CK Convention in Seattle at the Meydenbauer!

You know it's that time again! The Creating Keepsakes Convention in Seattle/Bellevue! This year I didn't sign up for any classes - instead I got to help work at the booth of one of my absolute favorite companies ever....Crafty Secrets! Spending time with Sandy Redburn the owner, and Jessie, a shop owner from B.C. was just about the highlight of my year! LOL These ladies are sweet, funny, amazing, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my time with them! They have the neatest accent but it isn't that harsh british-y, "EH?!" sounding accent! Didn't get to shop quite as much as I would have liked, but that's probably for the better.

And gosh darn, I forgot to get pics right after we set everything up- but at least I got a few snapshots of some samples right before we tore down the booth. There were so many more pictures that I wish I could have taken.... but there will definitely be a next time so stay tuned!

At the bottom, it's the three of us...in the middle is Sandy, then Jessie- They are so awesome! I ♥ them!!

Neglected blog?

Well maybe, but it's not as if I wasn't stamping. I just wasn't having any luck with pictures! The icky wet, dark weather means terrible pictures and little no posting for me.

I persevered though and came up with these photos of my cards...I love the knobbly gnome set! I got it on the aftermarket but didn't realize it was cling mounted until after it arrived...I have no case for the darn set! WAHH!!!

The top two are my Halloween cards - I didn't get nearly as many done as I had hoped! :(

Then those gnomes colored in copics. I'm so proud of that coloring! lol...I kept showing my son...and he was saying yeah, yeah, without even looking! :P Then he saw the strawberry one and was intrigued...but we found out coloring is NOT his thing...so off he went back to the video games :(




Also got this little "Over the top" tidbit of fun from the Lovely Ms. Tsuruta at Tsuruta Designs:





I need to pass this award onto 5 peeps, post on their blog to let them know I left this award, and then I need to answer a list of questions in ONE word.

Fun!

1. Where is your cell phone? purse

2. Your hair? shiny

3. Your mother? generous

4. Your father? funny

5. Your favorite food? Bruschetta

6. Your dream last night? not

7. Your favorite drink? DiSaronno

8. Your dream/goal? Happiness

9. What room are you in? Media

10. Your hobby? Collecting (you thought it was going to be stampin or cardmaking, huh?)

11. Your fear? slugs!!!!

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here!

13. Where were you last night? bed

14. Something you aren't? Singer

15. Muffins? Pumpkinberrystruedel

16. Wish list item? Copics

17. Where did you grow up? Seattle

18. Last thing you did? Mail

19. What are you wearing? Bling (see the sweater/picture from when I was at AMuse last November - wore that same outfit today - hadn't worn it in almost a year!)

20. Your TV? off

21. Your pets? Westie

22. Friends? Entertaining

23. Your life?Busy

24. Your mood? Achey

25. Missing someone? grandparents

26. vehicle? Sophie

27. Something your not wearing?underwear (just kidding!) bracelet is the real answer!!

28. Your favorite store? Fran's (it's a chocolate store - google Fran's chocolates if you must)

29. Your favorite color?green or magenta (watermelon)

30. When was the last time you laughed? earlier

31. Last time you cried? reading

32. Your best friend?lots

33. One place that I go to over and over? work

34. Facebook? YEAH

35. Favorite place to eat? Cutters or Piatti's

yummmmmm...

Do you like Thickers as much as I do? Look what came from American Crafts! Heaven....I am in it... right now.

From left to right:
Soft felt varsity "LETTERMAN" letters

Glittery "GLASS SLIPPER" puffy letters

"MIRROR MIRROR" puffy glitter letters

"NUTMEG" glossy chipboard letters
Reflective
"CINNAMON" foil letters and
Trendy colored "ROCKATEER" letters.... you'd be in heaven too if you were in my shoes today :)

Last minute WCMD

From Ellen Hutson's blog, the CLASSroom, there were several challenges that I wanted to try. I would have done more if we hadn't gone out to dinner with the neighbors on Sunday evening. As much as I love a nice Italian restaurant with our friends, it tends to cut into my weekend stampin time! :( Oh the sacrifices.....

I'm going to try to do one or two more challenges before midnight! :) We'll see. I don't think they'll get posted, but at least I'll get to play and make cards!! :)

#1 - Color Challenge - use Aqua/water blue, chocolate and cream
#2 - Glitz it up - a holiday card with glitz (YEAH!)
#3 - a Halloween item - mine isn't nearly as cute at I THOUGHT it would be - but maybe I'll work on it some more. ETA: I took the photo out and will replace with a before and after :)

Most of the items are from Ellen Hutson's store, but I think you can find similar items if you look - we're surrounded by so many options for crafting these days, aren't we? On a side note - see the buttons in the picture? I got my order from Papertrey today and in two packages of pink buttons there is not ONE flower!! :( I'm so disappointed because that is why I bought pink...thinking I'd get at least a couple flowers...but not even one! Geesh! If anyone has pink flowers and wold like to trade them for some of my plain janes, please let me know! :)

The blue buttons are from my local scrap store - see all the pretty flower shapes? LOL I bought that package specifically for the flower buttons!!

Ok, I'm back to crafting now...and by the way, I hope you are all well....I'm not. Came down with a terrible sore throat today and I may stay home tomorrow. I hope I didn't get my co-worker sick today because we had to team call even though I felt like crap! :(

Card making makes me feel better (kind of)....

