Make It Monday #12

Yes...

I did another one.

I really loved how Margaret at Thread, Ink & Me framed her card in white...

see it here...

and wanted to give it a try.

I love this image in white on a dark background...

and this sentiment is one of my favorites...

but I don't like my white pen.

Not for this anyway...

and if anyone can suggest a great white pen I would so appreciate it...

Don't look at it too close!

You'll see why I don't like this white pen for this technique...

OK...

have boocoodles to do so a super quick post.

But I am liking this technique...

and now that I know how to do it...

I'm going to put lines on everything!

The kids better watch out if they sit still for too long!

The Details:

All Supplies PTI unless noted

Cardstock: Stamper's Select, Enchanted Evening

Stamps: Through the Trees

Ink: PTI and Sakura

For Teacher...

Time for another Make It Monday over at Papertrey Ink...

and this week the talented Nichole Heady challenged us with line frames...

you can watch the video here.

I've seen her do this on many cards...

envied her ease...

but would never risk my card to actually try it...

so this was a challenge just in getting my courage to "risk" the card...

I still envy her ease.

And since the end of this school year is fast approaching...

thought it would be fun to try this for a Teacher Appreciation card...

I just got this set with my last order...

knew I would be needing it.

And I used that exact sentiment on photo books I made for the teachers at the end of school last year...

I don't think there's a better one to describe how a teacher can affect a child's life.

I had hoped to do photo calendars for the teachers this year using this set...

but without knowing if the mini 2012 calendars will come out before the end of school...

lots of work for something I may not be able to give...

so I'm playing around with adapting Lisa Johnson's button project from February to give instead.

And I had to go and confiscate a marker from my daughter...

she does a lot of ink drawings and I knew she had some Copics...

but I think I need to pick her up some new ones...

the nub on this one is wearing out and I couldn't get the line as "clean" as I would have liked.

But maybe with some more practice...

and new pens...

I can get this technique down.

The Details:

All Supplies PTI unless noted

Cardstock: New Leaf, Stamper's Select

Stamps: Teacher's Apple

Ink: Momento, SU and Copic

A Manly Card...For A Manly Man

Boys To Men
This month's blog hop is dedicated to all the boys and men in our lives!  

Now's your chance to create Father's Day projects, boy birthday cards and more to build up your stash!  

Focus on masculine color schemes, fresh pattern combinations, understated embellishments and unique uses of images you may already have in your stash!

OK...

he's not really a man...

he's a Dinky.

But he is my little man.

And in just a couple of weeks...

he will be one year closer to manhood...

he's turning 5.

He was my Mother's Day gift that year...

literally.

We brought him home for the very first time on Mother's Day.

Love-of-my-life-man-that-I-married thinks that he gave me the ultimate gift that year...

and while I do have to agree...

it also doesn't excuse him from future gifts...

as I remind him each year as he attempts to wrap Dinky up with a bow and attached tag reading...

"The gift that keeps on giving".

So in honor of the fact that PTI is challenging us to "manly" cards this month...

and all of the wonderful new "manly" sets released this month...

I started on Dinky's birthday cards.

I just did the one for now...

but one down...

3 more to go...

and hey!

I'm actually ahead of the game right now folks.

And when I got my goodies last week and was showing them...

Dinky told me he wanted the rocket...

so he could "travel to the moon"...

so Mommy made him a rocket. 

Don't laugh at my planet!

It seemed like a good idea...

I do like the glossy accents on the window...

And I like the smudging underneath the stars...

gives a slight illusion of glowing...

or I hope so anyway.

And some more glossy accents on the stars...

they seem to twinkle just a bit.

I messed up while smudging...

accidentally grabbed the wrong end...

don't go back and look!

But Dinky won't care...

he has a rocket.

And with his dreams of blasting off into space...

armed with imagination to spare...

and the smile of innocence...

he may be a year closer to manhood...

but he's still my baby.

The Details:

All Supplies PTI unless noted

Cardstock: Stamper's Select, Enchanted Evening,

Pure Poppy, Harvest Gold

Stamps: Boys Basics: Out of this World, Simple Circles

Dies: Rocket, Nestibilities circle

Ink: Momento, PTI, SU, and Copics

Misc: brad, EK Success moon and stars punch

The Aliens Landed...

last night in my house.

