Recovery

Today, the second day after Christmas and I have nearly given up. Noah went to the dentist today and had to have two baby teeth pulled as he has permanent teeth coming in over them, but they were not coming out. I hate our pediatric dentist. He costs too much and we pay him, then he files for insurance. OUCH. Noah did great though.

My basement is full of bigger kids (11-12) playing Wii and there are several 7 year olds in front of the TV upstairs watching Shrek the Third. I am pretending not to have responsibility for any of them they all know where the food is if they need a sandwich anyway. I look at my stampin stuff and hope for inspiration, but it does not come. I know the new Stampin Up catalog is in, and I long to make a run out of the neighborhood to go get it.

Noah politely asked for juice at the grocery and I got it for him. The problem? He wanted grape juice. Yep. The purple stuff. then he wanted the biggest jug he could get of it. I let him, against all my best thoughts, and I hope I don't pay for this later in spills. So far he is careful, but I feel a sense of impending doom.

I have to make dinner soon. Oh Geez. Didn't I just do that? No, it was leftover night last night. Although we have enough leftovers to do it again, I don't think the family will accept it again. Dangnabit. My motivation is gone, and I need to find it, we leave for a trip on Saturday and I gotta get ready. I have lost control of the house and the laundry and just don't care. I think that's a problem.

Hmmm...

I have no idea why this photo didn't upload like it should have. All I can say is that I want some pie and Nana's soup now. Yummm...

Homemade Christmas

Every year (okay, this is only the scond year we have done his.) my 3 girl friends and I exchange homemade Christmas presents. We went out for Italian food last night and had our gift exchange.
I got a fancy calendar/scrapbook from one friend, a piece of canvas art from another and a stained glass snowflake from my third friend. The canvas art represents the eason of winter, so I am going to make matching canvases for the other three seasons. My friend Rebecca learned stained glass this year, so not only is it a new craft form that none of the rest of us can do, it is beautiful!

I also got some homemade fudge, and some homemade canned Vegetable Soup made by "Nana." The rumor is that Nana makes the best soup ever. I wanted some of her soup last year, but was too late to order any. She makes it each winter and sells it as a way to raise money for the missions work of her church. I have been waiting a year for this soup! Nana is one of those talented ladies that can turn anything she touches to gold. She makes delicious cookies and the best cakes ever. I got two cans of soup and I am going to have some for lunch today as I just can't wait any longer!

I came home to find my husband cooking apple pies. He took the most beautiful of the pies to work, but he left a pie at home and I also took a photo of the soup. Yum. He is the pie king.

Every year I make cake for Christmas, since it is Christ's birthday. But this year we are having pie. I think Jesus won't mind as I can recall no biblical preferences mentioned about His favorite dessert as long as he is remembered on His special day.

Tonight we celebrate Christmas with my parents and brother and his family, (he has the nicest wife ever, Angela.) and tomorrow morning we will open Santa presents. I feel like a kid, I can't wait to see what else I get!

Early Christmas

We went to spend the day with the inlaws who live about 2 hours away and have Christmas with them. This year we met at a rec hall on a local college campus, Indiana Tech. The kids bowled, played ping pong, air hockey, pool....there was a lot to do. Noah got what he had been longing for, a long board. It's just a longer than usual skateboard. We had to order it on the internet and have it shipped to the in laws so they could give it to him. He was delighted! He tries to stand on it and rose on it sitting, but secirity told him he had to put it away.

I am okay with that, as we were inside. He was sad, so I took him outside to ride it. Security came out and told us skateboards are not allowed anywhere on campus and that he needed to carry it, wheels off the ground, and to the car. Good grief! I can see their point, as some kids canbe reckless and endanger themselves and others but the rule should be that you can ride your skateboard if you have close parental supervision. Of course, some parents don't supervise as well as others.

Seth got a caboose for his train set and some more track. We had taken his train set along so he could put it all together and play with it. His caboose arrived broken and Scott needed tools so he could fix it. The tools are at home and we were not. Seth looked pretty pathetic most of the day.


This is an ornament I found at the Dollar Tree. It had a snowflake design that looked like it would come off easily, so i took it off and added Hanna. i stamped her on vellum and cut around her and glued her gently to the ornament. She came with the little fake stryofoam snowballs inside. I added Diamond Dust, but it just sunk to the bottom and didn't mix in.

Since I have all the Hanna Stamps a girl can own, I am dreaming of a Papertrey Christmas. I'll know in a few days if anyone followed my list, or if I get more coffee products that I don't drink.

I don't mean to sound bitter, but 1) I don't drink coffee, or very many hot drinks at all except for the occasional hot chocolate or tea. 2) I would never spend my money at Starbucks as it is such a large chain and is too expensive for my tightwad personality. Never the less, someone always gives me coffee or gift cards for Starbucks to which my husband who loves both coffee and Starbucks says THANK YOU!

Gift in a Can

This is the part where you decide for yourself if I have lost my mind. I used my safety can opener to take the lid off a can of chicken and then I cleaned it and made it into a gift holder. Am I crafty? A good recycler? Just plain cheap? The choice is yours, and you don't have to share your decision on this issue as some things are best kept to yourself.

