Is this little hedgehog not the cutest thing ever?  He was in my new Penny Black stamp set.   He is so sweet!   I colored him up with copics.   He is inside a PTI Borders and Corners circle stamped with Raspberry Fizz ink.  The sentiment and cardstock is also by PTI.  That Penny Black set was a good buy!  Speaking of Penny Black, my friend AmyJo, sent me another set of them!  For no reason at all!  Man, I sure lucked out in the friend department.  Now I have to get off the computer and go use them!

Another Penny Black card.  I just love that set I bought, such cute images and so much fun to color.  The cat and balloons are colored with copics.  The sentiment is from Papertrey.  Also from Papertrey is the ribbon and cardstock.  The polka dots are made with liquid pearls.  This isnt my favorite card. I love the image, I like the coloring... the rest of the design not so much.  But a friend of mine really liked it so I thought I might post it.  I have lots more cards I made this weekend but I havent gotten around to photographing them.

Little Star

Another cute image from Penny Black.  I just love this set.  Its so much fun to color too.  The little mouse is colored with copics.  The stars in the background are from PTI... Its a Celebration set.  I stamped them in Lemon Tart and then outlined them with a yellow spica pen.  So sparkly IRL.  The sentiment is PTI also, same set, stamped in Aqua mist, outlined with another spica pen.  Lemon tart and Aqua mist cardstock and lovely aqua mist grosgrain.  Hope you enjoy!

It's Been a Long Week!

It has been a long week!   I had my formal observations this week.  That means I formally write up two lessons and then my principal comes in and watches me teach.   I have been doing this for quite a few years but it makes me nervous every time!  The first lesson was earthquakes and it went very well.  The sixth graders really did a nice job.  The second lesson was rocks and it went awesome.  Those second graders rock (no pun intended).  Anyway along with that comes some meetings to talk about the lessons both before and after.  Then on top of that I got my hair done which takes forever since I have required bleach since the age of 19, lol!  So that was my week in a nutshell.  I barely had time for anything, but of course I did manage to crank out a few cards.
This is one of my favorites.  It was kind of a happy accident.  My original thought was to mask off the square in the middle and stamp the square flower from Out of the Box.  However it turned out a little funny looking.  So I took the vellum that I used for the mask and adhered it to the card and then stamped the square sentiment on it in Ripe Avocado.  I then remembered these cute little Heidi Grace translucent flowers that I had bought on impulse at Big Lots ages ago.  I am such a sucker for the Big Lots deal.  So we have the flower, a rhinestone, and then yellow stickles on all the other flowers.   I think its pretty cute.

Other Stuff I used:

PTI kraft

PTI fresh snow ink

MAMBI rhinestone (I think...)

Have a Wonderful Day

Sorry for the washed out photo, it was not the ideal photo taking light today.  Really I need to build a light box or something, but then where would I store it?  My papercrafting has already taken over half of our "formal" living room.  This card has a little of everything.  The paper and flower stamp is by Papertrey Ink.   The ribbon is American Crafts.  The little birds and sentiment is by Hero Arts.  The multicolors are stickles.  The blue ink is PTI ocean tides and the white is PTI fresh snow.  Speaking of the white, if you are in the market for a good white ink, this ink is the best!  The coverage is fantastic.  The dry time is a bit, but its worth the wait. I need to get going and do some actual work... tomorrow I am getting evaluated.  Nothing sets my nerves on edge like my principal watching my lesson, looking for things I need to do better!  LOL!  Hopefully she wont find to many!

Spoil Yourself

Another cute little Penny Black image!  I colored with my copics.  Can I just tell you, these pens are so worth the money, especially if you artsy at all.   Long before I stamped and scrapbooked, I drew and I painted.  I have had a love affair with art since I was a kid.  Markers always disappointed me though, I hated the streaking and how hard it was to blend or layer colors.  Well copics are so perfect for those things.  They are fairly easy to use once you practice a bit.  They are pricey but so worth the money to me.   Anyhow on to the rest of the card:  PTI paper in Aqua mist, select white, and pink patterns.  Berry Sorbet swiss dot bow.  Love those swiss dots.  Hope you like it!

Switching subjects:  I am sitting here watching the Bachelor.  Oh I am so embarrassed that I got sucked into this drama.   I sit her with my mouth open for the most part as these women fight to win a "prize".  Its no wonder 99% (yes I know about Ryan and Trista) of these match ups fail!  This stuff is just crazy!   Although I would have happily gone to the private concert by Robin Thicke, LOL

Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me?

Why didn't anyone tell me Penny Black made clear stamps? I love Penny Black, but I hate wood mounted stamps. The main reason being that they are just too cumbersome to store in my tiny house, but also because I am spoiled and I like my stamps see through. I am too lazy to use a stamp a ma jig! So anyhow I was strolling through my local stamp store and I saw these cute little Penny Black transparent stamps. They hopped right into my basket, even though I need more stamps like I need a hole in the head. They had two different sets and it took all my restraint to only buy one. And the only reason I was able to restrain myself was that I know papertrey ink is releasing 4 new sets this Wednesday! Back to the card at hand, I made this with no one in particular in mind, I am just low on birthday cards.  The main image is Penny Black.  I colored it with my copics.  All the paper is by Papertrey Ink.  The sentiment is from PTI's birthday basics.  The ribbon is PTI.  I added liquid pearls to my scalloped edging.  Hope you enjoy!

More Issues...

