Saturday, January 31, 2009

100th Post Blog Candy!

Good morning yall! It's Saturday and I finally decided how to make post 100 memorable. I decided I would open my Etsy store today! Unfortunately, that's not how it works. I did open my new bank account yesterday, but it will take 2 weeks for my debit card to come in, which I will need to sign up to sell on Etsy. I also signed up for my Paypal account to sell on Ebay, but I have to wait until they verify my bank account. So, I can't exactly have my grand opening today. I am gonna have quite a giveaway, though. I am giving away an etched wine glass!

This is a red wine glass made by Libbey glass and etched with a fleur-de-lis. Here's how you can be in the drawing for this one of a kind glass--leave a comment on this post. That's all! Of course I would love if you would mention it on your blog so more people out there could have a chance, but that's not a requirement. You have until midnight on Friday night (Feb 6) to leave your comment. I will be drawing for the blog candy on Saturday. Here's the catch--I'm not gonna track you down to find out your shipping address, so you'll have to check back in here on Saturday afternoon/evening to see if you were the winner! So go out there and tell your friends to sign up!

Friday, January 30, 2009

More butterfly cards

Hey yall. Thought I'd post 2 more butterfly cards I made last night. I'm thinking about joining a butterfly card swap, so I've been playing with my butterfly stamps lately.

This first one is embossed with some clear embossing powder that has glitter in it. You probably can't read what the butterfly says, but it has names of various butterflies.
This next one is pretty self-explanatory, but if you have questions just ask. By the way, I think this is my 99th post--I better think of something cool to do for post 100! I'm at Dave Ramsey right now (yep, another scheduled post), so I hope yall are having a good evening.

Joey's handwriting

Happy Friday morning to yall! Of course I'm actually typing this on Wednesday night, but you won't see it until Friday. I love having the ability to schedule! Today I wanted to share with yall the saga of Joey's handwriting. Last year (kindergarten) he did excellent learning to write. This year, the amount of handwriting required just about quadrupled, so his handwriting quickly turned to little boy chicken scratch. Here are 2 examples from his homework.


We've been trying to get him to slow down and do better, be he continued to get C's and D's on his handwriting tests every week. About 2 weeks ago, he got an F. We grounded him from the Wii and his DS until he brought home an A or B. Last Friday he brought home a D. Still not acceptable, so still grounded. Starting this past Tuesday, he miraculously developed legible handwriting. Here are 2 examples.

Somebody wants his Nintendo stuff back! He still has first grade boy handwriting, but it's much better.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Good news

Hey yall. I didn't plan on posting this evening, but wanted to share some good news. I went to the doctor today because I've been sick with sinus stuff. My heartrate was 88!!! It hasn't been that low in years, so I'm all excited. I still feel like crap, but at least I know giving up the caffeine helped. Since yall are having to read personal stuff I figure you get to see one of my recent creations. I made this last night but didn't take the pictures until this morning. My "assistant" was having trouble being still.


I know he and Joey seem to be wearing the same jammies in every picture. That's no illusion. Jason does laundry at least every other day and the boys wear those jammies every time they're clean. Have a good evening--I'm going to bed now.

My Big Sis is Great!!!

Hey yall! I got a gorgeous card from my Big Sis yesterday. Not only was the card the cutest one yet, but it had some Elzybells images in it!!!

She is so great! I can't wait to find out who she is. I definitely plan on staying in touch. I also have some pictures of the boys. Anthony was showing me High Step and Little Step from school. It looks like some kind of leg exercises. The first picture is High Step and the second is Little Step.

I hope yall are having a great evening!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Group Valentines

Hey yall. I've had quite a busy week so I haven't had time to post. I really don't have time to post now, but I'm gonna anyway. On Monday night at my Heart to Home meeting I helped the group make Valentines.

We made a pop-up card. I think they enjoyed craft time. Tuesday night I had Pokeeno. I got third place and won a set of butterfly salt & pepper shakers.

Here are some pictures of the boys being sweet the other night.

