HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

First off, let me wish my NSSS (not so secret sister) from the Cricut message board a very Happy Birthday! Yes, her birthday is on Halloween! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARON!!

Next, I found some Maxine Halloween images on the Internet. They're so fun, so I'm sharing them with you for today. HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! Have a Spooktacular Day!

This last one really cracked me up! Thanks for stopping by!!

Happy Halloween!

Sassy Shopper!

I've had this wonderful Sassy Shopper silhouette stamp by Stampendous for about a year now, and this is the first time I've inked her! That almost seems like a crime, doesn't it? I love this stamp, and it IS so sassy!


The minute I got this stamp out to use it, and I was thinking about what sentiment I would use with it, I thought, "'Tis the Season to go SHOPPING!" would be PERFECT! Then I added in the "Fa la la la la, la la la la" just to be musical! I designed the sentiment in Word Art, and printed it in the circular shape. I stamped the image in the middle, and I added a Stampin' Up "ooh la la!" because it seemed to work so well with my sassy shopper! There are some Crystal Stickles on the stamped image at the cuffs and pom poms on both her and the pup's outfits. The card front is DCWV from the Christmas Glitter Stack. I ticked punched the corners and added red Stickles to the corners. I think I got the red ribbon from JoAnn's last year on clearance.

I then thought maybe the circle dominated TOO MUCH of the card front, so I took out the "Fa la la la, etc.", printed it in green, and cut it in an oval. I changed out the ribbon just to be fun. I cut both the circle and the oval with my Coluzzle.

Here are both of the sassy shoppers. I actually like BOTH designs, so I'll probably make a couple more of each of them. Wouldn't this be the perfect card to send to a girlfriend over the Holidays? I'm really thrilled with the way these turned out. I love the silhouette stamp! What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Blue Snowman Cards

Since I made snowman cards in red and pink, I decided to do a more masculine version. These are for the craft fair IF I get a space! Here's my snowman cards in shades of blue. This also ties in with Samm's challenge for a holiday card!


This is another Hero Arts snowman stamp. Isn't he cute? I used ticket punched We R Memory Keepers striped paper (the same paper from my big "55" birthday card that I posted a couple of days ago) for the card front. I added a small Cuttlebug embossed square and a "Happy Holidays" stamped sentiment. The sentiment is popped up. The snowman is colored in with Stampin' Up watercolor pencils. I added some dots of Stickles, and the snowman's pom pom on his hat is Stickled.


I made four of these, and I used different ribbons on each to make them unique. What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

If you sell your handcrafted items . . .

. . . how do you decide WHAT to charge? I'm sending in my application next week for a craft fair. It's $25 to participate, and they're giving priority to those that participated last year (I did NOT join last year), so there's no guarantee that I'm getting a space. However, IF I do get a space, how do I price things? I posted a Snowman card a few days back. What would I charge for this card? PLEASE let me know your thoughts! Here's the card again:

I've been working on more cards this weekend, and I'll get them posted in the next couple of days, but basically, so far, they have all been about the same amount of effort. Once I make a design, I'm going to make it 4 times, but they're all unique so far. I've changed them up by not using the same ribbon twice. So, even though the card looks the same, the 4 designs have 4 different ribbons. Anyway, what do I charge for these? I'm going to include the envelope (obviously), and I'm probably going to put them in one of those sealable cello bags (I still need to buy those). PLEASE give me your thoughts. I would really appreciate it!

I feel like once I determine card prices, the rest will fall into place. I'm going to make Bind It All journals (4x4), and I'm going to make "Snowman Soup" gifts (hot chocolate, mini marshmallows, candy cane, plus a cute poem), and whatever else I have time to make! I'm also planning on some altered jars. I just need to figure out pricing!!

Thanks for stopping by!

55th Masculine Birthday Card & Post #100!!

