Before & After

Hi everyone! Hope you have had a wonderful weekend so far...in just over an hour I will be getting ready to host the high school youth groups from 3 towns for a pizza party and then we are all loading up and heading to the movie theater to see TO SAVE A LIFE. I can't wait! I have heard so much about this movie & hope that it will be a blessing to those that see it!



UPDATE on me: I'm almost back to 100%...LOL! If there is such a thing! See this post. My smile is back...yeah! & my eye will almost completely close. Still wearing glasses, but maybe this week I can go back to contacts. Thanks to those of you that sent prayers my way :o)



My niece had a baby this past week, so any excuse for me to go shopping for baby girl stuff is always fun! I picked up this $1 gift bag @ Walmart & already had this pink scallop card in my stash:







I looked over a few other gift bag options that were much more pricey...& then decided to add a little something to my $1 bag & scallop card.....

Holy cow! This turned out so stinkin' cute if I do say so myself! Here are a few closeups:

The double frill elastic velvet ribbon is new to my stash :o) & I LOVE IT! You can find it at Hobby Lobby!

Thanks for stopping by! Take care!

SP Color Combo #32

This is my second week as Guest Diva over at SPCC and I have loved every minute of it :o) Thanks again, Samantha!

So here's Color Combo #32:

This color combo was a little bit tough for me for some reason! I think it is very masculine...but I ended up adding a flower to my card anyway! ha, ha!

Follow Your Dreams:

Here's a close up of the Kaiser paper flower with Stickles-Star Dust added just for fun :o)

Supplies: Kraft card stock-The Paper Studio, PP-Creative Memories, PP-Creating Keepsakes-KOTM Project 365, Rubons-Creative Imaginations Narratives by Karen Russell, Kaiser-paper flowers, button-unknown, October Afternoon-Road Map Label Stickers, Sentiment-PSX-Pixie Affirmations, Ranger Stickles-Star Dust, Stampin' Up ink-Close to Cocoa, embroidery thread, machine stitching

Would love to have you play along over at SPCC! Thanks for stopping by! Take care!

Stacy

Thinking of Valentine's Day yet?

I was lucky enough to sneak over to my scrap-happy place late this afternoon...& decided to create a Valentine. I'm pretty tickled with how quickly this came together...& how it turned out :o)

I used this card sketch from Sketchy Thursdays & their Second Chance Challenge: (super cute ippity by Unity stamps are up for grabs!)

A pretty funky sketch...but inspiring for sure! I just had to "tone" it down a bit! ha,ha!

And for the fun challenge site of Caardvarks (can't believe I just discovered this site-I can see that I might get addicted to this one too!): Red Heart Challenge

And for another challenge I found while blog hopping...Belli Challenge #83: Use hearts

So here's the card I came up with:

How fun is this??? I used empty toilet paper tubes to create the inked circles...I had been wanting to give this a try forever & finally found a sketch that it worked for! So easy & fun! Like I said, I toned down the sketch a bit...I just can't do GRUNGE...ha, ha!

Here are a few close ups too:

I used a red heart ribbon brad by The Paper Studio & a fun red bling heart that I picked up last year at Hobby Lobby. & of course, no card is complete without a little stitching :o)

Notice the "stamping tubes" in the background?

Supplies:

Pink scallop note card-$1 bin @ Target, white cardstock-The Paper Studio, Heart Ribbon Brad-The Paper Studio, Heart Bling-Hobby Lobby, Sentiment stamp-Inkadinkado, Journal w/ Brackets stamp-Stampabilities, Inks-Pink Passion & Real Red by Stampin' Up, Onyx by Stampology/Autumn Leaves, red tulle-recycled from Christmas gift wrapping, machine zig zag stitching

Thanks for stopping by! Take care!

Stacy

A Scrapjazz article by ME :o)

Hi ladies! Just wanted to share a link with you to my latest article for Scrapjazz! I did a product review of the FABULOUS Jillibean Soup Corrugated Kraft alphas!







