Notice Anything New???

I'm tryin' this blog background on for size. I'll leave it this way for a few days and see how I like it! Let me know what YOU think!!!

How True..... I Think!!

You Are Sneakers

You are creative, funky, and forward thinking. You are cool, but you are still approachable. You are stylish and edgy, but you aren't a slave to fashion. You tend to put your own spin on trends. You tend to have a fast paced, busy lifestyle. Not a lot of people can keep up with you! You should live: Near nature You should work: In a job that keeps you on the go

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

I'm in Stitches!!!

Here are a couple of cards that I am REALLY happy with! You know how sometimes you finish a project and just go, 'Ewwwwww...I LOVE that!'? Isn't it great when that happens?? Well, that happened to me with these two cards!

Lately I've been stamping up extra images when I stamp and I've been trying to create more than one card at a time when I am crafting. Instead of making a single design, I try to use the same images and patterned paper to either duplicate the card or make one similar using the same items.

On Monday night, one of my favourite shows is on....Dancing with the Stars. It was on for two whole hours which is great but I hate to feel like I am wasting time in front of the tv. Guess I should somehow try to squeeze a tv into my stampin' studio, huh?? Anyway, I decided to colour some images while I was watching the telly, so I brought my Copic markers Carousel downstairs, picked out a couple of pieces of patterned paper as inspiration and my stamped images. I chose some coordinating markers and coloured two Farmer Tildas in using the same colours. I also coloured several other images too....I mean, I did have two hours!!!



Anyway, when I came back upstairs to start creating, I already had the image coloured and the patterned paper picked out so I just had to design the layout and add embellishments! The dp is from the DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy Stack (try saying that three times fast!) and the cardstock I used is Cool Caribbean and Apricot Appeal. Don't they look soft and pretty together?? The ribbon is from American Crafts, the Primas are Press N Petals and the glitter brads are from Making Memories. I cut out the little tags using my Cuttlebug and added the sentiments which are from Papertrey. The Tilda and Co. Challenge for this week is to use stitching on your Magnolia card, so I added it around the edge of the card base using my Mat Pack and my white gel pen and then I also added some highlights on Tilda and popped her up!

Well, yesterday as you know, I went stamp shopping with my friend Donna. We had a great time and made lots of stops! First we went to the big scrappin' clearance sale here in St. Thomas and stopped at the Cut 'n Paste. Then we went over to London and spent a few $$ in Michael's, using our coupons of course! We went all the way across town to Scrapbook Studio and I picked up some yummy new papers and our last stop (which is where I spent most of my $$) was at Stamp Art!!! I grabbed up one of each of the new Penny Black transparent sets!! Lots of hedgies and puppies and mice!! Eeek! I always have so much fun when I visit Nancy and Dianne and Janine in Stamp Art!! Hi girls!! *wave* After we were done shopping, Donna took me out for lunch!! We went to East Side Mario's and had some yummy pasta!! Mmmm! Thanks again Donna! We'll have to do it again, next time we have the same day off!!

OH!! And I forgot to mention to anyone in Southwestern Ontario, my friend Phebe at The Town Scrapper is going to be at Scrapfest in Kitchener!!! If you are out and about this afternoon, be sure to stop in and check out the Marketplace, with over 35 vendors!! Wish I could go!!

Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you can carve out some time to get inky!!!

How FAST are you???

79 words

Speed test

I found this cool thing on somebody's blog! It's fun!! I'm sure I could have done better though!!! Give it a try!

Sunshiney Day!!!

What a gorgeous Sunday morning!! It's still really cold, but the sun is shining and the birdies are singin'!! It's beginning to look a lot like.....spring!!! Well, at least I think we're done with the snow for this year, anyway!!!

Yesterday I worked all day at the library. It was a VERY busy day too! I was pooped by the end of the day. Now my husband works nights, as you may remember and normally he doesn't get home until later in the day on Saturdays. But yesterday he actually got done around 6:30am and was able to come home and go right to sleep. So he was well rested when I got done work. So I picked up Emileigh and her girlfriend, Kelsey and we took off for a quick trip across the border.

My favourite US crafting store is Hobby Lobby!!! Unfortunately, it is closed on Sundays and usually that's the only day we have together as a family with time to do anything or go anywhere. So it's a real treat to be able to zip over there on a Saturday night. That was our first stop since it closed at 8pm and I ran right in there while Al and the girls went next door to Best Buy. I spent all my time in the scrapbooking and stamping section and picked up a few things that I can't get here in Canada! I love that!! I got some lovely little embellishments that were on clearance, a bag of pretty coloured buttons, some little sparkly floral embellies, an ink pad, some clearance 12x12 papers and a couple of cute stamps!! Hopefully I will get to play with some of them today! They did have some of the individual Copic markers and they were on sale, but I had no idea which ones I don't have and I didn't want to waste money buying duplicates. I think I'll make myself a list of the ones I've go for next time I got shopping over there.

