Yesterday went smoothly. I attended a reading inservice after our students left. I was still home by 4:00 and fixed a big pan of chicken fried rice for dinner. Zack came by to eat and wanted to know if we were poor, because I had cooked so much rice this week.. I’m going with a very simple card today. Sweet and easy is the theme. I used the stamp set called Harmony by Stampin' Up to create this one. The lavender lace appears to be solid, but I actually stamped it using the Flroal background stamp. The paper seems to have absorbed all the ink. I hate it when this happens. So, ink up the rubber on one of your stamp sets and see what you can do with this layout.

Last Night was sister's night. Bonnie was the only one that came over to stamp with me. Margi stopped by to visit with us for a little while, then she had to go home to fix dinner. I had fixed a big pot of chicken and rice for dinner. I offered her some, but I think she felt guilty about Jim not having any dinner. Bonnie worked on projects that she will be teaching at Priceless Scrapbooks in the next week or two. (One or two of them may look vaguely familiar. lol) I talked mostly, but then I remembered a project that I had come across and piddled with it the rest of the evening. I must have taken the bottom off two or three times before I was happy with it. It's finished and I love it!

Now, I am going to have to make about a dozen of them. I was going to share a different project with you today, but this one is just too, sweet.......

Good morning,

I haven't created a waterfall card in a long, long time. I took the stamp set called Unfroggetable and stamped it on four different vibrant colors.

I then cut them out and did a little paper piecing, changing the position of the frog on each of the 2x2 squares. When you pull down on the ribbon the frogs flip up to expose the one under it.

I should make more of these, they really turn out cute. Once you figure out the placement of all the parts to make it work, the rest is easy... Hey Trish..... Is this another class?

I had a little creative fuel to help me finish up my latest project. Need I say more?

I had so much fun making the mini purse and note cards yesterday that I started another one. This time I had some cards that are a little bit bigger. These measure 3 1/2"x4 3/4". They are not full size, but not mini either. I lined the purse box with dp that I used on the cards too. I am only going to post the group picture. If you want to see the individual cards go to my Splitcoaststampers site. See the shortcut on the left.

I used the Best of Cluck stamp set. I still think this on one of my all time favorite sets.

Have a great day! Bundle up....

I had a very quiet Saturday. I was in and out of my stamp room most of the day. I have a few projects that I've been working on.

Sonny and I played a few games of pool while he was cooking dinner. I was doing pretty good I beat him at two games. That hasn't happened in a long time.

I came across some new Cuttlebug embossing folders. I'll have to have all of them. I can't get the link to work, so here is a list of the ones I came across: Swiss Dots, Perfectly Paisley, Shell Collage, Number Collage, Floral Fantasy, Distressed Striped, Diamonds in the Rough, Birds and Swirls, and Allegro.

I found this tutorial by Julie Buhler (I love her work!) and ran with it.

Trish, this looks like a class for you at Priceless. hehehe

Mini Purse Tutorial Now for the mini purse, But I made a box instead, using the same template (That's HERE). I also have the template for the larger version of this HERE, This one fits the full sized cards.

Here is mine: Mini Notecards

Happy Saturday! Here is a sneak peek at February's project. The calendars came in. I'll play with them over the next week or two and come up with a project for next month. This one looks promising, it really came out good. I used (2) 4x4 coasters put together like an easel. I covered each coaster with dp and cardstock. I distressed all the edges with basic brown ink, using the direct to paper technique. I then stamped a third, fourth and fifth generation image on the calendar page itself. Mount the calendar on a small piece of matching cardstock. I stamped the flower and leaf image on vanilla cs, cut it out, and applied glitter.

I am totally addicted to this stuff.

Whatever you do, don't go the Target and get any. It comes in several flavors, but I think the cinnamon pecan is the yummiest! Is that a word? lol

I used two different sets and some Wild Asparagus dp to create this card. The stamp sets are Garden Whimsy and So Much. Notice the design on the Purely Pomegranate ribbon. Its a rub-on from Stampin' Up. I applied the Dazzling Diamond Glitter to the butterflies with 2-way glue. The card is 7"x3 3/4".

I hope everyone has a wonderful day. May it be a day filled with laughter.

