Happy Anniversary to Me

It's been a pretty lazy day here. Today is my 8th anniversary. I've had a terrible headache, bordering on migraine, most of the day. I really worked hard for it not to turn into a migraine. It's been a while since I've had one - I'm not even sure if I have a prescription of Imitrex left - and I do hate how they make me throw up.

We went to Bernard's for dinner tonight. Bernard's is always fabulous. I got my usual caesar salad (they have a perfectly tangy dressing) and the filet bernaise. Yum, yum. Roy always gets something different - he's much more adventurous than I. He got his standard artichoke and palm salad. He really loves that. Tonight he got the pasta fruit de mer. He thought it was wonderful. They have great bread with really good butter (tastes French, though it might just be hand-churned) and pesto. Roy also ordered a mountain berry flan torte. It was very different but good. We didn't get gifts for each other this year, so no surprises there.

Overall, very nice. Hopefully I'll still be doing better tomorrow and will get to scrap some. I had planned to do that today, but my head prevented it.

Two More Layouts!!

I'm on such a roll right now! If only I didn't need to work, I could scrap all the time! I joined a kit club a long time ago. I finally stopped when they were piling up and I wasn't making the pages. They just didn't match my style and I didn't care for some of the stamps that were with them. I ran across these last week and decided to challenge myself to complete the pages using only the precut pieces available in the kit. I've long since lost any directions or pictures that went with the kits, so my goal is to use as much of the materials as possible to complete double page layouts. It's turned out to be harder than I thought it would be. One of the kits had seventeen pieces in it! Here are the products of two of these kits.

Bling Queens

Paper: bashful blue, whisper white, basic black, certainly celery

Ink: bashful blue, certainly celery, basic black

Stamps: You Make Me Happy, Short Order Alphabet

Accessories: bashful blue grosgrain ribbon, photo corner punch, stampin' journaler

Zoo Fun

Paper: tempting turquoise, whisper white, gable green, apricot appeal, ruby red, some unknown (don't remember) SU dsp

Ink: tempting turquoise, basic black

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, Well Worn Alphabet

Accessories: scallop punch, red bead duo, white grosgrain ribbon, crystal effects

Technique: paper piecing

Oh Christmas Tree

I've been really busy today in the scrapbook room! I made one more DPS during Friday Night Scrappin'. I'm not completely happy with it, but it's done. I have a bunch of unassembled pages from clubs and kits. I took one of these sets and created this page (I didn't use all of the items). It really taxed by brain because the paper was already precut and I had to work with whatever they had planned (any instructions were long since lost).


Paper: certainly celery, bashful blue, basic black, whisper white
Stamps: friendly flowers, headline alphabet
Ink: basic black
Accessories: simon lower chipboard alphabet, basic black grosgrain ribbon, white gel pen, brads

Journaling: Christmas 2008 --- I was up late one night working on a paper. I looked over at the tree and thought it was a most amazing sight. The pictures don't do it justice. The plant lights shone on the tree at just a perfect angle to cast a large intricate shadow.

Christmas Day 2008

We went to my aunt & uncle's house on Christmas Day this year. It was a little impromptu, but we had so much fun! I got some time today in the scrapbook room and was able to make to double page spreads (DPSs) from that day. The girls had so much fun decorating gingerbread men and houses and we really enjoyed catching up with family we don't see often.

Paper: close to cocoa, ruby red

Stamps: Sweet Memories, Hung Up on the Holidays, whimsical lower alphabet

Ink: close to cocoa, ruby red, almost amethyst, gable green, summer sun, pumpkin pie

Accessories: dazzling diamonds

Paper: gable green, purely pomegranate, whisper white

Stamps: Sketch It, whimsical upper alphabet, whimsical lower alphabet, whimsical numbers

Ink: purely pomegranate, gable green, green galore

Accessories: purely pomegranate double stitched ribbon, brads

Merry Christmas!

Merry belated Christmas! I haven't written anything on the blog in the past couple of days! We've been so busy, but we've had a lot of fun. I'll update later on Christmas, but I do have a sneak peek from the Love You Much bundle.

Stamps: Love You Much
Paper: ruby red, pink pirouette, whisper white
Ink: ruby red, pretty in pink
Accessories: riding hood red taffeta ribbon, triple heart punch, fire round brad, dimensionals

Love You Much bundle

Look what's available today! Stampin' Up has a new bundle that is perfect for Valentine's Day but has SO MANY other uses! The bundle includes a precious designer series paper (double sided, of course!), a stamp set, and a matching punch. The punch is super cute! It perfectly cuts out one of the stamps with three hearts at once! The best part is that if you order all three pieces and get 20% off between today and January 31.

Look for sneak peeks on my blog for great ways to use this set! You can find this bundle by checking out my demonstrator website. You can also download the flyer by clicking on the picture of the flyer in the margin. Sneak peaks coming soon!

You can always order from my website, or you are always welcome to call or email me to place your orders personally. Happy stamping!

SheetLoad ShortCuts: A FROST-y Giveaway!

SheetLoad ShortCuts: A FROST-y Giveaway!

How fun is this? In honor of the frosty, cold weather that is now settling in, Alicia (AKA Crafty Al at SheetLoadShortCuts) is going to give away FREE Frosted Card Blanks to five (5) lucky readers!!Here is how you can be entered to win...- Leave a comment on her blog with your current temperature for one (1) entry- For Five (5) extra entries post a message, w/a link to this post, on your blog (or a public message board*), about our Giveaway. Then head on back to her blog and leave a comment here with the direct link.*Make sure if you post on a public message board, that it does not violate any TOUs. She will leave the giveaway open until Saturday, December 27th at Midnight CST.All of the entries will be put into a hat/mixing bowl/baggie, etc. and her daughter will pick out five (5) names at random.Each winner will receive a Large Pack (20 pcs) of our Frosted Card Blanks!!!

The fine print:- Your comment must include an answer to the question above.- The "extra entry" comment must go directly to the applicable blog/message board post in question.- If your comment does NOT link to a blog that has "contact me" info, you MUST leave your First Name, Last Initial and Email address in the comment. You are free to add spaces to your email address.- Any comments that do not follow the "rules" will be disqualified.- Giveaway is open to readers from all countries.

Christmas pictures at church

Our church is always decorated so beautifully. Since the girls were in their Christmas dresses today, I wanted to take advantage of all their lights, poinsettias, and trees. I ended up only getting seven pictures, but I thought they turned out so cute! I uploaded them and had Wal-Mart print the larger one in an 8x10.

Stamps: Hung Up On the Holidays, Live Your Dream, Big Deal alphabet

Paper: ruby red, old olive, whisper white

Ink: old olive, close to cocoa, brocade blue, summer sun, ruby red, old olive craft

Accessories: glassy glaze, simon lower chipboard, riding hood red taffeta ribbon, dimensionals

Technique: heat embossing

Framed Art

OK. I never could get the picture to look right in the post below. Here is the picture. Read details below. Now to bed. It's 1:15 and I'm going to be evil today. In about 4 hours.

Teacher Christmas Gifts

I finally took care of the teacher gifts for Christmas. I had to - the last day of school before the break is tomorrow (or, I guess I should say today). I finally got up the nerve to make gifts for them. I made post-it note holders for the day care teachers. I made a post-it note holder and a frame for Eliza's teacher. Each gift is monogramed.

This is the Bella Rose post-it note holder.
Paper: Bella Rose DSP

Ink: old olive craft ink

Accessories: 5/8" old olive grosgrain ribbon, glassy glaze, acrylic 4x6 picture frame, RSVP pen, riding hood red taffeta ribbon

Technique: heat embossing

This is the Urban Garden post-it note holder.

Paper: Urban Garden DSP
Ink: not quite navy craft ink
Accessories: 1/4" bashful blue grosgrain ribbon, glassy glaze, acrylic 4x6 picture frame, RSVP pen Technique: heat embossing

This is the framed art I made.

Paper: whisper white, basic black

Stamps: Monogram S

Ink: old olive craft

Accessories: 1/4" basic black grosgrain ribbon, clear embossing powder, 8x10 black frame (5x7 mat included), dimensionals, love and happiness rubons

How Cute!

I just had to share this! Such a cute party dress! Wouldn't EG look so cute in that green?

Dinner Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Update on Roddey

Denise called me last night and asked me to thank everyone again for all the beautiful cards everyone has sent to Roddey. She said that there were over a dozen that they've received in the past month or so. He is out of the hospital now but is still very weak. He's still taking the chemo and doing dialysis. Also, he's been put on a transplant list for a kidney.

Again, thank you for taking the time to send him happy mail. It really means so much to him.

Blog Candy Winner!

And the winner is...

Here are your random numbers:4
Timestamp: 2008-12-12 23:35:47 UT

So, that is Loretta Rodger. Please email me or PM me on SCS to send me your mailing address. I'm hoping to mail all of my Christmas cards tomorrow, so I will definitely be hitting the PO in the morning.

Thank you so much for all of your cards. Denise emailed me today. She said the cards are meaning so much to him.

End of the Week Review

Well. It's been a week. It didn't start out well, it got worse, and frankly, I'm just glad it's over. I will be scrapping tonight as a escape. I think we have a scrapping party planned. I hope to get quite a few things out of the way. There are a few challenges to review and lots of pictures to cover. I may even get ambitious and pull some out of "the closet". Woooooo. That's a scary thought.

On the other hand, it's Christmas and high time for me to get in the mood. We've got to get that tree up. This weekend. I may send Roy working on that while I'm scrapping. Then the girls can decorate in the morning when I have good light. That sounds like a plan. They are already in the Christmas spirit with the decorations we have put out. Here are Santa's Helpers.

Celebrate Christmas - for yourself!

Woo-hoo!!! The Stampin' Up! retiring list was released this morning! Click on the linked picture of the list in the right column for a downloadable list of your own.

Here's the best news! All stamps are 10% off December 9-December 23 AND everyone gets free shipping with orders of $70 or more! I'm really excited about this! I had to let you know before I even sat down to put my own order together!

If you are wanting to get an order by Christmas, be sure to order by December 16. This is the best sale because it is now cheaper AND easier to order directly from my website! Click on the Stampin' Up! icon on the right or go to www.heathercarnes.stampinup.net to order directly. Have fun shopping!

Update on Blog Candy

Roddey is still in the hospital. He has been on the chemo floor since last Thursday. He started dialysis on Saturday and didn't have a very good day. Last night he was moved to the renal floor. Blog candy is still open until this Friday!

The Best Part of Christmas

My husband promised my daughter earlier today that we could roast marshmallows tonight. (After I went to the store, bought graham crackers, and Hershey's bars) We did just that tonight! Just before this picture, she turned around and looked at me and said, "Momma, this is the best part of Christmas." What made me smile so much is that she says it about almost everything we do - decorating, driving around looking at lights, shopping for gifts, opening gifts, going to church, singing carols in the car on the way home from school, going to the Christmas Eve service ... You get the picture!

Mystery Blog Candy & RAK Request

This is my first time to post blog candy, so bear with me (and feel free to offer suggestions since I'm a newbie at this!). It is MYSTERY blog candy (mainly because I'm not at home to take a picture of the collection of stuff I'm sending!). I can tell you that it will include stamps and a wide variety of embellies.

Here's the background: My mother's (since they were 4) best friend's husband has Wegener's disease. She is like a second grandmother to my girls. She takes care of them, attends school events, and is always there for them. He has been in remission for several years. His symptoms returned a few weeks ago and he is back in a full fledged episode. Chemo and steroids are not working like they used to or are supposed to. His kidney function is currently at 13%. He is being admitted to a local hospital this morning (right now). I've added him to the SCS RAK group and he did get several cards from those wonderful angels. Each time he received one, he made a point to call me and tell me how wonderful all of these people were to send him their beautiful cards. He truly appreciates your notes of encouragement and your prayers. Thank you so much. Just let them know you are friends of mine!

Here's the deal:

• Please send him a card. His name is Roddey Hogan. His address is 3306 Shenendoah Drive; Tyler, Texas 75701.
• Post a comment on my blog that you sent a card.
• Put in the card that you are friends of mine.
• Please pass this along to others who would be willing to keep Roddey and Denise in their prayers.
• I will use random.org to select a winner on Friday, December 12 (when I get home from work).
• I will post the winner, you can email (or PM through SCS) me your address and I will mail you a candy surprise.

Thank you so much!

Uggg!

I had intended to blog last night, but I was emotionally exhausted. I've been sick since Sunday and it's only getting worse. I have a terrible cold and am medicating to the max on DayQuil. To compound all of that pressure in my head, Eliza got "lost" yesterday. She knew where she was , but we didn't.

She had Odyssey of the Mind practice after school yesterday. It's usually over at 5. I worked last yesterday making phone calls and asked Roy to pick her up and I started home. He got there at 4:58 but the room was locked up tight. He called and I told him an alternate place to look. A few minutes later he called back and I could hear the panic rising in his voice. He told me that he had searched both buildings and she was no where to be found. He had also checked aftercare, but her name wasn't on the sign-in list and she wasn't in the auditorium. By this time, I was less than five minutes from home but I turned around and went speeding back toward the school. It's at least a 15 minute drive during 5 o'clock traffic, but I was determined to make it in less than 10. I broke at least 12 laws. Just as I was getting to the busiest part of the traffic, Roy called and told me he found her. She got out early and just didn't get signed into aftercare. I don't know if he was panicked and just didn't see her when he looked or if she went to the bathroom, but she was ok. What a relief. My stomach settled down and I was able to be a productive member of society (cooked dinner). My mother claims to have had 6 heart attacks in the 18 minutes we couldn't find her. Thankfully, it was only traumatic to the adults!