My brother's Card

I was able to get my brother's card finished yesterday :). I was happy with how it turned out (even lugged out the sewing machine). I thought "stitching" would be appropriate! LOL. We are so thankful he survived the accident with only scrapes & bruising. I just wanted him to know, although we're sad he lost his brand new truck, HE is our treasure & we're so thankful he's alive :)

Uncle Ben & Joshua enjoyin' some chill time on the beach!

Dilly-Dally Party

I found a little window of stamping time last night! :) I had started this card a couple of days ago & put it aside, so I pulled it out last night & finished it. It's using the new jumbo wheel "dilly-dally party". I think this is a great wheel. Opportunity for a little coloring (I used prismacolor pencils) and I think it would make great wrapping paper too! Very cute! I wheeled it out again so I could cut out one of the little cupcakes & use my stampin' dimensionals to make it pop. A little two-way glue pen & dazzling diamonds for a little *bling* :) I love my cuttlebug, so I tore the edges for a little texture & then ran it through the birthday folder i have. I then started another card for my brother (just colored in the image). He got into a vehicle accident last week (hit a deer) and we are so thankful he walked away from it. His BRAND new truck was totalled, but for some cuts & bruising he's OK. Praise GOD! So I thought I'd make him a card & mail it up to him. Maybe I can get it finished up & post it tomorrow. :)

Another quiet day here with the kids in school. The school is completely disorganized and they still don't know who will be in their class or who their teacher will be. Poor things, it's so hard on them. They make friends one day and the next they are with different kids :(. I'm actually checking out the private schools in town.... so tempted to pull them out. *sigh* This parenting thing is TOUGH! :)

-.j.

Smile!

I know this is a retired set, but it's a LOVED set around here :) It's great for birthdays of any gender & my kids love to play with this one too & all of Mr. Smiles hats! :) I made this card a long time ago, but I thought it was high time I share SOMETHING with you! LOL. Been packing & cleaning all day so stamping time is still hiding somewhere. Maybe tonight!

This is a bright card & makes me smile. I used polyshrink & my Retro Alphabet set to create the S-M-I-L-E along the bottom & attached using jumprings. My kids also LOVE polyshrink. Anytime they hear me "start-up" my heat tool they ask if I'm using that cool shrinking stuff! Always remember that your HOLE shrinks too, so make sure not to use that little 1/16" punch. Someone once told me to make a ruler out of polyshrink & then shrink it so I'd always know what size to cut things. Make sense?

Well, off to meet the kids for the bus stop. Sure hoping my little Sarah (gr.1) made it! She was pretty nervous about catching it, but when I offered to pick her up at school I got the nah-uh! :)

Hope you all enjoyed your first full day with the kids in school :)!
-.j.

First day of school.....

Megan, Grade 6 -- so beautiful inside & out!
(skipping grade 4 has sure made *elementary school* go by too quickly!)

Joshua, Grade 3 -- being his silly 'ol adorable self!

Sarah, Grade 1 -- who took the longest to pick out that *perfect* first day outfit!

FALL Frenzy.

OK... I think I will let the fruit flies lay to rest (at least for now). And let you know about Stampin' Up!'s special for SEPTEMBER!!! WOOOHOOO -- I love specials!


Fall Frenzy Promotion

September 1-September 30, 2007
Spend $40 in regular priced merchandise and qualify to purchase one of each of the eight promotional stamp sets at 30 percent off!

Item Page # Description Discounted Price
105355 26 Bitty Boos Too $17.47
109284 29 Haunting Halloween $18.17

110211 29 Halloween Hantee $18.17
107383 30 Thoroughly Thankful $22.37
109373 108 Autumn Fest $23.07
109421 91 Elementary Essentials $27.27
110366 17 Stem Silhouettes* $30.77
110388 17 A la Tige* $30.77

*Holiday Mini Collection 2007

FAILURE!

Complete & utter failure. NOT ONE FLY in that funnel contraption!

SEE HOW UGLY THESE GUYS ARE UP CLOSE!!! I think tonight.... I'll have to pull out my final trick:

1. CLEAN the ENTIRE kitchen (all dishes cleaned, all food put away or at least in a ziplock bag!)
2. OPEN my oven door & put a piece of fruit inside.
3. WALK away!
4. Go to bed.
5. In the morning, tip-toe to the oven, close the door & TURN IT ON for 10-15 minutes.
6. THOROUGHLY clean the oven.

*sigh*

Fruit Flies aren't intelligent are they?

OK... I obviously got overly excited to see my infestation of fruit flies IN A JAR when I was telling you all (or perhaps just one -- Hi Kelly!!) about the fruit fly remedy (rotten banana in jar). Well... still have some fruit flies I tried it again with no luck! How could it work SO WELL the first time & not at all the second time... Hmmmm.... those little creatures aren't THAT smart -- are they? After searching again, I found the following & have set the trap out tonight....
Make a funnel trap:
1. Make a cone out of the sheet of paper (like a funnel). Tape the outside of the cone so that it stays in place.
2. Check that the cone fits snugly into a glass or cup.
3. Cut off the tip of the cone so that you now have a funnel.
4. Pour a small amount of cider vinegar into the glass or cup. (Rum mixed with orange juice also works very well - additionally, a half teaspoon of baker's yeast in water can also suffice)
5. Insert the funnel into the glass or cup, but don't let the bottom of the funnel touch the liquid. Tape the funnel in two or three places from the outside so that there is no gap between the glass and the cone.
6. Place your newly created trap on a flat surface. The flies will be attracted by the smell of the fruity vinegar and fly into the cone. The flies will slip down the cone and will either land in the vinegar and drown or will be trapped and not able to get back out. If you leave the trap overnight, the trapped fruit flies will eventually fall into the vinegar and drown.
I know -- DROWN. Even my daughter is now OK with killing the fruit flies. I'll let you know tomorrow how the funnel test goes.

Now you can see why I have little time to stamp! I'm fighting a war in my own home! LOL. On the stamping end of things, I did cut out my new sets while I watched Cold Case :) Yeah.... I'll honestly get back to stamping as I'm sure SOME of you could care less about fruit flies! :p
-.j.