just b.

a different kind of okay

2014-02-17T16:22:00.001-08:00

Hello.

I'm having a hard time starting this so let me start by saying Thank You for all the kind words and thoughts and prayers that came our way. They were very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Let me show you a few of the thank you cards I made for Dad's nurses and other special people that made up his support team.

Blooming with Kindness and Dictionary. Crumb cake and watercolor paper. Black Stazon and crumb cake inks. Rose red, more mustard and garden green watercolor crayons, pearls and vanilla seam binding.

I know the watercolor crayons are discontinued but I'll never give mine up. I don't seem to like stamping with this flower any other way.

This saying was perfect. I don't know what I would have done without his great support team. They really did make all the difference.

I ended up driving to New Mexico by myself. Well 2/3 by myself. 13 hours one way. I picked up 19 at her school along the way. It was the first time I've driven that by myself in 29 years. I was looking forward to the alone time. The rest of my family flew in on the day of the funeral.

But after I had a little too much of my own head, I popped in an audio book. 19 received 2 audio books last semester, The Fault in our Stars and Divergent. Let me tell you, 8 hours on the road with an audio book felt like 2. It was AWESOME! I highly recommend them if you are doing a road trip. I also highly recommend both of those books. Good stories and the actresses that read them were great.

On the way home, well on the way to dropping 19 back at her school, we had a little extra time and I got to do something I've been wanting to do for years.

We went to the Barringer Crater!

Okay, it says Meteor Crater on all the signs. I was confused that I had the wrong crater there for a while. But really, how many craters are there in Arizona?

btw.....I asked and it is also called the Barringer Crater.

19 took this pic with her phone. Pretty cool! It was a perfectly beautiful day. I'm glad the other yahoos didn't come with us because they would have said it was dumb. I thought it was cool. Thanks for humoring your old mom honey. Shes a good sport.

One last pic and then we'll be back to our regular programming.

This was on each bed at the hotel. Well thank you very much Hampton Inn. I just thought it was kinda funny.

Alrighty then, thats it for today. Again, thank you so much for your kind words.

Blessings, b.

{big sigh}

2014-01-26T12:04:00.000-08:00

Good morning. I can't believe its been a whole month since I've been on here. Geez

Lots has been going on around here. Mainly we went to New Mexico to see my dad early in Jan. Since I did not get a Dec. Daily done this year I thought I would do a Week In The Life documentation instead.

And now in retrospect, I'm so glad I did.

Here is a post I wrote about my dad a few years ago.......just to give you a little background

I used the Becky Higgins Project Life Design A page protectors. My Week In The Life album is 8.5x11 so I just cut these ones down. I used clear packing tape to close up the open edges. I also used the journaling cards from Becky Higgins.

The number stamp is the old Headline Numbers set. I used regular whisper white cardstock for my larger journaling cards. Becky, you should come out with some 4x6 journal cards. Maybe you already do, I just haven't looked.

I am going to add a few last words to the back of this page. I just haven't done it yet. I'm so glad I got this done so soon after getting home because a few days later, my father passed away.

I had a feeling it was getting to be time. I knew before we got there that he was just waiting to see us all so we could say good bye. I'm so glad that we were able to.

We are going back next week for a memorial. So it may be awhile again before I post anything. I need to make thank you cards.

I am humbled and blessed to have such an outpouring of love and support from my friends. Thank you all for being here.

Blessings, b.

Love you dad.

Merry Christmas!

2013-12-25T08:10:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Blessings, b.

merry

2013-12-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

Hidey Ho! 9 days left and I don't even have my tree. We are waiting for 19 to get home. Which she will be tomorrow. Although the train is 3 hours late! Really?

Anyhow while I'm waiting for her to get on I thought I'd pop on here. I'm not sure how a whole week has gone by already.

Here we go:

Evergreen and woodgrain stamps. Crumb cake, whisper white and real red cardstock. Black Stazon, wild wasabi, whisper white and choc. chip inks. Big shot, expressions thinlits, labels framelits and aquapainter.

I really really love this card. We actually made this card at the September holiday card class. Once I got all the components cut out it was super quick and easy to get together.

I love how the word goes across the window.

Alrighty then, short and sweet tonight. I haven't done much with the Dec. Daily. My heart just isn't in it this year. I'll get something together but I'm not going to stress out about it.

I've placed an order that will get here on Wed. (I hope) so I can get my Christmas cards done. Procrastination is my middle name ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

hello baby

2013-12-09T20:50:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. Why am I showing you a baby themed tag when its Christmas time?

Its just that I'm cleaning several piles off my desk in preparation for my Dec. Daily and it was sitting here.

And babies are born at Christmas time too.

Storybook Friends and Teeny Tiny Wishes sets. Confetti white, marina mist and whisper white cardstock. Pear pizzazz, marina mist, smoky slate, sahara sand, whisper white and black Stazon inks. Deco label framelits, big shot, polka dot embossing folder, aquapainter, very vintage designer buttons and linen thread.

We had a dual baby shower at work last week. One boy and one girl. Envision the girl tag with a melon mambo (because that is the only pink cardstock I have) tag. There is actually a whisper white tag behind the marina mist one so I could write on it. I used this in lieu of a card.

I just love the Storybook Friends stamp set. For this, I inked up just the little lamby and left off the words.

You can hardly tell but I slid the whisper white ink pad across the raised polka dots.

The Hubs thought the words, "hello baby" sounded like a pick up line. Well, hello baby..................

Geez.

Alrighty then. I do have lots of holiday type cards to show you but I really need to get my Dec. Daily up to date too. I've got to get my rear in gear.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

November?

2013-11-30T15:00:00.001-08:00

How did November go so fast? I can't believe today is the last day.

Tomorrow I'll be starting my December Daily. Yes, I love Ali Edwards. Here are my past Dec. Dailies, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 to inspire you. I'm not at all ready for it this year. I have been so preoccupied lately that I have nothing together or planned for it. I'll worry about that tomorrow and show you what I get together.

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? 19 came home on Wednesday morning and went home tonight :(
I cooked up a storm on Wed. and Thur. and brought it all to my in-laws house. We even did a little shopping on Thanksgiving.

