RAK

I am late with my thank you's. I received these cards this week from my Bella Sisters as a "mini vacation". This cute one with Bikinibella is from Melissa. She is from New Orleans and sent me the nicest letter describing to me the things that they that they like to do there. I hope to some day visit New Orleans. This adorable card with Bikeabella is from Pam. She is a California girl just like me.

Thank you Melissa and Pam!!!

BCC34, Bella Color Challenge

Here is my card for the Bella Color Challenge. I used Belinda Bumberboots. She is so cute. And I love her with the fall colors. I used my cuttlebug for the embossing. The sentiment is Things Hanna Would say. The colors for the challenge are Topiary, Goldrush and Sunflower. Great choice of colors Sparkle

Sparkle sent me this card as a thank you. She used the colors for the challenge.
This is Gardenia Greenthumb. Isn't she just too cute?

Our little Soccer Girl

Lexi was so excited to start soccer and had so much fun on the field. At first, she was the only girl and then later another girl showed up. And, her coach's name is Alexia. It's not too often that you here that name.

Isn't she sweet

Lexi is finally starting to play with dolls and do the mommy thing. And, she loves to dress up pretty.

Pictures of Pappa Reading a Bedtime Story

Isn't this just the sweetest picture of Lexi and her Pappa. We are so blessed to have Lexi living with us. She has truly enriched our lives.

Some pictures from this week

Earlier this week, Bill and Jennifer took Lexi to the fair. I wished that I could have gone, but had come home from work sick. Hopefully, Bill and I can go to the fair soon. Maybe this evening.

SSBC4 Sparkle's Colors

And, Here is the last of the cards. This one is of Sparkle's Wedding Colors. They are Cranberry, Bamboo and White Daisy. I used Ipodabella for this card. I have to say that it was such an awesome idea to have a "Virtual Bridal Shower". I was just telling my son-in-law about it. He thought it was so cool that I could party with people across the country. And I told him that my Sister-in-law Vicki on the other side of the country was there. We even had people from Canada, and Japan there. We played games (the card challenges) and had a Sparkle trivia game. If you read her blog then you would know the answer to the questions. Who would have thought, just 10 years ago that a group of people from all over could have a party like we did. How cool is that?

Look at these shoes!!!

Lexi started soccer today and boy was she excited. The girl is a natural athlete. She has wanted to play soccer since she could walk. We signed her up through the community center because she is too young to be on a regular team. I noticed that she wasn't too happy after Jennifer got her dressed to go. I asked her what was wrong and she said that her shirt didn't have a number on it. Well, her spirits perked up when her dad showed up with Soccer shoes and shin gaurds. Aren't they just too cute????

SSBC1 Going Traditional

This card is about the traditional wedding . Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. For Sparkle's bridal shower we were to make a card following this theme.

My paper is (old), The image is (new), The sketch is (borrowed) and The something blue is (the apron on the Fairy). This fairy is called "Wendy Papillion" and the paper is from Fancy Pants-Sweet Pea.

SSBC3 We love Sparkle

I made this card for the Sparkle Challenge over at SCS's from Sparkle's Bridal Shower. The challenge was to make a card using Sparkle. I thought it would be fun to put Sparkle in a shiny new corvette. And, once she was in, I was reminded of the movie "Run Away Bride'. So, I had to take apart one of the many party favors that I have collected over the years to get a piece of Tulle and make her a veil. I hope Sparkle doesn't get mad at me when she see's this card. Other movies that I remember with a Run Away Bride were "The Graduate" and "Smokey and the Bandit". I love the scene from the Graduate were Benjie is up top in the church watching his girlfriend get married and yelling down to her. The whole church get's quiet. That was a great movie.

For this card, I used Cranberry and Desert Sand Cardstock from CTMH, Rhinestones, Stickles, Copic Markers and the Swiss Dot Folder from Cuttlebug. The sentiment is from SU.

Sweet 'n Sassy Cards

Here is a picture of Lexi with the card that she made using our new Princess stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy. The picture didn't come out too good because she was more interested in getting "Jesse" to pose for the picture. She must have moved just as I snapped the picture. She wanted to learn how to make 3D cards with pop dots and had so much fun making them. Bill asked me what I'm going to do when she get's better than me. Oh well. That's ok. She's my "Mini Me".

And here is my card. I think that I will make a bunch of these for Lexi to take to Birthday Parties. This year it seemed like there was a birthday party almost every weekend. The thing that parents are doing today is inviting every kid in the class to the party! I guess they don't want any hurt feelings. But, that's a lot of parties. Jennifer, Lexi's mother, is so lucky to have "Hallmark" living in her home. AKA as Me.

