Paper Heaven & Stamp Obsession

Chloe

2010-10-07T10:32:00.001-05:00

Meet the newest member of our family, Chloe. Chloe is a Whippet puppy and tomorrow she will be 4 months old.
Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

Bed for dolphins helping the sick

2010-07-28T22:31:00.001-05:00

Oh wow!! It has been a really long time since I have posted. I posted this video because the boys in the video (Mike and Joey) have the same disease that my 8 year old niece has. Last March we went to Seattle for tests and Sheyenne got fitted for her AFO (leg brace). This spring was when she was finally diagnosed with GAN. GAN stands for Giant Axonal Neuropathy, if you would like to learn more about it, please check out www.hannahshopefund.org . There are approximately 43 people around the globe that are known to have GAN. Little to no testing has been done for it. There are clinical trials in the works for 2011. But first, Hannah's Hope Fund needs to raise money so the testing can place. So if you have any suggestions for fundraisers please let me know. I don't see myself winning the lottery anytime soon, or that would take care of it.

Butterflies....

2009-05-24T20:49:00.003-05:00

Don't ask me why but butterflies remind of my grandma. I thought of her a lot while making this card.

I used CTMH CS, Memento black ink, CTMH Autumn Terracotta ink and Black Stickles on the 3-D butterflies. The stamps were a CTMH SOM that is no longer available. The top edge of the card is punched with a Fiskars punch. The card folds up to A2 size.

Diaper Cakes

2009-05-19T19:25:00.009-05:00

WooHoo!! 3 posts in one month....I'm on a roll.

This has been one of my latest creations. I have been making diaper cakes. They are so much fun and less stressful than decorating a real cake. It all started in March. The 7th grade teacher who happens to be my son's classroom teacher and my daughter's science teacher was due while I was going to be in Seattle. I knew I wasn't going to have time to whip out a scrapbook for her new baby so I made a 3 layer pink diaper cake. From there, things just kind of snowballed.

This 2-tiered cake was ordered from the secretary at the kids school. She is having a new grand-baby in June and she just wanted the 2 layers to make it easier to ship (originally she was going to carry it on the plane with her).

She doesn't get to keep my antique cake plate though. When I deliver the diaper cakes, I have them wrapped in cellophane. They look like this:

This next one is the 3 layer baby boy diaper cake that I made for the kindergarten teacher. She is expecting a new grandson any time now.

For a Friend

2009-05-15T10:50:00.004-05:00

Here is another card using Close To My Heart's May Stamp of the Month, "Be Yourself". This one is very similar to the last one, but then again, a little different. My friend Annette, is leaving her job as Volunteer Coordinator at the local hospital and this morning was her going away party. The Auxiliary president called me and told me she needed a card for Annette and the gift from the Auxiliary was in a Black/White gift bag with Hot Pink tissue paper. I rose to the challenge and made a card to go with the gift bag.

The pattern paper I used for the background is Basic Grey's Black Tie. I have had it in my stash for a very long time. The pink and black cardstock are CTMH. I used Memento Black ink and CTMH Bubblegum ink for my stamping. The scalloped squares are cut with my new Silhouette SD machine. The corners are accented with CTMH Clear Sparkles. Like my last card, the polka dot ribbon and button both came from WalMart. The pink ribbon, I got from a friend and I am not sure where she got it.

Be Yourself!

2009-05-08T21:01:00.005-05:00

Wow...I just realized how long it's been seen I have posted. I made this 5x7 card today for a challenge.

The Challenge: use punches on your card. I punched the scalloped pink circle and the black circle on top of it. The papers are some old CTMH paper that I had stashed away for a rainy day. I think I was going to use it for DD's Just For Kix dance scrapbook pages. Look how well that turned out...I still don't have the pages made. So today, I thought, this paper looks really good with the CTMH May Stamp of the Month, "Be Yourself". This stamp set is only available until the end of the month, if you wish to purchase a set of your very own, you have 23 days left to order it. To see the rest of the stamps in the set, click here. All of the paper is CTMH. I used my Cuttlebug on the black background and the pink scallop circle. Stamps are from CTMH. I used stickles on the black, stamped "floor". For the pink rectangle behind my dancing girl I used my Nestabilities. The ribbon and button came from Walmart's sewing dept. The idea of tying the button onto the ribbon came from the blog of 'susiestampalot'. I just love her artwork!