Good morning! Watch out for that fog today, I hear it's really bad in some areas. I came home from work yesterday and baked a homemade chicken pot pie. I had forgotten just how good they are. It's one of those winter comfort foods, and boy was I comforted.Here is another card using the Have a Heart stamp set. I used dp (designer paper) from Stampin' Up called Porcelain Prints, Certainly Celery and Blue Bayou (cs) cardstock. I used Basic Brown and a sponge to distress all the edges. Again, I stamped the image on a scrap of Blue Bayou dp, cut it out, and glued it over the same image stamped on white cs. I watercolored the hearts and bird. Colored the daisy, eyes, and toenails with a white gel pen. I finished it off with ribbon tied to a swirl clip and a few brads. He is such a cute little elephant, don't you just love his dots.

It rained all night. At the beginning of the storm there was some thunder and lighting, but mostly rain. My dirt road really needed it. I noticed that it was beginning to get that washboard effect in some places. I have had a few special request so I will post them today. A friend emailed me last night needing a special sympathy card. I decided to go with one of my favorite designs. Some of you may have seen one similar as a birthday card. This design makes me feel very tranquil.. It has a beautiful saying on the inside. The other request is for cards that can be made from the Valentine Bundle. I did not purchase this, but I will create some card layouts that can be used with that stamp set. I am using a retired set called Have a Heart. I stamped the elephant on designer paper cut him out and taped him over the same image stamped on white card stock. I then used a white gel pen to color in his eye, tusk, and toenail's, and daisy. The heart and bird are watercolored. I free handed the border around the cards edges. I hope this gives you some ideas. Enjoy the new day!

Good morning,

Last night was my Ocala Stampers Ten club meeting. I think everyone had a good time. We had a new member join us for the first time, welcome Robin. Ethel brought her friend visiting from Pennsylvania. Sorry her name has slipped my mind. But, I know she enjoyed herself too! Trish had a wonderful smorgasbord awaiting us. Thanks for an evening of fun ladies.

I know that you will be glad to find out that today's card was made with the last remaining scraps of this 12x12 sheet of paper. I've been whittling it down for about a week now. I wanted it off my work table and I had two choices, make a card out of it, or put more scraps in my scrap bin. (I just cleaned that out!). So, here is the card: I hope everyone has a great day.

Good morning everyone. Yesterday I posted a card using the CTMH Cherish set. I decided to demonstrate to you the variety you can get just by changing your color scheme. So, I picked paper pieces out of my scrap bin and here is what I came up with. I used the same stamp set and the same layout on each of these cards.

It can really change the mood of the card. Use a different sentiment and you would change it even more.

Next Season on Survivor Have you heard about the next planned "Survivor" show? Three businessmen and three businesswomen will be dropped in an elementary school classroom for 1 school year. Each business person will be provided with a copy of his/her school district's curriculum, and a class of 28 - 32 students. Each class will have a minimum of five learning-disabled children, three with A.D.D., one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Three students will be labeled with severe behavior problems. Each business person must complete lesson plans at least 3 days in advance, with annotations for curriculum objectives and modify, organize, or create their materials accordingly. They will be required to teach students, handle misconduct, implement technology, document attendance, write referrals, correct homework, make bulletin boards, compute grades, complete report cards, document benchmarks, communicate with parents, and arrange parent conferences. They must also stand in their doorway between class changes to monitor the hallways. In addition, they will complete fire drills, tornado drills, and [Code Red] drills for shooting attacks each month. They must attend workshops, faculty meetings,and attend curriculum development meetings. They must also tutor students who are behind and strive to get their 2 non-English speaking children proficient enough to take the Terra Nova, Diagnostics and FCAT tests. If they are sick or having a bad day they must not let it show. Each day they must incorporate reading, writing, math, science, and social studies into the program. They must maintain discipline and provide an educationally stimulating environment to motivate students at all times. If all students do not wish to cooperate, work, or learn, the teacher will be held responsible. The business people will only have access to the public golf course on the weekends, but with their new salary, they may not be able to afford it. There will be no access to vendors who want to take them out to lunch, and lunch will be limited to thirty minutes, which is not counted as part of their work day. The business people will be permitted to use a student restroom, as long as another survival candidate can supervise their class. If the copier is operable, they may make copies of necessary materials before, or after, school. However, they cannot surpass their monthly limit of copies. The business people must continually advance their education, at their expense, and on their own time. OK, now that you have an idea of what I do for a living….YOU also know why I stamp! I was using the CTMH Cherish stamp set and realized that many of my Stampers Ten club members never got a chance to see the Wedding Invitations that I did for my son’s wedding a few years ago.

