Garden Whimsey

I love this new set from SU, Garden Whimsey. I also like the new in-colors. This card is done in Groovy Guava, River Rock and a touch of Wild Wasabi.



I bowled a 168 last night. We had our bowling party and everyone had a good time. We bought a 6 foot wedge for the "party" that everyone seemed to enjoy. Looking forward to the fall league.

Paradise By The Dashboard Light...

Ain't no doubt about it, it was a good concert. Paradise by the Dashboard Light alone was worth the price of admission. The concert was packed (almost sold out). We had a lot of fun! Here are a few pictures from the night.





After the concert we played a little Blackjack and a little bit at the slots. All in all a fun night out.

Meatloaf tomorrow...

And I don't mean for dinner. Going with my friend Danette to see Meatloaf in concert. Looking forward to a fun night remembering those great songs from Bat Out of Hell! I'll let you know all about the concert when we return.

Since I am ahead in my swaps, thought I make a halloween card for a Trick or Treat swap I signed up for on SCS. It's not due till 10/1/07 but I had some time and got it done early. I hope you like it.



BTW, we did have our last night in bowing and we came in 2nd place! That was a nice surprise for our first time out as a team (and first time bowling in eons for us all). Next week is our end of the league bowling party. The next league starts in September and we are all signed up!

I Rock!

I always tell my kids I ROCK...now I have proof. I was tagged by Michelle to join the Rocking Girl Bloggers. You can visit Michelle's blog by clicking here

Many thanks to Michelle for helping me get the Rocking Girl Blogger picture online!



I am now suppose to add the Rocking Girl Blogger image to my Blog and tag five more bloggers. I'll tag the following three bloggers to start (I'll think of two more - - hard to find rocking girl girl bloggers that haven't been tagged yet:

Heidi
Sandee
Linda



Thanks Michelle. you Rock!

Which Brady Are You?

You Are Marcia Brady

Confident yet kind. Popular yet down to earth. You're a total dream girl. You've got the total package - no wonder everyone's a little jealous of you.

What Brady Are You?

The year is flying by....

Can you believe I am already working on Halloween swaps? Where did the year go. This is for a 3x3 Trick or Treat Swap I signed up for on SCS. I just love the 3x3 cards.



I saw Hairspray over the weekend. Was a fun movie, both my mom and I enjoyed it!

Today is a rainy day and tonight is the last night of bowling. Will be enjoying a nice pre-bowling dinner with the team (Mines in the Gutter).

More cards to come!

New Stamps, New Colors!

Tonight I broke out some new things. The Garden Whimsey Set from SU and three of the new In-Colors from SU! I am in a swap that for August we have to use everything new and this is what I came up with. I used the New In-Colors (Purely Pomergranate, Wild Wasabi and River Rock and made the following card with matching envelope. PLEASE notice the clear button (one of my new favorite embellishments) with the wild wasadi double stitched ribbon through it. It took me FOREVER to get that thick double stitched ribbon through those buttons. It took so long, I almost gave up....I'm glad I didn't because I like the results.



I made 11 cards (8 for the swap and 3 for a future secret sister). For the three secret sister cards, I made the following card folder and this is what it looks like closed.



Here it is open with the cards on the right side and the coordinating envelopes on the left side.



Aren't they just so cute?!?!

Last night was fun night....GIRLS POKER NIGHT! We played poker at Julies (her husband Mike was the dealer). We played all kinds of Poker games (Texas Hold 'Em, 7 card no-peek, 5 card stud) and we played, my favorite, blackjack.

Kerry went camping this weekend with friends and Meghan is coming home tonight. Going to the movies tomorrow with my mom to see HAIRSPRAY!

Where am I?

I will never get lost again. I purchased a Magellen Maestro GPS for the car. I have used it once so far to get to an unfamiliar office location and it was wonderful. Definately stressfree driving with a nice lady telling to to turn left or turn right or take the next exit. What a great gadget. Also, it's portable so it can be used in any car. The one time i used it, I found it to be very accurate. Looking forward to driving anyplace now with out holding mapquest directions in one hand and the steering wheel in the other.

I made a few gift cards (3x3). I have never made 3x3 cards before but I think I will make some more. They are quick, easy and very cute.



Updates and Upcoming Events:

Our bowling team, "Mines in the Gutter" is still in 2nd place (she says laughing). Next week is our last night of bowling in the summer league.

Rhinestones and Ritas at Julies tomorrow

Book Club next Wednesday (got a start that book)

Meatloaf concert on the 27th (as well as Fair Days)

CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE....

