Ms. Maisy (Regrets)

Isn't she cute?

She belongs to my friend and DL Patti (hi, Ms. Patti). Her name is Maisy, and she's about 2 years old now.

She's the subject of today's blog post because Patti made this card using My Digital Studio (MDS) !

And not only that, Patti used the MDS DVD from the Sale-A-Bration catalog to make the card - and it's a FREEBIE once you've purchased $50 in other product. Did you even notice it was there? It is - on page 7.

Yes, I'll wait while you scramble to find your copy...

Don't have one, you say? Call or email me, and I'll be happy to get one to you!

The DVD has all the stamp images (they're called stamp brushes in MDS) from the SAB catalog, as well as the Ice Cream Parlor DSP, ribbon, buttons, and die cut adhesives. Lots of fun things to play with!

I've been seeing photos of Maisy for as long as Patti's had her, and wanted to meet her in person. So, Patti brought her down to my house about 6 months ago.

And, she's just the CUTEST thing! A long haired dauschaund (sp???), so she can be a little stubborn. But definitely CUTE...

I used to have a corgi/spaniel mix dog named Georgi who could be pretty stubborn, too, so maybe that's just the way dogs are!??!

Me, mostly I've been a cat person, so when I got Georgi, it was a learning curve for me. We finally got to the point where he could read my mind, and he was a great little dog. And very smart.

He'd go next door (he loved my neighbor, Richard) and bark at their front door and they'd let him in. And when he was ready to come home, he'd bark again, and they'd let him out, and home he'd come... They always had dogs, too, so I guess Georgi went to visit... Although *I* think he was more interested in Richard, than the other dogs...

He would sit out in the front yard and guard both Richard's and our home. It was so funny to watch. He'd stay in the yard, too, with the exception of visiting Richard.

And he'd greet the neighbors with a wag of his tail and a smile... Oh - and my customers, too! Great little dog. Seriously thought about having him cloned!

Anyway, back to Maisy and MDS. Patti used a lot of the accessories from the SAB catalog to embellish her card, and I think she did an awesome job!

She printed this more as a postcard than a greeting card - so there are other possibilities besides greeting cards. And, hopefully, she's going to use this in a scrapbook at some point too!

So, do you now NEED the SAB DVD? Call or email to place your $50 order and it's yours!

Thanks for stopping by - come back soon!

Trinkets from the Heart

This was one of the displays we got the opportunity to see while we were at Leadership in Nashville last month.

Isn't it pretty?!!?

It's made up entirely of trinkets from the Occasions mini-catalog, which is in effect from NOW until April 30, 2011.

NOW is also Sale-A-Bration (SAB) - and when you make a $50 purchase (before shipping/handling and tax) NOW - you get to choose an item from the SAB mini-catalog!

LOTS to choose from, too - from stamps, to ribbons and buttons, to adhesive backed die cuts - even a DVD with images from SAB on them so you can use it with your My Digital Studio! Or, these images can be used with any other product that allows the use of .jpg files, should you have some.

The trinkets used in the heart are all located on page 24 of the Occasions mini. They include crowns, keys, and baubles in 4 colors.

And besides looking awesome in this heart shaped display, they're perfect for adding to jewelry you might have, or used with our Simply Adorned line of jewelry products (bracelets, necklaces, charms for each), as well.

This display was made by a Stampin' Up! employee - I don't know which one, but I think it's very cleverly done, don't you?

How can I help you with your stamping needs? Give me a call and let me know!

Thanks for stopping by...

Sending Springtime Smiles

I just love this little girl silhouette that's in the stamp set "Easter Blossoms" in the Occasions mini-catalog.

Actually, I like this whole set - and it's the first Easter set in many years that's drawn my attention.

The branch in the upper right corner is from the set, as is the word stamp "sending Springtime smiles".

After I stamped the girl and the branch (several times), I spritzed the whole card with both Gold and Log Cabin Smooch Spritz. I let it dry, then used an Aqua Painter and spread the gold and brown spritz around to color in the leaves/flowers on the branches.

