Card Swap Anyone?

Well, it's about time for all of us to start thinking up our Christmas cards, so I thought it'd also be a great time for a small holiday card swap. If you're interested in participating just send me a comment with your email address. I'll contact everyone for addresses and get a list together to send out for our little card party. It's a great way to get new pen pals from all over the world and ideas for the upcoming holidays! Here's who's in so far:

• Ylita from California
• Mary from Kentucky
• Mary from Florida
• Lisa from Texas
• Debra from Australia
• Jayne from Michigan
• Penny from Michigan
• Melissa from New Jersey
• Maura from Ireland
• Julie from Illinois
• Flo from Florida
• Corie from Maryland
• Sandy from Washington
• Debbie from Tennessee
• Melissa from Washington
• Me (duh!)

Update

You all have been asking more and more about Miss Lilly Belle, so I just HAD to share this cute picture of her with you. She's nearly 100% potty trained now. Finally, she makes a bit of noise when she's sitting by the backdoor wanting to go out. She used to just sit there expecting me to eventually come, but I was rarely able to see her since it's in the other room and behind the kitchen table. She also has a newfound love for toilet paper. I just stick her in the tub and give her a square, and she's happy to make the confined mess. It also gives me a break for a minute or two. Thankfully she's still small enough that she can't reach the TP on her own or get out of the tub. It's like a little play pen! LOL! Brad also got her a squeaky toy before he left that she is in love with. He was really picky about not getting anything that made noise when we first took her home. I guess he changed his mind when he knew he wouldn't have to deal with it. :-)

Sketch 2

I'm so thankful to all of you who have been sending your prayers and well wishes to me. I just don't know what to say. It's amazing how many wonderful people I have as blogging buddies. We don't even know each other, but where still there for each other through whatever trials we might be having. I don't know what to say. THANK YOU! I'm so glad that I am beginning to come out of my funky phase. It's not a fun place to be. I miss Brad SOOOOO much, but I know time will only go by more slowly the more I just sit and sulk about it. I need to create! I'll just let him be my muse instead of the reason for the invention of Kleenex. That's a much better use for a man anyhow! I've got 15 months of cards to make, so I'd better not sit around too long. He'll have a mailing address in a couple of weeks, so I'll be sure to let you know when he and his battle buddies are ready for some fan mail. I've gotten lots of sweet comments on my last sketch challenge, so I thought I'd try my hand at another one. And...since I have so much stuff to clear out of my packed scrap room, I'm going to throw in a secret surprise to those who come up with the best creations based off of this sketch. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Here's Estivalia's design:

Check out this card from Heather:

And this one by Kathy:

And last, but not least Leslie Miller's card: ***Update for all the ladies who entered: Please email me your snail mail addresses, so I can get your goodies out to you!***

In a Funk

As you can tell, I've been in quite a funk since Brad deployed a few days ago. I haven't really created anything. I've been going into work earlier since I can't sleep, and I've been staying later too. That part I don't seem to control though. Perhaps it's more subconscious. I know I'll get back into a routine, but for now I just need to bum it out. I still don't have my scanner and printer and all the other gadgets hooked up to my computer, so I found this picture on my hard drive of a card I made a while back. It's funky kinda like my mood, so it's goes well with the post. I don't have the measurements for this project since the real thing is buried somewhere in all my moving boxes, but I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I do.

Deployment

This was the day I've been dreading for ages. I've been pretty good at holding back the tears and diverting my thoughts to other things as the days grew closer, but today there was no avoiding it. I had to watch him walk away, and there was nothing he or I could do about it. I suppose it was as quick and as painless as it could get. It wasn't long and drawn out or anything, but going back to his apartment before handing in the keys caused it to start sinking in. He's gone. There's no longer any sign that he was there only the screaming sound of nothing. His shoes are no longer by the front door, his toothbrush no longer by the sink, and even his car has left it's parking spot permanently. Now that I'm back at my own apartment I face the same common tortures. A bar of soap, an empty water glass, the indention on the new carpet where his duffel bag was. You know, just little things that never mattered before. I was done before I realized that I perfectly lined up every can of soda in my fridge the exact way he had it in his own with all the labels facing out. V8 then Dr. Pepper then Coke and finally Sprite with one Coke Zero in the front. It's perfect. I don't even drink those things, but I suppose I thought maybe if he needed them everything would be ready and in it's place. Now I just need him to be in his place..... right here.

Candy

Who wants some blog candy!? I do! It's Debbie's birthday today and she's giving presents away! Click the link below to check it out.

Happy Birthday Debbie!!!!

Lilly Update

I just HAD to share this cute picture of little Miss Lilly Belle with you all. It's amazing how much she's changed in just a few weeks! She already sits, asks to go out for potty time, fetches... ....and now she's got half of her body in the ribbon jar!!!

Stampin' Up! Regionals

You know I just HAVE to talk a little about regionals last weekend. I went with my bud Debbie and all of the other girls in our group. You know, uplines, downlines, sidelines... EVERYONE! It had its boring moments, but it also had some great moments too. The boring parts revolved around the prize drawing announcements in which I didn't win a single thing! I just say "Booooo!" to that. I didn't realize how big of a deal this was. There were tons and tons of demonstrators there. I really wish they had more get-to-know-each-other type of things. I really only interacted with the other girls sitting at my table. There were lots of display boards to get some yummy ideas from, but it was a struggle to get around some of those girls who just did not know how to share. Anyhow, here's a picture of me cutting my rubber right after we checked in.

