Here's a good one!

Yay! A good photo of Gracie! :) I took her outside yesterday on our porch and made her tell me some jokes to see if I could get a natural smile out of her...it worked! The only thing we did was edit out a piece of hair that was over her eyeball in the original picture, and we are not experts at the editing, so you might still be able to tell a little bit. Oh well, I am still happy...love this picture! :)

New (Cute) Pictures

Hi Mom! Look what I did! :)

Aren't you proud of me?

What are you looking at? Huh? There is nothing odd about what I am doing!

Hey! This might make a good teether! :)

*The end*

So I realize that I post more pictures of Ava than Gracie on my blog; however, I have a good reason for this. Ava is at an age where she does not force a smile and it's relatively easy to hold her attention for the duration of the click of the camera, whereas below is a sample of what I get from Gracie 98% of the time when trying to get a good picture:

I am so over this picture taking junk. Here's my "cheese" face, at the same time as my "not really paying attention to you at all" face because Ava is doing something over there in the stroller that I want to check out. Plus, I found this rock that I want to play with and you're bothering me.

*The end*

See what I mean?? Impossible, I tell ya. She is going to have to start working those model skills if she wants to continue to receive free room and board. ;) Anyway, thanks for checking out my blog..nighty night everyone!

Gotta Love a Challenge!

I took a break from typing tonight and made a card for Kristina Werner's color inspiration challenge that she is featuring on her blog: http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog

The colors she found were inspired by a Pottery Barn ad and translated into Stampin' Up! colors equate to the following: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, and Close to Cocoa

My entry, above, is comprised of all Stampin' Up! supplies. I used the All Scallops and Lovely Labels sets (love them both!) as well as some of our chipboard, which I painted with a Bashful Blue re-inker, sprinkled with Iridescent Ice embossing powder, and heat embossed with my heat tool. I had the Iridescent Ice powder already out for another project and, as it pretty much gets glitter EVERYWHERE, I decided to use it again before I put it back in the jar. :) I used the Boho Blossoms punch for the embellishment and cut the large flower in half to flank the chipboard. I adhered the flower halves with silver brads. Certainly Celery Designer Series paper completes the look. I think it turned out cute and I love this color combo--thanks Kristina!

Thanks for looking everyone! :)

Speaking of rejection

My post from last night reminded me of many things that I created specifically to submit for publication and then never went back and shared once the call for publication was over and I didn't get a call, mainly because I forgot--oops! :)

I made the "Don't blink" layout in September, ending a loooong scrapping dry spell (probably almost a year---eek!) With Gracie's surgery last year and Ava arriving three weeks later, I am kind of surprised that my scrapping mojo reappeared, but I wasn't going to fight it when it did. :) I believe I made the "Gracie's Favorite Things" layout in October. The various cards are actually all from 2006, but I found them while I was looking back in my pictures. I do think it's kind of funny, though, how when you make something you are so proud of it for a while and then when you look back on it you see all of the flaws. Maybe that's just me, though. Oh well.

My goal this year is to get a card published. I am submitting LOs as well, but that isn't as important a goal as a card since I have already been published for scrapping (Layout Blueprints 1 that came out in 2006 I believe). Though I would like to get a LO of Ava published since Gracie was obviously the only one in my three pubbed layouts for the idea book and I am sure she would enjoy seeing herself in print when she gets older. :)

Anyway, enough babbling. Thanks for looking!

My Mojo Took a Vacation!

I actually did make two projects last week, but I submitted them for publication and can't post them until I know that they weren't chosen. Therefore, you will probably all see them within a few weeks since they probably won't be chosen. :)

One of them used the curly ribbon technique (check out my 3/21/2008 post for an example). The other one used the faux etched glass technique that I came up with a couple of years ago (as an adaption from a tutorial on embossing buttons at Stampin' Up! regionals in 2006). Here's a link to the sample I made back then for the SCS gallery:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/367209?cat=all&limit=last2&perpage=90&si=faux%20etched%20glass

Since it's been so long, the etched glass technique is now an oldie, but I still thought it was worth a revisit. :) Who knows, somebody probably already submitted these techniques to the magazines since I posted it back in 2006, so it might be old news to everyone. If not, enjoy...it's a fun technique! :)

Hopefully I will have some stamping time tomorrow since Sean is on the air, but I am pretty sure both girlies have a cold now so I guess we will see. Anyway, thanks for visiting! :)

17 Stamp Sets for Sale!

Okay, so I realized I am drowning in retired sets that I don't have the space for any more. I need to sell these bad boys and I thought I would give you all the opportunity to buy them before I have a yard sale or go on the 'bay.


Below are the sets I have, the prices, and any pertinent details. If you are interested in buying any sets, please let me know ASAP, because I am only going to give it a couple of weeks before I start listing them on e-bay. If you are not one of my customers and/or don't know my e-mail address, you can let me know which set(s) you would like in the comments section of my blog (under each post, there is a number with the word "comments" next to it. Click on the word "comments" and it will bring you to the comments screen. You don't have to have a blogger account to leave a comment).


I will accept PayPal (for those of you who are not one of my customers/not on my mailing list) as well as cash, checks, credit cards from my regular customers. For you locals, there will be no tax/shipping charge. For those of you who are not local, I will charge $6.00 extra for Priority Mail service delivery with delivery confirmation. Insurance is extra if you would so choose. I can combine shipping if you choose more than one set...we will talk about cost at that point.


I decided to show pictures of all of them just in case you don't feel like looking up the sets in past catalogs, or if you don't have the older catalogs that show these sets. Each set comes in a Stampin' Up! plastic case with attached lid (except for the Anna Griffin set...that comes in a box with a thin acetate "slipcover")


Name/#Stamps/Price/Condition:

1. You're Neat/4/$9.00/new, unmounted (pictured)
2. You're Neat/4/$9.00/mounted, gently used (not pictured)--SALE PENDING
3. Nice & Narrow/9/$17.50/mounted, gently used
4. Noteworthy/9/$12.00/mounted, gently used--SALE PENDING
5. Reason to Smile/3/$12.00/mounted, gently used
6. Sew Seasonal/9/$22.00/mounted, gently used--SOLD
7. So Many Sayings/3/$16.00/new, unmounted--SOLD
8. Delight in Life/6/$10.00/new, unmounted
9. Double Line Doodles/9/$20.00/mounted, gently used--SOLD
10. Figures of Speech/8/$13.00/mounted, gently used--SOLD
11. Happy Harmony/6/$12.00/new, unmounted
12. Linen Background/1/$12.00/new, unmounted
13. Bodacious Bouquet/9/$23.00/mounted, gently used--SOLD
14. A Light Heart/7/$15.00/new, unmounted
15. Alphabits/4/$10.00/mounted, gently used--SOLD
16. Anna Griffin Greeting Set/7/$10.00/mounted, gently used
17. Big Blossom/1/$10.00/new, unmounted--SOLD