I Scream, You Scream, etc.

Happy Tuesday although all day I thought it was Wednesday (wishful thinking huh)!


You can complete the above. Now to be honest, I am not a gigantic fan of ice cream. I like all things chocolate of course and will eat chocolate ice cream, but if I have the choice of ice cream or some other sweet, 9 times out of 10 I will choose the other. I was teased relentlessly for this. But when I saw the stamp set Here's the Scoop by MFT stamps, I was inspired. I just loooove images of ice cream, I think it is one of those inherently cute images. For my tryout to become a guest designer for Do Me a Favor, I was given a pink baker's box to decorate. My first thought was, oooh I have to find pink and brown paper, and pink and brown ribbon and pink and brown accessories (can you tell I love pink and brown?). But then I said to myself, "No, you always use brown with pink and you need to try something new. Step out of your shell and really go wild." So that is what I did, instead of brown I chose black. I know, I know, wild huh (I can hear your laughter), but this is a huge step for me and I think it really works.

So here it is....(Full directions can be found by contacting The Inkspot)

This is my ice cream gift box, complete with two different flavors of ice cream topping. Even I, who is not a huge fan, would love to receive this gift set from a friend. I had to include hot fudge as one of the toppings, as chocolate is my favorite thing in the whole world.

Here is a close up of the lid of the box. The lid was actually solid when I received it. I decided that it needed an opening so you could see in. I used my oval nestabilities as a template and cut the opening. Then I used two scalloped oval nestabilities to cut a frame out of black card stock. Finally, I adhered acetate behind the opening to create a window. To create the image in the center I stamped Here's the Scoop on four different pieces of paper (whisper white, fuchsia card stock, and two pieces of DP). I colored in the girl with my prisma color pencils and cut out and pasted on the different layers of paper. I finished her up by adding pearl stickers to the center of the flowers and mounted the image on a piece of black card stock. I then lifted her off the lid with pop dots and placed a pink organdy ribbon on top.

For the front of the box, I stamped the sentiment from Here's the Scoop by MFT stamps on whisper white and cut it out with my oval nestabilities. I then cut out two more ovals out of fuchsia and black card stock and punched rectangles on each end to thread through my black with white polka dot organdy ribbon.

Now for the good part! The toppings! I had to use Ms. Richardson's brand toppings because that was the size of jar that would fit into the box. I covered the label with a piece of DP. Then stamped the sundae image from Here's the Scoop. I colored it with my prismas and added crystal lacquer to the glass portion. Next, I cut it out using my nestabilities and added a scalloped oval of fuchsia card stock behind it. I then cut out a circular piece of fabric and draped it over the lid, securing it with a rubber band. I hid the rubber band with a piece of white ribbon. Yummy!

This is the hot fudge jar. The only difference is a colored the topping brown instead of caramel. I am so pleased with the way this turned out. It looked good enough to eat!

Have a good evening and thanks for stopping by!

I Am On Fire!

Happy Monday!

It was such an icky day here, that both Izzy and I slept in this morning. It was so hard to roll out of bed since it was so dark. Where has the summer gone? That is the only thing that I don't like about the coming fall, the days get shorter and shorter. I hate not being able to take walks at night. It puts me in a bad mood.

Well, Izzy is pretty much down to just a runny nose. She is running around the house again terrorizing Tuxy. I swear it is like they really are brother and sister. They both just can't stand to not be picking on the other one.

Izzy had a wonderful time yesterday with Jason aka Daddy. They played out in the yard together, read lots of stories and even went on a walk. Jason took care of her all day. It was so nice, I was really able to get my stamp on! And boy did I.

Here is the first card I wanted to share with you. It is for our neighbor's son who just recieved a 1 at districts in piano. That means that he will now be going on to state. Yeah Caleb, we are so proud of you!!!!

I wanted to incorporate music in this card, obviously, so I used this music themed paper. Then I wanted to stamp something that a 12 year old boy would like. I went through all my stamps (no to hearts, no to shoes, no to purses, no to flowers). I was running out of ideas (I am very low on 12 year old boy themed stamp sets), until I came across this adorable set by Stampin' Up called Under the Stars and bam! it was perfect. I stamped the bear on very vanilla cardstock and colored him in using my prisma colored pencils. Next I stamped the stars and s'mores and colored them in adding a touch of glitter to the edges of the stars. I mounted them on some black inchies and added them down the side. I stamped the sentiment and mounted it and the bear on black card stock adding a little DP to the bear. To tie the colors together I stuck on a piece of brown organdy ribbon and then a piece of black grossgrain on top. It is so cool and turned out just the way I wanted it!

