Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! OK it's still a few hours away, but I'm planning to go to bed in a few minutes! What are you doing for New Years Eve? What are your New Years Resolutions? I'll post mine in the morning, but one is to post here more often - both cards and personal (I'm TRYING to lose weight....).

We're watching 2 of our adorable nieces tonight! We've got Braelynn and Niah - my sister's 2 daughters! Pray for me though! Michael's going to play golf with his mom and brother tomorrow - leaving me with 4 kids UNDER 5! AAAAHHHH! I just might lose it before my sister gets here!

Curls....

Well, my son's curls are gone..... mostly..... I guess he's growing up now...... Here's a pic to compare.

This is Angelo at Thanksgiving with a rat's tail of curls.

And here he is tonight.
So the story for those of you who haven't heard - My son is 22 months old and has never had a haircut (and we're not REALLY considering this one either....) He had these BEAUTIFUL curls (as you can see in the first pic!) and Michael didn't want to cut them off for fear that Angelo would switch from the little boy with the cute curls to just any other little boy. Problem was his "bangs" were getting in his eyes! So tonight after his bath, I took out the scissors and was attempting to HOLD Ange AND cut them. Needless to say my "spirited" son wouldn't have anything to do with it! So I asked Michael to help. Michael held Ange's head still (sounds bad doesn't it!) and I trimmed. I don't think they are straight, but they'll be brushed to the side and no one will notice :) Anyway, when we were done, I was trying to make sure I got them nicely and Michael took the scissors and cut the entire rat's tail of curls off! I like that he doesn't look SO MUCH like a girl, but I kinda liked them.....

Last card :(

Well, the third card didn't turn out like I wanted.... Michael came up before I started it and told me it didn't matter what it looked like, just get it done! Doesn't he understand the process?!? Ugh, anyway, no more cards to upload, but I'm working on a squash book and the name coasters I mentioned earlier. I'll post later when they are done (it's lunch/nap time right now!)

Another one!

OK, I'm not AS crazy about this one as I was the other, but it's still nice. Same colors and Simply Scrappin' kit as the other. One note to ANYONE piercing - make sure your card base isn't closed..... YES! I pierced through the BACK of the card! LOL Oh well, I matted the gift card OVER that spot.


OK, so the reason I'm SO behind on my crafty gifts - Emma, Michael and I were in our church's Christmas Cantata! Emma and I were a family going to the Inn in Bethlehem, Michael was a shepherd (a VERY funny shepherd at that!), and I helped take the children to see Jesus (where he "taught" them). And Emma was also the dead girl. At the end of the show, a couple brings their "dead" daughter to Jesus and he HEALS her - that was Emma! She did SO good!

OK, another question - how hectic is your December?

Oh and there may be one more card (again, depending on how I like it when I finish it....) and possibly some other items. I'm thinking of making Emma and Angelo some name things using coasters... The only issue with this is Angelo is just a BIT longer than the number of coasters I have in one size/shape.... SO I'm going to alter square and circle.

Making Christmas cards

Well, I'm spending this Saturday before Christmas finishing up the last little stuff. I've wrapped the last of the presents and I'm now working on the cards for gift cards! Ugh! This is time consuming! I think next year I'll start EARLY in the year and make a BUNCH of cards for sending out (haven't even THOUGHT about those yet!) and for gift cards. SO, on to my card.

I made this using the retired Stampin' Up! Simply Scrappin kit All the Trimmings. I LOVE this set! And I LOVE how this card turned out (besides the little mistakes I made that no one but I will notice!)

The squares are 1 7/8 x 1 7/8 (Brocade Blue). The block that the squares are on is 4 1/8 x 4 1/8 (Always Artichoke).
I stamped "Be Merry" using Warm Words and Real Red Craft Ink, embossed with clear embossing powder.

I MAY post more throughout the day depending on how they turn out.....

So, what are you doing today - crunch day?

New link

I just wanted to send a quick message letting you ALL know that I posted a link to Angel's blog on my sidebar. She is taking signups for Weight Loss buddies. I signed up. For those who don't know at Christmas I have MANY houses to go to. My Christmas is going to start the Sunday BEFORE! That's what happens when you have 5 grandmothers, 2 sets of parents, and one set of in-laws.....

