Shameless request for humor

Since last Sunday, my life has been nothing short of chaotic. My husband left on a business trip. When he returned, we had to buckle down and make plans for his promotion party, which is this Wednesday. But, we also had to plan my son's birthday party. On top of all of this, I still had to do the usual "stuff" that moms do (laundry, cooking, working). Now, my mother and father in-law are arriving this afternoon. Tomorrow, my father-in-law will need to go into the hospital at 6 AM for his kidney dialysis. Tuesday night, my sisters-in-law and nephew get in around midnight. Today and tomorrow, I still have to keep things "calm" around the house so my son can still get a good night's rest and go to school, focused. Wednesday morning, I've got to be up early, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, pick up the food platters from one place, and the promotion cake from another place. Set-up for the promotion ceremony is at 9 AM. The ceremony begins at 11 AM. Then, the reception is following that. Wednesday night, the family is going out for a big celebratory dinner. Thursday, father-in-law goes in again for dialysis. Later that morning, I've got to take my son to a doctor's appointment; and later that day, take sisters-in-law and nephew to the airport. Friday, take my mother and father-in-law to the airport; then on Friday evening, go to a brewery with my husband's coworkers for more promotion celebration.

Please, please, please post anything you can think of to make me laugh. I need humor to get through this week. I am trying to tackle some cards, just so I can keep some sense of sanity, but, please (if you can), please leave me a funny post about anything. I know that laughter is the best medicine. Sending love to everyone who reads my blog!

Winner of my Happy Birthday blog candy giveaway

Drum roll.........

The winner of my Blog Candy Giveway for this past week is Suzanne of Suzzstampingspot. I chose Suzanne after plugging in the number of folks who entered into Random.org. Thank you, to everyone, for participating. Suzanne, if you could please email me with your mailing address, I'll be sure to get your prize sent out to you, this week.

How would you like to win more than $1,000 worth of prizes?

Just visit: Cammie's Blog and be ready to catch your jaw! As some of you probably already know, Gina K stamps regularly donates proceeds from some of their stamps sets to benefit worthwhile causes which affect millions of people. From Autism to Diabetes awareness, Gina K stamps is one of those companies who truly gives back. Cammie has designed a new set for Gina K called Whimsical Autumn . She received a nice commission from Gina K, and Cammie turned around and donated 100% of it to the Alzheimer's Association. This kind gesture really has me choked up. I invite you to visit Cammie's blog and leave her a kind comment. While you're at it, go ahead and join in and participate in her blog candy giveaway. I promise.....you will not be disappointed. Some of the companies who are contributing to this Blog Candy are Papertrey Ink, Cats Pajamas Stamps and Starving Artistamps. Like I said....be ready to catch your jaw when it drops. You will be AMAZED!

Spooooky Mice!

This week, Hobby Lobby is having an awesome sale on rubber, acrylic and foam stamps by Stampabilities. I could NOT pass up this stamp set with cute little House Mouse mice dressed in a variety of Halloween costumes. My favorite is the mouse dressed up as a lobster. LOL! There are four other mouse stamps that I want to play with, but I thought I'd start with these four cuties, today. I did some "masking" and I colored the images with COPIC markers. The "Happy Halloween" sentiment is by Inkadinkado.
How are you doing with your Halloween cards? Are you making any this year? If you're not from the United States, what celebrations are you going to mark in September - November? Please share with me. I did not celebrate Halloween until I moved to the United States in 1984. It was very strange to see children show up at my house dressed in costume. As a matter of fact, the first time I'd ever seen "Halloween costumes" was in the movie ET. LOL! Thanks for stopping by, today, and don't forget to post a comment for my Blog Candy Giveaway for this week.

I think it's time to go out for dessert!!!

On Saturday, I posted that my son interviewed for a job. Well, today, he got a phone call from the place where he interviewed, and they offered him a job!! YIPPEEE! We are so excited for him! His first, honest-to-goodness job! I call it his first 'real' job because he actually gets to fill out a W-4 form and has to give them a copy of his social security card, and all of that. LOLOLOL! I'm only disappointed that my husband is away on a business trip, and can't share in this excitement with us, at this very moment. I want to take my son out for dessert, after supper, this evening. That's if he wants to. What an exciting day it is for him!

We're celebrating birthdays galore!

Artygirlz has been celebrating it's one year birthday this past week. With a lot of my friends and family celebrating birthdays, I thought I'd share this altered Starbucks Frapuccino carrier and bottles that I made to fit the Artygirlz Challenge this week, as well as for celebrating my friend, Becky's, birthday. She is a "closet" goth. She and I both like Batz Maru (a Hello Kitty! character) and she and I like tatoos. Now, I don't have a tatoo on my body, but I do want to get one someday. I just haven't figured out what the design I want to get. Last month, when Becky, Deb, Lori and I went out for Deb's birthday. the girls decided they all wanted to get body piercings. I already have my nose pierced, and my ears are pierced in three places, so I declined to get any more piercings. Becky got her nose pierced in the same spot where mine is pierced. Deb got her ear cartillage pierced; and Lori had her belly button pierced. LOL! It made for an interesting night, to say the least. Before we went to the tatoo / piercing place, we ate dinner at a really nice restaurant and had martinis. Then, we went to get the piercings done. Afterwards, we continued to celebrate at the Cheesecake Factory. Well, Becky's birthday is coming up, and she wants to get tatoos. LOL! I have told her that I will go with her, but I don't plan on getting inked that night. For now, I hope she'll enjoy the dark chocolates that I've placed in each bottle. The skull image is a "dollar" stamp by Imaginisce. The Happy Birthday 'banner' is by Purple Onion Designs; and the goth girl is by Zettiology. Papers are by Rusty Pickle. Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to post a comment for my Blog Candy Giveaway for this week.