Change of Life! I went to see the play "Menopause, the Musical" today. What a funny, funny show. I suppose you have to have passed a certain age, be a certain age or approaching a certain age to really appreciate the play. It was very funny as you can tell from the laughter from the audience that seemed to be non-stop. At the end, the actors invited everyone up on stage to do a little dance with them. They gave everyone who came up "I've Changed" buttons (of course, I went up). The theatre was small and very intimate. We had great seats and had a really nice time (which included lunch before the show). Many thanks to Kathy for arranging everything (and driving)!

Here is a picture of a few of us with one of the stars of the show. Laura Lee O'Connell played the Iowa Housewife (and was very good).



L-R: Kathy, Diane (me), Laura Lee O'Connell, Robin, Pam and Brenda

No stamping but a fun day none-the-less.

If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I will answer you - I came here TO LIVE OUT LOUD!

Finished Altered Frame

Finished the frame today. I like it. Not bad for my first attempt at altering anything. This was not as difficult as I thought it would be. I had a tough time deciding what to do. I had some alpha chipboard so I punched out a K (for Kerry) and covered it with Designer paper. I also added some prima's. I looked for matching buttons but couldn't find any. I remembered I had some clear buttons that I thought would look good with some turquoise ribbon going through them. They looked good but they were missing something. I had a "lightbulb moment" and glued some designer paper behind the clear buttons and I liked the look. What do you think? I hope Kerry likes it!




Tomorrow I meet up with friends to see Menopause, The Musical. Should be fun! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

BTW, Kim, the winner of my blog candy did contact me. I'll send out her blog candy during the week.

Work in Progress (and my messy desk)

A while back I bought some $1 wood frames at Michaels. Today I decided to try to alter one of them. I picked out some two-sided Designer paper, found a complementary color of paint. I painted the sides of the frame (and the back), cut the paper (decided to use both sides) and mod podged the paper onto the frame. Right now it is drying. Tomorrow I will have to decide what to add to it (prima's, chipboard, etc). Not sure what to add but will sleep on it.



Meanwhile, tonight my friend Julie and I went out to dinner. It's our first dinner out in our plan to have dinner out once every month (for the next twelve months) at a restaurant neither of us has been to before. Tonight was Joey's Seafood Restaurant and we both had 2 lb Lobsters. They were delicious. We have already planned our August dinner for August 17 at Lucia's. Something fun to look forward to. Julie and I have had a lot of fun over the years. Someday I will tell you all the story of the adventures of the pink flamingo's.

I left a comment on Kim's blog that she won blog candy (don't know why I didn't think of that sooner). Anyway, if she responds back this weekend I will send off her prize. If not, I will pick a new winner (really trying to reach the winner)

Swaps are done (through August)!

I am ahead of the game. I finished my cards for the monthly swap I host. I finished July and August Cards and Septembers are halfway done. I am amazing myself with how on top of things I seem to be....lol.

Here is my July Card (looks familiar, right?). I made this style the other day and liked it so I made 10 more! I decided to use it for my July Swap cards.



Here is my August Card - I don't know why I chose a Baby Card to make but I did. I made the letters with my cuttlebug and it was a pain gluing those small letters onto 10 cards. This card evolved. First I stopped at when I had the scallop circle and no letters on the bottom and thought it was missing something. Then I added the white dots around the scallop with my white signo pen (my favorite craft tool) and I liked it much better but still thought it was missing something...that's when I added the BABY letters. I hope I didn't over-do it.




Nothing else new....just work-work-work and work some more. Always looking forward to the weekend.

HI MEGHAN!

Still looking for my blog candy winner.....Kim, if you are out there, please email me.

I've Moved On....

OK, I have the little tea bag holders out of my system. I still like them but I moved on to some more cards. I really like these new creations. I used the same layout and different designer paper and colors. I added some stickles to embellish. I REALLY like stickles. I bought some for my secret sis on SCS and added a few more to my order for myself. I am so glad I did. I just love the stickles.

Here are the three cards I made today. I hope you like them. The first one is my favorite and I will likely make more of these for my monthly swap.








Not a lot new here. Kerry Ann is going to dance everyday, Meghan is back at school (HI MEGHAN!) and Jack is working.

I am looking forward to the play this weekend (Menopause, the Musical). Other than that, nothing really new and exciting.

Still looking for my blog candy winner! Kim, are you out there?

We're # 2 (maybe)!

We bowled the first place team last night. They beat us so we lost all three points. This means they are still in first place and we are either in 2nd or depending how the 3rd place team did, dropped down lower. We'll see next week. Luckily, we didn't join this league expecting to do very well so we are pretty excited (and shocked) to see 2nd place at all. It is a lot of fun (it must be because last week we signed up for the Fall League as well).

I am so enjoying making these little tea bag holders. I don't know what I will do with them all but they are so much fun to make. I haven't changed much from the original design (just changed the paper) but are some views of another tea bag holder.