Shower Invitation , Inside , and Wedding Invitation

Good morning! I had started this project and again was sidetracked by something else. My brain must just fire randomly. I don't know anyone that gets off task more than I do except my students. Maybe that's why I can handle them. I can relate to them, because I do the same thing. lol This is another pop-top can. It's filled with M&M's, I had to lock them up before I ate them. hehehe I used the stamp set called In The Spotlight....I guess you can tell that this is a new set, it's all I've been using. I also wanted to share with you some very simple bookmarks, for all the reader's out there. I used paper that was left over from other projects. The stamp set is called It's All Good. These are so easy to make. Have a nice Saturday, get creative.

After all the inspiration I got from my Aunt Myrna and Mr. Johnson (another teacher), I baked yesterday. I baked a pan of Molasses Bar Cookies. I substituted the molasses with homemade cane syrup. They are more like a cake than a cookie, but they must be good, because they are almost gone! Then I baked a roast with potatoes and carrots. (I am so full!) I was late for my club meeting last night. Margi and I were right behind a truck that swerved off the road right into a telephone pole. They had to medi-vac the father to Shands and the little girl was sent to a local hospital. The child attends my school, so we stayed with her until the ambulance took her to the hospital. Well, this is a neat way to give a friend a chocolate treat. On this one I used some Stampin’ Up paper and two stamp sets. (Riveting and A Beautiful Thing) The ink I used is Ruby Red and Basic Black. I will have to show you in person how to make these. It’s just too hard to explain. I followed written directions and I’m still not sure that I did it right.

Here at last~ I know that you were just itching to get a peek at them. lol

I was working on another project using the dp (designer paper) from SU called Fall Flowers. I colored the butterflies and the friends tag at Bonnie's without realizing that they matched the dp paper I was using on it. Well, my brain knew it. Because, like I said, I went to my room and Poof! Here are the bothersome little butterflies that you have all been waiting for. :-)

This is a cute little gift box shaped like a purse. I used a small circle of Velcro on the front flap to help it stay closed. You fill it with candy or use it as a unique way to wrap a small gift. Add a tag to the handle and send it on its way. I have always liked the orange and pink color combination. I would never wear these colors myself, but I have found that they always catch my eye.I went to Bonnie's last night for sister's night. We needed to finish planning the projects for Thursday night's club meeting. I had planned to create a calendar project, but the calendar's I ordered have not come in. Well, this little purse box will be one of our projects instead of the calendar. Psssst! Look for a calendar project next month. lol I got home around 9:00 with full intentions of working on grades. I have to have them completed by Friday and Thursday I have an all day inservice. I had watercolored some little butterflies at Bonnie's. Do you know that those little butterflies would not leave me alone all the way home. Well, I came in the door and headed straight for my craft room with butterflies in hand. Wow! I love this card. Sense I haven't taken a picture of it I'm going to leave you hanging, and let the butterflies bother you today. Have a wonderful, creative day today!

I had something else that I was going to post today, but after I finished playing tonight I changed my mind. I could have finished this earlier, but Aunt Myrna has been teasing me with homemade bread. Then of course, I had to go search the kitchen for food. lol Believe me there was nothing in there that looked anything like her loaf of bread. :(

Oh, you are going to love these. Stampin’ Up Porcelain Print designer paper is beautiful.

I made the pop-top can and the pinwheel from this paper and just love the color combination. The pinwheel is not functional, but for looks only.

The pop-top can is functional. It is actually filled with M&M’s. Just pop the top and they are ready to eat. These are both very easy projects to create. I used two stamp sets on the pop-top can, Circle of Friendship and In The Spotlight.

Christmas Card Challenge

January Christmas Card Challenge I know what you are thinking . . . “Is she crazy? Christmas in January?” I joined the Christmas Card Challenge again this year. You have to create ten cards each month and upload them on Splitcoaststampers.com. Then by the time the hustle and bustle of the holidays arrives you already have your cards made and ready to mail out. This worked out great for me last year. I finished making all my cards by July and was able to focus on other things during the holidays. I chose a simple design for this month. I embossed silver on white cardstock using a retired Snowflake set. The snowflake is then mounted on a silver cardstock mat. Smaller snowflakes and the greeting were then embossed in silver on the main card. I attached a half-inch strip of silver cardstock, which was trimmed with wavy decorative scissors along the bottom edge of the card. I finished off the inside of the card with a sweet seasonal greeting and some additional snowflakes stamped in Going Gray. This will be a good one to put in the mail, because it doesn’t have any 3-D embellishment on it. Before you leave today, go to the bottom of my blog and sign my Guestbook.

