I finally did it!

 

I finally did a Whiff of Joy card and used Copics. If my friend Debbie in New York isn't proud of me then I don't know what to say :-) This was so much fun-I think it will be my daughter Shelby's Christmas card. It reminds me of her.

Anyhow-if you like please be kind enough to leave me a comment. Maybe a few words of encouragement will get to me continue trying this technique!

Thanks for looking.

Life in the Fast Lane

My life has been a whirlwind the last couple of months. My 19 year old daughter moved back home in late June. Her fiance was in basic training at Fort Benning, GA. He came home on leave October 2, they got married October 8 and they left October 18 for his next duty station in Fort Polk, LA. They didn't have a wedding since my daughter is just like me (hehe) and does not like being the center of attention but we did have a nice reception for them on October 11. The lucky girl has been from WA to OR, to CA, to AZ, to New Mexico, to TX and is now in Oklahoma. Tomorrow they ought to get to Louisiana. I have been to WA, OR, Ca and NV-thats it. Anyhow-here is a picture of their special day. I wish them the best.
My other news is that we will be welcoming a brand new baby in the family in March and it will be a boy! My son and his wife are very happy with that news (not that they cared either way but they already have a daughter). I can't wait!

Thanks for dropping by-please feel free to leave a comment.

 

TGIS (Thank God it's Saturday)

OK, I know it is supposed to be TGIF but I completely missed that boat :-) My oldest is here from CA and I cooked a fantastic dinner for all my kids last night. What a great feeling it is to have them all around at once. Scottie had to go to work so he missed the majority of the evening but the rest of us ate homemade chicken cordon bleu, rice pilaf and stamed carrots. Kalli loved the carrots!
I am happy to have last week over with. It was hectic and sad and stressful. My friends mother passed away early Thursday morning. She is now at peace and I pray the family can get back to a more normal and happy routine. They have been through so much.
The funeral for my cousins husband is today. His body was located and I know that has given the family a feeling of closure in that area.
Kallis 1st birthday party is today too! I gave her the presents we bought for her last night as I know she will be really overwhelmed today with all the people and gifts. I wanted to see her enjoy what we had gotten. I bought her her first purse. She loved it! Every time it would slip off her shoulder she would come to me and I would hold the purse out. She would then stick her arm into the straps and I would get it back up on her shoulder. She looked so darn cute!!! This last year has just been amazing as a grandparent.
Here is a picture of her on her birthday taken by my oldest son, Greg.
I hope each and every one of you has a great weekend.

Sad Sunday For Many

Good Morning,

I usually do not post personal comments but today has started out by being a sad day for me and many others and I need to talk. My coworker and good friends mother was taken to Hospice Friday and the family was told she will not be going back home. She was diagnosed with cancer last February and she has fought a very hard battle. I talked to my friend this morning and the news today is that her mom's blood pressure is dropping and she had a fever. The family has remained right by her side for the last 7 months. I pray for a peaceful journey for all of them-especially their mother. The good news is that when she goes to the other side she will be back again with her husband who passed a couple of years ago.
Secondly, I made my morning coffee and sat down to read todays paper and saw a name I recognized. My 2nd cousin's husband drowned yesterday at the age of 39. He and his 15 year old son were hunting and evidently they had used a boat to get to the area where they were going to hunt. The boat began to drift out a little ways and Ron jumped in to get it back to shore. He never resurfaced. His 15 year old son tried to locate him but wasn't able to. He leaves behind a wife and three children. My heart aches for them.
My son has great concerns about his job. Evidently the owners packed up and moved back home last week-leaving the business in the hands of the bank. He has a wife and a daughter who will turn 1 on the 17th and also a new baby on the way (March 2010).
My plate is full right now and I ask any of you who would like to to pray for these special people. I would appreciate it.

Thanks for reading my ramblings

 

Well-the big day will soon be here and so I have been busy busy trying to get all my daughters reception invitations ready for the mail. So far I have made 81 of these simple yet fun invites. Shelby is in to the color orange and since the reception will be a fall one she has chosen orange as her main color.
As much fun as I have had getting these together and helping her plan I will be so glad when this is all behind me. I stress too much to plan big events-LOL
But then again, once it is all over she will be moving 2500 miles away from me. I have a feeling that is going to be hard to handle.
Thanks for looking.

Another batch of nummy blog candy

First time for blog candy here-you need to take a look! I am hoping to be a lucky winner :-)

http://handmadebyvivi.blogspot.com/2009/08/blog-candy-my-first-one.html

You have to check out this blog candy-awesome!!!