Take care everyone!

hugs,
Elaine

Crafty Secrets WCMD Challenge at Splitcoast

I LOVE WCMD! (WCMD=World Card Making Day). Over at Splitcoast Stampers in the Forums area there are challenges all day (and maybe even all weekend long)! One of my very favorite companies there is called Crafty Secrets. They're a sponsoring member company at Splitcoast Stampers....and they make the very BEST Vintage image stamps! I am IN LOVE, I tell ya! :)

So today their challenge was to make a card with Dimension. I chose the Craft Secrets set called Christmas Joy because I love layering the beautiful ornament images. They are designed to work together for multiple looks and can be 'decorated' in soooo many ways! There are just enough 'supporting' images in the set like a holly sprig, pine branch, and great sentiments too....see why I like it so much!? It's versatile, fun, and EASY to use!

Here's the card (you'll have to excuse the color and the warped panel image I so kindly shared in the picture -- it's not sunny here in Seattle so the grey skies make it hard to photograph things with any accuracy). Can you see where I layered the ornament? It's even got a little ornament loop at the top where I tied the sheer ribbon on (and the ribbon matches perfectly - not all dark and yucky like in the picture). The ornament is heat embossed in silver - look at the detail...it's lovely! Then I watercolored with SU inks on the ornament in Mambo Melon and my old Bliss Blue inks. Even the blue snowflakes are from the Crafty Secrets set! Great images, huh?

I hope if you're a stamper you do something fun today! I'll be visiting friends for stampin happiness later today!! But for now I'm off to make more cards! :)

hugs,
Elaine

A little this, a little that....

It's been a cool, wet, and windy day in Seattle. But over the weekend I made some cards. Then I managed to get some pics while it was still sunny, warm (75 degrees) and gorgeous. Summer's gone now. I'd woo it back with stamps if I could!

Top card is made with bats and a greeting from SU; the row of tombstones is from Lizzie Anne Designs (unmounted stamps - love em!)


It has a fun little metal ghostie charm from Making Memories that says "Boo!" and it's tied up with black / white 1/4" gingham, crinkle satin orange ribbon and black WEBBY ribbon... inside is a skull and crossbones from the Lizzie Anne set and an outline of white gel pen (the Stampin Up gel pen - cuz they work the very best for me!)


Second card is hopefully at it's intended recipient's home by now!!? It has some of the corduroy in orange, some splattery glimmer mist (that's what's making it look dingy - close up click shows the shimmer!) and a leaf die cut from K & Co. (The entire package of leaves were clearanced at Tar-jay for a buck!) The background paper is from SEI's Dill collection (bought last year at the Shop hop festival).

At the bottom, you see two of my oldest and dearest friends: (oldest as in old time friends - obviously they're not old women!)

First on the right, is Kim who I grew up with (she had a pool and I learned to swim at her house) and then my hairdresser/old neighbor, Camille in the middle (who was pinching my butt or something which explains my hand behind the back trying to shoo her away)...she also grew up in our neighborhood! We sure used to have fun back in the old days!!!

Kim was in town for a business meeting with her colleague Helen so we decided to go out for a night on the town at the new dreamy shops at the Bravern
in Bellevue. We drank and dined at Wild Ginger Restaurant (mmmmmm!!!) Camille and Jill both know how to flirt big time and got us some extra goodies and nicey-nice treats! After spending four hours and countless howls of laughter there, we wandered around to WINDOW shop (Thank God those places were closed - shoes at 2400 and purses at 3000 - I'd never be able to explain that)...then over to the new John Howie Steak house at the other end of the 'mall' and there we had a little apertif in the lounge.

There was a wonderful pianist - we almost had the entire place to ourselves...until the Bananas Foster show...I had no idea what it was but didn't think I'd like it because I hate bananas.
The showy preparation for the dessert drew a number of people in - so we didn't have the whole place to act silly and goofy but we still had fun and a most MEMORABLE evening! Next up is a trip to L.A. with the girls...Kim and her co-worker Helen are both from L.A. Apparently Helen's place is a beautiful "O.C." place where she said we can live it up!! Wooohooo! I can't wait!

Au revoir~

Ribbon makes my world go round!

Do you like ribbon as much as I do? Hopefully not because my husband says it is a sickness.
I could sit and look at ribbon all day long - it's like a whole bunch of pretty little rainbows inside the house!


I think they're too pretty not to share! You should click on the pictures and see the TEXTURES on each of the rolls...it is amazing!

The BIG ric rac has a ribbed texture and is very soft and pliable. The pom-pom edged ribbons have little fluffy poms on the edges - soft and cute! The webby stuff (in orange and black) is amazing when layered with a solid ribbon underneath!

Then there's the velvet corduroy ribbon - just like the fabric...ribbed, soft, and velvety!

The white edge stitched Grosgrain is deeply saturated with color - and it is a nice WIDE 1" in width!

Ruffled edged suede has been on my list for a long time - but after seeing it at the scrapbook store for $.75 a foot, I decided to wait, save my money and buy it this way instead... it came out to less than a dollar a YARD...not a foot! :) Oh happy day for me, sad day for hubby...there is ribbon everywhere!

