week in the life - day 2

Hey!  Another day gone already.  I wanted to show you yesterday's Week in the Life page.  Again, really bad pics.  I need to take them in the daytime so I don't have glare.  Only I don't have them finished in the daytime.  Hmmm...........

When I'm done I'll take better pics of the whole thing. 

I did another 1/2 page journal page.  The sewing worked wonderful this time, thanks Connie.  She suggested I sandwhich the plastic between 2 pieces of paper.  Worked like a charm!  See, stampers are so nice. 

I have found out that I take alot of pics in the landscape postition.  That means I have to crop them to print out portrait so they are facing the right way in my little card page protector thing.  Its been really easy to do.  So I think for this project I'll just keep doing that.  I may change something for the New Mexico project.

I've been giving (or maybe she's been taking) the camera to Grace.  Alot of these pics are hers.  Its been interesting to see what she thinks is important. 

Alrighty then.  I've been really good with my journaling today.  I made sure to keep it out where I see it all the time.  Getting this page together tonight was really easy.  You should try it.  You should. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Thanks to those of you who have bought some retired stamps.  I appreciate it. 

Blessings, b.

week in the life project

Hey there!  I just wanted to post my Week in the Life project real quick tonight to show you what I'm talking about and how I'm doing it this time around.  And hopefully to inspire you to do your own.  Look here on Ali's website to help you out. 

Warning:  its way past my bedtime and these pics are not the greatest.  I will be taking better pics when I'm done and we can go through it more together. 

I'm experimenting with some homemade 1/2 page page protectors.  I cut a piece of cardstock in half and then used the sewing machine ( thats a whole other story there) to stitch it.  Then cut off the excess.  My sewing machine didn't really like the plastic. 

I made a cover page.  I opened a word document and typed out the title and dates. 

On the back of the title page I wrote a little about each of us and what we are about right now. 

The next page starts the daily journaling.  I just used a 1/2 sheet of notebook paper.  I like lines.  Now some of you may be put off by writing alot.  Really, you can make this as detailed or not as you want.  If you don't like to journal a bunch, then don't.  No one will tell on you, promise.

The picture pages are just some baseball card page protectors.  Just print your pictures wallet size.  Made things really easy and quick. 

I didn't take enough pics to fill all the slots.  I kinda forgot about it during the day.  So to fill up the empty ones I just put some DSP in there.  Right now I've left them blank but I'll probably stamp something on them later. 

Okay there ya go.  I took longer making the cover page than I did the pictures.  Do your journaling during the day so you dont' forget.  Then its super easy to put it in the protector, print out your pics and you're done!  Easy way to document some memories.  I'll be doing the same sort of thing for the trip we just took to New Mexico. 

Alrighty then, time this ol' broad got in bed.   Thank so much for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

home for good this time

Howdy.  We are back home.  Home at least until Thanksgiving...........or Christmas.  I'm so glad to be home.  I like home.  

I have a ton of pics, of course.  But tonight I want to finish showing you the projects I made with my card ladies a few weeks ago.  Then I can get into all the other stuff.  Okay?  Okay.

Inspired by Nature and Elements of Style.  Naturals white, daffodil delight, old olive, crumb cake and CALYPSO CORAL (new In Color) cardstock.  Versamark, early espresso and old olive inks.  Big shot, beautiful butterflies die, linen thread, paper piercer, cutter kit, wide oval punch, lunch bag and glue dots.

The ladies were getting a little tired of making cards all the time so I tried to switch things up and we made a bag! 

Just keeping it fresh you know ;)

I used the In Color, Calypso Coral.  I will admit that I don't much like this color.  Not sure why.  I had bought the Color Coach add ons and one of the color combos they suggested was Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight and Baja Breeze. 

Now I tried putting those colors together and they just screamed Miami Beach to me.  That kind of art deco pastel thing going on.  Really not my style. 

BUT, my job as a demo is not neccessarily to only do things I like.  Although that makes it much easier.  I have to step out of my comfort zone once in awhile. 

So I cut up a bunch of butterflies in all three colors and let them choose which and how many they wanted for their bag.   

I layered the butterfiles and stamped the top ones using the Elements of Style swirly in Versamark.  I don't have the Calypso Coral ink yet so using Versamark is the best idea until I do. 

This is a super easy and cheap idea for giving gifts.  Just cut down your lunch bag to the desired height.  I cut mine to 5.5".  Add some cardstock to the front and back and decorate.  WaLa!  Instant prettiness. 


So keeping in the bag/box idea, we also made a 2,4,6,8 box.  Remember those?  Love them!

Wonderful Favorites (retired).  Island Indigo, rich razzleberry, baja breeze, whisper white and old olive cardstock.  Early Espresso ink.  Curly label punch, blossom bouquet triple layer punch, early espresso bakers twine, big shot, little leaves die, brads, dimensionals, scallop border punch and 1/2" circle punch.


