A mish mash of things today

This is odd Thursday. I've got a mish mash of things for you today, so let's get to it!



Get a drink, sit down and relax. I'm not sure how long this will take....



First I want to show you all an award that I received from Rebecca over at Scrapper's Delight. It's the One Lovely Blog Award.

Here is the rules for this award which is given to new blogs and blogging friends.


1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. So here are the ones that I will pass this award on to.

1. Maria @ http://theinkystamper.blogspot.com/
2. Lindsay @ http://thefrugalcrafter.wordpress.com/
3. Amber @ http://somanycolorssolittletime.blogspot.com/
4. Melissa @ http://ihaveprettierstuff.blogspot.com/
5. Sandi @ http://www.sandimaciver.com/
6. Fran @ http://stampersblog.franticstampers.com/
7. Vicki @ http://itsastampthing-vicki.blogspot.com/
8. Jaelynn @ http://itsallaboutstampin.blogspot.com/
9. Rose @ http://roseohio-myblog.blogspot.com/
10. Rosa @ http://ribbonsbuttonsbrads.blogspot.com/
11. Jackie @ http://kreatewithme2.blogspot.com/
12. Kim @ http://atlstamper198.blogspot.com/
13. Shelly @ http://jaspere-jaspereslittlecorner.blogspot.com/
14. Jennie @ http://stampawaytheday.blogspot.com/
15. Lesly @ http://stampyourselfsilly.blogspot.com/

Now these are some great blogs that I've got bookmarked on my computer. Sometimes I have time to actually look at a blog, then sometimes I scan it, bookmark it and go back later. And I know that some of these I've not even commented on. Yes, that's bad of me. But I will, I just don't always have time.

Now on to another one of my new passions. The past few days I've been bitten by the digital scrap booking bug. I just love it! First of all I love my computer. I can not remember what I did without one. But I try to be on the computer in the mornings and then in the craft room in the afternoon. My computer is upstairs away from my craft room so I run back and forth a lot. Great for the calf muscles *Ü*I did this really quick this morning. Faster than you could pull out a tape gun!! I don't have any special programs, I just use Microsoft Digital Image Standard 2006 Edition that came with my computer. All you do is open up all the paper and elements and you just click and drag. OMGoodness it is so super easy! Can you tell that I am totally excited about it?! And let me tell you there are so many places on the net that you can go to to get freebie papers and embellishments. My favorite place I've found so far is Summertime Designs. Summer is awesome! You can't imagine the papers and things that she has. Please take time to check her out!

Another place that I've found is Scrapwow. They have awesome deals on their papers and element kits. And if you sign up with them you will get freebies each month. How cool is that? I almost forgot. There is another site that I love it's called The Shabby Princess. You've got to take a peek at that site too!!!

And last but not least, another site that I've found that I just love is Living Locurto. Amy's site is a bit of everything. She loves to take pictures, and there is recipes and freebies. It's a place that you can go to and click all day long and still see new stuff... I love how she posts her menus for the week. If you click here it will take you to a post for a Mother's day box and you can print off the instructions, template and some cool paper to make it with!

I hope that I did not overwhelm you too much today. I've almost finished with my scrapbook that I'm working on. Then I should be back on track with more cards.

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

It's hump day!

Happy Hump Day everyone! My goodness, Wednesday already. Where does the time go? Mom was right, the older you get the faster time goes by...

Yes, I'm still working on my scrap book. I'm almost done for now. I've got to go to the store and print out more pictures. I've not scrapped in probably almost a year now. I do want to get as much done as I can though. Even work on the family album a little more. But I still keep making cards. That's my true passion.

So you ready for a peek? Here we go!

I am in need of making birthday cards for my "stash" and this is what I came up with. I made a few of these, they can be for either a male or female.

I used the TAC set Sweet Thing. I just l♥ve cupcakes!! I stamped it and colored it in with my pencils and gamsol. The base card is Bashful Blue and I also used Pumpkin Pie and SU! Delicate Dots DP. I used my nesties to cut out the image that I sponged with Bashful Blue ink and the Pumpkin Pie layer that I paper peirced. I also cut out a circle of the DP and added some ribbon scrap then adhered it behind the image. I stamped the words Celebrate and birthday wishes with Pumpkin Pie ink. The inside I just took some of the scraps I had from making the card front and used my scallop punch to add another dimension. The stamp is one of my all time favorites from D.O.T.S. that I always end up using on birthday cards. Once the card was complete I used some dimensional glaze over the top of the cupcake to give it a little more texture.