I have a couple of friends who have kicked their lousy husbands to the curb this year and I am determined that they not have an empty Christmas tree. I am sure they have shopped for their kids and others but have not gotten themsmelves anything. So, I knit scarves, found matching gloves at a discount store, got some cute new kitchen towels and bath stuff for them. Nothing exciting, but everyday stuff they can use. This gift is a little something for one of them. I plan to deliver presents on Christmas Eve morning so they can wake up the next day and have a little something to open from Santa.

The can is only two inches high and I used some SU paper left over from last year. I made a little belly band that is 3/4 of an inch and covered the seam with a scalloped oval punch from Marvy Uchida. I added bling, and any Christmas stamp you would have would work well in place of the reindeer. Easy and cute!

Hanna Christmas

For today's viewing enjoyment I bring you Hanna tags and a card. The card is from the "Perfect Package" set but for the tags I used alittle of this and a little of that which culminated in using three of the four Hanna sets available. I love how they all mix and match so well. I used some old SU paper and some Bazzill. It was a great way to use up some scraps.

Note to self: Do not hoard paper. Use it before you forget the name of the set it came from!"

I ran frantically all day and have now decided that it was just a big dog, not a coyote. The tail gives it away for sure. I was hoping it was heavy from the fur, but I am afraid not. My goal to be the first neighbor with photographic proof of nearby coyotes is dashed to the wind. Dagnabit!

Unidentified Local Animal

Tell me if you can identify this animal. I saw it this morning as I left the neighborhood and had to grab my camera. I suspect it is a coyote, as they are known to be in the area, but none of us have photographic proof. Just stories like "so and so saw a coyote walking down the middle of her cul de sac last night." And then we'll get a helpful message from the neighborhood e mail list keeper/communicator who say she talked to the Dept. Of Natural Resources who confirms there are coyotes in the area," but they don't attack unless you smell like food so don't send your kid out with a bologna sandwich."

I have seen coyotes running but they look leaner than this. Maybe this one has his winter fur. So, anyone know if this is a coyote or not? It ran of when it saw me and camoflauged into the tree row in the background.

It must be a day for wildlife as I saw a deer jump right out in front of my car and across the road. It was moving too fast for a photo op. But I did have to brake to avoid hitting it.

Scarves

I made some scarves for friends that go to painting class with me. I used Bohemian yarn from Paton's, found at Michaels. The basic recipe is that you pick an odd number, like 15 for the number of stitches across that you want. You Knit 2, Purl 2 all the way across, remembering to end with a purl at each row. I am the World's Slowest Knitter, so even though the yarn is big and the instructions easy, it still seems to take me a while to knit them up.

I gave them away this morning and everyone pretended that a scarf was just what they always wanted. They are posed here on my patio furniture in snow. I do think it is best to give scarves away in cold snowy weather so the recipients can properly enjoy their bounty.

Frenzy

Another self portrait through stamp art. This is me just before the holidays. I've lost my head and don't know where I left it! I am frenzied. I have finished shopping and have gifts hidden throughout the house. I did not do a good job this year keeping track of which kid has what. I just wrapped stuff and put their names on the presents and hid them. And much of the time I cannot remember where I hid things. I just want Christmas to be over. Right. Now.

I put Hanna's head (from the Pretty Package set) in the box as it looked better than just laying on the floor or completely missing. This is a little book made out of coasters so I can write down what's left of my memories. You know, so and so has such and such gift tucked here and I still need to make this thing for that person.....

Help! I have lost my brain and don't know where to find it!

Oh Boy....

We got more snow last night, I don't know how much, but enough to have a Winter Weather Warning issued, whatever that is. For us it meant staying in bed and not getting up at the crack of dawn to go to church, as we go to the "early service" at 8:30 AM. Why so early? partly force of habit. We have Sunday School at 9:45 and when we leave church we can head to lunch at 11:00. Gotta beat the Baptists to the buffet!

We slept in a bit and the boys went out to play. Actually they went in and out and in and out and....Well, the wind chill was about 0 degrees, so who can blame them. I did not step one foot outside until the boys could take no more, and I could not stand to hear them beg for "Alvin and the Chipmunks" one more time. I got the short straw and had to take them. It was okay. Not as bad as I expected but not good either. Then we all met up and ate at Don Pablos.

At home we got a message that the schools are on a two hour delay tomorrow. That means I am on a two hour delay to get to my local Michaels (less that 2 miles from home!). I have collected all the neighbors coupons and have some shopping to do. Actually, I wouldn't go out to collect them, I asked them all to bring them to the bus stop in the morning. I am both thrifty and good at time saving.

I hope you are all warm and toasty and I am still dreaming about getting back in my nice warm bed tonight.

Self Portrait

It's a shame this doesn't photograph better, I swear the colors look a bit less patriotic and richer in real life. Hanna is even colored in around the bottom, here she looks like she is floating in space. I assure you, she is not.

This is what I look like for those of you who don't know me, scantily clad, shoeless and drunk. It reminds me of the song "Tequila makes her clothes fall off". Oh, I am just joking. I don't have shoes that look like that!

For those of you who may wonder if I know how to write in paragraphs, I do! Blogger just doean't always accept the paragraphs I make on my blog. Some days they show up, some days they don't. They must be lazy paragraphs. Since the use of blogger is free, all I can tell ya is that you get what you pay for.

