Thursday, July 31, 2008

Working on the changes

Hi Everyone!

Am working on the new template for next month, since tomorrow is the 1st. It's a work in progress, however and it's time for dinner...so I will work on it again in the morning and I will also have some more cards to share with you.
Have a great evening!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

More Sophia.


Hi Everyone!

I was busy yesterday running errands with my mom. She just bought a new house and we are getting ready to help her start moving into it in the next couple of weeks. She is buying new furniture, accessories, painting etc, so we did a lot of running around yesterday. I did manage to make another card yesterday. Yes, once again using my new Paper Pretties Sophia Bunny Slippers set. Although I did try my hand at paper piercing this time; and I have to admit it was relatively easy to do.
Paper Pretties is having a Cutie Pie Contest, and all the entries have to be in by tomorrow. If you get a chance, check it out and see if you would like to enter. The winner receives all the sneak peak stamps (being released this Friday) all for free.
I am going to do some more stamping this evening; and I hope to be back tomorrow with some more cards for you. No, I won't be using Sophia. (I think I'll let her take a rest for a couple of days)
Have a great evening and thanks for visiting with me.

Monday, July 28, 2008

New Stamps and a Feel Good Award!


Hello everyone!

Well, today's post is a bit late and I apologize for that. I've been busy wearing all my hats today: Domestic Goddess, Mommy and Stamper. Today's card is from my new Paper Pretties Bunny Slippers Sophia set. Isn't she adorable?! She is the first stamp I received in my Paper Pretties "Stamp of the Month" Club. I have had so much fun playing with her, she's so versatile. I can't wait to get my next set. I used Really Rust, Brocade Blue, Groovy Guava, and Bashful Blue for my colors.
Today is Mojo Monday and try a new technique on SCS. Both are very cool and I encourage you to check them out. I am going to try to work on them later this week.
This weekend was fabulous. It was Tyler's birthday and we had a party for him at Grandma's house. So, now he has been busy playing with all his new toys. As for me, in order to accomodate the new load, I embarked on the great toy purge and then while I was at it, I figured it was time to sort through some clothes as well. So as I said, it's been a busy day; but I didn't get a chance to post on Friday or over the weekend and I didn't want to go another day with out posting.



I also got this really cool weblog award from Becky, AKA "Nawlin's Lady". I was super excited that she passed it on to me! There are rules that go along with the award, however.

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you have nominated.

I only have five that I'm going to pass the award onto..(hey, you know what they say about rules!)

1. Stamp a Little Love by Cambria Turnbow
2. Oodabug Alley by Charmaine
3. Kerilinn's Blog
4. Fresh and Fun by Beate (who's currently taking a summer break)
5. Poetic Artistry by Julee (Verve Stamps)

Be sure to check out this blogs. They will truly amaze and inspire you!

Have great evening and I'll be back tomorrow!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Joy Fold Card and Color Inspiration



Hi again!

Here is my card for today. I used today's SCS Joy Fold Tutorial for my inspiration as well as Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration. This card is probably the most fun I've had stamping in a while now. I will be posting a link to the tutorial on the right side of the page under the SCS tutorials. Check it out if you get a chance, it was super easy and as I said a lot of fun. I also really liked the colors Kristina chose for this week as well.
So, here are the details: the card base is Rose Red, the mat for the floral background is Sage Shadow. I stamped the floral background stamp in Rose Red ink on glossy paper. The background for the left side is from fresh cuts set stamped in Sage Shadow and the "thank you" is in Regal Rose. I attached a prima flower in the corner, just for decoration. The butterfly in the middle is from the garden whimsy set and I rock-n-rolled it in Regal Rose and Rose Red ink, then I embossed it in Iridescent Ice powder. I attached the circle around the back for a scalloped(esque) finish.
Ok, so off to pick up Reagan. Have a great afternoon! Oh, and be sure to scroll down for this week's recipe.

Recipe Thursday: Bacon Chicken Pasta Bake

As promised, here is your recipe for this week. It is a simple pasta bake dish with Chicken and Bacon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken cut into bite size pieces
6 slices of bacon cut into bite size pieces
1 jar Alfredo Sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream (maybe just a bit less)
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced.
1 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsps fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsps butter melted
1 cup Bread crumbs (maybe a bit more)
1/4-1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
3/4 to 1 lb Penne Rigate Pasta or other short pasta

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.
Cook pasta according to package directions, a bit less than al dente. (Don't overcook or the pasta will become too gooey and overdone in the oven)
Sautee chicken and bacon together in 2Tbsps olive oil until browned and crispy.
add garlic and alfredo sauce and cream. Heat through until bubbly.
Remove from heat and add the fresh basil, and then add the pasta.
In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter, Parmesan Cheese and Bread crumbs. You want the mixture to be crumbly.
Transfer pasta mixture to casserole dish (I use my Pampered Chef 9 in square baker)
sprinkle top with bread crumb mixture and back in oven approx 20 minutes until top is crisp and bubbly.

Enjoy!

Quick Hello and GH news

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to check in really quick and let you know that I haven't forgotten about everyone. This week has just been super busy for me with day camp for Reagan and getting ready for birthdays this weekend. Of course I could have done some this morning; but I opted to check up on my online tv shows, you know the ones that I always forget about until after they've been on regular tv. Anyhow, I am going to try to do some stamping a bit later this morning and post something for you, so check back this afternoon. I will also post a recipe for today as well. (As soon as I figure out which one I want to share!) Oh, and in case you missed the premiere of GH Night Shift on soap net on Tuesday night, they are showing it again this morning at 10:00am.
Speaking of GH, we can chat about that for a minute this morning. I am still trying to figure out this whole Russian Mob thing. It is obviously a way for the writers to put Sonny back into "the business", which personally I think is a bit sad. I mean it was a perfect opportunity to try to take the character in a different direction, and they completely missed the boat on it. Having said that though, I would prefer that Sonny be the boss and not Jason. Jason just isn't Don material, he really is more suited to the enforcer role.
I'm also leaning towards the conclusion that when Laura returns, it is only going to be in Lulu's mind. I really hope though, that they are not leaning towards having Lulu go through some sort of psychotic break. I hope that it's done as a way for Laura to help Lulu...even though she really can't. And, um...where is Luke? I'm thinking now would be a good time for Daddy Spencer to check in with his offspring. Speaking of disappearing acts, Jax has left the building. Not to worry, however, Mr. Rademacher has not left the show. He and his wife just had a baby and I heard he was just taking a wee bit of personal time; but nothing that would keep him gone for too long. I couldn't help but notice how much Carly kept bring up Jax taking off to Rome to see Brenda...mmmm, could it be?!?

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Combining Challenges


Good afternoon everyone!

I've spent the majority of the morning working on this card that I did for Mojo Monday sketch and Verve's Meet the Diva's Challenge #2. I really wish that I had some Verve stamps; (and others as well LOL) but that will just have to wait. Tyler's Birthday is Saturday, Reagan's is August 8 and then it's back to school shopping...gee, I wonder where all my money is going??!
I'm really not to sure about this card and if I like it or not. I wanted to do something a bit different and yet still stick with the inspiration piece, colors and the sketch. It's all right, I suppose; but it's definitely not my favorite creation as of late. Still, perhaps it's true what they say and you really are your own worst critic. So, I would love to hear what you all think of it...good or bad and any suggestions or what you would have done differently with it.
I'm afraid, it's another short post for me today. Reagan is doing a day camp this week for church and it's time for me to go and get her.
Have a great afternoon, and thanks so much for visiting with me!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Busy Day...Quick card!


Hi all!

Just wanted to post this card this afternoon. It is for a friend of my sister's whose mother passed away over the weekend. I used Black, Teal, Wasabi and Cool Caribbean. The stamp sets for the card were Fresh Cuts and Heartfelt Thanks
I am going to work on Mojo Monday and Meet the Diva's Challenge tomorrow and post (hopefully). I'm heading out the door again this afternoon; but I will be back tomorrow! Thanks for visiting with me!

Friday, July 18, 2008

RAK Thanks.


Good Morning and TGIF Everyone!

Isn't this the cutest card!! I got this in the mail yesterday from my friend Melanie. Thanks so much, Mel :) I really like this stamp set and I regret not getting it when I had the chance. I love getting happy mail especially when it is unexpected and there are no bills to go along with it!
Let's see, what is going on today? Actually I haven't really decided what I want to do as it relates to stamping. I may work on some more of Reagan's layouts today, or I may not... Speaking of my little angel, she will be coming home tomorrow from her week vacation in Myrtle Beach. I can't wait. I miss her so much!!
I am going to do some blog hopping this morning for a while I think and see what everyone's been up to lately. If you left me a comment yesterday I will be visiting your site and returning the favor.
If you are looking for challenges be sure to check out the Stamp Something weekly challenge and SCS Limited Supply Challenge.
Mmmm, well I guess that's about all for me this morning. I still need to take pictures of the layouts I did this week. Taking pictures of layouts is so much harder than cards, at least it is for me. Will try to make an effort to do that though.
Have a fabulous weekend (although I may be back later?!) and thanks for visiting with me!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Paper Pretties and Color Inspiration #16





Another quick post for you today. This is my entry for Kristina Werner's color inspiration #16 and for the Paper Pretties Sketch Challege. The colors for the challenge were Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Soft Sky and Vanilla. (I realized a bit late, however that the color in Kristina's challenge was Vanilla not white...I knew I should have checked that before I started :) Hey, at least I know I got the right Paper Pretties Challenge though!
The stamps I used are from the Stampendous "Sushi Party Bowl" Set. The circles on the bottom are from an old SU Hostess Set "Riveting".
Thanks for looking...back again tomorrow!

Scrappin' and Stampin!

Good Morning Everyone!

I hope you all had a pleasant day yesterday. I apologize for not posting. However, I was very busy working on two layouts for Reagan's book. I will try to take some pictures and post them this afternoon for you to see. It's funny how when you haven't scrapbooked in a while how much different it feels when you sit down to do it again. Like I said, I only got two layouts completed; but I thoroughly enjoyed myself, which is what it's all about anyways right?! I also decided that for this book, I am going to have Reagan do all the journaling herself and contribute more to it. After all it is her book and it should definitely have her own personal touch.
I found that having taken a break from stamping for a couple of days helped me get back into the groove with that as well.
(Ok,so I just realized that this card was for the challenge two weeks ago! I swear I don't know what I was thinking; but oh well, here it is anyways!) I completed this card this morning for a Paper Pretties Challenge. The challenge was to use Creamy Caramel, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and White. As you can see from the card, there's not any white (I colored it all in...oops!) I'm still waiting on my Paper Pretties, Stamp of the Month, so I used my Penny Black Critter Party stamps instead. I used watercolor pencils and blender pens to color in the images. I think the rest is fairly self explanatory.
I am going to work on Kwerners Color inspiration challenge and try to combine it with this week's Stamp Something challenge this afternoon. So, basically today is a stamping day.
Now, let's chat a bit of GH news. WOW...Laura coming back! So excited about that. I think Genie and Tony Geary are and always will be the best two actors ever paired together. However, I must admit that I have developed a certain soft spot for Luke and Tracy as well. My only concern this time is that apparently it is only for another short stint, she's not coming back for a full contract role. Therefore I really hope that they do things a bit better than they did last time. I really think that she's actually just going to be part of Lulu's conscience and not really be "back". So, who do you all think is behind the medicine mystery at the hospital? I have no clue! I think that that and the Logan murder are going to be the main stories for the next couple of months.
Is anyone going to watch the second season of Night Shift? I really enjoyed the first season and am looking forward to the second season. Especially since Jagger Cates is returning!
Ok, so that's all for me today. Like I said, I will try to post the layouts a bit later if I can. If not, have a great day and I'll be back tomorrow. Thanks for visiting with me!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Breaking GH News!!



Just a quick update for all my fellow GH fans. It seems as though the fan favorite Genie Francis will be returning in August as fan-favorite Laura Spencer. The question now, as reported on The WUBS website, is whether or not she is really back or is she just back in Lulu's mind. Obviously this will all be tied up in the Logan murder etc. Ms. Francis' first air-date is August 26th. I'll keep you updated on anything else I find out.

Bye for now!

Getting out of the Slump and Thank you's

Good Morning Everyone!

Well, it's good to be back. I enjoyed my non-stamping, non-blogging weekend and was glad for the opportunity to reflect a bit. I came to a couple of conclusions over the weekend, which I think really helped me get out of my slump that I was all bogged down in on Friday. The first is that I think it's time to change the pace a bit and get back to doing some scrapbooking, instead of focusing so much on stamping and card-making. I found pictures from Reagan's 1st grade year and 2nd grade year, so I am going to start a new album for her, which will hopefully continue to grow as she does. The second thing I decided is to stop challenge chasing all over the internet. Between SCS, KWerner, Mojo Monday, Stamp Something, Paper Pretties and more, there's just way too many to try to do every one each day or each week. With that said, I am going to just alternate from week to week which ones I decide to do with no more than two and will try to combine when and where I can. This will also leave me time to work on Reagan's scrapbook pages.
I will be keeping up my commitments to the SCS RAK and BRAK and Blogger RAK, however.
















Speaking of RAK's, I wanted to share with you a couple of cards I received in the mail over the last week or so. Thanks to Vicki and Tiffany from SCS for these cards, they certainly were pleasant surprises!
I combined yesterday's Mojo Monday with the Verve "Meet the Divas" Challenge. I uploaded it to my SCS gallery, so you can see it there. As always would love to hear any comments.
Ok, so that's all for me today. If you left a comment on Friday for me, then I'm off to visit your blog and return the favor. Have a great day; and hopefully I'll have a layout to share with you tomorrow.

Friday, July 11, 2008

KWerner Color Inspiration and Trying to Find my Mojo



It's another week for KWerner's Color Inspiration. I combined the colors with the SCS sketch challenge. These week's colors were Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery, Really Rust and Whisper White. The White was hard for me to use because I would have actually gone with Vanilla personally.
I used a coffee filter, colored with marker and then spritzed with water and allowed to dry for the background behind the "Thinking of you" and also on the right had side of the card. I stamped the dragonfly from the Measure of a Life set and used my blender pens and stampin pastels to fill it in. I hope you all like it.
Just a quick note about comments. I, like most bloggers both welcome and enjoy comments for the things that I post. If there wasn't a comment section, would we even bother blogging?! It's never expected or required, obviously. I'm always grateful for anyone that just stops by. However, I do want to let you all know that if you leave a comment, I always make a point to visit your blog and return the favor.
So, I've been feeling a bit blah today. Have you ever had those kinds of days? I wasn't really in the mood to stamp today. So I decided to make a list of some SU stuff I wanted as well as other stamps I want from Hannah and Lizzie etc. Well, that was a big mistake. With gas at $4.00 a gallon and milk even more expensive than that, who can afford stamps?? I was also having a bit of a pity party for myself because I entered some stuff into contests and challenges and I just never seem to win anything. Oh, I know I'm not the only one and it shouldn't bother me. Normally it doesn't. Like I said, just one of those days.
I think a non-stamping, non-blogging, non-challenge chasing and perhaps even a non-pc long weekend will help rejuvinate my spirits a bit and help me find my mojo a bit.
So, with that I'm off for the weekend until Tuesday. I do want to thank all of you who come to visit with me regularly and I do promise to be in a much happier place when I return again.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Birthday Wishes and an update.



As promised, I'm back again. I finished these gift card holders this afternoon. These are for two of my nephews. The inside has a diagonal fold across it, which acts as a pocket for a gift card or money. These were super easy to make, so if you are interested in the dimensions and instructions, just let me know. I'll be happy to post them or send them to you via email.
Even though the cards are small, I was able to use a couple of different techniques. For example, on both of them I used paper piercing, with the truck and with the boat. On the sailboat card, I tried the blurred vision watercoloring from yesterday's SCS Wednesday tutorial.
I did this in the waves on the water behind the boat and the cloud in the sky.
Quick and easy, nothing fancy; but I thought they turned out fairly decent.
K.Werner has posted her color inspiration challenge for this week. This week's colors are Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Close to Cocoa, Celery and White. I have plan for that and will hopefully be able to post tomorrow for you.
Ok, that's all for me today...going to clean up the kitchen before GH comes on.
Speaking of GH...I don't know what was more unbelievable yesterday, Lulu killing Logan and then her and Maxie pseudo bonding over the experience. or Carly telling Jason that her and Sonny having sex together did not mean that she had cheated on Jax; but Jax kissing Kate...well now that's cheating?!? I agree with Jason "Are you serious?"
Oh..set the date, looks like Spinelli's gonna get his Maxie fantasy on Tuesday of next week. That's almost as wierd as Trevor and Claudia (ugh?!)Nah, at least Spinelli is a good guy, a little eccentric but decent.
Have a great day, and thanks for visiting with me!

Card Recipes:
Sailboat
We R Memory Keepers PP
Bravo Burgundy
Yellow paper
Brocade Blue
Lil' Davis Ribbons
SU stamp set (don't remember the name)

Truck
Dark Green Paper
Ruby Red
Sage Shadow
Loads of love Stamp Set

Recipe Thursday: No Ricotta Lasagna

Good Morning Everyone!

Wanted to get this week's recipe posted for you. It is for a lasagna dish that I made last weekend for some friends who were in town visiting us for July 4th. The great thing about the dish was that I made it early in the day and put it in the refrigerator while we were out and about and then just popped into the oven. The other thing I like about it is that it doesn't use Ricotta Cheese (which I personally don't really care for)

Ingredients

12 Lasagna noodles, cooked to package directions (when finished, lay on wax paper to cool and to prevent sticking)
1 lb hamburger meat
1/2 to 3/4lb bulk Italian Sausage
1 onion chopped
2 carrots chopped
1/2 Green bell pepper chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 jar pasta sauce
1/2 cup crush tomatoes
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
3 gloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 box Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
Italian Seasoning
s/p
Mozerella Cheese
1 egg beaten

Directions:
Brown meat, drain
Sautee all vegs & garlic until tender
Return meat to pan and season with S/P
Add Pasta Sauce, tomatoes, stir to combine
Add brown sugar
In separate bowl, combine spinach,the beaten egg and approx 1/4 cup Mozerella Cheese
(Note: if you would like to add Ricotta Cheese, do so here with the Spinach)
Spread approx 1/2 cup of meat sauce on the bottom of 13x9 dish
Layer lasagna noodles,
Meat sauce,
Spinach Mixture,
Sprinkle with more Mozerella Cheese
Repeat layers
Bake uncovered 45-50 minutes at 375

Enjoy! I'll be back later with Stamping and a GH update.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

No Computer...two cards



Good Afternoon Everyone!

Sorry I didn't post earlier today; but I opted to not turn the PC on today until I'd actually finished the cards I was working on. It's amazing how much you can get done when you aren't sidetracked by cyberspace. The PC is as addicting for me (can you say SCS?!) as the TV is; but at least I can get something done while I'm watching TV. The first card is for my first Mojo Monday Challenge. This was a fun card to make. I used Garden Green, Cameo Coral, Rose Red, and Celery. I stamped the Print Pattern Background in Garden Green. I zig-zag paper pierced the Cameo Coral piece and then handstitched the thread across. The Celery piece is stamped with the Swirls from the Basic Backgrounds Set. The main image is from Fruit Stand. I stamped it in Close to Cocoa and then watercolored with inks and my aquapainters.
The second card is for this week's
Stamp Something Challenge. This week the challenge is to put some Glitz and Sparkle into your work. For this card I used Gable Green, Teal (non SU)Black and the patterned paper is from DCWV. The three circles were stamped with ink covered in versamark and then embossed with Iridescent Ice powder. The silver sparkly strip at the top is simply double sided tape with glitter sprinkled over it.
Kwerner should be posting Color Inspiration sometime this afternoon or evening, so be sure to keep an eye out for that. I still also need to do SCS color challenge. I was waiting for the sketch challenge today; but honestly it doesn't appeal to me, so I'm opting out of that this week.
Have a great evening everyone and I'll be back again tomorrow...with a recipe!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Where It All Gets Done

Good morning everyone!

After visiting various blogs over the last few days I have noticed that a lot of people are sharing photos of their craft spaces/rooms/areas, so I thought I'd do the same. I don't actually have a room, I just have a table set up in my family room. I have a storage closet where I keep my stuff; but most of the time when I'm stamping I just bring it out and keep it close to me. My scrapbook tote and my paper I keep in there, though. As you can see, it is perfectly positioned for TV viewing while stamping. I'm such a tv junkie..sad I know! (sigh)So there you have it, a glimpse into where it all gets done. I thought I would share the photos before I started stamping and it got all messy.



Speaking of tv, I have spent all morning trying to find a place where I can download full episodes of season 1 of Army Wives. I've heard so much hub bub about this show,but I've never seen it. I'd like to see it from the beginning instead of trying to catch up through season 2. I've searched high and low, can't find anything anywhere without having to sign up for something or pay for something. So, if anyone has any ideas or knows where I can find them, I would appreciate any feedback.
So, on to stamping. I completed my card for Mojo Monday and will post it tomorrow. Today is color challenge on SCS. Today's colors are Groovy Guava, Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip. I will probably wait until tomorrow to do that because I usually try to combine it with Wednesday's sketch challenge. I'll also have to fudge a bit on the banana because I don't think I have any left.
Have a great day everyone and thanks for visiting with me!

Monday, July 7, 2008

New week, new techniques, new challenges!

Good morning everyone!

I hope you all had a fabulous holiday weekend, for all you fellow July 4th Celebrators. If you didn't celebrate the 4th, I hope you had a fun and relaxing weekend as well! Ours was a lot of fun; but very crazy, busy. We had friends from out of town here and spent most of the weekend with them. I didn't have a lot of time to stamp this weekend, but I did finish these two Spring Cards from SCS. (Tutorial link on the right)This was last Wednesday's Tutorial; and it really was quite simple to do. These came together quickly, which was good because as I said, time was limited this weekend.
It's a new week which means of course new challenges. Check out the Suspension Cards for SCS try a new technique Monday. A new discovery and challenge for me this week is going to be the Mojo Monday sketch challenge.
I am also going to attempt to do an Iris Fold card this week. This technique intrigues me and scares me all at the same time! Will keep you posted on how that goes. I have a swap to finish as well and some SCS RAK group cards to get in the mail as well, so should be a busy stamping week for me...provided that the rest of my life cooperates!
It's also a new week in Port Charles. I haven't seen Friday's episode yet (will watch on Soapnet this morning) It will be interesting to see if Lulu will try to help Maxie in her dangerous predicament with Logan. Logan is doomed to meet his maker this week; but will it be at the hands of Maxie or Lulu?
I've also heard that GH has hired a Russian Actor to play a new Russian Mobster, which will have Sonny rethinking his "legitimate lifestyle" I knew that wouldn't last very long...Sonny can't be anything else but the Don of PC because otherwise, he's just Kate's lap puppy; and that is just too painful to watch! Now if we can just find a way to get Liason together and leave them together, all would be great as far as I'm concerned!
Well, that's all for me today. Check out the links for today's challenges and I hope you find some time to be creative. I've also posted a picture of the kiddos for everyone to see, since it's been a while since I've shared any. This was taken this weekend in Savannah.
Have a great day, and as always thanks for visiting with me.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Recipe Thursday: Spicy Chicken and Bean Soup

Forgot to post a recipe this week. I decided to share a recipe that I made last night. It is another one from Rachael Ray and it is hands down my favorite one of hers. It had been a long time since I made it and even though it really isn't soup or stew weather, I couldn't resist. I am however, going to cheat a bit and just post a link to the recipe this time, instead of typing it all out.
I hope you like it!

Spicy Sausage, Chicken and Bean Pot by Rachael Ray

Getting Out of the Blahs


Good Morning Everyone!

