The Rubber Maid

More Valentines for the Children

2012-01-27T17:05:00.000-05:00

Well I've been under the weather & because I've been confined to my home I decided to make more Valentines for the kids. These are very simple yet suitable for maybe some teen girls. Used IO's older Valentine set and the phrase is Flourishes. Hope to send off another 25 or so. I sent in 280 today and will keep on this until the very end. Thanks to those that have been supportive in this drive. You are appreciated.
Guess what??? My BFF Lindy went to lunch the other day with some ladies she used to work with and one is a stamper/card maker. Lindy said too bad Pat moved to Montana as you two would have gotten along great. Well her friend said.. is that Pat Adam who's daughter is Julie Koerber? Yep...what a small world this is. My BFF's friend is Rama Ready who subscribes to our blogs. Can't believe it but it's true. Hi Rama...glad you came by.
Take care fellow bloggers and happy weekend. I'm sitting by the fireside reading and just taking it easy. Have pneumonia ( or however it's spelled) and not feeling all that great. Taking a toll on this old lady but hopefully soon I'll be able to get out and about.

My ATC size Valentines for Children's Hospital

2012-01-15T14:46:00.000-05:00

I did these ATC size Valentines for Children's Hospital big day ....these are easy once you get everything cut and colored. It can be done in a production line . Hope you will consider offering up some cards for the kids and thanks to those who have already promised and are coming through for this .

Timeless Tuesday ....get inspired

2012-01-10T16:07:00.000-05:00

Well it's time for Timeless Tuesday and Tammy has asked us to get inspired by this funky topirary picture. Wow is all I can say...crazy isn't it and certainly very challenging. I see the bright colors of pinks and oranges so that's what I went with. I need my hair touched up and it looks about as funky as this free for all curly ribbon mess. It's a crapper getting old and seeing all the gray and different colors on your head and trying to make it look even half way decent...but I do try every now and then. ANYHOW ! I took out the set called Hearts & Flowers and decided to make a sort of Valentinesie card. My base is white then the orange, then bright pink, and lastly the Valentine type paper. Used 2 circle dies from Spellbinders and added some bright pink and orange ribbon and I'm fini. Easy card and it does fit the challenge I hope.
Weather here is still Ok ...in the 50's today but they are predicting a cool down tonight and well since it is winter time I guess we have to expect that. I'm content just sitting by the fireplace reading a good book. I'm just starting The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. Heard all sorts of reviews on it but will wait and judge on my own. Happy week fellow stampers. Hope it's a good one for you all and if you get any time to join in the Valentine drive I would love to have you.

Timeless Tuesday...Tri-Fold

2012-01-04T14:46:00.000-05:00

OK so here's the deal...My pictures are not all that great BUT I did participate in TT's challenge to make a tri-fold card. The bottom of course is my finished card tied the folds together....wish I could tie my own folds aka wrinkles that easily as I'm sure we all wished the same. Anyway this is done with the new pear set from Flourishes and I did some research on pears and boy there are a lot of varieties of this lovely funny shaped fruit. Pears offer a great source of fiber and potassium ( or however you spell that ), so they are a healthy fruit to gobble up. I'm not big on eating all pears but do like some of the soft and juicy ones as I'm sure many of you do. Simple card using my water colored pencils as always and just cutting a die and slapping everything together.
Weather here is so mild it's crazy but enjoyable. In the 50's today and we may even hit the 60's tomorrow. Who said we are not in a global warming is a bit nutsy coo-coo...but that's just my opinion. Hope you are all off to a good week. I'm exhausted from dismanteling all my Christmas decos...took me over 4 hours yesterday but it's all packed away for another year. Happy week everyone and before I go I hope you will all consider starting your cards for the Valentine's drive. I'll keep you posted but it's going to start...ready, set, stamp.

Who's who in Who Ville ???

2011-12-18T16:50:00.000-05:00

Well welcome to Who's Ville USA...better known as Josephine Crossings Sub.

Last year the sub voted to use " How the Grinch Stole Christmas" for the decorating theme for all the neighborhood and here is some of how cute it is. At Night it's just glorious with all the bright and crazy colors of lights. It's a real wonderful sight to see. Here is just a sample of what we see each day.

My next door neighbors Rory & Mike

Neighbor Tammy

Here's Max in front of DD's house along with the Grinch

who takes over her front porch. But we are saved by the

Sweet Cindy Lou....on the front grass over from Max.

Mean son of a gun !

Sweet Cindy Lou is on the other side of DD's grass...isn't she adorable!

And not to be out done....My Cindy Lou and my sign for a Happy Who-la-days to all.We all have spot lights on our displays and it's just so fun to see. So I say to one and all of you...I hope your holidays...or who-la-days are warm and bright and full of love and happiness.

Timeless Tuesday...a sketch

2011-12-07T12:36:00.000-05:00

Well don't you just love it when the challenge is a sketch??? I do, because it means this feeble old brain doesn't have to ponder ( that means think) about how my layout will be set up. So, I said hoooray, or is it hoorah? Or it might just be ...well hot damn! Anyway this is the challenge over at the Flourishes TT blog site. So I got out some glitzy Christmasie paper and ribbon and went to town. I'll bet you wonder what town I went to huh...well stamping town of course. I used the lovely set called Christmas Candles along with some beautious paper from my local scrap store put out by Making Memories...called Mistletoe. Found some fancy schmansy ribbon that had the glitz and knew it would work. My bowmaker is giving my head a dizzy feeling as I forgot how to use it and had to rely on my own skills to produce a bow. My coloring was done with my favorite water colored pencils..just love them. Used the circle dies from Spellbinders and viola
( French for here you go). I'm done.
Had a real work out at the gym this morning with my sexy sweet Rory who is my very own personal trainer. Well he's not mine exclusively but I pretend he is. Came home and ready for the linement. Ouch...it's hard to be fit.
Happy week fellow bloggers and see you next go round.

It's Timless Tuesday..flower, ribbon, tag

2011-11-29T16:29:00.000-05:00

Well did you miss me last week when I went AWOL?? Bet you thought some strong, handsome, wonderful mountain man stole me into the wilds and showed me the time of my life....NOT! I took my fantasy pill this morning and I'm a little off as usual. I just said to myself...if you don't want to stamp you don't have to and so I didn't. So this week at Flourishes we are to follow the lead of that adorable Miss Cindy (you know that wild Canadian) and do a card which has a flower, tag, and ribbon on it. I used " Meet me Under the Mistletoe" ( wow would I ever love that) and stamped and colored the mistletoe with my faithful colored pencils. The sentiment is from " A Gift for You" and it fit the tag perfectly so that's why I chose it silly. Now I also know you are going to tell me that the berries on the branch are not red but rather white BUT I wanted to go with a red to match up my card nicely. I embossed my bg paper with a flowerly die and to my little flower added a little sparkly stone like thingy. Easy peasy with not much to do but measure our the mats. Hope you are off to a good week...I'm just off as usual.

Timeless Thursday...flag it

2011-11-17T11:39:00.000-05:00

Timeless Tuesday@ Flourishes this week is to add a flag/banner to your card. Well hey I'm not so good at this but I recently got a little die cut of a flag from my order from LilInker's and it was a perfect way to cut out a flag. I chose the Christmas Classic stamp set and stamped out this bough of greenery and bells . This did not photo very well with the glittery I added, but IRL it looks loverly. My glittery punched border was found over at Hobby Lobby and it's a bit pricey @ $2 a sheet but ...it was on sale so I let the moths out of my wallet and decided to pay the price, after all you have to splurge once in awhile. ( I even bought a sheet forDD...now that was really extravagant). My BG is from Studio Paper . My card was made with a very dark green base.
Well it's almost turkey day and of course it's time to stuff the bird and of course yourselves too. Love this holiday but it's scary to realize Christmas is just around the corner and I better get busy starting my shopping. When you get old like me the best answer is gift cards...that way your gift can be used the way the receiver wants it to be. Anyway have a happy weekend and see you next time.

Timeless Tuesday Double Embossing...migraine headache

2011-11-09T19:20:00.000-05:00

Well this was a real pain for me to accomplish but after at least 8 times...I got it. So migraine or not it's entered into the TT challenge over at Flourishes. I was so mad at my trying this over and over that I was ready to seek out Beate and literally do her harm...but since that seemed a bit drastic I took my computer to my craft room and followed step by step her directions and finally I got it. My big problem was my cardboard was not heavy enough and once I figured out what I needed ...it worked. I used my dotted swiss folder and my die is of course from Spellbinders and I'm not going to check out the number but say figure it out for yourselves. Mean spirited I know. I used this candle arrangement from one of the new sets called Christmas Candles. Tied a bow with the Bow Easy and slapped everything on a red card. Put on some glitter and it's done. I looked at this just now and said to myself...That choice of colors is not the best but maybe I'll do another later and re-post...yeah right! Happy week fellow stampers.

Timeless Tuesday...out of the box

2011-11-02T21:59:00.000-04:00

Well Timeless Tuesday was yesterday and I'm just getting out of my box to create this card for the "out of the box" challenge. Have to tell you, I had to study this one a bit in order to let's say...get it. Anyway I chose the set for Thanksgiving called A Season of Thanks or something like that. Love the Autumn images in this set and chose this vaase or vase or fancy bowl of veggies and berries to color up and use. My base card is that SU crumb cake color which is only peeping out about 1/8 " and I then went to a forrest green window like opened mat which is embossed with a fancy schmansy folder . Found some lovely damask type sleek paper to use behind my opening to set off the deep green and lovely autumn colors.Popped this up with some demensional dots. Added some soft willow green ( that's what we called it back in the day...willow) satin type ribbon and bowed it with the none other then Bow Easy. Used my Spellbinder's oval shape and to get me out of the box, I stamped and cut the bowl part and plastered it down. Fini!
Hope you are all off to a wonderful week and will soon have a happy weekend. Taking DGD to see Puss in Boots tomorrow as the kiddos are off school a few days for teacher's conferences. Fun times with the darling Ellie...love it.

Timelss Tuesday...leaf or tree

2011-10-25T14:59:00.000-04:00

Well today at TT over at Flourishes the challenge is to use a leaf or tree and try not to use a flower. Well I pulled out my set called Herbs and chose the geranium called Scented Geranium cause it's the only leafy type set I had from Flourishes and since it's fall time I think using leaves is wonderful. I got out my Kalidicolor ink called Royal Satin which has the rust, wine, and blue tones. My sentement is from the window set . I chose a card base of kraft color which SU calls crumb cake...just a second while I lick the crumbs off my fingers . I added a band of navy, and rust and then added a bit of twine for a rustic look. Easy peasy card and fits the challenge.
If you didn't see my craft room yet just droop or if you prefer drop your eyes down a bit and you can see it below.
Happy week fellow stampers.

My Craftroom...

2011-10-21T14:33:00.000-04:00

These are not the best pictures ; however, it gives you an idea of my work area and the place I call my little hole in the wall. This was taken from the door of the room and gives you a sort of complete view.

On this side of the room I have some organizers that have cubbie holes in which I have put some steel boxes that hold my different supplies. My walls are sage green and my desk etc. is black so my steel boxes are both sage and black. Neat huh???

The top picture shows my arty candle decor and my flower holder. Looks great over desk # 2 on which I keep my die cutter and paper cutter. The bottom picture is my closet which holds my colored papers all organized in marked shelves.
Hope you have a pleasant weekend fellow bloggers. It's kind of cool here but the sun did come out so how can you complain!

