Happy Turkey Day!!!

Whelp... I know it has come and gone, but I wanted to make sure you all (including my sole two followers - Hi, April and Moira!!!) knew that I was thinking of you yesterday. Not all of you have Turkey Day (Thanksgiving), because you're not all here in the States, but I wish you well and leave you with holiday blessings, nonetheless.

So... after dinner, I rounded up a kid or two and flew to Michael's. I could not resist the sale of Cricut cartridges for $29.99! And so I got a couple... Joys of the Season (for me!), Alphalicious, Animal Kingdom, and Tinkerbell and Friends (all for my kids, as they have been asking for these for a while). Sigh... they didn't have Hello Kitty and Hello Kitty Font there, but oh well. It was still a small fortune spent, and my kids are excited. I'm excited about the pricing! FYI... the sale is through Saturday. It's a great price, that you pretty much can't beat! The Jukebox is also on sale for $49.99! Woohoo!

Another FYI... if you are interested in a Cricut, WALMART has a bundle on sale! You get the machine and 2 cartridges (unknown as to which carts they are giving) for $199!!! Can't beat that... so if you are wanting... do some serious hinting and/or asking!

I'm still full from yesterday. I ran to my mom's Wednesday night to begin prepping, got some awesome pics with my nephew and my 3-year-old (will post them later), got some rolls baked for my bro's celebration and got some cards created prior to leaving my house. Whew! That was a lot to do! I forgot to take pics of the Thanksgiving cards, but maybe some of those receivers can post a pic, or send them to me to post myself.

I am thankful for each and every one of you. I appreciate you all and hope for the best for you in all you do. That said... it is time to start the holiday season, so no matter what religion (or not) you come from, festivities are sure to come! Enjoy the holiday season (no matter where you are) and happy shopping! (Personally, I think I'm skipping it this year, as the "good deals" appear to be mostly on big-ticket items... of that I am not purchasing.) So, if you are going out and hitting the Black Friday/Weekend sales (don't forget Cyber Monday also!), I wish you luck and safety.

I just took down the Thanksgiving decorations and am working on laundry (missed it yesterday due to the holiday) and decluttering (gotta make room for it all!). So check out Flylady and see how to go about the holiday clutter cleanup with me... and hopefully will be putting up Christmas by the close of the day... Wish me luck and I'll do the same for you! Toodles for now! lisa

Oops! Here it is...

My last of my swaps that were turned in... or so I thought! I was cleaning off my scrap/dining room table and found my camera next to the package (yes, it was under a bunch of stuff!)... So I ran to the post office to send it off (long overdue!). Here is my take on the Christmas Blues/Silvers Title Topper...
I did this on a transparency. I am satisfied with the final product. It took FOREVER to get it semi-right. No matter what I read and tried... the transparency kept curling and melting, even with rotating heat. They ended up a little wavy, but I tried it over something, and was happy with the way it worked. Hopefully... everyone else will be, too!

This is a "Merry Christmas" and a tree trio (stamped twice) stamp done in metallic silver over bright blue streaks. Both colors were embossed.
The blue does not really show through the silver this much (in real life). Then I added a little Martha Stewart bling to give the impression of "stars".
To anyone on this swap... the blue cardstock (underneath) is just meant to hold it. You can cut the transparency down to whatever size you are scrapping and re-adjust the bling and the brads. The transparency can be put directly on/over your layout, allowing your layout colors, design, or whatever to show through.


Unfortunately, these pics don't really do it justice. But that's how it goes, when I'm pointing and shooting and not really worrying about the picture quality. So sorry...


Ok, so here's the blog of the day for Friday (since I just posted yesterday's)... THERE WERE GOOD TIMES, & SCRAPPY TIMES. This is done by another fellow Scrapbook Bingo member. She is HILARIOUS! She has a ton of wit and inspiration... no matter what she says... lol! Thanks, April for sharing your charm!

I seriously have got to work on tomorrow night's dinner (crock-potting it!) so I won't be cooking when I get home around 6 or 7'ish...

If there's something you'd like to see or read about... don't hesitate to let me know! Gotta go! Toodles for now! lisa

Whoops! Forgot to Post this Yesterday!!! (Thursday)

So I was out of it yesterday. SORRY! Forgot to post another swap item...