Oh my-I ran across this blog and look at the awesome blog candy she is giving away. You MUST check it out.

http://inkedinspirations.blogspot.com/2009/08/christmas-in-july-candy.html

Way too awesome :-)

How about some pictures of my area.......

Yesterday, early evening, my daughter, husband and myself decided to go up close to Mt. St. Helen's and take a hike around Coldwater Lake. My daughter had been hounding me for some time to go but with the HOT temps we have been having I declined until the weather cooperated a bit more to my liking! Finally, it has cooled down. Those who know me know I don't go anywhere without my camera and this was no exception. I captured the incredble sunset, a bird on a branch alongside Coldwater Lake, Mt. St. Helen's and several elk on a hilltop. I thought you might enjoy seeing them. Feel free to leave me your comments-I always enjoy reading them.

Baby's First Tooth

My granddaughter Kalli got her first tooth about a month ago and it is now up there where we can get a good look every time she smiles. Being the poser that she is it wasn't difficult for me to get a good picture of her. I just had to share this cheesy picture. Isn't she cute?
And...................guess what? I am going to be a grandma again-March 2010 they are having their second baby. This is fun!

Hot Summer Day-MojoMonday #96

It is a muggy summer day here in Wa State-ugh! But while trying to stay cool I was able to play around and get my MojoMonday challenge done. I used a darling iamge my friend NYDebbie sent to me awhile back, paper from a BG paper pad she sent me along with StampinUp papers, nesties, gamsol technique and ribbon from Michaels. I truly had a blast with this LO-easy one for me :-)
I would be tickled to see what you create for this challenge.

Simon Says - Paper Piecing

My dear friend NY Debbie told me (yes she really told me)to give this challenge a try. when I heard it was paper piecing I didn't hesitate. I love paper piecing. So here is my very first Simon Says challenge. I hope you will give it a try too.

Revised MojoMonday #94

I got it-I finally got it! And I have no idea why it was such a hassle for me. All I needed to change was my oval embellishments. Now I am happy with it-what do you think?

MojoMonday #94

I am finally back to participating in the mojomonday challenge but I am not so sure I am loving this card. I held back for two days trying to decide what I wanted to do to fix it but I can't come up with an answer. So, I am posting it.

Maybe I will try another one and get a better feeling...............................

Thanks for stopping by.

My 4th of July

Not much happening around here. I spent a week being so sick I thought I was dying. Then I got well only to have my daughter ask if she can move back home. Of course we said yes so that has been my life this summer.

I haven't had any mojo or time to create and I am missing it terribly. The plan is to get back on track there as soon as possible-maybe even today. I am spending the day home so it might just happen.

Monday the 6th starts summer school here so I will be back at work part time. The days go so fast any more.

I am sharing a picture of my gorgeous and happy going on 10 month old granddaughter. Enjoy her festive face-she is a doll and grandma loves her to pieces.

I wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July.

Finally-I got my MojoMonday #89 done

Wow-what a task this one was for me. I have way too much on my mind right now and I have not been able to focus on my cardmaking. I tried a couple other cards for this weeks m0ojomonday challenge and had to toss them. While I am not overwhelmed with love for this card I am happy enough with it to post it.

Paper is from PiggyTales. I also used a punch from MS-I thought it would punch out a flower but what it does it partially punches it out to make it 3D. For the longest time I thought my punch was broken-LOL

Thanks for looking and have a great week.

MojoMonday #88 (#2) and Cuttlebug Spot Challenge #32

Productive day for me :-) I know many of you will think I am nuts-2 cards in one day is productive? LOL, for me it sure is. I told you in my last post that I really like this weeks mojomonday challenge and I wasn't kidding. It flows for me-I got my mojo going! I combined two challenges when I made this card- MojoMonday and Cuttlebug Spot. Fun, Fun!! Check out both websites to see what is going on. Maybe you will want to participate too!

http://www.mojomondayblogspot.com/

http://www.cuttlebugspot.blogspot.com/

Thanks for looking.

MojoMonday #88 - Thank You

After missing last weeks MojoMonday sketch I was determined to get to it this week. It helps that I am enjoying a 3 day weekend and have time to actually get into my craft room. I really loved this weeks sketch-it was an easy one for me to get done. And it helps that I went to Joanns yesterday and picked up a few sheets of their paper. Of course I didn't know what the sketch was going to be when I bought the papers but I got lucky and it all worked out. So w/o further ado.......................here is my MojoMonday #88 post.





