Five Question Friday - May 31, 2013

Compared to some of Mama M's trials, my week has been pretty easy - saw some clients, slept late with summer here, lunch with some friends...  Things will get hectic soon enough.  I'm going to enjoy it! :)


1. What is an acceptable age for girls to start dating?

I think 16 is a good age to start going out on dates. Then with a group or another couple only. In school the boyfriend/girlfriend thing seems to start about 5th grade. 
 
2. Do you think your kids should have summer homework?

Not necessarily. Our city runs a Summer Reading program with great incentives. I get the kids reading as much as I can, but still find stories they like, or non-fiction topics to which they hold interest.  Some years I've recommended the book called Summer Bridge Activities for students who seem to have problems remembering things during the school year. This way the shouldn't lose so much over break.
 
3. Would you prefer to live without AC or heat?

I could handle being without heat where we live. It would be hard when the blizzards and snowstorms come, but I MUST have my A/C. I'd be dead from melting away without it! 
 
4. What the worst thing about staying in a hotel? (Besides not being with your family)

I don't like being unfamiliar with an area - restaurants, attractions, and the WORST thing is if there isn't a pool, or it's out of service. 
 
5. So, do your kids really get "104 days of summer vacation"? 

I believe this year we will. I also get those summer vacations, and treasure them - so let's see... how many days do we have? If you count only M - F... we actually have 68 days off. We don't go to school on the weekends during the year, so I didn't count 'em. :)
I've already used 10.... so I've got 58 left.


 

Cricut Cuts for my Sister

My sister Gail completed a scrapbook of her youngest son's journey from very early (1st birth pictures) to his high school graduation.  She did the same thing for her oldest as well.

This time, with my Cricut, I'm excited to say I get to help her! :)

She needed a few cuts for some of the pages, and this is part of what I came up with for her to use in Zach's book.

Fries and Ketchup from the Cricut Lite Cartridge Fast food.  The fries are quite an optical illusion!!!

Red and black model cars from the Stampin' Up set Need for Speed.  I used watercoloring,Crystal Effects to give the red cars that showroom look, and black enamel paint to make the black model shine.  Going to take a look back at my notes to see what color the other car will be.

I still have a few more things to cut and ink.  They should fit right into the book.

Five Question Friday - Saturday!

1. Do you wake before the alarm or stay in bed until the last possible second?

Definitely the last possible second on work days... In the summer, I sleep as late as I can with appointments in the afternoons only. ;) Weekends? It depends how busy we are and what's planned.

2. Who should get a baby shower? Is it just the first baby or all babies?

I think a shower for EACH kid... there's always something new out there, and who doesn't want an excuse for a party!? Especially for such a wonderful event.
 

3. How will you spend Memorial Day?




 Just chillin' here at the house - No menu planned yet, but if DH wants me to grill, I might put a couple of steaks on.  Yes, I grill.... don't want him anywhere near any cooking!! ;)


4. Do you have a Storm/Hurricane/Tornado/Fire plan for your kids, house..?



ABSOLUTELY! We live right in the middle of tornado alley with many warnings, and tornadoes near us all the time. 
DH and I have discussed all of these.
I went through a Hurricane - Rita that hit Houston when we lived there.... that scared me more than any other storm I've ever been in, even tornadoes.... it just went on and on - so loud - screaming winds... Don't ever want to do that again!!!!!

5. What is your favorite morning drink?


LOVE my Nutribullet drinks! Spinach, blueberries, flax seed, banana, water, and fresh ginger. 

Makes me feel fantastic all day long. :)

Frame for Mom's Birthday **New technique for clay molds.

I've seen many frames similar to these.... Family - Joy -

My friend Melissa did a fantastic one for Mother's day - but she didn't make one, she made 3 of them, and added photographs.  I was going to do that too, and found some great ones from when my sister and I were kids, but I wasn't happy with my photo options - so I took the project in this direction.

 I used my Cricut to cut the letters from the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge - layered with Concord Crush, and Pretty in Pink (ret.) cardstock.  The background paper is simply 2-12 x 12 sheets of the Flirtatious paper cut to fit the Concord Crush 3 inch squares.

There are LOTS of embellishments - the letters, and patterned paper squares are all inked with either Soft Suede, or Crumb Cake.  I used the laser cut sheets to trim out 3 doilies, and inked them with Pretty in Pink.

