Rain rain come and stay...

at least for the day!
Yep- you heard me right -it's actually raining here in So Cal. And boy do we need it. It only rained 3 days last Winter.
It's cold and dark and the perfect morning to sit at my computer and drink coffee and update my blog.
(No photos today as my card "photography studio" is actually one of the brick planters in my garden.)
I am trying to get caught up on my blog links. I joined the Sisterhood of Blogging Stampers the week before my mom passed and never got all the sisters links in.(Some how I feel like I should have a Ya Ya stamping name for the sisterhood-I am Princess Stampsalotta over on CX-that would work, I think!)There must be an easier way to do add links than how I am doing it but slowly but surely I will get them all in.
I'd also like to input my CX pals blogs too.
I want to change my header and that's going to take me awhile- yeah-I know I am pathetic at all this!I dunno what I would do without my husband and my son to help me!
(I DID find the Christmas tree widget this AM on some of the other sisters blogs and was actually able to plop that on my blog myself.)

Suprise Box-apalooza!

I got mine just in the nick of time from The Angel Company (they are all sold out now)Here's what all I got for $50!(I added up the cost of all the products using last years cattie and it's almost $150 worth of product!)I can't wait to use that Clikit to do some decorative hole work on some SB pages.I'll stick with my trusty cropodile for eyelets but really like how you can use the Clikit anyhwere on the page to punch the holes. Amazingly (given all the stampy stuff that I already have!)I think the only duplicate that I got was one ink pad but I am sure that I can find a good home for it.I also got 5 more GWP stamps- which is great.I have been collecting these to to take with me to the CreativExpress SouthEast crop in Savannah ,Georgia this April.There will be stamps for all!

jibber jabber

No projects to post today-I have been working on secret santa goodies and don't want to reveal myself too soon.
I was very good and have NOT bought any more stamps yet. I even looked at some on-line today (Pink Cat Studio- I really want their poodles!,more Paper Trey, and some of those cute Gina K. crabbies) but I also know that I am wayyyyy over due for getting my hair done. By the time it gets cut and a nice blonde weave worked in -that'll be a lot of stamps-worth in my hair!
I do have a suprprise box from The Angel Company due for delivery tomorrow-so I'll just anxiously await that instead.
PS-I finally loaded Photo Shop Elements on my puter- wish me luck with learning it!I'll be sure to inflict some of my PSE projects onto the blog here!

3 Wise Siamese

Here's my latest "cute stamp" purchase.These cuties are from Stampendous.
I used my new fave- the Stardust pen to add a little sparkle to their crowns.
I am really feeling the need for a little retail romp on-line to procure more "cute stamps". I have seen so many nice ones over on SplitCoastStampers. But I just paid off my sons braces on my last credit card bill and this upcoming one will have my Black Friday Christmas shopping purchases on it. But dang- these "cute stamps" are really actting like a tonic and soothing my weary soul lately.Excuse me while I go off and wrestle with that stamping monkey on my back a bit more.
....I'll let you know what I order!

Kitty Christmas

Playing around with this kitty image that I got in a swap- (I don't know the stamp credit?)
PP-is from DCWV glitter Christmas stack
I put some Crystal lacquer on the ornament on his tail- it doesn't show up too well in the photo.I also used my new Stardust gel pen for a little glitz on his whsikers.
(Those pens are very cool-if you don't have one- get one!)

new product

This card is my first attempt using Luminarte's Radiant Rain Pearl Ex spray. It is Pearl Ex mica powder suspended in a liquid medium.It seems to be comparable to Angel Wings but appears to be a better value -less $$ for a larger bottle. However, my spray bottle is already clogged after one use.

I sprayed the red card stock, then ran it thru the cuttlebug embossing folder on my Big Shot. Then I hit the high spots of the embossing with a coffee bean Brilliance pad.It really made a very rich background piece.
The stamp is a very old DOTS stamp back from my beginning stamping days.

I really want to try to get back into my stamp cave this week-I really miss it.Hopefully, I'll have some new projects to upload to the blog later this week...

seriously cute

There is nothing like a great big walloping dose of cute to help lift your spirits.
I bought a few hyperglycemic coma inducing stamps 2 weeks ago to cheer myself up.(One Fluffle and 2 Penny Black cuties)
Here's a card that I made yesterday- I got the rivetting SU! stamp from an inage swap and the hedgie is Penny Black.

Happy Thanksgiving

While I had a few moments this AM, I wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.

in loving memory

of my wonderful mother Marylou Evans Peacock.

April 12,1927-November 12,2007

May her smile light up Heaven and delight the Lord.


(I had made this little scrapbook page for her several years ago and the little quote on it so perfectly suited her disposition. I wanted to thank you all so much for your prayers and well wishes during this difficult time. It has meant very much to me.)

taking a break...