I had lunch with a friend today and have done some more Christmas shopping at my least favorite discount store. That means I need to wrap presents too.

This Hanna set is newly available today and all the accessory stamps except for the bottle are from Hanna Stamps! I love how they all fit together so well.

Boob A Licious Hanna

Here is my new Hanna Sneak Peek. The new set will be released tomorrow and it is a gift giving set. I am loving it! If you think I am paid in free stamps to claim that, you are right. But, I wouldn't say it if it was not true. This is so great for all my cards for girlfriends' birthdays and maybe even for gifts I give to some of the men in my life. It is a versatile set and that is my favorite thing. Usually I would have been posting sneak peeks so much earlier, but the mail man did not deliver my set in a timely fashion. Shame on him. Does he not know what treasures are in my mail?

The hard thing about being on a design team is that there are so many talented women on the team and we are all trying to out do each other. So, I colored Hanna a bit differently. You see, this Hanna has the ability to wear a cropped top, so I took full advantage of drawing in lines and making her clothes skimpy. She is a wee bit sexy, yes?

I paper pieced the box, added some bling and used the new sentiments set that Hanna Stamps! has just released. I am loving the sentiments! A stamper can never have enough fun with word stamps. They are as important as the images themselves. I tell ya, I am a happy woman! I hope you like this Hanna and that you have an "uplifting" day as well. (Get it, a boob a licious joke?)

Trim the Tree

These ornaments are a little like soup, theres a whole lot of little bits and pieces of things that make up the whole finished object. I started with diamond shaped paper ornaments. I painted them pink and added Crystal Glitter to make them shine. I colored my Hanna images from the Rainy Days set and punched them out with a circle punch. then I put the scalloped punch behind them. I used flowers from the SU set, Natural Beauty and covered them with Crystal Effects and put brads in the middle of them. I used velvet ribbon on thee dges and siver string for the holder.


There is really only one ornament, it is the front and back views as the two triangles were glued together.


There will be a new Hanna Stamps set available on Friday, called "Gift Giving." It will be a great set for any gift giving occasion. I should have a sneak peek available for posting very soon. (Okay, maybe tomorrow, nt within the hour.)

It was grey and overcast and rainy all day. Driving was like being in a cloud, bad visibility and damp. I just don't understand people who don't use their head lights in poor weather. It may not be completely dark, but the head and tail lights are there so we can see each other. They are included with the purchase of your car and you should use them!

Seth

Here is Seth spelling his name out of Cheetos. Who would have thought to do this? He is so creative, I tell ya.

My friend Steph says that if you sit still at my house I'll cover you with paper. Seth fell asleep and I put a sock on him that I had knit. He was unwilling to pose properly when he was awake, so I bent his will to mine as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

So, if I don't cover you in paper, you may be covered in yarn! Seth wanted me to knit him some socks, like the crazy colorful ones I have knit for myself, but he does not wear them often. I make him wear them if we get invited to someones home and I know we'll be taking our shoes off as soon as we step in the door. Otherwise he is oten found in dirty looking formerly white slouchy stinky boy socks, which he and his brother seem to have bonded with a little too much.

Hmmmm....

I don't know, it feels like I should make another post but I don't have a picture handy. I almost always post a photo. But, alas, the camera is upstairs and I am downstairs and not feeling so motivated to go get it and post my newest Hanna creation. Maybe I'll find my motivation soon.


We are having a quiet day. The boys are home as the staff are having Staff Development Day. We got another few inches of snow last night and the boys went out to play for hours in it this morning. We had fast food for lunch and Noah fell asleep. It seems like a great idea, I think I'll go nap, too.

Snow

Well, yes, indeed we got snow! Only about 3 inches but it was enough to delay school for 2 hours while the roads got cleared. I wanted to sleep in, but Noah was awake and still needed driven to school. My friend Odette stopped over to pick up some stamping supplies and it was a bit of a frenzy getting everyone packed up and out the door at various times this morning.

The top photo is a photo of my home and the next photo is of my front door. The WELCOME is fromUpperCase Living, which I just can't tell you how much I love! Yes, that is my shadow in the door.

I am making chili spaghetti for dinner and plan to stay dry and cozy tonight. I hope all is well in your world as well.

Oh, the sign in my front yard? Our community is having a bit of a discussion about whether or not to build a bigger library and the sign shows my opinion on this issue. I am against the new library. How can anyone be against a new library you ask? Well, the current library is fairly new, it is within walking distance of most of the community, is near the three schools for the older kids and can be added onto in its present location. In fact, it was built to be added onto, as a second floor could be added easily.

People who want the library to move want a larger fancier library on more land. The school system wants the land that the current library is on and has offereed the library ten free acres of land in exchange for their current location. The land is three miles outside of town, however, and within walking distance for almost no one and not close to any present schools or other ammenities.

Just Ducky

It is hard for me to cover up a photo of Javan, and post something on top of him, but here it is anyway. I made these earrings to match a bracelet I previously made and posted here. I stamped with Stazon and colored with Sharpies and punched out the shape with the SU Scalloped punch. I am a jewelry designer so I had the jewelry components on hand. The Swarovski crystal colors are Light Sapphire and Citrine.


