Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year, everyone! I wish you a super 2009, filled with health, happiness and all the people you love :) Thank you for your friendship and support throughout this year!

Tote-ally fantastic!

This is a card I made the other day with one of the sets released this month by My Favorite Things. It's a shopping-themed set called "Tote-ally Fantastic" :) This card is a little more detailed than I usually make, but I really enjoyed the change! There's some hand stitching, lots of coloring and lots of cutting!

I'm taking Nattie out shopping this morning; she needs some new sneakers before going back to school next week. Hopefully we'll find some on sale! Have a great Wednesday!

A sad afternoon....

The kindergarten teacher I work with was absent for the last couple of weeks of school before winter break; her mom was very sick and unfortunately passed away on the 18th. Today I went to the funeral service along with another staff member from the school. I was watching the kids who were there and thinking how tough it would be to lose someone right in the middle of the holidays, when that time of year is already so stressful for many people. I came home and gave my kiddos and hubby a big hug...

TCP Tuesday Sketch Challenge

This week Leigh is hosting another awesome sketch challenge! Check out all the details (including the original sketch) on her blog right here :)

For my card, I used the "You Say It's Your Birthday" clear set from TCP. The patterned paper is from the "Chemistry" line by Cosmo Cricket; I really love the colors in this set! I also paper-pieced some parts of the stamped image using the patterned paper. The flowers are from my stash, and the brads are by Doodlebug.

Have a super Tuesday!

Tea Time :)

Hi all! Thank you for all the happy birthday wishes :) I had a super day with DH and the kiddos, and then our neighbors came round in the evening for a few hours for cocktails, appetizers and cake! It was just a fun, fun day! I love birthdays :)

Today's card is the one I made for this week's "Who's That Girl?" challenge that Laura and I are hosting on the My Favorite Things forum on Splitcoast Stampers. I used one of the featured sets for this week, "Hot Stuff", and our additional challenge is to use torn paper somewhere on the card. The patterned paper is the "Sugared" collection by Basic Grey.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday to me :)

Got a busy day planned today...going out for donuts and tea with Iain and the kids, then we're going bowling together :) This evening we're having the neighbors round for an open house, so I'd better go and get started!

Have a great day, everyone!

(Card made with "Bundles of Bouquets" set by MFT. Patterned paper and "t" monogram from Crate Paper)

Just Cards Vol. 12

Last week I got a copy of Just Cards (Volume 12) in the mail; I have 5 cards in there! I believe it is in stores now. My blogging friend Linda is also published in there! It's a great issue :)

Holiday hugs :)

I wanted to wish all my blogging friends a super holiday season :) I hope you're all having a terrific time so far, whatever you're doing!!

Santa was very kind to us this year; he brought the kids (and Iain and me) a Wii, so we spent some time yesterday bowling and playing mini golf :) We all got some awesome treats and are enjoying spending some relaxing days together. Our Christmas Day is always very laid-back; Iain and I both have memories of stressful Christmases when we were kids (I'll save you any more details than that), so when we had our kids we decided that Christmas Day would always be about them. We stay home all day, we stay in our jammies all day, we eat what we feel like having for dinner, we pull our Christmas crackers, we play the new games the kids received (this year it was Blokus, Guess Who? and Memory Madness), and we just hang out together. It's fun for all of us :) And that's the way it should be, right?

I have my birthday coming up in a couple of days...the big "3-7" - yikes! :)

After-holiday Sale at TCP!!

Alma's having a sale from today through the 30th!! Everything on her website is on sale! Go check it out!

Happy Holiday Wishes from the TCP Cat Pack :)

Hi everyone! Instead of our usual TCP Tuesday challenge this week, the members of the TCP Cat Pack are linking our blogs to send you our warmest holiday wishes! Even Sprinkle has joined in the fun - look how sweet she looks over there!

Thank you so very much to my "old" and "new" blogging friends for all your support this year - I wish you a safe, happy holiday season filled with everyone and everything you love :)

Now, head on over to Karrie's blog and read her holiday wishes for you!

Feeling very lucky :)

I am feeling very, very lucky this weekend. Friday was the last day of school, so I knew that a chaotic day was in store :) First we had a staff breakfast where we all revealed whose "Secret Santa" we were - it was hilarious listening to some of the reasoning behind the guesses!!