The next card was of course a Halloween card. I told you, I am no longer holding back.

I love this layout. I was on Splitcoast this weekend and saw tons of card with this similar layout and wanted to try it out. I used black card stock as my base and then pieced two different Halloween papers to create the three windows. Then I stamped Trickortreatabella by Stamping Bella. I colored her in using my Prisma color pencils (I love how she turned out). Then I popped her off the card. I threaded black and orange ribbon around the card and tied 4 pieces of ribbon around it to resemble a spider. Then I glued a sparkle spider button I got at Michaels to the center. Finally, I attached a "Halloween" button to a piece of Halloween DP, then to black cardstock and popped it out in the corner. Perfect! I am so in the mood for Halloween!

Finally, I wanted to publish the drawing that my neighbor did of Izzy! It is so beautiful.

Well thanks for stopping by! Have a great rest of the day!

It is On!!!!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Jason is finally home! Yeah!!! Both Izzy and I are thrilled, we have really missed him this week.

Izzy is feeling better. Still a little stuffed up, but definitely back to her stinky self. Now I have to contend with our dog. He is driving me crazy!!! (If anyone who wants a 5 year old Boston Terrier who is completely insane, contact me). I do love him, but for some reason the last two nights he has been getting up in the middle of the night to go potty. Not just once, not just twice but three or four times! He is worse than I was when I was pregnant. The strange thing is he doesn't go that often during the day and we aren't giving him lots of fluids before bedtime. I think he is secretly punishing us for Jason being gone the last three days. He's cunning I tell you, cunning.

I wanted to share some more good news, at least to us. My wonderful neighbor, Beth, last week called and asked me for a picture of Isabella; she wanted to try drawing again. I gave her my favorite picture of Izzy and on Thursday she gave me her picture that she had drawn (I will be sharing the drawing tomorrow). It is the most beautiful drawing I have ever seen! I almost cried when I saw it. It looks exactly like her and it is extra special because Beth created it with love. I don't know what we did to deserve such great neighbors, but I feel incredibly lucky.

Okay, so enough sappy stuff and onto my project for today. I figure it is close enough to October to start posting Halloween nonstop. I am no longer holding myself back. From here on out it will be Halloween 24/7 out our house! Yeah!!!!! I am so excited. So to mark the first day of the Halloween extravaganza, I am posting a bag I made for the giveaway at our Halloween party!

Isn't this cute! We are going to fill it with candy. I created the bag out of a 11 1/2 in. tall X 8 1/2 in. wide piece of lavender card stock. I scored the piece of paper horizontally at 2 in. and 8 in. Next, I scored vertically at 1/2 in., 4 1/2 in., 6 in., 10 in., and 11 1/2 in. I then folded the bag up and glued it together. Next I used my Martha Stewart fence punch to punch out the fence in black. I then stamped the house from Monster Squad by MFT stamps on several pieces of Halloween paper by Stampin' Up and cut them out. I decided to pop out the roof to give it a three dimensional look. Next I colored in the windows and door and added a purple brad to the doorknob. I tacked on some more fence to the top of the roof and punched out some goo, using my Martha Stewart Goo punch, and added it to the bottom of the roof. To finish out the scene at the bottom of the bag, I stamped the stack of jack-o-lanterns from The Witching Hour by SUInks and More, colored them in using my Prisma color pencils and adhered them to the side of the house. To seal the bag, I punched through all layers with my rectangle punch and threaded through an orange ribbon. Next I cut out a tag shape from Halloween paper and a slightly smaller shape out of whisper white and stamped the sentiment "I Want Candy" from Monster Squad by MFT and attached it with the ribbon. Finally, I glued on a bat button I picked up from Michaels and voila, a totally cute and adorable Halloween treat bag.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Have You Ever Had One of Those Weeks?

Happy Friday everybody!

I know it has been several days since I posted, but I have been super busy. Izzy has been sick with a cold for the past couple of days and has refused to take naps (which is really unlike her) and Jason has a big release tomorrow at work so he has been super busy and won't be home tomorrow (boo hoo).

But I have been doing a lot of stamping and have some really exciting news to share! I have been selected to be a guest designer for the Do Me a ! Favor line at The Inkspot here in St. Louis. I am so honored. It is a line of favor boxes and tins and I have to design a couple of favors using stamps they have available at the store. If you happen to live in St. Louis or are just driving through, you absolutely have to stop in. It is the most awesome stamping store! They have a little bit of everything a stamper could want. I can't even tell you how much trouble I get into every time I go there. I just can't help but walk out with something.

