coke, cupcakes and kids

purple.

2012-02-16T01:25:00.000-08:00

I realized I don' use a lot of purple in my cards. I use *plenty* of lavender, but not much "purple". But since I got a pack of purple cardstock, I thought I would sort of challenge myself to make some cards with i.

So far, I've made this 1. heehee. But I do think I like how it turned out :) It's a very deep purple, isn't? The houndstooth background is from Unity.

And the frame and sentiment are from Wplus9, the sprig is from Verve, and the flower is from Papertrey.hee. A lot of different stamp companies for this one.

Okay--I'm off to straighten up the house before Tomio and Leah get back from playing a round of golf today. Way too cold for me, but I guess they enjoy it... : ) Thanks so much for stopping by!!

how about a square

2012-02-14T03:13:00.000-08:00

card? A little one. I made this one a little while ago...

A little bit different. Added lots of hand-stitching. I added one of the pretty butterflies from Cleardollar stamps. I embossed only the top half of the cardstock. I didn't like the line that was in between, so I added some twine on top.

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm off to play some Yahtzee with my peeps :)

not quite ready.

2012-02-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

I'm not quite ready for Monday. I'm pretty sure I need at least another day and a half...But I did have a good weekend :) I got some "happy mail" from 2 different magazines:) yay :)

Anyway, here is a card I made right after I got my new Wplus9 stamps. I used just a single damask image to make the background, and it was surprisingly easy. Then I stamped over it with Hero Arts Friendship definition background stamp. I get *a lot* of use out of that stamp :)

Then I just finished off with a couple of buttons and as sentiment from Wplus9 too.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you are a little more ready for Monday than I am...

I've been

2012-02-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

to the doctor so much this year that they have totally gotten to to know me and my kids. The nurse asked me, "oh, so it's just Emma today?" I guess it's a good thing. I actually really like our pediatrician and dermatologist. Oh, and the dentist too. When I called to make my last appointment, the receptionist was like "it's your birthday this week, isn't it?" heehee :)
Anyway...

I really like how this card turned out. Especially considering it's not a "CAS" card. Lots of different stamps one this one-- some Verve, some Wplus9, Impression Obsession for the background.

I really like how Impression Obsession has huge background stamps that cover the whole background. I also really like Verve's dies, like I used for the sprigs. I wish they had even more :)

Thanks for stopping by today! I haven't stamped in a couple days, so I'm really hoping to today.

I'm back :)

2012-02-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful birthday weekend :) I was treated to lots of presents, yummy meals and desserts. Oh, and movies too. Kind of hard to go back to normal after such a nice pampered weekend.heehee :)

I more layered card than normal today. I really seem to have trouble using pattern paper on my cards. I love it for my layouts, but I just can't seem to get it to work well for my cards.... But I kind of like how it worked here.

The frame is stamp is from Wplus9,and the cupcakes are from Taylored Expressions. Oh, and the pattern paper is from K&Co. I thought about adding a sentiment, but it just didn't seem to need one.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope are having a lovely week.

simple Thank you

2012-02-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

Today I have a simple embossed card.

I really love this image fro Wplus9. I outlined the flowers with a pale gray copic after I embossed it. I know, pretty standard, but the first time I actually did it. I really like this silk ribbon too. The sentiment is also from Wplus9.

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm so glad it's almost the weekend. Which also happens to mean it is almost my birthday :) I love my birthday because my sweet dh always takes off from work and spoils me :)

CR84FN challenge

2012-02-01T06:15:00.000-08:00

I haven't participated in any challenges yet this year. But I *really* had been wanting to, hopefully this will be the start of good things:) Here is the inspiration photo for this week's CR84FN challenge.

I really liked the colors this time. I pretty knew right away that I would have to add a little kraft too, and I was right.

I know it is mostly red, but it really does have all 3 colors :) I stamped and colored the little birdies from Taylored Expressions. Added a little kraft and some twine from Jillibean Soup.

Simple, but cute :) Might be the Valentine I give my dh this year :)

Thanks SO much for stopping by today! I hope you are having a terrific week!!

I'm still

2012-01-30T06:09:00.000-08:00

using and (totally loving!) my new Wplus9 stamps :) so, so fun.

really pretty, don't you think? It was so pretty, I didn't really want to add too much else.

I impressed the background with Papertrey's text pattern. I kind of had to force myself not to use the canvas/linen one :)

Thanks for stopping by today! Oh, and in case you were wondering, the toilet "situation" has been successfully dealt with. I am very fortunate to have a dh who handles most of that sort of things :)

Another wedding card...

2012-01-29T05:24:00.000-08:00

I was thinking to myself "hmm... wonder why I keep feeling like making wedding cards lately", then I remembered. It's because of these gorgeous new stamps from Verve I got. I actually got them pretty much only for the frame stamp to match the label. But I found I love all the stamps in the set.

Isn't this such a pretty heart?! I embossed it with white embossing powder to make it pop :) Other than that, I kept it pretty simple.I'm finally getting into using my stash of twine too :)

Short and sweet for me again today. I have groceries to put away, and a toilet to unclog :(
Thanks for stopping by today!

back again :)

2012-01-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

I have another card to share--already :)

I think scheduling things better is really working for me. More stamping time is a good thing :) These stamps are from Wplus9. I *love* them! So pretty and versatile. I impressed the negative from my PTI mat stack 1 to frame the flowers.

I really like the look of black with kraft. Has a really different look from the my usual brown/kraft combo.

Thanks for stopping by today! If things go as planned, we'll get some groceries, and then I'll be back at my desk stamping :)

the kids

2012-01-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

are slowly showing improvement, thankfully. And we made it back from swimming class by bus okay too. AND, I have managed to squeeze some stamping time into my evenings the last few days.

This is one of the cards I made. I used some of my new Taylored Expressions stamps again. I *knew* I wanted to get these pretty roses as soon as I saw them. I love the coordinating dies too :) I added some copic shading to the big rose after stamping it.

I really like how it turned out :) Oh, the sentiment is from Verve.

Thanks for stopping by today! I don't know about you, but I am *really* ready for the weekend

Best laid plans...

2012-01-25T01:34:00.000-08:00

I really, really, planned to post much sooner than this. But well, stuffy noses, rashes and a lot more doctor's visits than I would like to have made kind of slowed things down a bit. We did manage to keep things going with school, and I did actually get some stamping time in, though, so I shouldn't complain :)
Anyway, today's card is much more my style than the vintage-y cards experimented with.

I used some of my new Verve stamps for this. I debated about getting these, and their sale at the end of last year pushed me over the edge. So glad I got them :) Really pretty and easy to use.

I like having the diecuts to match. I'm not great at fussy-cutting. I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but I impressed the white layer with PTI's linen/cancas impression plate.

Thanks for stopping in today!! I hope you are staying well :)

another vintage-y card

2012-01-19T15:01:00.000-08:00

at least a little bit. Definitely more than the cards I normally make.

I really like how the background turned out.I stamped the polka dots in versamark. Then I stamped the text on the edges, and last I added the flourishes. The sentiment and the butterfly are from Clear Dollar stamps. The ribbon is from Etsy.

Ok--that's it for me today. All of my peeps are under the weather today, and we are headed to the doctor. What did it have snow today? No one's up to playing in it :(

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are staying warm!!

so tiny...

2012-01-17T06:15:00.000-08:00

I made a layout of the first pictures I got of Miss Emma--ever. The nurses took the pictures for me while I was wheeled away after the c-section. It is so hard to believe that she was ever that small!!

I kept it pretty simple with just the 2 photos they took for me. She was so tiny (4lbs14oz) they thought she wouldn't get to come home with me, but she did :) And she's been thriving ever since. You certainly wouldn't know it now-heehee.

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope your week is going great!!

Mr. and Mrs.

2012-01-15T01:46:00.000-08:00

I have a wedding card today. Not something you need *all* the time, but definitely fun to make.

I really like the pattern paper, which is from Gina K. I don't usually use lace or metal charms, but they seemed to fit with the wedding-y feel. I'm not sure I love how I used the lace, but I do think I'll try to use some more often. (kind of wanting to try some crochet lace trim now too).

Thanks for popping in today! My little Miss Emma isn't feeling too well, so I'm off to cuddle her some more.

more...

2012-01-12T05:06:00.000-08:00

Taylored Expressions :) See, I told you they were a new favorite of mine.

Actually, this card is made with Taylored Expressions and Unity, another fave of mine :) Love the grid background, really does go with anything. The quote stamp is TE. And...yeah, that's about it lol. This was a really quick card to make.

Thanks for stopping by today! Has your week been going well? Ours was great, even though we did have our first full week back to school. Everyone (including me!) loving school is such a blessing.

well

2012-01-10T06:06:00.000-08:00

Leah's birthday went great :) Since Daddy took the day off, we had a whole day of celebration. There was bowling, and Chinese food, cheesecake made by Mama and decorated by Daddy (photos hopefully coming soon), and dvd watching. You can tell Leah's getting so old by her movie choices--this year she wanted a "love story". I think the boys kind of tolerated it heehee :)

Anyway, here is the card for today.
Just something a little different for me with orange and green...I love stamps with matching dies :)

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a *lovely* day!!

new favorites :)

2012-01-06T23:52:00.000-08:00

I shared a card the other day using some new stamps I had gotten from Taylored Expressions. Well, I'm really, really loving all the ones I got. (So much so that I actually made 2 more orders for Taylored Expressions stamps with my Christmas money) Today's card is another one using some of the stamps with matching dies.

Isn't that banner fun? Really easy to use with the diecuts. I also use a stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the sentiment. So quick and easy that way :) The flowers are ones from PTI's Larger Than Life set that you have seen me use, well, lots of times :)

Thanks for stopping by today! Just 2 more days till my Leah turns 11!!! I can't believe it. It seems she has decided she wants a cheesecake for her birthday this year, so I guess that is what I'll be making tomorrow :)

I found...

2012-01-05T00:06:00.000-08:00

some more butterflies I like :) as if I needed anymore, right? heehee :) I always need more butterfly stamps, especially if they have matching dies. I got these at Clear Dollar stamps for 50% off during their Black Friday sale.