I took lunch to Seth at school today. We had Taco Bell yet again. I have got to learn to say No to that child, but he makes my heart weak. Noah got Burger King on the way home from school, as he eats lunch at 10:40 and getting to his school at that time with a warm meal would be near impossible.


We are supposed to get snow tonight or tomorrow. i love the first snow of the year. After that, it is ugly and I am done for it. But the first snow is beautiful and I want to enjoy it from inside my home with a cup of tea in my hands.

Oh Dear God

I have been tagged, and Oh Dear God, people just don't know how very unskilled I am when it comes to technology. I am supposed to post rules, and tag others abd do other things I have no idea how to do and no time today to learn about. I can tell you 7 random things though. And, yes, they are all true.

1) I have twice marched in Washington D.C. for various causes. If I name them here, I may loose all three of my regular readers. Suffice it to say I am opinionated about controversial issues.

2) I believe the FBI has a file with my name on it. I really hope it makes for a good read, otherwise my life has not been worth living.

3) I only have 6 songs on my ipod. Put there by my husband at my request. Remember the part about how I am not techno savvy?

4) I LOVE to celebrate my birthday. I also love presents wrapped in boxes, not bags. Everyday I am breathing is a great day.

5) I never miss the show Nip/Tuck and I even rent shows from other seasons just because I love it so. I also like LOST a lot, but not as much as Nip/Tuck.

6) I have been to Africa 5 x and have been to many different African countries.

7) I have a Kenyan boyfriend. My last trip was to Kenya in April 2007 where I met the above pictured hottie. He is the driver for my friend, Sarah Ellen. His name is Javan and he is the reigning body building champion "Mr. Kenya." He is married and is one of the nicest men you will ever meet. Sarah Ellen started a shelter for abused women and one of the women at the shelter had a baby last week and named the baby Javan in honor of him! (No, he is not the father!) My friends from the trip all ask about my Kenyan boyfriend and my husband is aware of our friendship. We e mail weekly.

Lazy Monday

Well, you just have to imagine that the Hanna yous e above is really much richer in color in person. The paper is from K and Co. with bazzill bling paper as well. Hanna is colored with copics and her unbrella was cut out and glued on for the plaid effect. I had to add the little wormie, he's just so cute!

Chicago wore me out! It snowed, which was pretty, then turned to sleet. The snow/sleet stuck to my coat and melted whenever I went inside, so I then felt wet. My pants were wet from slogging through puddles, but miraculously my toes stayed warm and dry. There was an accident on the interstate on the way home, so we took a detour, and what should have been a three to three and half hour drive took six hours! I did get some cute gifts for the boys though at various museum shops. I only spent about $40.00, too, which was great.

Yesterday Scott took Seth to see High School Musical on Ice and then we had an appointment to get family photos taken. Whew...it was a whirlwind weekend and I spent several hours this morning helping Noah's teacher. All I want to do is nap, but I have too many people who want things from me today so that won't be happening. What I really want is an electric blanket with dual controls so I can be warm in bed. My husband doesn't like electric blankets, so dual controls on a King size blanket, please Santa!

Heeeeeeeere's Hanna!

I found these adorable ornaments in a 2 pack at Archivers a while back. They were labeled as tags, but they will be go on the tree in my house. Even the glitter and fake snow balls were included. too cute! I colored the edging and stamped Hanna with mistletoe and put it all together. It was colored with Copics.

I had a home show last night and nearly poisoned my neighbor. She doesn't like chocolate much so I made punch and two cakes, one Orange Pineapple and the other Carrot Cranberry. Turns out she is very allergic to pineapple, which both the cakes had in them. Dangnabit! At least I tried to do a good deed by not making my famous Chocolate Cake. I also found out she doesn't like dogs. Who knew? How can you not like dogs?

Tomorrow I am off to Chicago for a day. My friend Joanne and I go every year on a bus trip sponsored by the local Parks Dept. Usually I enjoy it, but I have done it enough. I am not looking forward to cold and crowded Chicago when I have already disposed of my disposable income.

Addicted to Musicals

This Seth, and he is addicted to Musicals. IT has always been this way. First it was Disney cartoons with singing and years of Beauty and the Beast songs. It evolved to High School Musical 2 and Hairspray. We counted down the days till Hairspray would be on DVD and I was instructed to have it purchased before he came home from school. When Seth came home we went to a friends house to watch it in the Theater room. We have watched it everday since then. When seth comes home from school we put it in and watch it together. It is usually ending when Scott gets home from work so we all watch the dance scene in the end with John Travolta jiggling his hot bottom while dressed in drag.

Seth's favorite part of the movie is when Tracy is dancing and spanking herself in detention saying "I am a bad bad girl who needs to be punished!" He performs that routine and changes the word "girl" to "boy". To which I always reply (from the detention scene) while waving my hands in the air "You are joining this program already in progress!" It may be only funny to us, but my goodness, how much fun we have watching this and reciting lines everyday.

I rarely like to see a movie more than once, maybe twice. There are a few movies I LOVE and have seen several times, Cold Mountain, Shawshank redemption, and Millions (my all time fave). But hairspray is now a permanent part of Workman history. If you were here you could join the fun.

