Home Again

I feel like I can't blog unless I post a photo, too. I don't have any idea whaere that comes from, but it is some odd self imposed rule I tend to follow. I haven't created anything new lately...at least not in the last 48 ours. So, I am posting an "old" photo, from way back in last week when I made my name tag for my weekend excursion. What you can't se are the pop dots under my moose and heart tag, giving them great depth and dimension. Just believe me, it's stinkin' cute. It is also prettier than the ones we wear at church. I'd wear this to church, but nobody likes a show off, especially in the Lord's House.

I went to get some cupcakes and ice cream cups to share with Seth's class tomorrow for his birthday.(The little booger will be nine!) I have been to Target, Walmart, the grocery, the knit store, Michaels and Sam's. Even had lunch with a friend. I have to start dinner and then run the kids to karate and maybe make a cake. I might bake tomorrow, I do better baking when the kids are not underfoot.

I enjoyed my time away this weekend. The dog enjoyed me being gone, too. When no one was looking she ate all of the candy Seth had collected at the neighborhood easter egg hunt. She ate it, wrappers and all, and seems no worse for wear.

Wicked Tired

If you come here for cards, you are disappointed once again. What can I say? I woke up this morning so tired I would not have gotten myself or Seth out of bed except for the fact that he is trying to get a perfect attendance award for the year at school. So, the pressure is on and I can't blow this for him.

I did finish a scarf the other day. I'd love to tell you what I knit it with, but the yarn name is foreign and I cannot remember it. It is a lovely color scheme of lime green, blue and purple. I took my photo outside in full sun, but still no luck in showing how gorgeous it is in real life.

I am going to Michigan for the weekend, levaing bright and early Friday morning, so you likely won't her from me again until Monday. I am off to a card/papercraft weekend. Sadly, no vendors will be there so I have to take all I ned along with me. That won't be easy because I don't want to check a bag, if I do, I have to pay $15.00 each way for the first bag. I'll be carrying it all on, but can't carry on my scissors, etc...so I have to pack carefully.

The Pokey Blogger

I know my posts have been few and far between, but HEY, I have been sick. And all the cooking I did for the Bake Sale totally wore me out. How did the bake sale go, you wonder? The bake sale is NEXT WEEK!! I totally cooked a week ahead of time. S%#@! And no, I didn't freeze it, I ate it and passed it out to neighbors, so I have to do it all over again.

I didn't even play in totday's challenge despite feeling much better. I did make a sympathy card for a family at church. I love the rbbon I used, it is 3/8 inch satin ribbon and I decided to run over to Michaels and look for some. The ribbon on the card is from Hanna Stamps and I wanted more RIGHT NOW. Alas, Michaels has all kinds of decorative ribbon but no satin ribbon except for the really thin stuff they have had forever. Who buys all that junk? How hard can it be to sell a few classic staples? Thankfully I will be with Kristi of Hanna Stamps this weekend so I can get more ribbon.

Tonight is 24 night and Dancing With the Stars so I have hope they can take my mind of the lack of ribbon in my life.

My True Love

I enjoy baking much more than cooking. My cooking seems to only involve complaints from my children when they have to eat it. It can kill any sense of pleasure I might have had in skillfully preparing and presenting nutrtious food to the hungry masses. So, when Bakerella.com wrote about cake balls, I knew I had found love. True Love. I beg you to go to her site to visit the cuteness. My post pales in comparison.

First you make a cake mix and bak it in a 9x13 inch pan. When it cools you crumble it up and add almost a can of frosting. You can add the whole can if you like, but I find it gooey-er that way and a bit more sticky. You take the crumbled cake/frosting mixture and roll it into balls. My photo is of my favorite, Red Velvet cake.

Then you use a candy mold shaped like a Reece's peanut butter cup and fill it half way with melted chocolate/candy flavors. The brand we have around here is Wilton's Candy Melts but you can use Almond Bark too. You put acake ball into each candy mold so the chocolate comes up to the top of the mold and then I refrigerate it till firm. Once firm, remove them from the mold and dip the top into more melted chocolate/candy. Top with a red M&M and some sprinkles.

I made strawberry ones and lemon ones as well. My family is going to a church retreat this weekend so this will be the snack I take along to share. Our school is also having a bake sell so I am making and plating a few dozen for that, too. In order to not get them mixed up, the strawberry one shave a pink to and the lemon ones have yellow on top.

I have not yet finished the last batch of Red Velvet, but they will get an assigned color, too, and will have a brown chocolate base. The red color is beautiful to bite into and the chocolate taste is to die for. Sadly, not everyone I know enjoys chocolate, which explains the variety of flavors.