The next card I made was a special card for my Mother for Mother's day. After all, I could not give her one of the other's I made. I had to make it special for her, besides, she had seen all the others *Ü*

I knew just the set that I wanted to use for her card. She likes the flowers and the soft chalks so I had to pull out my SU! Wreath of Roses set. The base card is Pink Pirouette that I layered with some butterfly cs that I purchased years ago from The Paper Palette at a show, Purely Pomegranate and some DP from CTMH.

I colored the rubber with my markers then stamped it on to white cs. I took my chalks and sponged some color just on to the flowers themselves then stamped the words Happy Mother's Day in the center of the wreath. I cut the image and the panel behind it out with my nesties and added that to the card front. After adding the DP to the card, but before adhering the panel down I added a length of ribbon to the card. For the inside I just took and stamped a rose in the corner and added the chalk to it.

You think she'll like it?? I hope so.

Well that's all I've got for you today. I hope that will hold ya??

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

Happy Tuesday

Good morning friends. I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. Ours was very busy. We went looking at puppies (no, we didn't get one) and then we went garden shopping.

We've got our vegetable plants and seeds put in. Hubby said yesterday that we have room for more but what we don't know.

We've started a tradition that each year we go to pick out our own tomato plants and we each plant our own. Then we have a "race" to see who get's the first picked tomato. I keep teasing that this year it will be me. Everyone else's plants are so much bigger than mine, but mine says that the first tomato should be within 40 days and theirs says 70. Of course they tease me because mine is so small compared to theirs, but I tell them that size does not matter. We'll see....

Right now I am working on a scrap book. I'm thinking that working on a scrap book of my dog's pictures might help me thru being sad. So that's what's up now with me. I'm not showing anyone until it's completed - but I do have some cards that I've not posted to show you. Ready?

This was a tutorial, Diagonal Double Pocket card, on SCS a while back. You can create different layers with only one sheet of cardstock. It is really very, very easy.

I used SU! Summer Picnic DP along with Baja Breeze, Old Olive and Summer Sun. I inked the edges around the card with Old Olive ink. I used my Marvy punches to create the focal point on the front and my SU! scallop circle punch to create the tab pulls for the inserts. I think that it turned out pretty "spring-y"...

I'm sorry for the short post today, hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with more. Please stick with me.

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

Happy Friday everyone!

Oh, this weekend is going to be awesome! They say that it is going to be in the low 80's. We are going to go get some plants for the garden, so I'm not sure how much crafting time I might have. And I had seen an add in the paper that the local SPCA is going to be at a store in town this weekend. Should I? I'm not sure. Right now I get to "babysit" my BIL's dog every now and then. He's a sweet dog, but then when he goes home I feel sad. I don't know if I'm ready or not for another dog, and I know if I go I will probably fall in love ~ I know Danielle and Mom will. Once you have a dog in your life and they are gone the house seems so quiet. We'll see. If it's meant to be, it will happen....

Enough....

Remember when I showed you my sneek peek, well, wanna see the rest?

This is what I've been up to. Ok, part of it. I needed at least 30 Mother's day cards for myself. There are so many wonderful ladies who have touched my life that I wanted to send a card to this Mother's day - so here is the first batch.
I inked the image from Heart Blossoms (talk about an old set. I think that the date on it was 2000) with Pink Passion, Green Galore, Rose Red, Going Grey and Pale Plum and stamped it on white cs. The base card is Pink Pirouette layered with Lovely Lilac and Bella Rose DP. I inked the edges and stamped the sentiment with Lovely Lilac ink also. Before I layered it all together I added a piece of organdy ribbon for some extra pretty.
This card was also "mass produced". I made 15 of these also.

I inked the image from TAC's Love and Laughter set with my markers Close to Cocoa, Green Galore and Pink Passion and stamped directly on white cs. The sentiment is actually from TAC's Love Blooms and Trendy Greetings set's and I inked the edges with Certainly Celery ink. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the proper placement. The base card is Pixie Pink that I layered with Certainly Celery, Pacific Point and TAC's Bella Flor DP.

I used the Top Note die to cut out the image from the Bella Flor collection and layered it with more Bella Flor paper. Before adhering it to the card I added a length of the organdy ribbon. The inside I left blank and just added a piece of scrap DP to it.