September 11th

It's hard to believe that so many years have passed by since "the attacks". I was a senior in high school. I had never even thought that I would even consider being a Soldier someday. It's strange how one second in my life changed everything. At the time I had no idea what the World Trade Center was or that there were people out there that hated America so badly. I don't know that I could even tell you the difference between Iraq and Iran back then. I'm sure most of you were the same. In just a few short months after September 11th, I became and EMT, a firefighter, and then enlisted in the United States Army. It's still the best decision I have ever made. I can't imagine not wearing this uniform. I used to stand at the microphone and rattle off The Star Spangled Banner at all of our high school foot ball games and pep rallies, but now that song brings tears to my eyes every time. I vowed to serve the past four years of my life to military service, and that commitment is now coming to an end. However, I don't know that I could survive with my life void of service. Last week, on the anniversary that I started Basic Training, I again rose my right hand and recited the oath to reenlistment.

Finally!

I have internet! I don't have my desk yet, so I have my computer sitting up on stacked boxes. The only room that I think is completely moved in at this point is the bathroom. After all, it only needed a shower curtain and a roll of toilet paper and VOILA! I have had so many problems since I moved in though. The cable not working, the leak, the hole in the wall, the cabinet coming down.... just all sorts of crazy things. I also went to the Stampin' Up! Regionals in Louisville, Kentucky this past weekend with Debbie. Oh, and Brad is deploying in less than a week. It's just CRAZY! I just want a little order in my life right now. I guess we all do. Anyhow, I'm back online, so I'm ready to start blogging again!!!!

{yum}

The movers will be here in about twenty minutes to haul it all off to the new place. I'm starting to get nervous that all my furniture won't fit! I don't know where all this STUFF came from!? Anyhow, I don't have much time to blab on and on like usual, so let's get to the point:

Here's what I did:

I started with Whisper White card stock and used one of the new PaperTreyInk sets to design my own patterned paper. I then cut two strips of 3"x6" and adhered them around the can. I used my corner rounder to create the scalloped edge around the top and bottom. It's cut from Bazzill card stock. Next, I stamped out "{yum}" with Technique Tuesday stamps and trimmed them keeping a small white edge. I then attached these to the green Bazzill card stock and trimmed it along the brackets. The small blue flowers are from Doodlebug Design Inc., and most of the ribbon on the handle is from May Arts. Don't ask where the rest is from... I have no idea! After that, I attached the black and white gingham around the center of the can before pop-dotting the label to the front. It didn't feel complete to me at this point, so I took my black journaler and added tons of lines and dots to the title and to the patterned paper as well. All that's left to do is add the candy. And...that's it!

Lovely

Tomorrow is the big moving day! I'm excited, but I feel like I'm not really ready. My mom will arrive in the late afternoon to help me. She hasn't been here in over two years. That's pretty normal for us military folks. Usually I'm the one to go home to see everyone. I don't get to go home often though. It's really difficult for me to make the trip. There's a long process to go through to request days off. My schedule doesn't always coordinate with my family's. They just don't seem to understand that. The mission comes first. When I do get to go home, it's often a secret to a lot of the extended family. I just don't have enough time to visit everyone with in the few days that I get off. I just end up hurting people's feelings no matter what I do. I also get fed WAAAAAY to much. Everyone seems to think I need to eat an entire Thanksgiving dinner every couple of hours that I'm home. I do love food, but I don't want to turn into a rollie-pollie. The Army wouldn't like that too much! Anyhow, this is today's creation:

Here's what I did:

I started with a mason jar and took the inner lid out. The patterned paper is cut to two sections of 4"x6". I used the red line tape to adhere this. Next, I adhered a 0.5" pink and green strip around the entire jar. On top of that went some funky white trim from Making Memories. The circle cut out on the front of the jar was a compliment to the patterned paper. It isn't very substantial, so I adhered it to the inner lid before attaching the whole thing to the jar with red line tape and liquid glue. Finally, I added the light blue polka dot ribbon around the neck of the jar. And...that's it!

Halloween

I have been so inspired by all of the Halloween cards I'm seeing out there that I just had to make my own. A trip to the scrapbook store provided just the right amount of inspiration. I picked out this stamp set since the pumpkin could be used all throughout fall. I also just received the SU! version. You can't say "no" to SU! I really wish I knew how to make my camera pick up the sparkly sheen that this paper has. It's also double sided! LOVE IT!!!

Here's what I did:

My card base is an unknown shade of green Bazzill card stock cut to A2. I then used VersaMark to randomly stamp the bat images on the upper half of the background. I then adhered the black and white gingham ribbon to the orange eyeball paper (cut to 5.5"x2") and glued it to the card front. I then stamped the pumpkin image onto white card stock and trimmed it to fit inside my tag ring. I used the Making Memories tag maker stuff to do all of this. The large purple scallop was punched out of the same double sided patterned paper and is adhered with glue dots. The pumpkin tag is adhered with leftover rubber from my stamp trimmings. The black photo corner from American Crafts went next. It came with adhesive already ready for sticking. Finally, I used my black journaling pen to draw doodles until I was content. And...that's it!

Crate Training

I've had little Lilly for a little over a week now. She drives me crazy, but I love her so much. I've been trying to crate train her since I brought her home. There are so many puppy training guidelines to follow. One behaviorist says this and another says that. It's difficult to know what I'm doing right versus wrong. I want to be the best dog mom I can be. Anyone who has crate trained knows that it is very difficult emotionally. I put her in the little kennel when it's time for bed, but the first few days she cried and yelped endlessly. I felt like crying too. Today, I realized all that work paid off. She played around for an hour or so and eventually tired herself out. Then she drug her little feet into the crate all by herself and plopped down. Good girl! I'm so proud of my little baby. I just had to take a picture. P.S. I'd like to ask for your prayers for my dear friend Sheila who lost her faithful companion, Jake, this past weekend. He was a much loved dog.

