Why Not On Tuesday - Sale Starts in Shop

I've put everything Fall & Winter Holiday ON SALE in my ETSY shop.  I used Craftopolis and marked them all down 11% for 2011.  How clever is that,  what a fun little tool.   Anyway the sections are marked On SALE as well so their easy to find.  Everything in those sections is ready to ship, Dave helped me do a mini inventory tonight and get it all ready to go!  This Mini Album is just one of the items on sale! 

Tonight I'm just working on class samples!  Having fun with toys!  Emily got her first Recital Costume sent home today.  It's very "Modern Ballet"  she's starting to look very grown up.  Can't wait to see all the other costumes.    Hope everyone is having a good week so far!

Copic 101

A Little Valentine Conversation Heart Love for Copic 101.

It's that time of the year again for Quick & Easy Valetines

Class is tomorrow morning and evening!  These are fun using new Hero Arts stamps that maybe weren't intended as Valentines but well why not?  Be sure to check out the new Class Calendar for February.  Samples will be making a preview next Saturday at our big Make & Take event. 

Well it was a bummer of a day for the Bears and no Super Bowl for us.  But we had a nice quiet day at home.  I'm cooking a whole turkey dinner right now!  Can't wait.  Dave and the kids are beside themselves it's like a holiday.  Don't tell them it was just really inexpensive at the grocery store.  Hee Hee.  The kids were back and forth between Football and movies on their portable DVD thing.  They have watched I think 3 today.  They did try to play outside, it's just too cold but that sun was nice even if it didn't warm us much.  Hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the game even if we didn't win.  I know our Wisconsin friends really loved it!

Cherish

Another new set of tags for the Etsy Store.   I love these Cherish Tags they are pretty large with the coolest wide grosgrain ribbon!  Just totally yummy!  I need it in every single color!

The snow this morning was super fluffy and pretty!   It's windy and cold but the skies are clear for now!  Phew!  Work was crazy busy.   But I got almost 3 classes designed.    That is my mission this weekend finish the first half of February Samples!    

So tomorrow is the big playoff game we're just hanging out at home trying to stay warm.  Hopefully

everyone is having a great weekend!

Sending Smiles - Happy Friday

This is a card for Copic Basics for everyone to practice their coloring and blending.  It's a happy card!  Gotta love that.  Stamps are by Hero Arts.  The heart is stamped, colored and cut out then popped up over the lace on the card.

So yesterday was nutty.  Dianne keeps telling me a full moon is coming.  Seriously....  You can tell by the way people have been driving lately.   Work was crazy busy probably because I had 2 meetings scheduled, one for a private party which is exciting as always.    This one is going to be fun though and turns out our hostess lives in my neighborhood.   I enjoy meeting my neighbors.  The band concert was wonderful.  Emily did a great job and had fun then we all went out for celebration Taco Bell, we're lame but oh well we loved it.  We run into our former Vice Principal, who we all love dearly, her son is in the band as well!  It was so good to see her.

Last night was freaky cold as this day is supposed to be....EEEEK  Everyone came home and got under the electric blanket and snuggled.  Today it might get up to 9 degrees before you calculate wind chill factor so we're into the zero's below now, worst part of winter.   No more pretty snow just ice, wind and cold.  Unfortunately for Dave he will no longer have a stash of socks since I will be wearing them all!    Today it's creating day lots of samples to do and things to get ready for.  Have a happy Friday!

Having fun here....Random Amusing Challenge #100

This card was created for another challenge over at Glenda's Paper, Scissors & Rocks Random Amusing Challenge #100 this one is inspired by Belinda she really inspired me to actually jump into challenges and start making things that I've always wanted, not waiting until the next class was designed and cut or the next assignment was done  just creating to create!  I love that and I feel so much more inspired.  So Thank You Belinda for being the push in the right direction for me. Here the challenge is Red and I loved Belinda's Red & Black card so I pulled out a couple different Spellbinders blossoms and went to town die cutting flowers.  Then I just added the veining with a stylus.  The red centers are these cool Glitter Domes we had in the store during the Holidays.  I was saving them for something special, this seemed special.  The patterned paper is one of my favorite 7Gypsies paper.  I have been saving that as well.  Greeting is by Hero Arts on one of their new stamp sets Sending Smiles Message, the inside reads "you always know just how to make me smile".    Now on to another challenge.  This is fun and maybe a little addictive?

Last nights ribbon embroidery was fun I learned I may actually be able to do this type of needlework it's so pretty, got a list of books I need from the library now.  Among other things last night we learned there is a Band Concert tonight.  Really?  How long have the kids had the paper listing time they should be there, what they should wear etc?  5 weeks apparently.  I swear.....  Thank goodness I'm not on the schedule to work!  EEEK  I hate missing even the most minor performances the kids do makes me sad. 

So it's off to work this AM Dianne is teaching Gift Card Holders!  They are so adorable I love the little clown and the mice kissing and know all her students will as well!  Can't wait to hear the ooohing and ahhhing!  Theirs a reason her classes sell out and I've had to add more dates to the class schedule.  Next month look for her amazing Mask Class OMG you will die without this class.  Ok I digress.  Off to finish getting ready for work an have some coffee.

Mystery Color Challenge Creation

This year I  have vowed to make things for fun!  The Greeting Farm...Farm Fresh Friday Challenge is just the way for me to get started.  The Challenge was to use Turquoise and Black and one other color.  I love coloring Stella she is one of my most recent favs.  Here I just layered cardstock strips added some ribbon and twine and popped up some hearts with rhinestones randomly. 

Today has been super quiet everyone is back to work or school.  I have laundry and dishes all done so I got to play!  I work tonight and we have the Chicagoland Craft Collective Meeting.  We are learning ribbon embroidery....like I need a new hobby but the talented Tammy is going to share with us!  See you all tomorrow.  I have another challenge card to share.  Exploring all my toys.

