Happy Creative Friday!

Hi, everyone! This post will be a short one as I need to get ready for an anniversary/birthday dinner. My two girlfriends, whose birthdays were both last Sunday, their husbands, and Travis and I are all going out to fancy-shamancy restaurant down on the waterfront to celebrate together. We so rarely get dressed-up for a night out that I want to be looking good which means I need to start getting ready!

Last night and today, I finished up birthday presents for my two girlfriends. I made them both a necklace and earring set. I'm really pleased with how they turned out. On this first necklace, I used freshwater pearls and seed beads for the main strand. I wire wrapped the agate pendant and dangled clear Swarovski crystals from it.

This second necklace also incorporates seed beads as well as antique silver bead findings and amethyst gemstones. The pendant is a Blue Moon find, and I think it matches perfectly.

I also received the most fun card in the mail today from my message board and blogger buddy, Kelli. She makes the most lovely cards, and this one is no exception. It's beautiful! Thank you, Kelli, for putting a smile on my face today.

I might be back tomorrow with some fun pictures from tonight, but just in case I'm not, have a wonderful weekend!

Hot scrappin' mamas!

Last week I attended a monthly scrapbook get together at my friend's church. We always have such a good time! I laughed so hard that night that my abs were aching. That's a whole lot of laughing! My scrappy friend, Amy, just sent me this picture of all of us that night. I went in my sweats and didn't care! I must be comfy when I scrap otherwise, what's the point?!

My card today is a simple Easter or Spring-time card. I used my Spellbinder Nestability dies to cut out a large scalloped circle from an existing Memory Box notecard. Then, I used a couple smaller dies to cut out the inner scalloped circle. The cute chick and flower are rub-ons from the "For Peeps Sake" Collection by Imaginisce, more specifically their "Love Bug" rub-on pack. A simple bow finishes it all off. This card took me about ten minutes to make. If you're participating in a card swap, this may be the way to go!

Here is the entire "Love Bugs" rub-on package. Isn't it way too cute for words?!

In order to transfer my rub-ons, I whipped out my brand-new BG rub-on roller. This tool ROCKS! I didn't get any of the little indentations like I normally would have from using a popsicle stick, so I'm thinking it was $5 well spent. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, here it is:


Today I leave you with this darling picture my mom took of a humming bird visiting her feeder. I believe this picture was taken last Spring. Great job, mom!

One last thing - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!! I hope you had a great day. I love you!

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a fabulous Thursday!

Happy birthday, you old bird!

I absolutely love Inkadinkado stamps, especially the "Bird Assortment" pack. I used a couple from this particular set on this birthday card.

The card is from Memory Box, and the patterned paper is from the Basic Grey, Two Scoops 6x6 paper pad. Believe it or not, the fuzzy ribbon is a Target $1 find from February. As far as techniques go, I used white fluid chalk to smear over the notecard, and I inked the edges of the image and the sentiment with pink fluid chalk to make them stand out even more.

On a somewhat related note, can someone please tell me when JoAnns started to sell clear stamp sets from Inkadinkado and Hero Arts? I was there last night and to my complete surprise, they had totally rearranged their stamping section to accomodate a whole four-foot section of new product, and, of course, most of the sets were already gone. At 40% off (making the sets only $6), who wouldn't buy them all up? I feel so out of the loop, but ever since my paper chase, I haven't had any desire to even go to JoAnns or Michaels to see what's new. So, what am I missing at Michaels? Anything worth commenting about?

To continue with my sharing, here's a card that traveled across the country from NY to get to me. It's from my scrappy friend, Jennifer. I just love the cheerful colors on this one! It totally put a smile on my face. Thank you, Jennifer!

It looks like the sun will be playing peek-a-boo today. Let's hope it does a little more peeking around the clouds and a little less hiding.

I've decided I like leaving you all with random, fun pictures, so here's my picture for the day. This is Sedona acting like a total goober. She absolutely loves the sun (I swear she gets depressed when it's gloomy outside), and when it comes out, she rolls over on her back and acts like she's never seen it before in her life! Goofball. Have a great Wednesday, everyone, and thanks for stopping by!

More Cards & Spring-Time Fun

Guess what I found last night before going to bed? My mojo! We've been playing hide-and-go seek for a while now, but I finally cornered the little bugger and made him sit on my scrap table where I proceeded to make three cards. Yipee! I'll share them with you over the course of the week. This first one is for a friend's birthday. She loves all things vintage, so I thought the My Mind's Eye Magnolia paper was a good choice paired with the K&Company Ancenstry.com flower. The ribbon is from the Urban Window collection by We R Memory Keepers. The sentiment is a Studio G $1 stamp.

As promised, here are some of the wonderful cards I've been receiving. This first one is a Happy Spring card from Emily. I just adore the colors she used and the little butterflies. Thanks, Emily!

This next one is from Cathy and is a beautiful hand-stiched birthday card. I took a close-up picture for everyone to see the detail. I love it! Thank you, Cathy!

For those of you who inquired, my b-day isn't until next Wednesday, the 26th. It's a big one for me! YIKES!

I leave you with a sure sign that Spring is approaching. Our daffodiles have been in bloom for a couple weeks now, and it was nice enough yesterday to take a picture of them. Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

First, I'd like to give a big shout-out to my mother-in-law, Linda! I just found out that she's a faithful visitor to my blog, which is just incredibly flattering. XOXO, mom Linda!

I hope you all remembered to wear green today. I had to put a note on the fridge reminding Travis to wear his green sweater or I'd pinch him!

My very sweet scrappy friend, Marilyn, sent me the cutest St. Patty's Day card decorated with Stickles! She used the Cricut Design Studio to weld four hearts together to make this four leaf clover. Isn't that seriously ingenious?! She has a really fun blog, so stop on over and visit with her.

I also got an early birthday present from another great scrappy friend, Joscie. Thanks, sweetie! If you haven't checked out her blog, then you're missing out on a whole lot of creativity. Check out this adorable card!

And here's the cute little pin that she sent me. Can I get a collective "ahhhh..." please?

As if all this cuteness wasn't enough, I got some more b-day and Easter cards in the mail, but I'm going to wait to show you those (I know, I'm such a tease). I'll be back tomorrow with some more creative cards! For now, I'll leave you with a picture of Attila, aka, Mr. Man. We had a little afternoon sun, and I caught him basking in the rays. I love his expression - "Not another picture, mom!"

Meet Charlie

I am happy to report that my cold seems to be going away at a rapid speed. I have never had a cold go away so quickly! I am going to chalk it up to lots and lots of rest combined with those Zicam tabs every three hours. Thanks for all the well wishes! I think they helped, too ;)

This afternoon, I made a new friend. I would like to introduce all of you to Charlie, our yard squirrel. He lives in our large blue spruce pine tree in the front yard, and he often runs around the property hiding his finds and barking at Sedona. Normally, he's too busy to give us the time of day, but today as Travis was leaving for work after lunch, we noticed Charlie peering up at us through the open door. I went to go grab some peanuts for him, and when I went outside, he hopped on the porch rail and eagerly awaited his treats. We have never fed Charlie before, so this was unusual. He was so happy to get some nuts! I must have been out there for a good ten minutes just watching him munch on his little peanuts. It was the perfect opportunity to take some pictures.



Is he cute or what?? I'm quite sure he would have taken the food from my hands, but I didn't want to risk him accidentally biting me. Maybe I'll stock up on some non-shelled peanuts so that I can give them to him by hand.

My AMR monthly kit didn't arrive today, but my 500 live crickets did! Weasley is now a happy, fat lizard. I guess that just means I will have a super mail day tomorrow! Plus, I have a crop to go to in the evening time, so I'm going to have a really great day! I hope my mojo finds me. We've been separated for a while.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Recooperating

Colds are just nasty little bugs. I've been laying low and trying to take it easy these past few days while this cold runs its course. I've been taking Zicam at the suggestion of a few friends, and I think it really works! I feel like I've been getting better and better ever since I started taking it. If you're battling a cold, I suggest this stuff!

Because I've been snoozing these past few days, I haven't done anything creative even though my new scrap stash has been calling my name ever since I brought it all home. I've been feeling so icky that I haven't even organized any of it! GASP! Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm down for the count if I can't even gather the gumption to organize my scrap supplies. So there it all sits in a jumbled mess on my scrap table. Oh, the fun I'll have looking through it once I feel better!

Today, I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of my monthly scrap kit from All Moments Remembered. I ordered a 3 month subscription because I was so satisfied with their first release back in February. If you're a scrapper, I encourage you to check out AMR's monthly kits. March has once again sold-out, but if you get a subscription, you're guaranteed a kit each month. Here's the March kit as well as the add-on.

Here's the add-on:

Looks like I'm going to have one good mail day especially since I'm also waiting on 500 live crickets for Weasley. Yum...crickets :)

I hope you are all having a great week! I should be back soon with a few birthday cards since my two girlfriends (my two "paper-chase" gals) are both having birthdays this Sunday, and I really need to get cracking on their cards!

Your kind words have touched my heart

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Thank you, everyone, for leaving such kind comments on my last post about my little Noel. Your caring words were very comforting to me during such a difficult time, and your kindness will certainly never be forgotten.
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The Northwest Paper Chase is now over, and I'm basking in the glory of all my loot. I somehow managed to pick up something that wasn't on the list - a cold. I haven't been sick since last June, so I'm fairly wipped out. I took some cold medicine, and I'm drinking lots of water and eating a whole lot of fruits. I want to nip this bugger in the butt.

Back to the chase. We finished our trip on Friday when we headed up to the Olympic Peninsula and went as far north as Port Angeles. Too bad it was gloomy otherwise we could have seen Canada! The store we visited up there was really small, but I ended up buying the most stuff there because she had some product in there that I had not seen before (*gasp*). After that, we were off to four more stores, one of which was not a participating store, but we wanted to check it out anyway.

All in all, we had an excellent week. What better way to spend time with girlfriends than scrapbook shopping?? The trips we took also helped me take my mind off the sadness of losing Noel, if just for a little while. Here's just a little peek at some of the items I grabbed this week:



Yesterday, I picked up a CD of pictures from the trip from our official picture-taker, Amy. Some of them came our really cute! If we took a picture with our passport in front of at least 8 of the 16 participating stores, then we can enter into a drawing for a $50 gift basket from Tinkering Ink. How exciting is that?!

On the ferry, Day 1 (Monday):

In front of a scrappy cottage, Day 2 (Thursday):

Here are a few random ones of me on different days. This first one is in downtown Seattle at a rubber stamp store:


Here I am in front of a store in Gig Harbor:

This next one was taken in Olympia:


Okay, enough pictures of me! I hope you are all having a fabulous Sunday. I'm going to go lay down on the couch and make this darn cold go away, but before I do, here is an older project that I thought you might like to see since I haven't posted any creations lately. It's an altered comp book with a bookmark. Enjoy!

Along with the sunshine, there has to be a little rain sometimes

My subject line is an excerpt from one of my favorite remake songs by Martina McBride, "Rose Garden," off of her Timeless CD. It's an appropriate sentiment for today which was Day 2 of our Northwest Paper Chase. We covered a little less ground today in terms of driving distance, but we still managed to visit six scrappy stores. All of them were quite diverse and different enough from each other that I was able to grab a little something from each one. I don't have any pictures to post of my loot today, but suffice it to say that I came home with a lot more scrappy goodness, and that was my sunshine.

My rain today came in the evening time when my mom phoned me while we were on our way to Shipwreck beads. Yesterday, my mom took my little dog, Noel, to the vet office because her body temperature was so low. She had been quite sick on and off for the past few weeks, but her condition baffled the vets. She spent the night in the hospital where they did a barium enema to see if they could find the source of her illness. Finally, they spotted the problem - a tumor on her rectum that was so hidden that all other previous tests were unable to locate it. The surgery to remove the tumor was risky and included breaking her pelvis to get to it. After learning the news, my parents came to the difficult decision to let her go. My mom waited until the end of the day to tell me, and I broke down in tears in the car. I was able to say goodbye to my little Noel over the phone, telling her that I loved her very much. That she was such a good girl. That I would see her one day. To please rest in peace knowing we did everything we could for her. My mom said she twitched her ear to acknowledge that she heard me over the phone, and then she was gone. I have been crying for the better part of the last six hours. Noel was such a special little dog to us. Travis and I found her abandoned in a parking lot in Reno in November 2002, and I named her Noel since it was the Christmas season. We rushed her to my wonderful vet who told us she was emaciated and dehydrated. She spent three days in the vet ICU in an icubator, and by day 3, she was standing on her own. She was a fighter. She was a special little girl. A year later, we decided that Noel would fit right in at my parent's house with my two childhood chihuahuas. My parents were thrilled to have her, and I was happy that she could provide them companionship, especially after my two chihuahuas passed away. She lived a happy life, and I hope that she knew how much she was loved.

I'll see you over the rainbow bridge, my little angel.

PS - I wanted to let you all know that I very much appreciate all the nice comments you leave on my blog, and I was hoping to catch up on my "blog-hopping" this evening, but as you can see, I've had a rough night. I hope to visit all of your blogs soon to see what all of you have been up to.

The Great Northwest Paper Chase

Sorry I've been a bit out of touch on my blogging these past few days. I have been one busy girl! My girlfriends and I signed up to participate in the Northwest Paper Chase where we visit 16 participating scrapbook stores in western WA. We bought a "passport" that we get stamped at each store we visit, and at the end of the chase, we bring our passport back to our home store to be entered in a drawing for various prizes. We have the region divided into three sections, and Monday we did the Seattle area tour. What a day! We were gone for 15 hours. We drove 245 miles and used one tank of gas. Here's what the back of my car looked like at the beginning of the trip:

Since I was the driver for the day, I made sure that we were very organized. I had one basket for each of us labeled with our names so that we could put all of our loot inside our respective basket. I also brought along a 12x12 plastic paper holder so that the corners of our beloved paper would not get bent. I even packed a bag full of snacks (on the right side of the picture) that included crackers, granola bars, bananas, and our favorite candies. One of my scrappy friends, Amy, brought along some healthy snacks as well (but the peas made my nose feel funny - ha!). Tiffany was the master trip planner having spent several hours planning our itinerary.

All in all, we visited 7 wonderful scrappy stores. With our passports and a lapel pin that we bought at our home store (all for under $10), we got 20% off our total purchases everywhere we went! We scored some rocking deals. Here's just a *small* taste of what I got:

And here's what the back of my car looked like after all was said and done:

Tomorrow and Friday, our adventure continues! I may not be blogging for a few days since I will be gone, so have a great rest of the week!