Next came the kindergarten class party; we had about 8 parents helping out who had organized lots of crafts and food for the kids; they had a blast - what's not to like about anything involving glitter or frosting?? I was overwhelmed by the kind words from parents who came and spoke to me. One of them said, "In case you ever wonder if your job is worthwhile, don't ever doubt it. These kids love you!". Wow. Of course, as a mom I am always been very appreciative of my kids' teachers and I help out in whatever ways I can, but it was different this year hearing it from the other side since I'm now working at the school as a para.

The class also sang "Happy Birthday" to me and gave me some flowers and a beautiful leather journal. My birthday isn't until the 28th, but they somehow found out that it was during winter break and still celebrated anyway :)

I am a lucky, lucky girl! Happy holidays, everyone!

(Details for today's "Holiday Thanks" card: "Snow Bunny Flopsey" stamp by My Favorite Things; sentiment by Stampin' Up!; Copic markers)

Elzybells Holiday Card

Well, I'm home from work today - Jamie has a really bad cold and so I'm keeping him home; Iain will be here tomorrow so I'll be able to go to school for work for the last day if Jamie is still sick. So today I think I'll get some house cleaning done, do some reading for school, watch a movie snuggled up on the couch with Jamie, and finish up the little holiday gifts I've made for the kindergarten class I work in.

Today's card was made with a stamp by Elzybells. I love the little boy and girl images; they are lots of fun for coloring! I believe the patterned paper is by My Mind's Eye. Happy Thursday, everyone!

TCP Tuesday Stamp Challenge :)

Hi everyone - sorry I didn't post TCP Tuesday yesterday; our internet connection wasn't working during the time when I'd usually post. Sooooo - this week our Hostess with the Mostess is....drum roll please....KARRIE! You can find all the details on her blog :)

We at TCP have mixed the challenge hostesses up a little, and Karrie will now be hosting our Stamp Challenges :) And this week's challenge is a very seasonal challenge - use ANY TCP CHRISTMAS TREE STAMP as part of your fabulous creation! Come on, you know you want to play along! I'll photograph and post my card later this afternoon when I get back from school.

Wednesday evening: here's my card; super simple since I had a few more to make :) I used one of my favorite TCP stamps - the "Skiing Snowglobe" stamp :) Look how much fun Sprinkle is having skiing down that hill!

Who's That Girl? Challenge

Here's my card for this week's Who's That Girl? challenge on the MFT forum of Splitcoast Stampers. This week Laura and I are challenging you to use your MFT stamps along with the color combo of blue, brown and white. If you play along, upload your creation to the Splitcoast gallery by midnight on Wednesday 17th with the keyword MFTWTG14 - you could be entered into a random drawing for a MFT store certificate :) For my card, I used this week's featured set, "Call Me". The patterned paper is by Deja Views.

I had a very productive shopping day yesterday; I am done with all my shopping! Yeah! I can't say the same for my hubby though...he and Jamie are heading down the hill to do some shopping today before Jamie goes to his friend's birthday party.

We also got several inches of snow last night - but the big weather story this weekend is the temperature! Our high today is only expected to be 14 degrees! BRRRRRRR! Sounds like a good day to stay home and stamp - okay, okay, after I finish some school work.... :) Have an awesome Sunday!

Winter Wishes

I was running a little short on holiday cards as I was writing them out this week, and made a few of this simple card to send to friends and relatives in Scotland. The image and sentiment are by Hero Arts :)

What are your weekend plans? I have to finish up some holiday shopping, Jamie is going to a birthday party, and I need to clean my house! This evening Iain and I are going to the holiday party for the staff at the school where I work - I'm looking forward to hanging out with everyone and being able to chat for longer than the few minutes we usually get! Whatever you're up to, have a terrific weekend!

Holiday photo 2008

I know, it's a bit blurry of Jamie, but I just LOVE the kids' facial expressions on this one (I took about a dozen). It's the one that is the most "them" :)

TCP Tuesday - Color Challenge

Hi everyone, it's TCP Tuesday and this week Jen is hosting the color challenge. What a fun color combo she has chosen - red, dark green and sky blue. If you're going to play along with us this week, leave a comment on Jen's blog with a link to your creation - and your card will be featured in Alma's "Holey Moley Monday" slideshow next week :)

A beautiful morning!

Simple birdie card

I'm sitting here watching the snow fall outside; we have about 6" so far, and it's still coming down. It's absolutely gorgeous out there, especially right now when it is all smooth with no footprints or car tire tracks on it. The kiddos have their fingers crossed for a snow day tomorrow :)

Iain's on his flight from Washington, D.C. back to Denver right now, but I'm not sure if he'll make it back to the house tonight. I told him if the weather's bad just to stay at a hotel near the airport and then drive home in the morning when the roads will have been cleared a little more.

