Blog-Tag: A Game For a Virtual Meet-n-Greet

As a blogger, people may know you, but how good does anyone really know you? Turns out, I've been invited to play a game of Blog-Tag! My good blog-buddy Becky Oehlers tagged me, so click on over to her blog-palace and be inspired by her papercrafts, or her professional singing, or her golden sense of humor. She's a boatload of fun! For those of you who just landed here from there, welcome to my creative blog where I ramble and rant and rave about my papercraft obsession. But wait, I don't stop rambling there ... oooooh noooo. My other blog "Dream Big" is where I ramble and rant and rave about my life and what's in my head. Pick your poison!

Okay, then ... seven random or weird facts about myself:

• My dad karate-chopped me in the hallway in the middle of the night while I was on a trip to the bathroom --- he thought I was a burglar. I do not think that gave him a license to karate chop, however, the sound effect was pretty awesome.
• My husband lost his checkbook on the day of our wedding. I don't care what you say, he was not scared of me! We met at work, he fired a guy and I worked in personnel {The cute night shift foreman meets cute little number in the office}. We met and married within 4 months.
• Fav Quote: From birth to age 18, a girl needs good parents. From 18-35 she needs good looks. From 35-55 she needs a good personality, and from 55 on she needs cash.
• My rented min-van was stolen while vacationing in San Diego, along with my mother's wheelchair, my scrapbook, and my sisters' wine from the Sonoma Valley. Cops said it was over the border within 10 minutes. Bet they enjoyed that ride!
• I went to college in Ann Arbor, Michigan and studied music. Then went to work in a law firm for the next 25 years.
• I'm pretty much a perfectionist - but a recovering perfectionist so that has to count for something. I clean and straighten and organize and detail everything that moves. I'm one of those "if you can't do it right, don't do it" people. Go ahead, roll your eyes. I'm cleaning the fuzz out of the laptop keys as you read this ...
• It's all about my hair. I cannot function without lipstick and hand creme. And a purse that is a small piece of luggage.

Okay, Becky actually gave me a blog-tag choice but I like the questions on the second round too, so I'll play along!

Things I love: Jesus, my family, San Francisco, scarves, scrapbook stores, hanging with the hood (neighbors), purses, cold weather, TV show-Sisters & Brothers.

Things I don't love: Dark country roads, sushi, mornings, clutter, cop and reality tv shows, negative-talk.

Songs on my IPod: Sing-songy songs, mostly from TV commercials: Regina Spektor, Lenka, Kate Nash, Priscilla Ahn, Katie Herzig, Jack Johnson, Ingrid Michaelson, Sondre Lerche and various christian artists.

Favorite Food or Drink: Salmon, Salad, soup in bread bowls, Paradise Cafe Gingerbread Cookies. Must have Diet Coke ... must have Diet Coke.

Now the FUNNEST part ... tag, you're it!

• Mary - Pile of Smiles
• Darlene - Dar's Crafty Creations
• Julie - Out to Impress (who just had a b-day!)
• Julia - Create With Me
• Taylor-Made by JenMarie
• Lori's Addiction - Playing With Adhesive
• Katherine - Blame it on the MoJo

Spread the wealth ....

No, I am not re-hashing politics. Wouldn't be prudent at this juncture. But I thought it might be fun is to share some awesome blogs with you while I am MIA, during my son's recovery. So, it's time for another blog roll! When I discover new blogs in cyberspace that are worth discovering, I like to share them with you. I hope you enjoy the blog-hop!

• Becky Oehlers' Rockin NEW Blog - Love ya Beck! Thanks for checking in on me!
• Dar's Crafty Creations - One of the sweetest bloggers in blogland
• Cindy Lawrence-The Creative Closet
• Christi Millikin-Blessings on Paper
• Mary Fish-Stampin Pretty

Caution: Not Your Usual Creative Post

Where ya been Kay? The answer is ... 1000 miles in distance, a million emotions, and a zillion prayers. Click here to get the low down on Keaton's accident. Blogland is a like a comfy robe and plush slippers -- thanks so much for your support. Come December when I return home, my inspiration may hit warp speed or I may hit the wall. But either way, Christmas cards are gonna happen, baby! Right now, I am thanking God for His miracle on Keaton's life and for scallop punches that I anticipate using on my Christmas cards (among other things). Hugs!

Final Round of Victorian Christmas Cards

My love affair with the Crafty Secrets Victorian Christmas stamp set is officially over!. These last two cards complete my submissions to Papertrix, a wonderful stamp store located in Nashville, Indiana. I was delighted to be a card-designer for them and it kicked my Christmas Card-Making MoJo in high gear! My first card features tiny mini-pearls around the scallop. My second card did not photograph well because I could not get the flash to adjust to the wonderful, beautiful, gold & silver embossing ... but you get the idea, yes?

Let's dish for a quick minute about art-sketch stamps, such as this Victorian Christmas set. Here's the thing. It was a real challenge for me to create with these images. I found them to stamp so beautifully that it was almost hard to mess with Mother Nature! Some cards I liked more than others (particularly Father Time). Overall, I'm glad I stretched myself creatively.

So ...bye bye Victorian Christmas, my stamp stash awaits me! I'm headed for cutsie tootsie, or simply stunning, or bold and beautiful, or crisp and clear. Gonna be so much fun! The point is ... Creativity is Good!

Gold Shimmer Sends Me

Gold shimmer card stock just sends me! I like color, but there is just something about gold shimmer card stock that simply sends me to the moon. Almost any stamped image looks good on gold or silver shimmer. Embossed images shine even brighter. That's why I'm ordering a bunch of it for Christmas card making. I challenge you to make a gold or silver Christmas card that doesn't trip your trigger like no other! {Let me know if you do, so we can dish over gold and silver cardstock!}

Tonight's card is another Crafty Secrets Victorian Christmas image. This baby doll was fun to color with copics and, yes, I finally received my Spellbinders Labels 1 die! Happiness! Wanna know sompthin tricksy? When cutting/embossing my stamped image with the new Spellbinders Label die, I was off center a bit. Plan B --- add flourish stamps that are included in the Crafty Secrets set, all available at Papertrix. Good mistake, huh!

Snowbunny Bella for Thinking Inking's B-day

Debbie Olson, over at Thinking Inking is having a birthday today! And this is my virtual "gift" to her for inspiring me to purchase my first Bella! You can see Debbie's Snowbunny Bella here, which sent me and my plastic to the Bella Store! I want to wish Debbie a very Happy Birthday and thank her for graciously sharing her time and talents.

I made my Snowbunny Bella to share with my Atlanta card swap group, and I'm pretty sure they enjoyed the little cutie! I used my Scor-Pal to emboss a frame around the stamped and copic-colored Bella, with Soft Sky cardstock as a mat. Debbie often uses her copic airbrush system to highlight her stamped images {which is something that is on my wish list} so I was able to get a similar effect by masking Bella and using a sponge dauber to highlight with Soft Sky ink. And I love the fur effect on Bella by using liquide applique. See how creative juices flow when you read Debbie's blog word-for-word? Try it! And wish her a happy birthday today!

Father Time

I'm chipping away at Christmas cards. This is one I designed for Papertrix, a wonderful rubber stamp store located in Nashville, Indiana. This simple card would be easy to mass produce, yet it packs an elegant punch. First, I punched the card corners with an EK success elegant corner punch, and THEN I embossed with the Textile CB folder. {Let me emphasize the hint here - punch corners first and then emboss to avoid a jam in your corner punch, she said with authority!) I then added red cardstock as a background to add highlight to the corners, along with pearls. Father Time is stamped, then cut and embossed with spellbinders oval dies.

This beautiful garland is included in this Crafty Secrets stamp set, available at Papertrix. I used it to accent both the envelope and card-inside, using copics for coloring. I mean, after all, since the card was a 1-2-3 snap to do, why not go the extra mile for the receiver? When you care to send the very best .... you do!

Where ya been, Kay?

Oh my - I'm sleep deprived (sorta) and OD'd on M&M's but it was worth it! The annual Atlanta card-swap scrap-a-thon was just too much fun! Staci had the nerve to move to the beach, and couldn't join us this year ... we missed you kid! But I really enjoyed your phone call and I wouldn't take back that hour of yak-yak-yak for all the tea in China. Uh uh!

Linda brought her Cricut Machine on Saturday for us to play with ... OMG it was so much fun! Can anyone say a-d-d-i-c-t-i-v-e? I think it is an invaluable scrapbooking tool. Ya think my law firm wouldn't be any wiser if I plugged it in next to my computer and said it could bill at an hourly rate?

Okay - Stella needs to find her groove after a good night's sleep.

1-2-3 Done!

A quick post tonight for a quick card! Lots of CB embossing, layers, and punches make this card a snap. Not a lot of stamping here --- it's power to the punch baby! Folks, what DID we do in the days without CB embossing folders and punches? Well, it's kinda like comparing an old typewriter to the computer! I really like white on white embossing. It creates instant pizazz and who doesn't need that these days (that's what make-up and lipstick do for me too). I'm giving this card the ole' Sarah Palin "wink". Do I happen to like this easy peasy card? You betcha!

On another note, I am getting ready to board a big electric bird for an annual get-together with my card-swapping girlfriends in Atlanta. This is WAY cool because one of them happens to be my BFF-sister, Joyce (who got me into this scrapbooking & card-making love affair in the first place)! I hope you have a pal, sister or not, who is as wonderful as she is. She graciously takes my daily phone calls consisting of:

• my whining and pouting
• my flip-out happy scrappy shopping finds
• my stressed out attacks
• my work-a-holic fits
• my laundry complaints
• my infected finger-nail fiasco
• my recipe try-outs
• my grandma stories
• my good/bad hair days
• my lipstick fetish

and to top it all off, she understands my need for Diet Coke. You get the picture?

Sing n' Stamp With Becky (ssnotime55)

What time is it? It's time to sing for this week's challenge with Sharon Johnson at No Time To Stamp! Today's featured stamper to inspire us is the one and only Becky Oehlers. According to Dear Paperlicious, Becky is a top notch blogger, stamper, and singer ... and I second that times 10! She's a class act to follow! Love her guts!
Therefore, I hereby challenge the one and only Becky Oehlers to sing Dashing thru' the Snow with me sometime! (I get to sing lead, kiddo - you can take the harmony.) First, we'll sing it your style (above), i.e. clear, crisp, clean lines, dotted with swiss cuttlebug, classy red crystal holly berries, all tied with a big beautiful bow.

Then, we'll sing it my style, i.e. frilly foo-foo, aged sheet music stained with coffee, busy scallop border and buttons, but alas -- all tied with a big beautiful bow! (For the record, I still like big hair too.)