The Evil Facebook and Sheer Genius

I discovered Facebook 3 nights ago.

I know what you are thinking...something like "Hello! Welcome to the 21st Century!" It's OK. I know.

I have had several persistent friends finally whine just enough so that my Facebook resistance was annihilated. **sigh**

It is because of that evil discovery I don't have one craft project to show you today. Not one. Every minute of my life has been spent reconnecting with people. I woke up this morning to 72 new emails in my inbox. My household chores are not getting done, I have not seen my kids in days, we are eating TV dinners! (OK, that was all an exaggeration, but you get my point!)

With all that said, I think it is my new guilty pleasure! I love that I am able to reconnect with my college buddies and people I have met over the years!

Facebook is genius! Now, just to find a happy medium!

So, in a rare moment I was not glued to the computer, I witnessed sheer genius from my 6 year old daughter.

"Ouch!" my almost 9 year old son exclaimed, hobbling over the couch.

"What happened", I tentatively inquired, hoping he did not do anything to cause a trip to the ER. Murphy's Law would have dictated that, as my DH is out of town and we are having a nice blizzard. A trip out with 3 kids, crappy roads and I am sure a mere 2-3 hour wait in the ER would have been the excitement we were looking for today!

"I hurt my leg," he cried, a bit too melodramatically. The tone was indicative of the one all men use when they have any sort of mild ailment and are "dying".

My daughter, a wanna-be nurse, doctor, or veterinarian (depending on the moon) immediately tended to him.

"Here," she said, "this will help". She then proceeded to pop him in the head with her paperback book.

"What did you hit him for?" I immediately inquired.

"Well, if his head hurts then he will forget all about his leg."

Ah, I see a wonderful future in the caring professions. Hey, at least it would be better than a hobo.

DRS Challenge #13

Dawn posted a DRS Challenge on Monday and immediately I knew I wanted to play along. My problem was finding the time to do it! This was one of those rare moments I actually knew exactly what I wanted to do the first time I read the challenge!

Here is what I made:

On the inside it says "I love you so much it is a crime! Happy Valentine's Day!"

Stamps: DRS Hand Stamped

Paper: Real Red, Brushed Silver, Basic Black, PTI White

Ink: Versafine Black (which I hope comes off my finger soon!)

Accessories: M's Ribbon, Silver Brads

Thanks for looking!

Looksie!

Sooo, watcha think of my new look? :)

A very, very patient, nice, patient, talented, and did I mention patient lady on SCS makes free blog templates! Check it out here!

I guess I should also upload a card, so here it is:

I am trying to use up my paper so I can eventually buy some new stuff. :) I had a difficult time with this green and brown pattern in the Ski Slope DSP pack; I think I love it in small doses!



Stamps: Lovely as a Tree (SU)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Ski Slope DSP (SU)
Ink: Direct to stamp Chocolate Chip and Old Olive marker
Accessories: CTMH Rhinestones, Fun Flock mixed with some glitter, Stickles, Yen Store Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!

Fun Tag!

My new invisible friend, Suzi, tagged me! This is a fun one...so here it goes!

The Rules:

1. Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.

2. Go to the 6th Folder, then pick the 6th picture in that folder.

3. Post that picture on your blog and the story that goes along with the picture.

4. Tag 6 other people that you know or don’t know to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog or an e-mail letting them know you chose them.

Scary, isn't it??! So, here it goes...

Well, that was boring but (of course) I do have a good story for this one. This picture was taken by my dear husband while we were in China. Unfortunately, I do not know much about where it was taken, other then in Beijing on the way to Tian'anmen Square.

See, I started to feel ill while we were still in Japan. The night prior to our departure we were at a formal military function and my friend said I started to deteriorate before her eyes. In fact, we did take some pictures together and they had to be deleted.

"I tried to use the red eye reduction on your nose, but I just couldn't. It was too bad!" she explained, "So I deleted the pictures of you!"

Ah, the sign of a true friend! She would probably photoshop out my big rear if she could too, but I digress...

That night I told DH that I *may* not be able to make the trip. I was THAT sick. Fever. Chills. Lethargy. Do you watch How I Met Your Mother? You know how Barney is always saying "Suit Up!" Well, DH said, "Motrin Up!" and that I did.

I took Motrin like candy...slept a lot..and survived the trip in. I was a little freaked out going through customs. There are signs that say something like they are using lasers to take your body temperature, etc. Yikes! I made it through.

When we got the hotel, I slept...and slept...and slept for 24 hours! No kidding! DH had to take the kids on the first day of the tour by himself and I missed out on Tian'anmen Square, the silk factory and the Forbidden City. And because of this, he thinks he deserves the Father of the Year award! Ha! If doing that qualifies for Father of the Year, I should have won a gazillion Mother of the Year awards by now! :)

So, now for my nominees:

Rachel

Jen

Heather

Samantha

Tessa

Heather

If anyone else wants to play, consider yourself tagged! :)

Daisy Scout Kaper Chart

Do any of you use Blog Patrol? I read about it on Split Coast. At any rate, I can view a list of who has looked at my blog, for how long and how they arrived. (See...I'm watching you...spooky, isn't it?! :) )

It seems my fellow Girl Scouts are very resourceful, as every week I have almost 10 hits just for my Kaper Chart alone! With that knowledge, I decided to post a pic of what my chart looked like for our Daisy Troop last year.