Blog Candy Giveaway: Happy Birthday!

In honor of my husband's and son's birthdays this week, I am giving everybody a chance to win this funny Inkadinkado "Happy Birthday" clear stamp set! All you need to do is post a comment on this thread. That's it! Very simple! This giveaway is open to everyone, anywhere in the world. Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for more blog candy giveaways. This is so much fun! Deadline to post a comment will be Saturday, 27th September, 2008 at 11:59 PM (Central Standard Time, USA).

Winner of my EK Success Punch Blog Candy

Thank you to everyone who participated in my EK Success Punch giveaway. Your names went into the basket these number of times:

Mary (twice)
Jennifer (five times)
Kim (five times)
Bunny B (twice)
Sena (twice)
Charity (twice)
Lazy Kay (twice)
Cazzy (twice)

The winner of the drawing is..........Jennifer of Thimbles, Bobbins, Paper and Ink. Congratulations, Jennifer! I will send you your wonderful new paper punch tomorrow!

Thank you, once again, to everybody who took part in this blog candy!

My son's growing up

This is my son. He's turning 14 next Saturday. He went to his first job interview today, with a local grocery store chain. That's why he's so dressed up. No, we are not asking him to get a job. He actually came up to us, and asked us if he could work. LOL! My husband and I said "Sure!" It's a great learning experience for him. He'll work as a courtesy clerk at the grocery store (bagging groceries, taking them out to cars, gathering carts, stocking shelves, etc.) We told him we would allow him to work a maximum of eight hours a week because we want him to keep school as his number one priority. I can't believe he's already old enough to work. My baby's growing up way too fast for me. As a mom (and I'm sure, if you're a mom, you can probably relate), I always have images running through my head of my child sitting in his high chair, or sitting in the car seat. I remember when the doctor first handed him to me, and I cradled him in my arms. Now, he's ready to work. The person who interviewed him said that she'll call him before the end of this coming week. Cross your fingers, everyone!

Inchies Accordion Book

My friend, Sherri, shared with me a link to a collection of inchies and inchies books, I would share the link with you, but I don't know who the artist is, and I wouldn't want to just share it without giving credit. Regardless, I was inspired by the accordion books on that website to go ahead and make one myself. I started stamping and coloring while watching the movie "To Gillian on her 37th birthday." I was just half-watching, half-listening to the movie, so I can't even say whether or not I thought it was good. So, here's my "quickie inchie" accordion book. All stamped images are by Queen's Dresser Drawers. Inchies are quick and fun to create. I should try to play with them more often.


***Also, don' forget to check out my blog candy for a chance to win a terrific EK Succes Decorative Corner punch.***

What's a girl to do?

Do you ever have one of those days, or even weeks, when you feel like you're moving 100 miles per hour not because you choose to, but because you have to? Well, this week seems to be turning out that way for me. At work we are, all of a sudden, super-busy. I like it when it's busy, but boy, when I get home I am so exhausted! I try to carve out time to create; and I hate being rushed when I'm creating. I need to take my time and think through what I am doing. I'm neurotic about things being "just right" when I create. Call me Type-A personality. That's me..... things have to be "just right" or else, I won't be happy with the piece.
I did rush through this card. I like this card and how it turned out, but I have to admit to myself, it's not one of the nicest ones I think I've ever made. I know I could've done some things a little more differently. If I wasn't rushed to get supper cooked this evening I would have added some stitches around the stamped image. I'm sure I could've done a few more things to complete this card. Again, it's not a "bad" card...... I just know I could've done better. Do you sometimes feel that way about your work (or am I just being waaaay to neuoritic?) LOL!
I stamped this image (Stamp Francisco) with Archival Ink on regular cardstock. Then, I used colored pencils on her hat, overalls, skin and lips. I like that "punch" of color.

***Also, don' forget to check out my blog candy for a chance to win a terrific EK Succes Decorative Corner punch.***

Gothic Arch challenge for this week

Dawn, the Chatty Stamper, is this week's host for the Gothic Arches challenge. What a terrific challenge this was! I couldn't wait to start working on it. I knew I wanted to use this "clock lady" as the focal image of my arch, but I didn't anticipate that one thing would lead to another, and I would end up with a Halloween Theme, also. LOL! I colored her with bright colors (COPICs) and since I had this awesome glittery lime green paper, I knew it would be a perfect back-drop for her. The bottom looked plain, and that's when the idea of adding the pumpkins popped in my head. And why would she be standing amongs pumpkins, you ask? Well, she's trick-or-treating, of course! This is when I had to improvise and create a jack-o-lantern bucket for her. I tell ya....my brain is wired in such a weird way. I don't know why or how I come up with the strange things that I do. Thanks for stopping by!