Just a simple card, but I liked the butterfly so much I kind of wanted it to take center stage. I also diecut and stamped the the butterfly 3 times and layered it for some extra dimension. I made the pretty texture with my favorite texture plate from Sizzix. Finished off with a couple of gems.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you are having a great week!!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T02:34:00.000-08:00

I seriously still cannot believe that it is actually 2012....wow. Did you stay up to ring in the new year? We did :) And since Tomio's birthday is January 1st, we eat cake and have presents at midnight too. We even let all the kids (well, Miss Emma only made it till 9) stay up too. I was surprised that they actually did make it. They were glad though :)

I also started off the new year by making 3 cards. Now that is the beginnings of a good year if you ask me :)

This isn't one of them though-they have yet to be photographed. This is just one I made using a bunch of my favorites--wood grain, flowers, and the super fun pocket stamp and die from Wplus9 :) I love finding different things to put in the pockets.

Thanks for stopping by today!! I hope 2012 has started out great for you!

last one?

2011-12-31T02:18:00.001-08:00

Well, it's 7 at night on December 31st here in Japan. So I'm thinking this will be my last post of the year(!)
We are getting ready to have our traditional New Year's Eve dinner (that Tomio makes), so it'll be short and sweet today.

This was a card I just made for fun with some of my new stamps. I got some stamps from Taylored Expressions that I had had my eyes on for quite awhile. So glad I did :) The grid in the background is from Unity.
Thanks SO much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great New Year's Eve! Tomorrow is Tomio'S birthday, so I'll be making a cake tonight after dinner :)

one more...

2011-12-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

tag :) This will probably be my last Christmas-y project to share, seeing as I took down all of our Christmas decorations this morning. Kind of makes me want to work on other kinds of things more. (Though I'll most likely continue making Christmas things all year long).

This tag was published in a Paper Crafts Special Issue--Holiday Cards Vol. 6. I *love*the nutcracker stamp from Waltzingmouse. Well, I actually love the whole set :) I have some Christmas money from mu hubby, and I'm at least some of it will be for Waltzingmouse stamps :)

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Ours really was nothing less than perfect. I love spending Christmas with my family :)

just one more?

2011-12-24T05:36:00.000-08:00

I think I can squeeze in one more before Christmas :) Actually today's is just one of the 70+ tags I made this year.

I *love* this little snowman from Gina K. There are several tags under our tree with him on them :) Isn't he cute?
It is already night time on the 24th for us here in Japan. We had chicken and cake and watched a Christmas movie. All the my little peeps are in bed. It was a perfect Christmas Eve :) I hope you have wonderful Christmas with your family!! Thanks so much for stopping by!

it's true..

2011-12-23T15:54:00.000-08:00

I'm back with another Christmas card! I hope this is the sign of a new trend here on the blog?! We'll see :)

More Verve stamps today. Aren't they just so pretty?!?! I really wanted the pretty sentiment to stand out, so I embossed them with white. I really like the rustic cream base.

Okay--I'm off to make broccoli casserole and caramel chocolate brownies :) Thanks SO much for stopping by. Merry Christmas!!

again?!

2011-12-22T14:31:00.000-08:00

I know! But the more Christmas cards the better, right :)?

Pretty simple again. I stamped directly on the kraft and colored it in with some copics. Added a bow out of twine, and that's it :) These stamps are from Verve. I'm really liking their stamps and dies lately, and I'm pretty sure I'll be *needing* to order some more soon. heehee.

Thanks for stopping by today! We are off from school today--gonna listen to Christmas music, make some cookies for Santa aka Daddy :)

still time...

2011-12-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

for another Christmas card before Christmas, right? Thought I'd pop in really quick and share one :)

Another one that has almost no stamping, oddly enough. I sketched the tree with a pencil, poked holes and then stitched over it by hand. I kind of like how it turned out :)

Thanks for stopping in today! Hope you are enjoying the Christmas- season ( I know we are!)

Christmas cards

2011-12-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

I actually made several Christmas cards this year, but I actually used them before I got to take a pictures of th em. I think that is a first for me! oh well, that is the *real* reason we make the cards, right?! heehee. I do have one from earlier this year that I am pretty sure I haven't shared yet though. I can't go without showing any Christmas cards, right?

Not lots of stamping on this card, is there? I had fun though, and I really like how it turned out :) I tried out a little bit different stitch on the sides. I used a nice, big sparkly brad for his nose :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today! As my kids keep reminding, me only 4 more days 'till Christmas Eve now!!

CARDS

2011-12-15T04:16:00.000-08:00

magazine, that is :) I have had several cards published in their magazine over the last few months, but I have not shared any of them here. Mainly because I just want to be sure that I don't share them too soon, like before the issue actually comes out :) But this one was from the September issue, so I'm pretty sure it is ok now.

I stamped and embossed the wood grain pattern on the buttons for this card. I'm especially fond of this card because it was actually the first card they ever published of mine :) Thanks for indulging me :)

Thanks SO much for stopping by today! Hope you are staying warm and cozy :)

tags, tags, tags...

2011-12-11T23:46:00.000-08:00

I really like making Christmas tags :) I like how quick they are and how you can make them pretty much any shape and size you want. I also really like how my kiddos all look under the tree and see if there are any more tags with their names on them each morning :) But between making tags for my family and for my mother's church get together, I've made over 70 tags this year. Now that's a lot of tags. And since I don't like making the same thing more than once, they were all different. I think I can say, for now, I'm done with tags for at least a few days heehee :) I don't have pictures of all of them, but here are few:

I really like this little snowman :)
And these snowflakes from Verve are just gorgeous.

Here's another.

I really like the colors of this one.
The ones under our tree are mostly more cute though, with Santa and reindeer. I'll try to get some pics of those too, if I can.

Have you finished all your Christmas shopping? I think we have, from the looks of our tree :) heehee :)

Thanks for stopping by today!!

sunflowers

2011-12-06T01:32:00.000-08:00

are my absolute favorite flower. I just love how cheerful and happy the make me feel. And today I have a very CAS card made with the only sunflower stamps I own.

Really simple. Just die cut, stamp and emboss :) I like cutting them out in different colors and then just stamping in versamark, just for a little something different.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season!!

thinking of you

2011-12-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

Here's just a quick thinking of you card I made.

I like how the wood grain looks when it is heat embossed. Usually it ends up a little more subtle and in the background, but this makes it stand out a little bit more :) And yes, I'm afraid I used the silhouette flowers from Larger than Life. I've had that cute little brad for ages, and I thought this was a fun way to use it.

Thanks for popping today!! I'm thinking it is time for some more Christmas-y cards now that it is actually December :) Are you ready for the weekend? I definitely am :)

still enjoying

2011-11-29T18:32:00.000-08:00

school :) Previously, the boys would be thrilled when Leah went to golf tournaments, since I would give them the day off from school too. But now, with what Levi refers to as the "fun school", they actually are glad to do it even if Leah is gone. Let me tell you, night and day. Really. And not only are they enjoying it, I honestly feel like they are learning and remembering even better :) I am so thankful for the Lord leading us to this program.

So, how about a thank you card? I love these little sprig-y flower stamps. And I especially love how they look when stamped in gray. This was a very quick, simple card :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!! Can you believe that it is almost December?!?! Since we've had our Christmas decorations up for a while now, I'm ready for December :)

date fun :)

2011-11-24T02:44:00.000-08:00

Tomio and I went out on a date yesterday :) It was, must say, super fun :) We honestly don't get out just the 2 of us very much at all (I'm pretty sure at most, this was the 2nd time this year...) Now, I love my 4 peeps and I really wouldn't have it any other way. But it was really fun. And the kids were thrilled to hear Mama and Daddy were going on a date, 'cause that meant they got to spend the afternoon with Nana and Papa. So it's win-win :) We had dinner and a movie--just like back when we were young and dating heehee. 17 years together and it's still fun :) We stayed out a little later than we had planned, and the kids still weren't ready to leave Nana and Papa's though.

Ok. I have another flower card today. Some more of my favorite Unity stamps. The sentiment is from PTI though. The card is made out of the blue, and then I used the white negative from the diecut label as a frame. I also impressed the white frame for some detail too.

Thanks for stopping by everyone!! Happy Thanksgiving :)

embossing...

2011-11-20T00:05:00.000-08:00

I'll go through awhile where I don't any kind of heat embossing at all, and then I'll start up again. And then sometimes, I'll start something, but it won't turn out, so I'll leave it for months. Well, that's what happened with the tree on today's card. I stamped and embossed the tree ages ago, but I couldn't get it to turn out to my liking. I found it again the other day, and decided to use it :)

I actually barely did anything else to it. Just matted it and tied on the twine lol. I really like how it turned out though. I stamped and embossed the tree first. Then I stamped the text, and then I inked over it in 3 different colors of distress ink. I love how the tree stays white since the ink on top just wipes off.

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope your weekend is moving along slowly :)

yay for school :)

2011-11-17T05:34:00.000-08:00

I don't think I ever thought I would actually say that. Or even my kids. But there was absolutely NO complaining about doing school today. There were lots of smiles and listening on each other's lessons, and some very great memory verse recitation. Today was the 2nd of our new school. I was little nervous about starting it, and I'm definitely still working out timing etc. But I must say, I am loving it :) yay! I really thank God for leading me to it at just the right time. And in case you are interested, after all my raving :), you can check it out at Heart of Dakota.

I thought I would share a layout today. I made it a little bit ago. With thinking about and working on our new school stuff, I still haven't been creating as much as I normally do. I really love how this layout turned out :) The picture are old though, maybe about 4 years old. I took these from inside while Tomio was saying 'bye to each of the kids. He did this every morning on his way out to work :) So glad I captured it :)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a lovely week :)

I'm not really

2011-11-15T01:21:00.000-08:00

a busy person, lol :) I can go days without leaving the house. But then there are a couple of times a year where we have several things going on and I actually feel like I am "busy". This happens to be one of those times. The kids had double swimming this past week, we went to a new church, we had our annual "girls' shopping trip" on Monday, and then today we had our "fall party". And, the rest of our school books came, so I've been going over that too...goodness. Fortunately, it is "good" busy. All fun things :) Still, I'm hoping for a little more down time over the next few days (but not counting on it).