It's one of those "Brown Paper Packages" days

Today was one of those "Brown Paper Packages" Days. Look at what I had waiting for me when I got home.
In my package from Hanna Stamps were:
Cowboy Riley, Carrying the Tree Riley, Snow Ski Riley, Surfer Riley, Tent Riley, Turkey Moose Riley, Pirate Riley, Santa Chimney Riley, And Witch on a Broom Riley. I ordered them from the pajama party over at SCS on Friday night. And here they are .Can't wait to ink them up!




And in this package from All That Scraps was a stamp set from C.C Designs called It's My Birthday. Isn't it so cute?







And then over here is a stamp set from Sweet 'n Sassy called Princess. Lexi and I have already inked them up and have made some cards.



And, last of all. On my way home from work, I stopped off at Richards to use my 50% off coupon. Got to love those coupons. This is another Changito Set from Stampendous. Love those "little monkeys". According to Ryan, Lexi's dad that's what "Changito" means.

Good Morning

Good Morning Everyone. Last night I went to a "Virtual" Bridal Shower for Sparkle. I arrived a little late. But, it was so awesome. It was like being at a party. You were able to talk with your friends and play games. They had a Sparkle trivia game and card challenges. I can't wait to start mine. I am at work and my allergies are just killing me. There are so many fires in Northern California right now, that the smoke is coming in the building. I may have to go home early. I can't stop sneezing and covering my nose. I don't know where we can go to escape the smoke. It is really bad.

BSC34, Bella Sketch Monday

Here is my card for the Bella Sketch. I used Sweetybellas for this card. The two front bags and the ice cream cones are on pop dots.

Stamps from Sandra

Today has been the longest day at work. It is so nice to be home. Last night after the recital I went home and layed down with the fan on me at 6:30 and fell asleep until 9:30. When I woke up, I was wide awake and went downstairs and played with these new stamps that Sandra sent me. I was up until 12:30 and had to get up at 5:30 to be at work at 7:00. So, it was a longggggggggg day.

The card with the fish is called "Dropping you a line" and the little bear is "Cookies of Life". They are both from Inkadinkado. Aren't they cute?

Lexi's Dance Recital

Here are some pictures that were taken after Lexi's dance recital yesterday. The top picture is of me and Bill. The middle is of her mom and dad and the last is with her dance instructor. The show was so sweet. She danced to "Dream Ballet". The last dance performed was the Father/Daughter dance. Next year we will have to get Lexi into it. Talk about emotional. There was not a dry eye in the house. The fathers came out in black suits holding their little daughters hands. And, the little girls were all in white. The fathers held their daughters and danced with them. I am getting teary eyed just thinking about it.

Package from my Bella Sister

Yesterday, I received a wonderful package in the mail filled with lots of goodies from my new Bella Sister, Sandra. In the package is the most delicious "Cubbies" chocolate candy bar. Can you tell that I am eating it as I type? Yum. Better stop before I get sick. She must be a Cub' fan. Oops. I wonder if it's a collectors item. Bill just informed me that the candy bars are from a famous candy company called Fanny May. He had a friend who's wife would have the candy bars shipped to her in CA from Chicago. Other than the chocolate, she sent me a bunch of stamped images. Lexi has already got a hold of them and is coloring one right now!!! She's a Bella fan too. She sent me some really cute Mini Stamps. I will be making cards with them soon. She sent some cool markers, glitter pens, vellum phrases, ribbon, my initials, stickers, cards and an adorable card of a dog like her's. I am so looking forward to getting to know her better. She calls me "Sissy". Isn't that so sweet :)

Card from Vicki

I forgot to share this adorable card with you that Vicki sent to me. Isn't she just adorable????

Happy Everything

Yesterday, after the workshop Jackie and I hung around together and played with my stamp from Stampendous called Biker Bee. Isn't he just the cutest? We used the paper from the workshop called Blue Ribbon and the sentiment from the June Stamp of the Month called With Love. The little bee is raised up on a popdot and so is the flag.

Happy Saturday

Today was my scrapbook workshop and we had a great time and got a lot accomplished. Four people couldn't make it. But that was okay. I had Jackie and Amy over. Amy's mother Lana is leaving for vacation on Monday. She had planned on coming, but you know how that goes when you have to get packed. Amy took all of the layout stuff for her mother and will do the layouts for her. My sister Lynnette was sick, Amber's husband had to work late last night and was too tired to watch the kids, Fran's husband had to work today and couldn't watch their little one. But you know what, it's okay. This is what I am going to do. Since I have all of their paper cut, I will make kits for them. In the kit there will be the embellishments, stamped images, pictures of the layouts and directions on how to assemble them. They are going to love it. Isn't that a great idea??? It's a win situation for all.

I made some changes to the layouts. I used some suggestions from my friends over on the CTMH board. My layouts don't show it, but I had Jackie and Amy ink the edges of the white mats. It looks so much better.

