A Little Something To Look Forward To

As I mentioned yesterday, it has been a pretty busy week.  I think I got myself all squared away and caught up with my work load - or at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm actually hoping to get some fun time in this weekend.

I went shopping with a friend the other day, Diana, and we bought something that we both are going to craft as a part of what we bought.  I think it will be fun to see what we both come up with - I know that they will be very different.

And then yesterday, I purchased an item, I'm not sure what it's called, but I've been looking for an organizational item for my desk.  There was one on sale so I couldn't pass it up.  It's not exactly what I was looking for - in design - and I already know what I am going to do to it to make it exactly what I want.

And that is something I would like to get started on this weekend.   Something to look forward to! 

In the meantime, enjoy this wonderful Halloween card that I received in a swap.  I don't have the name of the swapper - whoever you are, thanks for the beautiful card - I love it!!!

Fragile Music Monday & a bonus

I can't believe it's another Monday upon us.  I never know what song I'm going to pick for my Music Monday's until the moment I sit down to start typing it up.  I completely leave it to the mood that I am.

So, I started this blog as a means to share my stamping items.  But I decided that that was not enough.  I really wanted to have a place to share all my creative endeavors.  For, I have come to realize that all of life should be approached creatively and with lots of care. 

I would have to say that music is a huge part of my daily inspiration.  Music speaks to the soul in a way that nothing else really can.  If you will let it, it will touch your heart in ways that very little can.

I do feel the need to give you a little background on today's music pick.  For there is a bit of history with me and the featured artist.  Today I have chosen a song by Sting.  And, I will tell you right now, there will be more selections by Sting to come.  I find his work to be highly inspirational and beautiful.  But, there is more than just the musical connection for me.

I remember in the 8th grade, Sting did a documentary about making his first solo album called Bring on the Night.  (Which happens to be one of my favorite Police songs).  I went to the documentary with my best friend Jae Kyung.  We loved it.  Both of us being big Sting fans already.  There was one moment that really stuck with me all these years.  In one scene they have a photographer come to shoot the band for artwork on the album.  And I remember sitting in that theater and thinking to myself, "that's really a job?"  And I fell in love with photography at that moment.

I have had the pleasure of seeing Sting live several times over the years.  And had my lifelong wish of seeing The Police together a couple years ago when they reunited for a tour.  Made my year!

So the song selection for tonight is a beautiful song titled Fragile.  Listen to the words.  Amazing.  This song will be featured on the video bar to the right.  Don't let a week go by without checking out the song.  It's beautiful.  The most amazing version of this song I am unable to find recorded.  It was performed with Sting and Yo-Yo Ma at the Utah Olympics some years back.  Just remembering that performance gives me chills.  A truly inspired song.

Over the weekend I had my Halloween class.  It was a great time & thanks to those that attended.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  In preparation for that class, I started looking into other Halloween projects I could work on.  I found the cutest Halloween item at Walmart and went to town decorating it.

I know that these little candies are intended to decorate baked goods - cookies, cupcakes and such.  But they are packaged so cute that I want to keep them as is.  Besides, I totally love that the white ones are bones.  How fun is that?

I applied Stampin' Up!'s Spooky Night Rub-Ons on each "test tube".  I was a little nervous because of the curve of the tube.  But the rub-ons went on wonderfully.  Then just added a bit of ribbon and I have a great decoration.

Halloween

Just a few hours until my Halloween stamp class.  And, I have been looking over some ideas for next months Christmas class.  I hope you will be able to join me for the class.  Should be a fun one!

This project uses the Spooky Night Rub-Ons from teh Holiday Mini Catalog.  Rub-Ons are so fun to use and beautiful.  I mean look at that detail.  And it doesn't really show well in the photo, but they have a metallic finish.

Bad To The Bone

Last month, I got the opportunity to spend the evening with a friend of mine who now lives in California.  Hi Lisa!  It was great to see her - although too short.  Next time we get together for lunch or dinner - okay?  Anyway, she showed me some pics on her camera of some really cute Halloween items that a friend of hers did.  I absolutely loved this little candy holder.  So, I borrowed the idea and changed it up just a little bit.  Different paper, added a tag and such.  So easy and fun to make.  I'm thinking about making some for my son to take to his school class.