This is a super-simple card made with a bird stamp from Hero Arts, some bling from Prima (I think!) and some Nestabilities dies :) I've made a bunch of these to mail to our friends and relatives in the U.K. this holiday season. And thank you to those who emailed me for a holiday card; if you'd like one from me this year (and I'd love to mail some to my blogging friends), please drop me a note at toners@wispertel.net

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

It will certainly be cold here later today; we are expecting a snowstorm to pass through here this afternoon and this evening. Fortunately the snow from last week's storm has melted, making some room for the 6 to 12 inches of snow that we might get from this one :)

Today's card is a dual-purpose card! It is one of the cards that we made at the class at my house on Saturday, and it's also my card for the "Who's That Girl?" stamp challenge on the MFT forum at Splitcoast Stampers. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is the featured set for this week. The patterned paper is from the "Glitzmas" line by SEI, and I colored the image with colored pencils, then blended the colors with odorless mineral spirits.

Happy Monday! Have a great week :)

Play along!

I found these questions on Jayne's blog. Play along if you'd like and post your answers on your blog!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial - I have 4 cats and there's no way a real one would last :)
3. When do you put up the tree? Usually Thanksgiving weekend
4. When do you take the tree down? Before New Year
5. Do you like Egg Nog? No
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I remember being really excited when I received a doll's house one year
7. Hardest person to buy for? My hubby!
8. Easiest person to buy for? The kids
9. Do you have a nativity scene? No
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail - always!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? My first bra - from my dad! Ugh! I still cringe when I think of that!
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Scrooge (the musical version with Albert Finney as Scrooge)
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? When the mood strikes
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? See's mint truffles :)
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, it's pre-lit!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Jingle Bell Rock
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Always stay home on Christmas Day - it's the kids' day.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Actually - no!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Nothing this year - our tree topper got broken last year (cats again!) and I need to buy a new one!
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Everything on Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Crowds and cranky people.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? We don't have a theme - but what's cool about our tree is that it is just that - ours! It has a whole mix of ornaments from past and present, each with its own story.
24 . Favorite for Christmas dinner? Whatever takes our fancy that particular year!
25 . What do you want for Christmas this year? Still haven't thought of anything specific! It's driving my hubby up the wall :)

3 Peeps December challenge :)

Here's my card for this month's 3 Peeps Challenge. For December, Karrie, Linda and I challenged each other to make a card that includes the following:

* The colors pink, brown and white
* Stitching or faux stitching
* Felt embellishments

I used the "Party Hat" image from The Cat's Pajamas, and patterned paper by Die Cuts with a View. The flower embellishments are made of felt :)

Friday fill-in...

Here's a fun idea that I found through a link on Jill's blog. Every Friday there are sentences posted for you to fill in and post on your blog. Here's the one for this week (I know, I'm a couple of days late...):

1. Snow is beautiful!
2. I'm looking forward to our winter break - 2 weeks off school for the kids and me.
3. Earl Grey is the best tea ever!
4. One of my favorite old TV shows is Roseanne :)
5. I'm done with scraping ice off my car with a credit card (that's what I get for forgetting to put the proper scraper in my car this week).
6. The most enjoyable thing around the holidays is watching the kids enjoy the season.
7. And as for the weekend, I'm looking forward to my stamping class. Tomorrow my plans include shopping for Nattie, and on Sunday I want to relax!

Holiday card, anyone?

I'd love to send my blogging friends a holiday card this year :) If you'd like one, please send me an email with your name and address. My email is toners@wispertel.net :)

Great class!

I held my FUNraiser class for the school yesterday and it was a great success! The ladies all loved the projects that we made, and I even sold out of the extra kits that I had prepared too! I will be donating 75% of the total sales back to our PTA, which will be a nice chunk of change between the class fees and my additional sales. Thank you, ladies!!

I picked up Sue on Friday night; she got the bus straight from work to the stop at Aspen Park, about 20 mins from my house. We went and picked up pizza for dinner before heading back to the house. It was cool that she was able to sleep over and participate in the class the next day :)

After the class, we headed down the mountain. We had dinner at Applebee's and then went to Kohl's to pick up some jeans for Nattie - why do those kids just keep on growing? What's with that? :)

What are your plans for today? The kids and I are staying home and won't be going anywhere except out to walk Tasha this afternoon. I have some cards to make for some challenges this week, as well as a paper that's due tomorrow night for school. Have an AWESOME Sunday!