Here is a set of 2 tags (with Peppermint Ribbon - which I love!) for the Fall/Winter Activities - Playing in Snow group. (Yes, this is my washing machine! lol!) The tags are made from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More with the Cricut. (Yes, I still only have the smaller Cricut [Baby Bug] and Yes, I am able to utilize this cartridge so much that it bothers me when people keep saying, "It is not worth it if you only have the Baby Bug.") The cool, distressed paper double-sided and from... (can't remember who and too lazy to go look!)

The snowman stamp is from "Perfectly Clear Stamps" and aptly named "Snow Guy." The snowflake is from a Studio G winter set. Then, of course, I had to use Stickles... (Orange Peel, Christmas Red, and Crystal here). The tags are inked (on the edges) with Cat's Eye Liquid Chalk.
The "... he'll be back again someday..." stamp is a partial of a border stamp from Inky Antics. Stickled with Black Diamond, Christmas Red, & Cinnamon. The leaves were done with a Marvy pen, as the "Holly" Stickles were clogged and completely bothering me...

Blog of the day is... A Little Bit of Heaven. Cathy (a newer SB Bingo member) has some really cute angel cards here. (I would love to know where she got the angels from or how she did them!) They are quite cute.


I have one other swap item to post... Don't know if I'll do it later today or sometime this weekend, as I am officiating all weekend and have lots to do before I leave at 7am. However, it is supposed to be bright and sunny (still around 80'ish!), so it should be for a pleasant weekend. Toodles for now! lisa

It's the Middle of the Week...

Ok, I give... Time either totally drags or goes WAY too fast! This week, it seems to be doing a little of both!

Thanksgiving (like you don't already know...) is next week. I am SO not ready. I used to have it at my house with everyone here, but times have changed. Last year, we had it at my mom's (sans bro, as he is now the designated turkey maker for his in-law fams). This year... I have no clue what I am going to do. I haven't even talked to both sides of the families on this issue... kinda scared!

But for now... here is another "swap" installment...

For the Thanksgiving Swap, this is my contributing for a paper-piecing.

The cornucopia and fruits are from Paper Doll Dress Up. Honestly... all these people that say, "I don't make dolls." and seriously have a problem with this Cricut cart obviously have not explored the possibilities.

Of course, I had to use my chalks and Stickles. Don't you just love them! I also put some of the fruit pieces through the Cuttlebug to add some dimension.

For another "Fall Activity" swap, I did the paper piecing for "Pumpkin Patch". Here is my take on it.

The Pumpkin trio is from Pooh and Friends. I walnut-stained (distressed) the bottom leaf layer, then put the other pieces on top, and added a sepia chalk. I didn't want to go glitz on this one to give it a "timeless" and shabby feel.

Featured blog of the day is... Mousekemom's Mouseworks! April does a lot with all things Disney. She is a little like me though, she goes through spurts of creation and publication. But her stuff is truly great to browse and get ideas...

I'm so looking forward to this weekend. Not only does Twilight come out on Friday (check your local listings), but I actually get to have my "adult" time on both Saturday and Sunday. I will be helping to official a swim meet in Palm Springs. Since the weather here is so odd for this time of year, we are expecting the weekend to hold around 80 degree weather... Next week, the kids are out of school! YES! You saw it right... they get the whole week of Thanksgiving off. Maybe we'll get some scrap time in then...

Another little added item... Stacy (15yo) finally used the Cricut last night for a school project. She is now in love with it. She was amazed at how easy it was and now wants to do it tonight, too. (Hold up, little girl... school work comes first!)

Whelp... that's all for now. Gotta eat something to try to get rid of this migraine... Toodles for now! lisa

Totally Tuesday! (and no-newsday!)

Ha! I'm at a stagnant stage... no creativity coming forth. Too much going on elsewhere to "let it flow" freely... So I thought I'd do a little posting and see where my thoughts go... (lol!). Here's stuff I did for a swap (can't wait to get the critters back!)... some of the swap items were already posted, so I'm only going to post what wasn't posted before (too much?)...
For now... I'll post the shakers that were made for the "Christmas Red/Green" swap.
I found transparency paper at Office Max! Woohoo! Only $.65 each. Originally, I could only find it there in a box of 50, which I didn't want... Not only did I not want to spend that much $$, but I didn't want to have to store a whole lot, either. But I asked, and they split the pack!

The sacks are made with Debbie Mumm's Holiday Cardstack (which I totally love!), using the Cricut and Paper Doll Dress Up. On the top layer... I cut a deckled circle with the Coluzzle cutting system (also from PC). I didn't do extra embossing on the top or bottom layers, as they both had a built in embossing. I used 3M foam tape between the layers, sequin stars and PC beads (Art Accentz) inside. The ribbon cinch on the bag was created with Zig glue and Fun Flock (by Stampendous!).

