Sweet 'n Sassy...

Hello and happy morning to ya! It's certainly a happy morning for me, because I officially get to make the announcement that I have been asked to be a member of the design team for Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps!!!!!!! I am still in somewhat of a state of shock, but it's finally starting to sink in. When I received a phone call last week from a number I didn't recognize, I didn't think much about it, because I was expecting my aunt to call, and I can never remember her cell number. When the sweet voice of the caller stated that her name was Korin Sutherland, all I could think was I KNOW who this is...I just hope she's calling for the reason I think she's calling!! Sure enough, it was the call I was hoping for!! There haven't been many things in my life that have rendered me speechless, but speechless I was!! I've been running a gamut of emotions all weekend. From excitement to wondering if I can really live up to the amazing talent of other Sweet 'n Sassy design team members whose blogs I have been following for quite some time. It's been a lot for me to take in. I am thrilled, excited, and oh, so very grateful for this opportunity. I keep thinking what a blessing this is, and how thankful I am to God for leading me in this direction!! I am sincerely looking forward to working with and getting to know the rest of the Sweet 'n Sassy team. I know that I will develop very special and lasting friendships within this group, and that has to be the most wonderful blessing of all!

So on to this cute as a bug creation! I couldn't make this announcement without showcasing a card made with Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. This is the Gone Buggy digi, which is one of their many digital stamps. I really like the whole digital stamp thing, but it's still pretty new to me, and I need to become more savvy with my printer. The printing was a bit fuzzy on these, so I went over the image after I was all finished watercoloring with a fine tipped black marker. I used the Sweet Stop Sketch Saturday #6 for my inspiration. You can check out some of the wonderful cards created by the design team members here. I loved working with this sketch, and can't wait to try many more. I hope you will decide to play along too!

Here's a close up of the card, so you can see the pretty glitter more clearly! I just LOVE glitter!! Bling it out, baby!!

Supply List

Paper: Tangerine Tango Textured card stock, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Summer Sun, Pixie Pink, K&Co. DP

Ink: Various SU inks for watercoloring

Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy Digital Stamp Gone Buggy

Accessories: Martha Stewart Embossed Border Punch, Pink Gingham Ribbon, Scalloped Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Rinestones,Dazzling Diamonds, 2-Way Glue Pen, Ticket Corner Punch, Aqua Painter, Blender Pen

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today. I am truly thrilled to have you to share my excitement about Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, and I hope you will drop by often. May our gracious Lord bless and keep you and yours today and always! Happy Stamping!

Love ya!

Snapshot Saturday...Birds In A Boot

This is the funniest thing! My mom bought this birdhouse for my grandpa for Christmas, and it's made from a cowboy boot. She said she would be disappointed if he didn't actually use it, so I made sure that it made it's way to the oak tree next to the deck this spring. I really didn't expect any birds to be enticed by this for a home, but I'll be darned if a pair of wrens didn't decide that this was the place for them. It has been entertaining to say the least, to watch them work at getting all the rights sticks into this boothouse. We've also enjoyed the beautiful songs that Mr. and Mrs. Wren share with us throughout the day.

I don't know how far up their nest goes, but they've definitely built their nest above the hole where the perch is on the front of the boot. They use the hole under the roof to enter and exit their home.

For all you fellow crafters out there, here you have it. Don't throw away those old boots, because they could surely become a happy home for our feathered friends. Enjoy your weekend!

Love Ya!

Amazing...Absolutely Amazing!

Hello, good morning, and I hope you're having a blessed Friday. I'm going to make this a quickie post today. A quickie post for a quickie card. I whipped these little 3x3 cards up for some of my successful Skinny Bop Swap sisters. Congratulations, Kelly, Kat, Vee, and Amy on meeting one of your goals! You are all so totally AMAZING!! Woohoo!! Weigh to go girls!!

I used one of the flowers from the Flower Set (which includes 5 flowers) by Dog Gone Stamps. I'm so happy with all of their stamps that I have gotten so far, and I an anxious to continue adding to my collection. This picture doesn't do the wonderful DP from DCVW's Garden Party selection justice. It's gorgeously embossed and glittered, and it's some of my favorite paper. The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy, and the rest of the card is pretty much self explanatory. Thanks for joining me today! You have my sincerest wishes for a glorious weekend!

Love Ya!

