what?!

How did so much time go by since my last post?  I know, you guys are used to it from me.  But really, its not my intention.  I have lots to show you.

In the last few weeks lots has been happening.

1.  The Boy turned 21.  He went to Vegas to celebrate.........without us.  I have no pic to show you because he is a dork and won't let me point a camera at him, and Heaven forbid he take any himself!

2.  I had my 2nd Holiday Card Class.  (I'm such a loser.  I still haven't shown you the cards from the first one yet.)  Here is the bag tag from the 1st one.

Thats the Ticket set.  Cherry cobbler, old olive and whisper white cardstock.  Old olive and crumb cake ink.  Sticky pearls, bird punch, ticket punch, burlap ribbon, cherry cobbler twine and season of style DSP.  


I usually give my guests some kind of bag to put their finished cards in.  Keeps them from getting lost or squished.  

 

This tag was made back in September and I thought I was fairly clever coming up with the idea of using the wing from the bird punch to create the poinsettia, but recently I saw somewhere someone else (I don't remember who or where eta: it was Mary Brown)  had done it also.  But she used 6 petals on each layer and it looked much nicer.  So if you make one, use 12 petals.

Teeny Tiny Wishes set.  Crumb cake, daffodil delight, basic black and whisper white cardstock.  Soft suede, whisper white and black stazon inks.  Big shot, woodgrain embossing folder, oval punch, bird punch, owl punch and white gel pen. 

This is the bag tag I made for the 2nd class.  I saw this cute little bat on Diana Gibbs blog.  She is a stamping/punching genius.

I inked up the woodgrain embossing folder with the soft suede ink before I ran it through the machine.  I think it looks cool. 

3.  The Hubs and I were invited to a concert at a winery by our house.  It was fun and I did have a little too much to drink.   My camera takes crummy pics. 

4.  On the 12th, Grace had Cosmic pajama bowling with her band class.  They got to bowl in their jammies and eat candy and got a ton of glow bracelets/necklaces........at 7:00 in the morning.  Did she even comb her hair? 

.............and The Hubs had his first official 100 mile ride.

Super proud of him.  He even got a medal.  Such a stud!

 5.  We had our 24th anniversary.  But because we've been so busy we didn't actually get to celebrate until last night.  I surprised him with a night out.  I never get to surprise him!  He guesses everything all the time.  I can't put out Christmas presents for him until Christmas Eve because he will guess what they are just by holding them..........even when they're disguised..........its freaky, I'm telling you. 

Anyhow I made plans for some friends to meet us for dinner and then we went to a comedy club that has opened by our house.  As soon as we got close to the restaurant he knew what we were doing.  BUT, he didn't know our friends were meeting us there.  SURPRISE!  We had a great time!

These are the flowers he gave me.  So pretty!

Here is the card I made him.

Yippee Skippee set.  Pool party, real read, whisper white and crumb cake cardstock.  Soft suede and black stazon inks.  Big shot, expressions thinlits, woodgrain embossing folder, deco frame framelits.

Everything I make him has some sort of wood component.  I inked up the "I freakin'" part, stamped, cleaned it, inked up the "you!" and stamped again.  I freakin' love it!  I know some people did not like the words on this particular stamp but I got a chuckle out of it.  I just freehand cut a heart out.

Alrighty thats it for today.  I do have all the holiday cards we've made at the classes.  Look for those this week.  Plus, Grace and I are working on a project to send to 19 for Halloween.  Never a dull moment around here.

Thanks so much for coming by and hanging out.

Blessings, b.

uploaded

Wow!  Life has been happening around here.  I hadn't realized that I had gone so long since uploading the pics from my camera and my phone.  There were ALOT of pics on there! 

No, I'm not going to show you all of them........yet........just some. 

You're welcome!

I still have to go through them so today, I'll just show you a quick little bag tag I made for my stamp girls. 

Teeny Tiny Wishes.  Basic black and old olive cardstock.  Whisper white craft ink.  Big shot, chalk talk die cut, 1 1/4" circle punch, polka dot parade DSP (brights), little leaves die, witches brew washi tape.

I don't have any Halloween stamps so I had to get creative.

I did buy the Witches Brew Washi tape from the Holiday Catalog because I really liked the orange zig zags and I really like washi tape.  So thats what I went with. 

I dig on these cute little pumpkins.  Here is how you make them:

I punched 4 circles.  You can do more for a fuller pumpkin.

Fold them in half with the pattern you want showing on the inside.

Smear a little Tombow on there. 