So I was just kinda hanging out yesterday, debating with myself whether or not I wanted to do some stamping or not. Well, that should have been my first clue. If you are a stamper that loves to stamp and you have to think whether or not you want to stamp, then that is definite cause for a moment to pause and think. I wanted to; but I just felt completely uninspired and unmotivated. I realized also that the type of inspiration I was looking for was not going to come from blog hopping or gallery surfing. To be sure, there are great examples and inspiration out there; but it just wasn't what I was looking for. Finally at about 7:00 last night I realized that I was suffering from a case of the stamping blahs. I needed to try some new techniques, at least new to me. So I roamed around the SCS resources page and found the information on Stamping with Bleach. Simple, easy and different...that's what I was looking for and before I knew it I had a plan for a card and off I went.
The card today is a combination of both the color challenges and sketch challenges for SCS this week. The background behind the Pomegranate is a coffee filter which I pressed into a Garden Green and Purely Pomegrante ink pad, sprayed with water, crumbled and then flattened to dry. I used Polka Dots and Paisley background stamp and used the bleaching technique on the Pomegranate piece. The Kitty is from the Penny Black Critters Set. A couple of eyelets and a piece of ribbon and I was done. It was easy enough; but still has that "different" kind of look I was going for. So, I hope you all like it.
So, if you are in a rut or have the stamping blahs, try a cool technique, something you haven't done before and you'll soon find you are cured.
Have a great day and as always, thanks for visiting with me.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Some now....more later


Good Morning Everyone!

I've got a busy morning, so not a lot to post right now. However, since I didn't share any cards yesterday, I wanted to be sure to have one for you today. This was just a quick card I put together this morning. It sctually took a while to do, simply because I couldn't decide what I wanted to do. I kept moving the pieces around and trying to figure out backgrounds etc. I finally decided to just keep it simple. I versamarked the peach image and used my chalks...poppin pastels technique. No fuss, no muss.
I do plan to do today's SCS sketch challenge and combine it with yesterday's color challenge. Probably sometime during nap time, at least I hope so. Who knows, I may get two done! If you get a chance, come on back this afternoon. Until then, have a great day.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Just a Lot of Chatter.

Good Morning Everyone!

Yes, it's that time again. A new month means a new blog layout. I hope you all like the new one. As you can see the blog banner is the card I made yesterday. I thought it just fit so well with the colors of the template that I chose. If you are trying to make a banner for your blog, go to Big Huge Labs and you can generate one there. It's super easy to do.
I've also decided to add a music feature this month. I read a lot of different comments about music on blogs, and whether or not people liked it or didn't. Many people actually don't like it. However, what they said they liked least about it was the fact that the music just started automatically and since music tastes vary, they thought it was a turn off. I found this site through another blog called Fine Tune; and what I really liked about it was that it gives you the option to play it or not to. So, there you have it. If you would like to listen to a bit of music, while you are here, click the green arrow and enjoy. If not, don't. The choice is completely yours. If you do choose to, remember you can always minimize my blog, keep the music playing and open a new tab (or window) and go about your business, all the while listening to a few tunes.
I've put a variety of music on there, ranging from Michael Buble, Diana Krall,and Lionel Richie to Maroon 5, The Fray and Colbie Caillet. Even a bit of country with Kenny Chesney and Reba McEntire. I wanted it to be a pleasant listening experience, so popular easy going songs were my choice.
It's also a new month for SU promotions. Stampin Up is proud to announce their new product line called Decor Elements. Be sure to click on the link for more information. In addition, SU has also announced that all their new stamp sets will be die cut! Yay, no more trimming! Don't forget to get those retired stamps before they disappear for good. Also if you are in need of any In Color items, be sure to order those as well, because they will no longer be available either. The new color, I must say however, are gorgeous!! Send me an email and let me know what you need.
Now, what is going on in Port Charles?! Yes, Carly has hatched yet another plan...this time it's her and Jason having a baby! Talk about your immaculate conception! Also read over at GHH that Leyla has a crush on Spinelli, who is once again clueless. I've decided one of my new fave characters is Diane. I love her comedic timing with Alexis, her goofiness with Max and her legal savviness with Jason and Sonny. However, I have also really enjoyed her vulnerability that she has shown lately with Jason as evidenced by her story of her father's death. Who is your fave GH character? Would love to know.
I'm sorry I don't have a picture for you today. Still trying to get the new PC up and going. As you can see also, I didn't post a card today. May or may not do any stamping today...think I'm going to take a break and recharge my creativity battery...but you never know, I may be inspired a bit later. (wink :)
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!