Ooops!

I was in such a rush yesterday to post my picture and get my thoughts out that I totally forgot to give credit to the person who inspired my turkey punch card. Her name is Dawn Griffith and her blog is http://dawnsstampingthoughts.typepad.com/dawns_stamping_thoughts/. All of the punches she used were from Stampin' Up, but since I do not have all the Stampin' Up punches I had to improvise. I hope you enjoyed my card.
Stay tuned there will be more posts...I promise.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello everyone. Oh, I just love this holiday. It is by far my favorite. I love the time to spend with family and thinking about all that I am thankful for. I love the crispness in the air and the colorful leaves that fall (in other places outside of California).
Well, I was busy yesterday morning and today. I made my cranberry relish and dressing yesterday to get a head start on the prep work for today. This morning I planned out my day. Since it was just my mom, Jay and me I bought a turkey breast. Let's just say a few things went wrong...our new oven is 50* off on its temperature reading (I program 375* and the oven heats to a mere 325*), then as I was ready to heat the gravy the knob broke off our new stove, so that burner was useless. Ok, in the end everything was ok, this year the turkey was a little dry and a lot salty (last year it wasn't cooked, but I am not sure why it was salty), the rolls cooked a minute longer than they should have so the bottoms were a little over cooked, the mashed potatoes were not as smooth as I would have like, but my dressing, cranberry sauce, green beans, and canned beets were spot on.
Later on we will partake in cupcakes we bought yesterday on our travels through Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. We stopped in at Sprinkles as it was sprinkling out.
Jay and I are off to walk Maddie and take our local fire station two pies (nope, I didn't bake them...safer that way).
I hope everyone had a fabulous day. As you are shoveling in the food, take time to remember the true meaning of this day. We tend to celebrate Halloween and then race to Christmas forgetting to enjoy the pleasures of Thanksgiving. Enjoy the day. Oh, food has zero calories on this day!

Peace

This card is similar to the Love one except that I colored the word Peace in light blue (photo doesn't show it too well) and then I found a ring with blue vellum in the middle, so I stamped the sentiment Love. Hope. Peace. on it. I matted the words on light blue cardstock and attached the ring. Voila! Very simple.
Jay and I have this week off of work. And my mother is supposed to arrive into town tonight from Michigan. She warned me this morning that it was snowing bad in Michigan and she didn't know if her flights would be delayed, canceled, on time, etc. She will be here until December 15th. I am very excited since she will be here for my favorite holiday...Thanksgiving and for my graduation from my Master's program.
Have a wonderful week.

Cute gift card holder

This is another project from the Stampin Up workshop I went to last month. I love the Stampin Up gift card holder plain, but it looks fabulous all decorated. Feel free to make this for me and fill it with a gift card from any of the following stores...Williams Sonoma, Michaels, Nine West, Gap (well, I may get my new jeans this weekend since mine are frayed EVERYWHERE), hmmm, I think that about covers it. Remember, if you are looking for a wonderful Stampin Up demonstrator I know two of the best.
I am very fortunate that I have a musically talented husband. Right now he is practicing on his bass guitar a few songs for an upcoming gig in February in Orlando, FL. He is passionate about his drums and is an amazing drummer, but I don't hear him play too often since he thinks it is too loud and Maddie freaks out when he beats on his cymbals. I love to hear him play and I wish everyone had the opportunity to hear his awesome talent.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Christmas card ideas...

This is a card that I made at a Stampin' Up workshop last month. I wish I could tell you the specifics, but since I am not familiar with Stampin' Up products I can only refer you to two wonderful people who happen to be awesome demonstrators.
I have always been a traditionalist. Christmas colors are red and green and nothing else. This card opened my eyes to other non traditional colors. You still get the Christmas feel from this card even if the colors lean more toward harvest. Of course I love the use of orange in ANYTHING. I hope you enjoy this card. Let me know if you are interested in any products from Stampin' Up I know people...=)

Give a little love...

I just wanted to send out my love to everyone who takes a peek at what I post. Thank you.

This card took a long time, but was very simple. Does that make any sense? Well, let me explain. I used my cuttlebug embossing folder, colored the love (attempted to water color it, but I wasn't successful and therefore had to let all the water dry from the card...that is what took so long), I wrapped two pieces of ribbon around the white cardstock, and finally I attached the white embossed card stock to a piece of bright pink paper (from Michaels). So, there you have it. I actually got the idea from my friend Shemaine at scraptasticdesigns.blogspot.com. She actually had an Autumn card that I fell in love with and tried to copy. I tried.

Have a wonderful Monday.

A little digging

Well, this past weekend I got into my craft area and got to work on a few things...finishing up my moms Christmas gifts, finishing a random page from our Hawaii honeymoon from 2007, finishing our Thanksgiving cards, and if time permitted explore some new ideas.
As I was rummaging through the drawers in my craft area I came across this love thing in a bag. It was done, the quote was on there, it was matted, and the flowers were even attached. Hmmm, looks like a card possibility to me, huh? So, I put the card through my Cuttlebug with the Swiss dots embossing folder and then put a little piece of sheer lavender ribbon across the top. Viola!
I cannot wait to do a little more exploring in the vast depths of my craft drawers to see what I can discover. Have a fabulous weekend and I hope you discover a treasure or two along the way.

Life Is A Jungle

Have I mentioned how much I love this stamp set by Close To My Heart? It is called Life is a Jungle.
My best friend, Angel, is celebrating his birthday Monday and I thought this stamp set, especially the monkey, was perfect for him. The inside sentiment says "Life with you is a barrel of monkeys". He is a wonderful friend and I don't know what I would have done all these years without him. We would go to the movies, dinner, swap meets, etc. He has even been known to buy me Sex and The City DVDs for Christmas or my birthday. He loved it when he bought the wrong one and had to exchange it for a different one. I don't think he will be buying the movie DVD for me for Christmas this year. I think I pushed my luck on the last one. I am so thankful that Angel and Jay get along so well. I don't know what I would have done otherwise.
I used a paper lunch sack for the tree. After I cut the shape freehand, I crumbled up the paper for a crinkled look and to add texture and dimension, then used a dauber to put a little green and brown ink throughout the tree. Because Close To My Heart stamp sets are acrylix it makes it easy to line up the stamps like I did here. I linked the monkeys together by their hands or tails. Of course the monkeys deserved the googly eyes...makes them all the more adorable. The leaves come from the same stamp set.
Every time I look at this card it brings a smile to my face...how about you?

Simple little note of thanks...

WOW, another simple card. I have been thinking about this for awhile now and I finally did it. I used my Stylized Flowers embossing folder on the green cardstock. The butterflies are a Martha Stewart punch. Ribbon from Michael's and the sentiment is from Say it in Style from Close To My Heart.
I needed another thank you card for a friend who got me a subscription to Bark, a dog magazine, for my birthday. Lots of neat info in the magazine.
Well, I did it...I finished my Thanksgiving cards. Remember how I said Jay was going to help me? Well, he didn't. Unless you consider stamping our address stamp on the envelopes and folding 20 circle punches in half (one of a million steps in this project) helping. Boy, he is in for it with our Christmas cards. I may make him to all of them...naw!!! I am too picky.
Have a great Monday!

Hope

I just saw this card in my collection of photos. I made this card last month, which was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I have been fortunate that breast cancer has not touched my family, but I do have family friends that have conquered this disease with grace.
Last month as I was cruising through all the blogs I follow and I came across a blog that had a card similar to this. I am not sure which blog is was since it was over a month ago. So, if you are the person I used for inspiration for this card, please let me know so I can give you credit.
I used Divine Swirls embossing folder in my Cuttlebug. I then just cut a strip of paper and colored it in using my stickles. The problem with this card is that the pinks don't match. But I am hoping that since I just placed a huge order for new ink pads from Close To My Heart that will not happen again.

Simplicity is the key...

It is the day after our election day and I am so proud of our country and I look toward to the future with hope and optimism.
I made this card using the Snowflake embossing folder on my Cuttlebug. The sentiment is from the Wonderful Season stamp set from Close To My Heart. The red ribbon is Stampin' Up...I bought it over 5 years ago and finally broke down and used it. I like the way the green adds another element of color on a simple white card. I am such a traditionalist...I love red and green for holidays. This card in the running as our Christmas card. I am going to let Jay decide, since he does help make them.

A few more pumpkins for you to enjoy

I made this adorable card at the Stampin' Up card workshop I attended last weekend. Since everything is from Stampin' Up you will have to take a peek at their catalog. If you are in need of a Stampin' Up demonstrator, please let me know since I know two fabulous ladies who are demonstrators. I hope you enjoyed my little card.
We are fast approaching my favorite holiday...Thanksgiving. Please take a moment in these next hectic weeks to remember all you are thankful for this season. Now is the time to appreciate everyone in your life and let them know how special they are to you.