Another Priceless Thank you!

OK, if you haven't noticed, I LOVE this set! LOL I have won a couple of blog candies recently and last week I sent out some extras of my thank you card below. But I feel bad sending everyone cards they've already seen (I know it's STRANGE, but I've heard of some who keep logs of what IMAGE they send someone year to year for Christmas, so STRANGE is in the eye of the beholder) or know are "old".

Anyway, here's my latest. I was going to use the same basic idea as the last, but turn it sideways and put the flowers in the opposite corners. Problem is when the square is turned sideways, it doesn't fit on a standard card! LOL Not sure HOW I forgot that, but I did. But I REALLY liked how the corners turned out (what you see here behind the butterfly). THEN I decided to change the flower to a butterfly (I've seen one swirly behind a butterfly, but not sure if I've seen 3 like this....). Then when I was looking at placement, I wondered....WHY do we always insist on putting the squares at nice angles, why not at an odd angle? And finally the Thank you is stamped in the upper right corner....I think it balances the card. I also think this is a nice, simple card.... not much work involved. Now I'm off to try other ideas!

Oh! And the colors are Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum, Almost Amethyst, and Whisper White. I also used versamark to stamp and emboss the butterfly (I used versamark and classic ink).

Alright, so I'm not gone yet! I was just looking at this! The more I look at it, the more I like it! The PP square looks like one of those old decoder things.....Like it's showing you the swirly coming out of the base. Sorry, I'm rambling and sounding silly.... Anyone understand what I'm trying to say?

Priceless Thank You

This is the card I'm making for Emma's b-day thank yous. I LOVE how it turned out! Now I can't take FULL credit for this, I cased the idea from Sherry - smcdowney - on SCS. You can see her version here.

For this card, I used Priceless and Warmest Regards from Stampin' Up! The base is Pretty in Pink. I stamped the hearts on the base with the same color ink. The main image is stamped in Perfect Plum on Whisper White. The sentiment is in Mellow Moss. The flowers were stamped with VersaMark on Pretty in Pink and embossed with white embossing powder and popped up using dimensionals. The whole thing is mounted on a piece of Perfect Plum cardstock. THEN I added the Moss grosgrain ribbon.

I hope you enjoy!

Family

OK! I'm going to do my BEST to make this the LAST post of family pics for a while! I'm striving to make some cards this week (somewhere between stuffing envelopes for the church tomorrow night and handing out cantata tickets on Wednesday night!)
So on to this picture! This was just TOO sweet to pass up! Starting on the left is Emma and Angelo (my 2 - Emma was Aurora and Angelo was a dinosaur!), then my nieces Braelynn and Niah (Tina's children - Braelynn was a CUTE pink poodle and Niah was a princess!), then the other 3 are my OTHER 2 nieces and my "adopted" nephew - Lilly, Bailey, and Gavin (Adam and Shanna's - Lilly was a snow princess, Gavin was a samurai, and Bailey was a sweet girly pirate!)
We took this picture right before the Parade of Preschoolers sponsored by my town (where I also HAPPEN to work ;) I was SO excited that my nieces and nephew could come join us, since they live out of town - 30 minutes to an hour away :( It makes me sad I don't get to see them very often, but I try to make the most of it when I DO see them!

Angelo (and a pic of me!)

Well, here's a pic of me and Angelo! NOT my best, but it was early in the morning and Emma took it. BUT considering Emma's 5 I think it is a GREAT picture! I think Emma's going to turn out to be a photographer...... Or at least that's what she enjoys right now.
Looking at this picture, I think Angelo looks more like me than his daddy.... HEY! A mommy can HOPE, right?!? LOL

I just HAD to share this pic of Emma! We were playing with the camera this morning and she asked me to take this :) My little star! Hard to believe she's ALMOST 5! What happened to my baby?!?

Gift bags

OK, I'm going to post a bunch of stuff in a number of different posts tonight.

This first is to show off some very cute gift bags I made for some little boys that Emma goes to school with (they are brothers and their combined b-day party was today).
So, here they are together! The one on the left was made using Cowboy Kid. I stamped the different images/sayings in Stazon on the red bag (got that at Wal-mart). The one on the right was made using Ahoy Matey! I stamped the parrot and "Ahoy Matey" in Whisper White Craft ink on the black bag (again from Wal-mart).
Now, the cowboy was stamped with Basic Black classic ink. THEN I colored in his bandana in Ruby Red, his shirt in Brocade Blue, the star in Summer Sun, and his shorts (and the horse stick) in Close to Cocoa. THEN I used my VersaMarker to color in his hat, the horse, his gloves, and his boots (done individually), and used the Creamy Caramel chalk to dab onto it. Then I took white tissue paper and stamped the cowboy in each corner so that when it was stuffed into the bag he would be standing and stamped the other images around that.
And finally, here's a closer look at the pirate bag. For the pirate, I stamped him in Basic Black classic ink, colored his shirt red, his pants black. THEN I colored in his sword and hook (traced the hook itself) with a silver gel pen. THAT EASY! And finally I took white tissue paper and stamped the pirate in each corner so that when it was stuffed into the bag he would be standing and stamped the other images around that.

On both bags the image is on dimensionals. Enjoy!

Change

Well, it's time for some change. As we know, October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I used the month to get the word out about doing your self exams AND getting regular mammograms!
Now October is over, so I'm changing my colors! I think for now, I'm going to use the color palette in the card above. I made this about 2 months ago. I wasn't crazy about it, but a few people have seen it laying around my craft area (used for MANY crafts!) and said I should share it. So I'm sharing....
This card was made using Priceless. The colors are Pixie Pink, Glorious Green, and Brilliant Blue. I stamped the pink background flowers with craft ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I did the same for the large flower.
So here's to change!

Emma's b-day is this weekend, so I won't be able to post until next week sometime..... BUT feel free to leave me a comment! :)

BLOG CANDY WINNER!

First off I want to say I'm sorry I'm late getting the winner posted. Michael and I are trying to get the camper packed for this weekend, work with Emma for school, clean the house, and everything else that goes on! It's CRAZY!

Anyway, before I announce the winner, I just wanted to say that it's nice to see so many who are taking an active step in their health. I got my mammogram this morning and the diagnostic center where it was done recently switched over to digital! This is amazing! The woman who did mine showed me last years vs this years! You could actually see the edge of the skin in the digital! It was GREAT (besides the pinching)!

Now on to what everyone wants to know - the WINNER!

janet allen said...
I'm up to date. Thank you for the reminder. It seems that this disease is attacking younger woman now, so doctors need to consider lowering the age to get started on this procedure.

CONGRATS JANET ALLEN! Since you did not leave me your e-mail address please contact me at fourmichaels@yahoo.com.

Suggested screening

The American Academy of Family Physicians currently recommends that women 40-49 get a mammogram every 1-2 years and 50+ every year. BUT I would suggest discussing this with your dr. I get one every year because of my family history. My mother's oncologist (who is GREAT, but the way) suggested it. If you feel you need one more often than your dr is telling you, demand it. OR find another dr!

And of course, there's NO AGE LIMIT on when you should start doing monthly self breast exams! A friend and I stopped at the booth our local hospital had at the MumFest (www.mumfest.com) this past weekend where they had a "visual" that you could actually feel the fibrous tissue in one and then a simulated breast with lumps. My friend was not blessed in the chest area and never realized you can feel the glands in your breast. She went home that night and did a breast exam. She realized that she was doing it wrong! SO, if you are feeling NOTHING, talk with your dr and he/she may have something like this that they can show you with.

When we got to the booth there was a woman in there with her teenage daughter. The daughter kept rolling her eyes at her mother who was telling her she needed to be doing this! PLEASE do not let this be YOUR daughter! Talk to her regularly and honestly!

And don't forget to leave a comment on the post below this one for your chance to win BLOG CANDY!

BLOG CANDY!!

