New Year's Eve

Happy New Year Everyone.

Blocks.

After quite an adventure to get me and my munchkins to my Mom's I've finally remembered to come & update my blog :) I'm slowly going to be able to show you some more shots of the blocks! What did Stamping Santa bring YOU for Christmas? We are having a great time in the snow & sunshine. Perfect for Christmas festivities. I've decided to be more prepared next year for Christmas so I'm hoping to challenge you along with me this next year to be well prepared for the big Christmas season (because we all know it's more than just ONE DAY!). The new year is fast approaching & I'm sure everyone is getting ready for parties & more festivites. Enjoy!!
.j.
A few more block shots.....

I used modge-podge to *glue* the papers onto the painted wood blocks:

Then (not sure if you can tell) I used some sandpaper to age & rough up the edges:

I won't be able to show you the "final" shots until after(our)Christmas (in case my Mom is peeking in on my blog!!) So in the new year as we won't be celebrating until Jan. 5th -- stay tuned. I'm really pleased with how they turned out.
.j.

swap...

Well.... I hope you all had a very merry Christmas Day and avoided all shopping centers today! HAHA. I'll be off and on with my blog (like I've been of late), but I do have photos to share with you.... I'm packing up my babies and going to Mom's for a week or two while hubby is away over the holiday time. Still have a few swap cards to share with you....
merry Christmas,
.j.

A Christmas Tin.

Just took hubby to the airport so he could fly a province away and go to work. *Sigh* I hate shift work. Sure did STINK this year with him having to fly out on the 24th and doesn't get back until after New Years. So.... just me & the kids this year. We'll be heading to my Mom's.... need my mom! :) I hope when my kids are 33 they'll still need me!!!! LOL.

My niece lives next door (age 7) and LOVES to stamp. Whenever she comes over she asks if she can "play" in my stamp room. TOO CUTE! We always draw names, but this year I wanted to do a little something for Becca. SO... after dropping off hubby at the airport and getting back home, I thought a little stamping was in order. I also got a package in the mail that I've been waiting on from Paper Pretties which TOTALLY brightened my afternoon!!

Inside this special tin are some stamps & a little black stampin' spot.... for those moments & times when I'm not home & she still needs to stamp :)

The top (lid):

The tag ( a new set in the mail today!! yeah!):

Well, nearly time to get everyone ready for the Christmas Eve service :) I wish you all a very Merry Christmas...
.j.

More swap cards....

We've been very busy having our family Christmas early so I haven't been on the computer much at all. I thought I'd share with you a couple more Christmas cards I got from the eswap I was in earlier this month. Hope you're all enjoying the first few days of your holiday weekend. Merry Chrismtas!
.j.

'Twas the week before Christmas....

I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas time :) Last night was spent wrapping gifts, and filling up that space under the tree. So fun to watch the kids get up this morning and giggle & grin as they looked through to see which packages had THEIR name on it.
Some pics of the kids in the snow....

Megan - my 10 year old who's only an inch shorter than me!!!

Joshua - my 8yr old who didn't want the snow to ever go away!

Sarah - my 6 year old -- snow is nice... for about 15minutes! haha.

Merry Christmas!

Postage Technique

Because we've been busy in the kitchen, and mostly doing tags in the stamp room, I thought I'd share an older card I made with you using the postage technique. I've made a few with this technique that I'll share over the next couple of weeks :) It's a fun technique that you do use your printer for and then cut out, mask, sponge with color & stamp. I think I've seen stamp-sized & edged punches out there now. I just used a pair of decorative scissors that I had that sort of "worked" :) I do believe fiskar makes and actual POSTAGE scissor though. So many toys & gadgets out there!
Enjoy your Sunday...
.j.

Only how many more sleeps?!

I would love to tell you I've been hiding in my stamp room creating and crafting, but no. Instead.... I've been in the kitchen. Christmas for us is food, food & more food! HAHA!! My kids LOVE baking and we have some special items that we make JUST at Christmas time, so we've been busy whipping, whisking & icing! Much fun. :) I will share a few of our recipes with you over the next couple of days, but I seem to blink and I've missed a day (or two) of posting, but I'm sure everyone is busy, busy over the holiday season. It's wonderful, isn't it?!