Today I wanted to share one of the projects I came up with for the line.

It is a treat bag. I used the Bubblebella image from Stamping Bella and colored her partially in with my Prisma Color pencils. I can't help it, I love using them. Then I pieced her together with some blue and purple card stock and a piece of coordinating paper. Next I stamped the sentiment from Bunny Slippers by MFT stamps. I cut out circles using my nestabilities to make them look like bubbles floating out of the bathtub. Then I tied a piece of silver ribbon at the top and finished the bag by filling it up with Hershey's Bliss chocolates (as far as I am concerned this is the most important step in the process). Didn't she turn out great? I think anyone would love to get this as a treat. I am so excited I was selected. If you would like to get the full directions for this project you can stop by The Inkspot.

Before I close my posting today, I just wanted to follow up on my last posting. I know I told you that Izzy has been calling her noodle "mommy", but I am not alone. Yesterday, she was flipping through one of Jason's plant catalogs and was pointing to all the pretty flowers and saying "daddy". Now granted I would rather be a flower than a noodle (I am clinging to the idea that she thinks that I am skinny like the noodle), but I still feel vindicated.

Well, I hope you have a pleasant weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Another Anniversary!

Happy Tuesday everybody!


Another beautiful day here in the Lou! Not too hot and not too cold, just right as Goldilock said. Izzy walked around the pool about twenty times until it was time to eat. She loves to dip the noodle in the water. She calls it "Mommy", should I be worried about that? (Especially since she never actually calls me mommy, hmmm, something to consider.)


Today was kind of a lazy day for me. I did a little bit of stamping, but I was really tired and decided to take a nap this afternoon. I did get some laundry done and some house cleaning, and of course I read The Teeny Tiny Teacher oh, maybe 3,000 times, so a pretty productive day overall.


Well today is my sister and her husband's eighth wedding anniversary. I can't believe it was that long ago. Gosh I am getting old. This anniversary card wasn't as hard to make as yesterday's. Dani, my sister, is really into Halloween (go figure) and loves cute funny cards. So I am back in safe territory. I created this card to celebrate her anniversary and her favorite holiday.



Is this not the cutest! I love, love, love this set! The inside of the card says, "The perfect combination just like the two of you! Happy Anniversary". The card is made from a piece of brown card stock with a piece of plaid card stock I found in a pets card stock pack. I then stamped the two children using the stamp set Kooky Kostumes by SUInks and More on whisper white and colored them in using my stampin' write markers. I made frames for them out of the same brown cardstok and some Halloween paper I just bought at Michaels. Next I tied an orange and brown polka dot ribbon around the card and cut out picture corners, which I popped off the page. Finally I stamped "salty" and "sweet" with whisper white ink and an old letter set from Stampin' Up. I think they are going to love it.


Well that is it for me today! I hope your day was as nice as ours. Thanks for stopping by!


Happy Anniversary Chris and Dani!!!!

I Think There is Something Wrong With Me!

Happy Monday!

The weekends just seem to fly by here. There is always so much to do and it just seems like stuff piles up. This weekend was so nice and pleasant. We spent a lot of time with friends and I spent a lot of time stamping, unfortunately very little time blogging. The good news is I have some really cool projects to share in the days to come.

So today I am going to be posting an anniversary card for Jason's grandparents. They were married 62 years ago today! Can you believe it! Seeing them together just fills you with such love and hope. They are so cute. A couple of years ago, Jason's grandma told me she tried on her wedding dress for their 50th wedding anniversary and she still fit into it! She is so cute and petite. I wish I could still fit into my wedding dress :(.

Anyway, there is something wrong with me. Every time I try to make a serious/non-cutesy card, my creativity leaves me. I mean I think of myself as someone who appreciates romance. I love chick flicks, cry at the end of sad books and movies and YES, YES I will admit it, I love romance novels, so why am I blocked when it comes to these kind of cards? I don't know what it is. It actually took me so long to come up with this card I didn't finish it until this morning and barely got it in the mail before the mailman came.

Here is my humble attempt at elegant and pretty.

I started out by making a square base out of brown card stock. I then used the plaid side of a piece of Scotch Pine by Pinecone Press Papers. Isn't it cute. Then I cut another square out of a coordinating green paper, layered on the polka dot side of the Scotch Pine and then stamped a flower image that I had on a piece of whisper white card stock. (I am not sure what stamp set this is. I found it on sale at Archiver's back at the beginning of the summer). I then colored the image in using prisma color pencils. I attached the diamond onto the card with platinum eyelets and added some white and pink rhinestones. Next I cut out tags using my Cricut machine and stamped "Happy Anniversary" on the tag. I finished by tying a bow with brown organza ribbon. I think this is a pretty good effort from one who is sentimental card challenged.