OK, let's get a card posted! My husband's uncle is 55 this weekend. I completely forgot to make a card, so I just whipped this one together this morning. I used the George cartridge on my Cricut to make the 55. Since it's a milestone birthday, I wanted the numbers to be HUGE and slightly obnoxious! I think I succeeded on the obnoxious part, don't you?? This card is BIG. It's 8.5" x 5.5", and I cut the numbers 5" tall! The striped paper is We R Memory Keepers, and the Happy Birthday stamp is Stampin' Up. I ticket punched the card front, and I added little dots of Stickles to the corners. I added two large eyelets to the sentiment with the Cropadile. That's it! Easy! I really struggle with masculine cards!

On another note . . . This is post #100! Woohoo! Cue the confetti and start the celebration! Thank you, thank you! I need to work on some craft fair projects this weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Just a few things this morning . . . .

First off, Jana and Patsy told me that I make them smile. Thanks to you both! You BOTH make me smile too! (Go to Jana's blog and check out her Frankenstein coaster box! WOW!)

I decided not to post the "You Make Me Smile" award, but I thought I would post this smiley face instead! It makes me smile!

Next, Patsy tagged me to post 7 random facts about myself. I've already done this twice, and I REALLY don't think you want to know that much about me, so I'll skip it this time!

LAST, this is post #99! WOW! Who would have thought that it would get here this quickly! I have to decide if I'm going to do some sort of blog candy to celebrate #100! I'll keep you posted!

I hope to be back soon to post something creative! Thanks for stopping by!!

The Art Institute of Chicago

I had a GREAT day at the Art Institute of Chicago yesterday with my daughter's class. If you ever get an opportunity to visit the Art Institute of Chicago, I highly recommend it! I'm sad to say, but it's been quite a few years since I've been there, but we'll be returning soon. We have to go back, because there was SO much to see, but too little time! I didn't even get a chance to stop in the gift shop! Here's my absolute favorite of the day:


This is "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat. This painting is tiny dots of color. It's absolutely amazing to stand in front of it! It was featured in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". Love Ferris!

My daughter really loved this painting:


This is "Paris Street; Rainy Day" by Gustave Caillebotte. Absolutely gorgeous! The detail is amazing!

I love these two Monet paintings. Breathtaking!


This is "Sandvika, Norway". Beautiful!


This is "Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare". Amazing!


We had to walk past this (because we had a docent giving us a tour at the beginning of our visit), and we didn't have time to go back to it. Next time! My daughter was so bummed we didn't get a chance to go back to it, because she didn't notice that we walked past it! This is "American Gothic" by Grant Wood.

We really need to go back soon! Just amazing seeing all of these gorgeous works of art!

Thanks for stopping by!

Snowman Cards

I'm really hoping I can get a space at the local school's craft fair, and with that thought in mind, I'm going to start creating some items to sell. These are my first two cards. These cards also work for a blog candy challenge at Samm's blog to create a Holiday theme card!


I started with old We R Memory Keepers striped paper. It reminds me of candy canes! I'm going to be creating a "snowman soup" gift (which consists of a container that holds one package of hot chocolate, a small baggie of mini marshmallows, a candy cane, and a cute little poem -- thanks Jana for the link to the snowman soup idea!!), so I thought cards to compliment that snowman theme would be a GREAT idea! The snowman stamp and "Happy Holidays" are stamps I've had for a long time. I think the snowman is Hero Arts. I used watercolor pencils to color the hat and scarf. I Cuttlebug embossed a small pink piece to layer behind the image. I did a lot of ticket punching to the layers. I added red ribbon on one, and dark pink ribbon on the other. I'm going to duplicate this design a few times, and then I think I'm going to make some in blue. I don't use a white card base very often, and I just love the way it looks! It's so crisp and clean!


These are the two different cards close up. I added some fine glitter in various areas. I was having adhesive issues (my glue pen is just about empty), so the Cuttlebug image didn't get glittered the way I imagined it, but it will work for now.