Put 2 together.  Then smear more glue.  Put another one on there.  Smear more glue.  Put another one on there and there you have it.........4 folded circles glued together.  TaDa!

Now glue this onto the tag.  Whats neat about this is you can put this on a card and it will fold flat for mailing and then poof back out when the person opens the envelope.  Neat, right?

I stamped the words first and then added the washi tape.  I also cut up a Little Leaves die for the stem.  I think they're pretty cute.

Alrighty then, thats it for me today.  I discovered I have lots of other projects to show you so things should be a little more interesting on the blog-o..........for awhile anyway. 

Thanks so much for hanging out, hanging around, checking in, stopping by....................just thanks. 

Blessings, b.

Sorting Hat?

Hidey Ho!  I hope today finds you all just wonderful.  The weather is cooling off again.  It was 101 yesterday.  UGH!  (my children just informed me that I'm old because I always talk about the weather.  Well, I think the weather is interesting.....give me a break man.)

Anyway, this old lady has a little Halloween card to share. 

I don't send out Halloween cards.  Well I guess I do now because I'm going to send this to 18, along with a little care package.

Jack of All Trades and Teeny Tiny Wishes sets.  Basic black and very vanilla cardstock.  Black Stazon and more mustard inks.  Howlstooth and scarington DSP, 2 way glue pen and dazzling diamonds glitter. 

There was a card in the latest PaperCrafts magazine the used a layout something like this and so I thought I'd try it. 

Just cut strips of your DSP and lay them all wonky on the card and trim.  Great way to use up those little pieces.

You can see the glitter better here.  I can also see a cat hair in it.  Well she misses her cat so I'll just say I did that on purpose ;)

I had a hard time getting the hat to ink up completely.  Its the first time I've used this stamp and I guess I need to condition it.  (the best way to condition a stamp is to rub it with an eraser or stamp it with Versamark a few times) BUT, I decided that it looked kinda old and Sorting Hat-ish this way. 

I'm guessing everyone knows what the Sorting Hat is. 

I'm going to put this card in the box I'm sending her.  I've got some other goodies in there too.

Grace and I made her a bunch of goodies that she can give to her friends.  She'll give me a hard time that I made them but I'm hoping she will secretly enjoy it. 

Alrighty then, thats all for today.  I hope your weather is more Fall-like than around here. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging 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.

sour cream for everyone!

Hey there! 

On Sunday I had another workshop.  Yay me!

This time I didn't spill or ruin anything.  Yay me!

But I did forget 2 items.  Dang it! (And there was one other thing I messed up on the card we made but I'll tell you about that in a few days.  It would be so unlike me to have things go perfect.)

Lucky for me the hostess had one thing and the next door neighbor had the other thing.  So it all worked out.

Remember the sour cream containers that were so popular sooooooooooo long ago?   Well we made one.  A pumpkin one.

Jack of all Trades and Teeny Tiny Wishes set.  Tangerine tango, old olive and black Stazon inks.  Howlstooth and Scarington DSP, big shot, window frames framelits, black taffeta ribbon, word window punch, crimper and 1/8" circle punch.

Isn't it cute?  Love that crooked little smile.

Just the perfect size for some Skittles or M&M's or gummy worms or..............

I remember when I was first taught how to make one that I had never seen a sour cream container quite like this.  I guess some fast food places use this design.   I'm sure if I had a mind to I could have figured it out on my own but I though maybe some of you are like me and just don't have a mind to.  So I thought I'd do a quick little tutorial on how to make them. 

Lets begin shall we?

Mine uses a 5"x6" piece of paper.

Turn it over and lay a thin line of glue down the short end.  I used my beloved Tombow Multi glue.  This was actually too much.  A little goes a long way.

Roll it up.  You can rub the paper on the edge of your desk or bone folder to get it going in the right direction first to help you out.

One of the ladies at the workshop had the idea of using a toilet paper tube to use as a form and then you could just slide it off.

Line up your seam off to one side and stick a little glue in there and pinch closed.

Get it?

Remember your crimper?  That tool that is collecting dust in your bottom drawer?  Get it out and crimp the end just 2 or 3 clicks.

Cool eh? 

This would be the time to fill it with candy.......or jewelry......or a gift card (you might need to start out with a bigger size piece of cardstock).....or tickets......or money..............

Then squish the open end the opposite way of the closed end and lay some glue in there.......

and pinch it closed and crimp it.  Now you've got a nifty shape.

People will be in wonder at your cleverness.  Then just punch a hole in the end and tie a cute tag on and you're all good to go.