Did you know that today Bath and Body is having their big clearance sale?  They are changing bottles again so everything is out the door.   I am embarrassed to say how much soap, shower gel, and bubble bath I now own.   It's shocking how much I can over do it!  Which, incidentally, is why I titled the post, More Issues!   I am saving money though... I probably won't set foot in Bath and Body again for another 6 months or so.  I bought 6 of the antibacterial soap... on sale for only $3!  I bought uh.. um.. 6 (yes six... ) bottles of bubble bath.  I was out, I needed more!  Plus most of it was only $3.  I bought a whole bunch of those little sample bottles... normally they are 3.50 but today it was only $1!  How awesome is that?  Those will make some great little gifts.  I also bought two things of lotion, normally I hate lotion but I have noticed my skin is really dry... could be age.... or it could be my diabetes.   Either way lizard skin is not something I want to have.   I also bought some matching products (shower gel, bubble bath, and lotion) for my friend's birthday.  The grand total was 68$!!!  YIKES but lucky me, I had a gift card so we were down to an easily manageable 40 bucks by the time I left.  Now I am sitting here thinking maybe I should have bought more shower gel, maybe I should have got those cute little lip-glosses?   Lucky for my bank account I won't be leaving the house anytime soon.

I Got Issues

One of them is I have too much stuff. Sometimes I buy things twice, or almost buy things twice. Sometimes I know I have something yet cant find it anywhere. Do you have these problems? I say this because of this card. I used the birds and swirls embossing folder for the background. Just two days ago I was coveting this folder on someone elses blog. I had to have it. I went to the store, scouring the aisles for it. Lucky for me it wasn't there. Thats because that night when I sat down to craft I dug around for my swiss dots folder and instead came up with this... yep the birds and swirls folder I was so desperately looking for I already owned!!! And now I cant find my swiss dots. Too much stuff I tell ya!

Thanks Ingredients:
PTI chocolate and vanilla cardstock
PTI berry sorbet ribbon
PTI mixed messages and borders and corners stamps
Hero ARts birdie stamp

Dark chocolate ink

Copic markers

Another Little Birdie

I love this card.  I have been saying that alot lately!  But I just love that little hero arts bird.  I made this in my card frenzy the other day.  I have done a lot of circles after receiving PTI's borders and corners for Christmas.   I also got a big stack of sweet blush cardstock.  Anyhow  this card is all PTI except for the little Hero Arts bird and HA gems.

Lets switch topics... The Bachelor.  Do you watch?  I dont... well I have before but in general I dont however last night I was up and it was dull night on TV.  Ok, that show is just freaky!  What is with those women?  At the end the "wedding planner" was sobbing because she got kicked off and she was "falling in love".  Seriously?  In love?  After a night of hanging out with the guy and 25 other girls?  oh and reading his Facebook page?  What is up with that?  And speaking of Facebook, what was up with Stalker girl?  The one who had memorized his Facebook page and then started rattling off all his vital stats?  Oh and she says she "knows" him.   CRAZY- with a capital C.   No wonder these relationships don't work out.  Perhaps I am taking it too seriously but I was like what is wrong with you people??? And what about the mom with the 14 month old?  Who would leave their baby for that long for this?   I guess her, LOL.  What do you all think?

MMMmmm Cupcakes!

I have been a card making fool these past few days. I was in desperate need of birthday cards. This is one of quite a few that I made yesterday. Of course its probably no surprise that all the materials are PTI. I am thinking I could nearly support that company on just what I buy. LOL.

The Gym Update

So I went to spin class this morning.  It was Michele's class.  Now I hurt.  ALOT.  It's back to work for me tomorrow, for the first time in 2 weeks, so I dont know if I will be at the gym tomorrow.  

Cute Little Birdie

Is this not the cutest little birdie ever?  I got it in an alpha stamp pack by hero arts.  I love hero arts, not as much as PTI, but still I heart it alot.  The circle stamps are both from PTI- the borders and corners set.  The sentiment is from PTI's birthday basics set.  The trim... well I am not sure I bought it on clearance somewhere about a year or so ago.  I think its from Making memories.   I am shocked I am actually using it!  I dont know about you all but I have a horrible tendency to hoard things.  Those buttons are from doodlebug.  The sparkly ones I just got, the plain one is from ages ago.  The cardstock is PTI.  I love their cardstock, its so thick!  They have spoiled me.  Now when I hold a piece of Bazzill (my former favorite) I think, oh this is so thin!

The Gym

I haven't posted about it but I have been going.  I have completed one spin class since January 1st.  It was Kevin's class.  It was brutal and it was packed!  I hate January at the gym.  Every person in the city joins as a New Year's Resolution.  The parking lot is packed.  The  classes are crowded.  But then February rolls around and most of those poor souls are back in front of the TV.   I understand, its happened to me... several times over the years.   I mean lets be honest here, if I was a size 2, if I had good genes or the sense not to eat junk I would not set foot in an exercise establishment!  But I am proud to say this past October marked 2 years of going to the gym 3 to 4 times every week.   I am now working on year 3.   Now if I can only keep the crap out of my mouth I will be on my way to a better body.

Raspberry Fizz

This gorgeous pink is PTI's latest color. I am in love with it. I heart it so very much! Anyway this is one of a set of notecards I am working on as a gift for someone. I am nearly finished. The stamp set is Flower Garden by PTI. The paper is PTI, the ribbon also PTI. I colored the stamp with my copics. I have no idea what colors I used, sorry.