As promised, here is the STUNNING card created by a member of my "team" and a truly wonderful person, Margaret. This card has so many amazing elements... dry embossing, rhinestone brad, punches, vellum, is that silver leaf Margaret??... It sits on our counter & looks SPECTACULAR!!! Thank-you again.
Merry Christmas.... only 10 days until Christmas Eve... who's started wrapping? :)
.j.

Cards I received in an e-swap :)

I've been so busy and not getting much stamping done (well... my blocks are still coming along nicely!!)... post soon. I'll have a sneak peek in the next day or two... still have to take some photos of it (camera batteries are dead -- wow, it has been one of those weekSSSS!!) I think once I cranked out all my Christmas cards I was needing some rest! haha. I do need to get my teacher gifts put together so hopefully I'll have some new things to share with you. Also got an amazing card from my friend Margaret (Hi Margaret!!) that I will have to snap a photo of & share with you... she's an AMAZING stamper!! So I guess this is a teaser. :) Here are some cards from an e-swap I was in. Enjoy your day. Merry Christmas!

Best Days by Matt White

K... I'm still here, but haven't stamped any cards the last couple of days... still working on Christmas Gifts I'm making :) Hope to post those soon!! A little time consuming, but lots of fun to play around and works with. I'm trying to post a video here, not entirely sure it'll work, but I love this song. Video is OK, but the song.... *sigh*. Thought I'd better share SOMETHING with you today :) enjoy - happy weekend. I'm off to do some Christmas shopping -- love it! -.j.

This week seems to be zooming past me... December is here with all its business & excitement. Got my first batch of Christmas cards in the mail, & now today I'm hoping to finish up the other batch & be done :) whew. Big job. I made this Thank-You cards to one of my blogging buddies (I won't say who, she might be reading :)) and thought I'd share it with you. One thing I like to do with solid stamp images like this one is add bits of other colors with my markers. The *base* of this image is always artichoke, but I added Regal Rose around the petals & ran a chocolate chip marker around the edges. I like the depth it adds. I used Bravo Burgundy Cardstock, my photo corner punch and a piece of Basic Grey DS paper. Some eyelets and a grosgrain/organdy double ribbon at the top. :)

Hope you're enjoying your Christmas season & preparation time :)
-.j.

A birthday card.

Sarah has a special friend who had a birthday awhile ago. :)

Stamps - Simply Said
Paper - Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Whisper White, Pale Plum
Inks - assorted pink makers (SU), Palette Noir Black Ink
Other - slit punch, cropodile, white eyelets, rose grosgrain ribbon, white organdy ribbon, DejaView RubOn for sentiment, cuttlebug, square punches.

Hello Monday.

Kids are home from school today and when I came downstairs, this was waiting for me on the counter. How cute is he?!? :) I love my family.

Walkin' in a winter wonderland!

The snow started falling yesterday and we've been loving it!! It is sooo pretty. I'm working on a Christmas gift & thought I'd show you photo #1 :) I will take a couple pics of some cards I made the other night, but otherwise I've been doing the mass producing thing for Christmas Cards... :) So lots of stamping, just nothing *new*.

Any guesses? I'm excited to play and get working on this project.
Merry Christmas!
.j.

'Twas the night before December :)!!

I worked on Christmas cards last night -- woohooo.... goal is to finish those up today/tonight and get 'em in the mail! Got all my postage stamps at Costco (tad bit of savings there) and so I shall push ahead & get them done :) One more Seasons of Joy card to share with you (this is a little 3x3 one that I rounded the corners on). Nothing special, just a simple little notecard for on top of a gift. I made a couple cards yesterday while stamping with my daughter & niece (how fun was that, they were too cute picking out their colors and building their snowmen with Cold Play) So I'll try to take a photo of them & post over the weekend. It's suppose to snow!!! :)))))) So for now I'll leave you with my mini card.