Each roll has between 10 and 30 yards. That's a lot even if you like ribbon a lot, isn't it? I do need to sell some of it...the good news is that I will sell it at very, very good prices! I know of two people that were interested so far....if anyone else would like some, please email me at eyp963@msn.com and I will give you prices or do you think it's better to post it here?

Later I might get to post the cards I made yesterday... :)

The RIBBON ORDER is here!! :)

OMG!! Things are looking pretty today!! Not only is our weather beautiful and sunny (well it was this afternoon), but the May Arts ribbon order arrived!!

I am thrilled beyond belief with the selections!! I will post this weekend in case anyone needs a ribbon "fix" - a lot of the colors are perfect for fall crafting...all pretty close to the cost that I paid (I do add the shipping cost in). If you need larger quantities, like a full roll please let me know - I can get full rolls for you all the time now!)

Until later, sweet dreams, all!

Hugs,
Elaine

Want a sneaky peeky? Here you go....the wrappers are still on, I know...but there's lots more, so stay tuned! I'll be crafting this weekend FOR SURE!

Papertrey MOJO!

Well finally....it's been forever since I've had a card that's been decent enough to share. The week off for vacation was put to good use (tanning!) :) Got a few things to share....all from Papertrey Ink!

All of the backgrounds were stamped with Versamark and clear embossed. It makes such a beautiful texture on the background papers!

Even better, I used EVERY single stamp in the Retro Background Basics set....now I'm in love with it! And it justifies getting more Papertrey stamps, right? That's a whole lotta cards for me...but I'm still playing! :)

I also had to show off my card from Ms. Amy of Tsuruta Designs - isn't that the coolest? She of course gave me a mondo-gargantuan button on my card...threaded and knotted, no less! Thank you, Amy!! I love it!

Happy End of Summer, everyone! I hope it's not really over - I'm still out in the sun, tanning...even today! 75 degrees? We'll see...

The beginning of the week is supposed to get WARM again! Woohoo...I need more vacation time! :)

hugs,
elaine

Katrina's Blogiversary...she's a favorite of mine!

Just a quick post to share one of my favorite bloggers that is celebrating her Blogiversary! :)
Check out her blog here - I bet you'll fall in love too!

http://whimsicalwishes.blogspot.com/

Hope you are all enjoying the end of summer - it came all too soon, didn't it? I'm on vacation this week and starting to feel better after a bug or something that hit me toward the end of last week. Wiped me out! My mojo is still OUT but I hope to find it this week....

The story of 3 amigos

Sometime back in August 3 amigos met up at Piatti's at University Village for drinks. Senorita Lesli had just had a birthday the week before. Senorita Umbinetti treated the amigos to a fine afternoon of cucumber gimlets, pizza, and fire roasted asparagus with goat cheese. I think there may also have been a salad of some kind involved. The amigos were happy. At the end of the visit, Senor Oliver the waiter took their picture and somehow it landed here on this layout.


supply list:
black cardstock from SU
coral cardstock from PTI

purple patterned paper from KI Memories

Thickers are from American Crafts; Corner flourish is a rub-on from American Crafts Remarks; Yellow felt flower is from American Crafts; and the ruffle edge is made of ribbon from American Crafts!

Gingham center on flower is a fabric brad from Hot off the press

'Nuff said.

NO MOJO....

Things just are not very productive these days. HOWEVER, there is a new ribbon share in the works!! Think of the 5th month of the year and a student who takes a painting or drawing class... ;-) Think you know what I'm talking about? Let's see who knows!.....post in your comments if you can make a guess.
And then stay tuned! :)

About time for a new card?

Don't think I'm spoiling the surprise but I have not heard if the recipient has received this yet...hopefully it's there!! :) This was made with the Maya Road birthday chipboard from the Lasting Memories big sale about a month ago. It was soooo much fun! I thought I'd never use the stuff, but hey - lookie lookie...I'm using it! Not only the chipboard, but also my Crate Paper ribbon embellishments, Tim Holtz crackle paints, alcohol inks, glitter, etc etc.... lots of fun stuff! The cherry is glazed and glittered too! It was so much fun, but it was a little on the warm side using the heat gun when it was toasty outside!

August is here and so is the cold wet rain. I think I liked the warm weather better.... what do you like better unseasonably WARM weather (in the 80-100 range) or a typical Seattle summer with drizzle and clouds?

I'd also like to get some help with an anniversary gift idea....I'm drawing a complete blank! I want something that is romantic and not necessarily something that we need. Any ideas? Those of you that know my hubby know that he's very private, reads a ton, prefers to be away from people and crowds, likes old cars (let's not go there though), and he's a great cook (fabulous I mean - really creative, he makes delicious treats and is awesome!). Have any of you been on a hot air balloon ride? Is it scary? I saw one this evening and thought that might be fun....

My friend Michele K & the boys

I'm copy-catting today...

The blog candy here looks so good I couldn't resist!
mom of three addicted to paper blog and mushis creative inspirations

and THIS smoking blog candy opp that isn't a copy-cat from Amy Tsuruta's blog:
Creative Antics Blog
Embellishments galore!!
3 Awesome PACKAGES of Thickers!
Cosmo Cricket paper pad!!
Stampin Up stamp sets!! (Plural because there are two sets!!)

Look at ALL that stuff!!!


