Ujjwal's Card

Have you seen this card by Ujjwal yet??? She did a scraplift of the Thinking of You Card from earlier this month. Her version so very yummy. The twine, stitching, and wooden heart are so shabby chic! I can't help but love it! See a picture of her card below, but don't forget to stop by her blog and leave some sweet comments too. She deserves it!

The deadline for the any other entries for the scraplifter of the month is this weekend, so be sure to send me your links. You know I love to share scraplifts!!! :-)

Good Morning!

Music Monday

I think I'd like to start a series called Music Monday. I'm really into finding songs that express how I feel or songs that just make me feel good. Music was such a huge part of my life growing up. I miss singing and performing so much. It's one of my few happy places. I need to find it again. Anyway, please feel free to suggest songs that make you feel good too. I don't think we can have too many, right?!

I love this little man too...

I just downloaded pictures from my camera. I had to reset the whole program for some reason yesterday. It was just another thing that was driving me nuts lately. Anyway, I think we had just come home from the grocery store here. He was sleepy and cranky, but I realized he had never seen grass. I sat him down and he ran his fingers through it over and over. Then he just looked at me with this worn out little face. Muah!

An Anthem for Tough Times

I can't stop singing this song at the top of my lungs.

I know we all have struggles and pains, big and small.

 I am not alone.

We're in this life together.

I will be okay.

I love this man...

Sweet Little Treat

I've been surfing blogs like I usually do, and I ran across this sweet little treat at the Create blog...

Didn't Hannah make an absolutely adorable scraplifted creation? Please leave her some love, and tell her I said, "Hi!" You know I LOVE scraplifts!!! :-)

Contest

Check THIS out! There's a contest going on over at the GCD Studios blog in partnership with Fiskars and Brave Girl Camp hosted by Melody Ross. The prizes are way outta control, and here's a little inside info... there are 27 prizes, but as of now there aren't even half that many entries. We can't let a free trip go to waste!!! I want one of my readers to win this thing baaaaaaaaad!

New Look

Do you like the new spring look of my blog?

Yep, I even changed the title. I'm starting to let go of the "Stampin' Soldier" persona. I won't be a Soldier in a few more months, and I really don't stamp very often. I think stamping was one of those obsessive phases for me. I'm sure it will come back to my craft here and there, but it doesn't define me. I'm at a point in my life where I'm trying to rediscover, redefine, and rejuvenate myself. Have you ever felt that way???

What "re-" word would you use to describe yourself or your life right now?

Here are a few more I like...

reorganize
revive
refresh
recreate
reform
release
realign
refocus
rebirth
rebuild
recoup
refresh
redefine

My Favorite Thing...

Back to School

In the publishing world it's that time of year again...

SUPPLIES: Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned Paper: Studio Calico (apples & handwriting) & My Mind's Eye (green geo); Alpha Stickers: October Afternoon ("back"), American Crafts ("2"), Sassafras ("school"); Ink: Colorbox; Chipboard: Maya Road; Ribbon: Papertrey Ink; Brad: Sassafras; Floss: Karen Foster; Border Punch: Martha Stewart Crafts

Quick!

Go HERE to win some fabulous giveaways, and maybe you'll see this girl...

Yep, that's me! I'm so excited to be on the GCD Studios Design Team. I can't wait to get started!!!

Here's a little card I forgot to share with you last week. I'm still waiting on a couple addresses from the winners, but I've already started packing those TWENTY SEVEN little boxes. I also have a BIG announcement that I hope to be able to reveal tomorrow, so be sure to come back around. I know I'm sure pumped up about it. It hasn't been easy to keep this little secret...

Seven Months

At seven months he...

...is a bit wobbly when he sits up.

...gets his knees under him, but falls on his face when he pushes forward.

...eats three times a day with bottles just at nap times.

...might seriously need a haircut before Daddy gets home.

...wears 6-9 month clothes.

...cries when you take away something he's interested in.

...still doesn't tilt the sippy cup back when he's drinking out of it.

...sat through my entire CPR class yesterday, and even seemed fascinated by the whole thing.

...has blanched gums, but no teeth.

...twirls his wrist around when he's holding anything that makes a noise.

...loves lemons.

...reaches his arms out when he wants to be picked up.

...laughs until he can't breathe when I tickle him under the chin.

Me? Moxie Fab???

