I Wish it Would Snow!

And since that is probably not gonna happen. . . I'm settling for this beeeyootiful paper with some silver snowflakes! I got this stamp on clearance last year. . . not sure why. Didn't even really like it that much but I cannot, I repeat, cannot pass up a good sale! (My husband tells me that it really isn't a good deal if you didn't really need it in the first place! :-) I'm sure he's right, but it's this silly stamping addiction thing I have! :-) ) Anyway, I thought it would be perfect with this paper. And if the snowflake paper wasn't pretty enough, I caved and bought a piece of shimmer white cardstock. Oh my goodness! It is stunning! Can you see the pretty sparkles in it? Then I Cuttlebugged some snowflakes, embossed them with silver EP and voila! What a pretty snowflake card if I do say so myself! So, enjoy my pretty! I'm off to figure out the best way to photograph a card now that the sun is on the other side of the world! Blessings. . . .

The Tale of a Unique Boutique

Hi all, I just spent the day selling my creations at a fun little craft sale called "A Unique Boutique". Cute name, isn't it?!?!? And you know what I've learned? Craft sale patrons are an unpredictable lot!!! I've done several sales this year and it's fun to watch how one item just WILL NOT SELL at one sale and turns out to be the best seller at the next! Favored items at today's sale? These cute little tins! Each is covered with designer paper, fluffed with LOTS of ribbon and then features some little stamped item on it. The favorites today were covered with a paper that had chocolate chips all over it or sported a scrumptious mug of coffee (courtesy of Stampin Up's Like it a Latte set!) I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of them before they went to the sale. . . you'll have to just trust me that they were way cute! Anyway, they are just the best for giving chocolates or gift cards! Here's a picture of some of the other fun stuff that went to the sale with me today. . . hope you enjoy!

Grateful, that's me!

Hi everyone! Can you believe Thanksgiving is over? And we're almost into December? Yikes! We had a really wonderful Thanksgiving at my house. . . the food was SO good! My sister sorta deviated from the usual sweet potato thing we do (that would be fried with salt, pepper and sugar. . .delish!) and brought this sweet potato casserole thing with a brown sugar/pecan crumble on top. OH MY WORD!!! Can you just imagine how happy I was that I had hosted Thanksgiving and all (ALL) the leftovers were staying at my house!?!?!?!?! :-) Naughty, but very good planning on my part!

Well, I've got a beauty of a card to share with you. It's one of a few thank you cards I've sent out recently. Let me tell you, God has really blessed me with some amazing people who encourage, uplift and love me! I thought I would try out some of those Tic Tac covers I saw on Splitcoaststampers and made them to match the card. . . hope you enjoy!

Blog candy. . .

Isn't blog candy fun?!?! Well, actually I don't know for sure because I've never won any, but I'm thinking it's got to be a blast to get free stuff! :-) Anyway, I know someone who's giving some away. . . Erika over at Erika Designs is having an A Muse blog candy offering. . . head over and see what's up! Oh, and while you're there, check out her different posts for some of her pictures! She's an aspiring photog and really, really good! :-) Have fun!

See, I really have been busy!

I got to thinking the other day that I must really be a slacker! I haven't updated my blog with any cutesy stuff in quite a while nor have I uploaded to SCS. Then I realized it's not me being a craft slacker, just a blogger slacker. "Hi, my name is Cheri. I'm a blogger slacker". :-) Just as a little side note here, from all the blogs I check out that have posts that start like this: "No, I'm not dead, I've just been. . . ", I KNOW I'm not gonna be alone at the Blogger Slacker Anonymous meetings! Anyhow, on to the fun stuff. . . I bought some paper at Michaels after Christmas last year. It was 90% off. So, in other words, one mat stack wasn't enough. I bought FOUR BIG, IDENTICAL MAT STACKS!!!! In all fairness, that made them about $1.00 a piece and the paper really can be used for other than Christmas stuff, so I guess it wasn't all that bad of a splurge! Well, I got some out and thought I would make some cards for my upcoming sales. Here's the first two: These are fun little kickstand cards complete with Fun Flock on the "J" stocking. Now that I'm thinking about it, they sure could use a little bling here and there. Time for some glitter! And here are the next two with the same paper:

See what I mean about the paper? It could be used for a lot of different things! These cards have dimensional glaze on the ornaments so they look glassy and a little rhinestone up by the "merry". And here is the last poor lonely card that didn't get a mate:

This card has my first try at freehand doodling around the border. What do you think? I think it's kind of fun! Okay, so there you have my first installment of proof that even though I haven't posted, I have been having fun!!!! Enjoy and have yourself a wondrous day!

