I think I fixed it!

Okay, I had to change my layout, which I am not too thrilled about, but I think I fixed the comment and link problem! Maybe someone could try it and let me know????....

Work Week #1 is over!

What a long week! I can't even tell you what a mess I walked into at work! 4 weeks of having substitute managers who all do things differently in their own stores has wreaked havoc at mine! Two of them left piles of paperwork for me to do and it's hard to describe what this job entails and how much work it is! Twice I worked until 7 pm and I should be leaving at 5:30. I even put in a few hours yesterday and we were closed! I am about 80% caught up and hopefully I can get things running smoothly again by the end of this week.

As far as this blog goes.......I might have to transfer everything over to a new blog because I still can't fix this comment problem and it annoys me to no end that I can't click on any of the links down the left side of my blog! I know that you can't see any of the tutorials or anything and it's frustrating that I can't get an answer from Blogger! So I will definitely let you know what I plan to do about it. I am sorry that this has been such a hassle!

I hope that everyone had a nice weekend! Weather here for the past couple of weeks has been amazing! 70's and sunny! Well, it's back to reality for a bit.....rain today thru Wednesday and below normal temps......49 for a high on Wednesday! YUCK! Maybe my next two days off the weather will be nice again and I might be able to plant something! :)

Have a wonderful day, and week, and I will keep you posted! Thanks for checking in!

Still having issues with commenting

Hi all,

I am sorry, I haven't been able to fix the link and commenting problem. I am waiting for another reply to my question on the blogger help group thingie so hopefully I can get it fixed soon! It's rather annoying! LOL.

Our weather has been awesome lately! Yesterday I took the kids to the home and garden show at the fairgrounds because Dale Jr.'s racecar was there and my son loves racecars so I thought he'd get a kick out of seeing one in person! I took a few pictures that I will post later.

Heading back to work on Tuesday!! I dropped by yesterday and met one the several managers who filled in for me. This gentleman was from Maine. Another was from Connecticut, and another was from Massachusetts. I am not sure where the other one came from. But I received lots of feedback from the man I met yesterday regarding our store and it's layout and the whether or not my own manager was coming back from her vacation! I am guessing from what I gather from the fill-in manager and my employee that she isn't coming back. Which would mean that this would turn into my store! Which I don't mind but personnel just needs to tell me that and stop leaving me in limbo here. Don't you agree? So I will give it a few weeks and if my manager isn't back then I will have to call personnel and find out what the deal is. I will keep you posted on that.....

The kids are on vacation all this week! Sucks that I have to go back to work! Daddy has plans with them for his days off this week, so they will enjoy that.

Anyway, gotta run for a bit. Have some things to do.......thanks for stopping by and checking in. I will post some pics later tonight. Have a great Sunday!

Lauren is done with training wheels!

I just had to share with you all that Lauren is done with training wheels! Yay!! Yesterday daddy took them off and she just took off! LOL She's a big girl now! Next is working on show laces! LOL

Having trouble leaving comments and clicking on links....

Hi Everyone! I am sorry that you aren't able to click on the links or leave comments. I have posted my question/concern on Blogger Help and I hope to fix this problem soon! Thanks for your patience!

Tooth Fairy Box!!

Finally I have pics of my tooth fair box. Sorry it’s taken me so long to post them. Still recovering and still pretty sore! Not having a good time with this gall bladder thing! LOL

Can you guess what I used to make it?
I had seen many examples of tooth fairy boxes on SCS. Click on scs to check out the gallery there. Many of them are made from altoid tins. Well if you don’t have access to free altoid tins, it can get quite expensive if you plan to sell them at craft fairs! So I began to brainstorm and many ideas popped into my head; cardstock…which wouldn’t be very long lasting because they are easily squished! The tiny tins you often find in the bead section of a craft store that have a clear window top….which are more economical than buying individual altoid tins. Cardstock popped into my head again and I thought about using embossing powder all the way around it to provide a stiffer box….and then I thought of those unfinished wooden boxes or paper mache boxes that are found at Michaels but again you have to buy them individually and that can get expensive.
I wanted something small…..I wanted something sturdy….and I wanted something inexpensive!!! And then my idea came to fruition. I ran (well I didn’t literally run….just trying to make it sound more exciting) I ran to the aisle where you find the wooden pieces like blocks and balls that come in bags………and there it was…..on the bottom shelf……..calling out to me……….a tiny wooden, unfinished, napkin ring!!!!!!!!!! Can you see it?

