuss - and felt like an idiot. Well, after a few minutes, I realized it wasn't quite right - sure enough - I broke my little toe. I made the mistake of telling Hannah that I felt like it was going to fall off...she's worried about that and keeps asking me if it's still there. Yes - it's purple, blue, and black and three times the size it's supposed to be. I don't think it'll fall off but I'm going to try and slow down some!

I'm sharing a couple cards I made using my Verve Visual stars set - somewhat cased from their gallery, and somewhat my own spin on them. On the first card, I used really rust and brown...figured I could use it for boy or girl. I popped up a few of the stars which really gave it a great "lift."

The second I use one star and the big eyelets from SU! I had to have those and this is the first time I've opened them up!

I've got some fun ones to share tomorrow so stay tuned!

Just a quick second post for today!

I'm back - I got my order in from The Angel Company party I had. I sat and put together all my new SU stamps and cut out the TAC stamps. I sat down to play a little - and looked at the challenge today over at SCS - TLC160 The Negative Effect which used the negative side of the embossing folders and cuttlebug. I used Brocade Blue ink on the Brilliant Blue paper and ran it through the CB - the effect is subtle but I love it! I used my cowboy stamp from TLC - Too cute! And by the way - I ordered the score-pal and played with that tonight too. LOVE IT!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Well - it's St. Patrick's Day and I found a green shirt in the back of my closet - which means in my "skinny" clothes. I'm getting closer to being rid of my four pregnancies extra weight. I had a goal in my head as my birthday, which is this Friday - I probably won't make it but am only about 5 pounds shy of it. I do feel like I'm more fit than ever!

I thought I'd share a couple cards using the Embrace Life set from SU. At first I wasn't too drawn to this set, but I kept seeing examples of it out there in blog-land and decided I had to have it! I used the sky blue, black, and white combo - just because it was a color combo I've been wanting to try for awhile. These are absolutely beautiful IRL - love how simple but elegant they are! I also used my Cuttlebug to do some simple but elegant embossing in the background.

And I thought I'd share a picture of my third kiddo - Jacob. If he had green eyes, it would be that much more celebratory of St. Patty's Day - but I just love his big eyes and the song "when Irish eyes are smiling" came to my head after I took this one! Have a great day!

Afternoon Tea

Last night after finishing the announcements, I wanted to play but didn't have any of the new stamps put together...however, I had gotten my Green Thumb set in from Papertrey and wanted to make something with the boots. I broke into my new paper from the SU! Mini - Afternoon Tea. I absolutely love it! I'll definitely be getting more of this! I went ahead and took my try at Beate's weekend sketch challenge (http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/) - sketch #39. Both cards are similar but slightly different. I really like the groovy guava with the afternoon tea - sky blue looks great too! And I used my new groovy guava double stitched ribbon - what's better than that! I'm going to play some more today. The oldest two kiddos are with dad at a St. Patty's Day parade in Dallas, the younger two and I went for walks with the dogs, and now I'm putting them down for naps!

St. Patty's Day and Easter Treats

At the last minute, I decided to get creative and make some special treats for my daughter's class. I bought the Jelly Bean prayer and found some jelly beans in boxes. I covered them with designer paper and put the prayer on the outside. Simple but cute!

The second project used Beate's tutorial on SCS from this week - the peek-a-boo treat holder (http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/). I started by casing her example but then remembered a bunch of Riley Moose St. Patty's Day images I had stamped, and those hard to find "green only" M&Ms. These are simply adorable - lots of happy smiles at school today! And what better way to honor St. Patrick's Day! To help make sense of the pictures, the top flips open and the window reveals the green M&Ms inside.

I'm finishing up my 70 birth announcements as I type, and it's on to play with all my new goodies! I may check out some of the other challenges from this week!

Funshop was FUN!!

