Starting out 2011 with a Checkbook Cover for Dad!

I sent Mom a checkbook cover for Christmas, but thought Dad wouldn't be too excited about one... until I found out that she changed hers over for the new one, and Dad's is now all taped and barely holding together.

This will fix that problem!!
It's already in the mail, Dad!!
:)

Here are the color recipes for the stamped items:
Light Brown boots:
Step #1: Desert Sand off 1x
Step #2: Desert Sand
Step #3: Potter's Clay
Step #4: Rich Cocoa off 1x
Step #5: Rich Cocoa
I then re-stamped step 5 with Tuxedo Black.

Dark Brown Boots: I used an unusual recipe for these since Dad's got a pair of boots that aren't black... aren't gray... Hmmmmm :)
Step #1: London Fog off 1x
Step #2: London Fog
Step #3: Potter's Clay
Step #4: Tuxedo Black off 1x
Step #5: Tuxedo Black stamped twice, full strength.

Longhorn Steer:
Step #1: Desert Sand off 1x
Step #2: Desert Sand
Step #3: Rich Cocoa off 1x
Step #4: Rich Cocoa
Step #5: Tuxedo Black

Cowboy Hat: I used Stampin' Up inks for the hat...
Step #1: Crumb Cake
Step #2: Soft Suede off 1x
Step #3: Soft Suede
Step #4: Close to Cocoa
Step #5: Chocolate Chip

Your comments are always appreciated!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Blog Hop Winners Announced!

Click on the Lime Light link at the right
to see the winners for our Blog Hop!!

It took awhile, but it was worth the wait..
2 grand prizes, and 7 runners-up!

Watch in January for our first project of 2011!

Your comments are always appreciated!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Christmas Gifts - Checkbook Covers and Bookmarks

A few months ago for our Stampin' Up Card Club, our Demo Kathy had these checkbook covers for us to decorate. She also had some samples of the bookmarks she'd made for us to look at.
My first though (along with some of the other girls) was 'What GREAT gifts!!'
So this is what I came up with:

This set is for my cousin's new wife Olga.


This set went to my nephew's wife Alex... she LOVES
daisies, and the color turquoise!


This set is for my sister Gail. She loves flowers and
always has cardinals out her door where she feeds them.


Sunflowers?? Has to be for Mom!!! She also sews constantly
so I thought the buttons would be lots of fun.


This set went to my Aunt Nancy... she loves kitties too!!!
and I also know how she loves purple.


I sure hoped they like the checkbook covers and bookmarks!!!

Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Our Christmas Mantle

I just wanted to show the mantle in our living room all decorated for Christmas!

I love Christmas so much! It is far and away my very favorite time of the year.



~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Sympathy Card

I got notification from Mom that my aunt's sister-in-law had just passed on this last Saturday, so I set out to make a sympathy card for her.

I used the new Build-a-Blossom set and punch from Stampin' Up as well as a stamp set called Close as a Memory.



inside view - I used Concord Crush to color the Organza ribbon, and added a line of pearls at the bottom of the satin strip. The bottom paper is from the In Color 6x6 stack in Blushing Bride. The accents on the flower are stamped in Poppy Parade on the Blushing Bride paper. I curled the edges of the flowers in a fan type shape to add some dimension.


Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Extended Blog Hop!

WONDERFUL news!

I just heard from our fearless leader Gracie, that our blog hop is being extended until midnight on Sunday! (December 19, 2010).

Keep on hopping!!! I am thoroughly enjoying all your comments, and compliments on my work, and I'm looking forward to stopping by all your sites as well!

Two posts down you'll see the directions, and link to the next stop on the hop!


Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for participating in our Lime Light Charitable Design Team Blog Hop!

I loved reading every single comment, and as Gracie posted over on the team blog, our winners will be announced on Monday!

I'm so excited to hear more of your comments on my blog and projects... and in time, to check out all your blogs!

THANK you again!


Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Lime Light Charitable Design Team OFFICIAL Blog Hop!

Greetings to those hopping from the Lime Light Charitable Design Team blog.

Welcome to Sue's Cricut and Crafts blog. My name is Sue and for the past 2 1/2 years I've been posting my Cricut creations and other crafts on this blog. Early on in my time with my Cricut, Gracie from the Imagine That blog asked me to write some articles for beginning Cricut users, and it took off from there!!!

I do love my Cricut, and when my husband and I bought our house last year, one of the rooms HAD to be my Cricut room! It was an absolute requirement.

