Music Saves My Soul Saturday!

 

 

 

Marcea has started up the Music Saves My Soul Saturday linky party again.   Yeah!

 

To celebrate, I actually have 2 picks this week.  My DH got this song stuck in my head last week.  Now, its on every time I turn on the radio.  I’m not so fond of the end of the video, but still like the song.

 

 

 

The second one is from Grace Potter.  I love this song.  I saw one of her shows in Milwaukee a few years ago.  She’s come a long way from the young girl in jeans and a t-shirt I saw give a kick-a$$ show. 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to play along, drop by Marcea’s blog to link up your song choice for the week.

 

Have a great weekend!

Catching Up

I feel like I haven’t been able to get online much lately.  Besides being busy, I am having some issues with my laptop.  It sounds like my hard driving is failing so I need to figure out what I’m going to do pretty quick.  Meanwhile, I have been trying to back up all my files.  Knock on wood for me.  I hope I can get a new laptop before this one goes kaput.

 

I also need to announce the winner of the Just Rite Curlz Monogram stamp set.   

 

 

And the lucky winner is …….     #17 - Tracy MacDonald

 

 

Congrats Tracy!   Email me at shestamps11-blogs(at)yahoo(dot)com with your mailing address and I will get your candy in the mail.

 

I also have a heads up on a great sale.    Do you remember the adorable digital stamps from Wings & Willows?   (You can see my project here.)  Rebecca is having a SUMMER CLEAN OUT SALE! Take 40% off your total order when you use code wandw!   (enter in the coupon code section)   Don’t forget to check out the sale section -- Everything in there right now is just a dollar!     The sale will last until the end of the month.  You can check out the Wings & Willows shop HERE.

 

My daughter and I had a wonderful trip to visit my aunt and uncle in Virginia last weekend.  We spent a lot of time relaxing on Smith Mountain Lake, visited Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the Roanoke farmers market, and downtown Charlottesville.  

 

 

This is a picture of my daughter with her big catch.  She caught an 18” catfish off the dock.   After the photo op, she released him back into the lake.  Look at that big smile!

 

Before I go I have a new song to share with you.   I heard this song on Songza.com and it has been going through my head the last couple of days.  It’s a catchy little tune. 

 

 

 

Have a  great day!

Hoppy Birthday

Earlier this week, my dad celebrated his 70th birthday.   I used one of my new Purple Onion Designs stamps to make him a birthday card.


I’ve been wanting to get my hands on some of the Purple Onion Designs stamps as soon as I started seeing Freckles, Poppy and Rosie show up on projects around blog-land.  I ordered a couple and was really happy to get the chance to ink up Freckles.  Who knew a frog could be so cute?
I wish I could say that I used up some scraps making this card, but I actually cut these paper strips out of a brand new paper pad.   Oh well,  I’ll have to try to use this design again and use up some actual scraps.  I also used a couple of pieced of wood grain washi tape because, well, I love it and wanted to use it.



I did get my inspiration for my card from this card I saw on Pinterest by Lisa Arana.

I also thought I would share a song that I found on songza.com this week.   As usual, when I find songs I like, there is not an official video, but you can hear the song below.  Let me know what you think.

Don’t forget to check out my Followers Blog Candy – Just Rite Curlz Monogram stamp set.  You can read the details by clicking on the photo below.


Thank you for stopping by!  Have a great day!
Supplies:

• Stamps:  Freckles by Stacy Yacula from Purple Onion Designs, Mega Mixed Messages from Papertrey Ink
• Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Close To My Heart Chocolate ink
• Papers:  Papertrey kraft CS, Echo Park, This & That Charming paper pad
• Tools:  Copic markers, Sewing machine, Big Shot, Tabs & Tags Clear Dollar Stamps dies, EK Success edge punch
• Embellishments:  Sakura white gelly roll pen, Jillibean Soup kraft mini brown alpha stickers, Twinery honeydew baker’s twine, misc. brads, misc. woodgrain washi tape

Challenges:

• Paper Issues challenge – Washi tape
• Crazy Amigo Challenge - Free Theme
• LEJ Designs SIO -  #12 Anything Goes
• Stamp n Plus M, SIO for 1st 2 Challenges Then SIR - #2 Anything Goes
• Desert Island Crafters - M, 2W, P1/15 - choose 3 or more from the list (brads, happy sentiment, or Hoppy in this case, kraft)
• Creative Mondays - 2W - (2nd week) For Men
• Make it Monday - always Anything Goes
• Truly Madly Crafty Challenges - M, 3E - (July) Animals
• Addicted to Stamps -2W, Must use stamp- (2nd week) Card for Some Special   (for my dad’s birthday)
• One Stitch At A Time - SIO - Anything Goes 
• The Crafty Pad - SIO - Paper Piecing
• Card Makin' Mamas - 2W, 2E, cards only - Week 2, Rubber Stamping
• Inspire Me Fridays – Always Anything Goes
• Divas by Design - 2E - #44 anything goes
• Dude Time Doodles - 3E, SIO, must be masculine - anything goes
• House That Stamps Built - SIO - outdoors/wildlife
• Paper Shelter Challenge - 3E, SIO - #73 anything goes
• The Perfect Sentiment - must have sentiment on front - anything goes
• Sisterhood of Crafters  - 2W, 3E - Let's Hear It For The Boys (2nd wk)
• Digi Doodle Shop's Best - SIO - Anything goes

Walk on the Ocean

Remember that song from Toad the Wet Sprocket?  I use to love it.  Anyhow, that song was running through my head when I was working on this scrapbook page.  I wanted to scrap these pictures from our trip from Virginia Beach this spring.   Liz wanted to swim in the ocean SO BAD, but it was too cold.  You can see her pouty face in the bigger pic because I wouldn’t let her put on her swim suit.  (I’m such a meanie!)  The round pic is her running out of the ocean after I gave in and said she could put her feet in. 

 

 

 

I’m going to keep this short.  We are having people over later today so I’m off to clean the house.   Have a great weekend!  Thank you for stopping by!

 

In case you forgot about Toad the Wet Sprocket, here is the video for “Walk on the Ocean”.

 

 

Supplies:

• Papers:  Papertrey kraft CS, Pink Paislee Nantucket paper pack
• Ink:  Distress Ink Antique Linen
• Tools:  Sewing machine, Big Shot, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Papertrey Edgers #1
• Embellishments:  Twinery Caribbean baker’s twine

Challenges:

• Inspire Me Fridays – Always Anything Goes
• Simply Create Too - 2W - Week 1, Summer / Vacation 
• C.R.A.F.T. - 5E - Splashy/water
• Little Red Wagon - #140 beach
• Creatalicious Challenges - M, P15, F - (ends Jul-14) Anything goes
• Cupcake Craftroom - 3E, P1 - Lots of layers
• Crazy Amigo Challenge – Vacation
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Crafty Bloggers Network - 2W, SIO - (1st week) Anything Goes
• Lexi's Creations - 2W - (2nd week) At the Beach
• Make it Monday - always Anything Goes
• Catch The Bug - 3E, SIO -  Anything Goes

Congratulations!

June always seems like a busy month.  Although I don’t know anyone graduating this year, I do have some friends and family that are celebrating important life events.    Of course, when you are a card marker and know someone with a big event in their lives, you just have to make them a card!

So my goal for myself over the weekend was to make 2 congratulations cards and to try to use up some of my “scraps”.    I ended up using the same design for both cards, with some little differences. 

This first card is for my friend, and Jazzercise buddy, Joy.  She is retiring from teaching after the end of the school year.  (Joy taught health to middle schoolers.  I think she might be a saint!)   Besides a card, we definitely need a Wii-tini party or Girls Night Out to celebrate!

 

 

The second card is for my cousin who recently got engaged.  Although we are be able to attend the party, I wanted to send a card to let him know how happy we are for them.   Since this card was for an engagement, I switched out the flowers with some hearts.  (Engagement, love, hearts…you know.)

 

Here is a look at them side by side.  Like I said, they are VERY similar but not the same. 