Sunday Funnies

Since I've blamed the new puppy for most of my lack of neglecting my blog, I'll pick a new blame... I'm moving! It's not really far. Less than two miles away, but it's a bigger place and they are much more animal friendly. I have lived here in this apartment for almost three years now. I haven't had too many problems, but the service here isn't great, my neighbors are totally rude and loud, plus the road leading to my apartment has more than doubled in size since my move. It's become a main thorough road with tons of traffic and noise. I finally got a chance this weekend to stop by the scrapbook store as well. I'm loaded up on new goodies to create with. I only hope I can pump out enough to satisfy myself before I have to pack it all away again. Ooo! And before I forget... here's a short little Sunday Funny: A Scrapbooker's Eulogy: Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the lord my soul to keep but if I should die before I wake, please Lord, let them scrap my funeral great!

Sketch 1

I'm frustrated that I haven't stamped in so long now. It's only been a week or so, but it feels like forever since I've done anything. I feel like such a weenie. I mean, I only have a puppy. It's not like I had triplets or anything. I'm in love with my new baby, but she's such a handful. Now I'm starting to realize why people want their kids to grow up, but stay babies all at the same time. Like I said, I haven't created anything, but I've been madly sketching in my journal, and more recently on my computer. I really prefer pencil and paper, but I thought I'd try my hand at digital sketches today. I just can't get the "feel" for what I want digitally, but I still think it's fun. I'm really interested to see if anyone actually gets any creative ideas from this little ditty. Here's my first card sketch: And here's a cute interpretation by Heather:

And another one by Kathy:

And an adorable bunny card by Estivalia:

And the winner is...

Whew! I don't know how you mothers do this whole baby thing. This puppy needs me ALL the time. I can't catch a break. I have to be at work again at 0215 this morning, so I'm stealing a minute while she's asleep. I have to be sneaky like this now I suppose. Picking out a name for her was MUCH MUCH MUCH harder than I thought. There were so many good ones. I thought I'd just pick out a cute name, but in the past couple days her personality has really started to show itself. So... here's the name...

Lilly Belle

A few of you guessed variations of Lilly and Belle, but Sheila R put the two together for me, so congratulations to Sheila!!! Be sure to stick around for more updates on my new little girl and hopefully some scrapin' and stampin' here and there!

Sunday Funnies

Here are some interesting definitions: Crop: 1.a. Cultivated agricultural plants as grain, vegetables, or fruit. b. the total yield of agricultural produce in a given season or place. 2. A group, quantity or supply appearing at one time (a crop of presidential candidates) 3. A short haircut 4. An earmark on an animal 5.a. A short whip with a loop serving as a lash, used in horseback riding b. The stock of a whip 6.a. A pouch-like enlargement of a birds' esophagus in which food is stored or partially digested. b. A similar organ in earthworms insects, and other intervertebrates. 1.v. To cut off stems or top of a plant 2. To cut very short 3. To clip 4. To reap, harvest 5. To cause to grow or yield a crop or crops 6. To plant or to grow. To Crop: 1. To cultivate an abundance of photos in such a way that it appears aesthetically pleasing to other croppers. 2.a. A recent addiction, in which the addict convinces their spouse that it is a necessity of life, which without it all domicile harmony will be jeopardized. 2b . a subconscious way by spouses to finally acquire more tools than their spouses. 3. A ploy by those companies whose sticker stands, formerly located at the end of card aisles, to sell more stickers and turn a small enterprise into a major section at department stores (i.e. Michaels) 4. An additional ploy by magazine owners to produce yet another line of magazines for another subculture. 5. Spousal stress reliever (as in "Honey, I'm going to crop") this in turn relieves stress in the spouse knowing the loved one will be occupied for at least 5-6 hours (min). P.S. Here's a little inspiration for you last minute voters:

Operation: Thank the Troops

It's about that time again for the Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division to jump back into the sandbox. That means it's also time for Operation: Thank the Troops. Let me tell you a little bit about this program. It works just like most of the typical groups that send cards over, but this group is actually run by Soldiers unlike other organizations. We know where our comrades are and where help is needed. We also don't focus on one particular unit like other organizations do. We provide to ALL TROOPS, not just the ones we have personal connections with. The second part of this organization is to provide non-profit classes and crops for the spouses, children, and Soldiers that are left behind during a deployment. Can you imagine missing over a year of your family's life back home?! Our mission isn't just to let our Battle Buddies know that we're still here supporting them, but to record and scrapbook the memories back home that they would otherwise miss. We would love to put your no longer used scrapbook supplies to good use. Here is our address:

Operation: Thank the Troops

P.O. Box 323

Fort Campbell, KY 42223

Nice Matters Award

It makes me laugh to see all the blog awards that are out there lately. People have their blogs filled top to bottom with the silliest awards. There's worst blog, best blog, weird blog, stupid blog, crafty blog, gross blog, fun blog, pretty blog.... The list goes on and on. Some awards are just nice and sweet while others seem more than a bit narcissistic. Anyhow, the award that got me started on this ramble is the "Nice Matters Award". To me this award is one of the good ones out there. Since we can't pass real hugs around, how about this little ditty instead. I invite everyone to send this award to someone that's been especially nice to you in your blogging adventures. This one was given to me by Risa who is of course such a nice person as well. And the Nice Matters Award goes to....

