Yeh, I'm Still Alive

Sorry - I've been very busy being a "gopher" lately.

I hired someone to install a shower head in the bathroom that only had a tub.

Well, as you can well imagine, that one little "thing" escalated to a whole bathroom renovation! And in the process, I got to "gopher" a lot of things from Home Depot and Lowe's!

It's complete now, and it came out BEAUTIFULLY!

Here are some before and after photos...

BEFORE:

















I had painted and papered this bathroom about 10 years ago. I LOVED the color, which doesn't come out very well in these photos. These two are the best of the lot, to show the color.

But, with the addition of a showerhead and the necessary shower tiles, it quickly became apparent this color was tired and needed to be replaced.


And then, I decided to get a new vanity, and new flooring, and...

Well, you know how it goes - it becomes a SNOWBALL! Cuz once you've got the new paint, vanity, and flooring, you now need new rugs and a new shower curtain, and, of course, the shower needs all the amenities!



Here are some of the DURING and AFTER pix:

I chose a color called Desert Sandstone this time around. Then I decided I needed a little less of that color in this small room, and chose a complementary, lighter color in the same tone. Used the darker color for an accent wall, and the other color for the other three walls.

















The new vanity is a complementary color to the existing (and not replaced) mirror/medicine chest. And, after much consideration, I decided to go with a vanity that is half as deep as the previous one was. It makes the room look SO much bigger!



Of course, I also have less storage space now... And I have THREE big boxes of "stuff" that I took out of the old bathroom that I'll need to do something with.

And see that yellow item on the top of the toilet? That was a gift I received at the Manager's meeting at Leadership in January! I'm still debating how to use it in the bathroom, but the color works well with the other things I've put in there.






I finally found a shower curtain that I like today. And while going through my closet looking for a specific thing to hang in there, I found a treasure I'd forgotten I had, that will become the focal point of the entire room.









After my dad passed away, my mom decided to come to San Diego to live for a while to see if she'd like it here. She met a woman, who, in her early 70's decided to learn how to oil paint. Her name was Mallie, and she was a doll. And a very good painter, too!

They lived near the beach, so of course, she painted beach scenes. But my favorite by her was a desert scene she'd given to my mom. So, she gave me one as well (they're almost identical), which I had framed and which now hangs in my living room.

When my mom passed away, I brought her picture back with me. My dad had made the frame from wood recovered from my grandfather's cider mill when they tore it down, so of course, it has very strong sentimental value to me.

Well, I found it, and decided it was PERFECT for my new bathroom! The colors are perfect and it opens up a color palette for me that I'd never considered until I tried it in there.

I'm so pleased with my "new" bathroom!

The master bath is on the list to be renovated, as well, but I had to order the shower pan, which won't be here for about 2 more weeks.

So, next on the list of "Things To Do" is tearing off the old patio (cover and cement) and re-doing that.

So, if I'm gone again for a while, just know that I'm "gophering" again - but I'll be back, I promise!

I HAVE been stamping a little during all of this. Both my brother and sister-in-law have birthdays in April, so here are the cards I made for them


















Hope you're still stamping, too!

The Day After The Earthquake

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all had a very Happy Easter.

We here in SOCAL had a rockin' and rollin' one! Yep - the earthquake that's been making the news this week was felt by just about everyone here.

And it was a doozy, let me tell you!

I've lived in SOCAL for 35 years. I've experienced a number of earthquakes, and generally, they're just a little blip on the screen of life. You realize AFTER they're over that it was an earthquake. We have earthquakes every day - most of them are tiny - 1 -3 on the scale. Very few people feel those, unless they're very sensitive.

But not this one! Oh no... We rocked and rolled for about a minute. Now, that may not sound like a long time, but believe me, when you're experiencing an earthquake, that's an interminable amount of time.

You're just SURE it's never going to stop.

I have to say, for the first time in all these years, I was frightened.

My friend, Susan, called me almost before it was over to make sure I hadn't missed it ( I hadn't!) and we chatted for a little while before hanging up. She told me when we were chatting they'd registered it at a 6.9 tremor.

