Monthly Archives: January 2014

Just Sayin’…You’re the Best & Sale-a-bration Sneak Peak

Last weekend was a three-day weekend for me, and I was sure I would get to post something here, buy you know what they say about the “best-laid plans of mice and men”!  That saying, by the way, comes from Robert Burns’ poem “To a Mouse”.  Not that it is important, but I just let the English teacher come out of me a little and I had to know.  🙂

Back to last weekend,  I drove to Ft. Collins, Colorado (over 130 miles north of here) last Saturday to visit my daughter and to spend the day.  I didn’t get out of bed early enough to get there much before noon, so we didn’t get to do too much.  But, we did have a nice lunch together downtown and we got a little shopping done.  I drove home the very same day.  I’ve decided that is way too much driving for one day, so the next time I go,  I will spend the night.  The rest of the weekend was spent getting caught up around the house and ready to head back to work on Tuesday.

For a four-day work week, it sure was a long one.  By the time I got home on Thursday, I was ready for at least 12 hours of sleep which meant I needed to head to bed at 5:00 p.m.  I did exactly that!  I hadn’t done that in weeks, and I so desperately needed it!  I felt great yesterday…just hopped right out of bed at 5:00 a.m.!  And I am still feeling the effects of the extra rest I seemed to need.

The photo of the card I am sharing with you today is deceiving.  The card is a 3″ x 5″ note card, but the photo makes it look larger.  I wanted a little note card size thing for a make-and-take project that I will use at an upcoming crop that I will be doing.  I also wanted it to be quick and simple, so you won’t find many layers.   I used a lot of new stuff on it, including things from Sale-A-Bration which starts on Monday!  Here it is!

Just Sayin You're the Best

Here’s what I used on this card:

3.5″ x 5″ Whisper White  note card  131527  (20 cards & envelopes for $5.95)

Basic Black Card Stock  121045

Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper  132995

Just Sayin’ Stamp Set  133200-w/133203-c

Gorgeous Grunge Stamp Set  130514-w/ 130517-c

Strawberry Slush Classic Ink   131178

Bermuda Bay Classic Ink  131171

Banner Punch  133519 (Sale-a-bration)

Banner Blast Stamp Set  133554 (Sale-a-bration)

Hope you enjoyed your visit today.  If there is anything you are interested in purchasing, you can go to my online store by clicking on the “Shop Now” button to the right.  Have a nice day!

Josie

Delightful Dozen Get Well

My first week back to school after two weeks off for the holidays has gone and I am very thankful!  It was brutal!  Although we didn’t have students last Monday, teachers had to be there, which in itself is not a big deal.  Getting out of bed at 5:00 a.m. after two weeks of sleeping until 9:00 daily was difficult, to say the least.  Our students returned on Tuesday.  After not seeing their friends for a while, all they wanted to do was socialize.  And the more the day progressed, the more they wanted to socialize.  They have a tendency to wake up completely after lunch, and afternoon classes are usually a little more lively than morning.  I stand corrected…A LOT more lively!  Wednesday was a little better, especially after I had three students leave the room.  Thursday was excellent, but then it started all over again on Friday…kids were ready to go home for the weekend, and so was I.  Here’s to hoping this coming week is better.  I really do enjoy teaching, and I love interacting with the kids.  What I DO NOT  have patience for is the outright defiance, disrespect, and disrupting of my classes.  I have one group that is consistently behind my others because I spend more time getting them to “behave” than I do teaching.  I feel sorry for the kids that are in there that actually do want to learn.  Lunch detentions and office referrals are proving to be unproductive.  Ugh!  Only a few more months.

This is a card that I whipped up last Sunday after learning on Saturday that my mother had slipped on ice in her brother’s driveway in Ohio.  She broke her hip and had surgery this past Sunday.  She is doing well now…she sounds better and has a very positive attitude.  She is 82 years old and very active and independent and is determined to get back to her independence.  I am thrilled about that.  She is a strong lady!  That is one of many good qualities that I inherited from her.  I am thrilled because many seniors her age give in to making little progress and won’t do what their physical therapists want them to do.  Statistically, many don’t go back to their former selves; some even pass away due to other complications.  But Mom is relatively healthy and goes to the gym at least 3 times per week.  Soooooo…fingers are crossed.   I mailed her this card on Tuesday, then found out they moved her to rehab on Wednesday. I am expecting to get it back in the mail any day now.  I’ll have to resend it.

Delightful Dozen Get Well

Here’s what I used on this card.

Whisper White Card Stock  100730

Bermuda Bay Card Stock  131197

Real Red Card Stock  102482

Bermuda Bay Classic Ink  131171

Real Red Classic Ink  126949

Smokey Slate Classic Ink  131179

Delightful Dozen Stamp Set  128547-w/122652-c

Gorgeous Grunge Stamp Set    130514-w/130517-c

Circle Card Thinlit Die  133480

Rhinestone Basic Jewels  119246

Chevron Border Punch  132154

That’s all I have for today.  Until next time…

Happy Stamping!

