A long time coming

Well, I finally did it - I went to the gym!  I have been putting it off for way too long and my hubby just got us a really great deal at a good gym.  So...we dropped Noah at my parents' house and the three of us headed over to Body Zone.  Zach had his swimming lesson, I went to a Body Flow class (a mix between yoga & pilates) and my hubby swam.  I know this - I will be sore tomorrow!  By the time we picked up Noah, got home & in pj's and finally the boys to bed it is 10 o'clock!  Needless to say, I did not make anything today!  I pulled this picture out of my stash from my stamping marathon during the blizzard.

I used a rectangular chipboard coaster and cut the heart out using the Movers and Shapers die for the Big Shot.  The stamp is from the Sale-A-Bration set Whimsical Words and the paper is Sending Love DP (I do love that paper!).  I added a little hanger using Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon.  I made this for my hair stylist after rescheduling appointments twice!  I thought it would be something cute for her to hang in her shop.

Another week begins

Another week begins; another Monday down.  I am still getting over this cold and had a very long day.  I have been playing around with lots of different things lately - I am trying to come up with some really cute kid's cards. Mainly, I have been experimenting with punch art but most of the ideas require punches that I don't have yet.  I have come up with a few and I hope to post them later this week.

For now, I will share a picture from this weekend.  My twin nieces celebrated their 1st Birthdays this weekend and the entire family had a party.  My husband's uncle thought it would be fun to give my kids candy bracelets (fun for him & the kids; not so much for me).  It took Noah (my 2-year-old) a while to figure it out.  Zachary, the 4-year-old, got a shot of him just as he got the knack of it.

Then he decided to try on one of the birthday tiaras...

A Cold Kicked My Butt

This cold I have has really kicked my butt!  I came home from work yesterday, got into my pajamas and relaxed (and/or slept) until 11 am this morning!  Then my husband and I took the boys to my twin nieces' birthday party - they just turned 1.  Luckily, my in-laws took the kids so I was able to relax on the sofa all night.

I have been invited to participate in a Quarter Auction in a few weeks and I have been working on my items to auction off and projects that I want to display.  So...I have been surfing the internet for the last 2 hours.  Now, when I have a little more energy I have a ton of projects to work on!

Since I didn't make anything today, I thought I would post the Valentine's I made for my 4-year-old to give to his classmates at school.  

I used scraps of Sending Love DP I had left over from my Valentine's Day class for the background of the bag topper and to punch hearts.  I also have been saving bottle caps for the last 6 months or so; I flattened them in my Big Shot and adhered hearts to them.  A cute and inexpensive way to embellish!

And now a little touch of Laryngitis

Well, as of 8th period today I have officially lost my voice.  I don't feel too bad but I can't talk.  However, I am really tired from straining to talk for the 3 classes I taught today.  I am really trying to post everyday, so I at least have a quick card.

This is a very simple layout but I added a twist.  I saw a tutorial for a Curly Label Punch Border and I had to try it.  Isn't it cute?!  I also used the new Chocolate Bunny stamp from the Occasions Mini - I clear embossed it on Soft Suede, cut it out and popped it out with a Dimensional.  I love Soft Suede - it is the new brown!  If you like the border, you can see the tutorial on Ilina Crouse's blog at:  http://ilinacrouse.blogspot.com/2010/02/punched-border-using-curly-label-punch.html

A Cure for the Common Cold??

Just a quick post tonight; I have a cold and my throat and head are killing me!  Hopefully I can get some rest tonight!  My hubby and I just joined a new gym and I must go with him tomorrow night during Zach's swimming lesson!

I was playing with my Decor Elements over my long "snow" weekend and came up with this:

I picked up a cute, plain black cosmetic bag at Target, cut out a Rose Red Decor Elements "N" and attached it to the bag.  Quick and easy, but really cute.  I think I might make a zipper pull using shrink plastic, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Back to work...

Well, I went back to work today after a 6-day weekend due to snow and the holiday.  I had so much fun crafting during my mini-vacation that I completely forgot to post!  I made many, many cards (stayed up way too late on too many nights).  So I will share a few each night this week.

While I was preparing for my Valentine's Class, I used the Movers & Shapers die for the first time - I LOVE it!  These are 2 cards I made with the die - one with a fold out and one with out.  I used the Crazy Cool stamp set to emboss the sentiment on Dusty Durango on the above card.  I used the I {Heart} Hearts set to stamp the "friend" heart in Crushed Curry and the card is Melon Mambo.  For both cards, I used the Rich Razzleberry DP pack and the Polka Dot ribbon (I turned it around on the card below).

And, just because I took some really great pictures of my kids during the blizzard, I will share 2 of` them.  The first is of Noah, my 2-year-old; the second is of Zachary, my 4-year-old. ~they both look just like their Daddy! :)

Blog Hopping

I have been doing a lot of blog hopping lately.  Whenever I am in a creative slump, I surf the web and look through magazines and catalogs for new ideas.  Of course, I always seem to find way too many to try!!  Whenever I find a picture I like, I save it to my flash drive and then open them up when I am ready to get down to business.  So tonight, since I finished the cards my Relay for Life team is selling for our current fundraiser and my son's Valentines, I decided to go through the tons of pictures that I have been saving (I knew I would need at least the 16 GB drive!) and subsequently went on a stamping marathon.  I am only going to post one at a time just in case I get into a slump later (I am really trying to post everyday).

This card I CASED directly from the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration Brochure - I really like the color combination.  SU! really has outdone themselves with the products offered during Sale-A-Bration this year - I am loving all of them!  I needed a card for a friend of mine who just retired and "Best Wishes" seemed fitting. 

I have some cool news to share tonight:  last night I was going through my posts and checking out comments when I found that one of my projects was chosen as a Late Night Stampers Blog Find of the day.  Since I am new to blogging and really just starting to grow my business, I was so excited.  Check it out blog at: http://blogfindsoftheday.blogspot.com/2010/01/blog-finds-for-jan-29.html - I am listed under Decor Elements - Love Jar ~THANKS KELLY!  I have added both of your blogs to my Delicious.com account (a social bookmarking site) and I will be joining the group asap!

I must call it a night - we are expecting another snow storm and I believe that high school students are more unruly than elementary children when a storm is brewing!  Tomorrow should be interesting.

A New Home

A friend of mine at work moved into a new house over the weekend, so I thought it the perfect opportunity to use 2 of my Sale-A-Bration products.  SU's Sale-A-Bration is AWESOME this year!  I have gotten everything and all of the stamp sets in the new clear mount.  For this card I used the Good Neighbors stamp set and Welcome Neighbor DP Pad.  I also used one of the new Sending Love brads from the Occassions Mini Catalog to embellish the tag.

Too cute together!  Combining the houses, roofs and trees from the Good Neighbors stamp set was so easy with the clear blocks - I am LOVING the new clear mount stamps!! :)