Haha! I love how the "reject card" made it to the Moxie Fab blog. Life is full of irony...

Anyway, here's a card I really think has much more moxie and is way fab to boot!

Look for this card in the September 2011 issue of CARDS Magazine!

Oh, check out the thread on this card too. It changes color from yellow to orange and back again. I bought variegated threads in a few colors. I think it might be my new addiction!

And the 100 Google Readers Celebration candy goes to....

1. Teri
2. Ash
3. Deborah
4. Smita
5. Sharla
6. Valentina
7. Kate
8. Manis
9. Joanne
10. Bonnie
11. Jen
12. Khristen
13. Jennifer
14. Get Scrappy
15. Redlinda
16. Dee
17. Mrs. Bann
18. Danielle
19. Silvana
20. Lisa
21. Antoinette
22. Katf
23. Ujjwal
24. Tejal
25. Aimee

You know, when I made the guidelines for the blog candy last week asking you to tell me why you follow my blog I really didn't expect what I ended up recieving. Some of you really sent me through a gammot of emotions.  Here are some of my favorite exerpts:

Khristen made me laugh: "Well, let's see...I came here because you are a fellow DT over at XOXO, and I follow because I just love your work :) Congrats on getting hubby to follow you! I asked my hubs to check my blog out and he was like "um, but why? You show me all you make. I don't need to see it again." Pssssh. Whatev."

I reflected with Joanne: "Laura, I found you on an old friend's blog quite some time ago. You were in A...I followed you through the street markets with your friends, watched the four of you eat...was it ice cream?, and saw your 'room' all the while praying for you and your return safely to the US. Have cried for you, laughed with you, and watched Ethan grow into the wonderful little man that he can be at 6 months. the entire time have admired you and your cards...I even remember Vince making one in Afghanistan. And they say my memory is fading!!! I love to check my emails every morning to see if you have something posted. Seeing your fabulous cards is uplifting first thing in the am. So bright and full of wonder. Yes, girl you hooked me some time ago!!! "

And Get Scrappy brought back some emotions along with a few tears too: "I found your blog after reading a comment you left on a Becky Higgins blog post. I was caught by the pictures of your tour over seas. Hit close to home with my brother-in-law being there at the same time. It was interesting to think that he was seeing the same type of things. Then when I read the post on New Years on why you joined in the first place you brought tears to my eyes. It was the most selfless thing you could have done. You are an inspiration both in life and in creative express." (She's talking about THIS POST.)

So, as you can see EVERYONE who left a comment for the blog candy is a winner. Please send me your mailing addresses so I can get your yummies to you as soon as possible. Thank you so much for sharing your time with me. It means way more to me than you know!

And the scraplifter of the month is...

...Smita!

Smita's card is on the left. She did a great job representing the original card on the right. Isn't her card just perfect?  I love her layering, the mixing of patterned papers, and the faux stitching too. It's all just right.

 

And since I really loved the colors and patterns mixed on this next card... I decided to award an honorable mention to Julie! Her card is on the left. I love just how girly and happy it is. She really took the original, on the right, and transformed it into her own creation. Great job!

Please send me your addresses so I can send you some yummy goodies!

Okay, so another month starts now. If you'd like to play along for some fun treats just send me a link to a card you've scraplifted of mine. I'll post your creation here on my blog, and enter you in the running for next month. I can't wait to see what you make!

Didn't Make the Cut

After visiting Betsy's blog yesterday and then a few others, I get the feeling that the fad this weekend is to share publication failures from the last Papercrafts magazine call. So, here's a card of mine that didn't make the cut...

A Couple of Reminders & One Card

Reminders:

• You only have one day left to turn in any scraplifted projects for the Scraplifter of the Month blog candy.
• You have two days left for the 100 Blog Followers Celebration blog candy.

(Click on the links to be taken straight to the details for each.)

Card:

I'm trying really hard to make some more masculine cards lately. To me that nixes a couple of my signature things: flowers & bows. It's not proving to be very easy for me. It just looks so plain. I'm a froo-froo cardmaker, and that just doesn't translate well to "masculine" to me.

Edited to add: (Yes... Ironically, I do have a card published this month in the "Cards for Men" section of CARDS magazine. Go figure!)