Timeless Tuesday...make an ornament

2011-10-11T15:19:00.000-04:00

Happy TT fellow bloggers and today we are asked to make an ornament for the Tuesday challenge. Well I didn't have any real ornament stamps by Flourishes so I improvised and used my angel from the Alleluia set and made her into an ornament. I have named her Hazel as I think she looks like an old angel and needed an old name. I colored her hair with tons of silver ( just like my own) and added a bit of glitter pen to everything cause angels are glittery I think. Have you seen an angel??? Well me neither so I'm just guessing on most of this. This is probably as close to me ever seeing an angel so, hello Hazel. She is placed on two circle die cuts from Spellbinders and colored in very softly with just a touch of soft blue. Easy ornament and I'll have to set her aside to adorn my Christmas tree. Hope you are all off to a good start of a good week. It's cold here but I'm not complainig as the heat was getting me down. Take care and talk soon.

Timeless Tuesday ...get inspired

2011-10-04T10:47:00.000-04:00

Today at TT at Flourishes we are to get inspired by the top photo. Wow it's autumn looking and so very colorful so I chose to use the new set A Season of Thanks which has some beautiful images which have to remind us of Thanksgiving. My card done in the purple tones actually was the first one I did with this image but while surfing the web after I made the card I found Beate had made one almost identical so I redid and came up with the green one. I don't know how it happens when I make a card and then find another designer ( I know I'm not a real designer but let's pretend) has done a card just like mine. Once again I'm being "corny" and using this Indian corn image and my water colored pencils to do it up. Used my Spellbinders oval both regular and scalloped to set this off. Found some nice BG papers and added some bling and done. Both cards will be used for Thanksgiving to wish happiness to friends. The purple one is already in the mail to my cousin in Canada since their Thanksgiving is next Monday.
We are still having hot weather and I'm getting sick of it....come on let's have a cool down please.
Happy week fellow stampers and see you next time.

Timeless Tusday ...holiday something or other

2011-09-28T16:44:00.000-04:00

Well I don't know about you but I call Halloween a holiday cause it certainly is for all those little trick or treaters. Now can you ever be too corny?? I don't think so and neither do my grand kids. I fill the jar, they empty the jar. Anyway I took the easy way out on Flourishes TT challenge and just made a bag topper with one of my Spellbinder's labels I think it's # 8 but I now have so many I can't keep track or them all. Used the Halloween set Witching you a Happy Halloween and kept this very simple as I'm pretty pooped from having company. Stamp, color, make a bow to attach the topper but first you have to fill it with candy corn and I did just that. Now that the picture is up, it's time to rip that little sucker open and chow down on some sweet candy corn. Want a few?? Get your own ! I will give this to my little GD who is coming for her piano lesson today. Gosh I can't get over her skill at the piano. She took to it so quickly and when I introduced her to classical she wasn't too happy BUT we went to a concert last Sunday and they had a terrific pianist and she said...I want to learn that kind of music too...of course it was classical and she came back to my place and sat down and started to play a tune by Edvard Grieg called Morning. The old lady wins...hip hip hooray! Have a great week fellow bloggers.

Timeless Tuesday...all dolled up!

2011-09-22T21:34:00.000-04:00

Well once upon a time there was a young very cute gal who loved to get "all dolled " up and she wore shoes that were super high heeled because they were necessary being she was so short. Bet you thought I was going to tell you she wore them to attract the opposite sex and they made her legs look just too terrific for words. Well that... and she was very short and in order to be face to face with those hunky men, she needed those high heeled shoes. Now she wears the chubby kind of high heeled shoes so she doesn't kill herself when walking or trying to make herself look taller. Did you think I was telling you MY story??? Well I was and believe it or not I was kinda cute back in the day. Anyhow for this challenge which is the Timeless Tuesday one ( yep, I'm slow and late this week) you are to doll it up so...I chose this spikey shoe from the new set called Feminine Charm. I used some paper from my stash and just used my circle dies and then colored with the pencils and cut and added a bit of dimention to the fancy schmancy on the silver shoe. Added some blingers on my dotted paper to bring some pizazz to the whole affair. Now all I need is a little bit of charm and a cutie patootie guy and I'm all set for some dancing fun. Who am I kidding??? Have a fun rest of the week and great weekend friends and fellow high heeled wearers.

The Grass is In..and the flowers are in great bloom

2011-09-15T20:35:00.000-04:00

Well the grass is in and here's what the front looks like now. The flowers are much brighter IRL but as you can see they are blooming very nicely. They are actually a very bright fushia ( or however you spell it). Wanted you all to see the sweet abode all ready for the parade of homes...just kidding but if anyone wants to parade by it's OK with me...especially one of those super sweet cowboys I see every now and then. Hey why are all the really cute ones married or otherwise committed???

Timeless Tuesday ...make a different shape card

2011-09-13T13:16:00.000-04:00

Well today's challenge at Flourishes TT is to make a card other then the normal ...Yikes! I'm really bad at this type of thing so the best I could do was to try. I used my scalloped square and made my
"little" card because I couldn't find a big enough die to make a bigger card...HELP!! I used the set Bee My Honey for this one and made it super simple by using the honey comb stamp which is all by itself and stamped some different shades on it to create the honey comb look, guess I should have picked a bit lighter color but it is what it is. Just did the honey pot and the little phrase and that was it. Colored with my water colored pencils and added some shading with chalk. Added a little button and fini. Can you tell I wasn't very good at this whole thing? Well of course you can but as I said I did try. Getting some company again today as my sister is coming from Michigan to stay a week and see my abode. Oh and yes I will post some pictures this week as I got my landscaping and grass in finally. It looks so cool and makes it look complete finally. No cowboy in the picture as of yet...the one I met just vanished into thin air and I guess this old broad will have to settle for the single life which I must say is not all bad. Happy week fellow bloggers.

Timeless Tuesday...use water

2011-09-06T13:58:00.000-04:00

Today at Timeless Tuesday the challenge put on by Miss Maki is to stay calm and use water or something like that. This cutie patootie is from a fairly, well very new set called More kids at Play. Sweet little silouettes of kids having fun in the water etc. Here is Mary Mary quite contrary sprinkling her garden to get it to grow. I found some great paper at the scrapbook store here in town by a brand of Pebbles and both of these papers are from this company. I used the cute silouette of Mary sprinkling and just added a tiny bit of color to the flowers, grass, and her hat bow/flower or whatever that is. Used my circle Spellbinders dies and my bow easy for a matching bow.Put a bit of glitter on the sprinkled water and done. Funny while I was in my craft room making this card there was a frog jumping up and down on the window screen trying to get out of the window well. I thought to myself ...it might be Prince Charming waiting to be kissed but decided against it. I'm not that hard up just yet. Happy week fellow bloggers.

And the winner is....

2011-09-01T17:05:00.002-04:00

Well my winner is chosen by random.org and the # is 52 which is Catdidit so if you will send me your address and your selection of 2 Flourishes stamp sets we can make sure you get your prize asap. Thanks for all who signed up in hopes of winning but of course there can only be one winner. E-mail me at mrsmiley6@aol.com

Timeless Tuesday ...Bingo

2011-08-30T17:42:00.000-04:00

Hi all it's time for another TT ( that's Timeless Tuesday in case you didn't know) and it's a bingo challenge. You can pick from the card and do your card accordingly. I chose the line that has piercing, ribbon, and pearls. Believe it or not this card is a purple hue even though it seemed to photo more in the blue tones. Used Spring Bouquet set and went to town coloring with pink and purple tones with my colored pencils. Did some paper piercing and added just a stripe of ribbon and a little pearl for the two pierced corners. Used a Spellbinders die for my shippidy shape and that's it.
Hope you are all well and happy. I have company from my home state of Michigan so I have been a little busy . Still had time for GS's first football game of the new year and it was so awesome...they won in the last 23 seconds of the game. We all went wild and the team rooters or should I say brute-ers from the other team were really ticked off but we of course were all happy and of course that's all that really matters. Talk later when I have some time on my hands. Remember to sign up for the blog candy on the post below as I'll be picking a winner soon.

Happy 4th Birthday Flourishes!!

2011-08-24T00:00:00.051-04:00

Happy Birthday to Flourishes, which is now a big 4 years old! So as a part of the birthday celebration for this super stamp company, there is going to be plenty of prizes and fun! Today kicks off the fun with a customer appreciation day and I am so honored to say I was one of the designers asked to help celebrate. Much happiness and hugs to Jan Marie and her wonderful husband Mike, "the shipping guy" for operating such a great company. We are asked to use our favorite set but how can you do that when they ALL are my favorite! How can you get in on the action? Just pick up your favorite set and create. Want to see what you could win?

A mix of these sets above! There are more than a half dozen prize packages being given away this week so, be sure to get all the details and just click HERE.

I chose the new Wild For Watermelon set for my card. Used some bright and cheerful colors to set my watermelon in the spot-light. Just colored with my water colored pencils and used my Spellinders Classic Oval and Classic Scalloped Oval to set the image off. I made a little tag for my phrase which is from the Tag Lines set...Flourishes of course. I had a wonderful buckle-style button, so I could thread my lime satin ribbon through and... I guess I'm done here! Not really though, because in honor of this celebration and my own upcoming 4-year blogoversary, I am offering up some BLOG CANDY! What do you win? Two stamp sets of your choice from none other than Flourishes! Just sign up by leaving a comment here on this post and you are in the running. You have until September 1st at 5 PM CST. GOOD LUCK!

Your next stop in the hop is Debbie Marcinkiewicz!

Timeless Tuesday...pink,one button & ribbon & or lace

2011-08-16T14:15:00.001-04:00

Well today at Flourishes we are going to follow the lead of cutie Heather J. and do as follows.Use the color pink,1 button, ribbon & or lace. To me pink can sometimes be hard to use because you have to choose just the right shade to blend it all together.Sooo...I hope I'm in the pink with my choice.I found that this Zinnia set is becoming one of my favorites when making cards as it can be colored almost anyway and be correct. As you can see if you are looking, I did the bowl full of zinnias and used some sweeet bg that was in my bin (think it's probably K&Co. ) but don't quote me on that. Not much to this card as once I put the ribbon on and added my button I thought to myself...what else can I do?? I decided nothing because sometimes more is not the route to go. Simple easy and hopefully pleasing. Are you all off to a good week?? I am as I went back to my routine at the gym with my hunk of a trainer Rory and I felt so good about getting back into the swing of the aches and pains a work out can bring. You know as they say...No pain no gain. Happy week fellow stampers.

Timeless Tuesday Thursday...be fruity

2011-08-11T13:21:00.000-04:00

Well being fruity is my forte so this Flourishes challenge was easy. So many wonderful fruits to choose from so I looked in the stash and said...this is peachy keen and chose the peach from the fruity cherry and peach set. Very easy card with just some coloring with the old stand-by water colored pencils. Did a Spellbinder's die to place my peaches on and only added a few embellies and done.
Went to Denver last week with DD and family to visit my son Justin and his new wife Callie. What a wonderful trip! Had tons of fun and it's great to see two very happy young people get married and become a happy unit. As for me...well I did meet a nice cowboy at the VFW hall and we'll see how that goes. Sadly his name is not Buck or Shorty or any of those normal cowboy names. But the good news is he does wear the infamous cowboy hat and boots.
I have to wonder if there's hair under that hat but only time will tell. So I'll give a big whooohay and hope for the best. Won't tell you his name until I get to really know him. So this cowgirl is signing off for now and saying happy trails to you all.
Pat

Timeless Tuesday...Favorite flower

2011-08-02T09:00:00.002-04:00

Hey it's time for Timeless Tuesday at Flourishes and today's challenge is to use your favorite flower image...are you guys crazy??? All of Flourishes flowers are my favorite so I'm choosing the newest one I stole while at DD's place and stamped it off several times. It's from BEE MY HONEY set again and it's such a great set I can't help it if I used it before cause I plan to use it again and again. This is going out to a dear friend to say hello by mail for a change. I get so caught up in telephoning I forget how nice it is to get mail so I'm actually using the cards I make lately and putting them off in the postal service.Easy card with just stamping a bit of coloring and added some bg in the checkered strips and a few bees and the button for my embellishments. Hope your week is off to a good start. It's been so hot here lately that
I've been super tired and lazy...but I did clean junk out of my garage and got it to the dump thanks to my SIL. Washed half of the garage floor and then had to quit as the heat ( over 96 ) was getting to me. Take it easy fellow bloggers as that's what I'm going to do. Taking a little trip to Denver to see my son again and looking forward to that. Talk soon.