Love Potion #9 - Copic for Valentines

I really love this Unity Stamp set and coloring it was fun as well.  I can see this being perfect for Halloween as well as Valentines or Emily is just excited we got science stamps in the house now, since it's her favorite subject in school.  Who knew?????  Anyway this is colored with Copics and layered onto some new Making Memories Papers Je t'adore.  April took a wonderful pic with all the ribbons around it!  Love that! 

I can't believe it's Tuesday already what happened to the rest of the weekend?  I know the kids were off we did a bunch of stuff including pizza night and a movie while it snowed outside, baked cookies, had a huge family snowball fight until Mommy & Daddy cried mercy, had some play dates, saw the movie Tangled(we were the only ones in the theatre it was kind of cool) and ended it with a trip to IHOP and homemade dessert a la Emily.  It was good but I lost track of time some how.  So tomorrow is back to business for a little bit anyway.  So this being my Sunday(I did ask Dave if he was taking the garbage out tonight, he was like...but it's Tuesday) I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

Be Mine! Valentine Ideas #1

We're getting ready for Valentines Day here.  Well....I am anyway.  I've ordered most of the gifts still need a little something, something for the girlies.  But I'm trying out tags to put on the gifts.   These Valentine Be Mine are one of my latest creations I've added to my shop.   I like them and they are definitely large enough for some of the gifties.  Some I'll need something more dainty, I must work on that. 

So this weekend has gone by in a flash.  Yesterday Emily and I discovered Charming Charlies, the coolest shop ever!  We went for a birthday gift and accessorized ourselves as well.  It's a shiny wonderful world.  I made ribs in the crock pot and they were yummy.  Then Dianne and I went and explored Mikes for a little bit and out for ice cream.  It was a very pleasant day for the most part.   Today was colder though it made it very hard to get up.  Dave and I went out for a bit alone that was nice and he found Moose Drool at the grocery store which is one of his current favorite beers.  Emily got ready for her first Boy/Girl party since she was little.    All in all a very quiet weekend.  The kids have 2 more days off school so we have some movies and more family time planned!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Thursday Things

Just a few Photos from today!

Critters in the snow!  The girls are all excited we have a bunny somewhere around our house!

New items fro the Etsy Shop that need to be bagged up.  Like my mess?

Swap cards for tonight's CARS meeting at Craft Fancy.  Our theme is Polka Dots, Stripes or Plaid!  Love my little plaid car!

Who doesn't love CAKE?

Everyone here loves cake!  Tonight was our first Family meal in awhile.  Dave was gone for a few days in South Carolina at an event, and then racing to stay ahead of the snow in the south.  He finally made it home and we were all so happy to see him.  He was gone almost 5 days!  Most of it traveling.  EEEK  So Monday we went out to dinner which was nice.  Tonight though I cooked and we all sat down and got to hear all about every one's day  plus Daddy has missed so much girly gossip over the weekend he had to be filled in.  HA  I did go to our local bakery and got treats for everyone, Oreo brownies for the girls, baklava for Dave and cream puffs for myself.  It was fun to surprise them with the bakery box from their favorite bakery!!!!    Dave and I did try to wrestle the new tree into the tree bag I ordered.   We need to come up with a better storage solution.  Dave had to shovel tonight but Abs helped him when she got home from dance and hopefully the snow will stop.   And for the first time all winter Dave told me he was COLD while in the house rearranging furniture.  Seriously the man always makes fun of me being cold and he spends 4 days in the south and can't handle it anymore....REALLY?    It's not that cold it got up to 29 today that's almost balmy here!

So the tags above are another new addition to my shop!  I love the idea of putting these on mini cakes or slices to hand out.  Just to fun with the vintage image of cake under glass!   I think I might have to do these in other colors!!!!!

Hope everyone is having as wonderful a Monday as we are! 

So I've been on a Valentine making Binge

I've spent my time off over the Holiday's to get some household things in order and I've started making Valentines for my Etsy Shop.  I've been sharing a lot already.  I made up a basket of all my hearty, red, pink and lovely things that might work for the season.  It's a big big basket and it was neat for like a minute now it's a jumbled mess of stamps, scraps and ribbons flying out every which way.  But it's still kinda pretty.   Now I'm just wondering what will be next to go into the basket?

So today the kids went back to school it's terribly quiet in the house, no TV no bickering no IPODs cranked.  Dave is here but he's working across the table from me and making comments about my wacky morning hair.   Then he's quiet, yet clicky,  again until he finds another reason to pick on me.

Hope everyone is having as peaceful a Monday!

Happy New Year & Love Notes

Love love this basket image.  Dianne got me my very first set of PTI stamps for Christmas this year and I made this Love Notes Card with it.   I'm totally in love with the Vintage Picnic set!  It was the perfect gift. since I couldn't decide what set I wanted over there!  Too many good ones to choose from.  Colored and shaded the image with Copic and layered it with ribbon, twine, basic grey and MME.  That stamp image is from CTMH and I found the entire set at a garage sale this past summer!   It was an Awesome bargain along with a couple of other sets and paper I'm still using. 

Hope everyone is having a great last day of vacation before we all head back to school and work tomorrow!  EEEEEEEK

Happy New Year!!! How was your party? Ours was.......

Keep in mind this was without alcohol!  A makeover party with Emily and her friends making over DADDY!  HA!  I thought when she told me she was having a sleepover that she and her girlfriend would be making over each other however I think they had set their sights a bit higher!  Daddy is always a good sport they made him keep his eyes closed and not look at anything they were doing until they had him in front of me with the camera!    Don't you just love his evening bag?

Hope everyone had as much fun as we did and a safe and Happy New Year!