it was the books' fault

Can it really be that long since I last posted?  Sorry about that.  I read a book.  Okay, 4 books. 

When I start to feel overwhelmed ( being too busy or thinking too much) I read.  Some people may drink or eat or smoke or exercise (smarter choice),  but I read.  I can enter someone else's world and forget about mine for awhile. 

Some may call that avoidance but I seem better able to handle things after I've zoned out for awhile. 

I pulled out the Nooker (Nook Color) and looked up FREE books because I'm cheap.  This one had very high ratings.  It is not the type of book I normally read.  I like historical fiction.  Historical fiction with some religion and romance thrown in and you got me.

This one had none of that. But because it had such good reviews I thought I'd try it.

Modern day girl security guard, danger, profanity and sex.  Totally not my cup of tea. 

But I gotta say; I digged it.  There are parts that are very sweet and laugh out loud funny.  Some parts are a stretch but not enough to make me stop reading. 

There are 4 books in the series with another coming out.  Check it out, the first book is free. 

This was another one I really liked.  Its not free now on the Barnes and Noble site....sorry.   There are more to the series but for some reason I like how this one ended just fine. 


Okay enough book talk.  I really just wanted to show you some bag tags I made. 

Jack of all Trades, Woodgrain and Fabulous Phrases sets.  Naturals white, old olive and crumb cake cardstock.  Pumpkin pie, old olive and black Stazon inks.  Window frame framelits, xl bird punch, hemp, big shot, sponges. 

I put these on the latest orders I delivered.  I wrote a little thank you on the back.  I hope they like them. 

I punched out the leafy branch from the bird punch and just used my fingers to curl up the stem and then just man-handled it to come around the stem of the pumpkin. 

Did you all have a nice Halloween?  This was the first Halloween that all my babies weren't home.  Yes, I might have teared up a little. 

We had a few extra girls over to trick or treat with us.  Did I get a pic of Grace by herself?  Nope.  So I cropped a pic because I knew you would want to see. 

I wanted her to wear ruby red slippers but they were against it.  She even wore a broom on her back.  We got LOTS of candy around here. 

Alrighty then, thanks for letting me share.  I promise to have more stampy projects coming up. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking things out.

Blessings, b.

halloween goodies

Hello everybody!  How was your day? 

Grace and I went shopping.  I hate shopping.  BUT we needed shampoo and stuff.  Of course we picked up a few things not on our list..........like caramel apples and.............underwear.  

We're friends right?  So I can share this with you.....right?

I've been needing some new undies for awhile now and everytime I happen to hit Target I look to see if they have what I want. 

And they never do. 

Its not like I want anything special.  Just white cotton.  (I know, I'm so boring)  Not neon.  Not nylon.  Not microfiber.  My underwear do not need space age technology!

Well today we went to the outlet mall and there was a store there that sold underthings (don't know the name of the store) and danged if they didn't have exactly what I wanted! 

I bought 2 packs.  You can never have too much underwear.

So anyway, I wanted to show you the hostess gift and door prize gift I made for that last workshop I did. 

Teeny Tiny Wishes set.  Black Stazon ink.  Tangerine tango, basic black and very vanilla cardstock.  Howlstooth and scarington DSP, neutrals buttons, hemp, 2 3/8" scallop punch, 1 3/4", 1 3/8 and 1 1/4" circle punches.

For some reason the picture will not get bigger. 

I used one of those paint cans from the $Spot @ Target.  I bought them a long time ago. 

I used my Simply Scoring tool to score the DSP every 1/4".  I really wanted black hemp because I thought it would look more like spider legs.  I punched the black cardstock with the scallop punch then punched it again lining up the points to the scallops.  Get it?

Fabulous Phrases set.  Black Stazon ink.  Naturals white and old olive cardstock.  Big shot, window frames framelits, howlstooth and scarington DSP, brights buttons, linen thread.

I made up a little door prize goodie bag with the leftover candy and put a couple of really old stamps in there too. 

You can see here where I folded the gray piece in on itself right behind the button.  Just to add a little bit of texture. 

I cut a thin strip of old olive cardstock to thread through the button and curled the top to resemble a stem. 