Timeless Tuesday...Christmas in July

2011-07-26T18:29:00.000-04:00

Well it's Timeless Tuesday Tuesday at Flourishes and we are asked to make a Christmas card here in July. If you're in the same boat as most of the country we are all wishing for some cool down weather so it's fun to think snow and Christmas. Wish I could bring this image to life as he looks so warm and fuzzy and I'll bet his disposition would match that beautiful smile and happy twinkle in his eyes. He's the kind of guy any gal would be happy to latch on to. This sweet image is from the set I Believe and it is my favorite Christmas set...why you ask??? Well it's so easy to create with,which is just great when you want to mass produce cards for the mailing list. I stamped the image with distress ink and just added a touch of color to it and then some glitter to the fur on his cap.Used a punch for my holly leaf and added a bright red blinger for the berry look.Now how easy is that! Hope you're all off to a good week. Things here are good other then it's too darn hot for us old folks. I'm going to the beach tomorrow with my DGD who wants to first go to K-Mart and get a couple noodles.You know those styrofoam long stick thingys you just throw your arms over and attempt to float on? Well they do work and it's an easy way to get around in the water so I guess we'll call that a plan. Happy week and talk soon.

Timeless Tuesday...get inspired

2011-07-19T21:34:00.001-04:00

Well for Timeless Tuesday at Flourishes, Silke is asking us to get inspired by her picture from Crate & Barrell. The colors are bright and cheerful...magenta/fushia which makes me think of a raincoat I once owned. Yes, it was the exact color of my card believe it or not but I suggest you believe it. I was at the University of Detroit at the time and walked into the cafeteria one rainy evening wearing my snazzy coat and the cutest guy I ever saw ( well maybe not the very cutest, but to me he was) gave me a huge smile and said..."Nice coat". Well, that was the beginning of a very beautiful and meaningful realationship with the darling who ended up being my Mr. Only...my husband. Soooo, this is an awesome color as far as I'm concerned. So glad to make a card out of this color and chose to use some dotted swiss on the bottom to make it kind of dainty. This is a new set from Flourishes and I love it so much that I stamped off some of the images that DD's set. It's called Be my Honey I think, and done up with my favy colored pencils. Just used my Spellbinders circle cuts and slapped it all together and added a bit of glitter, as in here a glitter, there a glitter, everywhere I feel like glitter. My picture is not the best and I do so apologize but the lighting was crappy so I used my kitchen counter and that's not too cool.
Anyway DD is at the CHA which I think stands for Crafty Hoarders Assembly or something like that and I'm sure she is having a blast with all the other Hoarders. Hope your week is good fellow bloggers. It's hot here almost 100 today and tomorrow I'm hitting a only beach in the area as I need to soak my feet in some mountain cool water. See you all soon.
Pat

Timeless Tuesday July 12th.....emboss it

2011-07-12T16:31:00.000-04:00

Well today at Timeless Tuesday we are to emboss it, either dry embossing or whatever else kind there is...guess that means with powder and a heat gun. Hey it's so hot here I'm not about to heat up a gun and go crazy so I'm using this awesome embossing folder I got at a Stampin Up party. Isn't it a cutie??
Nice border of tulips and so now you need to take off your shoes and smelly or not bare your feet so you can tip toe through the tulips with me. I'm playing my uke and if you listen really closely you can probably hear Tiny Tim singing in his off key voice. Crazy old guy and crazy old gal but so much fun to do a little dance..sing a little song, get down tonight. Hey, where the heck am I ??? I'm in a whole new era now but let's blame it on the hot weather. Easy peasy card with just using my folder and a Spellbinder's die for my red background cut and then for the white I just corner punched a little decorative edge. Added a little bling which turned my fingers red with permanent red marker cause the blingers were more pink then red. Used one of the tulips from Flourishes thank-you set. Colored pencils as I just don't know how to be copicsetic. Too hard for me. Hope you're all off ( I don't mean mentally off) to a great week. See you again soon.
Pat

Timeless Tuesday ...card for friend

2011-07-05T17:32:00.000-04:00

Well it's Timeless Tuesday at Flourishes and today we are to make a card that has "friend" on it. Well now that's an easy one as I have some fabbie friends that I love to send cards to. This one will go to my BFF Lindy, who is back in Michigan where so many days, so is my heart. This "wild and wooly West" is a tough place for this "mild, mellow & musty old lady" at times. Anyway tell you more about that a bit later. This Zinnia set is just becoming one of my favorite sets as it's just perfect for any kind of card. I used it along with Butterflies and Blossoms or Blossoms & Butterflies ( not sure of all the names) where I got the little phrase. I chose soft pink for my base and added just a bit of patterned paper I picked out of my scrap bin along with an ivory bit which I tore the edge of and then rubbed a bit of pink chalk on. Tied a pink bit of ribbon and well let's face it I'm finished here. It's a pale card but every now and then that's Ok with me...don't always have to be bright and perky. So let me tell you about my wild time, it was so fun and different. First of all we started the night with a great meal out and then headed out to the pig races...yep you read right, the PIG races. Little Porky, Shakin Bacon, and so many more little piglets were running there hearts out in a sizzling race. Let's face it,you'd run like blue blazes too if you didn't want to become some body's pork roast. Go little piggy was the shout for the night.You can bet on the races but the money goes to the high school for a fund for schlorships. It was pretty crowded but so much fun and since we wanted to take a different route home because that's where the ice-cream was ...we headed into a little village called Red Lodge. Well the rodeo was in town and everywhere you looked we saw Cowboys! I didn't have my camera but I've been told seeing all the cowboys is not all that unusual so maybe next time I can get some pictures of these cute guys in there hats, boots, and even spurs. Wahoo!!! So off to a good week after the wonderful 4th. with fireworks and all. See you soon.
Pat

Timeless Tuesday...Sketch by Tammy

2011-06-28T00:01:00.071-04:00

Well it's time for Timeless Tuesday and it's a sketch challenge that Miss Tammy has designed for us to follow. I love sketch challenges but this one had me really challenged. I wanted to do a good job as this is my last week as the design team's guest...where did the time go??? I was having so much fun being in the spot light and now it's time for the curtain to come down. I have to tell you.. along the way I've met some new friends and have some new places to visit and delight in some wonderful blogs that offer up some great stuff. Enough blubbering...where's the dang Kleenex? On to the card.

Here's a peek at the sketch...

And, here's my card...

There are two cutie patootie papers on it,one is Basic Gray/Grey (the plaid) and the other (flourish) is K & Company. My image of course is Flourishes from the Strawberries set and then my little word "Smile" is from the Tag Lines set. I used the Spellbinder's Classic Circle and Eyelet Circle Nestabilities dies. My matching ribbon is from Mike and my little scalloped like border is from a Stampin' Up punch. Not my normal every day card but decided to get a bit funky and fun with these cute papers. Added some glitter glue and some white gel pen was used to make the seedy look on the berries, cause I'm a seedy kind of broad and I thought I should have that shown a bit.

If you want to see all the details of today's challenge, just head on over to the Flourishes Blog. And, be sure to hop on over to see the rest of the FTTC designers....

Betty
Maki
Silke
Cindy
Heather
Tammy

So there you go fellow stampers...off to a good week and hope to see you all soon again.

Pat

Timeless Tuesday...It's in the bag!

2011-06-21T00:00:00.001-04:00

Well today at Timeless Tuesday at Flourishes Betty wants us to use brown grocery bag paper on the card/project. Fun huh? Well I went all out and made some paper flowers out of my brown bag with a Sizzix's die. Decided to go as DD calls it shabby chic. Me shabby?? Me chic?? To clarify that's chic (not sheikh as in Rudy Valentino's sheikh).Don't know if I'm either but I can do a card that way if I want to and so I did.

My card base is kraft, with a mat of ivory, and then some "chic" dp bought at Mike's pad. Didn't show who put it out because I used part of it previously and so the name is gone..sorry people. It's a soft denim colored blue and ivory so I wanted to bring that out in my flower. After cutting the different size flowers I brushed them with denim colored ink that Adirondack puts out. Now for some fun I used the Scor-Pal and did a bit of pleating out of the ivory card stock and then added some crocheted ribbon stuff to give it that vintage look. Guess I need to use some of that on myself to add to my vintage look (mine is wrinkled skin and old age spots) not so classy, me thinks. After I slapped it together I added the little flag sentiment "thank-you" found in the Hello Hyacinth set. Put a few blingers on and I'm through here.So now it's your turn to get a bag (not a live one like me) and see what you can come up with. There's lots of ideas out there, just tune into one of them and give it a go. Oh, and be sure to check out the design team's work...they are listed and linked below. For a look at the official challenge and all the rules, feel free to click HERE.

Betty
Maki
Silke
Cindy
Heather
Tammy

Hope your week will be a goody one. See you again soon.

Timeless Tuesday...circles & squares

2011-06-14T01:00:00.074-04:00

Hey it's that time of week again and the challenge over at Flourishes is to use circles and squares on your card/project, use as many as you want but be sure to use both shapes. Well I know it's hip to be square, just ask Huey Lewis and the News (wow that takes me back in time quite a bit) and as Diana Ross might say..round and round you turn me sooo... let's do it people. Dang, I'll have those tunes floating in my lame brain all day now.

I decided to be square first by making a totally square card and adding a few more squares before turning myself into the round. Card base is the cute polka (shall we dance for awhile here) dotted fun colored green and we move on from there by adding green, white, and then a fancy schmancy square compliments of my Spellbinder Die Eyelet Squares. Then, I changed my tactic and started using some circle shapes. I stamped the new Zinnia flower and colored with my ...yep you guessed it my favorite water colored pencils and my faithful blender. I tried some new pencils put out by Derwent called Inktense and I like them. They're pretty vibrant. Not much to this card other then following the challenge and using my circles and squares and then adding a wee bow. So get to work and join the fun why don't you? Quit reading start stamping and then link up on the Timeless Tuesday post for today. Be sure and check out the design teams card/projects.....

Betty
Cindy
Silke
Maki
Heather
Tammy

Timeless Tuesday ...Father's Day card

2011-06-06T23:00:00.008-04:00

Well it's time for Timeless Tuesday over at Flourishes and yours truly is sitting in for the entire month of June as a guest designer! Pretty exciting for this ole lady, I tell ya! This week Silke is asking for a Father's Day card ..easy peasy.. especially when you have Flourishes' What a Catch set. So, here goes! I used gray/grey for my card base and went to work adding some manish type background papers. I love the hat and equipment this image shows, but I wondered where's the can of worms??? I like to thread them on the hook and lure the fish that way. I'm not big on phony flies, but to each his own. I stamped and colored with my faithful water colored pencils and used the blender to get the shadowy effects. Then around my phrase I did the Hokey Pokey and I turned myself around...oops! Once again, I got off track . What I meant to say was I did a bit of piercing (not on myself cause I'm too old for that foolishness) but on the phrase. I made a pretend like ribbon and made it manly by putting some of those nailhead thingys, and guess what??? I'm done here.

Be sure to hop on over and see the other Timeless Tuesday gals....

Betty Wright
Cindy Haffner
Maki Jones
Silke Ledlow
Tammy Hershberger -- she's taking the week off!
Iwona Palmountain -- she's joining us a guest this week!
Heather Jensen - she's one of the new team members!

Thanks for stopping by, and I'll see you all next week for another round of Timeless Tuesday! Be sure to click HERE for all the challenge details!

