I got new stamps!

And a new punch. I used them to make this card. Oh I got some new stickles too... they are on the card as well. I have been making so many cards that I have seriously negleted my scrapbooks... I have pictures upon pictures that need to make it into albums.... even the kids have noticed I have not done as much as usual. Of course I continue to buy.... buy is what I do best! I have my new punch, which I was alerted to by the members of CKMB. I do not recommend going there unless you have a large supply budget... haha. Then of course I bought the new stamps when I saw them at my Local Stamp Store (LSS). I was there looking for dew drops, which they did not have. I couldnt go home empty handed now could I?
For my non crafting readers, I provided lots of linkage in case you are wondering just what the heck I am talking about.

Card Info:
Bird stamp: inkadinkado
Sentiment: PTI
markers: american crafts
stickles
stampin up pp
unknown cardstock

Fake Grins

Why is it when kids hit a certain age they suddenly decide its time for the fake grin? And it never really looks like a grin... it just ends up making the generally adorable child look constipated. I took this picture 5 times. All 5 times my boy has a version of the fake grin plastered on his face. I went through this with my girl as well. It lasted at least 3 years and she still pulls that stupid fake grin out on occasion. The thing that gets me is, it isnt just my kids. My niece and nephew are afflicted with fake grin. Children of my friends have also been afflicted with fake grin. It seems to be something every child masters.
Another thing I have noticed children always act like adults are completely stupid. They do it so often we ask the child, "Do you think I am stupid?" To which said children always reply, "No." But you know they are thinking. Yes! Yes I do, I think you are a complete moron, which is why you are always asking me these rhetorical questions anyway.

In Memory of...

My Aunt Jane
Cancer stole her life this week. She was my mom's baby sister. The younger girl in this photo. I didn't know her well as she lived far away for my entire life. I do know she was a loving mother, a loving sister, a good wife, and a kind person. She sent me a card every Christmas and always asked about me when she spoke with my mother. She leaves behind a devoted husband, a son, a daughter and two beautiful grandchildren. She was only 55.

Papertrey Blog Hop

Welcome Papertrey Blog Hoppers! I am not sure what all is involved with this blog hop but I do know your project should have ribbon as the focus. I had so many ideas... but this is the one that actually made it from concept to card. I really like the way it turned out. If I ever stamp on ribbon again I will definitely try using the stiffy stuff because this is a bit blurry for my tastes.

I made this using the PTI white cardstock which I cut down to a card size of about 4x6. Then I cut strips of the PTI patterned paper and adhered it to the card. Next I cut pieces of PTI ribbon (in both sweet blush and berry sorbet) and adhered those to the card. I stamped a PTI birthday sentiment on the sweet blush grosgrain. Finally I tied bows with the PTI ribbon and attached them with glue dots.

You can read all about the PTI blog hop here. If you like my project and want to vote for it you can head over to the PTI forum and vote there. Thanks for stopping by!

I Actually Won Something!

Inside of the card

I won the stamps used to make this card from Papertrey Ink. Its the Wedding Set. It seems to me I never win anything so I was overjoyed when the random number generator picked me! I really dont have a lot of weddings coming up... just two this summer that I can think of. Still I am having fun creating wedding cards that I may one day need! All supplies are from PTI.

Work on the castle continues...

FunDaddy has recovered from his illness so the work on the castle continues. We now have three walls with siding... a "breakfast bar" area on the inside, and the balcony (minus the rails... and yes both kids continually climb up there-I see a trip to ER in our future). FunDaddy has given an estimated completion date of about 2 weeks... which I am sure like the date any builder gives, is completely off by at least a month or so.
I hope you all have a Happy Easter tomorrow. I am sure I will be hiding eggs all. day. long. But I plan to enjoy it, because even though they drive me crazy, they are growing up way too fast.

Cupcake Card

Are you sick of Papertreyink yet? If you are, I apologize. Clearly I am obsessed! So this card took me the better part of an hour to put together. I just love the little cupcakes. The frosting and the cake are two different stamps so its easy to make them different colors. I am a totally novice stamper... I just started this past fall, so I am really learning as I go.