Alrighty then, thats it for today.  Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Blessings, b.

pointsetta

You know its amazing how quickly a week goes by.  It wasn't even a good week.  Good thing its over I guess.  

So today I wanted to show you another project from the workshop. 

Watercolor Winter and Greetings of the Season (Holiday Catalog).  Crumb cake and whisper white cardstock.  Cherry cobbler, riding hood red, garden green and black Stazon inks.  Stampamajig, black journaler, sticky pearls and dimensionals.

I really like this card.  Simple and easy.  Another possibility for my own Christmas card.

Can you tell me why I did a project using the Stampamajig?  Yeah, me neither.  Its super easy to use but lets face it, it has a learning curve. I love my Stampamajig. 

In my defense, the hostess wanted to use a 2 step stamp set.  Anyway, I think everyone liked it.


I also want to show you the hostess gift I made for her.

 Everyday flexible phrases.  Very vanilla crumb cake and more mustard cardstock.  Crumb cake and black Stazon inks.  Newsprint DSP, wooden buttons, big shot, window frames framelits, little leaves die, hemp, woodgrain embossing folder, twill.


Who wouldn't love a big jar of chocolate?  This was/is a Classico spaghetti sauce jar.  I spray painted the lid silver.  I wanted the autumn colored kisses but I couldn't find any.

I'm really digging this woodgrain embossing folder.  I sponged some crumb cake on there to show a little more definition.

Alrighty then, thats it for today.  I'm keeping it short.  Yes, I can hear you thanking me now ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

I made it!

Good morning!  ( afternoon and evening....and morning and afternoon......its taken me 2 days to write this).

 Well, I survived the train.  I was really concerned that I would get all crazy claustrophobic but it was ok. In fact we decided to keep our reservation and take the train back.

We reserved a "roomette".  Very small.  Here she is on the top bunk but she didn't sleep there.  No, she slept with me on the bottom.  Well, I didn't really sleep.  Especially with us both on a bed smaller than a twin size.  Can you say cozy?

Food was pretty good.  Walking to and from the dining car was hilarious!  The train was very, um........shall we say turbulant?  I know thats not the right word but I can't think of another way to describe it.  There's a good reason why there is a harness on the top bunk.

 Anyway, we got here safe and sound. 

It was a busy day for my dad because right before we arrived my cousin came by plane.  So happy she was coming. 

Why they both got up to stand behind me I'll never know. 

You all know Grace but this is my cousin Jeni from Iowa.  She is so sweet and wanted to spend some time with my dad.  I'm so glad I got to spend some time with her.  She went home today.  Already miss her. 

Oh, for those of you in the ABQ area, you probably recognize the restuarant, El Pinto.  I had to take her there.  The food is good but I really wanted her to have the experience.  She had her very first sopapilla and green chili.  She loved it!  Maybe I can get her to come to New Mexico again eh?  Although we'll go to Little Anita's next time. I like Little Anita's. 

Okay, thats the last family pic for now. 

I did do some stamping before I left home.  I've been using the new Reason to Smile set.  Check out the flyer here.  For only $5 bucks its a great bargain.  Tuesday is the last day you can get it.  So don't wait! 

I'm going to drag it out a little and show you just one today. 

See this shirt that Grace is wearing?  This was the inspiration for this card I'm going to show you.  The colors are more of a Rose Red/Cajun Craze, River Rock, Baja Breeze and Early Espresso. 

Ready?

Reason to Smile and Fabulous Phrases.  Crumb cake, very vanilla, early espresso and watercolor paper.  Rose red and summer sun (retired) watercolor crayons, early espresso, baja breeze, daffodil delight, river rock and crumb cake inks.  Big shot, finishing touches edgelits, lattice square embossing folder, jewelry tag punch, dazzling diamonds, 2 way glue pen, vanilla seam binding, linen thread, aquapainter. 

What do you think?  I've  been thinking about my watercolor crayons lately and I wanted to try them with this set.  I first colored the background stamp with the rose red and then layered summer sun on the edges.  Squirt with water and I let the water set on the stamp about 5-7 seconds so it would sink into the grooves and then stamped, letting it sit on the paper for about 5-7 seconds before lifting it off. 