Go check them out and enter if you're so inclined! :)

A challenge - do you recognize it?

ETA: A couple of you have asked about why comments don't show up. All I can guess at this point, is that the 2nd step wasn't completed. It's a quick fix...after you enter your comment, another step is involved where you type in the letters shown on the screen...and hit enter. I'll be watching for a few more comments when those people who couldn't see their message, are able to finally comment :)


I am terrible with challenges because I'll see one that I want to do, and then after I've made it, I can't remember whose challenge it is!! :( This happens to be 'one of those'.... I loved playing with the Tim Holtz Crackle paint and alcohol inks that have been in my stash for years!!! Isn't that crackle effect cool?? I did get some close up pics - hopefully they show up well...click on them to see the crackly parts on the star. I love it!

The background paper is from K & Co's Wild Saffron line (part of the pad that was on clearance for only 4.97). I went back today and EVERY single pad was gone - I should have bought some of the other ones that I was thinking about getting...maybe for the best though...as you can see they last a long, long time because there's so much paper in them!

If you happen to know whose challenge this was from, please post and tell me- I'd like to let the person know that I played and I liked the layout!!

We had more fabulous weather today - can you see the beautiful blue sky in the background? It's perfect!! 73 degrees and a little breeze...it means you can work outside and not get hot! You can run/walk or exercise and it's comfortable! I on the other hand picked raspberries from our neighbor's house with my hubby. We were there a short 10 minutes and gathered almost 6 pounds - there were berries EVERYWHERE! Afterward, my left forearm came out looking like the untreated arm from the OFF commercial!! 8 bites on 10" of arm...less than 10 minutes...unreal. However the raspberry coffee cake this morning was soooo worth it!

I got the recipe from Cindy at Imagine Dream Create. Hers were made with strawberries, mine with raspberries. I added Madagascar infused whipped cream made fresh this morning, and topped it with julienned basil fresh from the herb garden. DEEEEELISH!!
In case Cindy's link doesn't work, here's the url: http://imagine-dream-create.blogspot.com/2009/06/strawberry-coffee-cake-minis.html
It was SUPER easy too!! Even the kids could make it (they will next time).

Have a great Sunday evening bloggie readers...and enjoy the week if I don't get to post again... I'm back to work for a week then off while we head to Santa Barbara over the 4th of July! :)

The Butterflies - I'm so proud of this one!!

I finally made something that I really like a LOT! It uses the patterned paper by K & Co. paper called Wild Saffron (which by the way was on sale for only $4.97 at Michaels - marked way down!) yay! The dark aqua is PaperTrey's Ocean Tides (ribbon and cardstock). I colored my own velvet ric-rack from May Arts using Glimmer Mist in a brown shade -it's sparkly! The little velvet flowers were also made from ric-rack and that's what I'm so happy about! They turned out just how I wanted!! That hardly ever happens! :) The centers are a glue dot with brown seed beads lined in silver - which makes them stand out and shimmer!

What fun it was workin on this one! Stamps are from Stampin Up - I broke out a 'new' set called Great Friend (bought months ago). I only wish I could find my linen thread to tie up those sad little naked buttons!

Oh wait...there's more~ I even dressed up the inside of the card! That's my other proud accomplishment. I hardly ever do the inside to match the front!

The hydrangea blossoms were spritzed with Glimmer Mist in Turquoise, Aspen Yellow and edged with the brown called Autumn Leaves.

I tried my best to show the sparkley shimmer from the Glimmer Mist, but that just didn't happen. Maybe clicking to make it bigger will help show off the lustre!?

Anyway, I had a lot of fun being inspired by so many creative people - from those on the Gingerwood Bulletin board to all the blogs that I scour from day to day - ones that show you how to use Glimmer Mist, Distress ink techniques, make their own flowers, add buttons (which I'm not so fond of but they're definitely growing on me), distressing paper, dressing the INSIDES of the card, and overall just providing me with lots of eye candy....Thanks so much for the inspiration!

p.s. that bright turquoise flower isn't quite that brilliant...it photographed in a different color for some reason!? It's not as dark as the other two, but this looks off....

Birds, Birds, Birds!

They're everywhere - so are butterflies!

This little glittery bird will be flying over to send some get well wishes to my friend Sue. (I used the new teeny tiny wishes set from Stampin up - isn't that font cute?) The owl is one of the K & Co. glitter embellishments. I went overboard and bought too many so now I'm trying to use them up before they're passe'

The photo makes it look like the colors don't match but they should they're all apricot appeal and pink passion...and then some new SU background paper - the Raspberry Lemonade! (Yum!) The ribbon is from Michael's $1 bin (last year).

I'm working on my butterfly card and will post it soon (hopefully tomorrow)...the last day of my furlough...it's been a wonderful week off. I went shopping almost every day....two new pairs of shoes today! :) Yippee!! And a single indulgent piece of caramel from Fran's...with smoked salt on top. I didn't even buy an extra to share with hubby. He doesn't know I went there....(heheheh)...

The lazy photographer shares a card or two

I love making cards...I hate photographing them. I hate my photography 'skills' (or lack of).

I like to share, and I like to make cards....why can't photography be easier??

Most of these use the NEW Stampin Up "In-Colors" for 2009-2010! Aren't they pretty? I know that one picture is really out of focus...it just didn't want to cooperate. Maybe I should start paying my son to take the pictures and be done with it!