Here it is!

The other mailbox that I told you I had to do. Now, I can’t decide which one to give Madison and which to give Catherine. I think I will let them pick. I still need to make their Valentine cards.

I used the same stamp set that I used on the other one. It’s called Princess by CTMH.

Christmas Card Challenge

January Christmas Card Challenge I know what you are thinking . . . “Is she crazy? Christmas in January?” I joined the Christmas Card Challenge again this year. You have to create ten cards each month and upload them on Splitcoaststampers.com. Then by the time the hustle and bustle of the holidays arrives you already have your cards made and ready to mail out. This worked out great for me last year. I finished making all my cards by July and was able to focus on other things during the holidays. I chose a simple design for this month. I embossed silver on white cardstock using a retired Snowflake set. The snowflake is then mounted on a silver cardstock mat. Smaller snowflakes and the greeting were then embossed in silver on the main card. I attached a half-inch strip of silver cardstock, which was trimmed with wavy decorative scissors along the bottom edge of the card. I finished off the inside of the card with a sweet seasonal greeting and some additional snowflakes stamped in Going Gray. This will be a good one to put in the mail, because it doesn’t have any 3-D embellishment on it.

Purse Box

Stampin’ Up’s Bali Breeze paper is to die for. I bought the purse from Trish at Priceless Scrapbooks. The inside of the purse is lined with the same print in monochromatic greens. The flower is by Prima. I added one of SU’s rhinestone brads to the center of the flower. On the top flap I adhered some bling to the flowers. And finally I used a label holder from SU’s Hodgepodge Hardware in the lower right corner.

Here is a Valentine gift for my granddaughter. The mailbox and the frog are from Target’s dollar spot. These are so easy to cover, just use your favorite double stick tape and some pretty paper. The stamps are CTMH, “Princess”. I thought about using lots of glitter, but then I remembered that I was going to put candy in the mailbox. Hmmm! Kid, glitter, candy…..not a good mix. This project was really easy to put together. I will have to do one more for my other little princess.

Rough Day! Wow! I am so glad that today is over. I needed to sit down and create, but I was so down about my students being so bad today. I feel like today was three workdays crammed into one.

I did finish two star frames that I had started the other day. Recipe: · Adhere Designer Paper to wood frame using clear drying glue. · Trim edges with a hobby knife. · Distress the frame after it has completely dried. · Stamp and embellish as desired.

Getting these completed made me feel so much better, or was it the nap? Anyway, I have my energy level back up and I’m headed into my stamp room to sort the last of my 12 x 12 pizza boxes. I hope everyone had a much better day than I had. Get out your stamps and create something beautiful.

Sisters Night

I love Tuesdays! That’s stamping Sisters Night. We get together and work on our different projects or sometimes we want to do the same thing that someone else is doing. It always works out. There is lots of fun, laughter and food. I love it when there is chocolate involved. Tonight Bonnie and I waited until Debbie and Patti left to get the Raspberry filled Creamy Dark Chocolate candy bar out. Yum! LOL Bonnie prepped the club project. Debbie and Patti each made a card and used the Cuttle Bug to emboss some extra paper. I finished the “Swatch Book” that I have been working. All in all, I think everyone was productive. Especially Debbie and Patti who started with one pair of scissors between them. LOL But, alas, the evening has ended and everyone has gone home. Thanks girls, I had fun!

Baby gift

I didn’t get to work in my stamp room today. But I did do just a little stamping before I left for work. I wrapped the baby scrapbook for a gift. Then I made a few extra gift cards with the scrap paper. I hope everyone is inspired to get to work on your creations. Keep stamping! Sue

Too much paper!

Boy, organizing my papers is quite a chore. I worked in my room last night and this morning. I still have about a third of my papers to organize. (12x12 papers and SU scrapbook kits)

I went through and culled out papers that I didn’t think I would use or that I had several of the same pattern. (CTMH kits)

(Slabs)

I took those to my daughter-in-law, Tammy, today. I have organized some of my scrapbook papers and any embellishments that will go with them into unused pizza boxes. I labeled them and stacked them over the shelves. I went through each of these and added loose papers that needed to be here and removed any I no longer wanted. Again I was sidetracked. I came across a card sketch by Cambra that I wanted to use for my Stampers Ten project this month. I sat down and stamped myself happy! Here is one of the cards that we will make in January.

This morning I cleaned out my scrap paper file. Throwing away about half of it. It was hard but necessary.