The photo above is of Seth on Halloween in his costume as Ryan Evans from High School Musical 2.

Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Program

It's time for another Hanna Stamp show! The trees are from the set "Tis The Season". After the photo was taken I added glitter to the bottom to give a snowy effect and it, as the saying goes, looks better in real life. The paper with the trees is from Reminisce and the solid green papaer is Bazzill. (What else?) The ribbon is from the miscellaneous ends I have collected in my ribbon box. I have a very hard time making a card with no ribbon. Some days I try really hard to not use ribbon, but it goes against all I know and love to do that.

Kadi the Wonder Dog

Are you wondering what makes my wonder dog so wonderful? Unconditional love, my friends, that's what it is. I know, I know, everyone thinks their dog is better than everyone else's and people are usually wrong about this. Definitely, I know, my dog is better than your dog? Why? Because she is mine!

We got our dog about 18 months ago from the local Humane Society. She is part Australian cattle dog and possibly part German Shepherd. We know the cattle dog part is true as she has the cattle herding instinct to nip at heels of running children. Mostly we have broken her of this habit, though she still nips at Noah. We don't worry so much as he needs a good nip now and again. plus, she doesn't bare teeth or bite or slobber on heels, she just noses them and scares you when you don't expect it.

I tried to fix her eyes before I posted this photo, but they appeared un fixable, so you'll just have to believe that they aren't really this blue, but are a beautiful deep brown. She is soft and sweet and loves to be on my lap or curled up next to me when I nap on the couch. Oddly, she does not bark. She can, and has, but just doesn't as a genearl rule. I wonder if it comes from the ancestors' years of herding cattle and realizing that cattle don't speak dog language.

I am supposed to be in my computer library looking for a photo of myself today, but found my dog and decided to post her for now. She doesn't sit still so if you tell her to sit and walk away, she'll follow, so the photo had to be taken at close range, from above. Maybe I don't it still for long either and that is why I am having so much trouble finding a photo of myself. I am like the Yeti, or Bigfoot, there are internet sightings that lead you to believe in my existence, but very little photographic proof.

We Have A Winner!

The winner of the Hanna Stamps! give away through my blog is Jana Mays of Kodiak, Alaska. I have already sent Jana an e mail and the stamps will be sent out as soon as they come in from the manufacturer, which should be this week, if not today. This was a ton of fun and I loved having so many comments on my blog, as I am very new to blogging and have few readers. If you stop by again, be sure to say "Hi" so i don't feel so lonely out here.

Blog Candy

Yes, Blog Candy! I have blog candy to give away! Kristi, the owner of Hanna Stamps! has decided that her Design Team members should all have a little fun over the Thanksgiving Holiday and have some blog candy to give away. One lucky winner will receive one set of the new, not yet released sayings set from Hanna Stamps! It is a clear set with things on it that Hanna might say. I have a picture to post, and will do that later.

I wanted to get the news out right away as I know some of you may not have internet access over the weekend, or at home, or on your travels. All you have to do is leave me a comment and tell me what you are thankful for and one lucky winner will be chosen at random on Sunday . Start commenting!

UpperCase Living

My friend Jenny had an UpperCase Living Party. I thought it was the best thing ever. It is basically words and graphics that you put up on your walls like a giant rub on. For a crafter like me, it was just my thing. Of course I am having my own Uppercase party next week.

The photo is of a leaf and saying that I ordered from Jenny's party. They come together as a set and all I had to do was decide on the size and the colors I wanted. I thought I would put these on a glass block when I ordered them, then I thought I'd use a tile.

I was at Michaels on Saturday and they had some art on sale 90% off out in their discount bins. My price was $1.49 so I bought all they had. The above was a piece of art that had was printed with something on it. I painted it brown with a couple of coats of acrylic paint that I had around. I left the bottom layer back, but painted the edges brown. I then put my rub ons on and sprayed it with a couple coats of Krylon spray. The Krylon did the trick. I was skeptical of what I had done, but the Krylon gave it a nice shine and a finished look. I tied on a coordinating bow, and Voila! I made art! It sits looking gorgeous in my kitchen right now.

Check out UppercaseLiving.com. They have an entire catalog of amazing things on line and you can even design your own words/sayings/quotes. I am in love. It will be hard to contain myself and not have some great quotes on every wall in my house.

Rainy Days

Here is the unveiling of the new Hanna Stamps! main stamp that is being released today. I love this Hanna, she is so adorable! I cut out her umbrella from a plaid paper that I stamped on. I love the look of the plaid umbrella. I used a litttle stickes on the puddle and I couldn't resist adding some bling to the card. The bottom green paper is from a Paper Stack and the blue patterned paper is called Denim Poolhouse Vines from Chatter Box.

I went to the Intermediate School today to volunteer for Noah's teacher and a lady in the PTO room remembered me from 7-8 years ago when Noah went to Pre School at St. Luke's UMC. Dang. She said right away that she recognized me, but then she placed me as well. Of course, I had no idea at all who she was. Once Scott and I ran into a former college roommate of mine, about a year after we had moved away from each other. She kept saying her name to me and I finally looked at Scott and whispered "I don't know anyone named Nancy!" Thankfully Scott knew exactly who she was. So, if you ever see me out on the street and I don't know who you are, it's not personal, I just don't have built in facial recognition software.