So, only two cards so far, but the ideas are swirling around in my head! The PTA is running this craft fair, and they're a little disorganized. The fair is on December 8th, and they want to invite vendors from last year first to give them priority, but they haven't even drafted that invitation letter yet, and they might not know who's getting space until the end of November! What?? So, I'm being optimistic that I WILL get a space, and I'm going to start creating. If I don't get a space, I'll look for another local craft fair, and if that doesn't work out, I'll try to sell some items on eBay.

I'm chaperoning a field trip today for my youngest daughter. We're going to the Art Institute in Chicago, and I haven't been there in years, so I'm very excited! Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Lots of things today . . . .

First off, I want to send a thank you to Marlou. I admired a dog card on her site, and she sent it to me. Rather, she sent it to Princess, my dog!

Marlou, this photo is just for YOU. I do believe that Princess LOVES her card! I do too. Little does Princess know, but I'm going to eventually use it on a scrapbook page featuring her. Sshhhh, don't tell her!


This is a better photograph of just the card. I stole this photo off Marlou's site! Thanks again! To top it off, Marlou ALSO sent me an adorable package of Studio G clear stamps. I tried to take a photo, but the acrylic doesn't photograph well, too much glare. There are 4 stamps: have a great day!, oh happy day!, thanks so much, and a cute dragonfly. I love them, and they're the perfect size for little sentiments on cards! THANKS!!

Next, my good friend Sharon tagged me. Sharon is SO talented. Visit her site and just look at her slide show of cards! Here are my replies to the questions presented:

1. If you could have over $100 worth of scrapbook paper or assorted embellishments, which would you choose?
This one is tough. I'm currently on a spending freeze (so I would love EITHER!), and I have A LOT of paper, but I think I might still choose the paper. You can cut paper into tags, strips for borders, you can ink it, distress it, etc., and then it IS an embellishment. I want so many new papers that are currently out . . . it's an obsession! I'll take the paper!!

2. If you had to choose between using only stamps or rub ons, which would you choose?
Easy, the stamps! I actually don't like rub ons very much. On the other hand, I LOVE stamps!

3. If you knew how to do both awesome cards and layouts but could only do one for a whole year, which would you do?
I love making my cards, but since I'm so far behind on my scrapbooking, I would choose scrapbooking. In fact, I should choose scrapbooking immediately. If I don't get started on some layouts, I'm NEVER going to catch up!!

4. Would you rather own a scrapbooking store or have your own scrapping room at home? (Can't have both)
I would LOVE to own a scrapbook store! I'll have a huge classroom in it, and that will double as a scrapping space for me. However, if I own the store, I probably won't have time to scrapbook!

5. What is your current card making/scrapping style?
I don't actually know what this means. I just do whatever appeals to me. I'm totally into Primas and Stickles at the current time. I love pretty much EVERYTHING, so maybe I'm eclectic?

I'm tagging: Clare, Michelle, Kristy, Marlou, and Tomi Ann. Answer the questions ladies, and tag 5 others!

Last, but certainly not least, I watched the news coverage of the wildfires in Southern California. My prayers go out to everyone that is affected by these. I know for sure that Deb (Stampingranny) had to evacuate her home. Her daughter updated her blog to let us all know. She got out safely with her precious Lobie (her German Shepherd). As long as she is safe. My thoughts and prayers are with her! Be safe Deb!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello everyone!

Thanks for all the ideas for craft fair items. I'm going to work on some items THIS week! My girls are home today . . . teacher's institute day at school. My husband and I just got done cutting the grass (YUCK!), I'm showered, and my girls and I are going to head out to a couple of stores. It's gotten rather chilly outside today, but I LOVE it. I love Fall weather. Have a great day everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

I want to be a vendor at a craft fair!