I wanted to join in on a Design Team, and Gracie asked if I would be a member of the Lime Light Design Team. I started as a regular member that first year, and have been so honored to stay on since and take on some extra duties (training director, etc.) In Oct. 2008 we completed our first project as a team: cards & bookmarks for soldiers. We have gone on to do many things, as you saw on our team blog. I'm always excited to get to visit our new team members blogs and get to know them every year... what amazing talents they ALL possess! I hope you can get a good glimpse of some of their best work on this hop.

The team members are contributing product & some absolutely gorgeous creations to the winners of this blog hop. Some of those products were donated from their LSS and other sources. I want to thank Making Memories for the gorgeous paper (it's all two sided or specialty paper), embellishments and kits.

I am donating a stamp set from a company I love SO much, Kitchen Sink Stamps. I use them along with my Cricut to create some projects that get WOW's when I show them!

That's not even the tip of the iceberg if you've watched the slide show in the announcement post. The ladies on this team are so selfless, and you'll get a good taste of that as you hop through the blogs.

You will be continuing on to Tropic Luv, Cards in Paradise -- and you are in for a treat!

SO, take a peek at my Cricut and Craft creations, leave a comment on this post, and become a follower on this blog (and each blog you visit tonight) to be eligible for our awesome prizes!

There is a time limit, so don't wait too long!!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Cased Card Challenge! KSS # 30

The latest Kitchen Sink Challenge is to 'case' a card, and make it your own.

My card (below) is dated December 2010, but I actually made it this past summer when I first received this stamp set... (I could have Christmas all day, every day - I love it that much!)

I liked this card from the second I saw it, and used a few more colors. I LOVE red and green for Christmas, but I want colored lights!!!


Here is my cased card. I hope you like it!! Click HERE for a tutorial I wrote on all the different colors of lights using Stampin' Up inks!!



Your comments are always appreciated!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

2011 Calendars; Part 3 of 3 - and an AWESOME Blog Hop!!

So here are the last 4 calendars for 2011! I hope you've enjoyed the previews as much as Mom and I had making them!!


It took me a long time to decide what to use for the September calendar... Labor Day, school starting,... and I already had a patriotic theme for July, so I went back to my ever favorite Hello Kitty cart, and found this adorable cheerleader. Why is she in purple and white?? Kiel Raiders, of course!! Purple and white were our colors, and they were GREAT school colors!


I have absolutely no idea why, but October, which isn't really my most favorite month always turns out so elaborate... I really loved the idea... the black iron gate with a path going up to the castle in the background, with a craggy old tree near the entrance. Martha Stewart's web punch works perfectly behind October!!

Three cartridges to complete November's calendar... Designer's Calendar, of course, Celebrate with Flourish, and the Thanksgiving cartridge... That Harvest Blessing at the top was not so much fun... so many small, teeny tiny, itty bitty, teeny tiny pieces!


Doesn't the December calendar look like it was a TON of work?? Not so much!! The actual difficult piece on the entire calendar was the Merry Christmas! We've got the trees down to a science now, and they went together lickety-split! I added snow this year to the trees.... know what it is?? Flower Soft! That's the greatest stuff!! We also die-cut the stars, and they pop up since it's two pieces together.

BLOG HOP NEWS.....
See the next post below this one for details on our coming blog hop... just 2 days away!!
OR, click on the link below to check out how the hop is going to work.


Your comments are always appreciated!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

December 17th Blog Hop, with AWESOME Blog Candy!!

As you can see by the title, the Lime Light Charitable Design Team (of which I am a card-carrying member since the very beginning!) is having a blog hop this Friday at 8PM.

We want you to get to know us and what we do as a team, so we are having a blog hop so that you can visit the various team members' sites.

We also have a couple of the top Cricut bloggers on the net -- Everyday Cricut and Pink Cricut, that will be stops along the way. The team came together a few years ago because of our love of Cricut, and we wanted to give you a couple of bonus's as these sites are top notch when it comes to Cricut creative inspiration.

At 8 PM CST on Friday, we'll be posting the instructions on how you get from blog to blog and what you need to do when you get to each blog (COME TO THE LIME LIGHT BLOG FIRST FOR INSTRUCTIONS).

All simple stuff. Now, here's the fun part. We'll be giving away some very nifty prizes, including a grand prize stash worth over $150. And because I can't wait, I'm giving you a peek at the prizes. So sit down, take a look at the goodies, and then join us Friday at 8 CST for a fun time!

Your comments are always appreciated!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

2011 Calendars; Part 2 of 3 - and a Blog Hop!!

Here are the next 4 months...

