Bailey visiting w/ friends....

Please join Bailey on one of his li'l jaunts........

Momma, that li'l kitty won't chase me, will he??

I love the stories she reads to me......

Never could figure out what he keeps looking for/at, Momma.

Any doggie lover is a friend of mine, Momma........

Momma, I guess someone forgot to bring him flowers today. He's always holding flowers.

Birthday Card update

Well, my girlfriend "loved" the butterfly card I made her. She was really stumped how I did the multi-colored butterfly on both the envelope and the card. I told her: "my secret". Naaaaah, I shared w/ her how I did it. lol Neat how us "crafters" can have "tricks up our sleeve", eh? :-)

Then........I got the following blog tag from Audrey & Team Fairies at Cute & Some, for my card:-

Piercing Template

Some of you may already have, or seen, the various piercing templates that are available. If you want to be frugal, you can use this instead:-

Recognize it? :-) It's none other than a snippet of plastic canvas --- the one w/ the real teeny weeny holes, that a piercing tool fits into real easy-peasy.

You can also use this for marking areas on your project, where you want to place your eyelets. You'll never have crooked-placed eyelets, ever again. :-)

Made my own background paper!

I saw the awesome JillyBean Soup paper that has every image imaginable on it and was especially taken w/ the lemon background paper.

Even tho I have Photoshop Elements, I find it very intimidating and haven't even ventured to test it out.

I said to myself:- "Myself -- surely you can make this via other means." And, by George, I did. :-) Sooooooo, if you're like me and would like to make your own paper and you don't have any PhotoEditing software, here's how you can do it:-

1. Find the clipart you would like.
2. Copy/paste into Word document.
3. Copy/paste a kazillion times. (I did it for 9 images) :-)
4. Draw a border around all of your images.
5. Copy/paste into "Paint" program (the freebie on your system).
6. Using the "Fill with Color" feature, choose your background color and fill the background.
7. Voila --- your very own created background paper.

This would work great w/ the Cricut "Just Because Cards" cartridge, using the Lemonade Glass found on p. 69. This cart also has the cute saying: "When life gives you lemons...make lemonade."

Can't wait to make this card. :-) And.....my mind is racing w/ all of the other possibilities of background paper. ;-)

Let me know what kinds/sorts of background paper you make! :-)

Another Thrift Store find.....

If you can believe this, I hummed/hawwed about getting this item. It's actually a photo box and it was the grand total of $3.00!! That wasn't the issue but......what am I going to use this for?? So, after staring at it for quite sometime and Bailey, who was in my arms, saying:- "Momma, just GET IT!!!!" -- I did! :-)

Soooo, now what to do w/ it! :-) I thought maybe:-

• "card idea" pix (I already have some in an accordion folder unit.)
• Cricut cutouts
• Studio "G" stamps (they might be toooo thick, tho)

What would you use it for?? Any and all ideas are greatly welcomed!

I do plan to cover the top/sides w/ some funky paper or vinyl. :-)

Cute & Some's blog

It was suggested that I enter my card into Audrey's "Cute & Some's" contributors showcase, so I did. :-)

You have GOT to check out her blog:- Cute & Some . There are some awesome entries. :-)

Also, stay awhile on Audrey's blog and you will discover a gal w/ some great creativity, herself. You won't be disappointed. She isn't just into "paper" projects, she is multi-talented w/ her creations. Click on Miscellaneous Crafts/Gifts, under her "Labels", and you will find projects like her cute li'l chenille bunnies and money tree, just to mention a couple.

Birthday Card using Sentimentals

Hiya. Thought I would make my friend a Birthday card w/ the cart I won --- Sentimentals!
Thanks, again, Michele!! :-)

Both pix can be enlarged by clicking on them! :-)



Betcha thought the blue was showing thru the butterfly, eh? Nope! But I did use double-sided cardstock. Only I flipped the butterfly on both the card and envelope, to show the opposite side colour.
:-) You can see it better in this pic:-

Here's the recipe:-

Cricut Sentimentals cartridge

Envelope:-
p. 46 {buttrfly}[envelope]

Card:-
p. 46 {buttrfly}[card]

Butterfly:-
p. 46 {buttrfly}- main part
p. 46 {btrfly-s}- wings

Sentiment:-
Thinking of You
p. 48 {owl}Phrase

I used gluestick, attaching the wings to the butterfly; hence, glue was sticking thru the filigree. I then sprinkled Martha Stewart glitter on top, allowing the glitter to adhere to the areas inside the butterfly. I thought it was a nice touch. Then I added some rhinestones to the body of the butterfly. Pop-dotted the butterfly inside the card. Added seed beads to the antennae. The butterfly on the front of the card was "stickled".

Hopefully, my friend will like it.

Note:- you'll notice on the envelope --- 4 slits on the sides.
Tip:- when scoring (I used my new Martha Stewart scoreboard!), try not to score on the slits. I didn't realize that it was an actual slit, and not just an embossed score area. :-

Decided to change it up a bit:- added a computer-generated sentiment......