Here is a card for today. I know, I am going to try to use some other flowers more too. But these are just so pretty and easy to use :) I really like the matching die cuts too.

well, I am tired tonight, so it's going to be another quick post. Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you are having a great week so far!!

some books and a tree.

2011-11-08T15:02:00.000-08:00

Well, a little over half of our new school books came:) 3 out of 5 boxes of books. Everyone was so excited, and can't wait for the last 2 boxes. Even Miss Emma kept asking "is this Emma's?" while we were dividing them up. Fortunately I have a few things planned for her "school" to keep her busy while I work with the others. I'm really hoping the rest come today!!

As for the tree, well, we put our Christmas decorations :) Yes, the first week of November. And I have to say, I *love* having our decorations for up so long. I'm always already making Christmas cards and doing my Christmas shopping at this time anyway.

And now for a card. I have a "thing" for silhouette flowers. I just do. So these are from one of my favorite sets of flower silhouettes from Unity. Lots of pretty ones. And I have to say, that I have had nothing but the BEST customer service from Unity. Really helpful. And they even have had specials with free shipping overseas, and I am pretty sure that is first I have ever seen that. Thought I'd mention it, just in case :) I used Hero Arts envelope pattern for a little texture. Another must have for me :)

Thanks SO much for stopping by! I hope you have an awesome day!!

okay...

2011-11-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

I think it's time for a layout. I've actually made a few layouts lately. I even *seem* to have gotten a little bit faster at it too. Which can be good considering I usually have the same layout sitting on my desk for a week. I haven't finished all of Levi's other birthday pages yet, but since I am no longer stuck under the " I must scrap chronologically" way of thinking (which is definitely the best choice I ever made. I enjoy my scrapping *so* much more now), I didn't let that stop me from scrapping the cutie-pix :)

Last year Levi chose Batman, and this year it was Superman. It's funny. Every year, I know Tomio is going to do an incredible job drawing the pictures on their cakes with chocolate. And yet, every year, he still manages to exceed my expectations. It think it is so fun for the kids that they can ask for any picture they want, and they know Daddy will draw it.( if only I had that talent). I am really sticking with the less is more look for my layouts (well, and cards too) lately. I still experiment with other looks too, but I always seem to come back to more clean and simple.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you are having some nice fall weather. It looks like it is finally getting cooler now here. yay :)

too long.

2011-10-31T03:40:00.000-07:00

You know it has been too long since you last posted on your blog when Blogger makes you sign in again. oops. No excuses, just trying to get my priorities all straightened out. Kids, school, house, cooking, stamping... Definitely important to have some fun time on the list, just need to make sure it's in right place.]

Sorry, not the best photo. Didn't realize till now. Just another simple card using the gorgeous flower stamps and matching dies from Papertrey Ink. I might like these even better than the sunflower ones, and that is saying a lot! heehee :)

Hope you had a fun weekend! Ours was way too short. I needed at least another day and a half before Monday...not much chance of that I guess, right? too bad :)
Thanks for stopping by!!

one of those cards...

2011-10-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

that turns out just like you imagined. I often have ideas in my head of cards to make, but they rarely turn out like I first imagined. Usually I'll just end up using my first idea as jumping off point and make something else. But this time, it didn't need any tweaking :) It turned out just like I imagined. And I know I've said this before, but I *love* this impression plate!!

I also love this stamp set! It was my first time to order from Wplus9. I love their stamps. Definitely will be ordering from them again. And in case you didn't know, they have matching dies too :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!! I'm finally getting back into my "groove" lol. I made 4 cards last night :) Felt so good:) Hope you're having a crafty week too!!

Hello~?

2011-10-19T03:33:00.000-07:00

I know. It feels like I have been away for like, forever.... But I honestly have not even been able to make anything lately. Which is kind of rare for me, because, well it's what I *like* to do. I think I have done pretty well on menu plans~yay! Only a couple days in, but definitely smoother for cooking and shopping :) But I feel like my brain is on overload working out our homeschool plans for the next year. Now, I am usually *not* an over-thinker, or hardly much of a planner at all. But this time working out all the plans for next year seems to have put my brain in overload. Every time I sit at my desk, I kind of just veg for a bit. I think I'm almost done with my planning finally, though, so I'm hoping for my mojo to come back soon. But, since the kids and I are ALL really excited about the new school plans, I definitely think it was worth it :)

For now, I do have a card I made a little bit ago to share though :) Nothing really fancy or special, just one of the cards I made when I was playing with my new stamps :) And I love them all, by the way :) Especially the envelope background from Hero Arts that I used on this card. It was one of the ones that when in and out of my cart several times. So glad I left it in :)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope your week is going great!!

why?

2011-10-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

Why is that deciding what to make for dinner is such an ordeal? I'll find myself thinking about it forever, just to end up the same thing... I kind of got tired of the silly stress I caused myself this, and decided to do something about it. This week I am making up some menu plans so that I'll have to do is choose a plan, and I'm good :) I'm also trying to be realistic about the plans, not setting myself up for failure by saying I'll make 3 new elaborate dishes each week lol. I know my limitations. Anyway, that is what I am up to this weekend. I'm not sure I'll have much crafting time, but *sometimes* it's worth putting on hold, right?

Today I do have a fun birthday card to show :) I like combining the boy-ish card stamps with the fun pink colors and flower :) Kind of fun, don't you think? I also like how fun it is to put rhinestones for the headlights :)

Thanks for stopping by today!! Hope you are having a wonderful day!!

sweet.

2011-10-10T02:44:00.000-07:00

Kind of different card for me today. I usually like to make mostly CAS cards, but every now and then I like try something a little different :)

Isn't the cupcake cute?! I just stamped it in versamark and heat embossed it in clear. I also used one my favorite Papertrey doily dies too :)

Ok, short and sweet for me today. We spent the day at the park today, and now I have several things to do around the house. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

surprise!

2011-10-07T17:04:00.000-07:00

Tomio surprised us by taking the day off from work :) We spent the day eating breakfast out, playing at the park (where Levi got to show off his bike riding skills) and watching dvds. It was definitely a good day :) We also got Emma some new shoes since she seems to have lost one on the bus the other day....

I used some more of my new PTI goodies on this card :) I had been wanting another flower stamp set with matching dies for a while, so when I they came out with this one of sunflowers (my all time favorite flower ♡) I *had* to get it. And I'm so glad I did :) The bookprint impression plate is also new to me, and I love it too! I selectively inked some stamps from some other sets for the sentiment.

Thanks so much stopping by!! I hope you have a great weekend!

fall fun :)

2011-10-04T19:23:00.000-07:00

I am *so* loving this fall weather!! We decided to take advantage of it and go to the park. The kids got their studies done and we took lunch to the park. The weather was perfect and we spent the whole afternoon there. We took Levi's bike to the park, minus its training wheels. I was afraid it would take him a long time to ride, but he really pretty much got it right away. I was really impressed. Unfortunately, he still has trouble getting started by himself, and that frustrates him no end! But he was so proud of himself, he really wanted to show Daddy. But Tomio didn't home from work till it was too late. So Tomio told him if he got up early before he went to work, he could show him then :) So Levi hurried to bed so he could get up nice and early. it was sprinkling just a bit in the morning, but Levi showed him anyway. It was so cute watching him show Daddy how well he could ride :) Now Levi can't wait to go to the park again so he can ride lots.

I kind of think today's card is more spring-y than fall-ish, but oh well :) We've already established that I don't worry about that when I am making cards. heehee :) I really like these jar stamps. But to be honest, I have had a hard time actually using them. I've finally gotten a few cards to turn out that I actually like. And this is one of them. The cute butterfly is from Flutterby Friend, one of very favorite sets.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you are having a great week so far!!

I thought

2011-10-02T04:48:00.000-07:00

it was just me, that thought the year was over once it hit September. But even Tomio said, "you know, it's almost Christmas now". I was like "I know!" We do put up our tree around the middle or beginning of November, though :) That's ok--I'm prepared. I just got several new Christmas stamp sets, so I'm ready :) While I *do* admit to making Christmas cards all year long, there's just something even more fun about making them during the actual season. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about.

Ok... on to today's card. I used some of my stamps I mentioned last time on this card. I {love} them! And of course they are even better since they have coordinating dies. They are the Larger than Life stamps dies from Papertrey Ink. I debate about these for a long time, and I honestly have no idea why lol. They are really just the kind of stamp I like. And they are really easy to use :)

I hope you can tell in the photos, but in real life, I think it is so pretty :). Oh, and this is also my new favorite impression plate. It really is subtle, so you might not get the full affect in photos, but I just love it and have to stop myself from using it on every card.heehee :)

Thanks so much for stopping by! All my little ones are in bed, so I might be able to squeeze in a little more stamping time tonight :)

Happy World Cardmaking Day!

2011-09-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

Since it's already the first of October here, it's now officially World Cardmaking Day :) And I'm happy to say that this year I really do think I'll at least get to spend half the day making cards. yay :) I already got my windows cleaned today, so I can even stamp guilt free :)

For now, I'll share a birthday card I made. I never really thought I liked red and light blue together, until I made a card for a challenge with them, and I was surprised at how well I liked it. Especially when yo throw in some kraft :) All supplies for this card are from Papertrey Ink :) I think the stamps in this teacup set are so cute!

Ok~that's it for me today. I have a few more things to take care of before I plant myself at my desk :) Thanks for stopping by! Do you have any plans for today?

Be Mine...

2011-09-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

It's almost October, which means it's almost time for me to start making and sharing Christmas cards :) My absolute favorite kind of card to make. So before I start with those, I thought I would share a Valentine one. Hmmm...I guess that is even MORE out of season, isn't it? Oh well... I am the only one who just makes whatever kind of card they feel like, no matter what season it is? I just enjoy it more that way :)

I ended up making this one from several scraps left on my desk from other cards. But it turned out to be my favorite Valentine card I made this year. I love the Distressed dot paper from Papertrey. I used pop dots behind the pink layer to make even with the button and make the heart window "deeper".

Thanks SO much for stopping by today! I have several new stamp sets that I am hoping to ink up today :)

Getting things done.

