Two cavities and a haircut.

I love my dentist. She is the sweetest, prettiest, funniest dentist you will ever meet. She and her assistant crack me up every time I'm in there. That being said; I don't like visiting her so often.


I went in for my cleaning last week and guess what? Two cavities. I floss every night. I brush twice a day. More if I'm going somewhere. I don't sip on soda all day. I don't have acid reflux. I'm not bulimic. But my teeth are just lousy with cavities. Well not the front teeth. I have so many fillings, just for fun I'm going to ask her how many I have next time I'm in.

They keep wanting to put me on fluoride, but for the last five years I have mostly been (a) pregnant (b) breastfeeding or (c) trying to get pregnant. No fluoride during that thank you very much.


The other day when D and I went grocery shopping I threw some floss in the cart and said "how about I throw some money down the toilet..." because obviously it's not working too bueno.


Enough of that...how about some fun news? I finally got a haircut. I walked in and said "I have no idea what I want, but I am over bangs!" E said "What about a little shorter in the back and then angled down in the front?"

"Let's do it!"

Here's a before shot. Remember this horrid picture.



And here's the after(s). Pay no attention to the fact that I have no makeup on. This was taken the morning I got home from the hairdresser after spending the previous night in the ER with D. Yeah we'll go with that excuse for my bad skin...



What do ya think? I am a little in love with this haircut.


PS T minus 5 days until we go to Houston to see Glenn Beck!!

Creative Process

Lately I've become a slave to online challenges. They are so fun to do and share. But I was working on a particular one and realized that I was completely unmotivated to make the card. It wasn't so much that the colors were totally not me, it was that I was tired of using someone elses idea to create. I hope that doesn't sound ugly. I just mean I wanted to go through my supplies and look for something to strike me creatively, not gather supplies based on restrictions and try to bend them into something I think is post-worthy.


That also doesn't mean that I don't like challenges, it simply means that I needed to do something other than challenges! So here's what I did. I decided to look through some old paper and found this stack. I loved these papers. I am surprised there were any left. They have a vintage wallpaper feel to me and I adore that.


This is how I used to create in the 'old days' before I became a Close to My Heart consultant. I would look through some patterned paper and find something I liked and then go from there. So with this paper I wanted to try something that was reminiscent of a quilt. When D saw the work in progress he said 'cool that looks like material' meaning fabric.


Anyway, here's the card I ended up. I didn't feel drained and just satisfied, I actually was overjoyed with the results. Okay and you want to know what's really funny. This card actually qualifies for Katie's challenge to use something yellow or sunny. And I can totally relate to her love of summer. I feel like winter brings me down and as soon as the days get longer I start getting happier and happier!!

BTW I used the cracked glass techique again and this time I used Desert Sand over it to age it. I had stamped the image in black and used watercolor pencils to color it. It is a really fun--like those books from when you're little that have the paint on paper and you simply go over it with water on a paint brush to color it in.

Details:

Paper: sorry can't find the name :(

Stamps: Thank You (CTMH) Romantic Backgrounds (CTMH-ret) lamp (Wild Frog Creations)

Ink: Desert Sand (CTMH) Black (Staz-On)

Other: Liquid Glass (CTMH) foam squares, watercolor pencils (CTMH)

Lions and Tigers and Bears...oh my!

To quote the words of my sister in law, Lindsay, I just had the CR@P scared out of me last night!

As I was walking with my BFF last night I got call on my cell from my mom. My husband {who is deathly allergic} had been stung by a wasp while mowing the grass. By the time we ran back to the house he had already downed some Benadryl. I was on the hold with the pharmacy trying to determine if his expired Epi-pens would still be effective when he started itching.

"That's it" I threw the phone at my mom and said "we're going to the ER." I hauled ass people. The whole time my husband is getting redder and more swollen, and itchier!! I turned on my flashers and drove as quickly as safety would allow. {Okay let's be honest...it may not have been that safe.} And if I want to be even more honest...don't hate me okay...I was thinking 'I cannot hit someone because that would take us longer to get to the hospital'. Hey, my husband's life or some strangers...

So we got there and he got in pretty quickly what with the scratching and swelling and welts everywhere. He was hooked up and given a steroid and then a little later some epinephren. The doctor said "well you've impressed me" in reference to his reaction and that it was "severe". She was so funny. She kept him overnight for observation and this morning when she checked on him she said "you look so much better--your eyes scared the shit out of me last night." Good to know. I had to laugh at this young little doc coming out with that. He did look so bad with all the swelling and redness. Amazing what one little sting can do.

On a related topic, my dad got poked by a catfish yesterday too. So Lindsay sees two rattlesnakes, dad with the catfish and D with the bee sting. What's next? Locusts?

Writer's Workshop

This week there are several prompts I think are fun so I'm picking two from Mama's Losin' It.

6.) Share a sleep walking story of your own!!

When I was little I used to sleep walk A LOT. On one particular night I got up walked out the front door, across the yard and into my dad's barn. I then turned around and walked back to the house (a trailer at the time) and found that I was locked out. I began to cry and beat on the door waking and scaring the holy hell out of my parents. I went back to bed not traumatized at all, but my mom says she stayed up crying the whole night. My mom had my dad install a chain on that door the next day. Later I tried it again. I got my body out, but not my head, thanks to the chain!

5.) List ten things that make you HAPPY:

1. my kids. Now this one could be broken down into several installments detailing all the ways they make me happy. Not the least of which is playing happily together...

2. my husband. This one also could be listed as several different things but let's uh keep it PG.

3. a clean house. And not just anyone's. Mine. I can handle absolutely anything if my house is clean. Seriously.

4. chocolate. Ghiardelli caramel filled chocolate squares do the trick nicely.

5. money. Not in the sense that it sounds like. BUT, I don't have to worry about it so that makes me happy. I mean, no we can't buy anything we want and no we're not building the dream home this year, but I just spent almost $400 on groceries and miscellaneous at Walmart and didn't even really think about it. I mean I thought 'wow that was a lot of groceries.' I didn't think 'oh now we can't pay the water bill.' And that makes me incredibly blessed.

6. scrapbooking. I'm simple that way.

7. quiet alone time. I crave it. A lot of stay at home moms crave adult interaction. Not me--I would be happy to spend the entire day all by myself in a quiet house reading a book or whatever.

8. funny people. I love to be around people who are funny!

9. music. Good music is very soothing for the soul. I love to sing along in the car...by myself.

10. good smells. Or even the lack of bad smells. {wry little laugh here}

Raspberry#7 and Mojo#88

Two for one!


I've never done the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge, but I couldn't pass this week's up--it's so cute.

And of course the Raspberry Suite Color Challenge was delicious as usual so I played along, combining the two...
Here's my card. I guess I fudged a little with the sketch. I didn't add the 'sentiment circle' but I just liked those rectangles so much I didn't want to cover them up. And I liked adding the sentiment at the bottom...

Thanks for stopping by!

Here's the Details:

Paper: Watermelon CS, Emporium B&T, Olive and Sweet Leaf CS--all CTMH

Ink: Watermelon (CTMH)

Stamps: Tickled Pink and Thank You (CTMH)

Other: Misc pink brads and ribbon...foam squares

ABCs of me

Well this is going around everywhere so I thought I'd do it too...

Here's ME:
Age: 34
Bed size: King
Chore you hate: dishes, toilets
Dad's Name: Michael
Essential start your day item: breakfast
Favorite actor(s): hmmmm, Jim Caveizal
Gold or Silver: not into jewelry, but my wedding ring is gold
Height: 5’2"
Instruments you play(ed): piano flute piccalo drums percussion
Job title: stay at home mom extrodinaire
Kid(s): Little d, 4 and Little m, 1
Living arrangements: two story house we bought months after being married
Mom's name: Mary
Nicknames: mere, meremere, babe
Overnight hospital stay other than birth: none
Pet peeves: hearing people eat noisily. And liars.
Quotes you like: from my dad... if it doesn't fit, don't force it.
Rightie or Leftie: Leftie
Siblings: Hugh
Time you wake up: around 8, but I go to bed at midnight and of course I'm up several times a night usually
Umbrella: not usually
Vegetable you dislike: peas, beets, lima beans
Ways you run late: waiting on D to get ready
X-rays you've had: back, foot, hand, chest, teeth, ultrasounds...why am I not glowing?
Yummy food you make: Italian bake, meatballs and BBQ sauce
Zodiac: Sag
Now that you know a little more about me, let's hear about you. Leave a comment & I'll read your ABC's.

Jewelry Color Inspiration Challenge #38

Stacey has challenged us once again. This time with a patriotic flare! Her colors were red, white and blue. And I immediately wanted to do fireworks. I have a couple of stamps that have some 'firework-like' images, so I used those. Here's the inspiration:

Isn't that a fun piece of jewelry? And here's my card:

I wanted to add a red bow, but it didn't work out in the end. Oh well. I thought this card would make a great birthday card for a July fourth baby. The Prisma glitter really adds some sparkle...that stuff is beautiful and pervasive. It will be everywhere for a while.

I'll be back soon with another challenge...

Details: All CTMH

Paper: Holiday Red, Star-Spangled Blue and White Daisy cardstock

Stamps: Say It In Style, With Love, Serendipity

Ink: Holiday Red and Star-Spangled Blue

Other: Prisma glitter, bonding memories glue, foam squares

Guess what I'm doing?

Salting and peppering my words in #1 from the last post, so I can joyfully eat them. That's right. My mother in law was in rare form and actually (chew chew swallow) pleasant. She actually was friendly (munch, crunch swallow) and eager to make me comfortable. Wanna know why?

It's top secret. I can't tell you. Let me give you a clue. I am about to be the only daughter in law. So I guess that promotes me to favorite now. No I am not the least bit happy about this. Remember my #2 from the last post. Well, it's sad beyond words and also confounding. (Confounding--yeah that's the word I went with). But since it's top secret, I'm not going into details. If you are a praying person, send an extra prayer that this family can work it out because truly the two young children will suffer from this. There is no way around that.

In other news, guess what else happened while we were there. A smell. An unknown smell. That's right. {On a side note Twilight fans, I've decided that if I became a vampire my power would be super smell.} So let me tell you about this smell...so you can laugh. Or roll your eyes.

When we are at my inlaws, we stay in our travel trailer. It's something we bought before kids, because we thought it would be great to travel around with our own bathroom. (hehehehe--remember me with the IBS people!) Anyway. Enter our daughter who is ridiculously carsick and well...there it sits at my inlaws. So we stay in it at night. Her house is really not set up for alot of guests and up until recently D's brother and wife and kids got her two extra bedrooms. Which believe me is fine by me! And this weekend, she went and cleaned the trailer and made beds up-the whole nine yards. She was so excited we were coming to stay.

Truly the trailer was immaculate when we arrived. We settled the kids in and slept like the dead. Then the next morning I woke up and thought I smelled a sewer type smell. Yuck! After a full day of running in and out of the trailer and trying air fresheners, air purifiers, industrial cleaners, it was getting worse not better. D emptied the sewer tank. And still the smell. We eventually came to the conclusion that when D's dad hooked stuff up on Wednesday and started the AC something must have been killed, electrocuted, something...and by Saturday morning was smelling up the joint. We never found it, but we slept with the windows open and the vent fan on and well...spent little time in the actual trailer. Jeez Louise. This smelly stuff is getting old.

Then THEN! when we came home last night...our house reeked from the stupid garbage disposal. I think I should just stuff Vicks up my nose and call it a day. (Eww want to know something gross? When I was a cop I would carry Vicks in my bag for scenes with really dead bodies if you know what I mean. Fortunately I only had to use it once. Decaying dead bodies is a smell you never ever forget.)

Okay. Anyone out there still reading?? I am so excited that there were all these new challenges to greet me from my favorite sites when I logged on the computer. I hope to play along soon!

Writer's Workshop

This week at Mama's Losin' It one of the prompts is to list 10 things you are sick of. Huh. Well, I can certainly list 10 things I am tired to tears of thinking about, so I think that might qualify.



1. The fact that I have to go to my inlaws this weekend. I am a bad bad wife in that we haven't stayed with the inlaws in at least two years and I am still dragging feet on this. It stems from the fact that I don't want to be in the same house, let alone, room with my mother in law any longer than I have to. Again, this is not fair to dangle this story and not give you the why but I am just not ready to share. Or at least am holding off in respect to my husband. Ick. This weekend will consist of me listening to boring stories of hunting, feeding cattle, and weather ad naseum. I could not give one shit less about who killed what hog that was feeding around what tree or what dog treed what possum on such and such night. And because that's not fun enough, my two neices will be there, sans parents, and I will be acting in charge of kids. If I don't mil will let the two favorites (hint-not mine) get away with murder. Enough.



2. Remember my pal telemarketer. The one who left the nasty message on my machine calling me and my four year old daughter "losers!" Well guess who called again? Yeah I was shocked too. Three times today. Brave or stupid to pick this week of the month? Ha. I requested once again to be taken off the list. Next time I've got to get creative...any suggestions?



3. Divorce. NOT mine. I know two couples who are close and on the verge and I am just so sad and tired of thinking about it.



4. Cleaning house. Stay clean already--I'm tired of it!!



5. This bump on my head. I smacked myself into a door right on my forehead. It hurt bad people. Now I have a bump and every single time I bend over it hurts. And every time I brush my bangs off my forehead it hurts. Et cetera.



6. Whether or not I'm a good mother. I am tired of going to bed every night and regretting something I did from the day and thinking I am just not good enough.



7. My weight. I weigh 117 pounds. Why do I care that I used to weigh 112? I don't want to think about that any more.



8. The current administration. Okay. I haven't posted anything political in so long you probably think I've forgotten. No, it just is too depressing to think of where the country is heading both financially and morally.



9. My hair. I made an appointment finally for next Friday, but until then I am still a shaggy dog and I'm tired of that too.

10. Still and always I am tired of realizing that I should be picking out paint colors right now for the new house and not trying to find out what that smell is in this house.

Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge #32

I've been watching this challenge for awhile now. But this week they are using the movie Twilight for their theme and DUH I had to play along. Even Little D wanted to make a Twilight-themed card. And she bugged me and bugged me until I sat down and did it.




The requirements were to use the colors red and black and something *sparkley*.



Guess who I needed to make an anniversary card for this week? Ding, ding, ding--what do we have for her Johnny? That's right, my inlaws. Now I don't get that hot mushy love vibe from them, (Thank God) so I doubt this card will be used for their anniversary. But it would make a cool card for someone's anniversary... Of course that means I still have to make their card.

I used black embossing powder, which I love, and some rhinestones to add sparkle. And here is Little d's card. She was sooo excited to play along with a challenge, that you may being seeing her work on here more often.

I love that when she needs to stick a ribbon down she says "mom I need some of those glue dots!"

Details: all Close to My Heart

Paper: Cranberry

Stamps: Soul Mates

Ink: Versamark

Other: black embossing powder, rhinestone accents

Here we go again...

If you're new to my blog, or don't remember the epic tale of my sense of smell, or if you just want a little laugh at my husband's expense...you're gonna want to read this POST first. Okay, so now we're all on the same page.

Last evening I noticed that there was a smell {sigh} eminating from our cabinets. Just one cabinet, the one that has our paper plates in it. We use those a lot. Daily. Several times.

Just for laughs I asked my husband, "Do you smell that?" He leans into the cabinet. "yeah" So we are dealing with a confirmed smell people. He pulled everything out of the cabinet and looked around while I continued to get the kids dinner ready and to the table. There was nothing in the cabinet. That. should. smell.

It smells like something incredibly musty. I have no idea what it could be. I guess before long I will have to pull everything out myself. We all know he can't be trusted to find the smell alone.

I'll keep you posted. Ha, get it? Posted? Stop, you're cracking me up!

New Challenge

I found another color challenge from a CTMH sister, Amy Shultz, so I had to show some love... Although judging from how this card turned out she may not feel love. I really liked the colors {Sweet Leaf, Chocolate, Ocean and Colonial White} and I wanted the card to be fresh and modern.

BUT I ended up needing to make a card for my mother in law's birthday. Blah. I know-I am being mean. Especially since you all don't know the reasons for my...let's say lukewarm...feeling towards her. And I think that's why I don't care for the card. Because it's a perfectly acceptable card. I guess. Whatever.

Okay now that I see the picture in the post I like it a little better. Gosh I am such a downer today. I'm going to blame it on the fact that I have to go spend the weekend at my inlaws house. Again-Blah!

Details: all CTMH

Stamps: Spot On Backgrounds, Happy Birthday, Cupcake Sprinkles and Birthday Bash

Paper: sweet leaf, ocean and colonial white cs

Ink: ocean, sweet leaf, chocolate (and buttercup on the flame)

Other: Prisma glitter

Color Chef Challenge #7 {and the cracked glass technique}

For starters I can't believe it has taken me this long to play along with Kelly Jo's Close to My Heart color challenge. I always seem to run out of time...but today I got an early start and decided to knock out my Father in law's birthday card. I thought these colors would work really well for a super simple card for him.

I cheated a little on the colors, using Garden Green and New England Ivy, but it is dark and light green! ;)

Next the cracked glass trick. I had someone ask about it so I thought I would try to explain. Well, I'm not sure if this is the way everyone does it, but here's how it works for me...

1. Stamp your image on cardstock and color it as you wish. (for my sandollar yesterday I stamped in Chocolate and then sponged on Desert Sand and Chocolate.
2. Cut out the image (if you wish). I have done this technique without cutting the image, just keep in mind that your final cardstock will be a little bent.
3. Cover the image with Liquid Glass. (LG is a dimensional glaze that is sold by CTMH. Other companies sell similar products, I have no idea how those products work for this technique...) Use a generous amount. The LG should be visible raised from the surface of the image. If you barely smear it on it will not work.
4. Let it dry completely. This will likely take several hours. Because the LG is so thick it may crack as it dries.
5. Put it in the freezer for a minute. Take it out and immediately begin to bend the image. You will hear and see it crackle. As the image warms, it will stop cracking and start bending. Put it back in the freezer until it cools again and repeat the process until you have the desired amount of cracking.
6. If you are wanting an antique look you can then take a sponge dauber and rub a darker ink (chocolate or desert sand) over the image concentrating on the cracks and really working the ink into them. Then take a dry paper towel and rub over the LG to wipe away excess ink. (I didn't do this on the sanddollar, but I have done it before and it's a neat effect.)

I hope that makes sense. And I hope you give it a try! It really is a fun technique!

Jewelry Color Inspiration Challenge #37

When I saw Stacey's latest color combo I immediately thought of the beach. Maybe that's due to my recent weekend trip, but I knew instantly which stamp I wanted to use (CTMH's Footprints). I also thought the two blues were a little unmatched, so I thought of that mosaic glass tile that is so gorgeous and popular in decorating and BAM that's where this card came from...

I also just could not figure out how to put a sentiment on it and after screwing up TWO attempts with those little squares, I did NOT want to try for a third. So I left it blank.

I used Liquid Glass and did the Cracked Glass Technique on the sand dollar. I am actually really happen with how this card turned out! Thanks for stopping by!!