Marks Paper Co. Paper Giveaway

2009-03-20T13:50:00.002-05:00

Do you love paper as much as I do? Here is a chance to win some paper from Marks Paper Company. You could win the Old Fashioned Courtship Collection or the August Collection . There are six papers per collection and they are double-sided. You can click on the links to see a larger detailed image. So who wants to win some brand spankin' new papers fresh off the press??? Just go here to Bety's blog and leave a comment. Entry deadline is March 22nd at Midnight.

I'm Home!

2009-03-07T22:10:00.005-06:00

Yeah! I am home from Seattle...it was a great time visiting family out there. No news on my niece's health problems though. She is to have an MRI when they go back to Alaska. She did grow a bit, she is now 27 lbs. and 39 inches tall...not great for a little one who is almost 7 years old. She also got a brace for her right leg, her foot has turned inward and she is almost walking on her ankle.

Valentine Whimsy

2009-02-06T12:32:00.004-06:00

I made this card this week for a swap. I hope Deb in Montana likes it. I used a bunch of different products to make this one. It has CTMH CS, stamps and ink, Basic Grey B&T, Making Memories pin, Bazzill Fibers, Sizzix Top Note die, spritzed the tag with Glimmer Mist and the sticker on the tag I got at Target in the Dollar Spot several years ago. I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the striped background. I like how it turned out. I keep thinking I should have done more to the die cut with the stamped heart. Don't know what though. Oh well, it has to go out in today's mail. Enjoy!!

Blog Candy Alert! from Kerry at Three Clovers Designs

2009-01-18T18:36:00.002-06:00

Go check out the yummy blog candy being offered by Kerry at Three Clovers Designs here. And those sugar cookies she has pictured look so good too! Think I might have to do some baking this week and not the chocolate chip cookie dough that I made and put in the fridge a couple of days ago.

Fishin' on the pond

2009-01-04T22:13:00.005-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa Roe have a pond behind their house in Kansas. The kids love to fish and take the canoe out when we go and visit. It always seems like there is an overabundance of sunfish out there. The boys have also been known to catch a bass or two and even a catfish or turtle. These pictures were taken when we visited this last September. Poor Jül, Aunt Ai and Uncle Greg's puggle, wanted to go swimming in the pond so badly, but instead she got tied to the fence so she wouldn't get grandma's house all muddy.

This layout is a 2 page layout class I will teach at a local crop in February. It uses Close To My Heart's new Emporium papers from the Spring 2009 Idea Book.

Another Christmas card

2009-01-03T15:51:00.006-06:00

I know Christmas is now past, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Here is another Christmas card that I made for 2008. For this card, I used my cuttlebug to make the swirl background. The ornament I traced from the negative image of my Paper Salon Chipboard dies. The "Merry Christmas" sentiment is from Inkadinkadoo stamped in CTMH Twilight ink. I used Stickles for the top of the ornament and some silver cording for the hanger. Note: I did tweak the image in HP Image zone so you could see the cuttlebug background better.

I planned to add more images but the computer has decided not to cooperate. Will share them later.

Vintage Merry Christmas

2008-12-18T15:36:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas to all of my dear friends. I hope you have a wonderful and happy holiday season. I made this card for my daughter's teacher, it is one of the gift card holders that Gina K has on her blog. I used CTMH topiary CS, American Crafts patterned paper and the image is from Crafty Secrets Images & Journal Notes. The gold on the image was outlined with LuminArts Iridescent Gold. I really like how it turned out and so quick and easy to make.

Recipe book

2008-11-22T17:46:00.004-06:00

The cute stamps on this recipe book are made by Crafty Secrets. I just love the vintage look of everything on their site. I made the recipe books for our hospital auxiliary ladies. After the spring luncheon, there were many requests for the desserts that were provided by the Auxiliary officers and I was approached to create a recipe book for everyone. The volunteer coordinator for the hospital, Annette, typed and printed the recipes up. I cut the recipes to size and put them into a booklet. I got the idea for the recipe book on the Crafty Secrets website in the Sample Gallery (there are so many lovely items there, I wish I could buy one of everything on the site).