Or...

at least that's what it looked like when it grew dark...

and we made the kids hide in one of their rooms...

while the eggs were hidden.

Of course...

they weren't really "hiding" because seriously...

when love-of-my-life-man-that-I-married and I turned off all the lights...

our house was glowing!

It looked like little alien pods had landed everywhere.

I snapped some shots...

but be warned...

I don't know how to use Photoshop...

I also really don't understand my camera either.

I have Dummie books for both...

and plan on actually learning how to use them both this Summer...

but for now...

you're going to have to use your imagination a little...

They blurred.

But imagine this scene over every surface in your house...

that's what greeted my kiddies last night when we let them loose.

They didn't even need flashlights...

and they LOVED it!

Even my 13 year old girlie who proclaimed to be "too old" to hunt eggs...

can't wait for next year!

I'm seriously picking up a few rolls of the U Glo tape for next years hunt...

and learning how to use my camera in complete darkness.

And if you have never tried this kind of hunt...

I seriously and highly recommend for fun factor...

and for the memories.

I hope with all my heart that this is a tradition in our family for many more years to come...

and many generations.

Now...I wish you all a bright, sunshine day filled with family, memories and...

lots of chocolate!

But may we also all remember and reflect on the true meaning of this day and the sacrifice that was given to us.

Happy Easter.

The Details:

All Supplies PTI unless noted

Cardstock: Stamper's Select, Lemon Tart, New Leaf

Stamp: Whippersnapper

Ink: Momento, Copics

Misc: Nestabilities Label 1 die, twine, PTI buttons, ribbon

Don't Laugh At My Eggs

They're ugly.

I know this.

But they have a purpose for being ugly.

I'm a value shopper...

with 4 kids...

I don't have choice.

I have caviar tastes...

 and a bologna budget.

So I value shop.

Love clearance sales.

I may love them a little too much...

love-of-my-life-man-that-I-married believes so.

Here's a conversation that has been had many times in our house...


H: What is that?
M: I don't know...but it was 90% off.
H: What do you do with it?
M: I don't know...but it was 90% off.
H: You bought something that you don't know what it is...
or what it does...
because it was on sale?
M:  It was 90% off and when I finally figure out what it is...
and what it does...
I'm pretty sure I will have been searching for this for half my life...
and you mister...
will be very proud that I am such a good shopper and that I got it for 90% off!


Yes...

sometimes...

I call him mister.

So a few years ago I found these ugly eggs on clearance after Easter for 75% off...

and they are so ugly they're cool!

They're nighttime egg hunt eggs!

See this strip...

it glows in the dark!

So we have held a nighttime egg hunt every year since and the kids love it!

It came with flashlights and the kids love hunting for the eggs in the dark with a flashlight...

so cool!

Now...

they may enjoy it even more if we actually did it outside...

like you're supposed to...

but we live in the South.

In the country.

And there's this thing that Mom is extremely scared of...

SNAKES!

And we are not talking about little garter snakes either...

we have those too...

but we have copperheads...

cottonmouths...

and rattlers.

And there is no way I'm letting my babies get out in the dark and find one!

So we hunt in the house!

We turn out all the lights...

certain rooms aren't included...

and they can't peek while the eggs are being hidden!

They look forward to it every year...

way more fun that hunting in the heat...

or the cold...

and this weekend...

possibly rain.

There's prizes...

and prize eggs...

and when it's over...

they usually want to hide them and do it again.

Because of this...

some of my eggs have been broken...

and lost...

and we're down to about half of what we did have...

plus that glo-in-the-dark strip...

it never did "glo" too well.

So today I was out and found this...

it glos!

REALLY glos.

So I picked up some bright, cheerful eggs and now I'm applying some of this tape to them...

and the kids are going to have a blast Saturday night!

Have you ever had a nighttime egg hunt?

Do you do it with your neighborhood...

outside?

Or are you the paranoid Mom that I am and make the kids hunt them in the house?

If you have never tried this...

seriously...

this is so much fun...

gotta give it a try!



Note: All photos taken from the internet except the ones of my ugly eggs.

Make It Monday #11

Time for another Make It Monday over at PTI...

and this week the challenge is die embossing...

you can check out the video by Heather Nichols here.

Super quick post today...

had a frantically busy week last week...

which put me behind and made me frantically busy for this week...

so hopefully I will get caught up by the weekend...

Oh!

