sorry

Sorry...no crafty post today. What did do today? Yard sale...totally have to eat crow because I said it wouldn't work being so thrown together BUT it did. Now, I have to shower and get ready for dinner with a friend of Scott's. He is being deployed to Iraq soon and is home for a visit so we thought we'd have him to dinner.

I hope you are having a super Saturday! See ya later!

dreams du jour

Good morning friends! I'm so glad it is Friday! I'm not sure why though as on the weekends nothing really changes much.

I bought this set, Dreams Du Jour when the sneak peek sets came out for us SU! demos so I've had it for sometime now but I haven't actually used it. I love what this says...We Grow Great By Dreams. Yes, but only if you take that first step to take it beyond a dream. I digress. I think I'm going to start adding the card deets at the bottom of my post so if you want to see what I used you can check down there. To color the flowers and leaves though I just used my blender pen and blended the Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss from the images in the the white area's. That is such a simple thing to do that I haven't done in so long...I was happy I remembered I could do it! LOL!

The layout is from Julee's Mojo Monday. It was hard not putting something in the blank area on the left of the card but with that patterned paper there really is no way...so...I left it as is. I used my Nestabilities to makes the circles and scalloped circle and then each layer is popped up on pop dots. I did add a little sparkle with my stardust pen to the flowers. I tied the ribbon perfectly thanks to the first video on THIS page.

You know what I'm going to do with this card? I'm going to enter it into the cards/scrapbook portion of our local fair! Yep! I've never done this before but this year...I'm trying! I may also enter in a photo I've taken but I'm not sure of the requirements for that.

***Edited to add that Susanna linked to my card for her "Creations and Inspirations from around the Blogosphere" today! Woohoo! HERE is a link to it! Just scroll down and you'll see my blog name and the post name!***

Today, on the 3 Little DReaMs Yahoo group (what you aren't a part of it?...well, go to my left side bar and click on the purple button to become a part of it!) we will start having challenges! Woohoo! Each month a member of the fabulous design team will put together challenges that will be released on Friday's for you to participate in. The first challenge is embossing...heat or dry. There will be a folder on the group for you to upload to or you can upload to SCS with the keyword 3LDAUG. Now...each time you participate and upload you challenge project you will get a chance to win a fun prize (to be designated by the fabulous Katie) at the end of the month! Neato huh? Yes, you can participate if you don't get the kits but I would highly encourage you to check out the 3 Little DReaMs club (she features Bella and Sweet n Sassy kits!) as Katie does an excellent job putting together her fun kits! Any questions? Just e-mail me (mom2kjs(at)yahoo(dot)com) or leave me a comment here! Oh, I just remembered September Kits go on sale TODAY! Run, do not walk (okay navigate!) over to the store and order yours!

I hope everyone has a super Friday! See ya tomorrow!

Card Details:
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Bella Rose, White
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette (on edges of DSP)
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Nestabilities, White Taffeta Ribbon, Stardust Glitter Pen, Dimensionals, Mono Adhesive, blender pen

Yeah...thanks to my friend Dani...Kyler has a new favorite video...

clear envelope purse

This is the little clear envelope purse that I sent to my summer sister, Sarah, last week. She has indicated that she likes bold brights so I made it with the Summer Days SSK which is definitely bright! I followed THIS tutorial. Interesting fact for you guys...the little magnetic snaps that I've shown you in the past...they don't work in this situation. I went to the store and bought velcro pieces for the closure. The card I sent with this purse is HERE.

Today is thoughtful Thursday again. No one participated last week which makes me SO sad. It really doesn't take much time to make someone else's day (nor does it need to take a lot of money). So, why don't you try it today? Do something nice for a stranger. Step outside of your comfort zone and go for it! There will be a little something for one of you if you participate. I'll put all the names in a hat (box, hand, whatever) and send the winner something. Thank you to all that have done this before!

Today is the last day to participate in the fund raising that Korin is doing for her sweet niece. You can go HERE to see what that is all about and how you can participate. 7 Kids College Fund is having a 30% off sale on all Crafty Secrets products too. Alright...enough enabling for today!

I hope you all have a sweet day!

belli challenge 27

Today is Wednesday which means...belli challenge! Lets talk about the card/tin first and then I'll remind you what the belli challenge is all about and link you to the other players.

First of all...can you believe I don't own this stamp? I, thankfully, had gotten one in an image swap. This Bella is ready to party! From the sparkle in her clothes to the sparkle in her balloons, cupcake, and hat she is one happy girl! I used Basic Grey paper from their Cupcake pad for this card and based my colors for the image on that. I have to be honest with you guys and tell you that I'm so disappointed that picture. I put a lot of effort into the details of this card. The jeans are light blue with Spica glitter in blue on the seams, the balloons...two are glitter, the rest have glaze pen on them. The party hat...the blue is glitter pen and the rest has glaze all over it. The cupcake's icing is white gel pen and green glitter pen. It looks amazing IRL. I hope you don't think I'm bragging or something like that because I'm not...I'm just giving you the full effect! This card's layout is from Lauren's Saturday Sketch.

