Trick or Treat?

Here's my little group of monsters :) Actually, a "devilish diva", a hubby (yikes!), and a vampire!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

By the Seashore...sneak peek day 3!

It's already day 3 of the sneak peeks of the new releases from My Favorite Things. This card is made with the By the Seashore set; check out the little seagull, hat, and cheery greeting :) Kim from MFT is hosting a release party tonight over at the MFT forum on splitcoast - so head over and say hi! I hear there are going to be some goodies up for grabs!

Nattie and Jamie were so excited to take their Halloween costumes to school today; the parade at school was this afternoon, then they were having classroom parties. They're coming home on the bus and then trick-or-treating tonight. I'm not sure how much of their costumes will be visible, though - it's going to be about 26 degrees when they're outside! Brrrrr!

Also, jump over to Katie's blog! Katie is a fellow DT member for The Cat's Pajamas and is offering some blog candy to celebrate reaching 20,000 hits on her blog! Tell her I sent you :) And good luck with the blog candy!

Sneak peeks - Day 2!

This set is going to be very popular! It's called "Build a Bouquet" and will be released November 1st by My Favorite Things. All the images in the set are solid - there are 2 shapes of flowers in varying sizes - you can see on the card on the left that I stamped and cut them out, then layered them for extra effect - it's even more pretty IRL :) Not only does the set include the petal shapes, but there are stems and leaves too. A really versatile set for all you cardmakers - and scrapbookers!

The "Hello" and "One in a Million" sentiments are part of another new set being released Wednesday - "Essential Sentiments", with all the greetings you could need in one set. And I hear that the size of the greetings all work with the Word Window Punch made by Stampin' Up!

I have my next school class starting Tuesday - that break between classes goes by waaaay too quickly! This one is called "Ethics in Criminal Justice" - so I'm sure there will be some interesting class discussions taking place. Have a great Tuesday everyone! Thanks for stopping by :)

Spoooooooky Sprinkle!

Here's a Halloween card made from a sketch that Alma gave us DT members over at The Cat's Pajamas. This one is made using stamps from the Fall/Halloween line: Bat Tree, Ghostly Poochie, Mummy Sprinkle, and Happy Haunting. I strayed a little from my usual style and made this one quite "rough", but I think it works for the Halloween theme! Thanks for stopping by :) I'm off to do homework duty now. Have a great night!

Sneak peek :)

Here you go! The first of 3 days of sneak peeks of new stamps coming from My Favorite Things on November 1st. This card is made with the set called "By the Seashore" - how cute are these images? On this one I used patterned paper from Cloud 9. The "sand" is sandpaper :)

Stop by again tomorrow for a peek at a card from another new set! Have a fantastic Monday!

It's almost Halloween....

and my kids are counting the days! Jamie didn't want to dress up last year, but this year he's really into it - blame it on the peer pressure from his friends at kindergarten :) He's going to be a vampire, and Nattie will be a "devilish diva"....should be fun!!

Last night my new friend Sue and her hubby and daughter came up for dinner; Iain grilled some steaks and Sue brought dessert - a good time was had by all! Then we had a little session of "The Jamie Show" as he became more comfortable with them :)

Today's card is a My Favorite Things card....because tomorrow will start 3 days of sneak peeks of the new sets being released November 1st...woo hoo!! The set used here is called Fright Night!

Oh, and a little bird told me that Alma at The Cat's Pajamas Rubber Stamps is working busily on her Spring line...you can get a hint about the theme on her blog :)

Tagged!!

I've been tagged by Lynn, Colleen, and Darcey:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself (on your blog, we all want to know them).
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

Sue - Living Life in Colorful Colorado
Lisa - Flatfish Paper Arts
Ana - Inkastamp
Linda - Handmade by Linda
Sabrina - Grazing in the Meadow of Creativity
Alma - Dancing in Pajamas
Karrie - Burnin' Rubber
Melissa - Scrap it, Stamp it, Share it

4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Here goes...

1. I do not like to mix hot and cold dessert foods in the same bowl (e.g. ice cream and warm apple pie) - it just grosses me out! They have to be in separate bowls :)
2. I have tons of freckles and have had them since I was a kid.
3. Underneath my hair dye, I'm about 75% gray.
4. One of my pet peeves is when people are late and don't bother to call to say they're going to be late....grrr....
5. I have great memories of running around in the mud and freezing rain playing field hockey at school!
6. I wish there were more hours in the day so that I could read more! My "to read" collection is getting out of control! :)
7. I'm a strong believer in good manners. I make sure our kids always say "please", "thank you" and "you're welcome" - and thank you notes are an absolute must!