Here is a close up of the coloring. I actually used 4 different colors to color in the flowers. Two pinks, one red and a purple right at the tip. In person the flowers look very lifelike.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy anniversary Dick and Ruth!

The Saga Continues...

Happy Friday!

Sorry about not posting yesterday, I was completely exhausted. Izzy and I had such a wonderful day. We went and had lunch with Jason and then my friend Tracy came over and we finished the outside of our party invitations. After Tracy left, Izzy and I went and watched Jason play tennis and had a play date with Izzy's friend Lucy. It was a crazy day but super fun!

Today Izzy and I went and hit the Target dollar spot and picked up trinkets to stuff in gift bags. They have some really cool new stuff there. I then worked on a box that I am thinking about giving to a friend and tonight I need to make up two anniversary cards; one for Jason's grandparents and one for my sister and brother-in-law. It never ends. I am not complaining though I love doing it.

Before I share my project for today, I have to brag for a moment. My daughter is sooo smart. I am not biased or anything (Sometimes too smart for her own good). Yesterday we went and picked Jason up from work and the second we pulled into his office parking lot, Izzy said "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Yesterday was only the third or fourth time we have been there. We hardly ever go, and yet she recognized it. I love her so much!

Okay, on with the show. The project I want to share today is one of the door prizes we are going to be giving away at the Halloween party. It is a popcorn box that I created. We are going to stuff it with the Halloween themed popcorn by Act II. Tracy said you can find them at Walmart.

Isn't it cute! Okay so I bought a popcorn box at Michaels, I think it is by Wilson and tore it up. I then used it as a template. I traced around it and cut it out of a piece of 12 X 12 orange paper. I scored it using the original box as a reference and taped it up and tada you have a popcorn box. Next I stamped the sentiment from the new Stampin' Up set House of Haunts on the same piece of orange card stock and cut out a fun shape. Next I cut out the same shape from a piece of black card stock that was slightly larger so it served as a frame. Then I punched out bats using my Martha Stewart bat punch and glued them on. I attached a small bat brad from Making Memories to the title tag and last but not lease I punch holes in the center of each of the scallops along the top and threaded through a piece of 1/8 inch satin, black ribbon. I can't wait for people to see it at the party.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Breaking the Monotony!

Happy Wednesday!

Another beautiful day here. Izzy was pretty much outside all day. We went to the park with the neighbor's kids and had a really good time. Izzy discovered that her favorite activity at the park is going down the slide. Mommy discovered that her least favorite activity at the park is going down the slide. Oh my goodness, I almost didn't have to work out today because I lifted her so many times. Where is Daddy when you need him. Oh yeah at work.

I got a ton done today for our Halloween party. I have all the invitations colored and now I just need to cut them out and assemble them. The party is a little over a month away so they need to go out pretty soon. I also made two more door prizes. I will be showing those later in the week. I am completely exhausted. It is a good thing Tracy is coming over tomorrow to help me. We are going to try to knock out all the invitations. Hopefully we can have them in the mail by Monday. Keep your fingers crossed.

Since I have been exclusively working with Halloween lately, I decided to post a card I made a few weeks ago. I actually made three of this card. One for Tracy, one for my mother-in-law and one for my mom. The sewing machine broke on the one for my mom, wouldn't you know it, and I had to finish sewing by hand. I think my sister was sending me bad vibes. She is always trying to weasel her way into the favorite daughter position (I of course hold the monopoly on that one, but there is no reason to burst her bubble). I wanted to make thank you cards for them to let them know how much I appreciated them going to stamping classes with me. They are all so supportive of my addiction and even go with me to learn more about it. Sorry about the picture quality, I am still playing with the camera to find out the best settings for getting the clearest pictures.

For this card I created a gate fold card. I used maroon paper as the card base and then zigzag stitched some striped paper I had in my scrap box. I then stamped Scrapbook Girls by Denami Designs and colored them in using my stampin' write markers so they resembled the three of us (they of course look exactly like the three of us: thin and gorgeous) Next I mounted them on a piece of orange card stock and scalloped the edges. I then used some bright blue ribbon around the card and added some fuchsia rhinestone stickers in the four corners. I think it turned out really cute and was much prettier in person.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Please come again.

I Need Help I Tell You! Help!

Happy Tuesday!

It was so beautiful here today. The sun was out, the sky was blue and it was only in the low seventies. I couldn't get Izzy to come inside. She must know that these kinds of days are numbered.

Well we had an extremely busy day today. We went to Michaels where they were having an awesome sale on almost everything. I really stocked up. Then we went to the grocery store and bought a few essentials. Then we headed over to my best friend Tracy's house to begin planning our party and then headed to Target. It was Halloween heaven. I absolutely love to go to the Target by Tracy's. It is the coolest. It has underground parking and an escalator for your carts! But the best part is that they have a million times more stuff than our Target does. It is always so much fun. You would be proud of me though, I didn't buy any Halloween stuff while I was there. I made a huge list of things I need to pick up next time I go, but I didn't actually buy anything. There is a difference.

So I have started working on our Halloween party. I have been trying to come up with door prize ideas and the first one I came up with is a box called "Witches Brew". Inside will be orange flavored Crystal Light to Go packs. (They come in orange packages.) Jason came up with an awesome idea and suggested that I use the cherry flavored ones too because they come in this really cool red color. Isn't he the greatest!

This is the front of the box. I used a piece of Old Olive card stock from Stampin' Up and traced a dismantled Crystal Lite box onto it and cut it out. I scored it using the Crystal Lite box as a template and assembled. Then I stamped the witch and the cauldron using The Witching Hour stamp set from Storage Units, Inks and More. I colored them in with my stampin' write markers and used a glitter pen to create some accents. Isn't she adorable! I then printed off "Witches Brew" using a font I found on my computer that I thought looked scary and mounted it on a piece of Perfect Plum and Pumpkin Pie. Finally I punch out goo using my Martha Stewart goo punch and attached it around the box.

For the side of the box. I stamped the three jars from Totally Witchin' by MFT stamps. I colored them in using my stampin' write markers and "aged" them using a sponge and close to cocoa ink by Stampin' Up.

The back of the box I printed up a "Newt"-trition information sheet on the computer using the same font as the title. I then aged it by sponging on close to cocoa ink with a little bit of really rust, both by Stampin' Up. I think it turned out really cute. I hope everybody gets a kick out of them.

Thanks for stopping by today and checking out my blog!

It's an Addiction I Tell you an Addiction!

Happy Monday!

I can't help myself I am completely addicted to Halloween. Well the disease only gets worse with age. Although I complain about how they put out Halloween decorations and candy in July, each year I find myself strangly attracted to that section of the store. I love everything about it and I hate to say I think I inherited this terrible ailment from my mother and grandmother. When I was a kid each year we would discuss for months what costumes we would make that year so that we would all match. One of my favorite years we went as a school of sharks and carried around a boombox that played the theme song to Jaws. It was always so much fun and made such wonderful memories.

Here is the backstory and why I started out my blog today with the above confession. Today is my mother's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! I won't tell you how old she is because I do value my life but it is not a big one, that was last year ---hint, hint. My mom not only loves Halloween but choclate too, so I had to make a card that incorporates both (at least that is my excuse). Like the loving and wonderful (favorite) daughter I am, I called her this morning to wish her a happy birthday. And I have to tell you I was really offended. The first words out of her mouth were, "You know your sister already e-mailed me this morning to wish me a happy birthday." Well it is not my fault that my sister is so sneaky. Naturally I told my mother that that did not matter seeing as how I am her favorite daughter and the only one who sent her a hand made card and made her a hand made gift. And can you believe it she just laughed at me. The nerve of some people! So here it is:

The inside is stamped Happy Birthday!. For this card I used some patterned paper I bought a couple months ago at Michael's. The chocolate chips are stamped from a Stampin' Up stamp set called Oh So Sweet. The trick-or-treater is from a stamp set by Storage Units inks and more called Kooky Kostumes. Isn't he adorable! I colored him in with my stampin' write markers and then stamped the sentiment with a letter set I bought at the dollar spot at Michaels. I finshed the look with a spatula button and a piece of brown ribbon. It turned out perfectly.

Thanks for visiting my blog today, please stop by again!

It is Officially Autumn Here in the Lou and Izzy Pictures!

Good Sunday evening everyone!

Sorry I was unable to post yesterday. I was busy finishing up some door prizes for our Halloween party and hangin' out with my husband and daughter. It was such a nice day but a little warm; it was in the nineties and super humid. We even considered getting in the pool. What a difference a day makes. It started raining about four in the morning and didn't stop until noon. Buy then the pool was overflowing and we couldn't pump the water out because the electricity was off. If finally came back on a couple of hours later. However it was only sixty-eight degrees today and really windy. You never know what is going to happen from day to day here!

The card I wanted to share today is a card I made for my husband's grandparents. They are two of the most wonderful, caring and nurturing people you will ever meet. Every time I see Jason's grandmother I feel like hugging her. She is so cute!!!! I am so glad that Izzy is able to have them in her life. So back to the card. I was completely inspired by some punches I recently bought at the Target Dollar Spot (love, love, love that place!). They had a whole bunch of scrapbooking items in the bins and I found an apple punch, a pumpkin punch and an oak leaf punch. I knew I want to use them for a fall leaf card so I created this:

I first stamped Mimi's Pumpkin Patch by Denami on a sheet of Whisper White card stock. I then colored her in using my prisma color pencils. I stamped her again and cut her out to pop her off the surface of the card. Next I used my new oak leaf punch to create a border on a piece of old olive card stock. I mounted this on a piece of pumpkin pie card stock and attached the whole lot to the card. I punched holes in all four corners and used some mini pumpkin brads I bought at Archiver's. It is so cute. I can't wait till they receive it!

Now what you have all been waiting for ... Izzy pictures!

This picture was taken last week on one of those beautiful end of Summer days. She was having such a great time running around the backyard and carrying her noodle around. Her favorite thing though was running up to mommy just when she was about to take the picture. I couldn't get her to stop putting her cute little mug up against the lens. lol.

This picture Jason took last weekend. Izzy was sitting in Jason's garden next to some of the largest and most beautiful zinnias you have ever seen. (I had to ask Jason what they were). Isn't she so sweet?

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Got Bees?

Happy Friday!

I am posting a little bit late today. Izzy and I had an extremely busy day. We ran to Joann's to look at Halloween costume patterns and I think I finally settled on one that I would like to make for her. Then we went to Toys 'R Us and bought Izzy some new toys. I found this really cute and cheap kids stroller for baby dolls and Izzy will hardly let it out of her hands. She is pushing it all over the house, she was even running over our dog Tuxy! So here I am posting in the evening instead of the afternoon.

Today I wanted to share a card I made for my dad. My dad is one of those guys who knows everything. I mean he literally does. I am constantly calling up asking him questions and advice about our house, Izzy and about my life in general. He always seems to have an answer and they are always logical and supportive. I am such a Daddy's girl!

So here is the back story for my project today. (There is always a back story with me.) Well, my parents came up to visit us last month and my dad was hanging out on the back deck and he saw a wasps nest under the eave of our house. He pointed it out to me and told me I probably should get rid of them. I told Dad that I would let Jason know and I went on a search for the wasp spray. When I came back out, my dad asked me if I knew what to do if I didn't have any spray. I of course had no idea so he told me to spray some gasoline on them. Gas will kill them right away. I thought this was a little strange, but it made sense. Since we had wasp killer though, we went ahead and used it.

So here is where the card comes in. Over Labor Day weekend Jason and I started power washing our decks to get them ready for staining. Jason was washing the wall of the gazebo when he must have sprayed a yellow jackets' nest that was behind the wall. The yellow jackets started coming out of the floorboards and one of them stung Jason. I was telling my dad about it the next day and he said well you could always pour gasoline on them. (Of course I would never do this seeing as how are deck is made of WOOD). But then the funniest part of the story is that he told me not to light it on fire to get rid of them the gas alone will do it. I can not resist giving my dad a hard time so I called him the next day and told him that I took his advice and poured gasoline all over the decks and since I couldn't remember the rest of what he said I went ahead and set it on fire. Bees and Decks all taken care of. My dad thought it was funny so I sent a card to commemorate it. The inside asks "Got Bees?"

I made the card out of red card stock and a piece of yellow card stock I had lying around and a sheet of whisper white card stock from Stampin' Up. The lettering I did with a sharpie and used chipboard letters as a template. The bees are a stamp by Denami called curly bee and are so cute! I colored them in using my stampin' write markers and then added a touch of glitter to them.

I love you Daddy!!

Thanks for stopping by today and looking at my blog. Have a great weekend!

A Special Thank You and a Gratuitous Grandma Posting

Happy Thursday!

It is pretty gloomy and icky here in St. Louis today. It is a little bit of a downer seeing as how beautiful the past couple of days have been. Izzy has really been enjoying it. She wonders around the back yard chasing Tuxy and then stares longingly at the pool. It will be so sad when we have to close it up in a couple of weeks.

Which reminds me Fall has officially started in the Loo. Fall is one of my favorite seasons. There is Back to School time (being a former teacher this does conjure up mixed feelings), Halloween and of course Thanksgiving. I just love seeing all the leaves changing and all the crisp weather that comes rolling in. I guess that is what inspired me to create this thank you card.


So here is the back story. I went to a stamping class last Saturday where we made the most adorable Halloween candy boxes. I will probably be posting it this weekend. Maggie the instructor used a new Martha Stewart punch from Michaels called Fence. Oh my goodness I fell in love. It is the cutest little fence, it can be all scary when punched out of black or cute when punched out of white, or fallish when punched out of brown. I repeat I am in love. Maggie informed us that she had bought the last one in St. Louis (of course she was too smart to actually bring the punch with her to the class because I am sure someone would have "borrowed" it, lol). So when I got home I immediately went online to order it. OUT OF STOCK! What!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I immediately called my mother to complain about the horrible injustice of it all when she said, that maybe she could call our family friend June back in Kansas City to see if she could track one down. Well June (who I will be nominating for sainthood) was able to fine one in Kansas and.......... she got if for 25% off. I am telling you it was meant to be. So I now have it in my hot little hands and cannot wait to begin using it.

Okay so back to the card. I made this card for her as a thank you to tell her how much I appreciated it. The card stock is Stampin' Up: Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive. The patterned paper is from a holiday stack I got a Michaels last year. I created the circles using my circle nestabilities and the the stamps sets are Falling For You by MFT and a thank you set I bought at Archivers, I believe it is Hero Arts. Don't you just love the leaves and the the tree. She really reflects how you feel when you dive into that first pile of leaves in the Fall. I then used my prismacolor pencils to color her and added a little ivory grosgrain ribbon. She came out perfect if I do say so myself.

Now for my Gratuitous Grandma Posting!

This is my daughter Izzy sitting underneath our gazebo on Sunday in her Rams jersey. Although It didn't help much. The Rams lost!

And herE she is yesterday. It was so beautiful I could hardly keep her inside. She as chasing our dog around the yard as usual, enjoying the sunny weather.

I hope you have a wonderful day, thanks for stopping by!

How Does Your Garden Grow? and My Very First RAK!!!!

Hello and Happy Wednesday!




Today I wanted to share a card that I made for my mother-in-law who loves to garden. Whenever we go back home and visit it is always such a treat to go and sit out in their backyard. It is full of fragrant blossoms and always makes me feel so comfortable.

For this card I used the Garden Clear Stamp Set by Hanna Stamps. I actually bought this stamp set to use the accessories so I could make gardening themed cards for my husband (he also loves to garden). Once I saw Hanna though, she reminded me so much of my mother-in-law I had to make up a card for her. I colored her in using my Stampin' Write markers from Stampin' Up, tied on some white grosgrain ribbon and attached a cute little water can charm I had lying around from an old cross stitch kit and voila, I had this adorable card.

My First RAK!!!!!

Speaking of my wonderful mother-in-law, a couple of weeks ago my in laws came up to visit and I wound up dragging her to one of my stamping classes at my favorite stamping store The Inkspot. We had such a wonderful time together and laughed a ton. It was fantastic. In fact she enjoyed stamping so much I think she might become addicted too! I am crossing my fingers. She asked me to stamp a couple of images for her on some card stock and a couple of days later I received this card in the mail.

Isn't it so cute. I just love the background paper and the little brads. It is super fally (I'm not sure if that is a word). She sent it to thank me for inviting her to the stamping class. Isn't' that sweet! Of course I seriously doubt that she will be thanking me six months from now when she is checking every stamping blog known to man and has a list of gotta have stamps sets that even Santa would shudder at.

Well, thanks for visiting my blog and have a wonderful day!

Witches Just Want to Have Fun!

Are you ready to party!

This year I am trying to convince my best friend Tracy to throw a Halloween party at her house. Mainly because she lives in the perfect Halloween house. Her house was built back in the 1890's with really high ceilings and an awesome fireplace and a flight of the most beautiful stairs you have ever seen. (We live in a 1970's ranch out in the suburbs). She also knows tons more people than I do and can cook. I on the other hand have appointed myself in charge of decorations. It will be better for all of us.

This is the invitation I am suggesting we send out. My husband doesn't want to be involved in the planning, although he is also a good cook and baker so I am sure he will get wrangled into the party too. Love ya honey!!!

The card is made up of all Stampin' Up card stock: old olive, perfect plum, pumpkin pie and whisper white. I stamped the two witches from the MFT stamp set Totally Witchin' and colored them in using my prismacolor pencils. I am in love with this set! It is just so cute. I also used the spider web and spider from this set and stamped them with versamark ink on the perfect plum card stock. (I know this is a little hard to see put it gives it a really cool patterned paper effect). I then used my goo punch from Martha Stewart that I got at Michael's to create the border. Next, I took perfect plum ink and a sponge and distressed the edges. The bats and the pumpkin brads I found at Archivers (I think they are Making Memories). They seem to add just the perfect amount of sparkle.

Well I hope you enjoy this invitation as much as I enjoyed making it. Have a good rest of the day!

Kindergarten Here I Come!

Happy Tuesday!


Yesterday I posted a mini lunch tin for my niece Kelsey who recently started second grade. Today I am posting another mini lunch tin that I made for her sister Shelby. Shelby started kindergarten this year and was so excited that she didn't understand why she didn't start the day after her birthday (her birthday is March 31st). Lol. She is full of life and is interested in just about any and everything.

For this box, I used the same techniques above except I used the stamp set Lily-My Little Friend by Rachelle Anne Miller. I absolutely love these images. When I saw this stamp it immediately reminded me of Shelby. She is such a tomboy and seems to constantly be getting into trouble unintentionally. I used my stampin' write markers to color her in and stamped "Back to School" using the Back to School set from MFT. I finished her off with some bling and filled the box up with crayons and erasers and a little tube of lip gloss.

This is a side view of the finished box. It is hard to make out but this tin actually had an orange handle.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Got a Case of the Mondays?

Happy Monday!

Every time Monday morning roles around I think of the Movie Office Space. If you haven't seen you better rent it asap.

Today I wanted to share a project I made a couple of weeks ago using some adorable mini lunchboxes I found at the dollar spot a target. (My mom got them for 25 cents, after I had already bought a whole bunch for a dollar, but I am not bitter.) They are so cute. They came in four different handle colors (red, green, orange and blue). They were actually decorated on the outside with different different candy company designs (i.e. lemonheads, tootsie rolls, warheads, etc.) However if you were looking for lots of candy look elsewhere, they only contained five pieces per box, lol.
















I made this box for my 7 year old niece who is starting second grade this year. She is such a girly girl. She loves pink and anything that has glitter. She also is super smart and loves school. She must have taken after her favorite aunt ;).

To make this box I first stamped Kelsey using the Dress Up Lily set from Pink Cat Studio found Here. This is the most adorable set. I use it constantly. The apple and the back pack are from the Back to School stamp set from My favorite Things found Here. I then colored in the images using my Stampin' Write markers from Stampin' Up. I cut out the images and pasted them on a piece of white card stock.















I then stamped the words "Back to School" on the white card stock using the MFT stamp set above. I add some bling stickers and mounted it on a black piece of card stock. Using some scrap card stock I traced round the top of the lunchbox and cutout the shape and mounted all three layers to the top of the box. To cover the edge of the lid I cut out a strip of coordinating ribbon and glued it on. To cover the body of the tin, I used pliers to remover the handle and glued a piece of striped paper around the tin. I then cut slits in the box and reattached the handle.















I lined the inside of the tin with the striped paper I used on the outside. I then cut out two pieces of black card stock and round the corners with my corner rounder to line the top and the bottom. I then filled it up with everything a young girl needs for her first day of school. Glitter nail polish, bubble gum lip gloss and a purple nail kit.

Thanks for stopping by today and browsing through my projects!

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my very first blog posting. I have been so inspired by all the women out there who stamp that I wanted to share some of my humble ideas with everyone else. I am so fortunate to have a wonderful husband and family who supports me in my endeavors. In fact he is the one who set up this blog for me and encouraged me to find myself a hobby that I would enjoy. Little did he know that I would become completely addicted.

So here goes!!!!







This is the first project I would like to share. It is a church that I created for the fantastic neighbors that live next door to us. They asked for a box for members of their church to place goals and requirements for their new church location. I didn't want the box to be too simple or too plain. I wanted to make something to let our neighbors know how much we value them.














I created this church using foam board from Michaels and scrap pieces of card stock I had lying around. To create the stone foundation, I used a piece of grey card stock and drew random shapes with my Stampin' Write markers from Stampin' up. I cut strips of white paper and glued them around the perimeter to make it look like shingles.


Thanks for taking a look at my blog! I will try to keep it updated with new ideas and projects! Please check frequently.