*Monday Again??*

Please, someone tell me... how is it that it is already Monday again? Is it just me or does time just seem to be going by faster and faster? It's April 30th! Tomorrow is the beginning of MAY! May?? Already? Didn't we just celebrate Valentine's Day? How can it be the end of April?

It's a sign that I'm getting older, I'm sure.

I managed to get down to my craft space yesterday while it was raining. Unfortunately, not a lot of creativity was flowing. I did manage to make up a card using the sketch I saw on Amy's Blog yesterday afternoon. I also managed to use up all but a few scraps of this beautiful scrapbooking paper.... will need to go out and buy more!

I love the layout of this card.... so simple to put together. I did have a hard time deciding what to do for the focal image on the left side. I am so thankful that so many of these patterned papers are double sided so that I get a colour that goes with my paper so well.

Unfortunately, in making this card I managed to break another B plate for my Cuttlebug. I think that perhaps this flower die (from the Asterisks set) is thicker than the rest... I've had problems with it before. Anyway, the plate cracked while cutting the chipboard coaster. I've done it many times with other Cuttlebug dies, but this one just doesn't seem to be happy unless it breaks my B plate. Sigh.

The "Have a Good Day" is an image from one of the $1.50 Clear Stamp sets from Michael's. I was there on Saturday afternoon and managed to buy 8 sets of stamps plus the two sizes of blocks. Alanna suggested on an email list I am on (actually, I own/moderate the list) that to get your ink to stick to these stamps better to wash them with warm soapy water with a scrub brush. So I did that yesterday... a dish of warm soapy water and an old toothbrush. I will let you know if it worked! She said it had something to do with a residue left on the stamps during the manufacturing process.

items used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White (card base), So Saffron
*Patterned Paper: Imaginisce
*Image: $1.50 Michael's Clear Stamp
*Ink: Stampin' Up! Basic Black Classic Ink
*Tools: Cuttlebug, small corner rounder (to create scallops)
*Embellishments: bling for centre of flower, chipboard coaster

*Sigh... I Just Realized....*

I spend all sorts of time when I'm doing my blog posts to make sure that things are laid out well... I publish what I've done and then go to look at the blog entry, then go back to edit it so that things are where I want them, then back to look at the blog entry. Some days I do this 4 or 5 times.

This afternoon, when I didn't have my bookmark bar on the left side of my screen I discovered that my blog posts only look good on my screen with the bookmark bar taking up some of the space. My careful editing doesn't matter... things are all screwy depending on what browser you are using or how big your screen is.

Guess that means I might as well stop trying to make it look pretty on my screen!

*Someone Elses' Stuff Satuday!*

Yup, I came up with a catchy name for today since I am sharing stuff that I didn't create! hee hee.

Yes, I know I am strange.

Many of you may recall that I placed an order for 7500 Chipboard Coasters several weeks ago and offered them to people to buy off of me. See, I wanted about 300 coasters, but Canada Coaster only sells them in batches of 2500. The majority of the people who I sold the coasters to were in Calgary or the surrounding area and they were able to pop by my house to pick up their coasters. A few of the girls even gave me a card which totally made my day!

Here are three that I received.... no idea on materials used (I know some of the stuff is Stampin' Up!), but I thought you'd like to see the beautiful cards that Laura, Hetty and Helen put together for me.

I also received some RAKs (Random Act of Kindness) from some gals on the Splitcoast Stampers Blogger RAK List. I believe all of the stuff used on these cards (except the polka dot ribbon) is Stampin' Up!

The card on the left is from Crystal. The card on the right actually holds Post-It Notes and it's from Angie.







And finally this card arrived yesterday from Louise. She is a member of the Splitcoast Stampers RAK Club. This is different than the Blogger RAK Club as this one is open to anyone on Splitcoast who wants to send RAKs (and the other is only for those who have Blogs).

There is nothing like getting beautiful hand-made creations in your mail. Love it!

Thanks so much everyone!! Your kindness has brightened my days!

*Another Tent Topper*

I was quite surprised to find out when making my first tent topper card that the 3 Bugs in a Rug paper didn't have multiple circles of the same size on the sheet... so instead of making two the same, I had to pull out a sheet of my blue and green coloured patterned paper to make the second card.

The card base is Whisper White, but I added a black layer to make it all pop out a little more. The big black dot in the centre of the paper design also needed some livening up so I added a Making Memories bling brad to the centre.

In other Nancy News, I went to the gym twice this week. First time was Monday... haven't been in a long time and I managed to really stress the muscles in my thighs. Had a hell of a time trying to walk the last few days. My legs started to feel better yesterday and I went back for another workout today.