• Debbie (DUH!)
• Marie
• Leslie
• Mary
• Melanie
• Wanda
• Estivalia
• Aime
• Sarah

Checkbook Cover

Tomorrow is another early day. It's foot march day, so that means I'll be at work before 0400. At least the weather has cooled off a bit. It has been absolutely miserable these past few weeks. I can't wait until the crisp fall air starts to blow in. The corn field out my window has finally turned into a golden husk, so it's about ready for plowing. I'm a farm girl from Texas if I haven't mentioned it before. The country is where I feel most at home. I really want to start making some Thanksgiving and Halloween cards soon. I don't have any Halloween stamp sets though, so I might have to pick some up soon. Today's little project is a checkbook cover. It was inspired by these fun brads I acquired over a year ago for sure. I hope you like it.

Here's what I did:

I started by cutting the K&Co background paper to fit in my checkbook cover(6.25"x6.75"). Next, I adhered the 1" striped piece and American Crafts ribbon after first running them through my Xyron. I pushed the K&Co brads through the Prima flowers first before attaching them with thick glue dots. And...that's it!

G.I. Goody

Okay, instead of doing the normal Sunday Funnies today, I've decided to offer up some more G.I. Goodies! There's a new Yorkie puppy on the way, so I need help picking out a name for her. Here's what the winner gets:

• 10 yards of ribbon
• Prima flowers
• Bazzill flowers
• Foofala buttons
• Rub-ons
• "Honk if you Scrapbook!" sign
• ...and more!!!

The rules of this contest are easy:

1. Puppy name suggestions must be made by leaving a comment to this post.
2. You may suggest as many names as you'd like.
3. You have one week to nominate.

I will pick my favorite name and announce the winner on my blog next week. Be creative!

Poppy Ink

OK, this post is purely a rant about Poppy Ink. They are supposed to have THE best kits available, but so far.... I am NOT HAPPY! First of all, it took FOREVER for my first kit to arrive. I was SO excited for it to come, but my paper was torn and wrinkled!!!! You do know that famous saying, don't you?! "Hell hath no fury like a scrapbooker whose paper is messed up!" That's a real saying! I'm totally serious. Anyhow, my rub-ons were partially rubbed off already, AND my buttons were missing! I figured this was a simple little mistake, so I called and emailed the company. They were on vacation! Grrr... Eventually I did get a reply email asking me to send PROOF of my damages! I have never heard of such a thing. I guess I could have understood a bit if I had gotten an apology and a polite request, but they were downright RUDE about it. At the time I didn't have a digital camera, so I had to scan in my damaged goods the best that I knew how. Again, I waited for a response. This time I was even more angry. Do you know what they said?! "(We) can refund you half the amount because of the damage(...) Also the rub-ons are a manufacturing issue and if you contact the manufacturer they will send you out a replacement." What!? I don't get reimbursed for the whole page? Wait! There's more! The rub-ons were not their fault so it was MY responsibility to contact the manufacturer! What crappy customer service. They also said they would send me buttons, but a week later... no buttons. Of course! I contacted them again, but alas that kit was no longer available, so I ended up having to just deal with it. Are you kidding me? Since then, none of my kits have been stellar and none of my kits have arrived even close to when I was told they would. I have spent a lot of money on these kits, but I haven't gotten the product I was promised. It seems like that company is always on vacation and always sluffing the blame of their product mistakes. I give Poppy Ink two big fat thumbs down and one kiss my butt! (Too bad I already paid for six months of subscriptions...)

Fun Fold Album

It is SO hot outside! Today it even reached over 100 degrees out, and we're not even close to hitting the highs for the year. I've really been thinking about how nice a fall breeze would be these past couple of days, so I thought this next project was quite appropriate. I just live for those few precious days in the fall and spring that are absolutely perfect. You know, those days when you can open all the windows in the house, drive around town with the windows down, and take naps in the sun. Those are my favorite kinds of days. I really wish we had more of them in the year to enjoy. This project is a 6"x6" expanding album. I've been making them for a while now, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to have folded paper this way, so I'm not claiming any genius on this origami invention. I call it the "Fun Fold Album". The inside of my book is not ready for show, so you'll only be able to see the cover for now. It's made from left over cardboard (chipboard) pieces that were used to stabilize the 12"x12" paper packs. Here's what I did: I started with two 6"x6" pieces of thin chipboard and covered them using a combination of red line and liquid adhesive. I like to trim my paper to at least an inch larger than my finished product, so this piece was trimmed to 7"x7". I martyred the corners to relieve some of the bulk. I then took two 3"x7" pieces of complimentary paper and tore both long sides of each piece followed by distressing in a brown ink. On these pieces, I only adhered the short ends to my book covers. Sometimes I end up sliding an embellishment or other doo-dad behind this piece, so I always leave it open just in case. The next step was to attach the wide grosgrain gold ribbon. It is cut to one yard in length in order to have enough excess for a bow. I only adhered it to the front cover, so that my book will still open. (If you attach the ribbon to the back cover, this book will not open.) At this point, you can decorate you book however you wish, but in this case, I attached two Prima flowers with a chipboard button and fiber on the left. On the right, I attached a mini clip and a tag with my title. I figured this could easily be replaced with a photo if I wanted later down the road. The title is made of stickers. I attached excess rubber from my stamp trimmings then used baby powder on the remaining portion of the exposed sticker back to relieve the stickiness. I then used a strong liquid glue to attach the rubber to the card stock tag. I ended up inking nearly everything in this project for a consistent theme. And...that's it!

Sunday Funnies

SALE

Stampin' Up! is having a promotional sale, and so am I! This one is actually pretty cute. For this month only, if you purchase the Three for You Punch Box at $49.95, you will receive an exclusive set of textured Love Notes for FREE! There's more...you'll also get matching ribbon and card stock for FREE as my personal added bonus!