ETA: Y'all sometimes I have brain lapses...I will blame it on Play-Doh fumes...and I forget to link back to challenges! Bad Mere! I have amended this post and I also added Stacey's Stamping Stage to my blog list over there---->

Details:

Cardstock: Juniper, Heavenly Blue, Desert Sand and Chocolate
Ink: Chocolate and Desert Sand
Other: foam squares, white tulle, white yarn, Liquid Glass

Warrior's Weekend

Since getting my new camera, it is taking me a bazillion years to upload photos. They are 15 megapixels each and blogger doesn't like that too much. I'm going to try saving them with less quality and see if it will quicken the process. Anyway...


Here's the pictures of that sand sculpture I was telling you about. Very cool!

Yeah--lower quality pictures=faster uploading! Isn't that sculpture cool? And to think it went the entire weekend without vandals or rain destroying it.

My Weekend

I started off my weekend by cleaning house. Wait--I know that doesn't sound fun, but it actually was. I had D and Little d downstairs cleaning toys and whatnot while I worked on the rooms upstairs. We had a race to see who could finish faster. They won and then came up to help me finish. Then I got to vacuum the upstairs which is one of my favorite chores. You know, for the instant gratification.

Then I goofed off in the scrapbook room making a gift bag and some cards. This gift bag was for L's birthday gift (a necklace) and matched her CARD.

And a wedding card for my parents to give. I used one from my stash.



Then Saturday afternoon D and I headed to the coast for a my cousin's wedding. (My parents traded houses with us. They stayed here with the girls and we stayed at their house.) The wedding was beautiful. Everyone had a fabulous time and the weather was divine! No rain, but a northerly breeze that kept us all cool and happy as we danced away the night at the beach!


Here's the centerpiece at our table, and the cakes...





Here's some more random shots. The first is of my BFF. Doesn't she look phenomenal in that color! PS she made that necklace herself. Oh yeah people our family is lousy with creative talent! Aren't you jealous!!


This is a shot that captures the essence of the night. Turned out kinda artsy and cool for someone who left the flash off...



My brother and his wife...

Me and the Mister...






Proof that I can get jiggy with it...bust a move...shake my groove thang...you get the picture. Oh and that guy I'm dancing on is my husband. I had to drag him kicking a screaming as this was 80s rock music which is way more my genre than his!

After the happy couple left in a spray of sparklers, D and I headed to my parent's house and relaxed and slept...until NINE THIRTY IN THE MORNING!!! Bliss.

We decided to get our lazy booties up and back to the big city. Before we left though we stopped so I could snap some pictures of my hometown's contribution to the Warrior's Weekend (something I never heard of until two days ago...) The town was painted with more red white and blue than on Fourth of July and it was awesome! I'll save those pics for later as it's late and the natives are restless!

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #6

Y'all I can't even tell you how much I love Dawn McVey's color challenges. The colors are so fresh! Here's her latest...




Here's my card. I really love CTMH's January campaign paper set 'Key to My Heart'. I have used that paper and the matching stamp so much. Here I used the May Stamp of the Month 'Be Yourself '. Fun fun fun!





And on my gosh I have had the most fabulous weekend. Come back for a later post, and I'll upload the pictures to prove it!

May Close To My Heart Workshop

This month I decided to switch things up a bit. I asked my sis-in-law to come and teach us how to make floral hair accessories. Click on Southern Girl Florals or Lindsay's Etsy Shop on my sidebar to see her beautiful creations. She did a fabulous job and everyone enjoyed her. I wish I had taken pictures, but no, I'm lame.

Our layouts were uber-simple! I saw a card somewhere (I wish I could remember!) that had cut cardstock to make grass, so I promptly stole that idea to make a picnic layout.

Then I saw a technique called PAPER CASTING and knew I had to try it with my group. So here's the card I came up with.

I also had the chance to meet Daniela of Purple on Paper and I must say she is incredibly sweet and not a serial killer at all. Wink! Seriously she is very nice and I could listen to her accent forever.

On a side note, I decided to change my blog background in an effort to make it easier to read. Also I'm the type of person who rearranges furniture all the time and I've had that old background for months!

And thank you also for all the sweet comments that all of you leave me. It gives me the warm fuzzies y'all!!