Yesterday 19 took me to see Catching Fire. AWESOME MOVIE!! I just got done rereading the book and a lot of the lines in the movie were straight from the book. Really good. But I saw that they are dividing up the last book into 2 movies. That seems to be the thing to do lately.

Alrighty then I wanted to show you a card I made a few months ago for 19.

No Stamps! Crumb cake, choc. chip and very vanilla cardstock. Crushed curry ink. Big shot, square lattice embossing folder, finishing touches edgelits, sweater weather DSP, gingham wheel, scallop circle punch.

Now those of you that are One Direction savvy, know this phrase. 19 loves 1D.

The sunburst is really easy to do. I'm trying to remember but I think I cut the DSP into 1.5" x 2.5" rectangles and then cut them on the diagonal.

Okie dokie that is all for tonight. Thanks so much for stopping by and getting cozy.

Blessings, b.

I used the current leaf die this time!

2013-11-26T21:45:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! I'm just hanging out tonight waiting for 19 to get on the train. I can't wait to hug and kiss on her tomorrow.

So I thought I'd show you a card I made with the Autumn Accents die. Just in time for Thanksgiving.

Woodgrain background, Blooming with Kindness and Banner Greetings sets. Very vanilla, choc chip cardstock. Crushed curry, marina mist and crumb cake inks. Big shot, chalk talk framelits, autumn accents die, naturals designer button, linen thread and sweater weather DSP.

I have a pic of a Mini Muslin bag with these leaves on it. There is no watermark on it so I have no idea of where I got the pic from, but that is where the inspiration for this card came from.

After I got the tag part made I had to adjust the size of the card. I ended up with a 3.5" x 5".

I don't have any Crushed Curry cardstock so I used my brayer and some very vanilla cardstock and made my own. I then inked up the flower in Blooming with Kindness in Crushed Curry and stamped it.

I also don't have Soft Sky ink which is what is in the Sweater Weather DSP. So I took my Marina Mist pad and stamped off once and then stamped the tag. It doesn't match perfectly but pretty good. By the way, Soft Sky ink is on sale this week ;) Apparently I need to place an order.

Alrighty then, she just got on the train. Only 33 min. late. I'm going to bed so I can get up really early to go get her.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Blessings, b.

chalky seasons greetings

2013-11-19T20:21:00.000-08:00

So today we are doing a 2 fer Tuesday!

First up is a card we did at one of my Holiday Card Classes.

Greetings of the Season. Old olive and basic black cardstock. White craft ink. White embossing powder, linen thread and Season of Style DSP, big shot, and deco labels framelits.

Super easy card to make. I wanted so badly to put a button on the linen thread but I didn't have enough for everyone. I think a little red button would just finish this card off nicely.

At the same time I was designing this card I needed a thank you card. So I just used the same design.

Another Thank You photopolymer set. Crumb cake and basic black cardstock. Whisper white craft ink. Designer naturals button, linen thread, sweater weather DSP.

One of the ladies at the card class put the banners a little wonky and I liked it better so I did that on this card. That is one of the things I love about stamping with people. They take your idea and make it better.

Alrighty then, thats it for tonight. I just finished rereading The Hunger Games and now I want to watch the movie before I reread Catching Fire. Yep, I'm gearing up to go see it next week. I'm going to wait for 19 to get home for Thanksgiving so she can go with me. Gotta love Peeta!

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

to bling or not to bling..........

2013-11-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

...........that is the question.

I am not a blingy type of girl. I don't wear jewelry. Well, save my wedding ring and a pair of earrings my kids gave me a looooooong time ago.

But I can appreciate pretty sparkly things.

I wanted to do something sparkly for my last card class. Because its not just all about me ;)

Christmas Collectibles, music wheel and Endless Wishes stamp sets. Pool party, smoky slate and whisper white cardstock. Pool party, smoky slate and real red inks. Silver ribbon, silver glitter, 2 way glue pen, christmas ornament punch and white twine.

Okay, confession time. I had a heck of a time getting this card together. I mussed and fussed and tried a ton of different color combos. Just trying to get something sparkly.

So I put it down and got out the colors I tend to use ad nauseam.

Christmas Collectibles, music wheel and Endless Wishes stamp sets. Cherry cobbler, whisper white and crumb cake cardstock. Whisper white, cherry cobbler and old olive inks. Christmas ornament punch, cherry cobbler twine and rhinestones.

Now this puppy went together lickety split. I even have a sparkly rhinestone in the center of the ornament. I really like this card and may use it for my cards this year. I might use Baked Brown Sugar cardstock instead though.

So, I went back to the other color combos and came up with this Pool Party/Smoky Slate combo.

I took this pic after the class and you can see in the upper left corner that it somehow got a little red ink on there. I know I should take pics before the class but I always forget.

Check out that bling! The silver ribbon is really sparkly too. The gold and silver glitter in the Holiday Catalog is really fine like the Dazzling Diamonds.

Alrighty then, time to get some chores done before bed. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

snowflake wreath

2013-11-11T17:11:00.001-08:00

Happy Veteran's Day! Let me just say thank you to all the people who put their lives on the line every day to defend our country. Thank you to their families too. Its very humbling to really look at all the freedoms we enjoy every day. Big cyber hugs to all of you!

So, I had my last class of the year on Friday. We had a great time, but I'm sure the ladies are still cussing my name. I'm kidding. I'm sure they never cuss ;)

Each card by itself wasn't too hard, but put them all in one class and they really got to feel like they got their monies worth.

I loved each card we did this time. Usually I will have a favorite. But I like them all. Here is the one we started with.

Endless Wishes photopolymer and Greetings of the Season sets. Crumb cake, real red, whisper white and old olive cardstock. Basic grey, old olive and white craft inks. Cherry cobbler seam binding, big shot, square lattice embossing folder, bird punch, pearls.

Now I purposely started out with this one because I thought it was the hardest. Okay, not hardest but most involved. Putting those berries on was going to take patience. Grace and I punched them all out ahead of time otherwise my ladies would really be cussing my name.