They came out an interesting color, didn't they?

I added some Victorian lace and three large brown brads, then mounted the whole thing on Chocolate Chip CS.

For some reason, I've been on a Neutrals kick lately. Never happens with me! I'm a Bold Brights gal. So this new "direction" is kinda weirding me out!

Do you need a new direction?

How about some new "toys" from Stampin' Up!? We've got all KINDS of toys for you to play with these days - all the way from card stock, inks, and stamps, to Mr. Big and fabrics, vinyl wall decorations, and jewelry items!

Call or email me to let me know what you NEED! And don't forget about Sale-A-Bration! FREE STAMPS for each $50 you purchase between now and March 31, 2011.

Thanks for stopping by!

The FIrst One

Today I found the first California poppy in bloom for this year! I've seen some alongside the road, but this is the first one in my backyard this year.



Of course, I found it around Noon when it was fully open, and forgot to take a photo until around 4 PM. Once the plant is in the shade (from the fence or other plants, for instance) the flower closes up.






Last evening it looked like this, and I KNEW it would be open today.









It was a LOVELY day to putz around out in the yard today.

I spent most of it tidying up potted plants - you know, cut off the dead wood, pull the weeds (myriads of them!!!!), move the pots around so that they're where they'll be happier.

When Dr Destructo re-did the patio last year, everyone got moved - and just put ANYWHERE! Most of them were not happy. They didn't get the attention they were used to (for the most part, I couldn't GET to them for one reason or another), and the weeds had just taken over...

Luckily, we got lots of rain this year, so there are more survivors than I'd anticipated. So, time spent grooming them will be very worthwhile in the long run.

The honeysuckle fell over during the rains, too, and it just sat there for about two weeks - it was on "the list" every day, but I found lots of excuses not to do anything about it.

Last week I hacked the heck out of it! In the time since it had fallen over, it had started showing some new shoots closer to its base, which was helpful. I knew how far back I could cut it without killing it. So I spent a little time today, re-hanging the netting I want it to grow up, and trying to convince those long runners that they'd be happier if they let me weave them thru the netting to get them started going where I want them.

While I was putzing out there, the cats all came out to join me.

They like it when I'm working out in the backyard. See?



Smudge wants me to pet her and follows me around (or just sits on the patio coffee table)...







Smedley plays "flat cat" ( or just sits on the patio chair!)...






And Velvet just sits on the patio chair and watches and naps...





And then, to top it all off, we had this gorgeous sunset, complete with a new moon!


I know - you probably can't see the new moon, but, trust me, it's there!

New moons are supposed to signify new beginnings.

I hope I was able to give a few of my plants some chances for new beginnings today.


And speaking of new beginnings - you haven't forgotten about SALE-A-BRATION (SAB) have you? I haven't heard from you about what you'd like to order to receive your FREE product! And new stamps and accessories are the doorways to new beginnings!

Call or email me and let me know what you need!

Electronics! Love 'em or Hate 'em?

Have you ever had problems with electronics?

You know - cell phones, computers, printers, TVs...

Well about 2 months ago, it seemed as though EVERYTHING I own that's electronic was not working in some way or another. VERY frustrating, to say the least!

I kiddingly told someone Mercury must be retrograde - Mercury is the main influence on communications, whether electronic or otherwise, if you're into Astrology.

So, I checked Susan Miller's horriblescope site, and, sure enough - Mercury WAS retrograde!

So, the cell phone eventually started working again (although I still don't like this phone!), I found all my lost contacts for my email... But not without having spent about 3 hours on the phone with various "help" lines - and I use that term very loosely!

And I THOUGHT everything was working again...

Then the printer decided to die on me. It was in the middle of printing out some flyers, when it ran out of black ink.

So I changed the cartridge, tried printing again, and all I got was PINK!

OK, change out the rest of the cartridges - and now it doesn't print ANYTHING!

I get very frustrated with technology, very quickly. I can take about 3 stabs at fixing something before I get so upset I have to walk away from it.