Snow! And the latest news...

It's snowing here right now; just light snow for the moment but we're expecting it to get heavier this afternoon. Driving in the snow is not one of my favorite things to do, so hopefully it'll stay light until I get home from work in the early afternoon :) Some of the forecasts are saying we could get between 5 and 10 inches of snow with this storm.

Iain left this morning to fly back to Scotland; he'll be back on Monday. In the meantime, I have lots of pre-cutting to do for my FUNraiser class on Saturday! My good friend Sue is coming here straight from work on Friday and will sleep over so that she can be here for the class :)

Another piece of fun news: my fellow TCP DT member (and super all-around gal) Karrie made it on to the design team for Odd Bird Planet! GO KARRIE! I know that she has been a huge fan of OBP for a long time and I love it when people then get to work even more with the products that they love :) Congrats!!!

TCP Tuesday

Thank you for all the kind words about my new space! I wish I could have all my blogging friends over for a mega crafting session! Janet was asking how I keep our 4 cats off the ribbon that hangs on the wall - the answer is that I don't! They will often come down and try and grab the longest pieces...but a cat's gotta do what a cat's gotta do, right? :)

Today is TCP Tuesday - this week Jen has an inspiration challenge for us - she has a fun holiday photo and all the details for this week's challenge posted on her blog. You'll see that the inspiration I got from it was the arrangement of the pieces...because my TCP Tuesday piece this week is a pile of ATCs I finished up for a swap! The stamp is called "Tree With Leaves"; I stamped it with green pigment ink and then heat-embossed it for a little shine. Then I used my Nesties to cut out the oval and the scalloped oval. The little dots around the edges are silver Stickles. The "Celebrate the Season" sentiment is also from TCP. Have a terrific Tuesday!

I finally posted some photos...

of my new space down in the basement :) I love it! I've actually changed it around a little since I took the photos, but you get the general idea, right? The kids are really enjoying it too; the three of us can create together down there, but we're not all on top of each other like we were when I was in the room upstairs (now our guest room). This coming Saturday I'll be holding my card class here - this is the one I'm holding as a fundraiser for our school's PTA. It's a full class - there are 10 AWESOME ladies signed up and I hope they have a great time!

I started putting the class packs together today...and I have to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Alma of The Cat's Pajamas and Kim of My Favorite Things - they each donated all the stamps for this class! As a result, I'm able to donate 75% of the cost of the class to our PTA :) How cool is that???

How was the rest of your Thanksgiving weekend? We spent our time finishing up the basement, putting up our Christmas tree and decorations (inside: me; outside: DH), and generally just hanging out together. It was great having Iain home and off work for such a long period of time :) This week he's flying to Scotland on Thursday; he'll be back next Monday. He's going to visit his mum - she's in her 80s and so even if we can't afford for the 4 of us to fly back every year, we figured it would still be nice for him to take a short trip over and spend a few days with his mum and sister in Gourock. The kids and I have a list of goodies for him to bring back for us...

Have a great week!

My new creating space....

I met...

Simon Cowell several years ago; we were on the same flight as him from Glasgow, Scotland to London Heathrow. We saw his girlfriend in the first class lounge but didn't think too much about it; then when we boarded we saw him with her. At that time Nattie had just started to watch "American Idol" with me, and she was quite smitten with Simon :) So when we got off the plane in London, Nattie and I left Iain and Jamie behind and followed Simon to baggage claim; by the time we got there, a small crowd had gathered but Simon was such a gentleman about it all. He took the time to chat to everyone; when our turn came, Nattie told him that we lived in California and that she had just started to watch the show. He said "thanks so much, sweetheart!" and gave her his autograph :) He was such a nice guy!

I also met Sir David Frost in an elevator in the London Heathrow Marriott on that same UK trip. Some of you may know him as a respected British journalist/writer/broadcaster. He was also extremely polite and chatty!

Have you met any celebrities? And was it a positive or negative experience?

