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Happy Friday

Oh what a wonderful Friday today turned out to be! The beautiful sunshine, sleeping in a little, getting a pedicure and my nails done, spending time with a girlfriend, creating lots of cards….life is good. I wish everyday was as good as today- well, except for the fact that I ate too many cookies. Why does my mom make my favorite cookies when I’m supposed to be on a diet?!

I’m going to make this post short. My sister is making batch #20+ of cream puffs for the wedding tomorrow and I’m going to help fill them. Just a fyi: don’t EVER underappreciate cream puffs- they take so much work! Seriously, after seeing my sister bake the last 4 days, I am so much more appreciative of bakers. The things they do to make us people fat! :)

I’ll take pictures of the beautiful creations. She made a cream puff tower that is AMAZING!

Hope you all have a fab night!

Button Trees

Seriously, aren’t these button trees fabulous?! You know that I have an ADDICTION to buttons- I seriously have so many colors, it’s ridiculous. I saw a cute sample using buttons and I HAD to give it a try. It was super easy to make- just a little time consuming. These button packs are from DeNami Design….some amazing quality buttons. There are a few other color combinations I want to try- can you imagine all the possibilities?! I think I’m going to make a few more trees as Christmas decorations for my room….buttons always put me in a good mood!
Today I helped my sister prepare cream puffs for the dessert buffet she is doing for a wedding. I’m not a baker, but if it’s easy enough, I can do it. My friend, Cecelia, came over and helped- it was a fun time of working, laughing and eating. The perfect trio! My little sister is amazing….she is so ambitious and talented in the baking/cooking department. You MUST look at her blog– just a warning, don’t look when you are hungry!
In closing, thanks to all who have already entered for the blog candy! I’m hoping that lots more people enter- be sure to spread the word!! Even if you have a Cuttlebug, it’s a GREAT present!
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Extra Long Weekend

Even just typing out the title of this post made me happy! Yes, it’s true, I have an extra long weekend! It’s pure and utter bliss. I have Thursday- Monday off, and I am going to enjoy every single second of it! This summer has been crazy busy, so I’m definitely looking forward to some extra days off. :) In between a wedding, hanging out with girlfriends, spending time with family, creating/ promoting cards for Etsy, I won’t have too much time of nothingness- oh well, at least these are all fun things!

Yesterday I went to my first bachelorette party. One of my friends is getting married on Saturday, which is very exciting. Her sister threw a surprise bachelorette party for her- you should have seen her face! The process of getting to the party was not fun at all. I got off work and quickly had to run to the mall for a gift. You would not believe how hard it was to find a suitable gift! I seriously thought I could just go into Victoria’s Secret and find something really quickly. After 1 1/2 hours at the mall (15 of which were spent waiting for the lady to wrap the present!), I was FINALLY able to head to the party location. By the end of the gift hunting and thinking I was lost, I nearly fell apart and cried myself into oblivion. Thankfully, I held it together (for the most part), and was able to enjoy the party.

After work, I went to my LSS and got some fun goodies. I already made some things using my new items- really fun stuff. I’ve been trying to go outside my comfort zone these days, which has NOT been easy. Right now I’m playing with new color combinations and also some new layouts- haven’t decided if I like them yet. Judging from the response from the fam, I’m not too sure they like the “new style” either. :)

I’m off to blog hop now! ‘Night!

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2 Sketches 4 You- Kazan’s Sketch #34

If you read my earlier post, you know that I haven’t participated in Dawn’s challenges for a long time. However, it’s been even longer since I have done a 2 Sketches 4 You sketch! I was looking back, and it’s been over 4 months! I am SO glad I was able to play this week- this sketch is fab!

I used my two favorite stamp companies to make this card: DeNami Design and Papertrey Ink. I absolutely love the G143 Christmas Holly Vine stamp- it is so perfect for making backgrounds! Oh yes, and who could resist the fun nesting stamps?! I absolutely love them!

Since this is my THIRD post today, I think I’ll wrap it up. Hopefully you’re jumping for joy at seeing the many posts today….I would hate for it to be the opposite!