Well as you know, napkin rings are open on both ends, so I had to come up with a top and bottom. I knew I wanted felt on the bottom but it had to be sturdy. So I looked at the felt options. I chose the stiff felt that has adhesive on the back. But it still needed more stability. So I looked at all those bags of wood pieces and came across the round discs in many sizes. I picked the 1 inch circle discs because they fit within the napkin ring.

You can't see the disc in the pictures because it is sandwiched between two pieces of felt; one for the inside and one for the bottom.

Then I needed a top. I found a disc that had a rounded top and a flat bottom! Yay! How much easier can this get, I am asking myself!! They are called domes and I found two in a bag.


The one inch disc fit nicely on the flat side of the dome so that when the lid is placed on top it is held still by the circle disc.





Next, I needed a handle for the top. They had these cute little pieces called knobs. Rounded on the top and flat on the bottom. They come in different sizes so I just picked what fit on the dome lid. And there! I had all my pieces. Next came the assembly...

I did the Polished Stone Technique on a piece of glossy cardstock and set it aside to dry.

I then picked paint colors that matched the polished stone piece I just did and painted all the wooden pieces, including the inside of the napkin ring. I wanted some contrast, so I chose a different color for the handle and the disc on the inside of the lid.

Once those pieces were dry, I attached the felt, the 1" disc, and a second piece of felt to the bottom of the napkin ring. I used my EK Success circle punches (1 1/4 and 1 1/2 inch) to cut the felt to the size I needed.

(I used E6000 glue between the two layers of felt).

Then I cut a strip of the glossy paper to fit around the ring. I used red line tape to attach it.

Then I attached the knob to the lid and the disc to the under side of the lid.

Then I used a toothpick to pick up some E6000 glue and placed a small amount along the edge of the glossy cardstock and stuck tiny micro beads all the way around. I tried diamond glaze first but that is too runny.

Once that was dry, I was finished! I love it!!! Very easy and fast to make. The circle punches make all the difference in the world. Without them, you would have to trace and cut out the felt and that would take longer if you needed to make a bunch of them.

What do you think?????

About Vermont

Jennybug asked me awhile ago about Vermont........I can't believe I missed your comment! I am so sorry!!!! For some reason I am having difficulty with my blog and I can't click on any of the links and I can't post a comment where I found yours.....so anyway... about Vermont......
We've been here since 2001. My favorite time of year is Spring and Fall because of the color changes! Winter lasts a good 6 months here. I love winter and I love the snow so personally I would visit during winter as well. But not everyont likes snow; like my husband! LOL For Springtime visiting, I would say that May is the best time. And for the Fall, mid October is the best time. The reason I say May is because we can and do get snow in April. And if you want comfortable temperatures then May is it. My daffodils and hyacinth are just sprouting, so I have tiny little foliage popping up and it's already mid April, so Spring takes a while here! LOL This is a great website and it has a TON of info on it. It's called Vermont Vacation. Stowe and Smuggler's Notch is a beautiful area. It is in the mountains and it's known for skiing. There is a ton of shopping and restuarants. When I say shopping, it's not malls and highrises. It's small, locally owned, quaint little businesses. If you want malls visit Burlington. Downtown, there is an outdoor mall, and in South Burlington, there is an indoor mall. Those malls have all of the typical stores you find in other cities. Vermont is also great for hiking and camping, fishing, and cycling. And of course, winter sports. There are 52 state parks here which are just amazing during the spring and fall! Check out this picture taken in one of the state parks. Here's a great article on Vermont's famous Maple Syrup. Not many people may think of Vermont as being wine country, but we do have wineries here as well! We also have a great Fairground here. Check this out. We have huge craft fairs there in the spring and fall. My sister-in-law, from Florida, said she hadn't seen anything as big as our fall craft fair at the fairgrounds!
Summertime, we have a ton of mosquitos! And they all find me! I hate them! But we don't have any poisoness snakes are spiders so that's great! I grew up in the desert in California and I couldn't touch anything there! We have a ton of wildlife, my favorite is the moose! This website also has a lot of info.
So I hope I answered your question! :) If not, don't hesitate to ask away! It's a great place to visit and it's also a great place to raise kids! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comments!