The Owl on the "Hi" card is a little embelli from Michaels - .99 cents! Letters in gray are from Sassafrass Lass stamps :)

The big tweet is my new ON BOARD chipboard set from SU...I don't know why I waited so long to get it...I like it lots!! The papers are from the new Raspberry Lemonade Line that will be available July 1st - great colors and they are more like BasicGrey papers now! YAY!

Be Happy Floral is a mix of the "Enjoy" set (RETIRED NOW), and Circle Circus (another new item in July). The ribbon is from American Crafts though - isn't it a nice matchy match?

And finally the out of focus purply card paired with the Razzleberry Cardstock from Stampin Up. Fun color but excuse the photo please!

I was up early this morning so I'm staring to feel the need for a nap.... have a great day everyone! I'll be enjoying my mid-week furlough time...Who knows what tomorrow will hold!

xxoo
Elaine

Another Blog Candy opp?

I love finding blog candy stuff and want to share another really great one with you all...I just entered it and you should too!

http://carlzcardz.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-30000-hits-candy-please-scroll-down.html

Look what I found!!

These are from the A-Muse cupcake social back in 2008!!

I guess I saved these pictures to the wrong place and couldn't find them....

It's Amy Tsuruta (THE Best blogger around!), Julie HRR Ebersol (infamous designer of AMuse single layer cards), and Novell Eckstrom (scrap teacher extraordinaire!)

There is another great event coming up called AMuse-a-Palooza...I think that's what it's called....
and sign up's are going on now...did you sign up? I want to!! It's only $15 if you pre-register! Just do it....you'll be glad you did!

The Scrapmaster's Blog & her sweet candy!

Time to get busy entering for this yummy blog candy at Samantha's place, Scrapmaster's Paradise!! WOW! :)

http://thescrapmaster.blogspot.com/2009/06/june-blog-candy-giveaway.html

I'll hopefully get my new cards up tomorrow - I made them last week but haven't been motivated to photograph them. I'm horrible at photography! Thinking about taking a class...Have any of you taken a class or do you have a recommendation? I messed up the pictures from my son's commencement last weekend and since then I've been discouraged to take any photos! Good luck to everyone on the blog candy! :)

365 sketch

-


I guess one would expect a card made from all the new Stampin Up supplies that were received earlier this week. However that's not the case...I'm sharing a card that's for the 365 cards blog for Sketchy Sunday! My darling buddy Amy (from Tsuruta Designs) had such a great card (I fell in love with her sweet pennant design) I had to do it!


Here's the post at 365 with details on the sketch:
http://365cards.blogspot.com/2009/06/day-99-super-sketchy-sunday.html



Notice the cute little dragonflies? That's part of the sketch challenge. Mine came from a blog candy win at www.katycards.co.uk - I was thrilled to have won some really fun embellishments that I'd never seen before. The shipping is free, so when I run out, I'll be ordering more - the prices are very reasonable and you all know how much I love little pearly things on my cards, right? ;-)

The background is an old Stampin up image - once I stamped it, I sanded the ink off slightly to make the linen texture peek through. Some of the centers of the background designs have a tiny dot of metallic (you can see them if you look closely - I photographed at night so the flash would reflect off the metallic dots...that's the only way I could think of to make them pop).

The triangle is some fabulous, heavy metallic cardstock that my dad got a while back. Can't believe I haven't used more of it! There's copper, and the scalloped circle is a navy metallic. Later on I'll use the hunter green, purple and dark anthracite colors...they're gorgeous!

Lots going on today so I better run. Have a wonderful day! We're still languishing in the sunshine in Seattle!! :) Oh, and Trophy Cupcake FINALLY opens today at University Village - FINALLY!! I've been waiting more than a month for them to open! :) Fat City, here I come!

Is it just me or does it feel like Easter?

...Especially when you see Easter Egg colors like these!.... It could even be Valentine's Day again with all these hearts! Oh, and check out the owl's eye....whoops! lol

The card that has "for you" as the sentiment on the front also has some tone-on-tone stamping on the pink panel - it doesn't show up well in the picture though.

The background papers are from a Stampin Up series called Tea Party.

Our weather is much cooler this weekend....I prefer the warmer temps that we had last weekend.

p.s. I just posted a side link to Whoopsie Daisy's Blog candy...check it out! The little animal stamps are pretty darn cute! Donkey smiles also has a sweet chance to win blog candy here: http://donkeysmiles.blogspot.com/2009/06/celebrating-75000-hits-with-some-big.html Good luck!

A little fun...

8 Things I Look Forward To
1. Hanging out with my friends and family
2. Laughing with friends and family - this is probably my favorite thing to do
3. Stamping time!
4. The WEEKENDS -especially if it's a 3-day, holiday weekend!
5. Summertime
6. A great Stamp or scrapping sale
7. Dinner out at a favorite restaurant
8. Warming up after being out in the snow; or cooling off after a long workout

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Made a presentation at work
2. Laughed with colleagues and my boss
3. Had barbequed chicken for dinner
4. Walked for an hour on the warmest record breaking day of the year (in Seattle)
5. Opened my new Stampin Up Shipment!!! :)
6. Drove down the freeway with the top down
7. Hugged and kissed my kids and my hubby
8. Watched housewives of New Jersey (it's a goofy show!)