Bohemian Rhapsody

No matter how much I try to avoid the temptation, I will inevitably bring home one paper pack each year. This year, it was K & Co's Wild Saffron collection. I have tons and tons and tons of paper left. I also have this butterfly sticker pack that I want to use up. This is a moment of redemption for me. LOLOLOL! If I can use up my paper and stickers, then I can go out and buy another pack of paper, right? Ha! Ha! Honestly, though, I'm swimming in paper and I need to use them up before I should even be tempted to buy any more. I hope you're able to get out and enjoy the outdoors, this week. I hope it's not raining in your neck of the woods. We have a few more weeks of pleasant weather before the cooler air descend upon us.

***Also, don' forget to check out my blog candy for a chance to win a terrific EK Succes Decorative Corner punch.***

TGIF!!!

Yippee! It's Friday!

Yay! We made it to the end of the week. Although this week has been relatively uneventful at work, I simply look forward to Fridays. Why? Because the following day is Saturday, and Saturday morning is when I have the luxury of choice: choice to either stay in bed until my stomach says get up and feed it; or the choice to get up at the "crack of dark" and begin creating. I love working on cards and such during the wee hours of the morning. The house is quiet, and I can really focus on my project uninterrupted (I know the boys won't get up before eight o'clock). But, it is Friday...and I do have to go to work, at least for eight hours. I hope there is a lot for me to do, today. It helps to make the day go by faster. I always feel so good after a very productive day, whether it's at my paying job or at home. I colored this image with COPIC markers. I confess, this is one of my most favorite House Mouse images. I feel like I'm the jumping mouse on the right. LOL!

***Also, don' forget to check out my blog candy for a chance to win a terrific EK Succes Decorative Corner punch.***

Woo-hoo! Hero Arts gave me a big honor!

I received an honorable mention for my card . I joined the Hero Arts Flickr Group after my friend, Andi suggested to submit this card into their current contest. I didn't expect anything. No recognition. No prizes. Much to my pleasant surprise, my card got an honorable mention! Isn't that exciting? I have been on Cloud 9 ever since! Thank you, my blog friends, for your continued support and encouragement. It means the world to me. Thanks to Andi for pushing me towards this! I really owe her a lot for showing me this opportunity!

Singing to be stamped

I know of many rubber stampers who will not buy another rubber stamp until they've used what they already have at least three times. Do I do this? Not really. If I see a stamp I like, I'll go ahead and buy it. LOL! I do think, however, that I'm pretty good about using what I *do* have. It just might not be at least three times before I go ahead and add to my collection. This pretty bird stamp (by The Angel Company) has been sitting on my shelf, un-inked, for quite some time. It was singing (forgive the pun) for attention. I stamped it with dye ink, colored it with COPIC markers and Stampin Up markers. Such a pretty focal image for any card, don't you think? The paper has been in my stash for some two years or so. I'm chipping away at it, but little by little, I am getting around to using my supplies wisely. Thank you for stopping by, today!

*** Also, don' forget to check out my blog candy for a chance to win a terrific EK Succes Decorative Corner punch.***

Dust off your old stamp challenge

Over at the Stamp Shack, Charity posted a challenge to take an old stamp....one that hasn't been inked in a while, and to use it in some fashion. I chose this old stamp (one of the first stamps I've ever owned) of a fashion diva designed by The Angel Company. Also, I used an old "Barn Star" stamp by Purple Onion Designs. These are definitely two stamps that haven't seen ink in a very long time. I think the last time I used the fashion diva stamp was in 2005. Perhaps earlier than that. I combined these two stamps with a new stamp "Your Rock" by Inkadinkado. Have you been to Michael's, lately? They have some 50 new clear stamp sets! This was part of a "Rock 'n' Roll" stamp set that I just had to have. My son is a percussionist, so I bought it to make cards for him.
Anyhoo....back to the card.....I took my scalloped circle Nestabilities die (the largest one from the Large Set) and cut out a base card. After cutting out a circle in the center, I added some vellum to fill in the window Now, when you attach vellum to your card stock, use a glue stick (borrow your child's glue stick.) The glue dries clear. So, when you open the card up, you don't see the glue marks like from regular adhesive tape or some other type of glue. Glue sticks are cheap (you can get them for 10-cents at the moment). It's good to have one or two handy.
I stamped the diva's gown on some awesome "skull and crossbones" paper that I picked up recently at Hobby Lobby. Trimmed her gown, gloves and the little dress-straps, and glued them onto the base image (which was stamped on white cardstock). A little flourish die-cut (Sizzix) and voila! She's done!

***Also, don' forget to check out my blog candy for a chance to win a terrific EK Succes Decorative Corner punch.***