I thought that it would take me forever to do, but I actually had these done in no time. I've already added my notes and addressed and stamped them. They are sitting and waiting to be mailed. I was pretty proud of myself!

Ahhh. Something new that I have to show you. When we went to the SCS gathering a few weeks ago one of the ladies, Beth had this gun. She said that she loves it and the tape she get's for it is SUPER sticky and really cheap. Of course the part of me who's always looking for a thrifty deal said "order me some tape". Now the tape that I've been using for years I love. But I go thru a roll in a week and a half and at $5.00 a roll that's a lot. So I ordered one of these guns and Beth made a huge bulk order for some tape.

Now it may look bulky, but it really isn't. Once you get the hang of it it's really simple to use. I am one of those people who hate to have your cards or layouts fall apart and with this being so high tac I have to get used to using only a little. I must say that I went thru a whole roll making the batch of Mother's day cards. So now I'm trying to train myself that I don't have to use so much. I did get the gun and 2 rolls of tape thru a store on EBay and Beth is getting the tape thru Framing Supplies. I just thought that I might enable some of you....

Well enough for now. I've got to get going, more Mother's day things to create!

Hope you all have a wonderful day and a super weekend! Just in case I don't make it back here.
Hugs,

Joani

Magazine Rack Tutorial

Hello and good morning everyone! Today looks like it is going to be a bright and wonderful day!! The sun is shining and they say it's going to be in the low 70's today. Tomorrow starts off the next few days in the mid 80's. Let me tell you, when they talk about strange Kentucky weather they mean it. Just the past few days were rainy and a little chilly. Now it's going to be in the 70's and 80's... You never know when to put up the sweatshirts and pull out the shorts!

I promised you a tutorial a while back and I'm going to post it. No excuses, I've been a flake *Ü*

Ready, here we go!

To start off with you will take a sheet of paper that is cut 10 1/2" x 12"

This photo shows where you will score and where you will cut. If you can not read the photo directions you should be able to click on the picture and it will bring it up bigger for you.
You will score on the solid black lines and cut where there are no lines. Basically cut in 4 1/2" from the edges on each side 1 1/2" up from the bottom and cut in 4 1/2" on each side 6" up from the bottom.
Now I may have trouble explaining this part. My mouth and my brain have trouble communicating sometimes...

Take the bottom flap that is 1 1/2" and fold it so it is standing up and hold it, then take either side flap (right side shown folded in) and fold flap "a" up and over the 1 1/2" flap and secure. Then do the same for the left side.

Once both sides are folded up and secured it should look like this. Now you will take the top part, which is actually the sides, and fold up and secure with take to the sides you just folded in.

This is what it should look like once it is completed and taped together. I use it to hold little 1/4 sheets or cards that I've received and like to look at. The heavier the paper the stronger it is. You can decorate the outside with rub ons and little punched pieces. There are lot's of things you can do with these.

I hope that you enjoyed your tutorial. PLEASE, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Sometimes like I said my brain and my mouth don't communicate well so the directions may not be totally clear.

Have a great day. I'm off to create more Mother's day cards. I'll show you tomorrow!Hugs,

Joani

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone! What are you doing to celebrate Earth day? We all should really take time to help out our Mother Earth. If we all do a little something each day it all adds up.

I'm very sorry that I've been a bad blogger lately. With Danielle and the prom, I was tied up a bit. I'm sure that anyone who has or had a teenage girl would understand that. And then I had a few things to do, then there was some doctor appointments. But now that is all behind me and I'm on a mission to make some Mother's day cards. Last night I sat down and made out my list. Yikes! I've got almost 30 people that I want to send cards to. I better get to work, huh? There is just so many ladies out there that have touched my life that I want to show appreciation to. That's not so bad, is it?

I do want to show you a card that I made that I was kinda proud of. I made one like it a while back and this one is similar, just different *Ü*The base card is Pink Pirouette and I layered it with Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Old Olive and the Bella Rose DP (I so need to stock up on that. I love love love that paper!!). I stamped the sentiment and the K from the Just K set. I used my large and mega scallop oval Marvy punches and used my white gel pen for the dots. I also used my large and mega scallop square punches for the sentiment and the K. I sponged some Regal Rose ink around those panels before I layered them. Some of the Purely Pomegranate ribbon was also added to the card.

I think that it turned out nice. Kinda "spring-y" don't you think?

