{ Leaping Frogs! }

Stamp Sets: Warmest Regards, Unfrogettable Paper: True Thyme, Whisper White, Unknown Patterned Paper Ink: True Thyme, Whisper White Accessories: Signo White Gell Pen, Pewter Hodgepodge

With the retirement of this year's In Colors, it reminded me of this card and I realized that I have not shown it yet! This was the first card that I made with my first box of goodies from the new catalog last July. My order contained the new In Colors and my first hostess set of the year, Warmest Regards. I truly will miss those colors and that stamp set. I have come to reach for both so often throughout this year. I am not nearly as happy with the new In Colors (I say that now, right?) I mean, don't get me wrong, I like the new colors, but I really loved the ones from this past year. Oh well, I suppose that time moves on and so should I ...

{ Magnified }

Stamp Sets: Shades of Nature, Flowers of Gratitude, Fine Lace Background Paper: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla Ink: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum Accessories: Moss Gingham Ribbon, Black Gingham Ribbon, Copper Brads, Copper Edge Vellum Tags

This is another card from that set that I made a little while ago for a my MIL. I really like the look of the two uncolored flowers then the colored one in the middle inside of the metal tag. I think that it makes the middle one look magnified when, of course, it isn't. I saw several cards like this on Splitcoast and just had to try it. I didn't have the right colored markers, so I had to use the blender pen and ink pad coloring technique to color in the flower, which, being on vellum, wasn't easy. I had to color it in, let it dry (which lighted it) and then re-color it about 3 times. It was a lot of work at the time, but I think the end result was well worth it!

{ Oldie but Goodie }

Stamp Sets: Shades of Nature, Sincere Salutations, Fine Lace Background Paper: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla Ink: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Mellow Moss Accessories: Moss Gingham Ribbon

This is a card that I made a little while ago for a my MIL. I made her a whole set of various cards and gave them to her in a paper tote bag. It was so adorable that I almost kept it for myself ;)! I really like this layout and should try to use it more often!

{ Hubby's Notebook }

Stamp Sets: Whimsical Upper Ink: Night of Navy Paper: Pumpkin Pie and Night of Navy Accessories: Twill Tape, Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware

This is a notebook that I made for my Hubby a while ago. I was just learning how to decorate notebooks and asked Hubby if he wanted one. He said he did but that he wanted it "very plain." He wanted it to have our Alma Mater (Auburn University) colors and not have any embellishments. Well, I got away with some twill tape and hodgepodge hardware! :D I think that it is still plain, and very masculine! This project is the perfect example of how you can make beautiful, customized gifts without having tons of supplies!

{ Pearl Ex }

Stamp Sets: Wild Rose, Happy Everything Ink: Cranberry Crisp Paper: True Thyme, Cranberry Crisp, Recollections Accessories: Natural Hemp Twine, Word Window Punch, Pearl-Ex, Aqua-Painter Non-SU!: Future Floor Wax

This is a card that I made for a swap that I was in. I just *love* these colors together and will be oh so sad when they retire. It didn't turn out quite how I had envisioned it, but I still think that it is nice. I really wanted the technique where you fill your Aqua-Painter with Future Floor Wax and then dip it into Pearl-Ex to make it a bit more of a paint. I had yet to do actually use my Pearl-Ex and was envisioning a beautiful shimmery red rose. The first couple that I did ended up with more of a shiny glittery red rose and was actually quite ugly. I then decided to just use the Pearl-Ex to highlight parts of the rose rather than trying to make the whole thing shimmery. I think it balanced out alright, but of course doesn't photograph well enough to really give you a feel for what it looks like. Oh well, I hope that you enjoy!

{ Mother's Day }

Stamp Sets: Bamboo II, Short Order Alpha Ink: Always Artichoke Paper: Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke Accessories: Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware, Twill Tape

As promised, this is the card that I made for my Mom. Being from Thailand, she loves anything that is Asian inspired, plus she loves anything that I handcraft, so I know she'll just eat it up. This card was CASED from a card that I made while at a stamp camp held by my up-up line, Joann. Her blog can be seen here. As for my Mom's gift, I bought her a huge 48-count box of her favorite chocolates, Ferrero Rocher, and a movie, The Little Buddha, which she has been wanting for some time now.