Before two hours were over, they'd re-evaluated, and decided it was a 7.2.

That's larger than the quake that hit Haiti several months ago! And look at all the damage that one caused. Remember, Stampin' Up! even contributed to that one by giving a percentage from the sales of all "I {Heart} Hearts sets sold during the month of February.

We've been VERY fortunate. I've only heard about two deaths, and some, but not major, damage to buildings, along with some roads having buckled and a few bridges damaged.

Of course, the news each night tells us a little more, but, really, we were VERY, VERY fortunate that the damage wasn't worse.

There have been a large number of aftershocks, but I've only felt one. Don't know if I'm not paying attention, or I just happen to be lucky enough to live somewhere we're just not feeling them.

Anyway, in years to come, I'm sure each Easter will bring back memories of where we each were and what we were doing when the "The Quake" hit.

But you didn't come here to discuss earthquakes, I'm sure.

So, let's get on to some stamping!

Last week was my friend, Jay's, birthday. I had a number of photos I'd been promising to make him copies of - mostly of his dogs, Angel and Rocky, along with a couple of him that I've taken over the past year or so.

So I thought, what better time to give him a little scrapbook of all the photos I'd been promising.

Remember last couple of times, I'd been showing you the scrapbooks made using the toilet paper holders? Well, I decided, since I didn't have a lot of photos, I'd make him one of those.

I started with Brocade Blue DSP from one of the Hostess gift 6x6 Designer Series papers.

These are the handiest little pads of paper! Next time you hostess a workshop (call me and book one!) treat yourself to that as your Level I Hostess gift. It'll last you a very long time!

I added some Rich Razzleberry CS, on which I used the Pinking Hearts punch.

Unfortunately, that punch was offered in the Occasions mini-catalog, which has expired. I'm 99.9% sure it'll be back in the new Idea Book and catalog, which will debut July 1st. I sure hope so, cause I like the punch very much!

I'll quickly show you the rest of the covers of Jay's book, then at the end, show you the fully decorated product.









And here's the finished product:

I didn't want to get TOO frilly, since this WAS for a guy, but at the last minute added the blue daisy and Kiwi Kiss corduroy button.

And they MADE the outside of the scrapbook.

It was so jammed with photos that the inserts kept falling out as I was working on it, so I used a piece of Bluebird grosgrain ribbon (long retired, but I like the color! And it matched the DSP, LOL) to tie it closed. The ribbon"belly band" just slips right off so you can look through the book.

Jay's going back East to see his family next month, and I'm hoping he'll take it along to show relatives his puppy dogs. But if he doesn't, well, at least I've fulfilled my obligation to get those photos to him!

Have YOU made one of these TP scrapbooks? Post a photo of it in my comments section, or send a link to your blog - would love to see it!

Keep on stampin'!

Fabric Flowers - Another Day, Different Fabrics

I offered to make my friend, Faye, a fabric flower. She always admires those that I wear on my clothes, when I go anywhere. Might as well advertise, no?

She wanted pink, and she asked me to make one for the (more senior than we are!) lady she helps out a couple of days a week. She suggested yellow for that flower.

So, without further ado, here are the flowers I made for them this weekend.

First, the pink ones, for Faye's consideration:


Each Mr. Big die has more than one flower shape on it, so I just cut out about 8-10 layers of different, matching, fabrics, then proceed to glue the pieces together.

This time I used hot glue. I think I had more control, since I'm leaving them flat, instead of folding and layering the pieces.

I did try that with these, and didn't like them as well.

And, I decided, since these are gifts, the presentation was important. So, I cut pieces of Whisper White CS a little larger than the flowers, and stamped them with the appropriate color, using the Petal Prints background stamp. I love that stamp! I punched holes using my CropADile, and threaded the pin through the holes to keep it in place.

And then I signed them with my "artistic alias".