I signed up for a swap and I needed to make some birthday cards for a man, that was the theme. Now I know that we all need man cards once in a while. And for some reason they are very hard to make. Not hard to make, just hard to come up with ideas for. At least that's my opinion. With all the cute, pretty or feminine paper out there how are we supposed to make man cards? Well I did it.

The base card is Chocolate Chip and it is layered with Basic Black and DP from TAC's Rustic Chic collection. I stamped the horseshoes on the front with Chocolate Chip ink. I then stamped the horse in Chocolate Chip ink and used my pencils and gamsol to color it in. I used my nestabilities scallop oval small to cut out the horse then sponged Basic Black ink around that layer. I then cut out the next size nestie for the Basic Black layer behind it.

I took a piece of the Rustic Chic DP and layered it on to a piece of Basic Black and adhered it to the card. I punched out the Basic Black circle with my Marvy giga punch and stamped the Happy Birthday from my TAC gift with purchase stamps with white ink. I took a piece of Basic Black and layered it behind the birthday oval, I thought it gave it some extra "oompf". For the inside I just took a piece of white cs and stamped the horseshoes with Chocolate Chip ink and I was complete.

Nice man card, huh?

Well I'm off. I need to get to work on those Mother's Day cards.

I hope that you all have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

Good Monday Morning!

I hope that your weekend went well. Ours was so hectic! Danielle had her junior prom. So of course I'm sharing pictures!

Saturday was a world win.... We had the nails, the make up, the hair... All done. She got dressed in her dress then we were off to a friends house to drop her off - they hired a limo and that's how she got to and from the prom. Then after back to the friends house to change and off to the Pavillion here in town for the breakfast after. It lasted til 4 in the morning but I told her I was going to pick her up at 3 - that was long enough. Of course she called me a little earlier to come and get her, she was tired... Her friends stayed over and they all crashed. And of course yesterday we were all vegetables. We sat around, Ricky made breakfast (yum-ola!!) and we talked and watched movies. It was kinda a dreary, rainy day so the day was perfect for sitting in and watching movies. I did get to see Twilight for the first time. Yes, I'm a little behind. I think that now I need to re-read the books *Ü*

So you wanna see some pictures of Danielle? This was the hairstyle that she chose. I thought that it turned out wonderful! If anyone is around the area I highly recommend Pam at Pam's Clip and Curl. She is always our first choice when it comes to getting our hair either cut or done up.

This is her just about ready to leave. She wanted a short dress this year, and this one is so pretty. It reminds me of something vintage. I've already been told that for her senior prom next year she wants something "poufy". She wants to look like a princess....

And last but not least, the limo. Her and her friends in the limo. They were all excited, can you tell?

Thanks for sticking with me today. Betty's on her way over and we are going to go to Anne's house for one of her stamp camps. I'm excited!!

I will be back tomorrow with something card related, I promise!

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

The Angel Company Discontinued List

Discontinued List 2009

It’s time to make room for new stamp additions to our 2009-2010 Inspiration Base Book! It’s a great time to add the following stamp sets to your collection at a 25% discount before they are gone forever! As of July 1, 2009, these sets will no longer be available for ordering, will not appear online, and will be officially retired from the TAC™ collection.** Hurry and order your favorite retiring sets before they’re gone as quantities are limited!

**Sets may appear as a future Vintage set at the discretion of the TAC™ corporate office.

*Orders for discontinued sets must be received at the corporate office by 5:00 PM CST on Friday, June 26, 2009.

*Orders placed from the discontinued list are commissionable and count toward FUNshop™ sales and benefits.

*No other special offers or discounts apply.

*TAC™ reserves the right to amend the discontinued list as we see fit.

I know that even though I posted these pictures at the largest setting they are hard to see. If you would like a copy of the discontinued list shoot me an e-mail and I will send it to you in PDF format.

This is a great opportunity to get some of those sets you were wanting at a discount also!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

Happy Weekend!

Happy Weekend everyone! I hope that today finds you well!

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and it looks beautiful outside. Then please tell me why am I sitting at the computer in my PJ's? Well to show you all a couple of pictures, silly!

I have neglected you pretty much all week. I think that I've had a bit of the dull-drums. Of course yesterday was beautiful too and tomorrow we've got a storm coming in. It's just the way the ball bounces I guess. I get kinda sad because we really don't have much of a spring here. It seems to go from cold winter to hot summer in a flash. So these pretty days I cherish. I've got a couple of pictures of my tulips to show you. Yes, I know they are not craft related but I pretty much talk about everything here.