A Little Enabling....

for my friend, Cheeky. She wanted to know what the Just Right Stamper was. So here are some links: Here is the awesomeness that is the Just Right Stamper. Here is a great buying guide put together by Emily Giovanni. Here are some links to crafty people who do wonders with this little tool.
Emily
Debbie Olson
The Just Rite Design Blog.
So to answer your question Cheeky, yes this is a must have!

Flower Garden

This is part of set I made for my stepmother's birthday. I just got these stamps for Christmas. Thanks mom! They are flower garden by PTI. All other materials are PTI as well. I used copics to color and spellbinders ribbon tag and long scalloped rectangle for the cut outs. I LOVE this card. I might make some for me as well! Another thing I got this Christmas is the just right stamper. Love it! Again from my mommy, the only person I know who gives such awesome presents. She really listens when you tell her what you want.

I am helping people everywhere....

or else I am scaring them to death! One of the things I love most about sight meter is seeing what google search brought people to your page. I am seeing a lot of hits thanks to drano. Lots of people searching for "drano and my garbage disposal" or "help my garbage disposal has drano" or "drano in my disposal". So hey if that's you, don't put the drano in the garbage disposal! And if you have already.... be very careful getting it out! Right after my drano/disposal incident a friend of mine told me about a similar incident ending with burns all over the persons hands and arms! So be careful out there, all you do it yourselfers!

The other thing that had me laughing today was the google search... "gym punishment"! I was on page 66! Wow, I think for all the punishment I have seen I should be the number one hit! I did take a week off for Christmas. I went last night and did 45 minutes on the elliptical while I played with my new ipod. It was hard but not grueling. Tomorrow I will try to make it to spin class. We have been having a lot of out of town guests, so my time has not been my own lately. The gym is also a darn crowded place with the onset of a new year. All sorts of people come pouring in with the resolution to "shed fat", "look good", "get healthy". Luckily they are usually gone by February. Not that I dont want people to be healthy, but I hate a crowded gym!

Papertrey Blog Hop- A week late!

I made this for the PTI blog hop which was held on December 26th. I even had it photographed on time, however, we had a slew of visitors and I am just now getting it posted. The theme of the blog hop was to recycle something. Well that little cream colored card was one of the bazillion Christmas cards I did. I had a few left over so I used my trimmer and my nestie circles to turn them into wine bottle cards. I really like the way it came out. The paper and ink is by PTI. The tree stamp is inkadinkado and the owl and sentiment are hero arts.

We have one more wave of visitors and then hopefully I will be back in the swing of things!

Merry Christmas from Me to You!

I am sitting here beginning the non ending baking of cheesecake and pie to be ready for tomorrow! While I was at the computer I wanted to pop on and say Merry Christmas to all of you! I appreciate all of your comments and the time you take to pop by and read about my torture on the spin cycle (I took this week off but I will be back at it after Christmas) or look at my new creations! Happy Holidays! May you get all that you are hoping for!

More Christmas

Product: PTI cardstock, ribbon, ink and stamps (Holiday Tags), cuttlebug swiss dots folder.

Christmas wishes!

All PTI product. Ya know I have so many pictures of cards I cant even remember what I have shown and what I havent! I apologize if you have seen this before!

More Easy Christmas

PTI stamps (snowflake serenade), encore ink, marcella by K card base.
Its been crazy busy around here lately. Now I am sick as well! So I am trying to take it easy in hopes that I wont be sick over my Christmas vacation. Hope all is well you and yours!

Drano Is Not Your Friend

Went to clean up dinner tonite and I noticed that the garbage disposal side of the sink wouldnt drain. Turned it on, nope just a nice noise but no actual water and food parts sinking down. Sigh. Go look under the sink... hmmm pipes. Look at the sink... hmmmm nasty water and food bits. Husband is not here, he is working and wont be back until late. Start cursing in my head. Get the plunger. Start plunging the sink... hey see the nasty water fly everywhere! And I mean everywhere. Right out of that weird little pipe thingy on top of the sink. Hmmmm... look under the sink, still see pipes. Look at the top again. Wrap weird pipe thingy with a towel, plunge again. Whoa!!! More spray... but not as bad. Water not draining, still. Hmmmmm. Decide to pack up the spawn and head to the store. Find Drano. Look at back, read instructions. A-OK for garbage disposals. Pour in and let sit then your problem will be all gone. Purchase the Drano. Come home, place spawn in front of the tv. Go back to sink. Water still there. Look underneath, yep pipes still there. Pour in Drano. Wait, wait, wait. Water does not go down. Wait wait wait. Nope water is still in the sink. Look at back of the Drano. All kinds of cautionary tales about how its going to eat my skin, blind me, give me 3rd degree chemical burns. All kinds of do nots. Do not turn on disposal. Do not try to get out clog yourself. Do not get in eyes. Do not get on skin. Why did I not see these before? Hmmmm Water is still in the sink. Decide to throw caution to the wind and turn on disposal. Nothing. Water goes in a whirlpool, drano foams, water stays in the sink. Hmmmmm... go to Google. Oh google tell me what to do! Google directs me to Readers Digest. Readers Digest has tons of helpful directions, unless of course you poured chemicals in there. If you did that, well you are on your own. Think of how pissed husband will be. Think of how he will ask me why I didnt wait for him. Think of all the "I told you...." Decide to handle this like a man would. Ignore all cautionary directions. Don rubber gloves and husbands woodworking eye protection. Tell children they may not enter the kitchen or Santa will not bring toys. Go under the sink. Look at pipes. Decide to ever so slowly open one. Gently twist the ring thingy. Drano water starts to spill out into the bucket I so brilliantly put underneath. Decide to take it slow. Wait, wait, wait. Still draining. Ok this is taking forever. Twist ring thingy more. More water. More drano. Twist more. Oh no! Water drano sprays the inside of the cabinet along with disgusting food. Lucky for me I am not burned as I have donned my protective gear. Finally succeed in draining all the water. Completely dismantle the pipe. Clean out all of the disgusting potato peels. eeeewww so gross. Drano smell is over whelming. Take bucket of drano water to bathroom and dump it in the sink. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Mop up underneath the sink. Throw away all the stuff that got soaked with Drano. Reassemble sink parts. YES!!! I did it! I fixed the *&%$$#ing sink! Marvel at how much easier it would have been without the added Drano. Curse self for not taking pictures.

