The reason for the holiday

A lot of folks have today off because of Memorial Day.  Please take a moment during the day to remember and say a prayer for the men and women who have served in the military, past and present. 
 

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.
We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.  Her step is strong, her step is sure, we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home... for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well, no matter what the cost. 


WE ARE THE LAND OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!

God, Bless America!

Sail Away

This is an "a-la carte" stamp -- a single stamp, called Sail Away, which is in the Summer Mini Catalog, for only $9.95.  The DSP is called Nautical Expedition, and the colors are Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso and Basic Gray -- gorgeous paper and great for making "man cards!"

I stamped the sail boat with Not Quite Navy ink on Sahara Sand card stock.I stamped it again on Whisper White and cut out the sails to make them "pop."  This technique is called Paper Piecing.

The card base is Basic Gray and there is another small piece that I ran through the Square Lattice embossing folder.  I also used some of the new Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine -- you get 25 yards of this for just 2.95!  It also comes in White and Early Espresso/ White.

Happy Birthday is stamped with Cherry Cobbler and layered on the same color of card stock punched with the Designer Label punch.

This card came together quickly, but I really like it!

Sympathy

No ones likes to make sympathy cards, so I like to make some when I don't need to.  If I make a sympathy card with someone specific in mind, I usually end up dropping tears on it and ruining it!

Here's a simple, but elegant sympathy card:

It is a white card base, with a layer of white that has been run through the Framed Tulips embossing folder.  The stamping is done with Crumb Cake, and the wide Old Olive 1-1/4" grosgrain ribbon is gathered in the middle with some linen thread.  The "Praying for You" can easily be replaced by "Thinking of You."

This is a quick and easy card, and looks great in a variety of colors.  You can make this card so fast that your tears won't even have time to dry!

Seriously though, I'm finding that I need these types of cards way too often, so try making a few to have on hand.

Birthday Blossom

I made this card for a teacher's birthday, and I copied the idea from a card I saw on my upline's blog, Bella Cosa. It just said that the card was made by Ruth, so thank you, Ruth!  This Build a Blossom flower is on a piece of Chocolate Chip card stock, embossed with the Framed Tulips folder, on a Pink Pirouette card base.

Here is a close-up of just the flower, so you can see the Dazzling Diamonds "bling!"

The flower in the center is actually one of the vanilla rosettes that were in the summer mini.  The really cool thing is that you can make them any color you want!  You can soak them in reinker and water and let them dry, but I didn't want to wait, so I just used my Stampin' Up marker.  LOVE IT!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  We have friends visiting from Washington, and we are looking forward to spending time with them.  We have been friends since BC (before children)!  Gordon actually met them before we got married (30+) years ago in Chico, and they are such great friends that no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other, we just pick up where we left off!

HAVE YOU PRE-ORDERED YOUR NEW CATALOG YET??

Happy Stampin'!

Debbie

Happy Birthday (almost) to my Son-In-Law

My son-in-law's birthday is this Saturday, and we got him a gift card.  Sometimes giving a gift card feels kind of boring, but not when it's in this:

This is called an Envelope Card, and you'll see why in the next picture.

I wanted to use the stuff that puffs up when you heat it, but I couldn't find it, so I improvised and used pom poms for the beer foam.

It's hard to see, but I used Crystal Effects on the mugs from the Cheers to You stamp set to make them look like glass.

First lick an envelope and close it, fold it in half, then cut it, so you have two openings - one for a greeting, and the other for a gift card or money.  The top flap tucks under the main image, in this case the beer mugs, and holds the card closed.

On the other side of this card, I wrote our Happy Birthday greeting, and the gift card is in the second opening.

With many graduations coming up, and Father's Day, too, this is a unique way to jazz up a card or money gift.

Let me know if you'd like to learn how to make an Envelope Card!

 
HAVE YOU PRE-ORDERED YOUR NEW CATALOG YET??

Happy Stampin'!

Debbie

Music to my ears

Our church organist has decided to retire, so I thought I would send this card to her.

 

 I really love black and white, or in this case, black and vanilla, cards.

This card has a lot of elements:  Very Vanilla base, and the music paper is from the Newsprint set of designer paper, which I ran through the Big Shot with a texture plate, and layered on a piece of Basic Black.

The swirls along the bottom are from the Strength and Hope stamp set ($2 from the sales of these sets goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation).

I used the Decorative Label Punch to punch out one of the Four Frames images (which was available for a short time as a new catalog preview set, but won't be available again until July 1st).  I made the black layer behind it by punching out 2 labels and piecing them together behind the frame, and there are 2 of the smallest halfback pearls on each side.  "friends" is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.  It's a pricey set, but there are 24 stamps, sentiments for just about every occasion, and they fit just about ANYWHERE!  I LOVE the set -- I have used it a lot. 

HAVE YOU PRE-ORDERED YOUR NEW CATALOG YET??