The sun was out yesterday afternoon and it was shining on the flowerbed. It looked so pretty that I had to snap a few pictures. Tulips are one of my favorite flowers, but they don't last too long so I had to snap these pictures!

This year in one of Danielle's classes they were having a fund raiser and they were selling flower bulbs. I like this idea better than the cookie dough or candy bars. Yes, I love the cookie dough (don't I Betty?) but the bulbs is something that everyone can share in the beauty. So I bought a few and these are the black tulips. I know they look purple. But they are so pretty.

Ok ~ were done with the flowers... Thanks for staying with me...

Now I want to show you the happy mail that I received yesterday. I was in a swap in the Swaps group over on Paper Craft Planet and these are the cards that I received. They are all so cool. Isn't it kinda neat to see all the different ways people craft. I'm always amazed at what people come up with.
I'm sorry but that's all I have for today. I've got to get the day going. Today is Danielle's junior prom and we've got a million things to do!!

Have a great day everyone!
Hugs,

Joani

Good morning everyone!

I hope today finds you all well. I'm not too sure how my day is going to be. If it is anything like it started off, I better crawl back into bed.

I woke up this morning and the day started like any other. But this morning I was really tired for some reason. I was standing next to the bed waiting for hubby to get dressed and I was standing there, sleeping. Hubby said "are you playing horse?" I thought "huh??" He said you are standing up sleeping.... Ok, that was a start.

I went downstairs and made his lunch, then turned on the news and sat down in the chair. I fell asleep and he woke me when he left for work. I sat right back down and fell asleep again til 9:15. I got up and went to the kitchen to make breakfast and dropped the egg on the floor. I thought that I better sit down before I catch something on fire or worse. I'm all out of sorts today. I'm not even sure I should be playing with glue and an Xacto today!

You wanna see what we did yesterday?? We had so much fun!!

Betty came over and brought a new friend. Her name is Dianna and she's a paper crafter too! And the SCS get together we went to a few weeks ago, we had met another lady who lives here in town, Anne. She came over too! It was fun! We actually got more done than we normally do. I think that it was Anne who kept us in line. She is such a darn good teacher. We just love her already!
We made 5 cards, I forgot to add mine to the picture - and 2 wallets. I forgot to add mine to the picture too! But it was so much fun. We had lunch (and cookies!) and just crafted the day away. I just love spending time with friends, new and old, and creating and sharing and laughing. How very blessed are we all?!

This card I made for the ladies when they came over. Just something for them, that's all. I just love the SU! set Time Well Spent. And what better set could I of used?

I stamped the images from Time Well Spent and colored them in with my watercolors. I then added some stickles then put them aside and created the card. The base card is Chocolate Chip. I layered it with Close to Cocoa and DP from TAC's Mulberry Meadow and Lily Anna collections. I added the large eyelet before adhering everything to the base card.

Then I took different size pop dots and added them to the backs of the images and layered them on to the card. Once that was done I spruced up the inside with a piece of white cs and a strip of paper from Mulberry Meadow. I added the sentiment and I was complete.

I will work on the instructions for the purse and I have to post the instructions for the mini magazine holders too. I've got those in the camera, I've just got to edit them.

I hope you all have a great day! I will be back tomorrow!
Hugs,

Joani

Happy Wednesday everybody!

I just wanted to pop in and let you all know that I am still here! I've just been a little busy the past couple of days.

Today we are having Betty and a couple of ladies stop by to have a play day. Anne who we met at the SCS get together is stopping by and Betty is also bringing another lady with her. We've got a full day planned so hopefully tomorrow I will be able to show you some goodies!

I also wanted to let you know that I have posted on my side by a quick link to The Angel Companies newest download. They have a free download of black and white papers.

Pretty cool huh? Just click on the picture or click on the link in my sidebar to be taken to it. What can it hurt, it's free!!

I do see that Blogger has a scheduled outage tomorrow so I hope that it wont effect me posting for you. But I will see you tomorrow!

Have a super great day!
Hugs,

Joani

My Little Cupcake

How was your Easter? I hope that it was blessed with Family and Friends. And that the weather held out for you for those Easter egg hunts Ü It was absolutely beautiful here. A little breeze, but that was fine.

