Monday, November 25, 2013

Blogger Blues

Please pardon my construction mess
but after 3 hours
I am giving up!
At least
the Halloween header and background are gone!
Now I just have duplicates upon duplicates
of buttons and widgets
and
I learned the little black cat widget
will retire in March 2014.
Sad! Sad! Sad!
Anyway-
I am calling it a night!
 
Tomorrow is another day, Scarlett!
 
Until next time,
happy stamping and scrapping!
Blessings,



Sunday, November 24, 2013

Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!

Warning: LOTS of photos follow...!
 
I know-I know-
it's not even THANKSGIVING yet...
and here I am talking about Christmas!
I have good reason.
One of our groupies,
who also happens to be named Sharon
is in charge of decorations
for her golf group's holiday celebration.
Her and her one-other-person committee
chose
A Charlie Brown Christmas.
The other Sharon
decided that the scrawny Christmas tree
with the red decoration
would make great centerpieces.
I said so would Snoopy and the decorated doghouse.
We were off an running!
We hoped to have 4 working on all this-
turns out it was only the two of us...!
This took one long evening
and one Sunday afternoon...
but we are both delighted with the outcome!
First,
we "built" doghouses.
Gift boxes, cardstock-and red wrapping paper
with little brown lines through it.
Then I printed and cut out
Snoopy and Woodstock.
Double-sided, fussy cut!
Thank God for light boxes (that allowed us to line the
two images up pretty darn close)
and Sharpie markers that helped fill in where it wasn't!
TOS (the other Sharon) stamped and put together the infamous
blue ribbon (Close to My Heart stamp set/Cricut cut).
That was the first night!
Then today--
we put the icing on the cake
snow on the roof
and glued on the lights...
bad lighting on the pics-sorry
(shooting with a window with sun shining behind them)
but here they are--
all six centerpieces...


3 have Snoopy and Woodstock on top...

three have Snoopy and Woodstock on the side
complete with maribu on their hats!
(both images were cute and we couldn't decide
so we did both!)

 
Quilt batting makes excellent "snow"!



 
Next up were the trees...
flower pots with floral foam--
covered with tin foil and decorated
and of course
the sad looking tree...
my first idea was
taking cheap greenery
and stripping off the most of the green-
not only did this make a HUGE mess-
it stuck to us and everything else.
Scratch that idea.
Coming home from church today--
I spied a pile of branches on the corner-
we went back this afternoon and collected them--
turns out
they were even covered with lichen!--
and presto! We had trees....
and the red ball ornament...?
Its  actually a red golf ball!
We wrapped and hot glued
red and white ribbon around it
and added a hanger!



 
we then covered the floral foam with more batting
to make it look like snow...
and well, to cover the foam! lol!





 



the "building inspector"...
is pleased!

The look on Sharon's face---made it all worth it!
I am sooo impressed with us!
On top of all this--
we also made 24 candy bar wrappers
as favors!
We worked our little tails off
but they are HAPPY TAILS indeed!

 
 And my cat who eats Christmas trees...
came to survey the scene, too!
Don't even think about it, Inky!
Emergency vet run and enemas
are not on my agenda for the rest of today!
Sheesh.
Hubby picked up take out on his way home from the movie.
Good thing!
dinner, hot bath and rum drink, here I come!
 
Yep, it all looks good.
I LOVE Charlie Brown Christmas.
Believe it or not,
back when I was in high school
and took a child day care class where we actually
took care of 4 year olds,
we did the Charlie Brown Christmas play.
I got to be Linus.
Fond memory---
getting to share the gospel --in a school setting!
Too bad that isn't the case today...
 
Goodnight, Snoopy!
 
Sharon,
a HUGE thank you for letting me help with this!
I really, really enjoyed it!
We do good work, girlfriend! ; )

Until next time,
happy stamping and scrapping!
Blessings,


Thursday, November 21, 2013

Setting Sail...

I really meant to post this
earlier this week
but time and life got away from me.
I spent last evening helping a friend
make Charlie Brown Christmas themed decorations.
We didn't get finished
so Sunday will have take two on that project.
They will be ADORABLE so stay tuned!
Didn't know designing dog houses was in my repertoire
but --it is!
 
Ok.
Setting Sail.
My "nephew's" birthday is coming up
and being as he is in the Navy
I broke out my Close to My Heart Tommy stash
and this is what I came up with...
I used a CTMH stamp set for the flags
and stamped and hand cut each of the letters to make the
"happy" banners
which I attached to red ribbon
pop-dotted of course!

The inside has a moving mechanism
in that circle area
I found this design on
Dawns Stamping Studio blog
for a Halloween card she designed.
As you open the card, those two flagged panels inside the circle
pull back to reveal
in this card
the "super" star stamped underneath.
At the bottom I added another panel of dp
and fussy cut the Happy Birthday and
yes, pop-dotted it, too.
I will tuck some cash inside and it's good to go.
Next up will be my goddaughter's belated birthday card
and, I gotta say, it GLOWS.
 
Until next time
happy stamping and scrapping!
Blessings,








Monday, November 18, 2013

Lady bug, Lady bug...fly away home

It seems it's either feast or famine around here!
I have not one but 4 cards to share!
I've been busy in that magic kingdom
(that's why my blog header and background is Halloween still!)
 
Anyway-
one at a time.


I love love love this one-
red, black and white-what's not to love?
And lady bugs?!
This card is a whole lot more fussy than what I normally do
but as I kept designing and doing it,
I kept adding layer upon layer-
let's see-base, background, doily,
and 4 embellishment layers!
We won't mention the TWO layers of hefty pop dots!
This one is going to be hand-delivered
so it really doesn't matter and besides,
I am used to extra postage due to pop dots!


The cardstock is all Close to My Heart-as is the inside Happy Birthday sentiment.
The front stamped/die cut embellishments are new Stampin' Up sets.
I am not certain who the Thank God for You stamp is by-
and the stickers I picked up at our local pretend Wal-Mart.
 The coloring here in these two bottom pics
make it look orange-y-but it's not-it's red.
CTMH cardstock has a white core-
so sending it through the Big Shot with an embossing folder
then sanding (nail file works great!)
is like having a whole 'nother paper stash on hand!


the wooden lady bug on the bow was in may stash from forever.
Kinda hated to part with it--maybe I can find some more.

 
That's it for today.
Filing and bill paying beckon me.
 
To the person wanting to see my Etsy shop opened-
please be patient!
Living on an island, we also have a pretend post office
so I have to go across the bridge to the real post office
(and pray I get the nice men and not the bi mean ladies!)
to calculate shipping,
then get some pics and I'll be good to go!
Maybe as soon as next week!
 
Until next time,
happy stamping and scrapping!
Blessings,



Sunday, November 10, 2013

Cat and cotusions....

 
I walked past Inky's bowl
(aka the baby)
and this is what I saw...
 
I had to laugh!
I guess he was saving one piece
for a snack!
 
Later the same day...
 

I saw him sitting on top of the TV!


 
"If only I knew how to turn this thing on..."
he seems to be saying...!
 
The next photo
is not for the faint of heart....
it shows what happens
when one is going 90 miles an hour
and runs her thigh
into the very pointed corner
of the desk in the church office...


 
The bruise is about my fist size
and I confess...
although not Catholic
I needed confession after the things I said
when we connected!
It wasn't isn't pretty!
And it sure hurts!!!

I haven't changed the background and header yet--
I will get around to it-or not.
 
And to my reader that commented on the catnip toys
and the opening of my Etsy shop---
I PROMISE it will be soon!
At least in time to order goodies for Christmas!
I cleaned the "magic kingdom" (aka my craft room)
this week-end
and one of the last things I did today
was to fill a candle holder
with some of my coconut scented bath salts
and nestled a candle down into it---
OHMYDEARGODINHEAVEN----
it smells AWESOME!!!
Maybe I need to repackage them
as room fresheners!
 
Until next time,
happy stamping and scrapping!
Blessings,









Saturday, November 9, 2013

Lessons from Cleaning the Craft Room...

So far
I haven't gotten lost in there
or gotten stuck under
an avalanche of stuff!
 
 What a disaster it is!
How nice it's going to be
when I get done!
Again.
So-
two lessons learned this morning:
first,
ALWAYS use the hand-held vac
(mine is a Shark and I LOVE IT!)
to sweep.
It is much, much easier
when you catch a glimpse of what you *think*
might have been a clear rubber stamp
being sucked up
to retrieve it.
Actually,
when I emptied it onto the paper towels...
I found not one
but TWO!
And yes,
one was an alphabet stamp--
I am FOREVER losing one from a set-
no matter how careful I am.
At least...I found it.
 
And,
speaking of found it...
Lesson Two is...
clean the craft room
before you buy
the second stamp set
because you lost your favorite stamp from it.
Not only did I find the FAVORITE stamp..
I found the whole darn set that I could swear I looked at
20 times before I ordered it.
Again.
Sigh.
 
At least I found it--and I will have backup.
 
And I found the pretty AUTUMN banner
and hung it up!
 


ok
back to it.
That magic wand seems to be broken again.
 
Until next time
happy stamping and scrapping.]
Blessings,

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Still Here...


Halloween has come and gone
(and I know I need to change my blog backgrounds, etc.)
and so has
HOLLY DAYS 2013.
 
This is a one-day craft show that I
and my great friend Theresa do together every year.
I have worked myself to death getting ready-
and was sooo excited with new products---
I wish I could do a scratch and sniff through the screen
for the
Coconut Bath Salts, Lavender Bath Salts,
scented Mermaid Bubbles (rose, lavender or coconut)
with beaded bubble wands to match,
and some oldies--
Lavender dryer sachets
and of course CATNIP!
 
I got up at 4:45 AM Saturday--to rain.
Thankfully, by 7 AM
it was a slight drizzle and
by the end of the day
we even saw a peek of sun.
 
Our booth
was by far one of the best.
We were told that by more than one person!
We had the most unique items and great deals.
If I had a dollar
for everyone that stopped in our booth
and said how good it smelled-I'd be a rich lady today
and my offering this morning would have helped a whole lot more people.
 
Sadly,
I had lots of sniffers---not as many buyers as I hoped.
 
Maybe its the weather-the time change-
my fibro kicking up with the weather
and the wear and tear of packing, unpacking, set up, break down,
reload...unload, inventory, repack....
I don't know....
but I am feeling a wee bit sorry for myself today.
 
Granted,
it wasn't a bust;
I am a little richer
(let's not talk about cost vs. profit...that changes the whole scenario!)
and I had fun.
 
Theresa and I met at HD we can't remember how many years ago.
The first year she shopped my booth--
the second year her husband chatted with me and encouraged me
to talk to her because she stamped and scrapbooked, too.
We swapped phone numbers
and the rest is history.
 
We have one more show a little closer to Christmas.
I am going to venture to a local shop or two
and start an Etsy shop.
And put it all in His hands.
That's it in a nutshell.
HE KNOWS what I need---and don't need.
And I know I need...to trust Him.
It all works out, eventually.
 
To those that helped me get ready and get through,
a HUGE thank you.
To those that did buy---THANK YOU, TOO!
 
Until next time,
happy stamping and scrapping.
Blessings,