Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Getting Ready for my First Workshop!

I am having my first Stampin' Up! Workshop this Saturday, and I'm trying to get ready! My up line, Alisha, is coming over tomorrow to help me finalize my decisions on what projects to do, and help me organize myself so I'm ready for Saturday. I want to do a scrapbook page and this is my first idea:

I really like how this page shows off the stamp set, the white gel pen, and the white craft ink with the stampin around wheel, but it seems to be missing something... Any suggestions?

I also needed a card for my BIL's birthday, so I pulled out a stamp he's sure to appreciate and used Jen's weekly challenge to make this:

There is a family "thing" about bumblebees (or, in proper Lilavois' terms: a vonvon) so when I saw this image at Hambo Stamps, I had to have it! I also have his brother, who looks very similar but has a different pose. I kept the card VERY simple with NO embellishments and a neutral color palette. My BIL is not one for embellishment or anything too fancy. I hope he likes it!Yesterday I showed you all a picture of my Angel Baby at the park, conversing with Tigger. While she was having a serious conversation with her bestest friend, the boys were doing this: I think maybe Angel was trying to ask Tigger what the heck was going on with her brothers! LOL! Seriously though, we were having a good time on the exercise equipment while playing follow the leader. The boys thought it was great when I tried to do the acrobatic stuff that they were doing! I just kinda hurt myself...Well, I have a scrapbook to finish and a workshop to prepare for so I better get off this machine and get to work while the kids are still occupied!

Oh yeah, before I go, did you all see the new gadget I added to my blog? It's a following gadget, so who is going to be the first reader to be a follower too???

Until next post, be blessed!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Tin Trading Cards





Hello Everyone! How are you all doing this fine September day? I hope you are doing well and enjoying the coming Autumn! Autumn is my favorite holiday. I love the cool, crisp feel to the air. Next year is going to be even better since we will be living in Italy, and we'll get to experience a different change of season than we can in the desert (where I've lived most of my life) or on an island (where I am now). I'm so excited!


Anyway, I participated in a Gina K. Designs Tin Trading Card Swap. A bunch of us GKD fans got together on SCS and made TTCs to swap with eachother. A TTC (Tin Trading Card) is just like an Artist Trading Card (or baseball card) in that it is a little card to trade! In stamping-style, we all made our TTC's with GKD stamps, and we made them small enough to fit into Altoid-style tins. I had to sign up for two spots, because I wanted cards from as many people as possible. The cards show each stampers style of art, and they are fun to get ideas from too! I think my cards show two different styles that I like, and they both show-off my coloring, not that I'm super great at coloring, I just love to color my stamped images! The first set of TTC's use GKD's Summer Harvest stamp set with some random paper from my big stash of random papers. It also uses my new scalloped square punch from Stampin' Up! I love that thing and I'm sure I'll be using it a lot! The second set of TTC's use GKD's "Flowers for Daisy" illustrated by Asella Hopkins. This set of stamps is so versatile and pretty.

I'm really looking forward to getting 20 TTC's back, and seeing all the different styles and designs. I also sent out my Owl Swap cards, and I should be getting my Riley the Moose swap cards any day now. I'm going to have some happy mail days in my near future!

I want to share a photo with you all. This is my Angel Baby, talking to her very best, life-long friend, tigger!As you can tell in this pic, Angel shares some of her deepest, most intimate thoughts with her favorite little buddy. They have been through thick and thin with eachother. To give you some perspective, here is a picture of Angel Baby with tigger when Angel was living in the NICU: That;s actually not the best picture of them together, can you even see tigger up there in the corner? He was with Angel from the beginning! When I look at these pictures of Angel, I get reminded of all the blessings that God has given me and my family.
Ok, well I hope the rest of your week is wonderful. Until next post, be blessed!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

My laptop is dying!!!