Yesterday Danielle and I sat and talked for well over an hour. It was so nice. Just her and I chatting like a couple of friends. We talked about everything. From boys, to school, to grades, to sex, to driving, to other kids, the future.... it was a real eye opener. And it was not like she was my daughter. I mean, we talked and it was like two adults. I felt really connected to her. For some reason over the years we've been close ~ but I've felt like she doesn't want to talk to me about things. Like maybe she thinks I be mad at her, which is silly. But you have to think with the mind of a teen I guess. Anyway we talked and I told her how proud of her I was and that I loved her. She really is a good kid with a good head on her shoulders. I am one proud Mom.

Ok, enough of that. I'll start to tear up.... On with the show....

You like it? I just love cupcakes!! This set is called Little Cupcakes by The Angel Company. I needed to make a few cards to send for RAKS and I thought that this was a cute stamp to send out.

The base card is Pretty in Pink and I layered it with Rose Red and some Winterberry DP from TAC. I stamped the image from Little Cupcake and colored it in with my pencils and gamsol then cut it out with my Mega scallop oval punch and sponged some Tempting Turquoise ink around that layer. I punched out a piece of Rose Red with my Giga scallop oval punch and layered it on to a piece of Pretty in Pink that I cut out with m nestabilities. Once that was all layered and added to the card I applied some stickles to the cupcakes frosting for some "bling". I stamped the sentiment with Positively Pink ink and I was complete.

Next I want to show you a couple of little things that I made for Danielle's friends for Easter. I thought that they'd be a little bigger than what they were but they still turned out fine, and I could still fit some cookies inside.

These were made with my Top Note die from SU! The paper used was Pale Plum and Parisian Summer. They really were easy to make ~ I'll have to do a tutorial to show you. Would anyone like that?

This one was made with So Saffron and Delicate Dots DP.

Well ~ that's all I have for today. I've got to go do something creative... Oh and don't forget if you haven't see it to scroll down to my last post. TAC is having a great promotion right now! Grab bags!! Check out the post HERE.

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

Doin' a little business

These bags go really fast and this promotion is only while supplies last, so be sure you let me know if you want to order right away! Each bag is different, so even if you order 2 or more bags you will not be getting the exact same stamps! These are not complete stamp sets and I do not know how many stamps you will receive, but I've heard that it's a lot! Just leave me a comment, e-mail or call me to get your stamp assortment today!

May tomorrow bring you many special blessings and a love filled day with family and friends.

Hugs,
Joani

A must see...

You must see this. One of the ladies on my Paper Wings site found this and it's adorable.

Turn on the volume, the tune is very catchy....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg4q0Rqv9Oo

Happy Friday Eve!

Yippie, today's almost Friday. I'm a little excited, tomorrow hubby is off and I'm going to Michael's!! I better leave the checkbook at home Ü

The weather's been weird here lately. It's supposed to be April "showers" not April snow. We had some snow fall this week. Hubby covered over my tulips out front, I did not want to lose them. One of my favorite flowers are tulips. This year in Danielle's floral class they sold bulbs for a fund raiser and I bought a bunch.... There are even some midnight ones that are supposed to be black, I can't wait for those to bloom. They were unusual so I had to buy some of those to!!

I am sorry that I've not been around much to post. I've been a little behind. It seems that things kinda piled up on me. But I'm getting caught up so I hope to be around more.

Remember the other day when I mentioned the "bad bunny" gift that I made. Well I made two, one for me and one for Mom. Do you wanna see the other thing I made?

I took a framed piece of cork board that I had and I painted it with brown paint. Once it was dry I took some DP from Paper Salon and cut it and glued it to the frame and used Mod Podge to seal it. I let it set over night to dry. And mostly to make sure that I did not get those nasty bubbles in it. I love to use Mod Podge, but you have to be so very careful not to use too much or you get those bubbles and you can not fix it.

I cut the letters with my Cricut Base Camp cartridge and glued them to the frame, and carefully put a thin layer of Mod Podge over the top to seal it. I added the length of ribbon and the buttons, even the butterfly is a button. I then thought that it looked a little plain so I stamped the scrolls with my Fancy Pants Pollen Dust stamps with Chocolate Chip ink. One of the stamps in that set says "create art" so I stamped that with Tempting Turquoise ink. I had hubby screw a binder clip into the frame and I was complete. I thought that it turned out kinda cute.