Then, the little tin...the top is made with my JustRite stamper. I just picked a border that went well with the card and the ribbon on the tin (which you can't really see), spelled out Happy Day, cut it with my Nesties and mounted it on the top of the tin. I often can't decide if I should get acquaintances a gift or not so in here I put mini M&M's as a little treat. I also think it would hold a necklace, ring, or something little along those lines. That ribbon is adhesive backed so it was the easiest application ever!

And, onto the deets of the belli challenge. Each week, Chris tries to give us a challenge that will get us using things we have lying around our stamp rooms! With a constant flow of new things coming out, we tend to forget about the other things we have and they quickly become clutter! Come join us in the Belli Challenge and be sure to post your link to Chris's website!

This Weeks Belli Challenge is ANYTHING BIRTHDAY RELATED! You can make, embellish or design MANY different things with a BIRTHDAY theme. There are twizzle sticks, Rub Ons, Stamps, Chipboard, Glitter, Brads, Stickers, Party supplies...the ideas are endless!

Best part is...there is a prize to be awarded. Make up something birthday related, upload it to SCS with the Keyword CBC27 and then link it to Chris's blog and you'll be in the running for some patterned paper! Woohoo! Link me up too so that I can see!

The other players this week are below...

Holly Brown
Shelly Koskinen - Shelly has a ton of them this week!
Laurie Serino
Christi Thorsen
Chris Dickenson
Rochelle Wick I don't see her card yet but keep checking!
Jennifer Greco
Ceal Pritchett

There you have it...a pretty full list this week! Go check 'em all out...you'll love them! Come back tomorrow to see the little candy holder I made for my summer sister, Sarah!

summer sister

Lookie what I got! My summer sister Sarah sent me this very cool card, stamp, and ribbon! Yay! This is the very first time in all my crafting that I've wanted to frame something and I just might do it. I think it would be SO cute to find a frame to put this card in and place it on the wall in my stamp room (when I have one!). I think the colors are Basic Grey and Groovy Guava...correct me if I'm wrong please Sarah. The ribbon is a super cute chocolate with teal...can't wait to use it! How are the rest of you "sisters" doing? Sending and receiving stuff?

I'll show you my latest little envelope to Sarah on Thursday as tomorrow is the Belli challenge that I've yet to prepare for. I had wanted to have them done on Monday but honestly...I didn't do much yesterday so...no crafting... AND... I need to finish up my recipe swaps. I have a design in mind so that is good!

So...what are you guys doing? Making something fun? Come on...do share! I hope you all have a super day today!

july gift exchange

Good morning everyone! Thank you for the good wishes for our anniversary. Other than a rock hitting and putting a large crack in our windshield we had a nice time at lupper (lunch/supper...we went at 3) and the shopping afterwards!

Back at the beginning of July I signed up for the July Gift Exchange on the Sweet N Sassy Stamps yahoo group. We got matched up with a partner and then made a fun little package for her. Well...I received mine on Saturday! My fun package included a sketch book, post it note holder, some cards, some embellishments (including some neato brad letters...they are metal and you use a brad to put them where you want them), well..you get the idea. Thank you Lisa! I hope you will get your envelope soon!

Today is my friend Courtney's 30th birthday. I hope that you will all head over to her BLOG and wish her a very happy day. She had a trying last week so lets cheer her up on her big day!

So, today I will be making a card with some of my SU! stamps to show you tomorrow! I hope you all have a super Monday and I'll "see" you tomorrow!

seven year itch?

Is there such a thing as a seven year itch in marriage? Well, not in my case! Four score and seven years ago...I married my wonderful husband Todd. (Could I use any more puns?) It has been an interesting ride to say the least. Our marriage precipitated the biggest "step outside my comfort zone" that I had or have ever taken and that was to move outside of the only area I had lived in for about 20 years. I will be honest and tell you all that I wasn't a very good wife for the first year or year and a half as I did not like the little town that we lived in. A half hour to Walmart? What? No national chain sit down restaurants? What? At the time only one dinky movie theater (as a matter of fact I remember laughing out loud (literally) when I went into it for the first time. we still don't like to go to that one). I made life quite uncomfortable for poor Todd for some time. Thankfully, I met some wonderful women and began to form some friendships and that, I believe, was the beginning of when I decided it might be okay to live here.

Although we have our ups and downs (what marriage doesn't) I believe God gave me the exact man that I need, exactly when I needed him. Todd is strong but gooey when I need him to be. He is loving but knows when to let it be. He is the hardest working man that I have ever met but will take time off when it is needed. He likes to hang out with his family and not just with his friends. The best part? He more than puts up with my stamping addiction!!! Woohoo!

We have a sign in our dining area that says "True Love Is Friendship On Fire." I believe that to be true. If you don't have a basis of friendship with common interests there isn't much to stand on when the kids aren't around.

Curious what the cards says inside? I'd like to share with you (and so you know...this sentiment came with the stamp set)...

When I think about
how you love me,
I remember how you care
for me when I'm sick
how you cheer me when I'm down,
how you celebrate with me
when life's good.
I am so lucky.

We've been through all of those things and Todd has always been there... so with that...

Happy Anniversary, Honey! I love you with all my heart!