I used CTMH papers and the Cuttlebug Swiss Dot for the green strip of paper on the left side and Nestabilities for the scalloped green square behind the image of the little chef. I bought the green stripe ribbon at Scrapfest '08 in Minneapolis. And even though it is barely visible, I used red Stickles on the cherries that are on the apron. I just love that apron. I have 2 crocheted ones like that in a drawer somewhere here at home. I need to be digging them out. After the visit with my aunt in Minnesota, I learned that my grandmother almost always had an apron on.

Blog Candy Alert!

2008-10-31T14:48:00.002-05:00

Head over to Twisted Chick Creations now and check out the beautiful Chocolate Snowflake card and wonderful chance to win some blog candy from Michelle! I love this card. I think I shall have to "case" this idea is some way.

Whirlwind week...

2008-10-12T01:07:00.004-05:00

Where does the time go? This last week just flew by...and can you believe the weekend is already almost over. I want to share a card I made for an In The Jungle swap last week. I used CTMH stamps and paper and Cuttlebug's Mesh texture embossing plate for this one. I think he is just so darn cute. My inspiration for this card came from my side-line Kim's blog, Clearly Inspired.

Now, it's time to get some sleep. Spending the entire week vacuuming and doing laundry because DD brought home a case of head lice from school is exhausting. And to think, tomorrow, I get to continue with the laundry and vacuuming and more "nit-picking" at DD's head as the case would be to make sure we have this thing under control. Between the Rid Shampoo kit and shampoo with tea tree oil, vacuuming, laundry and quarantining stuffed animals to giant ziplocs for 3 weeks, I don't know what else can be done. If anyone has any tips or hints for getting rid of the little creepy crawlies I would love to hear from you!

Scrapfest '08

2008-09-24T23:05:00.006-05:00

In a real freaky turn of events it worked out that I was in Minnesota at the same time Archiver's was hosting Scrapfest '08. My parents and I were staying with my Aunt Gwen. When I mentioned I had never been to Mall of America my mom convinced my dad we should all go. So on Saturday the 13th we all headed out in the rain to the mall. I completely forgot about Scrapfest until we were about 2 miles from the mall. We only had about 2 1/2 hours at the mall. Did I check it all out? Of course not...I went straight to the Rotunda, bought my Scrapfest pin and proceeded to check out the make and takes. I spent well over 1/2 hour in line at the K & Co. make and take. It was the only one I did but it was worth it to me though. My card from the make and take and my purchases at Archiver's is all I have to show for my trip. Not including the apples purchased from the roadside stand. While in Archiver's I purchased Joanna Campbell Slan's book Paper, Death, Scissors...it is a really good book and it's autographed for me. It had all the elements I like - mystery, humor and of course scrapbooking!

This is the make and take:

This was a cute and easy card to make, you can find instructions for it at K&Company. K&Company has a beautiful 12x12 sheet of die cut butterflies that I really am going to have to buy. I loved it!

Pink and Yellow

2008-08-19T10:22:00.005-05:00

The swap challenge: Make a card using only pink and yellow as the colors. Here was my interpretation for the swap. The stamps used were CTMH stamps. The papers I bought at Archivers. The background pink one the images are glittered and made by Doodlebug. The pink with yellow polka dots is made by Paper Salon. I used Holographic embossing powder on the bird image and went over it with Stickles. Rhinestones added to the Flourish stamp are from CTMH.

Going for the Olympic Gold

2008-08-12T21:25:00.011-05:00

Can you believe Michael Phelps has gotten so many gold medals in this years Olympics? Normally, I am not a sports fan. I really don't make it a habit to watch sports on TV. However, this year DH, DD and I got to attend the Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha, NE. That was one of the most awesome things I have ever done. We sat about 4 rows up from the #4 starting block. We saw Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Katie Hoff and many other great athletes. I took my camera with me, a Canon Digital Rebel XTi. I loved some of the shots I got. Here are just a couple of them. Now, off to scour the web for the latest Olympic results.

I'm Back...

2008-08-09T23:06:00.003-05:00

Yikes! April was the last time I posted on here. Well it has been a busy summer. There was a trip to Chicago for summer vacation. I've been painting some on the inside of the house. DD now has a new turquoise color on her bedroom walls. When we bought the house last summer her bedroom was stop sign red and yield sign yellow with a tie dye border. I also painted the kitchen/dining/family room, entry way and hall way. Whew!! Now I have middle ds room left. His room is currently a girly coral color from the previous owners. He has chosen 2 shades of grey. He has Jayhawk bedding so I think I am going to order a Jayhawk wall design from Fathead.com to complete the room.