Enjoy your Friday. Sip some eggnog -- December is one sleep away!
.j.

Teary-eyed & glum

Today is a sad day at our house because Daddy leaves for work for his 12 day shift. The teachers at school now know when the kids show up with puffy eyes & a sad heart that is must be a goodbye daddy day. We hope this job doesn't last for too long, but it's at least another year or so. I thought after 6 months we might get used to it, but we haven't. Then I thought that I think that's a good thing. We're complete when Daddy is home and that's a good thing :)
So I thought I'd share a happy card today. This is made with our new gift set from SU called Time Well Spent. It'll be available in the new catalog as a hostess level 3 set. It's a fun set to play with...

Stamps - Time Well Spent
Paper - Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Petal Prints Design paper (I think?)
Ink - Palette Noir Black
Other - Pretty in Pink Eyelets, Prismacolor pencils, Black Zip Pen (for doodles), Making Memories acrylic paint.
Because we're doing Christmas here with Daddy on the 22nd, the kids started their advent quilt last night. So fun to watch everyone hunt for the treats with clue in hand :). I told the kids every day now we have to do something for Christmas. Tonight we're going to watch a Christmas special & enjoy being together :) This week I've got to finish my Christmas cards & start on some gift making.... hope to have lots to share with you :)
.j.

Middle of the Week.

Wednesday is here again. We were at a potluck last night & helped with crafts & decorations for the church. What a great family time! Doing projects & putting up Christmas trees. I've been doing a lot of reading & getting inspired to put a lot of *thought* into Christmas. Not just frantically running around trying to get through Christmas, but savoring the days. Enjoying the moments. Making time for traditions. It'll be a hard one this year with Daddy gone for the whole holiday time, but we'll have our little Christmas on the 22nd. We'll savor the time we do have. What are your traditions? I was reading the comments on another blog on Christmas traditions & I loved all the fabulous ideas. So I ask you.... what are your family traditions? Old ones and new ones you hope to create this season?
We open one gift on Christmas Eve (usually new PJs to slip on for the night), Christmas morning we open stockings & have a big breakfast & then usually take off for a long family walk. Once we get back home we open the gifts under the tree & then savor the afternoon's quietness. Kids playing, playing games, sipping hot cocoa. We have a advent quilt that gets hung on the wall (I'll have to take a photo to share with you) and inside each "house" is a slip of paper for each child. It's a clue to where they can find their "treat" for the day. They love it. They study their little clue and then run off in glee in search for the goodie that day. I typically just have a little treat in the actual house, but with three of them now there's not too much room. LOL. I put in a few clues last year and they LOVED those days when the house had paper inside & they knew they got to search for their treat. So this year I think I'll do that for each day. A little more planning on my part, but sure do love to see those smiles! We also have a Christmas Eve service that we attend and have a big Chocolate Fondue at Grandma's house. Mmmmmm. Lots of Christmas baking. Christmas Shoeboxes. Trip to Vernon to visit my family. Silver Star Mountain. Drive to view Christmas lights. I love this season. I read about picking someone who is less fortunate and making them feel loved the whole month through. I guess like a secret santa. A card in the mail. Some goodies. A gift. Makes us realize how blessed we are and how we can make a difference in someone's life.
Enjoy the season. It's here :)

Stamp Set - Season of Joy, Snow Burst
Paper - Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Creamy Caramel
Ink - Vanilla Craft, Bravo Burgundy, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa
Other - burgundy grosgrain ribbon, burgundy eyelets, stampin' dimensionals, punch.
Here's another attempt at a *brown* Christmas Card. I cut out the tree and popped it up. I sure do like this stamp set :)
Merry Christmas!
.j.

Here it is :)

Nothing like a reboot to get the computer working this morning. Here is another card I made the other day.