Front door is on...finally

2011-06-03T11:22:00.000-04:00

Here is what my darling cottage looks like now that it is all painted and my door is back on. Too bad my grass is not in yet but it is what it is. I decided if I don't get some grass before the summer really rolls in I will go to Lowe's and buy some by the yard and throw it down...phony is better then none.

Timeless Tuesday...color challenge

2011-05-31T13:09:00.005-04:00

Well it's Timeless Tuesday over at Flourishes and today's challenge comes from that Canadian power house Cindy who said..let's use cranberry, caramel, dark grey (a.k.a. gray) or dark brown. Well hey who doesn't love cranberries and caramel (syrup all over a heaping bowl of ice-cream)? I don't think that was what she had in mind!

I thought this would be a hard one but put the feeble mind and body in action and found out it wasn't so bad after all. My card base is using the dark brown and my buddy Mike provided me with the BG paper which I found in my stash. Do you see the cranberry colored writing on it? Perfect. I chose the set "What a Catch", which is wonderful for Father's Day cards. I picked out the bag ( not my cup of tea as I prefer leather). This is the one that houses those pretend flies etc. Used my faithful water colored pencils and a blender and went to work doing my thing which is coloring..love that being a kid part. My small background mat is cranberry, next is the caramel one which is embossed and sanded a bit to make it more manly, then did a dark brown mat with my Spellbinder Labels Three die and then my image, which I also die-cutted..is that a word?? To finish it off I did a bit of sponging with one of those old antique inks, slapped it all together and I'm almost done. For my final touch, I put on some gold nail heads and I'm done here.

So since most men think they are all that and a bag of chips the phrase was perfect. Haven't heard that here in Montana but it was a popular one back in the big D (Detroit area) and was used in a most happy fashion. Well fellow bloggers here's hoping your week is "fly". It's sunny today and wow no rain. See you soon.

Timeless Tuesday...bag or box..I'll choose box

2011-05-24T00:00:00.004-04:00

Well fellow stampers today at Flourishes it's time for the Timeless Tuesday challenge and Miss Dee says do a bag or box and make it your own. Well since I've got the being a bag down pat I decided to get out of the box and decorate one.

As you can see I used a Macy's box which is not from here in cowtown but from my former abode in Michigan. DD came over to direct me in the making of a box but as fate would have it...she just took it upon herself to do it. I guess you can't teach an old bag new tricks and it's easier to just do it for the old broad. Well this box is to house a gift for my DGD Elizabeth who is making her First Holy Communion this Thursday evening. She loves pink so what better then these gorgous blossoms from the Cherry Blossoms set. Stamp, use die, and then do some paper tole which I have done for so many years. Back in the day we did the dimension by using silica gel to raise the image ( probably why I'm so doped up to this day) but in this case I used some little foam raise me uppers. Classy, soft, and sweet just like dear Ellie. The lovely pink satin ribbon sets off the image and of course needed a bow...done with the Bow Easy which makes making a bow pretty darn easy. Guess that's why it's called the "Bow Easy".

All done fellow stampers and friends. Raining and pouring and the old man is snoring...oh that's wrong now but it is raining and they came and took my door off so they can paint it and return it as ordered. Should be back in a day or so then I'll finally be able to take a picture. Happy week fellow bloggers and see you soon.

Timeless Tuesday...toporary or something like that

2011-05-18T14:07:00.004-04:00

Well Timeless Tuesday was to use the picture above as your inspiration... I am a little "light headed" as I got my hair cut yesterday so being the lame brain that I am I just used the lemon tree from the lemon set and made a ... yep you guessed it my own take on the toperary ( dang that's a hard one to spell). I got frisky and used a punch to make my little flowers and added a bit of blingers for pizazz. Very simple card as my paper takes front and center. It's from a pad of K & Company purchased from my buddy Michael. Very little work..well there is a lot of work if you're like me with old hands that don't work too well with small objects like the punched out flowers and the blingy things. Stamp, color, make a bow, use the die cuts and there you have it. Happy week fellow bloggers.
Still waiting for my front door to be painted and then it will be picture time. DD put my flowers in the flower box which is just below my bedroom window and gosh it looks so cute all filled with bright pink. You'll see it soon I promise.

Timeless Tuesday...Anything goes

2011-05-11T14:08:00.005-04:00

In olden days a show of stockings was looked upon as something shocking now heaven knows...anything goes. Well ain't that the truth! Now it's how much can you show cause anything goes. Oh my what have we come to??? So with that in mind I am doing my "anything goes" with Flourishes calendar set using the rose which is a June flower and I said so what if I'm a month early cause this is an anything goes challenge. Just used some perky papers from a pack from K & Company and got out my Spellbinders die cuts and then stamped my rose and used my water colored pencils, added some ric-rac and a bright colored button. My birthday stamp is from the flag set and I just did a bit of curvature and viola I'm fini. Dig the French??
Hope you all had a fab Mother's Day. I was super surprised by DD with tickets to are you ready for this....Sugarland. I love this group and know it will be a blast as DD, myself, and my spunky GD Ellie are having a girl's nite out. Dinner (and of course I'll sneek in a Dirty Martini) and then the concert. Sounds like so much fun. Have a great week fellow bloggers. See you soon.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms

2011-05-07T12:51:00.004-04:00

Want to wish all you Moms out there a Happy Mother's Day. I was pleasantly surprised by this gorgeous flower delivery on Thursday nite. My niece Punkin ( her real name is Patricia after me) sent them to me for Mom's Day. She always has thought of me as her Mom and our realtionship has been very close and still is. Love the beauty and smell of this beautiful bouquet. Hope you all have a great day with your family, friends or whoever is special in your life. DD has invited me to dinner which means I don't have to cook or do clean-up.....Yeah!

Timeless Tuesday...card for a child

2011-05-03T14:05:00.003-04:00

It's time for Timeless Tuesday at Flourishes and the challenge is to do a card/project for a young person. Well I don't have any stamps that say "use me" for a kiddo so I went to the stash and found the flag/banner set and decided with some cute BG I would be able to pull it off. Well at least I would try and pull it off.I looked through my designer papers and found this perky stuff and thought it would work with the banner of posies if I colored it correctly and so that's what I did. Added some glitz cause all kids love anything blingy and to top it off or in this case to bottom it off I colored some of those I forget what you call them flowers to match the paper and add a button with some ( not twine) but dental floss to pretend it's sewn on. And there you have it friends and bloggers...fini!
Guess what??? They painted my house and it looks awesome. Soft sage and a lighter sage for accent and ivory for the trim. They haven't done the door yet but as soon as it's painted ( sort of wine or plum) I will post some pictures. Have a great week.

Timeless Tuesday Sketch

2011-04-26T16:42:00.003-04:00

Well today's Timeless Tuesday is a sketch that Silke designed and I love to do sketches because that means someone does the work for me and I elementaryily just copy it and make it my own. Looks like I was a bit tipsy when I took this picture but I was fighting a very bad cloudy day and was trying to make it work...so just tilt your head a bit to the left and it will look a little more straight. Sorry about that. I just used my Spellbinder's die cuts and the small flower from the Flourishes Sweet Pea collection...the word is from the hyacinth set. Easy peasy and maybe a bit pleasy who knows! Hope you are off to a good start for this week. Easter here was a wonderful warm and sunny day of just sitting in the sun drinking in all of it...especially my wonderful bottle of White Merlot by Mr. Behringer. Got to love that man for making such a delish wine. Had fun playing card Scrabble and Uno..we all had a lot of good time and hope your day was great also. Talk later.

Timeless Tuesday use aqua, yellow, & brown

2011-04-20T11:18:00.005-04:00

Well the Timeless Tuesday challenge is to use aqua, yellow, & brown and I have to tell you this was a tuffy for me because I am not an "out of the box" kind of gal and I find it hard to put different colors like this together. Love you Miss Cindy, but you stressed me out on this one. Grabbed the colors from my paper stash and tried to make it work. I used the daffy dills from the calendar set, a couple dies from Spellbinders, a bit of ribbon and a wee button and I slapped them all together and this is how it ended. Hope everyone is getting ready for the Easter Bunny...I am. Can't figure out where to hide all the goodies for the kiddos so I don't eat it all before the big day. When my DGD asked me for something special I told her to put it on her list for the bunny. She explained it's not like Christmas Nana, you don't make a list. Gosh was I ever disappointed to find that out and here I was with my list all ready to present to the bunny at the mall. I think I'll just give it to him anyway and see what transpires. Happy week fellow stampers.

Rubbermaid meets Mudmaven for a really good time!

2011-04-15T16:35:00.003-04:00

Well I just returned from my trip to Colorado and what a great surprise...I met Mudmaven who is aka Chris Pereira. How great it was to meet her IRL and enjoy a lunch together and find out about each other's life. She is a doll of a person and someone I know if I lived in Colorado, she would be a real life friend. Thanks for the time Chris...it was wonderful. I also had time with my son & his fiance Callie and we all had a great visit. Justin and I went into Denver and saw tons of stuff and spent hours at the Denver Art Museum, which is a 7 story high one and totally awesome. Weather was good and because my hotel had an indoor pool we had the luxery of a swim each night. Talk soon.

Update on my training for Hospice

2011-04-09T12:49:00.002-04:00

Finished my training for Hospice and when I return from my visit to Colorado I will be assigned my first patient. I'm really excited to be able to be accepted into this program and hope to gain some good spiritual blessings from it. Talk soon.

Timeless Tuesday...Friday

2011-04-08T10:35:00.005-04:00

Well better late then never or is it never late then better? In case you noticed I've been busy and haven't been posting much so here I am again. This was a hard one for me because I take things literally and try to copy the sample rather then going out of the box and thinking a bit more. So I copied the quilt pattern and made my card a mimic of it...or at least somewhat a mimic. Easy peasy and not a struggle like Betsy Ross probably had doing our first flag. No sewing just grabed my Spellbinder's circle and fancy edged circle and used a stamp from Flourishes tagaline set and voila it's done. I'm heading over to Colorado tomorrow to see the son, whom I've not seen since Jan. of 2010. He moved from Michigan and I came to Montana and our paths just haven't crossed in awhile so I'm going for a visit. Be gone for almost a week so if you don't see me you'll know why. Keep stampin and see you when I return.

Timeless Tuesday....uses more then one set

2011-03-29T15:33:00.005-04:00

Use more then one set...it's Timeless Tusday at Flourishes. This was a fun challenge and after rummaging through my sets I came up with a plan or sort of anyway. My branch which is almost invisible unless you click to enlarge is done in a shadow sage and is from the set called Humming along...my favorite little bird the humming bird. The butterfly which I set on 2 die cut circles from Spellbinders is from the Clematis set and lastly the word friend comes from the Gerber Daisies set. I think I should have used a brighter color on this card and it may have ended up to be a bit more showy but I didn't so it is what it is. Hope your week is off to a great start. This is my week for Hospice training and I'm really looking forward to starting that service...I'll let you know how it goes.

Timeless Tuesday...mask it

2011-03-22T17:28:00.005-04:00

Well today Timeless Tuesday for Flourishes says to "mask" it. Does that mean I'm supposed to put on a mask and act like the Lone Ranger???Probably not so I'll get down to business and play the game. I used the beautiful set Hello Hyacith which makes me feel like Easter is fast approaching,and I always treat myself to a pot of this beautiful smelling flower. Save the bulbs and plant them for next spring..I do don't you? I stamped this in a soft gray ( or grey if you prefer), so it would stay as soft looking as possible since I planned to color it softly with my water colored pencils. Love the phrase and hope we all follow that hint. Love my ribbon which I purchased at Mike's place and bought several rolls so I had it. Well happy week fellow stampers. We are having some snow today but it's not sticking and collecting other then on the grass...or since I don't have any of that yet I should say mud.

