It's Showtime!

I wanted to post a photo of a simple card I made last nite using the new 'showgirls' stamp from Lost Coast Designs. I LoVe this image and can see all kinds of uses for it. The other stamps I used were from the 'party words' plate and the 'diamond border', also from LCD. The ticket was one in a package I purchased at the Dollar Tree. (Sorry for the bad photography, I really should take some classes;(

Hope everyone is getting their shopping done. We decided we are going to skip the cookie baking this year due to time restraints and let the Keebler Elves do the work for us. (Shhhh.....it's our little secret. LOL!)

Have a great day everyone:) Hope you get a chance to make something fun!

CONFIRMED Tornado

I don't have any new artwork to post right now and my life has been, well...let's say like a circus around here. Just when one THINKS things will slow down, something else happens! Last Tuesday there was a family emergency and I found myself on the freeway taking a family member to the hospital in the mist of a major rain/wind storm. We could hardly see the road ahead of us, talk about scary! Anyways, by the time I had headed back home I was turned away as there were road blocks EVERYWHERE into the town where I live. Power was out for a good part of the area and from what I know, trees and power lines scattered all over the roads. I headed out to Burlington as I knew at least there was a McDonald's I could hang out at for awhile and keep warm. Since the temps had dropped to 30 degrees, I wasn't about to sit in my car and freeze too. I called my hubby and he said he managed to get home and that everything was fine - we had power and no major damage. I tried for THREE hours to get home. EVERY route I took was blocked by police and security guards. I thought it was a WAR ZONE. They were telling us such things as "find another place to stay for the nite" and "it might be a couple of hours, we aren't sure". It was unbelieveable....I never saw anything like it. Finally, after taking a round about way (coached by my hubby), I was able to make it to the local high school just blocks from our home. There too I was stopped by a guarding police car! I approached him and asked how long it would be for residents to get home. He told me he didn't know. He said the school was open so I could wait in there. I went back to my car and called my hubby again. He was going to come and get me, parking down the street from where the policeman was parked. A few minutes later, the policeman pulled away and those of us parked in that school lot were able to leave and go home! I read in the newspapers yesterday that the American Red Cross set up a shelter at the local high school but NOBODY showed up. Well.....DAAAHHH! I must have spoken to at least four police officers and NOBODY ever directed me on how to get thru to the school for shelter. So much for communication.....

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and all I can say is I'm glad that we all survived and HOPEFULLY something was learned over all of this! Stay warm and don't eat too much turkey my fellow bloggers...lol! Hope you have a better week than I have:0

Missing In Action....

I know, I'm a terrible blogger. Believe me, I'm guilty and know it, but have been so busy (still). I did manage to create a cute Christmas memory book last week and thought I'd post a couple pages for everyone to take a peek. (Actually I stayed up until 12:30 pm last Thursday to finish it but I didn't even realize it was so late as I was having so much fun putting it together....lol.)

These papers from Santas Workshop - LilyBee Design and were perfect for this project. With papers like this, it's soooo easy to create a great memory (and a perfect gift for a loved one, btw). If you want to create a memory of your own, all these supplies are available at Hannahs' Home Accents in Antioch, IL. Just stop by or call Jill or Dana and they'll set you up with what you need to create one of your own.

Have a great week everyone!

My Favorite Things....

Hi fellow bloggers! I've been SUPER busy these days and will spare you all the details but thought I'd pass on this fabulous news. A newer company called "My Favorite Things" is hosting a blog giveaway! They have the cutest stamps and a new line of dies that are just incredible. Just enter before 10:00 am EST today for a chance to win some. Here's the link:

http://www.mftstamps.com/

Have a great weekend everyone and good luck!!!

Published!

The newest issue of 'The Stampers Sampler' has hit the newstands but my copy hasn't arrived yet(insert a BIG frown here....lol). A couple of friends (you know who you are...:) e-mailed me and spilled the beans that I have a few published items in there. Needless to say I'm thrilled and so happy I have people willing to take a minute or two to contact me over this important stuff! I think submitting becomes an actual addiction, really! Unfortunately I don't have a lot of free time to create but I've been extremely lucky in having had so much published:0

These photos were taken before I mailed them in but thought I'd share them in case you haven't seen the newest issue yourself. My friends Lynne Moncrief and Louise Granlund have some gorgeous cards in there that are truly, truly amazing. It's so much fun to share that joy of creativity with these gals! I may not be rich, but I am in other ways....NO DOUBT ABOUT IT;)

For this particular issue (paper bag challenge), I made school lunch bag and another to hold a Christmas gift. Both were stamped with images from Oxford Impressions. The angel tag was made with stamps from Purple Onion Designs. Unfortunately, the angel image itself was incorrectly identified in the magazine, but is from digitalcollagesheets.com.

Hope you are able to purchase this issue soon and see all the great items yourself. Can't wait to get my copy (hopefully soon)to absorb all that inspiration. This issue is definately a keeper!!!!

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend, everyone!

Happy Anniversary....

Have been too busy to do any artwork lately but today my hubby and I celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. Yesterday we were chatting about it and scratching our heads, just WHERE has that time gone?! We had the most beautiful wedding day you could ever imagine and I remember it as if it were just yesterday. Anyways, this morning he surprised me with roses and a very sentimental card. You've changed my life too honey;) Love you and hope you have a great day!

Birds on my brain...lol!

I've been having so much fun with this new 7-Gypsies paper (Conservatory - Aviary) that I decided to make a book on bird study:) I started out with a Maya Road birdcage chipboard book. I painted portions of it with gesso and then went over parts of it with Claudine Hellmuth's studio acrylic paint (love this stuff!) in yellow pastel. Then I cut some papers and added them along with bird images and torn paper from the same line. Added some Maya Road ribbons and some Kaisercraft flowers. So fun! All items are available at my favorite scrapbooking store - Hannahs in Antioch, IL. Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for stopping by!!!