Hanna shares her umbrella

I can't stop. I don't know who I love more, Hanna Stamps! or penguins from Memory Box. So I have combined the two again. This is a card idea that we made at Stamp Camp, but I added an image to it once I got home. I moved elements around and made the penguin with the umbrella. Come back tomorrow to see Hanna herself, unvelied.

Noah and a friend decided to have a band concert. They are looking for Scott's trumpet. Noah cannot join band till next year in 6th Grade, but that has not stopped him from talking about band EVERYDAY! Scott told him that he played trumpet and has a trumpet here, that he will let Noah play. So now they are on the hunt to find it, despite the fact neither he nor I know how to play any musical instrument. I told Noah it must be up in the attic. What that really means is that it is put away and not available. Whether it is really in the attic I do not know. The boys then came to report they found a way to open the attic. Sheesh....I gotta go. They are gonna be the death of me.

Hanna of the day

My friend Kristi sent me alink to a bracelet she had seen. The instructions seemed pretty straight forward to me. You buy fish tank hose at a pet store and cut it up into about 3/4 of an inch long pieces. You cut up some paper, I used something from SU! that I had around. You roll the paper on a toothpick and put it in the fish hose, removing the toothpick. You link it together with stretch magic beading cord.

Because I am a jewelry and bead maker, I have the stretch cord and the silver beads around the house. I made charms out of Hanna Stamps! stamps, stamped on polyshrink and shrunk them down.

One of the stamps is from the new "Rainy Days" set. Can you guess which one? If you think it is the duck, you are right! So, this qualifies as a sneak peek, right? See, I am showing you a stamp not available to the general public till Friday. I think that qualifies. This set is so much fun to play with and I LOVE the duck! I know the Hannas are a little hard to see but it was the best I could do given the tiny images.

Oh No! Don't Eat That!

All the stamps are from Hanna Stamps! today. They include the duck, the worm, the saying, the pond. Well, actually, let me take that back, the grass is from Rubber Stampede. The paper is Bazzill and Reminisce.

I just had to have the duck eat the worm. I don't know why, but I had to do it. Don't worry, the worm recovers enough to appear in more cards. I think worms can regenerate themselves anyway. If I am wrong, we'll never know. I don't have enough blog readers to hope one of you is strong enough in science to explain the truth about worms anyhow.

Hanna Stamps releases the new Hanna set on Friday and I am trying to wait until I post actual cards with Hanna, so you'll have to stay on the edge of your seat, waiting patiently for the big reveal.

Sneak Peek

Friday will be the release date for a new Hanna Stamps! set, "Rain, Rain, Come My Way." I will be posting little bits and pieces of the set this week, in order to show off a bit of a sneak peek of what the new set will offer.

I made this card as a SplitCoast challenge. The featured stamper this week is Frances Byrne, also known as StampOwl. She is also on the Hanna StampsDesign Team! You are supposed to take a card from her gallery and change it in at least two ways. I changed the image and the colors of the paper. I added a ribbon and the scalloped punch accent. My card is cute, but her cards are to die for! Check out her blog, there is a link on her name found under Hanna Stamps Design Team members.

Can you guess which accents are from the new Hanna set? If you guessed the umbrella and the boot you would be correct. The penguin is from Memory Box. I just thought he'd be cute popping out of the umbrella and I couldn't resist.

I had a lazy weekend. I made some snickerdoodles and took some to a doctor's appointment I had this morning. I have to say, I bake for all my doctors. They remember me when they see me, they are personable, their staffs know me, and I always get the best bags of free samples! I didn't need any samples today, but I got lots of personal attention and chatted with nearly everyone on staff. Try it, it's a win win situation and a great way to make friends.

Today I am watching a friends' child. She got in trouble at school and got suspended. The guidance counselor said they had to suspend her, even though it wasn't her fault. So, Grace is upstairs doing homework and I am thinking about lunch. I have a feeling taking her out for fast food would be an inapropriate reward. It's easy for me to be tough on my own kids, but not so easy to punish the child of a friend who has done nothing to annoy me.

Hanna Likes Big Dogs the Best

See Hanna, she's like me, she likes big dogs. Okay, so my dog only weighs about 35 pounds, she's a big dog to me. We have a dog we got from the Humane Society, an Australian Cattle Dog with possibly some German Shepherd mixed in. She's got cool tiger stripes on her brown and black coat. She looks a little hyena like, and her unique looks are what made me fall in love with her. I'll post a photo soon.

This was the best dog stamp I have, but the dog looks dis interested in his treat. Maybe Hanna is trying to teach him something and he just couldn't care less. The brown paper is bazzill but I can't remember where the dog paper is from that i used for the background. The dog stamp is from hero Arts and Hanna is of course, Hanna Stamps!

Thanksgiving Hannas

Here is Hanna checking out turkeys for the upcoming feast. Her boots match the turkeys as we are not wasteful here and every part of the turkey gets used. If that means gorgeous turkey boots, well, Hanna will happily be your fashion slave. Do you like how the little guys are dropping their feathers?