The Tag Finally Found Me!

Hi all,
It's been a bit crazy around here lately. . .I've been trying to get ready for craft sales. . . had two this weekend. They went okay, but not superb. I have another one coming up in December and am going to revamp my inventory and how I display it. Hopefully that will help! The best fun part of it is that my mom is a painter and is doing these sales with me, so even if I don't make any money, I sure have fun chillin' with my mama! (Hi Mom! Am I your favorite now?!?!?!) Anyway, no card to show today, but Melissa over at Stamp It, Scrap It, Share It tagged me so I thought I would rack my brain for seven interesting things to say about myself. Okay, on to the dirt! :-)

1. I really can touch my nose with my tongue. (Don't think about that one too long, it'll freak you out!)
2. I was born in the wrong era. I want to be Anne of Avonlea and live at Green Gables.
3. I took two years of Spanish in high school and only remember the swear words. Not even sure how I learned them. I'm pretty sure Mrs. Yeager never covered that!
4. I lived in an Eskimo village on the Yukon River in Alaska.
5. My sister calls me Cherbyface. Come to think of it, I'm not sure where that came from either.
6. I don't like dogs. At all.
7. Someday I want to live on a farm and have my very own horse to ride. No dogs though.

So that covers me. . . and since I KNOW I'm the last to be tagged, I'm not sending the tag on. . . did you just heave a big sigh of relief?!?!?!? :-)
Okay, gotta run. . . time to head to swim practice!

I would chortle if I was the type to do that sort of thing. . . .

Okay, these Thanksgiving stamps from Missy B Designs are just cracking me up! The set, Fall Fun, comes with four different turkeys and five different sentiments. But the fun part comes when you take a look at some of these turkey's faces. For instance. . . check out this little guy. Just sitting there in the stew pot. Like turkeys do that every day of their lives! It made me laugh (chortle, if you will) so I just had to type up my own sentiment and add it to the card!

Hope it gets you laughing too!

And the Winner is. . .

Oh, for pete's sake! I've been watching my little counter go up day by day and thought that it would be such a fun thing to do a little blog candy when my number of visitors reached 1000! Now I know 1000 isn't all that much compared to some of these craft blogs out there, but doggone it! I'm pretty proud of that milestone! So while I've been pondering what to do for blog candy, my number creeped up and up and finally I decided to pop in and check out where I was. And guess who lucky number 1000 was. Yep. Me. And here I was trying to be SO careful NOT to be the one to win the blog candy!! I guess some things were just meant to be! Unfortunately (tee hee), under the circumstances, I just don't see any other solution. . . I'll have uphold my end of the intended offer and go get myself that blog candy prize!!!! (Okay. Seriously. Isn't that just the lamest excuse for going out and buying more craft stuff!?!?!?! Lame. . . .but I love it!) Anyhow, to all of you who have visited my blog and to those who actually subscribe--THANK YOU! YOU make MY heart happy each time you visit and each time you comment! So, shall we start planning NOW for the 1500 mark candy? :-)

Thinking, editing, getting ready to publish, the author is overcome with guilt and offers up this consolation prize. . . .

How about some eye candy? :-) It's craft show season and I'm getting some little pretties ready to go. This is my current favorite:

This little guy is a metal strip with magnets on the back so it can stick to your fridge, filing cabinets, etc. Each of the little flowers is a magnet as well so you can use it as a note holder, picture holder, whatever. ISN'T THIS SO CUTE?!?! What do you think? Would you buy it at a craft show? Especially if it cost under $5? Let me know what you think!!!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Don't you just think FALL gives Christmas a run for it's money as the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?!?!? I LOVE FALL! The leaves are absolutely stunning here! When I moved to Oregon (wow! 18 years ago now!) I was amazed to see red leaves on the trees at fall time! Don't get me wrong. . .Montana, my home state, is gorgeous beyond reason, but I so stunned by the beauty of the trees here in Oregon! And that, of course, leads me to the truly sad part of fall: harvesting all the vegies and having our once thriving garden reduced to a mud patch. It's sad to see our garden go, but check out this photo. . . .