Lastly, I have some news that I have kinda been avoiding on my blog. Jason's Mamaw is not doing well. I do not want to get into the details because it all happened so suddenly and is not very easy to talk about. I constantly let my family and our church family know how things are going and don't want to go through it all any more than I have to. Just know that our family needs your prayers. I hope yall have a good evening.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

My first card using my own carved stamp

Hey yall. Last night I finally made a card using one of the stamps I carved--the tree. It's a Valentine card. I also finally used the accent on one of my Cricut cartridges that looks like the SU Top Note Die. And I used some of my newest ribbon.

You can barely see the cute little snail on the ribbon. I've had this in my head for several days now, so it's good to see it on paper. The problem with my head is I only see glimpses of what I want to do, not the full picture.

Tomorrow at my Heart to Home group we're making Valentine cards, so I gotta go finish getting that stuff together. I'll have to show yall the example when I get it done, but that may not be until after church since we've gotta leave soon. Yall have a good evening!

Baking Bread

Happy Sunday to yall. My Amish friendship bread turned out so good last night that I actually took a picture.

These are the ones I baked in a mini bundt pan. The rest was split between 2 round cake pans. I don't have loaf pans, so I improvised. It is quite yummy! I hope yall are having a great day. We've got chocolate cake, this bread, and tons of root beer so I'm doing good today. Now off to eat some cake.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

New card from Big Sis

Good evening yall! First of all I want to share with you the card I got from my Big Sis today.

I just LOVE Elzybells and this was the first time I saw one IRL. I'm kinda tired, so I think that's it for this post. Being domestic just really wears me out. I helped clean out closets this evening and I baked some Amish Friendship bread. It smells wonderful. Its one of those that begins with a starter that you get from someone else (Aunt Pat in my case). Yall have a good evening.

I did a big girl thing!

Hey yall. Hope you're having a great weekend so far. I wanted to tell yall what I did yesterday. I went into a store with one of my fleur-de-lis etched wine glasses and asked if I could leave some there on consignment. The ladies said the owner would have to make that decision and she was gone to market, but they loved my glass. They asked me to leave my card so they could contact me. They sell some large glass pieces (vases, etc) and several customers have asked about having them etched. Then they told me to go to this other little shop down the road--they might take them. I had only stopped in this store because I had to go to the shipping store next door, but I figured if I didn't I would regret. I went on to the second store. After agreeing on a price, the owner told me to bring some by. If they sold, they would give me the money. If they didn't, I could come back and pick up the glasses. So today I brought 8 wine glasses up there. I think my negotiating skills could use some help, but it was a great first step. I know those of you who know me (Andrea) are thinking you must have stumbled on someone else's blog, because I would never get up the nerve to do something so brave (for me). Now I just hope they sell. Jason asked me where I want to go with this and I really don't know. I just love making all this stuff and being able to do things for people that no one else can do. That being said, I'm also taking a lot of time away from my family to play. I told Jason that maybe I would pick one night a week to be my crafty night. We'll see how it goes. Yall have a great afternoon. I'm gonna get on with my Saturday now. I'll be back in a little bit to post the cute card my Big Sis sent me!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Valentine cards

Happy Friday to everyone. I'm gonna share some Valentine cards with yall today. They didn't exactly turn out the way I imagined, but that's ok. The first one is my attempt at a manly love day card. It's kinda corny, but that's ok.

Don't blame me--I warned you up front it was not my best. Then I made a card using an image I recently received in an image swap.

Better than the "nuts" card, but still lacking something. Or everything. I can redeem myself though--I have pictures of Anthony eating spaghetti (who needs a fork when you have all your fingers???)

It looks like he even shared with the polar bear on his shirt. Don't you just want to squeeze him! Well, after his bath. We've got our Dave Ramsey class at church tonight and the boys have their "party" at church. The trick is to not call it babysitting. Instead, call it a party. Yall have a good evening. Hopefully I'll make some better Valentine cards this weekend.


Thursday, January 22, 2009

More Cricut Etching

Good evening yall! I have a few more glass etching projects to show you. The first one is a glass I made for a co-worker's son. She wanted a small glass he could hold (he's 5) and wanted his name on it. He has a long name, so I went with a 1/2 inch font to make sure he didn't have to turn the cup all the way around to read his name.