Inside My Head at Spin Class

I took two classes this past week, one on Friday (Kevin) and one on Saturday (Julie). Both were difficult, especially since it had been a week since I had been on a bike. Kevin's was hard, very hard. Julie's was whatever hard is to the 100th degree. OMG. And she had already taught one class right before mine! And she taught a third after I got up and left. CRAZY hard. Anyway a random sampling of what was in my brain that day:

"omg, we must be done."
"what I have only been here 5 minutes?"
"stand up? again? jog? again?"
"I think my butt is jiggling so much I will have stretch marks"
"she is psycho... totally psycho"
"is that sweat? it is! omg I am dripping sweat!"
"is it over yet?"
"crap still a half hour"
"she is looking at me"
"go faster"
"this cant possibly get harder:
"omg I am going to die"
"i will have a heart attack"
"I am running out of water"
"is she dancing? omg she is!"
"this sucks!"
"why are all these skinny people in here?"
"if I was skinny I would never exercise"
"only one more song! yippee!"
this is the longest song ever!"
"this must be the extreme dance version"
"i think my legs wont work, how will i get off this bike?"
"praise be God, its over!"
"i hope thats sweat and not tears"

Big Wheel + Leaves = Fun

Notecard Collection

I made these as a little gift for someone.... Not telling who! Its a set of four notecards, matching envelopes and a little box for it all to go in. Most of the supplies are from Papertrey Ink. The stamps are PTI's background basics: stars, and Boxs, bags and tags. The letter is from Brenda Walton. The cardstock is PTI- spring rain and lemon tart, the ribbon is too. The patterned paper comes from Making Memories. The ink is vanilla from PTI with seafoam embossing powder on top.

Back From Disney!

Sorry for neglecting my blog... my 5 readers are so important to me! LOL! Actually anyone who reads this is important to me... your comments make my day! As sad as it sounds, I just love reading the comments... its what makes blogging so addictive. Anyhow me and Mr. Iamderby took the spawn to Disneyland this past week. I just love Disney. We had a wonderful time. I thought I would share a few pictures with you all. Hopefully I will get some cards done tonight so I can put up new card pics tomorrow.The castle all decked out for Christmas.
Me and the girl on the autopia ride. Those little cars are a pain in the butt! Ours kept dying, not to mention that Baby Girl will never get her license if the way she drove this car is any indication of her future driving skills.
Baby Boy and Baby Girl in front of the Haunted Mansion. I love the Holiday Nightmare Before Christmas theme. So fun!

Its a wise owl Christmas...

Little wise owl (PTI) is already for the Christmas holidays. I so wish I had a santa hat stamp that would fit him... but I don't so I had to draw my own. Next I drew a Christmas tree for him and then colored everything in with my copics. The tree looks a little streaky... I was just playing around, I dont think I ever intended it to end up on a card, but here it is. The background paper is Ripe Avocado and its stamped with a snowflake from Rustic Snowflakes (all PTI).
This card I made after a discussion on the PTI forum about how great ripe avocado and ocean tides go together. I used Shapes by Design (PTI) and lots of stickles.

Cheap and Easy Christmas

Cheap because I got the card base in a pack of 12 (Marcella by K brand) at big lots for two bucks. I bought the stamps last year (PTI). Easy because its one layer... inks, stamps, and a little bit of bling. Enjoy. :)

Cookie Recipe Gift

This is the project that won me some free stamps at PTI. The contest is called Guest Star Stamper. If you are a crazy PTI nut like me I urge you to enter it. Its a lot of fun and sometimes you come away with free stamps. I made this with the new recipe box stamp set, recipe cards and ocean tides paper and ribbon. It was a last minute idea and created a ginormous mess while making it, but I love how it turned out! I liked it so much I gave it away to a girl at work who just got engaged. She was thrilled. (Mostly because it was lunch time and it featured cookies-which I happen to be famous for at work). Thanks for stopping by!

Because I have been bad...

Because I have not been going to gym as much as I am suppose to... I made myself go to Michele's class today. Not only is Michele evil but her class is an hour long (the other spin classes are 45 min). I also got their early and lifted weights for 15 minutes. This was my punishment and I deserved it. Hopefully the terror and pain from today will ensure that i make 4 days at the gym this week.

Silvery Christmas

This was one of my entries for GSS (Guest Star Stamper) over at my favorite place in the world, Papertrey ink. I didnt win for this one, but its still my favorite! I did win though, I was beyond shocked! But totally thrilled, because a win means free stamps!! I'll post that project tomorrow.

Stuff: All supplies are PTI: Silver shimmer cardstock, ocean tides ink and ribbon, encore silver ink, take a bough and holiday tags stamps.