Many years ago, there was someone from Europe (maybe a skier?), whose last name was Susanj. That happens to be my real first name and middle initial. So, I started signing my artwork with it. I had forgotten about it til I made these display cards tonight, so decided to bring it out of retirement.

Now the yellow flowers. Think these may be MY favorites!


















I hope Faye and her friend enjoy these. I get the left-overs! LOL

Happy stampin'

Team Meeting Projects

We had our monthly "we StAMp everything" Team Meeting a week or so ago, and I never posted the projects we made that evening.

BTW - if you'd like to become a member of our Team, too, please call or email me to find out the particulars.

There's a sign up special right now that includes the My Digital Studio (MDS) software, along with the standard Starter Kit - and the price is only $185! It's a great deal, since the MDS software alone is worth $80 and this entire kit is worth $295! Call me if you're interested!

I had two projects ready for them to make if they wanted.

The first I offered was the little containers I'd found at the 99-cent store. Remember, I'd had my stamp club members make those last month - decorating them with vinyl embellishments they cut out with Mr. Big.

I showed you those I'd made here, but forgot to take photos of those the club members made. I didn't forget at our Team Meeting!

This is Natalie's.

She chose to use the "N" from the Serif Essentials Big Shot die to "make it hers".

Then she added quite a few flowers cut from various colors of vinyl and several Big Shot dies.

She also decorated the lid, but I forgot to take a photo of that part.

I have to tell you, the one I made myself is doing wonderful duty as a scrap bin on my work table in the Stampin' Garage!



Here's the other side of the container, showing additional flowers she used.

It turned out quite lovely, didn't it?












Del and Susan decided they wanted to try to make some of the fabric flowers I'd been playing around with.

Here's Susan's. She made hers using the directions I'd used to make my earliest attempts here.

She chose the fabrics she wanted and proceeded to cut them with Mr. Big and one of the flower dies.

She folded each flower into quarters, tacked them together, then fanned them out and hot clued them to a circle she'd cut from CS. Notice the netting and the corduroy button she added to the mix.They really give the flower personality.


And this is Del's.

She had seen some flowers Veronica made using the Daisy die, so she decided to try that approach.

For hers, she put the layers together on top of a circle of CS, then proceeded to lift the layers (starting at the bottom one) and apply Crystal Effects between each layer.

It worked out very nicely! She didn't have to "futs" (is that a real word? It is where I come from - I'm just not sure how to spell it!) with re-aligning each layer as she went.

And I love how the flower turned out! She also chose a button out of a bag of buttons Veronica had given me. These are OLD buttons, so you don't find them just every where these days.

I liked Del's flower so much I made myself a couple with the daisy die and Crystal Effects. I put about 10-12 layers on mine, and each time I wear it, it becomes fluffier and fluffier!

Hope you've been stamping! If not, drag those stamps, pads, and paper out and make yourself something that makes you happy!

The Kidz' TP Photo Album

I showed you the TP album I'd made for our SU convention and other events. Would YOU like to go to these events too? We have a blast each and every time.

Well, you CAN - all you need to do is join my "we StAMp everything" team and you'll be invited! Call or email me to find out the particulars!

Back to the Kidz' album. It turned out pretty danged cute, if I do say so myself.

I used the Pawsitively Prints DSP (118060 $9.95) from the Occasions mini-catalog to cover these TP tubes. It seemed the most appropriate! And I used "C is for Cat" (115764 $15.95) set to embellish.

But wait! You can get the "C is for Cat" set FREE - as a Sale-A-Bration item, if you want it! All you have to do is purchase $50 in product and you may select this set as your freebie! Give me a call with your order!

On to the album:

The outside. This time I used the Pinking Hearts border punch (117649 $15.59 in Occasions mini).

And, this time, I cut my paper into 6x6 squares, then trimmed to fit the tubes.

Notice the belly band made with the striped DSP? That was the left over piece, turned over! No sense wasting DSP...

This album was made using a paper towel roll, which I had to cut. I miscalculated, so they were all a different size.