The Kaper Chart is just a big piece of poster board. I designed it pretty much the same as my Brownie one, so take a look at that post for specific dimensions.

To decorate, I took a large floral stamp by Stampin' UP (Big Blossom) and stamped directly onto the poster board in blue ink. I then added the words, cut by my handy Cricut, and the blue boxes. I finished off with some yellow circle punches in the center of the flowers and blinged the poster up with some Stickles.

We kept the duties fairly easy for the girls, as they were only 5 years old at the time. As our troop grew, we added more name circles to the bottom of the chart with velcro.

Hope this helps some of you searching for ideas! If you make anything and post it to your blog, leave me a link in the comments! I would love to see what you created!

Meg's Sketch

My "invisible friend" Laura's daughter likes to make sketches! When Laura posted the latest "Meg creation", I new I had to join in the fun! Meg, this is for you!

My daughter needed a birthday card for a party this weekend. Since I know cats and cute girls are a hit with the 6 year old population, I chose this stamp from Stamping Bella!

After I stamped the words, I decided to bling the card up a little. I mean, you know me, I must have something sparkle on a card! So, after I decorated the hair bows, I moved on thinking it would be cute to bling up the "just be" sentiment. Uhhhh...NO! Let's just say it was not pretty and turned into a blurry set of words. It was almost as if you needed 3D glasses to read it! So, I decided to stamp it again, frame it and pop it up on dimensionals. Does it look intentional or like I tried to cover my mistake?!




Stamps: cuddlycat (StampingBella.com), JustBe (TAC)
Paper: Cool Caribbean, Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette, PTI White
Ink: Nick Bantock Lamp Black (Ranger), Close to Cocoa, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Copics (C1, 0, RV11, RV10, E00, E93, E47, E43, BG15)
Accessories: Silver Brads, Ribbon from Ms., Stickles

Meg would love to have you join in the fun! Check out Laura's blog for the details!

Thanks for looking!

SBG1 Challenge #4

What time is it? It is time for another challenge on our SplitCoast Bloggers Group! This time, Mel is our hostess!!

(Insert your best Iron Chef voice here) The challenge is to:

"Make a card or layout using ONLY pattern papers. (You may use CS for a base, but please make sure that it barely shows. PP should be the focal point.)" In addition, she went on to add that when we used our stamps, they had to be used in a way that we could see the pattern paper underneath!!

Wow...this was certainly a challenge for me! I love to layer, but without being able to use cardstock I felt at a loss! I decided to grab my Kimono stamp set, vellum, embossing powder and my DCWV Far East stack and go to work! This is what I came up with.

You can't really see it, but I CASED an idea from Becki and used Versamark and gold EP to go around the edges of the fan background paper in order to give it some depth.

Even though it is a little dark for my personal taste, overall I was pretty happy with how it came out. In fact, I am going to use it as a thank you note here locally. :) It certainly fits the theme of where I live!

Stamps: Kimono (SU)

Paper: Elegant Eggplant (SU), Vellum, DCWV Far East Mat Stack

Ink: Versamark, Gold EP

Accessories: Gold brads, SU Gold Cord

My second attempt used a lighter color spectrum. I needed a sympathy card and I thought the challenge might lend itself well to a more subtle card.

I think I prefer this card, due to personal color preferences. (I know my DD would disagree with me as she is a HUGE purple fan!)

Stamps: Kimono (SU)

Paper: Kraft (SU), My Mind's Eye Patterned Paper, Vellum

Ink: Versamark, Clear EP, SU Markers

Accessories: Gold Cord (SU), Gold Brads

Thanks for the fun challenge Mel!!

More Prayers

Remember Shawndra, the young Mom I asked for prayers/thoughts for back in Dec? Well, she needs them again.

If you feel so inclined, please include her on your prayer list. Thanks!

Confessions

I have a confession to make...I don't post my creations immediately after I do them. I actually "save" them up a little so I can space out my posts. I am never sure how my week is going to go, therefore, I may not get time to sit at my craft table.

See, I hoard my projects as well as paper (**pretty, pretty paper...how I miss buying you**). Call Dr. Phil. I need an intervention! :)

The reason I feel compelled to make such an admission is because Dawn actually posted a card very similar to this one! Great minds think alike...but I did not want my "Invisible Friends" to think I had blatantly CASED her. :)

My inspiration for this card came from many different sources. First and foremost, my DH bought me these Nesties for Christmas so I was so excited to try them out! Then, I wanted to use up my SU DSP (see, trying not to hoard!). Finally, I wanted to try out a stamp set I had yet to use.

I pulled out this CTMH set, which I have had for a long time. The thing is, I have a love/hate relationship with acrylic stamps. I love that I can see through them, but I typically hate the impression I get from them. I was pleasantly surprised with the success I had! Maybe I just figured it out!

Hope everyone is doing well and having a fabulous weekend!