I would like to ask all of you for ideas. I'm going to try to get a space at a craft fair. Our local school has a Santa's Secret Workshop / Craft Fair for all of the kids. The purpose is to let little kids shop for everyone that they would need to shop for. Adults, obviously will also be there. I want to try to get a space at the fair, and I was wondering if you had any other ideas for things I could make. So far, I want to make:

• altered jars (Daddy's Harley Fund, Mom's Starbuck Fund, Family Vacation Fund, etc. I just think these would be a GREAT idea for the kids to buy!)
• journals (using my Bind It All -- I think everyone likes journals)
• small scrapbooks (once again, I can use the Bind It All)
• travel journals / scrapbooks (Bind It All again)
• paperbag albums
• autograph books (the kids could buy these for themselves for the end of the school year to have all of their friends / teachers sign)
• teacher gifts (maybe a journal with a matching bookmark, packaged festively!!)
• bookmarks
• cards (I can do Christmas cards and Valentine cards, maybe some birthday cards too)
• magnets (chipboard pieces or just cut die cuts, etc.)

Now, this event is on December 8th. Every item should be under $15, because it's supposed to be kids shopping. Can you think of other great items that kids might want to purchase for others? Let me know what you think! Any and all ideas are appreciated! Thanks!!

HERE IT IS! My project!

Finally! Here it is! This is my photo express organizer that I haven't used in years! It's now all decked out in Basic Grey Urban Couture (love it!), and it's been given a new and very functional life!

It's holding ALL of my larger acrylic stamps! The smaller ones from Michael's are in baseball card protective sheets in a binder. This is holding my ki Memories, Autumn Leaves, and CTMH acrylic stamp sheets! I was keeping all of my stamps in the original packaging, but it wasn't convenient to keep putting them back in the packaging. I like this better! Plus, I love opening it, and seeing them all at once! I used my Coluzzle rectangle template to cut around the front closure, and the inside handle attachment.


Besides the Basic Grey Urban Couture, I used a layered stack of Primas, and American Crafts ribbon on the handle. I also used a Making Memories rhinestone brad for a little bling! Where the seems meet on the top, I put down a self-adhesive DCWV ribbon. It's so wide, pretty, and the perfect color!


I used a small Dymo label maker to label all the tabs inside! I love it! This is so organized!

All labeled AND organized!

The best part? I have 9 large acrylic sets. There is room for 10 more! I better get shopping? I can't have empty slots! So, what do you think? Anticlimactic from that BIG buildup I gave this project?? I hope not! This is super functional for me! Plus, the best part? I usually alter items for others. This is the first time I've altered something just for ME! Gotta love that!

Thanks for stopping by!!

My project is done!

OK, I don't mean to be such a tease, but my project is done, and I just need a photo of it now! It turned out better than I expected! It's functional AND pretty! Yeah! Stop by tomorrow. I better have a photo by then!!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a GREAT day!

Random thoughts, etc.

Hi Everyone! I don't have any new creations to post, but I'm hopefully going to finish up my Photo Express project today! Ssshhhh, it's a secret WHAT I'm doing with it! I'm excited, and it's turning out GREAT! Yeah!

A blogging friend, Deb (crafty card i-higgins) told me that I make her smile, and she presented me with the "You Make Me Smile" award! WOW! I'm thrilled when I'm specifically mentioned! Thanks Deb! You make me smile too!

There's a RAK, Pay It Forward going on at Dawn's blog, Daily Scrappin Inspiration. Leave her a comment, and she just might pay it forward to you!

This is a mug that I found not too long ago at a garage sale! Those of you that "know" me from the Cricut message board know that the green M&M lady is my avatar on the board. She's just so fun and sassy! I have this mug right next to my computer. It makes me smile!

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!!

Project for this week!

I have this photo express accordion holder by Generations. I've had it for a LONG time. I used to put my photos in it when I was going to a crop. Then, I switched to Cropper Hopper photo holders, and I gave this to my girls. I would put all the photos I wasn't going to scrapbook in it, and then they could search for photos when they wanted to create their own scrapbook pages. It then became something that they didn't use (two girls, one photo holder), plus, they got their own smaller photo holders to use. This container was then just sitting around empty and unused. What to do with it . . . what to do?


I was going to give it away, donate it, sell it, whatever, and then . . . light bulb moment!! I know EXACTLY what I'm going to use this for! I'll be working on it this week, and I will post a photo once I get my hands on that camera phone! Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

You Make Me Smile Award

Angie at Scrapnmom's Moments told me that I make her smile, so I get to display this award today. Thanks Angie!


