I Need A Break

Ok, I'm just poppin' in to say that I won't be posting for about a week. Haha, I can hear the jokers now, asking, "But how will we ever be able to tell?" Yeah, I know my posting has been a rare thing, but this is my busy time of year. Come to find out, that whole summer thing I was complaining about before, was my not busy time. And that one person who asking herself, "Is she going to jail?" Uh, no, they haven't caught up to me yet. See, I've been slammed with craziness and my body's still mad at me for the field trip from hell - what's that you say? I didn't tell you about all the fun I had hiking in the rain with 3rd graders, listening to the environmentalist/docent pointing out (very excitedly, I might add) the berries he could see in the random pooh we happened to be walking by in the regional park during tarantula mating season? Well, silly me. But that will have to wait for another time. Now that I've got you on the edge of your seat with suspense, I'm taking a soooo well deserved break from it all. But I'll be back soon to regale you with my fabulous tales of thunderstorms in 90 degree weather and thoughts of "Does Tia's cough sound pneumonia-ish to you?" Ah, yes, it does sound like paradise, doesn't it?

Oh, Baby

Ok, so now that most of my friends are done having kids, I've got this nifty, new baby stamp set. I've always just kinda made do with what I have, which is just random baby stamps. But I have a teacher at school that I just adore who was having a baby, and thought, this happy occasion deserves a new stamp set. Ok, part of that was just me wanting more new stuff, let's be honest here. But most of the teachers at our elementary school have seen my baby stuff. We've been there for 9 years already, yeesh! But the bad part is that I didn't really stay on top of the situation, and I got the stamps on Thursday. Well, she may have gone into labor on Friday. I didn't know exactly when she was due. Turns out, it was this Monday. I have no clue how I didn't know this, but I didn't. She looked, maybe, 6 months pregnant. I also wasn't sure if the baby was a boy or a girl. I heard she was having a girl, but it would be just my luck that I made her a pink card and she had a boy. Now, either way, I've got it covered. (Don't you love how this turned into an "all about me" situation?) Anyway, I'm a firm believer in better late than never. So when she comes by the school to check in, I'll be ready. And here's hoping she had a happy, healthy baby - and a nice, quick labor!

Stamps: Bundled in Love (SU!), Ink: Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana (SU!), Paper: Papertrey white, Almost Amethyst textured, Pretty in Pink textured, Close to Cocoa, Barely Banana (SU!), Accessories: Blender pens, Whisper White ribbon (SU!), corner punch

All Better

Alrighty, well my back is feeling much better. I even felt good enough to make this card. Apparently, I'm on a black/white/pink kick. Not sure what that's all about. Sometimes I start making one card, and it comes out a completely different card. Oh, well. As long as it doesn't suck, I guess that's ok. It's all in the creative process. Or just dumb luck. Whatever.

It's amazing how the work piles up when you're only off your feet for a couple of days. The laundry alone is making me crazy. Oh, and the bathrooms! Do I live with animals? It's crazy. So, while catching you all up on my riveting world has been tons of fun, I've got a house to clean. Hopefully something interesting will happen and I'll have more stuff to tell you soon. And by interesting, I don't mean hurting my back again from cleaning like a maniac!

Stamps: Priceless, Labelicious (SU!), Ink: Colorbox black pigment, Paper: Papertrey white, Basic Black (SU!), Accessories: Clear embossing powder (SU!), Primas, Marvy punches, scalloped scissors, Making Memories brads

Oh, My Back!

My nephew, Payton (who's almost 3), says that, and it's hilarious. He's always doing things for attention, and faking pains is one of those things. That in itself is not very funny. But when he says "Oh, my back!", he's usually grabbing his leg or his head. That is hilarious. So, here I am, spending the last 2 days in bed because of my back. Not quite so funny. This happens occasionally - they say it's muscle spasms. I'm so not one of those people who can just lie there & do nothing. Maybe it would be easier if my house were perfectly clean, the laundry done, and we had plenty of lemonade on hand for Krista. But there was none of that happening here and I get sooo bored. There's never anything good on t.v. and I just got my new stamps and tins and wanted to play. So my stuff is just sitting there waiting for me to come & play. I can hear it all the way from downstairs calling my name. "Miinnnntt, come ink me up." Hopefully I'll be good as new tomorrow.

Stamps: Circle of Friendship & Priceless (SU!), Ink: Basic Black & Regal Rose (SU!), Paper: Papertrey white, Regal Rose, Basic Black, DSP (SU!), Accessories: Circle punches, scallop punch, black marker (SU!), Michael's ribbon

Is It Fall Yet?

It finally feels like fall. I love this time of year. I love when it starts to get cold and you can finally wear jeans & sweaters. I love when the sun is out, but the air is crisp. I love that in- between weather that's not too hot & not too cold, but no allergies, like in the spring. I even like the rain, once you get past the first couple of rains where people realize that they can drive in the rain, they just need to not go 90 mph. Of course, I'm allergic to weather that's too cold (say 50 degrees and a strong wind), and break out in hives occasionally in places where there's exposed skin. Was that too much sharing? My bad. Another drawback is there's more laundry to be done. But still, this is my time of year. And, Christmas is coming and that's my absolute favorite time of year. So, as my own personal tribute to fall, I made this card. And I used Pumpkin Pie for the very first time, ever. I have never stamped that orange-y color before now, and I have to say it's not bad. I might even do it again.

Stamps: Beautiful Blooms (Papertrey), Priceless (SU!), Ink: Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie (SU!), Paper: Papertrey white, Close to Cocoa (SU!), Accessories: Marvy Punches, Chocolate Chip ribbon (SU!)

I'm Still Here

K, it's been a few days since I posted, and my mom had to call me to make sure we were all still alive. We normally talk every couple of days, but she couldn't seem to get thru to us this weekend and, I was...well, I don't know what I was doing. Busy doin' nothing, I guess.

Let's see. What have we been up to? Um, well, Tia's hand is all better. Nice & normal once again. Oh, yeah, we had back to school night at the high school. Yeesh, no wonder Darien hates school. Some of those people are lunatics. Some of them are pretty cool, but I see why she's unhappy. We'll have to do something about the bad apples she's got. Ooh, fighting the system! I'm gonna have to start eating protein.

And, apparently I'm a little slow. See, when I saw the last Papertrey release, I couldn't find anything that was for me right away. (I know, right?!) But I tend to do this. I fall in love after I see what everyone else does. Don't get me wrong - I loved everything, but I was pretty much already set with my Christmas cards. And, I print the insides, cuz it's just easier that way for me. But then I got to thinking, gosh, those tins are just so neat. And I love the Holiday Treats set, but I don't bake. Seriously, it's bad. My family only gets excited when I bake so they can eat the mix/batter/dough before it hits the oven. Once it comes out, it's avoided like the plague, so I just gave up altogether. It's just better this way. So, now I'm on the bandwagon & I've ordered the (backordered) Holiday Treats set and a bunch of tins. Who knows when I'll get them, but when I do...oh, yeah, you'll know.

BTW, while I was doin' a whole bunch of nothin', I seem to have misplaced my mojo. So, I'm posting a card I made a couple of weeks ago and just hadn't put up yet. I'll try to find it so I can get back to creating. Cuz if I can't create, I must clean. And we don't want that now, do we?

Stamps: Priceless (SU!), Inkadinkado Thank You, Ink: Basic Black, Certainly Celery (SU!), Versamark, Paper: Certainly Celery, Basic Black (SU!), Accessories: Michael's ribbon, blender pens

Go Ahead, Smile

Life does indeed give you many reasons to smile. I was sitting here trying to have a clear thought, while fighting this head cold I've got. I'm sitting here with this headache and my whole family is in the other room screaming. No, the good screaming. Shawn is in there with the girls playing the Wii, and they really get into it. They're competing against each other on Brain Age, and I hear some accusations about cheating. I'm not sure how one cheats at that, but I don't doubt it's really happening. I just realized that as much as I'd like a little quiet so my head isn't throbbing, throbbing, throbbing...sorry, it's actually got a little rhythm going. Anyway, I realized that I have a husband who's home & not out with the guys (he's not into that anyway), a teenager playing with her sisters (she's really not into that), an eeyore-ish child who's laughing, and an 8 year-old not pushing anyone's buttons. And just as I really start to enjoy it, it's over. Apparently, Darien was losing, so she turned off the game. *sigh* Kids. Oh, and btw, Tia's hand is healing nicely. Well, not nicely - it's still gross. But, it's getting better.

Stamps: Reason to Smile (SU!), Ink: Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa (SU!), Paper: Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa (SU!), Papertrey white, Accessories: Michaels's ribbon, Marvy punch, SU! scallop punch

I Love Mondays. Not!

Let's really try to appreciate this card, shall we? This is the best I could do after being sick all weekend. Yes, in bed sick. But, just so I wouldn't be lonely, Krista was right there with me. Oh, you haven't lived until you've experienced Krista being sick. She's almost 10, and still, everytime she gets sick, she's dying. She hates to blow her nose, so she carries around a hand towel, holding it to her nose. She's always done this. Everyone thinks it's hilarious and they even call her Wilson, cuz of the guy on Home Improvement. You know, you could never see his face? Yeah, that's her. Our own little Wilson. And if you know her and you're reading this, mention it and you're out of the will. But she moans and she groans and is just all around pitiful. And we love her for it. But, miraculously, we were both well enough today to go back to our normal lives. That was super great for her, cuz she hates to miss school. Phew. So, today I go back to my routine, a little grocery shopping, cleaning the house since I was out of commission all weekend, and then a little "me time". An hour before "me time" is over, the school calls. I hate when the school calls. I wonder which child it is this time. Ah, yes, Tiara. Seems she tripped and scraped her hand. See, you should know that anytime Tia can get out of school (polar opposite of Krista, btw), she will. 'Ooh, a hangnail? I think I need to go home.' She actually left school once because part of her gum was hanging in her mouth. Don't ask me how this even happened, but she was talking without closing her mouth, so the gum wouldn't touch her mouth. It was a little creepy. Ok, it was very creepy. I thought about telling her just not to talk for the rest of the day, but again, if you know Tia, that's really like asking for the moon. Yeah, I'm a sucker. But it was pretty gross. We had to take her to the dentist, and even she was baffled. Yeah, it's just my kids, people. So, today...the scrape. The school secretary was telling me that she was ok, but there was blood. So, I asked how hysterical she was, since I couldn't hear her in the background. Well, it did take her a while to calm down, but she's fine and she's gone back to class. I'm sorry, wha? She doesn't want her mommy? After being sort of let down for half a second came, Woohoo! I couldn't believe it. Don't get me wrong. I was concerned, but shocked at the same time. So, just in case you're not grossed out enough, when I saw her hand after school, it was a nasty little gash. Blecchhh. I'm not one of those moms that handles that stuff well, so I cleaned it the best I could and told her Daddy would take a better look when he got home. Yeah, good luck keeping that thing clean. Hey, people, it's only Monday! Have a nice week.

Stamps: Paper tray, Beautiful Blooms (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Cool Caribbean (SU!), Paper: Basic Black, Cool Caribbean (SU!), Papertrey white, Accessories: Marvy Oval Punches, Word Window punch (SU!), Making Memories eyelet, white gel pen

Happy Birthday Darien

Yesterday was so long and crazy, and I was so pooped by the end of the day that I didn't even get a chance to post Darien's card. Nothing exciting, tho, so I won't bore you with the details. But anyways, here it is. And it seemed like she really liked this one. She's been really hard to make cards for lately, because she sees all the cards that I make. I run everything by her when I'm done to see what she thinks. Maybe I should stop doing that. She has a tendency to compare the cards that she gets to all the other cards that I make. When she saw this one, she said something like, "Wow, this is actually a really pretty card, mom." Um......thank you? Does the actually part mean she was surprised by this? Hmmmm. Whatever. I'll take what I can get from my kids. But she had a great birthday, really made out in the gift department, and topped it all off with some really good cake. Ok, that last one was my favorite part, but it couldn't go without mentioning.

Since I can't really put this part in the card recipe, (well, technically I can, since it's my blog, right?) I'll just put it here. I'm not sure if you can even tell, but there are little rhinestones on the big pink blossom with the sentiment. There are clear ones, 2 purple ones & a pink one on there. Well, in case anyone cares, they came out of a nail decorating kit, but I have no idea who makes it. When I saw the kit, I knew it would be perfect for my cards. Yes, inspiration really can come from anywhere.

Stamps: Beautiful Blooms (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Pale Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Lavender Lace (all SU!), Paper: Papertrey white, Lavender Lace & Elegant Eggplant (SU!), Accessories: Marvy punches, rhinestones

For Alyssa

How much do I love my new stamps? So very much. Those Beautiful Blooms really are just that. I've barely had time to play with them, but the time I've had has been fun. I told you there would be more boxes. This one is for a super sweet young lady that I just adore. It's got a gift card and a little something extra in it. It's amazing that there's a picture of it available. I sort of, accidentally, lent out my camera. It was one of those moments where I was aware of what was going on, but not really. You know how your kids will ask you for something when you're on an important phone call, or when you're half asleep? And if you're on the phone, you just kinda nod your head and shoo them away so you can concentrate? Yeah, this is what happened, but I was not asleep or on the phone. I guess I just wasn't paying attention. And it occurred to me at 5 this morning as I was lying in bed, trying to avoid starting my day. "Holy cow! I don't have my camera! How ever will I blog?" So, I was left to use Shawn's "scary" camera. The big, technical kind that I barely know how to turn on. It's just not simple like mine. It took forever for me to realize that the blurry pictures were from the lighting (I had to turn the flash on at noon!), and then getting the angle just right was nearly impossible. Man! For such a fancy pants camera, it sure is hard to figure out. I can't wait to get my camera back. I should have it back in time to photograph Darien's card on her birthday, which is only 2 days away. Fingers crossed. I don't wanna have to use that beast again.

Stamps: Beautiful Blooms (Papertrey Ink), Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Pale Plum, Groovy Guava, Apricot Appeal, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Pixie Pink, Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst (all SU!), Paper: Papertrey white, Accessories: Making Memories eyelets, scallop scissors, Michael's ribbon