And once I walk away, I'll talk myself out of tackling it again for WEEKS! I figure, I've already tried everything I know how to do, and nothing has worked, so I'd better not fiddle with it anymore, cause, sure as heck, I'm gonna screw it up further!

So last week I decided I NEEDED to get the photos printed for the family calendar. Our current one runs out the end of February!

Tackled it again, only to have the same thing happen - NUTHIN'

Worked my way thru the on-line help from Epson, did everything they told me to do, and then I couldn't find the printer anywhere! Finally called their help line (after several emails discussing the problem). The person I talked was very helpful, but....

... long story short. I ended up buying a new printer the other day. It was going to cost more to fix the old one than a new one costs.

That's a sad thing, don't you think? We've become such a "throw away" society, that it's cheaper to buy a new one than fix the old one...

And while I was buying the printer, I bought myself a different phone, too!

So, now I've got NEW electronic things to learn how to manipulate and mess up! As I walked out of the store with my new printer, the guy at the door said "Now the fun begins" - guess if you're an electronic geek, that IS the fun part.

The printer's all hooked up and I'm printing out the photos I want to use for the calendar.

I've made these calendars for about the past 5-6 years - I sort of have a process. But not matter how you cut it, making 4 handmade calendars is time consuming.

Don't get me wrong - I love making them and I love that they appreciate getting them. But they are time consuming.

I debated making them on My Digital Studio, but realized the smallest I could make was 8-1/2 x 11 - consensus was the smaller 6x6 is better for all of us. I suppose I could have come up with some sort of a work-around, but by now I've burned up any excess time to play with it that I might have had.

So, handmade it is!

Here are some sneak peaks - nothing is glued down, nothing is final as far as which photos will be on which pages. But it's a start!











Come back again in a few days, and, hopefully, I'll have some finished pages to show you!

In the meantime, just a reminder that it's Sale-A-Bration (SAB) time - pull out that Occasions mini-catalog and that SAB catalog, pull a $50 order together, select an SAB item, and give me a call!

Thanks for stopping by...

NOW we're gettin' it!

Finally, I was able to get my act together re: fabric coordination!

You don't think about 8 different fabrics going together unless you're a quilter, I guess.

I do with paper - it just never dawned on me that I'd need the same mind set for making fabric flowers!

As I mentioned before, I used a lot of different Big Shot flower dies to cut out my fabrics. I was curious if it really made a difference which one I used. Would I like the flowers better from the Flower Folds die or the Scallop #2 die? Or would I like those I'd made with yet other dies?

Well, I think I tried them all!

It's very easy to make these flowers, since you can cut EIGHT LAYERS of fabric at the same time! YES! Once through Mr. Big and you've got all your flower petals - and more!

Wanna see?


This one was made using the Flower Layers w/Leaf die (Item 113470 $19.95).

There are three different flowers and a leaf on this die, so I just folded my fabrics in half and cut two of each one at the same time.




This is one of the other flower patterns on that same die.

Isn't it interesting how different the two flowers look once they're put together? Yet both of them look like the flowers they're supposed to be! I love it!



I used some fabrics with music, musical notes and a yellow with a small pattern. I used buttons for the centers of both. These seem to be the handiest things I have laying around, and I think they're just about perfect!

I have more to show you, but will need to finish them first! I got off on another tangent for a couple of evenings and need to get these done by Sunday afternoon, since they're going to be my swap for this month's Demo get-together! SHHH - don't tell them, OK?

I hope seeing these fabric flowers has struck some resonance within you. If you're a quilter to start with, I'm sure you can see myriad possiblities here!

If you love flowers as I do, well, they're just great accessories to make and give as gifts!

I've taken to wearing one of them on whatever shirt I'm wearing for the day. Lately, because it's been pretty chilly here, I've been wearing my white vest - and they ALL go with that!

Next post I'll give you step by step instructions on how to make these, OK?

Don't forget about SAB, Haitian relief - oh, and I hope you had a very

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Thanks for stopping by...