I absolutely LOVE these alphas! & did you see the CHA sneak peak on the new corrugated alphas coming out?????? Cute, cute, cute!!!



Just got up from a much needed, lazy, Sunday afternoon nap :0) Wow...I can't tell you how long it has been since I've done that!



Thanks for stopping by! Take care!



Stacy

What to do with all of these cards???

I wouldn't exactly call myself a cardmaker, as compared to some of the fabulous ladies out there that really ROCK card making...but I dabble :o) I love that card making lets me get those creative juices flowing in a project that is often easier for me to complete than a layout. So, I play along with challenge sites like SPCC, Sketchy Thursdays & 2 Sketches 4 You...


Then my cards just kind of start piling up...





There are several great card drives that are going to be receiving these cards and I thought I would share links...just in case YOU have wonderful handmade cards that need to find a home :o)

Jennifer McGuire sponsors the CARDS FOR KIDS drive...there are so many kids out there that just need to know we care! as well as their familes!

Operation Write Home (formerly known as Cards for Heroes): Helping Heroes keep in touch with home! Read here to find out more about Any Hero cards.

My goal is to get these cards prepared with personal messages, etc. and sent off over the weekend! It makes me feel good to know that these little creations of mine will make a difference for someone, will bring a smile, will offer encouragement.

Do you have cards laying around? Do something good with them! If you know of other ongoing card drives, be sure & leave me a comment about it!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend & take care!

Stacy

I'm tickled to announce....

Finally, after months of keeping a scrappy secret....

I am the Guest Designer Diva at SPCC for January/February 2010!!!

I was beyond excited when Samantha asked me to be a guest designer :o) I have played along on the SPCC Color Combos blog as time has allowed from the very beginning...& have met some wonderful scrap buddies too! Come on over & join in on the fun! The new color combo has been posted, along with details on the weekly prize up for grabs!

Color Combo #31:

This one was definitely a challenge for me! The Apricot color threw me a bit...but I had the perfect patterned paper....here's the card that I came up with:

Get Well Soon

and a few close ups...

I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the background cardstock and then used ink to "highlight" the embossing. LOVE how this turned out! & so easy! Gotta love that too!

Supplies:

Cardstock-Creative Memories & unknown

PP-Flair Designs-Spicy Dots

Sentiment-Printworks-Clearly Defined-"Caring Thoughts"

Cuttlebug

Cuttlebug Spots & Dots Embossing Folder

Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Scallop Circle, Large

Brads-Target-Autumn Collection

Ink-Stampin' Up-Pink Passion

Ink-VersaMagic-Pixie Dust

Thanks for stopping by! I'd LOVE to see you play along over at SPCC Color Combos! Take care!

Another Second Chance Challenge !!!

Apparently, once I discover a "new-to-me" challenge site...especially a sketchy one...I just can't help but play along! Call me addicted.

So here's my entry for Sketchy Thursdays Second Chance Challenge; the sketch is fantastic:

and here's what is up for grabs! I would love to get my hands on some of these....

It worked better for me if I just rotated the sketch a bit...LOVE to play around with things sometimes :o)

YOU R TWEET:

Using more of the wonderful vinyl rub-ons from EAD Designs...they are so EASY to apply! & again, isn't this image just the cutest??? Thanks Emily...love 'em!

& a few close-ups...so you can take a good look!

Supplies: White cardstock-The Paper Studio, PP-Basic Grey-Lemonade Paper Pad 6x6, PP-Cosmo Cricket-Early Bird-Sunrise, EAD Designs Vinyl Rubon, Alpha stickers-unknown, Buttons-Favorite Findings-Fun, Machine stitching & sanding.

Thanks for stopping by! Take care!

Stacy

God won't give you more than you can handle...right?!?

But I do believe that God has a way of telling you in not so many words...slow down, take care of yourself, learn to say no (ok, I'm struggling with this one!) & so ironically, following the lead of the fabulous Ali Edwards, my ONE LITTLE WORD for 2010 is PRAY....

So here's how my week unfolded....

Monday: Everything is great. Back to work. Yippee!