I'm supposed to tell ten people that they make me smile, and tell them to post this award on their blog. Well, I'm not going to do that. If you stopped by today, and you're reading this, you really do make me smile, and you're tagged. I've made lots of great blogging friends in a very short period of time, and I appreciate each and every one of you. When you take the time to comment on something that I've created, I appreciate it very much! So, thank you, and know that, you really do make me smile!

I have lots of stuff to catch up on today. I need to do laundry, go grocery shopping, stop at the post office, go to the dry cleaner's, and cut the grass! Plus, I really wanted to get started on cleaning my scrap space. I think it's going to be a long (but hopefully productive) day!

Thanks for stopping by!

We decorated for Halloween yesterday!

I LOVE decorating for Halloween. We decorate A LOT in our family room, quite a bit in our downstairs bathroom, and just a little on the front porch. Now that it's all done, I feel like watching this:


My oldest daughter just LOVES this movie! I am a huge fan myself. My youngest daughter likes it too . . . my husband, not so much. Anyway, we're going to have to watch this today. It's a yucky day outside . . . it's seems like it's about to rain, so cuddling on the couch sounds perfect to me!

The bad news is my husband is going out of town on business today, and besides being very sad that he'll be gone, I won't have his camera phone! You'll all stop coming by to see me this week . . . I won't have anything new to post! My goal for the week is to reorganize my scrap space, so this is a GOOD thing! I'm busting out of my area and oozing into the hallway . . . and that's never good!!

Thanks for stopping by!

You Make Me Smile

I love the color combination on this card! The shades of blue with shades of brown are fantastic!


The card front is gorgeous patterned paper from My Mind's Eye. It's matted and ticket punched on brown. The "You Make Me Smile" is from Stampin' Up Everyday Expressions. It's stamped in brown on the blue and then also matted on another shade of brown, and they're both ticket punched. I added two gorgeous Primas with brads, and some dotted brown ribbon from Michael's. It's all mounted on a blue card base. There's just something about this card! I absolutely love the way it turned out!

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy!

I made three gift enclosure cards. These are small 3 inch square notecards that I got from Target. I added a stamped "Enjoy!" from the Stampin' Up Everyday Expressions set and a Prima Sprite with a flower brad in the center. Easy!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Did you know you can delete questionable comments on your own blog?

OK, maybe everyone knows this already, but I didn't, and I couldn't find it at first, so I'm posting what I found out. I don't have restrictions on posting comments. I allow anonymous comments and I don't have the word verification. Pretty much anything goes over here!! I was wondering how long that would be OK. Well, I got a couple of strange comments lately. It almost seems like someone was trying to advertise in my comment section. That's not the purpose of my comment section, and I didn't want it sitting there for others to see. So, if you're signed in, and you are in "customize" mode, you can select "comments" on the post, you will then see all the comments people have left for you, and each and every one of them has a nifty little trash can next to it. You can trash it, and then select to remove it / delete it forever, and it will be like it was never there in the first place. If you DON'T select the remove it / delete it forever, it will say something like "comment removed by post administrator" or something like that. So, there you go!! You get a weird clunker comment, and you can take control and get rid of it forever! I had to search for HOW to do it, so since I did, and I found out, I'm passing it on. Does everyone already know this?

I made a couple of little things, and I'll be be posting them later today. Thanks for stopping by!

I really don't think you want to know this much about me!

Hi everyone! Samm tagged me again, so I'm posting another 7 facts about me. Most of you probably DON'T want to know this much about me! (Stop by and take a peek at Samm's blog -- she's so talented!!)

By the way, I'm not going to tag 7 other people to do this . . . if you're reading this, and you haven't already done this on your blog, consider yourself TAGGED!