If you missed my earlier post, be sure to check out the CUTTLEBUG I am giving away! Yes, as blog candy, I’m giving away a brand new machine and two amazing embossing folders! Be sure to pass on the good news!

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Raspberry Color Challenge #16

Woah, it’s been a long time since I have participated in one of Dawn’s color challenges! I have been keeping up with them, but in between no creativity and lack of time, I haven’t been able to play along.

This week the color challenge was fairly easy for me (yay!). At work I was trying to come with ideas- this one was my favorite, so I decided to give it a try. I’m so glad that it turned out how I wanted it to! Do you ever have ideas in your head that seem fantastic but when you go to give it a try, it goes horribly wrong? This seems to happen to me too often, so glad today wasn’t one of those days!

I saw this Ruffled Ribbon technique on Lisa’s blog and I HAD to give it a try. Oh. My. Goodness. Now I am absolutely addicted to ruffling all my saddle stitch ribbons! I have already made five cards featuring this technique- you’ll be seeing them in future posts.

Well, in closing this post, just wanted to plug my HUGE blog candy– a Cuttlebug machine with embossing folders. Be sure to check it out!!

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Lazy Sunday

Another weekend has come and gone way too quickly. However, I was able to accomplish LOTS these past three days, which was nice. I got my room straightened out (how does it get so messy?!), did chores around the house (including cleaning a bathroom. Yuck!), went to a party, spent time with girlfriends, organized the stamp area, went to church and made LOTS of pretty cards. What a nice, productive weekend!
My most recent stamp set purchase was “Life” from Papertrey Inc. This set is so simple and yet you can do so much with it. I’ve made at least 7 cards using this set and I still have lots more ideas! I absolutely adore this color combination- so yummy and fresh! 
This past week, I have been on a diet. NOT FUN! I have about 20 unwanted pounds and I’m hoping to have them gone soon. I hate that gaining weight is so easy but losing weight is a constant battle. Awhile back I gained 60 pounds, 40 of which I have lost. I really need to get motivated and just lose this extra weight- I have so many cute clothes that I can’t fit! I was really good and had no carbs and limited my sugar intake. I DID lose 3 pounds this week, though I may gain it back since I had two pieces of cheesecake yesterday. The Cheesecake Factory is not a good place to go when you are on a diet! However, it is super yummy! I figure if I’m good for 6 days, I should be entitled to have a “bad day”. What do you think? 

I have lots of fab cards (yes, I’m tooting my own horn) that I’ll be sharing soon. If you read my blog, be sure to leave comments- really motivates me to post often! ;)

Love My Movies

For those of you who have followed my blog, you know that I love my movies. There isn’t a particular genre that I like- I enjoy so many! I like everything from action to comedy to suspense. Here is a list of some favorites:

  • A Walk to Remember- Mandy Moore did an awesome job in the movie. I love the music, Shane West and this was also the first movie to make me cry!
  • The Recruit- Not gonna lie, the main reason I like this movie: Colin Farrell. However, I also really like the plot and this was the first movie I saw with Al Pacino in it. It has a little of everything, action, romance and suspense.
  • Iron Man- AMAZING movie. I saw it 3 1/2 times at the theater and also a handful at times at home. First movie that I saw starring Robert Downey Jr. and now I’m a big fan. The gadgets, acting, humor….everything was perfect. I’m so excited for the sequel! (You’re probably wondering why I saw it 3 1/2 times. Well, my sister passed out through half of it so we couldn’t stay for the rest!)
  • Collateral- Tom Cruise as a bad guy?! When I first saw the trailer I laughed so hard. Seriously, how could Tom Cruise pull off being the villain? Well, I have since had to take back the laughter.

Today I watch Julie & Julia with Virginia. It was such a cute movie that made me laugh uproariously. They did such a great job making two true life stories come to the big screen. Amy Adams and Meryl Streep did a great job acting too! One of my favorite things was that blogging was a big part of the movie. Getting excited about comments and such….so true for those of us who don’t get many! Once it comes out to DVD I’m gonna be buying it. Yes, it truly was that good.

For those who read, I am going to *try* to post more frequently than I have. Let’s just say that I have had a little motivation…and I also miss all of my blog friends!