After it was dry I stamped the line image in early espresso and stamped the smaller flowers in crumb cake.  Then I watercolored the flowers, the centers and the background.  I love coloring and miss doing it.  Good thing they are a bunch of awesome sets in the new catalog that are line images just waiting to be colored.

 Check out that groovy border.  That is one of the new Finishing Touches Edgelits.  Love it!  Another trick on this card is that the word friend does not fit in the jewelry tag punch.  So I cut a piece of cardstock to 3/8" and stamped my word then stuck it in the punch from underneath to punch the round part.  Is that clear as mud?  Let me know if you have questions.

Alrighty then, I'm done for today.  It only took me 2 days to write this.  Geez!  We've gotten an afternoon storm and its really cooling things off.  Super happy about that.  I probably should get off in case the lightning does something crazy to the computer. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out.

Blessings, b.

ziggy and zaggy

Hey there!  How was your day?  I saw on the news this morning the horrible storms back East.  You people are in my prayers. 

For me though, today was the first day that I got to do some stuff I wanted to do.  Well okay, the second day.  I did get to put in an order of goodies just for me yesterday.  Just wait till you see what I got!

Today, I worked in the garden.....I hope to be finished getting everything planted tomorrow.  I know its kinda late but I think it will be okay.

I sent out some thank yous.

I showered.  Now before you go thinking I only do a Saturday night bath, I'm talking about the kind of shower that takes more than 5 minutes.  One where you shave everything you want, you use the pumice stone to try and get your feet to not look like the dog's, you trim all your nails, you moisturize from head to toe.........Yeah, that kind of shower. 

It was great. 

But now that I've been doing stuff and getting all sweaty again, you'd never know. 

But it was great while it lasted. 

So anyway, I wanted to show you the Thank You's I made. 

Delicate Doilies and Fabulous Phrases.  Crumb cake, and pool party cardstock.  Whisper white craft and Black Stazon inks.  White taffeta ribbon, white bakers twine, big shot and the new Chevron embossing folder.


Nifty huh?  17 is going to use these too, for her graduation thank yous. 

Now you can say that zig zags and doilies don't really go together but I don't care. 

I really wanted to use the new Chevron embossing folder.  And with only 9 current stamp sets, my choices are limited.  So I threw them together and I'm going to say they look FABULOUS! 

I very carefully cut along one of the zaggy lines to give it more of a finished edge. 

Close up for no real reason.


Alrighty then.  I did place an order yesterday for some new goodies.  I usually wait a month or so before I do a big order from the new catalog.  I like to see what everyone else is creating.  This year SU! was so nice as to send us the Holiday catalog early so we could do a little pre-order from that as well.  I love the Holiday catalog.  You will love it too.  It was really hard to stick to my budget so I may have to think up some ideas to make more money so I can order more things.  Hmmmmm........

Oh!  Speaking of making some money, I added 3 more stamp sets to the "for sale" list.  Go check it out here. 

Alrighty, thanks so much for stopping by and keeping the blog warm. 

Blessings, b.

Fabulous friend

Have you seen the new catalog?  My wish list was pretty long but not out of control.  I was trying to be good. 

But then Stampin' Up! sent us the new Holiday Catalog.  Now my wish list is way out of control.  Just wait until you see it!  Make sure you're sitting down first.  It will be available on Aug. 1st.  It is just beautiful. 

Thanks goodness I have time to calm down before then. 

So anyway, I wanted to show you a cute little tag I made using something I have, because I don't have the new thing that I want.  Understand?

Fabulous Phrases set.  Cajun craze, early espresso, Summer Starfruit (In color) and very vanilla cardstock.  Early espresso ink.  Comfort cafe DSP, vanilla seam binding, large paper doily die, big shot, polka dot embossing folder, scallop border punch, 1/8" hole punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, 2" circle punch. 


I just cut down a regular sized lunch bag to 7 1/2" tall, scalloped the edge, folded it down and used a regular clothespin to hold it shut and to hold the tag. Easy to do and roomy enough to hold a good sized gift. 

Now:


I have the Large Paper Doily die.  I love it!  



I want the new Delicate Doilies Sizzlits on page 191 in the new catalog.





So until I get the new die, I made do with what I have. 

I took the Large Paper Doily and cut it down.  You can get several different sizes out of it. 