{ The 90's }

You Belong in 1991

With you, anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

I think that this is quite fitting. I guess it makes sense since I was born in the 80's and therefore grew up in the 90's. Heh ... that make me wonder - what does that make this decade? The zeros? hhhhhmmmmm ... I wish I could ask someone. Where is a high schooler when you need one?

{ MIL Mother's Day }

Stamps: Mixed Bouqet Ink: Marigold Morning, True Thyme Paper: Cranberry Crisp, Marigold Morning, Buckaroo Blue and Treehouse Accessories: Cranberry Crisp Stitched Ribbon

This card is made with one of my *favorite* sets, Mixed Bouquet, which is retiring :(. So sad. This is also one of my favorite layouts. I just love how it allows me to several colors in a visualy appealing way. This card is for my Mother-in-Law for Mother's day. My husband loves these in colors so I thought I would use them for her - ya know, gotta make him feel a part of the card just a little, right? We will be giving her an OTT light. She alters bridal gowns for a living so I thought that the light would really help her. This is a true gesture from the heart because I don't even have one myself! :-D

{ A Muse A Palooza }

This is such an exciting time of year - Stampin' Up! is coming out with new images July 1 and A Muse is as well - and celebrating it with A Muse A Palooza!! A Muse is the only company besides Stampin' Up! that makes stamps that appeal to me. Their images are simple yet beautiful and their sentiments are just *perfect.* I love it. To participate in the fun, you must register at http://www.amuseapalooza.com. I would be ever so grateful if you mentioned me as your referral!

{ Retiring List }

Okay, I know that I have been really, really bad and have been ignoring this blog. Things have been a little hectic lately. Nothing in particular is going on, just busy running errands, seeing family/friends, etc. Plus, Hubby and I are on still on Weight Watchers (I've lost 4 pounds in 3 weeks - woo hoo!) and it seems that we are spending more time shopping for the "right" foods and I am definitely spending more time cooking, which is totally a good thing. We used to eat out at least twice a week, but being on the diet makes it less easy to do that. We do occasionally go to Subway or this Japanese place that we like, but other than that we pretty much eat at home. It save us money, keeps of the weight, but doesn't leave me much time or energy for other things. Anyway, I promise to be better. I actually had some time to stamp this past weekend so I will be sharing some of those items with you a little bit later. Right now, I wanted to point out the fact that Stampin' Up! is retiring some (I should say "a lot") of their sets. In the past, they have retired 150-180 sets, but since they will be switching to two catalogs this coming year, they retired 233 sets!!! I have to admit that I am really taking a beating. I'm not at home to officially count how many I have lost, but I can clearly see some of my favorites on the list - Gorgeous Grapes, Mixed Bouquet, Wonderful Words 2 ... oh, I think I need to go home and console them right away! Anyway, for those of you wanting to see the retirement list, just click here. They are sorted both alphabetically and by page. You will also note that there is a dormant list over to the right. These are sets that will not be shown in the next catalog, but will still be available for order. Just let me know if I can help you pick a set or two that you can't live without!

{ Out with the Old and In with the New! }

Did you get enough of my sentimentalness (is that a word?) the other day? I gotta tell you, it's only getting worse as I realize that my Tercel is being towed away to be donated tomorrow *sniff*. I know that she will be doing lots of good for our charity of choice, Maryland Public Television, but I'm still sad to see her go.

On the positive side, we finally picked out and purchased a beautiful new car. We decided on a 2007 Honda Civic EX Sedan in Galaxy Grey. She looks just like the one shown below, except ours is a manual transmission and we will be adding fog lights, a moonroof visor, splash guards and door/fenderwell trims.




I have to admit that there is just something about this car ... she is so shiny and roomy, she smells so nice and - dare I say it - she is so sexy! I know that I will continue to miss my sweet trusty little Tercel, but I am looking forward to many new great memories in our sleek and sexy (oh, I said it again!) little Civic! :-D

Oh, and now that this whole car researching/test driving/talking/shopping/negotiating thing is over, I am planning to *finally* getting back into my stamp room! I have a couple of sets that have yet to see ink - which is a sin in my book! I will be getting right on top of that just as soon as I get some sleep to recover from this past week!