Last week at Tae Kwon Do the kids and I tested for our new belts. We started taking Tae Kwon Do together in the fall and all three of us enjoy it. Belt order goes white, yellow, green stripe, green, blue stripe, blue, red stripe, red, black stripe, black. We started as White Belts in the fall, tested at Christmas to become yellow belts. The boys both passed their test and are now green stripes. I (and my girlfriend Kelly) managed to "double jump" our belts... our test marks were high enough that we skip the green stripe and go to green belt. We are currently green stripes until we learn the green stripe pattern and then we will move on to learn the stuff we'll need to know as Green Belts. Very exciting indeed! Kelly's son Tyler told me at lunch yesterday "I think Mr. Arden was just taking it easy on the old ladies". Rotten kid!

Have a great weekend!

*Tent Topper Card*

I saw the idea for these "tent topper cards" on Michelle's Blog and decided to give it a try. I've had this 3 Bugs in a Rug paper sitting around waiting for something good to do with it and I thought it might just be perfect for this card.

The cardstock itself makes a 4.25"X4.25" card and the circle part (I've also seen it done as a square on top) sticks up over the top of the card to make the card 5.5"X4.25".

I punched out one of the images from the 3 Bugs in a Rug paper with my Marvy Mega Circle Punch and then punched another circle with the Marvy Giga Scallop Circle Punch out of the same paper... I love that is double sided as I didn't have an exact match of cardstock to put on the card. I used a strip of the designer paper near the bottom of the card to break up the "whiteness". The sentiment is stamped in Basic Black Classic Ink.

This was a very quick and easy card to put together. I can see doing more of these for sure!

*Spring Bloggers Only Swap -- Take One*

A few months ago, I took the plunge and joined a swap at Splitcoast Stampers for Bloggers, hosted by Sarah. (see the Swap Section to find out more) To participate, I had to send off 6 of the same card to the swap host before April 13th. She then takes the cards received and swaps them around and mails them back to the players... each player receives different cards back instead of a bunch of the same card. This is a great way to share ideas. Some of the groups were for Stampin' Up! Demonstrators only, some allowed for only Stampin' Up! products, some were an "anything goes" with a spring theme.... which is the group I entered.

The only other stipulation is that players have to share the cards they received on their blog and link back to the person who made the card. A great way for my blog readers to check out some other blogs and get some different ideas!

I haven't gotten my swap cards in the mail yet, but I thought I would start today with the card I used for the swap.

I used an idea that I blogged several weeks back... had to alter it to make it a standard sized card (another guideline for this swap). It often happens that I will make a swap card and mail it in... and by the time the swap is mailed back I have decided I hated the card and should have done something better/different. This isn't one of those cases. I still love this card!

The colours... the flower... just says "spring"... good thing since it was a spring themed swap.

items used: (all items Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted)
*Cardstock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery
*Images: Stampin' Up!
*Ink: Basic Black Classic Ink
*Embellishments: Prima Flower, silver brad, Stickles, pink and green grosgrain ribbon from Jody's Ribbon Share
*Tools: white gel pen, word window punch

*Cuttlebug Tip*

I recently saw a tip for your Cuttlebug... it said to lengthen the life of your B plates, rotate and flip them every few times you run something through your 'Bug to keep it from getting warped. This will, in turn, keep it from breaking.

I have broken a B plate, but that was before I found out this information. Not sure if it works for sure or not, but I'm sure it would help to keep the plate from warping.

*Phoebe Paper!*

I got to stamp! Not only did I stamp yesterday afternoon, but again this morning! Go me! I might even head back down to the basement this afternoon now that the sun has found it's way behind several clouds.

I *heart* the Phoebe Paper by Basic Grey. It is just so beautiful. The colours are spectacular and I love how it totally looks doodled.

I needed to make a card for my girlfriend Bonnie for her birthday. I am so excited that for a few months, Bonnie is now older than me. I like it when people are older than me! Tee hee.

I decided to pull out the Phoebe paper and play with another pink and brown design. I'm still not totally in love with pink and brown together, but I'm also not totally against it anymore either.

The card is pretty basic, but I like it!

items used (all items Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise):
*Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink
*Images: Stampin' Up! and Impress
*Ink: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black
*Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
*Tools: Marvy Giga Scallop Circle Punch, Marvy Mega Circle Punch, white gel pen, black Micron pen (to outline flower image), Sakura Stardust clear gel pen (coloured over the flower image)
*Embellishments: Making Memories jeweled brad

*No Creative Time*

I have had no creative time in the last few days.... unless you count the time I've spent crocheting during the Flames Games in the last few weeks. I hope to get down into my stamp space this afternoon...

I'm SO sorry there's been nothing fun for you to see!!!