Here's the whole kit-n-caboodle:

• Trio Flower punch
• 9-piece die-cut stamp set
• Basic Black Classic Stampin' Spot
• Purely Pomegranate Stampin' Spot
• Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Spot
• Keepsake tin
• 10 Wild Wasabi pre-scored textured 3″ x 3″ cards
• 10 Purely Pomegranate pre-scored textured 3″ x 3″ cards
• 10 So Saffron pre-scored textured 3″ x 3″ cards
• 30 Very Vanilla envelopes
• 6"x6" Very Vanilla card stock
• 6"x6" So Saffron card stock
• 1 yard Wild Wasabi Double-Stitched Ribbon
• 1 yard Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched Ribbon

That's a lot of stuff! This set includes everything you'll need to make 30 completed Love Notes and more. This offer is only available until August 31st, so hurry while it's still here...

Reason to Smile

Today I finally got off early! I'm only doing a mild victory dance for this though. I have to be back at work at 0200. Usually the foot marches start around 0330, but since too many people are overheating, they've moved it up a bit more. I guess my situation is getting worse before it gets better. It will get better, right? I sure hope so. I have been able to do a lot of sketching lately. I'll have to share some of it with you soon. I'm a big time sketch girl. Most of my projects start out this way. I get random ideas in my head in the weirdest places, so I have a sketch journal at work, home, and in my purse for all the places in between. This card was inspired by some fun ribbon I found while cleaning my Arts & Craps Room. It ended up near true to the original drawing. I started it last night around 2300. I couldn't take it anymore. I just HAD to get some sort of crafting out of me. I can't imagine how bad of a crafty itch I would have gotten if I had done this 15-month deployment. My care packages would have to consist of patterned paper and ribbon. Forget the treats and snacks! LOL!

Here's what I did:

I used all Stampin' Up! card stock for this card. It started with Cool Caribbean as the A2 base, and was matted with Brilliant Blue and a Cuttlebug embossed layer of Old Olive. The square Cool Caribbean piece is cut to 3.25"x3.25". The 1.25"x4.25" piece of Brilliant Blue is also embossed with the Cuttlebug. I wrapped a funky piece of ribbon around this piece before adhering it. The white scalloped square was made with my Marvy punch and is matted on a 2.25"x2.25" piece of Pumpkin Pie. The sentiment is stamped in Brilliant Blue and is from the retired SU! hostess set, Reason to Smile. The blue frame stamp is from Paper Trey Ink. I then mounted after stamping the images, I mounted the joined pieces using left over rubber from my stamp sets. The three small orange brads are from Bazzill. And...that's it!

P.S. Check it out: I finally made it on the list for the Scrapbooking Top 50. (I'm number 1000! LOL!)

Sunday Funnies

Finally, I have another post. It's nothing creative today. I am SOOOOOO worn out with work. Yesterday I went in at 0300 to help with the foot march. I work in one of those jobs that's like Groundhog Day. I do the same thing over and over and over.... again, so I don't know what's keeping there so much lately. It's driving me crazy. I seem to get nothing done in my personal life. Even my bills are stacking up. I need to make a doctor and dentist appointment, get my car tuned, get a new eye exam for my contacts, make thank you notes and Christmas cards, mail my club cards, finish my spring cleaning, return some things to the store before the receipts expire, finish all my continuing education for my licenses and certifications, renew some prescriptions, and I haven't even had my hair cut or eyebrows waxed in almost a year. I don't even want to talk about needing to shave my legs. At this point I can either grate cheese or call a lawn service. Do you ever feel like this in your life? Does it ever go away, or does it just keep building until you crack? Midlife crisis isn't supposed to happen at 23! Come to think of it... my hair is falling out, I can't get enough chocolate, and I've been having insomnia... ahhhhh!!!!

Zero Day

Work has really been consuming my life lately. I hardly have time to even sit down when I get home before I start doing the sleepy head bobble thing. I love being a Soldier, but like any job, some days are longer than others. As most of you have figured out by now, I work at training unit. The course is a couple weeks long, and today was Zero Day. We don't usually start with Day One in the military. I don't know why. It's just the way we are. Anyhow, Zero Day starts at around 0415 in the morning in the summer months. It's just way too hot to start later with all the physical activity that goes on. They run around and get yelled at just like you see on movies and television. Can you say "push-ups"? The main events for Zero Day are the obstacle course followed by a two-mile timed run. It takes a few hours for the students to get through all of that. There are 200 hundred of them after all! At the end of the run they get to take a little break, but then it's off to the class room for their first block of instruction. This whole Zero Day process is designed to weed out the students that aren't physically and mentally ready. We find out quickly who needs to work on strength, endurance, and especially who's afraid of heights. It's nice to know those sorts of things before we whisk them away in a high-flying helicopter. LOL!

Sunday Funnies

Post Office

Alright all you G.I. Goody winners... I finally got all your packages together. I hope all of you enjoy your goodies. Be sure to send me pictures of what you make with your fun treats.

Sigh of Relief

I think this deployment situation is all figured out. My boss here at my unit got in contact with my old unit, and apparently they were trying to pull a fast one. I'm a medic, so I'm in big demand. They wanted me off their books to fill the slot with a new medic, but since they couldn't, they were trying to get me back again. "Too late!" That's what the big guys at the top said about the matter. This puts a great deal of ease in my mind now. I'm still unnerved about the whole thing though. I just won't be at ease until I see that plane fly away, and I'm waving goodbye.