More Easy Christmas

The picture really washes out the green of this card. Its a very pretty, deep olive green. PTI, of course, called ripe avocado. The lighter green is spring moss, the red is pure poppy stitched ribbon. The stamp is from their holiday tag set. I ran the green through my swiss dot cuttlebug folder. Ya know, that folder... I searched for eons before I finally found one to buy. I bought it and then never used it. Does that ever happen to you?

Easy Peasy

Doesnt get much easier than this! The card base I picked up at BigLots... its by Marcella by K and it came in a package of 12 or so cards for a buck! Love me some Big Lots. I stamped in encore silver using PTI's snowflake serenade. I went back and added some hero arts bling to the snowflakes. Thats it. You could easily crank out 40 of these puppies.

Things I Thought I would never have to say....

This is Part Deux. The original can be found here. I hadn't really thought about this in awhile but then yesterday I had to tell my son that you should not try to dive in the bathtub. And that got me thinking: What other completely obvious things have I had to point out recently?
1. Do not throw used toilet paper in the trash can, flush it down the toilet with the rest of your business. (son)
2. Do not leave your clipped toenails on the dining room table. (daughter)
3. Do not wipe your snotty nose on my jacket. (both)
4. Cheese Its are not the same thing as cereal. (son)
5. Putting water on your hair is not the same thing as combing it. (daughter)
6. If you see 50 dead ant in the bathtub (yes we have an ant problem) you should not ignore them and proceed to fill the tub anyway. (daughter)
7. Just because the cat licks you does not mean you should lick the cat. (son)
8. Your Christmas sweater does not go with camouflage shorts. (daughter)
9. The kitchen bar is not a balance beam. (son)
10. Glue sticks and chap sticks are not the same thing. (son)

Have anything to add?

More Christmas

Stuff: CS: pure poppy, ripe avocado, stampers select all by PTI. Stamps: Christmas Tags by PTI. Star from Wise Owl set Ink: pure poppy, ripe avocado Stickles and Inkissintials white gel pen.

Sorry for the bad picture... the light was not cooperating.

It's looking alot like Christmas on my craft table...

I have been a Christmas card making machine lately! So many cards, so little time. I have to tell you I love, love, love that new pure poppy PTI paper. It is gorgeous and it goes so well with many of the other colors. Here I have it with some Kraft. I used versamark ink and white embossing powder, the stamps are PTI rustic snowflake and the sentiment is from PTI snowman set (cant remember the name off hand). The ribbon is PTI as well. I dont think I have made two of the same Christmas card yet... all are variations on a theme. Do you mass produce one kind or do you mix it up?

*******

I hope you got out and rocked the vote yesterday. Remember if you don't vote, you can't complain and whining is so much fun! My husband voted absentee and I went out yesterday. Mr. Iamderby and I are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Although we both go to the middle quite frequently. I was pleased with the presidential election but had my heart broken over a couple of propositions here in Cali. Our children were hilarious. My dd was an ardent Hillary supporter (the girl thing) but then shifted all her support to Obama after the primary. I thought she might jump on the Sarah Palin band wagon (the girl thing), but she held fast for Obama. My son however (keep in mind he is 5) was all about McCain. He kept saying Obama was going to jack up his taxes. (I think he must have overheard that somewhere). It didnt matter that he had no clue what taxes were. So last night my girl was happy and my boy was sad. I found it funny that they both were so in to it!

Oooooh Homemade Tags!!!

Arent these cute? I have to say I have never made homemade Christmas tags before. Lets face it, as much as I act like I am Martha Stewart, I am not! My house is thrashed on a regular basis- hey I live with two kids and several onery cats. When the house isnt thrashed it certainly isnt up to Martha's standards. I can cook, really well actually, but I dont do it every night. My Christmas wrapping papers don't all coordinate with each other, half the time I cant find a bow. The tree is decorated with a hodgepodge of ornaments from my childhood and more that I collected as I got older. I digress. The point was I usually buy a pile of sticker tags at Target on December 26th and then use them the next year. Not this year folks! This year I am putting these gorgeous handmade tags on my gifts. Even if my gifts are wrapped in newspaper.

Stuff: Ink, cardstock, and stamps by Papertreyink. Punched out with a marvy scallop punch.

Gym Attire

On Saturday I hit the gym to try and work off the 5 lbs of candy that I have consumed. I got there late and missed the spin class... I wasn't terribly sad because Michele was the instructor. The only other class being offered was Zumba. I like to watch and laugh at them from the spin room... they look so funny dancing around... but I wasn't about to put myself in there. I have two left feet and no rhythm at all. So I headed upstairs to my friend the elliptical. I like the elliptical about as much as I like having my teeth pulled but it is better than the treadmill and stairmaster. Anyway I hop onto the elliptical and put on my headphones and try to psych myself up for a good workout. So I am cruising along, minding my own business, staring at the elliptical in front of me when suddenly I feel sick. Why? Because a man hopped on the very empty elliptical I had been staring at. This man was not in shape, which is fine-neither am I- thats why we are here. However he was wearing shiny spandex running pants and a tucked in tank top. Now folks, if you need to lose 50 lbs you should be at the gym. You should wear something comfortable. You should not wear shiny spandex pants that hug every ripple and dimple of fat. If you are a man and your stomach is 5x larger than your legs you should not wear spandex and you should definitely not tuck in your wife beater. And if you dont follow those rules than please, I beg of you do not bend over and display the very large rip in the crotch of your pants. I think I went a little blind. And then all through the rest of my work out I had to watch this crazy man jiggling in shiny pants with his underwear hanging out. I guess it could have been worse, he could have NOT been wearing underwear.

More Wise Owl

I made this little guy for my hubby's birthday. I love that new PTI cardstock, OceanTides. Its just lovely with the brown.

Stuff: All stuff by PTI. Ocean tides ribbon, ink and cardstock. Chocolate ribbon ink and cardstock. Vanilla cardstock. Wise owls and birthday basics stamps.
I used copics to color.

Happy Halloween... in pictures

I made these.
I wore this... I am Dr. Elle Tron... nuclear physicist

We carved jack-o-lanterns

We decorated. They went candy begging.

Happy Halloween!!

You Don't Mind If I Go Over Ten Minutes?

YUP, thats what she said. This was after she had nearly killed us for the better part of an hour. She sweetly said, "oh we are not done, you dont mind if we go over ten minutes?" And then, the incredible thing is that everyone said NO! I was screaming Yes, yes I mind! But I was breathing so hard my vocal cords weren't working. And also every cell in my body was focused on not falling off the bike.

Time to Parade Out Some Christmasy Cards

Everything here is by PTI with the exception of the patterned paper. The PP is by MM. I bought a big stack of it last year and now I am trying to use it up. This card has stamps from PTI's made of snow and rustic snowflake.

Want Some Candy

Go this way and help Denise celebrate her blogaversary!

PaperTrey Ink Blog Hop

Its blog hop time! Hop on over to PTI to check all the details! This month's challenge was to use polka dots. I broke out PTI's polka dot basics to stamp the chocolate polka dots. I then stamped on the coordinating polka dot outline with versamark and embossed it with hero arts seafoam embossing powder. I tied on a chocolate swiss dot ribbon. I then used PTI's wise owl stamps to make the owl. He is stamped in chocolate and ocean tides. I colored him with copics and cut him out with my fingertip craft knife. He is popped up on chocolate and oceantides cardstock.

31 Things

I ripped this off from Lisa, who is a sweetheart but has an invite only blog. I wish you could all see the gorgeous pictures she has of her children playing in the fall leaves. Makes me want to pack up my kids and go get some pictures.

31 Things
1. Where is your cell phone? Probably in my purse, I am not addicted to it though so I leave it all over.
2. Where is your significant other? Bed
3. Your hair color? Mouse brown... but I have lovely highlights done every 6 weeks.
4. Your mother? A survivor
5. Your father? Retired cop
6. Your favorite thing? My crafting stuff and my computer... if I had to pick only one I am not sure which way I would go.
7. Your dream last night? I dont dream... I sleep in a haze of benedryl.
8. Your dream/goal? To give my kids the best life possible.
9. The room you're in? Kitchen
10. Your hobby? making stuff
11. Your fear? Dying before my children are grown, losing somebody I love.
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Hopefully a bigger house with my family and hopefully my daughter will be a lovely teenager unlike myself.
13. Where were you last night? Professional Development- bleh.
14. What you’re not? Skinny (an oh how I wish I was!)
15. One of your wish list items? Stamps and more stamps
16. Where you grew up? CA
17. The last thing you did? ate breakfast
18. What are you wearing? work clothes
19. Your TV? Is currently playing Phineaus and ferb
20. Your pet? getting on my last nerve
21. Your computer? MacBook
22. Your mood? Tired but happy
23. Missing someone?no not really
24. Your car? Sadly i drive a minivan and its filthy.
25. Something you’re not wearing? a nose ring?
26. Favorite store? just one? Macys
27. Your summer? My favorite time of the year! no work.
28. Love someone? yep
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? this morning when cole was pretending to be darthvader
31. Last time you cried? dont know

Oh hey! Your still here? I didnt think anybody really read these things! Well I am glad you stuck around! If you scroll a little lower you will see the Jelly Star cookie recipe that I got requests for. Tomorrow we will be back to cards! Thanks for reading!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to my honey! He is 37 today! So hard for me to believe. We met when he was 21 and I was 20.... and have pretty much been together ever since. Back when we met 37 was positively ancient... I guess not so much now!

When Spin Instructors Get Sick...

Today is Monday which means its a spin day. I have got a choice of classes since I dont work on Mondays. I can go at 8am and be killed by the previously blogged about, Michele. I can got at 9:30 and be toppled by Jen...race day and core work. Or I can cruise in at 3:45 and take it easy with Charlotte. Charlotte was one who got me hooked on spin. I bumbled into her class one day when I was sick of the elliptical machine but still had enough sense to know that I could not do step. Charlotte is lovely. She obviously has very good genes. She is tall, blonde, Swedish, and incredibly thin and gorgeous. She looks lovely in sweats and she looks lovely sweaty. These are two things no one will ever say about me. I have gifts but these are not them! Now one of the things I love best about Charlotte is she is not fanatical about exercise. Oh sure she tries to be... but really I can see that deep down she is not wed to exercise. When she goes to Sweden for the summer she doesnt exercise at all. So I know that secretly, she is not in love with exercise. I guess what I am saying is Charlotte's class is pretty easy for me. I mean, I dont feel like I am dying in there usually. Not that I dont feel challenged, I do, however I dont feel that death is eminent like I do in Michele'e class.