*I've Been Tagged, Again*

I've been tagged by Allison to list seven facts about myself... and then to tag 7 others.... this is not a popularity contest so I'll be tagging my 7 by choosing people who have left comments on my blog in the last little bit.

Here are my facts:
*Starting in the fall of 2000, I did Weight Watchers and lost a total of 63 pounds by the middle of summer in 2001. I have kept off most of that weight, but after becoming a member of the "Dead Dad's Club" last year, I find myself with about 20 pounds to lose.

*I was married at the tender age of 20 (6 weeks before my 21st birthday) and on my honeymoon in Florida I was unable to drink or drive the rental car because I was too young. Bruce and I will be celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary in June.

*I had breast reduction surgery in 1992, bringing myself from an overflowing D cup to a comfortable C. Two babies later, my breasts are back up to a D cup, but I am more comfortable with their size now than I was in my 20s.

*I only drink diet pop. I can't stand the syrup-y feeling of full sugared drinks. I will even order a Diet Coke float (with ice cream in it) instead of a regular Coke one. Yes, I am one of those people who goes to McDonald's and orders a Quarter Pounder, Supersize Fries and a Diet Coke.

*I am my own worst critic. I am so hard on myself for so many things. My appearance, my abilities as a wife, my creativity, my weight, my duties as a daughter and sister, my parenting.... If I had a friend who treated me this badly, we wouldn't be friends anymore.

*When I was growing up, all I could dream of being was a teacher. I even started my degree right after high school (but truth be told, I am a terrible student). I realize now that dropping out of the Education program (never did finish a University degree) was the right decision... not only was I wasting time and money, but I don't honestly like kids all that much. Don't get me wrong... I LOVE my kids and I enjoy kids... but I don't think I'd want to be with them all day as my full time job. Teachers deserve so much more credit than they get I think!

*I love french fries. I could eat french fries every single day (and some weeks, I have them most days!). I like fries with just salt on them. Or salt and vinegar. Or dipped in ranch dressing. Or speared on my fork with a nice juicy piece of steak. Or baked in the oven with cheese and bacon on them. Or sometimes with gravy to dip them in (love gravy at A&W). And we wonder why Nancy has a problem with her weight!

And I hereby TAG the following bloggers... Starr, Cindy, Tracy, Shannon, Jana, Jen, and Laura

*Playing With My Oval Punch*

I've seen lots of cards lately where people have used an open flower stamp on patterned papers, cut out the petals and re-assembled the flower. I've also seen a handful of cards where someone has created a flower using their oval punch.

I decided to play with that idea earlier this week.

I started out with some ideas from PageMaps and came up with this layout. The colour combination came from the Deja Views paper I wanted to use. The larger green piece was difficult for me to use... it's the backside of the striped patterned paper and while this colour and texture were perfect for this card, I hate that I wasted a piece of that beautiful striped paper. I guess I'll have to go shopping for more!

To create the flower, I punched out 8 petals with my oval punch (4 each of two different papers). I also punched out a circle in a scrap of cardstock. I glued four petals down on the circle in a + formation, then glued the other four in the same manner in between the first four. The scrap of cardstock showed through the centre so I added a large bling brad in the centre of the flower. You'll also notice some dots around the edges of the petals... I added those at the last minute as the petals just needed something. There are also dots along the centre of the blue strip as well as added under the ends of the sentiment.

items used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up Whisper White and Brocade Blue
*Patterned Paper: Deja View
*Image: Stampin' Up!
*Ink: Stampin' Up! Basic Black Classic Ink
*Embellishments: Making Memories jeweled brad
*Tools: Black Micron Pen, oval punch, circle punch

*Say It Isn't So!!!*

I received this in my inbox this afternoon....

It is with sadness that we have decided to close the store. As members that have

supported us we would like to extend you the first chance to purchase all items at

a discount- including My Minds Eye, Maya Road, and others that have just arrived.

Please take this opportunity to stock up on all your scrapbooking, cardmaking, and

stamping supplies at a discount. We have apprecieated all your support over the years.

Please watch for future promotions regarding the sell off.

*Tagged... My Turn*

I was tagged last night by Allison.... in this version of Blog Tag there are no questions to answer. I just have to list five of my favourite blogs. Now, this is no easy task as I have many favourites. Also, many of my favourites have already been tagged in this game. Here are five from my huge list of favourites

Tracy's Happy Place
Imagine. Dream. Create
...the rest is still unwritten
Durcan Designs
Crazy Daisy Creations

Please pop by these blogs if you have a chance and enjoy some of the creations these girls have shared!

