It has been a really busy couple of weeks. Finally after a few years of waiting....... my DH gutted and redid my (our) kitchen and took it from ewwwww to wowsa!!!

I love my new kitchen, bright, cheery lots of room and loads of storage space. He did everything himself and he did an outstanding job. ( He's earned his reward, he can go out and fly his planes)

This is the view as you enter the kitchen. My dishwasher is in the island , under the cupboards ...easy breezy to put them away. :) The floor is turquoise tile and the paint colour is orange chuckle by Debbie Travis, but groovy guava is the perfect accent colour.

This is looking past the island..... loads of storage, lots of counter space and the counter tops are so pretty. They are silestone, and they have little pieces of broken mirror in them, so when the light hits it they sparkle like diamonds. I love sparkle. (big grin)

We had to build the fridge into the doorway into the hall. A minor inconvenience , but it means I get a walk in closet for my craft room. Have i said I love my DH!!!

He also did the powder room and it is so pretty too! He added a shelf over top of the fridge for a tv and vcr. I guess he likes my cooking and wants to keep me in the kitchen.

This looks out to my eating area. I have a double wall oven now.....colour me happy! Sorry about the construction debris in the doorway, I can't make the poor man work to hard.

It is hard to imagine I can't find a before picture and by the time i thought to take one there wasn't much left. Setting the scene this is a 200 year old house. The previous kitchen was built by someone who was not a carpenter. The counters were unglazed terra cotta and the paint was gray and maroon. It was small, dark, poorly laid out and well plain and simple ugly and depressing. Now it is shiny and inspiring.

So of course I had to make something. I altered this clock I used Afternoon Tea papers by Stampin' Up! The butterfly is from the set Spring Swirl by Autunm Leaves. I stamped it in Chocolate Chip craft ink and embossed it with glassy glaze. The sentiment is one I just picked up and it reads " My Garden is where my prayers are planted and my dreams are born" the stamp is by inkadinkado. The chipboard numbers are from a set called dreamer by fancy pants designs. The chipboard was inked with chocolate chip craft ink and had 2 coats of glassy glaze applied. I stuck them to the clock using crystal effects.

This is my final picture sorry it's dark but my battery died. :( Any way it shows the clock on my wall and my really cool storage cart/baking center.

So if you can't find me....I'm probably in my kitchen.

This card challenge was to make a simple card. It was a limited supply challenge. You could only use a couple of items. I love this stamp set and can't wait to use it more. It really lends itself to simplicity. I think I pierced everything I made last weekend. I find when my tools are out, I use them more than if I put them away. It's also a good way to rationalize a really messy work area.

What could be better than spring? Ok, other than stamping in the spring. Well things that make us think of spring of course. This project i made for VSN makes me think of spring.

Find the tutorial for making these bags here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ee/index.php/resources/tutorials/genie_bags/

The object of the challenge is to make a purse. I used Groovy Guava , Soft Sky and the beautiful designer paper Afternoon Tea. It's so pretty. I used craft ink to stamp the sentiment and then embossed it with clear ep. This makes it raised and shiny. I faux stitched around the edges to mimic the stitching on the ribbon. Very fun and easy gift bags using a paper lunch sack.

I made a matching card because I loved the look when I made the gift bag. It was done using the same colours and papers all I added was the shiny silver hardware that I have been hoarding.
I hoard way to much stuff, saving it for a rainy day i guess. But the time has come to use it or (shock) I can't get anything new. I know I need to say it like I mean it. Thanks for stopping by and have a good day!