Lots of the embellishments came from the Artisan's Embellishments Kit that I'm so sad to say didn't return in the new 2013-2014 catalog. :(

On the letter h, you can see a white resin flower from the Artisan Embellishments Kit.  To the left of the h, I used some of the lace, and a clear button in the center.  To the right of the h, I used some of the flowers included in the kit as well as one of the ribbon holder with the hearts at the top.  LOVE LOVE LOVE those! 

One of the very newest products Stampin' Up is coming out with is clay!  I LOVE IT!   The butterfly at the bottom is the new Stampin' Up clay, used in a Martha Stewart mold - on the right hand side, at the top square and 2nd square underneath are molds from MS as well.  LOVE that frame!!!  I'm going to use that one often. Instead of using a water brush on the frame, I used my sponges and colored it that way.  It worked so well!

Cast Molds - are you aware of them?  I taught this to my students - has to do with how some fossils were formed so many millions of years ago.  I used the exact same principle with that white resin flower found on the letter h.  I used some "bake" FIMO clay, pressed the flower into it to make an impression (along with some other pieces) baked it, and then used the Stampin' Up clay to make more of them!  **Confused yet?  I really did try to be clear.

The Stampin' Up clay is soft, and air-dried so it wasn't such a crisp impression, but it is pretty in person!  Sometimes the pictures just don't do justice. :(

SO, here's my take on the framed pieces.  This one definitely gets hand-delivered. 

Birthday Flowers!

Birthday flowers from my favorite Uncle!!!!!

Thanks so much Uncle Paul!  Love you so much!

The flowers are SO awesome, I took a picture from each of the 4 angles -
roses, daisies, peonies, impatiens, and some other flowers I don't recognize.

SO SO pretty!!!!

Team Leader Card

I REALLY LOVE the Stippled Blossoms stamp set!

Now that most of the colors I usually use for these cards are retiring, I'm going to have to rethink my color palette choices, BUT I'm sure some other combinations will present themselves.

One of my team members asked me to make a card for our team leader to show our appreciation for all the hard work and mediation she's done throughout this year....  it's been a LOT! :)

I stamped Pretty in Pink (soon retiring) and Regal Rose (soon retiring) for the flowers, and Certainly Celery (soon retiring) and Old Olive for the leaves.
The background cardstock is Regal Rose (sr) with Old Olive embossed as the band across.  Pretty in Pink ribbon (long retired), Framelits, and the Just for You from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  I used a Sharpie on the rhinestones to give them some color for the flower center.

Love the paper doilies!  They're so pretty - this one was cut in half, and placed under the Old Olive band.

In the morning, we'll all sign it and the card will be presented to Martha Friday during our morning meetings.

2013 - 2015 Stampin' Up In-Colors

This is always an exciting time of the year!  We get the previews for the new In-Colors coming to Stampin' Up for the next 2 year period.

Sometimes I feel there are misses, or the colors just don't appeal to me.

This year is different.... even though I thought I wouldn't like one of the colors, seeing it in person and playing with it a little, I really LIKE it!  AND it's a shade of green which makes it even more ironic. :)

SO HERE are the new Stampin' Up In Colors for the next 2 year period.

 Have to just say, I LOVE  the Strawberry Slush!  It's a little unusual, but I have a Strawberry themed kitchen, and it's incredibly hard to find strawberry things.  :)  This color is perfect!

 This is the one I thought I wouldn't like - and actually, Pistachio Pudding is a much brighter green, but working with it, I like it a lot. :)

REALLY like the Coastal Cabana....  a GREAT tropical color!


SO I hope you've enjoyed my preview on the new In-Colors!  They will be available for purchase on May 31st.  You can click on the Stampin' Up logo on the top right corner, and go to Shop Now to order these, the papers, reinkers, and all kinds of great stamps!

Nephew's Birthday Card

My youngest nephew just turned 18, and is crazy about planes.

I saw the rolled bills as candles somewhere, and thought it was a great idea!

I used the new Stampin' Up clay with some star molds I had, and used the markers to color them along with some Stickles for some sparkle.

This card was sent in a priority mail box since I was positive it would be ruined or lost in a regular envelope.