Lauren home today...

Hi all! Haven't posted in a couple of days...sorry about that. Haven't ventured down to my craft room in a few days.
Today Lauren is home sick. She was running a fever last night and she is still relying on motrin today to keep her fever down; poor thing! So looks like she will be home tomorrow as well.
I did manage to make something today though! Can you believe it? I made a cute little tooth fairy box; it's drying right now. It's not made out of an altoid tin and it's not cardstock. You'll have to check back in to find out what I made it out of! :) Katie has my camera so I can't take any pictures now!
Having weird things going on with my incision since yesterday. Just below my incision there is a five inch wide by 2 inch tall area on my belly that is completely numb; can't feel a thing. Jared was poking at me yesterday with my eyes close and he kept moving his finger around and poking and asking me, "can you feel this??....." And below that area where there is NO incision, my belly is extremely senstive and the skin is actually sensitive, so when my clothes swish across me, it hurts! I called my doctor this morning who said that this is normal after surgery and it will go away. So okay. Have to wait for that to go away.
Weather here is rather chilly today. In the forties. Yesterday and the day before we were over 60! Supposed to get rain coming in Friday and for 7 days following that! I had mud season! YUCK!
Anyway, rambling now. Check back later. I might be able to post tonight pictures of my tooth fairy box. I am supposed to go to a jewelry party at my friend's house tonight, so we'll see if I make it down here after that.
Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by! :)

One Sheet Wonder Template

I hope this looks okay. I scanned this on my computer but later I am going to take a picture of it and post that as well in case that is easier to see. Thanks everyone for your compliments and interest! Enjoy!

Alcohol Ink Cards

Have you all tried the alcohol ink technique? If you haven't, you must try it! It's super easy and the results are amazing! Depending on the color combination, you can get very vibrant results or more muted backgrounds. Sometimes you put some colors together, and the end result isn't what you expected but they are all beautiful. I taught this class the night before I went to the ER for my gall bladder and there were 5 people who took the class. Everyone used the same colors that I did on each card but EVERY card was different. They were all so pretty!
The technique is wicked easy! You can find a tutorial here. I also use this technique which is very similar called the Polished Stone technique. The Alcohol Ink tutorial is done using a metal tin, and the Polished Stone tutorial is done using glossy cardstock which is what I used for these cards.
For my cards I used a combination of alcohol inks and re-inkers. Yes I break the rules and mix the inks up. I will use a combination of inks on one card! It still works just fine! Don't be afraid to experiment. LIke I said, you may not get the color you expected in the end but the results are just amazing!

More One Sheet Wonder Cards...

Hi Everyone! I finally have the rest of my One Sheet Wonder cards posted! Yay! I made these cards before I got sick and taught a class with them. They were a hit! They are super easy to do once you figure out a template. This is the first One Sheet Wonder I have done. I will definitely do more! This first card is pretty self explanatory. The rectangles are one inch wide and an inch and a half long. The large piece of cardstock is torn on both top and bottom with the sides untouched.
This is a square card. It's 3.5 x 3.5 inches. The triangle pieces are mounted on a large square of blue cardstock and then that piece is adhered to the kraft cardstock card front. The center is made using several different punches. There are dimensionals between two of the layers to give the card some depth and then I went around the scallop edge and also the center white circle with my clear glitter pen.


