Sweet, Silly, Funny Al...I Love You Too!

Do you ever just have a moment when your significant other takes you by surprise? Well, I just had one of those moments. Just when you think you can predict their every move, they pull a fast one on ya! Pictured below, you'll see what I found this morning when I moved my stack of "works in progress" to clean off an area for me to do some stampin'. Is that sweet, or what????

Right in the midst of the mess, and written on my well used/recycled Stampin' Up! grid paper, he leaves me a note..exactly where he knew I would find it (eventually). If I know Al, he's paitently waiting for me to find this, and say something. I can see him now with that smirky little half grin on his face! Yep! That's my Allen! My sweet, funny, loving, caring, giving, patient, hard working, note leaving guy! I love you to Al, and days like this remind me why!!! I think I'll be saving this wonderfully icky piece of grid paper Notice how he painstakingly placed each letter within a square? His attention to detail remains unsurpassed! :-D Years from now, my kids will wonder what the heck Mom was thinking when she saved this nasty old piece of paper, that is until they look a little closer...

Thank you so much for stopping by today, and may the good Lord bless and keep you! Have a beautiful day!!!!

Love ya!
Lorie

Good mornin' and happy Friday to ya! Today I'm taking a break from Kim's cards to share a little altered project I played with a few days ago. I had a couple of these large clothespins sitting on a shelf and I'd never attemped to do anything with them. Well, the urge struck me, so this is what I came up with. I attended a Scrap-In-A-Snap class hosted by my downline, Lauren (aka yadroc5831), and this was some of the paper I had left over from the class. I loved the papers in this (now retired) Simply Scrappin Kit, and I can't believe how much there was, and how far it went!! Those kits are a wonderful buy!!

This project was very fast and easy to do, and wouldn't it make a great gift for someone's desk? I will use it to display the 6x6 brag book page that's pictured in the background. For embellishments I got out my trusty Martha Stewart eyelet lace punch, added some pearls, ribbon, and a chipboard "L", which was another little goody sent to me by my former big sister, Shannon. In order to get the paper to stick to the wooden clothespin, I simply applied glue stick to the pin, added a strip of DP (cut slightly larger than the surface to be covered), then sanded around the edge of the pin with a sanding block to cut the paper for a perfect fit. Easy peasy!!! For added adhesion, you can add a coat of Mod Podge if you like. I want to thank you for stopping by today, and I wish you a very happy TGIF!! May the good Lord bless and keep you today and always!

Love Ya!

Lorie

Supply List

Paper: Retired SU Simply Scrapping KitAccessories: Glue stick, SU stitched edge grograin ribbon, SU taffeta ribbon, Chipboard letters, Martha Stewart eyelet lace punch, Rinestone brads, self adhesive pearls

Bring On More Brights...

Think Spring! Think Spring! Is anyone getting anxious for the warm sunny days of spring? Oh, I sure am!! This card makes me long for those warmer sunnier days. Nothing fancy here. Just a bright and cheerful thank you card. The DP is from a pack of papers I picked up at good 'ole Wal-Mart a long time ago, and the dew drops were included in some happy mail from my dear and amazingly talented friend, Sandra. I really need to stop hoarding paper and make good use of my stash. This is my effort to do just that, and our very creative friend Mary (ohiomary) has issued a wonderful challenge on her blog to inspire us to use that DP. Click on her name and hop on over to her blog to check out her challenge and have a chance to win some yummy blog candy she has up for grabs. You have until February 16th to complete the challenge, so that's plenty of time to get the creative juices flowing! Stamp on!! Thanks for stopping by, and have a blessed day!

Love ya!

Lorie

Supply List

Paper: Summer Sun, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Wal-Mart DP

Ink: Black Stazon, various SU Inks for watercoloring

Stamps: SU Fast and Fun Notes

Accessories: Blue gingham ribbon, Flower Fusion Too felt flower, So saffron brad, Dew Drops, Aquapainter

Now if I had an accomplishment that called for a congratulations card, this bright little number would definitley make my day. I used the faux dry embossing technique for this card with the punched stars in the background, and the rest is pretty simple My all time favorite embellishment of ribbon adds to the interest of this card, as does the glitter bling in the center of the star. Bright colored cards are the hardest for me to do, and the colors I choose the least often, so I'm stepping way outside my comfort zone with the bright cards. Tomorrow I'll have another "loud" little number to share with you, so stay tuned! Thanks for joining me today, and may you have a glorious day filled with everything and everyone you love! Happy Stamping!!