 

 

 

 

I also have a song to share for Music Saves My Soul.   I’m not sure if Marcea is still hosting the weekly party, but you can drop by her blog on Saturday to see if she has a linky set up.      I heard this song on the radio a couple of weeks ago and have been humming it every since.

 

 

 

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!  It is supposed to be warm, humid, and, well, summery, here this weekend.

 

Supplies:

• Stamps:  Communique Curves Sentiments from Papertrey Ink
• Inks:  Memento Rich Cocoa, Distress Ink Tea Dye
• Papers:  Papertrey kraft CS, My Mind’s Eye Stella & Rose Gertie & Hazel paper pads
• Tools:  Stampin’ Up edge punch & circle punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly, foliage, & 1” circle punch, Sweet n Sassy Heart dies, EK Success flower punch, Sewing machine
• Embellishments:  May Art burlap twine, Paper Studios gem stones & pearls, misc. buttons

 

Challenges:

• Paper Play - 2E - Back to kraft basics
• Pixie Dust Studio - SIO - Use 3 or more patterned papers
• Freshly Brewed - JFF, 5E - pop it
• Just Keep on Creating - F, M - #2 anything goes
• Paper Pretties - SIO -PPC209 favorite color combo (the 2nd card, pink, aqua, & kraft)
• Whimsy Inspiration - 3E, SIO - #42 things with wings
• Scrap It Girl - M, 2E, P1 – Punches
• Through the Craftroom Door - P1/15, 3E – Distressing
• Unique Crafters Challenge - M, P1, 3E - June challenge: Buttons
• Creatalicious Challenges - M, P15 -  Bingo* (buttons, butterflies, at least 3 punches)
• LEJ Designs SIO -  #5 Button It
• Paper Take Weekly - Anything Goes
• Crafty Boots - 2W, SIO - (2nd week) Anything Goes
• Make it Monday - always Anything Goes
• The Cutie Pie Challenge - 2W, cards - (2nd week) Die Cuts/Punches
•  There's Magic in the Air - 2W, SIO - (2nd week) BINGO* (ends 10th June) (Punches, flowers, circles)
• Gingerloft - 2W - (2nd week) Circles
• Great Impressions - M, 3E, SIO - (June) Die Cuts and/or Punches
• Catch The Bug - 3E, SIO -  Anything Goes
• Speedy and Friends -#110 Use Buttons

Blog Candy Winner and Other Stuff

 

 

First, and probably most importantly, I have to announce the lucky winner of the gift certificate to the Whimsy & Stars Studio shop.   (Thank you Mabelle for sponsoring my stop on the Polkadot Door blog hop!)   Thank you to every one who stopped by my blog and signed up to win.

Drumroll please…..

 

 

The random winner is #6 -  Calypso.    

Calypso said that Balloon Baby is her favorite image from the store.     He is a cutie!

 

 

Congratulations Calypso!   Email me at shestamps11-blogs(at)yahoo(dot)com to find out how to collect your $6 GC to the Whimsy & Stars Studio shop.    Happy shopping! 

 

 

I also have a song to share for Music Saves My Soul.  If you would like to play along, link up your blog post to Marcea’s blog.

 

 

 

I had a upsetting episode with my dog, Summer, on Friday.   Very suddenly, she started falling down,  walked almost like she was drunk, and was panting and drooling heavily.   Since she’s almost 14 years old, I freaked out and thought she had a stroke or something.   I called the vet and brought her right in.    After about 2 hours and several tests they diagnosed her with idiopathic peripheral vestibular disease.   In a nut shell, my poor dog has a horrible case of vertigo that may last a couple days or several weeks.  All we can do it try to make her comfortable, give her some anti-nausea meds and hope that it passes quickly.

 

 

 

Here is a picture of Summer from a couple of months ago.    Doesn’t she look happy wearing her sombrero?  (Not!)  I like to call this her Desperado look.     (You might recognize this hat from here.)  Let’s hope she is feeling better soon.   

 

That’s it for this week.   I hope you have a fabulous weekend!  Happy Mother’s Day!

Stuff to Share

 

 

I was so excited to find this video on YouTube this week.   I got this song as a free, promotional download ages ago and a video wasn’t available the last time I checked.  It looks like their album was finally released last month and now they have a video.    Yeah! Now I can share it with you.

