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 :)

Candyland Christmas

Today's card is made with a candy-striped wreath stamp from the "Candyland Christmas" set from The Cat's Pajamas. I think it's a great match with this patterned paper and ribbon by American Crafts!

I had a fun day of stamping today with my friends Shelley and Vicki; first of all we put together some card kits for the leadership group at our school to work on this coming Monday; we made a fun project with York Peppermint Patties too...I'll be sure to get photos of them before I take them to school :) After we got done with the preparation for the kiddos, we did some stamping for ourselves...we shared our stamps and supplies, shared stories and shared some laughs!! Thanks Shelley and Vicki! :)

Let's hear it for new stamps!!

Today's the day! Alma has released 3 new TCP sets for the holiday season: "Candyland Christmas", "Elegant Christmas" and "Deck the Halls".

And once again, there is the "Kitty Cat Pack" deal where you can pick up all 3 sets with a savings of $15!! If you add those savings to the FREE SHIPPING that's available until Sunday night, that makes for a sweet savings!! HAPPY SHOPPING!

3 Peeps Challenge for November

It's already time for Linda, Karrie and I to show our creations for our November "3 Peeps" challenge. This month, we chose to include a turkey, 3 circles and some glitter on our creations :)

For my card, I used my "Pilgrim Poochie" and "Happy Turkey Day" stamps from TCP. For the circles, I used punched circles layered with buttons, and my glitter element is Stickles (glitter glue). The patterned paper is by Crate Paper (one of my favorite companies) - this collection is called "Lemongrass".

Don't forget to stop by Linda's and Karrie's blogs to see what they came up with! Happy Thursday!

Those penguins are back!

Who doesn't love these little guys??? They are part of one of the 3 new sets that you can pick up this Friday from The Cat's Pajamas :)

I have also heard that there will be FREE shipping within the U.S. from Friday November 7th to midnight on Sunday November 9th!

And, just like the pricing for the last release, you will be able to pick up all of the new sets for one handy price :) I have to say, Alma has really outdone herself this time - you will not be disappointed with the new images!

Decorated tin

Here's a tin I decorated with some more of the new stamps coming on Friday from The Cat's Pajamas - I simply stamped and embossed the wreath image twice, cut out the entire first image and attached it to the lid, then cut out the birds from the second image and used pop dots to make them stand out.

TCP Tuesday!

Yep, it's TCP Tuesday...and wait until you see the photo that Jen chose for the Inspiration Challenge this week! You can check it out right here :)

When I saw the inspiration photo, the stripes jumped out at me immediately, so I went with the black and white and added some red :) And stamp choice was easy - it just had to be pirates!!

Remember, every month Alma chooses one of the TCP Tuesday entries for the title of Swanky Stamper of the Month...but you have to play along to be entered! Jen has all the guidelines posted on her blog today. Have fun creating!

GO VOTE!!

I hope you're all going to go and vote today. As some of you know, Iain and I moved to the U.S. from Scotland in 1993. However, we didn't become U.S. citizens until 2002, which meant that for 9 years we couldn't vote here in the U.S. - and let me tell you, it's so very frustrating living in a country where you can't have your say every time elections come around.

When we became U.S. citizens we were very proud, and we are thankful every day for how lucky we are to live here and to be able to raise our family here. And another one of the privileges of living here as citizens is that on days like today we can each go and have our say at the election booth!!

Whatever your political beliefs, GO VOTE! You are lucky to be able to do so :)

I'll be back this afternoon with TCP Tuesday. Have a fabulous Election Day!

Who's That Girl? Monday Challenge

This is my card for the "Who's That Girl?" challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. This week we are using the featured set "You Take the Cake" (or any other MFT set you'd like to play along with), and the additional challenge is to use a sentiment from any other MFT set (I used "Just for You" from the "Icing on the Cake" set).

And I love this patterned paper by Imaginisce; I picked it up over at Paper Addiction.

Have a great week, everyone!

Is it too late to be good?

Here's a Sprinkle image from one of the 3 new sets being released on Friday by The Cat's Pajamas :) I remember a few years back, one of our cats (Pickle) decided to climb the Christmas tree, so this one definitely appeals to me!

Have a great Saturday!

Happy Halloween!

Here are Nattie and Jamie in their hippie and pirate costumes yesterday :) It was a busy, fun day at school: Nattie had no school, so she came to work with me at the elementary school. First we had the kindergarten party in the morning, which included a parade all through the school - the little kids were so excited to go and visit the big kids! Then I did my usual work with 5th grade until late afternoon, when the rest of the school had their parade and class parties :) Nattie and I went to Jamie's class and I hosted Halloween bingo for some of the kiddos. After school the 3 of us came home, and last night Nattie and Jamie did some trick-or-treating in downtown Evergreen. A great day for the kids!