It's A New Day

Since this is a stamping blog (mainly anyway, sometimes I throw in some knitting or beads or jewelry or painting) I'll start with the stamping news of the day. Hanna Stamps is having a release part on Splitcoast Stampers thursday night and you can play in the chalenges to win new sets that are being released. Four new sets will be released. This is a sneak peek of the set called "Patriotic". I have a friend with a birthday on Flag Day so I made this card for her. The paper is from a card stack by Basic Grey and the little metal corner tag is from Dollarama in Canada.

I could tell you all about my love for Dollarama, but that would take this whole post. I found so many great stamping/scrapbooking supplies that Dollarama is on my to do list for any time I go to Canada.

This card is a case of one that Vicki garrett made. the stamps are hers too,actually. They are from Stampotique and she is also on their Design Tea. The artists are a married couple and they have a whole set of goth looking people. I love the whimsy of them all. Vicki made hers in colors like light blue and yellow. Hers are very fun and full of whimsy where mine look a little dark and less playful. I found the little card baubles at Dollarama, too. The paper is Prism. Their paper is luscious.

Last night Seth and I went to hear the Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl McPhee at our local Barnes and Noble. We got tickets to be in the first group of people to meet her, but ended up very close to the front of the line. She offers pre boarding, like on a plane. People with special needs get to see her first, the elderly, infirm, or those with children. Seth was there for about 3 hours by the time the whole she bang was over so I went to the front of the line. The good news was that I took his homework packet with us and he did all his homework for the week while we were there. He came home and bathed quick before falling into bed.

The evening was great. The Harlot was as funny as I expected. I met lots of nice people in the seats around us. I felt a bit like a stalker, but after all, she had come to MY 'hood, hadn't she? And I had warned her in the comments section of her blog that I was coming. She had time to make alternate plans or fake illness. But she showed up and I met her, and today I feel full and happy. Seth may even be on her blog, even though he did not take his own knitting to the event. He did hold her sock. I should have had her hold mine, but I didn't want to take up too much time, since we were at the front of a very long line of her adoring fans. I have tried several times to post her photo here but blogger keeps eating my posts, so I give up and settle for cards today.

Toronto

I had a fantastic time in Kingston, Ontario (2 hours east ofToronto) with my new friends. You know, I went away to meet people in real life that I had only met through the internet. I guess I am a bad example for my children. I tried not to let them know. They think I left for work, and my work is Hanna Stamps. Partly true.

I loved the store in Kingston, which we called "Jan's store" because Jan owns it. I never got to meet Jan, though. I made tons of cards, a couple of scrapbook pages, and ate a lot. I carried brownies all the way, and the other ladies enjoyed them. I didn't want to show up empty handed and lacking any hospitality at all. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Everyone was very nice and I can see why so many return year after year for the fest at Vicki's home.

I was super busy today getting groceries, running errands and meeting a friend for lunch. I am now home and hope to do a bit of cleaning before the boys come back. Just a bit of mopping and sweeping as the house feels like it needs a little care after the boys had control all weekend. I have to get Noah after school today and babysit another neighbor child as well as go out to see the Yarn Harlot today.

The harlot is a knitter who writes books and has a wicked sense of humor. her blog is very popular and she has a new book coming out. She is at my local Barnes and Noble tonight and they are busily readying for the hundreds of people who are anticipated. I have to be there by 5 PM to get a ticket and she doesn't speak till 7 PM. Parking is going to be a problem, folks! I think Seth is going with me as Noah has soccer tonight.

The card above is a Prism Challenge for Hanna's Design team. We had to use these three colors, pink, teal and Crabapple Light. I used the new Hanna Garden set which will be released Friday.

Happy Belated Earth Day!

And welcome to Office professionals Day, or something like that. I swear, I need someone to keep a calendar for me. All these holidays, all the cards I make, and I never have the correct card on the correct day. Dagnabit. Of course, if I had an assisstant or a clone, I would have her drive the carpool for me. That is the worst task of all.

Yesterday in carpool the neighbor girl (age 14) and her 12 year old brother were arguing about black holes. You cannot interupt and give the correct information as the neighbor girl will not believe you, and it will only serve to prolong the argument. The girl was saying that spaceships have been sucked into Black Holes and not returned. But, if you happen to come out on the other side of a black hole, you will enter a new dimension. You do not know how painful it was for my husband, the physics major not to let lose with a string of smart information.

After carpool we have to pull Noah aside and let him know that his friends are not correct and blah blah blah is the correct information on whatever the subject was. We are surrounded by idiots and the first rule is that you cannot argue with stupid people. Well, you can argue, but they will continue to argue and you will be there forever. It reminds me of the time a woman in Atlanta told me Wooly Mammoths were extinct and you could only see them in zoos now. I tried to explain the difference between extinct and endangered, but she clearly did not believe me. My lesson is now learned and I do not waste my breath on some people.