Stamp Set - Season of Joy
Ink - Brocade Blue, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy
Paper - Bashful Blue, Bordering Blue, Night of Navy, Whisper White, NQN Print Designs
Other - Ticket Punch, paper piercer & template, Silver liquid pearls, sponge
This card has very simple lines to it. A nice quick card.

One of those days....

Finally got the kids off to school. We had a snowfall last night (anyone else would call it a skiff, but on the island it's a snowFALL - LOL). Kids were up & out the door to play in the white (oh how I wish I could say *fluffy*), wet slushy stuff! They thought for SURE with a whole inch or two on the ground it would be a snow day. Not so lucky :) I got all set up to get my blog post done & realized as I was *cleaning* out my photos last night I deleted ALL my new pics of my cards. *sigh*. So I retook the photos this morning & trying to upload them now. My computer is grouchy this morning though & being very uncooperative. Note to self: ask Santa for a new computer. I hope to share a photo with you today.

Have a happy day.
.j.

"Tis the Season....

We had a great family weekend, despite all our kiddos having coughs & sniffles, we really did have a great weekend. I even had some time to stamp with my girls yesterday so I will be able to show you some cards this week :) yeah. I'm hoping to get my Christmas cards DONE this week so I can mail out that first week in December. With the business of the month, I like to get those outta the way first. PLUS... then people can enjoy them a bit longer :)

After holding out on this past mini catalog from Stampin' Up!.... I caved! I had my eye on Seasons of Joy & Snow Burst but fought the URGE! Well of course a customer ordered BOTH of these sets (thank-you Debbie! LOL) and once there were in my hands I NEEEEEEEEDED them. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Well, those yummy sets arrived on Friday & I got to play with them. What a fun set. I saw a challenge about using browns for Christmas... very interesting. I thought I'd add in Bravo Burgundy as it has a browny-feel to it as well. Here's the recipe to start:

Stamps - Seasons of Joy
Paper - Whisper White, Bravo Burgundy, Brushed Gold, Chocolate Chip
Ink - Vanilla Craft, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa
Other - Wine Organdy Ribbon, Stampin' Dimentionals, Photo Corner Punch
I really took my time with this card (you wouldn't want to make 50 of them!). I started by stamping my white strip with Bravo Burgundy & the flower. Then I thought it would look cool if I could POP the PETALS. So I restamped on another sheet of paper and cut out allllll those petals :) I took a sponge and used Creamy Caramel & Close to Cocoa to *age* the whisper white cardstock and placed that on my stamped Chocolate Chip card base. I love the craft vanilla pad. It's so warm. The corner photo punch was another new item in my box of goodies this week. HOW EASY is that handy punch -- love it! I finished it off with a side bow. I'm happy with how it turned out. One of those cards that I didn't really have in my head... just played & this is what evolved.
We put the Christmas tree up last night (hubby is gone for Christmas so we wanted to get some festivities in while he was home... *sniff, sniff*) -- did you know there's only 4 shopping weekends left until Christmas. I love Christmas!!!
have a happy day!
.j.

A family Adventure

We took the kids on a hike to one of our favorite spots.... Westwood Ridge. I was impressed with HOW WELL they did. It's a fabulous lookout point part way up the mountain behind us here in Nanaimo. They were so excited to climb up those steep slopes, find cool mushrooms, watch a waterfall & be together on an adventure.

There's a ton of mountain biking in the mountains & it was insane some of the jumps we came upon! We kept wondering if people actually had the guts to go off these jumps.

Kids had fun at the waterfall. It was amazing to hear it as we got closer & closer.

Climbing up, up, up.... the kids loved the really steep parts.

The island has some incredible vegetation! One is the Arbutus Tree (it sheds it's papery bark & is SO SMOOTH!). We found a huge one on our adventure.

Making it all the way to the top!

I hope you find some time this weekend to smell the flowers,find a path in the woods or a trail in the park & enjoy life :)
.j.

Stampin' Up! is wrapping up the holidays!!