Our final, lone tomato and delicata squash right along with ALL THOSE WALLA WALLA ONIONS AND BASIL!!!!!! Yumm!! We even scored a couple of raspberries and strawberries before the rain started to fall! Delightful! I was so thrilled with all of this, I had to head inside and ink up my cute, cute Vegibella stamp. If you haven't gotten a Bella stamp yet, you so should! I think they are the very funnest stamps to paper piece! Check out her demin overalls. . .

Well, folks, that's all for today. . . except this. . . . .have a wondrous, blessed fall day and don't forget to stop and enjoy the colors!

Just for total and complete fun!

Okay, in the world of card making, I have to say that it is really, really easy to get caught up in doing all the challenges: sketch challenges, color challenges, technique challenges. I 've been doing some of those lately primarily to learn more, practice more and be a better card maker. Somewhere along the way, however, I've found that it is really easy to make cards for the challenges only and not just because you wanna have fun. . . yeah, girls just wanna have fun! Oooh, does that take you on a frightening flashback to the 80's?!?!?! :-) Well, this next card kind of originated as a challenge. I went into my local stamp shop, Stampin' Cat Studio, and found a fun little challenge: you had to use this black and white gift wrap paper somewhere in your card. Well, thinks me, I have just the stamp to go with that paper!!!!! And suddenly, with my little Hambo skunk stamp, this went from a challenge to making a fun card just because I LOVE PEPE LA PUE!! So, here is my "just for fun" card. . . hope it finds you having a fun day too!

You are SO gonna want some of these stamps!!!

Okay, one night I was perusing different blogs. . . dreaming of the day my little blog will ARRIVE. . . .okay, what I was really doing was neglecting my poor little blog and dreaming of all the stamps that I ABSOLUTELY NEED!!!!! And in the midst of the dreaming, I find a treasure! And I mean a FUN treasure! Have you heard of Missy B Designs? Was I the last one to find them?!!?!?!? Okay, focus! Melissa Barstow, aka Missy B, has some seriously cute, cute stamps! So, I ramped up my courage and emailed her. The conversation went something like this. . . "I like your stamps! I LOVE your stamps! Can I please, please, pulleeze, design for you?!?!?!" Much to my complete delight, she emailed me back and said "YES"!!!!!! And that, my friends, leads me to this little card. . . When I saw that Melissa had sent me this duck set, I was so happy! This little guy on the end reminds me of someone in my family. Hmmmm. . . must be my sister! :-) Anyway, check out this little fun family and then head on over to Missy B Designs and GET SOME!! Great stamps, awesome prices and wonderful fun await you!!!!

We are SO trying this again. . . .

I have to say, the card I did for Julee's Mojo Monday challenge just wasn't doing it for me. I think I've narrowed the offending aspect down to the frayed edges around the card. Just doesn't fit somehow. Anyway, before I figured that out, I decided to just give the whole Mojo challenge another try. I LIKE THIS ONE SO MUCH BETTER!!!! Is it because I'm really into Bellas? Is it the microbeads that just "speak to me"?! (I sorta doubt it because seriously, how many microbeads have EVER talked to me?!?!?!) I digress. I think it might be the sentiment. . . . love it! It's one of the way hysterical stamps that come from River City Rubberworks. Check them out--they have the funniest sentiments! So, here we go with my Mojo Monday Cruisabella card with a special shoutout to Melissa Craig for the awesome Cruisabella images she so kindly shared with me!!! Thank you SO much!