This card is very simple in design. One inch squares cut down the middle on the diagonal and then placed around a one inch blue square. The Bee Happy is raised on a pop dot.
This card is also very easy, easy, easy! Just two little stamped strips adhered to a purple piece of cardstock and then on a blue piece with one torn edge and ribbon tied around the larger section of blue.
This card is fun! The Bee Happy is raised on a pop dot and the circles below are first punched out of the kraft card front, and then a blue piece of cardstock is adhered on the inside of the card so that is shows through each hole. Then when the card is closed, I adhered the smaller circles of purple cardstock with smile stamped on them. I used my clear glitter pen to go around each smile and then they are raised on pop dots.

This card is also simple. Just squares mounted on squares and then lined up along the bottom!


This card uses two stamped pieces that are double mounted and then placed on the blue cardstock. The sentiment is made using several punches. I used my glitter pen to go around the scallop edge and the sentiment in the middle. I then used my word window punch for the strips on the left and each one has a brad at the end.

Like I said earlier, when you have the template you want to use decided upon it's just a matter of being very free when stamping and not worrying about placement of the images. And filling the cardstock as much as you can when stamping. Then I went back and added details by doodling around the stamped squares and adding flight paths behind the bees. I also used my glitter pen to outline all the butterflies. After I stamp everything, I simply turn the cardstock over and cut along the lines I drew for my template. Then I double mount all the stamped pieces and start adhering them to my cards! Easy! You must try one if you haven't already. I will soon post my template for your use if you would like! Thanks for stopping by! Comments are appreciated! :)

Got my staples out....

Got my staples out yesterday afternoon! Yeah, that didn't feel real good! LOL But I am glad they are out. Now the muscles all over my abdomen are really sore. :( Instead of looking like a train track going across me, it looks like a centipede because of the staple holes! LOL In two weeks I can start putting Vitamin E oil on it but nothing until then. I am down a total of 20 pounds now! I can't believe it! I can't believe that I had to take out an organ to lose some weight! LOL. I joked with the doctor that we should just take out some more! LOL Just kidding of course; I never want to have surgery again! Even though the hospital and all the nurses and my surgeon were wonderful, it's not someplace I want to re-visit anytime soon!

Tomorrow is Lauren's birthday, but we celebrated tonight so she could have all day tomorrow to play with her new toys. She new she was getting a bunch of princess dress up toys but she didn't know we got her a Nintendo DS! She was playing with Jared's a lot and we knew she loved his, so now she has her own...... a pink one! And her own princess game! She wanted a Backyardigans cake, which surprised me! I haven't had cake in months! And being on my lowfat diet right now, I just had a small piece but it was so yummy!!! :)

I found the rest of my One Sheet Wonder cards tonight. I thought I had misplaced them somewhre or possibly left them at the stamp store after my class, but my daughter located them for me so I can finally take pictures of them and post them. I hope to do that soon. If not tonight, I will do it tomorrow.

I have been getting so many wonderful Get Well cards; thank you so much! They really do brighten my day! So thank you to everyone who has taken a moment to make me a card! I just love them!

Off to browse the galleries at SCS now! Thanks for checking in! Stop by again soon!

One Sheet Wonder

As promised a few weeks ago, before I got sick, here are some of my One Sheet Wonder cards. I have more to post but I have to take pics of them first. LOL. This is my own design that I came up with. I took elements from several different templates I saw and mixed them together.

I used the Blissful Blossoms set from Lizzie Anne Designs to stamp my background on white cardstock. I used two different square block stamps to make the solid squares. Several different colors came together on this background; mostly from chalk inks. I will post the recipe with another post when I can photograph the rest of the cards. I also did quite a bit of doodling around the squares and made flight paths behind the bees. I outlined each of the butterflies with a clear glitter pen as well. I used lots of pop dots on the cards shown here. All in all, I am very happy with how they turned out! Stop by later to see the rest of the cards. My templated made 10 cards with a couple of tiny pieces left over! Thanks for checking in!