Blogger Awards

I just want to give a big thanks to those of you who gave me this award. I was slammed with at least a dozen emails! You guys are THE BEST! I'm just going to go ahead and put a few links up here to girls that I dub as new ROCKIN' GIRL BLOGGERs as well.

http://studiobeecreations.blogspot.com/

http://malieta-lifessimplepleasures.blogspot.com/

http://leslierich.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

http://ucanstampit.blogspot.com/

http://papercraftingfun.blogspot.com/

I also received this cute little award anonymously, so THANK YOU to whomever you are!

The Big Scare

Let me give you a little bit of background information before I dump this story on you. I originally joined the Army Reserves back in 2003, but shortly after realized it is a much better idea to be on Active Duty. Reserve units don't have as much training, equipment, members, or money. I also figured if I was on a 6 year contract with the reserves I'd deploy more than if I was on a 3 year contract with the Regular Army. Plus, you get WAAAAY more benefits if you're Active Duty. Ok, so the first Active Duty unit I went to was here at Fort Campbell. I was assigned to an infantry brigade. I was only there for about six months before they started packing us up for deployment. Just a week before I was set to fly off to Iraq, I was asked to stay behind and teach some pre-deployment stuff for new Soldiers that were going to be constantly coming into the unit while they were in Iraq. So, for over a year I worked at a school while my home unit was in Iraq. Once they returned I was supposed to go back and rejoin my Battle Buddies, but I didn't. I then moved over to work at another training unit. I've now been working here for almost a year. About two months ago, my old infantry unit decided they didn't want me on their books anymore, so they asked the school to reassign me as their own. They did. Now, I belong to this third unit. Today, my old boss came over to the school and told me to get my things together because I am getting on a plane in a few weeks headed for Iraq! What a curve ball!!! The unit I'm in now isn't really a deployable unit right now, so I have nothing in order to get myself ready for 15 months away from home. I don't have equipment, or a weapon, or my pre-deployment training and briefings, or all my shots and doctor's visits, and not to mention my will isn't in order! Normally you at least get to go home and say goodbye to your family and give your landlord 30 days notice, but now I just have a few weeks to pack up my whole life!

Winter Mini

Winter Mini is HERE!!!! Ooo! I can't wait to play with all of these new stamp sets. I just don't know which one will be my Christmas card yet. It's always so hard to decide. I have to make something that I can re-create at least 50 times without getting sick of it. I've tried making two or three different versions to ease myself of the monotony, but then people want every version. I also have to figure out which stamp set I want. I LOVE them all, so this is the most difficult decision. Then there's the whole planning aspect. I have to figure out how much paper and ribbon and other embellishments I need to order. It makes me feel like I'm planning a military operation. This is a big deal! This new mini catalog has a ton of new stuff besides stamp sets. Wrapping paper!!! How fun is that? It also has some pretty new papers that I can't wait to play with. Oh, and embellishments are in there too: 15/16" satin ribbon, library clips, designer gift cards, elastic cord, and chip board! I don't know about you, but I miss the cord that recently retired. I think this will do as a fine alternate, plus it's stretchy! Be sure and let me know what your favorite new thing is in this mini and what you're planning to do with it. I'll be posting a sketch for my Christmas cards soon.

Sunday Funnies

And the Winner Is...

It's time to announce the winner of the Lucky Day G.I. Goodies! I promised you I would have a second drawing, but... since seven is my favorite number we now have SEVEN WINNERS!!! I've added additional mini-G.I. Goodies for the additional winners they're sure to love. Here's the list chosen by random.org:

1. Sue who said... Hi Laura :)I found your blog after you left a comment on mine *thanks*I love your work especially "PSH" how funky is that :)Have your blog saved to my faves now ;)Stay safe chickadee :)
2. Denise who said... 10-4 sistah! TFS, great blog candy!
3. CAKVD said... Ok, that "scrapbooker on board" sign is awesome! Fabulous candy. I hope you had a very lucky day!Cheryl KVD
4. Tami who said... That is an awesome batch of goodies. Thanks so much for the chance- off to check out your blog!
5. wheeler who said... Hey Laura, miss scrappin with you!!! Didn't know you were a SU Demonstrator, WOW! Love your blog. Was nice to see your face again and to catch up. Hope to see you soon and get some scrapping done...ha ha ha....Donna Martin.
6. Angel W who said... Great and "yummy" looking candy....so sweet of you to share your treats with us. StAmPin sMilEs~Angel
7. And the GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Linda SS said... Great blog...your post regarding the 4th of July parade really touched me. (and also made me sad) THANK YOU for offering blog candy, and more importantly for protecting us through your service. Hugs to you & a STANDING ovation.

Lucky Ladies: Congratulations, and don't forget to send your snail mail address.

DOLLs

The scrapping, stamping, and gabbing group that I'm in is appropriately named "The DOLLs". That stands for Dirty Ol' Laughing Ladies. We figured that explained it all when it came to our posse. We have so much fun. This month we decided to send eachother cards as a sort of card swap. I embarrasingly admit that my cards are not yet in the mail. I do have a week left to get them to the girls though, so I'm still hanging on to that hope. I'm just so behind in everything these days. Here is the card I recieved from Marceline today:

Tagged

Ok, so two people tagged me: Malieta & Faith. This is my first tag, so I'm a bit excited. I hope I do this right... Here are seven random things about me:

1. My favorite color is RED.
2. I have more scrapping totes that I can fit supplies into.
3. My BF is BRAD (sigh).
4. I am a TEXAN!!!
5. I am 23 years old.
6. I can bake, but I can't cook.
7. Ooo! I like seven. It's my favorite number.

Here are the 7 bloggers I am tagging: (ok this is difficult, I only have about a million favorites!)