Thinking of You Card

I've just been posting the pictures of my cards lately. I'm sure I'll have more to blog about when I'm done with exams this week. I've been exhausted more than usual. Would you be interested in seeing cutting instructions or products used or anything else of that nature, or are you just interested in seeing the picture plain and simple? :-)

100 Blog Followers

Hee! Hee! Did you see who my 100th Blog Follower is? My sweet hubs! :-) LOVE HIM!!!

I think this calls for another blog candy....

Here are the details:

Just leave a comment here on this post for a chance to win. Let's try to make it interesting for me to read rather than the typical "pick me!" comments. So... tell me how you originally came to my blog and why you've decided to stick around. Also, since this celebration is especially for Blog Followers you must be a follower to receive the candy this time around. Oh, and there will be several winners. Like I said a couple days ago, I have a HUGE stash to dish out. I'll pick the random winners on Monday.

P.S. I'm still having the blog candy for the scraplifter of the month this weekend as well. It's candy-palooza!

Blog-Spotted

Have you been over to CARDS Magazine's blog lately?

I've received honorable mention for their Blog-Spot segment this week. Yeah! The cards are all so great.

Keep a look out for a few of my other cards in the March issue of their magazine too. If you're a digital subscriber you can see it right now. It's filled with some super great stuff this month. I'm giddy every month waiting for the mailman to deliver my issue. I get all of the other magazines digitally too. LOL! Can you tell I'm seriously in-love with them? I bet you will be too... If you aren't already! 

Just Because Card & Blog Candy

I'm still playing with my February kit from Studio Calico. I know the March kit is about to ship, so I feel compelled to whip something up before I bury it in my files. I keep my kits in 12x12 hanging files in a filer in my Arts & Craps Room. I only do this with SC Kits for some reason. Everything else I buy gets sorted by color in the same drawer. All of my embellishments get sorted by color too. The new stuff stays in a special basket at my desk though. I want to keep that stuff close by. Whenever it's time to purge (often) I just go through and move the "keepers" into the color bins, and the items I don't plan on using go into my donate/sell/blog candy bin.  It's getting pretty full too, so it might be time for something to share soon... :-) If any of you have pictures of your organization I would love to see pictures of it. Maybe even post them here on my blog to share too. I'll take some pictures of my room this weekend for you all.

This weekend I'll also be posting up all the cards that readers have scraplifted too. It's a monthly occurrence, so don't worry if you're not ready this month. I'll do this the first weekend of every month. If you've scraplifted one of my cards just send me a link asap, because I'll be sharing them right here with everyone! You may even get some BLOG CANDY! :-) Yummmmmy!

Anyway, on to the card...

Sorry, the picture isn't too great. I normally take my pictures upstairs by the big window next to my computer desk, but this one was taken downstairs at the back of the house on a bed in Ethan's room. The sun sets back there, so it was the best I could do. I suppose I could have waited until another day, but I come and go in the dark it seems being in the military and all. It would have been next weekend by the time I was actually home to photograph in some decent light.

Hey Card

Here's a little lovely for you to maybe brighten up the day...

Project Life Update II

Here's a little update since my first Project Life entry...

 11Feb9: Mail Pile Vase

11Feb12: Where's the Snow Plow?

11Feb13: I love cupcakes

 11Feb15: Ron White's Salute to the Troops Taping at the Opry

11Feb18: View from the Front Door 

 11Feb20: Sappy Stick-Dropping Front Yard Trees

 11Feb21: Homemade Pizza

 

Feelin' the Love

Well, after a depressing weekend I've finally gotten a little pick-me-up! The first one is from Cassie over at Paper Issues blog. They featured one of my cards today. That's always exciting. Go on over and submit your creation too!






The second one is from the oh-so-sweet Monica who has given me a blog award over on her blog. She's quite talented, so go on over and leave her some love as well!

And since there might be some new visitors today, I'll share a special card I just made for my hubs, Vince. He's over in A-stan as some of you have figured out by now. Last time I was with him over there, so it wasn't as difficult, but now that we have little Ethan that just can't happen. I miss him madly!

Check this card out in the October 2011 issue of CARDS Magazine

SHeDAISY - Come Home Soon

I miss my Vince...

Another One

Six Months

(Can you believe it's been six months since he's arrived? Time has flown by!)