Supply List:
Cardstock: Papertrey ink white, sweet blush, and berry sorbet
Ink: Palette ink in berry sorbet, aqua mist and black noir
Ribbon: Papertrey ink, aquamist swiss dot
Stamps: PTI Its a Celebration and Birthday basics

Egg Box!

Isnt this gorgeous? And so clever? Thats because its not my own original idea! I got the template off of SCS. It was put there by a very creative and talented lady named Brenda Quintana. I wanted to make sure I gave her full credit. Anyway using her template, PTI polka dot stamps, PTI Aquamist ink, cardstock, and white cardstock I put together this cute little egg box. The ribbon is American crafts, white staz on is stamped on the acetate. The Hoppy Easter stamp is from a 1$ studio G stamp. These are time consuming to make... well the first one was, the second wasnt so bad. I think they are totally worth the time and trouble.

The "Castle"

Hey look at that! It looks like we are getting an addition doesnt it? Yeah, thats the play house. HUGE, I tell you. Maybe we will just have the kids live out there. There will be a porch, a balcony, a trapdoor. What more could two kids want? Oh how about working shutters on all 6 windows? Maybe a pole to escape the balcony? You want dormer windows in the roof? You've got it. Oh you want planter boxes to plant a garden? Why sure, you can have that too. Fundaddy is going all out. It should be mostly done (meaning siding and a roof) in the next week or so. FunDaddy is battling a cold right now so the project is on hold for the time being. FunDaddy does not make a good sick person... but thats a whole 'nother post!

New Cards

Man I am loving Papertrey Ink! I just got a bunch of new stamps, cardstock, and ribbon for my birthday and I have been on a card creating frenzy. Here are a few of my recent creations.

Little Birdie

I am in love with these little birdie stamps from Hero Arts. They are really small and cute. The size of the card is 3x3. I made a ton of these to give to people at work when they are having a bad day or when they do something that needs a little more than a verbal thank you. Sorry the picture is fuzzy. I took a ton of them and they all have that fuzzy look. I desperately need a new camera... maybe after payday.

The One Where My Son Eats a Lemon

"Hey Baby Boy, What are you doing?"
"I am eating a lemon!"
"What? Lemons dont taste good."

"I want to try it! I like lemons! Its a fruit!"

"Ok, go ahead but I am telling you it wont taste good."

"Iiiiickkkkk! this is horrible, I hate it! Why did you make me eat this lemon?"

Middle Aged

Yeah... I officially reached it today. I can not believe I am this old... those older than me assure me its not old at all... but I know the truth. I settled on this number as "OLD" when I was in highschool... and I stand by it! Whats your official "OLD" number?

Secret Messages

So FunDaddy in a fit of craziness decided that he wanted to build the children a playhouse. He is capable of this, he is quite good with building except that it takes about a year and a half to finish anything. Also the "thing" must be grand in scale. Like my daughters bed. Gorgeous, a thing of beauty really... however it takes up nearly her entire room. So this little playhouse... yeah he chalked it out yesterday on the grass... people it is ginormous. But I held my tongue.

I get home from work and FunDaddy announces he must go to the store and buy lumber for the castle...umm I mean house. So off he goes... 1.5 hours later he isnt back yet. I am thinking he must of had an accident or something. So I call him. Below a transcript of our conversation. (all items in parenthesis are my own translations of what I feel his 'secret' message is) All of his parts should be read in a raised voice tinged with panic and complete irritation.

FD: "what?"
Me: oh good you are alive
FD: I cant get this wood in the van! It doesnt fit! The *$%#@ is too small (Gawd dammit woman why did you make me sell my truck?)
Me: oh
FD: I told you it wont fit! This is crazy! Now I have to buy rope! (I want my truck! who cares if I couldnt take the kids in it! I want it back!)
Me: sorry I thought something happened to you
FD: I had to buy rope! Its not working. I have to drive with the tailgate up! (this is your fault! you made me sell my truck!!)
Me: ok is there something i can do to help?
FD: No! I have to use this rope, that i had to buy, ok? (I told you nothing but a new truck will fix this!)
Me: ok then... oh look my phones dying! bye!