Again, stay tuned for the BIG blog candy- it’s coming soon!!

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Love My Weekends

Do you ever get to the end of the week and wonder how you are still alive? That has been my life for the past two months. I am so exhausted- I really think a vacation is in order….SOON!

Tonight I (finally) cleaned up the stamp area. Actually, I just cleaned up my cardstocks, which was the main mess. I knew that I liked pretty paper- just didn’t realize how much until tonight! It took me two hours just to get my papers organized! I save all my little pieces of papers and well, that HAS to stop. I just bought the Making Memories embellishment center that I have been eyeing for months. After getting irritated with all my different storage compartments, I finally splurged and got the thing I really wanted. I absolutely LOVE it! (I’ll post pictures soon!) Now I have my eyes on some other fab Making Memories items….Must. Have. Self. Control!

In conclusion, here is a picture of my cardstocks. Believe me, the picture doesn’t show how much work it was to organize! Lesson: don’t let things pile up before you take care of them. It’s so much more work!

Worth Every Penny

Rarely do I “plug” an item. So the times that I do must mean the product is really great. I have found something that I cannot live without. Yes, it’s truly that amazing. Lately I have been into the “distressed” look. I love the edges of my card to either have distressed ink or the distressed edge- it’s a new thing for me that you’ll be seeing on a lot of my upcoming cards. A little while ago I came across this little tool that does the job of giving a card the distressed look with a quick swipe! I love how easy it is to use and also how inexpensive it is! You can’t beat $2.00! I actually misplaced mine so I had to quickly go out and buy another! You’ll have to give it a try- it really is fantastic.

Tonight I have been busy stamping away. I made three cards tonight and I’m so excited to share them with you! Knowing that summer is almost over has made me want to play with some bright, cheerful colors. Hopefully I can get them scanned in tomorrow so they will be up in the next few days. I have TONS of cards that I need to scan in- not a task I enjoy doing. You may ask why I scan….Well, at first I did it because I didn’t have a camera. I still don’t have a camera but there are several accessible to me. The reason I still do it? I like my blog to have consistency. Weird? Yes. I go a little far with how much consistency I like. (My iTunes library reveals this fact.)

Well, it’s late and my bed is calling my name. One more day of work this week and then I can play! :) I’m hoping to get some time in Ginny since she just got back from Ecuador. In between things around the house, hanging with the girlfriend, stamping and a memorial service, I think I’ll have a busy weekend.

P.S. If you want are looking to buy the distresser, they can be found at your local craft store. However if yours doesn’t have it, I found one on the internet for CHEAP! Check it out here.

Is Summer Over?

Hello blog friends! Hope all is well with you and that you have been enjoying the last bit of summer. This morning I got an email from Wendy and she mentioned her kiddos were going back to school today! I don’t know if it’s because I’m no longer in school or because I haven’t had a vacation yet- it doesn’t seem like summer is supposed to be over! I have noticed the “Back to School” sales but it still hasn’t registered in my mind.

Right now I’m gearing up for my HUGE blog candy. When I say huge I don’t mean it’s a ton of stuff-it’s a nice BIG piece of candy. :) It’s so hard for me to keep secrets…I need to figure out the details of the candy and then hurry up and post this. Let’s just say I have heard nothing but good about this particular product and I don’t even have one yet! Yes, I could have kept this for myself but I wanted to share with all of my beloved blog friends. Keep checking back for more details!

I made this card about six weeks ago. Yes, I know I have been horrible about posting my cards lately. Honestly, I haven’t done much stamping in the past month so I haven’t been motivated to blog or even list on Etsy. Last night I got an email from my sweet Etsy friend requesting three of this particular card. It was so fun to get back into the stamping mode and get my stamp on. However, before I do any more stamping, I MUST clean up the stamping area- it’s a complete disaster! I really need to get some sheleves or something…all the embellishments are taking over the table and that’s not a good thing! I love the Making Memories embellishment center but it’s so expensive. I have lots of the Making Memories jars for my buttons and I also have TONS of ribbons. Anyone have suggestions?

Well, I must scoot. If you have any organization tips, I would appreciate it! I would also love to hear you guesses on my blog candy! :)