Stamps: Snow Friends (CTMH)

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Red Riding Hood Red, Ski Slope (SU)

Ink: Nick Bantock Lamp Black by Ranger, Copics (B60, YG95, YG91, YR15, Y17, R37, BG72, BG10, 0)

Accessories: White Grosgrain Ribbon (CTMH), Hodgepodge Hardware (SU), Fun Flock, Stickles, Nestabilities Labels 2

Project Webkinz

The other day I heard muffled sniffs and silent tears coming from the computer room. Yes, we already know I have super-human smell, but I also apparently have a sixth sense for when one of the kids is crying. Again, DH is not blessed with this ability, which drives me crazy...but I digress.

Before I could move from the couch, my 6 year old daughter was walking toward me with red eyes, a runny nose, and a tear stained face.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" I ask.

"I killed my Webkinz!" she spoke in a barely audible whisper.

You can call me a bad Mom, but I was somewhat humored with her reaction! She was so upset she could hardly talk. I knew I had to tread lightly or I could do some emotional damage that would cost us years of time on the couch.

"What makes you think you killed your Webkinz?"

"Reiny is stuck in a room, " she sobbed, "and she can't get out! There is a big red balloon blocking the entrance." (BTW, Reiny is a, you guessed it...Reindeer.)

For this type of problem, I knew I had to call in reinforcements, my son! I asked him if he would "mind" helping his sister save her Webkinz. Honestly, I have NO IDEA how this whole Webkinz thing works! I mean, I sit there and watch them log on, play a bit, and then I stamp or something 2 feet away, but no, I don't play it with them. I am useless if such an incident occurs!

After a few minutes, my son emerged from the room.

"So, how'd it go?" I inquire. "Did she really kill it?"

"No, I saved it, Mom", he confidently stated, "but just so you know, she is going to end up being a hobo when she is older."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Well, she had no food for Reiny. Her basket was full of clothes and furniture and stuff. She is not very responsible Mom. She will end up homeless, walking around town in a fancy pair of boots and cute dresses."

His insight is just amazing for an 8 year old. (Thankfully not insightful enough to know what those ladies who walk around in boots and dresses do for a living! Ha Ha)

I then proceeded to go in and ask my daughter if she knew she had to buy food and other "essential" items for her Webkinz.

"Yes, I know Mom, but these clothes are just soooo cute!"

Oh no...my future just flashed before my eyes...my daughter is going to be a fashion diva! HELP!

It's a Page!

I have been a subscriber to Creative Memories' magazine Lasting Moments since its inception. I just have always loved CM, even though I was a "rebel" when I used other products! LOL (Those of you who do CM know what I mean when I say that, don't you?!)

At any rate, their magazine has changed for the better! Their December issue was PACKED with sketches! And good ones, at that! Additionally, if you have not seen CM lately, they have really changed it up. I love their new papers (is that a surprise to anyone?) and their style of scrapbooks. They are wallpapering the pages now! What a concept! :)

This page is based on a sketch from the Dec issue of Lasting Moments:



Paper& Accessories: My Mind's Eye "Just a Girl" line
Sketch: Creative Memories Lasting Moments Magazine, Dec 08 Issue

Thanks for looking!

Lost My Mind...SBG Challenge

Somehow I forgot to mention the Warm Hugs card posted below was based upon a card challenge for my blogger group!

Gale hosted the challenge this time and we were instructed to use a magazine page she posted as our inspiration! Since the theme was "winter", I knew I wanted to use my snowbunny! I started off trying to keep with a blue theme, as on the magazine page, but I could not get the DSP to work as I liked.

Thanks for all the kind words people have posted on my card. :) It does make one feel good, especially since the mojo was gone!

I will have more cards to post this week...I was busy this weekend! Our town had a MAJOR water outage. A huge water pipe broke, thus thousands of people were without water. Quite frankly, this reminded me why I despise camping! ;) At any rate, we did not stray far from home, being no one could shower for days...oh the joy!

Warm Hugs!

Happy New Year!

I think I am officially "old" because I was just as happy as could be to stay in and stamp all night! How sad is that? (It was a rhetorical question, so yes...I know...it is SAD! LOL)

Unfortunately, I think I lost my mojo over the holidays. This card took forever to come up with and I don't know I am still entirely thrilled with the end result, but I am dealing with it!

Stamps: Snowbunnybella, Warm Hugs from Stamping Bella

Paper: Red Riding Hood Red & Ski Slope DSP (SU), Georgia Pacific White, Vellum

Ink: Nick Bantock Lamp Black by Ranger, Copics (E00, E93, E77, BG72, BG10, R37, C3)

Accessories: Cuttlebug Sledding folder, SU Felt Snow Flurries, Red Eyelets, Fun Flock

So, I had a BLAST with the Fun Flock! It is my new **fav**! It is just so fun and adds just that little something. You can't really see it online, but I added the fuzz to the hood of her jacket, the pom-poms, the boots, etc.

I was also proud of myself as this was the first time these stamps saw ink, first time I used the DSP, and first time I used the snowflakes! I am trying so hard to use my (what seems like endless) stash!

Wishing everyone a wonderful and blessed 2009!