I actually struggled with May the most! It's my very favorite month, but the 'page' just didn't look right. After adding some details, it ended up looking just fine!!!


The Happy Mother's Day Cut is from the Mother's Day cart, and Designer's Calendar cart for the May cut... We used the Martha Stewart Butterfly punch and a double bow to tie all the colors together. Can you see the daffodils in the background?


June definitely means Father's Day!! Three carts used on this page! Designer's Calendar, Wild Card, and Handy Man from the Cricut Lites. I didn't use my white pen as I meant to on the Happy Father's Day - there just wasn't time. Next time!!!


The July calendar used only 2 carts, but LOTS of techniques!! I used Designer's Calendar and Independence Day carts for the cuts, a double bow, and the color spritzer from Stampin' Up to spray red and blue speckles on the Freedom cut. We also used red stickles to highlight some of the hearts on the USA cut. Can you see the stars on the background??


August... Ah, summer!! How we look forward to the summer, and the swimming pool! As a kid we LIVED in our neighbor's swimming pool... what great memories!!
The August cut came from Designer's Calendar. The pool and Splish Splash came from the H2O Lite cart. I also used my Spellbinders Nesties to cut the background out of blue sparkle cardstock. No holidays in August to highlight, so a sun stamp right at the beginning!! Can you see the 'waves' in the background?

More info. on our Blog Hop on the 17th! It's COMING!

Click below on the Lime Light blog link to see Gracie's post about our upcoming event!!

Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

2011 Calendars; Part 1 of 3 - and a Blog Hop!!

Here are the first 4 months of 2011; Jan., Feb., Mar., and April - These calendars have become an annual project for Mom and me. It takes us about a week to get all 20 of these calendars assembled though I start cutting and organizing in October. I've even got an awesome organizational system to keep everything straight.

We used lots of techniques with these calendars! Each calendar page (except October) uses a stamp wheel based on the theme of the month.

January's calendar consists of cuts from 3 cartridges: Designer's Calendar, Wild Card, and Celebrate with Flourish. We used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Nestabilities, and Martha Stewart's newest snowflake punch. January includes snowflakes with Versamark ink on the background.


February's Calendar has cuts from 2 cartridges, Designer's Calendar, and Love Struck. The double heart punch is a Martha Stewart edge punch, and the background is inked in Versamark with the Candy Hearts wheel. When we had this finished, it just seemed to need something, so we added a bow to each calendar... then it was just right!


March's calendar page is cut with Designer's Calendar. The medallion is edged with a Martha Stewart PATP punch set. Since the bluebonnets bloom in Texas in March, I just has to use one of my newest Kitchen Sink Stamp sets - Bluebonnets! The background Versamarked image is a Stampin' Up wheel; called Field of Daisies.


April's calendar uses 2 catridges; Designer's Calendar, and Celebrate with Flourish. Isn't that the cutest Easter Basket? I stamped the Chocolate Bunnies with my Stampin' Up stamp in Chocolate Chip ink, and took a bite out of his ear with my Nestabilities scalloped punch. The background is inked with an Easter Egg wheel. Can you see them?

BLOG HOP!!!
Stay tuned for a very special Blog Hop - coming soon! More information as it becomes available.

Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Two Birthday Cards...December Birthdays!!

In October, my cousin Jon married a girl who was in the process of finishing her Ph.D in music!
When the Cricut cartridge 'Quarter Note' was announced, I knew I had to have it!!! When I actually saw the images, I decided we'd be there on Thanksgiving to get it! SO, after our Thanksgiving lunch, we got ready to hit Michael's. There wasn't as big of a line this year, because they announced on Facebook they were opening at 4:30... so we could beat the rush.
We got in, and even though I'd called a few days earlier, the Quarter Note carts were nowhere to be found!!!! After asking around, they brought them out, and I grabbed the first one!

Here is my first card using this new cart... the background note paper comes from a Christmas stack I got at Hobby Lobby.



Here's the inside of the card, the treble clef cut from the Quarter Note cart, and the Top Note die from Stampin' Up works perfectly for the sentiment, and space to write!!


The two stamp sets used here I received from Kitchen Sink stamps at the Houston event, and since our nephew lives in Oklahoma, and has ridden for the rodeos, this presented itself as the perfect birthday card for him.


Gotta love that Top Note die for the inside area of the cards!! I fussy-cut the hat, and popped it with the SU dimensionals.


Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Five Question Friday!! - December 10, 2010

1. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
We open our gifts Christmas Eve... When I was a kid, we always opened gifts on Christmas Eve at Grandma Smasal's house, Christmas Day (early) when Santa came at our house and then at Grandma Wagner's house. When our out-of-town relatives came around the 29th or 30th, we had gift opening again!

2. What is your favorite Christmas cookie (or candy)? I love 2... Haystacks which I make every year are to die for!!! YUMMMM and my Mom's Angelfood candy. She makes the best, melt-in-your-mouth angelfood candy ever!!

3. What's the worst Christmas gift you've ever received?
I don't know.... I know I've gotten some stinkers, but I block them, and don't remember... I only remember the BEST ones! :)

4. Christmas song that you love? Andy Williams - A Song and a Christmas Tree (12 days of Christmas) from the red album is my very newest favorite found on an old album (CD) I had from a kid... but also, I love the Christmas Holiday song from his green album.

5. How many trees do you put up?
This year, no big trees, BUT I have a Precious Moments tree figurine from Mom, a large lighted Precious Moments tree, a Christmas Tree with a Santa, and a new LED tree for the coffee table, and a big tree in the yard with Santa popping out!! SO, how many is that?? 5 trees!!! * I collect, and LOVE Christmas trees! :)

Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Stampin' Up Club Cards - October 2010

YES, I know I'm posting these later than I should, but I wanted to post these since they're SO gorgeous!!!

No, this card is NOT leather!! It's actually the Peach Parfait cardstock, embossed, and inked. When I got home, I got out my copper brilliance ink, and added some of that for some shimmer on the card.

Isn't it so SO pretty?




This is a VERY cool project - it's a checkbook cover!! It comes as a clear plastic piece with all the flaps and pockets you need for holding your checkbook register and duplicate checks, and can be decorated any way you wish!!


Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

November Stamp - a - Stack!

We had our November Stamp - a - Stack to make Christmas Cards - YAY!!! Kathy came up with some awesome designs and color combinations (as always!!).


The wreath for this card is from the Hostess Set punched with the 1/2 inch punch, and the scalloped edge punch. The bow is made from two hearts punched from red paper, and a brad in the center.


I LOVE purple!!! This card with the purple, green, and gold accents is SO perfect!


We had fun watercoloring the scene for this card! I bet the snowmen want to come in and warm up with some hot chocolate!!


This simple but elegant card is so pretty and sparkly up close! We sprayed the cardstock with the shimmer paints, and added sparkly rhinestones for even more bling!


Gorgeous!!!!! Can you see the white snowflakes in the background?


This is the Dasher stamp... I never looked at before, but I'm paying attention to it now!!

I hope you've enjoyed our Stack! We made 2 of each card for a total of 12 cards.

Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

They are FINISHED!!!

With Mom and Dad visiting this past week, we were able to get the 2011 calendars FINISHED!!

They are better than the 2009 and 2010 calendars. I'll be posting them starting soon.

I used lots of the new cartridges released this past year!! Thank goodness Provo Craft had their designers create lots of great designs for the seasons and celebrations throughout the calendar year!!

Each page is full of designs and cuts from my Cricut Expression!!
Check back soon to see the new year's calendars!
It's become quite a consuming yearly project.


Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Five Question Friday!! - December 3, 2010

1. What's on the top of your holiday wish list and why?!

Electric Fry Pan - so I can again cook our favorite fish recipe. The cooktop I have at this house doesn't keep a constant temperature.

AeroGarden - so I can keep growing my own herbs for cooking; my first one died. :(

I also want another Salad Shooter. The one I received many years ago from my favorite Uncle is on its last legs.

2. What is your favorite Christmas gift from the past?

I can't choose just one-there are so many wonderful Christmas memories!

3. If you had life to do over, what would you be when you grow up?

A pharmacist

4. When do you put up your tree?

No tree this year :( - new baby kitty in the house, and he's quite rambunctious! Maybe next year. It usually goes up 2 1/2 to 3 weeks before Christmas.

5. What is your favorite Holiday?

Christmas!!! I have fond childhood memories of Christmas, and I do so love all the Christmas light displays.

Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Design Team Search! Come Join a GREAT Team!

Do you see all the GREAT projects done on the design teams around the internet and think, "I could do that! I want to do that!"

Well, here's a chance to join a GREAT team that does good work all around the United States.
We've done projects for the Holocaust Museum, cancer survivors, Ronald McDonald houses in Tennessee, raising money for playground equipment through our creations, and so MANY more!