Mojo Monday

Hi all! Well, it's time for my first Mojo Monday sketch! Julee at Poetic Artistry does this challenge every Monday and she really comes up with some good sketches! She specifically designed the sketch to make use of those stamps that are a little longer. . . like these beautiful cherry blossoms. I wish you could see all the glitter and shine this card has in real life but you'll just have to use your imagination! It's got gold embossing and glitter (bling, bling, bling! :-) )

Enjoy the card and head over to Julee's blog and try out the sketch yourself! If you do, leave a comment for me with a link--I'd love to see it!

So Not a Rocker!

Okay, so a couple of weeks ago, on the recommendation of Amy over at Heartfelt Greetings , I bought the Rock King Mat Paper Stack by DCWV. Now I should certainly mention that I am not really a fan of rock music; I don't own one item of grunge type clothing; I have nary a tattoo on my body. . . get the picture?!?!?! But, Amy got it and dang, she can work magic with just about anything! (If you don't believe me, go check out her Scrap Stash Saturdays feature on her blog!) Anyway, I thought I would give a try too! And let's be honest, not everyone likes froo-frooey-pretty-girl cards, right? So I bought the mat stack and of course, since all my froo-frooey-pretty-girl flower stamps don't go with the paper, I HAD to buy Rhonda Farrer's Gypsy Style stamp set. (Vicious cycle, this card making business!) Last night I got out the paper, the stamps, the ribbon, the embellishments, the EVERYTHING, and tried to make a grungey rock card. The end result? I've decided that I'm like the Laura Ingalls of card making. I just can't do grunge. I tried four different cards with this stuff! So, this is what I ended up with. What do you think?

Oohing and Aaahing over a couple things. . .

Today I got to sit outside with my mom, sister and mother-in-law while we visited, ate tiny, sweet tomatoes right off the plant and watched the kids splash in the pool. All the while, the sun beamed down on us, the breeze cooled us and the smell of autumn delighted us! Isn't it wonderful after a hot summer when you begin to smell fall, feel the cooler air and see the wonderful changes in colors from brights to oranges, yellows and browns?!!?!? I adore fall! Today was truly a blessing!

So here is what I've been having fun with lately. . . these tiny, little tins from Target! Perfect size for gift cards, chocolates, teabags, coffee beans and biscotti. . . . you get the idea! The possibilities are endless! And not only that, but they are really, really affordable! Check out the dollar bins at Target! They are a treasure trove of goodies! They are so simple to make. I just use double stick tape, paper of your choice to cover, ribbon on the handle and then stamp and embellish to your hearts content! So go get some! And when you've decorated yours, send me a link or email. . . I'd love to see it! Enjoy fall time and blessings to you! Cheri

It is a Thing of Beauty!

Okay, if you are totally anti-Martha Stewart, you probably won't be at all impressed with this post. If, however, you have even a smidgy of kitchen diva in you. . . .check out this picture! I spent this afternoon (yes, this HOT HOT afternoon) canning tomato sauce. I used Beefsteak tomatoes that my 5 year old son has been growing in his garden, fresh basil and oregano from our herb patch and some big ole fatty chunks of sweet Walla Walla onions. Man, you should have smelled my house this afternoon! Deeeee-licious! I ended up with 12 pints and 7 half-pints. . . one more afternoon like this and we'll be set for winter. Hope today found you doing something you love! Happy Hot Labor Day!!

I Should NOT be Laughing!

Okay, it is so not cool to laugh at other's misfortune, I really do get that! But when a friends calls and tells you about a most unfortunate incident AND asks if you will make a card to commenorate it, you just HAVE to help out, right?!?!?! Anyway, it isn't really ME laughing, it's HER! (Okay, now that I've relieved my guilt, let's get on to the good stuff!) So, my good friend calls me the other day and tells me that her niece, on her very first day of school, goes to the cafeteria for lunch and eats a hamburger. Soon after, though, she begins feeling sick and throughout the day gets sicker. .. . and sicker. . . .and sicker. . . . until finally, in her last class of the day, loses it and throws up all over the place. Ewww! Anyway, her aunt calls and asks if I'll make a card to encourage her-slash-make light of the incident. What an awesome aunt, huh? The only stipulation was that it had to have a hamburger on it. So, here's an ADORABLE (bragging here!) little gem that will soon be on its way to a very brave freshman, who, despite a rough start, will undoubtedly do just fine in high school!