Here is Hanna holding a turkey up for closer inspection. Seth would like you to know that this is not how you hold a turkey. As he has lived all his life in suburbia it cracks me up that he has both knowledge and strong feelings about this. He said I simply must tell you, don't hold a turkey by its feathers. He eats a turkey sandwich almost every day at school in his packed lunch, so maybe he is worried about turkey mistreatment meaning les for him to eat.

My weekend was fine, except for my husband having to go to work and being gone all day Saturday. The electricity went out at his office and he knew when it came back up, he'd need to re set servers and do computer stuff. This meant I had my posts all ready and no one to help me upload. Can you beleive the mistreatment here? At least my cold appears to be fading at long last.

Tile Coasters

I made some tile coasters to show you today. I used Tumbled Tiles from Lowe's. You pick your images and stamp using Staz On. Let it dry and seal with a Krylon coating. The top coaster has a quote stamp that I found at Michaels a while back, but the images are from Hanna Stamps' set "But I Need It."

This coaster is fully from the Hanna Stamps set "Tis the Season." I think the quote can be good for nature as well as people. I love to make tiles and I was really pleased at how well these lent themselves to coaster making. You can choose to color them in, also with Staz On, but I wasn't in the mood for it. My tastes tend toward the simple, so I just let them be as I liked them.

Halloween was fine. Noah went ut with his scooter attached to his wagon by a dog leash and he went as quickly as he could from house to house to collect candy. He had a huge pile by the time the night was over. Seth went out with a Halloween Pumpkin face bucket and it was full by the end of the night. One neighbor recognized Seth's character immediately and broke into a song from High School Musical. God love her! I am sure not many people had any idea who he was. At least he is original and not afraid to be unique.

I have been nursing a cold all week so did not partake in the drinking part of sitting in my neighbors driveway. I haven't been sleeping well at night and I just knew a little alcohol would do more harm than good. Everyone gathers at the neighborhood bus stop in the morning, and one neighbor noticed that only the sober were there this morning.

I did laundry today, thinking that I don't like sleeping in cooties, even if they are my own. So, all the bedding is clean and fresh again. But I did not go to the grocery today and did not realize how bad the need was until I went to make dinner and had absolutely no vegetables in the house. Not even a lonely can of green beans. I borrowed milk in my pajamas for breakfast from a neighbor this morning and I was too lazy/embarrased/just did not care to hunt down a can of something for dinner. No one eats the vegetables but me anyway. Dinner just looked lonely tonight though.

It's always something isn't it?

Hanna's in the House

Well, Hanna is not really in the house, she is out fishing. I love how versatile she is and that I can swap out images and add different things into her hands to hold. Holy Cow, have I got ideas for her! Notice the little birdie rub on on the bottom right side? It's from Heidi Grace. I couldn't find any fish vultures, so this will have to do. The little jumping fish is from penguin Paradise by SU! Heidi is multi talented, isn't she?
Heidi can Trick or Treat with the best of them! The little Halloween bucket is a small stamp from Archiver's, I don't know who made it. The pumpkin in Hanna's hand is a rub on from Heidi Grace and the little candies are from Memory Box. I used stickles on her crown, but you don't really see it in the photo. The paper is from K and Co and Bazzill.

I should own stock in Bazzill, by the way. Shouldn't most of us? They really make a great product and quickly cornered the card stock market.

Tomorrow is Halloween so I don't know if you will hear from me or not. I have photos to post, but if my little goblins keep me busy, I won't get to the internet. Seth is dressing as someone from High School Musical 2, (Ryan if you really need to know) and Noah is dressing as some type of demon/gremlin/goblin/devil guy. I miss the days of elephants, bumblebees, and even Harry Potter.

We have a litle tradition here that Scott takes the boys out trick or treating and I sit with my next door neighbor, around a warm fire pit and have a beer with whoever stops by. So, basically, if you don't hear from me tomorrow, I am out drinking.

I Am Not A Lazy Bum

If I had my way, I would update my blog everyday. I am in a lucky spot in that I have some photo to post everyday to show you what I am making. I tell ya, I am one industrious gal! I made two cards yesterday and tried to post them myself.

Did you see them? No. They actually did not get posted. I got lost somewhere in the Picasa photo editing program and when I went to see if Scott could help me, he was already elbow deep in pumpkin guts. He had both boys up at the kitchen table and they were carving away. So, there was no help for me. He is such agood Dad. I don't like to craft with the boys much, I always want to "fix" what they are making.

Maybe later on tonight I will get new photos up. I am just checking in so you know I am a busy crafter and that I am not a lazy bum!

Sunday with Hannah

We are trying something new today, making the images smaller on my blog to see how they look so that you have to click on them to make them bigger. We'll see if I like the look of this or not. I like big pictures myself, but am following Scott's suggestion today. Yesterday was out 17th wedding anniversary, and maybe we have been happily married for 17 years because we are willing to try each other's suggestions.

I think the top photo shows of Hanna with background of paper from Anna Griffin. I bought the paper a long while ago in a discount bin, so I am not sure it is Anna's paper. But if my memory serves me it is. The flowers are from Daisy D and the gingham is from some unknown place. I adore gingham, for unknown, reasons, and snatch it up whenever I see some that I like. I mixed and matched my hanna sets, using Hanna from the "Tis the Season" set and accessories from the "But I Need It" set. I love Hanna's shoe shopping skills.