At six months he...

rolls left, right, back, forth, and somehow even directions I can't explain.

loves applesauce, pears, peaches, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, peas, but still not those icky bananas.

loves to splash in the bath tub.

still refuses to bend at the waist.

only wants to stand which wears out my arms.

slept through the night last night!

thinks Max & Lilly are hilarious.

gave Former President Bush a very slobbery handshake on Wednesday.

hates getting into the car seat.

feeds himself a bottle totally unassisted.

turns any piece of paper he can get his hands on into a giant spit ball.

says, "Ahhhhh..." when a spoon gets near his mouth.

still barely fits in 3-6 month clothing, but 6-9 is way too big.

is always drooling.

WZTV FOX 17

Recognize a little dude in this news clip from last night?

WZTV FOX 17 :: Newsroom - Top Stories - Soldiers Talk about Bush's Return to Fort Campbell

Make a Wish

A New Favorite Thing

Ever since Beverly started carrying these tags by We R Memory Keepers I have been able to whip out cards so easily. The last time I went I picked up one of every tag, and I keep them in a little bucket next to my workspace. They come with little eyelet holes for ribbon or giant brads, but it's way too easy to just snip them off if they don't work for you. They're my new favorite thing!

Check out this card in the July 2011 issue of CARDS Magazine

P.S. What do you think about the new way I used ribbon here? Too funky or just right?

CARDS Magazine January 2011

Okay, I'm officially able re-release the pictures of my cards that made it into the January issue of CARDS magazine.  Here they are...

And this version of the previous card ended up getting cut from publication, but I still love them both...



Get Well Card

Check this out in the July 2011 issue of CARDS Magazine.

My Dear, Card

Sorry... you'll have to wait and see this one again in CARDS Magazine July 2011.

Checkbook Cover

I just got an order for a checkbook cover in my Etsy shop, but before I mailed it off I wanted to take a quick picture. I think I want one for myself now. I don't use a checkbook, but perhaps I'll turn it into a purse calendar. I love these happy colors!

Swirlz Art Studio 5Feb11

Last One...

...for now at least.

Another Sneaky Peeky...

Where's the Pause Button?

I've been so exhausted with all the happenings of life that are going on right now. I feel like this last week lasted for months. I have several crafting deadlines quickly approaching, so I'm doing my best to keep up between Ethan's naps and keeping up with my school work. I wish I could just put life on pause sometimes so I can enjoy a pedicure, nap, magazine, or just a few deep breaths. There's just so much on my to-do list right now that I don't even know which one to put first. They all needed to be done yesterday it seems.

Project Life 2011

I put the Project Life button over on my side bar weeks ago, but I never got around to mentioning that I was going to participate in it this year. I did my own version while I was deployed in 2009 here on the blog, but then I discovered the PL scrapbook. It's (almost) perfect! The kit comes with everything you need to document the year or whatever you'd like really. All you need are photos, a journaling pen, and an ink pad if you'd like to use the enclosed date stamp. I wrote all of my dates, but that's because I forgot about the stamp.  I really wish it had come with a few extra title cards because I don't have one to spare after I made a couple mistakes.

This year has a lot of change going on with more deployments, Ethan's first year, my becoming a civilian in a few months, starting up school again, and all sorts of stuff. It's just a year that I want documented in detail again. I really love the kit Becki Higgins has put together. The only thing that really bothered me about the kit was that all the photo sleeves were made for landscape pictures. I told this to my LSS owner, Beverly, and she immediately pointed me to some of these We R Memory Keepers page protectors... Now it's perfect!!!

Becky Higgins has since added vertical layout sleeves, but I really like all the choices I have with these. I read some reviews complaining about the funky sizes, but I don't think those people really "get it". These are designed to simplify an entire scrapbook layout. Apparently, We R Memory Keepers has an entire line of easy scrapbooking products to use with these fab protectors. Just trim the papers or tear off a journaling card from the little book and slide it in with your pictures and your layout is done. Waaaay easy! I'll be sure to post a picture of the less than 5-minute layout I created with all the extra photos I took of Ethan on the 11th for his monthly pictures. It was the first "scrapbook page" I've made in probably over a year.

Anyway, since I didn't post them before here are a few of my favorite pictures that I've included in my project so far...

7Jan11: Lilly Belle 

10Jan11: Max

14Jan11: Winter Formal

 15Jan11: Secret Santa Party

 24Jan11: Snow Day

 25Jan11: Visit from Papa

 26Jan11: Four Remotes vs. One TV

 31Jan11: Dr's Office Nap

 1Feb11: Introducing... Sippy Cup

2Feb11: I Cooked Something!