Wrapping Up the Holidays November 23-December 15***, 2007
(this is a "while supplies last" situation)
Ok, you might want to check out some of these deals. You can also find out all the juicy details atthe Stampin' Up!website

112409 Holiday Tag Bundle $5.50
110380 Tags for All Stamp Set* (20% off) $33.56
110264 Designer Gift cards* (30% off) $6.27
109862 Chocolate Chip satin ribbon* Buy 1, get 1 free!** (love the ribbon!!)
109863 Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon* Buy 1, get 1 free!**
112410 Tin 3-Pack $13.50 (great for wrapping accordion "albums")
110147 Celebration wrapping paper* $24.95
110228 Hand Selected Accents & Elements (25% off) $11.21

And on top of it all.... orders over $100 receive FREE SHIPPING -- woohoooooo!!!

A Day Off....

Kids are off school today -- so I was able to enjoy a lovely sleep-in! How wonderful is that! :) Kids were excited about a big family breakfast, so I did need to drag myself up for that. Now my tummy is full & kids are ready to head out and enjoy our chilly day off :) Perhaps a family hike or walk around the lake.

Here's a Birthday card to share with you. I didn't find stamping time yesterday (although a few new sets arrived so I MUST PLAY!!! crossing my fingers for today!!) I had scraps around my table (some run through the cuttlebug, some with score lines, some plain....) I decided to round them up & sew them on the card as my background.

A simple card with some coloring :) AHHHH... just noticed one of those cuttlebug strips (blue!) is on UPSIDE DOWN! Egads! Guess it'll go in the 5yrs and under birthday bin! LOL. Sheesh, wonder how I didn't notice that one.
Stampin' Up! has some amazing specials on right now... I'll post some of that info as well for you.
Enjoy your weekend. Hope you find time for you!
.j.

Presents for me! :)

I got a wonderful gift from Stampin' up! today.... a free stamp set! I decided to use it right away & played along with the color Challenge on SCS: Pretty in Pink, Wild Wasabi & Whisper White. I was happy with how it turned out (although the lighting was rotten for the photo....)

I used liquid embossing for the silver *dots*, and the cuttlebug for the embossing (then dragged a white craft pad over the surface). I love getting new stamps!! :)

have a happy day!
.j.

A tweaked Christmas Card

This card is close to a recent one I posted. I just thought there was too much white on the last one ( I dunno?!) so I mixed it up a bit with this one. same colors (Real Red & Old Olive). Same Cuttlebog snowflake embossing folder. Same Big On Christmas Stamp Set. Same doodles. Same slit punch scallop edge. Added some eyelets & a shimmery chipboard snowflake (made from a cuttlebug die).

I did a little Christmas shopping today.... stocking goodies. What fun! I love Christmas shopping!! Of course I had to get the groceries too, but with the kids still at school, it wasn't too painful :). Now after a long day, hubby ran out to pick up a movie & a starbucks! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

have a happy day!
.j.

OK, last one Marie :)

I decided to play with ONE more card for Marie's Challenge (see what happens when there's yummy prizes! LOL). Here's my card (this one measures 4.5 square):

Stamps - Peaceful Wishes, Canvas & All Year Cheer (3 maybe? my sets are all mixed up!)
Paper - Baroque Burgundy, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla
Ink - Palette Noir Black, Markers (close to cocoa, always artichoke, baroque burgundy), Versamark
Other - White Vanilla Grosgrain, Glassy Glaze EP (3 coats), Eyelets
Here's a close up again of the technique:

How many Christmas Cards do you all make & send out in a season?
have a happy day!
.j.

A Challenge & Christmas #6

And the Christmas cards KEEP ON COMING! :) Marie posts a challenge every other week and I love participating in them. For her most recent challenge, click here. She mixed it up a bit this time & instead of posting a sketch, she posted a *challenge*... one of my FAVORITE techniques - cracked glass. Seeing as I was on the Christmas trend, I thought I'd keep within my *theme*. So here's my card!