Special Note: I originally purchased white Fun Flock from a wonderful Close to My Heart consultant (Thanks, Julia!!!). I so fell in love with the ease and effect, that I went out and "had to have" instant gratification of purchasing green Fun Flock... just for the purpose of this bag. DO NOT let any kids, people or others (including your teenagers) to touch the flocking until it has dried!!!

I sure hope the rest of the group likes them. My kids loved them, and they were fun to make... although I did freak out when one touched the "drying" flock... lol! Priceless moment... you had to be there.

Featured blog of the day from my online friends is... Live. Teach. Love. Scrap. Laugh. Life. This blog is done by a Canadian friend who is much newer to the scrapbooking world. You could never tell by looking at her stuff! She is awesome and does so much, she seems to have been doing it for years.

One day (hopefully soon...), I'll have a list of scrappy bloggers. I would really like to work on the layout/design of this blog and do some major modifications... any volunteers? I'll post more later... Toodles for now! lisa

My "Good Deed" for the Day!

While on my way to the Post Office... a little Pekingese dog limped from the sidewalk into the street. I slowed down, and as it kept limping across the street, I stopped. While I honked the horn, the dog stopped in front of my van. It was panting heavily and sat on its rear, lolling its tongue out in thirst. I honked the horn more... the dog (by this time I see he's male...) took a couple more hobbles and stopped in another car's path. The car swerved around (missed me!) and kept going. Another truck (coming the opposite way of myself) stopped and got out to help. Mr. Pooch ran and parked himself underneath my car! And of course, handy with my camera (and a scrapbooker!)... I had to take a picture!


The other guy (pool dude) and I tried to get the dog out to no avail. I called Animal Control, as Mr. Pooch snapped at the pool cleaner and moved farther under my car. He simply wanted shade (it was around 90 here...). We gave the dog water, then another great guy (who had passed and asked about the dog earlier) stopped back by and offered a hamburger for Mr. Pooch. (How sweet was that!) Between myself, the pool dude and another neighbor, we went to about 10 houses, asking if Mr. Pooch belonged to anyone. No one claimed him.


End of the story... Animal Control showed up, got Mr. Pooch out (without a problem... I might add!), and we all went on our merry little ways.


Basically, I was amazed that so many people stopped to ask to help and did help. I was NOT amazed at how many people whizzed by, not caring at all. It was not a waste of time, although it did take about 45 minutes. But I feel Mr. Pooch will be much better off than getting hit by someone (which I'm sure is what happened in the first place). I would love to thank the pool dude (sorry I never got your name) and the neighbor dude. They were great and a wonderful help. I'm sure Mr. Pooch appreciates us all, too. Toodles for now! lisa

Getting back on the wagon...

I've been busy, as I'm sure you have. I won't dwell on the drama... but it is EVERYWHERE! On the pool deck (with the team - or the board rather, NOT the officials), at home - with kids and with hubby, other personal - family members, etc. It seems that lots of people cause drama all around. They seem to forget what each event is about. Oh well... C'est la vie!

One of the wonderful places I have not found any drama is on one of the Yahoo groups I belong to. I've talked about them from time to time. I wanted to share some of the wonderful things they've been doing.

Christina's blog has some new stuff on it, and it is gorgeous! Such an inspiration to do Christmas cards...

Then there's Jenn... she has her own blog as well, plus she designs for the Cuttlebug Design Challenge blog.

There are others, and I will share them with you a little later. I'm just doing snippets here.

If you noticed (above), some things are underlined. If you are not familiar with this, you should know you can "click" the underlined blue items, as it is a direct link to something else. I, at this time, would like to personally thank April W. from Scrapbook Bingo for sending the instructions on how to do that little trick. Thanks, April!

We did Jolene's birthday Saturday (2 weeks late), and it was quite eventful. In the end, it took us 3 1/2 hours to get 68 miles (the California fires shut the freeways down), some people were missing (hence the "drama"), and we ended up having a great time. Beef Dips, baked potatoes and strawberry cupcakes (sorry I cut you out of the pic, Jolene... I just wanted the pretty candle glow... lol!). We ended the evening (REALLY late) playing a great and hilarious game of Scattergories. Even Juan laughed and joined in the fun by rolling the die and keeping time.

I'll chat more later... But for now... off to sort out the drama... Toodles for now! lisa