Paper: Heidi Grace Designs - Cherrywood Lane, DCWV Brown #1, and not sure of the cream and the pink

Misc: Brads, Primas, MS branch punch

Enjoy and Happy memorial Day

LOOK WHAT I MADE!

I am so pleased with these little totes I made. I ran across them at InkingIdaho.blogspot.com. Thank you Becky for sharing them-they are so darling. I used StampinUp designer papers and cardstock. I hope you like them as much as I do-they are a blast to make!!

Missing Mojo Card

Today was my boss's birthday and I wanted to make her a card. I worked and worked on the one I wanted. I was paper piecing and just knew it was going to be a hit. Well-it was a flop-a big flop. I just could not get it right :-( So I tried again, another flop. By this time I was starting to panic a bit as I wanted to make a nice card but my mojo was missing.

So I resorted to simple and whipped this card out in no time at all. The only thing I like about it is that it is black and white-colors I know she loves.

Will I get my mojo back? it has been missing for awhile now.

On the bright side-it will be near 90 this weekend. That might be good for some sun lovers but I prefer the upper 70s at tops. I don't do heat well at all. But at least it won't be raining like it has been.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Thanks for stopping by.

MojoMonday #86 - another fun sketch

I am so enjoying the MojoMonday sketches. I know I have said that once or twice before but it is really fun following a certain criteria and seeing how many very different cards everyone makes using just one sketch.

Although this sketch seemed easy to me I actually used 3 images before settling on this one. I goofed up the first one by using the wrong shade of blue-silly me. The second one I didn't like the girls hair color once I had finished it. So here is my 3rd attempt.

Stamp: A Kind word by Stampin Up

Papers: Parisian Breeze Specialty Pack by Stampin Up. Baja Breeze CS and Chocolate Chip CS by Stampin Up

Copics: N1 Neutral Gray #1, N2 Neutral Gray #2, E49 Dark Bark, V01 Heath, BG000 Pale Aqua, E35 Chamois, Y00 Barium Yellow

Pearl Embellishments

I challenge you to give this weeks sketch a try..................................

Friday sketchers challenge #51

My long distance friend challenged me to participate in the Friday Sketchers challenge. When I first looked at the sketch I was sure I couldn't do it. It was very layered and topsy turvy and that just isn't my style even though I like what others create using that type of sketch. But I thought I would at least attempt it since I was challenged *grin*.

Guess what? It wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected it to be. I hope you are as pelased as I am-I did it!!!

Stamp: Whiff of Joy-Melinda w/muff - Thank You Debbie in NY

Paper: All of the PP is from the "glittered" All Dressed Up stack from DCWV. The solid is certainly celery from Stampin Up.

Color: I used Stampin Up Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue for the image. Also used star dust stickles on the image.

Embellishments: I used the MS lbranch punch for the branches and an old flower punch I have for the flowers. Added pearls to the centers of the floewrs and also to the upper right corner of card.

Please check out Friday sketchers @ http://fridaysketchersblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/sketch-51-sponsored-by-alot.html

MojoMonday #85

Better never late-but this week I am late! Thank goodness it is my "Friday" as we have no school tomorrow. I have had a very busy week-again. The end of the school year always gets rather hectic and if I didn't know any better I would think we also had a full moon. Maybe someone who hasn't had the horrible cloud cover we have had all week can let me know if there was a full moon out there *wink*

OK-here is my card for the MojoMonday challenge #85. My picture isn't as good as I would ahve liked but the car went together well. I hope you enjoy it and I ask that you please share my blog with your friends.

Thanks.

Cards for 5-4-09 class

My good friend Jacque is a new Stampin Up demonstrator. I was honored when she asked if I wanted to scheme up two card ideas for her monthly class. Of course I want to. I can have fun designing some fun cards and have none of the stress of having the job-LOL I think maybe I hinted out loud and that is the reason she asked me-because I really really wanted to get my fingers in it.

Here are the cards that I designed for her class. Now remember-they are simple so that people who are learning can feel as if it is something they can handle. Newbies get to learn new ideas such as the emboss resist, layering and adding simple embellishments.

I sure hope my cards are a hit :-) You can let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Thanks for stopping by-again.

Mondays are quickly becoming my favorite day of the week..........

I find myself looking forward to Mondays like never before. That is because I am always so excited to see the MojoMonday sketch. What great therapy card making can be for me-and for you! And after the day I had today this was just what I needed. My father in law had a heart attack, passed out while driving, and thankfully didn't hurt himself, my mother in law or anyone else in this latest health scare. A student at the school where I work got a nice gash on her head from a piece on a fence gate-that was a bloody mess. And, it is Monday-the beginning of another busy work week. So I was very excited when I saw this sketch and got to work on it. It fell together nicely although I feel like I am lacking something-I just don't know what. I am going to call it a day now. Thanks for dropping by.