Boho Blossoms scrapbook page and a blog challenge question!

The Boho Blossoms set from My Favorite Things is definitely one of my favorite things :) Such a versatile set - and perfect for my girlie pages with photos of Nattie! All the stamps on this page are from that set: the little ones were used on the background paper and borders and of course those awesome big flowers pop right off the page!

I was busy today, working on some DT cards for the latest release of stamps from MFT. There will be 3 new sets introduced November 1st, so be sure and stop by here on Oct. 29th for the beginning of 3 days of sneak peeks!

It was a beautiful day here in Conifer; chilly in the morning, and bright and sunny in the afternoon. Tonight I took Nattie to her piano lesson - which is a nice half-hour of quiet for me while she's in working with her teacher. I usually take a magazine along and make the most of the peace and quiet :)

One of the blog questions from 2 peas this week was: "What were you doing 10 years ago around this time? What were you doing 5 years ago around this time? What are you doing right now? What do you think you will be doing in the future?" - what a great question! Let's see - 10 years ago we had just moved from Boston to northern CA with Nattie (1 year old!). We were living in an apartment, saving hard to buy our first home in the U.S. Five years ago we had just moved (again!) to Murrieta, CA - Jamie was just a few months old and Nattie was starting elementary school. We were again living in an apartment, waiting for our house to be completed!

Right now we're here in Conifer, CO and have been here for exactly 1 year! We LOVE it up here and I don't see us moving in the near future (we've had enough of that for a loooong time!). As for the future, who knows? The only things I truly hope for are the health and happiness of my family and friends...the rest will fall into place and work itself out :)

Waterfall holiday card :)

This card is made with a technique called "waterfall" which I learned from a great lady called Karin at a recent crop. I used holiday stamps from The Cat's Pajamas, which fit perfectly in the 2" squares. When you pull the ribbon at the bottom, the squares flip up to reveal the ones underneath. Way cool!

Walkin' the dog....

Just a quick post this morning before I head out to help in Jamie's kindergarten class. I love this image from My Favorite Things - check out the little party hats on the dogs! The set is called "Let's Go For A Walk". I'll be sending this card to my friend Leigh Anne who just got a puppy :)

Have a fantastic Tuesday! Back later :)

Happy Monday :)

I hope everyone had a great weekend! As you'll see from the post below, my daughter turned 11 yesterday so we had quite a busy weekend. On Saturday she wanted to go out for doughnuts for breakfast, so we drove down to Lamar's in Littleton - doughnuts from there and coffee/tea from Starbucks next door made for a pretty good breakfast!

Today's card is made with the "You Take The Cake" set from My Favorite Things. Have a wonderful Monday!

Happy 11th Birthday, Nattie!

Wow! My oldest is 11 today :) I can't believe it! The photo on the left was taken when she was 3, and the photo on the right was taken this morning...

We just got back from her birthday party at "Fat City" in Littleton. Unfortunately the snow was really heavy this morning, and only 5 of the 10 guests were able to make it - but the girls had a blast! They played laser tag, video games, went on the bumper cars and the Twister ride...and were worn out by the end of the party :) The best kind of fun!

Happy Birthday Sweet Pea! :)

Friday :)

TGIF! I'm sitting here catching up on some emails, just generally hanging out - in my jammies! It's very cold outside, the kids are at school and I'm just gonna take it easy today. I'm not feeling 100%; I had planned to go and meet Sue and her daughter today but decided to stay home instead - we have a busy weekend coming up since Nattie will be 11 on Sunday! How did that happen?? Can anyone explain where the years went??

Today's cards are made with the "Bundles of Bouquets" set from My Favorite Things; patterned paper is by Sassafrass Lass. I love the colors on this paper!

Have a fantastic Friday, everyone!

Playing with a sketch :)

Alma from The Cat's Pajamas gave us DT members a sketch to play with a couple of weeks ago. Usually I just do my own thing, so it was fun to challenge myself to work with the design provided. Here are the 2 cards I came up with. The patterned paper on the first card is the "Fruitcake" collection from Basic Grey; on the second card the paper is from Arctic Frog. The ribbon on the first card and the poinsettia on the second card are both by Making Memories.

Have a great evening! We have one of Iain's colleagues coming over for dinner so I'm running out the door now to pick up dessert (nope, I'm not cooking!).

The Amazing Return of Pickle! (UPDATE ADDED)

UPDATE (Wednesday evening): The vet was amazed at how well Pickle is doing after being gone for 4 weeks! His weight dropped by about 1/3 to 9.5lbs, but that's something we can fix pretty easily :) He got a few shots and was also dewormed (since we don't know what, if anything, he was finding to eat out there). The poor little guy is worn out...we're letting him have lots of rest, food, and hugs which should be the perfect prescription to get his strength back up again. And thank you everyone for your good wishes! They mean a lot to me :)

(note: this is an old picture of Pickle - the picture of health! We'll get there soon!)

After a 4-week adventure doing who-knows-what, our cat Pickle came home tonight!! Iain, Nattie and I were watching TV and he showed up meowing at the back door! Iain took Tasha off to her crate and I went outside and brought him in; he is ever so skinny, and extremely hungry, but other than that he seems OK! We are all in shock - especially given the wildlife around here and the below-freezing temperatures we've been having at night!

Aspen and Bailey (the kittens) have a checkup at the vet's tomorrow so I'll take Pickle along too and have him checked over. I'm off to give him another hug because I can't quite believe yet that he's home.....

Special eBay auction: set of Breast Cancer Awareness cards!

As we know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Kim, the owner of My Favorite Things Rubber stamps has had a great idea - there is a fantastic set of cards up for auction at eBay - and 100% of the proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity. So, here are the details:

• set of 18 cards and envelopes hand-created by the fabulous Design Team for My Favorite Things Rubber Stamps!


• beautifully detailed and embellished cards using the "Think Pink" set


• help a worthy cause fighting a disease that has touched many, many lives

So, what are you waiting for??? Head over to eBay and look right here! HAPPY BIDDING!

Waking up to a Winter Wonderland?

It started last night as hail....and this morning we woke up to snow! About 4" of the white stuff so far! The last time we had snow up here was May, so we've had a total of 4 months snow-free :)

When will my scrap room look like this again???

Probably not in a long, long time....I'm pooped!! But I do feel good - I threw out soooo much stuff, and also put aside some goodies to give to Jamie's kindergarten teacher, and a bag for Sue when I see her for lunch tomorrow! Take a good look at this room because it'll probably be months before it's this clean again...

Kitten update :)

Here are Aspen and Bailey at 3 months old! They have grown a lot just in the few weeks since we got them...

Today my plan is to declutter my scrap room!! Wish me luck - it's bad up there.... :)

Cool Yule!! And a cool fire truck! And a blog tag :)

Ah, I just LOVE the Winter line from The Cat's Pajamas - the images are so versatile! And the quality is outstanding :) This little penguin (from the Polar Holiday set) seems to be very popular! How can anyone resist? :) The patterned paper on the left side of the card is by American Crafts - it's their "Play" collection.


I'm finishing up a Juvenile Justice class at school, and will get a break for the second half of October! Yeah! This one has had lots of assignments so it is a welcome break.


I was helping out in Jamie's class this morning. It's Fire Prevention Week and some firefighters came from the Evergreen Fire/Rescue Department to talk to the kids. They got to check out the firefighter's uniform, and got to hear him breathing using his oxygen tank. Next we went outside and the class all took turns sitting inside the fire truck (which looked really cool!), and for the big finale they all got a turn with the hose! The looks on the kids' faces were priceless! The EFD made a serious topic lots of fun for these little kids - and that's the best way for them to learn :)

And...I've been tagged by Sabrina!! Here goes :)
Four jobs I've had in my life: grocery store clerk, temp admin assistant, HR Administrator, DT member :)
Four movies I would watch over and over: Ocean's anything, The Thomas Crown Affair, Grease, Pulp Fiction
Four places I have lived: Edinburgh, Scotland; San Diego, CA; Boston, MA; Orlando, FL
Four TV shows I love to watch: Amazing Race, Survivor, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dancing with the Stars :)
Four places I have been on vacation: Paris, France; Lake Wolfgang, Austria; Trier, Germany; Maui, HI
Four websites I visit often: Two Peas in a Bucket, A Million Little Things, The Weather Channel, MSN
Four of my favorite foods: Steak & Onion crisps (potato chips) - it's a British delicacy!; roast chicken; chicken tikka masala; a good cheeseburger!
Four places I would rather be now: in South America with Iain; Barnes & Noble; a spa; at my graduation ceremony!
Four friends I think will respond: Sue, Alma, Lynn, and Heather. Come on, ladies, let's see your answers!