You So Have to Be Kidding!!!

What in the world. . . one day I'm posting pictures of lucious summer strawberries. The next, it's a Halloween card! Yikes! How can I be doing Halloween cards in August?!?! Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. Shhh! I'm having a Halloween party! Truly, I am! I say this every single year and for some reason, it just never seems to happen. So this year, I AM GOING TO DO IT!! Plus, now that you all have heard me say it. . . .I'll have make sure we party this year!!!

So, in an attempt to make sure the party really happens (and to give everyone a chance to get their costumes ready), I thought I'd better get a head start on invitations! This is the first of a bunch I'll be doing in the next week. Hope you all enjoy. . . .and if by chance you have a great, ghoulish recipe or food idea for the party, leave me a comment . . . I'll be forever grateful for your help!

Soldiers and Summertime

Hi all! So before I show you the card I've been working on, I have to show you today's bounty from our strawberry plants. . .when you look at the picture, you understand why the bounty is so small. . . .tiny, little, precious fingers that grab those berries the VERY second they are ripe! Don't these berries just look like summer to you?

And on to my latest endeavor in the world of cards! Susie over at Berkerblog is doing a contest for the soldiers in Iraq. You make a card and send it to her and after all the cards are entered into the contest, she'll send them along to a fabulous site called Angel Stampers For Soldiers. From there, the cards are sent to the amazing heroes who are fighting the war in Iraq. Cool! I'm so in! Anyway, here is my card. . . please join the fun and let them know that you care!

I am HYSTERICAL!!!!

Okay, one of two funniest things I have seen today! I went onto another card blog and Julie had this cool little sign on the side of her blog that said how much her blog was worth. Something like $53,000. Cool, thinks me! Let's try it out for What Nots and Whimsies! So I follow the link to find out what my little corner of the blogging world is worth. . . and voila! I find that after all the time it took to actually set this bugger up, post stuff, be adorable and witty for my 3 (count them 3!) subscribers, my blog is worth $0.00! How absolutely hysterical is that! I LOVE IT!!!!! Sometimes I think blogging is bit like being back in junior high. . . how many people visit me each day, who leaves comments, who loves me, who loves me not. . . get the picture? Anyway, apparently I really am the red-headed stepchild of the blogging world! Well, that's just fine. . . my imaginary friend Andy thinks I'm just A-OK!!!!! :-) Happiness and blessings to my 3 subscribers! Cheri


By the way, just another fun part of the blogging world: blog candy! Head on over to Lisa at Blessed a Latte and you can try to win too! Even if you don't win, she's got a fun blog to peruse. Hmmmm.... wonder how much her blog is worth?!?!?! :-)

I love it when a card comes together!

I am so excited! I needed to make a birthday card for my Mom and I thought I would use this adorable stamp set called Quilts Give Comfort. She's a quilting lady and for her birthday I wanted to get her a gift certificate to a quilting store. (Uh oh, just dawned on me that I better call her tonight and tell her not to look at my blog until after her birthday party! Tee hee!) Anyway, the stamp set has a variety of cute fallish stamps, so I thought I would use a color combo Mom loves: green, orange and yellow. Then, on top of all that, I find out that Splitcoaststampers is having a challenge to make an autumn card. So, all things just fell together in so many ways. . . and then the card just turns out stinkin' cute! I'm so thrilled! Enjoy!

Just me. . . giving thanks!

So did you try my little blessing challenge? You know. . . come up with a number of blessings equal to the day of the month. Today is the 22nd. Did you think of 22 things to be thankful for? For the sake of saving space (and not making you read for an hour) here's my top 3:

3. I am thankful for the rain that watered my garden, helped my raspberries (second crop this summer) get fat, fat, fat and gave me the chance to enjoy that "MMMM. . . .it just rained!" smell.

2. I am thankful that my little boy is SLOWLY acclimating himself to the idea of going to school in a couple weeks. He may be doing better than his mama is at this point! :-)

1. I am thankful for how darn excited my dad is that he is now the proud owner of a 1926 Ford Model T truck. Engine turns over, 3 tires hold their air and it is "pre-cursor" to the automatic transmission (yikes) but oh what fun he'll have riding in a parade with his grandsons some day!