A nice simple little box.  Here is how you make it:  sorry no pics

Take a piece of 8.5 x 11 cardstock and cut it in half.  So you have a 5.5 x 8.5 piece. 

Then put it in your trimmer lengthwise and use your scoring blade to score a line at 2". 

Then turn it widthwise and score at 2", 4", 6", and 8". 

Cut off the little 2 x .5 piece.  Then just fold up and glue.  Easy.

Let me know if you need more help with that. 

Otherwise I'm sure you can figure out the punched peices.  If you use the Tombow Multi Glue this will be a very sturdy box.  It will fit a regular size gift card nicely. 


Alrighty then.  Since coming home I've been trying to catch up on everything.  We brought a bunch of stuff home from my dad's house.  I don't have anywhere to put this stuff! 

Plus I'm going through pics of our trip.  I know you can't wait to see ;). 

AND convention is over and I've been spending too much time on the computer looking at display board pics.  I did enter the Artisan Award contest again this year and didn't win.  I guess I didn't make the finalists list either because nobody emailed me to let me know.  Oh well.  Maybe I'll try again next year.  I'll be showing you those projects soon. 

Oh, I almost forgot, Ali Edwards is doing her yearly Week in the Life project this week.  I had planned on doing it but with getting home a little later than expected and then getting a migraine and feeling overwhelmed for a day or so, I had forgotten about it.  I remembered this morning and was going to just say, "forget it.  I'll do it later"  I decided to just go ahead and start today.  The procrastinator in me just said, "WHAT?!"

I really love this project and will show you what I have so far tomorrow.  Why don't you do it with me?  Just pick up your camera and start shooting.  Today I shot:

What I had for breakfast, going to the grocery store, going to the bank, playing darts, the hubs working,  the cat, etc.   Just whatever your life is about today.  No stress, just document what you can. 

This was supposed to be a quick post.  HA!  See what happens when I don't talk to you in so long?  I get backup. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I love that you do.

Blessings, b.

pockets and piercings

Howdy folks!  Hot enough for ya?  I'm not sure exactly how hot its been at home although, I've heard its very hot.........my poor veggies.

I happen to be in New Mexico, in an adobe house with no air conditioning, and I can tell you for sure, its very hot here.  Tonight though, we've had a lovely thunderstorm and things have cooled off a little.  I do love thunderstorms. 

Its funny because at home it gets really hot.  100-106 is not unusual in the summer.  But when the sun goes down, it cools off.  Not here.  It is still 93 at 9:00 at night.  What?!  We are drinking so much water that we slosh.  No kidding..........

No pics until I get back.  My computer won't bring up the internet so I'm borrowing for now. 

I DO have pics that I brought with me on a flash drive.  17 had to teach me how to use it.  So here we go. 

Here is another card I made up for my card ladies.  Super cute!

A Word for You set.  Lucky limeade, island indigo and whisper white cardstock.  Black Stazon ink.  Corner rounder punch, big shot, fun flowers, scallop border punch, brights patterned prints dsp, polka dot embossing folder, 5/8" brads, white taffeta ribbon, 3/4" circle punch and dimensionals.


A pocket card!  Pocket cards are so much fun.  this one measures out 4.25x4.25.  Its just like the one I made 17 for her birthday. 

I cut 3 layers of the flower and embossed just the top one.  Then I fluffed it up. 

I got the color combo from the Color Coach.  Love that thing.  The pullout measures 3.75 x 3.75. 


Let me know if you need more direction on how this was made. 

We also had a right of passage this week.  Grace got her ears pierced. 

She has been asking to do it for a few years but chickens out every time.  Well one of her friends got hers done right before school got out and that gave her the courage to "git er done".  She told me that if she wanted to chicken out that I had to make her do it.  Yeah, right.

She stuck it out all by herself and TaDah!  Cute little diamond looking earrings.  She has taken very good care of them and we haven't had any pain or infection.  Yippee! 

Alrighty then, they just started a movie.  Rango.  Looks cute. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you're in a nice cool place with enough water to make you slosh. 

Blessings, b.

veggies?

Hidey Ho!  I've been stamping.  Can you believe it?  Here is one that we did with my card ladies last week.

Growing Green and Trendy Trees.  Early espresso, pool party, crumb cake and naturals white cardstock.  Black Stazon, lucky limeade and pool party inks.  Big shot, scallop square duo die, crimper, neutrals buttons, crumb cake seam binding, hemp, aquapainter, 2 way glue pen, dazzling diamonds and dimensionals. 