Then I dropped Al and the girls over at the mall since they closed at 9pm and the gals had money burnin' holes in their pockets and they wanted to shop at Hollister, their favourite shop! I went over to Joann's and was rather disappointed. Their scrapbook section seems to have diminished greatly since I was last there. This particular one is a small Joann's, not one of those Joann's Superstores. I went across the street then, to Target and found that they too carry the Wausau bright white coverstock that I use with my Copic markers. They have it in packages of 75 sheets for $3.99 and over here it is in some Walmarts in packages of 100 for $6.99. So if you live in the US, you can pick it up in Target. It is 65lb weight, for those of you that were asking.

After the mall, we went to Wendy's to grab something to eat and the girls were a little punchy as they had a sleepover the night before and stayed up late. And I was also tired from working all day, so we were all a little silly! The whole evening was just a hoot actually! It's nice to just hang out and be goofy as a family after a looooong week!

Then we went to Meijer since it is a 24 hour store and picked up a few things. I got a really cool tool in the stationery department! It was on sale and so were the refills so I snapped it up! I've seen a few people use it on their cards before, so I wanted to give it a whirl too and see how it looks. I'm not gonna tell you what it is, you'll just have to wait and see!!!

OH!! Did you wanna know about the card?? hahahaha!! I'd almost forgotten!! Well this card is made using Dala Tilda. I just love the sitting Magnolia stamps and being able to make a little scene with them. It's a very simple design and layout using some patterned paper that Magnolia sent me as well as the pretty Hydragea flowers. Mindy asked me yesterday if I choose my dp first or colour and then find dp to match. Well, actually I almost always pick some dp to play with first. That's often where I get my colour combos. Even if I don't end up using the dp on the actual card, I often use a sheet for inspiration. This time I used the red coordinating patterns. The card base is Kraft paper and I added some River Rock grosgrain ribbon, added the flowers with glitter brads and the sentiment is stamped through the oval punches, using the word Friendship from the MFT set, By the Seashore.

Okay, that's it....I've done enough rambling for today. Time to get busy stampin'!! Everyone else is sleepin' and I've got my cup of coffee and some new things to play with!! Yaaaaaaaay!!

Have a sunshiney day!!!

Fabulous Flowers!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend and got to spend some quality time with family!! We had my in-laws over for dinner on Saturday night and then yesterday we met my parents and my brother's family at Montana's for a lovely Easter lunch. It was lots of fun and the food was deeee-lish!!

My parents just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary but I hadn't seen them together to give them their card until yesterday. I got the Fabulous Flowers stamp set by Stampin' Up a while back with this card in mind to give them on their anniversary. Well, not this card exactly but I have seen so many gorgeous creations using this set on SCS, that I knew I had to design something elegant using the big flower for them.

I stamped the big flower twice using Almost Amethyst on Whisper White cardstock and I stamped one of the smaller flowers too. I cut them all out leaving a little white around the edges and I cut one of the big flowers down a bit too. I used the Dazzling Diamond Dust technique on all the flowers and made them all sparkly!! The card base is a white square with Almost Amethyst as matting underneath the soft and pretty dp which is by Karen Neuberger. I used the ticket corner punch on the corners and used some String of Pearls Bellas Baubles in the corners and also in the middle of the smallest flower. I used some SU white taffeta ribbon (LOVE the taffeta ribbon) and a sparkly buckle. I stamped the sentiment from the Hugs and Wishes SU set and popped up all the layers on the flower! I really think they liked it.....well, Mom did anyway!! Men just don't get it, right?!! Hahaha!



This second card is one I did for my brother's family, especially Matthew who is 4 years old! I knew he would like the bunny with the big ears! It's a very simple design, but cute all the same, I think! I used the My Favorite Things set called Eggstra Special Easter!!

Well, I have today off and so does Emileigh so I told her I'd take her shopping for a new outfit to wear on Saturday night. She will be turning SIXTEEN this week.....good grief!!! It's just not right, I tell ya!! Wasn't it just the other day that I turned 16?? I'm sure it was......MOM? Help me out.....it WAS just yesterday, right??? I don't know how I'm going to deal with this. It might be a tough week for me. We were just talking yesterday about Easters back when she was 3 or 4. We used to hide all the Easter eggs and candy and she would go around with her little basket and find everything. Then she'd make us hide everything again, so that she could go find it all again. It was one of her favourite games and we'd do it 3 or 4 times before she'd get tired of it. SO cute.

Ugh. Okay. I'm officially depressed. Hahahaha! I'm really not old enough to have a 16 year old, am I? I didn't think so.

