BBTB2 Rubber Stamp Challenge - Entry 2

Here is my second entry for the BBTB2 Contest. I could make up my mind on which of my two cards I wanted to enter, so I checked with Heather and she said you could enter as many times as you like.

To me, nothing says Spring more than going fishing. It is a favorite past time with my family. We started fishing with our son when he was 2. I think this stamp signifies those early experiences so well. The stamp if from "Uptown Rubber Stamps", 'Fishing Buddies' I do not remember the maker of the paper. I dug it out from the bottom of my drawer. I've had it for so long. Of course the Cricut Cutout is the Cat Tail Border from Every Day Paper Dolls.

Thanks for stopping by! Good luck to everyone! HAPPY SPRING!

BBTB2 Rubber Stamp Challenge/Contest Entry 1

YAY! Another BBTB2 Contest! For this contest you had to break out your Rubber Stamps and stamp away and make it spring. And don't forget to use a Cricut Cutout somewhere.

Well Rubber Stamping/Embossing is how all of this craziness started. I began stamping in the early to mid 90's. My collection grew and grew. My husband finally built shelves like the ones at Michael's and mounted them to the wall in my dressing room/craft supply/storage room. I've decreased my stamp collection, mostly PSX over the past 2 years. Husband was laid off, holidays and bills and so it goes.

For this card I used "Hook's Line & Sinkers" Bear Stamp. The paper is actually from WalMart! Best Occasion Punch Out Pack. The "Spring" Border is from DCWV Spring Card Pack Set that I bought at Big Lot's along time ago. The Grass border, Butterfly and Caterpillar were all cut from Every Day Paper Dolls, which I think is one of my favorite cartridges.

I apologize that the pictures are dark. Somehow my camera settings were changed and I have to get out my manual to figure out how to change them back!

Thanks for stopping by. Comments are always welcome. Good luck to all of the contest participants!

Monday - Monday Beware of the Ides of March

Another night I can not get to sleep. It's weird not having Dan here when I go to bed. I'll get used to it eventually.
I was able to escape to my little corner of the basement. I'm having way too much fun with Tags, Bags, Boxes and More. I love, love, love that cartridge. I'll take my pics tomorrow and get them posted.
Bitten By the Bug 2 is having another contest soon. I know it involves rubber stamping. I'm excited and can not wait until it is posted. Rubber stamping is how all of this craziness started.
The sun will be shining tomorrow. I'm ready for the mud to dry out and the fresh, greeness of everything to begin. The robins have been carrying on like crazy in the yard. We'll be having babies soon. Danny and I will go around the yard checking the pines for nests, eggs and babies. Campfire season will be here too! Nothing better than sitting around the campfire at night just kickin' back and relaxin'.
I'm going to try to the sleep thing now. Have a good night every one!

Can't Sleep

These are the first sympathy cards I have ever made. My ex-sister-n-laws mother passed away unexpectedly last week. (Bonnie and I have remained very close through the years.) Breanna, my niece (Bonnie & my brother's daughter) is like my own daughter. The bond her and I have is unbelievable. Anyway, the card on the left was made for Bonnie. I wanted to create the card around the sentiment. We truly do not want to remember the days, we want to remember the moments. When I saw the dogwood paper, I just instantly thought of Grandma Phyllis. Then I found the sky paper with the clouds, and I thought of heaven. I know that is where Grandma Phyllis is. She is now everyone's angel. The card on the right was made for my niece Bre. I think it looks so delicate.

Grandma Phyllis was loved by all. She was truly a wonderful lady. She was able to see the good in every person she met. I will miss all of the conversations we have had over the years sitting at Bonnie's kitchen table. Those memories will be forever treasured.

I wasn't going to post anymore tonight. I have seriously neglected my blog. I'm sorry. I tried going to bed, but hubby started working midnight again and I'm having a hard time falling asleep. Maybe after I'm done here, I'll be able to.

Busy week a head of us, finishing my brother's receipts for his taxes, weight watchers, pinewood derby car hasn't even been started and the race is on Friday! Hubby has appt with the oral surgeon on Wednesday, and his wisdom teeth come out Friday morning. Danny doesn't have school, so he'll be coming along with us. Funny though, he was there when I had mine out 7 years ago.

I'm going to try the bed thing again. I can't believe how fast weekends go. I even have Friday's off too! 5:30 am comes along pretty quick too. Our mornings will be different, Dan will be getting home by 7:30, just in time to take Danny to the bus stop, and I'll be leaving for work. At least now I will be at work by 8:00, and not 8:10 every day. I am very lucky to be working for the company I do. I can work my schedule around Danny, which is a blessing.

Well good night again.

Grandma Phyllis - God called you home. There was an angel space to be filled. I will miss you!

Crafty Weekend

I made these cute little seed packets on Friday. They are from the Tags, Bags, Boxes & More Cricut cartridge. The cartridge is new to me and I'm having a blast exploring and creating with it. Last month when I was recovering from my procedure I had done, I thought a little retail therapy might help me along. I went on Ebay, bid on it and won the auction! I was so excited!

They are cut from the Tag Envelope. I use the black out feature, but I really don't think it matters. The size is 10-3/4" A pack of seeds fits in the envelope perfectly.

These little packs can be used for so many things! They can be dressed up as much as you want, or dress them down as much as you want and still be charming. They would be great for favors, thank you's, almost anything. You could use it as envelope for a small card. My original plans for making these are for our Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet. I'm in charge of decorations, centerpieces and favors again this year. I'm not sure if I want to search for Scout related items to embellish them or leave them as is. The message on them is family related, all families need to, "Live, Love and Grow"

I'm hoping tomorrow I can post more pics. Have a great night and thanks for stopping by!

PS - Thanks to Jennifer Pellegrino (For the Love of Paper) I was referred to a wonderful crafty site: Simply Crafting - The women on there are incredible! So friendly, so welcoming. The talent is unbelievable! These ladies rock!

I've made a couple of friends already and am very happy about it. Please check out another blog too - her name is Lisa and her work is just beautiful! the-purple-place.blogspot.com

UGH!!!!! I am my own worst enemy

Ok, so last night was Weight Watchers and like I thought it was bad. I gained 1.8 pounds. Where has my dedication gone? Why is this so hard? Have I given up? Why have I given up? I know what I have to do to make it work, but why am I not doing it? Summer is coming, Kennywood, going camping...by losing another 25 pounds by then I would be more comfortable. I want to get a bike, I would like to have a bike like Ruby, but I don't have $$ for one of those. I want to get healthy. My daughter is getting married in December. I want to look good, I want to look like a hot mom.



My niece called me at 7:00 am today. I could tell she was upset as soon as I answered the phone. I immediately thought something happened to her husband Josh, who is on his 3rd tour of Iraq right now. It wasn't Josh, but Bre's Grandma Phyllis. Grandma Phyllis passed away at midnight. My heart was being torn into pieces. Bre is like a daughter to me. We formed a bond before she was even born. Bre is my brother's daughter. Bre asked if I would call her dad for her, I did. I hope he calls her today. He is going out of town today for work.

My lunch hour is over. I'll post more later on.

It's Tuesday - That means Weight Watchers

I'm so dreading going to Weight Watchers tonight. I was doing so good, and somewhere along the way I lost my umpf! I lost my willpower. I started climbing that mountain, but quit a 1/4 of the way up.
I lost 35 pounds, but then I gained 7 over the holidays and can not seem to lose it. I'll lose 2, gain 1 etc...I've also had a procedure done and my body hasn't quite adjusted to that yet. Everyday I wake up and say today is the day, today is the day I'm really going to count those points, I'm going to watch what I eat, I'm going to say no to any goodies offered at work. Well those things haven't happened yet. I just want to know why???
At best, I will have stayed the same and not lost. Only time will tell. 5 more hours to be exact. I'll get back with my result.

A few cards from the weekend

I made a few cards this weekend. I wanted to get a few made for St. Pat's Day. I had one to make for my nephew's birthday tomorrow and I wanted to make one for the BBTB2 Cupcake Challenge. I wasn't happy with how the cupcake card turned out. I just had a hard time coming

up with something. I should have waited until a better idea came to mind, but I didn't. I'm going to try again this week if I get some time. This weeks is
a very busy
week. I have

WW on Tuesday, Cubscouts on Thursday and my brother
dropped off his accordian file folder and 2 huge boxes of
receipts for his taxes. I organize and add up all of his
receipts and

prepare a

master itemized tax list and he takes it to his accountant. My brother is an over the road truck driver, who lacks organizational skills.

For some reason I couldn't get my camera to cooperate taking pics. It wasn't focusing properly. So these pictures aren't the greatest.

I can't believe the weekend is over. It's 8:00 pm and time to get Danny's clothes for tomorrow, backpack packed up as well as our lunches. It is never ending. Never enough time in the day.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a good night!

Just a few cards....and the Science Fair

Yesterday was the Science Fair at Danny's School. Daddy wasn't able to attend due to work, so I was solo. It was crowded, pure chaos and all I did the whole time was fill water jugs empty buckets of water. Danny had a blast and in the end that is all that matters. I wasn't able to take as many pics as I would have liked to. This was Danny's 3rd year participating. Everyone seemed to like his project.

I woke up with a sore throat and was hoping it was just going to be a morning thing, but as the day went on, I realized it wasn't going away. We have been quite fortunate so far, no sicknesses. Thankfully. Danny hasn't missed a day of school this year. I'm afraid

I just jinxed us for saying that. But because of the H1N1

epidemic the school district pulled the perfect attendance awards for the year. Maybe next year.

I made a few cards over the weekend. I also baked peanut butter cookies for my nephew's birthday. I can't believe Ben is going to be 24 tomorrow. Time goes so fast.

I won the Spring BBTB2 Contest!

I never dreamed I would win the contest when I entered my basket. I was elated when I checked the next day and saw that it was me that was picked! You could not pay me enough to be one of the judges! Whoosh! The entries that were submitted! You ladies rock!

I absolutely love crafting. The day that I made the basket was the 7th anniversary of the day my dad passed away. I was determined that I would not let myself get bummed that day, so I threw all I had into crafting that day. Apparently I came up with something good.

A special thank you goes out to Heather for taking over BBTB. It is a wonderful blog and a great place to visit for ideas and inspiration. Also a very special thanks goes out to Regina Easter for sponsoring the contest and awarding the prize. A very generous prize of 3 cut files from her site, The Cutting Cafe. If you haven't already visited her there, I suggest you do. But beware, give yourself plenty of time.

Today is Danny's science fair at school. We are leaving in 20 minutes. I hope all goes well. Daddy has to work this morning, so it's just me and my babe. I woke up with a sore throat and hope its just a morning thing.

I'm hoping to get back on here later to post come cards that I made yesterday and pictures from the Science Fair.