I want to show you another Easter card that I made. I thought I was done, but a paper crafter's work is never done Ü

For this card I used a few different stamps. I used Spring Parade and Bunny Kiss from Penny Black. I also used SU! Bunny Hugs for the sentiment.

The base card is Baja Breeze that I layered with Purely Pomegranate and some DP from Marcella K. The DP I used the SU! Scallop punch on the border and added a length of yellow ribbon to it before adhering it to the card.

The image panel was colored in with my pencils and gamsol and used some Purely Pomegranate ink around the edges before I adhered it to to a layer of Purely Pomegranate and Baja Breeze cs. I stamped the sentiment "Easter Wishes" in So Saffron and used my oval nestie to punch out that layer and sponged some Purely Pomegranate ink around it. I then punched out and embossed the Purely Pomegranate layer with my scallop oval nestie and used pop dots to adhere it to the card.

That's all I've got for today. But I hope to show you more tomorrow, and as always ~ thanks for stopping by!!

Have a great day!!
Hugs,

Joani

oops I did it again....

I'm always misplacing my notes. When I make something I always write down on scratch paper the "recipe" for that item. Well, I misplaced the recipe for this next card I'm going to show you.

This was the card that I made up for the shoebox swap. The base is Chocolate Chip and I layered it with Close to Cocoa. I'm not sure the name of the DP though. It was in the Sale-a-bration mini. I took that and cut it up and inked the edges with grey ink, added the ribbon and some flowers to the front. The inside I used my curly label punch and stamped the sentiment with versamark. I thought that it was a nice card to make for the swap. I didn't want anything too complicated - we were to make over 10 cards so I wanted to keep it fairly easy.

The next thing I am going to show you is what I made for the "bad bunny" gift. I made a message board. I took a piece of cardboard and painted it brown (you can't see it, it's on the back). Then I took some DP from Prima and layered it on to the cardboard. I then ran it thru my sewing machine around the edges. I added some ribbon and rick rack to it with my glue gun, I added the flower and the letters at the bottom. Those are hard to see, it say's notes. I made a little pocket at the lower left bottom also. I punched two holes at the top edges and added eyelets to it for the ribbon to run thru as a hanger. I put a couple of paper clips and a binder clip in the pockets and I was done. I really hope that the recipient liked it! I was told she did.

Sorry for the short post today but I really have to get things done. I've got some commitments to finish and not to mention laundry. Oh the day of a housewife Ü

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

Got some pictures for you....

Saturday was the greatest day! Well, it did not start off too great ~ but it ended great!

Betty came over early and we were headed off to a Splitcoast Stampers get together! We were about 1/2 way there when the car died. So here we are off the side of the interstate not knowing what was going to happen when Betty called her sister. She was in the very same town!! Betty's sister was ever so kind enough to bring us her car and her boyfriend was on his way to pick up Betty's car. So we were back on our way to the get together ~ and BTW, the cap for the coolant was just loose so it was nothing major with the car - thank goodness.

When we first walked in we were greeted by our wonderful hostesses Pat (Patc45) and Beth (kaitysmom) with this awesome gift bag. It was so darn heavy and I really did not look in it til I got home. My goodness look at all the goodies!!!

We were only about an hour late-not too bad. Then after a well deserved potty break we sat down and got to work. When we got there we sat down and started creating. It was a shoebox swap so everyone had to bring a card and all the pieces for all of us to do. We made something like 12 or 13 cards. The first couple of cards I kept track of who's was who's then I didn't, I got caught up in the frenzy of it.

I do know that Beth was the maker of the adorable flower pot card. Mom's was the purple one of the left.
I just love those swing cards. They are easy to make and I love how the recipient has some interaction with the card.That daisy card was cool! I've never done a card like that before - very cool!

I believe the swing card on the left was Jo Ann's (Josie0410) and she makes the BESTEST fudge in the world!!The grey card with the pink button was Betty's.

We had to make a gift for the "bad bunny" exchange. They called a name and we got to go up and pick out a gift. But if someone see's your gift and likes it then they can take your gift and you go up and get another one. So this is what I picked out, and no one took it away from me. I was wanting that set too!Then Pat said to us that we were all sitting on an egg. So we felt under out chairs and there was an egg taped to it. So in my egg there was a re-inker ~ and it was an inker that I did not have!And how cool is this? There was a lady who Betty's talked to and has placed orders from her for a few years. Her name is Janice (jent) and Betty finally got to meet her in person! That was so cool, and she is the neatest lady!Well - I hope that these cards give you all some inspiration, they sure did me! I will be back tomorrow with some more to show you!