8 Things I Wish I Could Do
1. Sing
2. Travel more
3. Be more organized
4. Wear cute strappy sandals
5. Find a cure for diabetes
6. Take better pictures
7. Teach my kids how to pick up after themselves
8. Convince my husband we should stay in the house we're at, in the city we're at!

8 Things or Shows I Have Watched Lately
1. The sunrise on a hot summer day
2. Housewives of New Jersey
3. A firetruck with it's siren on, trying to get through traffic in Seattle
4. Oprah (the episode with the father who authored the book, Beautiful Boy)
5. My daughter's science project growing on our deck
6. HGTV
7. the 11:00 news (channel 5/Kingtv)
8. A youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF6lF_jLBNg

It's been a great weekend in Seattle!

I could not ask for any better weather or weekend lineup of activities! Friday night I spent time with Jill, Donna, and Linda and we feasted on the best carmelized onion and feta tart thingies (from Trader Joes), some great mozarrella cheese sticks and tiny little pizzas (white cheese & no red sauce = very good pizza). There was a fabulous cheese plate (I wish I could remember the name of the cheese!), and then some great mini chocolate oatmeal cookies and Starbuck's new ice creams: Java Chip and Caramel Machiatto...Even Jill liked the ice cream and she's NOT an ice cream kinda gal!

After the wine, drinks and feasting, we crafted until LATE - 2:45 a.m.? (Sorry about that, Jill!) But once I got started on these cards I was so happy to be actually making something and couldn't stop! Even Jill got busy! :) I should have brought my camera that night because the interior of her house is a dream if you like SU colors! The walls were recently repainted - I believe there's Kiwi Kiss, Tangering Tango, So Saffron, and a gorgeous deep red in the kitchen area. It's all open so you can see all the color from the dining area where we sit....love it!

Saturday I spent time with my girlfriends who used to work at the Seattle Times. We're all somewhat spread out (and live far from each other) aside from having busy lives, so it was great to spend time hanging out together. We met at Anthony's on the waterfront in Des Moines. The afternoon was filled with fun, laughter, great drinks, good food, and the best company! I did remember to bring a camera -- and here we are :) (SAY CHEESE!) Too bad I didn't remember to take pictures until the end of our visiting!

(l-r Krista - she teaches at Edmonds Community, me, Lori - Marketing Director at Brookdale Senior Living in Tacoma, and Jill - Special Ed teacher/Real Estate agent extrodinaire).

Sunday is time to work in the garden, go plant shopping, and tidy up! Well, maybe I'll skip tidying up - that's not a strong point for me anyway - it's going to end up messy by tomorrow morning anyway, right? At least I did laundry and dishes! lol

I hope you all had a great weekend and that summer is knocking at your door where ever you may live!

hugs,
Elaine

Toodles & Binks, Dilly Dally Dingle, and Limelight? Huh?

Toodles and Binks is a new company that I ran across today - they've got a release and blog candy. It's worth checking out if you play with cute images as much as I do! This card was the reason I clicked that link in the first place....it's so darn cute even though I hate snails! I didn't make it but I sure like it!

This link takes you to the blog, Life and Craft of Dilly Dally Dingle:
http://dillydallydingle.blogspot.com/2009/05/copic-colour-challenge-meets-toodle.html


This link takes you to Toodles and Binks where the stamps are available through their blog:
http://toodlesandbinks.blogspot.com/2009/05/sah-015-swalk-and-blog-candy.html

And while you're out and about, check out Limelight's Celebration! Nearly a year old now :)
http://limelightpapercrafts.blogspot.com/2009/05/limelights-anniversary-celebration.html
You'll be glad you poked your head in over there just to see what it's all about!

Pretty and new...

well, it's probably not what you thought it'd be, but I just ran across these and wanted to share because I totally am in LOVE with Prima flowers! These are so darn pretty I'm going to either have to find a way to add money to the budget for all of them, or just quit eating so I can use lunch money on them!

In any case, check these out:
http://prima.typepad.com/prima/2009/05/announcing-new-products.html

Aren't they cool?? Please let me know where you find them at if you buy some for yourself. I'll be on the lookout during one of my very limited trips to the craft/scrapbook stores in the next few weeks!

Hope everyone is enjoying the long holiday weekend! The Pacific Northwest is having some fabulous weather!! Wooohooo!

'nother card from the other day!

Here's the pink and chocolate card that I tried to load the other day. Things are still a little on the busy side in our household....and at work.

The stamp is from SU, rub ons are SU too. The paper old Sandy Lion / Kelly Panicci or something like that from our local scrapbook store (it's old though). Ribbon is May Arts. The brown base is Papertrey and I love it! Almost more than SU's chocolate chip!

I had to buy a new dress tonight - because I couldn't fit my old ones! ACK! That's not good! Gotta keep dieting and exercising! :( No more lunchtime splurges...I work with a bunch of enablers!

Have a great weekend everyone!

hugs,
Elaine

Finally a card or two to share....

April and May are busy months for Friends' Birthdays! I bet if your birthday falls in the month of April or May, I'm likely to get along with you real well and be buddies!

Out of more than a dozen cards, I only managed to take a picture of these three - the others were given away and sit in someone's desk drawer or worse yet, in the trash (they better not after they know how much time I put into these cards!) lol

Anyhow, here are the latest funtastic cards....