Stamps - Solemn Stillness, Weathered
Ink - Palette Black Noir, Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke
Paper - Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Basic Grey DS Paper
Accessories - Vintage Brads, True Thyme stitched ribbon, Cuttlebug Snowflake, Dazzling Diamonds, Air Art Tool, Close to Cocoa Marker, Glassy Glaze, Sewing Machine.
Here's a Close up of the "cracked glass" image:

I have seen other stampers stitch their cards with *snippets* here & there and I thought it looked very cool. I love the stitching (could ya tell! LOL) as it gives it a great homey feel which I love. Christmas is the perfect season for that homey-cozy feel! So I gave it a try on this card & really liked how it came out. I just got the little snowflake cutter for my cuttlebug machine and thought I'd use some of my coasters to make my own snowflake chipboard.... a little two way glue & dazzling diamonds gave the card some glitter festiveness. I really like how it turned out.

Thanks for the challenge Marie!
.j.

Christmas #4

I've been playing with a couple more cards due to a challenge on Marie's blog, so I'll have a few more to share with you :)

This is a very simple one, I did some tweaking on the second one so I'll post that one too over the next couple of day.

Busy morning here so I must run, but ...

have a happy day.
.j.

Christmas #3 & Soccer Saturday

Here's another Christmas Card I created. Ran the base of the card through my cuttlebug machine (I remember when I'd BUY paper like that at $2/sheet! Love this little machine!!). I colored with Prismacolor Pencils & again added the "dots" with my black ZIG marker. I used the ticket punch on the corners & tied cream organdy ribbon with some silver cord on the top. The bottom was a mistake... LOL. I was trying to line up holes for eyelets, but I was tired and I punched one WAY off.... ACK. So I had to improvise! {grin}. So I used some twill ribbon, stamped it with a sentiment and attached that along to bottom to cover up my oops. I think I might like it better than my intended design :) Hubby came home yesterday {insert BIG smiles here!!} so I was showing him my Christmas Card ideas to see which one he liked too. He thought I should make a few of each this year too :).
Well we are off to a few soccer games this morning, but first a family breakfast. Overnight Blueberry French Toast. If it's as good as it looks & smells, I'll post the recipe for you to share with your family :)

Have a happy day!
.j.

Christmas #2

OK -- here's the second one (and maybe *my* favorite... but don't let that taint your judgement! LOL). Maybe because it has a little bit of everything: stitching (which I can't seem to get enough of), dimension (with the sentiment popped up), paper piecing with DP on the Christmas ball, ticket punch, doodling (I added those little dots around the letters and around the swirls), brads & a little bling to finish off each swirl. Old Olive has always been one of my favorite greens so I used it as my card base & colored the "NOEL" with my prismacolor pencils.

have a happy day!
.j.

Let the Christmas Cards Begin....

The other night I decided to finally sit down and start playing around with Christmas Card ideas. I figure I'll post some here and you guys can tell me what you think :).... so LEAVE me a comment :)))
For this card I pulled out my Solemn Stillness stamp set. So pretty. I stamped it in white StazOn (the craft took too long to dry even with heat setting and the silver embossing powder stuck to it even with the embossing buddy... ack... Stazon saved the day!) and embossed it with Sterling Silver EP. I used Peaceful Wishes for the sentiment and stamped with Black StazOn on white polyshrink. I played around with my slit punch and *finally* figured out how everyone makes that cool scalloped edge (takes me a little longer than most - lol. I also used my square punches to created the photo corner (although I'm just going to break down this week and order the corner punch from SU today!). It's very faint but, the background on the Always Artichoke card base is all the Christmas words (drawing a blank for the name of it). I used Versamark, so next card I think I'll try using the A.Artichoke to see if it will be a bit stronger. Some ribbon, a little hemp & a touch of bling in teh corner of the photo corners.
Off to get the monkeys to school & head out in the rain for my run. Daddy comes home tomorrow -- how wonderful is that?!?
have a happy day!
.j.

Christmas Countdown...

