From Courtney's Closet Challenge # 18

I had some time on Saturday night to play along with Libby's FCCC #18. Here is the card I made.The red carstock and gingham paper are both from Creative Memories several years ago. I used my CM small heart maker to punch out the heart-shaped strawberries, then used a black pen to draw in "seeds." I just freehand-cut the stems or leaves or whatever you call the green part of the strawberry. I used a Stampin' Up stamp (background basics or one of the others) to stamp tiny hearts and dots in Versamark on the cardstock. It needed a little something else, so I added the 3 white flowers. Here's Courtney's outfit.

The bottom of her dress has strawberries on it. This is only the second week I have gotten to participate in the challenge, but when Anthony (age 2 1/2) looks at my blog and sees her, he says, "Courtney?" to which I say, "Yes, that's Courtney." How sweet is that! I hope yall have a great day!

SBS 24 Yahoo Group Challenge 1

I'm so excited to get to show you all my very first Sisterhood Challenge card! Our challenge this week was called My Favorite Things. I made a very simple card, which I enjoy doing. I also used one of my favorite stamp sets and used versamark. Lastly, I used one of my Stampin' around wheel.

In this picture, my brown looks purple, but I assure you it is brown IRL. The background image I wheeled on the green is acorns.

I've got some extra kids over here after church today. You would think that would keep me from blogging, but it actually helps. Brady is 4 and Justus is 6. Even though it's Joey's company, Anthony is playing with them like a big boy. This means he's not following me around wanting attention. Maybe I'll even get some more cards made! Yall have a great afternoon.

From Courtney's Closet Challenge #17

Here's my card for Libby's weekly challenge featuring her darling Courtney in some card inspiring baby clothes.

I know the picture quality is terrible, so let me distract you with a cute picture of Courtney!

Thanks for checking out my creation!

Go Bananas #11

Here is my card for Anna Banana's sketch challenge.


Anthony's "helping" me on the "puter" so I gotta get off here before he breaks something. Catch yall later--maybe even later tonight.

Stampin' Up projects

Here are the Stampin' Up projects we made at our meeting last night.

The first thing we made were shaker boxes. They were both made by using foam tape between the base layer and top layer. The one on the left has the transparency on top of the cardstock. It was stamped with stazon. The one on the right has the transparency under the top cardstock. The foam tape is directly underneath it. You can also double the foam tape to make a thicker shaker box, but I wanted mine both thinner since I plan on putting them on cards. The mail machine doesn't care for thick items.

This next item was made by first stamping the leaves with Kiwi Kiss onto white cardstock. We then had a mister that had a little bit of reinker and was then filled with water. We sprayed that over the top.

This last sample was probably my favorite. We used versamark to stamp the flowers on glossy paper. We then brayered pixie pink over the top. Next we stamped the flower image again, colored it with chalks, cut it out (I HATE scissors!) and mounted it with pop dots over one of the versamark flowers.

Thanks for checking out my projects. I have a question I've been meaning to ask all of you more experienced blogging stampers. I think I know what an inchie is, but what are twinchies and moos???

I almost forgot--I was tagged by Leona and she has told me I am it...... so here goes and here are the rules:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
OK so here goes a little about me:

1. I don't like my food to touch. Which means I don't care for casseroles, but oddly enough I will eat vegetable soup.

2. I am currently an accountant but have also been a certified math teacher and a banker. I have also briefly tried the SAHM thing a few times, but God has not blessed me with that ability.

3. One of my favorite hobbies is sleeping. I am really disturbed by the fact that my 2 year old will no longer take naps.

4. I got a Wii for my anniversary last year and almost cried because I was so surprised and excited. I still love it even though I hardly ever play it.

5. I could easily become a hermit. It's not that I mind other people, but I prefer to be alone at home than somewhere with someone.

6. My favorite tv show (and the only one I watch) is Total Drama Island. It's a cartoon kinda like Survivor that comes on Cartoon Network. I love that show! Joey and I watch it on Thursdays at 8pm and try to guess who's gonna get kicked off.

7. I just started working with the youth at church. I am one of the 9th & 10th grade girls' leaders for their Experiencing God study on Sunday nights and I am really enjoying it. At church I am also the GA Director, work in children's church, serve on the Weekday Board, and generally say yes to more than I can handle.

OK. Now I have to tag 7 people. If you've already done this, sorry for the duplication.
Wendy
Heidi
Tess
I know that's not 7, but that's all I know that haven't been tagged lately. I don't have time to comment them, so I'll do that tomorrow. Gotta go to a youth event a church.

Happy Birthday Aunt Pat!

Today is Aunt Pat's birthday! The day started out with Joey's football game at 10am. Aunt Pat and family surprised us by coming to the game. We were planning on meeting them up here after the game for her birthday lunch, but they came early. Here are a few pics of my football boys.