I solved that by "layering" them from shortest to longest when I bound them together. There's almost always a creative way to solve problems!


Here's what the album looks like between tube 1 and tube 2.

There are pull outs in this one, as well.

And, another belly band as an embellishment.

I used Black Staz-on ink to stamp on the DSP as well. Thought those paws were quite appropriate!

Here's tube 3 with the slider pulled half way out. The photo you can't see is the one of Melie yawning. Everyone likes that one! He looks SO ferocious!








And here's what's become my favorite photo of Smudge.

She just looks so regal sitting on that pile of dirt! LOL

Seriously, she DOES look regal - it's just too bad she likes that pile of dirt so well and sleeps/sits on it all the time.

It seems to be the only time she sits still long enough for me to get a decent photo.

She's nudging me as I type this, telling me it's time to go to bed! So, we shall!

Hope you enjoyed the TP roll photo albums! I'll do a tutorial to show you step by step how YOU can make one shortly.

In the meantime, keep on stampin'!

Toilet Paper - REALLY???!

Well, OK, so it's only the rolls from INSIDE the toilet paper that I used, but, still - toilet paper rolls? REALLY?

Yes, really. My friend Joanna had told me about these and even send me a link to a video tutorial on how to make them. I wasn't the least bit excited, even after seeing the video.

But, I decided to try to make one. After all, I had LOTS of photos left over from those family calendars that were sitting on my work bench. Might as well give it a try.

And I was suitably impressed with the outcome! REALLY!

Look!

This one was made using some of the photos of my fellow demonstrators and myself at various SU functions.

Here's the finished product - three TP rolls, flattened and embellished with DSP, ribbons, and lots of other "stuff". After the decorating part was completed, I used my binding machine to attach them all together.

These are great little photo albums to send to family and friends. You're being "green", too!


Here are some more photos. Notice that there are pull outs inside each of the rolls. I attached photos to both sides of each of them.

This is the inside of tube 1 and tube 2.

I used 3" x 4-1/2" Cottage Wall DSP (115671 $9.95) to cover them. It took two pieces, when I used those measurements. I just happened to have those already cut, so decided to use the new scallop edge punch - and then I overlapped the two pieces when I attached them to the tube.


I have scalloped edges on the top of one side and the bottom of the other side.

Here's a close up of one of the photos. Convention 2009 was Terri's first SU convention, and she decided she'd like to try and get her photo taken with Shelli, the co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!.

She got in line and they ended the line right after her. So, she stood there for quite some time. I joined her in line, and voila! I got in the photo too. Certainly not my intention, but I treasure the photo!


Between tube 2 and tube 3. That's Joanna showing off the new catalog cover, and me, modeling the beautiful Big Shot cut flowers that my upline, Jill, had given me as a gift.






And here's the other side of the same two tubes:

This is Sharon, trying NOT to get her photo taken. OH - and Susan's arm over there to the left.









Here are some of the inserts:








Not sure what happened to the orientation on those last two - hard to see, but this is how they'd pull out of the sleeves.

Hope you enjoyed this peek! I did another one with the Kidz' photos on it. Will show you some of it another time

Happy stampin'!

Back Again

Hi Everyone:

Been MIA again - kept telling myself I needed to blog, and then would get tired and hit the hay.

I have been stamping - even though I haven't been sharing. My bad.

How's this for a couple of new shares - a couple of new Easel cards. I had some pieces lying around, and sometimes they just jump out and grab me and I HAVE to make them into a card










This one has a ribbon rose on it for some color. I'll show you how to make those one of these days. They're pretty darned easy! If you remember the ruffly flowers I showed you how to make here, you'll immediately see how similar they are.









That's it for tonight. I have lots of other new stuff to show you, but I'm going to meter it out, just in case I get off on other tangents again!

Just a reminder - Sale-A-Bration ends on March 31st, so if there's something you'd like to earn FREE, be sure to contact me and place your order! You'll receive one SAB item for EACH $50 you purchase - such a deal!

Happy stamping!