1. First has to be my BFF, DEBBIE! She just set up her blog, so let's give her some encouragement on getting started.
2. The next one is Estivalia. She lives waaaaay down in Chile!
3. Wanda gets my next shout-out simply because she's a big sweetheart.
4. I can't forget my blogging birth twin: Melanie.
5. Marie is a about to be a new mommy again. I can't wait to see pictures of the new baby.
6. Kendra gets my vote for the most fun cards.
7. And finally the blog I MUST visit daily: Leslie.

Alrighty, now I've got to go post comments to all these fabulous ladies to let them know: "Tag! You're It!"

Sunset

Well, I just can't get a good photo. I'm a natural light enthusiast, and I just keep missing it this week. Work is really getting to me. I really cannot wait for the weekend to roll around. I'm getting desperate. There was one good thing about today though. Mr. Brown showed up with my new stamp sets! I just love all my new goodies. Hopefully I'll be able to share a little project everyday with my new toys. Today's project was inspired by the Simply Sent Sending Happy Thoughts kit. Not only are the cards beautiful, but you get lots of fun treats with it. Glitter!!! Who doesn't love that? I really wish SU! would have depicted the contents of each kit better. They are way more fun than the picture lets on. I'll be sure to do much more with this set in the near future. Here's what I did: I started with an A2 card in Pumpkin Pie. I then used my corner rounder on a .5" strip of Real Red to create the scallops. I ran the 2" strip of Old Olive through my Cuttlebug to get the embossed cirlces. I then tied some orange gingham ribbon around the Old Olive cardstock before adhering. The dotted frame image is stamped in Old Olive on a 1.5" square piece of Very Vanilla and is matted on Real Red. The flower image is stamped in Real Red with leaves stamped in Old Olive. The flower with leaves are adhered with pop glue dots as well as the matted frame. I then took a paper piercer and poked holes along the upper border of the Old Olive cardstock and along the border of the Real Red scalloped edge. And...that's it!

Simple & Sweet

Do you ever feel like the day just rolls by too fast? I do! I barely caught notice that the sun was going down a few minutes ago. I like to take my pictures outside, so I had to think of a quick card to throw together. This card was very quick and easy to make. It also only used scraps of patterned paper that I found lying on the floor of my scrappy space. You can't say I don't recycle now. I love these flowers since they come shaded from the center which is often a little bit of a messy hassle to achieve if you're doing it yourself. I also love that don't need a brad or button to finish them off.

Here's what I did:

The card base is textured paper from Bazzill and is cut to A2. The patterned paper is all from BasicGrey. The blue polka dot strips are cut to .25" wide and the floral strip is 1" wide. I then used my black journaling pen to add faux stitching. The three white flowers and leaves are Prima and are adhered with glue dots. And...that's it!

Post Office Surprise

Well, it was back to work again today. Nothing much really happened. In fact, the day was quite boring until I checked my post office box during my lunch break. Look what I got from my friend Sheila:

Sunday Funnies

Ok, I'm back to good ol' Fort Campbell. And in turn that means I'm also near all of my beloved crafty things. I think I missed them as much as my family! Any-who, here's the Sunday Funny for today. I hope you get a giggle!

Top 10 Signs of a Scrapbook Addict

1. You're the only one at a social gathering yelling, "Just one more photo, folks; I don't have enough for a two-page spread!"
2. A regular sandwich is no longer acceptable--it must be cropped or cut with decorative edges.
3. You try to claim your album purchases as a medical expense because it's such good "therapy".
4. You buy a new pink swimsuit because it matches the pink photo mounting paper.
5. Your child is the only one in agriculture class who thinks "crop" is to "cut your photos."
6. You decide to give your child piano lessons so you'll be able to use the musical instrument stickers that are in the Big Pack.
7. You redecorate your family room to coordinate with your photo album covers. -Your three year old wants to know if her coloring book is "archival quality".
8. You're in a fender bender and your first thought is, "I wonder what die-cut shape will coordinate with this event?"
9. Scraps from your corner rounder cuttings can be found in unusual places: school lunch bags, briefcases, the laundry, the dog's water bowl.
10. Of course a scrapbook addict doesn't follow a 12-step program but a 12 x 12 step one.

Lucky Day

Well, today is the luckiest day of the year: 7-7-07! So... that means it's your lucky day too! It's about time to issue out a few crafty rations, so here's what up for the first G.I. Goody: -June edition of Cards -"Scrapbooker on Board!" sign -Making Memories alpha chipboard -25 yards of ribbon -Tons of Bazzill flowers -Three giant Prima flowers -One package of white MM rub-ons -One package of black MM rub-ons -A handful of clear buttons ***Also, if I hit 2000 hits by the time of the drawing, I'll have a second drawing for another G.I. Goody!!! Leave a comment on this post to put your name in for the drawing, and be sure to check back in 7 lucky days to see who the winner is. Don't forget to click here cast your vote for Blogger's Choice Awards as well. Over and out!

Belated Birthday

Since I didn't get to come home in May for my real birthday, my family had a little party this evening. My mom made my favorite hummingbird cupcakes and everything. There are only two left, and I plan on poking my finger in each to detract any cupcake snatchers that might come in the night. I'm still away from my crafty things back at Fort Campbell, so I don't have any new projects to share with you. I did manage to get a Cuttlebug out of the whole belated birthday deal though. Yeah!!! I can't wait to get started. My flight doesn't leave until Sunday, so it's going to be a couple more days before I can fed my creative addiction again. I can divulge, however, that I prepared some crafty rations ready to be issued out in honor of my 25th post and the luckiest day of the year. So, be sure to check back tomorrow for my first giveaway!