Well, it seems this weekend I passed the 200 hits mark! YEAH! So because of that AND in honor of those women (and some men) who fight the battle, I'm giving away some blog candy.

Please post to let me know when you have YOUR mammogram scheduled for (or the date you had it done). I will pick a winner next Monday - Oct. 22. The winner will receive a Pretty in Pink Stampin' Write marker and a pack of 8.5x11 Pretty in Pink cardstock. Sorry, this is only open to US citizens as this will be a CDO.

To answer my own question - mine is scheduled for October 23. I'm only 30 and this is my second one due to family history.

Good luck!

Giving credit

Well, last night I forgot to give credit and post some links I wanted to share. So that's what this post is for.
First of all, I saw the "Pink for October" idea on Allison's blog. THEN I found the link to http://pinkforoctober.org on Angel's blog. This site is GREAT! I got my "Pink for October" banner from Kim West on their site. I also found a cute site called boobiethon.com - you should check them out!
The other 2 banners were given to me by my mother! And those 2 will ALWAYS stay on my blog somewhere. Later this month be on the lookout for some PINK blog candy.

Pink for October!

Yes, I have gone PINK for October! This is to raise awareness and in honor of my mother - my best friend and strength! Unfortunately, I have been touched too many times with breast cancer.

My great-grandmother (my father's mother's mother) passed away from it after having 2 mastectomies and getting it a third time when it metastasized in her body. Then my cousin on the same side passed away from it. THEN my mother was diagnosed 2 years ago. She stayed strong and persevered! After 6 chemo treatments and 2 years, she is cancer free! YEAH! Then last year, my mother-in-law was diagnosed. And after 6 chemo treatments and radiation, she is currently cancer free - she will be passing her 1 year mark VERY soon. Her hair is coming back now and it's very curly!

Here they are - the 2 strongest ladies I know! I love them both SO much! So this month is for them! Love you!
So here's my "lecture" - DON'T FORGET YOUR MONTHLY SELF EXAMS &/OR SCHEDULE YOUR ANNUAL MAMMOGRAM! I already have MINE scheduled!

Pics of previous work

Well, I made 10 cards for a basket I am donating to the hospital for a fundraiser they hold annually for employees. I would post the cards, but most of them were VERY CASEd from people on SCS! So needless to say, I don't want to upset anyone by posting my version (OK, but not as good as the original) or their work (beautiful! Why else would I CASE it?)
So to make up for it, I'm going to post some other stuff.

This is a candle I made for a workshop I did in July. I LOVED the color combo. I got the combo from www.scraptitude.com/colorcombo. It is Only Orange, Glorious Green, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, and Apricot Appeal. NOT something I would have picked out myself, but I liked the way it looked when I did the "surprise me".

This one I made for another workshop that ended up getting cancelled (I seem to have that happen a lot....). VERY simple, but I REALLY like the way it turned out!

Now this card was kinda a case (saw the layout, but I changed it). I made 10 of these for my god-daughter who came to visit this past April. Her name is Laura (hence the L). I used the Polk Dots and Paisley stamp set for the background (I wouldn't suggest coloring on the stamp when you have multiple cards to make! LOL). I colored in the area in the paisleys with a white gel pen. Color combo is Green Galore, Ballet Blue, and So Saffron.

Now this card I just wanted to try something I had seen on SCS - making a flower with the paisley from Polka Dots and Paisley. This is nice, but not my favorite. Color combo is Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, and Pink Passion (one of my favorite combos).

This is a layout of my daughter at Easter that I did recently. I LOVED the way it turned out! Simple color combo - Basic Black, Whisper White, and Yoyo Yellow. Most of the doodles are by hand - once I got started I couldn't seem to stop! LOL The flowers are from Delight in Life. I thought they gave it a nice touch and blended in well stamped in Whisper White Craft ink.
Just a couple more! These last 2 are a couple layouts I made to show a stamp's versatility. For the USA one, I stamped 3 Big Blossoms - Real Red, Gold, and Brilliant Blue - all craft ink. Then I cut the flowers out and layered them. Then I cut the petals into strips (not all the way in, but close). Then I "roughed" them on the edge of my table. I added the metallic strips in red and blue and punched out a stamped star from Starstruck. The rest of the layout is pretty self-explanatory.