Snow?!

Yup, we had our first snow of this season today! Nothing too significant, but when I was on my way back up the hill from running errands this afternoon the temperature was dropping pretty quickly; by the time I got home it was 40 degrees and the flakes were coming down. This was the first time Tasha had seen snow and she was trying to catch the snowflakes :)

I also finished the invitations for Nattie's birthday party which is later this month; I used the You Take The Cake set from My Favorite Things for the presents, and the "It's A Party!" sentiment stamp is from The Cat's Pajamas. Patterned paper is the "Carnival" line by Crate Paper. I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

Where is Fall???

It's right here!! LOL! There was a thread going on Two Peas this morning with people wondering where Fall is....so I let them know it's right here in Conifer! This is our first Fall here, and the aspen are so bright! One of the best scenes is when I'm driving down the hill and the patches of aspen are dotted among all the evergreen trees; it is just soooooo beautiful! I don't think I'll ever get used to it; it's just breathtaking!!

Last night was the finale of Top Chef; for a while Iain and I thought that Dale might have squeaked through and won, but no such luck! Bummer!

I'm heading to the kids' school for the rest of the afternoon; I help out with reading groups in Nattie's class on Thursdays. It's a lot of fun watching the kids interacting. Have a great evening! Back tomorrow with a card :)

And the final winner is....

Elaine! Elaine, CONGRATULATIONS!! I will leave a message on your blog with my information for you.

Thank you everyone for playing along this week during the My Favorite Things release! It was so much fun!! Please stop by often and say hello again :)

Have a great day!

And the winner of the BOHO BLOSSOMS set is...

Kimmie!!! Congrats Kimmie! I will head over to your blog and let you know you won the goodies! Yahoo!!! You will looooooove this set :) And there's just one catch: after you've made your first creation with the set, you need to come and let us see what you came up with! Enjoy!

Everyone, check back in tomorrow night for the (sniff...sniff...) final BLOG CANDY drawing! (well, the final one for this release, anyway!)

Have a fabulous night all!!

Breast Cancer Awareness Stamps - Think Pink!

Well, here we are! It is October 1st and all the new reveals are up at My Favorite Things. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 50% of the proceeds of this set will go towards breast cancer initiatives - and at just $9, the price can't be beat! Also, don't forget the 5 sets for $65 deal that Kim is offering over there too!

Oh, alrighty then, I'll put a set of these up for grabs too.....just leave me a comment telling me about a special friend in your life!

Everyone who comments before 10pm MST Tuesday will be eligible! GOOD LUCK!

And don't forget to turn your blog Pink for October to raise awareness of Breast Cancer. There are some buttons to download right here.

ScrapPink Crop :)

Sue and I had a great time at the ScrapPink Crop held by Scrapbook Destination. We arrived nice and early on Saturday, got settled at our tables and just scrapped/made cards for the rest of the day! Of course we stopped for regular snack breaks and also dinner at the hotel. Then we decided to follow our dinner with a couple of Mai Tai's :)

I got lots of pages done; not embellished or journaled yet but those pieces don't take as long. After I ran out of photos to scrap (!) I moved on to cardmaking and actually worked on the stamples for My Favorite Things' new release on Monday! We stayed over in the hotel and were giggling for white a while after the lights went out. We were like a couple of kids and have discovered more about each other this weekend. I am very lucky to have found Sue!

We also met some great ladies at the crop (hi, Karin! Hi Teresa!); they were all so friendly and a lot of fun to chat with while scrapping. That's one of the great things about this hobby; it makes it easier to bring women together :) Karen showed me an awesome folding technique called a "Waterfall" which I will play around with this week and post some samples - thank you again for the mini-tutorial, Karin!) I hope to scrap soon with my new friends!

Iain and the kids spent the weekend at home - trying to get Jamie to ride his bike without training wheels! I heard he did a fabulous job!

OK, this time I'm going to bed! Ha!

We have a winner!

The winner of Set 3 (Cafe) is.......Michelle!! Woo hoo!! CONGRATULATIONS MICHELLE!! Wow, I love this! What fun!

And for everyone else, of course the drawing for Set 4 (Boho Blossoms) will be done after 10pm MST on Monday night, so you still have plenty of time to leave comments in the post below and to be in for a chance to WIN! The new stamps are now all available at My Favorite Things :)

I will post samples using the final set tomorrow. Wondering what the theme of this final set is? Here's a hint: Monday Oct. 1st is the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

See you in the morning! And congrats again Michelle!