Two Scoops Tilda!

Well we are back safely from our vacation! I have spent my whole day doing about 8 loads of laundry and unpacking everything. My house looks like an entire luggage carousel exploded in it! How can all of that fit into just 3 suitcases and a duffel bag? Impossible. Actually we did so much shopping that we had to buy the duffel bag before we left Florida or our suitcases would have weighed too much to get on da plane!!

I'm posting a quick card tonight and I will post again tomorrow. This one is a Magnolia card I made with Tilda blowing her Dandelion (or whatever the real translation from Swedish is) and some Two Scoops Basic Grey paper. I wasn't sure about the colour combo but that's what was in the patterned paper. I dirtied up the main image by distressing the edges and sponging and I went a little dot happy with the white gel pen! The sentiment is from a new Heidi Grace clear set that I got a few weeks ago. Hope you like her!

I will be back with a posting on Monday midmorning or lunchtime. This month's My Favorite Things release is quickly approaching, so the Design Team will be posting MFTeasers starting tomorrow!!! This month's sets are TOO CUTE!!!! So be sure to come on back!!

Kim Times Two!!!

Remember how I told you that I had something cool in the works for yesterday?? Well, it worked out and I have pictures to show!!!

You know how I am on the Design Team for a fabulous company called My Favorite Things???? Well, do you know who lives in Florida?? Kim Vandersanden, the creator and owner of MFT!!!! She knew that we were coming to Florida on vacation and she made it a priority to see us!!! How sweet is she???

So we found a mid point between her home and our condo and figured that Lakeland would be our meeting place. We googled to find a stamp/scrapbook store to visit and we found Violette's!! So we pulled into the parking lot at almost the same time and it was so great to finally meet the lady who flattered me to no end by asking me to join her Design Team and has been so generous to me over the last few months!! And she is just as sweet in 'real life' as she is online!

Well, we walked into Violette's and our jaws hit the floor!! The place was both gigantic and full of yummalicious stuff and adorable and quaint at the same time. We thought we'd died and gone to heaven! There was SO much to look at and we hadn't even gotten around the first room, when my husband and daughter, who had scoped out the whole place in a matter of minutes, came over and told us that there were many more rooms to visit! It was at that point that they decided to go for a drive and leave Kim and I to do some serious shopping!! My honey is the bestest stampin' hubby a girl could ask for. He took off with Emileigh and they amused themselves elsewhere while letting Kim and I shop through all TEN, yes, I said TEN rooms in the store. They came back about an hour and a half later and we were just about done by then! I had Al take a couple of pics of Kim and I with Diana, the manager of Violette's!



Well, after we did some damage at Violette's, we headed over to the Lakeland Mall and had some lunch! We desperately needed nourishment to continue on our shopping journey!! We all yakked and visited while chowing down and then we were ready to shop again! We picked up a few things at different stores but the major score was at the local Disney store which was closing at that particular location. Everything in the store was 50% OFF!! Can you believe that??? We got t-shirts and pj's, mugs and toys!! We got birthday presents and Christmas presents for like, the next ten years!!! Okay, so that's a bit of an exaggeration!! But we did well. And of course, I had to think about my luggage and packing it all, so I really restrained ourselves!! I mean, it was physically painful to leave the store and all those great deals behind! I really could have gotten SO much more!

So after hours of getting to know each other while spending money, Kim had to head home again. So we headed out to the parking lot and Kim has the greatest car, a Mini Cooper! Emileigh was in love with it and I think Al fancied it too! So he took a pic of the two Kims in front of it!!



Well, it turned out to be a great day and I'm so thankful that we were able to get together! Thanks Kim, for driving all that way to meet us! We love ya, babe!!

OH, and if you sat through and read all the blabber, I am rewarding you with a picture of this lovely card!! Hahaha!



It's pretty self explanatory but I used this Tilda on the new bench and the sentiment is from the MFT set, By the Seashore. I just love the font ....and I wanted to send you some sunshine from Florida!! Heehee!!

Well, we are packing up tonight and our suitcases are fit to bursting!! I just hope we're not overweight with our luggage!! If we are, I'm throwing out some clothes, because there's no way I'm losing any of my stampin' scores!! hahaha!!! We'll be flying back to Detroit tomorrow afternoon around 4pm and then we drive home. Back to the snow! Ick!!

Whipper Snapper Best Friends

Here is a very simple card for you today. This one I made using the Whipper Snapper stamp called Best Friends. Aren't these little girlies cute?? I got the stamp and the glittery DCWV patterned paper at The Town Scrapper. I coloured the image with my Copics and used the sketchy colouring technique, not colouring to the edges of the lines, instead leaving some areas white to draw the eye. This is a great stamp for this technique. I doodled around the frame, added a couple of buttons and some wide pink grosgrain SU ribbon.