Anything but a card....IO's challenge

2011-03-17T10:29:00.007-04:00

Above is the Before

Well today's challenge for Impression Obsession is having you do "anything but a card". Found my anything in the "cheaper then cheap" aisle at Mike's place. A pack of 8 coasters to work with. So I got out the die cuts by Spellbinders and did a bit of die cutting and then got to work stamping. Used IO's set Life and FlowersCL-250 for all the phrase work and some other leafy type stamps I dug out of DD's hoard. Used some smeared colors and just tried to match the ink to the color so it would show but not be too over-bearing. After all the coasters were done I put several coats of Modge Podge on so they can actually be used. Easy little project and usable. Hope you week is going well and you all have a Happy Weekend. Happy St. Paddy's Day to all of you Irish people out there and don't forget to have a green beer for me.

How about a coffee???

2011-03-15T19:54:00.004-04:00

Well last night a friend had a SU party and we did this card which is supposed to mimic a cup of coffee you might buy at good old Starbucks or the local coffee place. Cute card with all SU product. Thought the dotted part was cute for the foam on a double Capachino ( or however you spell it) my favorite coffee drink...decaf with skim milk foam of course. So there you have it.
Remember I told you I went to get my liscence plate mounted on the front of my car. Well we were leaving the dealership when this super handsome "cowboy" tipped his hat to me and out of my stupid mouth flew the word...Howdy! I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing super hard but I know I probably turned beet red. Yikes I just can't get used to these adorable guys in that special hat. Wahoo!!!

It's the Cherries...for challenge

2011-03-12T11:10:00.004-05:00

Well Flourishes put up a challenge for some sort of fancy edging or scallops or something...can't remember what I read but know I needed to make my card "edgy". I chose a stamp from the set called Peaches & Cherries. Love the phrase on the card as it's so true. Since making my move I found that my BFF Lindy and I can grow separately but will not grow apart. She's the best! This was a simple card with just choosing the cute circle cuts from Spellbinder along with some cute polka dotted paper, a SU edge punch and just the smallest part of the cherry bunch. Did a bit of coloring and fought with my "bow easy" ( you kidding me???) can't remember how it works bow maker and voila I'm done. It's the pits when you can't remember how to use a snazzy little bow maker but DD helped me remember so we're good to go.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend. Weather here in Montana is spring like and so enjoyable.

Timeless Tuesday...stitch it up...

2011-03-10T22:42:00.004-05:00

Well just a bit overdue again for Timeless Tuesday happening on a Tuesday but that's Ok isn't it??

Of course it is cause I said so. This week you are to stitch it either real or faux..kind of like friend or foe but I chose to go with the friendly kind and DD did a zig-zag for me because my machine is not set up yet. Could have done the foe or faux and just draw on some stitches but went all out and had DD do it for me. This is done with the Poppy set from Flourishes and a set that I have used over and over again as it's just so nice. My BG is from a pad by Autumn Leaves called Pretty Poppies. Just did a bit of coloring after stamping and then put it on a few mats and slapped on the glue along with a little phrase from Flourishes ( forgot the name and am too lazy to check ). Put on some little blingers and I'm ready for a good night's sleep.

Have to take my car down the road into a little village called Laurel to have a bracket put on the front end since here in Montana you need to show off your liscence plate both front and back. Always something isn't it!

Blue skies smiling at me...

2011-03-04T12:27:00.005-05:00

There is a challenge at Impression Obsession ( started yesterday) and you are to use the color blue with one of their stamps. I chose this lovely garden type bench with the sweet Easter bunny( Alesa Baker's Wire Garden Bench) and decided to stamp in Adirondack's denim blue . Rather then really color my image I chose to take my faithful blender and just pull a bit of the ink to add highlights to different areas. My BG is from a pad of Making Memories which is double sided so you can surely match your colors. To add a bit of pizazz I added a "bow easy" satin ribbon bow and some bling. Always need a bit of bling to finish it off. And speaking of finishing it off...that's what I'm doing with my "Sheen" personality. I say enough of it already. How can a drug/alcoholic celebrity stay in the spot light so long??? He needs to go and stay in rehab and clean up his act. Sermon over Charlie! So have a fun filled weekend fellow bloggers. Spend some time doing some fun things with your family.

Timeless Thursday...late again

2011-03-03T14:13:00.003-05:00

Well I'm late as usual for the challenge but I've been having a head problem....stuffy and not clear thinking. Then I thought to myself, what would Charlie do??? Have a "Sheen" moment and remember how great life is and how wonderful I am and get on with it. So with that said I decided to make a card which is green even though it's not St. Paddy green and join in the Tuesday challenge for Flourishes. I love my papers, both the dots and stripes so I'm using a lime green and pretending I'm a bit sickly green and moving on. This is from the set Clematis & Butterflies and I know your thinking...whoever saw a green Clematis and I agree but so what! Just stamped and colored a bit and then slapped it all together like I always do and took a picture and I'm done. I am going to stick my head under a towel with some steamy water blasting in my face and see if I can clear myself out a bit. Happy week everyone, take care and be sure to file your income tax quickly if you get a refund so you get the money before there is none to give. YIKES!

Timeless Tuesday Birthday card...

2011-02-22T10:29:00.007-05:00

So today's challenge for Timeless Tuesday is to make a birthday card and I had made this card on Sat. for a friend whose birthday is coming up in March. I guess the voodo vibes were working & I was all set.This is from the Flourishes calendar set and actually the daffy dilly is for the month of April but who cares right? I used my wonderful colored pencils and then got a bit sassy and decided to cut my image out and give it a bit of demension...cause let's face it I am a bit demented ( get it? demention...demented )but I think that's Ok. I love my fancy birthday phrase, which I'm sorry to say is not from Flourishes but another company. Used my Spellbinder ovals and slapped some ribbon and cute BG paper on and I am done. So fellow bloggers Smile even if you don't know what the heck is going on...life is short, enjoy it . Have a great week and see you soon.

Hey Cupcake...Sweeet!

2011-02-17T22:27:00.003-05:00

Well there's a sweet challenge at IO (that's Impression Obsession for those that don't know). It's to do a cupcake card. So, I sweetly decided to enter the challenge. My cupcake is of course an IO image (Everything Rose Cupcake)that has been paper pieced (not to be confused with paper pierced) by using some cute little bits of dotted paper. I just realized I forgot to put some glitter on the top but hey cupcakes are so caloric do we need more? This was just colored with the good old colored pencils and kind of blended and then just used my die cuts and then slapped it all together.

Want to read up on the challenge? Just head over HERE.

Hope your week is going good as mine is. See you soon. Montana cowgirl mooing off.

Timeless Tuesday...3 patterned papers

2011-02-15T22:23:00.006-05:00

Well winter ain't gone and Spring ain't riz but if you're wondering where the Rubbermaid is...here I am with the TT challenge. I have to confess my craft room is still a royal American mess so I found this calendar set in a box and said this is it. Actually the month of February is picturing the primrose but I found this patterned paper in the blues's ( I'm not in the blue's the paper is)so I said to myself...self use it and make it work. The papers came from a packet from Making Memories and is all in the brown and blue tones. The Flourishes calendar packs are amazing in the ways they can be used and I will use them to whip up some birthday cards to forward to the hospital and Hospice. I am becoming a Hospice volunteer here in Montana. Got to get busy and thought this would be a good cause to become involved in. Hope you are all off to a good start to this week, I am and hope it continues. Can you believe it was in the low 60's here today !

And the winner of the Valentine candy is....

2011-02-15T11:47:00.002-05:00

The draw was made by my darling granddaughter Ellie and she picked the name Debbie Pokerwinski. The prize is the choice of 3 Flourishes stamp sets. So Debbie please send me an e-mail and I will see that your choice is sent through and on to you. Thanks for sending in the Valentines ladies and gentlemen...the hospital was over joyed.

I'm just a Love machine:)

2011-02-08T23:27:00.005-05:00

Well it's Timeless Tuesday and it's still Tuesday here in the gun toteing West so I'm going to do this post on time and get back in the saddle of posting some cards. How's that for being a brave cowgirl??? This cutie stamp is a Flourishes sweetie from the set Token of Affection...or something like that and I have to tell you it's way better then a token of infection which seems to be going around this sage brush area. Everyone is sniffling and sneezing and tearing up. Not a pretty sight so this little robot should take us all to a better place. Baby this is one COLD wintery day in the minus temps. But back to my card which yes I know my picture is a bit blurry but I'm still not set up in my craft room so this was taken on my bedroom window seat with the sun beaming in. Just used my faithful water colored pencils and of course put a sweet "button" on since the challenge called for putting a button on. That's it just a few slaps of glue and a bit of matting and I'm fini. Glad to be back in the swing of things and will start my visiting tomorrow.

More Pics!

2011-02-06T08:36:00.009-05:00

Hi all... Julie the DD here! I was over at my mom's house and was taking a few pictures and she wanted me to share them here. So... here goes!

Some of this she shared but.... I thought I'd put these up anyway!

Living Room -- you can see door to master from here.
This is a peek from the living room up to the loft....(which is not ready for pics yet!!)

This is a shot moving toward the kitchen to show how open this all is....

And here's a shot from the other way looking into the living room!

Kitchen.....

Where she blogs! ;-)

Dining Area....

Master Bedroom... (forgot to take pictures of bath - but she has a big bath and HUGE walk in closet - I am jealous. It doubles as a laundry room for convenience)

Basement Living Area... off to the right there is a door and that will be her craft room once we get it organized so she can actually take stuff out of boxes! ;-)

View from other side...

Guest room 1 -- have to get some art for above the bed and maybe a nice sitting chair for guests.

There is another guest bed but we still have to get it together - have the bed,bedding, and all that jazz just not really together.

So, hope you enjoyed "the tour!!" Happy Sunday!

~Julie

My Master Bedroom

2011-02-05T14:16:00.002-05:00

There is a little nook in my master bedroom where I put my new " Black Beauty" dresser..right next to my window which has a wonderful window seat. Have to get some fluffy big pillows so I can prop my newly "svelt" body in the window by my darling late husband's cowboy hat. See I do have a cowboy in my life and will have for ever more.

My room is a soft blue tone that is called "Sea Salt" which I think in it's self is a beautiful name. I carried out the black in my coverlet and commplete set except I bought ivory sheets made of that exquisette Egyptian silk which is so luxgerious to lay between. I just realized I used a bunch of uppity words that I don't even know how to spell so please give a bit of forgiveness here. The sun was out when I took these so they aren't the best in clearity but I gave you somewhat of an idea. My room is very generous in size and I am looking for a lounge chair to put in so I can prop my feet up and watch the tellie.

Have a super-bowl terrific weekend. See you soon.

A Bit more of the Home...

2011-02-02T17:37:00.007-05:00

This is my powder room ..just off the main living area so it is convenient for guests. Soft yellow gold in color with burnished bronze fixtures. Julie and I found these lovely butterfly prints and they worked perfectly. It's hard to take good pictures when there is a mirror involved. But I think you get the drift. Hope you don't have drifts in your neck of the woods...it's just bitter cold here.

Thought I'd show you a beautiful piece of art work I have on my open stairway. Love the beauty of this one so much with rich soft purple tones against my sage green walls. Pretty keen if I do say so myself. Try to stay warm fellow bloggers or do like me and just stay by my warm fireplace...show that one soon.
For those who asked...that's my SIL in the bathroom mirror.

First Pictures of the Homestead....

2011-01-31T21:26:00.004-05:00

Well I'm finally able to start the slide show that you have all been waiting with baited breath for. So here goes...first up is my "guest" family room which is in the lower level of my wonderful new home. Bottom picture is a bit blury cause the furniture is a Merlot colored suede and for us "wino's" the picture should be taken BEFORE the drinking commenses. Love the color of that wine type red couch and love seat. As you can see my tables are a stunning black as is my lamp, and clock. My carpet is a soft white-beige...don't know for how long it will be that color but it starts out looking loverly.