Josie

Delightful Dozen Valentine

Thought I’d get another post in before I head back to work on Monday.  The thought of going back after two weeks off is not a pleasant one.  I don’t want to go and I will go kicking and screaming.  My consolation is only five more months and then I will be finished.  I am planning on being a substitute next year or finding something part-time teaching adult education classes somewhere.  But really, I want to spend time building my stamping business.  That can be considered “adult education” as I would be teaching adults about stamping.  🙂

I had totally forgotten I had this stamp set.  My husband would say that I have too many stamp sets, but I don’t think so.  Stamp sets are sort of like shoes or jewelry or sweaters or any of that kind of stuff.  A girl can never have too much of any of that stuff!  LOL!!! I don’t think I will get rid of it even after it retires.  It is one of those keeper sets.  It covers just about every occasion you can think of.  The Christmas greeting on the set would have come in handy just recently when I was making my holiday cards.

Allow me to digress a moment.  I make it sound like my husband is not very supportive, but in reality he is.  He is always impressed with what I manage to come up with and he knows stamping is a harmless preoccupation.  He especially likes it when I do a class or a workshop because he is all for earning extra dollars.

Anyway, here is my Delightful Dozen Valentine card.  I hope you like it.

Delightful Dozen Valentine

Here’s what I used on this card.

Delightful Dozen Stamp Set  128547-w/122652-c

Strawberry Slush Card Stock  131295

Whisper White Card Stock  100730

2013-2015 Designer Series Paper Stack   130136

Hearts Collection Framelits  125599

Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder  117335

Small Heart Punch  117193

Scallop Oval Punch  119856

Pearl Basic Jewels  119247

Jet Black StazOn  101406

Until next time…

Happy Stamping!

Josie

Lovely Romance

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I know I am a day late, but the year is still new enough that I can wish all of you a happy new year.  My wish for all of you this year is that it is filled with happiness, prosperity, and most importantly good health.

I’ve been as busy as a person can be since my last entry.  I’ve been getting caught up on some of the things I’ve neglected since heading back to work this past August.  The end of the year is when I usually do a lot of paper shredding of documents that don’t need to be saved any longer and closets are emptied of old unwanted things and donated to charity before the next income tax season.  I even managed to get my son back here to clean out his closet and dresser in his old room.  We have a great deal of empty space now that we can “clutter up” again until the end of this year.  Then I will go through everything again and wonder what in the world we were thinking when we held on to some of the stuff.  My husband is the worst.  I think if it weren’t for my desire to do a good purging of the old and unnecessary, he would be featured on one of those hording television shows.  His philosophy is he might “need it someday”, and when asked why he never puts things away he usually says, “I’m just gonna be using it again soon.”  Oh dear!  But I do love him in spite of his sloppiness!

I spent the entire day yesterday putting away Christmas decorations.  That took several hours and my back and shoulders just ached when I was finished.  I am not as young and nimble as I used to be…this getting old stuff isn’t for wimps!  🙂  The day before, I purchased a cabinet for my stamp room and I spent New Year’s Eve putting it together…incorrectly I might add.  The drawer remained open on it about 3″ which told me I hung the sliders incorrectly.  Then when I attempted to add the doors to the bottom cabinet portion, I learned that I had added the bottom trim upside down so the door would not go on.  After attempting to remove the trim and successfully breaking it into four pieces, I phoned the company that manufactured the item and they said they would send me another trim piece free of charge.  The doors are still un-hung as it will take a week to ten days for the bottom trim to arrive, but the drawer now closes completely after performing a little secret surgery on the drawer sliders. I removed the stoppers on both sides and now it works smoothly.  I wasn’t taking it apart again!  The manufacturer said they will send me new sliders too.

All of this and I have managed to get a little stamping done.  Today I am sharing a card that I made for my daughter.  I thought of waiting until Valentine’s Day to send it, but I don’t think I am going to get to visit her this weekend as originally planned, so I am going to send it before then.  I used the Lovely Romance stamp set, and I must admit that I do have a lovely romance with my 29-year-old daughter.  It is one of the closest relationships I have with another female.  There is NOTHING like a good relationship between a mother and her daughter.  I am proud of her, I admire her, I am her biggest fan!  She reminds me so much of me when I was her age that it sometimes scares me.  And I have a new appreciation for what my mother dealt with.  My mom said once that it took 29 years, but I turned out okay and I can say the same for my lovely daughter.  She is BEAUTIFUL if I may say so myself.  Not just physically, but in all the other important ways as well.  So…here it is…

Lovely Romance

Here’s what I used on this card.

Cherry Cobbler Card Stock  119685

Whisper White Card Stock  100830

Regals Collection Designer Series Paper Stack  130139

Lovely Romance Stamp Set  130264-w/130267-c

Finishing Touches Edgelits  127010

Corner Punch  119871

Small Heart Punch  117193

Chalk Talk Framelit  129983

Rhinestone Basic Jewels   119246

Jet Black StazOn Ink Pad  101406

There you have it.  I hope the rest of your day is happy!  Until next time…

Happy Stamping!

Josie