MojoMonday #83

Here it is-finally. I have had a rough week, fighting some type of bug. It seems like I might be on the mend now and I sure hope so. I loved the sketch this week and wanted to participate but just didn't feel well enough until a few hours ago, so I quickly put my idea together. Enjoy it and if you get a chance I sure hope you will play along at mojomonday.blogspot.com.

Thanks for looking :-)

Debbie

There is some really great blog candy going on at this blog-you have got to check it out.

http://bevscrafts.blogspot.com/2009/04/some-blogoversary-candy.html

Some really, really good stuff.

Mojo Monday #82

I like this one! It all fell together for me-easily. Woo hoo-after a busy day that was great therapy. I hope you enjoy the card.

I love my granddaughter

I have one grandchild and there was no way I could have prepared myself for the joy that I feel everytime I see or think of her. She is a very happy baby and has great parents-what more could a baby have?

I wanted to share one of my many passions

My husband and I love going out in the woods to look for wildlife-mainly elk and deer but I get a thrill out of seeing just a bird or a squirrel on a slow day in the woods. We are lucky to live in Washington State, close to Mt. St. Helen's. There are elk everywhere. Scott is an avid hunter and while I don't go for the kill I do go to shoot-pictures that is. Here are a couple pictures I took last weekend (April 4, 2009) when we took my parents up to feed the elk at EcoPark. I could do this every day!

I love the weekends!

I have vowed to stay home this weekend and just get things done and do what I feel like doing. So far, so good. I have been browsing the StampinUp catalog for inspiration and ideas as I now have another friend (besides Debbie) that is selling StampinUp. My friend, Jacque, just started. She plans to have a workshop each month to make cards or crafts at a reasonable cost. I am jealous! Well, not really jealous but I have got this incredible urge to help out. I do not want to ever commit to anything like that but I really want to be able to share some ideas with her. She she has actually told me I can do a couple cards if I want- DID SHE SAY IF I WANT? Of course I do. So, I put this together today. Very simple and I think I may tweek it just a bit but I was pleased. My only disappointment came when I looked for ribbon by StampinUp only to find they don't carry any ribbon in close to cocoa-the color I was wanting to use. So the ribbon is just Michaels stuff. But I did use the top note die, the stamp set is Thoughts & Prayers, paper is close to cocoa and pretty in pink. I think my ink pad is getting low on ink though-it didn't ink up as well as I had expected it to. It is getting old so I may have to replace it. Leave a comment if you like it please and thanks for looking.

Debbie

Mojo Monday #81

I got to take part in the Mojo Monday again this week. Truthfully, this isn't my favorite card. I struggled getting it together-wasn't sure what I really wanted but I knew I really wanted to get it done!

The bug stamp is from Michaels dollar bin-can't go wrong with that can I? I added stickles to the center of all the flowers but I am not able to see them here :-(

If you get a chance give this challenge a try-it is always fun.

Have a great week!

Debbie

Mojo Monday Sketch #80

My friend at coastalcreations.blogspot.com turned me on to the Mojo Monday blogspot. Since I am on spring break and don't have to work this week I decided to join in. This was a fun sketch although I really overthought it. I used Hit The Beach from MFT stamps and Cloud9 Design papers. If you get a chance you might want to pop over and have a look yourself-I am sure you will find it as much fun as I do.

mojomonday.blogspot.com

See you later,

Debbie

This is card #2 that I made to go in to the auction basket. This is a stamp from the Stampin Up called A Kind Word.

I am planning to include all occasion cards so whoever wins the auction will have a wide variety of cards for their own use.

A coworker and friend was in a serious accident with her husband four weeks ago. Sadly, he has no medical insurance. Luckily she does. But a couple of the teachers where I work have decided to hold a silent auction / dinner with proceeds going to this family to help them with costs incurred from the accident. They are good people and I am more than happy to help. I went to the cricut MB and asked for volunteers to send me their beautiful homemade cards to put into a group of cards-or a basket full of cards if I get that many-to be auctioned off. Here is the first card I made. I love this bella stamp and it was a fun one to color.

Sunday is almost over for me and I have spent the day messing with my new blog. I hope that I can find the time to keep this blog active and entertaining. My plan is to share my card creations and if I get back to attmepting scrapbooking I will share that too.
If you have any questions please ask! And please feel free to leave a comment.