*Another Way To Use Google Reader*

If you use Google Reader but hate seeing only partial blog posts when you click on Google Reader, try doing the following:

*log in to Google Reader
*click on Settings found at the top right corner
*click on Goodies
*click and drag the NEXT button onto your bookmark toolbar
*voila!

EDITED: I had the information wrong before

EDITED AGAIN!! I've had a few people with questions with no way to email them.... so I'll post more here....
*when clicking and dragging, be sure to click only once and hold down that mouse button... just clicking on the NEXT button on the Goodies Page will take you the next blog in your list that is unread
*your bookmark toolbar is different in every program you use. If you have your bookmarks listed along the left side of your screen, drag that little button in there. If you access your bookmarks from a pull down menu at the top of the screen, click and drag that button and hover over the bookmarks menu until it opens, then move down and drop the next button into a spot in that menu

Hope that helps!

*Customized Blog!!!*

I am SO freakin' excited about the new look to my Blog! I hired Sam at Essential Sunshine to create a banner for me and then also had her tweak my Blog to make it all look pretty!

Sam was wonderful to work with. She had some great questions about my likes and dislikes and we went from there. It's like she totally read my mind with my banner!

Thank you SO much for sharing your creativity and experience with me Sam! And for installing everything and making it all beautiful!!!

*I've Been A Bad Blogger*

I feel like I've been ignoring my blog. It's not really on purpose. Life has just gotten in the way of card making, which leaves me with nothing to post! Maybe this afternoon after I'm done at the school I will be able to find a few hours to create in. With the nicer weather it's so hard to sit in the basement. It's supposed to be cool and wet today, so a perfect day to stamp. Hey, I've also got a good chunk of time this morning... we'll see what I can do with it!

This card was made using a layout from Pagemaps. They are currently having a contest where you have to use one of their layouts from the last year, make it your own and submit it. I have made two cards for the contest and since I can only submit one, I will share this one with you. I can't share the other until after the contest is over.

I am really enjoying using patterned papers on my cards lately. In the past, I hardly ever used patterned papers. But these days there are just so many beautiful papers out there.

I'm beginning to think that I am no longer really just a "stamper". I am a card maker, or a paper artist perhaps. But so many of my cards have no stamping on them at all. I love to stamp, but don't always find it necessary in my creations.

Amazing how much people can change in their creativity and art.

items used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White and Bashful Blue
*Patterned Paper: Fancy Pants Designs
*Embellishments: Prima Flower, Making Memories Jeweled Brad, Stickles
*Tools: black Micron pen, white Gel pen, Marvy Giga Scallop Circle Punch

*Such Pretty Ribbon*

I was so excited last week when I had a box in my mail from Texas!! I knew it had to be my ribbon from Jody's Ribbon Share! I opted for two of the four groups of ribbon. The one is a thinner ribbon with a single stitch running through it. The other group is more standard width with stripes running though the length of it.

Jody has these Ribbon Shares quite often... I encourage you to check out her blog and keep going back if you think you might be interested. This is my second Ribbon Share and I've been very pleased with both. It's a great way to get some different colours of ribbon. Her prices are good and the shipping is pretty fast.

Thanks so much Jody for all the work you do in cutting, bundling and shipping the ribbon!! You rock!

*Thanks For The Input!!*

A big thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a comment to let me know what you think about the labels I can use to help you find more cards on my blog using the same items. The overwhelming response was to keep the labels, so I will. It does not add much work to my posting so it's not a big deal from my point of view

And now, on to our winners!

I used the random number generator and it chose the numbers 46 and 12..... I then went back and counted and came up with the following two winners:

#46 was Peggy Maier who said: "Very clever - I like clicking on the label & bringing up every post using that word. I think I'll be using this a lot - wish everyone had it."

#12 was Jan who said " I agree with Nancy, they are helpful tools"

Could you two ladies please email me with your snail mail addresses so I can get your packages of paper off to you!

*Another Baby Card*

What a weekend. I can't believe it's Sunday already?! Where does the time go? Friday was, of course, busy busy with Alex's birthday. Yesterday we had a natural gas line installed just off our deck and we went to buy the new BBQ I had picked up. Last night we were out to our favourite pub for wings with friends and then off to a party. We stumbled home about 3 this morning. Stumbled because we were tired... nothing more.

We're watching the Flames game... unfortunately it's not looking too good so far. Sigh. Come on Flames!

The baby card.... I was asked to make two for some friends of mine. The first I showed you earlier in the week... it was to be gender neutral. As a Mom of two boys, I had a lot of fun with the second one... for a girl!