Here are another 7 facts about me:

1. When I first met my husband, he smoked, and because of that, I didn't really consider him a potential boyfriend even though I thought he was REALLY cute! I don't care for smoking, and I can't imagine kissing someone that smokes. (Geez, I hope that doesn't offend anyone! If it does, I'm so sorry!)
2. When my husband and I really hooked up, we were at the wedding of mutual friends, and he had a date at that wedding, I did not! He spent more time with me at the wedding than he did with his date! (He had stopped smoking at this point!!) We've been together ever since!
3. I'm the youngest of three. I have one sister and one brother.
4. I think being a wife and mother are two of the most important things I will ever do!
5. I love garage sales, thrift stores, clearance items, and bargains! I've found many cool items that I absolutely LOVE at garage sales!
6. I love decorating for Halloween and Christmas. When the holiday is over though, I want it all down within days! It drives my husband crazy that I like to take down the Christmas decorations so early! I like them down by New Year's Eve!
7. I love to read. I just finished all of the Harry Potter books, and I love mysteries too. I love going to the library and used book sales. Our library is having a used book sale this Saturday, and I can't wait! I usually get about 10 - 20 books!

I think I will tag two people specifically. Jana and Tomi Ann consider yourself tagged!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Witch Is In!

The photo doesn't do this card justice . . . it's really cute in real life! I just love this stamp!


I used my witch shoes stamps for the first time. Love it. I used red Stickles on her striped stockings, and I used a CM silver pen on the buckles. My daughter picked out that ribbon for me, and I used it as a border. It's so bright and fun! I stamped "The Witch Is In" twice, once in lime green, and the second time in orange and I layered the orange on top of the lime green. I Cuttlebugged black as a bottom layer to the card. I ticket punched the corners, and added three dots of orange Stickles to the card front. The card base is old Scrapworks papers I've had for a while. I distressed a little with black ink. I'm thrilled with this card . . . it's totally me!

Thanks for stopping by!

FINALLY - A card from me!

WOW! I love these $1 stamps from Michael's! They are so cute! I had so much fun making this card! I really LOVE witches and Halloween, so I guess you can see why!


The striped paper is older Doodlebug paper that I've had for a long time. I stamped the witch on purple and then again on yellow so I could detail cut the moon for her hat. I did "The Witch Is In" twice also so that I could add the purple "IN" on top of the yellow. I added some black dotted ribbon, ticket punched the card front, and I added 4 dots of black Stickles to the ticket punch corners. Easy, fun, and I love it! I have another fun card to show you tomorrow! Come back again!

Thanks for stopping by!

RAK - Pay It Forward WINNERS!

The three names have been drawn! Congratulations to:

1. Flossie's Follies
2. Scrappy Moments
3. ScrapnMo

Come on down! You have won on my Pay It Forward! Please visit my profile page, and you can e-mail me from there. Send me your snail mail address, and I will be getting a goodie envelope out to you hopefully this week. In return, once you have received it, you should show everyone what you got, and you should post your own Pay It Forward on your blog! Congratulations and send me those addresses!

Thanks for commenting, and thanks for stopping by!

I'VE GONE A MONTH WITHOUT SPENDING ON CRAFT ITEMS!

Woohoo for me! I've gone one whole month without spending! I'm going to try to keep this up until the end of the year! It's easier when you get a RAK, and when your husband and your daughter surprise you with some goodies, let me tell you! I'm totally into "using what I have" right now, and I'm really enjoying NOT spending! It's liberating to not have to worry about using coupons because they're such a good deal, and it's fun not keeping up with the latest and greatest! I have wonderful items, I've been using them, and it's been just fine. I'm surviving! So, I'm patting myself on the back over here, and the spending freeze CONTINUES!

My girls have early dismissal today, and I'll have them pick the three names for my pay it forward RAK when they get home. There's still time to leave a comment on the post below. Leave a comment, and your name will be added to the drawing. I'll post the recipients later today.

I hope to also get some crafting time later. Maybe I'll actually have something creative to show all of you! Thanks for stopping by!

Pay It Forward - RAK

I just so happened to be the first one to comment on a post by Deb - Stampingranny. She had been the recipient of a Pay It Forward RAK, and she was paying it forward to three of her blog readers. I received mine from Deb a couple of days ago.

What a bunch of FUN goodies! There are some Halloween 6x6 papers, a Thanksgiving sticker, square jewel tone rhinestones, gorgeous Christmas stickers, some fun flowers, some cool stamps, ribbon, butterfly boxes, and some tags. Plus Deb made me a beautiful card!





So, now it's my turn. Leave a comment with this post, and sometime tomorrow, I will randomly pick three people to pay it forward to with a RAK. It will be some random goodies, and hopefully you'll enjoy them! This is going to be fun! I won't have it be the first three, I'll do it the old-fashioned way . . . we'll put the names in a bowl, and I'll have my girls pick them out! Sound fair? Sounds fun! So, leave me a comment, and then check back in a couple of days to see if you are going to be the recipient of a Pay it Forward RAK from me!

Thanks for stopping by!

Garage Sale Story!

The garage sale didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. Garage sales in this area are really popular, and when I've had garage sales in the past, I've made at least $200. That's fantastic, and well worth the effort. This time . . . I only made $83.50! Oh no! It was a HOT and humid day, and it was a lot of work for that amount of money! However, I have a nice donation packed up, waiting to be picked up, and I'll just list more items on eBay.

So, at the beginning of the sale, my neighbor came by with her two children (my girls' good friends), and they wanted to take our girls to walk around and look at the other sales in the subdivision. So, I gave my girls $5 to spend if they saw something that they liked. My husband asked me if I told them not to buy junk, but I told him that I didn't say anything about what to spend it on intentionally. I wanted to see what they would choose without any suggestions or instructions. Well, imagine my surprise when they both came home with something for ME! I was just stunned! I think the world of my girls every single day, and this just shows me that they are truly two fabulous girls. They are thoughtful, sweet, and very kind!


My oldest daughter bought this for me for 25 cents. She knows that I love Halloween, and I love to decorate for Halloween. This is really gorgeous. I absolutely love it! She has good taste, doesn't she?


My youngest daughter bought me this funky, crazy mug! I love it! Totally my style. It's so funny and cute, and I really love it! Once again, it was 25 cents! She also has good taste! I have two new Halloween decorations, and I'm so excited!


My oldest also bought herself a little "rub bug" wooden massager. It's cute and functional! My youngest also bought herself a dog frame for her room for a photo of Princess. I think they did very well, and they brought me home change from $5! I just love my girls! They're really growing up!

Thanks for stopping by!

Things about me . . . I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by two blogging buds, Scrapnmo and Helen.

Here are the rules which you must abide by if you are tagged:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

7 facts about me:

1. I don't eat green vegetables, except for lettuce. That's it. No other green stuff, and the smell of green beans makes me want to gag!
2. We lived in Arizona for just one year (April 2000 to April 2001). My husband says that we moved 2,000 miles away, and 1,990 miles back. We went from IL to AZ to IL. I was homesick!
3. I can't stand walking on wet floors, wet concrete, or wet tile in my bare feet. It really creeps me out! (I HAVE TO have flip flops on!!)
4. I love Halloween, the Wizard of Oz, and Wicked! I have this thing for witches!
5. I LOVE having my back scratched!
6. I absolutely love the smell and taste of chocolate chip cookies! I could eat them every day!
7. I HATE being hot . . . I would rather be cold.

TMI? Too much information? Now I have to tag others!

I'm tagging: Clare, Fiona, Sharon, Kristy, Patsy, Jules, and Teri! Whew! That's a lot of tagging! I'm tired now! Off I go to let them know! Thanks for stopping by!!

Look at my goodies!

I had one of "those" days with a horrible headache to go along with it. I just wasn't feeling my best. I'm getting ready for a garage sale tomorrow (love going to garage sales, hate having one myself -- way too much work!), and it was just a long day. I was debating on what I was going to make for dinner, and my husband suggested getting pizza. Sounded like a GREAT choice to me! He left with my oldest daughter to pick it up, and they came back a short time later with the pizza AND the following goodies!