And now I'll leave you with a little eye candy: a little "Give Thanks" card. Hope you enjoy it and the happiness that comes as you tally up your blessings today! C

I'm a real person!!!!

Okay, I was real before, but now I have a real business card! Amy over at Heartfelt Greetings is having a contest and you get to design your own business card. FUN!!!! I decided to keep it light. . . .like my blog title: What Nots and Whimsies. Sounds chipper and fun, doesn't it? But then I threw a little twist in. Do do do doo (sing along with me). Flock! Fun Flock! I remember when I was a little kid, I thought the fuzzy on cards and books was the coolest thing. . . and now I know how to do it! So, on my card, you'll see the turqoise flowers are flocked and then there is (of course) a little bling in the form of glitter sprayed over the whole card! And the great thing is-- the flock stays on even when it's thrown in your purse ( I know, I tried!). Okay, enough chatting! Here's my card! Enjoy, and blessings to you today! C

Butterfly Kisses!

It's time to bust out the new In Colors from Stampin' Up! Isn't this paper pretty? And can you imagine I found PERFECTLY matching ribbon at Big Lots?!?! Cool beans! Anyway, this card is for a dear lady who encourages me, sends me comic strips that only a mother can appreciate and prays for me often. What a lucky girl I am to have gotten her as a bonus when I married my husband. . . .she's his aunt! So, off we go to enjoy our sunny day. .. blessings to you!

My Prayer for Today

Have you had one of these mornings. . . Today I woke up, not just on the wrong side of the bed, but maybe on the wrong side of the world. My patience was tanked. I was tired. Grumpy. My beautiful, adorable, angelic munchkins were bickering, non-stop chattering, being entirely too energetic. I caught myself praying "Okay, God, just get me through today!" WHAT?!?!?!?!? Get me through today? What if today is the last day of my life and I JUST GOT THROUGH IT? Talk about bringing me to a screeching halt! Thankfully I was not driving at the moment. . . we would have caused a bit of a problem! Anyway, it dawns on me that today is the only today I have and my little timer (think Days of our Lives and hum the tune with me!) is never going to refill. I so do not want to just get through a day! I want to own the day, conquer the day, make this day be the best day yet! So here's my NEW prayer: "God, today belongs to you! Let's make it ROCK!" And that's my prayer for you today too! Make it amazing! Blessings to you! C

Coffee and Good Friends

It doesn't get much better than good friends and a cup of coffee, does it? We spent the weekend with some really good friends of ours. . . they live in Southern Oregon which is only 2 hours away, but we haven't been down there since last September. What's up with that? Anyway, we had a delightful time and since Karyn is a coffee girl, I thought I'd send a coffee thank you her way.

I thought you might also enjoy seeing the beautiful scenery we enjoyed on our latest camping foray. Let me tell you, Southern Oregon has a gorgeous beauty all it's own! We played in the river, picked fresh peaches and corn and were really, super duper lazy! What a treat!

My list of Blessings!

So I thought I would post my list of blessings and while I was getting ready to do that, another WONDERFUL blessing happened. . .
1. I am so thankful that I DID NOT BURN MY HOUSE DOWN WHILE I WAS BLOGGING MY LIST OF BLESSINGS!!!! (Happy, laughing and smiling!!) :-) I forgot I had put noodles on to cook for my munchkin and while I typed, they burned! Smoke billowing. . . :-)
2. I am so thankful for the gorgeous sunshine with a hint of breeze to keep it from getting too hot.
3. I am so thankful for the scrumptious, fresh potatoes my boys and I dug from our garden and had for dinner.
4. I am so thankful for my boys giggles while I spray them with the hose as they jump on the trampoline.
5. I am so thankful for a garden where I can pull ripe tomatoes and peas right off the plants and munch them!
6. I am so thankful for the pastor at West Salem Foursquare Church. . . he has such love,compassion and wisdom.
7. I am thankful that my brother is almost done with camp and will get a rest.
8. I am still thankful that my sister-in-law got to come stay with us. What a blessing!
9. I am thankful for my husband's Aunt Julie and Uncle Tom. They are amazing examples of the kind of family we want to have.
10. I am so thankful for my inky fingers!