Things of interest about the card..... not a lot LOL! I was inspired by the beautiful Deja Views Little Ones Collection paper I picked up a few weeks ago. I didn't have a stamp that I really wanted to use so instead I hand wrote (yes, Cindy... hand wrote) the new baby girl using a Pixie Pink Stampin' Write Marker.

items used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White and Certainly Celery
*Images: Stampin' Up!
*Ink: Certainly Celery and Pixie Pink Stampin' Write Markers
*Patterned Paper: Deja Views Little Ones Collection
*Tools: Stampin' Write Marker in Pixie Pink, White Gel Pen, Marvy Giga Scalloped Circle Punch, Marvy Mega Circle Punch
*Embellishments: Prima Flower, Making Memories Brad, Stampin' Up Sheer Ribbon, Swarovski Crystal

*Happy Birthday Alex*

Today my oldest son turns the big 1-2... the final year before he's a teenager! Where does the time go? Seriously! Geesh

Alex is a great kid with a wonderful sense of humour. He is truly wise beyond his years and is often more comfortable with the adults in the room than the kids. You can see by the twinkle in his eye that he can be a mischievous little monkey!

He has physically grown a lot in the last year... he is less than an inch shorter than me these days. His voice is changing and there is a shadow of a mustache above that upper lip.

Happy Birthday Alex! I love you!

*Looking For Your Input -- Reward Offered!*

What do you think of the labels at the ends of my posts? Are they helpful? Are they annoying? Do you care one way or the other?

Let me know what you think.... to encourage you to give me your opinion, I'm giving away a stack of patterned papers cut into 6X6 squares... I'll draw two names on Sunday from those who provide their opinions on the labels!

EDIT: By the way, the labels I am referring to are the links below each post .... you click on the underlined word in the label and it takes you to all the posts on my blog that I've applied that label to (for example, if you clicked on Prima Flowers in my last card post.

EDIT: The blog candy is no longer available! Thanks for checking in!

*What Nancy Needs*

This is too funny... I saw it over on Jennifer's blog and had to try it. Try it for yourself.... simply go to Google and type "Your Name Needs".... in my case I typed Nancy needs

These are some of the ones I enjoyed most...
Nancy needs....
*some vino! (mmmmmm)
*help choosing a snake to breed (I don't think so)
*prayer (I'll take all the help I can get... pray for me!)
*to figure out a way to avoid paying her bills with cash (don't we all??)
*to wake up (hunh???)
*the exact same hardware in both machines for the servers to work together (isn't that Bruce's job??)
*a new back up career (rock star!!!)
*saving by George Clooney (sign me up!)
*to carry her pills and bus pass for the trip (I'm going on a trip???)
*a peanut butter sandwich, a box of crayons and some paper to be happy (aren't I easy to please?)
*needs to start eating more (I don't think that's the problem)

There were so many hits..... these were just a few of my favourites!

*It's SPRING*

Do I dare put that in writing? After the snow from last week, we are experiencing more spring like weather here in Calgary. The snow disappeared from around my tree in the front yard finally (we don't get a lot of sun in the front with a SW-facing backyard) and I investigated yesterday and found the tips of my spring bulbs starting to poke through the ground. Yahoo!

Hopefully this weekend we'll have our friend Grant out to install a natural gas line to the back deck and we'll buy (and put together) the new BBQ I've picked out. We needed a new BBQ. Not only is our old one 10 years old, but it went flying off the deck and into the back garden four times this past winter. We had a lot of wind this winter and our back deck sticks out further than our neighbours so the wind is worse on our deck than others. The drop is only about a foot and a half, but the last time it went down, the BBQ cracked and died. Sniff sniff. So, we've decided to upgrade to a natural gas BBQ, will be re-building the deck this spring as some of the boards are rotting, and we will be securing the new BBQ to the deck in hopes that it won't fly into the garden again. I can't wait to BBQ... sure have missed it!

I was asked to make a dozen cards for some friends of mine about a week ago. They chose 5 cards from my blog that they loved and asked for two of each of those. Then they each needed a baby card.... one gender neutral, one for a girl.

The sweet baby was actually hand-written by me (I know, amazing!! but seriously, my writing is only that neat when I am being very deliberate) and the dotted swirl I did using a black marker and my new Doodle Genie.

I just love this stamp with the little baby bum coming out of the diaper. I'm glad that didn't happen regularly around here when the boys were little... what a mess that would have been. But honestly, my favourite part of a little one is their cute little bums... hope I don't sound sick with that. Some people love feet. Some love baby bellies. I like baby bums! I love it when they are able to stand up with support and the little bum gets dimples in it. So cute!!!

I think I need therapy....