Tuesday: Work is busy, busy, busy this time of the year. I wear contacts and my left eye just started driving me crazy today. It felt dry, scratchy, itchy...not good. Then I noticed that my good 'ol 32 oz. Diet Pepsi just wasn't tasting quite right...seriously, it felt like I had burnt my tongue with hot chocolate and my taste buds were not functioning....weird, huh??? My boys played basketball tonight & I just couldn't wait to get home to get my contacts out.

Wednesday: Woke up with the left side of my face feeling numb. Yes, numb. I was a little bit freaked out. Eye still messed up. I couldn't close my left eye. I couldn't feel the left side of my nose. I couldn't spit after brushing my teeth. I couldn't smile. First phone call went to my eye doctor. Told him about my symptoms; he said he thought it sounded like Bell's Palsy & I better get into my doctor. Ever heard of Bell's Palsy? I hadn't. Luckily, I got into my regular doctor today by 11AM and she confirmed the diagnosis of Bell's Palsy. Causes aren't easy to determine, but generally a virus infects (inflames) your facial nerve which causes things to quit operating as they should. Most people fully recover within 2 months. Let's hope in the "most people" category! Prescription for steriods, an anti-viral & eye drops. Have you ever tried to sleep with one eye open? My DH gave me all kinds of grief...LOL!

Thursday: Not much change, though my sense of taste may be a bit improved. My mouth function is a whole different story....you know what it feels like after you have been to the dentist & your mouth is numb for a couple of hours??? Yeah, that's what it is like. I called my kinesiologist and he scheduled an appointment for Friday....

Friday: My kinesiologist worked me over for about an hour. Acupuncture included. He feels that since we got on top of this right away, I should recover fairly quickly. Of course, he asked me about 3 different times, 3 different ways "Are you worried about something?" "Are you stressed?" My answer? No, nothing out of the ordinary....but ordinarily I live a pretty crazy, rat race of a life...like most everone else on the planet. He gave me the "you need to take care of yourself talk...you are a busy mom of 2 teenage boys, a wife, working full-time....you need to slow down & take time for you...." WAKE UP CALL.

Saturday: Feeling fine, the left side of my face is still just frozen, or droopy or puffy...whatever you want to call it! My eye really started driving me crazy tonight...grrr....

Sunday: TODAY. Eye is messed up & bothers me the most. Of course, when I try to talk or smile, my problem is pretty obvious. Just praying (I am putting my ONE LITTLE WORD to good use already in 2010!) that I recover quickly...but knowing I will just have to be patient :o) If you are the praying type I'd really appreciate it.

I'll be back later with a card I created for the Second Chance Challenge @ Sketchy Thursdays!

Thanks for stopping by. Take care!

Stacy

It's official....

My very first article written for Scrapjazz was published today! I'm so tickled to be a contributing writer for Scrapjazz...who would have thought? I admired the gallery layouts and browsed the site for a year before becoming a member in August 2008. Then I began posting layouts, cards & other projects into my own gallery. When time allowed, I played along with their fun monthly challenges sponsored by Scrapbook.com. So it just blows me away that they chose me in their recent search for additional writers! This really is the perfect scrappy "job" for me...during the school year I just don't have enough free time to commit to the demands of being on a design team (hopefully I can do that again in the summer!). But writing for Scrapjazz suits me perfectly :o)

This is the layout featured in my article: Step-by-Step: Christmas PJ's

Go check it out...& join in on the Scrapjazz fun! The ladies are all so nice & great prizes are up for grabs each month...gotta love that!

Thanks for stopping by! Take care!

Stacy

Sharing a link to Simple Stories...

As many of you are aware....Ali Edwards has wonderful giveaways on her blog every weekend... and this weekend SIMPLE STORIES by Memory Works really caught my eye!

I added their blinkie over to the left....just click it & go explore their site. I love everything about scrapbooking...but sometimes find myself overwhelmed with all of the options, choices, well...you know what I am saying! Anyway...if you are looking for a simple solution, this just might be it. & it is gorgeous!

Thanks for stopping by! Take care!

Stacy