Did you know there is *ONLY* 5-1/2 more weeks until Christmas -- FIVE shopping weekends left?! YIKES. I spent last night stamping a few Christmas card ideas (I'll post them over the next few days and you can tell me which one to go with :)!) I might do a few different designs this year. I usually pick ONE and go with it for the whole list. Think I might mix it up a bit this year :)

Winter is definitely here with our storms, rain, wind & CHILL in the air. I know it's funny to hear us in BC complain about the cold when in AB they already have snow, but as we all whine "it's a *different* kind of cold" here! LOL. It's damp and freezes you to your bone! UGH. I do miss the Alberta winter with the fluffy snow (and not mucky slush we get!) and bright blue sky! So pretty.

Anyway, here's a card I'm not too happy with. Just didn't come together for me. Blek. Thought I'd share anyway. LOL. I should have walked away. When I'm stuck on a card I typically put it aside and come back to it and seem to be able to work on it with fresh eyes.... not this time! LOL. Still a cute stamp though :)

I think it's the hoofs that are SCREAMING.... we're NOT suppose to be YELLOW! BWAHAHHA.....
...have a happy day!
.j.

Hello Tuesday.

I love the "work-week" starting on Tuesday! Just makes me happy to think we're almost mid-week again, weekend is approaching, Daddy is home in THREE sleeps and all will be wonderful in the world again. How's that for optimism? I've been trying to run my 10K 2-3 times a week so had a great week last week & got in a good run this morning. Wasn't too sure if I was going to run this morning... had the "I don't waaaannnna ruuuun...." whine going on today. But, after my first set I was feelin' good. Love that.
It's almost time for me (OK, honestly, I'm behind!) to get going on my Christmas cards. Need to make my list & figure out how many I need. Don't think I'm going to do as many this year... we'll see. I always say that & then I'm doing my stacks again. HOWEVER - I will NOT use THICK ribbon. Sheesh. Last year I remember all my cards were too thick so I had to pay $1 each -- OUCH! So keep that in mind if you mail out a lot of holiday cards.
Here's another PennyBlack card to show you :) I'm getting my birthday card box for kids LOADED UP so I'm not scrambling. I used the corner rounder punch on this card. I don't often pull that one out, but thought I'd give it a try :)

Have a happy day. I think we might even get sunshine today :)
.j.

The ending of a long weekend....

Final few hours of the long weekend, and quite frankly I'm exhausted. Single-parenthood is one of the most difficult things I tell ya. But we're on the downhill slope of the countdown to Daddy being home -- only four more sleeps!!! We've had really stormy weather, so I'm really hoping our power stays strong. My Mom & her hubby JUST got back from Mexico (loved hearing her stories of sunshine & beaches!!) I thought I'd make them a welcome home card :) Love this stamp -- too cute!

Enjoy your week!
.j.

Sunday mornings. Kids are watching morning TV (they aren't allowed on school days so the weekend is a treat for them!), I made some yummy muffins with my youngest (a child who doesn't like TV... strange! LOL) and soon we'll be getting ready for church. I'm in the nursery this morning, so hopefully there's babies in there so I can get my baby fix -- don't you just love babies?! (K, well not ENOUGH to have ANOTHER ONE! LOL) I thought I'd share with you a couple of cards from the e-swap I was involved in with Marie :) What fun.


I did some coloring the other night so I have a number of images that are looking to be placed on a card somehow *smiles*. My Mom & her hubby are in Mexico so I made them a welcome home card... love them cows. I'll try to share that one with you tomorrow (need to take a pic of it).
Enjoy your Sunday... hug your loved ones tight as we remember this special day, and all those that sacrificed their lives for our freedom.
.j.

Sunny Saturday

After a big sleepover here last night I'm needing a vacation! LOL. Five boys... YIKES. I'm used to my ONE boy and TWO girls. LOL. I seemed to handle things until everyone figured it was morning at 5AM! :S... gonna be a long day. Hence the reason they created coffee! LOL.
I made this card for my Mom's hubby. I thought it was soooo cute. Hopefully he's not offended with all them candles! nyuk, nyuk!


Hope you are all sleeping in (I'm SO very jealous if you are!) :)....
.j.