Here is a front view....



An open view.....



An finally, a side view (see how the brads hold it together).



I am going to see Menopause, the Musical on Sunday (suppose to be very funny).

Still looking for Kim, the blog candy winner. I will pull a new name at the end of the week if Kim doesn't contact me.

A new week!

We had a great weekend. Kerry Ann came home from two weeks of camp. She loved it and is already talking about next year. On Sunday, Kerry and I took my mom to see GYPSY starring Karen Mason. It was a really good show. We all enjoyed it.

I got a nice surprise in the mail from my secret sister over on SCS. She sent me a cute Tea Bag Packet and lucky me, she sent a measurements and materials list. I used her version as a template on how to make it. I liked it so much I made one for my secret sister too.

The one on the left (in perfect plum) is my first attempt at a tea bag packet. The green one on the right is the one that my Secret Sister sent me.




This is the tea bag packet opened



Materials to make the Tea Bag Packet:

Any stamp set (we used Sketch an Event from SU!)
Cardstock 6 3/4 x 3 1/4 (I used Perfect Plum)
Designer Paper 5 x 7
Designer paper 3x3 (2)
Whisper White 1 5/8 x 1 1/4
2 Gold Brads
Ribbon
1/2" circle punch
Sticky Tape
Ink (any color, I used Perfect Plum)

It really just took a few folds. If I get a little more time, I will see if I can add more specific directions in addition to the materials.

Kerry Ann just started three weeks of ballet today. She is also taking three weeks of jazz. Her jazz teacher for the next two weeks is currently on broadway in Curtins!

I am still waiting to hear from the winner of my blog candy. Kim, if you are out there, please contact me.

Tonight is bowling....I will let you know if we moved to the #1 spot (we were in second place last week).

A few days off...

I took a few days off from work. Yesterday, mom and I went to the casino. We didn't have any luck but we had a nice time.

Today, I am cleaning up around the house but also finished two cards for an all ocassion swap due next week . I made two cards...one a baby card and one a birthday card. I used cuttlebug embossing folders, gingham ribbon and the riveting stamp set on both cards.





I am still looking for my blog candy winner. I will give her until the 13th to contact me (in case she is away as it is vacation time and a holiday week). If I don't hear from her by the 13th, I will pick another name.

Kerry comes home from camp tomorrow. I can't wait to see her and hear all about camp. She was in 9 pictures on the camps website during this two week session, so we could see she was having a great time!

Tricentennial Celebration!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGHAN!

We had a wonderful weekend! My niece, Caoilinn, spent the weekend with us. As our little hometown was celebrating it's tri-centennial, there were a lot of fun things to do. We spent the weekend celebrating the tricentennal and Meghan's Birthday. We started off on the town green helping the woman's club put together and ice our annual tradition of a huge cake that we hand out to everyone (for free) while they are listening to music on the green. As usual, during the 4th of July celebration, there were two bands. The first one was an orchestra that played a lot of the old songs and the second was a rock band. Both were great. Caoilinn loved helping with the cake and danced to the music.

We eventually went out to dinner at a great, local Latin restaurant and then on to the carnival. Caoilinn went on every ride (some two & three times) and had a great time. It was fun to see her smile and scream on the rides. Meghan was a great sport and went on many of the rides with Caoilinn. Even though she was terrified of the Ferris Wheel, she put up a brave front and took her cousin on the ride. They both had fun. After the carnival we headed back to the green for the Fireworks. They were great!

The tricentennial ended on Sunday with a great parade! There were over 70 groups marching (from all over the tri-state area) and it went on for a delightful hour and a half. Our little town really put on an impressive weekend.


What a fun weekend.

Here we are icing the cake -



Caoilinn and Meghan on the Ferris Wheel -



The fireworks - ooh aah



Parade pictures -






Meghans birthday was Monday. As usual we started celebrating early. On Friday we went out for pedicures and dinner at 59 Bank. Then on Saturday and Sunday attended all the tricentennial celebrations. On her actual birthday we went to OUTBACK! We love Outback. Of course the waitstaff sang happy birthday to her!

I will be featuring Meghan on my blog soon showing off some of her work. She is a photographer / artist who does some amazing work that I can't wait to share (as soon as she sends me some photo's I can display).

Still missing Kerry Ann who is still away at camp. I pick her up on Saturday. Then on Sunday we are off to see Gypsy at the dinner theater. Another fun weekend in the works!

Hey, our bowling team ("Mines in the Gutter") is in 2nd Place (Yes, I said 2nd). We won all three points on Monday night. Maybe we will be in first place next week...how funny is this!

Still looking for the winner of my blog candy to contact me. I went to her blog but could not find a way to contact her. If you know Kim, can someone please let her know to contact me. Thanks!