It's Easter.

Maybe I'll get caught up next month.

So here's a super quick card...

I actually made a really similar card for a Papertrey Paper Dolls challenge recently...

I love this card...

the colors...

I love these sets together.

but this time I embossed with the die...

I hope you can see that...

another even closer...

just in case...

Anyway...

really easy.

Went back and filled in the "blank" spots because the center embossed square...

well...

it's hidden.

I honestly believe Button Boutique and Bitty Background Blocks may be may new fave sets...

but I change my mind a lot too...

ask me again next week!

The Details:

All Supplies PTI unless noted

Cardstock: Rustic Cream, Vintage Cream, Pure Poppy

Stamps: Button Boutique, Bitty Background Blocks,

Love Lives Here

Dies: Button Boutique, Love Lives Here

Ink: Momento, SU

Misc: twine

Make It Monday #10

Time for another Make it Monday at Papertrey Ink...

and this weeks challenge is Masking with Dies...

you can see the fabby video that the very talented Lisa Johnson put together for us here.

So in trying to figure out what to do...

was reading about the upcoming wedding of William and Kate online...

yes.

I'm obsessed with it.

And yes...

since I did not receive an official invitation...

I shall be rising early to watch on it happening on tv.

I don't know why I'm obsessed with it...

maybe it's because I remember the marriage of his mother and father.

I was 10...

in the 6th grade...

and my best friend was Sonia.

She had moved here the year before...

carried a Snoppy lunchbox...

and was the biggest tomboy I have ever in my entire life met.

She told me everything she knew about the "facts of life"...

which in later years we discovered...

she had a lot wrong.

Maybe it's because she was the baby of 5...

and the only girl...

and all of her information came from eavesdropping on her much older brothers.

We all witnessed a fairytale coming true that April day...

the beginning of a princess...

and the following Saturday...

Sonia had her hair cut just like Diana's.

Of course...

we all know how that story ended.

But now her son...

has chosen another future princess...

and I truly hope this fairytale has a much happier ending.

So...

I started thinking about wedding cards...

and what would be appropriate to send to the future King and Queen of England.

Not that this card is going there...

but I used the "idea" of it for inspiration...

Everything is heat embossed in silver except for the pink mask.

I know it's not good enough for a Royal...

but it was fun imagining it.

The Details

Cardstock: Stamper's Select

Stamps: YOF Roses

Dies: FF #10, Edgers #1

Ink: VersaMark, Momento

Misc: silver embossing powder, ribbon, stick pin

The Battle for Helm's Deep...

 

is over.  The battle for middle earth is about to begin.

                                                  Gandalf

                                                             The Two Towers

OK...

maybe it's not that dramatic...

and maybe it doesn't actually involve Middle Earth...

and okayyy...

I'm not Gandalf...

but this does involve a battle...

over my bed...

and sleep.

This battle began the day the hospital gave us our oldest son to take home...

he was 2 days old and they actually gave him to us...

they kept our girls for months...

the doctors should have known better...

we didn't know what we were doing.

That first night set the tone for the last 8+ years.

And it is all love-of-my-life-man-that-I-married's fault...

he put #1 son in the bed with us.

Yup...

that thing that experts recommend you don't do...

guess what...

there's reasons!

One being...

he's still there!

And now...

he's brought Dinky too!

It's been an off and on battle for years...

the last year seeing them both just move in with me...

I won't bore you with all the details...

all the fights...

all the tears...

just know...

I haven't had a lot of sleep.

I wake up each morning hunched over and walking like I'm about 80 years old for the first hour...

from having not 1...

but 2 sets of feet in my back.

My guys...

they don't lay vertically in a bed...

but horizontally.

I don't like anyone touching me when I'm sleeping...

I'm not a snuggler.

And after almost 19 years of marriage...

love-of-my-life-man-that-I-married has finally learned that there is an invisible line in our bed...

he better not put a toe over it or...

I will awaken him by shoving...

and sometimes more forcefully than intended therefore launching him from the bed and onto the floor...

him back over that line.

My guys...

they're snugglers...

and they don't care about my line.

And since shoving them out bed and launching them through the air and onto the floor could result in bruises that DCS may decide to question...

I have not had a full nights sleep in so long my body has learned to exist strictly on caffeine and naps.

All of this came to a head a few weeks ago when I ordered them new mattresses...

in hopes that I could reclaim my bed space by bribing them with memory foam.

I went over 72 hours with no more than 4 straight hours of sleep and a few naps.

This battle began right before Jodi was due in town...

the battle lines had been drawn...

I was holding the line blocking all attempts at crossing...

I was strong in resolve...

desperate for sleep...

and not backing down.

I had to miss Jodi.

Which at that point...

they would have probably arrested me for public drunkenness...

which may have been fun if I had actually been drunk...

at least I would have had fun getting there...

but probably not so much fun for just being sleep deprived.

I traded Jodi for sleep.

And after nights of screams, tears and begging...

and the boys just refusing to listen to all my pleas...

they finally slept in their bed...

all night.

I awoke refreshed...

I was able to stand upright immediately upon leaving the bed...

the sun was shining...

the birds were singing...

a glorious day.

I had won the battle...

but I had missed Jodi.

I've wanted to meet her for years...

and I missed her.

But I got sleep.

And last week...

while perusing McKay's Used Books in Nashville...

otherwise known as "Renee's Crack House" because I'm so addicted...

I found this...

a 1st print.

It's my favorite Jodi book...

the one that had love-of-my-life-man-that-I-married ready to commit me when he found me laying on the floor, curled into a ball sobbing uncontrollably...

I've been searching for years.

And you know...

she's been to Cincinnati before...

a few times...

and it's only a few hours away...

so maybe next March will be time for a road trip with the girls...

maybe it will finally be the year I get to meet her...

I will be well rested...

and she won't have me arrested for being drunk.




Note* Jodi, Gandalf, sun and bird photos all taken from the web.

It Was Like the 1800's...

last night at my house.

The storms came.

The storms knocked out my power.

The kids just about drove me nuts with...

"I'm bored" and

"When is the power coming back on?"

We went to bed in the dark...

we woke in the dark.

I had no coffee.

I told love-of-my-life-man-that-I married that if he didn't go up to Dunkin" Donuts and get me coffee...

I was going to make Jack Nicholson in The Shining...

look like a sweet little angel on Cloud 9.

He even brought back donuts for the kids...

sprinkles for Dinky.

They hit about 1:30 pm yesterday...

and I have been nervous a few times with storms since moving up here on this hill...

yesterday about 1:33 pm I crossed over to scared.

The rain started...

hard, pounding can't-see-anything-it's-falling-so-hard-so-fast-rain...

lightening...

thunder rolling...

but no worries.

Just a storm.

Then as I was looking out the back door it wasn't just rain anymore...

the winds came.

That's when I crossed over to scared.

Grabbed Hunter...told Dinky to follow and got them tucked away safely.

But the winds...

I've never seen winds like that.

I knew they had spotted a tornado a few miles from us...

wrapped in the rain so you couldn't see it...

and knew it was headed in our direction.

but it was when I saw pine trees on the back of our property that stand 100+ feet bowed almost in half...

and saw the wind trying to lift our filled pool...

that I got a little scared.

We didn't get a direct hit...

I really think we only caught tail winds...
(cue The Goo Goo Dolls "Long Way Down" from Twister soundtrack)

but hubby saw trees and things on his way to Dunkin' Donuts this morning that would have been in that same path...

uprooted and broken.

No damage for us.

Just no power till around 10:00 this morning.

I kept telling myself to think of all those in Japan who have been weeks without power...

who have lost everything...

family, friends, homes, belongings...everything.

I lost nothing...

a slight inconvenience.

Turns out I'm quite spoiled and really not a very a good person...

I wanted my power.

Today has been a beautiful day...

after storms for the rest of the afternoon and most of the night...

today shined bright...

the sky a gorgeous, cloudless, azure blue.

Chilly winds.

We were at almost 90 on Sunday...

70's yesterday...

and 50's today...

but beautiful none-the-less.

So in light of the day we had yesterday...

and the fact that I'm only courageous after the fact...

thought I would share this book with you...

Love this book.

Actually came out last year...

but I loved her debut so much...

I had The Stormchasers on pre-order and gobbled it up as soon as it came to me.

And yes...

it's about tornadoes and storm chasing.

I actually think storm chasing is really cool...

but since the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz...

has more courage than I do...

I only do it from my front porch.

Seriously...

I have actual pictures of a tornado going over shot right from my front porch.

My favorite time is right before a storm.

I love to sit out on the porch...

the winds whipping...

and literally have warm air on one side...

cool air on the other...

there's so much energy you feel like you can literally reach out and just grab a handful from the air.

When the lightening starts...

I go inside.

Yeah...

that's me.

I dance on the edge of danger...

laugh in its face...

then run and hide.

But if you haven't read Jenna Blum...

give her a try.

Those Who Save Us is a WWII era story...

modern day but with flashbacks...

and I freely admit to having a "thing" for that era...

one of my favorite time periods.

The Stormchasers is modern day and has absolutely nothing to do with WWII...

but love them both...

and highly recommend both.

An incredible storyteller...

an incredible writer.

Hope everyone has had a wonderfully glorious day...

I have hot water again so I'm going to take the longest, hottest shower on record...

right now!



*Note- All photos except for The Stormchasers taken from the web.

Make It Monday #9

It's Monday and time for another Make It Monday over at Papertrey Ink.

This weeks challenge is heat embossing...

you can check it out here.

And some have wondered how I get these challenges up so quickly...

it's because Monday is the only day that I'm actually at home.

This being Dinky's last year of pre-k and he doesn't have school on Monday's...

my Mom helps me out by picking up Hunter at school so that I have these last days with him before he starts kindergarten in the Fall.

So it's really my only chance to do it...

in between loads of laundry...

cleaning...

feeding him...

reading and playing with him...

and sometimes...

he just joins me because he wants to make Mommy a "pretty card".

And with storms moving in as I type this up...

did want to get this up before they get really bad.

No one thinks of TN being one of those states with tornadoes since we're not out in the Plains...

but recent years have seen many come through...

much more so than when I was growing up.

Our first year back home we got initiated with a 4am wake-up warning of one coming straight for us...

it shifted and hit neighboring Clarksville.

There was another a few weeks later that hit down in Jackson.

5 years ago today my sister lost her home in one...

and the following year saw another close county get hit with 2 at the same time.

So yes...

Spring storms keep me cautious around here.

OK...

card...

School will soon be out for Summer...

and I promise I'm going to learn how to use Photoshop!

But until then...

you just have to suffer through my photos...

sorry!

The Details:

All Supplies PTI unless noted

Cardstock: Kraft, Stamper's Select, Pure Poppy

Stamps: YOF Morning Glories, Communique Curves

Ribbon: PTI

Die: Nestabilities

Ink: Momento, Copic and SU

Misc: pearls

Feeling Scrappy

Time for another Papertrey Paper Dolls Challenge...

and this time Katie challenges us to get scrappy!

You can read about the challenge here...

but this isn't about scrapbook pages...

instead this all about using scraps from your scrap box.

You know?

That box that you toss everything into and say you'll deal with when you're straightening up but then before you know it...

a year has gone by and you realize it's not so much a box of scraps anymore...

because as you look at it...

you realize it has grown and it's starting to take on a shape like something from a Stephen King novel...

Oh, wait!

That's me!

Ok...

maybe yours isn't as bad as mine...

maybe you're actually organized...

but for me this challenge could not have come along at a better time.

I was actually starting to go through my scraps and cut what could be cut with dies...

and toss anything too small to fit on a die.

One...

got some missing mojo but still wanted to be crafty...

two...

really handy to have some shapes pre-cut and you can just pull and use whenever you need...

especially those Doily Details and buttons in all colors...

and three...

keeps the scrap monster from haunting my dreams.
(cue Dokken's "Dream Warriors" from Nightmare on Elm Street soundtrack)

And Cathy from EmptyNestCrafter recently sent me Love Lives Here to try out...

and I made this card this past week then realized it actually fit this challenge...

I actually was able to use all scraps in making this except for the card base.

And since I really like this ditty and think it's a great little card for crafty friends...

I've made a few using different colors...

Yes...

I hoard scraps too!

But if your mojo is MIA...

or you have a scrap monster taking over your scrap box...

this is a great challenge to give your mojo a kickstart and...

defeat the beast...

so hope you'll join us for this one!

The Details:

All Supplies PTI unless noted

Cardstock: Kraft, Stamper's Select, Vintage Cream

Stamps: Love Lives Here, Button Boutique, Bitty Backgrounds

Dies: Love Lives Here, Button Boutique

Ink: Momento, SU

Misc: twine