So anyway, I wander into Charlotte's class. She is there! Yay, no sub! I get on the bike, start to warm up... other regulars come in (let it be known 99.9 % of them are in better shape than me and clearly adore exercise). Music starts. Charlotte is not getting on her bike. what?

"Hi Guys! I am sick, I have a cold coming on. So I am just going to walk you through this and coach you today," she says.
What?, I am thinking, 'What on Earth is she doing?'
Let me tell you, I wish I had never found out. Coaching from the floor means she turns into that crazed lady from Biggest Loser. You know, the trainer? Yep, sweet Charlotte took on a whole new personality. She knows all our names too. She got right up near your face. And then yelled, "Michele (my name)!!! YOU CAN DO BETTER! TURN THE KNOB! PEDDLE FASTER!! YOU CAN DO THIS!! GO! GO! GO!"

This went on the entire class. I have never worked so hard in my life. I was dripping sweat. My legs feel like jello. The second class ended I slid off my bike and ran for the door... luckily all that sweat hid my tears of pain!

Spinning My Wheels

So the last time I wrote about spin class I was whining about the 8 am chick. You will recall that I said I would not be going to that class again. The instructor’s name is Michele. She is very nice… as a person, but then class starts and I start to feel all kinds of hateful towards her. Anyway I do my best to avoid her class because clearly I am not in good enough shape yet. I need a few more classes and a few less snickers bars before I go there again.

On Friday I was headed to Kevin’s class. Kevin is a big huge guy with lots of muscles. He is really into motivational stuff. His class is hard, no doubt about that, but frankly he doesn’t scare me like Michele. I get to class, I am actually early! (That’s because the kids were left at home with their father.) I get on the bike, start warming up. I am in my happy place, all pleased with myself that I came to class. The door opens, I look up. Who is it? You guessed it! “Hi Everybody! Thanks for coming! I am Michele and I am subbing for Kevin! Are you ready to work??!! We have loads of hills and sprints coming up! You will love it!”

Can I tell you I felt tears forming in my eyes? Only my pride kept me on that bike. I wanted to leave so bad! But I didn’t. I stayed and was slowly tortured in every way possible. I did more sprints than I have ever done before. I thought I might completely pass out. I drank ALL my water. The only thing I hate worse than exercise is drinking water.

I watched the clock, praying to God that 4:30 (the end of class) would come quickly. It seemed to go on forever. Finally we are within 5 minutes. I am dripping in sweat. I probably lost 5 pounds in water weight. (Yeah I am sure I put it back on already.) I am ready to cool down and head out… and then perky Michele says, “ OMG! Is this class only 45 minutes?” Yes!!!! We all scream. “ Oh,” she says, “ I thought it was an hour, we are going to go over at least 5 or 10 minutes. I am so sorry is that ok?”
NO!!!! I want to scream. But I don’t, again the pride thing. All the other crazy exercise folk are saying no problem, lets go the full hour. These folks are insane.

I made it. Just barely. But I walked out on my own two feet. When I got home I fell on to the couch and begged my son to bring me a chocolate. Yes there is a reason I cant lose this weight.

Jelly Stars

Jelly Stars

This is my best “fancy” cookie recipe. Everyone loves these… of course that means they are a pain in the butt to make. I only make them at Christmas but I usually make 4 or 5 batches. Last year I made 8 batches. Never again! The recipe was in Good Housekeeping about 15 years ago. Thank goodness I wrote it down because I have never run across it again.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 eggs (separated)
2 tsp vanilla (real!!)
3 cups flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup raspberry jam (I always use Knott’s)

Beat the butter with 1 cup of sugar until blended. Increase speed to high and beat for 3 minutes. Add yolks and vanilla. Gradually add flour, baking powder, and salt. Shape the dough into two balls, wrap in plastic and chill at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Do not add flour. You must use the wax paper. Cut out cookies (I use star cutters). You need to sizes of cutters. Cut out 2 big cookies and then use the small cutter to cut out the middle of the second cookie. This will give you a top and a bottom. Brush cookies with beaten egg white (I have been known to skip this when crunched for time.) and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 10 to 12 minutes… they should not really brown. You want them pale. When they are cool spread the bottom cookies with jam and top with the cut out cookie.

Christmas Card

I made this as part of a Christmas card set. I am trying to use up some Making Memories patterned paper that I picked up last year on clearance. I am famous for buying lots of stuff I don’t need. I really do love this patterned paper though.
Stuff: Rustic snowflake stamps by PTI. PTI cardstock in kraft and pure poppy. White ink by versamagic. Ribbon from American Crafts. Unknown jewels.

Happy Fall

I have been busily working on Fall cards and Christmas cards. Its finally cold enough that I feel in the mood to work on those things. I have a hard time thinking fall when its 90 outside!
Stuff: PTI stamps: Out on a Limb Additions, Take a Bough, Limitless Labels. PTI cardstock: vintage vanilla, PTI ribbon: dark chocolate satin. Dew drops ink: gold, pumpkin spice, coffee, copper

Meme- Q&A

I was tagged by Beverly for a little Q&A. You should check out her blog, lots of crafty goodness plus she is working on her own store!

Now, here are the rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share seven facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok, seven facts about me:

1. I was born and raised in California.
2. I have had the same best friend since I was 3 years old.
3. I am easily grossed out by a bloody nose. (I have never had one! TG!)
4. I like to make stuff. (Gee bet that was hard to guess).
5. I bake like nobody's business. My specialty is cookies.
6. I have had many a science experiment go bad!
7. My feet are huge... size 9.5!!! And I am only 5'3"

I am taking the easy way out and tagging no one. But if you want to play, let me know I would love to come read about you!