Have a great day!

Hugs,
Joani

Happy Friday!

Good morning, well almost afternoon. It's a dreary, gloomy day in my part of the world ~ how about you? Just yesterday I was outside taking pictures of my tulips that have bloomed and now today is gloomy. But they say April showers.... hopefully this will ring true.



Danielle had friends of hers stay over last night. Tonight she's got to babysit. She's going to be one tired girl come Saturday with all the lack of sleep.



Of course I'm still waiting by the door for Saturday to come. I can't wait to go to the SCS get together this weekend. I just love meeting new people, especially ones who love to paper craft! I've made lots of friends over the Internet, and I cherish all of them. This is just a chance to meet more!!



Ok - enough of the blah blah blah. Let's get on with it, shall we...



Yesterday I was in the mood to make something other than Easter. I may make one or two more Easter cards, but I'm not sure. So here's what yesterday brought to me.

I created this with the SU! set Heart Blossoms. I've gone back to this set many times over the years. I just love the images.

I used the SCS sketch challenge #218 for this card. Sometimes when I get stuck I go back to the sketches from SCS and it helps with the inspiration. The base card is Old Olive that I've layered with Barely Banana and Parisian Summer. I used Baroque Burgundy ink around some of the edges. I colored the image with my pencils and gamsol and outlined it with my Copic Cool Grey #1 marker. I bought that at the convention because I love how a lot of others outline their images. The inside of the card is layered with Barely Banana and I stamped the sentiment with Baroque Burgundy and punched it out with my small and large oval punches.

I hope that this gives you a little bit of inspiration. I have 2 projects that I want to show you, but I will wait til after the get together tomorrow in case someone sees. I don't want to spoil it for them.

Have a great weekend!
Hugs,

Joani

Whew, this week....

this week is going by fast, don't you think....

Today is already Thursday! Where do the day's go? It's not that I'm getting any younger you know. Ffffffooourrty is almost here. Ugh, I can't believe it. I never thought that I'd be this old. But yet I don't feel it, YET being the key word.

Enough of my rambles, let's get to business.

First I'd like to show you some Angel Company business. You don't mind do you??

First the Stamp of the Month. These set's are the current stamp of the month for April.

This set is called Floral Vines ♥ TAC-3052 set of 4 ♥ special price $9.75 (retail price $12.95)

This is the Vintage set of the month called Mabelle Favorites ♥ R-3090 ♥ set of 11 Special $16.50 (retail $21.95)

Adorable, huh?!

Then we also have the Spring into April Rewards. From April 1 - April 30, 2009

Hostesses: For every $250 in workshop* sales - a hostess may choose one (1 only) of the Spring into April sets FREE!

Customers: For every $30 in net purchases* - customers may purchase one (1) each of the Spring Into April sets at their special price (See stamp sets for special price)!

For New Angels: In addition to receiving a complimentary, current Stamp of the Month (SOTM) - new Angels will also receive the Spring Into April Sets for FREE!

Friends T-3099 ♥ set of 5 ♥ special price $5.00 ♥ retail value $8.95

Forever Friends T-3098 ♥ set of 7 ♥ special price $7.00 ♥ retail value $12.95

Sweet Thing T-3097 ♥ set of 6 ♥ special price $7.00 ♥ retail value $12.95

If you are interested, just shoot me an e-mail or leave me a comment and I'll get back to you.

Now, are you ready for a creation?

I'm starting to wind down with the Easter cards. I'm going to be getting them in the mail soon. And here's a fun one that I made up. I love the Loads of Love set. It's been one of my favorites for years! And I saw this paper and thought "hmmm. what can I do with that?"

I have a set from TAC called Jelly Bean Prayer and figured it would go with the theme. I lost my recipe for the card so I'm wingin' it. I do know that I used Lovely as a Tree, Loads of Love and Jelly Bean Prayer from TAC. I colored the image in with pencils and gamsol. But that's all I can tell you. Sorry.

I've got to be off today. I've got some cleaning to do and Danielle is going off to her friends house for the day then the girls are coming back here for the night. It's taco night I can tell you that. All of Danielle's friends love our taco night, besides I like to have something fun for dinner when the kids stop by.

Tomorrow I will show you a project I've been working on for our get together on Saturday.

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani