Do You Run Faster in New Shoes???

Well... do you???? My daughter thinks she ALWAYS runs faster when she has on new shoes! Even if they aren't tennis shoes... she runs faster!!! AND... I always have to watch her run up an down whatever store we are at when she tries them on... "see how much faster I am?"! Well thank goodness my cousin didn't have to depend on that!!! Today I am thrilled to post my first card featuring Melanie Muenchinger's new "Sport Accessories" set!! I was truly speechless when Melanie asked ME... to Guest Design for her this month (well... for about 30 minutes.. then I had to scream and tell ALL my family!). LOL I really really REALLY like this set!! It goes so well with so many of Melanie's sets... Just so Sporty, Tee Talk, Little Tees and... as you'll see later... a few others you might not think to use it with! It is a WONDERFUL set for masculine cards and definitely for those jocks in your life (man or woman)!! I made this card as a graduation card.. believe it or not! My cousin who just graduated with my niece last week was HUGE into track and even won a couple scholarships in track. I thought the sneakers were perfect for his card along with the gold stars which I used my Gold Sparkle card stock from the Paper Temptress. My card base was made using Gina K's Pure Luxury Heavy Base Weight Black Onyx... perfect. Remember the days of Converse high tops?? These just look so cheery no matter what color you use with them. The sneakers were all colors with Copic markers after I stamped them on Gina K's Pure Luxury Layering Weight card stock. Don't forget to head on over to Melanie's Blog and see what card she is featuring today. You might know who made it... *wink*. Have a great day and walk slow... take it all in... no running!!

Don't be Scared!

I have a new "friend"... my little fishy from Gina K Design's new StampTV kit! You have to go see ALL the cool new stamps in this set!! I want to order them again, I love them so much!!! LOL Ok... well... maybe I won't. But I have to say... the highlight of some of my days is when that big red/white and blue box comes in the mail from Gina K! I know all the goodies she puts in them (of course... I ordered them!) and that INCLUDES those wonderful M&M's that Jessica so carefully adds inside (she's my daughter's "BEST friend"... so she told my son... LOL). I couldn't wait to get my hands on this little fishy. He's got the most adorable look on his face. I think he's afraid... or even pouting? LOL Well... the seahorse was just as cool so I had to make it look like a couple of them were chasing my new bud.. but... don't worry, I was there to tell him to "relax"... nuttin's gonna happen when I'm around. Hee Hee I used my Momento Dew Drop pads to ink up the seahorse.. they are just perfect for using the tiny tip to get ink in small areas and when you don't want a particular color everywhere on the stamp. I also used my Martha Stewart punch to act as "coral" at the bottom. I love that punch, it just looks great this way, with flowers AND with wreaths and such as pine. Have a great day today and remember look for me tomorrow on Melanie's Blog! She will share one of the cards I've done with her new "Sporty Accessories" stamp set.

It's a Game!

Today I am playing the "fake your way thru it" game. *wink* Honestly, I am still NOT resisting those stamps from Melanie's new set, "Sporty Accessories", sooo.... I've decided to share a game with you. Yep.. a game. One I made using a single ceramic tile. I love the tumbled tiles that we all have seen Gina K stamping on her StampTV video but... I decided to go one step further one day when I was traveling thru Lowes. I wanted to use those smooth, shiney tiles for something. So I grabbed a few and here's where it went. I believe I saw this on Splitcoast Stampers once and sadly when I was making mine... I didn't have any of those great Copic markers. I grabbed my Stazon and my Sharpies and went at it. My kids simply LOVE this little set and I found that if you are lucky enough to have one of those wonderful tins that have a hinge on it in your possession, this works perfectly for traveling. The markers were simply those flat "pebbles" you can grab at Michaels. I used a punch that fit perfectly for the stars/dots I stamped and simply glued them to the bottom of each pebble using Crystal Lacquer. Do we ever get tired of Tic-Tac-Toe???? I mean seriously... it's like one of the first games I think we learn and yet... I'm 48 and still will sit down to share a game with them!!(Like I'm gonna lose 'cause they're my kids.. HA!) Hee Hee Mom's tough but hey... it gives them character, right?? I think... or it will give them something... probably a reason to sing during a crying spell things like.. "Oh lord.. I don't like her... I hope she gets hit by a truck!" Wahhhh Wahhhh... LOL Naww my kids LOVE me to pieces!! Silly kids! LOL

My Buddy's Floor Door!