It looks like my moms long struggle with Alzheimers is nearing the end.I cannot begin to share with you what a horrible heart-wrenching disease it is.I thank the Lord for the blessing of her good spirit that has seen her through this all with an amazing joy for life.And now it's time to let go so that she may be with Him.
I feel the need to share and celebrate what a vibrant amazing woman she is.
This is the last "good" photo of her- it was taken 3 weeks ago at an Alzheimers fund-raising dinner at Aegis of Chino Hills. You can see her absolute gusto for life in the very happy marinara mustache she is sporting about her mouth.She is oh so very loved.

Doesn't look like much but....

On the surface it's just a little candy box but it actually represents my first digital project. I have been intrigued by all those cool digi scrappy kits and even downloaded a free kit or 2 from 2 peas. Had no idea what to do with them once I had down loaded them!.

Then CK offered another free kit and tutorial in their mag... the catch was you had to DL a trial version of Photo Shop Elements. 2 hours later (on DSL, mind you!) I had PSE and the kit but PSE had been updated to a newer version so CK's instructions were obsolete.ARGH!

At this point,I had pretty much given up-but then I saw on the PaperTreyInk (PTI) mb posts about a free PTI digital kit at PaperCraftsMag.com.Ok- what the heck-I'll DL them. Nichole Heady even had instructions on how to use it just with MS Word -no costly confusing PSE- Hallelujah!

So my old brain actually learned some new skills today and I made some pretty cute candy wrappers and tags to boot.

New Love!

I am absolutely infatuated with Paper Trey Ink
I got my stamps in less than a week from them and am so delighted with them. You can tell that these are stamps made for stampers by a stamper!
Looks like I'll be joining the ranks of other fans now stalking the website every mid-month for the newest releases.
Here are 2 cards that I whipped up with my 2 new sets yesterday afternoon- not bad considering that I am still sick and have the energy of a South American 3 -toed Sloth!

Christmas Card Making Season is officially opened!

Well at least here in my stamp cave!
I have all my cards ready for my Mike's classes and am now preparing for my Angel Company Workshop this Saturday.

I made the little ornament this AM using an idea I saw from someone's blog(I am sorry to not give personal credit- but it was in a MB forum link ,not the person's blog directly so I couldn't trace it back-but if it's yours-It's a FAB idea!)

I stamped the snowflakes,then circle punched them out, layered them onto the scallop circle punch. Dotted with waterfall stickles. Let dry. Then fold in half like a little taco-run thru Xyron X machine. Stick the 6 sides together until you from your dimensional ornament. Add some silver string thru the top and hang.Eh voila!

The card was really doing multiple duty-I had a lot of the dark blue scraps from my Mike's class and at first had thought to make book marks with them. There was a challenge on ASB to do a card with some heat embossing, and I needed card project for this weekends workshop.... so there ya go! (You do not know how hard it was for me to NOT run the light blue piece of CS thru my Cuttlebug snowflakes embossing folder- but I really held myself back to get some nice clean elegant lines on this card.)

Knifty Knitter update

In between life, cards, and scrapbook LOs I have still been chugging along with my new passion -knitting. I haven't mastered anything more complicated than a scarf but I do find it very relaxing.
Here's a photo of all that I have done so far (not too bad for a little more than a months work) The multi-colored boucle scarf (for my Mom) was my first proper scarf and I am very pleased with how it turned out. Next I did the heavy greenish scarf- this one took me a very long time to do as I looped every peg on the loom and did a triple loop before the pull over-I like the braided appearance that gave it. But this scarf is very heavy!
Next came "the Muppets" -these fuzzy little guys I can whip out in an evening- they are very light and lacey but I still haven't quite mastered finishing these off neatly.(I got about 12 spools of the fun fur on sale at Mike's for 50 cents apiece so I have will lot to practice on to master my technique.)

Bloomin' Birthdays

Me bad- I did not get a single B-day card sent out last month to any of the CX RAK group.( I am totally card obsessed and nothing makes me happier than sending my little paper fledglings off in the mail box to new homes.)
So one of my projects this weekend is to finish off a slew of these babies and get them mailed off (hopefully) Monday.
I love this SU! set and had only used the pretty flower dress stamp so far so it was a very good feeling to use the cake stamp from it. (Now let's see how many months it will take me to use the umbrella stamp from it!)
Stamps- SU!
Marker, blue cs-CTMH
Stickles
Prima flowers
Marvy punch
Cuttle Bug embossing folder

For Lab Lovers

My stampy friend Stacy sent me a wonderful envelope full of stamped labrador images!
I could not resist this sleepy pup and colored him in first
Stamps- sentiment-PSX
lab- unknown
PP-7 Gypsies
punches- Marvy, SU!

Holiday Cards class

Here's a pic of 4 of the cards that we will be making at my holiday cards class this month(there is an additional giftie tag not pictured)
These cards feature the papers from The Rob and Bob Christmas Slab by Provocraft available at Michaels and die cuts made with the Cricut electronic die cut machine ,also available at Michaels.
Location- Michaels in Chino
Dates-11/18,11/19,11/25,11/26
Cost-$15
Sign up- in store