{ Bad Little Blogger! }

I know, I know, shame on me. I've been a bad little blogger. But, I promise that I have a good reason. I haven't gotten in the stamp room for a while because I've been running around like mad for the past week since we found out that a family member is on her death bed. She is very close to us and we are very sad to see her go. Here is what she looks like:



Don't laugh!!! We really are sad! This is a picture of a car that looks just like mine (minus the sunroof). She is a 1991 Toyota Tercel and is dearly loved. My sister bought this car for my mom back in 1995 or 1996 to force her to learn to drive a manual drive. She taught me to drive when I was 16 and I took her to college with me. She was always super reliable and handles beautifully. We kept thinking for years that she was gonna die and that this would be our last year with her, but she just kept on kicking! We were starting to think that she was invincible! But, on Monday my husband said that she was making some awful noises. A mechanic confirmed that her engine is on it's last legs. To quote my husband "she could blow out a rod at any moment" - when I asked what that meant in "wife" terms, he said that "her engine can die at any moment." Sad, huh? I didn't think that it would effect me all that much since this is about a car, but I have to admit that I'm sadder about this than I ever thought I would be. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not crying or anything, but I do feel a slight pain somewhere inside whenever I think about it.


Anyway, (now that you think I'm a little crazy) since Monday, we've been spending every waking moment researching cars, looking at them, talking about them, and test driving them. It has been a very hard decision. Ick. Especially for us because as you can tell, we keep cars for as long as they are kicking! We want to make sure that we pick a safe, comfortable car that is reliable and well-made. We've narrowed it down a bit, but we're still mostly undecided. We mostly like the Honda Civic, but we're also considering the Honda Civic Hybrid, the Toyota Prius, the Honda Accord and the Hyundai Sonata. Thankfully, Hubby and I work *sorta* close together so we've just been carpooling this week. We're pretty sure we can hold out for another couple of weeks, but I hope that we can make a good, solid, comfortable decision soon. It's been really difficult and we haven't even gotten to the negotiations yet! So, I'm not sure when I'll be getting back into the craftroom, but I sure hope soon. I think a creative session is just what I need to get rid of some of this stress and sadness!

{ You have more creativity in your little finger ... " }

"... than I ever will in my whole body!"

I can't tell you how many times I've heard that! I've always been a little crafty, whether it was making beading jewlery, friendship bracelets, collages, scrapbooking or stamping! I was always doing something with my hands. Whenever I would give a handmade gift to someone, that is what I would often hear! I am humbled by the phrase and often blush, but I also find it to be a little funny. I mean, it just reminds me how there are so many levels of "creative" or "talented" in the world. Someone may think that I am the most creative person, but I know that I am not and am often blown away by other people and think the same of them, but they probably feel like I do and admire someone else's work - KWIM? It's just a little funny. Case and point, below are two collections of shapes that *other* people came up with for the SU! punches. I found these on SCS, ofcourse. The first one showcases animals and was put together by "TXTORNADOINAZ." I just love that you can make all these animals with just punches ... I don't think that I ever would have thought to combine them in this way! The second one was put together by "Forget-me-not" and shows all the different ways that the new Round Tab punch (which can be seen in the Spring Mini) can be used. Can you believe that I one punch can be used in so many different ways?

I just can't get over it. I think that these ideas are *amazing.* I couldn't have come up with all of these if I sat for a week and tried! These ladies are truly creative and talented. I guess it just goes to show that while you are busy admiring someone else's work, someone is admiring yours! :-D

{ Another tin! }

I just *love* these things! They are so versatile! This is a paint can tin from Michaels. The paper is also from Michaels - it was on sale, but look at just how perfect it is for this! The other paper is SU!'s Lavender Lace and the letter is SU!'s Monogram M that is stamped in Pretty in Pink and then trimmed down to fit on the tin. I just used Mod Podge to put the paper onto the tin, then Mod Podged over the top to protect the paper. The ribbon is SU!'s pink, white and taupe grosgrain and silver narrow organdy. I just glued it on with SU! liquid glue and just tied some to the handle.

I made this tin for my sister not too long ago. I am collecting things to eventually start a scrapbook for my niece and I wanted a place that my sister could put notes that she jot down of anything she'd like to remember or to collect any items she wants to put in the book. I just love how this turned out! :-D

{ ohmigoodness! }

Check out this beauty! This is the Egg & Muffin Toaster from Back to Basics. This thing seems *amazing* and I've told the hubby that I NEED one!! This baby will steam an egg and warm up pre-cooked meat and toast bread all at the same time so you can assemble it into a sandwich when you are done and have a yummy, quick (4 minutes, according to the website) breakfast! I've read a ton of reviews about it on Amazon (who, by-the-way have it on sale right now for $39 with free shipping!) and there seems to be only one defect with it, but that has now been fixed by the company. All the other issues with the item seem minor. I mean, how could you go wrong - who doesn't like a nice, warm, yummy and fast breakfast sandwich? And, did I mention that it cooks with steam and only a touch of non-stick spray ... hello, can we say healthy? And really, can you put a price tag on health? Oh, and don't let me forget to mention that we are starting that diet on Friday ... this would help greatly with the diet! That's it ... my mind is made up ... Hubby and I need to get this and test it out for Christmas/Birthday presents ... yeah, that's it, this is all in the name of gifts for others. Now, did any of this convince you? I ask because I need to know if it'll work on the hubby! *wink*


***UPDATE 3/21/07*** This thing is amazing!!! Yesterday around 11 am (obviously a while before I posted this) I showed this to everyone at work and my boss loved it so much that he had me purchase one for him from Amazon. Well, would you believe that it got here around 10 am today - using their free UPS Ground shipping option! Whoa! I ran down to 7-Eleven and bought everything I needed to make some yummy sandwiches. The only thing was that they did not have non-stick spray, so I had to get just plain vegetable oil. Anyway, I made two sandwiches and shared them with some of my co-workers and all of them were in awe! The sandwiches were *perfect.* The toast was nice and toasty and the egg was cooked all the way through and the lunch meat turkey ham was nice and hot! I just placed the cheese between a slice of bread and hot ham and it melted perfectly. Ya know, all my co-workers (except my boss who obviously was excited enough to buy the machine) were making fun of me yesterday for being so enthusiastic, but today they were all silent! :-D They all think that I must be getting commission from the company or something! I swear that I'm not, I just love it when something works the way I imagine/want it to and makes life just that much easier.

{ Name Frames and Life Organization }

Well, now is later. I thought I'd share with you the gifts that I made for the younger crowd for Christmas (as mentioned in the previous post) - Name Frames! I *love* making these! The only real stamping involved is the letters, but they are just SO easy and fun to make! :-D Truly, the hardest part of making these is finding the right sized frame. I think making these seems pretty self-explanatory - you just stamp the letters of the name you want to use, cut them out (I used both tag-shaped and plain squares in the examples above) and then just play around with them until you get them in a position that you like, then just embellish away! If that doesn't make sense, or if you have a more specific question, please do not hesitate to comment here and I'll get an answer to you ASAP!

Anyway, so remember how I was talking yesterday about life being so hectic ... well, my husband and I have been talking recently about how now that we have moved to a big city from our slow Southern life, we have been so caught up with working and the commute that the house has seemed to just slip away from us. And no, we do not like this development. Our attempts at getting things organized and clean have been futile. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not like we're rolling around in piles of dirt, dirty dishes/laundry or anything like that. It's just that we have a few dust bunnies lying around, some mounds of cluttered paper that need to be put away and we haven't vacuumed in like a month. I mean, what we've been doing for 3 years that we have been living together is to clean on the weekend days and hangout/do things during the weekday and weekend evenings. Well, here in the big city since we don't get home until late, so it is hard to go out in the evenings. Hubby said that he wants to make more weekend outings so we can really enjoy some of the entertainment here in the big city. However, in order to do those things on the weekend, we can't really get any cleaning done. So, in Clara organizing fashion, I have developed a plan of attack. For everyday of the week I have given each of us a small job. For example, on Tuesdays, I will clean our 3 bathrooms and Hubby will take out the trash and polish our dining and living room tables. I figure if we take on one job a day it will only be about an hour a day verses the half or whole day that we are used to spending on the weekend. Our hope is that we will become more productive during the week so as to free up our weekends for fun activities - like stamping! I'm very excited about the plan. This routine in combination with going back on Weight Watchers on Friday (and Hubby will be doing it with me) really makes me feel in control of myself and the things around me for the first time in a long time. I have come to realize that I am a creature of habit. I crave routine, organization and structure ... one might even say that I require it. Without it, I just feel like I'm floating around aimlessly in space ... KWIM? Anyway, I'm not sure how the hubby will take to all this organization being that he is more of a free spirit than I am, but I guess we'll see. I'm really excited and I'll keep you updated on how everything goes! :-D

{ Grapes and Life's Craziness }

Man this week has been BUSY! Life can just get so hectic, can't it? My mom came into town so I was spending my evenings and weekend with her, which mean no stamping! Uh. I really think that I am going through withdrawls. It seems like my stamping sessions are getting fewer and farther in between. It just seems like life has just gotten crazier since moving up here. I guess before Hubby and I just had each other, a few friends and a few select things to do in our Southern small town, but now, we have lots of family nearby and tons of big city options! Anyway, since I couldn't get into my craft room, I thought I would share these coasters and trivets that I made back during Christmas. Money was kind of tight this year since we had the move and because we had to go a couple months on only one income. So, I made these sets for everyone. All the adults (the kids/young adults got different gifts, but I'll show those another time) got 4 coasters and 2 trivets but all were a different design. This one was my favorite. I think the tumbled marble tiles with the grapes gives this set a very Tuscan feel. I used one of my favorite sets - Gorgeous Grapes. I *LOVE* it!!! These beautiful grapes are so versitle - guy or girl, sophisticated or fun, simple or ornate, modern or antique, it just doesn't matter! Anyway, these are super easy to make! All you need is some tumbled marble tiles (I got mine from Lowes - I think they're called Bottocino), Stazon ink, your stamps and something to put on the back of the tiles to protect your table - I used cork shelf liner, but you could also use felt, those little rubber feet, even the scrap left-overs from when you cut-out your stamps! Here is how you make them:

1. Get a damp cloth and wipes your tiles clean. They tend to have dust and dirt on them.


2. Let them dry for 24 hours or bake them at 325 degrees for 20 minutes and wait until cool


3. Stamp your images onto the tiles with Stazon ink. You can use SU! craft ink, but then you have to use a sealant on the tiles which makes them unasorbable (is that a word? oh well, you get my drift)


4. Bake the tiles at 325 degrees for 20 minutes and wait until cool


5. Adhere your protective backing

That's it - quick, easy, cheap and FUN! I *love* making these for a real *WOW* sorta gift! :-D


As for my week ... my Mom came in on the 13th to take care of me when I went to the while I was at the hospital on the 14th (everything is fine, I just had to have some tests run to get a good all-around check up) and she ended up staying until yesterday. Hubby was going to take me to the hospital himself, but he would have had to take half a day off and my Mom isn't working right now, so she offered to come do it instead. It was really nice seeing her. We found a local Thai market, which was wonderful. I've been shopping at a local Asian store, H-Mart. While they do carry some Thai food, it is mostly Korean and some Japanese. But oh is their produce fresh - yum! We even did what Mom and Daughters do best - clothes shopping! My Dad had some airmiles left on one of his credit cards and couldn't use them before they expire, so he cashed them out for their dollar value in a Gap giftcard, so my Mom took me on a mini shopping spree. Isn't it funny that I am a grown adult and even married, but my Mom still comes to take care of me when I'm "sick" and my parents still buy me clothes? hahahaha I just love it!

My mom also went with me this weekend to get yet another bridesmaid dress. This will mark the 5th wedding, besides my own, that I have been in ... wow. Anyway, the dress to the right is for the wedding of one of my oldest and best friends, Virgina. I don't know why the two pieces look different colors in the picture, but they are supposed to be the same color, buttercup (which is more like the color on the skirt).

The dress was purchased from Davids Bridal, the "Make and Match" collection. Virginia picked the color and the skirt (style number 8730) but let us pick any shirt we wanted as long as it was the same color. That's why I had to have my Mom come with me. There were 2 that I liked, but I needed her opinion so I would be sure to get the one that looked best on me. We chose this v-neck one (style number 81331). It looks *so* cute. When I got married in 2005, my dresses also came from Davids Bridal, but I gotta tell you, they have *MUCH* cuter options now then they did back then (I say that as if it was so long ago, don't I?). I got married in July in San Diego and wanted to get strappy short dresses for my girls, but there just weren't any really cute ones. I ended up picking a beautiful red color (Davids Bridal's "Apple" - they still have it) and let them pick any style that they wanted. It worked, but I would have much prefered something like what I got for Virgina's wedding. Anyway, too cute. I think I would totally wear it again say to another wedding (if I ever get just invited without having to be in it!) or to a fancy dinner party or something. I'm not much of a yellow person, though, so we'll have to see.

Anyway, that was my week in a nutshell. I will hopefully get into my craft room in the next couple of days and have something new to show you! Thanks for looking! :-D

{ Stampin' Up! Is Even On YouTube! }

I recently joined YouTube and decided to see if there was anything Stampin' Up! related. I have to admit that I didn't expect to find anything - but I did!! It just reminds me of how well-known Stampin' Up! becoming. I mean, I joined in October of 2005 and we were only located in the US and Canada. Last year, we ventured to Australia, and this year, we're in New Zealand. There is even talk of us going to England and/or France next. How amazing is that? More and more people are learning about this great company and their wonderful products! Gotta love it! :-D

Anyway, back to YouTube - most of the videos on there were not so great or didn't really serve much of a purpose, but I did find five videos by one lady, Linda Heller, who did an amazing job! You can see the videos here. I think that this is a great idea! Now, I wonder if I can talk the hubby into buying a video camera just so I can make some tutorials of my own?

{ I *Heart* My Crop-A-Dile }

I really am in love with this thing ... and I hate to be so in love with a non-SU! item, but I just can't help it! This thing is amazing. It cuts through cardstock of any thickness, chipboard, fabric, and I'm told even tin - Whoa! I've even heard that they're going to start making them in lime instead of pink ... wish I would've known about that before ... well, maybe not ... I needed this tool yesterday, not tomorrow, ya know? Oh, and not to mention the best part - that it sets eyelet and snaps in no time and with *no* noise! I have always loved the look of eyelets but also always hated setting them - especially because my crafting desk has a glass top (yes, I know, not the wisest choice). Plus, there are no loose pieces to keep up with - well, unless you count the instructions, which you will totally need until you can memorize all the correct settings (which I have yet to do, so don't ask me!). I combat this by keeping a pdf version on my computer to pull up at any time. It can be found here. I've also been told that a demonstration of the tool can be seen here, but I have yet to see it with my own eyes as the video has been unavailable the past couple of times I tried to see it. Anyway, this thing is great. If you don't have one, it is totally worth it. It retails for about $25, but of course, you can always use your 40% off coupon like I did. I think I ended up only paying like $17 for it - which is completely worth it's weight in gold just so I never have to hear the hammering, pounding and banging ever again! :-D

{ Sweet Simplicity }

This is another card from my stampin frenzy last week. I am especially proud of this one. It is very JulieHRR-ish to me. I made this card for my sister, who likes everything clean, simple and uncluttered. I made her a mix of different cards, but this is the one that made her stop for a moment and take a second look.

I am also very happy to say that nothing about this card is CASEd (Copy And Share with Everyone). I pulled it all out of my own little mind! I mean, it's not that I CASE all my cards, but I usually sit down to stamp and, being uninspired, I end up pulling a color scheme, layout, or some other sort of inspiration from another card. But, this card, simple though it may be, came from my own little head ... and not only does my sister love it, but so do I.