Happy Stampin'!

Debbie

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dear Stamping Divas,

Happy New Year??  Do you think I'm off my rocker??  Well, sometimes, maybe, but not this time. 

It is hard to believe, but the new Stampin' Up catalog is right around the corner!

If you would like to pre-order a 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog, I will be putting in my order on June 1, so that I will receive one of the first shipments of catalogs that go out.

You can begin ordering out of the new catalog at noon on July 1st, 2011.  The cost will be $5.00, but if you want it mailed to you, please send me a check for $6.00.   

 

I can't wait to see what's new -- how about you??

Garden Box 2

Here is Garden Box #2

From right to left:

Two rows of radishes (one row seriously disturbed by a cat doing his "business,"

and the beginning of the Pepper Patch!

Yes, you counted correctly -- 6 pepper plants!

Why, you ask?

Because my husband loves to make his own hot sauces!



 


Two of the plants are bell peppers, but the rest are various types of hot peppers, and see the empty area in the middle?  He ordered Ghost Peppers, which are supposed to be among the hottest peppers around.  Alrighty, then!

We finished the box with 2 bean plants, 2 squash and a melon.  This weekend, we hope to lay down the automatic drip watering hoses -- yay, no more hand watering!

Did we overplant?  You betcha!!

The Garden Is In!

Yes, the garden is planted!  Over the winter, we covered the raised boxes with black plastic, and when we took it off to plant...NO WEEDS!  Yay!

Look at that beautiful dirt!

Yum...can't wait for REAL tomatoes!  5 tomato plants in that box.










Don't know why these pics are so dark - it was sunny when I took them!

Tomorrow...garden box #2!

Bright Blue Toes!

A request was made to see my BRIGHT BLUE TOES!!  As I do not wish to disappoint my cyber-readers, I give you...

and matching hands --

well, okay, this is just one hand, but you'll have to take my word that the other one matches, too!

National Scrapbooking Month!

May is National Scrapbooking Month, and Stampin' Up wants to celebrate with YOU!
Click HERE to see the promotional flyer and HERE to see a complete list of the products that are 30% off!

HAPPY SCRAPPIN'!

A Rant!

Yesterday, my daughter and I went for pedicures at my FORMERLY favorite place, Bellagio's on East Roseville Pkwy. in Roseville.  We had an 11:00 appt. and weren't called until 11:25.  Okay, no big deal, it was Mother's Day and pretty crowded.  They have 3 levels of pedis -- $25, $35, and $45.  We usually get the middle one, but for yesterday, they were only offering the most expensive one.  Well, the whole thing felt rushed -- we weren't asked what scrub we wanted, the foot and leg massage was kind of short, but a lot depends on the woman who's doing the pedi.  Finally, I got my legs into the nice massaging chair, and the time was set for 15 minutes.  That also ensures that the polish is dry.  THREE MINUTES LATER, someone came up and without saying a word, shut off my chair!  I turned to my daughter to say, "Why did they do that?" and someone was turning off her chair, too!  She said, "We're being kicked out!"  Ooooo -- I was NOT happy, to say the least.

We walked by the manager and he said, "Thanks for coming," and I gave him an earful.  He said he was sorry about 6 times, but that it was a popular day.  I told him I knew that, but that's what appointments are for, and it was clear that he overbooked so he could make more money that day.  We were there for less than 45 minutes, and we did NOT get a $45 pedicure!  I felt badly for my daughter because she wanted it to be a nice experience for Mother's Day. 

I'm angry that we, well, she got ripped off, and I might shoot off an angry letter, although it would probably go to the same manager and wouldn't do any good.  Hubby said to "vote with my feet" and just go elsewhere.  Goodness knows there seems to be a nail place on every block, so, my friends out there in Cyberland --

WHERE'S THE BEST PLACE TO GET A GOOD PEDICURE??

(If you stuck in there and read this whole thing, thanks for letting me rant!)

Happy Mother's Day!

Whether or not you are a mother, this is a day to honor a special woman in your life. Call her today and tell her how much she means to you. Hope you get to spend the day doing something you love, with someone you love. My daughter and I are going for pedicures at my favorite place, Bellagio. LOVE THOSE LEG MASSAGING CHAIRS! I bought some new, bright blue nail polish -- my toes are going to look fabulous!

Happy day, everyone!

Garage Sale Success!

Thanks to everyone who visited our garage sale on Saturday. We met some new friends and reconnected with some friends of the past. We couldn't have asked for better weather! I was worried on Thursday when it hit 90 degrees, but it was downright chilly this morning when we were setting up at 7:30, and I didn't take off my jacket until about 11! Thanks also to Linda, who loaned us her home for the morning, and the other garage salers -- Janice, Jill, and Wanda, what a fun group of gals. Oh, and thanks to Rose, Linda's daughter, who brought us Starbucks and muffins!!