I have missed all my great blogging friends and I will get back to posting more regularly now. I won't show the whole house in one post but tease you a bit each day...so stayed tuned. Also I have to tell you that I am looking for some response to my Valentine drive. Where are you all???If you can even send in 5 it would help make the kids day so very special. Please try and help out and those that do make some and send them and let me know how many and when you send them, I will put you on the list for a blog candy surprise. HELP THE KIDS !!!

Home Sweet Home!

2011-01-26T21:03:00.002-05:00

Hi all... Julie here (DD) for Miss Pat.. a.k.a. The Rubber Maid. She wanted all her "fans" to know that she is alive, breathing and doing quite well! She is still unpacking and still needs to set up her computer but promises to be back on line and back in the blogosphere sometime very soon!! We are going shopping to make her house a home and once we get it all together, she wants to post some pictures of her new abode here. Take my word for it though -- it's just darling and way to cozy for words. I might just move in! HA! So, leave her some love on this post and let her know that you miss her. She would love to hear how all you are doing!

~Julie

Timeless Tuesday....3D it.

2010-12-07T15:01:00.003-05:00

Today's challenge at Timeless Tuesday is to 3D it. Well I went to a SU ( that's Stampin Up) camp on Sunday and this was one of the cuties we made. Just noticed I didn't cut my twine so it looks pretty weird. Anyway this is a little bag which I did not put the ribbon handle on cause I just didn't want to be tied up doing it. The scalloped square is a die that the SU ladies had to run through the Big whatever it's called die cutting machine . Easy peasy with very minimal work involved but it would be a cute little gift for someone you don't have to spend a lot of money on. Cheap butt in other words. Not done with Flourishes supplies but still wanted to share.
Hey guess what??? My move in date is now scheduled for between Jan.3rd and 7th. Wahoo! I will go in tomorrow and take some updated pictures now that it's all painted inside. Do you like sage green? Well that's what I chose for my livingroom and carried it through the dinningroom and kitchen. Just wait until you see it before you start shaking your heads. It's a cool and relaxing shade and I know I'll love it. So I'll see you soon with updated pictures..happy week.

Timeless Tuesday ...use doilie

2010-11-30T19:33:00.002-05:00

Holy crapola...I had to go to the dollar store to buy a doilie ( not sure how to spell it) but being the gentle soul I am I decided what's a buck when you want to join in on TT for Flourishes. I used the angel from the set Rejoice which I bought last year and still love to use it. I used some
cranberry colored ink and just did a bit of matting and added a matching velvet ribbon cause let's face it doilies are fancy schamcy so you need classy type ribbon. Don't forget to dippity do down below if you want to see my abode's progress. See you later friends and bloggers.

Update on pictures of my house...Yipee it's almost done!

2010-11-30T13:57:00.006-05:00

This is the livingroom which as you can see has a fireplace...COZY!

This shot was taken from the upstairs loft which is open and totally awesome.

This is the upstairs loft and as you can see it's a huge room that overlooks the downstairs. Love it!

The openess is really beautiful and once the railings are in ...well just gorgeous.

My sweet fireplace which I plan to get tons of use out of as it is a gas one this go round and I will have a fire each cold wintery night..now where is that cowboy???

So there you have it for the time being. SWEET home sweet home.

Card for kids card....to Bela's

2010-11-27T13:52:00.003-05:00

Well my buddy Bela who lives in Canada asked me if I would contribute to her program for the Children's Hospital there in Canada...Toronto I think. How can you turn down such a request???
You can't, so I whipped up some cards to forward to her and this is one of them. Easy card with a bit of coloring which I love to do anyway. She has a drive going to get some cards for the Christmas season so visit her site and jump in and help. Hope your Thanksgiving was a real humdinger. Lots of turkey and pumpkin pie with tons of whipped cream. We did like the pilgrims did and "gobbled" it down with such a sense of WOW! See you soon and visit Bela's place by clicking here.

Timeless Tuesday...Sketch Challenge

2010-11-23T20:39:00.007-05:00

Well, I love sketch challenges and Miss Cindy ( our sweet Canadian Friend) is challenging with a pretty nifty sketch. Easy peasy when someone does the lay out for you. I say ...you go girl ! So I chose the little sweetie mound of snow called a snowman from Flourishes set Warm Winter Wishes and followed the sketch. I love using blue for holiday cards so I decided to be blue or I should say go blue and do a mono type card. Just used my water colored pencils and a bit of ribbon, bling, and some glitter glue. Today was only zero out...yep I did say zero and tonight is supposed to be minus 6-10 degrees. Hey Baby it's cold outside and on Saturday we got about 4-6 inches of snow and since they don't plow here or salt I felt like Sonja Hennie on ice but in my car. If you don't know who Sonja Hennie is well that's Ok cause she goes way back and was

a wonderful ice skater in the 30's and 40's. A kind of Dorothy Hammil of my day and age. So anyhow I hope you all have a great week and I'll see you later.

Timeless Tuesday...Do Christmas

2010-11-16T12:45:00.004-05:00

Hey it's Timeless Tuesday at Flourishes and the ever so sweet Miss Dee is asking us to show our holiday spirit and do a Christmas card. Would I not play??? Of course I have to play cause this little birdie told me to along with I'm sure Miss Dee. This stamp is from the set Christmas Classics and it seemed simple enough for me to do in a production line and use for my very first ever "Montanian " Christmas. I used a embossing folder for my background ( which doesn't show up very well on the picture but does IRL) which hopefully brings out the sweet image. I also matted it ( not the bird but the image) it with my Spellbinder die cut. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here. The little mountain town of Red Lodge got 8 " of snow yesterday and we are looking pretty black today so we may be next. Well happy week fellow stampers and I'll catch you later.

Cards 4 Kids Update

2010-11-11T11:31:00.003-05:00

Well as some of you know I have left the Michigan area but my heart is still holding on strongly to my Cards 4 Kids program. This is a program I started over 2 years ago for the children at
Children's Hospital of Michigan and a program that not only did I hold dear to my heart but one many of you out there also did. In the past you have sent me cards to gather and then take down into Detroit to be delivered to the hospital. I guess now that I'm gone you think ...so is the program. Not true. If there is anyone out there that lives in the Detroit area that would be willing and able to take on this project I guess I'd have to say..you are an angel and I would be so indebted to you as would the hospital and all the kids. I am presently making cards and altering journals to mail and will continue to do so and so can you. The director in charge is willing to have you mail your cards and or journals directly to her so the program still continues. So until someone is found to take over this program I would ask you to mail cards to...
Children's Hospital of Michigan
Attn: Deanna Scanlon
Child Life Project Specialist
3901 Beaubien
Detroit, MI. 48201
We can all make a difference in a sick child's life by sending them these cards for birthdays, holidays, etc. Remember do not send get well soon cards as some of these children will not be getting well at all. The hospital also needs sympathy cards, thank you cards and thinking of you cards. If you decide to do Christmas cards they must be non religious cards but rather a cute card of Santa Claus or a snowman etc. There are all types of religious kids in the hospital so we do not make them as Christian cards. Thanks for all your help in the past and I hope someone out there is willing to take on this job. The first Valentine's Day drive I collected over 6,000 cards so I know you all care. Please keep up on this and thank you for your participation in the past and in the future to come.

Timeless Tuesday ...Wednesday

2010-11-10T11:57:00.003-05:00

Well I cheated on this one but I said to my self...who cares really??? Flourishes challenge this week was to use some glitter be it glitter glue, glittery ribbon, paper or something that just shines like Lady Gaga. So I have been doing some cards for the hospital and since I had this one done I just took out the glitter glue and squeezed out some on the water part of the card. Actually it did add something to a plain card and I know kids love glitter so it's a win win situation. This is from the set Kids at Play by none other then Flourishes. Great little sillouette set and so easy to use. Just stamp and use a Spellbinders fancy die cut to mount it on and before you know it ....you're done. Sometimes a bit of glitter can really make a card stand out and sometimes it can make you stand out too. I have been using glitter while making cards and then had to run out to the grocery or whatever and when I arrive home I realize I looked like a glitter

queen with the dang glitter on my eyelashes, eyebrows etc. That is why I limit myself to glitter use. Well stampers I hope your week will be just wonderful and I have a favor to ask of you all, please read my post tomorrow about my Cards 4 Kids program as some changes had to be made. See you then and happy stamping.

Timeless Thursday

2010-11-04T14:07:00.003-04:00

Well now I'm doing Timeless Tuesday on Thursday and I'm seeing a pattern of total neglect on my part when it comes to getting things done. What's a girl to do??? Anyhow the challenge called for you to go to a website and pick a print of some fancy schmancy paper which is French and make a card. I chose the one above and tried to imitate it somewhat. Don't even know the Flourishes sets these stamps came from other then they are from Flourishes.. so there! I think my card will make a good sympathy card to send on to the hospital when I get myself in gear and get some cards done. All I had to do was stamp and do a small bit of coloring and a bit of slapping down with some glue glidder and I was done. I used a Spellbinder die for the shape and don't know what number or name it has because DD puts them on some clippy things and just hangs them on hooks in her craft closet and I just grab and go.

Kiddos have off school for a few days so I took them out to do a bit of bowling. They loved it but I especailly loved our little trip afterwards to BBY ( which stands for Billings Best Yogurt) to fill our bellies with some real yum yum. Love that stuff and haven't had it in a good month or more.

Have to be bad once in awhile. Happy week fellow stampers. See you soon.

Windows are in....Yeah !

2010-10-28T06:00:00.005-04:00

Well the windows are in and it's really progressing nicely. Do you see the slope of the roof?? It looks like a challet and I'm going to look into having a tow rope installed so I can run my own ski lodge. The loft will serve as a warming spot where you can stop for a mug of mulled wine. So do you think cowboys wear high heeled ski boots??? That makes me really wonder if they do or not. I suppose I'll have to ask permission to run a ski resort in the neighborhood but hey it never hurts to try something new now does it! Just kidding but it would be a neat idea for an old broad to run her own business out of her house now wouldn't it! The contractors started another house around the same time as mine and tonight we saw it all lit up with the lights in and everything so hey maybe I'm next. I'll be in before you know it and you are all invited to come and see it in person and of course be sure to be hospitable and bring a dish to pass and your own drink. How fun that will be for all of us. Talk soon.

Timeless Tuesday Wednesday

2010-10-27T16:37:00.005-04:00

Yep, I know I did it again with the lousy photography BUT I'm still trying to find the right lighting and DD is busy with her magazine work so I don't want to bother her. The challenge this week is to do a card with no buttons and bows which is not a big problem for me cause I'm not really big on buttons and I can do or not do with the bows. I had this Martha punch of a spider web and decided I'd better get it in use or forget about it as you know Halloween is this Sunday.
Are you going trick or treating??? I bought so much candy to pass out I'm sure before Sunday roles in I will have gained a few pounds and forget getting dressed up to try and fool the neighbors into thinking I'm just an oversized kid yelling for candy etc. Anyway this is a Halloween set that Flourishes put out new this year and I stole a few of the stamps from the
DD to use and make a card. Easy as all get out as I just stamped, colored, blended a bit, used some glitter and a bit of chalk and done.

Going to the home site tonight to take some up to date pictures as they have installed my windows. My darling G-son told me once the home was closed up I could move on in....I think he was just kidding but with teens you just never know. Hope your week is going well and I'll be back with my new photos sometime tomorrow.

A house is not a home ....just yet!

2010-10-21T00:06:00.007-04:00

Well it's starting to look like a real house. This is the front of my "cottage" style home.

A peek from the side of the little place.

Love all the wooden frame work so had to take a picture.

This was the way it looked on Tuesday and the top picture was how they had progressed today on

Weds. The guys are really slow as they take a couple hour break for lunch and I guess tea time or just pass the gas time ....who knows BUT the electrician came out today and was not happy with their tooting around and so they got a bit more work done. Have a few issues I need to get straightened out such as my master bathroom shower area but I will get on it and see that it is done right. It's coming....Yeah!!!

Timeless Tuesday for Flourishes

2010-10-19T19:12:00.004-04:00

Well today is Timeless Tuesday and the adorable Maki from the DT is challenging us to use a phrase as our focal point. I took a short cut ( mainly because I was in that kind of mood today) had my hair cut and although I think I look like Peppermint Patty, DD and SIL like it. My little Granddaughter 's comment was ...why the poofy look? Crapola, I guess I just can't win in the cutting department. Anyway I did a short cut with this card as it was so easy. Grab a nice phrase from Flourishes, stamp it down and do a bit of a punch out ( maybe I'll punch out anyone who makes fun of my haircut), do a oval scallop to glue it to, add some sweet lavender blingers, a strip of purple along with some white and then my SU edge punch to make a scalloped piece in the green and voila... I'm done. The BG is from Paper Studio and my buddy Mike had it on sale at a cheap price so I grabbed it up.

My house is in slow progress but I'm walking down tonight and grab some photos to share. Have a fun week fellow stampers.

Time for Timeless Tuesday

2010-10-12T16:38:00.004-04:00

Yes I am still trying to use my new camera to take good pictures and with no great success as yet. DD has a light she uses and I have tried it but without doing a good job. I get shadows etc. so I guess for now I'll just deal with it. This is a phrase from one of the Flourishes sets I think it's called Lines. Many nice phrases but this one is really me....don't you agree? After all I am of nature in a sense ( well maybe not too much sense) and I am something of the marvelous so there you see, it's me! The paper from my old friend Mike's place and I can't tell you the company who made it because...it's not a secret but I apparently cut the piece I used and the rest of the sheet has no name so I'm thinking it's glued down on the card. Pretty BG so if you want some check with Mike and he may be able to clue you in. I used some rust colored ink for my phrase and have to admit I did a lousy job on my distressing...quite distressing to me but I really did try. Added some matching ribbon and a few blingers and I felt exhausted and decided to quit. Hope your week is off to a good start. Mine is better then last week when I ended up in the ER with DD sitting next to my bed for almost 5 hours. I think it was food poisoning but the doctor really didn't know so he hooked me up to an IV for pain and the puking and after some time of being out of it he unhooked me and sent me home to bed with pills. I was not up to par for a few days but am much improved. See you soon fellow bloggers.

Timeless Tuesday

2010-10-05T18:39:00.005-04:00

Well the sweet Canadian Cindy is doing Flourishes challenge today and it's a sketch one and I love those kind. Personally I have a lot of difficulty deciding when it comes to card making just how to set it up so this is my cup of tea...or in this case, apple cider. I used Flourishes new apple set to make this one and it was a simple card thanks to Cindy's sketch. Made my circles with my Spellbinder's circle and scalloped circle, made up some dotted swiss BG with my Cuttlebug folder and some scallops for the bottom from DD's stash of Flourishes scallops. Used my water colored pencils and just easily slapped it all together and added some twine and a matching button. Done! Hope your week is off to a good start.

I got myself a personal trainer at the gym...his name is Rory and he's a super beefed up dude. He's going to work on me...well not on me but with me starting this Friday. My body is in agony from the workout I did yesterday on all those crazy machines but I will keep at it so it learns to take it like a man. I lost another 5lbs. and am determined to get myself in good shape. Still no cowboy but what the heck life is what it is and I really can't complain. Talk soon.

Home Update...floors are poured and drying

2010-10-03T18:14:00.003-04:00

The floors are poured and will be dry by tomorrow ( Monday) and they are going to start the framing on Tuesday. The plumbing pipes are in place and so the next step is the gyprock and framing. Not sure if that's gyprock or jip ( which I hope I'm not being jipped) rock. It is moving right along and I still haven't found my cowboy. Well dang I guess I'm on my own on this one.

Have to tell you we had a fun weekend starting with my grandson Cal winning his football game and WOW his team is 4-0...pretty dang good team I'd say. Partied into the evening as DD's in-laws are leaving to winter in Arizona and we all had to say good bye. Today was a SU camp and everything was Halloween and it was fun. So I'll talk to you next week.

Better late then never...

2010-09-30T18:29:00.004-04:00

Timeless Tuesday on Thursday but I made it anyway. Simple card to cover the colors required and made it's kind of fall like. I don't know the name of this fern set but I thought it was kind of lovely. Used some of DD's stamps and inks and added a bit of blingers and was good to go. It is of course a Flourishes set so I stayed in the boundries of good taste.
Been busy doing pretty much nothing as I am trying to find myself. Did have a really fun time last week when DD and I went to a gold party...no we did not pan for gold but instead took our old gold out of wherever and I did not take my crowns off my teeth but instead searched my jewelry box and found some old stuff that brought in $155. I convinced DD to have a party at her abode and that is scheduled for sometime in October. Hope you are all well and tomorrow or soon I will post my new house pictures. I now have a garage floor and also a basement floor. They are due to start the framing on Tuesday and then it will look like a house. YES!!!

Timeless Tuesday....Celebration

2010-09-21T14:05:00.010-04:00

Well Miss Dee is hostessing the challenge and she says to celebrate and you can celebrate anyway you want so....I love Halloween so I am celebrating it today a bit in advance. This is from Flourishes Halloween set and as the phrase says " I'm witching you a Happy Halloween". I think someone stole my boots and made a stamp out of them cause these are just my cup of brew when in comes to Halloween celebrating. And hey, speaking of brew I guess before you know it the time will come to make some of my favorite "Witches Brew". Care to join me in a cup or two or three or four? Wow that made my head spin just thinking of that brew. If you want it to be spooky brew just add a little food coloring...I like purple as it's dark and dreary for a night of fright and fun. Ooops I degressed a bit so back to the card. All I did was stamp, color, add a bit of matching ribbon by Paper Studio which is a copied thier matching DP. A bit busy but I loved the paper and ribbon and decided to use it. I'm not happy with my picture but it's a new camera and I'm trying to get used to it. Probably doesn't work as well as it would if it were red hot red like my new computer and car. Oh, well can't win them all. Happy week bloggers and I'll talk again soon.

My Hole in the Ground

2010-09-18T18:59:00.002-04:00

Here's my update on the hole in the ground. As you can see the foundation is now poured and dried and come Monday they will be working to fill in for the basement walls. You're probably thinking...big deal, it's just a bunch of nothing but hey, be kind as it's my future home. It's the first time in my lifetime that I will be building ( well Ok, not me personally but you know what I mean) a brand spanking new home. Wish my hubby were here but I know he is in spirit. Are you as excited as I am in seeing the progress??? Well stayed tuned and I will be back with more photos. Peachy keen isn't it!

TT You're in the Spotlight!!

2010-09-14T19:20:00.006-04:00

Well it's Timeless Tuesday at Flourishes and the challenge is to bring your image or part of it into the spotlight. I love being in the spotlight don't you??? Well not really, but there are times it's fun to have the spotlight put on you and so I decided to join the fun. For this one I used Flourishes Apple blossoms set which I had to borrow from DD as my stuff is still in storage. Reminds me of that song from the 40's ...I'll be with you in apple blossom time"..I know most of you are saying "what the heck is this old lady nuts" I never heard of such a song. Well it's an oldie but goodie. I tried something a bit different on this one by stamping in a soft pink ink for my card and then of course some black for the spotlight part. Used 2 circle punches to get the "in the spotlight" effect.

Stamp, color with your favorite source of coloring which of course for me are my water color pencils and then using a blender. Just added a bit of bling and some glitter on my spotlighted flowers. Easy peasy and oh so pleasy.

Fill in on the house building...the foundation was poured and is dry and today some cowboy was driving his back hoe up and down putting in gravel which I guess is the base before the concrete. Note I said " I guess" because I'm no expert when it comes to these things so I am just guessing, and besides I'm more interested in the dudes in the cowboy hats. I think for safety they sould make a cowboy hard hat...what do you think? Hopefully by tomorrow there will be some basement walls up. I will take some pictures and post so you can see the progress.

Step Up and do "Manly"

2010-09-10T16:17:00.008-04:00

Today's challenge at Sharon Johnson's site is to make a manly card...and be kind to that man and don't give him tons of blingers and ribbons. The challenge is "manly" not wimpy or fancy! I used some wonderful BG I just whipped up with my every so wonderful Scor-Buddy or something like that and WOW...didn't it come out just perfect?? Liar, liar, pants on fire because I stole it from DD's tut which you can find here. Did I fool you even just a little when I said I did it? Anyway, it was so perfect for a "manly" type card I just borrowed it for the time being and created a card with it. I also snagged her stamp set and used the wonderful sailing ship from Flourishes. Just stamped and beat up the edges with my cute little SU

rougher upper thingy and then put some copper rub a buff along the rough edges. I decided since this card was "manly" not to fancy it up much so I just put the rusty ribbon and then added the black jute which I did a number on and unravelled it making it look rough and tough. Does it look like a spider to you ???

Well spiders are for the tough men in your life .When you see one don't you scream and go crazy yelling...kill it I think it's a terantula? I personally don't do that because I'm a gutsy gal and even though I don't like committing murder I do crush the little buggers and they are goners.

Well fellow bloggers ,I hope you have a great weekend . It's chilly here in the state of Montana but hey fall is due soon so just live with it is my motto. See you soon.

Check out my new house....

2010-09-08T22:15:00.004-04:00

And here's my builder and I, enjoying a beer on my new "front porch"...

Wahoo...they actually started the dig yesterday and for fun we all went down to the site to see the hole. Julie brought her camera and took some pictures for posterity ( better known as a scrapbook). I'm standing with a beer in my hand and I don't even drink but we are celebrating the big event so I just held it for the picture. You can't tell but I am standing on what will be my front porch which will run the front of the house so if I have tons of old men coming to call I will have room for their rocking chairs ....and mine too. I looked at this picture and decided I need a smaller size jeans as these do look kind of big for me. Isn't the builder a cutie?? He's a really nice "young" man and is a delight to be around as is his brother and sister who are the company all rolled into one. I'll keep posting the good news of the progress as the dirt pile grows larger and larger. Gosh just think of all the fun I can have with the g-kids with our pails and shovels. See you soon.

Timeless Tuesday & then some...

2010-09-07T16:44:00.003-04:00

Well this is a three for oner ( I made up that word..don't you love it?). Well in case you don't get it I'll do an explanation. Flourishes, Bring Back the Beautiful say's be rustic ( I chose to use rusty colors cause I'm a rebel), Timeless Tuesday said to use a ticket approach, and finally since Flourishes is celebrating it's 3rd. birthday we need to wish them a Happy Birthday which BTW you need to put on your glasses to look for the phrase as it's stamped in too light a brown to see really well but it's the thought that counts...isn't it? So look down at your fingers and do a little counting and you will end up with a three for oner just like I told you. I used the sillouette stamp set and you can see the kiddos doing cart wheels cause they are giving tickets to see Nanny McPhee but since I took my g-kids to see it I have to tell you to save the money and see something else. Sometimes I think when they make a good movie they need to leave it alone and not sequel it but that of course is just my opinion. Cute but not great. Stamped in a brown tone and used the good old die cuts from Spellbinders # blank blank ...I think you're smart enough to know if you have them or not. Add a brad or 2 , and a cute Bow Easy bow and guess what??? You're done baby!

On a lighter note...they have not started the dig yet and needless to say, I guess when they are ready they will get down and dirty and I'll see the hole from where my new home will emerge. It is what it is. See you soon.