We used a roll of masking tape to trace a circle on the base. I LOVE the photopolymer stamps because you can see right through them. Makes it really easy to stamp along the pencil line.

We took the medium snowflake from the Endless Wishes set and stamped around the circle. We then used the small snowflake to stamp around again in the whisper white craft ink.

You can see the white here. It just gave it a little more depth.

We ended up using Early Espresso ink for the words because I thought it looked better than the Basic Grey. We just attached the bow with a glue dot.

I colored the pearls with a Sharpie.

See, not very hard just a little involved.

Alrighty then, I'm on my way to Costco. Blech! Thanks so much for stopping by and getting comfy.

Blessings, b.

"those" people

2013-11-05T21:02:00.000-08:00

Let me just warn you that you may need a snack to get through this post. It came out long.

Apparently I've become one of "those" people.

You know, the people who buy things and then forget they bought them?

aaarrrggggg.......

I'm really very stingy with my money and think pretty hard about my purchases before I make them. My problem here is that I just haven't been a very ambitious stamper this year.

Here is the beginning of my story:

I needed a thank you card. I wanted it to have a fall theme since...... it is fall.

Here is what I ended up with;

Another Thank You photopolymer set, dictionary background and gorgeous grunge sets. Crumb cake, cajun craze, old olive and very vanilla cardstock. Early espresso and old olive inks. Big shot, delicate doilies die, designer naturals buttons, leaves #2 die (retired), sweater weather DSP, paper tea doilies, modern medley DSP, linen thread.

I really like how it turned out even though its really not my usual style. I love love love this particular pattern in the Sweater Weather DSP. I love plaid. And I love yellow......and orange.....and brown.

I also love love love the photopolymer sets. They are awesome!

Don't look too closely (well, I know you're going to now) but can you tell that the dictionary stamp is upside down? No? Then forget I said anything. Not like you can read it anyway.

On the cajun craze leaf I wrinkled the cardstock so much that it started to separate and so I split it in half. It feels nice and soft like suede now. If that doesn't make sense to you just give me a holler and I'll explain it better.

Okay so here is the rest of the story.

Today, after I've mailed off my card. I happen to open an email and this person was submitting a card for a color challenge. The very same colors I just used! So I thought I would submit my card also.

Fab Friday Challenge Blog

I happen to admire all the people on their design team. So I'm looking at their samples and see that the leaf die cuts on Amy O'Neill's card are different than mine. Hmmmmmm........

So I look in the catalog and see that indeed.........I have the old Leaves #2 die that I think retired last year. Oh well, it will be fine. My friend can substitute the leaves if she would like to recreate it. The Autumn Accents leaf die is current (and happens to be on sale this week). Which I happen to like better than the Leaves #2 die........ but whatever.

Later I'm trying to design cards for my card class this Friday (because I procrastinate) and I go to get my Fun Flowers die and guess what I pull out instead?

The Autumn Accents die. Seriously? For real?

Well the card is gone and there's not a darn thing I can do about it. So Charmaine, if you're reading this, those leaves are now considered vintage.

Moral of the story? If you want to make sure you use current things.......put the retired ones elsewhere. Or put a sticky on them. Or better yet sell them. Anybody want to buy a Leaves #2 die?

Alrighty then, thanks for listening to what a dork I am. You guys rock!

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

birthday hairballs

2013-11-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

So today I'm supposed to be designing cards for my last card class of the year happening this Friday. What am I doing instead?

Watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel.

I am stamping during the commercials. But instead of Christmas cards, I stamped a thank you card that I needed 2 weeks ago. Can you say procrastination?

Yes, it did take me all day. I'm a slow stamper anyway but show a movie I haven't seen before and I'm a whole lot slower.

So you might think that I'd show you the card I just made......... but no. I want her to see it before I put it up here. Not that she reads my blog but you never know.

So I'm going to show you a birthday card I made a few weeks ago.

Giggle Greetings and Dictionary background. Crumb cake, pool party, pear pizzazz, whisper white and watercolor paper. Soft suede, black Stazon, crumb cake and crisp cantaloupe inks. Big shot, argyle embossing folder, chalk talk dies, aquapainter.

See the groovy frame around this cute little kitty? I was on Wendy Weixler's blog and she had done this. I thought it was so neat! Just lay both your framelit dies on the cardstock and run it through the Big Shot one time.

It did leave a line from the inner framelit but I just turned it over and ran my bone folder over the line and it disappeared. Magic!

My friend has cats which is why I choose this stamp. I tried to color the kitty similar to hers but I had a heck of a time. He is still kinda cute.

I inked up just the image first with the Stazon. Then cleaned the stamp and inked up just the words for the banner.

Then cleaned the stamp and inked up the other words.

Okay, one more thing before I go.

Grace laid out and separated her candy from Halloween so we could check it and she left this note for us to see in the morning. Yes, Dad has a bit of a sweet tooth. He is like a Hoover.

Alrighty then, thats it for today. Thanks so much for stopping by. I love when you do that.

Blessings, b.

what?!

2013-10-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

How did so much time go by since my last post? I know, you guys are used to it from me. But really, its not my intention. I have lots to show you.

In the last few weeks lots has been happening.

1. The Boy turned 21. He went to Vegas to celebrate.........without us. I have no pic to show you because he is a dork and won't let me point a camera at him, and Heaven forbid he take any himself!

2. I had my 2nd Holiday Card Class. (I'm such a loser. I still haven't shown you the cards from the first one yet.) Here is the bag tag from the 1st one.

Thats the Ticket set. Cherry cobbler, old olive and whisper white cardstock. Old olive and crumb cake ink. Sticky pearls, bird punch, ticket punch, burlap ribbon, cherry cobbler twine and season of style DSP.

I usually give my guests some kind of bag to put their finished cards in. Keeps them from getting lost or squished.

This tag was made back in September and I thought I was fairly clever coming up with the idea of using the wing from the bird punch to create the poinsettia, but recently I saw somewhere someone else (I don't remember who or where eta: it was Mary Brown) had done it also. But she used 6 petals on each layer and it looked much nicer. So if you make one, use 12 petals.

