Happy Halloween!

It’s funny how life works out. Sometimes I think maybe I should have been a writer. I’ve found over the years that I love writing, but I’ve never been published. Can I call my blog entries “self-published”? Did you ever wonder whether you have something great inside that’s just waiting to come out? Something that you just can’t quite put your finger on? Maybe my great novel will be about my weight loss journey. That could fill several volumes because I’ve been fighting my weight for what seems like an eternity. But I am so grateful that I found this plan at just the right time! This plan has done wonders for my attitude. I’m losing weight steadily, the plan seems effortless, and the support is endless! I know I’m not alone in my journey.

When the black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may good luck be yours on Halloween! Hope you all have a wonderful, spooky weekend. And don’t forget to change your clocks tonight! Fall back! We get back that hour of sleep that we lost in the spring, so make the most of it. Take a walk, enjoy the beautiful fall weather. If you are near Austin TX a great way to spend the weekend is to attend the Texas Book Festival at the State Capitol. One of my favorite TV chefs, Lidia Bastianich, is here this year and I am hoping to make a trip into town and possibly see her in person.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ready for Rain, Ready for Fall

Today marks the 63rd day of 100+ temperatures this summer. Believe it or not, it's not the record. Only good enough for 3rd place so far, but we may set a new record yet. There were 66 100+ days in 1923, and 69 days in 1925. We did set a record for high temp on this day - 105 degrees in the greater Austin area. As you can see by the pix, we weren't far behind here at home. This is from the indoor/outdoor thermometer in our garage.

An interesting weather fact - there are 32 million acres in Texas that are considered in "exceptional" drought right now. That's more land in Connecticut, New Jersey, Hawaii, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont combined! Needless to say, we are ready for cooler temperatures and lots of rain.

Amuse Lounge Challenge #7

The new "doctor girl" stamp is one of my faves from the new AMuse release, and she made a "house call" at my door at just the right time. The 11-year-old daughter of one of my coworkers was in an auto accident last weekend and shattered a cervical vertebra. With the medical miracles these days, she underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery but she has a long rehab period ahead of her. Our office staff is pitching in and getting some crafty goodies for her to play with while she heals. I did one card for the office to sign and this one to send her separately.

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA PJ PARTY

This has been a fun-filled week for me craft-wise. I went to 2 AMUSE-A-PALOOZA classes at Memory Depot making Christmas goodies and had a stampin' good time. Scored some of the new AMuse stamps and have had fun playing in my spare time this past week. Also attended the kick-off party for the new Epic die cut machine by Quickutz. Went to a stamp camp at my bud Tammy's house yesterday and had a blast as usual and after that went back to M-D for another class on an accordion book that fits in an Altoids mint tin. So Cute! The AMuse crew hosted a VSN last night on the AMuse Lounge, but I wasn't able to play until this morning. So glad to see that we have until later today to post entries because I do love my little AMuse stamps! I did make cards for all of the 4 challenges that were announced and I even surprised myself when I made all of these cards from start to finish in about 45 minutes. The challenges were: Favorite food, Favorite game, A card for your best friend, and Favorite movie.

1. Favorite Food - According to the men in my life, if you are a true Texan, that would most likely be Bar-B-Que! I used the BBQer, the Grill, and the new Sun stamps, AMuse notecard and gingham papers, Copics, and Spicas.

2. Favorite Game - I enjoy games! I like board games (Monopoly, etc.), card games (canasta, gin rummy, poker), and sports (just for watching - I haven't played anything strenuous in a LONG time). I also like computer games. For a good while I've been a Free Cell addict. I could while away the hours playing that little game on my PC. Lately, however, I've discovered Mahjong. It's easy and fun and the little tiles are so precious. So for this challenge, I made a Mahjong-themed card. I used the Kokeshi doll and Bamboo stamps for Mahjong tiles, AMuse sentiment, Copics, and Spicas, and an AMuse notecard. I put the Kokeshi doll on PopDots to give her tile a bit of a lift.

3. Card for Best Friend - All Amuse stuff here too, except for the punches. Daisy Bunch stamp, PLP green stripes, petite gingham and green paper. And a brad to attach the tag.

4. Favorite Movie - Since AMUSE-A-PALOOZA was all about Christmas in July, I had to pick "It's a Wonderful Life" as my fave for this challenge. I'm such a Jimmy Stewart fan so it seemed appropriate. After 10+ days of 100 degree heat, I was ready for some winter chill. I used the North Pole house because it reminds me of the Bailey home in the movie, and I added some Liquid Applique for snow on the roof and eaves.

All in all, it's been a fun week. We've also had a break in the heat today (so far it's only 90 degrees outside), so that makes life much more bearable around here. It should also help the electricity bill that's beginning to look like something out of the stimulus package! I hope everyone had a fun week and managed to get in some play time.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! I was able to say that to my dad until I lost him in 1995. This is a great day to remember the fun we had while I was growing up. We would sit on the front porch and read the Sunday Comics - Dagwood was one of his favorites. He taught me to recognize the different makes of cars and by the time I was 4, I could tell a Chevy from a Ford or a Dodge! In '53 he and mom bought a lake lot and with the help of a lot of uncles and aunts built a cabin. We had such good times! I learned how to drive at age 7 - in a '54 Chevy PU with a clutch pedal that seemed to be a mile long. Dad made sure I could go up hill without stalling the engine and rolling back into the lake. We fished together - my husband is amazed that he married a woman who knows how to clean a fish! I'm proud to say that I live in that little corner of paradise today. Although we bought the lot next door and built a larger home, the little cabin still stands to this day. It has been designated a storage building now, but when I look it I can still hear the laughter and remember the good times we had there. Life does go on.

AMuse-A-Palooza Square Challenge #1

AMuse-A-Palooza is upon us - a funfilled week of crafty goodness from AMuse Artstamps. Contests galore will abound. The first one is to make a card using a square for inspiration. I've always loved inchies, so what better way to use a square - one square inch to be exact. This card used the surfboard and "enjoy the ride" sentiment from the newest summer release. Colored with Copics, and placed on an AMuse square notecard.

Yard Visitors

We had the cutest visitors in our yard this evening - two does and their new fawns. The deer come to graze in our yard just about every evening. I was lucky enough to get a picture of two of them before they moved on. The baby couldn't be more than a couple of days old. All spindly legs and a big appetite. I love spring in the hill country!

If you're lucky enough to live in Texas...

...you're lucky enough! We Texans are proud of our State. Some of our most prized sights in the spring are the wildflowers along the roadsides, especially the bluebonnets. Lots of folks risk the fireants and take pictures of anyone and everyone in fields of bluebonnets. The bluebonnets have gone to seed for this year, so I decided to make a card to remind me of the lovely roadside shows they put on for us every year. This year's crop wasn't too spectacular because of a lack of rain, but we had enough little showers here and there to bring out a few. This cute stamp and sentiment come from Deadbeat Designs up in Salado TX. It was colored with Copics and white accents added using a white uni-ball gel pen. Paper is from scraps and cardstock I had on hand. Hope anyone viewing this enjoys the scenery.

Please remember our veterans and troops this Memorial Day weekend. America is the land of the free because of the brave! Give them the honor they deserve.

Glenda's Random AMusing Challenge #20

Cheers to Glenda in celebration of her 20th Random AMusing Challenge. And to celebrate, she's got some super-duper blog candy waiting for a lucky stamper! Check it out at http://papersscissorsrocks.blogspot.com/

What could be easier - make a card in 20 minutes or less. This one took all of 6 minutes to put together. 2 stamps, a corner rounder and a slot punch...add a little ribbon and Voila!!! Done!!! I love the "rock 'n' roll" technique used to stamp the zinnia. Ink the stamp with 3 colors at one time. Light ink in the middle, then a bit darker, then darker still on the edges. Apply to paper and it's finished, unless of course you want to add a little bling or something. This one uses the new AMuse zinnia stamp, and an Impress sentiment. I used VersaMagic chalk ink for the flower.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!

An Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

To all who believe in leprechauns and lore and the wearin' o' the green, have a blessed St. Patrick's Day!

Sláinte!!!!!!

Happy Trails

One of my DH's coworkers is leaving at the end of the month and DH asked me to make a going-away card for his department folks to sign. Although I am a confessed AMuse addict, I also love a little central Texas stamp company called Deadbeat Designs. They have so many cute Texas-themed stamps that can't be resisted. They just call your name and say "Buy Me!" when you see 'em on store shelves. I love my Copics, but I have been hard at work practicing with my Koh-I-Noor Woodless Colour Pencils. I have seen Gamsol recommended for blending the colors, but I couldn't find that exact product. Found something similar called Turpenoid at one of the local hobby stores. The salesperson assured me it would work as well as the recommended brand, so I've been using that until I can find the real thing and try it out. This is by far the largest project I've colored using the Koh-I-Noors. I will never profess to be an "artist" but I don't think I did too badly on this card since it was my first "big" project.

Supplies Used: Rider, sentiment, and barbed wire by Deadbeat Designs, basic red CS that I had on hand, white CS for the pix, and a scrap of an
AMuse French Roast notecard for the brown border around the pix, Koh-I-Noor pencils for the color, and Turpenoid to blend them.

Blogging - Day 2

After a long and stressful day at work, I came home and found the nicest compliments waiting for me on my blog! Thanks to each and every one of you. Ladies, you made my day!

Spring Is In The Air

This is a card that I made for AMuse Challenge #3 - Spring Is In The Air. I used AMuse an notecard, stamp and ribbon plus a flower made with a punch. The punched flower reminds me of a daffodil. It even has the tiny bee inside.

A New Beginning

It’s March 8, 2009... a day that will live in infamy, at least in the blogging world, because I’ve started a blog. I've looked at so many blogs and there’s just so much creativity going on out there. Looking at all that creativity made me green with envy, but it took much courage to begin a blog of my own. I’ve never thought of my day-to-day happenings as being blog-worthy but I hope this can evolve into an entertaining place to visit. Welcome to my little blog.