Here is Joey in action. I realize he is on the sidelines and this is not during the game, but that's the only time he actually runs. During the game while he's on the field, he just kinda stands. Sometimes he'll stick an arm out to grab a flag if someone tries to run around him.

Here's little Anthony. He had to wear flag just like the big boys. If Anthony were as big in person as he is in his head, he would probably be a teenager. By the way, we won the game. The score was either 25-6 or 26-6, depending on who you asked. (Joey said 25-6, but since before that it was 20-6, I kinda think he's wrong.)

Quick post

This is gonna have to be a quick post. The boys are gone to the ballgame and could be back any time now. I gotta make a birthday card for Aunt Pat tonight and would prefer to do it before they come "help" me. I went to a Stampin' Up meeting tonight and we made shaker boxes. I'll get pics of those uploaded this weekend. The most important part of the meeting is that I finally ordered the Upsy Daisy set, which is on sale this month! I woulda paid full price for it though, because I've seen so many cute ideas with it. Below is a card I made for my friend Tess. She comments on my blog regularly and commented that she was gonna have to do something nice so I'd send her a card. Well, that was a nice thing for her to do, so here's her card! It's hard to see, but the bottom pink part is the Stampin' Up wheel with the seed packets on it. Of course I don't know the name of it. Yall have a good evening. Oh yeah, I was tagged by Leona, but I'll have to tend to that business tomorrow. Be sure to tune in to find out some interesting facts about me tomorrow!

Really cool blog candy!

Hey everyone. First of all I want to let all of you know of some really cool blog candy you can win over at my blogging sister Chrissy's site. She has hit 40,000 posts! I can't believe I have over 300, so I can't imagine having 40,000. Be sure and leave her a comment on this post. The best thing about the Autumn Blessings stamp set she is giving away is that she designed it herself! Of course if you want the set and don't win, you can buy it from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.


Now on to today's card. This card is actually very easy to make. I used 2 coordinating DSPs. Then I punched out several flowers from a matching blue. I used glue dots to adhere buttons to each flower center. These buttons are from the big ole bag of buttons my mom gave me. She is quite the seamstress and has collected quite a few buttons over her years of sewing.

I also have a picture of my wild little monkey demonstrating why I don't get to craft and blog as much as I would like. He constantly says, "Stand up and hold you!!!" which means he wants me to stand and hold him.Joey is rambling on and on to me about Mario, so I gotta get outta the living room so he'll give me a break. He is much more passionate about all things Mario, Luigi, Sonic, and Wii than I am about papercrafting, which says a lot for how obsessed he is!

Happy Anniversary Sherrie & Kirk!

Hey yall. It's been a whirlwind of a week. Monday evening we ran errands, Tuesday evening we had football practice and a Cub Scout meeting, and tonight we had church. I'm worn out and the week's not over! I do have a card to post, but it's very simple. Some friends at church celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary today so I stayed up last night to make them an anniversary card. I also made a card for Jan at church since today was her birthday, but it was not a pretty sight. I was tired by the time I got to that one last night, but it's the thought that counts.

OK. One kid out the tub, the next one in. Jason's still at church. I'm guessing he's in a meeting. Oops, oldest kid not in tub yet and little one whining for me to sit on the couch. Gotta go. I've got another card I'll post tomorrow.

Welcome Hurricane Ike

The good news on getting just remnants of Hurricane Ike is that the weather is not too severe. The better news is that it started in time to cancel the flag football jamboree! Joey didn't really want to play today anyway. We were all worn out from the company picnic. I have been terribly neglecting some house work, so I really need to get after it while Jason and Anthony are gone grocery shopping. I hope yall are all having a great weekend!

I'm back!

Hey everybody. Sorry for being gone, but it's been a busy few days. I've got 2 cards to show you today. The first one was inspired by one of Sue's cards. If you've never checked out her blog, you need to hop over there. She has the cutest little grandson named Cole. She participates in Libby's From Courtney's Closet Challenge, which I hope to participate in soon. Maybe even this week! You can check out my inspiration here.

I made this by paper piecing the cat and the fish. This card is a little bright for my tastes, but Joey, my 6 year old, thinks it's awesome. He calls it Garfield.

My next card was made for someone very special to me, my Aunt Pat. She is my mom's sister and is totally awesome. I found a saying in one of my 2005 issues of PaperCrafts. It says, "Only an aunt can give hugs like a mother, can share secrets like a sister, and love like a friend." That sums up my Aunt Pat. I call her everyday on my way home from work. I found the rose idea on Julie's blog, Paper Pleasing Ideas, which is my absolute favorite blog. She is the one who inspired me to blog and I swear if I ever find out she has looked at my blog, you will not be able to get me off the ceiling. She is the greatest paper-crafter out there. Anyway, you can see the rose she did here.