I have had a cold for about a week now. I went to the doctor yesteday hoping I really had developed a sinus infection. Why? At least a sinus infection is treatable. Instead, it is a cold/sinus problem. I did get some meds to help kill the pain but I am still sick and tired. My day will bring me a long nap in bed and a trip to school to deliver my treats. You know I don't feel well when I am too ill to play in the card challenges online.

Certifiably Crazy

The color challenge on Tuesdays is always posted later than I would like. So, I went looking in the gallery at SCS and found the challenge posted under the keywords, (CC210)CC for Color Challenge and 210 for the week. Last week was CC209, so I know this week will be CC210. I saw the colors and made my card and was all happy. Until I realized the date of the possting was wrong and someone had used the same keywords for a different challenge in January So instead of being Baja Blue, Not Quite navy and Kraft, I needed to use Red Riding Hood, Summer Sun, Kraft, and the optional color of black. Darn!

So I ended up making two cards and only posting one. It works out well as I have a father and father-in-law. Generally I don't like buttons on my creations and do not EVER use them. But they seemed fitting for a masculine card where girly frills and flowers won't work. Also, I absolutely hate buttons that are not tied or sewn. Due to a lack of available string in my house I just stuck them on and went with it. Do I love it? No. Do I care? Not really. Art does not have to be perfect, just handmade.

I used the set Bowling Hanna by Hanna Stamps for my cards.

Today is a beautiful day and I look forward to picking up Noah after school and drinking milkshakes from Steak and Shake on the way home. They have half price shakes from 2-4 and they are calling my name today!

The Vintage Pearl

My friend Steph and I had lunch this week at Taco Bell. Don't you just love a place where the food is so cheap you can shake the change out of your piggy bank to pay for it and still leave full? Steph was telling me that she found a gorgeous store on Etsy called The Vintage Pearl and she was really digging the hand stamped silver jewelry. I commented that I had some silver stamping tools but I had not dug them out in a while.

So, I went home and got out all the silver pieces and hammers and blocks and what not and made her this little necklace with her children's names on it. She was nearly speechless, words were not coming from her mouth, but squeals of joy were. The necklace looks better without my shaky camera angles, and I like it enough that I think I will make one for myself.

If you are here for the bog hop, scroll down to leave a comment. the winners will be drawn at noon Monday EST.

Good Friday Blog Hop

If you have found me today, most likely you are following the Hanna Stamps Blog Hop. Thanks for following the links this far. I cannot resist the Moose stamps so I chose to feature Bikini Sophie today. I followed the diamond theme by making my own background and changing the square nestabilities to my own desire for a diamond shape. I love what can be made with little more than paper, scissors, stamp and ribbon. Okay, I did add bling. Who doesn't need a little bling to brighten their day? ( I had to add belly button bling for Sophie!) The tag punch is from the Martha Stewart line at Michaels and the words Thank You are from the Hanna Stamps Sentiment set.

Don't forget to leave a comment as everyone will be entered into a drawing for a surprise goodie from Kristi at Hanna Stamps. Hanna Stamps is also having a sale this month and offering 10% off your purchase. Don't forget to shop while the sale is still Hot.

Thanks for stopping by today, please go and see what Ilina Crouse has created.

You Always Have the Best Dirt

This is my entry in the Friday Challenge at SCS, a clean and simple card with NO patterned paper and no more than four layers. Also, you have to have a bug in the card. I have a snail on the ground, butterflies in the air and crawling ladybugs.

One of the best things about Hanna Stamps is that the sets come with so many accessories and several of the sets have a bug in them, which made Hanna the perfect choice for the challenge today. Hanna even has a set that is nothing but bugs. The Going Buggy set is where I got the butterflies and ladybugs. I do love my Hanna Stamps!

Going Green

Today's challenge is called Going Green. Since I use green in almost all my cards, the challenge for me would have been to not use green. Riley Moose is cutting up dead trees so he can build himself a home and give the un needed wood to the poor so they can heat their homes. How's that for being green?

I am making chicken tetrazinni for dinner, Yummmm. I love it when I wake up with a plan. There's not much to say today. I haven't even read the paper yet, so I don't know the news of the day.

Craptastic

This is for the sketch challenge of the day at SCS. I used an image from Doodle Factory and a quote from Inkadinkado. the paper is largely scraps and bazzill remnants.

I thought I would have a nice quiet day but Noah called at 7:30 today and said Dad had packed Seth's notebook in his folder, and he needed some books that got left at home. That adds two errands to my day that I didn't want to run. I am waiting for the day that I say to the kids "Too bad." If you don't care to pack your own stuff up, don't complain when your parents get it wrong.