Is it conceited if I say I love this card?  I do, I love it.  I used the "thanks" from the Trendy Trees.  When you only ink up part of a sentiment it makes it just that much more versatile.    Can you see the glitter in the flower middles? 

I used my aquapainter with smooshed inky lids to color the flowers. 

Alrighty then, I know you're just sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for a veggie update. 

Wait, you're not?  Oh good, you are. 

Here is the schematic.  I have 4 boxes that are approx. 4' x 8'. 

I added 4.5 cubic feet of Kellogs Garden Soil to 2 of the boxes and 4 cubic feet of Kellogs Amend to the other 2 boxes.   I'm experimenting to see which I like better.

Gardener Grace, Official Helper and photographer.



In this box I have a Celebrity tomato and a Sweet 100, a yellow bell pepper, a green bell and green beans. 

These are the green beans.  The sprouted only 5 days after planted.  AWESOME!

Grace the Photographer

This next box has zucchini and yellow squash in it.  These seeds came up really fast too.  Zucchini.

Yellow squash

This box has ALOT of cucumbers.  Last year I couldn't get cucumbers to grow to save my life.  So I planted a bunch.  I'm up for trying to make pickles. 

Anothere aerial shot.  Okay, cucumbers are planted along the back.  A pumpkin in the middle.  Onions on the side.  The pumpkin has a flower on it.  I'm so excited for pumpkins!

This is the last box.  It has a Poblano Pepper, an Anaheim Chili, 2 different kinds of carrots and more onions. 

Okie dokie, thats it for now.  Things are growing so fast but now someone has turned up the heat.  Things are adjusting.  I have more stamping pics that need to be resized.  I'll get those up in a couple days. 

Thanks for stopping by and hanging out. 

Blessings, b.

back in the saddle again...........

I'm kinda, sorta, feeling like things are evening out somewhat.  I don't know how long this feeling will last so we'll just ride it as long as we can. 

I was putting things away today and realized that I never showed you 17's birthday card I made.  Its so awesome how could I forget?  Hmph....

Woodgrain background.  Crumb cake, whisper white and POOL PARTY cardstock.  Whisper white ink.  White taffeta ribbon, 5/8" silver brad, scallop border punch, 1/2" circle punch, dazzling diamonds, 2 way glue pen, tissue paper, big shot, fun flowers die and a Scrabble piece. 

I love it!  This turned out to be 4.25 x 4.25.  See that cool blue color?  That is one of the new In Colors, Pool Party.  It is almost the exact color of the sheets on her bed.  HA!

You can't tell too much but, I used the 2 way glue pen to add glitter to the brad.  Its really sparkly!

See the ribbon pull?  This piece comes out and you write your message of love on it.  Well, thats what I did anyway. 

I had picked up an extra Scrabble game at a yard sale thinking it would be nice to keep in the trailer.  BUT we discovered it was missing tiles.  No problem, I'll make cards with them.  You can see I changed the number using a fine point Sharpie.  Its probably been done a million times but, I thought I was so clever.

I used the Fun Flowers die with tissue paper.  I have no idea how many layers there are.  With the tissue paper you can cut a ton of layers with one swipe of the Big Shot.  Quick and easy!


The other day I also made some bag tags for my ladies' orders.  I was inspired by a tag I saw in PaperCrafts magazine.

A word for You and Woodgrain background.  Crumb cake, melon mambo, pretty in pink and LUCKY LIMEADE cardstock.  Black Stazon and whisper white inks.  Dotted ribbon punch, big shot, beautiful butterflies die, neutrals buttons, linen thread, 1/2" circle punch, 1/8" black taffeta ribbon and felt. 

Aren't they cute?  Check out that green huh?  That is another new In Color, Lucky Limeade.  It looks like Old Olive and Kiwi Kiss had a love child.  Its a color I can see myself using a bunch of. 

I sewed the button on the butterflies using a needle and the linen thread.  These would make really cute hair clippies for Grace.  I'll have to try that. 

Alrighty then.  I completed my veggie planting on Monday and I have a big garden post coming up for you.  Grace has been my assistant and I need to go through all the pics. 

Thanks for stopping by and hanging out.  And thank you to everyone who has shown interest in buying the retired stamps.  I'm so happy they are going to good homes. 

Blessings, b.

stamps for sale

I updated my stamps for sale page.  I went through all my retired stamps, took their picture and priced them to go home to you.   They aren't getting any love here.  Poor things :(

You can check out the "for sale" page here.  Or anytime you visit the blog, just look on the left hand side and click over. 

I'm still planning on having a blow out sale on all my retired things like DSP, brads, inks, ribbons, etc.  I'll let you know when I get through all that stuff.  For now though, go wander through the stamp sets and let me know which ones you want to adopt. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I have taken the pics of the cards we did last week.  I'll get them up tomorrow. 