Love Ya!

Lorie

Supply List

Paper: Pacific Point, Whisper White, Summer Sun, Yo-Yo YellowInk: Black Stazon, various SU inks for watercoloringStamps: Fast and Fun NotesAccessories: Star Punch, yellow grosgrain ribbon, blue grosgrain ribbon, aquapainter, blender pens

Tag, You're It!

Well, Ms. Kadiebug tagged me, and says I'm supposed to find the 6th picture on my computer, post it, and tell a little bit about it, then tag 6 other people, so here goes. Yep! It's a picture of my house this summer. I was trying to get a good picture of my impatients in front of the house. Not too exciting, but that's the way it goes! Now, who do I tag? How about...

Michelle

Susan

Jeanette

Gael

Okay. That's it. That's not six, but these girls are the ones I know of who haven't been tagged yet that have a blog. I hope I haven't "double tagged" anyone. Can't wait to see your pictures!!

Today I'm sharing two of the cards I included in Kim's Card Box. I tried to keep these cards simple since I had so many to make at once, but as always, it's all about the bling for me, so there's bling on them all!! The first card, I thought would work well for either a wedding, or anniversary. I kept the colors soft, and added bling with some glitter on the cake, the pearls, and the silk flowers. I also used some more of that K&Co. paper that I love so much for the background. Kim can add the message of her choice for the inside, and voila! Instant anniversary/wedding card! I love it when a plan comes together!!

The get well card brings together two of my favorite colors. I LOVE, love, love the Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red, as well as the Bella Rose DSP that goes with them! I've never really been a a fan of "brights", but these colors just down right make me happy! I also love how the pink pirouette seems to blend the brighter colors together and soften them up a bit. I'm going to be so sad when these colors retire!!!!! I guess I'll have to stock up and hoard! (Like I don't already!)
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and checking out my creations. I hope you have enjoyed your time here, and please come back often!! Have a blessed day, and Happy Stamping!

Supply List

Wedding/Anniversary card

Paper: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Bashful Blue, K&Co. DP

Ink: Black Stazon, assorted SU inks for watercoloring

Stamps: SU Fast and fun notes

Accessories: White brocade ribbon (Wal-Mart), pearls and silk flowers (Pretties Kit), Dazzling Diamonds ultra fine glitter SU scalloped edge punch, Aquapainter, and Blender Pens

Bella Get Well Card

Paper: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP

Ink: Black Stazon, assorted SU inks for watercoloring

Stamps: SU Fast and Fun Notes

Accessories: Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon, Flower Fusion Too felt flower, So saffron brad, Aquapainter, Blender Pens

Card Box for Kim

Hello and good morning, friends! I hope you all had a relaxing and creative weekend. I sure did! I spent my weekend working on a little gift for my sister-in-law's birthday. I found a nice K& Co. photo album for her, but I wanted to make her some handmade cards too, and of course I had to come up with a box to store her cards in. Kim often joins me in my stamping room for all kinds of card creations, but she's been so busy that it's been a while since we've stamped together. I know how she likes to send out handmade cards, so I though what better to give her than a box of assorted cards to have on hand when she needs them. I will share the cards with you througout the week, but we're going to start the week with the box to put them in. I had to design this box 3" deep to hold the 12 cards I made for it. The stack is pretty thick with all the embellishments, etc...(most of you know how I like my embellies, especially ribbon)!! Off we go! The first picture shows the dimension of the box. I used some of my favorite K&Co. shabby chic papers to cover the box, and the satin ribbon came to me from Shannon Bracken, who was my secret big sister in the DDSS round 12 on SCS. Shannon is a very talented stamper, and she was a wonderful big sister. I have so many pretty creations she graciously shared with me. Stop by her blog and check her out!

This is a side view of the box. I made the box bottom with a piece of the white cardboard that comes in the package of Stampin' Up!'s DSP. I save all that stuff, it's great for making sturdy little boxes! Love that Martha Stewart lacy edge punch, too!!

I hope Kim likes her box of cards! Happy Birthday to Kim!!!!!

I love ya!

Supply List

Paper: K& Co. DP, Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel
Stamps: Letterpress Alphabet, Baroque Motifs
Accessories: Satin Ribbon, Sticky Strip, Martha Stewart Lacy Edge Punch

Bad, Bad Bunny!

Well, this card just doesn't need much explanation, now does it? I created this for Karen's (aka stampinkaren) Bad Bunny Swap over on splitcoast stampers. She hosted a little Bad Santa Swap that was a big hit with all the girls a few months ago, so with a little coaxing, she started a Bad Bunny Swap for spring. I had absolutely NO stamps for this swap that would work. Everything I have are all a little too cutesy, cutesy for what I needed, so this is a downloadable image I found on the net that someone had very graciously shared for coloring purposes. I decided to go with a take on the old "Is that a pickle in your pocket?" diddy. The outside of the card reads of course, Is that a carrot in your pocket?", and the inside says "...or is it gonna be a Hoppy Easter?". I'm not nearly as creative with my sentiments as many of the gals in the swap, so I'm as happy as I can be with what I came up with! They are all so clever with their words, and I just manage to get by.This picture is a closer look of Bad Bunny popping off the page. Not a very clear picture, but it's closer. (Sorry for the blurries). I'm definitely NOT a photographer. I watercolored this little guy with my SU Inks and a blender pen. I added some blushing cheeks to him, and used the Baroque Motifs stamp to add a little color and interest to the background. I'm pretty happy with the way this card turned out, and I hope all the other Bad Bunny swappers will like it too! Have a fabulous weekend, and if you're lucky, you'll get to spend part of it stamping!!!!!

Supply List

Paper: PTI Heavy White card stock, Close to Cocoa, retired SU DSP

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, computer generated sentiment, downloadable image from the net

Ink: So Saffron, various SU inks for watercoloring

Accessories: So Saffron polytwill ribbon, So Saffron brads, dimensionals, Wide oval punch, large oval punch, Rectangle, and Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities

Now isn't this little kitty just the most caring little guy you've ever seen? Just popping in to check on a friend. I made this card to pop in and check on a friend, and let her know that I'm thinking of her, and hoping she's feeling better soon. My pastor/friend Mary Ellen Waychoff (MEW) gave me this Stampin' Up! set The Cats Meow several years ago, and I love all the kitty images in it. I'm the caregiver for MEW's 3 cats (Toby, Mitzi, and Emily), when she's away on church business, or on vacation. They are just the sweetest kitties ever, and they have impeccable taste in cards and gifts! They are always sending me little cards or things they think I'd like as a thank you for taking such good care of them when their mom is away. They are sneaky kitties let me tell ya, because they do this, and their mom never seems to know anything about it! Hmmmmm... Back to the card... I thought the colors in this Autumn Vine dotted DSP would pick up the colors I wanted to use for the cat, golfish, and water. I did cover the fish bowl and water drops with crystal effects, but it doesn't show up at all in the picture. Thanks for stopping in to have a look, and have a glorious day!

Supply List

Card stock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Really Rust, Autumn Vine DSP

Stamps: The Cats Meow, Best Yet

Ink: Black Stazon, Chocolate Chip, Various SU classic inks for watercoloring

Accessories: Aquapainter, Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Crystal Effects

January Sisterhood Swap

Good Morning...or as my dear Aunt Sharon used to say to me, "Good morning toward you...Good morning beside you...good morning behind you...and good morning all around you! That pretty much covers it, doesn't it? Today I'm sharing a card with you that I made for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Cards Swap, hosted by the wonderful Kmensley, a very dear friend from splitcoaststampers. Please drop by Kadie's blog and check out her Cullen ATC cards. If you're a Twilight fan, I promise you're gonna love what she's doing!! Kadie had the fantastic idea to keep our little group of stamping friends together on a monthly basis by creating and sharing cards every month for a year. Each month there's a new hostess and a new theme. I tell ya this is so much fun! Our first months theme is flowers. Tropical, traditional, contemporary...it's all good. Just think flowers, and let your imagination soar!

The inspiration for this card came from mlj-mlj on splitcoaststampers. You can see her original creation here. I've made a few changes, but I loved her use of the larger of the flowers in this Eastern Blooms set from Stampin' Up!. I let the beautiful K&Co. paper dictate the color scheme, and the card took on a life of it's own from there. This was the first time that either of these SU sets have seen ink. That would be one of my goals for this new year. To try to use more of my neglected stamp sets. Thank you so very much for stopping by my blog, and I wish you a happy and blessed day! Happy Stamping!!!!!!!!!!

Love Ya!

Lorie

Card Recipe

Stamps: SU Eastern Blooms & All Holidays

Paper: Bordering Blue, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Whisper White, K&Co. DP

Ink: Bordering Blue, Old Olive, Night of Navy Classic Ink & Night of Navy Stamp & Write Markers

Accessories: Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Paperpiercing tool, and template, green rinestone

Lauri's Vintage Valentine Swap

Vintage valentine anyone? I finished up a set of these cards last night for Lauri's Vintage Valentine Swap on splitcoaststampers. I was so happy to find Lauri's swap, because I had all

these vintage valentines that Allen and I found in an old drugstore building that we bought a few years ago. These valentines, some very old Hallmark cards, and card display racks were just a few of the antique finds we uncovered in that wonderful old building. We had grand plans for the old drugstore, but after the previous owner left the leaky roof unrepaired for so many years, it was decided that it couldn't be saved, and it was torn down. We did manage to salvage some "treasures" from inside, and I'm so glad we did. There's so much history involved in places like that, and it's sad to see them go. If we had just gotten to it a few years earlier it might have been saved. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Anywho, I was thrilled to find Lauri's swap, which has allowed me to share some of those old valentines with fellow handmade card lovers! I'm not sure exactly how old these valentines are, but from what I can find on the net, I'm guessing they are at least 50 years old, and possibly older than that. There are no dates printed on them that I can find, but I've seen some similar to these on ebay dated anywhere from the 1930's-early 1960's. I hope you like what I've done with them. I tried to keep it simple and compliment what I had to work with. Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing a bit of your day here, and may the good Lord bless and keep you today and always! Happy Stamping!

Love ya!

Lorie

Card Recipe

Paper: SU Riding Hood Red & Very Vanilla

Stamps: SU Bella Toile, Holidays and Wishes

Ink: SU Riding Hood Red

Accessories: Fiskars decorative circle punch, Very Vanilla Hodpodge Hardware, Red stitched edge ribbon from Wal Mart

I received these blog awards from the sweet and wonderful Carolyn. Thank you so much, Carolyn for ThINKin' of me! I would like to share these thoughtful awards with:

Lauri @ Paperville

Sandra @ Paperfuntastics

Susan @ Pink Flannel Pajamas

&

Michelle @ Misc. Michelle

These paper crafters and friends have wonderful blogs and do some amazing work! I look forward to visiting their blogs with each and every post, because I know there is going to be an inspirational card, words of encouragement, or a funny story to share...it's all good!!!!! I'm not sure what the "rules" are for these awards, but feel free to share them if you would like!

Wishing you all a fabulous day filled with all the things that make you happy!!!

Love ya!
Lorie

Simple Valentine Card & Box

Today I would like to share the projects we created at our last Sassy Stamper club meeting in December 2008. I just can't say enough great things about our group of stampers. They are so much fun, and we have such a good time stamping together. It's always a little sad to end a year, but then the excitement of the new year and what's to come quickly takes over. With new members, new projects, and of course the new catalog, the excitement has been building for weeks!! Our 2009 Sassy Stampers will meet tonight for the first time, and this year I am excited about something new that we will be doing. This year the monthly hostesses will be sharing a recipe, and we will be making a 6x6 recipe collection along with our cards and craft projects. At the end of our year of stamping and sharing, each club member will have the start of a scrapbooked cookbook that hopefully we can build on for a long time to come. Okay, I think that's enough talk about what's to come, so back to our last months projects. This card layout came from the SU website. I am trying to use workshop wizard templates more and more, and I find that it helps me keep things simple. That is one thing that I have a very difficult time with. I like to take my time and add lots of detail to most of my cards and projects, but that's not very practical in a "class type" setting, so these templates have been a lifesaver for me. I tend to be pleasantly surprised when a card turns out well, and it was so fast and easy to put together. This card and matchbox were two of those projects. We had several guests join our group the last few months we met, and many of them are new to stamping. This card gave them the chance to get their feet wet with watercoloring using the aqua painter and blender pens. The little matchbox is perfect for housing a little Valentine treat, and the template was one I found on splitcoaststampers. These projects gave me a chance to showcase the new Love You Much Promotion. Check out my website www.loriesouther.stampinup.net for all the details for this great promotion available through the end of this month. Have a wonderful day, and Happy Stamping!!

Happy New Year Card

Good morning, and good day to you! Today I would like to share a card that I made for friends and family who didn't get a timely Christmas card from me. This image is one from Whiff of Joy Stamps. I absolutely love their stamps, and especially the ones by Elizabeth Bell. I have so many on my wish list that I'm having to pace myself. The background paper is from Basic Grey, and I watercolored the image with my SU inks and a blender pen.

Once again, I'm using two of my favorite colors, RHR and Kiwi Kiss. I put my Bigshot to good use and cut the words and ampersand with that. I'm not going to include the recipe for this card, but as always, please feel free to email me if you have any questions. Have a blessed day dear friends, and until the next time...HAPPY STAMPING!!!

Love,

Lorie

My Sanctuary...

Okay...after cleaning the stamping room yesterday, I thought this would be a good time to post pictures, especially since it seldom looks like this. It's usually a disaster area. These pictures go around the room in order, so here goes. I have a mish mash of furniture and storage, so don't ask me what the style is. It's a little of everything, but I definitely lean toward the "country style" of decorating. It just seems to fit well with this old house. This photo is of my table/work area. The pie safe behind my table is where all the current stamp sets are stored. The cart in the corner houses all the scrap paper I save and is sorted by color in each drawer.

Same area, but taken from in front of my table. That table is one my mom gave me, and actually flips up to become a bench should I ever need a bench...yeah right! It's a good sturdy little stamping table, though, and there's room for someone to pull up a chair on this side and stamp along with me. My sister-in-law Kim does that from time to time. I love my card wreath on top of the pie safe. I got that from an At Home America party, and it's one of my favorite things. I keep what house mouse stamps I have stored on top of this pie safe as well. I love those little guys too!!

This is my paper storage rack. A tremendous find at Michaels one day. It was sitting outside their store with a $10.00 tag on it! I was one happy stamper the day I found this baby let me tell ya!!!!! It holds all my 8 1/2 x 11 paper sorted by the color family.
The computer area. Very handy to have the computer in the same room. Behind the door is a closet where all my retired stamps and other stuff that I have no idea what to do with is piled (oops...I mean stored)! I'm not taking you in there, because it's not for the faint of heart...TRUST ME!! I also store my punches in clear plastic shoe bags on the back side of that door.

Going around the room to the left toward the TV. I have a cable hook up here, but I have to watch whatever DH is watching downstairs. I'm okay with that, though, since I seldom "watch". I just like the noise.

The extra work table in the room. 3 more stampers can join me, or I can bring my portable sewing maching in to have handy. I also use this as an embossing station.

Ribbon, cuttlebug, Bigshot, and miscellaneous storage.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of my space. I promise it won't look like this as soon as I have a chance to get in there and start working, so let's just say it was good while it lasted! Have a beautiful day, and HAPPY STAMPING!!!

SU Inventory Blow Out!

Hello and Good morning!

I thought I would share the information about Stampin' Up!'s big inventory blowout sale. You can save up to 50% off selected merchandise from now until January 18th. Click on this link to view the flyer, and feel free to email me, or click on the link to the right of this post to place your order directly. As always, orders of $150.00 or more qualify for free hostess sets and free merchandise. Happy shopping!!

Have a wonderful day, and I hope you get to spend a part of it creating!

Dreams of a Blessed New Year

The card I'm sharing with you today is one that I made several months ago for my secret sister (Cheryl Wiggins) for DDSS round 12 on SCS. One of the monthly challenges was to send a circle shaped card. I wanted to wait until I had revealed my identy to my little sis to post this card, because I didn't want give myself away. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and new year. I have great dreams for 2009, and I hope you do too! Thanks for stopping by, and blessings to you today and always!

Supply List

Paper: Stampin Up! Carousel Notes, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Bella Rose DSP

Stamps: Dreams DuJour (Stampin' Up!)

Ink: Black Stazon, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss

Accessories: 1/16" handheld punch, Fiskars lace edge circle punch, SU Pretties Kit, Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Kiwi Kiss satin ribbon, dazzling diamonds, 1/4" circle punch