I think he will be very pleased with his own personalized glass. Next I have a glass featuring my new Cricut cartridge - Zooballoo. It's an LSU tiger glass. It has LSU on one side and a cute little tiger on the other.


Isn't he precious! Maybe I'll actually make more than one sale tomorrow. Actually, I'm kinda being more negative than I should because a woman at work (who I'd never met before, so it wasn't a sympathy order) asked me to make 6 fleur-de-lis wine glasses for her daughter/son's anniversary. It doesn't seem like a real sale, though, because I'm not delivering them until March 2. A lot can happen between now and then. I'm just definitely not the entrepreneurial type. At least I think entrepreneurial is a word. In other words, I have a hard time selling stuff I have made. I'm gonna get an Etsy shop I think because they only charge 3.5% on the sale price. Ebay charges 8.75%. They both have a listing fee, but they are quite small. I'm just still not sure I want to take the leap and try shipping stuff. Going to the post office all the time doesn't sound nearly as fun as making the stuff. I do have a friend in mind that I'm thinking of asking to "go into business" with me. I figure I could make the stuff & sell it. She could ship it. We could split the profits. I'll have to ask her after I get out of jail for strangling my husband. I thought he was "listening to my dream" until he told me that Tahitian children can make this crap cheaper and that's why it's all cheaper at Wal-Mart. Whatever. Before I start getting unpleasant messages about how I should ignore him, he's just joking and wouldn't say any of that if he thought I'd take him seriously. After all, he provided the initial investment (Cricut), cooks dinner, cleans, and takes care of the monkeys so I can have time to do all of this. Tonight we had homemade pizza. It was pretty good. Wow--I didn't intend for this post to get so out of hand. Oh well, tomorrow you will get Valentine cards. I know this because I'm gonna get it ready now and schedule it to post tomorrow :). How cute, my smiley has a mole on its chin just like me. Yall have a good evening and remember--I am not responsible for the therapy required after reading my blog.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Cricut Glass Etching - Items for Sale

Good evening yall! Aunt Pat and I had a wonderful day today browsing through Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and Dollar Tree. I wish I had a whole week off to spend with her. I do have a big announcement for everyone--I am now starting to sell my etched items! Most pieces are $6 each and can be personalized with various items. Here are some I have already made.

The 2 small votive cups are $3 each. The colored paper is in all of the items to help the etching show up better in the pictures. If any of you are interested in buying a piece or two or twelve, let me know. I haven't checked into shipping prices yet because I'm not sure if anyone will be interested in buying. To be honest, I haven't sold any pieces yet, but I just brought them to work this week to try to sell them. I have or can get many other types of glass, so let me know if you want something not pictured. My personal favorite is the tall vase with the grasshopper on a blade of grass. I'm gonna get to work making a few more wine glasses to bring to work tomorrow. Hopefully I'll sell some. Have a great evening!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

My adventure at the dentist

Good evening yall. I had an exciting time at the dentist this morning and thought I'd share with all of you. This will be long, but I think it's worth sharing. First of all, my appointment to get 2 cavities filled was at 7am this morning. I am NOT a morning person, but this appointment allowed me to take less time off work (actually, no time off work--I made it to the office at my regular time). Naturally I'm almost hyperventillating when I get there. You think with my fear of all things dentistry I'd brush and floss better, but nope, I don't.

I get in the chair of death, I mean the patient chair. I'm shaking because I'm freezing, but I'm sweating profusely at the same time. You can tell I live in the South because today is camo day at the office. The dentist and other employees wear matching scrubs. I've been there on LSU day, but this was the first time for me to see them all in camoflauge scrubs. I'm not gonna say the name of my dentist on my blog cuz I didn't ask his permission, but he really is the best ever. I told him that I've had 2 c-sections and that honestly he scares me more than childbirth, which is true. He puts the medicated cotton in my mouth to get ready for the you know what. I ask him if it's too late for the gas and he says no, they can hook it all up while the numbing cotton does the best it can to prepare my gums for what's coming. Well, he didn't say anything about the doing it's best to prepare blah, but anyway.

So I get the lovely mask with tubes coming out everywhere. I take in breaths so deep you'd think I hadn't had oxygen in a month. I learned a few tips on how to get stronger gas.
1 - tell them you've had better elsewhere, in my case at the oral surgeon's office. my dentist will not pull my teeth. that's smart of him.
2 - work really hard to carry on important grown up conversations while you should actually be loopy. this takes work, but it's worth it. the more i could talk, the more she was thinking i needed a little more.
3 - mention again how freaked out you are.

So the gas seemed a little stronger than normal, which I really needed. I'm staring at the popcorn ceiling, trying to daydream, when the Scooby-Doo moment of the visit happened. You know when the old Schooby-Doo cartoon is coming on how the big scary monster is coming towards them with his arms up in the air? Well, I see this big shadowy monster coming towards me and I hear a chainsaw crank up. I kid you not, this is not a dream. Then I realize that today is lawn maintenance day at the office and it's just the man with the leafblower outside the big picture window. I'm still trying to distract myself from the upcoming nightmare, so I decide the dentist can be the blond dude, the assistant who's going through my chart can be Thelma, yeah, this is not gonna work.

The older couple who got called back right before me is walking out now. The exam rooms are not really rooms, but just open spaces coming off the hallway (in other words, no privacy). I think the man was the one getting dental work and the woman was the wife taking care of him. As she's walking out, she comes to talk to the assistant who's babysitting me to make sure I don't run out the back door. Here's their conversation.

Old Lady: Did you put her to sleep?
Thelma: No, she's not asleep. (Note--MY EYES ARE OPEN!)
Old Lady: Then what did you do to her?
Thelma: We just gave her the gas to help calm her down.
Old Lady: But it doesn't knock her out?
Thelma: No, it just makes them dizzy.

Yep, I heard it all. Then the dentist comes. He gives me the shots. I have a hard time with this part. I tense up for the entire shot process. The third time he sticks the pointy part in (can't say the N word), it hurts and I feel blood. Oh, how I wish I could pass out. Instead I just say Ow Ow Ow the best I can with the mask on and the sharp object and suction thingy in my mouth. He does his drilling thing for a minute and asks if I'm ok. I say I am, but the cold water is a little sensitive. He asks if I'm hurting and I tell him no, but I'm all tensed up and waking until I do start hurting, just in case.

It's over with pretty soon and they take my precious mask away. They make me sit there a few minutes, then let me pay my money and go on my way. I know the dentist is there to help me and I really do think he is great. I told him I think the reason I am so freaked out is because unlike a c-section, he's right in my face and I can't help but see and hear what he's doing.

So that's how my appointment went today. I don't have to go back until my next cleaning in May. Hopefully I won't have any cavities. I'm gonna try not to spend the next 5 months worrying about it. I'm taking the day off tomorrow for my echocardiogram at 9am and then a day of fun with Aunt Pat! I'm a little worried about the echo. I don't know why, but I'm kinda worried they might find something. Of course I won't go back to the cardiologist to get the results until the middle of February. Hopefully it'll come back and say that they were right--I just have a garden variety tachycardia, nothing to worry about. Thanks to all my imaginary friends for always being there to listen to me. Yall have a good evening!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

My very own stamps

Good evening! I finally got to work on a project Saturday night that I've been wanting to do for quite some time now--I carved my own stamps! I was so nervous that it would be too hard and I would get frustrated, but it was easy! Here are the 3 stamps I made.

The candle and cupcake I made from an eraser I found in a junk drawer. The tree I carved out of SpeedyBall rubber, which can be found at Hobby Lobby. Here's what they look like stamped.

Yeah, I know the cupcake's all wonky, but if you know my kitchen skills you'll know that this cupcake actually looks pretty good for me! That weird blob on top of the cupcake is a cherry. I mount my Stampin' Up stamps on E-Z mount foam so I had a few extra blocks laying around to hot glue my stamps to. I am so proud of them! Here's my sketch sheet.