Oh No!!! I have been getting error messages on my laptop, and a recommedation to replace my hard drive because "failure is imminent". CRAP! (pls excuse my language) I've been backing up, restoring, and trying to fix everything, but it's not working. So... That means that all my pictures of projects and stuff is on my laptop, not this desktop, and I don't have anything to post! UGH! Well, tomorrow is Sunday and the family will be heading out to church and maybe the beach afterward. Maybe I'll be able to call Toshiba and get some help rescuing my laptop from the brink of disaster... And then I'll have some pics to post for y'all to check out.
Thanks for stopping by and checking in with me even without the pictures and interesting stuffs!
Until next (hopefully picture-filled) post, be blessed!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Whew! What a weekend!

I haven't blogged in quite a few days! On Thursday, the 4th, I got a call from one of my bestest friends. Hope had read my post about Mary and she bought me a plane ticket so I could go to Mary's funeral! It was so great to go celebrate Mary's life with all the people who loved her. Mary has touched so many people in her life, that her funeral was standing room only! ALL the seats in the church were full and people were standing along the walls. There were even people outside during the service! It was the happiest, most joyful celebration of life. Yes, there were tears, and we all will miss Mary, but it was a wonderful celebration. I got to visit with some of my closest friends, and see people that I haven't seen in almost 10 years! This is a picture of two of my best life-long friends. Melanie (the redhead) and Hope and I have been like sisters since the first day of highschool, over 14 years ago. I know that they will be in my life until our dying days, and I'm so grateful for that. Anyway, I flew out of Hawaii late Saturday night and got into Vegas early Sunday morning. I got a rental and drove to Barstow and had lunch with my Dad and family. That was so nice to catch up with my little sister and brothers and parents. Then I drove to the funeral. Since Hope bought me the plane ticket, Melanie had no clue that I was going to be there. When she saw me, she was so surprised and happy. It was a great thing to do for her. Thanks so much for making it possible Hopie!
Then we just hung out for the rest of the day. It was great. The next day I drove back to Vegas and stayed at my friend's house. Carin and Nate were in the middle of moving out of their apartment and onto base, but they made room for me and Angel baby! Thanks so much guys! It has been about 4 years (I think) since I've seen them. I didn't get any pictures of them though, we just ran out of time! Next time though, right Carin? LOL! Then, Tuesday morning I got up and caught my flight back home. MAN, I was wiped! I was so tired from the busy, long weekend.
Well, that's all the rambling I have for today. I have some Trading Cards that I made for a swap to show you all, but that will be for tomorrow's post.
Until next post, be blessed!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Why I don't like doing dishes...

Because you never know what you'll find! This disgusting thing was in the sink this morning when I was doing the dishes. It scared the crap out of me! Thank goodness it was already dead or I would have screamed and woken up the whole neighborhood. I do not like spiders.
Besides that thing, my morning has gone pretty well. My toe is feeling a lot better. It doesn't ache all the time now, and I can walk a little better. Here's a pic of it. Just ignore the non-pedicured nails. ;) Well, I've been busy getting some trading cards done for a swap I'm in, so I don't have any new projects to show you right now, but here's a pic of the Owl Cards I received from the first Owl Swap I was in. This time around, I wanted to receive more cards so that is why I took two spots in the owl swap. I hope you all are having a good week, and that you appreciate all the people God is putting in your lives. I thank God for each and every one of you, my blog readers and friends. Thank you for stopping by today and until next post, be blessed.


Monday, September 1, 2008

Mary Miller

Mary Miller. What can I say about this beautiful woman? I have known her for about 15 years. She came into my life when I was an impressionable, lost freshman in high school. Her daughter, Melanie, and I became fast friends on our first day of highschool, and we've been like sisters ever since. Mary has been like another Mom to me. I remember the first time I had a sleepover with Melanie. Mary and Melanie got into a toilet water fight! They ran around the house splashing eachother with blue water from the toilet, and they laughed just like two best friends goofing off together. I remember thinking, "Wow, this is a fun Mom." And she was. I spent most weekends at Mary's house, sharing Melanie's room and waterbed. Mary never told me to go home and always welcomed me. I was included in family trips, family get-togethers, and most of all Mary made me feel like a real member of the family.