Good Monday morning everyone! It is Monday, right??? I feel so tired and wore out already and all because of one trip the clinic today to have my daughter's cast removed! Yeah her! Welllll... not really.... she whined and moaned as we left. Seems she wasn't careful enough in NOT putting pressure on her broken arm... even in the cast... so her crack has become more of a splinter. How do I describe it... something like... a mudslide. Instead of just being cracked across, it's shifted and slid down a bit. *big sigh* So, seems she has a brace to wear for two weeks. THEN... if she didn't put any weight of any kind on it and it is healing better, she can remove the brace. BUT... if not... they will put her in a cast again. UGH! Thus the whining and moaning and "ohhhhh mom.... this itches!!" all the way to school. I get to work and whoa doggy... the boss is fuming again... over trivial things "I" can't do a thing about... mostly insurance increases, and of course, anything he can think to yell about... the President is always a good target for him. LOL Aye yi yi!! So I'm ready for a nap. *smile* But first... how about a card? This one isn't one I felt worthy of sharing when I made it.. but I've been spending most of my time designing cards for Melanie with her new "Sporty Accessories" set.. hee hee. So, I figured... might as well let you see my bad and my good since I don't have much else to share and I'm saving Melanie's stuff ... until she's ready, of course. LOL I made this using Gina K's wood graining technique and decided to make a "door" out of it for a card I was making for a friend. She and her husband LOVE old cabin, country, wildlife things and though it IS a floor pattern, I knew she'd love it as a door... 'cause... well... that's "just the way she rolls"! LOL I stamped the wreath from Gina K's "Wreath of Wishes" and used a few gold brads to act as a door handle and a wreath holder. This card congratulated her on "opening new doors" on her way to a better job and a happier life since her last job was so draining on her. I'm glad she's found something she loves and finally LET herself move on to better things. She is a much happier person now and honestly... I am TOO... she's my friend and when she's happy, so am I! *grin* I will have to try this technique again to "better" myself with it. But for now... it made her smile. Have a great day! Keep watching for those new "Sporty Accessories" cards coming soon... "to a blog spot near you"! Hee Hee

Fun & Happy News!!!

Any of you who read my blog regularly know how much I LOVE Melanie Muenchinger's stamps. She is a wonderful artist and illustrator!! It has been the hardest thing I've had to do in quite some time... but about two weeks ago Melanie wrote me and asked if she could send me her new "Sporty Accessories" stamp set and if I would be her Guest Designer for the next month... and, of course, I couldn't let anyone know until Gina K's Release Party! My first thought was "Ha! ME?? a Guest Designer??? No way!!!" After about 30 minutes of sitting at my desk holding my hand over my mouth I finally shouted..."YESSSS!!!!!" (Fortunately I was alone at work... LOL) I am so honored to be working with Melanie to show you what I come up with using her set. She is always so supportive and encouraging. I MUST tell you how I "met" Melanie... as it were... online. I surfed over to Splitcoast Stampers for one reason or another... and was looking through a link and Melanie's avatar caught my eye. Well... her avatar happened to be a picture of her... smiling... with red lipstick on. You ever see someone and just think... "WOW, what an awesome smile?" Well...that's what happened. I had come to the conclusion one day last summer while on small 3-4 day trips with my kids (dad couldn't go as he had started a new job and didn't have vacation time yet), that when I saw someone I felt deserved a compliment I was going to give it to them. So... I did. I sent Melanie a small private message stating I had seen her leave a comment on a link and couldn't help but notice she had a beautiful smile! Now don't get me wrong... it felt kinda weird doing it since I didn't know her at all!! But... when she replied back with a sweet thank you... I knew I had done the right thing. THEN.... I decided to look through her Gallery!! Ooooops... NOW what have I gotten myself into??? LOL Honestly... Melanie truly inspired me to make my cards better than I ever could have thought they might be. I followed her blog and I can't tell you how much inspiration she has given me. I've even actually drawn a few things in myself on my cards and eeeeek where did THAT come from??? I'm NOT an artist by any means, but Melanie can make you use what you have and try things you thought you'd never imagine yourself trying. I hope I can live up to her keen eye and I do her stamps justice. But mostly, I am HONORED she gave ME a chance. Thanks Melanie!!!

Pretty in Pink

Last night I wanted to make a card that was VERY special for my niece who just graduated from High School and is on her way to the KC Art University (or whatever it is... LOL). Her graduation party is tomorrow night and I had decided that I wanted to make her card in pink since it IS her favorite color. I initially thought I'd do her school colors (maroon and gold) but... she's such a cute little thing and pink just makes her, ya know? Again... I had originally thought I'd go with a contemporary sort of graduation card.. stamps of caps and gowns and diploma's, etc. And, once again, it just didn't feel right with her. So... in thinking if over I decided NO one can have too many delicate, soft things in their lives, right? Especially girls!!! Hee Hee I have to give a shout out to Selma Stevenson who got me started with all this flower coloring AND... honestly... Selma GAVE me the white dotted Swiss background paper as a "thank you" for helping her with her blog! Isn't that sweet??? She actually went to BUY me the embossing folder but they were sold out at her location so she did a bunch up in white and mailed them to me to fill in until I got my folder... awwwwww, she's just a sweetheart! So, even though this card is for my niece... I'm dedicating it to Selma... a GREAT person to learn how to work with flower stamps from! My little butterfly (don't miss it... it's almost unnoticeable)was punched from vellum and I just added a few streaks here and there with my Stardust Pure Glitter Pen from Gina K Designs. I LOVE this pen... I can't believe how nicely it puts just a touch of shimmer on cards. You know those places where glitter is just to much. It wasn't long ago I started even considering "zuuuzhing" (hee hee - stole that from the Fab Five) up the inside of my cards and I can say I rarely do a card now without making the inside pretty as well. Again.. a big shout out to Jessica Fick for giving me the idea and inspiration! But this time... I decided to do BOTH sides of my card. Mostly... I wanted to stamp a light verse that I felt was so appropriate a quote for a graduate. But... I didn't want her to miss it either... so I bordered it with some pink gingham. I hope she likes it. It's gonna be a HUGE party tomorrow night... live band and all the Mexican food you can eat!!! Woohoo! After Gina's Release Party tonight, and then the graduation party tomorrow night... I MAY very well need the WHOLE weekend to recuperate! LOL See you all tonight, I'm sure!! Be ready to shop!