Teeny Tiny Wishes set. Crumb cake, daffodil delight, basic black and whisper white cardstock. Soft suede, whisper white and black stazon inks. Big shot, woodgrain embossing folder, oval punch, bird punch, owl punch and white gel pen.

This is the bag tag I made for the 2nd class. I saw this cute little bat on Diana Gibbs blog. She is a stamping/punching genius.

I inked up the woodgrain embossing folder with the soft suede ink before I ran it through the machine. I think it looks cool.

3. The Hubs and I were invited to a concert at a winery by our house. It was fun and I did have a little too much to drink. My camera takes crummy pics.

4. On the 12th, Grace had Cosmic pajama bowling with her band class. They got to bowl in their jammies and eat candy and got a ton of glow bracelets/necklaces........at 7:00 in the morning. Did she even comb her hair?

.............and The Hubs had his first official 100 mile ride.

Super proud of him. He even got a medal. Such a stud!

5. We had our 24th anniversary. But because we've been so busy we didn't actually get to celebrate until last night. I surprised him with a night out. I never get to surprise him! He guesses everything all the time. I can't put out Christmas presents for him until Christmas Eve because he will guess what they are just by holding them..........even when they're disguised..........its freaky, I'm telling you.

Anyhow I made plans for some friends to meet us for dinner and then we went to a comedy club that has opened by our house. As soon as we got close to the restaurant he knew what we were doing. BUT, he didn't know our friends were meeting us there. SURPRISE! We had a great time!

These are the flowers he gave me. So pretty!

Here is the card I made him.

Yippee Skippee set. Pool party, real read, whisper white and crumb cake cardstock. Soft suede and black stazon inks. Big shot, expressions thinlits, woodgrain embossing folder, deco frame framelits.

Everything I make him has some sort of wood component. I inked up the "I freakin'" part, stamped, cleaned it, inked up the "you!" and stamped again. I freakin' love it! I know some people did not like the words on this particular stamp but I got a chuckle out of it. I just freehand cut a heart out.

Alrighty thats it for today. I do have all the holiday cards we've made at the classes. Look for those this week. Plus, Grace and I are working on a project to send to 19 for Halloween. Never a dull moment around here.

Thanks so much for coming by and hanging out.

Blessings, b.

thankful

2013-09-28T21:51:00.001-07:00

Hey!

A month or so ago I needed some thank yous (see how far behind I am?) anyway, I made a neat card. Well, I think its neat.

What do you think?

Fabulous Phrases set. Whisper white cardstock. Bermuda bay, crushed curry, crisp cantaloupe and black Stazon inks. White bakers twine, big shot and expressions thinlits.

The finished size is 6 1/4 x 2 3/4. Take a closer look:

Crisp Cantaloupe.

Crushed Curry.

Bermuda Bay.

If you can tell, the color is behind the white panel.

Can you see it now?

Instead of taking each teeny tiny little piece and placing it just so, I came up with an easier idea. Lookee:

Here are the measurements for this particular card.

Take the 5 3/4 x 2 1/2" piece and using an aquapainter and ink, paint the cardstock. Set aside to dry.

Add a little extra water in the lid and put in the baker's twine. Let it soak up the ink and set aside to dry.

Here is the sandwich I use: Platform, cutting pad, cardstock, parchment paper (or wax paper) die and cutting pad.

Run it through the machine.

Keep the whole thing together and turn upside down on the table.

Okay, its all still together. You haven't taken it apart yet.

Take your Tombow Mulit Glue and put glue on all the pieces except the actual word.

Take your dry painted piece and lay it upside down on top of the die.

Now press on the cardstock making sure you're really getting all the little pieces stuck onto the painted piece.

Now flip it over again and take the die and the parchment paper off.

This is what you're left with. Neat eh? I originally wanted to do an hombre sort of effect but it just came out watercolored looking. I still like it.

Now your string is dry and you can assemble the card.

I thought it was kinda nifty and an easy way to use the relief part of the die without needing tweezers to place little pieces.

Okie dokie thats all for today.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend!

Blessings, b.

love......western style

2013-09-25T15:13:00.001-07:00

Howdy there! We are having glorious weather today. I hope you are too. So why am I inside? Well, I just came in from watering the garden. The aphids have left and the zuccs and pumpkins are trying to make a comeback. Hey, if they are willing then so am I.

Anyway, I was thinking about you and I've been meaning to post something. So I was trolling through my pics looking to see what I haven't shown you yet and I got alot. So I'm getting on it.

Over summer we were invited to a wedding that we couldn't go to. It was a western theme and I know I would have loved it. I tried to make their card western looking. What do you think?

From my Heart set. Whisper white and Crumb cake inks, versamark pen. Basic black and crumb cake cardstock. Big shot, woodgrain embossing folder, pearls, label framelits, white embossing powder, expressions thinlits, burlap ribbon, natural trim and white gel pen.

This is 4 1/4" square card. I used the Versamark pen to ink up just the frame part of one of the stamps in the From my Heart set, stamped and embossed. It looks kinda sketchy but I figured it just makes is look........... older, I guess you would say. Maybe "worn" is a better word. Yep, I think I like "worn" better.

It was a slighty thicker card but it wasn't overly bumpy. I didn't use extra postage.

When using the Expressions Thinlits, make sure you put a piece of wax paper or parchment paper between the die and your cardstock. It makes it much easier to remove the word from the die. I'm going to have a tutorial coming up with how to do that.

A few pearls........it was for a wedding after all.

Alrighty then. I still need to get pics of the cards we did at my Holiday Card Class. I want to get that thinlit tutorial out first. I'll get right on that.

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking in. I love when you do that.

Blessings, b.

coming around

2013-09-17T17:36:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to find a new rhythm. Ever since school/work started again I haven't been able to get a new routine down. Something is always coming up.

But things are settling down and so I hope I'm coming around.

I have lots of pics to show you. August was an incredibly busy month, and not just for stamping. So lets catch up a little shall we?

I had my regular club meeting. This is one of the cards we did.

Giggle Greetings and Dictionary sets. Crumb cake, choc. chip and watercolor paper. Crushed curry, crisp cantaloupe, sahara sand and black Stazon inks. Dotted scallop ribbon punch, summer starfruit ribbon, neutrals buttons, aquapainter and Sweater Weather DSP.