Actually the third one isn't wanting to load, so I'll post it later...

The Blue card with stars and circles is my BASIC GREY Lime Rickey pad - love the colors and fun patterns! The light blue background is swiss dots cuttlebugged, and there is a Stampin Up Birthday Sentiment on there embossed in white. The button has a little bow of periwinkle ribbon, and the green sashes are ribbon from May Arts.

The "it's a boy!" card is mostly PaperTrey Inc. (Patterned paper and the Ocean tides cardstock - I just love that dusky blue-green color!) Sentiment "Happy for you" is an SU rub on, and the ribbon is actually SU twill layered onto Papertrey twill! The sailboat image is from SU and it was clear embossed on patterned paper and cut out, then applied to the oval on pop dots...it's cute in person! :)

There's been a lot going on in our family the past few weeks...from funerals to weddings to birthdays...it's all happening here! I hope you all are having a nice Spring!! I'm enjoy Seattle's liquid sunshine today...and lots of it!

hugs,
Elaine

May's Here...

and finally I remembered to photog some cards before mailing them off.

My best friend and maid of honor, Susan, will be 46 on Monday. I wish her hugs and love and many more happy birthdays!!!!
Here's the card she's getting - it's pretty, bright and kinda fun (just like her)...if I knew how to make a smart, kind and generous card I'd have done that too.

I also made a Thank You for my neighbor who brought a May Day tradition on the 1st. The card is a challenge for Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom - there's always fun stuff and techniques to learn there. My neighbor, Jean, gave me a Lily of the Valley plant in an earth-friendly organic bamboo planter. In time if the planter is put into the ground, it will decompose and add nutrients back into the earth. It's way cool and I would never have known if it weren't for the sticker! Anyway, this is the little thank you that I did for her - she had a nice letter telling me how she was introduced to the French May Day tradition when they lived in France a couple years ago. We have the best neighbors!! :)

Have a great week everyone, I'm off to go buy a new washing machine...it figures something would go wrong when Bruce left town! GRrrrr!!!
I'd also love to hear comments on whether you've got a front loader (with steam cycle?) and/or do you have an HE top loaded (No more agitators)...I can't decide which one to get!

Tomorrow I take my friend out for her birthday and another friend who went to my high school that has the same birthday as Sue - small world, huh?

Lots of sickies out and about

Since there have been so many people getting sick late in the season, I have been making some get well cards. I love the cheery colors on the Scenic Route paper and was thrilled to find tags that coordinated the other day. What I like most is that I can find lots of extras to coordinate with this line of paper!

Hope you are all well....if not, then here's a get well wish from me to you!

hugs,
Elaine

Moralia's Blog today...

is gorgeous. She shows a fabulous orange and blue kit of the month and I'm loving the color combo! I always love orange and blue. I have an orange and blue card in fact...but the sunny weather got the best of me today and I didn't get a picture of the card...but maybe tomorrow@! In it's place, go check out Moralia's candy here: http://moralia.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/lil-scrappers-mini-kit-reveal-some-blog-candy/
It's a bunch of pearls and I love pearls on projects! Yay! I hope she picks me! LOL Have a great evening and enjoy our sun tomorrow Seattleites! hugs, Elaine

I made an Anniversary card for my friend Sue and her hubby Robert. They were married on Tax day 15 years ago. On their honeymoon they came to visit me in Santa Barbara. It was a nice treat to have an old friend stop by -especially when we were still somewhat new to the area.

Anyhow, I hope she likes the card. I wish this were a real flower - I think she'd like a REAL bouquet like this! It's a new Savvy stamp from the event that I went to this weekend at the local stamp store. I smothered the flowers with glitter - just because I could...

I'm off to bed early - hoping the pinched nerve in my neck feels better tomorrow. It's been a real pain in the neck (literally!)...

ttfn~
E

Easter Blessings

We are not terribly religious even though my husband was raised Catholic. We didn't go to church today. I did however think about the real meaning behind Easter. Then made Easter dinner for my mom, dad, and my brother. My aunt was going to join us but called this morning to say she wasn't feeling that great so she declined at the last minute.

I finished home-made scalloped potatoes (and one pan was made super spicy with cayenne pepper for my hubby who likes it HOT!), a fresh strawberry pie (lots of whipping cream ready for this when it's time to serve), a cute loaf of bread in the shape of a bunny (made by a la Francaise bakeries- delicious!), and some asparagus and a big old honey baked ham...yummy!

It sounds like a lot but it was easy - so I had time to make a card....it had to photographed outside because it's such a gray day...well outside on the covered deck, the rain still got to my card :( so there are some 'blops' of swollen paper showing...don't look closely. I DO want you to notice the textured blue paper on the right side though - it's Core d'inations...you sand the blue paper and lighter core inside shows through where the linen texture is...I love it!!
The image is from A-Muse (isn't that little weiner doggie and bunny a cute one!?) the background flower stamp is from the Papertrey Anniversary set that I had to BUY off someone for $30 - yikes...not sure if that was worth it, but I intend to use it a lot, so I guess it's a good deal. Oh, notice those tiny blingies around the scalloped edge? They are the NEW Memory Box blings...150 of them come in a package! Sweet deal, especially since I got them at a discount yesterday during Monkey Love's Birthday Celebration! Monkey Love is a local rubber stamp store that I've been shopping at for at least 10 years now...wow...they're still just as great as ever and the owner Sandy carries a great selection of stamps...check them out on Lower Queen Anne if you're ever in the area!

