happy Memorial Day

'nuff said ...

OWH Blog Hop

I didn't take part other than spending two days blog trolling ... and ended up adding 4 more gals' blogs to my Google Reader page, LOL, but it's for a cause I wholeheartedly support! Click on the picture to start the hop!

embellished make-'n-take

My stampin' buddy Pat and I met for breakfast and stamping this weekend. I loved the sailboat and waves portion of Saturday's CAM make-'n-take led by the lovely and talented JillD. I've made others pretty similar in the past (see this post), but the fluffy clouds supplied for the clouds weren't my favorite dies. And, what?! No sun?! Gotta change THAT! I added this sun by using the 16mm punch that goes with my i-top brad maker and some cute yellow/yellow-orange DP. Ah HA! Now I can think of the perfect sentiment to add to the card ... my A Muse "sending you sunshine" ... perfect! And the clouds? They're from SU's Good Neighbors stamp set. I love this red, white, and blue twine and hadn't had any in my stash 'til now (thanx, Jill!), so I should really get movin' on a Memorial Day card; don't you agree?! I've been SUCH A SLACKER lately!

stamps: A Muse Artstamps' Sending you sunshine, SU's Good Neighbors; paper: supplied at CAM make-'n-take; ink: ColorBox's smoke blue pigment, Ranger's black soot distress ink; accessories: cool oval dies and twine supplied by CAM

inspiration and Oprah

Isn't this beautiful?! It's a pincushion from frommyatelier's Etsy shop and I snipped the pic from today's Moxie Fab World inspiration post of pincushions. Sigh ... just had to share. I LOVE Queen Anne's Lace; always have, always will!

Today marks Oprah's last show, after 25 years.

welcome baby - a CASE study

This one's for Katie to give to a friend of her's whose baby is due in June, and it's a CASE study from the Clothesline Baby card on p.23 of the Papercrafts Card Creations vol 9 that's on the newsstands until July 25th. Chan Vuong made a portrait layout boy version card, and I was a woman on a mission this past Saturday, on the lookout for K&Company's girl clothesline 3D stickers! I found 'em at my first store - Mike's - and purchased them using a 40% off coupon to boot.

Next I perused and picked up a few of studio g's latest line, called ditto, of both their cling mounted rubber stamp sets and of one wood mounted rubber stamp. They probably had about 15 small sets of 4-5 stamps per set and, while priced normally at $2.99/set , they were reduced to 2/$5. And, as some days I'm just as bad as when my boys were small, while standing in line at the checkout, I HAD to pick up a bubble wand; not just any bubble wand, this one will blow giant 12" bubbles. Summer's right around the corner, remember!

stamps: Kaiser Craft's Baby; paper: SU's Pale Plum, Staples bright white card stocks; ink: Ranger's black soot distress ink; accessories: K&Company's Girl Clothesline 3D stickers, Prima's felt alphabet

inspired wordplay

Lisa Leonard posted some inspiration on her blog recently and I'd kept the post marked as "unread" just so I could visit and swoon every now and then ... so I decided I should do the same here ... and by posting a pic and link on my blog, I can visit any time I like! Enjoy!

(click on the picture to visit the personalized little word canvasses, by Gorgeous Graffiti)

what'd YOU do on Doomsday?

After catching some scrappin' and shoppin' time w my scrapping buddy Pat, my eldest son and I went to the movies to catch the Pirates' latest release - On Stranger Tides - w my all-time favorite pirate, Johnny Depp ... joined by fellow pirates Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, Geoffrey Rush, and Kevin McNally. We were running late 'cuz I made a pit stop by Mike's beforehand (where I seem to always lose track of time, LOL!) and JUST made the previews.

but ... back to the movies: I was surprised to see Richard Griffiths (aka Uncle Vernon) playing King George, but kept that to myself during the show, as my son didn't seem to notice Harry Potter's world colliding with the Pirates'! Great pirates, all ... and I was pleased to learn the movie was loosely based on a novel that's a trilogy, as maybe that means the series will continue?! Who knows, as Depp was reportedly disappointed when Walt Disney's chairman of 38 years, Dick Cook, left the project. Apparently Mr Cook had been a supporter since the first film of Depp's interpretation of the character, where others involved had not. I've always wondered if Depp based his interpretation on Cyril Ritchard's Captain Hook character from the 1960 version of Peter Pan. I was a bit bored with this version's fight scenes, but they sure kept my son's attention ... and overall we both loved the film as we've loved 'em all! I'm sure this will join our DVD collection when it's released!