Writer's Workshop

(4) I remember...

the very first person I arrested for DWI. I don't remember all the details, but I remember the overall feeling of the night. Sadness. Intense sadness. And not really on my part as I was too nervous. I was new to the job of policing, riding with my training officer-an ancient specimen and a drunk himself. We saw her driving her minivan through the parking lot of an abandoned mall leaving a Whataburger.


I can't pinpoint why I stopped her. It seems odd now, but my cop memories are either bright and shiny like the pain of slamming your shin into an open dishwasher, or dull and faceless and dominated by an emotional echo like this memory is. She was meek, an unusual thing for a drunk being arrested. Most seemed to know how it would end, and that would make them angry and argumentative. Maybe her demeanor was influenced by her two small children in the back seat. Whatever the case she was an easy first DWI arrest for me. No resisting.


Other memories of that night include the smell of Peppermint Schnapps. Her beverage of choice wedged near the driver's seat. A memory of the children crying for their mother. A memory of them hugging her as she leaned out of the back of the patrol car. A memory of her tears falling long after the children were taken away.

The quiet time after four in the morning usually left space for writing the reports. Not always, of course, police work is unpredictable. DWI reports were long and tedious. They must be flawless because they will be scrutinized. I had to turn her into CPS, of course.

During my short term as a cop, she was the only case that CPS ever took an interest in from my reporting. I never found out what happened to that family. She was just travelling through town after leaving her husband, taking her children on an all night journey to a relative's house. My memory of this is bitter and sweet. Bitter in that she was not a mother who beat her children. It was clear that she loved them, and that she was simply at the end of her rope. So the fact that her children were likely taken from her is bitter to me. On the other hand I comfort myself by thinking of the sweet. Perhaps without my intervention those children, and their mother, would have become a casualty that night.

****************************************************

I found a BLOG that gives out writing assignments and so I jumped on this one. And yes it's a true story. And yes it's a departure from my normal blog posts, but I thought it would be fun to play along with another type of challenge...

An Award!

Stacey from Stacey's Stamping Stage awarded me the Lemonade Stand Award! How cool is that?!? She happens to have a very cool blog and hosts one of my very favorite color challenges--the Jewelry Inspiration Color Challenge. I was honored she chose me as a blog that shows "gratitude and attitude". Did she read my PMS post or something? Hehehe! Thank you again Stacey!

Now to pass it along to some others who I feel show great Gratitude and Attitude! Here they are...

Lindsay of Southern Girl Florals

Morningstar of in all weathers

Ashley of Lady Isla
Leslie of Pandascrapper
Daniela of Purple on Paper
Penny of A Work of Heart

All of these women are quick to leave an encouraging word and I am thankful to know them either personally or through bloggerville.

The rules of the award (To pick up the Lemonade Stand Award):
- Comment on this blog.
- Cut and paste the award logo and use it in your own blog.
- Nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude.
- Link to your nominees within your blog post.
- Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award.
- Link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation.

Two cards

As promised, here's my mom's Mother's Day card:





And this is my sister-in-law's birthday card. She turn's the BIG 2-5 today!! L if you see this post first, act surprised when I give it to you, wink!! Pop on over to her BLOG and wish her a Happy Birthday.



I have to say I have so much fun making cards for people I love. It's easy and effortless.

Jewelry Color Inspiration Challenge #36...

or as I like to call this one...half of my sanity. Hee hee!


The colors seem harmless enough, but when I started working on them...yesterday...it took me forever to get them in some semblance of a card. You can tell from the sentiment I chose, that I am still apologetic about the results. I am sure the rest of you who did this challenge did justice to the colors unlike me. Stacey, consider me stumped on this one!!


Here's the colors (notice how they beckon one to create...)


Aaaaand here's how I train-wrecked them.



Don't get me wrong. I like the layout of the card and will be trying out that ribbon thing on another card surely, BUT I think I needed a different ratio of the colors. Oh well. Stacey you'll still let me play next time, right?

Alright y'all I have a few more cards to post, but I'll do a seperate post for them.