The pattern on this new Comfort Cafe DSP uses Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit and Cajun Craze.  So those were the colors I used.  I just freehanded the words. 

This would make a quick and easy gift package for those last minute days.  I have those alot. 

Alrighty then, time to go already.  My family has recently discovered Disc Golf.  They installed a course at the park by my house and we are kinda addicted. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out.

Blessings, b.

School's out for summer!

Yep, I'm done with work for a few weeks.  YAY! 

My to-do list is a mile long though.  They say slow and steady wins the race right?  Well, thats the plan anyway in order to get through it. 

So I thought I would start my summer by showing you a quickie Father's Day card.  It would have helped had I remembered to mail the darn thing.  I'll be late again............

Lovely as a Tree and Teeny Tiny Wishes.  Midnight muse, very vanilla and soft suede cardstock.  Soft suede and early espresso inks.  Comfort Cafe DSP, striped embossing folder, big shot, antique brads and dimensionals.


The picture doesn't do it justice.  It is a really nice clean yet masculine card.  I love the new Comfort Cafe DSP.  It has both masculine, feminine and neutral patterns.  Can't ask for more than that can ya? 

And the blue there?  That is a new 2012-2014 In Color, Midnight Muse.  Its inbetween Night of Navy and Not Quite Navy.  Its really nice.  I'll see if I can get a comparison up here showing all the new colors. 

Speaking of new colors, I made a little hostess gifty the other day. 

Fabulous Phrases set.  Black Stazon and crumb cake ink.  Whisper white and crumb cake cardstock.  Big shot, labels framelits, scallop punch, brights button, comfort cafe dsp, white bakers twine and rose red seam binding. 


I gave her a sheet of each of the new In Colors.  This color on top is Raspberry Ripple.  It goes with the Rose Red seam binding very well. 

I made the flower by punching out a bunch of shapes from our packing paper.  It made a cute and quick tag. 


Alrighty then, I've had a full day and I'm pooped.  I'll be back with more.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

friendly box

Hey everyone!  Well, did you do the Week In The Life last week?  I know, I didn't supply very much inspiration around here.  Sorry about that.  I was so pooped every night that I never got on here to post anything. 

I did get my Week In The Life done though.  Well, I got all the pictures and documentation done.  This week I'll be putting it all together.  I got alot better about getting the camera out.  AND, I found the secret to getting shots of my family.............turn the sound off on the camera.  They never knew a thing!  Sometimes, (not often enough) I come up with a good idea. 

So while you're waiting for me to get that together, I have a project idea to show you. 

Medallion and Fabulous Phrases stamps.  Crumb cake, vellum, whisper white and old olive cardstock.  Whisper white craft and black Stazon inks.  Big shot, lable framelits, fun flowers die, little leaves die, paper doily die, hemp, bakers twine, tissue paper, brights buttons, polka dot embossing folder, 3/4" and 1" circle punches.


Isn't this a cute little box?  Final measurements are: 3.5" x 3.25" x  1.5".

I was going to exchange a punch for a customer and it came right before we went to Oregon.  Since she was so patient, I decided it would be nice if I made it pretty before I delivered it.

Here is how you make the box:

I used my handy dandy Simply Scored Tool.  Now, you don't have to have this to make the box, it just makes it quick and easy.

On the 8.5" side you need to score it at 1 1/2" and 7".  On the 11" side score it at: 1 1/2", 4 3/4", 6 1/4" and 9 1/2".

Then snip into the folds.  I forgot to take a pic of that step.  Here, let me see if I can label this.  Hold on.................

Cut on the white lines.  Although I'm sure you'll cut them straighter than my sad lines here.

If you want to stamp on your box, now is the time to do it.  You can't see it here but I stamped the Medallion in white craft ink on what will be the top of the box.  Grab that Medallion stamp while you can, its being retired.

 Take your most awesome Tombow Multi Glue and put the sides together.  This will be the bottom.

Then glue your lid together like so.

I used a 1" circle punch to punch out a place to grab whatever is inside.  You'll see that the punch fits very snuggly inside here.  I had to punch this little notch so I could get ahold of the punch to take it out.  I hadn't done it yet on this pic but I punched out a notch on the lid too.