Another Stampin Up one

2010-09-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Well I used my Just Believe set on this card and made it soft as possible with a sweet color called Seashell Pink. Very simple ( just like me) just stamp, add some bling and you are fini. I'm trying to adjust to being in cowboy land and can you believe I already have my eyes on a real cutie at the local paint store. Step # 1 find out if he's married...no ring but let's face it, some of those guys out there are sneeky pete's and don't wear a ring. DD said working in the paint store he probably wouldn't wear one because he wouldn't want to tangle with those paint stirring machines. Guess that would be a good reason and I don't think I'd be as interested if he was fingerless. Oh, well ...on to Step # 2 which is to ask my builder (who knows this cutie) if he is married and if not then I guess I'll be spending some time looking at paint chips. I'll keep you posted. Hope your week is going well...mine is. Talk soon.

Monday Monday...so good to me

2010-08-30T14:30:00.007-04:00

Happy new week everyone in blog land. Last week me and DD went to a Stampin Up meet and this was one of the cards we did. Don't ask me the colors as I'm not all that familiar with their special names. Maybe Bimini Blue or Bayou Blue, Baha Blue or something like that blue. In other words...we used shades of blue. I think this set is really nice and since I bought it I can tell you the name of it, it's Just Believe and my friend well actually it's DD's friend Sheila and another SU rep. named Sandy put on the class/meet and it was a good selection of cards. This one had some dotted swiss going on and a bit of score paling and add a fancy bit of ribbon and a neat brad and you are good to go & if you're not good to go then you're good to stay. Do as you please and you're sure to feel good. I'm off to get a haircut today and naturally trying a new hair stylist. Wish me luck as it's always quite frightening to go to a perfect stranger for a hair cut....OMGoodness let's hope it's not a shaving but rather a good hair cut. See you soon.

Montana Cowboys...

2010-08-29T21:07:00.003-04:00

Well for all of you out there that have never traveled West I thought I would treat you to some cowboys. Yep, we went to breakfast this morning at a little western diner called the Muzzle Loader and low and behold, there they were all cozied up to the counter in their hats and boots and ready for some grits. I suppose I looked out of place as I left my cowboy hat at home. I actually did buy a cowboy hat on the way back from Seattle, and if you are very very good I will treat you to a picture of me in it. I need to get myself some new duds that will go with the great hat and of course I will need a piece of straw to hang out of my mouth too. Now won't that be extra special...maybe yes, maybe no, I'll let you be the judge of that. So until next time...see ya later cowboy and cow girls.

Timeless Tuesday ...lace

2010-08-24T19:12:00.007-04:00

Well I'm back from Seattle and ready for the Tuesday challenge at Flourishes.Maki is asking us to be lacey...hey I know about racey and I am a little bit spacey but lacey is really not my forte. Not wanting to be ornery, I will go along and use some lace. I don't have my own supplies as they are locked in the storage unit so guess who I had to turn to for some help???

Did you figure it out? Well of course it's the DD who has a nifty craft room just waiting to be messed with. I used her Flourishes Sunflower set and did a little bit of Copic magic. I'm not certified ( at least not in the Copic world ) so let's face it, I just did the best I could and I know you are saying...where the heck did she find a hot pink type sunflower. Well have you ever been sun burnt? That's what happened to Miss Sunflower Sue. I think with my fancy shmancy paper which is kind of hot pink or fuschia it all goes pretty well. I got a bit crazy and used two pieces of lace. What's an old broad to do when she gets told to use lace, well she uses lace. Hope you all have a happy week going on. See you soon.

Hi Ho Silver Away!!!

2010-08-16T18:50:00.002-04:00

Well I'm off ...Yep I know I have been for quite awhile now but this time I'm going on a little family vaction. We are heading out to Seattle Washington and that is going to be the farthest west I have ever been. We planned a great itinerary and will hope for the best. Found some fun things in the tour book annd one of them is taking a crazy car/boat ride. You start in a car like bus that holds 35 people and the tour is of the city on the streets of Seattle, then the crazy machine turns into a boat and we enter the water for the rest of the tour. Looks like lots of fun and I'm sure the G-Kids and the Nana will have a blast. I've put the cowboy search on hold as I think this will be much more fun for now. So....be back first part of next week and as Arnold would say....I'll be back. Take care dear friends and see you soon.

Timeless Tuesday on Friday...Whoa..that's really late !

2010-08-13T12:52:00.006-04:00

Well talk about being tired..I am beyond and so I am really late in joining the fun of Timeless Tuesday this week. But I have to tell you, I am typing on my new sizzling hot SSSS ( that is the sizzle, in case you didn't get it ) "Hot Cherry Red" lap top. It is a joy to see, so I treated myself royally by purchasing it. Getting a bit nutsy in my old age but I said to myself...hey old lady you can't take it with you so enjoy while you're still around to enjoy. Anyway this card uses Flourishes humming bird set that I happen to really love.Sorry I couldn't link you to Flourishes but the linky is not co-operating with my new red hot lap top...so go to it by going flourishes.org...there you are now you're linked. I forgot now what I was telling you but I guess it's just that I just used the faithful water colored pencils and a blender. Not my supplies but DD's . Hey can you believe it ...all my stuff is out there in limbo. The moving company is not going to deliver it to my storage unit until after the contract date which means they have to pay me $150 a day for each day they are late. Glad I didn't have an empty house waiting or that would have been crap for the birds. Well fellow bloggers I hope you have a happy weekend. We are going to the pig races if it doesn't rain. Ever been to pig races? How fun to watch these little fat pinkies running a race. Maybe they're running so they are not made into someone's pulled pork sandwhich...guess I'd run too.

It's the Wild West...where's the cowboys????

2010-08-07T21:03:00.002-04:00

Well howdy friends, just wanted you all to know I have arrived in my new home area of Billings Montana and I'm on the look out for that cute old cowboy. Hi Ho Silver away as the cowboys say. Let me tell you the ride out west was not fun at all. I think truck drivers can be very very mean. This one guy in a huge rig tried to run me and DD off the road and scared the heebee jeebees out of us. What the dang was he trying to do to us innocent lovely ladies??? Well he went from the extreme right lane and over to the extreme left lane and gave us that certain middle finger wave and I don't think it meant...hope you're happy dear ladies. Well DD had to pass him after a bit and she gave him the sweetest of smiles and the greatest Queen Elizabethian wave, you know the one that you keep that hand going back & forth. She in escense let him know she was a bigger, better person then he was. If his truck would have had a telephone number to let his company know how he was doing I would have called on the spot and gave him a pretty nasty report but alas no number..lucky for him. Any who I'm here and very tired but will report in soon again with a little of the crafty side of me but in the mean time hope you are all well and staying happy. Talk soon. Hope I can get this bow legged cow boot walk down soon as I feel like I have a wad up the end and it doesn't feel right some how. Happy weekend everyone and see you next week.

Hey you....Hi out there!

2010-07-26T19:54:00.002-04:00

Well I decided to grace you with my presense or is it presents or well anyway hello to you all from me. I have been packing up my over 30years of stuff and am getting near the end of my ropes with no patience left. DD is at CHA which I think is Crap Happens Always or something like that. I say it's crap happens always because I wish I was there too. She is having dinner with the big wig bloggers and has promised to give them my best wishes for a happy time. She is coming my way on this Thursday and we will have some quality time together before I close on the sale of my home. The close date is Tuesday August 3rd. and DD and I will then just leave for our trip to my new home town of Billings, Montana. Can't believe it but it will be true. Once I am situated I can start up my blog again and start visiting all of you more faithfully. I know you miss me ...you can admit it, I know you do so just let it all out and let those tears flow. Now doesn't that feel better??? There's no sin in feeling bad so I just won't. I will return with a happy smile for each and every one of you soon. Take care and know you are loved.

Taking a Break...for a few more days at least.

2010-06-18T16:31:00.002-04:00

Well don't have much spice in my life and I'm running low on thyme but I've been busy trying to get this house in order to sell. Spent this morning with a realtor and she seems to think my home is a gem and should sell to the right buyer very easily. She's a sweetie but let's face it, the "right buyer" is of course to me anyone who is willing to pay a good price. The market is down but that's the breaks and I'm at a point in my life where I need to sow some wild oats and I don't mean eating All Bran either. Sooo... I am going to go for it and see what develops. She's bringing in more of her cohorts on Monday and then come up with a price I should ask.
Wish me Good Luck bloggers and know that I'm just too busy to get inky at this time but will stop by to say hello soon. Happy weekend to one and all and if you're out drinking, well have a dirty Martini for me.

Timeless Tuesday...Wednesday

2010-06-09T11:33:00.004-04:00

Well Timeless Tuesday is hosted by the sweetest lady Miss Dee Jackson who has made the challenge to use black/white and ONE other color. I chose the cherries from one fruity set that Flourishes put out and it works well with this challenge. I know you have seen red cherries but I pushed the envelope and made the leaves and stems also red...a little Picaso coming out in me or is it just a bit of crazy? I'll leave that answer up for grabs. Just color pencil it, add a few mats and a bit of bling and you're done.
I know all of you are so interested in the wonderful Boob/flab bra that I'm thinking of becoming an independent dealer...like Avon and Mary Kay. Cool huh? So I'll keep you posted if I can get a franchaise going and then you can order from me. Happy week fellow stampers.

Good News Fellow Bloggers...It's Here !

2010-06-05T13:58:00.005-04:00

Well good news to share they ( the undie people) finally made something worth while for us oldie but goodies. This is a combo bra/wings holder. I'm so physched as since working out at the gym I can get into a AAA or maybe even a training bra on this one. Isn't that the greatest thing you ever saw? Now I can't promise that all stores will be carrying it but you can try at your local department store and see if they have them in yet. Maybe Amazon.com could help too. Name is Boob and Arm Flab Bra but I plan to protest and have a more sexy name attached to it cause after all if Victoria can have Secrets well us old folks should be honored with a better name for it. Happy rest of the weekend fellow bloggers.

Timeless Thursday...yep it's Thursday

2010-06-03T09:22:00.005-04:00

Well talk about dedication! I've got it and so does Flourishes design team and I don't want to name names but ( Barb Anders ) came up with a way to dedicate big time by challenging us to make a one layer card. She also took her dedication to it's peak by frustrating me big time with doing a ONE layer card??? Yikes that is a toughie.When is the last time I did a one layer card you ask? Well probably when I was taking rubber stamping lessons at my LSS. Yes I know some of you out there find this no problem but us oldies find it very difficult. Thank goodness for Flourishes beautiful sweetpea set as doing a stamp and color makes it somewhat easier. Stamp, color, add a lopsided bow , and a little phrase and you have it done.I'm not one to complain or at least not much, or perhaps a little ...OK so I'm a real ornery old cuss,but I always try and get in on the fun.
Late in saying it..but happy week fellow stampers. I'm still cleaning and tossing out. No sounds from critter pal so guess he's gone for good. Thank goodness as I want to collect all the nuts I trailed outside the house to draw him out...looks kind of nutty if you know what I mean.

Blog Candy Winner...# 4

2010-06-02T08:33:00.002-04:00

Well the random.org picked # 4 and that is Ashley Nguyen Newell. Hey congratulations Ashley and to claim your prize you need to e-mail me and let me know your address for the prize to be sent. Also you have a choice of a set of stamps from Flourishes and I will pick up the charge for the set and shipping it to you. Contact me by an e-mail to mrsmiley6@aol.com Thanks to all of you who entered and sorry there could only be one winner.

SIGN UP FOR SOME CANDY!

2010-05-26T15:58:00.004-04:00

I hit 60,000 and want to share a bit of candy with my blogging friends! Just leave a comment here to be in the running. If you want to check out the goodies, the picture is on my sidebar. So sign in and put your name on the list and see if you can be the lucky duck winner!I'll draw a winner Wednesday June 2nd!!