We will be making this as a part of my Halloween class on Saturday.  Too cute!

Stamp Set - Batty for you
Paper - Nite Owl Designer Series Paper
Ink - Pear Pizzzazz, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories - Pear Pizzazz ribbon, Silver Glass Glitter
Miscellaneous - Pixie Sticks

I also whipped up another one using some retired paper from Stampin' Up.

Just two more days until my class.  I will be showing another project tomorrow so be sure to check in for that!  Happy Thursday to everyone.

Did someone say candy?

No, no I'm not eating any just loving the phrase from this stamp set.  I think after yesterday's post, I would get in a bit of trouble if I was already looking for some candy.  I don't know about you, but yesterday I got back in the program.  Tracking my calories for the day, getting in a decent yoga workout.  And I'm telling you, if you haven't tried yoga you should.  I know that some of you are out there saying how can that be a workout?  It is!  Sometimes I sweat more doing yoga than I do walking 2 miles!  So, it was a good day for staying on track. 

And now, back to the cute little witch.  Isn't she adorable?  She's in the set Fang-tastic from the Holiday Mini Catalog.  Too cute.  This card was created by Terri Mongeon.  Thanks Terri for sharing your talent with us!

It Was A Dark & Dreary Night...

Oh wait, we've already been down this road before!  I told you the story about the fun college friend who liked to begin his stories that way and then he would switch it up and have us all laughing so hard it hurt.

So, we won't go down that road again.  Although in all fairness, I will probably repeat myself at some point, so hopefully you won't mind too much.

Have you had a chance to listen to my musical selection yet?  When I went for my exercise walk with my dad and my brother this morning, my brother - Kelly, informed me that he had spent a good portion of the morning listening to a-ha before meeting me to walk.  If I remember right, he ws the one that had that original album - Scoundrel Days and I just had a copy.  That is until I got my own copy!

Tonight, I am going to share a swap card from my good friend Diana.  And then it's beddy bye for me.  Diana loaned me a couple books.  And oh my, they are so good I just cannot put them down.  I think I've read like 500 pages in like 3 days or something.  And I just don't read that fast.  So, my eyes are a little tired and are telling me that it is definitely time to take it easy tonight and get some much needed sleep.

Here is her beautiful card using the Dark & Dreary stamp set in Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Mini Catalog.

Goodnight to all & see you tomorrow night!

Don't Look Now, There's a Big Ol' Bat

Well, my friends, I know it's still early. I'm typing this up just after 9:00 pm. I am all kinds of tired. So, I'm going to keep this very, very short and sweet. One of my dogs woke me up this morning at 3:30. Yep that's right 3:30 in the a.m. Barking. At what I have absolutely no idea. And I could not go back to sleep for like an hour. Honestly, it just threw my whole day off a little. I got tons of stuff pretty early on in the day. Including a much needed supply run to Target. For, you know, things like facial cleaner and toilet scrub brushes. I bet you never thought you'd hear those two terms in one sentence before! But now, my pillow is calling my name. I hope you don't mind, but I am going to turn in early this evening.

This is a card that I got at a swap at the beginning of Sept. And, I'm so sorry, I cannot remember who's card it is to give them credit. So, if it's yours - please accept my apologies and know that I loved the card and that is why I'm sharing it!  It's using the stamp set - From the Crypt.

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Wednesday - with more energy than mine.  And look forward to a terrific Thursday!

Fangs for the Memories

Today was a girlfriend's day!  Woohoo for wonderful girlfriends!  I met up with some wonderful friends - Diana, Rhonda and Marlene - today for a brunch/lunch deal.  Some of us had breakfast, some of us had lunch and one of us just had tea (Rhonda!!!).  We went to Paradise Bakery.  I love that place.  Their sandwiches are so yummy - but huge!  Luckily, Diana and I enjoy the same sandwich there - Chicken Walnut - so we split the sandwich, each got our own chips and 3 cookies.  Well, I mean it was buy one get one free so how could you say no?  And the meal comes with a cookie.  Besides, when you are eating with your girlfriends calories do not count, didn't you know?