Thankful :)

I hope that everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving, wherever and however you spent it. We spent our Thanksgiving at home, just the 4 of us. Jamie wanted a "real" (read: traditional) Thanksgiving this year, so I even cooked! Those of you who know me will know what a big deal that is - I'm not a huge fan of cooking, I do it because I have to, and I usually steer clear of big, multi-step dinners at all costs :) But I did it! I made roasted turkey breast, cranberry sauce (with fresh cranberries!), yams with marshmallows, stuffing and gravy. Nattie made turkeys to put next to our plates, and we all wrote down what we were thankful for :) The kids' lists even included pumpkin pie, which we had after dinner while watching "Shrek". Amongst other things, I was thankful that I was able to pull off dinner and give Jamie his "real" Thanksgiving :)

Here's what else I am thankful for this weekend:

• My hubby, our kiddos and pets
• Our good health
• Our safe, cozy home
• My new creating space down in the basement!
• That I was able to get a hair appointment on Wednesday to have my gray covered :)
• The beautiful town where we live
• That I will be finished with my degree by the end of next Summer
• All of our family back in England and Scotland
• Our friends and neighbors
• My job and the super kids and people I work with
• My blogging and online friends and their support
• My dishwasher (it worked overtime yesterday!)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone :)

Things I Have Done

I found this list on Heather's blog and thought it would be fun to play along, so here goes. If you want to play, just copy the list and highlight or underline the ones you have done :)

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Fostered a rescue animal

Tagged!!

This is a fun tag from Heather , Janet and Benita! It's all about 4's :)

To complete the tag, you go to the photos folder on your computer, open the 4th folder and post the 4th picture to your blog....

The one I found is actually a scan of a photo from when Iain's mom and sister came to visit us in CA in 2003. This photo was taken at Newport Beach - Nattie was just 6! Iain's sister, Helen, is watching Nattie play in the sand :)

Now I have to tag 4 friends to play along: so here you go Sue, Darcey, Patti and Lisa. Enjoy!

TCP Tuesday - Sketch Challenge

Hi everyone :) Leigh has an awesome sketch for us all to work on this week for TCP Tuesday! I used one of the new TCP stamp sets, "Elegant Christmas" for my card, along with the "Wassail" line from Basic Grey :) The dove image is embossed with silver embossing powder.

My basement workspace is getting there, slowly but surely! I'm hoping to get it finished by the end of Wednesday. Everything is down there, it's just not organized in the best way right now :) Back to work....

Have a great Tuesday!

Happy Monday!

Hi all :) How was your weekend? We had a busy time; the 4 of us moved my craft stash down from what is now the guest room to the basement...I knew I had a lot of stuff - but - yikes!! :)

We bought some new 6-ft tables and put together all the containers from IKEA. There are a couple of things I still want to do that will require a trip to the Container Store (yeah!), and I also have to rearrange all the drawers of stamps to make it just how I want it, but for the most part it looks awesome! It'll be a great layout for the school fundraiser class on the 6th :)

At the sign-up night at the school on Thursday, my class filled up - so there will be 10 ladies coming to make the projects, with 75% of the cost going back to the school. I also sold a lot of my Hershey Snowmen and Peppermint Patty candy projects that night, and the proceeds of that are going to the school too (over $100!). Thanks everyone!!

Today's card is made with a combination of stamps from Hero Arts (tree) and The Cat's Pajamas ("joy" sentiment). And isn't the pink and white paper fun for a holiday card? I believe it's by October Afternoon. The only "coloring" I did on this one was with some different colors of Stickles :) The tag is a Cuttlebug die.

Have a fabulous week ahead! Come back tomorrow for TCP Tuesday - it'll be a sketch challenge!

More candy treats

Yep! Two more candy treats to give you some ideas for easy gifts this holiday season :) I found these ideas on a fabulous blog: Impressions by Rochelle - in addition to the candy treats, there are other awesome project ideas over on Rochelle's blog. Take a look over there if you have time! Thank you, Rochelle, for letting me show these on my blog :)

Here's a link to the Hershey Sticks holder, and here's a link to the Peppermint Patties (yum!). And - the "Give Thanks" sentiment is from The Cat's Pajamas. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that the leadership group at the school made the peppermint patties to sell for their community service project, and they sold out so quickly!! Wouldn't they be fun to use for your holiday table?

Snowman Hershey Bars

I saw these snowmen candy bars (great job, Monica!) on Two Peas in a Bucket last month, and decided to adapt the idea for the school fundraiser tonight :) Instead of printing the snowman's face, I just drew the mouth, used google eyes and cut the carrot out from an orange scrap of paper.

I am very proud of these! I think they turned out really well!

And talking of winter themes, Jamie and I got to stay home from school today - the ice up here on our mountain was too dangerous to drive on, so when I called the school (from the car after gliding along my "glass" driveway), I found out that they were telling those of us who live up at the higher elevation that we should stay home and be safe.