Side angle

I got lucky that the punch fit just perfectly.

Then I made a cute little tag to go with it.  I cut the doily out of tissue paper.  Then I just ripped (gently) the overhang.  I left it like that because............well, I don't really know why I left it like that. 

This label was the 3rd in from the middle framelit.

A view from the top. 

View from the side.  It is a sturdy little box and didn't take long to make it.  I hope my friend liked it. 

Alrighty then, I've got to get dinner going.  I'm so glad Week In The Life is over.  I love when its all finished but it is a bugger to get done.  I'll show you when I get it done. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

I'm on a roll

Boy Howdy! am I ever on a roll.  3 posts in 3 days!  Maybe the world really is ending.............

Since tomorrow (Saturday)  is the last day of Sale-A-Bration I thought I'd better get the projects I made using SAB items up here, just in case you needed another little push to get some free goodies before its too late. 

Outlined Occasions (SAB).  Crumb cake, whisper white and daffodil delight cardstock.  Black Stazon, tangerine tango and daffodil delight inks.  Big shot, polka dot embossing folder, white bakers twine, brights buttons (SAB), label framelits, white taffeta and dimensionals.

It was nearly impossible to get a good pic of this card.  Or maybe I should say it was impossible for me.  But you get the idea right? 

I just layered the framelits on the cardstock and I was able to cut out a cute little frame with one pass throught the Big Shot.  Nifty eh?

A Word for You.  Pool party, very vanilla cardstock.  Black Stazon ink.  Vanilla seam binding, scallop edge punch, large paper doily, big shot, newsprint DSP and Everyday Enchantment DSP (SAB). 

This card went through a million transformations.  Here are a few more:

This was probably my favorite.  Only difference here is the base is crumb cake, the pool party ruffled ribbon (love) and I added pearls on the doily.

I know alot of people are having a hard time with the doily.  Luckily for me, mine is awesome!  We'll have a discussion another day about it though.

Using vanilla for the doily.  A2 size.

Apothecary Art (Occasions mini).  Soft suede, baja breeze, very vanill and crumb cake cardstock.  Black Stazon, Rose red, old olive, daffodil delight and crumb cake inks.  Aquapainter, big shot, label framelits, rose red seam binding, square lattice embossing folder and dimensionals.

This project doesnt' use any SAB goodies but the cuteness inside of it does.  The box was inspired by Lisa Martz.  We used the aquapainters to color the flowers. 

I don't own the Box #2 die so I used my Simply Scoring Tool to make one.  Easy!  I'll post a tutorial on how I did that next week.

The back.

Fabulous Phrases.  Soft suede, baja breeze and very vanilla cardstock.  Black Stazon ink.  Everyday Enchantment DSP (SAB), baja breeze seam binding, jewelry tag punch.

These are the little cuties that went in the box.  We made 3x3 cards with envelopes.  I really liked this DSP and I'm gong to miss it.  So go place a $50 order so you can get some! 

Fresh Vintage (SAB) and music notes wheel.  Pretty in pink, regal rose, old olive and crumb cake inks.  Crumb cake, pretty in pink and whisper white cardstock.  Big shot, label framelits, polka dot embossing folder, boho blossoms punch, pearls, white satin ribbon, wheel guide.


This is going to be my Grandmother's birthday card.  This was also inspired by Lisa Martz. 

I used the boho blossoms punch to punch out the flowers.  Then I crinkled and wrinkled them and then separated the layers.  Now they are soft flowers. 

Outlined Occasions (SAB).  Pool party, calypso coral, whisper white cardstock.  Black Stazon, old olive and pool party inks. Everyday Enchantment DSP (SAB), Pool party ruffled ribbon, label framelits, 1 1/4" square punch, big shot and dimensionals.

I don't really like how this card turned out.  I did do a little trick with the label framelit that I thought was groovy, but I will show you that on another card next week. 

Okay, I think thats it.  Let me go check really quick...........

Yep, thats all.  March 31 is the last day of Sale-A-Bration so if you see anything that you'd like to have you can go directly to my SU! website and put in an order.  You can check out the SAB catalog here.  Don't miss out! 

Alrighty then, I gots lots to do today.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Blessings, b.