The card above is me today. "Did I forget anything?" I am trying to pack for a trip as I leave tomorrow morning and don't know which of my crafting items comes with me, and which stay home. I will post Monday when I return.

The card was made with a variety of my beloved Hanna Stamps. I used so many sets I am not sure I can name them all, Big Dogs, Spring Time, Rainy days. The background is from SU!, Lovely as a Tree. The bunny is hopping away as he does not want to make it into the dog's basket.

We are having lovely weather here and I fear I'll have to pack long pants and socks for Toronto. I hope it is still nice when I return.

Welcome Monday

I made this for a friend out of re purposed junk mail that I got on saturday. She wants Mr. Obama in a way that is not political, if you know what I mean. :) I got this chipboard piece the same day the flyer for the Obama campaign arrived and I knew right away that I would try something I saw on Amy Rysavy's blog. Amy made a frame from light weight coasters that she sent through her die cut machine, so I tried to achieve a similar effect. Her frame has an opening so you can change this photo, but my photo of Barack is glued in place.

And this card is made with the Hanna Stamps set "Passport" and is good for me this week as I am going to Toronto over the weekend to visit a friend who lives in that area. Okay, I don't really think I'll see Palm Trees in Toronto, but we had an earthquake in Indiana, so who knows what could happen. The paper is from Stampin Up but I cannot remember the name of the pack it came in.

We had a quiet weekend full of soccer games and kids playing in the backyard. I am hoping the expected rain holds off so the kids can play out back as much as they want. Actually, I'd rather they played in someone else's back yard, but at least this way I can yell at my kids and embarrass them in front of their friends when they act bad.

Earthquake!

Yes, my dears, we had an earthquake right here in indiana. It registered a 5.4 on the Richter Scale. It came just about 5:30 in the morning and both Scott and I both sat up straight in bed. The stuff on our dressers shook and when it stopped we laid down and went back to sleep. It was all the news this morning for hours and hours. Seriously, people, how long does it take to say "We had an earthquake, there were no injuries and no damges." I thought I might never get my morning dose of Matt and Meredith, Al and Ann. I can't live without strating my day with them.

Scott said this morning that he thought I was doing something to shake the bed. Now, we all like to think we have some fabulous bedroom powers, but come on! Anyhow he has been sick all week and I am not cruel enough to bother his precious sleep especially when he is so tired and is a light sleeper. I diagnosed him with a sinus infection yesterday and sent him to the doc for meds today. His teeth hurt, and that is a sure sign of a sinus infection if ever there was one.

I made this card for the Hanna Stamps' Friday challenge, HSC 13. The challenge was to use polka dots, which I technically failed to do. Using pink and flowers was an added bonus according to this week's challenge. I used Riley the Moose who needs a co ordinating stamp that says "With enough caffeine I could rule the world." I saw one in a store recently but it wasn't cute enough for my needs.

The kids have a half day of school today and are home begging for food, so I'd better go feed the mongrels. I made a huge batch of Snickerdoodles yesterday, so they will be very happy today.

The Happiest Place on Earth

I am back from the (alleged) Happiest Place on Earth to the Dirtiest House in the World. My husband helps out, and he really tries. But he does not see the dirt like I do and so, if he cannot see it, he cannot clean it. I am only one person, and am surrounded by three men/boys and a dog and a variety of childrens' friends. I run around all day trying to pick up, but let's face it. I am outnumbered. And I usually give up rather than continue to face the challenge.

This card was the brain child of my friend Rebecca. She has a new job outside the home, so maybe she was fantasizing about a hot new housecleaner for her home? This is made with Hanna Stamps. The man is Mikey and the accessories are from the House cleaning set. The sentiment is from a Hanna gift wrapping set. It breaks some type of card making rule as there is no ribbon or other embellishment, but it looks nice in real life.

I was doing homework with Noah last night until 10 PM. He put it off and put it off, and then realized we had no paper for him to write on. Dude? Who brings home their work but no paper? I was ready to send him to bed with work undone but he ended up using paper from the copy machine. It had no lines on it, but he made it work for his purposes. Resourceful kid! And today? All his work will be done before he goes out to play.

I Drank the Kool Aid

Maybe it is apparent by the pictures that we went to Disney World for Spring Break. I have to say, if you don't already know, that this is NOT my idea of a good time. It is hot and crowded. The drive is long. I have motion sickness and cannot ride the really fun rides. Really. I have thrown up in more amusement parks than most people have ever been to. One year we got Six Flags Season Passes and made a list of parks and went around the US and had mini vacations at several places that have Six Flags parks. I was careful not to ride the good stuff, but got heat sickness and vomited anyway. Want to know about the ammeneties at First Aid stations at various parks? I am your gal!
So last year when we planned this trip it sounded like a great idea. The kids have been so excited. As the date to travel came nearer, I began to wonder what I had been thinking. We had a condo to stay in off site, so we had a quiet place to stay. The weather was fine. The kids had a fabulous time! They would both like to live there full time. Just ask them, they'll tell you how true it is.

I despise handing over my money to a giant corporation. Money flew out of my hands like water from a fountain. The kids loaded up on ice cream and treats and snack food and character pins and just were joyful and happy and as well behaved and polite as they could be. Even I was caught smiling on more than one occasion.

We had a meal with the Princesses. Seth was thrilled. Noah was cooperative about it, but he did not want to pose with them or get their autographs. Jasmine clearly did not care, she slided in next to the boy and made small talk and told us to get the picture anyway.

We all had a good time. (Did I really just write that?) Disney does everything so well. The meals were great, the drink prices were not outrageous, and the rides were loads of fun. I did meet several older couples who come by themselves a couple times a year. They just love it. I doubt I would ever come on my own. I don't understand the allure of Disney over a vacation to an exotic place. But if all the crazy people go to Disney, there is more room for me to see all the Polynesian islands I have not been to yet. Tahiti? Borneo? On my list of places to visit.

Hanna and I Hit the Road

This Hanna set comes out tonight at midnight. It's called Passport and it is a very good set for today. Hanna is packed for her trip and I am packing for Spring Break. Hanna's card has a little Australia stamp in the scalloped square, my way of saying hello to StampOwl who is a Hanna Design Team member in Australia.

I have the laundry done and the piles of clothing are ready to be packed into suitcases. Several trips ago we got the boys each a small rolling suitcase and it has been a great thing for them to be able to be responsible for their own carrying of stuff. I use the word responsible very loosely here, but at least we are trying to make them independent. I won't be able to blog for another 10 days or so.

We'll be a couple of days on the road and then be in Florida for a week, then drive a couple days home. I have the kennel arranged, the house helper, etc... I am sure I will return tired and ready to send the kids to school.

Quiet Time

Today was a much quieter day than the last few have been. My days of fast paced errand running are finished and all that is left is a little laundry before we pack for Spring Break. Whew.

Today's Hanna is called Tool Time. I had to add the little doggy from a recently released dog set. You know, I can never bring myself to just use one set a time like other people do. I love to mix and match. The saying is from the first Hanna set, "But I Need It." I made my own background paper and punched the tools out with SU's oval punches. It needed a little something more so I was glad to have found the star clip in my stash. The card looks like my sister in law. She is one handy gal. Maybe more handy than my brother, even. (We are so happy my brother found her!)

I need to go find something to cook for dinner....

Whirlwind Day

Today is another marathon day. Noah has pink eye so all the laundry in the house has to be done, per my instructions. This means all towels and bed linens, too. I don't want it to spread and take hold of us as we ready for vacation. I am putting in load after load of laundry and even sent some to a neighbor who has a beautiful front load machine. That means she can easily wash humongous comforters that don't fit in my top load machine because of the spinner thing in the niddle.

I made cake for Seth's birthday but he would not leave it alone yesterday so we ended up cutting in to it last night. I was afraid the whole thing would fall apart if we did not cut off the side of it that was sliding. Noah somehow got some plastic carrot toys. Seth took them and "planted" them in his chocolate cake. This made Noah angry as his toys had been taken away from him and were now dirty. the carrots were plucked for harvest, but had disturbed the cake and left holes and rifts in it. The carrots must have been left over from someones Easter as they had that sugar candy stuff inside them and Noah wanted to eat it.

Here is the Birthday Boy with his Dairy Queen cake that we had at his party Saturday. My kids don't know how good they have it. I never once had a party as a kid. Ask my mom, she confirms it. She says she just didn't do it. End of story. Even as an adult she will not come to kids' parties. Not even for her grandkids. She says there are too many kids at a party. It's true. My brother had one party in the backyard, once. Me? never. So my kids get a party with friends and a special meal on their birthdays at home, and cake and ice cream and presents. My parents also take the kids around the time of their birthday and do something special with them.

Today's menu is spaghetti and meatballs with breadsticks. Then more chocolate cake and ice cream.

The card on top shows how I fell today. Run Over. The Hanna is from the "Tis the Season" set. The taxi and sunglasses are from the new "Passport" set which comes out Friday. I couldn't resist running Hanna down in the road with the sarcastic sentiment. We all have those days don't we?