Tomorrow's Another Day

Hiya! Sorry that I've been MIA for awhile. I have yet another medical hurdle to face. I hope I can "jump over" this one, just like I did the other ones! :-)

I have a "new song" on my I-Pod that really says it all, for me. For those of you who are going thru a rough time, no matter what it may be, have a listen to Jo Dee Messina's song: "Bring on the Rain". It helps me and hopefully it can help you, too!

Have a great week-end, my blogger friends!! :-)

Nice Surprise......

I just received a cute Ms. Brightside blog award from Kelley at Kraftie Guru. (Thanks so much, Kelley. You really made my day!) You should check out her blog, as she does some very creative things. Also, she’s sharing an Excel spreadsheet that lists all of the Cricut cartridges. Great way to keep track of them! :-)

Thanks, again, Kelley! :-)

The rules for this award are:

1. Give a top ten list of things that make you happy.

2. Give a top five list of trivia about yourself.

3. Share the award with only 5 people and ask them to do the same.

4. Link the blogs you choose and link the blog of the person who gave it to you.

Here I go:-

Top ten list of things that make me happy:-

1. My husband and daughter


2. My li’l furbaby, Bailey


3. Spending time w/ friends.


4. Chocolate


5. Crafting


6. Hearing the doctor say:- “things are looking good”.


7. Surprises (which hubby does a lot!)


8. Shopping for craft supplies.


9. Little things (a smile, blue skies, flowers, animals)


10. Making someone else happy.
    

Top five list of trivia about myself:-

1. Won 1st place in a Music Festival singing competition, when a child.


2. Received a certificate for typing 87 w.p.m., with no errors, on a typewriter.


3. Married, for 32 years, to the love of my life.


4. Am an only child.


5. Was “daddy’s girl”.

I would now like to pass this award onto:-

Arlene at http://butterflykisseswithlove.blogspot.com/ --- check out her super videos!
De'Shonda at http://nubiancrafter.blogspot.com/ --- see if you don’t agree w/ me that she resembles Jennifer Hudson! :-)
Fern at http://bellichallenge.blogspot.com/ --- for stamping enthusiasts
Libmary at http://chocolateonthekeyboard.blogspot.com/ --- what a great blog name! (gal after my own heart! ) ;-)
Kathryn at http://wamfamily.blogspot.com/ --- her article about her Dachshund got published!

My fun day.....

Decided to check out a garage sale, so off Bailey and I trotted (well, actually drove!) lol. At first, I couldn't find the street I needed to turn onto and was just about to give up when 'voila', there it was. There were oodles of people mulling about, even in the pouring rain. You see, this was a "craft sale" and you know how "crafters" are --- neither rain, sleet, snow, etc. will keep us away. ;-)

I spotted a whole bunch of stuff I wanted but, each time I headed towards the pile, someone said:- "noooooo, that's my stash". Toooooo funny! I was able to find some items:- books, origami paper and some vellum quotes. The good stuff had already been taken. :-(

But.......here's the best part:- I saw a name on one of the books:- Marie Browning. Didn't think too much about it until I heard someone say:- "Marie, should I put this here?" My ears perked up big time and I discovered that this was the famous craft designer/artist/teacher --- Marie Browning, herself. It was her garage sale. I was in "awe". I asked if she would sign one of my books but she mentioned that the books I had chosen weren't her "creations". She said: "hang on, I'll get you one of mine". She gave it to me, for free, and then signed it. I left the garage sale w/ "stars in my eyes". :-)

Hence, "fun day"!!! :-)

Here's the book of paper that she designed. Some of you may even have this one, or others.



Here's a sampling of her designs. Aren't they gorgeous?


And the Pièce de Résistance:-

Here's her website:- http://www.mariebrowning.com/profile.htm

Hope you all have a very. . . . . .

Quick/Easy Bulletin Board Project

If you're looking for a quick and easy project to make a bulletin board, (say, to remind you of all the things you need to do for Easter, etc.), you've come to the right place. :-)

I needed a bulletin board to house important notices, but I didn't want it to be visible (as on a wall or fridge, etc.), so I made one to go on the inside of a cupboard door. Works like a charm!

Recipe:-

* 18" x 18" roll of sheet metal (has to be "steel", not aluminum)
* paper of your choice (I used "$ store" roll of giftwrap)
* magnetic sheet(s)
* clipart of your choice (I chose various veggies.)
* adhesive

At first, I thought I would use patterned paper, as a background, but it looked tooooo busy so chose to use the backside of the paper.

Wrap the "cut to size" sheet metal w/ the paper. I just taped it on the backside. Then I used clipart as a border. Cut rest of clipart and attach to magnetic sheet(s).

There you have it. A bulletin board that's "out of sight" but not "out of mind". ;-)