I have to be at the elementary school at the end of the day to talk to the Girl Scouts about wearable art for a badge they are going toe arn, and help them all make beaded jewelry. I did the cheap thing and bought Stretch Mag cord for the bracelets, now I just have to get beads and come up with something that sounds intelligient to say.

I Don't Know What the Day Will Bring

Some days there just isn't much to say. I made a little box as part of the SCS challenge today. The design is on line, you make the box and customize it and add whatever you want it to hold. I made little paper dolls from the Wee Hanna set. Photography was the hardest part. I wanted to get everything in one picture, but the angles were odd, trying to capture both the flat additions and the 3D box. Because I live in Indiana, there is no natural light so I had to use the flash and couldn't get far enough away to avoid the kickback.

I found these on the camera as well. It's funny to see what Seth wants to photograph. The kids leave too many things downstairs and when I find them, I stand at the bottom of the stairs and throw them up. This is Noah's beloved gorilla .

The kids love the big cookies you can buy at the grocery. We went to the school's Winter Carnival on Friday and as Noah stood in line for the cake walk someone told him he didn't have enough punches left to play. I cheered him up by offering to take him to the grocery to pick out what he would really like to have. Apparently seth found it photo worthy.

Freaky Friday

I love these little Stampotique images I stamped off when I was at my friend Vicki's last year. The challenge of the day is to make a card as quick as possible so I grabbed these little guys as they don't require a lot of picky coloring. I used some Bazzill paper and the Archaic pack from Basic Grey, the quote is from Amuse Stamps.

I wanted to show you a photo of some cupcakes I got from Nana last week. She made the yummiest strawberry cupcakes with a bit of sweet filling hidden inside them. Oh My! They were good, and they were gone quick! I took a picture before they were all eaten, but now I can't find the photo. I asked Scott to organize the photos on the computer as he is so much better at it than me. So, now I can't find the photo I want. You'll just have to trust me on their scrumptiousness since I can't prove it to you.

We are headed into a lazy weekend and I hope I can sleep in a bit tomorrow. The weather is great today so I am hoping the kids are not awake and ready to rumble too early.

My Children

Today I chose stamps from the Starving Artistamps, Doodle Factory Creatures. I love these little guys. The sketch is for the sketch challenge on SCS and I used a Basic Grey paper pack, Archaic. I placed the little creatures to look like they are my children, always talking at each other, no one listening. There are several little creatures in this series and I love them all. Love them, I tell you. They have some that are particularly cute in their Halloween line and if I owned them I would use them year round. Do you think it is too soon to email Scott my Mother's Day gift wish list? Starving Artistamps is having a Blog candy give away, if you are interested, click

here: Starving Artistamps

My layers and creatures are all placed with pop dots, so they really, well, POP off the page! Best of all, Starving Artistamps is having a blog candy give away and you could win free stamps. they are giving away a new set if you want to go and check it out.

Today should be a quiet day, I have burritos planned for dinner and my car is back from the shop so I can even leave the house if I should chose to do so. It could get wild.

Just a Little Somethin'

I cannot resist another opportunity to play in a challenge. Todays colors are Pink Passion, Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip. Personally? I think I rocked it. Finally, I made a card I really like. I post a lot, but I only love a few.

Today I am basically wasting time before the real work of the day happens. My car is in the shop, getting the bumper repaired from an accident at the shop where they spilled brake fluid on it and it ate the paint off. Oh, don't ask! So, I am home with no car. That means I have no excuse to not do the laundry or avoid picking up. I need to get to work so I can sit and knit for the rest of the day. My oldest is out of school everyday at 2:10 and that means I pretty much get a morning to myself and after lunch, it is the kids' time. It doesn't work for me, but I am not in charge of the school calendar. Too bad.

Chaotic Monday

Tonight is the release party for Hanna Stamps and I am going to have a busy day. My car is going to the shop for a little repair due to Brake Fluid being spilled on the bumper and eating the paint off. Then I have knitting class and later on Karate with the kids, and a house to clean, and another dinner to make....

The top card is made with a little girl in mind. I made a little paper doll set with a new set Hanna has called Wee Hanna. I cut the envelope and added a flat card for the inside. You pull the little tab and the set of paper dolls pops up for your Wee Hanna so you can play dress up.

I made a little moose scene, too. This is what happenes at my house, the parent does the hard work and the child reaps the enjoyment of our labors. The Riley Moose with the chainsaw is a new moose for us and will become available at the party tonight at SCS. I loved the little S'Mores Riley and just wanted to make a cute litle woodland scene.

Scott is waiting to trade cars with me so I have to run. I'll see everyone at the party tonight. On line parties are the best, you can come as you are and no one knows if you are naked or in your flannel pajamas.