So, how did YOU spend your Doomsday?

stamp camp fav

Here's my fav card from May's Stamp Camp w the lovely and talented Angie Jarman. If you're in the Flint area, check out her calendar. Join us some time, and tell her SueB sent ya ... and that she should give me a finder's fee in discounted product! YEAH! LOL!

not many deets to speak of ... all SU products were supplied in the class ... paper: Basic Black, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla; ink: Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy;

blog candy alert

Just a quick "heads up" to alert you that Melissa of Creating from the Heart blog fame is offering some sweet blog candy, so click on the picture at left to visit by May 30th! If I don't win I'm hoping one of my followers does ... I'm just sayin' ...

it's THAT time of year!

My DH and I wed in July, but according to the kind folkes at yahoo, the most popular months for weddings are May - August. All totally unscientific, but it is what it is. My boss asked me to create a wedding card for her niece who's getting married this coming weekend. I knew that I wanted to use chrysanthemums in their wedding colors, but I don't have a stamp for that, so I snitched the actual flowers from their invite web pages. This is the 2nd wedding I've been involved in that had a web presence. The other one used Facebook to set up an event and issued invites from it for a wedding shower.

The text was PC-generated but is from a stamp set that I own ... and the inside sentiment was of excerpts lifted from an inspirational piece originally titled Heaven in 2011 by Harold W. Becker, president and founder of The Love Foundation. Harold regularly used "Love, light and peace" as part of his signature text, and that was the wedding's theme.

stamps: SU's Congrats; paper: SU's Whisper White plain and textured card stock; ink: PC-generated and SU's Soft Suede; accessories: Diamond Stickles (could you spot it on the flowers?), unknown Tonic butterfly punch

happy Mother's Day!

like quilts? I do, tho' I've not made one yet. I keep picking up finds when I spot them, and this past Christmas got one for my sis, who's admired mine. anywho, this isn't really about quilts but about the fav Mom's in my life ... be they my own, my sis, my niece, my sis-in-law, or my great friends! I'm blessed, quite literally, by being surrounded in love by some wonderful ladies and wanted to give 'em all a great big SHOUT OUT today!

happy Mother's Day, all! here's the Mother's Day card for my Mom this year, made at last month's Stamp Camp w Angie. happy Mother's Day, Angie!

in other breaking news ...

if it's May it MUST be time for the SU summer mini catty, right?! yep ... click on the picture to be taken to the flash version of the mini. and just what are my favs this time, you ask? well, thanx for asking! they're:

• p12 - Travel Log (s/8) 123082 $21.95
• p16 - Sunny Fun (s/5) 123042 $14.95
• p17 - Fish Frenzy (jumbo wheel) 123105 $8.50
• p25 - Touch of Kindness (s/9) 123203 $16.95

what are ya ... a yellow pansy?!

sounded daring, didn't I?! here's my fav selection from the 2 cards we made at CAM's make-'n-take today. I chose to pencil in the flower in yellow and brown, but went over it with watercolor markers when I got home. I just don't have the knack my stampin' buddies do in coloring with pencils ... sigh! unlike the rest, I chose to leave out the inverted rounded edges - it just looked too fancy for my taste - and didn't knot the ribbon to appear as though it was tied around the stems. I did it my way (ode to Frankie)! and I'm not sure what this picture's supposed to represent ... think they're pansies?

no deets today; all materials were supplied by the shop, and I forgot to check so I could note them later. I DO know that we used a D'vine Swirls embossing folder, though.

Mega Meet was a BLAST!

I took the day off from work and headed to Novi MI with scrappin' buddies Julie (a first-timer ... and it doesn't get much better than this, right, Julie?!), Pat, and Kim to take in the 2011 Mega Meet. We shopped, viewed demos, dined, and experimented with new products until we decided it was a "wrap" and went to catch supper at a local TGI Friday's.

The GLMM runs through Saturday, May 7, 2011, so if you're local you still have time to participate AND it's National Scrapbook Day this Saturday ... I'm just sayin' ...

Last year Tim Holtz was there, and this year Melissa Frances, Darcie, and Wendy Vecchi were spotted doing demos while not in classes. My stampin' bud Pat and I are participating in a monthly workshop assembling a recipe book from Melissa Frances papers which was offered as a class at this year's convention.

A great time was had by all!

nat'l scrapbook day is coming

National Scrapbook Day is coming ... it's this weekend, May 7, 2011! The kind folkes at Lifestyle Crafts, of Letterpress Starter Kit fame, are celebrating all week by holding daily blog candy opportunities (click on the picture to visit)!

A couple stamping buddies and I are heading to Novi on Thursday to attend the Mega Meet, so I'll be playing on Saturday with my new goodies. How are YOU celebrating?