Have a wonderful day everyone - even if it's pouring outside your windows like it is here in Seattle...blech....

In addition to the earlier post

these are the other cards that I finished (and I'm so proud of myself for using up some stuff)...not a lot and I probably bought 10x more last night to replenish what I used, but whatever...that's what hobbies are for, right? I got to use one of my newer Nesties...it's the pinked edge circles. I can't remember which size I bought though. I wish they'd mark the actual dies with the size/name!!

Also, a slight correction on paper that was used on the whale, owl & heart sticker cards...it's not actually We R Memory Keepers paper. The bright orange, green, pink and yellow floral patterns are from another mfr... whose name escapes me at the moment and the little strip that tells the pattern name is long gone.

Just the stamped green monkey and pink alligator are We R Memory Keepers paper. My daughter made a blue alligator card last night and I'm going to try to get it back to share too because I think she does a great job and the card is CUTE! :)

Happy Sunday afternoon~
E

In order to justify.....

all of the things that I bought during the Northwest Paper Chase, I decided I better get busy making cards - and not just singles, but sets. I'm planning to give the sets to those who ask to have cards made regularly. (Maybe I didn't buy enough stuff now that I think about it!)

The stamps are a super cute Sandylion set that I found at Michael's. There's a 'girl set' too (I bought only the boy set), so if there's a coupon today, I'm going to get the girl set next!

Anyhow, here are a few from the other day - it was dark and hard to photograph so I only took a few pictures. These use my new stash of We R Memory Keepers papers and the super cute dimensional stickers from K & Co's Berry Sweet Line. The colors are so vivid and remind me of 2nd grade when I had wild printed jeans in these same colors...OY!!

The sun's been out this weekend, so I've been stamping at night -- I hope the weather holds through the week. I hope your weekend has been as wonderful as mine!

I'll post the rest of the cards later today....It's a flurry of cards (at least for me!)

Ciao

Memory Box Woodland stamp

Some of the stamps that I had to order during the NW Paper Chase finally came today. :)
I've been dying to ink them up and color! They're fabulous for Copic coloring and Prismacolor pencils! The card is simple, but I needed it flat so I could mail it w/o all the hassle that I've been going through lately with my cards and the post office.

The papers are from Memory Box too. I adore the rich colors and they're as much fun as Basic Grey!

I'll be working on some others this evening...hope you all are having a great weekend!

Hugs,
Elaine

I know some of you adore these stamps....

so why not head over for a chance to WIN them? (Debbie, I think this contest has your name all over it!)

Enter to win the blog candy at Claudia's blog, Pretty Pressings! I've been a fan of Claudia's for quite a while now - I am always impressed. She never fails to create some of the most stunning cards colored with COPIC markers and the perfect amount of embellishing! (Carrie, you MUST check out Claudia's Copic coloring...and you'll see why you need to get copic markers for your projects - Brady would love them too!)

Here's her blog, Pretty Pressings:
http://www.rosaswelt.blogspot.com/

Here's link to see the entry for blog candy:
http://rosaswelt.blogspot.com/2009/03/hudge-magnolia-blog-candy-give-away.html

That's it for now...maybe I'll get to stamp tonight before Grey's Anatomy is on!

Updatin the blog...

Oy - it's been a long, long time, hasn't it? No excuses...just busy. Part of the 'busy' was an event for crafters called "the Great NW Paper Chase"! It started last week on Friday - Of course we mapped out the course and hit 11 stores from Bellingham to Issaquah the first day! The Second day (Saturday) we hit the south end stores and the ones on the Peninsula. And finally on Sunday we hit a couple more right here in town (closest to where we live!). Notice the back of the trunk of the new car...I thought the trunk was pretty deep and pretty big but we managed to fill it up. The rest of the packages ended up in the back seat. :-/

I tend to really get caught up in paper lines and the embellishments when I'm shopping. We did the same event last year and I spent wayyyyy too much. So this year I tried to make a budget for each place and a list of things I 'needed' and tried stick to it. That worked out ok until the 5th store (the really good stores don't count, of course...we allowed ourselves more time, money, and no budget at the really good stores). What a total blast! Here are some pictures of stamps that were picked up along the way, and the three of us out and about (Debbie my friend from the Seattle PI who is now at the Seattle Times, Candy my aunt, and me - in that darn green jacket again)....how does that always happen?? LOL

Each store has a make n take and you get special discounts (which just means they're enabling you)....trust me on that one. I have more stamps on order because some of the stores were out of AMuse and Memory Box (the new line of woodland animals is fabulous), and then a Karen Lockhart stamp here and there should be mailed this week (I hope)..... and some clear stamps - which you'll probably be seeing later when I make cards! :)

I made a card for my dad, one for my son, and one for hubby. For once I used my stuff right away! Yay! It felt so good to use rather than hoard! LOL

Have a great day - it turned out SUNNY here in Seattle today! (though it was wet and miserable this morning)....I told hubby to send some of the sunshine from CA where he's at right now, and as always, he obliged. What a guy.

Take care~
Elaine