Merry and Bright

I have been working on Christmas cards and Halloween boxes. My craft desk looks like a bomb went off. This card uses a set called Merry and Bright from PTI. I love the little christmas trees, so many different ways to stamp them out. The base of the card is Pure Poppy cardstock and the patterned paper is by Memory Makers. Its old, at least last year. I have an addiction... I continually buy paper, I cant seem to stop. I think I have enough to make a 100 scrapbooks, dozens of cards and still have some left over.

Spin Class Nearly Killed Me

Decided that I would return to spin class today, I went back to the gym yesterday. Its always so hard to go back after missing a week and being sick. So today I think I will just go in at 8am and get it done with. I have never been to this particular class because in the summer I was never up early enough and then once school started I was kind of going in the afternoon or at the 9am class. So anyway I manage to drop off my kids and get myself down to the gym by 8am. I walk into class and who do I see but the hardest instructor every!!!! She subbed once for my regular afternoon girl and I thought I was going to die. So here I am, second day back, first spin class back, still cant breathe through my frickin nose... and here is this chick that is all muscle- the I look good-I am tough- I am going to kick your butt muscle. Of course she is smiling as she talks about what an awesome tough ride its going to be, she is just going to work us over! Oh I was afraid. Totally terrified. Felt my feet heading for the door but somehow I managed to coerce them on to the bike. It was so hard! Hard to breathe, hard to make my muscles move, and of course my butt hurt because I hadnt been on the bike in a week. Well I am here writing this so obviously I survived, but I am telling you just barely! I dont think I will be hitting the 8am class again anytime soon!

Give Thanks

I am not much of a Thanksgiving card maker but I thought that Out on a Limb, by PTI, just lent itself to Thanksgiving. This is such a versatile set, especially if you have the add on. Well worth the money, this one is. I made several of these cards and I am proud to say they are going to some deployed soldiers. All supplies by PTI, except for the ribbon-its from Michaels, and the ink on the leaves- dew drops brilliance ink.
Thanks for stopping by- have a great Monday!

Finally On the Road to Recovery!

I am finally feeling better! Gosh, this was a nasty cold. I hadn't felt that awful in quite sometime. I made this card right before I got sick. I used PTI's Take a Bough. It was released last Christmas. I just love this set, so versatile! The branch also comes in handy for my Wise Owl set! Anyway back to the card, all PTI materials. I made the ornaments look glossy with Ranger Industries' Glossy Accents. The hardest part is waiting for it to dry!

Chicken Soup

Me and my big bowl of Chicken soup (campbell's - I am in no shape to cook) are curled up here trying to muster the strength to finish up some school work. Not happening. Still feel completely horrid but slightly less horrid than yesterday. So another early night for me and hopefully sometime tomorrow I will put some new pretty stuff up on the blog. I have lots of stuff waiting to be photographed...

Sick

Here it is Monday night, still no pictures. Sorry about that. I feel awful. Just as soon as I can get my kids in bed I am going to bed as well. I feel horrible! I did go to the gym on Sunday, but not spin class.... I did 35 minutes of weights and another 25 minutes of cardio. I was feeling so sluggish, well now I know it was this cold coming on. UGH! Hope it goes away quick. My nose is like a leaky faucet.

Exercise

The gym is calling my name and I am trying to hide here on the couch in my pjs with my laptop. I need to go but I dont want to! My last appearance there was on Friday. When I walked into the spin room I saw the instructor who is the most difficult. Normally she teaches the am Monday and Wednesday class, which I haven't been to since school started back up. I have mentioned her before. She can kick some ass. Her entire body is muscle, not an ounce of fat on this girl. Its pretty muscle too, not bulging body builder muscle, just firm-I can kick your ass and look hot while doing it- muscle. Truth be told the second I saw her I wanted to turn and run upstairs to my friend the elliptical machine. But I didnt want to look like a quitter, plus she knows my name and probably would have demanded to know where I was going. I am not afraid to admit that she scares me a little! So I made it through, but when I was done my legs felt like jello and my heart was about to thump out of my chest. But I lived and now here we are at Sunday and I need to go back. The next spin class is at noon, its 9am now. I should go.... I need to go.... I will be back to let you know how big of a wimp I was later.

Open Letter

Sorry but I have to get this off my chest before I can move on with my day.

Dear Teacher,

Clearly you dont want to be here. I know someone is paying you to be here. This isn't a come on your free time type of deal. All of you are receiving money, which obviously isn't being well spent training you, they should have gotten someone with a work ethic. Yes, I know its a Saturday. Yes, I understand you are tired. This does not give you the right to talk while we are trying to teach. This does not give you the right to clean your purse out at the table, disturbing your work group and completely ignoring the person presenting. This does not give you the right to file your nails as we teach. Maybe your mother never taught you that these things are rude, however since you work in a classroom environment I would think that maybe you should know better. I really wouldn't care if you listened or learned while you are here except for the fact that you are occupying a spot that many other teachers would have liked to have. You also were so disruptive that people across the room were glaring at you, and yet you continued on, oblivious to everyone but yourself and your cell phone. Perhaps this program isn't for you. Perhaps you should drop out and let someone else have your spot. Clearly you are not here to learn or stretch yourself in any way. Next time stay home and make us all a little happier.

*** And now back to your regularly scheduled craft blog*** I will have some christmas cards up tomorrow! Need daylight to take some decent pictures.