This last one used the same technique as before, but I made a sun out of it. There's a yellow button in the middle. The only thing I would've changed on this one is I think I should've used 2 different colored flowers for the sun instead of 2 of the same color. What's great is even though the Big Blossom is retired (SO SAD!) Stampin' Up! gave us Pick a Petal which can be used in a similar fashion!
Well, it's getting late! I hadn't planned on writing this much, but my computer FINALLY decided to let me into Blogger, so I thought I'd better take advantage of it while I could! I hope to post a LOT more this weekend - Michael is letting me scrap WITHOUT the kids this weekend! YEAH! We'll see how that goes....

YUM!

I just finished a piece of the most delicious pie in the world! LOL It is called an Everything Pie or Fruits of Indigo Pie! Michael and I got it on Labor Day from a farm on the NC/SC border called Indigo Farms on our way back from our terrible vacation. They put everything in the pie - strawberries, rhubarb, apple, blackberries, etc. VERY yummy! One bite will be sweet, then the next is bitter, but STILL yummy!

Anyway, on to the cards! These are a couple of cards I made for some friends who are expecting (these are 2 of about 10 ladies I know who are expecting!) The top one went to my friend who just found out she's having a girl. She herself isn't very girly, so I didn't want to give her anything fru-fru - the nursery wall is brown, pale green, pale yellow, and pale blue. I don't know what the other lady is having, but wanted to let her know I was thinking about her! I think both cards turned out VERY cute.

I think I'm going to venture into changing the colors of my blog to something different than the preset templates soon. GASP! I KNOW! Can you believe it?!? LOL I think I'm going to use the RGB colors for some of the SU colors to create a fun look!

Well, it's getting late, so I'm going to bed! Hope to see you soon!

WOW!

I'm amazed! LOL Someone saw my little ol' blog! Well, now that I know someone's looking (I have NO CLUE how to add a counter or add those SUPER pretty backgrounds and features), I thought I should post another card and change things a bit :D SO I've added a picture of my daughter and mother sitting on the front of the boat. I KNOW summer's almost over, but I want to remember the good times!
Speaking of which, I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL and memorable Labor Day! Mine was horrible! We went camping to a campground we'd never been to. It was DIRTY, there was a DEAD SQUIRREL on the site next to us, my camera decided it didn't want to cooperate (so I have NO pictures of our trip - kids in the ocean, swimming, NOTHING), we canceled ALL outdoors plans because it was supposed to storm all weekend (couldn't cancel the trip without loosing the entire cost, then NO storms, just cloudy!), the sewage hose for the camper split (so Michael got sewage sprayed ALL OVER HIM!), the kids were terrors (OK, more Angelo and less Emma!), and we went to a place for dinner that ended up being WAY more than the other similar places in town because Michael thought they'd be cheaper! So pretty much if it COULD go wrong, it DID!
Anyway, this card is one I made recently for a demonstrator Christmas card swap. I liked the technique on page 34 of the Stampin' Up! Fall/Winter Collection 2007, but the color combo on page 36. So I gave it my all and this is what I came up with!
Forgive me for not posting more cards. I'm "shy" when it comes to my designs. My mother likes them, but then, she's partial! I'm going to try and do better. I have 2 "Congrats on your pregnancy" cards sitting on my desk right now. I need to scan them in and post them because they turned out really nice :D I'm just scared that I'm going to post something that I saw MONTHS ago SOMEWHERE and not give the original designer proper recognition....... So I'm going to say now, I visit SplitCoast Stampers and like to look at blogs. If you see anything here vaguely similar to your own and I didn't mention you, I am SO sorry! Let me know privately and I will remove it or give you recognition.
Well, Michael's asking me to go down to bed, so I'll end my ramblings for the night. Hopefully, I can get on again soon to post more.

Angelo's b-day invite

I just wanted to post a picture of Angelo's b-day invites! Made them myself! I doubt anyone even looks at this blog, but I like showing off my work :)