The challenge for this card, was to use red and another neutral. I choose to go with Real Red and Basic Grey. I used my handy little cuttlebug to do the paisley background. I water coloured the flower which is from the Bloomin Beautiful set. This is a must have set. At least it was for me.
All in all a pretty simple card but it looks very striking in real life.
I am working on my photography skills, I think the pictures are getting better. Hopefully! :)

This is another VSN card. I absolutely love the technique, it does take a little more time but it is well worth the effort. It is the cracked glass technique. It is achieved by layering several coats of clear ep or glassy glaze ep and heating with a heat gun. For extra glitter I threw in a layer of clear ep that has glitter in it.
I had forgotten just how pretty Bashful blue and Pretty in Pink look together. I chose the stamp set Bloomin' Beautiful. I can't resist a Hydrangea.this is such a pretty stamp.
I water coloured it with Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink and Lavender Lace. On the Bashful Blue background I stamped it first with chocolate chip craft ink, and when it was dry I ran it through the cuttle bug using the distressed stripes folder. I finished it off with some pretty Taffeta ribbon I don't know why I waited so long to buy it, it's sooo pretty. I also used some of my silver hardware from the new mini catty. I am a hardware hoarder. It is so hard to use it cause then it will be gone and the catty only runs til May 31st. Hopefully it will be in the new catty in August.

It was time for VSN again over at Splitcoaststampers. I always love VSN to get the mojo going.


This is my favorite card from VSN it was a sketch challenge. You can find all of the challenges here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=338125

This is the sketch pattern. Really fun! It gave me a chance to try out the new carousel Notes from the SU! Occasions Mini.

My sample is a 6x6 card, I cut it from Wild Wasabi. The carousel note is in Groovy Guava, I used a lid to make the Whisper White circle. The stamp set is Live your Dream and the designer paper is afternoon tea all from the new mini.

I used my paper piercer and pierced just about everything. I used my quickie glue pen and added glitter to the circular piece and topped it off with a crystal brad.

I used a blender pen and Guava and Wasabi reinker to add colour to the stamp. The background and sentiment are both stamped with craft ink Chocolate Chip and embossed with clear ep.

I have not made a square card before but I really love the look. I will be sharing more projects this week. see ya then.

It's been awhile since i have posted. Almost as long as I have gone without creating anything. It seems the New Year came with all kinds of crazy for me. I don't think I've had a quiet moment yet this year. LOL
I have had the chance to purchase a few new toys (claps hands) I have some new cuttlebug embossing folders and some new Stampin' Up! sets. I am hoping to put them to good use.
I made this card for a friends birthday.......it's late but it's the thought that counts, right?
I used regal rose and rose red cardstock. Ran it through the cuttlebug, I love these new folders.
The image is from the new occasions mini. The set is called Just Celebrate. I coloured the image using markers, I used crystal effects to make the plate shiney and added glitter to the icing using a quickie glue pen. The ribbon is new too!!! It's a pretty chocolate twill, with a bit of sheen. Very nice.
I will try to be more regular with my posting, hopefully I will get more stamp time. I can dream !

Another VSN goodie!!! It really was lots of fun. I mean I got to go out and buy chocolate so I could make it a pretty wrapper. It was pretty , poor little thing got devoured before it really had a chance to shine. :) The papers are shimmer papers by Bo Bunny, extremely pretty! I used the new SU! rub on's. Have you heard I think they a AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Plus a little touch of bling.

I love to alter composistion books, so this challenge was way fun.........until my DD told me that it was her's. LOL So I let her pick the papers and she let me alter it. Life is good.

I used the beautiful Bo Bunny papers for this too. I added paper to the chipboard and then added a little bit of glitter to that. Charlotte loved how it turned out. I thought it was cute too!

A few more VSN goodies to look at.

I have wanted to try these cards for such a long time. But I thought they would be to hard to do, not when you have great instructions. So Ta DA here is my finished criss cross card. I can't say how much I LOVE the new Rub on's from Stampin'Up!

This is new paper from the S/S Collection, it's called Bali Breeze. The new Rub On's called Eastern Expressions (yummy!) These items co ordinate with A beautiful thing stamp set.

These cards are super fun and easy to do, I plan to make more.

For this challenge you needed to use black card stock for your main images and only black accessories. For this card, I stamped the back ground (print pattern) with versa mark and then brushed pearl ex. A soft cloth wiped away the excess powder. The main image of the branch was stamped with versa mark as well, but then I embossed it with ultra thick ep. I then brushed pearlex over it and heated it again. The result is super shiney and raised. I then added 3 black glittered brads. I love doing this technique it turns out beautiful .

I still need to photograph and upload my other projects but there will be more.