Blessings, b.

big day today

A big big day today.  First of all, 16 is now...........................................................17!

(this is from the Iowa pictures that I haven't gone through yet)

She is now 17, a senior, a licensed driver, getting ready to apply to colleges, looking for a job.............next thing you know she'll be getting married and having babies. 

Ugh.  Seems like yesterday she was learning to talk and everyone kept telling me she had such a low voice.  Her voice is normal by the way.

We had a fun day planned but then something happened this week, we had to buy a new frig and the delivery day was today.  So the fun day got revamped to accomodate.

We got a deal at Best Buy.  It was dinged and damaged on the outside so it was even more of a deal than the sale price.  Being dinged up a little doesn't bother me any.  I mean, look at me.  I'm a little dinged up too.  Or is that dingbat? 

Its HUGE!  It does stick out alot more than our old one but I don't care.  It has a bigger freezer and water and ice in the door.  WooHoo!  I know, we're a little behind the times. 

So after the frig got all set up we went to Olive Garden to celebrate.  It was so good!   

Then we went to the movies to see Cars 2.  I know, not your typical teen flick but nothing else was playing she wanted to see. 

We had the theater all to ourselves until the movie started.  Can you see how Olive Garden affected the hubs? 

You may notice The Boy isn't at the movies with us.  He had to work.  Did I tell you he got a job?  With this economy and the fact that he had no prior work experience, we are truly blessed that they hired him. 

Then home for homemade ice cream cake.

It was really yummy! 

I also got to stamp with my card ladies this week.  I just love hanging out with them and am so lucky they keep inviting me.  Thank you ladies!  I haven't taken pics of those cards yet but, I'll get right on that. 

I do have some to show you though.  Lucky for us The Boy had some more thank yous to send out. 

Thank you Kindly set.  Basic black, whisper white and real red cardstock.  Black Stazon ink.  Big shot, square lattice embossing folder, top note die.

These were really easy to do.  I used the school colors again. 

The whisper white is 4x4 and layered on the 4.25 x 4.25 black.  Makes it easier to write on the inside. 

Alrighty then, its past my bedtime.  Tomorrow we are celebrating my MIL birthday and 17's birthday again.  Good times! 

I think Monday will actually be a free day for me.  I can't believe how busy I've been.  Seriously, something going on everyday.  I'm pooped out. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Blessings, b.

Let me introduce...............

California's newest licensed driver..............................(drumroll please)

Robin!

(and the crowd goes wild!)  I am so proud of her.  She actually got her permit last July 21st.  Her permit expires this July 21st.  She didn't get much (any) driving done this school year because homework just kicked her butt. 

So, since school has been out we've been practicing.  In less than a month she has had 2 behind the wheel lessons and missed a week of driving when we were in Iowa and she still pulled it off.  WooHoo!

Now I have to pay for more insurance ;(

Did everyone have a nice 4th of July?  Even though it was hotter than you know where, we had a productive yet fun day. 

My veggie boxes were completed.  I even bought a few plants to go in them but as of yet haven't had a free morning to plant them.  I'll be updating you when I get things going.  I know you're waiting on the edge of your seat ;)

We also gave the dogs a bath and gave Codie a hair cut.  Took me 3 days to complete that.......long story.

Most years we go to a local baseball game.  This is the A division of the Padres baseball team.  Its close to the house and its a really nice field.  There are no bad seats.  I love baseball. 

Of course they have a big fireworks show afterwards.  So fun! 

Anyhow, I still haven't gone through all the Iowa pics.  It seems everyday there has been something going on that takes my attention. 

Tonight I'm supposed to be designing for a class tomorrow night.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute, eh?  I think I'm broken.  All I've really done tonight is get 2 projects halfway done.  I need 4.  I know what the next 2 are going to be but am having the hardest time coming up with ideas.  I think part of the problem is that I've seen the new catalog and have ideas for those things.   Problem is, I don't have those things yet.  Oy!

Lucky for me, I don't have to work tomorrow so I'll have time to finish everything.  Maybe I'm just better under pressure.  Here's hoping. 

Okay, I can't leave you with no stampiness at all.  Here are a few cards I made for some friends at work that I won't be working with next year. 

Retired word set, sorry don't remember the name and Woodgrain background.  Crumb cake, very vanilla, Not Quite navy and old olive cardstock.  Crumb cake and early espresso inks.  Neutrals buttons, hemp, cork sheets, Springtime Vintage DSP, dotted ribbon punch, fun flowers die, big shot and dimensionals.

Alrighty then, this old lady is going to bed.  Hopefully I'll be bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning and knock out the next 2 projects.  KaPow!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I'll have more stampy goodness to show you after tomorrow. 

Blessings, b.