I just love this card! I copied the design from a card on page 82 in the main catalog. My base measures 5 1/2" x 3 3/4". The banner extends to 4 1/4" so it still fits in a regular envelope.

I used the lids of my inkpads and my aquapainter to color in the kitty. I know Summer Starfruit isn't one of the colors in the Sweater Weather DSP but I didn't have Crushed Curry ribbon and well heck, I really didn't think anyone would notice. Did you?

Lets see, what else happened......

We had an archeological expedition in my backyard.

Just kidding. We finally trenched for sprinklers. I'm surprised you didn't hear me whooping it up in the next few states. I've wanted grass so llllooooonnnnnnggggggg.

(The tent was mine and Grace's reading cave this summer. I got her to read the first 3 Harry Potter books. Yes, I hooked her!)

Then this happened. Again, I'm surprised you didn't hear me jumping for joy.

Then this one went back to school.

Then we had to take this one back to school. I miss her already.

Then this one became a TEENAGER! Holy Moly!

Headline numbers (retired), Dictionary and This and That rotary stamp. Bermuda bay, versamark, smokey slate and whisper white cardstock. Bermuda bay, basic gray and whisper white inks. This and That washi tape, clear embossing powder, big shot, Alphabet press embossing folder, rhinestones, bermuda bay ribbon, chalk talk die and white gel pen.

This is Grace's birthday card. She really liked it.

I embossed the numbers with clear embossing powder. I first stamped the number in versamark, then in bermuda bay and stamped. Then sprinkled the embossing powder and heat. Simple!

The white spots are me squishing the lid of my white ink pad and taking a really wet aquapainter, picking up some ink and then flicking it onto the cardstock.

To get the smokey slate mat, I just freehand cut around the tag.

This is my last harvest. I ended up with 8 pumpkins this year. The garden just didn't do so well this year. My tomatoes have been limping along. Those yellow pear ones are from a volunteer plant from last year. I think I only got 6 zuccs all summer and no bell peppers. The aphids tried to kill the watermelon but it is now coming back. A little late though. I think I'll empty the dirt in my boxes and start fresh. I'll be planting onions and carrots in November.

Alrighty then, I still have lots more stampy projects to show you. I'll be getting right on that.

Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out.

Blessings, b.

uploaded

2013-09-04T16:10:00.004-07:00

Wow! Life has been happening around here. I hadn't realized that I had gone so long since uploading the pics from my camera and my phone. There were ALOT of pics on there!

No, I'm not going to show you all of them........yet........just some.

You're welcome!

I still have to go through them so today, I'll just show you a quick little bag tag I made for my stamp girls.

Teeny Tiny Wishes. Basic black and old olive cardstock. Whisper white craft ink. Big shot, chalk talk die cut, 1 1/4" circle punch, polka dot parade DSP (brights), little leaves die, witches brew washi tape.

I don't have any Halloween stamps so I had to get creative.

I did buy the Witches Brew Washi tape from the Holiday Catalog because I really liked the orange zig zags and I really like washi tape. So thats what I went with.

I dig on these cute little pumpkins. Here is how you make them:

I punched 4 circles. You can do more for a fuller pumpkin.

Fold them in half with the pattern you want showing on the inside.

Smear a little Tombow on there.

Put 2 together. Then smear more glue. Put another one on there. Smear more glue. Put another one on there and there you have it.........4 folded circles glued together. TaDa!

Now glue this onto the tag. Whats neat about this is you can put this on a card and it will fold flat for mailing and then poof back out when the person opens the envelope. Neat, right?

I stamped the words first and then added the washi tape. I also cut up a Little Leaves die for the stem. I think they're pretty cute.

Alrighty then, thats it for me today. I discovered I have lots of other projects to show you so things should be a little more interesting on the blog-o..........for awhile anyway.

Thanks so much for hanging out, hanging around, checking in, stopping by....................just thanks.

Blessings, b.

buttons......clay buttons......clay flower buttons?

2013-07-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! I hope you all are having a super duper day.

Pleasant Poppies, Teeny Tiny Wishes and the new Gingham Wheel. Strawberry Slush, baked brown sugar, coastal cabana and whisper white cardstock. Crisp Cantaloupe, whisper white and soft suede inks and daffodil delight and early espresso reinkers. Big shot, delicate doilies die, very vintage buttons, 1 3/8" circle punch, neutral buttons, simply pressed clay, simply pressed molds, vanilla shimmer smooch spritz, crystal effects and natural twine.

I'm finally showing you the other card we made during group last time. I hesitated because the buttons are now discontinued and I wanted to make the card again using current stuff.

That is kind of hard to do when you don't have much current stuff........yet, (I put in an order today for all kinds of new goodies).

This is what I came up with. Let me know what you think.

This was the original card we made together. I'm really loving the Baked Brown Sugar color. Its kind of a warmer Crumb Cake and we all know how much I love that.

I also dig on the Gingham wheel. Now I can have gingham in any color I want! This is using the new Crisp Cantaloupe. Try spelling "cantaloupe" without looking it up. Geez!

Okay, so my sweet little brown flower button retired. Now what? I got some of the new Simply Pressed Clay and molds. Grace went into overdrive making flowers and buttons.

See the little white button? That is clay. I sprayed it with the smooch spritz to give it a pearlized look.

Then I thought I'd try making a flower button. It actually turned out okay but I don't really love it here. I covered it in Crystal Effects to give it some shine.

So lets try something else shall we?

This is the new Strawberry Slush paper. Isn't it pretty?

I asked Grace to make some buttons using Early Espresso ink. She made some flowers too. Only thing is, they look kind of purplely. I didn't make this one a button but I did cover it in Crystal Effects to make it shiny. Okay, in this pic it looks gray but its purplely........really. And I know "purplely" isn't really a word, just hang with me here.

I just wanted to show you that the gingham strip doesn't lay completely flat. I put down some regular Mono tape on the back and used my fingers to gather it. Make sense?

So the first one is still my fave. I did order new Neutral buttons today so when they come maybe I'll get another one made.

Before you go I have 1 more thing to show you.

I still have several bunches of grapes on the vine and have 2 more squash ready to pull. I cooked the pumpkins I pulled last week and froze the puree. Things are moving along. I'm surprised at how pokey the zucchini are being. I will tell you about my tomato and bell pepper adventures another day. UGH!

Okie dokie, thats it for today. I have thank you cards to make and I have been pokey about that. Bad Beth!

Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out. You give me warm fuzzies.

Blessings, b.

claying around

2013-07-17T14:23:00.001-07:00

Hey there! Just a few things today.

First of all, I know my photography skills are lacking but trying to get a good pic of this card was obviously beyond me. Lookee,

Banner Greetings and This and That Rotary stamps. Pistachio pudding, strawberry slush and black Stazon inks. Sahara sand, whisper white and strawberry slush cardstock. Window frame framelits, big shot, this and that washi tape, fun flowers die, corner rounder, vintage faceted buttons and white bakers twine.

It really does look much better in person. It looks so washed out here. I got this color combo off of one of the new Color Coach cards.

The Sahara Sand cardstock is the old textured stuff. NOW, we carry each color family in the Core-dinations cardstock which is textured. I'm going to get me some of that..........but I don't have it yet.

I'm improvising ;)

Now this looks easy enough, right? There is a little trick you need to do to ensure that the white panel is straight on the front. Check it out,

Die cut what size window you want. This piece is 2" x 3.5" and uses the 2nd framelit from the middle. Now here is the trick; lay your window on the cardfront so that it is even and where you want it to be. Use a pen or pencil to mark 2 of the points.

Now you can lay the framelit on there and it will be placed right where you want it. Its an extra step but will save you from pulling out your hair because you cut it and it isn't straight when you line up the holes. I speak from experience.

Isn't that flower pretty? I had a groovy idea for this. I was just going to use a few layers of cardstock but I wasn't getting the effect I wanted, so I got my handy dandy forgotten brayer out and colored some plain white tissue paper.

TaDa! Strawberry Slush tissue paper! The bottom layer is the Strawberry Slush cardstock, then plain white tissue and then Strawberry Slush tissue. A Strawberry Slush flower (from the same Fun Flowers Die) and a vintage faceted button.

You can see where the tissue wrinkled and didn't get the ink. I thought the white streaks looked cool.

Kind of like the gray streaks in my hair. I keep telling myself they look cool.

Okay, so a few weeks ago I got the new Simply Pressed Clay. BUT the molds were on backorder. The molds came on Monday and Grace got busy.

Awesome! I really do like them. The buttons are harder to deal with but so worth it. Grace found if she put a small amount of clay in the freezer for a few minutes she could work the button molds easier. I put the clay in the mold first and then froze the whole thing for about 10 min and it worked great.

I don't have many reinkers so we took a small amount of clay and just pressed it into the ink pad and worked the ink in. Worked great!

She got crafty and swirled inks. This is Strawberry Slush and Crisp Cantaloupe.

They dry pretty quickly. Although we've had some pretty dry weather the last few days. They recommend you let them dry for 24 hours. We let them go about an hour. I haven't made anything with them yet but I got ideas.

Try them out, its fun!

Today I thought I would cat-proof the cat's favorite veggie box. During the winter when I didn't have anything in there (except pine trees) she decided it was the best place to go potty. OY!

I had added a bunch of soil to that box and mixed it well but between that and the fact she likes to lay in there, almost all the onions I planted croaked. So I fixed her wagon today.

I added even more dirt and planted carrots. I'm wondering if that is what is wrong with my tomatoes too. The leaves are still curled. I've tried less water but its been almost 100 everyday and the soil is dry in the evening when I check it. So I'll have to hope the volunteer yellow pear tomatoes do well. Darn cat!

Okay, one last thing. I've discovered the movie Pitch Perfect. 19 loves it. She is forever quoting it during regular conversation. Grace has watched it too and so I had to see what it is all about.

Yes, I now love it too.

Whats funny is my entire family will make fun of the fact that I like Glee (poor Cory Monteith) and really, that is what Pitch Perfect is. Kind of.....sort of. Who knew Anna Kendrick could sing?

Anyway its cool. Enjoy.

Thanks so much for stopping by and sticking around. I love that you do that.

Blessings, b.

p.s. All you people at convention, have extra fun for me. I will miss being there.

home sweet home

2013-07-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

Hidey Ho! I've been traveling and had made sure I got pics on the computer so I could post some stampy stuff while I was gone but never got around to it. Bad Beth!

So instead of showing you stampy stuff today I'm going to show you the garden update. Stampy stuff tomorrow.....promise.

Oh wait! Let me show you a few of our trip pics first. It was just Grace and I going to my dad's house.

Grace enjoyed the train so much last year so we took it again this year. BUT, we flew home. I couldn't do another 15 hours just to get home. I want to be home NOW!

This was on one of the Metrolink cars while we were waiting for the Amtrak. I thought it was kinda funny. I don't know why. A good life lesson I guess.

Holy Moly! but gas was cheap there.! It was over $4.00 a gallon here when we left home. Geez!

On the plane on the way home.

What a crummy pic! This is the only one I have of Dad on this trip. My sweet cousin Jeni was there for a few days too. Grace just loves her. I do too.

Okay onto the garden. I planted everything (except the pumpkins) on June 9th.

These are the pumpkins. I have 4 ready to pick. I planted these on March 17th. Last year the aphids and the heat DESTROYED them and so I thought I'd get a jump on them this year. Worked good except I'm harvesting pumpkins in July instead of October. I have more babies on there so I hopefully will get some for Halloween.

I'll let the kids carve them if they want before I cook them. Pumpkin pie anyone?

Cucumbers. I haven't had luck with these, ever! Keep your fingers crossed.

Mickylee watermelons. There is a volunteer tomato plant right in the middle. Oh well. I think I have 3 volunteer tomato plants in this box. Which is weird because I have never planted tomatoes in this box. Birds must have carried them. If so then they should be yellow pear tomatoes.

Zucchini. So happy to have some this year.

Red and an Orange Bell Pepper.

Yellow Squash.

Celebrity and Sweet 100 tomatoes........and pine trees. I still have 6 pine trees that grew from seeds 2 years ago. I'm going to put them in the ground this fall.

What, doesn't everyone have pine trees in their vegetable garden?

I planted the Sweet 100's as seeds. There are also onions in there. I have a heck of a time keeping onions too. They sprout and then die off. I'm blaming the cat this time though. I think she got in there and dug them up. So I only have a few right now. You can see the Celebrity has been overwatered because her leaves are curling. 18......I mean, 19 overwatered a little while I was gone.

Yep, 18 had a birthday while I was gone.

Dad got her an Oreo ice cream cake. I was very sad to not be there with her. Grace and I had gotten all her presents and had Dad hide them on her birthday. Then we sent her clues throughout the day to find them. It was fun.

Alrighty then, thats it for today. Stampy stuff tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings, b.

Happy Independence Day

2013-07-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

Holy Moly Batman! I can't hardly believe how long its been since I've posted. I knew it had been awhile but geez.

Happy Independence Day everyone! I hope everyone has something fun planned for today. Most of my crew just left to go get some fireworks. I hope they bring me back some snakes. Remember those?

So today I have a bag tag to show you:

Blue Ribbon, Teeny Tiny Wishes and Banner Greetings. Whisper white cardstock. Real red, pacific point and black Stazon inks. Delicate Doilies die, big shot, 1 3/8" circle punch, red baker's twine and polka dot parade DSP.

Since its the 4th of July I thought I would go with a red, white and blue color scheme.

One of the first things I thought of doing with the Banner Greetings set was to use it for the ribbons on the Blue ribbon set.

I still need to take pics of the cards we made at group last week. I'll try and get that done today so I can show you.

We have been enjoying summer. I've gotten the front yard planted as much as I'm going to this year. It is so hot now that anything else will have to wait for next spring. I did discover that my Sweet Brooms have a problem. A problem that seems to go hand in hand for them. Had I known this, I wouldn't have bought them.

Remember what they looked like when I planted them?

Yeah, look at it now;

I was thinking the poor little guy wasn't getting enough water but no. Look closely...........

These are called Genista caterpillars. They are all over my poor bush. This is one instance where you gotta love the internet.

The internet told me to get some Bacillus thuringiensis. So I did.

This stuff was not cheap! Anyway, I sprayed them and I'll have to wait until Spring to see if my poor little bushes come back.

OY! What a pain!

I've also taken pics of the vegetable garden. I'll get those together too because I know you've just been waiting for an update on that ;)

I also wanted to turn you on to a site that the girls and I have been fascinated with, geoguessr.com. I saw this on The Pioneer Woman site. It uses Google Maps and will drop you somewhere in the world. You have to drive around looking at signs and buildings and guess where you are. We have been having a competition on who can get the closest. I currently hold the title with a .002 km. Thank you very much.

18 was in Italy (in the game) and saw this tree:

She says it looks like Beyonce. Maybe Beyonce with no head. Anyway its been really fun. We've seen things that we will never see in person. Very cool and dare I say it?.........educational?

WHOA!!!!! dont say the "e" word during summer.

Alrighty then, I'll be back soon with more stamping stuff. Thanks so much for checking in and hanging out.

Blessings, b.

please stay.....

2013-05-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hey there! How was your day? I'm almost afraid to post something today. The last few times I've posted I get notices that people are unsubscribing.

Was it something I said?

I know, I need a tougher skin. But I really like it when you all come and hang out. Even though I have nothing of importance to say.

-big sigh-

Anyhow, I wanted to show you a sympathy card I needed to make.

Blooming with Kindness and Teeny Tiny Wishes. Whisper white and crumb cake cardstock. White craft and Black Stazon inks. White taffeta ribbon, vintage faceted buttons, linen thread, window frame framelits, lg. doily die, big shot.

I really had no plan when I set out to make this. It started out one way and ended up another way. I'm sure you all can relate.

Okie dokie. I'm supposed to be working on my Artisan entries for Stampin' Up!. "Supposed to" are the operative words there. The 3D items always kick my butt. Come on inspiration!

Alrighty then, break time is over. Thanks so much for stopping by checking in, I really appreciate it.

Blessings, b.

thank yous and a tag

2013-05-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hidey Ho! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. I'm so behind on showing you stuff that I have 2......no 3..........no 4, projects to show you today. Whew!

You know, wait a minute. Let me make sure I haven't shown you them already. Hold on................

Nope, okay lets go.

Ready? This is a long one.

A Word for You (retiring). Whisper white notecards, marina mist, whisper white and crumb cake cardstock. Black Stazon and whisper white inks. Window framelits, big shot, This and That washi tape, bitty buttons, square lattice embossing folder, sunshine and sprinkles DSP, 3/4" circle punch.

I made some quick thank yous for a baby shower.

Much better pic. Her colors were blue and brown. I used the new This and That washi tape. LOVE IT!

I used our notecards and envelopes. Now, I know it says they are retiring but they are just being reconfigured. The cardstock in them will be thicker. Neat eh?

Thats the Ticket and Distressed dots (retiring). Crumb cake and whisper white cardstock. Marina mist and whisper white inks. This and That washi tape, sunshine and sprinkles DSP, dotted ribbon punch, ticket punch, natural ribbon, bitty buttons, lable framelits, big shot, white bakers twine.

I know, I'm kind of hooked on making this style tag huh? Hey, if it works, don't fix it.

Let me know if you're interested and I'll do a tutorial on how I die cut the tag.

A Word for You (retiring). Notecards and envelopes, very vanila and basic gray cardstock. Black Stazon ink. This and That washi tape, big shot, little leaves die, flower trim, basic pearls.

I already had them packed up when I took the pic. You get the idea though.

Last week we had a bridal shower at work. So I used the rest of the notecards and made some for the bride. Her colors happen to be coral, gray and ivory. Just happens to be 2 of the exact same colors in the washi tape! How convenient is that?

Epic Day This and That washi tape # 131269 $4.95

I wanted to show you how I packaged them. This pic does not really show how cool this box is.

Stampin' Up! is reconfiguring the packaging for the wood stamps. They are the same type of boxes that the clear stamps come in but they are thicker because of the wood. I am so on board with this!

I got my new catalog preorder and so I took the new stamps out of this box and the notecards fit perfectly!

I'll have to order more empty boxes when the catalog goes live. Super excited about this change. And I don't really like change.

Here is the tag I made. I'm so upset that the flower trim from the Spring Catalog isn't going to be in the new catalog. What are you thinking Stampin' Up!? I will miss the flower trim lots.

The little box with the name on it was a special little gift for the groom-to-be. I didn't want the bride opening it in front of our staff. She would have died but I would have thought it was hilarious.

You can see here that I sprayed it with the Smooch Spritz. It shimmers. The only reason I used the Honecomb Embossing folder is because it matched the design on the coral washi tape. Otherwise I might have used something else......because honeycombs just don't seem real wedding material.........whatever.

Alrighty then. some of these goodies are retiring for good. Like the Sunshine and Sprinkles DSP (Spring catalog), bitty buttons, flower trim (spring catalog), A Word for You (what will I do for sentiments now?) and Distressed Dots background stamp (so sad about this one), so get them while you can.

Let me know if you'd like a new catalog.

Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out. Oh wait! Before you go. Look what I got yesterday:

I got an iphone 4. Lord help me! I don't know how to do anything on it yet. Grace is showing me and 18 is coming home for the summer on Friday. She is very techy and knows everything. So far though, I love it. I can actually hear on it. Thats a plus eh?

Ok......thats all.

Blessings, b.

validated

2013-04-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have been validated.

You know my ~~addiction~~ love for Crumb Cake cardstock, right? Well, I actually went out of my comfort zone to make a card for our group last week. I used Melon Mambo.

Lord help me. So not my color.

Then I made the same card using a larger sentiment so my ladies could see what it would look like should they choose to use a larger sentiment.

And, I made it with Crumb Cake.

I gave them the option of either color and do you know which color every one of them chose?

Crumb Cake, thank you very much.

Ready? Get your sunglasses on.

Blooming with Kindness and Teeny Tiny Wishes. Melon Mambo, basic black and whisper white cardstock. Melon mambo and black Stazon inks. White taffeta ribbon, vintage faceted buttons, dryer sheets, dazzling diamonds glitter, big shot, clear scallop square die, white bakers twine.

Our hostess this month wanted to do the dryer sheet technique. You usually need a bold image behind to stand out and this was the first one I thought of.

It actually came out just like I pictured it in my mind. That never happens.

Here you can kinda sorta see the glitter. I'm not much for glitter and so didn't put too much on.

The black piece opens so you can write on the inside. A picture of that would have been good huh?

Okay, want to know how to do the Dryer Sheet Technique? I did not take pics but its pretty easy to explain.

stamp your image and let dry
spread glue over the whole piece of cardstock. I used Crystal Effects but you could use good ol' white glue. Lay it on fairly thick. You want it soak through the dryer sheet.
place your used dryer sheet over the top and smooth out. You can see where mine has a few bubbles in it. I say it just adds character.
cut around the edges.
sprinkle glitter over the top.
let dry and you're done!

The glue and/or Crystal Effects will warp your cardstock. After it dried I adhered mine to another piece of whisper white to stabilize it.

Ready for Crumb Cake?

Blooming with Kindness set. Baja Breeze, crumb cake and whisper white cardstock. Baja breeze and black Stazon. Vintage faceted buttons, used dryer sheets, linen thread, big shot, clear scallop square die, dazzling diamonds glitter, crystal effects.

Okay, so there isn't that much Crumb Cake on here. The Crumb cake part is the part that opens for the message.

Alrighty then, thats it from me today. Did you watch Mr. Selfridge last night? I'm just loving this show and so happy Mr. Crabb pulled the wool over on Mr. Grove.

Thanks so much for stopping by and hanging out.

Blessings, b.

peach blanket?

2013-04-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I was busy here.......and it was hot. Blech! I'm not ready for summer. But right now, it is 5:54 on a Sunday evening and it feels pretty darn perfect outside.

I wanted to show you what I planted this weekend but first I have a card to show you.

Up Up and Away and Teeny Tiny Wishes sets. Crumb cake and whisper white cardstock. Pumpkin pie, early espresso and black Stazon inks. Sunshine and sprinkles DSP, corner rounder and black marker.

This is almost an exact case of a card made by Jen Nelson. It is so simple and fun. I've been wanting to use this DSP and this was the perfect card for it. I never have enough birthday cards.

You can see where the faux stitching is a little wonky on 2 of the corners. Thats because after I already did the stitching I decided I wanted to cut down the panel a little more. Oh well, I still think its cute.

This came the other day.

One of the things that held me back from ordering it before was the price. Now that it is only $19.95 I had to get it. I haven't opened it yet though. I'm really computer challenged and I figure I'll need a weekend or so to figure it out.

Ok, now for a little gardening news.

I still haven't gotten all the veggies planted. I wanted to put in some bug killer first and let that work. So yesterday Grace and I went to the nursery. I got so excited over all the plants I never even made it inside to get the bug killer. OY!

But look what is already blooming in the backyard

This is one of the seeds the birds planted from last years plants. It has 18 buds on it. Aren't those birds helpful?

Anyhow, this year I decided I'm really going to get my yards done. I can afford to buy the plants but I can't afford the labor to get the yard ready. So if the heat doesn't kill me then hopefully I'll at least lose a few pounds and get a pretty yard to boot.

I started in the front yard.

This is a Mesa Peach Blanket. It looks just like the inside of a peach! I'm telling you, the people that come up with these names are just so clever.

Lots of Gerberas. I just love these. I got them in different colors too.

Sweet Broom. This smells pretty good.

I still have alot more planter to fill. Oh yeah, I also got a few African Boxwood. The front yard whooped me today and I didn't get anything done in the backyard. But I've got ideas.

Alrighty then, thats it for today. I have more stampy stuff to show you too.

Thanks for stopping by and hanging out with me and listening to my stories.

Blessings, b.