Breaking out of the mold!

So last night I was so tired I just wanted to crawl into bed, pull the covers over my head and catch up on my beauty sleep. I so knew that was NEVER going to work though! Ever have one of those times when you just HAVE TO MAKE A CARD?!?!?!?! Or doing something creative. . . . get your fingers inky. . . . . play with your new stamps or embellishments? That was me last night! So I started out with a butterfly from my new Papertrey Ink set and I inked it up in pastels, grabbed a beautiful pastel background, pastel cardstock, pastel, pastel, pastel. . . Ewww! I was not(really, really not) in a pastel mood! That's how I ended up with this cool B/W background paper from DCWV, wide, bright red grosgrain ribbon and a BLACK butterfly! :-) I like it! It is so not pastel, don't you agree?!?! Anyway, don't know if you can see the little silver charm by the polka dot bow- it says "Thank you".

Hope you enjoy the card. . . .enjoy your weekend. . . enjoy God's infinite blessings in your life! And if you're seeing more trials and troubles than blessings today, try this little trick: Each day of the month, take time to think of a number of blessings equal to the day of the month. Today is August 10th, so come up with 10 things you are thankful for! Have fun!

Christmas in August!

Hi all! So I came across this fun little blog called Shabby Chick Junk and find that Lisa is putting up a Christmas challenge to use your stash of Christmas paper in a non-Christmas card. Fun, thinks me! So I dig out my pile (and I do mean pile, as in BIG, BIG pile of Christmas paper) to pick a paper to craft with. Did I mention that the pile is really big? :-) My stash comes from finding Christmas paper 90% off at Michaels after Christmas last year. I bought these big slabs (three of them, because if one is good, three is better!!!!) and then promptly put them away for the next C'mas season. Much to my delight, the slabs are just stuffed with argyle papers in all different colorings! Happy me! I love argyle! So, I picked the blue and green one that is suppose to coordinate with snowflakes and used it with my brand new Green Thumb stamp set from Papertrey Ink. What a super fun card this was to make! So, my thanks to Lisa for the challenge, and while I'm at it, I've got to give a shout out to Papertrey Ink. I FINALLY ordered a couple stamp sets from them and much to my delight, they came super fast and wrapped in tissue with a thank you note from Nichole, Jane and Julie. How's that for awesome service along with some really great stamps! Anyway, enjoy the card and enjoy your day! Blessings to you!

Another thought for the day. .. .

I've been doing alot of thinking lately on God's goodness to me. I mean, how awesome is it that He never (NEVER!) gives up on me! Me! That grouchy, snappy, impatient, unkind me. His mercies to me are new every morning. . . the tank of His patience and love for me, even in my unlovable state, never, ever runs out. How astounding it is that He even loved me in the first place, but to never stop, despite everything, is truly amazing grace! I hope you are touched by His love and grace today! Blessings to you!

I've been in a mood!

Hi all! I've been in the mood to make cards lately! Well, I've also been in the mood to use some of the stamp sets I've bought and not inked yet! How else can I justify buying new stamps?!?!?! :-) (You know exactly what I mean, don't you?!!) Anyway, here's this week's color challenge over at SCS: Close to Coca, Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue. And here is my first inking of my new set Polka Dot Posies. .. how totally adorable are these stamps?!? Hope you enjoy!

Funny Stuff Afoot at My House

Okay, so we had a guest in our home this past week. My sister-in-law, currently living in Montana, but hopefully one day moving back here, came and stayed with us for a few days. We had such a fun time! She's a paper-crafty person too (and I think I've got her hooked on stamping. . . yea!) Anyway, I digress! One night while she was here, I made dinner. Scrumptious chicken apple sausages on the grill, but oops! I have no buns to put the sausages on. So we use bread. Which was fine. Until I looked over at Carly's plate and I see a small, discreet little pile of bread. Moldy bread. Ewww! So I look at my bread. . . moldy. Look at DH's bread. . . moldy. Double ewwwwww! I'm dying here and I look over at Carly, who is happily munching away at her sausage (and bread!) "Carly! The bread is MOLDY!" To which she replies, "It's okay. . . we grew up checking for moldy bread. I wasn't going to eat that part!" Talk about a gracious guest. . .and definitley not a Martha Stewart Hostess in the running serving her! :-)

How about you? Any good stories lately?