So they had a business meeting planned, and I crashed it.  Well, okay not really.  But it makes me feel all rebellious to say so, so I'm just gonna keep on saying it.  'Cause really I was invited.  And, we ended up visiting for like 2 hours.  It felt like 15 minutes.  Don't you just love those kind of friends?

After the "meeting", Diana and I set off to do some shopping.  She's getting ready to make a trip back east where it's quite a bit cooler than here so she wanted to get some fun new clothes to take along.  We had a great time (don't we always darling?)

As a little surprise - and I sure hope they liked it - I gave them a fun little gift.  Nothing big just something that I saw and wanted to share with my "Twilight" friends.  These three gals are a part of the group that I go and see the Twilight movies with on opening day.  Too fun!

While I was at Target with my family the other day, we were looking at the dollar items.  They always have such interesting things there.  And they have added in some Halloween goodies.  Not sure if I've mentioned it or not, but I really, really, really (okay you get the idea) love Halloween.  Well, I saw these totally cute little Vampire erasers and a cute skull and crossbones mini notebook and I just knew that I had to get them to share with my friends.

All in all it was a great day.  Thanks for stopping in . . . see you tomorrow night!

Prescott Stamping

On Saturday, I was able to go up north for some stamping fun.  My family and I, plus one of my son's friends, piled in the car early and headed up north for the day.  I was going to stamp and the boys were going to have fun.  Ryan likes going up north to this stamping friends house because they have the cutest dogs. 

Lisa, Me and Lynn

I had such a wonderful time stamping.  We did something called a shoebox swap.  Basically everyone attending creates a project and then they bring along enough materials, cut and ready to go, for everyone else attending to make their projects.  These are so fun.  It's always great to see what everyone else comes up with.

First, I will show you my card.  You may recognize it.  It's from my Christmas Card Class.  I did have to change up the accessories a little bit by using a gold Glimmer Brad and the Pearl Jewels.

Lisa was so sweet, she actually made two cards for us all to make.

And here is card #2 from Lisa.

And the last project is from Lynn.  I do love shoes so this one was very fun to make.

After we got done stamping and on the way home, we decided to stop at Cracker Barrel for dinner.  I love that place and we really don't eat there that often.  Not one too terribly close by I guess.  Of course while you are there you have to look around in their fun store.  All kinds of fun things to look at.  I couldn't resist these glasses.

Are they me?

Doug and I decided to split a meal and to go for the country fried steak.  He was nice enough to let me pick two of my favorites - Lima beans and okra.  It was so yummy!

And who can go to Cracker Barrel without buying something in their store?  Wonder what it could be.  Did I get those beautiful glasses?

Nope, I got some candy.  This is one of my mom's favorite treats.  She usually gets it while we are at Cracker Barrel, so I just had to have one for her.  Originally there were four, but one of them got eaten before the picture could be taken.

All in all a fun day.  Thanks to Lisa and Lynn for such a wonderful time.  I look forward to stamping with you again soon!

I Almost Forgot

Remember about a month ago I teased you with this picture? Well, I almost totally forgot all about it. I was sifting through my samples, deciding which one to post for this evening and there was this one. I tell ya', you got to let me know when I get a little absentminded and forgetful. Just give me a little shout and say "Hey you forgot..."

So, here is the original teaser:

And here is the rest. This is using the same set I've been so crazy about lately - Dark & Dreary from the Winter Mini Catalog.

I got my swap cards back and now have even more goodies to share with you. First, I must get them all photographed. That shouldn't be too hard for me to do.

I've been thinking about changing a few things on here.  Toying with some ideas that have been rolling around in my brain.  So, don't be too surprised if you come back for a visit and things are a little different.  More personal I think.  Hopefully something to look forward to!

Back to the Grind - It's so Spooky

Today it was back to business after everyone went back to school and work.  Well almost everyone, my husband had today off as well.  Which turned out to be not such a great day to be off because I actually had more work than usual - and it totally wiped me out.  I think halfway through the day my brains were turning to jelly.  After taking a break from my computer I re-energized and was able to finish my work before school got out.  Yeah!

But, way before that I got my morning walking in with my fam.  That was nice.  I don't usually get to walk on Tuesdays it was a nice surprise to go this morning since my hubby was off work.  It's always good to begin your day with a little exercise.  And since I let myself slide all weekend long with the health challenge, it was definitely time to get back to business today.  Keeping track of calories and getting that crucial exercise in!