What's up Cupcake?

When I first saw this stampset from "My Favorite Things" on the Split Coast Stampers Forum, I just new that I had to have it. Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for the card design. I like the simpicity of the white embossed cardstock with chocolate and baby pink. I have noticed on the SCS board that people are starting to make simpler and cleaner looking cards. It's just shows that you don't always have to use designer paper. The name of the set is "What's up Cupcake". The cardstock is from CTMH and I used the Cuttlebug "Swiss Dot" folder for the embossing.

Sophie in the Hula Show

Okay, maybe you think I'm a little bit crazy. But, I just had to put Sophie in the Hula Show. After all she was in Maui.

HSC21 Sophie Goes to Maui

I haven't participated in the Hanna Sketch Challenge in a long time. While I was in Maui, I brought along some stamped images and colored them in. This one is of Sophie. She is from the line of Hanna Stamps. I colored her with my CTMH Colored Pencils then went over the image with Mineral Spirits. I sponged the sky with twightlight blue ink and colored the grass with a copic marker. I bought the paper in Maui. The paper is "A Shore Thing" from Imaginisce.

Blue Ribbon Layouts

Good morning Everyone,

I plan to do two of these layouts for my worshop this Saturday and am not sure which two to choose. Also, I think that the last one needs a little help. I would appreciate any comments. Let me know what you think and which two to pick.

BSC33 i-wish-i-looked-so-good-on-a-bike-ABELLA

Today when I came home from work, I had a nice surprise waiting for me. I went in with Vicki and her friend Hope and bought a bunch of Bella Dots. I let Vicki do the ordering and she did a great job. Just what I would have ordered. But on top of that she sent me this Bella and the Sentiment Stamps. I was just commenting to her today about how much I love this Bella and need to order her. I wondered why she insisted that I wait until the end of the week to order her. Now I know. She also included these adorable buttons. Can't wait to use them. I colored Bella with my Copic markers, but had to use my CTMH markers for the tires and bike. The tip on the Copic markers is too broad and after several tries at filling in the tires, I gave up and pulled out my trusted CTMH markers. The paper is DCWV-Grade School. I used my new dots on the sentiment card and a button on the flower.

BSC32 Aloha Bella

After a week in Maui, I thought it would be quite appropriate to use this Bella for the Bella Sketch Challenge at SCS. I used my new paper from the scrapbook store over there. I don't know if you can see, but the paper says Maui on it.

Changito The Monkey

While I was in Maui, I couldn't resist the urge to go into the scrapbook store there. Bill was so kind. He drove me over and even brought a book along to read so that I could shop without him bothering me to go. Now wasn't that nice? I found some fun Hawaiian Paper and this cute stamp set from Stampendous. I just love this little monkey. He is raised on popdots, as are the bananas, leaves and vine that he is swinging from. I colored him with Copic markers and outlined him in blue to make him stand out.

Cards in the mail

The hardest part of coming home from vacation, other than laundry, is going through the mail. I get so much junk mail!!! While weeding through it, I came across these two adorable cards. The card with the Bella on it, is from my dear sister-in-law Vicki. I just love this card. It is suppose to be of me going on vacation. And, Vicki was pretty close on her choice of Bella's. If you notice this one, she has her supplies with her to make cards. And, yes, I managed to sneek some supplies into my bag...I had told Bill that I would leave it at home. Didn't work out. LOL. The cute apron card is from my Bella Sister Rhonda. This is just too cute. On the inside is a packet of flower seeds. And, she included the pattern so that I can remake these cards myself. I love them both. Thank you Vicki and Rhonda for giving me a nice welcome home.

Father's Day Card

Here is another Father's Day card. This one is for my father. The stampset is from Close To My Heart and is called "Take Flight". I colored the image with Prismacolor Pencils and went over the image with Odorless Turpenoid to blend the colors. The paper is also CTMH and is Desert Sand and Autumn Terracotta.

Graduation Card

I made this Graduation card for my nephew Keaton. He will be attending West Point and we are all so proud of him. The stamp set used is from Cornish Heritage Farms (URA Hoot!) and the paper is from Close To My Heart (Sarsaparilla). The image is colored with Copic Markers.

Father's Day Card

Here is Bill's Father's Day Card. The stamp set is from Penny Black and the paper is from Close to My Heart (It's a Guy Thing). The ribbon and brad are from CTMH as well. The image of the dog is colored with Copic Markers and is raised up on a pop dot. For the boarder, I took a black pen and drew a double line. The paw print is from another stamp set.

We're Back

We are back home from Maui and had a wonderful time. This was Samira's first visit, so we did a lot of the fun touristy things. We took here snorkeling at Molokini, the luau at the Fiest of Lele and of course dinner at Mama's Fish House. Here are some pictures of us.