 

 

If you have a song you would like to share, link up your blog post to Marcea’s blog.  She is our Hostess with the Mostess each week for Music Saves My Soul.

 

 

 

 

I read Jenny Lawson’s book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir).    Jenny may be better know as The Bloggess.  I started following her blog with this post.   I have to admit I laughed until I cried (in a good way).    So when her book finally came out, I couldn’t wait to get my paws on it.  I literally read it in day.    If you like Jenny’s blog, you will love the book.  (The reverse is also true, if you find her offensive, stay way from her book!) 

 

 

 

I made this, Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Florentine Pasta.    As Ree said, “It absolutely completed me.”   It was wonderful with some of my favorite things – pasta, chicken, pasta, cheese, pasta….    You can go to the recipe by clicking on the picture.

 

 

 

My hubby shared this video with me this week.   More true confessions, I needed a Kleenex by the end.  Drat those hormones!  Any how, I thought I would share it with you.   (Funny thing is my husband does most of work when it comes to my daughter’s fencing and it still made me weepy. )

This is what P&G says about the video -

Being a mom is the hardest job in the world. But it's also the best.

This Procter & Gamble commercial honors everything that all moms do to help their children succeed by showcasing the amazing moms behind Olympic athletes at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The hardest job in the world is truly the best job in the world.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

I have one more thing to share with you today.   (Also not crafting related – sorry!)   I found this cool video on Pinterest this week.    The slow motion video really shows the beauty and athleticism of fencing.   (The producer of the video says “Behind the bullet, the tip of a fencing blade is the second fastest-moving object in Olympic sports.”  Wow!)  My daughter fences with a foil and these are epee but it’s close enough.   If you really want to know the difference, you can find an infographic here.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for sticking with me through all this.   I hope you have a fabulous week end!

 

Don’t forget to sign up for your chance to win my paper give way and/or a $6 GC to the Whimsy & Stamps Studio shop.    Click on each picture below to be taken to the give away.

 

           

Music Saves My Soul

 

My choice this week is a little bit different than usual.    I didn’t pick this video because of the song (which is alright) but because of the actual video.   It was created by cutting the scenes out of over 12,0000 pieces of paper.   How cool is that?  Since this is a paper crafting blog, I thought it was a goo fit.

 

 

 

If you would like to share  a song/video, link up your blog post on Marcea’s blog.

 

Thank you for stopping by!

Blog Candy Winner & Music Saves My Soul

 

 

 

First, the winner of my March Follower Blog Candy of 2 My Mind’s Eye paper pads is……..

 

 

61. Heather

 

 

Congratulations Heather!  Please email me at shestamps11-blogs(at)yahoo(dot)com with your snail mail addy.

 

Since it is Saturday, I also have a song to share for Music Saves My Soul.  (Thank you to my brother for pointing me towards this song earlier this week.)   This song is off the brand new Joan Osborne album, Bring It On Home.

If you would like to play along, link up your blog post with your musical pick at Marcea’s blog.

 

My Fencer

Can you believe this is my 5th post this week?  Wow – what got into me?  I think I had to make up for not having any crafty mojo a couple of weeks ago. 
I am still trying to work on at least 1 scrapbook page per week.    I decided to use this picture, which I totally love, of my daughter.   She is proudly showing off  the silver medal she won at her first fencing tournament.
I played around with the photo in Photoshop a little bit.  (You can see the original photo in my right side bar.)  I used some tutorials that I found in Pinterest and like the way it turned out. 



I’m still trying to get back on the swing of scrapbooking and need some inspiration to get me going.   I was inspired by this layout I saw on Pinterest. 



Since it is Saturday, I also have  a song to share for Music Saves My Soul.  If you would like to play along, you can link up your favorite song, or a song you would like to share, on Marcea’s blog.