A new favorite company - The Angel Company (http://www.theangelcompany.net/). I hosted a "funshop" on Tuesday night and we had so much fun! Thanks, Jeri - I know all us gals enjoyed the projects and fun we had! I of course ended up spending some money to get some much needed stamps (ha!) - and I'm thrilled to get my order (hopefully Monday or Tuesday next week!). I learned how to use chalks - as well as the score-pal...and bought both as half priced items. YEAH! I thought I'd post the projects we did.

The first is a card using the Versamagic inks and chalks. The chalks are shimmery so there is a hint of glitter on them. Beautiful! I even told myself I wasn't going to by another flower stamp ever, and I had to have this set after making this card. One is done in pink, the other in purple but the possibilities are endless.

The second project used the score-pal. It's a wallet photo book - it's hard to tell but there are a bunch of "pockets" that you can put smaller pictures/journaling and carry in your purse for a brag book - perfect little gift!

I'm using the jelly bean prayer stamp to make some Easter treats for Hannah's class tomorrow - and am toying with the idea of using the peek-a-boo treat holder tutorial on SCS to do a St. Patty's treat with those lovely green m&ms. Check back later to see if it works!

I'm back with lots to share!

I'm back amongst the living with so much to share!!! I had a Funshop last night with my "angel" from The Angel Company. It was so much fun - I finally learned how I can use my chalks. These are something I bought when I first started scrapbooking 10 years ago and have never used because I didn't know how to use them without them being messy! I'm so excited!!! I also played with the Score-Pal - LOVE IT! and am going to order that. I'll post what we made later today. We all had so much fun!

I also got my birthday order from Stampin Up - can't wait to play with all those fun things! And, I'm almost done with the 70 birth announcements I'm making for my friend - I just have to adhere the twin peas inside the pod!


But first, I'll share my kid aprons I finished up. The material is adorable. I have two of each pattern available so let me know if you're interested as they go fast!


I'll close for now with a picture of my "baby" - he's so darn sweet I thought I had to share this picture of him from yesterday. If I told him "I love you" he'd just giggle and flirt. Truly a blessing!

I hope I'm alive!

Well, I finished a bunch of adorable kid aprons and wanted to post those...and I was going to get together with my friend Gretchen to make cards. Four out of six of us here have a nasty stomach bug - so I'll try to get them posted tomorrow. It's the two babies that haven't gotten it yet so I'm expecting that to happen tomorrow. This is unbelievable! I can barely get up to do anything, and my house is trashed, if you can imagine with two sick kids, a sick husband, and a sick mom! And this, is why - I make time to create all these different things! Check back tomorrow - I'm hoping to be amongst the living then!

A Good Egg?

I'm not quite sure I'm liking "A Good Egg" set from Stampin Up. I really struggled with this one - I guess my biggest complaint is that the plain egg is so much bigger than the chick in the egg that it's hard to use the two in combination. Here are two cards I made using this set - although I think I'm back to my TAC bunnies and Michaels $spot eggs!

Can you believe it snowed again yesterday? I was visiting a friend and the rain quickly turned to sleet, and then snow - with the snowflakes the size of cotton balls. Beautiful! We ended up with 4-6 inches and just north of us with a lot more! Although it was cold, I did let the kids go out and play in the snow! Hannah said "it NEVER snows in Texas," and Joseph thought it was Christmas time. I guess it's just a reminder to enjoy the little things!

ONE THOUSAND HITS!

WOW - just saw I hit the 1000 mark. It's only been 6 weeks or so - how exciting!

Thought I'd share a real cute Riley card - and for all my friends out there - this Guinness is for you! I think it's super cute - love the greens. I added lots of glitter to the shamrocks, and the guiness is made by coloring the glass in Chocolate Chip and lightly adding gold stickles. Love it! It was also my first time with the pin dot folder - it's a great dimension to cards.


My friend Gretchen came over tonight to work on cards - I played with the "A Good Egg" set and will post cards tomorrow from that. On the sewing things of life, I found some adorable material to make some child's aprons - I need one for a birthday party Saturday so I'll have new ones to share.

