Finally a new class is coming!!!

Wow has this been a crazy year! Our trip to Scotland was fantabulous (I realize now I haven't even updated my blog with the fantastic pictures we took--I'll do that soon.)
Finally had a chance to look at my schedule for April and realize I can squeeze in a class! YAY!
Saturday, April 17th we'll make an awesome set of cards with the Eastern Blooms stamp set! Looky!!!

So for now--details are

Saturday, April 17th

10 am-12 pm

Class cost: $18.00 and includes the cards, all supplies, and a gussetted envelope

we'll decorate to hold them in!

Please RSVP to me by Saturday, April 10th!

darthsunshine@gmail.com

210.216.4301

I love stuff like this...

Hubby found a terrific website today www.says-it.com where you can make any type of sign, notice, advertisement, church sign etc etc etc. So....I had a little fun....

Oh yeah. That's geeky.

And if you don't get it--it's Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Episode 6 in the grand scheme of it all) and his famous line in that movie is "It's a Trap!"

Need a visual? Looky HERE

It's almost my Spring Break--SQUEEEEE!!!

This monkey won't hurt you...and other true stories...

 We're having a baby shower for one of the teachers at my school and I volunteered to make the card to go with the gift certificate we're getting her. She's having a boy--and the nursery has a Jungle Theme--so I decided to use my Fox & Friends stamp set to create this card. My least favorite thing to do in crafting is cutting out stuff--I really have so little patience--but this card would not be the same without cutting out each individual animal. Even the Monkey and Lion I cut out an extra head. The Lion even has an EXTRA mane cut out and layered on there--craziness!!! These are REEAAAALLLLY tiny heads, too. But it looks soooo cute...that lion does. And that monkey is so cute...he's got a little smirk on his face doesn't he? He's ready to scream and pull someone's hair. HAHAHA

Actually that happened to me. I'm talking about a monkey pulling my hair. No joke. I was on a 3rd grade Field Trip to the Oklahoma City Zoo and there was a cage full of Spider Monkeys. I got right up to the cage and was "communicating" with one of the monkeys who was so cute and soooo close --when suddenly he SCREAMED and reached through the bars, grabbed my bangs and pulled me forward and banged my head into the cage!!! TWICE!!! OMG talk about trauma for an 8 year old!!! GAH!! My kids LOOOOVE that story.

This post was my first time playing with Picasa--Google's photo editing software...I think me likey.

Anway--onto other things--we leave for Scotland in TWO DAYS!!! WHOOO HOOOO!!! So excited!!! I plan to drain my camera battery every day we're there!!!

Lamentations of a Southpaw

I'm a lefty, southpaw, goofy....whatever. I'm a messy lefty, too. I don't write like MOST left-handed people do by contorting their hands over what they write and pull their pen in the opposite direction.  I smear my hand directly across what I'm writing--pushing my pen essentially--and get ink all over the side of my left hand. That's what I mean by messy.

Being a crafty goddess (yeah, why NOT call myself that!!) I've discovered a few tools that HINDER the left-hander.  I discovered just how frustrating it can be to have tools that are very specifically designed for RIGHT HANDED PEOPLE when I was creating my Christmas Cards last year.  Here's a picture I took of the 3 products that made me want to pull my hair out.

First....the gel pen. The ROLLER BALL gel ink pen. GAH!! Since I push my pen, roller balls won't work for me. Roller ball pens are designed to be pulled across the paper. They pull the little ball away from the casing and the ink flows smoothly. But pen PUSHERS like myself make that little ball go inside the casing and the ink comes out uneven. Grrrrr. I don't buy roller ball pens for this reason...except that to have WHITE INK ...usually only comes in gel ink roller ball (or paint pens). OY!

Next, that bazooka of a tape runner--the ATG by Scotch Tape. I'll never EVAH run out of tape for my crafting with that thing....except it's like trying to handle a baby goat with 2 fingers. Good grief. To make it worse is if you're holding it in your left hand it's impossible to see the tape placement since the tape runner is left justified on the rubber roller. I kind of have to wing it on the tape placement.  Again....grrrr.

Finally...Stampin' Up's Ribbon Scissors. These fantastic shears are ONLY for right-handers. See the molded plastic handles? Yeah. Not too comfy for us leftys. These shears are expensive. I paid good money for scissors that do NOT fit me properly. I didn't even realize until after I'd used them a couple of times because I'm so used to adapting to right-handed items like can openers, etc. But REALLY?!? Stampin' Up?!?! You couldn't sell a universal scissor? Oh well...

On a more positive note...here's a card I stamped using the Medallion background stamp and the Vintage Labels stamp set.

Stamp sets: Medallion and Vintage Labels

Ink: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry

Paper: Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Vintage brads, Scallop circle punch

Have a great week.  I leave for Scotland in 5 days!!! SQUEEEE!!!

Valentine's Day Cards

This post took me long enough, doncha think? Geez.  So I had a class last Saturday and we made Valentine's Day cards.  The idea for these cards came from Andrea Walford - a Canadian Stampin' Up demonstrator who offers workshops and classes where she has worked out every single detail....cost, supplies, the whole gambit...it's very handy.  I'll sometimes do a variation if I don't particulaly like every card design--but when I'm rushing to get my monthly class together, I sometimes like that all the details are worked out for me.  So here are a few of them:

These cards use the Happy Heart stamp set from Stampin' Up. I used a Pretty in Pink epoxy brad. Colors are Pretty in Pink and Ruby Red.

Supplies: Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink

Ink: Soft Suede, Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink

Accessories: Dot embossing folder, corduroy button, scallop edge punch, corner rounder

Here's a variation on this card using the Pinking Hearts border punch and a filigree brad instead.

Still haven't decided on what Valentine goody I'm going to stamp for my co-workers...or my kiddos for that matter.  We have a HUGE surprise for them for Valentine's Day--I'll be sure to blog about it next weekend.  SO FUN!!!

35 days until I leave for the UK!!! :)

She deserves her own post!!!

Today is my friend Lisa's birthday--you may know her as @papergrace on Twitter.  For her birfday she is giving away BLOG CANDY!!! You can see the details in her post at Papergrace Designs which I think is soooo generous because all I can think about on MY birthday is what pressies I'm getting.  Just kidding, I'm not THAT selfish. Not really. :)

Mmmmmmm.....cake......

Spring Break is going to be in SCOTLAND!!! SQUEEEE!!!

I cannot believe it!!! Hubby and I were JUST talking about how I was not PLANNING ANYTHING for our Spring Break "off". No weekend trips to Vegas or anywhere....then hubby's brother and sis-in-law have to SPOIL IT *snort* by offering boarding in the UK since they were going ANYWAY...would we want to come along, too?  What?!?!? I almost spontaneously combusted I tell you!!!  You have never seen a quicker 180 done EVAH.  Within SECONDS I was begging Hubby to pleaseohpleaseohplease can we GO TO SCOTLAND!!! SQUEEEE!!! We'll get to see Keith Castle in Scotland!  Which is called Dunnottar Castle and was one of the pit stops on The Amazing Race season 3 (the best show EVAH!!)

Gorgeous!!

The man loves to save money.  It's a hobby for him.  He had to change gears from "we're saving soooo much money NOT going anywhere" to us flying across an ocean in a very big plane and transportation and food and and and.....
God Bless him....he's so wonderful.  BECAUSE WE'RE GOING!!! And he's told me he's happy to see me so excited.  That is just so stinkin' sweet.  I love that man...*sigh*

I'm stamping Valentine's tomorrow--I'll post some pictures of that fun stuff...I promise!