FTR, I did not make him sell the truck I simply told him we couldnt afford the ins. on all three vehicles and really we barely used the truck, plus it was constantly breaking down. he sold it himself to some guy who had a landscaping business.

Anyhow, secret messages... things we arent saying but its so clear we are.

A tisket, a tasket, a Michaels Easter Basket

Michaels had these cute wooden baskets for a buck. I covered it with paper (Doodlebug). Then I added some baubles and a prima. It went fairly quickly. The hardest part was cutting the paper, especially since the wooden egg is already adhered to the basket. I wanted to line the inside but it was just too difficult for the amount of patience I had today. So I am thinking maybe I will put some fancy tissue in it. If I were to do it again I would paint the inside before adhereing any paper.

I got nothing to say except....

Happy Leap Day!!! I couldn't miss my chance to publish on February 29th!!! Its suppose to be sunny and 70 here today so I am a happy girl!

You Can't See Me... I'm Camouflaged!

This picture cracks me up! I had to buy the girl the camo clothing for a school assignment (they were studying animal camouflage.) and of course the boy then needed the same thing. So now I have two kids running around looking like jr. soldiers. Its so funny to look at. The boy even has camouflaged shoes. He requested camo underwear as well! As much as kids (or grown adults) say they hate (hated) being dressed like their siblings my two love it! Of course there isnt a lot of matching clothing available for a couple kids of opposite sexes and three years age difference but I try.

More Scrappin'

Another page made with my HG kit. I love this kit (actually I bought two, similar but not the same). I still can not believe the deal I got.

Tiger

This is my cat Tiger. He found me one day and insisted on being let in the house... that was about three years ago. He sheds more than any cat I have ever had. And now it seems shedding on my clothes while I am wearing them isnt good enough. Now he wishes to shed all over my clothes before I even put them on! I guess this will teach me to leave my armoire open in the morning.

New Layout and Randomness

I broke into my new Heidi Grace kit, ya know the one I got for a steal at Tuesday Morning? I had fun playing with all the scrappy goodness inside. My craft table is a mess! But I didnt want to clean it up because I know I am just going to mess it up again today.
****
I often wonder what its like to be in the mind of a child. Here is an actual conversation between me and the boy last night:
Boy: I love you Mommy!
Me: I love you too!
Boy: I love you soo soo much!
Me: I love you to the moon and beyond!
Boy: It snows in Antarctica every day! What will happen if it stops?
Me: The snow will melt?
Boy: I really like monkeys.

A New Card

I just got my new stamps from papertreyink. Oh how I love them. I didn't even really like to stamp until I found these... but I digress. I made this card for Lois. I read about Lois here. I think its amazing how quickly these crafters pulled together to pledge 100 cards for Lois and then send them out... and it took mere days. Sometimes I find that the internet is an amazing thing.... what did we do before Al Gore invented it? (Yes, I know he didnt really invent it... but hey he wants credit... )

Back to the card, Papertrey stamps, papertrey paper, and papertrey ribbon and ink. Oh and stickles...can't have a card without stickles.

I just love a man in a sweater vest!

My kid picked that outfit out for himself at the store. A few days before Valentine's he informed me that he had a party to go to and that he had no "handsome" clothes. He begged me to take him to the store for "handsome" clothes and "fancy" pants. So we went to Target (only the finest for my boy). We looked through rack after rack of clothes when he saw this sweater vest combo. He insisted on owning it. How could I resist? Fundaddy thinks I should have resisted. Fundaddy does not think real men wear sweater vests. But just when FunDaddy was about to have a break down over the vest, the boy piped up and said, "Don't you think the girls will like me in this Daddy? Don't I look cute?" Suddenly FunDaddy felt all better.

Saving Money!

Look at all this scraplicious yummy stuff I scored at Tuesday Morning! Never am I this lucky! I got two Heidi Grace Paper kits, full of delicious paper, chipboard, stickers, and alphas. I got 3 boxes of rub ons, a bunch of assorted bling, lots of cute stickers. And all this for a mere 35 dollars! Yes, I understand those of you who are not craft addicts are probably thinking this is a ridiculous sum to be spent on paper and stickers... but I assure you this is an awesome deal. You could spend 30 dollars on just one of those paper packs. I figure I have saved FunDaddy at least 40 dollars here. He should be thanking me (He's not, but he should be). He should thank his lucky stars I am addicted to craft projects and not something much worse... like designer handbags.

Birthday Cards

I made these with Mike's one dollar studio G stamps! What a bargain. It was my first time watercoloring the images... I used water color pencils.... that I had bought in highschool (lets just say that was years, years ago!

Just Can't Party Like I Used Too....

I have to face the fact that I can't drink, dance, and party all night and then be any good the next day. There were times in college (which honestly was only about 10...ok closer to 15years ago) that I could drink and drink and then be up and happy by 9 am the next day. This is no longer the case. I had maybe 3 drinks, I was only there until midnite, and this morning I feel like I was hit by a mack truck. Yah, I think mayhaps the body is slowing down and the rest of me needs to follow suit!

Having a Girl Just Paid Off....

I have passed on my nagging abilities. My girl nagged her daddy into buying her mommy jewelry for Valentine's day. Yes she did. Oh I am so proud! So yes, ladies I, who have received a pillow as an anniversary present, was presented with a lovely heart shaped diamond pendant and chocolates yesterday. I was blown away (seeing how my presents are usually bought at 2 am at the local Walgreens). And I come to find out I owe it to my baby girl for reminding FunDaddy (that is Mr. Iamderby's new code name) that Mommy would like some diamonds please, over and over again.

Moving on from Valentine's day I am faced with another three day weekend (YIPPEE!!!). It also appears that we will have no houseguests so I can lay around and do nothing all day... ok, not really true, I will have to clean and watch the children but still its better than get up at 5 am and head to work. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I have a love/ hate relationship with this day. I love it because I teach and at elementary school Valentines rules! There is always a party, always cookies and candy, always cute little cards and excited kids! So that part is totally cool. I used to love to get all romantic with the hubby too... but he... well he is the most unromantic person in the world. This is not to say he is a bad husband, because he is an amazing husband, but romantic? no not at all... i mean this man once bought me a pillow for our 8 year anniversary. He hates V day. Its like torture for him each year. i try to be helpful but really he is just suffering. So I always hope for some grand gesture (well even not so grand gesture) and then I usually end up with the token bizarre gift.... that he bought the night before... at 2am.... So it would just be smart for me to stop hoping wouldnt it? yeah it would. So why cant I? I dunno, a glutton for punishment I guess.

Anyhow I hope your Valentine's Day is full of awesome surprises.

More Valentine Goodies

These are what I am working on for my coworkers for Valentine's Day. I have made them with many different kinds of paper and embellishments but the ones in the picture are made with cardstock, Mike's studio G stamps and loads of stickles. I love stickles! Glitter glue for adults, whats not to like? I got the pattern for the box here. I really recommend Sonja's blog. She does lots of cool stuff. Inside the box are three Hershey's nuggets. They are covered with labels that I stamped with the label stamp set from Papertrey Ink

V-Day Card

Made this up today. I really love the way it turned out. I cannot say enough good things about the stamps from Papertrey ink. They are amazing!!! Makes even a nonstamper like me look good.

My Husband's Idea of a Great Day at the Bay

Mr. IamDerby does not take weather into consideration when planning a trip. I am lucky those kids even had jackets with them. I stayed home because I do not like to freeze to death. When they came home the children's shoes were soaked! FunDaddy lets them jump and splash in puddles. FunDaddy lets them play in the freezing rain. NotsofunMommy doesnt allow these kinds of things especially when she knows a soaking wet 2 hour car ride back home is involved. Yeah its probably a good thing I stayed home.

Are you a hippie?

You Are Definitely Not a Hippie

In fact, you're so conservative, you make George Bush look like Jerry Garcia. You're not big on experimentation or alternative lifestyles. Fringe ideas tend to freak you out. You're pretty suspicious of hippies - or anyone who sympathizes with them. As hippies would say, you are the establishment. You're part of the system... and proud of it.

Are You a Hippie?

Yeah I gots to say I dont agree with this! The last word I would use to describe myself is conservative.... but I dont like drugs, I get my hair cut every two months (colored too!) and I love money (if I could have unlimited funds...yeah I would go for that). FTR I do need to say I am a registered democrat and I cannot remember the last time I voted out of my party for a republican... although I have voted for independents before.

Somebody Likes Me!!

Tommie gave me this cute little piece of blog bling. It's my very first one and I {heart} it very much. I am suppose to pass it along... but as I went to all my regular reads this morning it appears they already have my much loved blog bling. So I will just say head over to my blogroll if you are looking for good stuff. All those ladies rock. I enjoy having my tea with them every morning.

UPDATE ON THE SWEATSHOP: I was informed by my offspring that its a hotel they are running not a sweat shop. They are charging 500$ a night and people with names like Mixie, Swinger, and Pounder are working there. Perhaps I should be afraid.

Are my kids running a sweat shop?

Take a look at these pictures! First off I thought this was my property?! Guess not. And whats up with the night watch? I am up half the night and I haven't seen anyone patrolling. There sure are a lot of workers, I am kind of wondering what they are up to. I asked my kids but because I wasn't in possession of the secret password no one would answer my questions. Perhaps I need to hire an investigator.

I'm It!

I've been tagged by tina.. This means that I have to tell you seven interesting things about me. Well I don't know if they will be interesting, but here they are:

1. I bake very well, people at work fight over my cookies.

2. I walk in my sleep, talk too.

3. I am a type 1 diabetic... completely insulin dependent, it scares me.

4. I have only lived in two different cities.

5. I love country music.

6. I work out 4x a week...but still manage to retain all my fat.

7. I was proposed too four different times (by four different guys). Twice I was offered a ring. The fourth time I accepted, we have been married for 12.5 years.

Now my turn to tag... I hope you play along. The directions are easy... list 7 interesting things about you and then tag some more bloggers:) Here are the my tags.

Cheeky
and ummm anyone else who stops by to read this... let me know if you played!

RAK WINNER!!

Congratulations to Tommie! You were drawn by my dd. So email your snail mail addy to me at derbylea at mac dot com and I will get your prizes out to you. Thanks to everyone who left me a comment. You guys rock!

Valentine RAK

One lucky reader will win a set of sparkle gel stickers by cloud9 and a great set of cardstock tab stickers also by Cloud9. Here is what you do... leave me a little comment on this post before Sunday 9:00am (PST) morning (February 3, 2007). I will randomly draw a name from all the comments. Thats it! Good luck! (oh and I am only willing to ship to USA or Canada...so for my random visitor from Malaysia, I am so sorry but I have got to keep my costs down).

Why?

Why is it whenever anyone asks you if they can talk to you for a second they really mean 15 minutes?
Why is it whenever my principal brings someone to visit my class its during my lunch 30 minutes (yeah no hour here)?
Why is it whenever my kid has to take a dump we are at Target, or in the car, or at Walmart?
Why is it whenever it is raining my kid decides that flipflops are the perfect and only shoe apparel he (or she) will wear?
Why is it no matter how often I instruct my students to listen to my instructions at least three students need to hear it four more times? (And just why is it that if I say ok you can play games, they all hear me the first time?)
Why is it on days I actually have time to read the paper it never arrives?
Why is it ants only invade the house while my husband is at work?
Why is it my kids seem to think they own my computer and I should be asking them for permission to use it?

Just some thoughts randomly passing through my head today.... Any similar thoughts going through yours?

PS. I have decided to give away some craft items this Friday (apparently I cant stop shopping, its a sickness)... a RAK... Free Friday! So check back in and feel free to spread the word.

I am not afraid!

I have this guy to protect me!