Today was quite CHILLY here in Florida, so no beach for us! Instead we went shopping!!! Our first stop was a great little sb store that I discovered online, called The Scrapbook Shoppe. It is a HUGE scrapbook store and I met a couple of super nice ladies in there who were very helpful. Unfortunately, Al and Emileigh insisted on staying in the car, so the whole time I was in there, I was thinking about them tapping their feet waiting for me. So I rushed. Do you know that feeling?? So I didn't buy a whole lot and then we continued on to a couple of big malls.

The first one was one of those with the big fancy richy rich stores and we totally felt out of place at that mall! Like people could just look at us and see that we couldn't afford anything in the place! So we went to another mall and had much better luck.

On our way back to the coast, we stopped at a Target and picked up a few things and then we happened to see a Costco. Well, I made a total score there!! You know these Tote-ally Cool Totes by All My Memories??



They are fabulous with lots of great pockets and they are on a lazy susan so they can swivel on your craft table for easy access. Well, in Canada they cost a minimum of $45 in our local scrapbook stores. I got one in Costco with a bonus of the mini tote as well....for.....get this......$14.97!!! Can you believe that??? It's such a high when you get a good bargain, isn't it?? I just hope it doesn't take up too much room in my suitcase!

Anyway, we've got something cool planned for tomorrow and I hope it works out okay. I'll take pics and tell you all about it!!!

Happy Stampin'!!!!

OH Happy Day!!!

We are having a great time here in Redington Shores, although at this moment there are thunderstorms and lightning flashing in the sky. We were just checking the news too and apparently parts of Florida have had blackouts and been without power today, so we're lucky we didn't have to deal with that!!



Yesterday we spent the day enjoying the sunshine on the white sandy beach for a couple of hours and then we did a bit of shopping in St. Petersburg. Today we took a drive and visited Myakka River State Park. Al is a bit of a nature lover and Emileigh and I.....well, we're.......not. But we actually enjoyed ourselves.




We walked through some nature trails, traveled across a canopy walk several stories above the trees, took an airboat ride and saw lots of wildlife. We saw a bunch of those little lizards (eek....I hate them) and lots of different types of birds. We caught sight of several alligators and one came right up out of the water to eat a fish and gave us a little show. On our way out of the park we saw a wild boar with several of her cute little babies, so that was kind of cute!

But here is another Magnolia card for you, this time using the new tree stamp!! I also used Tilda with her birthday cake. I used the colour combo from the Ginger Blossoms dp by SU although I didn't use that paper. I did use some of the Groovy Guava dp and a River Rock card base. I found some tiny Prima flowers that matched the Ruby Red colour, so I decided to put some blossoms in my tree. Also the tree stamp has the heart shape carved out of the trunk with a plus sign in the middle and I added the T and the E for Tilda plus Edwin! The happy day sentiment comes from a new acrylic set that I got, but obviously I'm not and home and I can't remember the name of the set. Then I used my little slot punch to make a place to add the Groovy Guava ribbon. Simple layout but cute, right??

Anyway, I'm not sure what we'll be doing tomorrow as it's going to be cool for the next couple of days. My vote is for shopping.....I'll let you know if I win!!!

We Made It.....Finally!!!

Well, we are here in Redington Beach, Florida but it was quite a day getting here, I tell ya!! We had a nice relaxing morning, had breakfast, parked the car at the park and fly thingie and took the shuttle over to the airport. We got through check in and security in lots of time and sat waiting in our designated concourse. Then about 20 mins before we were to fly out, just before we should have boarded our plane......there was this big announcement that everyone had to pick up all their belongings and head back out to the main lobby part!! There were at least a thousand people filling the entrance and we all had to wait in line to go BACK through security!! It was ridiculous! We waited about a half an hour in line and then we finally started moving. Apparently there was some sort of security issue that they had to deal with and everyone had to get out and then go back through again. It was a pain, but I'd rather do that and be safe! We ended up only being about an hour and a half behind schedule, so that wasn't too bad. But the plane ride was another story!! We had an oblivious mother and two little kids sitting behind us, jumping all over the seats, running up and down the aisles and kicking the back of our chairs for two and a half hours. Aaaahhhh!! What fun!! Anyway, we finally got to Tampa, got our rental car and drove to the condo!! Let me just tell you....the condo makes up for it all!!! It is a brand new condo complex with ceramic tile floors, granite countertops, beautiful decor and lighting fixtures, Tommy Bahama furniture aaaahhh...it's gorgeous. There is a beautiful pool right outside our door and the beach is right across the street. It's gonna be great.