Sure hope he liked the card!!!

Stampin' Up's Color Refresh, 2013! 10 Colors Retired, 10 Colors Inspired!

So I'll admit, I wrote the title of the post because it rhymed.... some of the colors I do NOT think are inspired, but it sounded good. :)

Some of the new colors in this refresh I do like....  Bermuda Bay, Island Indigo (it's a good teal color) and I do really like the new Smoky Slate color.  That's really the only NEW color.

This is the flier we received showing the color families, which colors were being retired, and the new colors coming in as permanent family members. 

 Here's a sample of ALL the 10 new Refreshed colors... stamped with 2 stamps.  I used the Distressed Dots (soon retiring) and the Hello Doily stamp which is one of my very favorites.  On each picture, I also wrote the name of the new color.

Have I said before how much I  LOVE LOVE LOVE the new ink pads???  The might need reinking sooner than the previous pads did, but they give excellent ink coverage!  LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!

Click on a picture to see a larger version.  Below are all former in-colors.

  

    

  

   

 

Here is the newest color:  Introducing Smoky Slate.  It is the only NEW color in the Color Refresh

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Next post - the 2013 - 2015 In colors!

My Friend's Card - GREAT job, Melissa!!

Two of my very dear friends come over on Saturdays - sometimes very often if we have big projects to work on, sometimes seldomly when things get super busy....


My friend Melissa made this card for her Dad for this coming Father's Day.  I asked her if I could post it here on my blog, just because it looks so awesome!

She stamped the old-time bicycle on vanilla cardstock and used a circle punch to start the center and tore the light blue and kraft paper to make the torn vintage style window.

She also used brads, washers, and some Tim Holtz products to finish off this card.  If you look closely, you can see "most' of her in the background. :)

SO love this card!!

2013 Christmas Card Challenge - May 2013!

 They always say April showers bring May flowers - well, here in the mid-south (some say the Southwest).... we had SNOW on May 2nd - which breaks all known records...

It's been a LOT colder than normal this year, and with a 2 year long drought - the amount of rain we've had lately is a wonderful thing!


On that same bent, the Christmas Card Challenge theme for May is:

SNOWFLAKES!

Punched, embossed, hand-cut, scherenschnitte (I really LOVE that technique), Cricut cut, etc. etc. etc. 

Click HERE to see the entire set of rules for my Christmas Card Challenge!

Basically, create 6 cards based on the month's theme including the inside sentiment and stamped envelopes to coordinate with the stated theme.

I've used this Cartridge before, and spent a little time working on picking small pieces but I think they turned out very well!!
There is a Nativity snowflake, snowmen snowflakes, gingerbread men snowflakes, Christmas candy snowflakes, and a Santa snowflake!  It cracks me up that there's a snowman snowflake since snowflakes are their source. LOL  :) 

I also embossed each background with 2 different folders - an old favorite, and a new larger design.

I hope you enjoy these really unique, unusual snowflake cards!

     

              

One of the new rules this year is to have the insides and envelopes all complete.  I did stamp the insides of the cards with a sentiment, but forgot to take a picture!  Whoops!  :(

 

 

Five Question Friday - May 3, 2013

It's been a LONG time since I've answered a 5 Question Friday!!!  Sometimes the questions don't quite fit, or I forget because I'm so CRAZY busy.....  so here goes for today!!!!!

1. What is your next home improvement goal?

My husband wants to put patio furniture out in the back - but I keep vetoing that choice simply because it's WAY too hot here to sit outside in the summer.

I want granite/soap stone counters in my kitchen. That's my goal. Have them all picked out. 

2. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be? No religious texts (ie Bible, Quran, Torah, etc, etc)...

I like to read Jane Austen spin-offs on Pride and Prejudice. I've read probably 7 or 8. My favorite: To Conquer Mr. Darcy. That is my choice.

3. What is on top of your refrigerator?

We keep our lunch bags for work and cereal on top of the fridge.

4. What are your favorite or most used phone apps?

I don't have an iphone. :( My phone is mostly used for texting. Works like a charm.

5. What's the one thing you hate most about your spouses job?

Sometimes he has a duty shift he can't change and it messes up our travel or other plans. I mostly dislike that his co-workers talk crap about teachers, and don't value the job we do as teachers. It makes me very angry.