Anyway...

items used
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, So Saffron, Certainly Celery
*Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up!
*Image: Stampa Rosa
*Tools Used: Signo White gel pen, Stampin' Up! Stampin' Write Marker in Certainly Celery, Sakura Stardust clear gel pen, Marvy Giga Scallop Oval Punch, Marvy Mega Oval Punch, Doodle Genie
*Embellishments: Stampin' Up! sheer white ribbon, Prima flower, Making Memories gold brad

*Starr's Blog Candy*

Head on over to Starr's blog for a chance to win her awesome blog candy! Please let her know that I sent you!

*Enter to Win*

Check out Catherine's Blog Candy! Please let her know I sent ya!

*RAK from Tracy*

Tracy popped by to pick up her Coasters on Monday and also gave me a RAK from the Splitcoast Stampers Blogger RAK Club we're both in. She used one of the StampingBella images I had stamped up for her. I just love CosmoBella!

Tracy, this card is absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for giving it to me!

*Flowers on a Snowy Day*

Surprise Surprise... it's snowing again! As I said before.... the snow was pretty much gone from our yard... time for more snow! We are under a heavy snowfall warning yet again. Thankfully it's a little warmer today so a lot of the snow is melting as it hits the ground, however they are still calling for up to 10cms of snow (about 4").

sigh

So, flowers today it is! Not that we've seen anything coming up in our flower beds yet. At the rate we're going, the tulips will be summer flowers instead of spring flowers!

Is it really too much to ask that I get to wear sandals again?! My capris are yelling at me... they are lonely and want to leave the closet. My beautiful pedicure is going to waste cuz there's no one who can see the piglets with my socks and shoes on!

Come on Spring! Make an appearance! Put a smile on our faces!

I'll stop ranting... my card is what it is. The create isn't a stamp... believe it or not, that's my handwriting!

items used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Creamy Caramel
*Patterned Paper: Fancy Pants
*Images: Stampin' Up!
*Tools Used: Cuttlebug and the ribbon slide die, Stampin' Up! Stampin' Write Marker in Pixie Pink
*Ribbon: Jodi's Ribbon Share

*Last Day of Spring Break*

Hard to believe that Spring Break is already pretty much over. That week and a bit sure flew by! It will be so hard to get out of bed with the alarm tomorrow morning! I've enjoyed sleeping in a bit and not having something annoying to wake me every morning!

But it will be good to get the kids back at school and back into a routine. Thankfully most of our current after-school/evening activities wind up at the end of April so we will have fewer late nights, fewer rushed dinners. There will still be piano on Friday afternoons and I have enrolled each boy into a class at the local Rec Centre one night a week for May and June.

Summer break will be here before we know it... and I hope that by the time Summer Vacation is here there won't be snow on the ground!

I've been having a lot of fun playing with all of my new Prima Flowers lately. I had some jars of smaller flowers that I didn't use a whole lot. I chose colours I thought I would use but then never used them. Turns out, I need a wide assortment of colours instead of a bottle of burgundy flowers. And apparently size matters. I have already been through one box of these bigger blooms... a friend and I each bought one box and split them so we had two different types of flowers. I did that again with another friend too. And that Daisy Share I did with Janet was definitely a great idea. Those flowers are just so darn pretty all sitting in my Mason jar!

items used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Garden Green, Brocade Blue
*Ink: Stampin' Up! Whisper White Craft Ink
*Images: Hero Arts
*Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up!
*Embellishments: Making Memories gold brad, Prima Flowers, Stickles, White Gel Pen
*Tools: Marvy Giga Scallop Circle Punch

*RAKs in my Mail!*

I had a good week for cards in my mailbox. I received these three lovely cards this week! It's always nice to get something other than junk mail and bills in your mailbox!

What is a RAK? It's a term stampers use for a Random Act of Kindness.... sending someone a handmade item just because.

The card on the far left is signed hnbmoore... not sure who this is for sure, but I'm pretty sure it's from the SCS RAK Group on Splitcoast Stampers. You can see her work on her Splitcoast Gallery.

The card on the right is from Allison. I love visiting her blog... I like that she takes the time to find blogs that are offering "candy" but I also love it when she posts some of her creations for use!

The card in the middle was created by Jana. She too has some wonderful creations on her blog and it's another place I tend to visit daily.

The cards from Jana and Allison were sent to me because I am a member the SCS Blogger RAK Club at Splitcoast Stampers.

Thanks so much ladies! I love getting "good" mail! And these cards are more than good! They are so beautiful!!! They are now heading down to my stamp space to be put on my wall of inspiration!

*Happy Easter*

*Ever Make One of Those Cards?*

Have you ever seen a sketch for a card or a layout that you just love and you know you have to try it?

Then you go sit at your craft table and literally, nothing comes to you?

So you sit some more? Play around with a few colour combinations. And then just go for it...

And then the card you end up with is nothing like the dream you had in your head for the design?

Yup, that's this card.

I loved the sketch I saw on Poetic Artistry a while back and I knew I wanted to use it. But I just didn't know where to begin.

I started with the little flower brad in the corner. I promised my girlfriend that I'd use these pretty brads, not let them sit in a drawer for months or more (I have used almost half the box now!).

But my creativity didn't flow in this card (and I think you can tell). My creativity came in fits and starts and to me, the card just isn't all that it can be.

I will be playing with this design again.... when I now my creativity will be working with me instead of against me.

I love the tage I created for the card... thanks to Asela for the idea on using the Giga Scallop Square punch to get this tag that my word window punch fits into so nicely!

items used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Bashful Blue, Barely Banana, Regal Rose
*Ink: Stampin Up! Whisper White
*Images: Stampin' Up!
*Embellishments: Making Memories gold brad, Deja Views flower shaped brad
*Tools: Fiskars Shape Cutter, Paper Piercing Tool, Marvy Giga Square Scalloped Punch, Stampin' Up! Word Window Punch, White Gel Pen

*Happy Birthday Mom!!*

Today is my Mom's birthday. April 5th. Won't tell you how old she is cuz she'd probably hit me. Suffice it to say, she's older than me LOL! I like to tell her that she's "older than dirt"... is that mean??

Good thing my Mom has a sense of humour.

My Mom (Bev Barnett) is the one who got me started with this card making stuff. Yup, you have her to blame! It started about ten and a half years ago. I was pregnant with child #2 and I traveled home to Regina to celebrate my Dad's 65th birthday. My Mom had this new craft she wanted to show me. And in my head I thought... "oh God, not another of Mom's crafts". See, Mom has always done crafts... crocheting, knitting, sewing, jewelery making, paper tole, ceramic painting, needlepoint, rug hooking, cross stitch, quilting, bead work.... you name it, she's pretty much done it! And honestly, a lot of them just didn't (and still don't) appeal to me.

She had found a booth at a craft fair where they were demonstrating heat embossing. Amazingly, they had stamps that said "made by Nana" which is what the grandkids all call her. So she bought some ink, a few stamps, embossing powder and a heat tool. And then showed me. And, like most beginners, she had me at heat embossing. HOW COOL was that??!!!

I borrowed some of Mom's stuff while I was there and made my Christmas Gift Tags. That was my first project. That year for Christmas I got a kids' set of Crayola stamps, some Clearsnap Colorbox ink, some embossing powders and my first heat tool from my husband.

And the rest, as they say... is history! This is the longest I've ever stayed with a craft! Thanks Mom (I think!!)

My Mom has moved away from stamping but is still a paper crafter extraordinaire! If it's fiddly and time-consuming, Mom will try it and probably love it! You can see a lot of her creations on her Picture Trail site.

So, on to Mom's card.

This is the card I made especially for her this year. She told me on the phone this morning that it is beautiful. High praise for sure.

If you have a minute, please take a peek at Mom's album and leave her some comments to make her day. If you know her, send her an email to wish her a happy day. One of these days I'll help her set up her blog too... maybe when she's here visiting next month. You up for it Mom??

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! We love you!!


items used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Brocade Blue and Regal Rose
*Ink: Stampin' Up! Mellow Moss, Brocade Blue, Regal Rose and So Saffron
*Tools: small corner rounder to create scallop on stamped piece, Marvy Giga Scallop Circle Punch, Marvy Mega Circle Punch
*Embellishments: Prima Flower, Giant Bling Brad, May Arts Ribbon

*Attention Calgary (and area) Bloggers*

After meeting Starr this afternoon I thought it might be cool for all of the Calgary and area Bloggers to get together at some point. Either just to have a meal or to stamp one day.

If you're at all interested in me planning something like this, please email me!

*These Are Seriously Big Clips!*

Spring break hasn't gotten any better yet. The good news is that the new fallen snow meant possibly good conditions in the mountains so Bruce and Alex took off first thing this morning for Sunshine to spend the day skiing. The two of them started skiing about a year ago and are loving it.

Matthew and I aren't interested.... how is it a good idea to strap pieces of wood onto your feet and throw yourself down a mountain?? And who really wants to spend 8 hours outside in the snow? It's cold outside in the snow! d-uh!

Instead today I am off to meet Starr for the first time. We've been emailing back and forth since I found her blog a few months ago and we finally both have some free time. I'll be heading down to see her at Scrapbookers Bliss... it's her favourite shop and one I've only been to once. Poor Matthew will have to put up with coming with me, but the treat for him will be he can choose anywhere at all that he wants to have lunch when we're done.

I finally was able to find the huge paper clips somewhere other than the craft store. The craft store wanted like $5 for 2 or 3 clips. Staples had 10 of them for under $5. SOLD! So far I have made 4 and given one away before photographing it. I sent one of these to a friend, one is on my craft table and the other is kinda missing at the moment. I thought I had put it with the book I am currently reading but it's not there. Very strange.

Anyway, these are super easy to do. The two on the sides are done with Cuttlebug dies, my chipboard coasters and papers from The Angel Company. I used two of the bigger flowers and one of the smaller.... the two bigger ones are attached to the clip with E6000 glue by attaching them to each other on either side of the clip. I added some gem bling to the centres of the smaller flowers.

The middle clip is made with Prima flowers. I used my Cuttlebug to do two small chipboard flowers that I attached to the clip with the E6000. I then put a brad through my flowers and then attached it to the chipboard. This one is the same on both sides.

items used:
Chipboard Coasters
Cuttlebug and two different flower dies
Prima Flowers
Tombow Mono Adhesive
E6000 Glue
Brads
Bling

*Great Mail on a Crappy Day*

WOW, have I had great mail in the last two days. Talk about blog candy!!!

First to arrive was the card and jar of Peeps mix from Joanne. I think I will have the kids make this dessert today!

Today I got two packages in the mail.... the wood mounted stamp and a set of acrylic stamps from Michaels came from a draw at Hutch Ink.

The rest of the candy pieces came from Leslie over at Snap Happy Inky Momma.

Feeling pretty spoiled right now!

THANKS so much ladies!!!

*Spring Break*

OK, this is totally ridiculous! Apparently Mother Nature doesn't understand the concept of Spring Break. Spring Break is for getting outside for walks... dusting off your bike and going for a ride... going to the zoo.... playing at the park. Spring Break is NOT for shoveling snow.... 6" of snow.... toboggoning... We had NO snow on the ground on the weekend.

Here it is, Tuesday morning, April 3rd and this is what it looks like out my front door!

I need the email address for Mother Nature. I need to be able to tell her that this is *not* funny. That I have boyz here who want to be out for hours on their bikes, not putting on their snow pants. That I had been able to have windows open a few days ago and now I have on an extra sweater in the house.

It is APRIL! April showers bring May flowers. What the hell does April snow bring??? Other than a rant from me??!

My tulips have not yet started to peek out of the ground. The grass has not yet started to turn green. There are no buds on any of the trees. The only colour around here is WHITE right now. Before the snow, the only colour around here was brown.

In the winter, I prefer the white to the brown... at least it is bright and clean looking.

But in April I'd rather have the brown.... with the hope that the beautiful colours of spring will soon follow.

I'm tired of the snow and the cold... I'm tired of my close toed shoes and socks. I am tired of sweaters and layers. Bring on my sandals and flip flops... I wanna wear my capris!. And some of those cute tops I bought!

Come on spring!!!!

*Sympathy Cards*

There is one "occasion" I really hate making cards for.... cards for the guys in my life is tough, but honestly, Sympathy cards are so much worse. Sure, the designs are easy, but I really hate having to make Sympathy cards.

When my Dad died last year, it was wonderful to receive so many cards (handmade and store bought) from people who wanted us to know that they were thinking of us. I now know first hand that it doesn't matter what the card says... it matters that you send it at all. It helps to know that there is someone out there who took a few minutes out of their life to let you know that they were thinking of you.

Unfortunately, I had occasion to send two Sympathy cards this past week.

As I've mentioned before, I am the List Owner/Moderator of a large email group for Canadian Stampers. This group has been around for 8 years and we have 750+ members. You don't get close to everyone on the list, but you do make some very close friendships with people you've never met.

In the last few weeks, two of our members lost a parent... Francie lost her Mom and Brenda lost her Dad. I feel so sad for these two women... I know very much how they are probably feeling right now. I want to tell them that it will be OK. I want to tell them that it will get easier. But I can't. I don't believe that yet. But I needed to support them. I needed to let them know that I was thinking of them... that I was crying for them.... that I can understand their pain.

The cards are simple.... Sympathy cards, in my mind, shouldn't be more than simple. Like I said earlier, it doesn't matter what the card says... it just matters that you send it.

items used:
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! in Whisper White, Cool Caribbean and Elegant Eggplant
Image: Stampin' Up!
Ink: Stampin' Up! Basic Black Classic
Embellishments: Prima Flowers, Making Memories Brads, Grosgrain Ribbon from Jodi's Ribbon Share, Sheer Ribbon from Stampin' Up!
Tools: Cuttlebug and D'vine Swirl Embossing Folder, Marvy Giga Scallop Oval Punch