Our Design Team Leader Gracie is currently taking applications for the Lime Light Design Team. The applications run from November 11 through November 21, 2010 for the next calendar year's team.

Our members skills and abilities range from semi-beginners in paper crafting to the professional level. We're looking for positive, motivated crafters who want to make a difference with their craft!

Check out the Lime Light Design Team's website for more specific details on how to apply for our great team!


Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

First Christmas Card for 2010

When the Stampin' Up Christmas Mini catalog came out, I just knew I had to have this stamp!!! I played around with it for awhile, and then started with the vintage colored inks, and that was it!

The background is stamped in Old Olive, the Joy is colored in darker with the Old Olive marker, and the 25 is colored in darker with the Mellow Moss marker. To highlight the poinsettias and bells, I stayed with the Earth Element colors More Mustard, Summer Sun, etc.

After trimming it to leave just a little border, I inked it with Brilliance Gold and Silver inks to help it shine, and added red Stickles to all the berries through the piece.

I had some Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon that tied nicely into a bow, and matted the stamped piece with some olive cardstock. The holly paper came from HL.


Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Hot Chocolate and a Chat KSC #29

The Kitchen Sink Crew Challenge for the beginning of October is Monochromatic! I'm totally all over that! I work very often in monochromatic tones, and the new set I got in the mail yesterday was PERFECT for this challenge!

I used Makiko's technique of sponging the edges on the Nestabilities piece.
For the hot chocolate, I used the following colors; 1. Desert Sand, 2. Pearl Beige off 1x, 3. Rich Cocoa off 1x, and for step 4, I inked the bottom with Rich Cocoa, and the top with Moonlight White Brilliance.

That Moonlight White really makes the top look like whipped cream!!

The cookies were stamped like this; 1. Desert Sand, 2. Rich Cocoa off 1x, and 3. Moonlight White off 1x so they would look frosted.

The peppermint stick; 1. Moonlight White Brilliance, 2. Rhubarb Stalk, 3. Ladybug Red.

The background is from the "Once Upon A Time" DCWV stack.


Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Five Question Friday!! - October 29, 2010

1. If you could be a fly on any wall, which would you choose?

I'd LOVE to be a fly on the wall of - not any one place specifically, BUT I'd like to be there when some people make weird decisions so I could hear what they were thinking... and how they justify their craziness. :)

2. Do you budget your Christmas shopping or just get it done without budgeting?

I try not to budget, but in the past 2 years have made many Christmas gifts for family, so I guess that is a form of budgeting. Special people always are given a little extra without regards to money, but as per their requests/wants/needs.

3. What is the craziest fad diet you have ever done?

It had to be the grapefruit diet. I didn't like grapefruit as a kid, but discovered the Ruby Reds as an adult, and took advantage. It didn't work, of course... anyone who knows me can tell I'm not a dieter!

4. Is there a TV show that you have seen every episode/season of?

M*A*S*H - I've been CRAZY for that show... oh, seems like FOREVER!!! Gotta LOVE Alan Alda as Hawkeye. At the beginning of the show, with just a few words and the opening shot, I can tell you a synopsis of the episode. I use a lot of the lines from the show in daily life, AND when the boxed set came out on DVD, I was surprised to find 1 episode I never saw. My husband couldn't believe I know the show so well, but after 8 years, he just asks... "What's this one about?" :)

5. What one song always pulls at your heart?

Lady in Red from Chris DeBurgh - for very special personal reasons from college! :)

Your comments are always appreciated!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Five Question Friday!! - October 22 (on the 23rd)

1. Who is the better cook, you or your spouse?
I am DEFINITELY a better cook than my husband! If he cooked, we'd have noodles, hot dogs, and frozen food!

2. How often do you talk to your mom?
I talk to Mom quite often... some times it's 3 - 4 times a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. It depends what's going on, or if something exciting has happened that I just need to share with her.

3. Are you adventurous in the kitchen or stick to the recipe?
I always stick to the recipe the first time I make something, and then I deviate using more of what we/I like, and fiddle with amounts. At school this past week they served something I'm trying tomorrow with no recipe. We'll see how it turns out! I'm sure it will be good!!

4. Is your second toe longer than your big toe?
Yes - just by a little bit!

5. Do you dress up for Halloween? (Bonus question: What will you be this year?)
I wish that when I dressed up for Halloween they had such great costumes as they do now! I suffered from lack of imagination as a kid... and ended up as a ghost every year. :( Not very imaginative, but we still got candy! Now I enjoy watching all the kids dressed up.

Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Kitchen Sink Crew Challenge #28 - Part 2 Matchboxes

I bought the matchbox die this past month, and finally had time to play with it today while I'm enjoying our vacation time.

I used the 3 step Pumpkin stamp set and dimensionals to help the pumpkin vine trail down the side of the matchbox stack. I got my new Memento inks today in the mail, Thanks, Maria, and I had to play!!



Here's a better view of the top of the matchboxes. I used Cantaloupe, Tangelo, and Tangerine SU ink to stamp the pumpkin, and 3 colors of the Memento ink to stamp the vine: Pear Tart, Bamboo Leaves, and Cottage Ivy for the tendrils. I really love that sparkly pumpkin cardstock from DCWV, and had a few 'scraps' to use. This project was perfect! I think I'll add a few pumpkins popped to the base.


Here again is a better view of the top pumpkin and vine trailing over the edge. It really is cute! I think I'm going to send this one to my Mom. She'll LOVE it!!


Your comments are always appreciated!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Kitchen Sink Crew Challenge #28

I'm entering this card into the KS Crew Challenge this time. Makiko's Trick or Treat Challenge sounded like way too much fun, and I LOVE using my new pumpkin stamp set!!

At the Houston workshop, Makiko provided us with cardstock that was already 'colored' around the edges. I wouldn't call it distressed since this looks much more refined, and I like the style very much.

Connie, one of the other KS Crew members told us how she made her very, very pretty bows! I've been playing around with those since we got back, and found a way to make them, too!


Here is the inside view of the card.


I used lots of inks since the pumpkins are some lighter, and some darker - as you know, no pumpkin is ever identically colored!!

One trick I did discover - when stamping the faces, I used a double stamping of More Mustard to get the background 'yellow', and then the black face on top. It really gave the look of depth.

I used some of my DCWV paper for the sparkly pumpkin background and used the Pumpkin Harvest embossing folder on the other side.

Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Wedding Card for my Cousin!

I'm SO excited for my cousin Jon! He's getting married on Monday to a very sweet girl named Olga. My Mom and sister have told me much about her, and Bennie and I are excited to meet her soon!

I've made several versions of this wedding card since the summer, and like it SO much! It's definitely my favorite. They should have the card and gift we sent along by the weekend.

I'm so sorry we couldn't be there, but we definitely will be thinking of them both on their special day!


This is the inside view of the card.


I used a 5 x 7 card base, and 3 Stampin' Up sets, I {Heart} Hearts, Teeny Tiny Wishes, and Salutations along with my Silver Brilliance ink to stamp the silver hearts on the background.

Your comments are always appreciated!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.

Kitchen Sink Stamps Houston, Texas Weekend!

I was so fortunate as to be able to go to the Kitchen Sink Stamps workshop offered in Houston over the weekend of October 8 and 9! As soon as I heard they were going to Houston, I made the hotel reservation, and told hubby to take the weekend as vacation!!!

We used to live in Houston - so it was great to go back to some of our old haunts and revisit the city. I really loved it, and it felt like home... my husband was very happy to leave on Sunday morning and head back to our current home! :) Oh well!!

We were fortunate enough to be able to use some of the newest yet unreleased Kitchen Sink Stamps, as well as meet the 'Maker' of the KSS stamps! After all our email conversations, I was way too excited to meet Maria!!! The rest of her design team was FANTASTIC!!! We were ooh-ing and aaahhh-ing at all our new discoveries... and I know they loved hearing it!!

These are three of the amazing projects they planned for us!

Here's the cowboy hat and gloves set. SO perfect for Texas!


Here we are again using the hat. Makiko designed this adorable bookmark for us - and everything worked fantastic! The hat fit perfectly, and she had inked each one of the pieces for us to stamp on which gave it such a wonderful effect! "Thanks, Makiko!"


Here we're using 2 of the newest stamp sets together - and working with a masking technique. This is actually one of a pair of boots on the stamp set, with bluebonnets in the background. My table partner and I decided to add the butterfly for effect. We were experimenting with ink colors, and different layering techniques.

The best part about receiving the Bluebonnets stamp set, is that nobody knew how crazy I am over bluebonnets!!! I've got pictures here on this blog from our last trip down to Houston showing TONS of bluebonnets in the fields near the roadways! :) :) :)

There is ONE MORE project we did over the 2 days! Lynn designed a 3D gift box that includes the 2 boots. It has some really adorable embellishments. That picture will be coming soon!!!

Your comments are always appreciated!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ *~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing.