Happy Birthday William

Yo! I wanna give a Happy Birthday shout out to my homeboy Will. Ok, those of you that don't know me and are hearing screams of laughter, no it's not your imagination. That would be the people that do know me falling out of their chairs howling, some actually wiping tears from their eyes. See, I could not, in a million years, pull off talking like that. I am what is known (in my own mind) as a refined Valley Girl. Yes, that's me. I'm the girl that thought the movie Clueless was just genius, and gosh, don't we all talk like that? Alright, I'm not that naive. I also spent all 3 years of middle school in an inner-city Detroit school. Let me tell you, talking like this did not go over so well. But I'm a chameleon, so I adjusted. Anyhoo, the reason I sent a shout out to William is because when he sees me, he's known to go, "Yo, Mint". If you just see him, but don't know him, you would not see that coming at all. However, if you know him, it's all good. Geez, there I go again. Yeah, can't pull that one off, either. But for some reason, it works waaaay more for him than it does for me. So have a great birthday.

P.S. Please watch Krista on that field trip today. She's never been on a boat without being strapped to either me or her dad. Thanks! Oh, and have fun!

Stamps: Looks Like Spring (SU!), Mixed Messages (Papertrey), Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel (SU!), Paper: Very Vanilla, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust (SU!), Accessories: oval punch (SU!), Joann's silver bookplate, MM brads, corner punch, Sakura glaze pen for the flames, which are squiggles from a border punch

Mailbox, Part Deux

Don't you just love my fancy French title? Ok, French word in the title? Yeah, don't get too excited. I haven't been in a French class in, oh my, 20 years. Wow. Anyway, I fell in love with this paper at Michael's and knew it was going on one of my boxes. The top pic is the front of the box, and the tag says "One of a Kind Friend". I thought it went perfectly with the paper, which is all about being different, unique & one of a kind. I left the flag naked, cuz basically, I'm lazy. I struggle with coordinating sometimes & just couldn't decide on what to stick on there, so I left it alone. I'll probably cover it eventually, cuz it'll just bug me to leave it naked. The back just has some velvet flowers with rhinestones, cuz we couldn't have the whole thing be naked, could we? No, that just wouldn't do. Well, this ends the tour of my lovely new mailbox. I'll probably have something else for you guys in a couple of days. Thanks for stopping by. I've gotta go play Smarty Pants with my family, cuz nobody knows more useless trivia than I do.

Stamps: Designer Label (SU!), Mixed Messages (Papertrey), Ink: Creamy Caramel, Pretty in Pink (SU!), Paper: Sandy Lion (I think - I used the part with the name on it, duh!), Very Vanilla (SU!), Accessories: Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, Designer Lable punch (SU!), Velvet Flowers (Maya Road), rhinestones, Target mailbox

Ooh, New Stuff!

Ok, first off I would like to ask why is it that Tia is always sick? You know how people say that as a society we're getting too worried about bacteria...all the anti-bacterial soaps & people constantly on antibiotics? How using all that stuff too much makes us immune? It must be true. I will now confess. I was a young mother with Darien and I like to tell her she was our starter kid. Our guinea pig, if you will. Don't we all learn as we go? At first, everything must be sterile and super clean. Washed with scalding hot water to wash away any cooties. On everything. Bottles, clothes, pacifiers. But then, you kinda relax. She drops her pacifier on the floor at Target and she's screaming, you're in line, trying to pay and juggle your child, so you just kinda wipe it on your shirt, stick it back in her mouth & move on. Eh, it won't kill her, right? Suuurrre. Then something happened. No, she didn't die. I mean, I changed. We moved out of the city to the suburbs, and I became this neurotic freak. More obsessed with cleaning than I ever was. I'm sure this had to be after Krista & Tia were both born. I dunno when, exactly. Anyway, now I have Tiara who is obesessed with cleaning the house, cleaning any mess left behind by anyone, even cleaning herself. She washes her hands like nobody's business, brushes and flosses twice a day, without being told, and she's constantly sick. So weird. Guess you can be too clean. Or something like that.

On to happier news. I found those silly mailboxes I've been reading about for about a year. At first I thought, how stupid is that? What would you do with a little mailbox? Of course, I also used to think my friends were nuts for buying Stampin' Up! paper & being obsessed with ribbon. Duh, what was I thinking? But now that I'm obsessed with all things tin-related, I think these things are flippin' genius! So easy to cover. And who can't use something stuffed with chocolate? Nobody I know. This is actually the 2nd one I covered. I didn't like the first one all that much. It's not blogworthy, in my opinion. I kinda went nuts with covering every little inch and it looks like someone threw up pink & brown schmootz (is that a word?) all over it. I'm still trying to find the balance between simple & way too freakin' much. I'll let you know when I get there.

Stamps: Mixed Messages (Papertrey), Circle of Friendship (SU!), Ink: Palette Noir, Real Red (SU!), Paper: Papertrey white, Real Red (SU!), Making Memories red gingham, Accessories: Target mailbox, scallop & circle punches (SU!), Mike's ribbon

It's Gettin' Old

Yeah, more 3x3 cards. I think I'm done making these. I dunno, we'll see. I tend to get really excited about things when they're new, then suddenly, I'm over them. But these are fun & easy, so when I need a quick card (like all my other ones are so complex!) I can just do one of these.

You know, lately I've been thinking about getting older. No, not considering whether or not I want to get older, but just about aging in general. I bring this up because someone near & dear to me has a birthday coming up, and it got me thinking. People always complain about getting older, but really, what's the alternative? That's right. Being dead. Wait, it gets better. I thought I'd put together a list of all the good things about getting older. See, told ya it got better. K, here we go.

1. You're not 15. Come on, that's a big one. Who wants to be a teenager again? Blech. No offense to the current teenagers, but I don't know anyone over 30 who'd go back in time & do it again. Ok, maybe if they got a lot of money for it, could know then what they know now, and could click their heels & immediately be snapped back to now if something went horribly wrong. Like, they wrecked dad's car or it was finals time or something like that. Maybe.

2.

Ok, so it's a work in progress. But, my point is that it's not all bad getting older. Wrinkles, a few extra pounds, maybe some gray hair...that's not really all that bad. Ok, I'll fess up. I do regularly dye my gray hair, but to be fair, I've had gray hair since I was 20, and that's just not right! Yeah, I know I skipped health problems and no longer feeling relevant to the world around you. Blah, blah, blah. But it's my blog and I'll write what I want. I would like to ask, whose cruel idea was gravity? Really, there's no point to gravity when it comes to the human body. That's just plain old mean. Phew. Wow, I know I feel better. Anybody else? Anybody?

Stamps: Bursting with Joy, Designer Label (SU!), Ink: Palette Noir, Paper: Whisper White, Bashful Blue DSP (SU!), Accessories: Designer Label Punch (SU!), Mike's ribbon

3x3 Fun

I recently discovered that I love making 3x3 cards. These little guys don't have a lot of room for all kinds of doodads, so they come together really quickly. They're the perfect kind of cards for me since my style tends to run more towards the simple (just in case you haven't picked up on that). So now we've got a bunch of thank you cards on hand for when we need to, well, thank people. I started making them to thank some awesome teachers for helping Darien out this week and just haven't been able to stop. Hmmm, so much joy just from making some teeny cards? How exciting is my life? Yeah, I'm ok with that.

Stamps: Lovely Labels, Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Paper: Pretty in Pink Textured, WW, Close to Cocoa, Berry Bliss DSP, Accessories: Scallop Punch (all SU!)

Happy Birthday Brenda

First off, I've gotta say Happy Birthday to my Aunt Brenda, who's freezing her tush off in Michigan. Normally, this would be where I brag about our great California weather, but man we have had some crazy fog lately. I know, I know, it's kinda sissy to complain about some silly fog when people are getting slammed by snow & freezing temperatures. And I know about cold weather, cuz I've survived my fair share (fair by my standards, anyway) of Michigan winters. But it's not fun driving in fog so thick that you can't see more than 3 car lengths in front of you. I'm so glad when I drop my girls off at school, cuz they're no longer in the car. It's scary. But it's California and I certainly wouldn't trade it for a real winter. No way, no how. So, anyway, Happy Birthday Brenda. Hope it was a good one. And for those that are confused, no she didn't get this card. She got the purply one with the swirly thingamabob down below, cuz I grew to love it the more I looked at it, and I thought it would make her smile. Wow, if she didn't get her card yet, I sure hope she's not reading this!

Stamps: En Francais, Lovely Labels, Ink: Chocolate Chip, Paper: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Accessories: CC ribbon, corner punch (all SU!)

Pure Bliss

Hey, remember a while ago when I said I was gonna back off of the pink & brown a bit? Well, I hope you enjoyed it, cuz that silly little phase has ended. I realized that I just can't help myself and I have zero self control. Sad, I know. But those of you that know me, already knew this, so you really should have seen this one coming. Now that I have berry bliss paper in my hot little hands, it's just gonna seem like I have no other colors in my possession. So, basically, it's business as usual.

Stamps: Bursting with Joy (SU!), Limitless Labels (Papertrey), Ink: Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa (SU!), Paper: Papertrey white, Close to Cocoa, Berry Bliss DSP (SU!), Accessories: some random bookplate from Joann's, pink brads

Patience? Ha!

I laugh in the face of patience! Ok, here's what happened. The new SU! catalog came out, and I was excited, but thought, hey, Sale-a-Bration is but a short month away, so let's wait it out. Riiiiiiight. First of all, January is not a short month. Also, I am fond of saying that patience is a virtue, but I'm not very virtuous. Take that however you need to. So, my box came today while the girls were still in school. Oh, yes, the stamping fairies were smiling down upon me today. So, I ripped that bad boy open, mounted 1 of my sets (Kind Thoughts, pg. 119) and made this. It's not my favorite card, but I do like the big swirly doohicky thing in the center there. I'm sure you'll be seeing it again. And again. Let's see how many different ways I can use it, shall we? Oh, yeah. I didn't use it here, but I just have to say that the Berry Bliss paper is even more delicious in person than in the catty.

Stamps: Kind Thoughts (SU!), Faux Ribbon (Papertrey), Ink: Lovely Lilac (SU!), Paper: Almost Amethyst, Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst DSP (SU!), Accessories: oval punches (SU!), rhinestone brads

Getting Back To It

Well, tomorrow it's back to the real world. And I'm actually glad. I feel like I've caught up on all the sleep I was missing. The girls started telling me they were bored 3 days after Christmas. Being home more has made me eat more - that's never good. And Krista just gets plain cranky when she's not in school. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but it's still so very true. That girl needs to get her education on. Seriously. Of course, we'll see how glad I am by Thursday morning at 5:20 when the alarm is beeping at me. Probably not so much. Ooh, and homework. I'm really not a fan of homework. Oh, and I certainly did not miss driving at the high school! *sigh* But right now, on Sunday night, I'm so glad to be getting back to our routine. Good luck to everyone this week.

Stamps: Heidi Grace, Ink: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky (SU!), Paper: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla

Groovy!

Ok, I've gotten some gripes about taking such big breaks in between my posts. Listen, people, creativity like this doesn't just happen. Sometimes I suffer from...um, cardmaker's block. Yes, that's what we'll call it. Sometimes, believe it or not, I look at my desk and just cringe at the thought of making cards. 'Oh, where do I start? What colors, what stamps? Punches, ribbon?' I know, what a horrible predicament to be in. Woe is me. There are times when I can't even copy someone else's card cuz I just it's not comin' to me. And then there are times when I just throw together 3 completely different cards and all is right with the world. Course, you all only get one at a time, cuz a girl's gotta pace herself.

Yeah, I know, I don't always have to post with a card. But who really wants to hear the boring day to day happenings about our lives? Besides my mother (who hears it all first hand anyway), and my aunt Brenda (who's about to get slammed by good old Mother Nature in the midwest)? Do you care that my dad thought it was hilarious that I about lost my mind to hear that he was in the same room as The Rock. The Rock. The Rock. Are ya hearing me people? The Rock. Yeah, he had a good laugh over that one. Of course, they were at a funeral, so it wasn't really all that funny at the time. But I told him, should that occasion ever repeat itself, he's to throw himself on The Rock and declare my undying love for him. Or, get an autograph. Whichever he's more comfortable with. See, you people don't really care about that kinda stuff.

Oh, yeah. Happy New Year!

Stamps: Spiral Bouquet (Papertrey), Heidi Grace, Ink: Groovy Guava (SU!), Paper: Blush Blossom, Groovy Guava, Close to Cocoa (SU!), Accessories: Mike's ribbon