The poem on the card below reads "Even though she was a grown woman she believed in elves and Santa Claus and flying reindeer and sacks with an endless capacity for toys. Furthermore she belived that believeing in these things was the chief reason that she had more fun in life than others. "

The stamp is from River City Rubber Works and Hanna is from "Tis the Season at Hanna Stamps! I LOVE this card. I may make a bunch of these as my holiday card this year. Of course, last time I made my own Christmas cards I was so tired of looking at them that I never sent them out. I just lost the joy that year. But that would never happen with my sweet Hannas. I love these so much my husband is lucky I don't sleep with them while I am trying to dream up new ways to use them. (The paper is from Heidi Grace and Bazzill, colored with copics. I used the SU! ticket corner punch. I find it addictive and want to use it on all my cards but have to restrain myself.)

Lazy Sunday Morning

Well, it is actually the middle of the night here, and I should be in bed asleep, but I have this terible habit of waking up, thinking about something and not being able to sleep. I try to keep to the 20 minute rule. It's the one that says if you are awake for 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something else.

Scott and I went to go see the movie "Into the Wild" tonight and I can't stop thinking about it. It's based on a true story so when I couldn't sleep, I knew I needed to go to the computer and see what Wikipedia had to say about it all. then i followed more and more links and here I am, awake. still.

I got six comments on my last post. Dang. People are going to read my blog. I didn't know I had six readers yet. ( I am so tempted to say "If you can read this, please send money..." but those of you who really know me, know I'd be travellin' on whatever cash I had and the next post would be from Kenya, or Australia or Fiji, or just about anywhere at all).

I had plans for more photos to be posted, but since I am not quite capable of uploading on my own yet, I can't just live the life I want. Oprah says "Live the life you imagine!" Well, I am imagining lots of photos with every blog entry, but it just ain't happenin' for me yet.

Now I gotta get some sleep, I need to be early to the library so I can get the book "Into the Wild". If you live nearby and have any plans to beat me to the library, remember that I know where you live!

Hanna Day is Almost Here!

Tomorrow is the day for the new release of another Hanna Stamps! set, Tis the Season. This set is so adorable, and the possibilities with the accessories are endless.

In my top card, I made Hanna dream of her Sugar Daddy as she trims the tree. A little twisted? Probably. But look at her little Charlie brown tree. I have no idea way I chopped the bottom down, but I did. Hanna apparently needs her Sugar Daddy.

In the next card Hanna Claus and Santa have left some apparel under the tree while they have gone off in search of some, um...adult companinship. See Santa's button on the card? Hanna ripped it right off Santa and I ripped the idea off Design Team member Val. I just never know what to do with buttons, but I literally found it on the floor yesterday and knew it was Santas!

These cards are followed by a Happy Holidays card. Just a little something easy and sweet for the season.

I backed my "But I Need It..." Hanna glass block with this traditional setting from the "Tis The Season" set. They look great in the dark. I am planning to finish them off with silver ribbon on the edges and a bow on top.

Seth wanted me to show the penguin light he made. It has rub ons on both sides, and is covered in sticky tape and micro beads like the Hanna light. seth is going to put it in his room and it is a surprise for his Mumbles penguin. He hopes Mumbles likes it. I know that for 99 cents, the rub ons are so entertaining that they provide a lot of inexpensive pleasure for my little crafter.

The boys were out of school today so we went to go see the movie "Game Plan." It stars DeWayne "The Rock" Johnson. I don't know where he is from, he is surely famous for something, but I don't know what. The movie lasted almost two hours, which really helped kill a boring day at home. As for the Rock? Hubba Hubba! The kids enjoyed the movie and I enjoyed the beauty of him.

Tis The Season for More Hanna

I got a new set of Hanna Stamps today and I can't tell you loudly enough how much fun it is to have stamps to play with, for no other reason than to see what I can get them to do. I decorated the tree and put the hat box from the Hanna set, "But I need it.." under the tree, too. It loks like a giant present, and who doesn't want a big box of fun for the holidays?

I also like the card below it, with its pretty litttle Hanna holding up the mistletoe. I have never in my life been a pink person, but I am learning to love the color. I find I am using it more and more in cards and it is softening up how I feel abbout the color in general.

Does it seem early to be thinking Christmas? Not if you are a mom. I already have my shopping underway and presents hidden in places I hope the kids won't look.

I have girlfriends who share a "Homemade Christmas" with me. The rule? it has to be homemade. At this point they may be fearful that they will each get a box of hanna cards from me, but little do they know I started their presents months ago.

I will have some more Hanna cards tomorrow as well as a glass light box or two. Seth has been working on rub ons trying to get his vellum ready for its application to a glass block. His favorite furry friend is a penguin, Mumbles, from the movie Happy Feet. He and Mumbles have matching pajamas courtesy of Grandma Workman last year. He asked if Mumbles could have his own glass block, but I told him that for now he and his penguin will have to share one. I tell you, he wears me down. He always asks if Mumbles can have whatever he is having. I almost forget its a stuffed animal, we spend so much time talking about him and taking him along places.