When I accepted God as my personal savior, Mary supported me. She let me know that she was proud of me in my accomplishments, and she made me feel loved. When Melanie and I graduated highschool together, I knew I would still be considered family. Us growing up and moving on with our "adult" lives was not going to seperate us. Even though there were many miles between us over the years, Mary still emailed me. She sent me wonderfully encouraging emails. She supported me when I went through tough times, and she sent me bible studies. I knew that I would always have a strong Christian woman to go to if I ever needed her. And she always came through. Once, when I was just 18 years old and travelling alone with my 2 month old to Hawaii to visit my Mom, I ran into some trouble. My first flight was delayed from Ontario California to LA. Also, on our decent into LA, my baby threw up all over me. I had brought him a change of clothes, but didn't think I would need some too. Since my connection from LA to Hawaii was long gone by the time I arrived, I had to fiugre out what to do until the next available flight. I had never been in a situation like that before, and I didn't know what to do. The airline told me they would get me on the next flight, but that wasn't until the next day. I had a baby, I had filthy clothes, and I had no money for a hotel or rental car (couldn't rent one at 18 anyway) and I was lost. I called Mary. Since she lived in LA, she immediately told me she would take care of me. She sent a taxi to pick me up, she paid for it, she let me sleep in her bed, did my laundry, fed me, and made me feel completely safe. She went above and beyond for me, just like any Mom would do. I love that woman.

At 2:30am, on September 1st, 2008, Mary Miller lost her battle with cancer and passed from this world to the next. Right now, Mary is singing and dancing in heaven with our Heavenly Lord. She is no longer in pain. She no longer feels hurt. I have absolutely no doubt that Mary is in complete bliss right now. Someday, I will see her again. We will be reunited one day, and she will hug me just like any Mom would embrace her child.

I love you Mary, and I'll miss you. But I will see you again someday. Thank you for being you, and loving me.



Did I forget to post this project?

Or have you seen this on a previous entry? I seriously can't remember! I think maybe I tried to post this project that day that blogger wasn't letting me upload... Anyway, here is a little box of 3x3 cards that I made for Jen Young's August Aloha RAK. I primarily used Melanie Muenchinger's Little Tees stamp set. Have I mentioned how much I love Mel's stamps? Ok, ok, that joke is old now. Sorry! The paper I used was a mixture of Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye, Stampin' Up! and Paperbilities. See what I did with the flowers? I punched them out with my Stampin' Up! punch and then cut between the petals to make them more dimensional. I love the way that makes them look. I also sponged the centers a little and the edges so they all match and look a little "shabby chic" (at least I think so!). The other stamp set that I used was Love You To Pieces by Gina K. Designs. The tee with all the puzzle pieces on it is the one I used that set with. The outside of the card says "Hope we can" and the inside says "connect soon". I thought it was pretty smart splitting up the sentiment like that! Well, it's been a pretty busy and quick weekend once again. Friday flew by really quick. We went to Chinatown for the first time and it was a neat experience. Ashton had been there before with his preschool class, so he played tour guide and showed us around. There was some really cool stuff to look at, and some really gross stuff too (you know, like pig pieces. UGH!). Then, Saturday came and went so quick I didn't even realize it was over. The kids and I went to the park and played follow-the-leader on the workout station, and then we went grocery shopping. I was stupid and dropped a can of frozen juice directly on my middle toe! It hurt so bad I almost threw up, but didn't. It is still throbbing, it's completely purple, and my toenail is going to fall off any day now. It really sucks. I didn't realize how much a little toe could HURT! OUCH! Now it's Sunday, and we didn't do much today. It was a nice day to just sit and relax, and keep my foot elevated so it doesn't throb so much. Tomorrow is going to be another relaxing day I hope. Thank you God for the Labor day holiday! LOL!
As usual, I truly appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to read my blog. Until next post, be blessed!