These are so easy and you can do them for any kind of occasion.  Just think, showers, wedding favors, you could make 25 of them and turn them into an Advent calendar, classroom treats......

Try using different papers too.  Vellum makes a really fancy looking one.  Its easy to make them bigger or smaller too.  Just start with a different size rectangle.


Okay, I've got one last pic to show you.  I was working in the garden........I know you've been wanting a garden update huh?.............and I saw that the top of this carrot was good size so I pulled it.  It wasn't fully grown yet but check it out:

HA!  A 3 legged carrot!  Oh my, why is it so easy for me to get a kick out of veggies.  Remember "Carrots in Love"?





Okay, I'll stop there.  Thanks so much for stopping in and hanging out.  You give me warm fuzzies........which is different and much better than the hot flashes.

Blessings, b.

Christmas pine

Howwwwwwdeee!  (said in my best Minnie Pearl voice) 

How is everyone today?  It was below 90 today.  Fall might be on the way yet........just in time for Christmas ;)

Speaking of Christmas I have another Christmas card to show you.   

Watercolor Winter and Greeting of the Season sets.  Crumb cake and naturals white cardstock.  Garden green, crumb cake, early espresso and black Stazon inks.  Scallop border punch, cherry cobbler seam binding, vintage faceted button, linen thread, 2 way glue pen, dazzling diamonds and sponging and dimensionals.

The family really liked this one.  BUT it would be a bugger to mail.  That button sticks WAY out.   I have an idea to make some "to and from" tags for packages using the same design though. 

I used the 2 way glue to make the glitter stick.  Love that stuff! 

I won't lie....I had to use the Stampamajig to get the greenery lined up right.  Ever since Stampin' Up! took their name off the stickers that go on the blocks, I can't line anything up correctly. 

So, enough of Christmas.  How about some Halloween? 

Fabulous Phrases set.  Sahara sand, choc. chip, whisper white, real red and basic black cardstock.  Black Stazon ink.  Lg. owl punch, early espresso bakers twine, Howlstooth & Scarington DSP, 1x8 cello bags and 1 3/4" circle punch. 


These are the thank you tags I put on the bags from that last workshop.  Cute eh?

They make the perfect size little gifty.  They would be great for a classroom treat.  I'm going to make up a bunch for Grace to give to her friends at school and to the teachers if she is so inclined...........except they won't say thanks.

 Alrighty then, thats it for today.  Oh! I almost forgot to tell you about my most awesome weekend. 

(You thought you were going to get away without having to hear it huh?) 

We went to see 18 at school for Parent Weekend.  I got to hug on her all I wanted.

 I got to hug on her all I wanted.  Why are my eyes closed?

The weather was great! We played lots of disc golf.   LOTS.  In some parts it was more like "hiking disc golf".  I was sore for a few days.

What form..........see that look of determination?  Yeah, even with all the one-on-one coaching, I don't think I get it more than 40 feet at a time.  I have short arms.

This kid had a birthday on Sunday.  He turned 20.  Gosh, he just loves when I pull out the camera.

Okay, now I'm really done.  Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out.

Blessings, b.

bacon love

Hidey Ho! 

I'm so ready for fall weather.  Almost 100 again today.  UGH!  I had lots and lots of chores to catch up on this weekend so, no stamping for me :(

But, Grace got some stamping in.  She was checking out my PaperCrafts magazine and found something she liked.  So she decided to recreate it. 

Such a crafty girl.

This is the pic from the magazine.  A cute little Halloween treat by Jamie Hurley. 

Happy Haunting (retired).  Basic black, whisper white and pumpkin pie cardstock.  Elegant eggplant and basic black inks.  White gel pen, misc. buttons, yellow marker, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punch. 


Is this kid awesome or what?  Who needs fancy supplies and expensive tools?  Not Grace. 

Check out this button detail.  She got in the sewing box to get the black thread and I don't know where she got the idea to stack the buttons.  Whats really funny is that, I had no idea she was doing any of this.  Clever girl!


Okay, before I go tonight, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who sent good thoughts/emails  my way after my last post.   I so appreciate it.  {kisses} 

I wanted to give you a little extra love tonight too.  Some Bacon Love!

I was cooking bacon this weekend and this little piece just made me happy.  I hope it makes you happy too.  No, I didn't eat it.............the hubs did though.  No bacon going to waste around here! 

Alrighty then, thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out.  Love, love, love that you do that.  Have a great night.

Blessings, b.