I was listening to Buddy Guy this morning on my iPod and decided I wanted to share this song.   Then I found this video with Buddy and John Mayer.  It brought back some fun memories at Summerfest.   (If you don’t know what Summerfest is, check out the link.  Let me know if you are coming!)  Anyhow, it was raining out and my friend and I found Buddy Guy playing on the blues stage.  While we are watching him, some guy walks on stage and starts playing.  It was John Mayer.  He was playing in a different area of the festival, finished up his gig and came over to play with Buddy.    It already was an awesome performance but that was just the icing on the cake.




Have you heard of Pinerly yet?!   This is an exciting new way to manage your Pinterest boards!
It is not yet open to the public.  You have to request an invitation like you did for Pinterest. 
Click HERE to sign up and request an invitation!


Thank you for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!
Supplies:

• Papers:  My Mind’s Eye Stella & Rose Hazel paper pad, Papertrey kraft CS
• Tools:  Sewing machine, Stampin’ Up corner punch, Sweet N Sassy heart die, Papertrey Block Alpha Upper Die & Tiny Tags Die
• Embellishments: Misc. buttons, dew drops, flowers, cotton twine, epoxy flowers, Papertrey silk ribbon (colored with copic marker)
• Fonts:  Jenna Sue from Dafonts.com
• Technique:  Custom made rub ons  - You can see my tutorial on this technique HERE

Challenges:

• Catered Crop – In stitches
• Scrapbookaholic by Abby - 2W - Week 2, Anything Goes
• Crafty Purple Frog - 2W, SIO - (1st week) Anything goes
• Paper Crafting Journey - 2W - (2nd week) Pretty Pastels
• Paper Play - 2E - Spring colours
• Colour Create - 2W, 1E - (2nd week) Pink, Blue, Sage, Cream/White + Photo Inspiration*
• Crafts and Me - #76 Spring colors
• Freshly Brewed - JFF, 5E – dots
• Tuesday Throwdown - #90 Spring Cleaning (Use hoarded stash)  (all the embellish are from hoarded stash)
• Going Grey With Scrap-Creations - 2E - Flowers

Beware….

Pin It

I recently decided to take a step back to my paper crafting roots and start scrapbooking again.  I have been wanting to do it for a while, but I have to admit that I found doing a 12 x 12 layout intimidating.    So I decided to get back to it and do what I am more comfortable with.    So here is my first page, a 6x6 page from last Halloween.    I messed around with some photo effects and kind of like how this turned out.

 

 

 

 

 

With St. Patrick’s day now less than a week away, I thought I would share a tune that is in my St. Patty’s playlist.    (This song sums up last week to a tee for me.  Thank goodness for the week end!)   If you would like to share a song in the musical blog hop, stop by Marcea’s blog to link up.

 

 

 

Don’t forget to check out my March Followers Blog Candy.  Click HERE for more info.

 

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies:

• All papers, die cuts and stickers are from the Teresa Collins Haunted Hallows collection
• Embellishments:  Timeless Twine bakers twine, Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type numbers stickers, Paper Studio gemstones

Challenges:

• C.R.A.F.T. – Inspired by song  (Everyday is Halloween by Ministry)
• Paper Crafting Journey – Anything goes
• Dare to Be Sassy – 2 or more polka dot items (2 different papers)
• PaperTake Weekly – Anything goes
• Craft your Passion – Anything goes

Lucky Winner & Music Saves My Soul

I sorry I’ve been a little slow posting the winner of my February follower blog candy.   All I can say is that it has been an extra busy week.  So with out further chit chat, I’ll get to it. 

One lucky winner, picked by Random.org, will win a Lili of the Valley Balloon Bunny (unmounted rubber) stamp and a 6x6 BasicGrey Picadilly paper pad.

 

The lucky winner is…..

 

#92 is Becky B. of Scrappin’ Becky B.

 

Congratulations Becky!  Please email me at shestamps11-blogs(at)yahoo(dot)com with your mailing address with in the next 10 days and I will get your prize in the mail.

 

 

 

I also wanted to share a song that I heard on the radio this past week end when driving to my daughter’s fencing tournament.  I had to download it when I got home.  I hope you like it!

 

 

If you would like to play along Marcea’s weekly musical blog hop, link up your post on Marcea’s blog. 

 

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a great week end!