Buttons

I'm on "vacation" back in Texas through the weekend. It's on of the three occasions I actually get to come home and see my family for. The other two being Christmas and Thanksgiving. This morning my mom and I headed into Austin to give Archiver's a visit. Right when we were about to turn into the parking lot the guy behind me slammed into me. Not two seconds before I made a comment about how when I put my brakes on I tend to keep my eye on the rear view mirror for the person behind me more than the person in front. I guess I jinxed us. Anyhow, the guy didn't have his driver's license or his insurance card. The cops gave us information cards to exchange, but when we called his cell later it didn't accept incoming calls. His insurance company also said he hadn't paid since March, and his policy was dropped! How about that?! Anyhow, I'm not near all of my wonderful things, so I whipped this creation out so I'd at least have a post for the day.

Here's what I did:

I always start my cards and designs with a sketch. I'm just one of those doodling people. However, my projects rarely turn out exactly like my sketches. This card is no exception. It came out much more bland than I had intended. All of the paper used on this card is from Chatterbox. I love that they have tons of different patterns that all coordinate together. The pale blue piece was the first to go down on my card front. It's cut to 2.75"x5.25". The horizontal striped piece was adhered next and is cut to 1.25"x5.25". The other striped piece is cut to .75"x5.25". I tied and attached the twill to this piece before I attached it to the card front. Finally, the buttons are attached with glue dots and are from American Crafts. And...that's it!

Lunch Box

First of all, I want to thank all of you who left me such wonderful messages and comments on my last post. I wish I could express what your words mean to me. I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!!! Now, back to crafts... This is one of those projects that I started ages ago. I always thought it would end up having a name or other title of some sort along the wave line, but it just never came to me until today. I was cleaning out my craft room and while organizing all my flowers this one some how got out of the mix. This lunchbox has been sitting in my room without a face since October at least, but now "it's alive!" Here's what I did: I took one of my white Provo Craft lunchboxes and covered it in two separate pieces of the blue Chatterbox paper first. The seems are on either side of the box. To get the notch in the front for the latch, I used a circle punch. To adhere I used red line tape around the borders of each piece and a foam brush with a light layer of Mod Podge to fill in the rest. The red line will help hold it all in place while the Mod Podge dries. I also used a brayer to smooth out any bumps or air pockets. I then took two .25" strips of the striped paper and ran it through my Xyron before wrapping it around the top of the lunchbox. I did the same on the bottom but with the pieces cut to .5" wide. The wave piece was also cut out of two matching pieces of card stock. I first drew my design lightly in pencil before using an craft knife to cut out the design. I again kept the seems on the sides of the box and used a combination of red line and Mod Podge. The white circle trim is from Making Memories and is adhered using the Xyron. The blue ribbon is from Stampin' Up! and is knotted through a Making Memories ribbon slider. The white flowers are from Prima, and the two leaves are from an old bouquet. They are all adhered with a combo of glue dots and liquid adhesive. And...that's it!

This Soldier's Request

As you all know, tomorrow is a big holiday. As I'm sure you would have guessed it's especially important to me and my brothers and sisters in uniform. Here at Fort Campbell we are preparing for yet another deployment. Many mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, daughters, sons, and friends will have to say farewell to the ones they love. This deployment marks the first 15 month deployment this unit faces. Can you imagine not seeing the face of your child for over a year? It's heart wrenching. We don't become Soldiers to be your heroes. We become Soldiers to protect people we love and people we don't even know. It's a duty we are all proud of. It's not always fun, and yes, we complain. Haven't you ever complained about your job? It's never easy, but it must be done. The first time I marched in a parade was on the 4th of July. I was so excited and honored to be bearing our flag. As I marched down the streets I became more and more disheartened as I saw not one person stand up from sitting on the curb or a lawn chair as the flag waved by. Even as a child I knew this was an occasion to stand. Why didn't these children stand? And why didn't the adults? By the end of the march the only person who got up on their feet when I walked by with our nations colors was an old man in an electric chair. I was ashamed at the lack of respect from my own home town. The only person who even bothered to rise to their feet was a man who couldn't even walk. If this Soldier asks anything in return for the years I've committed to serving you it is to ask you and your children to stand up when you hear our National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, and when our nation's Colors go by.

Eye of the Beholder

The idea for this book came from the idea gallery of one of my favorite scrapbook stores. Unfortunately they no longer sell online and the nearest one is about four hours away. I love taking classes for scrapbook pages, altered art, and yes, even cards. There's nothing more fun than to sit around the crop room while gabbing, snacking, and making a fun project. Since there aren't too many inspirational or unique options here locally, I often have to settle for doing my own class kits here in my "Arts & Craps Room". Here's what I did: The small composition book is from EK Success. It's 4"x6". You can adjust this design to fit any size book though. The papers are all from Autumn Leaves and Fancy Pants. For projects that I know will get handled quite a bit, like this one, I like to use red line tape since it's extra strong and sticky. The first piece I attached was the striped piece that covers the spine of the book. It's cut to 2"x6". The two pieces of hot pink ribbon went on next. I used left over rub-ons from my stash to make the border and quote before adhering. The "O" in the word "beholder" was missing, so I just replaced it with a heart rub on from another border. This piece of blue and green paper is cut to 1.25"x6". The front piece of hot pink paper is cut to 2.5"x6", and I used my corner rounder to create the scallop. The back piece of hot pink is cut to 3.5"x6". The metal tag is from Making Memories and has a scrap piece of white patterned paper in it. The flower is a stamp from Hampton Arts and is stamped on a piece of acetate with StazOn ink. I punched holes through the flower and tag and tied the green ribbon through both before attaching them with glue dots. The three buttons are from my personal collection and are also adhered with glue dots. And...that's it!

Sunday Funnies