I'm thinking about doing the bird next. As you can see on the top, I stamped the cupcake and candle before finishing them to make sure I was on the right track. Keep in mind I cannot draw to save my life, so I tried to do easy stuff. I looked at a book to do the bird. He's not exactly like the bird in the book--I didn't want to steal somebody else's work, I just can't picture things in my head. The tree is based on several images I've seen lately, so I didn't copy anything for it. I think the bird will look good in the tree. I want to put little hearts on the tree to make it a Valentine tree. I tried to draw a bucket tonight to put some hearts in under the tree, but it didn't look like anything recognizable, much less a bucket. I did manage to draw some better "peas in a pod" so I might carve them up later. Be sure and let me know what you think. I'll never be able to do intricate stamps, but I think I'll be able to make up quite a batch of whimsical ones. The best news is that the SpeedyBall kit only cost $12.99 plus tax from Hobby Lobby and came with a 4 x 6 inch piece of rubber and a tool with the 2 interchangeable carving heads I'll need. I already had an exacto knife. So whenever I really want some new stamps, I can make my own! I'm doing my very best to stick with our Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University budget, so I will only be spending on crafts what I earn by selling crafts. I did a little more glass etching and I'm hoping I can sell that in addition to my cards to make a little play money. Sorry this ended up being so long! Yall have a good night!

Joey's Baptism

Hey yall. Joey got baptized this morning at church. He was so cute! The water was up to his chin until he got to the block the kids stand on in the baptistry. I am so proud of my big boy. He was saved several months back and scheduled a baptism date, but got scared and cancelled. This week he said he thought he was ready. He's been practicing in the bathtub. Here are some pictures.



I am so excited that Joey is moving forward in his relationship with Christ. Have a great afternoon!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

I have the BEST BIG SIS!!!

Hey yall. Happy Saturday! Just a quick post. Jason's parents are here to visit. We went to the ag expo today after lunch. Anthony didn't want to leave because there were a few tractors he hadn't sat on yet. Yesterday I got the cutest card from my big sis. Then today when we got home from the ag expo there was a package at my door from her!



I love how the message pulls out! I'm gonna have to try making one of these. Now on to my box of goodies.

The little t-shirt is from Jolee's boutique and says Top of the Crop. It has a picture of a little pair of scissors on it and is hanging on a little hanger. Here's the card that she sent.

Yet another thing I will have to try. The top layer is vellum. Only the Happy Valentine's Day is stamped on the vellum. The rest is stamped on the cardstock layer. Thanks so much "Sharon!" I need to go now since I have company, but I had to share.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

New card from my Big Sis

Hey yall! I've been quite busy with work lately, so I don't have anything new to post that I've made. I did get a card in the mail today from my SCS Big Sis! Here are a few pictures of it.

I love the piercing and the ant brads! OK, mass chaos is breaking out around here. I better go.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

My first Valentine

Hey yall. Anthony helped me make my first Valentine of the year.

This was a very simple card, but it had to be since I had a very special helper. The I Lve U was made with the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge and the heart was made with the Accent Essentials cartridge.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

From Courtney Closet Challenge #26

Hey yall. Libby started up her challenges based on cute little Courtney's closet again. They went up north to see family, so Courtney got to see snow.

Isn't she cute! Here's my card for this week's challenge. Naturally, it features a Fluffles I got in an image swap.
There's some flocking on top of his head and sugar coating glitter on the cupcake. The ribbon is some I got at Dollar Tree for half off after Christmas.

The inside is kinda simple, but I think it might be used as a valentine card. Be sure to check out Libby's site to see other creations based on Courtney or to play along yourself.
I gotta go help Anthony now. He's all of a sudden become attached to the bouncy horse I had in the "get rid of" pile. He's yelling at me that it's "out of gas" so I gotta go find a gas can or try to explain this one. I think we'll use the Halloween bucket as a gas can. Nevermind--he found the Mr. Potato Head bucket and decided to use it as a gas can. I hope yall are all having as much fun as I am!