Here is a little card I uploaded to blogger before we left (I may have a few more this week...heehee) and I hope you like her! This is Farmer Tilda and her little kitty!! I used soft colours and the dp is Melissa Frances! I added some Prima Flowers and brads and the ribbon is some lovely gauzy stuff that looks so soft and pretty! The sentiment is by My Favorite Things and this is one of the great things about acrylic stamps....you can bend them to your will!! I like how it's wavy lookin'!

Okay, that's all I have time for this morning....we gotta get moving and get out in the sun! Not sure what we're doing today, but it's gonna be fun! Maybe I'll have some pics to share tomorrow! Toodles!!

Sow the Seeds of Love.........and Shopping!!!

Well, it's Sunday and my only day off this week. I have piles of laundry to do and dishes and the floors need cleaning......and of course, there's always stamping to do!! I wonder how much I can get done before I cave in and retire to my stamp room? Heehee!

Lunch in Petrolia on Thursday was great, as usual!! This time it was Ellen, my Mom, Irene and myself and Phebe joined us later. The meal was phenomenal (I had the special which was quiche....and fries!) and we had a great chat!! Then we headed over to Phebe's for a little stamp shoppin'! I got some new Prima Sprites and Press n' Petals. LOVE Prima flowers!! The other ladies spent more than I did (for once) and picked up some High Hopes stamps and some from My Favorite Things!

Then after we left there we decided to head up to the main street to check out a store called Two Doors Down that we had heard so much about. Well, it's a discount store where places like Costco send their clothing and stuff to sell off....cheap!! Let's just say that I really scored!!! Did I mentioned to you that next weekend, Al and Emileigh and I are flying to Florida for a week??? Yippeeeeeeeee!! I REALLY need a vacation!! Anyway, the one section of this store is like a women's boutique will all sorts of beautiful clothes!!! I was able to get: 3 eyelet tank tops, a sleeveless white blouse, a short sleeve hoodie top, 2 cotton A-line skirts and a quilted winter jacket all for $100!!! It was awesome!! Now I'm all set for the warm weather!!

Anyway, I'm waiting to get my March work schedule and then we can plan another outing. I will post it on here and you can email me if you'd like to join us!!

Today's card is one I created last week for a Gina K. sketch challenge on SCS. I used an older retired SU stamp set called Friendships Grow. I got it in a trade and I just LOVE the design. If you know of any other SU sets done along the same lines or style, let me know!! This one I stamped on SU watercolour paper and used my SU markers to colour her in. The dp is Melissa Frances and I added some SU taffeta ribbon and some Prima flowers and brads. Cute huh??? Oh and the sentiment is one of the Hanna Stamps sayings.

Well, hope you have a nice quiet Sunday with a little bit of 'alone' time!! Happy Stampin'!!!

E is for Excellent!!!!

I was also lucky enough to receive the E for Excellent award from not one...but TWO awesome stampers!!!! Bonnie over at the Lucky Clucker and Frances at StampOwl over in Australia!!! How awesome is that??? Thanks ladies!!!

And I would like to send on this award to several amazing stampers who I love and visit EVERY day!!!!

Inge - Patterned Paper

Michele - Paper Cuts

Lauren - My Stampendence

Sophia - Moonlight Inker

Claudia - Pretty Pressings

You Cheer Me Up Award!!!

My pal Inge over in the Netherlands awarded me with the Cheer Me Up Award!!! How nice is that???? THANK YOU Inge!!! Some days I feel like Lucy in this episode....don't you????

Anyway, in turn, I would like to nominate Bonnie!!! She is an awesome stamper and stopping at her blog ALWAYS puts a smile on my face!!! Go on over and say hello!!!

Well DUH!!!!

You Are Most Like Heidi Klum

Girl next door vibe with top model looks

Which Victoria's Secret Angel Are You?

Of course, I'm like her.........we're practically TWINS!!!

Whoops!!!

Okay, so I forgot to come back yesterday and post some more Teasers!! I was so busy creatin' yesterday and getting ready for last night's release party, that I totally forgot to post another one for ya!! So how about I just post them all?? How would that be??? Heehee!!



This card features two new sets....Eggstra Special Easter and Twisted Sentiments. I just LOVE this new little bunny and his big ol' ears. I used this yummy new Imaginisce paper called For Peep's Sake! It has lovely soft colours with just a little sparkle! And of course, I used my Copics to colour him in!



This little guy cracks me up!! I just whipped up this little square card and I used the Monkey from It's a Jungle Out There and stuck a little flower in his hand.....he's so hopeful!! *giggle* The sentiment is from the new Twisted Sentiments set. I was thinking of putting this in my husband's lunchpail one day....but he really doesn't need any encouragement!! Baaaahahahaha!



This one features two of the little chickies from Eggstra Special Easter. I stamped them together and used my Nestabilities to layer them up and I added Diamond Stickles to make them all sparkly just like the paper. I added three Bellas Baubles in green above the sentiment which comes with the set.




I was trying to find a stamp that would go with this new Twisted Sentiment and then I remembered how SASSY all those Bellas are!! Well, I hadn't even inked up Ipodabella yet and she was PERFECT! I'll tell you a secret too.....you see that ribbon?? Well, I pulled it off a Christmas gift!! My parents gave me a pair of flannel jammies from La Senza and they were tied up with a pretty bow and I pulled it off and saved it! Isn't is yummalicious?? And I just discovered something else pretty awesome!! I didn't have a dark pink Prima flower that would match, so I took a white one and coloured it with my Copic marker!!! Haha!! Dried super quick, and matches perfectly! Then I attached them with some rhinestone brads...that I got at the DOLLAR store!! I love a bargoon like that!!



And this last one just makes me laugh out loud!! I don't know who came up with this one, but it wasn't me!!! Each of the Design Team Members came up with sentiments to add to this set and mine were some of the tamer ones....Let's Monkey Around, Better Than Sex and Good Gossip. I will NOT take any blame for the racier ones. That's for Carole and Cammie to deal with!! It's all their fault!! Hahahaha!!! But this one just makes me snort! I knew immediately that I wanted to make a sign for my craft room door!! Think that'll keep 'em out?? Heehee!!! It's a chipboard coaster covered in dp and decorated using the new Serenity Now stamp set, some Primas, some ribbon and some Bellas Baubles!

Anyway, all three new sets, Eggstra Special Easter, Serenity Now and Twisted Sentiments are now available at www.mftstamps.com so head on over and pick them up.

I'll be back later with today's challenge!! I promise!! I won't forget!!

MFTeaser!!!

So I said I'd be back later.......well, it's MUCH later!! I ended up having a bit of a nap before I went in to work and didn't get back on the computer until after supper!! Ooops!!

Well, here is a card I posted on SCS this morning as a My Favorite Things Teaser!!! As you may or may not be aware, MFThings will be releasing 3 new stamp sets on Wednesday, Feb. 6th and we are having a Cocktail Release Party in the MFT Forum over on SCS from 9-11pm EST!! You won't wanna miss it! It's fast paced fun and foolishness and you can find out how YOU, yes YOU, can become a MFThings Guest Designer!!! Be sure to meet me there on Wednesday night!!!

One of the new sets is called Twisted Sentiments and is an absolute riot!!! All the DT members had input into the 'adult' sentiments that went into this set.....let's just say mine are several of the tamer variety!! I swear!!! Anyway, they have been a lot of fun to play with!

This card features the mini set How Sweet It Is along with one of the sentiments that I had a hand in!! I stamped the gal eating chocolates on Wausau bright white cardstock and coloured her in with my Copics. I also stamped a couple of chocolate kisses and a sundae, coloured them in and then ran them through my Cuttlebug with my Nestabilities. I also made the rectangular frame using my Nesties too. Then I added crystal lacquer to all the chocolates to make them look yummy and shiny!! The dp is Ginger blossoms by SU and the sketch is actually an MFT Sketch Challenge for this week! Now isn't that sentiment just a stitch??? Don't tell Al I made it up, now will ya!?

Now LOOKING at chocolate is about all I can do for right now. We have planned a trip to Florida for the last week in February and since I plan to be spending most of my time in a bathing suit, I figured I'd better lose a few pounds! So I've started on the South Beach diet again. I lost 30 pounds the first time and kept it off for over a year now. I've gained 3 or 4 back, so I figured it's time to nip it in the bud before it turns into 10! Anyway, the first two weeks of SBeach are murder.....no sugar, no bread, no potatoes, no fruit....no chocolate!!! I won't drink coffee either because I can't have sugar in it and what's coffee without sugar.....motor oil!!! So I'm not drinkin' it!! And I absolutely detest water.....I cannot begin to tell you how much....there are no words. But I am choking it down. Anyway, think good thoughts for me....or rather for my family and coworkers as they are the ones that will have to deal with me and my crankiness over the next couple of weeks!!! hahaha!!!

I'll see you tomorrow with another fun challenge!!!

I Have GREAT Friends!!!

Since today is my actual birthday (10:45am to be exact), I thought that I might share with you how lucky I am!!

You already saw how great my hunny-pie is!! Well, I've also received a few pretty b-day cards and packages this past week too!! The first thing I received was a wonderful box of stampin' goodies from the lovely and generous Tina Russell, owner of High Hopes Rubber Stamps!! I was overwhelmed with the packages of flowers and punches and embellies that I have been playing with ever since I tore open the box.....hence the lack of photo....they are all over my stamp room now!!

I also received a padded envelope FULL of brads and clips and bookplates and all sorts of treats from an 'unknown sender'....but being the detective that I am, I discovered that they were from the lovely and sweet Phebe, owner of The Town Scrapper.

The following are some yummy cards I also got in the mail!!!



Firstly, the mailman brought me this amazing card all the way from the Netherlands from my colouring guru, Inge!!! I am so thrilled and excited to be on TWO Design Teams with her!!



Next is a card I received from my MOMMY!! Heehee!! Isn't it so perky and bright and cheerful?? Just like me, huh??!! Baaaaahahahahaaaaaa!!! Go on over to NanaDiana's gallery on Splitcoast and check out her lovely creations!!



I also received this amazing card from another of my High Hopes Design Team members, Ila!! Not only is she a fellow Canadian, she is a total artist and I LOVE her designs!! She has such a unique style, so be sure to go over to Artfully Ila and say hello!!



And lastly, I just received this beauty yesterday from a fellow coworker, stamper and friend, Donna!!! She used my favourite new stamp set and punch by SU and I feel so special because she used not one, not two, but THREE of those blingalicious rhinestone embellishments from Doodlebug Designs!! It's so beautiful!! Be sure to head over to her blog and check her out too!!

So thanks to everyone for wishing me a Happy '29th' Birthday! It's been a great day so far and I'm so excited to be able to share everything with you!!!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for another Celebration Challenge!!!

Old Friends, New Friends!!!

What a wonderful afternoon we had today! And I just couldn't wait to share all about it, so I am posting twice today!!! Now this is going to be a long post, I'm warning you now, so either skip on to the next blog or settle back with your cup of coffee.....or glass of wine, depending on the time of day where you are!!!

So I set off from home about 10:45am, aiming to be in Petrolia around noon. As it stood, there would be myself and Phebe, (the owner of The Town Scrapper), Bonnie (The Lucky Clucker) and Ellen (the owner of Actors, the restaurant we were having lunch at)! Most of you know that my Mom (NanaDiana on Splitcoast) is a happy stamper too and we LOVE to stamp shop together! Well, Mom was unable to come as she had to babysit my nephew later in the afternoon and didn't think she would have enough time to eat, shop, yak and then get home again. I tried to talk her into it but she didn't think it would work. Well, I decided to leave for Petrolia a little early and thought maybe Mom could meet up at the store with me early, do her shopping first, have lunch with us and then drive home....she should have enough time if we did it that way. So I called her on her cell phone and she sounded kind of funny and when I asked her where she was, she just said 'in the car'. And when I suggested my idea, she just said it wouldn't work and she'd talk to me later. Well, let's put it this way....my Mom is a BAD liar. I knew right away that she was planning to surprise me and meet me in Petrolia and when I pulled into the parking lot, I immediately spotted her car!! What I didn't expect was that she had also brought our mutual friend Connie with her! They jumped out from behind another vehicle and surprised me!!! It was SO funny!



PHEBE, DIANA AND CONNIE

So we went over to The Town Scrapper and Phebe was right there to greet us at the door! We took off our coats and put down our purses right away and started shopping!!! This picture was taken about 10 minutes after we arrived and you can see that my Mom and Connie have their hands and armpits full of stuff already!!! Look at that stack in my Mom's hands!!! Good grief!



PHEBE, MOI AND CONNIE

We were having so much fun ooooooing and aaaahhing over the adorable stamps and papers, that we lost track of time and realized it was 12:30pm and time for our lunch at Actors!!! Thankfully the restaurant is right on the other side of the parking lot!! So we left our piles of loot at the store and made our way over.



RESERVED FOR THE FUN CROWD!!

There was a table all reserved for our special party!! Ellen and Bonnie were already waiting for us at the table and there were hugs all around!! It was SO much fun to meet everyone and yak and gab with gals that have the same passion for paper and stamps that I do!! There was lots of talkin', sharin' and laughin' going on at our table, let me tell ya!



CONNIE, THE BIRTHDAY GIRL (that's me) AND BONNIE (Note the Copics on the table!!)

We had the most wonderful food for lunch too!!! I had the same thing I had last time because it was just so good!! One of the fun things about Actors is that the dishes all have actors' names!! We had a Sally Field, a Flip Wilson and a couple of Danny DeVitos!! It was a riot! We'd barely gotten lunch finished and cleared away and out came the Copic markers. Ellen had asked me to bring them for her to look at as she was considering buying some.....I think she's sold on them!! heehee!! Then out of the blue, the waitress came over carrying a luscious piece of chocolate cake and ice cream with a sparkler on top!!! They all sang Happy Birthday to me and I had a yummy DEE-licious Betty Boop dessert!!! Such fun!!



ELLEN, MOM AND PHEBE

After we were all stuffed full of a fabulous lunch, we headed back over to The Town Scrapper and we each picked out some wonderful stamps, paper and embellishments!! Nothin' like shoppin' for stamps, I tell ya!!! And Phebe has Whipper Snappers and High Hopes and Magnolias and My Favorite Things and Sunshine Designs....and so many nice papers and embellies to go with them!!! Aaaaaghhhhh! We had a real hoot!!

So I just wanted to thank the gals for meeting me and sharing such a fun day! There's nothin' like hangin' with old friends and making new ones (and no Mom, that's not a crack about your age!!! *giggle*). Thanks ladies for a fun afternoon and I can't wait to do it again soon!!!

Play Date in Petrolia!!!

Well, we had a great day yesterday!!! I packed up my car with all my goodies and left the house around 9:45am. The weather was very cold but nice and sunny so it was wonderful for driving. I listened to a Janet Evanovich book on cd in the car, which made the hour and a quarter drive very enjoyable.

Mom and Dad met me in Petrolia and Dad took off to Timmy's for a coffee and let Mom and I go stamp shopping!!!! We went over to Phebe's store, The Town Scrapper which is in the front room of her home. The kids were out building a snow fort on the front lawn and having a ball!

Phebe was in the middle of doing inventory and apologized for the store, but it really wasn't bad at all!! There were shelves with Whipper Snappers and High Hopes and Sunshine Designs. There were shelves with lots of pretty patterned papers and cans of lucious Prima flowers! And of course the racks of Magnolias........oooooeeeeee!!! So we shopped and talked and shopped and talked!! I also gave Phebe a basket full of my cards to sell in her store on consignment and I really hope they do well! We'll see what happens! I just LOVE how Phebe gets so excited over my creations! It makes me feel so good! She is so sweet and so completely generous! Love ya Phebe!!! *wave*

Then we figured that it was time to meet up with Dad and go for lunch!! So we walked back out to both of our cars in the parking lot and I called him on his cell phone, thinking he was still up the street at the coffee shop. I was talking to him and telling him to come back to where we were, to go eat at this restaurant that Phebe recommended, called Actors and he said, 'Well, there are lots of people going in and out of here. Why don't we eat here then?' and I said 'Well, where are you?'....(I was thinking he was talking about some restaurant up the street where he was) and he said 'I'm sitting in the car right beside you!!!' and I turned around and sure enough, he was sitting in their car right beside where I was standing, laughing his fool head off!! He had seen us walk toward the cars but we didn't look in them, so we didn't see him and then he saw me take out my cell phone to call him and he just waited and answered the phone and thought it was really funny and had a good laugh!!! It was so funny!!

Anyway, lunch was fabulous!! Dad treated us all to lunch and we all had the yummy fish and chips!! It was SO good, I'm gettin' hungry just thinkin' about it!! We had a nice visit too. I really miss getting together with them and chatting since we moved away. THEN, after lunch, Mom wanted to back to Phebe's store......so we did!! We spent more money and it's all Mom's fault!! heehee! Yah, like she really twisted my arm!!! I bought two cans of Prima Minnie flowers, some pretty pastel spring patterned papers and some adorable Whipper Snapper stamps....you know I can't resist them!! I just LOVE stamp shopping!!! Can you relate??

Well, enough of my babbling! I'm sure you might like to hear about the card in the picture above!!!? Maybe. I have just been having SO much fun playing with my new Magnolias, so I hope you aren't getting sick of seeing them! I have ALL the new ones that Phebe has in her store and they are so sought after and hard to find, that she is sold out of some of them. But feel free to contact me and I can email you with what she does have available if you want to get your inky little fingers on some!

So this card features the adorable little Baking Tilda!! I thought she would be perfect for a Valentine card with her little heart shaped cookies! I stamped her in Archival Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured her in using my SU markers and watercoloured under her feet with my Aquapainter. I used Rose Red, Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink cardstock along with some Daisy Bucket Designs patterned paper. I used some of my yummy satin Chocolate Chip ribbon and I placed it in between the matting layers and pop dotted the top two layers of the panel for the 3-D look. The sentiment layer is made using the SU scallop punch and a couple of circle punches along with the Riveting stamp set and I paper pierced each scallop with my Mat Pack. Lastly I added sparkle to her little wings with Stardust Stickles and I added a little row of three Espresso Baubles from Stampingbella!

So if you are ever taking a drive around Southwestern Ontario and you're looking for a stampin'/scrapbookin' store to visit (I mean, aren't we always lookin' for that), be sure to stop by the Town Scrapper in Petrolia!! And tell Phebe that Kimmie sent ya!!! *wink*