Okay, Joey's playing the Wii while Jason and Anthony have gone to turn in the flag football paperwork. My fishsticks aren't ready yet, so I'm gonna go try to make something out of paper. Our jamboree football game is this Saturday at 3pm, so get ready to see some pictures of my little football player and Coach Daddy!

One more note--thanks to all of you who left sweet condolences in your messages. I joined the sisterhood just in time to get encouraged. Thanks also to all of you who prayed for our family during this week. My great-grandmother's funeral was absolutely wonderful. Even though it's my dad's side of the family and not my mom's, my Aunt Pat went with me (of course).

Mamaw Stroud

Good evening. Just wanted to let all of you know that Mamaw Stroud passed away last night around 8:40pm. She was so sick and had been for so long that it is really a relief to not have to worry about her being in pain anymore. The funeral will be Wednesday at 2pm, so please remember our family in your prayers.

It's Friday!!!

This has been quite a week! I forgot to mention to my new sisterhood that I am from Louisiana. I live in North Louisiana, which is like a different country compared to South Louisiana. Even though we are hours from the coast, we still got some wild weather from Hurricane Gustav this week. My 1st grader Joey was loving the weather since they cancelled school the whole week. He's at a church campout tonight. Jason and Anthony are doing the Wal-mart thing, so I was checking out my sisters' blogs to get some card ideas. I had the paper craft version of writer's block last night, but hopefully it will go away before I create tomorrow. It's about my bedtime now (yes, I know it's barely after 9pm, but I just can't make it any longer!) so I'm about to go lay down. I do have a request for yall. My great-grandmother has been very ill since February and around lunch today they said she had 3-6 hours left. She's really not doing well and my grandmother is in turn not doing well. Mamaw Stroud has lived a long life (88), but I can't imagine having my mother around for 70 years and then losing her. Yall pray for our family. I'll keep you updated. Good night!

Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers

Good evening! I recently joined the Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers 24 and need to introduce myself to my group. For those of you who already know me, you may learn something! I am a 31 year old married mother of 2 little boys, ages 6 and 2 1/2. I am a full time accountant at a large company and love my job. During what little free time I have, I like to play with paper. The last few years I have focused more on card making, but I also scrapbook. My family and I are very involved in our church. I am definitely an open book, so if anyone has any questions, please ask!

Now, on to tonight's creation. I made 4 cards this evening. Considering I didn't get home from work until 5:30 and I've eaten dinner, changed a diaper, watched some tv, and it's just now 9:10, you would be right to assume these were quick cards.

Yes, I know this first card is sideways, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to fix it.

Well what do you know--the second one is sideways too! Just tilt your head to the right.

This third card uses a layout I've been wanting to try for some time now. It also fits the SCS color challenge this week to go monochromatic, which I've never done.

This last card was created because I found cardstock and patterned paper that actually matched!

Sorry for the not so good pictures. It's dark but I wanted to go ahead and post these since around here one never knows what tomorrow brings. I hear the sound of children and hubby arguing over bedtime, so I better go see if I can help. To all my new crafty friends, it's great to hear from you!

Labor Day part 2

I'm trying to make up for lost blogging time today while I can. Here's another card I got made while the boys were all busy.

I always need a card for something and never have one, so I'm trying to build up a collection of extras. I am also trying to use stamp sets that I haven't used in a while, so I got this idea from Split Coast Stampers.

Here's Anthony this past Thursday. When Joey came home from football practice and took his cleats off, Anthony put them on. Then he followed Jason around the house saying, "I want play football Daddy!" It was so cute! Yall have a good holiday. I know Joey is excited about having Tuesday and Wednesday off due to the hurricane.

Labor Day Monday

Good morning! I was able to get 2 cards made last night and I am very pleased with both of them. Keep in mind that I am not a professional when it comes to taking pictures of these, so I hope you can overlook that.

This first card uses my new stamp set. I've been excited about using the wheel barrow. I didn't stamp the flowers it came with, but instead punched out some flowers from a scrap piece of paper.

This second card turned out great and used several items I've never used. The "thanks" is part of a Cuttlebug alphabet die set I bought this past Christmas. I'm kinda embarrassed that this is actually the first time I've used the set. The paisley background was done with a Cuttlebug embossing folder I bought a few months ago. The ribbon was my inspiration for the card. I bought it a few years ago at Michaels.

I hope you enjoy looking as much as I enjoy making! I'm glad I finally have the 3 thank you cards made for Sherrie, Emily, and Sharon. Joey is playing the Wii while Jason and Anthony went to the store. Not sure what store since they both just wanted to get out of the house. Joey said he wants to stay home for the rest of his life. I would have to agree with him most of the time. I'm gonna go try to play at my desk some more while I have the chance. Enjoy your holiday!