Christmas Stamp-a-Stack of Cards!!!

It is that time of year again!!! Time to get Christmas cards made, holiday gifts made, and decorations out! If you are in the area and are in the mood for a fun and creative few hours - come on over!
This Saturday (Nov 29th) from 11 - 3 or Sunday (Nov. 30th) from 1 - 4.
We will be making 5 cards, two of each ~ $12. Can't beat that! And of course there will be lots of drawings and fun stuff like that. The sales that The Angel Company has at the moment are fabulous ~ and the vintage stamp sets that have been released for a limited time are even more fabulous!!! You'll have to come by to see! LOL
Email for directions and to RSVP: stampcandy@gmail.com :)
My friend Alysia and her mom came over yesterday (baby Emma too!) with bags full of Chinese food, yummy munchies, and of course Christmas projects to work on. We had a great time making these little cocoa/Snowman Soup gifts - I will have to take a picture to post. I also finished a banner for replace the "spooky" one that I had made for Halloween. The new ones says "noel." What a great way to spend a cold Sunday afternoon!
Pictures to follow... soon! :)

Late To Share... Halloween Card

Hope that you had a terrific "goulish" weekend! I can't believe that it is November already - and am so glad that tomorrow is election day! I know that it is a huge election year, but I am getting tired of all the phone calls, commercials, bad talk, etc. Anyway... enough of that!
Onto the card! I made most of these at a retreat in Healy, Alaska last month - I think that the Drippy Goo punch of Martha Stewart is just too much fun! The candy corns and piece of candy are from Clear Dollar Stamp. The Halloween circle stamp is from The Angel Company. It is a new set from the Fall Supplement. Was loving the orange stickles too!

Double Dips Promotion with The Angel Company EXTENDED!!!!

www.theangelcompany.net

Cute "Spooky" Banner!

I attended a class at Back Porch Memories in Fairbanks a few weekends ago and we made this totally cute banner! I am soo glad that my gal pal Alysia made me go with her! :) It was sooo much fun and soo very cute!!!! The details are spooktacular! Paula is just so creative. DH helped me hang it in our living room. Fun, huh!!!

DH is away at a school for a few weeks, so between the pooches and work, life has been a bit hectic. Speaking of pooches, my toy poodle Scarlet is lying on the blanket next to me with the cutest little snore... augh....

I am excited for a Crop Pink this weekend at Back Porch Memories though! Great time for some relaxing and visiting!!!

Have a great weekend!

SpookTACular Cards!

Sorry the picture is so small... not sure what is up?!!?!? Anyway... Here are a few Halloween cards for you! I love the "drippy goo" punch from Martha Stewart. Too much fun!!! Stamps are from The Angel Company - Spooktacular. I colored the images with my dove blender and chalks. One of my favorite techniques because I can move the color around well.
October... Double Dipping time still is going on with The Angel Company! Great time to get those stamps, paper, or paper crafting supplies that you have been eyeing! :)
Have a great Friday!
~ Candi ~

Scrapbooking Get-Away!

I had the most fantastic weekend at a scrapbooking retreat in Healy, AK! It started Friday evening and ended on Sunday afternoon. The bed and breakfast that we stayed at was just sooo great! The food was the best - three meals a day, got a facial, a massage, and hung out with my peep Alysia, her mom and Alysia's cutie-pie daughter, Emma.
I was able to make Halloween goodies for my co-workers, I finished about 8 page layouts... maybe 10, I forget. It was just what I needed though! I have been working a lot of hours between my two jobs - and needed a break. Hopefully things will slow down a bit so that I can spend some quality time in my "craft cave!"
Have a fantastic Thursday!
~ Candi ~

"LOVE"

Happy Saturday! I hope that your weekend is going spledidily!

I have a card to share for a recent swap that I participated in. The sketch came from Heather at Oz-some stamps. The cardstock is DCWV and Bazzill. I used Palette ink and stamps from The Angel Company.

What A Day!!!!

Wow! Only word to describe today!!! It started out with a texty from my DH. He is home visiting his kids and mom in Montana. My step-son called him at 3am this morning to tell him that the high school was on fire. So, Fritz went down the street to the high school where a large crowd and 50+ volunteer firemen were trying to put out the fire at the high school... the very high school both my hubby and I graduated from, my step-son attends... so sad!!!! The worst part of the whole thing is that it was arson! Four teens (two arrested and two arrested and released to parents) are suspected to have started it... it makes me sad, mad, and all I can say is "wow." There was a fabulous Hall of Fame in the lobby area that had photos dating back to at least the 70s if not further back. Sports trophies, photos of friends and family, etc. I am sooo thankful that I attended my oldest step-sons graduation this spring so that I have current memories. It just seems that our great nation has been hit with one tragedy after another this year!

This week is also Homecoming week Ben Eielson HS! I might have mentioned it in my last post -but I am the Jr. Class Advisor - much fun!!! :) Their float is 50s theme and is soooo cute!!! I can't post any details yet - the parade is tomorrow - but I will put some pictures up if the juniors give me the OK. Some of them even invited me to be in the parade with them. They are such awesome kidos!

Okey - onto the stamping!!!! So, I ran home today to grad a camera to take picts of the Juniors while they were working on their float. And guess what DH didn't take with him, my camera! So, my plan for this weekend could have gone a planned! LOL So, tonight I took some picts instead.

The stamp set is a new one this year in the Fall catalog from The Angel Company. Joy of Christmas is my favorite new Christmas set. The cardstock is from the Bazill violets collection. I used my paper crimper, running the paper through both ways to make a gingham square like design. The green is from the Toodle Loo Soar With It Collection. I used Palette inks in Landscape and French Lilly. Of course no card is complete without "bling!" The berries got the "bling!" Can't see in the photo, but the tree is accented with crystal lacquer.
Hope that you have a fantastic weekend!!!!

Blog Bog

Hi! I am back... I was in a bit of a blog slump in August. I am going to blame it on all the rain that we got - for like 20 day straight. I felt like I was back in England! It was crazy - all the flooding - it seemed as if the water would never go away! I haven't seen water like that even after break-up and the snow is all melting. Anyway, new month, new chapter - and life goes on! :)


I have to tell you about the awesome weekend that my DH and steps-on had! Fritzi (step-son) turned 16 this past week... OMGosh!... for years - DH has been planning the big "16" birthday surprise. So, in May, we bought airlines tickets for him to fly to Montana to surprise Fritzi - and then the two of them flew to Arizona for the weekend - and went to the Diamond Backs' baseball game (and Jessica Simpson performed that night at the game) and the Cardinal's Dolphin's football game (where Daughtry performed! I am sooo jealous!!! LOL) The real reason for the trip was the football game. Fritzi is a die-hard Dolphins fan. It sounds like they had a great time and I am sooo glad that it was a surprise!!! I wish I could have been there to see Fritzi's face when his dad gave him the tickets for the football game. My dad said that it was pretty cute. Augh...


Okey, so I had this whole weekend planned to take picts of card and stuff and then went to get my camera and it was gone! Gone to Arizona with DH! AUGH! I could have used an older one, but I am spoiled now... so hopefully I can find something on this computer to share! LOL


Hold on a second... I am going to go look! :)


I am back! Found one!!! Perfect time to share this oldie, but goodie from seminar a couple years ago with The Angel Company!

It is kind of hard to see, but the wings are made out of two hearts stamped end to end of vellum. I colored the image using Pantone markers (this was a couple years ago before Pantone changed to Tria), the paper is My Mind's Eye and TAC. Perfect timing for this card too because now until November 3rd is a terrific time to get your wings! The Angel Company is having a "Double Dip" promotion. Previously known as double hostess benefits time, Jubilee, etc... New angels, customers, and hostesses can double up on rubba!!!
ALSO... if you are in the Fairbanks area, this weekend is like last ditch before winter hits garage sale weekend!!! There is going to be a "craft" sale at the Fairbanks Senior Center from 9 - 2 on Saturday. (Turn by Dinty's). I will have TONS of stamps, awesome grab bags of paper, magazines, and more that really need a new home before winter!

This is one of those weeks too!!! It is Homecoming week at our high school. Don't know exactly how... but this year I am the Jr. Class Advisor. Hmmm... I couldn't resist when they asked. I told them that I would do it only if they got me a tiara for prom! LOL I tell you what - I am having fun! I didn't really get into the whole thing when I was in high school - maybe float decorating, but I think that I kind of skipped a lot of the rest of it because I was busy with 4-H, volunteering, working, looking for trouble (not me! LOL), etc. Their float theme is the 50's. Their ideas is way cute - I hope that it all pans out!
Well, enjoy your week!!!

Oldie, but Goodie!

I ran across this card while I have cleaning out my card sample stash (which by the way, I am purging 100's of them ~ if you are interested in some great card samples, I have flat rate mail envelopes available [jam packed!] for $10 [postage included.]!) ... and found this card. It is still one of my favorite stamp sets. Old Truck. It is a retired stamp, as is the crackle background... oldies, but goodies!

Wedding Dress Display

A couple of months ago I had posted a little bit about my grandmother, mother, mine, and my sisters wedding gowns being part of a display at the Moss Mansion in Billings. While I was home in May, I was able to go to the mansion and see the display as well as get some photos. I ran across them this morning. Left to right ~ my grandmas dress, my dress in center, and my sister's dress is on the chair. My mom's dress is hiding the the left of my grandmas on a chair. My mom is in the photo with me. This is the parlor of the mansion. My favorite room. All decorated delicately with gold, rose prints, pinks, etc. The perfect "girlie" room.

Happy Monday!

Monochromatic Fun!

Here are a couple more cards that I did for a contest a couple months ago. No winners, but one was featured on The Angel Company website this last month! :) Both cards use stamps from The Angel Company designed by Mabelle Ramirez-Ortiz.

Camp and Cards!

Where has July gone? We haven't had much July weather this July, that is for sure! It has been raining and chilly! The mountains even have snow.

Last week I attended Operation Purple Camp that our awesome ASYMCA (Armed Services YMCA) put on for 140 military youth ages 9 - 15. Yes, 140 kids! Michelle from the ASYMCA did a fantastic job with the camp, as did the Boy Scout Staff and volunteers that assisted. I had two teens with me to document the week and they made a video for the closing on Saturday night. As you can imagine, with that many kids, there was some drama, a bunch of really great times, and with three - maybe four days of rain ~ lots of mud and wet clothes. The kids were troopers though! And the volunteers went above and beyond. Some of the kids and volunteers stayed in tents too. I bet you can guess that I was not one of them! LOL I did come home with a new appreciation for my bed, bathtub, warm water, and not only having peanutbutter and jelly sands as a second choice for every meal! I ate more PBJ last week than I have in the past two years! LOL Pretty much to go anywhere at camp, one had to go downhill ~ and then to get back, uphill... so I also toned up a bit and lost about 5 lbs! I would do it again! Can't wait until next year! :)

Okey, onto the stamping! Here is another card to share! All prodcuts, stamps are from The Angel Company. It was a "no pick" for the new catalog. I like the monochromatic feel.

This weekend I am finally having my new catalog reveal/Open House! I am excited to be getting together with some of my stamping friends again!

Cards to Share!

Wow! What a great 4th of July weekend! A 4-day weekend was totally needed! :) Hope you enjoyed the weekend as well!
Have a card or two to share. Hopefully I can get some stamping in this afternoon yet before teaching tonight. I need to get some swaps done.

This one was made using A Little Whimsy 8x8 paper pack from The Angel Company. I LOVE the Noteworthy velvet brads! The stamp is also from The Angel Company, Birthday Wishes. This paper is so fun to make cards with, the layout almost done for you!
The second one (below) is the same paper pack, same samp set, only uses the Button Loopy Brads. They are very fun! The cards were designed for the Fall TAC Inspiration book, but didn't make ~ but that is OK because now I can share them on my blog! :)
If you haven't gotten you new TAC Inspiration book yet, it is one to get your hands one! Lots of great ideas for card making and scrapbooking! The Inspiration Book also features 5 different card sketches, featured throughout the book. These two cards are based on those sketches.

Have a great one!
Inky hugz,

Another Airport Post

It seems like lately that the only time that I have to sit down and post to my blog is when I am sitting in airports on layovers! Either that means that I am traveling too often or I need to redo my daily schedule! Probably both! LOL

Heading back to Alaska after another event with The Angel Company! Seminar was a blast, as always!!! The catalog is just gorgeous!!! The cover is the cutest ever!!! I don't have a picture with me, so I'll have to post it later. I do have a few pictures of the even though.

The first picture is of me and my upline Holly Mays. She is just the sweetest person!!!

Oh, yummy! New paper!!! This is one of the new mini scrapbook kits. The paper is so gorgeous!!! It have been fun brainstorming all the fun things that one could do with this kit! Double-sided, a bit of Victorian inspiration. Simply gorgeous!!!

Aren't we lovely!!! This is the awards banquet. The ladies with the crowns were top in sales and
Angel of the Year." Way to go, ladies!!!!!!

And last, but not least... my Alaska girls!!!! Nancy and Inger from Barrow, Alaska. (my upline Holly is on the right).
Stay tuned for more updates this week! I'll upload some pictures of finished projects, swaps, etc. Give you something to look forward too! :)

Inky hugz!!!!

TAG!

I haven't played Blog Tag for awhile, and it sure is fun!!!
Donna tagged me! :)

The "rules" of the game:
Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.
Ten years ago: Single, living in Billings, MT. I was attending Graduate School at Montana State Univ.-Billings and working at the mall (augh!!!) at Gymboree. I lived with Melissa and Nancy in a basement apartment. I am pretty sure that partying was about all I was worried about! LOL
Five things in todays 'to do list':
(1) laundry
(2) work on hubby's Father's Day present
(3) finish a couple things for TAC seminar
(4) hmmm... relax!
(5) I really don't know yet... Gotta love Sundays!
Things I would do if I was a millionaire: I would probably buy our "retirement" house. I found a beautiful place in Kalispell, Montana that might be fun! Invest for our retirement and some for college for the kids, and donate some to a charity.
I will now tag:
Sandy
Maria
Char
Jean
Heather Ann
Enjoy your weekend!!!

Summer in Alaska Brings Elton John!

Golly, I have been a blog slacker lately! Summer in Alaska brings a really busy schedule with it! I am teaching three evening classes this term for two universities, still working during the day, we have my husband's 13 year old daughter with us, getting ready for The Angel Company Seminar, AND Elton John came to Fairbanks for a visit!!!!

What an awesome concert! He played for 2 1/2 hours straight! All his best songs!!! It was just so cool!!! It is one of those things that ya just have to experience as words can not describe it.

It is going to be a short post... I need to get busy stamping again...

I'm Back... and Gone Again!

Well, San Antonio was awesome. A bit warm and humid for my taste, but the conference was great, our presentation was fabulous, and the food was good too! AND I got to see my friend Stephany and her daughter Rachel one evening! It was terrific!!!

So, I got home on Sunday on the red-eye and am in the airport again heading to Montana for my Grandma's 90th birthday celebration. I am staying for the week so that I can bring my step-daughter back with me for a few weeks to visit her daddy and I. Guess I will have lots of time for stamping! YEAH!! I packed a few things to work on for The Angel Company's seminar ~ hopefully I can get a bunch stamped and put together. :)

Here is a pict of cards we did at my birthday stamp-a-stack in March. Fast, Fun, and Easy was the theme! All stamps fare from The Angel Company. The orange background is stamped with a birthday saying stamp. I fell in love with the color scheme in the last Pottery Barn kids catalog that I got. I HAD to use it and made about 6 different cards before I finally decided that this was the one! :) The kidz are colored with prisma colored pencils and a dove blender. I used Pallette ink in Claret and Noir.

Enoy your weekend and hopefully I can post something for "progress" while I am in Montana.

Kids Say The Funniest Things!

This past Saturday I spent at a crop at Back Porch Memories celebrating National Scrapbook Day. It was great fun, lots of goodies, great sales, and wonderful hospitality. I got like 10 layouts done and learned how to play with some new tools and such. Tim Holtz Distressing Paint is my new favorite. Can't wait to play with some more! I want it in gallon size though! LOL
The 80's going away party for my friend Amy was Friday night. It was a hit! I do have picts to post, but am typing from a remote computer... those will have to wait until I get home. There are some great ones though!! DH judged the costumes that we put together, organized our games for us, and then made sure we each had an air mattress or couch. What a sweetie!
OK - so on with the title. Sunday, DH and I were checking out at the commissary when we overheard a conversation between a mother and her son standing in line behind us. Apparently, he had picked up a treat of some sort and was doing his best to try to convince his mom that he needed this. He started off with, " Mom, it has been like a long time, a year, maybe two years since I have gotten anything like this!" Then he must have licked the box because the mom was going on and on about him licking the box - yucky! Then he said, "Mom, I admit that you are my mom ~ but I think that you should help to convince me that you are my mom by showing me some caring and generosity." She continued with,"I will not be manipulated by my 7 year old son!" He said, "Mom, I am not manipulating you. I deserve it." And her ranting went on and on... blah! blah! blah! As I am trying not to laugh my a** off... I am thinking to myself how she could have easily defused the situation and squelched the hilarious show for the rest of us. Text book case... I teach parenting classes every once in awhile... right now it is "123 magic"... she did the top two "no no's" ~ little adult syndrome and kept on talking which egged him on... Oh well... it was funny... but I am sure that poor mom was ready to pull her hair out!

STILL have SNOW! and other bits of info

Well, it snowed most of the day on Friday, started to melt yesterday, snowed some more last night, and the ground is still covered this am. Again, any extra sunshine that you might have... please feel free to bottle or box it and send it this way! LOL
Yesterday DH put together our new kitchen table and chairs. It looks soooo nice! The furniture store forgot to spray the protective stuff on the chairs, so someone is coming out today to fix that for us - talk about customer service!

So, I got the old kitchen table that someone gave us when they were moving... and it is downstairs in the craft "basement." Our old computer is set up on it with the Pazzle next to it and loving its new home! I played with the Pazzle yesterday, and made some scallop shapes, a sheriff's badge from the practice lesson, and learned how to use a few of the tools. Woo-hoo!

I am getting the craft "basement" readied for an 80's style going away party next Friday for my dear friend, Amy. I also have to get my 80's outfit ready. Look out fishnets and lace gloves! My hair is too short for a side pony tail, rats! LOL

These are a few cards that I did a couple months ago - using my favorite color combination of turquoise and brown. The stamps are from The Angel Company. I also used Stickles and my Copic markers for coloring.

SNOW!!!!!!!!

I think that I jinxed the weather on my previous post! LOL
Woke up this morning to a couple inches of snow... and it is still falling! AUGH!
Please send sun this way if you have some to spare!
Happy Friday!

Black and White

This latest card uses a stamp set from PaperTrey Ink.
I did learn that dye ink doesn't work as well with the clear stamps (stains badly too) as the Palette pad ink.

The weather is finally something that I think we can call "springlike" here! The snow is, yes I think that it is safe to say it, almost gone! This Friday we are having an annual Break-Up Beach party. Good times! :)

A Little Monkey

I guess I have been stuck on this polka dot paper from AMM. :) The stamps are from The Angel Company. I also used my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug too. I love that thing! Oh! And loving those little Dew Drops!

This past Sunday, DH and I went into Fairbanks to check out the new Bailey's Furniture store. We were in desperate need of a new kitchen table (we gave our "garage sale" find to an airmen that needed it when we staged our house for sale last Summer). We found a really awesome countertop height one with a built in/fold-up leaf. And we also came home with this really great cheetah print chaise lounge for the "office." My husband is a collector of Marinly Monroe photos. He probably has 50 b/w photos of Marilyn in black frames hanging in the office. The chase lounge looks great in there! I LOVE it. Best part, it also would match our bedroom decor... it reminds me of one of the suites at the Rooselvelt Hotel downtown Hollywood, the Gable and Lombard Penthouse. Very chic! :)

Procrastinaing about Cleaning = Another CARD! :)

I am supposed to be doing some major spring cleaning today while DH is at school today... but needless to say, all that I can manage to do is want to stamp! So, giving into the urge, I headed downstairs and made another birthday card for my little "girl" Scarlet (who currently is resting her head on the corner of the laptop while I try to type LOL). This one was inspired by Heather's sketch of the week.

The stamps are from also from Pink Cat Studio, same set as used yesterday. Not sure where that dog bone paper clip came from - maybe Oriental Trading. I also used liquid applique, but didn't heat it... just for some fun! The birthday saying is from PTI.

Have a great weekend... I must stop procrastinating and get busy! LOL

"Pawsitively Fabulous!"

My baby girl toy poodle, Scarlet, is turning three next week. So, I got busy making her a birthday card... The poodle and staying stamps are from Pink Cat Studio out of Canada. Tooo cute! The polka dots are from PTI. It is kind of hard to see the detail, but the black brads in the four corners have a "bling" sticker added to them, along with the bling for her collar. "Pawsitively Fabulous!"

Spring?!?

Well, we are supposed to be experiencing "break-up" right now in Interior Alaska, but instead, we got about 7 inches of snow yesterday! AUGH!!! At least it was wet snow and not the usual dry stuff that we get. Things were going so good with the melting of all the snow... I could even see green grass! Oh well... guess that is how it goes! Could be worse... could have had -40 degree weather along with that snow! LOL

Have a little project to share! This one too uses the stamp of the month from The Angel Company. I used my swiss dots cuttlebug, some *bling* in the corners, colored with Pantone markers, and used CS from PTI and DCWV. I love the colors and simplicity. I think that this could be a sure design for my swap for seminar with TAC in June! It will be here before I know it! YEAH!!!!

Home Sweet Home

It is always nice to return home after a little trip ~ especially when the trip included a great amount of rain, a bit of ocean breeze, and long days! It was a great trip though! The teens that attended the Alaska Student Government conference were more than impressive as they debated resolutions. Our very pregnant Governor Palin joined us the first night and signed a Bill into law before the delegation. It was very cool - not an earth shattering law, but a very important law for our Alaskan native artisans, the Silver Hand Bill.

Along with returning home, I brought a cold home too! yuck... It has also been snowing all day long... a perfect day to stay in bed. LOL

Onto the stamping! Here is a card that I made last week before I left for Juneau. It uses paper from All My Memories, DCWV, and the stamp of the month from The Angel Company (ballerina slippers).

Headed to Juneau

Well, I am packed! I leave bright and early for a first-time visit to our state capital of Alaska ~ Juneau! Hopefully we will be able to meet with our legislatures and we are visiting the governor's mansion too! Our governor is like 7 months pregnant, Sara Palin. I like her... I think that she is doing a great job for Alaska.

Onto stamping! I made this card about a month ago using this fun set from The Angel Company, Build a Buggie! The polka dots are from the set, the butterfly, and the little curved lines too. It was a fun and easy card! I did get a chance to make three fast cards this afternoon between work and teaching my night class, but haven't gotten a chance to photograph yet.

See ya Sunday!

Fun with Dew Drops!

I got these Robin's Eggs Dew Drops from Ellen Hutson about a month ago and last night was the first time that I actually remembered to use them! Such the situation when one has too many "goodies" to create with! (oh, but one can NEVER have tooo many! LOL). This card uses the Stampendous cupcakes, Nana's Kids DCWV, and colored with Copics. I am not sure if I have found a method that I like to attach those little dew drops ~ I cut up a medium size Zot. What do you use?

Thanks for stopping by!

Retreat Recap

Well, this happened over a month ago - but I finally downloaded the pictures! I went on a long weekend getaway with some girlfriends to a local Bed-N-Breakfast for some serious scrapbooking and lovely food!!! It was just gorgeous!!! Log-cabin style home in the hills outside of Fairbanks. The view was breath-taking, the company was superb, and the BNB hostess cooked us the most yummy breakfast!!! I re-did my senior book from High School - 50 pages! Now, they weren't anything elaborate, just more to save the pictures that had already started to yellow a bit and get newspaper clippings into a safer environment. I had a great time reminiscing about those crazy times in high school. Sometimes I really wonder how I lived through all that craziness! LOL

Tomorrow is DHs birthday, so I baked him a lemon cake this afternoon and invited some friends over for cake and ice cream. He HATES letting anyone know that it is his birthday... but I love celebrating it for him!!!

Promotions and fun!

This past weekend was my birthday... 33! I celebrated by having a stamp-a-stack of birthday cards and was joined by 11 very lovely ladies for the afternoon!!! Thanks for coming ladies!!! :)

I also hit our newest local scrapbook store, "Back Porch Memories." That was a most fun shopping spree! The new My Mind's Eye/Wild Asparagus 29th Street Market collection was available. I LOVE it!!!

Yesterday was the monthly promotion ceremony on base. I attended with my friend Kara, as her DH was promoted to Master SGT. My friend Jen was there too, as her DH was promoted to Staff SGT. I quickly became the unofficial photographer for the girls. So, I headed to the front of the theatre and had a grand time taking photos of their guys as they got socked in the arm and all that good stuff. I cracked up after the ceremony as the General and Command Chief came up to me saying that all they could see were flashes (from my camera none-the-less). And then I was fully impressed when our Commander asked me if I did Creative Memories and all that kind of stuff! Wow! I bet he has a scrapbooker in his house! LOL :)

Stamp-a-Stack Weekend! ANd New Clover Country!!

This Saturday I am hosting a Stamp-a-Stack of Birthday Cards! And it just so happens to be my birthday! I couldn't think of a better way to spend the afternoon! I asked DH to make me a "princess" cake... we'll see. LOL Anyway, I have been busy cutting paper and ribbon, putting kits together, and all that good stuff for Saturday. Thus, no cards to post!
The sun is starting to rise earlier and set later... and causing lovely glares on the TV. So, last night a trip on a whim to WalMart occured. TROUBLE!!! We found curtains and a great curtain rod for living room, great black out curtains for the bedroom ~ as well as a cool curtain rod... and of course other things that we really didn't need! Isn't that how it always goes?! Glad that we don't go to Walmart very often! Anyway, the curtains are hung in the living room and make such a difference! They even look pretty - well, except for the wrinkles ~ but those will hang out.
Ohhh!!! New toy!!! DH let me get a Pazzle for my birthday! HSN had a great package deal a couple weeks ago. I have opened the box - but have to wait until after my stamp-a-stack to play with it or else I fear that I will get nothing done! I am debating on getting rid of my Cricket now... hmmm... tough decision... whatcha think?
Last thing... our shoppette got my and DHs favorite ice cream in!!! Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby!!! It is delectable! Here is the description from Ben & Jerry's website! I LOVE it!
"It began with two office jokesters' pulling a prank on a colleague whose endless tales of his love for Ben & Jerry's made them nuts. They hatched an imaginary batch packed with pretzels, peanut butter, & fudge in vanilla malt ice cream & spread a rumor of a brand new Ben & Jerry's hit called ""Chubby Hubby"". After searching obsessively he was crushed when the hoax was revealed, so the jokesters home-made a pint. He proclaimed it too good to be a joke & after one taste, so did we. The rest is history. Chubby Hubby -- it's no joke!"

OK! Last thing to share!!! Today you can officially purchase your 4-H Clover Country CD!!!! Your state 4-H program will receive 10% for each CD purchased from the 4-H Mall. It is a very cool CD!!! Sugarland (which you might remember a post back in October where I got my picture taken with Jennifer Nettles at a National 4-H event), Reba, Faith Hill, and more!!! $9.99! What a deal!!! I LOVE the cover... very hip!!!!

Mississippi, here I come!

What can a person do with a 5 hour layover at the Chicago O'Hare airport? Find the USO and post to my blog!!! The USO here is very nice too. I am headed to Jackson for a 4-H training ~ Health Rocks! I received a grant to work with the program in Alaska. It is fun and very cool - tobacco, alcohol, and drug prevention... taught by teens to youth. It will be a long weekend, but no doubt worth it.
Thought that I would share another project from my time home creating this week. I made a ton of Easter cards to send to family and friends. I love the "No bunny Like You" set from TAC! Very cute!!! And ~ if you haven't stumbled upon it... The Angel Company has a new blog! It features awesome projects! My hat is featured at the moment. Check it out!
Enjoy your weekend!!!
Inky hugz,
Candi

Snoopy Birthday!

My sweet "Grammie" is turning 90 in May! She is so dang cute - and rides a stationary bike for 15 minutes like three times a week. I hope that I can do that at age 90!!!

Anyway, Grammie was a 5th grade teacher and Snoopy was her classroom mascot. We help decorate her apartment with Snoopy stuff and of course for the big 90th birthday, none other than Snoopy will be the birthday mascot! With a bit of urgency from my slightly OCD mother, I have started making the birthday invitations for the big day! Here he is... sitting atop my favorite new image, a cupcake!!! I used DCWV Nana's Kids paper and ribbon from Hobby Lobby. I kept it simple because I have to make like 50 of them.

And - looking for help... I need a die cut of a dog house - large enough to be a table centerpiece. Any ideas?

Pirates!!! Oh My!

I did have fun creating a couple cards this past week. The first one is using my new favorite stamp set from The Angel Company. "Payful Pirates" and my favorite paper from TAC, "Uptown Girl." The sketch was courtesy of those totally creative "maps" from Page Maps. Here is a closer look at the pirate skull. I found some cute "bling" to use on the crown and stickles for the eye patch.

Yesterday in our "hometown" newspaper The Billings Gazette (click on link for article), there was an article about the Moss Mansion. They are displaying wedding dresses in the historic mansion. My mom and grandma took my grandma's wedding dress, my mother's, mine, and my sisters to be displayed. Pretty cool. Even cooler, they are on display in the parlor room of the mansion and a couple of local newspapers have done interviews with my mom about the three generations of wedding gowns and the hankie of my great grandmother's that we all carried. Here is a picture of mine, a dress that I originally made when I was in college studying fashion design ~ made the Victorian bustle inspired skirt and corset for a costume design project. The fabric was free from my mom, she sewed those tapestry vests for a company in Montana and when they shut down the operations, she was allowed to keep all of the fabric she had on hand - so the fabric was leftovers from brocade vests! It cost me maybe $100 for notions and such. DH and I got married so fast, that I was lucky to have the dress and that it fit me. The manequin has the hankie in her hand as well. The Moss Mansion was always one of my favorite places to visit growing up. Even when I lived in Billings, I loved attending the events that the Moss Mansion held.

While we were home for Christmas, my step-daughter Jasmine tried the dress on. She thought that it was pretty cool. He daddy was none to happy to even have the thought of his little girl getting married cross his mind... LOL What a cutie-pie though! LOVE the purple thermal shirt underneath it.... only appropriate for a 13 year old! :)

Well, I am off to work on some more swaps... OH!!!! I have to chime in with all of the Papertrey Ink excitement! New releases ~ this week!!! I see a cupcake stamp!!!! Oh, I am crazy over cupcake stamps these days. Must be the craze that I have caught up with... but they sure are cute!!!! Speaking of cupcakes... come back later this week for my latest cupcake card!!! It is a cutie! :)

Inky hugz!!!!