Sisterhood Of The Traveling Cards May Submission

Good morning! Well, it's Thursday of this crazy short week, and I'm so glad it's coming to an end. I've not cared for Monday holidays ever since we were in the restaurant business. First of all, business was always slow on Monday holidays, deliveries were always a day behind, and that just caused crazy confusion for the entire week. It also bugs me that the week is completely messed up in my head. Those Monday holidays always make me feel like it's Sunday, and then my week is way too short!! Call me crazy, but that's the way I roll! Anybody else find Monday holidays irritating? I know, I know. Those of you who get the day off look forward to them, but other than that, there's not much good about them in my book. Okay...that's enough of my rant about the subject.

This card is my submission for the May Sisterhood of the Traveling Cards Swap, and they are winging their way to our hostess as I blog. The fabulous Kelly or (MiamiKel) if you travel in splitcoast circles was our hostess for this month, and her challenge was for us to do a surprise card. Apparently, great minds really do think alike, because three of us in this swap all did flower pot cards. I'm good with that, because that just increases my chance to get either Mary's or Karen's back (or both!);-) These are so cute, and the surprise? It's a pocket card! Just pull on the flowers, and out pops the inside sentiment. The bonus surprise? These were exceptionally easy! Well, except for all those little flowers, which were a bit time consuming to glue together. Thanks for a great challenge, Kelly! Now to start thinking about June, and not putting it off till the last minute!!

Supply List

Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, SU SAB 2009 DSP (retired)

Ink: Sahara Sand

Stamps: Very Versatile, Sanded

Accessories: Ribbon, Dew Drops Pearl, Scalloped Edge Punch, Scalloped Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Big Shot, SU Birds & Blooms Sizzlets Die

It's a pleasure to have you stop by my blog today. May the good Lord bless and keep you today and always!

Love Ya!

Graduation Celebration

Hello, and happy Wednesday! Can you say excited? That's exactly what we are! Our youngest son just finished his B.S. Degree in history, and we are celebrating this weekend. Woohoo!! Actually it's going to be a double celebration, because his cousin/roommate Eric graduated from art school, as well. We're having a dinner and rock band party for about 50-75 of our closest family and friends. Allen and I have had kids in college for the past 6 years, so we are pretty excited about having that behind us. Onward and upward, right? Trevor hopes at some point to teach history, and he would actually like to teach at a college level, so that means graduate school at some point, but for now, he's glad to be out of school, and he's just playing it by ear for a bit. He has studied and worked hard, and we are very proud of him. This is the card I sent out for invitations, and as always after reading, and re-reading it, having mom proof it, and Trevor, there were still some typos!! Arrrrg!!! Does that happen to anyone else, or is it just me?!! Oh well. What's done is done!!

Supply List

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Brilliant Blue, Summer Sun

Ink: Basic Black

Stamps: SU Tassel Time (Retired)

Accessories: Nestabilities, Martha Stewart leaf punch, Dew Drops, Big Shot, Cuttlebug Argyle Embossing Folder

Thanks for dropping by today. The sun is trying to shine, and it looks like it may end up and be a gorgeous day. I hope your day is a special one. Please come back soon!! Love and hugs to ya!

Hubba, Hubba, Happy Birthday!

Well today's post is a little out of character for me. I usually keep my cards "G" rated, but after a Bad Santa swap, and a Bad Bunny swap, the mind works a little overtime. KWIM? ;-) This card is for my sweet DH for his birthday today. I can tell you that he will really like this, and there will be no need for an inside sentiment, because he will never get past the front! I bought a couple of stamps from Victoria Case the other day, and I decided I would purchase this wonderful digital image. This is my first digital stamp, and WOW...is that ever a great idea! When I bought it, I asked her if there was anything special she recommended to print the image and prevent smudging if I chose to use watercolors. She suggested I try heat setting the image, and voila!!! It worked like a charm!! BTW, the other stamps I purchased were very tame. I scored some new K&Co. paper, as well as some Garden Party paper by DCVW when I was at Michaels last week, and I couldn't wait to use it. (DCVW... I hope that's the right name. It's all I could find on the package.)

I used my SU inks and a aqua painter to color the image. The sentiment is from the new SU Very Versatile set. The sketch came from the Sunday Sketch & Stamp Challenge #3. I'm so going to miss these SU In Colors when they retire. I don't think I've ever used the In Colors as much as I have this year Embelishments are simply ribbon and rinestones on this card. I just blinged it out a bit. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you have a beautiful day. Love and hugs to you all!

Sassy Stampers...As Promised!

Thanks so much to my sweet friend Stephanie for emailing me the photos from stamp club last week. As promised, here are those Jefferson City Sassy Stampers in action. We have such a good time!! Doesn't Margie look happy about her little purse? Your smile is so pretty, Margie!!

Around the table from left to right, we have Karen, Geana, Pam, and part of Margie. :-)

Working on their recipe pages, we have (from left to right), Diana, Stephanie, Lauren, and Crystal. Both Lauren and Crystal are my downline girls, and both are going to have babies! Lauren in just about a week, and Crystal in August. I'm very careful to NEVER drink the water down there!! ;-)

Here we have a picture of Cheryl and Bobbie! They both look like they're having a bit of fun. I bet they're up to something!!! We were four stampers short last week. My sister Wendi had a little one under the weather, her friend and co-worker, Lindsay just had a baby (I told you about that water!!), and Melissa had to stay home with her little ones because her DH was out of town. Our friend and fellow stamper Debbie stopped by to visit and place her order, but I wasn't quick enough to snap her picture before she left. Many of the members of our club have been together since my very first workshop just over 3 years ago. We have so much fun, and enjoy the fellowship so very much. Each one of these gals has become very near and dear to me, and I am eternally grateful for their support, companionship, caring and creative talent that it nearly brings me to tears!! Thank you Sassy ladies! I love you all!

Sassy Stampers Strike Yet Again!!

Hello, and good Friday afternoon! I hope this post finds you all geared up for a fun, exciting, and long holiday weekend. We don't have much planned around here, and that actually sounds like a winner to me!! I want to share the projects we did at our Sassy Stampers stamp club meeting last Monday night. Our first project was these cute little purses, made specifically to hold a Ghiradelli chocolate square. You can't see it in the picture, but there's DSP folded on the sides to make them expand when you open them. They hold one chocolate square comfortably, but could be made to hold more by leaving a larger score across the top of the purse. We had such a good time stamping on Monday night, and good old frazzled me left the house without my camera. Stephanie came to my rescue, though, and let me use her hubby Alan's new camera. Where are you Stephanie? I'll post those as soon as she emails them to me!!

Our second project was this 6x6 recipe page. Our hostess, Cheryl Korsmeyer shared this recipe for Double Cheeseburger Casserole. Check that one out!! Yum, yum, yummo!! I've definitely been creatively challenged with our recipe pages. Trying to come up with a page to go along with the recipe is VERY challenging, but I've been happy with what we've done so far, and I hope the gals are too!! I think they were ready to hang me with that little rope before we got them all tied and glued, but we were all in agreement that the page just wouldn't be the same without it. :-)

Supply List

Paper: Whisper white, Textured Basic Black, Real Red, Kraft, Night of Navy, More Mustard, SU Hostess 6x6 DSP

Ink: Real Red, More Mustard, Night of Navy, Basic Black, Sahara Sand

Stamps: SU Versatile Verses, Wanted

Accessories: Scalloped Oval Punch, Lg. Oval Punch, Top Note Die, Scalloped Edge Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, White Cotton String, Vintage Brad, Velcro Circles, Assorted Ribbon

I'm going to leave you today with what our view looks like on the south side of the yard. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such beauty, and we try to take time to enjoy our blessing of beauty each and every day. Granny and I have been spending time on the deck swinging, talking, and have a good 'ole time! Thank you for stopping by, and may you have time to enjoy the blessings in your life on this glorious day!

Love ya!

Getting Ahead Swap

Hello, and happy Tuesday! It's been an eventful week, and I'm so happy to have something to share with you today. I finished up a swap that is coming due on the 22nd. My dear friend Mary (aka ohiomary on splitcoaststampers) is hosting a getting ahead swap. She had the great idea to swap general occasion cards to help participants have cards on hand for any occasion. All you had to do was choose the occasion, and create 6 cards. I chose to do get well, and birthday since it seems that those are what I am always short of.

These cards are pretty much cases from a Stamp-A-Stack that I attended a couple of months ago hosted by two of my uplines, Nancy and Heather. Hi Nancy (I know you check in once in a while)!!!!! Nancy and Heather hold the best events full of fun, fabulous cards, and friendship! It's always a good time!!! I added some DSP to the background of the original card, and I couldn't resist this little possum with his heart of blue. Inside simply reads Get Well Soon.

The birthday card is a shameless case of the card we made at Stamp-A-Stack. I really didn't change a thing except adding the dazzling diamonds on the frosting. I love this card, but it isn't at all easy to photograph because of that cupcake flap. This was indeed some "creative" positioning inside one of my favorite picture frames in order to get a decent picture.

Supply List

Paper: So Saffron, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Sahara Sand, 2009 SAB DSP (retired)

Ink: So Saffron, Black Stazon, Sahara Sand, Soft Subtles Markers

Stamps: Mini Mates, Crazy for Cupcakes, Curvy VersesRetired SU Jumbo Wheel (I can't remember the name)

Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note Bigz Die, So Saffron Grosgrain Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds, 2 way Glue Pen, Scalloped Edge Punch

I'm so happy that you had time to stop by my blog today. It's a pleasure to have you, and please come back soon. Hopefully tomorrow, I'll have some pictures from stamp club and the projects we worked on to share with you. Have a very blessed day, and happy stampin'!

Love ya!

A Little "Cured" Pig

Hello...How are ya, and happy Tuesday (Evening)! I'm multi-tasking right now and posting while watching American Idol. Does anyone else think Adam will win? I'm pretty sure he's the guy to beat. He's good, but I like Danny too. I really, really thought that Allison would make the top three. Oh well...I'm good with whoever wins. I have only voted once since Carrie Underwood. She was my all time best pick.

Now on to the card. This is a card I created for Gael's (mamadwawa's) On The Farm swap on splitcoaststampers. I love this little pig, and truthfully, I'd only used it once before this swap, so I was happy for it to see some ink. I watercolored with SU inks, and my aquapainter/blender pen. Oh, how I wish I had the Martha Stewart punch that looks like an old fence. I think it was out at Halloween time, but when I went to get one, they were all gone!! :-( I thought a fence around this piggy in bed would have been cute. That one actually came to me in my sleep. Too bad I couldn't follow it through!! It doesn't show up very well in the picture, but I used my Cuttlebug on the face of the card with the Paisley embossing folder. I added some Creamy Caramel ink to the edges of the image using the direct to paper technique. Thanks for hosing this swap, Gael! I thoroughly enjoyed it!!

Supply List

Paper: Riding Hood Red, Not Quite Navy, So Saffron, Papertrey White, Daisy D DP

Ink: Black Stazon, various SU inks for watercoloring, Creamy Caramel

Stamps: SU Farm Fever (Retired)

Accessories: Brown Polka Dot Organza Ribbon, Cuttlebug and Paisley embossing folder

I hope you are all having a great week, so far. Things are pretty fair around here. Granny is doing well, and we have a doctor's appointment tomorrow with her heart doctor. She's not looking forward to having to go out, and it's supposed to rain all day, so it will be a challenge getting her in and out of the car. I'm sure we'll manage. She's been very confused lately, sometimes she knows us, and sometimes she doesn't. Today, a neighbor that she's been acquainted with since they moved here 50+ years ago stopped by for a visit, and when I asked Granny if she knew her, she replied "I sure do!" When I asked her to tell me her name, she did indeed know who she was, and she probably hasn't seen her in 10 or more years!! Go figure!! All in all, we're all holding up pretty well, counting our blessings, and remaining grateful for the time we get to spend with our beloved family! God is indeed good! I wish many blessings for you and yours today and always! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Love ya!

Happy Anniversary To Us

Hello, happy Thursday, and Happy Anniversary to Allen and me!!! We've been married 26 years today. My sweet Al came home with these gorgeous flowers for our anniversary. Isn't he he best? He even picked out complimentary colors!!! I wasn't expecting anything at all, since we just had to spend lots of money on both car and truck repairs, so this was a BIG surprise! He is good at surprises, and I'm so grateful for the sweet wonderful man that he is. He is one of the biggest blessings in my life, and I can't wait to see what the next 26 years bring. With Al, you just never know!! :-D

Below is a closer picture of my pretty flowers. These beauties always last so long, so I know I will get to enjoy them for a while.

On another happy note, I'm all hooked up to internet at Granny's house, so I won't feel so cut off from the rest of the world! How on earth did we ever survive before email and internet?? I'm looking forward to catching up on all my favorite blogs, and threads.

Granny has had her bath, and I've got her all tuned in to some George Jones CDs. It's the best way I've found yet to get her to exercise her feet. One of her PT exercises is to bend her feet up and down at the ankle to help her body get rid of the fluid in her ankles. She struggles with it sometimes, but yesterday when she was listening to her music, I noticed that she was tapping both feet right along with the beat. Isn't that funny? With the Parkinson's Disease, she has to really concentrate to make her muscles do what she wants, but with the music going, she just does it! Once again she amazes me! I hope you have a beautiful day, and thanks for stopping by!

Love ya!

Lorie

This Is A Lotta Bull!

No card today. Just a lotta bull!! LITERALLY!! I went to the barn with DH last week to feed the bulls. This time of year, the cows are having their babies, and the bulls have been sorted out of the herd, kept in a seperate lot outside of the pasture, and fed grain twice a day, in addition to the hay and grass they get. They will need all the strength they can get once they are put back in with the cows in June. Need I explain further? ;-)

This is DH giving them their feed. They sure know what those buckets are for, and let me tell ya, they come running when they see them! I stood cautiously back from the feed bunk. Call me crazy, but when I see close to 8,000 pounds of bull coming at a full run toward me, I am smart enough to back off!!

I guess it can truly be said that four heads are better than one. Don't you like those Moe hair cuts these big guys are sporting? They'll shed those shaggy coats soon and be sleek and beautiful for their waiting ladies! Man! Tell me it isn't so! The bucket CAN'T be empty!!!

Did I get any on me, or am I good to go?

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm working on some cards for my next swap, and hopefully I'll have some pictures of the oh, so cute baby calves soon. It's just been too rainy and muddy to get any good pictures. Soon, though...hopefully very soon! Have a blessed day filled with people and things that you love!

Love ya!

April Sisterhood Card

Hello, and happy Sunday morning to you. I'll post quickly this morning, because DH and I are ushering at church and we need to get ready to go.

This is the card I made to submit to the monthly card swap I'm in on Splitcoaststampers, the Sisterhood of the Traveling Cards. Each month a new hostess in our group chooses a theme, and we make cards and send to her with that theme in mind, she swaps them out, and we get some wonderful pieces of artwork in return. It's a pretty great deal, and we've become a close knit group of friends. This month was Judy's turn to hostess, and her challenge for us was to go green, and either use something recycled or "green" on our cards. I have seen some very creative sneek peeks, and I can't wait to see what cards I get back from this swap!

I chose to use a recycled aluminum soda can to make the sailboat for my "green" submission. I can't take the credit for this idea, because I actually received a swap from the Kansas City Regional Stampin' Up! Convention last fall with a sample similar to this. All you do for this technique is wash the can, and cut the ends off so that you have access to the inside of the can. I rolled it up backwards to make it a little straighter to work with. After I had my sheet of aluminum all clean, dry and straight, I stamped my image with Black Stazon, and let it air dry for a few minutes. Once that is done, then the image can be cut out, and lightly embossed to pop up the sails. I did this by placing a mouse pad under my stamped images, and then traced the areas I wanted to raise with a stylus. You have to be careful when working with the aluminum, because it can be sharp. You can lightly sand the edges of it with a course emery board, or sandpaper, and that goes a long way in dulling the edges, and keeping all the fingers safe from cuts. The rest of this card is pretty self explainatory. Nothing too difficult there! I hope the rest of the swappers will like my creation, and that they'll have a new technique to try! Have a blessed Sunday everyone! Make it a beautiful day!

Love ya!

April Sassy Stampers Club

Hello, and happy weekend to you!! It's been a busy week since my last post, but, it's been a good week. On Monday the Jefferson City Sassy Stampers met for the month of April, and we had a wonderful time creating the projects you see posted today. Every month we make a card, and or project, along with a 6x6 recipe page shared by the hostess for the month. This month we made a Mother's day card, and used the Manhattan Flowers embossing folder with the Big Shot. This makes such a stunning card, and the photo really doesn't do it justice. We did have a lot of fun with the embossing folder, and leaf die, although we struggled with getting the leaf punched out without tearing the fragile branch. The roses are embossed with the flower folder, and then watercolored using SU inks. I LOVE to watercolor, but some of the Sassy Stampers...well...not so much, but we all enjoyed our evening out and stamping time just the same. Even in with all the rain we experienced that night, our enthusiasm was definitely NOT soggy!! :-)

This is one yummy recipe for sugar cookies. They are so tasty, and they stay soft and chewy for a long time. I guess it has to have something to do with the buttermilk, or sour cream, but whatever it is, you should definitely give these a try. You won't be sorry. When our hostess, Stephanie sent me this recipe, I have to admit that I was a bit stumped, because I couldn't find anything for inspiration having to do with sugar cookies, and then it hit me. The punches!! Some of those would pass nicely for sugar cookies shapes, and the rest came together from there. We decorated with glitter, dazzling diamonds, and glass beads, and we sponged the edges with creamy caramel ink for that lightly browned cookie look. I'm so happy for Stephanie, because she got to purchase her Big Shot with this workshop, and she got so much free stuff that you can't even imagine!! It is so awesome to see my gals get to spend their hostess dollars and get all those free stamps!! I LOVE it!!!!

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend! I'm enjoying my time at home today, back and forth between helping DH clean the basement. (I'm leaving most of that to him though!! *wink*)Thanks for stopping by, and may the good Lord bless and keep you today and always!!

Love ya!