Wow, I had so much fun last night. Vsn had some really fun challenges happening. I made all the cards with time to spare. I really love VSN. :)This challenge was to combine chocolate and shoes. So I used the new Chocolate coloured rub ons from SU! They are a sale-a-bration item!!! I love them, I think they are my new favorite product. I made a bad pun but I think it is forgivable.
This was a card to honour friendship. It needed to follow the layout provided. I really like how it turned out. Again I used a new Sale-a-bration set, called Friendship Blooms. I also used my quickie glue pen and dazzling diamonds.
I did more than this but I will pace my posting so I can update more this week.

Wow! I had almost forgotten that this weekend is VSN. What is VSN, you ask?
Only the coolest weekend of stamping. Every hour you get a challenge and you have 45 minutes to create a card to match the challenge.
I had forgotten how creative it makes me feel. So far tonight I have done every challenge and I am so happy with my cards. I really needed this mojo infusion.
Want to find out more, or give it a try...........check it out here http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=316570

So check out my blog in the upcoming week to see what I did. :)

Well I am finally finished making the Birth announcements. They turned out cute, I think. But they were an awful lot of work. I couldn't do something simple, i had to do a pocket card. Oh well i think they are cool.

The pocket is made out of brocade blue card stock. I rounded all the edges with a small corner rounder. The cute paper is by cloud 9. The tag is cut from certainly celery paper on my Cricut Expressions machine. Very cool. (and quick) I used my Marvey Scalloped punches for the animals. The stamp set is Wild for You by SU!

Since my DD wanted Elephants and SIL wanted Lions, I had to do two cards.

and finally the tag....both sides. Although one is cuter than the other.
I have so many projects swirling around my head. Hopefully I can do some me stamping soon. Although I did enjoy making these.

I have to share these super cute papers with you. They are by cloud 9, usually I am not really one for Valentines day so don't look at the papers or accessories too much. This paper is so super because it not only is embossed it has glossy colour in areas and has built in sparkles. I mean really what could be better? The coordinating papers are sweet too, lots of hearts and a cool pink plaid. Also very cool but not used in this project are the Bo Bunny Smitten papers, they are patterns on a cream coloured shimmer paper, very pretty.

This was a super cute and easy (quick card) :). I used a base of River Rock card stock that matches these papers really well. Used some velvet ribbon, it is a beautiful deep red . I love the sentiment for Birthday cards, it kinda takes the sting out of getting older. I mounted the sentiment on the pink plaid paper, added a prima with a crystal brad. I'm going to work on getting more quick and easy cards done.

This journal was made from scratch. I cut the cover from thin cardboard and covered it in cloud 9 papers the inside paper is the plaid. (the D is covered in the plaid as well) I used more of the beautiful velvet ribbon. I covered a chipboard D and sanded the edges with the basic grey file set. (A real lifesaver) Added a Prima with a crystal brad and a couple of little gems to the flower centers.

I then used my Bind it All to put it all together. This was my first time using my BIA since I brought it back from my trip to Salt Lake City. I learned a few lessens but I am going to make lots more with it. It really is a cool little machine. I like it so much better my rubicoil.

Now all I need is the Dreamcuts machine. One more thing for my ever growing wish list.

Well, here he is...........Ayden Daniel Alexander the first blessing of 2008. I am now a Grandma and am going from this is so cool, too , this is so scarey. He's adorable if I do say so myself. Ear to ear grin. I can't wait to get some alone time so I can just gaze into those eyes. What is it about babies that is so irristable? They just make you want to eat them up!!!! Oh yes and he has adorable fingers and toes.
I absolutely love the hair........a bright orange glow and so much hair. What a sweetie. It's funny Ayden is celtic for little fire, an appropriate name I think. I have a feeling this little guy is going to be adored!

What a sweet smile, I wonder what he's thinking?