And now, on to stamping . . . here is a card that I made at last weeks stamp get together.  It was designed by Marlene S - a really fun stamper and friend.  She will always put a smile on your face.

Stamp Set:  Dark & Dreary, Wicked Cool
Paper:  Wicked Fun Specialty Paper, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink:  White Staz On, Basic Black
Accessories:  Raven Lace Trim, Spider Web Embossing Folder, Rhinestone Jewels

Holiday Weekend - Yippee!!!

First of all an announcement - I have reached over 1,000 hits on my site here!  Wow.  I don't know what to say since I just started it a month ago.  Thanks to everyone that has enjoyed visiting here.  I hope that several of those 1,000 hits are return visitors.  If you enjoy my site, please feel free to share with all of your friends!

I took full advantage of the holiday weekend by deciding to take it easy and have fun.  I set work stuff aside and spent the past two days relaxing with family and friends.  And since, it's only Sunday, I look forward to one more day off.

Friday night, after all school activities were taken care of, my family spent the evening with my niece Brittany and her family - Ben, Baylee and Payton.  We went to eat at Sweet Tomatoes and then went to a free show at the planetarium at the local community college.  It was a final project put on by a student.  Very well done showing the massive size of the Universe by showing our planet and surrounding planets, and going on to show all the known planets and galaxy's pretty darn cool.

On Saturday, I spent the day with my friend Kim.  It was her son's birthday last week and he had invited a few friends from school to come over for the day, including my son.  So off we went.  I tagged along for the day to provide another vehicle and to have a fun time hanging.  We had a great time.  The boys all had fun & got along really well all day.

Sunday was my day completely off!  I decided it sounded like a great day to do a whole lot of nothing.  And so I did.  Actually I didn't do nothing, I spent most of the day on the couch getting caught up on America's Got Talent.  I don't even want to say just how far behind I was, but now all the recorded ones are gone and I am ready for the new shows on Tuesday and Thursday.  There are a few acts that I am totally in love with & don't know who I want to win yet - still too many really good ones on there.

I find that show really inspiring.  It's amazing to me how many people have found something that they are passionate.  Even if they don't make it to the end and win, they are winners.  And I don't want that to sound too cliche, but it is very true.

Don't worry, I will not be leaving you without putting up a new card to view.  This one was designed by my friend Rhonda M.  She is a very talented stamper and all around wonderful person.  So, thank you Rhonda for such a great 3D project.  I have enjoyed looking at it, as it sits on my desk for inspiration.

I really loved this totally clever way to secure the ribbon handle.  Very cute!

Stamp Set:  Wicked Cool

Best Witches to you!

The more I look at these wonderful Halloween projects, the more excited I am getting for it to be here!  And really it will be here sooner than we think.  And in my neck of the woods, that means temperatures under 100!  Although I do really like the warm weather.

As I am writing this, I am getting ready to head over to the other side of town.  I am going to my first ever NFL game.  I guess I had to move from Virginia, to Arizona in order to get to see the Redskins play.  I just wish it was back in the day when they had some of the greatest players.  It will be fun anyways. 

So, I leave you with another card swapped on Monday night.  I'm not sure how made this one, but I really love this cutie pie of a witch:

I hope you all have a great Thursday and I will be back tomorrow to let you know what my experience at the game was like.

Wicked Cool

After I was able to get the sleep out of my eyes, get some of my necessary work out of the way, I met my fam for our morning walk.  They go six days a week.  I, however am only able to get a walk in two days of the week.  The rest of the week, I workout at home.  I enjoy my time walking, but also enjoy being able to do different activities as well.  There are always good conversations when we walk.  Today was a little quieter.  I think none of us were fully awake.


Here is the first card that I got to make the other evening.  It was designed by my friend Monica.  I had such a great time sitting with her the other night.  We got to laughing so hard!  It was great!  Thanks Monica!!!

I just love these boots!  Aren't they the cutest?

And these rhinestone jewels are to die for!  You must pay attention to them when you are applying them, but they are so worth it!

Stamp Set:  Wicked Cool