What's YOUR Song?

Fun little quiz I found. . . .my song is Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf. Hmmm. .. . not sure about the wild part exactly, but Born to Be Free would be right on the mark! Try it out, see what your song is and let me know!

Your Theme Song is Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf

"I like smoke and lightningHeavy metal thunderRacin' with the windAnd the feelin' that I'm under" A total independent spirit, you can't be held down or fenced in.You crave the feeling of wind on your face... and totally freedom.

What's" Your Theme Song?

Pretty Little Butterfly

Here's my card for the color challenge over at Splitcoaststampers. Yikes. . . this was a tough combo for me. I ended up with, for me, a slightly under-embellished card. I like it though-- not too froo-frooey! Thanks for looking and leave a comment if you like it. . . I love getting mail! :-)

I'm Having So Much Fun !

Oh my goodness! I am having so much fun making these cards! Okay, before I go there. . . "Bad blogger! Bad blogger!" You see, I'm having so much fun making cards that I forget that I have this brand new little blog that I can post them in for friends to see! Okay, after a looooong absence, here's one of my new creations! This is a CASE from Leslie at Running With Scissors. . . check out her blog! You'll wish you could relax in her garden while checking out her cards! Anyway, enjoy my little pretty!

Wow! You can really learn alot at Splitcoaststampers! I've been trying new color combos and new card layouts and having so much fun learning! So, take all that plus a couple el cheapo stamps from Michaels and this is what you get. . . enjoy!

The Giraffe has a name!!!!

Oh what fun! Susan, over at smARTworks held a contest last week to name her giraffe. He's a handsome fellow, don't you think? You can see him (and other cool stamps) in the smARTworks catalog on page 61. I entered my choice for his name. . . Beauregard, Bo or Bogie for a nickname. He looks like a Beauregard to me! Anyway, Dini, of Mama Dini's Stamperia fame, got to choose the giraffe's name and I am so excited that she chose my entry! Go on over to her website here and check out the cool card she made in Bogie's honor! Thank you Susan and Dini!

Fantastic-ly Fun Card!

Today, I thought I would ignore the sketches and color challenges calling my name and concentrate on using some of the paper out of my Retro Mat Stack. Plus, I have this fun little set from Stampin' Up called Furnished with Love and I have never used it! Yikes! Here's what I came up with. . . and for a ribbon addict, it was hard to skip the ribbon on a card, but I DID IT! I couldn't leave the glitter off, though! You'll see a touch of it on the fan!

Big Blossom Retro Style!

Ever had an idea of how you want a card to look in your mind and for some reason, you just can't quite make it? This card looks a good deal different than I imagined, but I think I really like it! I put the who blossom (with green edge) up on dimensionals, and the blossom center is on dimensionals too. This was for today's SCS Sketch Challenge 130. Kind of fun!

My very first CASE!!!!

Okay, I have to say that I really love the color and sketch challenges on SCS! But this was my first time to actually "copy" someone's card! It was fun, harder than I thought and so much fun (did I mention that already?). Anyway, here is my CASE of Cambria Turnbrow's card. Enjoy!

Coffee on my mind. . .

I seem to have coffee on my brain ever since I had that yummy iced coffee at Starbucks. Well, that and I just got my brand new Like it a Latte stamp set. . . LOVE IT! Here's a fun coffee card with some paisleys from my new Cuttlebug die.

Iced Coffee & Good Friend

I am so thankful for my good friend, Cheryl! She is a kindred spirit! For my birthday, Cheryl took me to Starbucks for an iced coffee and a GIGANTIC cookie and then we strolled down to the River Front Park, sat on a bench and visited! It's so fun to visit uninterrupted!!! Anyway, this is my thank you card to her for a fun evening!