Both my husband and my oldest daughter INSIST that they were selling these items outside the pizza place. Hhhmmmm, does that sound suspicious to you? I've seen these items in a different place recently, and it wasn't outside the pizza place. Since I was having a bad day, they bought these for me to cheer me up. Now, how sweet is that? I'm totally on a spending freeze with ALL crafting items, and I've been sticking to it! This is fantastic to receive something this fun when I cannot and will not go out and buy it for myself! I absolutely love these ribbons and these stamps! Are my hubby and daughter the best, or what? I'm one lucky lady! After getting these and having some pizza, somehow my head doesn't hurt so much anymore! What a sneaky duo!

I'll be sweating in the unseasonably HOT weather tomorrow at my garage sale. I hope I do well and make lots of $$$$! Having a sale is just exhausting, and I dislike pricing everything! I'll let you know how I did when it's all over!

Have a GREAT weekend! My girls have Monday off from school in honor of Columbus Day. Yippee! I love days off from school!

Thanks for stopping by!

Look at this beautiful card I received!

I got this card yesterday from a wonderful and talented friend from the Cricut message board. Isn't it gorgeous? Believe me, my camera phone photo does NOT do this card justice!


I absolutely love pink and brown when it comes to scrapbooking and card making! Just gorgeous! Look at the two ribbons sewed together! I love the dotted paper, I love the stamping at the top, and I love the scallop chipboard layered tag. Plus, look at the pink safety pin! Is this one of the cutest cards ever? Thank you so much Teri Beri! You OVERWHELMED me! This will be displayed on my memo board in my scrappin' area, and I will think of you and smile when I look at it!

Thanks for stopping by!


Teri sent me a better photo! Wow, the color is much better in this one! Thanks!

THANK YOU!

I just needed to give a big shout out to all of you that took the time to comment on my guest designer's card yesterday! I posted Jessica's card AFTER she had already left for school, and when she came home, I let her look at my blog. She had no idea that I was going to post it yesterday. You should have seen the smile on her face when she saw HER card on the Internet! She was so excited, and at that time, there were 9 comments on her card. She said, "Wow, I got nine comments!" It was priceless! There are now 13 comments. Wait until she gets home today! Of course, my oldest is now planning her card that I will, of course, feature on my blog! It's all about being fair! So, there will be another guest designer on my blog soon! You are all the BEST!!

Thank you!

Guest Designer Today!

I'm featuring a very talented guest card designer on my blog today! The designer is none other than my youngest daughter, Jessica. She is ten years old, and this is the Halloween card she created for her teacher this year. Jessica is amazingly creative, and she wanted to be featured on my blog. I thought it was a great idea, and I'm honored to show you her wonderful card creation!


Since I created a card with a frame for the Daring Cardmakers challenge, Jessica was inspired to use a frame on her card. Jessica often stands by my side when I create, and she comments on what I do. It's fun! She inked a chipboard frame, mounted it over Provo Craft textured green paper, and she stamped a bat and "Boo!", matted them both in purple, and attached them. The green strip on the side is ripped, inked with purple, and then she used Old Olive SU ink to stamp some SU Bitty Boos on it. The cat, hat, skeleton, and spider are too cute! Then, 3 purple rhinestones were added to the right side of the chipboard frame. Isn't this one lucky teacher that's going to get this card?

I hope you enjoyed my featured designer of the day. I know I wasn't this creative at 10!

Thanks for stopping by!

I feel like I should post every day . . .

. . . but I don't have anything new to show you today! I cut the grass today, it took me over three hours, and I'm just exhausted! So, I'm just saying "hi" to anyone that's happened to stop by for a peek! I'm looking forward to cuddling time tonight in front of the TV with my girls! I'll probably fall asleep! I hope to have some time to craft tomorrow!

I thought I would post this funny photo of our dog, Princess! She blinked, and it makes her looking like she's laughing, doesn't it? She's a sweetheart!

Thanks for stopping by!