2011-09-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

I love feeling like I'm getting lots of things done. You know, being efficient :) And today I was. We did our school, went to the dentist (twice...), the dermatologist, and grocery shopping :) Leah's mouth piece was ready, so she'll be wearing it to sleep in. Glad to be getting that taken care of too. Now, if I can get some stamping done, it will be a perfect day :)

Today's card doesn't really have very much stamping at all. Just for the sentiment tag. I stamped a leaf in old paper for a little more interest. I really like the calm, earthy look of all these colors. And I {heart} twine :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I'm off to enjoy this beautiful weather with my kiddos!

17 years...

2011-09-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our 12th anniversary this year. While it's been 12 years since we got married, it has been 17 years, today, since we met. Now we don't usually make a huge deal out of it or anything, we do always remember it :) Tomio got me some ice cream and we are going out to dinner to celebrate too :) heehee. Wow, 17 years... it really doesn't seem like it has been that long!!

I thought this card seemed kind of fitting for an anniversary. I liked using these kind of masculine stamps with the pink colors. I don't have the stamps that match these labels yet, so I masked off a circle and stamped the text on top. Then I curved the sentiment on the clear block to match the circle shape. I used the cream colored twine for the first time on this card, and I really liked it :)

Thanks for stopping by today!! So happy it has finally cooled off here!

normal?

2011-09-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

Just when you think things are back to "normal", something else happens... Among other things, Leah got the fever too. I feel like we have been to the doctor a thousand times lately. I must say though, that every time I go, I am so grateful that kids' doctor visits are free. Once they hit Leah's age they cost a little, but definitely not enough to break the bank. That is such blessing.

Speaking of blessings, here is a "blessed" card I made (ok maybe that was a bit of a stretch...) A really different color combo for me, but I think I like how it turned out. These flourish stamps from Papertrey are gorgeous, and I really don't use them nearly enough.

Well, that's it for me today. My friend from Junior High is getting married today, and I'm invited to the wedding. All my kids seemed pretty shocked to see me dressed up when I was finding something to wear...lol. Thanks for stopping by today!

should have seen it coming.

2011-09-19T00:43:00.000-07:00

Right? After taking care of my sickies for a days, yes, I caught it too :( Hence my absence from my blog. I have to say, though, my Rhys-ter was a huge help while I was sick. Part of the time both Tomio and Leah were gone for her golf, and he did a great job taking care of the littles enough for me to actually get some rest :) I'm also very happy to say that I am much better now. I even made a card :) And here it is:

Bright and cheery :) which is how I felt after getting better. And I really, really, love this pattern paper from Papertrey. I really don't use much pattern paper on my cards, often just like to make my own with background stamps. But this "bitty box paper" I could use on almost everything :) The pretty flowers are from Unity.

Thanks for stopping by!! Are you ready for a new week? I am :)

sickies...

2011-09-15T05:37:00.000-07:00

Rhys had a fever on Monday, and while he is all better now, Miss Emma now has one :( Rhys is actually really good when he is sick, not whiney or anything. Miss Emma... well, not so much. But considering her normal personality :), not too bad I guess.Really praying she's better in the morning. She still is her talkative self though. We were sitting together on the couch while she watched some dvr-ed shows. The care bears she watched finished, and the normal tv show came on. It was some Japanese cartoon that my kids don't watch. Normally when a show that is "unacceptable" comes on, my kids will say "oh, that's poop", kind of reinforces that it's not worth watching. Anyway, this time it was kind of like a witch that popped on the screen. Miss Emma looked at it and said " Oh! scary! Scary poop!" :) heehee:)

anyway...how about a layout today? This is me and Tomio back when we were dating :) let's see...I must have been16, which makes him 21. Sometimes it's fun to go back and do some older pictures too :) Pretty simple, but I thought it went well with the black and white photos.

Thanks so much stopping by today! Taking care of sickies can be pretty tiring, so I'm going to *try* to get some more sleep tonight. Hey, at least everyone slept 'till 6 today :) Hope you have a great day!!

the butterflies...

2011-09-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

again :) Remember the other day when I posted that most of my cards I had sitting on my desk had butterflies? well, I posted one of the "fixed" ones, so I thought that I would share one of the butterfly ones that I didn't change.

And this one has LOTS of butterflies lol. Really a simple card. I love adding some embossing to a simple card. This sentiment is from PTI's Flutterby Friend. When I got the set, I actually thought I might not use the sentiments at all, but I got it anyway. As it turns out, I *love* the sentiments in this set and I've used them quite a bit.

Ok, short and sweet for me today! It seems the kiddos have decided to wake up before 6 for the past several days, and I need tom make up for it. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

irrational.

2011-09-11T05:42:00.000-07:00

Do you have some task that you just.don't.like. to do? I mean nothing so awful cleaning out the diaper trash can that you keep outside so you won't have to smell it or even think about it regularly. Just a pretty mundane task that you, for whatever reason, just don't want to do. For me, it's hanging back in the closet the hangers I use to hang the laundry outside to dry. See, I told you, nothing evil lol. I just don't like doing it. They are clumsy and awkward and go in the boys' room. I of course do it every day after I bring the laundry in. But every day I half consider leaving them out on my bed (!) just to avoid putting them away. So, is just me? Or do more normal people have things they pretty much irrationally dislike doing?

Anyway, I do have a card :) Another bright and cheery one :) I have to say, I adore that bee :) It's from PTI's Springtime Doodles. And to be honest, he is the real reason I wanted that set. heehee. He wasn't too hard to cut out either. I used my Wild Honey distress ink to stamp on the summer sunrise cardstock (again). I just love perfectly they seem to go together.

Thanks for stopping by again today! I've been doing a little bit better about going to bed early, so I'm hoping to keep it up.

Here for you.

2011-09-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

I have a bright, cheery card today :) Sometimes you just need a little cheer, you know? I did some clear embossing for the polkadots. This polka dot stamp is another background stamp I looked all over for. It's even harder to find one that is perfect AND sends to Japan without costing an arm and a leg. But I am really happy with this one from Inkadinkado.(If you are interested, I got it at 1-2-3 stitch). I decided to cut out the butterflies with a little white trim this time, really just because I thought the pop of white would be nice.

Ok, that's it for me today. Lots of studies to work on (not mine, the kids'). Thanks for stopping by!!

time for a checkup.

2011-09-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Well not mine, but for my kiddos. Rhys just went to the dentist last week and got one of his baby teeth {that had major issues} pulled, so he got his check up and fluoride treatment then. And I was happy to hear no cavities. I took Leah and Levi in for their check up yesterday. They both have potential for needing braces, so I was having that checked too. Leah has to wait for some more teeth to come in to get her braces, but she is getting a mouthpiece. I'm really excited about it for her lol. Her bite is off and it bothers her and this should fix it~yay. Levi's checkup was great too, no cavities, healthy teeth :) so yay for me. heehee :) Oh, and after that we went to the doctor and got cough meds for all of them too. So now after each meal I line up all the kids and take turns giving them their medicine....

I had lots of fun making this card. I was trying out my new stamps from PTI. I think I'm really going to love these vases. I don't paper piece all that much, but it just seemed to fitting for these little vases. And they really aren't very tricky to cut out or anything. The beautiful background stamp is from Stampabilities. I searched for a long time to find a pretty scripty background stamp, and I just *love* this one :)

Thanks for stopping by! It's our "weekend" now, so I'm hoping to recharge, and get some stamping done :)

rain.

2011-09-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

The weather has been so crazy here lately. It will be sunny, then start pouring. Then it will clear up again before you know it. I've decided to pretty much count on rain and hang all my laundry inside for now. But hey, as long as the rain cools it off even a little bit, I'm ok with it :)

So I decided I use my butterfly punch a little bit too much. I had this stack of new cards I had made on my desk, and when I looked through them, I found that there many more with the butterfly punch than without. So I challenged myself to change some of them and use a different embellishment for them. This card is one of those. I actually really like this version better. This tea set is one that I don't use nearly enough, so I was really glad to use it. I actually made it a double challenge for myself to try to use a set that had been kind of neglected to replace the butterflies. (and don't worry, I still use the butterflies all the time, and I'll be sharing those cards too :)) But isn't that honey ball just too cute? There is only a die for the teacup, so just fussy cut the honey ball and the "honey". Oh, and if you are stamping these with matching dies, I found it works SO much easier if you stamp the outline first and then the inside color. It might be obvious to most people, but it took me a few times to figure that out.

Well, thank you for stopping by today! Tomio is having more "early" days at work this week, so I'm off to try to get to bed early.

no promises

2011-09-03T05:39:00.000-07:00

I can't make any promises, especially because I am not one that works well feeling "obligated", but I am really hoping to start posting more often here on the blog. I really love sharing my cards here. So that is my goal anyway :) And in the spirit of posting more often, here I am posting 2 days in a row! yay :)

Today I have another card I tried some heat embossing on. See, more clear embossing on dark colored cardstock :)I love gray with pale yellow, and pale purple with yellow, so I really liked this combination. I used the really pretty music impression plate too. I added the sentiment on a label that I trimmed and tucked behind the gray panel.

Well, thanks so much for stopping by today!! Have a great weekend!!

Safe and sound.

2011-09-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

We made it back from our trip to Disney Sea, all safe and sound. We all had lots of fun. Miss Emma squealed about almost everything, and liked to point to people who happened to be wearing or holding something with a Disney character on it.... yeah, there were more than a few of those there:) heehee. I'm SO glad we decided to go even though they said there would be a typhoon that day. There wasn't, and the crowds were down for Japan too.

One of the things the boys were most excited about was the Indiana Jones ride. See above. But, Levi was just a *little bit* too short. They gave him a little card that said next time he comes and is tall enough, he won't have to wait to ride. He thought that was pretty cool. And when we told him he needed to drink milk and eat lots of veggies to get taller by next time we go, he listened :) Now every time he drinks some milk he asks "do my legs look longer? Am I taller?" :)

And here is Miss Emma meeting "her", as she likes to call Elastigirl. "Credibles" was also there, but she was too shy to actually let him get near her.

And here is Miss Emma waiting with me while the big kids rode with Daddy. She had plenty to say :)

Alright, that't it for today. We'll be back to regular cards tomorrow :) Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have a great weekend!!

one more....

2011-08-29T04:10:00.000-07:00

option. Since I never make just one card for Tomio, I thought I would share one of my other choices. And seeing as I have at least one whole day left to choose, I am still debating :)

I really like this one too, although there is the chance that it's a bit too girly since it's all pink? I usually figure that lovey cards can be pink and still be ok :) I like the subtle newsprint on the kraft. The pretty sentiment is from Papertrey's Heart Prints. I really like this set, but I have trouble using the hearts... not really sure why... anyway, the sentiments are great :)

ok, that's it for me tonight. It's time for my boys to hit the sack, and we have discovered the hard way that *nothing* will go very smoothly with sleep-deprived boys. Trust me. Thanks for stopping by!!

almost...

2011-08-28T03:57:00.000-07:00

over! ack!! I *cannot* believe that August is almost over! Once it's September, the year is practically done, you know? Our anniversary is August 31st, and we are planning on going to Disney Sea this year. We'll take the kids too, and I know everyone will have fun (as long as the typhoon holds off a little).

Anyway, here is one of the cards that could be Tomio's anniversary card. As yet, I'm still undecided lol.
I know it's not overly "anniversary-ish", but sometimes it's fun to do something a little different,right? I really like using an impression plate on white cardstock. I added some glitter to the icing on the cupcake, and I like how it turned out. I just squished it into my glue pad and sprinkled on the glitter. Nothing fancy lol. I really like having the dies to match the cupcake. It makes it much easier.

Thanks for stopping by! Emma went to sleep early and I'm hoping to *finally* get to play with my new stamps~yay!

love/hate...

2011-08-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

So I have a love/hate relationship with heat embossing. I really love the detail it can add, and how it works well to make white pop. It can be so pretty! But, I can have the hardest time getting it too turn out "right". Know matter whate precautions I take, I usually end up getting too much powder on places I don't want it, or not enough, or SOMETHING. I still do it though, because I love when it DOES turn out :) One of the ways I get it turn out without much worrying, is by using clear embossing powder.It's pretty forgiving :), but still gives great results. heehee :)

That's what I did on this card. I think it's especially striking on the black. I also embossed the sentiment in white, and I think I did a pretty good job of that too.heehee:) I LOVE this doily shape from Papertrey. Honestly, when I bought the set of doily dies, I thought I might not even use this one at all, but I think I like it best. I guess you just never know...lol

Alright, I'm off to bed for tonight. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

And they are back!

2011-08-19T01:12:00.000-07:00

They made it back safe and sound. It was a whirlwind trip full of golf and more golf lol. They came back all tan. I'm glad they went and had fun. Emma was really excited to see Leah and Daddy. All while they were gone, when she would come down in the morning she would ask "where's Daddy?" Now things can go back to normal.

I always sort of think I am keeping track of what cards I have shown here on the blog and which ones I haven't...but I'm really not. sigh. But today's card I know I haven't, because I just made it :) I love all the bright cheery colors!

Isn't it cheery? I love how the bright blue butterfly looks with the pink and orange. The pretty label is a Tim Holtz Sizzix one. I just love it--it's really great size. I diecut it out of PTI's summer sunrise cardstock and stamped the text in Wild Honey distress ink. I have used my summer sunrise cardstock so much more since I discovered how perfectly the Wild Honey ink goes with it! And since I can barely make a card or layout without using kraft somewhere, the base of the card is kraft :)

So glad you stopped by today!! Are you ready for the weekend?!

They are off.

2011-08-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

Tomio and Leah left for Thailand. They will be there for a few days--golfing everyday :) Not particularly MY idea of a fun holiday, but they were pretty excited about it lol :) So I'm here with the boys and Miss Emma. They are having fun doing "boy" stuff. They got a new Pirates of the Caribbean lego that they just love. Their current faves for everything are Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones. You can tell Miss Emma has 2 older brothers when she recognizes anything pertaining to them, and calls them "Pirates" and "Jones", respectively. heehee :)

Here's a layout of Miss Emma. I can't believe how little hair she had here lol. And it was straight too. Basically just had fun with this layout. Some stitichin, felt flowers, cute papers. I actually heat embossed the woodgrain pattern onto the buttons--thought it kinda looked like sunflowers.

So glad you stopped by today!! I hope you are keeping cool, it seems to keep getting harder and harder to do that here. So thankful for my air :)

break time.

2011-08-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

It's finally summer break time :) I think I might be even more excited than the kids lol. We'll only have about 10~14 days for break, but I intend to enjoy every.single.day. Really, I do :) I think the boys feel the same way too, though, because they have spent the whole day up in their room, playing, fighting and finding toys that have been lost for months :)

Today's card is another elegant one (remember how I like to get out supplies and make several things using them and my scraps?) This card came from "elegant" scraps lol. I really liked the pink and black combo. And I also used the rest of my one piece of silver cardstock heehee :) The music background is my wonderful huge square one from Impression Obsession. Love how it can cover a whole card vertically or horizontally :) I heat embossed the damask on the circle after stamping it a slow drying pigment ink.

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm going to enjoy my break, hopefully by making some cards :)

I think it's time...

2011-08-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

for another layout. I made this one a few weeks ago, but I'm pretty sure I haven't shared it yet. So sorry if I did!

These pictures are from last year when Miss Emma was first learning to eat by herself. She's eating broccoli :) which was, and still is, one of her most favorite foods. She prefers veggies over meat all the time. And she insists on calling eggs "chicken", which I suppose, isn't too far off, right?! Anyway, back to the layout-- I used some Fancy Pants Papers and some Prima flowers. I stamped, colored and trimmed out some PTI butterflies. Oh, and I die cut the letters out of coasters from PTI too, just for something different.

Short and sweet today. We've got some school to do and then we are going to the kids' first lesson at their new swimming class. Hoping things go well. They are all super excited :)

Thanks for stopping by!!

i don't...

2011-08-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

drink coffee. At all. Or tea. Or even hot chocolate. I never developed a taste for coffee or tea, and I figured why try when I know I get more than enough caffeine from my coke, right? And as for the hot chocolate, well, I just really don't like the idea of *hot* drinks. I am completely aware that I'm probably in a very small minority here.Despite my aversion to all the aforementioned drinks, I simply adore cute mugs :) I mean really, what's more fun than drinking out of a really cute mug? So I have several of my own that I use. I simply drink my coke out of them. And if you haven't tried this, I really do recommend it. It is more fun than you might think :)

I also adore coffee and other mug related stamp sets. So much so that I *almost* tried to start drinking coffee just so I could feel more justified in buying more of them. In the end I just reasoned that I could just make card for my coffee-drinking friends with the stamps. I know, my reasoning is exceptional :) Today's card I made with probably cutest set of "coffee stamps" ever. Love their rustic look.

I chose to go with a really CAS card. I love how crisp the white looks for CAS cards. I used a the matching dies to cut out the mug. And isn't the heart-shaped steam too cute?

Oh, I have to add in a quick brag on my little golfer :) She went to her probably last competition for season on Tuesday, and she tied for 3rd!! She's has been golfing for a lot less time than most of the other kids there, and only been in a couple of competitions so far. So proud of her for all her hard work.

Thanks for stopping by today! Are you ready for the weekend? I am sure--unfortunately our "weekend" finishes today...:)

I guess...

2011-08-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

I spoke too soon. Or I jinxed myself >_< Miss Emma apparently decided to make up for behaving during the day by screaming all night long. She speaks tons and can communicate fine, but she still wouldn't tell me why she was unhappy with me and the world....I'm pretty sure there wasn't a real reason. oh well, sleep is overrated anyway, right?! At least no one else seems to hear her crying and get woken up.

But I still do have a card :) I mean hey, no sleep and no crafty time would be even worse. Gotta have some fun too :)

This card was fun to make :) Kind of just came together as I was playing. That's the best. And as an added bonus Tomio noticed it sitting on my desk and said "hey, that's a great card! The magazines will choose that one." They didn't, but I still really liked it :) Love kraft and red together, and in case I hadn't mentioned it yet, I {heart} my PTI impression plates. I *need* some more. So far I think this one is my favorite.

Well, thanks so much for stopping by! I'm hoping to get a little more sleep tonight than I did last night :)

enjoying the cool...

2011-07-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

I have really been enjoying the cooler weather the last week or so. Seriously, I don't think I can remember a year where there have been this many cool days in July since I've lived in Japan (and I've been here about 20 years!) Not that I really go out in the heat all that much anyway lol. But since we don't have central air, it's nice not to have to get all sweaty just going to the potty heehee :) And I'm also pretty thrilled with my little Miss Emma lately. Remember, this is the girl that had to go to the corner screaming rather than eat her cookie at the table. So yesterday she got a "preacher cookie" and promptly walked to the sofa and sat down. So like always, I said "Eat at the table Emma." She looked at me.... and I finished saying "don't want to make a mess on the sofa, right? So we eat at the table." And she did :) She said "I eat at table". I'm not sure if I'm conveying the significance of this, but trust me, it's huge :)

And now for a card.

I've been thinking of making a card with kraft and black for awhile, and I finally did :) I lov bee how they go together, so I will definitely be doing it again. This cute little butterfly is from Hero Arts. Since I cut it out and the antennae were gone, I used some twine instead.

Thanks for popping in today!! Hope you have a great weekend!!

some elegance...

2011-07-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

I don't usually make very "elegant" cards. Or very elegant anything for that matter lol, it's just not "me". But for some reason that's how this card turned out. And when I showed it to Leah ( I usually show her most things I make since she will appropriately ooh and aah and say things like "oh, you heat embossed that flower?" or "oh, that's the new stamp you got, isn't it?") the first thing she said was "It's pretty! So...elegant."

I'm thinking it must be the color choices? I must admit I pretty much almost never use silver. I think this might be the only sheet of silver cardstock I have. But I had fun. I really like how it turned out stamping the black script and the doing the clear embossing over it. The script background , by the way, is exactly what I had been wanting. I had been searching for a pretty whole background script stamp for a long time, and knew this one was perfect when I found it :) The link is to the store where I got it too, the have excellent overseas shipping :) All the other stamps are from PTI :)

I was happy to use ribbon on this card. I was beginning to be afraid I wasn't the ribbon type anymore(!) I think it was just a phase :)

Oh, in case you were wondering, Miss Emma is doing just great without her bottle~yay :) She now just asks for her "elephant", which is what she calls her sippy cup :) You know, because it has a picture of an elephant on it. It's fun to hear her say "Mama, can we have more elephant, please?" :) (she never asks for things just herself, it's always "we")

Thanks for stopping by!! I have laundry to hang out and school to teach. I hope you have some fun planned too :)

no card...

2011-07-24T07:22:00.001-07:00

So I don't have a card for today. Still working on family (read: discipline) things lately. Even though all my older kids were weaned from their bottles much sooner, has still been taking hers for comfort. I'd been meaning to wean her from it anyway, so today when she seemed to have lost it (again!) and I really couldn't find, I just told her she had to make do with her sippy cup. She managed just fine of course. I even was able to put her to bed without her bottle, which is a pretty big feat, especially if you know Miss Emma and her...um, stubbornness. It did take her longer to actully go to sleep, but I'm hoping it will improve her overall sleep though :) Hey, maybe if I'm lucky she'll start sleeping in a little, maybe even make to 6 sometimes. yeah, better not get my hopes up lol :) Anyway, that and school just has been taking a up a lot of time, so not enough crafty time left it seems. I'll have to be sure to adjust that for sure. Too many days without making cards isn't good for the soul :)

But, as I'm sure you are well aware, every good blog post must have pictures, right? So how about some of
my little Miss Emma?

I {heart} her happy smile :) And her wild hair :) It's always extra fuzzy and cute after her naps lol. I so hope her curls stay! All the rest of us have straight her--she gets the curls from her Papa.

Anyway, that's all for me today. I *did* manage to clean up my desk, so hopefully I'll get some creating done too. Hope you had a great weekend :)

one last blue :)

2011-07-21T00:15:00.000-07:00

So I have one more card I made while I was on my "blue kick" lol. I really like how this one turned out too. I find that if I just sit at my desk and just try to make a card, I often get stuck not knowing where to start. I think that's why some of my favorite cards that I have made I have actually made from extras just left sitting on my desk. So in this case, I went with the blues I had been using and kept them as a jumping off point. It definitely seems to help my mojo :)

I absolutely *LOVE* these flowers. I almost didn't get them and I almost thought I regretted getting the matching dies since they are pretty straightforward to cut out. But no. So glad I have the dies too. I like the even trim and they are so quick and easy that I don't think twice about using them like I might if had to cut them out by hand. And I love that they look great colored in or not. Oh and the really cute sentiment is from Unity. I actually stamped it on a clear transparency again and layered it under the die cut hole.

Thanks for stopping by! Since it's my "weekend" I'm planning on stamping and scrapping as much as possible .

some more blue.

2011-07-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

How about another blue card? I actually like this one even better than the last one. It's pretty simple too,

Isn't that impression just gorgeous? I just love it!! I really wanted it to take center stage, so I kept everything else simple. Since I really almost never like how white ink stamps, I used Stazon ink on a clear transparency that I cut in a small strip and wrapped around. Then I added the butterfly punches and gems. I liked how the kraft base sort of grounded everything :) I'm SO glad I finally got some PTI impression plates!! I absolutely LOVE them. I was afraid they would be hard to use or not show up enough....but nope---just perfect. They *are* a little pricey, but totally worth it in my book :)

Thanks for stopping by today!! Hope your week started off GREAT :) Mine's pretty good--we are implementing some new discipline....ummmm, tactics and standards in our house, and so far we are doing good I think. So yay!! Hopefully things will continue on this way.

unexpected...

2011-07-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I had planned to post a little sooner. But Miss Emma wasn't feeling well and I had to take her in to the doctor today. Turns out she has an ear infection :( Got her some antibiotics though, and going back to the doctor tomorrow. I know kids supposedly get them all the time, but out of all 4 of mine, this is the first time. It's so pitiful too. Hoping she gets better really quickly :(

ANYWAY, haven't gotten any stamping done that I had planned, but I do have a card I made last week that I haven't shared yet.

Just a really quick CAS card that I made. I had fun. I really this sentiment from Unity. The fonts are so fun :)

Sorry such a short and sweet post. Hopefully things will settle down here really soon. Thanks for stopping by!!

too big :(

2011-07-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

Oh my word!! Why do kids have to grow up so quickly?! I canNOT believe how big all of them have gotten. Especially Leah. When we first moved into this house just before Miss Emma was born, Leah still seemed like a "little kid". But now, goodness, she comes up to my forehead!! She's way taller than I was at 10. She's always had pretty long hair (which is another opposite of me, I always had short hair when I was a kid). We didn't even trim it after she was 5. But she has A LOT of hair--really thick and really heavy. So she's been keeping it at around the middle of her back. Yesterday, though, she went in to where I get my hair cut, and got it cut quite a bit. She took in her magazine with the style she liked and told them what she wanted :) It's SO cute now! I love it and she loves it. But, it definitely makes her look even older :( sigh...

This is what my pretty, big girl looks like now :) Oh, and this amazing girl just tied her Daddy at golf too. She actually got an 85. Pretty stinkin' amazing for a 10 year old. And, yes, I am very proud of my girl :)

Ok, I'm done bragging, at least for today :) Tomorrow I'll be sure to share some more crafty things :)
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are staying cool!

simple.

2011-07-06T02:38:00.000-07:00

I decided to go "clean and simple" for this week's Waltzingmouse sketch. I didn't struggle with this one as much as last week's. But I did start another one before I thought, no definitely go with CAS card. Oh, here is the sketch:

I did turn the sketch and moved the sentiment. I always feel like I am "cheating" if I don't follow exactly lol. But it's ok to *base* it one the sketch, right?!

I really liked how the red and white baker's twine looks on the white card. I've had it for awhile, but I've just now started really seeing how fun it is :)

I love this little bee! Isn't he so cute? I stamped the sentiment in two steps so it would fit on the tag.

Well, thanks so much for stopping by!! Hope your week is going well!!

What's going on?

2011-07-05T00:34:00.000-07:00

So my sassy little Miss Emma is, well, the same as always :) Some days are more trying than others... But I tell ya, that sweet face she makes in the morning, when she's only half awake, looks up and sees I AM there, and says "mama" all contented-ly, totally makes it all worth while :) She says the funniest things too. Her sentences are getting more "proper" lately, too. She used to come up to me and say "Doing?" for "what are you doing?" But not anymore. She walked in to the room I was in and said "What's going on, Mama?" heehee :) Love that little girl :)

I have a simple, one-layer card today.

I stamped the typewrite directly on the card and then one more time on white cardstock and fussy cut the paper. At first glance it doesn't look like much "fussy cutting", but the bottom part was little tricky lol. Love the look of kraft and red together. Here is what I stamped on the inside:

I really like how it turned out. The cute typewriter is from Stamping Bella. The "I love you" is from PTI's Love Birds.

Thanks for popping in today! I hope you had a happy 4th of July :)

I'm all mixed up.

2011-07-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

I'm having trouble remembering what day it is. Since the government is anticipating not having enough electricity this summer, Honda where Tomio works has decided to do its part. Instead of Tomio getting Saturday and Sunday off each week like normal, for the next 2 months he gets Thursday and Friday off. Apparently several other companies in the auto industry are doing this too, hoping to offset the peaks of when people normally use electricity. It's good a thing, I'm sure, but goodness, I just can't tell what day it is anymore lol. I'm all mixed up. I'm sure I'll probably just start to get used to it when they switch it back to normal :) At least since the kids are homeschooled, I can switch their days off to coincide with Daddy's :)

I made this card awhile ago, but I just now realized that I hadn't shared it yet. A little bit out of my comfort zone, but I think it turned out ok lol.

I usually can't seem to pull off this many layers for some reason, but I like this one :) I really, really love the PTI spiral notebook die combined with Unity's vintage ledger stamp!! Especially in fine linen cardstock and antique linen distress ink, like I used here. And of course you can't go wrong with some butterflies and baker's twine :)

Thanks so much stopping by today!! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. We didn't really have "weekend" lol, ours will come again on Thursday I guess? Seriously, this is going to take some getting used to!!
Good night--I'm off to veg a little while my munchkins are ~~finally quiet~~ sound asleep :)

sketch time

2011-06-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

Waltzingmouse sketch time :) I've been completely missing all of the sketches lately. I really wanted to get back into it this week, but to be honest I almost decided not to when I saw the sketch. I was really stumped. But I thought was kind of the whole point of a "challenge", and decided to go for it. Here is the sketch that was so tricky for me :

I really just didn't know where to go with it.... Anyway, after a couple of tries, this is what I came up with :

I surprised myself by liking the end result more than I expected lol. Also when I was looking through my stamps trying to see what I wanted to use, I remembered how much I liked these Wild Roses. I suppose some might think that might be a sign that I have too many stamps...but I'm pretty sure it just means I need some more time to USE my stamps :) I used some of my favorite colors, but I don't usually use all four of them together-- kraft, lavender, pale yellow and pale green. Glad they seem to go together well :)

Alright, kind of short and sweet today. So glad you stopped by!!

Happy things~

2011-06-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

Tomio likes to surprise me :) He's a black belt in karate, pretty cocky (which was one of the first things I liked about him when I first met him when I was 14), so he never likes to admit that he's smitten heehee :) or that he's actually paying attention. But he really IS. I've been SOOO happy that I've realized some of my goals this year to get my cards published (YAY!!). And I was lamenting to Tomio that I really didn't have anything good to actually send them in. They say "box it up"....but I never could find anything that was "fitting". This was weeks ago. And then today he went out to get some light bulbs, and comes back with light bulbs, and several little boxes :) Yes, just the right size for mailing in cards :) Apparently he'd been checking everytime he went to the store. I love that 1) he remembered what I was wanting and 2) that he's sure enough that I'll get published again to buy several boxes :) He tries hard to hide it, but he doesn't do a very good job :)heehee~I know I'm lucky.

So I have another winter layout I did. I'm really liking doing snow layouts when it's really hot outside. I was really disappointed with myself with these pictures because I must have had the white balance on some really funky setting, so they are all a little off. :( But I of course wanted to scrap them anyway. Isn't Levi's hat just too cute?! None of these pattern papers are actually winter ones, but I thought they worked well.

Well, the weekend is over,and I think I am *almost* ready for a new week. Thanks for stopping by today :)

a bad day.

2011-06-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you have a bad day? There are several little things I do....I'm pretty sure I'm not the only girl that like a little extra chocolate on a day like that :)And for me, I like to call Tomio and at work and let him know. It helps to just get it out. But guys aren't usually like that. They just kind of hold it in. Tomio always calls me when he gets to work, at his lunch break, and on his way home. I know the exact times he will be calling :) But the other day I was surprised when he called about 30 minutes before his lunch time. I listened, wondering what important things he had to let me know. But there really wasn't anything. He was heading to another section, but had had "one of those days", and just wanted to talk to me :) I know I work that way, but it was nice to know that he feels that way too sometimes :)

ANYWAY, a quick, CAS card today, which is really my faovrite card :)

I almost stitched around the edges, but I decided to keep it even more clean and simple. I {love} how the woodgrain looks stamped in Antique Linen distress ink onto kraft! Still subtle, but definitely noticeable :) The pretty "Happy Birthday" is froim Waltzingmouse. Love the fonts :)
Well, we are off to the doctor and then out for some shopping today. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are staying cool :) We are trying lol :)

back to normal

2011-06-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

So everyone got back from camp ok. They had probably a little too much fun :) I'm really glad that there is a Christian, English camp for them to go to. For the past few days I keep hearing more and more about the different fun things they did. They were thrilled that they got to go swimming everyday :)

After all this "summer" talk, I have a winter layout I did heehee :) I used some adorable paper from Cosmo Cricket that I have been hoarding lol. Used some stamps, added some stitching. I really love these colors :) I love this little snowman stamp!! So cute. I like to emboss with the Ultra thick embossing enamel (UTEE) like i did here and then stamp his eyes etc in Stazon.

Alright, things are going back to normal today--back to studying and schedules again. Hoping it allows for a little down time for though :) Hope you had a great Father's day weekend!! We spent the day at my parent's house. Thanks for stopping by!!

taking it easy...

2011-06-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

well, that's kinda of my goal, but with Miss Emma and Levi as wild as ever, I don't know how it will work in reality heehee :) But I keep thinking that with only half of my "normal" number of kids here, I *should* be able to. Levi is enjoying his "big boy" time, but he also misses Leah and Rhys. He keeps counting the days till they will get back, and telling me all the fun things he wants to tell them about :)

I'm pretty sure I haven't shared this card yet. Sometimes I forget *sigh*lol.

This was just one of those cards where I wanted to try using some different products. It's hard to see in the photo, but I stamped the red label with Papertrrey's Newsprint background. I had been eyeing that Tim Holtz/Sizzix label for ages,and finally got it :) Really glad I did, it's such a fun size and shape. Since I wanted to leave the butterflies white, but didn't want them too plain, I embossed them with a fun paisley pattern.

Thanks for stopping by again today!! Hope you have a great day!!

it feels weird...

2011-06-13T06:43:00.000-07:00

We went and dropped off the "bigs" at Bible camp today. We took a bus and 3 trains to get them there, but they were SOOO excited. Leah was old enough to go last year too, but this was Rhys' first year. You'd think they might be a little more nervous or sad when I left, but no, not at all :) I know they'll have tons of fun, but it sure feels weird here at home without them here. Even Miss Emma noticed and right around bed time she started asking "Where's Blah?" To be honest, Levi can sometimes be a little...selfish. But I was really happy with his attitude about them going to camp even though he can't. No whining or complaining, just behaving really well. Making sure I taped Leah and Rhys' favorite shows while they are gone :) I also made sure to let him know that HE was the BIG kid around the house now. He's happy about that and takes his job of "helping with Emma" very seriously :

A little bit different color combo for today's card. I don't always like the summer sunrise color, it's a little bright or something. But I love the way it looks with the Wild Honey distress ink stamped on it!! Such a perfect match :) I don't have the matching dies for the Turning a New Leaf stamps, so I just cut them out. I'm still thinking of getting them though :) I used the negative from where I diecut a scallop circle and then stitched it down. I kinds of tucked the vine in and put some adhesive on a few spots. The sentiment is from Mega Mixed messages. I also added a few gems to the leaves.

Well, thanks for popping in today!! Hope your week is off to a good start :) I know mine will be different than normal :)

more flowers...

2011-06-10T02:26:00.000-07:00

We took a little bus trip into the "city" today. I sue that term loosely lol. But it was really fun. I got all the kids some new Crocs. And we ate lunch at Burger King. I think it was the first time for any of them to eat at Burger King.They loved it :) They went on and on about it. heehee :) Since I hadn't eaten there in years either, I must say I enjoyed it too. Also glad we got the bus route down since we'll be taking it again next week when I drop the oldest 2 off at camp. Love getting out with the kids too. And since the reason we decided to go out in the first place was to go to the post office to mail my card in for publication, it was already a good day to begin with :)

I know, I've really been overdoing the flowers lately. I'm pretty sure this is the last one for awhile though--think I'm a little tired of them myself lol :) But I do like how this one turned out.

I used lots of my new fun stuff on this card. It took me a long time to finally get some PTI impression plates. I thought they were a little pricey and didn't know if I would like them since they were more subtle than regular embossing folders. But I finally caved since I just loved some of the patterns. And boy am I glad I did!! I just *love* them. So easy to use, definitely not too subtle, just right actually. This music one is the one that finally made me give in :) The tiny tag stamp and die is new to me too. Really cute :) I am one of those people that can't get enough polka dots :) And isn't the doily die really adorable? Another item that I finally caved and got. I'm thinking I should stop resisting and go with it lol.
Thanks so much for stopping by!! I hope you had a great week. I'm ready for the weekend :)

no more stitches.

2011-06-06T00:48:00.000-07:00

Miss Emma got her stitches out today. I knew we were going to have to walk to the doctor this morning to get them out, so I was a little worried when it started to POUR last night. Cats and dogs. But, luckily this morning it was totally cleared up. No clouds at all. After hearing her *scream* when they were stitching her up, I was pretty sure she wouldn't be too thrilled when they wanted her to lie down so they could snip them out. And in case I haven't mentioned it before...she is a tad strong-willed. just a tad :) (seriously, she is my 4th, so it's not like I don't have any experience with 2 year olds, but she is nothing like the others) She did cling to me for all she was worth, but surprisingly, after her initial crying, she stayed pretty still and calm while they took them out. As soon as they were done, she was ready.to.go. Glad it's done though, and the doctor said it healed up really well :) So glad the doctor is so close too. Made the whole ordeal a lot easier.

Anyway, here's today's card.

This one came together really quickly. I had made each of the elements before, they just happened to work really well together. I really love the Embellishments images and the pretty fonts. And having the dies to match is so fun. Pretty sure I wouldn't try cutting it out otherwise lol. The pattern papers are from Fancy Pants. I also used my new Hero Arts Solid Dots background for some subtle depth. And I'm definitely making a dent in my stash of ~~too many~~ flowers :)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope your week started off well. Hoping for lots of crafty time this week. (As I do each week lol )

really?!

2011-06-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it is already June?! I just can't--the year is half over! aaahh! I'll be happy if the first few days of June are anything like what the rest will be, though. They said it was the coolest day in June they had in 22 years here. I would love a cooler summer :)

Have a layout to share today. Some of my favorite pictures of Miss Emma from the park near our house.

I'd been doing a lot of two page layouts with lots of pictures, so I thought it would be fun to try doing some really different ones. I like printing the pictures with a white border to help them pop. The pretty striped paper is from Fancy Pants. I went for years without even owning any flowers, and then after I got some, I went for months without even tryin to use them. But lately I've been really liking them and putting them on layouts and cards. I think I might have gotten a little carried away though heehee :) There's a little stitching, a little stamping and a little embossing too.

Thanks for stopping by! Are you reayd for the weekend? I sure am :)

a baby....

2011-05-31T14:26:00.000-07:00

card :) heehee! just a card. I don't really make baby cards that often. Probably because I don't usually have a lot people to give them to. But they are so fun to make when I do :) I just found out that my best friend from Junior High is due in July, so that added to the baby fun, I'm sure. She's having a boy, though, so this one is not for her.

I started thinking that this fun plaid stamp from Unity would look great for a baby card. I really love how the white ink looks on the kraft. Definitely will be doing that again.After that I just got my super cute baby button bits stamps from Papertrey and decided on this oh-so-cute cupcake :) I love how it looks paper pieced :) My favorite thing to do when I am paper piecing is to look through my scraps and find fun patterns to use, and that is what I did this time too. I usually find some of my best things that way :) I made the pink border around the edge a little bigger than I normally do because I wanted it to stand out more and have plenty of room to stitch.

That's all for the card today. But here is a picture of my sweet Miss Emma.

If you look closely, you can see the bandaid under her bangs. Just before we were heading out to church on Sunday, she fell and busted her head open. It made a huge gash and we had to go to the ER :( She ended up with about 5 stitches :( I'm so thankful that she is doing fine now. You wouldn't know it, she acts her same old feisty self. Definitely not something I ever want to go through again. The surgeon was great, I can't imagine how hard it would be to stitch up a two year old. ( I can barely keep her still long enough to brush her teeth...)
Again, I just thank God for His care and protection.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a blessed and uneventful day :)

makeover.

2011-05-29T14:56:00.000-07:00

So remember the not-so-great "shabby" card I tried to make awhile ago? Well, it just kept bothering me, so I took it apart. Then I left it on my desk for a couple of weeks, trying to add something to the base that I liked.
And I finally I did :) Here's what the new, improved one looks like:

Ok, now, really, isn't that a lot better?! I actually really like this version. I added some prima flowers, a sentiment from PTI's Flutterby Friend. And the finishing touch is a clear butterfly, spritzed with a little Glitter mist and thne dipped in white Stazon ink. This is what I usually do when I end up making a card that I don't really like. Sometimes it takes a while, but I like coming up with something that I really do like :)

Ok, short and sweet again today. I'm hoping to get a few things done this morning before all the kids are up.
Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you had a great weekend!!

girly fun and more butterflies :)

2011-05-27T03:20:00.000-07:00

Leah is off spending the night at her cousins' house tonight. With Emma so much younger than her, and two brothers, it's a fun treat for her to stay at a house with SIX little girls. Apparently they are having a night full of dress up and tea parties :) Lots of fun for her, but I think her daddy's pretty sad that his girl isn't going to be here when he gets home from work--heehee :)

I have another butterfly card for today. But this time it is a different butterfly :)

I really like how the kraft looks with the yellow. I stamped the butterfly with a music pattern in Antique linen distress ink. The butterfly is from Lifestyle crafts. Isn't it pretty? I used my favorite Sizzix embossing plate too. The perfect little sentiment is from Waltzingmouse stamps. I love that font :) And I'm so glad I finally seem to have gotten my sewing machine to work. I would be so sad if I couldn't add stitching to my cards!!

Well, I'm off to watch a movie with the boys while Leah's gone :) Thanks for stopping by!! It's just about the weekend~yay :)

a little reprieve...

2011-05-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

from the heat :) It had gotten so hot here lately, I was kind of getting concerned about the summer...But luckily the past few days it has really cooled off. It's actually been quite chilly. Fun :) A little too rainy today though... I wouldn't mind at all if I didn't have to go out in it get groceries. I'm thinking it might make for a good baking day though.

Ok I just realized that today's card uses the same butterfly set as the last card. I think I need to start trying to use something else besides butterflies(!) or maybe just get some more butterfly stamps? Yes, definitely think I should just get some more butterflies.

I usually think this pink polka dot paper is too bright, but I like it combined with kraft for a fun girl-y card. Not sure how well you can see it in the photo, but I stamped a music pattern on the label in antique linen distress ink. Added some stitching and a little gem to finish it off.

Alright, a short and sweet today. Lots of school to get done with the kids before we head out. Hope you have a good day!! Thanks for stopping by :)

tall and skinny :)

2011-05-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I like to shake things up a little bit and make a little bit different shape card. So today I went with kind of tall and skinny. Really love these colors.

What's not to love about kraft and turquoise?! And some embossing and buttons and twine :) Isn't that a pretty impressed pattern? Kind of subtle, but I like it. And of course my favorite butterfly! Love how it has a matching die.

Tomio and Leah are all going to be pretty much gone all weekend. She has her first big real tournament this weekend. We'll see how it goes--both of them are pretty excited.
So I plan to spend the weekend stamping if I can :) If I have anything to show for my weekend I'll be sure to post it :)

Hope you have a great weekend!!

since I'm on a roll...

2011-05-17T05:58:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share another layout that I made :) I'm actually really happy with this one. I made it for a call Creating Keepsakes was having, but I guess they were looking for something else. But I was really glad I made it. Reading is such a big part of Leah's life right now that I was so glad I documented it.

I used real pages from an old book that was in pieces :)

And I had fun with the journaling. See? I made it look like one of the pages from the book :) fun:)

And I used my favorite buttefly stamps. Did some stitching, and added some fun embossed clouds :)

Leah seriously reads all.the.time. I can barely keep up with enough books for her! She's already had her Nana and Aunt Coo'gug (long story with that name lol) provide her with dozens. Good thing we can get her English books from the library at the American school here.

Well, that's all for me today!! So glad you stopped by! Hope your week is moving along smoothly :)

two years ago...5 years ago...

2011-05-15T00:36:00.000-07:00

So exactly 2 years ago from yesterday, this little sassy girl came into our lives:

And exactly 5 years ago from tomorrow, this awesome little dude came into our lives:

It's funny....we actually tried for over a year and half to get our little Levi. And then when he was 2 and I thought well, if I was going to have any more, I wouldn't want them to be spaced out any more than they that, so I would need to be pregnant right then.... and well, I was :) Definitely a surprise there. And huge blessing. Can't imagine life without them!! While my doctor said my body handled all 4 c-sections really well, apparently that is all it can handle. So I know we are done.

Sometimes I think I might want more. But I guess God must know my limits :)

So each year the kids all get to choose what picture they want Daddy to draw on their birthday cakes. This year Levi chose Superman.

And, yes, Tomio really did draw that Superman directly on the cake with chocolate... Levi was pretty thrilled with it :)

Miss Emma didn't actually choose this time, so we chose something that we knew she loved...Blue's Clues :)

So cute!! Emma loved it too. She would say "Emma's Clue's Clues, Cutie's(that's what she calls Levi) Superman." I extra love how she says "CLUE'S Clues" heehee :)

I think she enjoyed her cake:

And there were of course presents.

And more presents.

And some for Miss Emma too.

And some more.

So that's what our weekend was full of :) Fun, parties, and cakes. We'll finish off with Levi's choice of DVD, which looks like it will be X-Men :)

I'll leave you with a picture of what was inside both cakes:

They were quite yummy, if I do say so myself :)

Thanks for popping by! I hope you had a fun filled weekend!!

A layout ~yay!

2011-05-11T21:34:00.000-07:00

So I started as strictly a scrapbooker. Then I think about...3 years ago? I got into making cards more and really got into stamping too. Now I make maybe more cards than layouts simply because they are alot quicker, so even I spend the same amount of time scrapping as stamping, I won't get as many done lol. But I love both so much that if stick to one or the other for too long, I start to miss the other too much lol. Anyway, here is a layout I made of Leah :) These pictures are from 2009, and I can't believe how much older she seems now *sniff* :(

There is a little bit of stamping on this layout too. That actually makes happiest---combining stamping and scrapping :) I drew on the flourishes freehand and then pierced holes, and then stitched over them by hand. I love how they turned out though :)

Just a little journaling at the bottom.

Added a bit of stitching to the felt heart too :)

Took Emma to the doctor yesterday for her cough. She seems have raspy congested cough again. Fortunately, she loves her medicine and is excited to take. Such a blessing :) Glad she'll be feeling better soon too.

Thanks for stopping by!! Hope you are having a lovely week :)

it's over.

2011-05-08T05:28:00.000-07:00

Well, Golden Week is officially over. Seriously it felt like it didn't even exist this year. I did enjoy the break from school though :) But all studies and such will resume tomorrow....I hope I'm ready lol.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure I forgot to say how Leah did on her second golf test.......yes, she passed :) Tomio said she was the only one to pass this time. I'm so proud of her :) She still says she wants to be a professional golfer, and it looks like she is on the right path.

Miss Emma seems to *finally* be almost back to her normal self....is this like the 3rd time I've said that? I guess 3rd time's the charm, right? :) She did take a long nap today, which is great for her getting completely better. It's also great for getting some cards done :) I think I got 4 cards made during her nap. And that is A LOT for me. I even got the dishes and straightening done too.

This however, is not one of the cards I made today. I did *not* have time to photograph those :)

Just a simple out-of-season Christmas card. heehee :) I thought the different color combination was fun for a Christmas card. I used the gorgeous Waltzingmouse ornament stamps. So pretty and I love how the work with the Spellbinders ornament dies. Oh, the embossing folder is from Quickutz. For some reason I prefered the debossed look for this card.

Alright, I'm off to get things ready for tomorrow before I go to bed :) thanks for stopping by!!

Just a couple more days.

2011-05-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

Just a couple more days of "Golden Week" left. It really was short this time. Leah had two golf tests right in a row scheduled too. She passed the first no problem, of course :) I didn't realize since she seems pass each easily each time, but apparently most kids fail each one a few times before passing. She must definitely take after her Daddy, not me. Her second one is today.

Miss has been quite under the weather the past few days. And as I may have mentioned before, she's not the...easiest of babies :) And, well, when she doesn't feel well....she's even more challenging lol. I am happy to say she is on the mend though.It was soo nice to see her smile come back yesterday :)

Here is a card that I made when I was trying to make more "vintage" or "shabby" cards. I have since realized that it really is just not my thing lol. Sometimes when I see some of the gorgeous Vintage-y cards others have made, I wish I made cards like that. But it just doesn't come naturally for me. Does that happen to you? I'm trying to embrace my clean and simple style though. It is very freeing, if that makes sense lol. ANYWAY, here is one of my attempts:

I know... it's ok, but I'm not too thrilled with it. I'm pretty sure it needs *more* to really be vintage or shabby looking...oh well, I still had fun making it though :)

And just for fun, here a CAS Christmas card that I made last year that I really liked :

And this definitely came much more easily to me.

Ok, that's it for me. Miss Emma and I have been up since before 6 this morning (yay!...), but now it's time to get the rest of the house moving. Thanks SO much for stopping by. Oh, and could you let me know which style of cards you tend to make? Are you able to switch styles easily? Any certain kind that you just. can't. do.? (like me...)

Hope you're having a crafty week :)

Sort of a break...

2011-04-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was technically Tomio's first day of his "Golden Week" holiday. It supposed to be a pretty long break from Tomio's work. But with all the stuff he has to do, it's not really working out much that way. We do still take the week off from school, which is very much needed :) I'm hoping to go through all the kids's clothes and make a bunch of cards :) Fun, fun :)

And here's a card for today.

I had some fun with this card. I made five strips of kraft stamped with the woodgrain pattern to make it look like it was made of pieces of wood. I stamped a couple off different background images on the hearts after I punched them out. Oh and that fun "Mr. and Mrs." stamp is from Unity. Finished off with some ribbon and pins.

Ok, I'm headed off to bed. Everyone but me seems to have a cold and their all sleeping. Hoping to catch up on some of my sleep :)
Thanks for popping by! I hope you are having a great weekend so far!!

CR84FN color challenge :)

2011-04-27T17:18:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of me :) I decided to try to use the time have in the morning since I have to get up at 5 to get Tomio off. And with Miss Emma sleeping a little bit better in the morning, I have from an hour to an 90 min. in the morning to work on cards :) Heehee :) And that is with me doing the laundry and dishes too. So today I used this time to make a card for Cr84 Fun Color challenge. Here is the inspiration for the colors red, aqua, and white.

I really liked these colors :) Here is what I made:

Yes, very CAS again. I really just can't help it. So I decied just to go with it and admit that I just don't do other styles well. So clean and simple it will continue to be :) I just got PTI's Embellishments set that I used here. Really loving this set. I actually made another card for this challenge with it, but I was afraid it had too much kraft in it, so I made this one instead. It was actually kind of hard for me to make card without using kraft. When I looked at the last 10 or so cards I made, ALL of them had some kind of kraft in them lol.

Thanks SO much for stopping by today! I hope you are having a great week :)