And a couple updates - if you've tried to link to my Creative Memories website - I'm sorry for the problems. I've fixed them, and hopefully you can get on now! And if you want any of the chenille potholders, I only have three sets left out of the 10 I made. I am partial but these are the best potholders ever!!!

Snow in Texas in March?

As I type this, I can hear the rain turning to a heavy sleet. I wonder if we are going to get the snow that is in the forecast. It's FREEZING!!!

I was happily surprised when my PaperTrey Ink (http://www.papertreyink.com/) order arrived this afternoon - I ordered on Friday and it's already here! WOW - great service. I ordered the Green Thumb stamp set - may just play tonight with that one! I also ordered the monkey set from CC Designs - way too cute! And I ordered a ton of stuff from the new mini from SU! So many stamps, so little time...

Anyways, I thought I'd share a couple creations I made last night using the Pun Fun set from SU! I just got the cuttlebug happy birthday folder (thanks gretchen!), and she gave me her layout as a suggestion for the hippo cards. I love the pixie pink/green galore combo. It's hard to see but the bow, balloon, and toenails all have glitter.

The second card using the rocket ship in that set. I had something in my head that never really materialized but in the end, I like how it turned out. Notice my odd "matting" of the rocket - it just wasn't looking right and that's what ended up working for my mind! Great for all the boys in my life. HA!

I hope to play some more tonight. I've had a headache for two days now - don't know if it's an impending illness, stress, eyes needing to be checked, or what. So I'll try to talk myself onto the treadmill first - who knows!

Wonderful Bunnies from TAC

So I just happened across a company - The Angel Company - and was wondering about their stamps. I found an "angel" near me and she delivered a catalog. Boy was my list long! I decided to host a "funshop" and in the meantime, I ordered a couple Easter sets just to see if I liked them. After vowing I wasn't making Easter cards - now I can't help myself. I love this set!

The first card I cut apart the trio of bunnies, did the four squares layout. Thanks for the ideas/brainstorms from my friend Gretchen (http://www.in2stamping.blogspot.com/ check out the gift she made me - love it and THANK YOU!) . We found some paper in her stash from daisy ds - chasing butterflies. Love this paper! I also stole some of her dew drops to try out and just gotta say - LOVE EM!

The next card I went for a window appearance - it's hard to tell, but the window frame around the bunnies is popped up as if the bunnies are looking inside a home. I used the gathered ribbon, and used a brad to get it to stay without tying a knot. And how cute is that saying?

The third card is one I had in my head - simple, and non traditional with non traditional Easter colors. I ended up throwing a few prima flowers on it as well. I loved how it turned out - so sweet.

I think I'm going to just play tonight - I feel like I need to just have that me time right now! Thanks for looking!

Scrapbooking again!

So a friend came over last night and we scrapbooked together - it's been so long since I've sat down to do that and boy do I miss it! It was fun! I ended up completing two entire scrapbooks - a 12x12 and a 7x7. The 12x12 album is green, and I used the Everday Power Pallette on it. See my Creative Memories website for more on the products. It's hard to get the full beauty in the picture, but the colors are bold and bright - red, yellow, blue, purple, green, orange. LOVE IT! I'll share a few pages to give you an idea.

The 7x7 album is a great gift size album (I like making special occasions books, or gifts for grandparents, etc). I used the Vintage Power Pallette on this one and it's beautifully elegant IRL.

Now for those who are afraid to scrapbook, or don't think they're creative, or don't know where to start - here's a few breakdowns for you. The 12x12 album, for all the products used including the album, pages, protectors, and everything inside, prices out to around 137$. What a deal and you get a great end result. Another bonus is that it comes with an idea book so it tells you what to use where! The 7x7 book priced out to be 58$. Once again, that includes everything - as well as a beautiful treasure to store your memories!

Yes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE scrapbooking and think everyone should do it - what better way to record your life, your memories, your stories!