Thanks for indulging me with my newest pride and joy. But I am sure you will be seeing a few scrap pages in the not so distant future. I can't wait. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope that everyone will have a wonderful and creative year. I know that I am hoping for a creative year, building new friendships and playing with new Stampin' Up! product. The new spring summer catty is in!!!!!!!!!!! It is fabulous!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to order. I have my wish list all filled out. LOL

To my stampers Club, give me a call to get yours. I will try to get them out to you quickly. :)

It is with sadness that I start off the New Year, My husbands Mother passed away on Saturday, and today is the funeral. She was holding on to see her new Great Grandchild who apparently is very stubborn and is still in the oven.

I'm going to share this project that I did right before Christmas. My friend wanted a journal, I have made her ones in the past, but this time she wanted something she could remove or add pages.

So I was thinking a binder, I found one that had an insert cover and went to work.

I used Bohemia papers that I got when I was in SLC. They are so pretty and the price was really right. I added some corner flourishes from Fancy pants, cut a T with my Cricut Expressions machine. I then ran the T through my xyron machine and adhered micro beads and coral glitter to it. Super shiny. I finished it off with velvet ribbon, (also run through the xyron machine) and primas with crystal brad centers. I also distressed the papers a little more. I really like how this turned out and plan to make more.

My daughter wants to make a cookbook so we will be doing a cooking theme one, I think that will be fun.

I think these are so cool, for idea books, cookbooks, teen binders. Just makes the boring a little jazzier.

I just love coasters. I just taught a coaster class at a Super Saturday. These are such fun and easy projects. My Cricut Expressions machine really is a huge help. This paper is the cutest, it's by Basic Grey (of course). It's called Figgy Pudding and I had to hoard a whole bunch of it. I am sending this off to my secret sister. But I had to make sure I photographed it first. But I think I will make another one. (for me of course)
I used some pretty wide ribbon, that I got from my ribbon pusher, Texas Jody Lynn. She does awesome ribbon shares and I got this hand delivered when I met her in SLC a little while back.
I love to hoard my ribbon but it made this extra special.
Click on the picture to see it supersized, for detail.

I think many are wondering if I have forgotten how to stamp? I was kind of wondering myself, but I can and have been stamping. I'll prove it.

I was really happy with how this turned out. I wanted to do a pink and brown card. This one opens to show that the sentiment is on the inside of the card.

I had some problems with cards because everytime I picked a colour scheme, I didn't have enough paper to complete the cards. When did my paper stash get so low? Anyway, i'll make due with what i have.

I need to get my cards finished and in the mail. Among other things, why , oh why do I leave this all to the end?

I really like this card and I am sorry that this set is retiring. It is so cute! Oh well I can still enjoy it. I sewed on this card too. I guess it saves some money on adhesives. This gives you a little peek into what I have been doing. Since I haven't been posting on my blog as much as I like. But I hope to have more to post tomorrow.......I am off to my craft room.

I had to share this....................remember back to the abused cat I rescued that had 6 kittens.

Remember when I said I wasn't keeping any of them. Remember when my friend Jen mocked me saying I'd keep them all. LOL Well, I didn't keep them all.........just 4 of them Moo, Mojo, Floyd and Sweet Pea. Well they seem to love the tree as much as I do, for they sleep in it, jump around in it, and chew on all my pretty girlie ornaments. GRRRRRRRR. Any way I did catch a cute picture of Moo in my tree.

He doesn't look like a shoe nor is he dainty but he kind of looks cute in there.

It's 17 days til Christmas. I just love this time of year. I have had my trees up for awhile now.....since November but I really like to enjoy them. I still have shopping and baking to do , but for the most part I am relaxed. (Sure!)

I love my trees and I thought I would share them with you. I just am not thinking about the time it takes to put everything away.

This tree is in my dining room. The ceilings are 10 ft, so the tree is a 9 foot tree. I have a matching tree in the family room. I love the giant poinsettias I picked up. It's a very serene tree. I have a bunch of butterflies on it. I chose butterflies as a symbol of my recovery from Breast Cancer. So now that my Oncologist has given me the all clear, I love my butterflies even more.

This is a closer view and it is clear that this is a girlie tree. I'm glad my DH is so easy going. But he says he love how much i enjoy the trees. I think he's just glad I'm not buying any more ornaments. Yeah, that's what he thinks. :)