Now for some fun stuff. I have been making this card (actually 70 of them) for the local hospital auxiliary. They are having weekly coffee's and wanted invites made for it. The stamp is an image from Hanna Stamps. I am going to have to get some more of these stamps. I really like the designs. The paper is CTMH. I used watercolor crayons and Copics to color the image.

Wax Paper Resist

2008-04-11T14:05:00.005-05:00

I belong to the Yahoo group Stop N Swap. Every month there is a card of the month swap. The March COTM swap was to use the Wax Paper Resist technique. After all of the cards are sent to their respective swap partner, Tammy, the list mom puts the photos in the Photos section and everyone votes for their favorite. I had the winning card this month. Yippee!! I had fun making the wax resist background for this one. In the past I have just crumpled my wax paper into a ball and unfolded to use it. This time, I folded it like I would have if I were making a paper snowflake and then gave it a twist in both directions before unfolding it. I really like the look that I got. Ycan also score a design into it with an embossing tool. I did a grid pattern for a different background. Experiment and let me know what other things you have done for the wax paper resist background.

The Fun Table!!

2008-04-06T22:41:00.003-05:00

Yeah!!! I got to go to BB this last weekend and scrapbook with all my scrappin' buddies. It was so much fun to get caught up on all of the latest news. And yes, I even got a few more Disney pages scrapped. Our table was the FUN table (even the delivery guy from Pizza Hut said so). Not terribly noisy, but we shared some laughs. This picture is me with friends Penny and Heidi.

Wow...or should I say Wii

2008-03-04T22:28:00.002-06:00

Talk about a crazy last 7 days. My dad had back surgery last Thursday. It went pretty well. He had a herniated disc and a bone spur on one of his discs. The doctor removed tissue/hollowed out the lower disc that was smashing his sciatic nerve flat. He also worked on another disc up higher in the back. My dad, the pessimist that he is, did not think he would survive. But, the last time I spoke with him, he is very glad he made the decision to have surgery. I got home from Lincoln in time to meet DH for lunch. He came home toting a Nintendo Wii. He won it in a raffle at work. The money for the raffle is going to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Now, DD has a favorite new toy.

Here is some more artwork you might enjoy...I made this last year.

Glitter card

2008-02-23T14:36:00.004-06:00

Do you know what my 14 y.o. son calls glitter?
The Herpes of the craft world.

Every time I spend time in my scrappin' space and I use glitter I get it everywhere. On my project of course, but also my clothes and body. In fact, it ends up everywhere! On the kids, my husband, the cat the laundry...you name it! I still like to use it though and everyone will just have to deal with it. Here is a card I made yesterday with CTMH's Endless Love and Playful Flourishes stamp sets.

Sillhouette scrapbook layouts

2008-02-17T21:20:00.006-06:00

So....I said I would post some pictures of the pages using the new Silhouette papers from Close To My Heart. Here goes....

What little treat do you allow yourself in order to feel better when the weather is keeping you inside?

2008-02-17T14:00:00.002-06:00

I hate cold weather. Always have. Always will. I am just thankful I don't live in Alaska like my brother where it has been -36 degrees for the high temps. Lately in Nebraska, the temps have ranged from single digits on certain days or as high as 40 degrees yesterday. Today it is really windy and that makes for bone chilling cold. On days like these, I like to hole up in my scrapbook room with my space heater on and create. On the agenda for today is to make samples for a crop I will be at in May using the CTMH Silhouette Papers. These are the most elegant papers. I will post some pics later today of what I have gotten done.

New to Blogging

2008-02-17T13:50:00.002-06:00

Well, here it is. I have been wanting to start a blog for months. I was stuck on the title though. Did you know that you can Google "what to name your blog" and find the most common used words in a blog title? Bear with me as I learn the ins and outs of the blogging world.

My favorite blog to visit is Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. If you have never been to Ree's site, go check it out now. It is awesome. She shares the wonders of ranch life and raising her four punks with her DH Marlboro Man.