The two of us came back inside, watched a couple of episodes of SpongeBob, got some laundry going, did some craft projects upstairs, and now we're about to do some reading. A nice cozy afternoon! As far as I know, the fundraiser is still going ahead tonight, though :)

It's Tuesday!

And that means it's time for another TCP Tuesday challenge :) I'm hosting this week, and we're doing a stamp challenge: I'm challenging you to make a card using any TCP stamp that includes a CAKE :) And there are a bunch of them you can choose from over at The Cat's Pajamas!

For my card, I used the "Mod, Mod Wedding Cake" stamp - isn't it fun? And I think it's a great match with this new stack from Die Cuts with a View - it's called the "Sweet Stack" :)

To play along, post a link to your card in the comments for this post! If you upload to Splitcoast Stampers, please use the keyword TCPTUES34 so that we can find your fabulous work! And remember, all the entries will be featured in Alma's "Holey Moley Monday" slideshow next Monday, November 24th. There's also a chance for you to become this month's Swanky Stamper - but you have to play along first! Have fun!

Who's That Girl? challenge

This week's challenge is to use the featured set "Gone to the Dogs" (or any other MFT set you have in your stash) and to make a card that includes 2 different patterned papers and 3 buttons :) For mine I used some more yummy Basic Grey paper and I had to use rhinestones instead of buttons because my buttons are packed away and ready to move down to the basement!

How was your weekend? We did some shopping on Saturday (see my post below), and that afternoon Iain left for Las Vegas - he won't be back until Thursday, so it's just the kiddos and me. I got a few cards done for things like the MFT challenge, tomorrow's TCP Tuesday and some more for this week's fundraiser at the school. I have 4 people signed up already to take my card class next month :)

And I haven't forgotten about posting the peppermint patties I made - I'll get to them this week, along with a few more cards. Have a great week, everyone!

Thank you!!

I was so proud to receive this blog award from my good blogging friend Tracy :) Thank you, Tracy!!

If you haven't stopped by Tracy's blog, please hop over and check it out; her cards are absolutely gorgeous and she also hosts a sketch challenge every week! Sooooo....here are the rules for this award:

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Provide links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

Here are some blogs of super gals who just oooze creativitity:

Tina

Linda

Lisa

Janet

Maria

Enjoy your award, ladies!!

Busy, busy, busy...

It has been one of those busy weeks here! We had all the usual school, etc. going on, as well as swimming and piano for Jamie and Nattie. At the same time, Iain finished painting Jamie's room and yesterday I managed to get the rest of his stuff back in there (minus a few bags of trash). So today we went out for breakfast, then went shopping for a new bed for Jamie - he's getting a loft bed with a desk underneath which will work much better with the space he has.

Also...we've decided to move my craft stuff out of the small room I'm in and get it down to the basement - the kids don't use the space down there a lot, so I'm jumping in! It'll also be good for them since they can come and craft with me in a larger space instead of the 3 of us in a tiny room together! My plan is to get it all set up by the time I have my fundraiser cardmaking class on December 6th...so we have a busy few weeks ahead! My hubby even DROVE back from his meeting in Salt Lake City on Friday so that he could go to the IKEA store in Draper, UT to pick up 3 more shelving units (like the ones in the photo) to match the ones we bought when we lived in CA. What a guy! They could have shipped them, but it cost just as much as Iain driving them!

When it's all done I'll hopefully have some great photos to post! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

A little late...

but I got my TCP card done! I really like this color scheme...may have to use it on some other cards at some point!

My card is 4.5" square. The stamp I chose was TCP's Catch 'Em Kitty :) The patterned paper was a scrap from my stash!

Have an AWESOME Wednesday!

TCP Tuesday - Color Challenge!

This week for TCP Tuesday, our Color Challenge is being hosted by Katie!! Check out the fun color combo we're working with :) All the details are on Katie's blog - I hope you can play along!! I'll be back later with my card - have a terrific Tuesday!

Who's That Girl? Monday challenge...

This is the card I came up with for our "Who's That Girl?" challenge this week :) I have to say that I think this Basic Grey "Ambrosia" patterned paper is one of my favorites EVER! I need to pick up some more...

The stamp set I used is "Window Shopping"; it's another fabulous set to use for paper piecing - so I was able to give our girl a lovely patterned dress!

Have a fantastic start to the week! I finish my algebra class tomorrow (YEAH!!!) - so that will be an awesome start to the week for me :)