Okieladybug's Scrap N' More

My Friend Carmen - Layout

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-06:00

I was sitting at the craft table the other night and wanted to make a layout. I grabbed an envelope of pictures and was flipping through them when I came across a picture that Carmen took of me and her right before we left for the airport for my flight home when I was visiting with her in Houston. I started laughing when I looked at the picture because literally before going out the door we realized we didn't get any pictures of us together during my stay *okie looks at the picture now and thinks what a kick azz tan she had*.

Supplies Used:
Basic Grey Ambrosia Collection
Pebbles - polka dot paper
Petaloo Flowers
Prima bling flourish
Janome Sew Mini
3/8" Grosgrain Ribbon
Micorsoft Word
Stampin Up butterfly punch
Martha Stewart butterfly punch
Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Pagemaps book for layout idea

Since the layout was to only have one picture I wanted the picture to be focal but still have embellishment on the page. I chose to use a large flower insetad of several smaller ones and then accent with the flourishes and a few punched butterflies. I added another smaller one right below the journaling for some added interest in the lower right hand corner.

Since I wanted the journaling to be key on the layout I kept the title small and chose to print it along with the jouranling instead of using my Cricut and cutting out letters. I was able to print directly on the polka dot paper by measuring the area for the title and journaling and then set margins in Microsoft word to match. I first printed on plain paper and then took my polka dot paper and added some re-positionable adhesive to the back and laid the polka dot paper on top of the plain paper so I could get the printing where I wanted it. If you would like to see how I do this method you can watch a video HERE.

I took a picture of the layout with my phone and sent it to Carmen. She texted me back and asked if I was trying to make her cry. I guess she got all mushy about the journaling *okie rolls her eyes*, and then she asked if I made her a layout as well! I told her I didn't because I didn't know what she would want to say! I always find it difficult to scrapbook for others because I never know what they might like to say on their layouts. Of course Carmen can always copy the layout if she chooses, but she ain't gettin mine!

Double Walled Tumbler and Vinyl

2012-01-26T15:43:00.000-06:00

The double walled tumblers make great gifts. Especially when we have Cricuts and vinyl that can really decorate them up! My friend Lisa had a birthday this week and last weekend she came over and I made her a tumbler. Okay so I didn't make the tumbler but I did decorate it. She chose the design for the tumbler and was thrilled with it once it was complete.

Supplies Used:
Double Walled Tumbler
Avery Outdoor Grade Vinyl
Cricut Storybook cart
Cricut Home Decor cart
Transfer tape

I have learned that when cutting vinyl the settings differ for the types of vinyl you use. Some of my vinyl is thicker than other colors. I get the majority of my vinyl from my friend Wendi who has a friend that owns a sign shop and gives Wendi scrap pieces of vinyl. Now when I say scrap, I don't mean small pieces. The smallest is usually at least 10 inches wide by several yards long. These are great sizes for use to use on projects *okie thinks to herself that she is so lucky to have such great friends that share*.

The tumblers I use are ones I ordered from DISCOUNT MUGS. The link is to the 20 oz tumblers because I couldn't locate the 16 oz that I had ordered. I bought a case of 25 tumblers when my daughter was joining a sorority thinking I would make them for her sorority sisters, however since she failed too many classes she was unable to continue her initiation and I still have the tumblers. Discount Mugs is having a free shipping right now and they run that special quite often. You can sign up for their email and they will email you when they are having specials.

If you are wanting to order but don't want that many it is nice to have a friend to order with. I have sold a few of these and sell them for between $12-$15, depending on what the individual wants on the cup.

Online Stampin Up Party! SALE-A-BRATION!

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

I am hosting a online Stampin Up party, and just in time for their Sale-A-Bration event! If you don't know about Sale-A-Bration it is when for every $50 of Stampin Up products you order you get to pick and item from the Sale-A-Bration catalog for FREE....YES! FREE! If you order $100 worth of products then you choose two items, order $150 and you choose 3 items, etc etc etc.

Just find the products you are wanting to purchase at STAMPIN UP and email the list to Kristen Long at EMAIL KRISTEN and she will email you back with the total that will include product, tax and shipping. DO NOT buy directly from the website, please email your order to Kristen. Kristen is also offering a break on shipping so shipping isn't having to be paid twice.

All orders and payments will need to be turned into Kristen by midnight on Saturday January 28th.

Everyone who orders will be entered to win a few cool door prizes!

If you have any other questions contact Kristen by EMAIL KRISTEN and be sure to put Okie's SU! Party! in the subject line.

The Reason I Scrapbook And 1,000th Post!

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to think of what to do for my 1,000th post. I thought about making some great elaborate project, but let's face it folks...we know I am too lazy for that! I thought about doing some kinda of giveaway, but I like all my chit and want to keep it. So instead I have decided to share the reason I scrapbook.

I have been quite busy the last few days with making some layout kits. I have a swarm coming up the middle of February and I wanted to get my kits done so I could be prepared and not just sit and get nothing done, which I have done a few times.

I remember my very first swarm...it was disaster! Linda, aka LGuild, and I decided we would attend a Swarm in Norman. We weren't sure what to bring or what we wanted to make. I think we both packed up about half our supplies and paper. We wanted to make sure we had everything we needed to work with and get a lot accomplished. All we accomplished was feeling overwhelmed, wandering around the scrapbook store, visiting with everyone and being tired from lugging all that chit in the store and then back to the van! Now we both try to be much more prepared. I make layout kits to work on and Linda gets together card kits for her to work on. It really does make it so much easier and the supplies we take can easily fit in our scrap totes with some room to spare!

As I was putting the layout kits in the holders I got from Michaels I noticed that 3 of them concentrated on my daughters father...or my ex for all intents and purposes. I got to thinking about a few years ago my daughter asked me "Mom why do you keep scrapping pictures of daddy?". I told her "because one day you will appreciate having these pictures". Of course my daughter being who she is rolled her eyes and mumbled some rather not quite so nice things. They have never had a close relationship for various reasons, but mostly because he was never around. I got pictures of him when he and I started seeing each other again a few years ago and then he lived with us for a year and I kept hoping for them to build a relationship. Things didn't work out between the two of us and it came the time for me to tell him it was time for him to go, and he did *okie smiles a little thinking that he didn't have much of a choice*. My daughter and her dad were able to build a better relationship but of course not perfect. I am not sure my daughter will ever completely forgive him for not being there when she was growing up but at least she no longer questions if he does love her. Anyway, about a year after he moved out she was looking at the layouts of her dad was talking about when he lived with us and some of the happy memories she had of that time. She turned to me and smiled and said "Momma, I'm glad you have these pictures of daddy that you scrapped".

I know a lot of people think scrapbooking is for old, boring fat ladies that have no life. I even heard people on the radio making fun of the stereo-typical scrapbookers that most people think of. I will admit to being fat, but I am not old, nor am I boring by any means *okie cracks up laughing and thinking what people would think if they really knew just how NOT boring okie is*. But what these people who make fun of scrapbookers don't understand is that I do it, WE DO IT, because we want our families to cherish the memories of our lives and help them keep those memories close and dear. So while my daughter might have some bad memories of her father she will always be able to look at those scrapbook pages and remember happy times with him and it can bring a smile to her face and even a laugh from her heart about some experience they shared together. To be honest I don't know if this would be possible if she didn't have those scrapbook layouts to look at and jog her memory of the happy times. And that my dear readers is THE REASON I scrapbook!!

All Occasion Card

2012-01-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

I think this was another Pinterest layout idea. I keep getting the Pinterest and the Sweet Stop Sketches confused in my mind!

Supplies Used:
~Stampin Up Botanical Blossoms
~Stampin Up Spiral Punch
~Cricut From My Kitchen Cartridge
~Memento Ink
~Stampin Up
~Various Cardstocks/Pattern Paper
~Stampin Up More Mustard ribbon
~Brads
~Cat Eye Chalk Inks
~Stampin Ma Jig

I truly believe in using a Stampin Ma Jig when you have layered stamps to use. It takes out a lot of the guess work and you can get a more accurate placement. Although, some stamps such as this one, is meant to be out of the lines a little. I used a folder tab from the From My Kitchen cartridge for the sentiment on the front. The inside has been left blank. I always feel it's good to have a few blank cards so you can write in something you want instead of it always being there.

Happy Birthday - Good For A Guy

2012-01-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

I know I got this card layout from Pinterest because I remember when I saw it I thought "HEY! A great masculine birthday card!" I think the original or was done in red, white and blue, but I think the browns, greens and blues I used also make it good for a man.

Supplies used:
~Stampin Up Punch A Bunch
~Stampin Up Small Star Punch
~Cuttlebug Diamond Plate Folder
~Grosgrain Ribbon
~Memento Ink
~Cordinations Cardstock
~Various Cardstock/Patterned Paper
~Cat Eye Chalk Ink
~Translucent Sheets
~Hallmark Studio

I printed the inside sentiment on the Translucent Sheets I got at the bargain store. I was able to get the paper for $1.80 a package and I checked Walmart online and it sells for like $10 a package! *okie's heart flutters at the great bargain she got*. It does show where I taped it since I used my ATG gun but I don't think it takes away from the card, but instead just adds a little interesting border.

To print on the Translucent sheets without any problems I set my printer on "fast", think the setting might be "draft" on some printers and it was ready almost as soon as I had it back to my craft table. I was worried about it smearing but didn't have a problem. I am really gonna enjoy using this stuff and it was a heck of a lot cheaper than the packs of Vellum I have seen!

Cowboy Boot - Birthday Card

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

See a pattern? A western pattern maybe? *okie acts like she takes off a cowboy hat and twirls it in the air and hollers* YEE HAW!!! Okay, it might surprise some of ya'll but guess what. I use to wear cowboy boots! Yep that's right...okie had cowboy boots. I mean did ya really expect me to wear loafers when it was time to go out and feed and work the cows? I even had a horse when I was a teenager, CrackerJack was her name. She was a half Paint and half Quarter Horse. I bought her myself and had to take care of her. She was a crazy horse and even threw my brother one time and he broke his arm. CrackerJack didn't care much for folks riding her. I could ride her okay but that was because we had an understanding, as long as she didn't throw me, knock me off under the trees or take me in the pond then she could eat! She really was a beautiful horse even though she was as crazy as a bedbug.

Oh but back to the card. I found some really cool paper that looks and has a leathery feel at my bargain store here in town when they got that shipment of scrapbook supplies in. I just knew I had to make some boot cards with it.

Supplies Used:
~Cricut Cartridge Old West
~Stampin Up Small Star Punch
~Janome Sew Mini
~Stampin Up Marker
~Cordinations Cardstock
~Various cardstock and patterned paper
~Hallmark Studio for inside sentiment

This card did take more time to put together than I thought but it was all the doodlin and sewing that took up the time. I think both really made the card look nice and polished. I came up with the inside sentiment on my own *okie is still so impressed on how clever she can be at times*.

I took a close up of the boots because I wanted you to see the detail of the "leather" paper and the boots. I sanded the coredinations before I cut the strap and the toe of the boot and I think it came out lookin a little like denim. Doing the stitching of the lines of the boots took a bit because it was hard to see the little cuts, next time I might just use a gel pen instead...it would go a lot faster! I cut the boot base twice so I could have the heel a different color than the boot. On the leather layer I just cut off the bottom for the heel and sole. It really made a difference on how well the boot looked.

Howdy - Cowboy Birthday

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

I got this layout from Pintrest I believe. There is a wealth of ideas on that site, especially if you follow fellow card makers. I have been buying western themed paper for quite some time, being an okie it only makes sense to have some western cards on hand!

Supplies Used:
Stampin Up "A Little Something" Stamp set
Stampin Up Scallop Circle Punch
EK Success Circle Punches
Various Cardstock/Pattern Paper
Twine
Brads
Cat Eye Chalk Ink

The inside sentiment is one that I stamped off at Stamp Club some time ago and I have no idea who makes it. I used the twine on the front of the card to tie in with the inside sentiment since it said "ropin". The strips of paper were cut at 1" wide and I used a 1" circle punch for the scallop look at the bottom.

This was a pretty simple card to make and it went together really fast. Well as fast as any card can when I am watching Storage Wars!!

Got the BLAHS - BUT!

2012-01-18T19:46:00.000-06:00

Ever so often things happen in my life to make me feel BLAH. Well I have been feeling BLAH BLAH BLAH the last few days. It was of my own choices and actions and it will be okay after a time, but right now it doesn't seem like it.

But as most folks know, there isn't much that can keep me down for long! I was able to get in and load some posts for the rest of the week, definite improvement of my mood! I occupied my mind this weekend a bit by making some layout kits for my BFF Karen and I to take and do on the Cricut Cruise for when we have crop time every night. I made the kits simple enough to finish so adult beverages won't interfere with the ability to get them completed.

Oh I have an online Stampin Up party coming up next week. I will post all the details on Tuesday, January 24th. Kristen Long was nice enough to be the demo for this and I decided to wait until Stampin Up's big Sale-A-Bration they have before having the online party. So if there are things you are needing from Stampin Up and want to hold off a bit you are more than welcome to join my party!! I will be having a few door prizes available. Winners will be drawn from names of people who make orders with Kristen. Oh and the cool thing, Kristen is not charging for the shipping from her to you! A W E S O M E N E S S!!! If you are interested be sure to check out my website on the 24th!! *okie thinks maybe a part is just what she needs to cheer up a little*.

I Took Two Days Off...

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-06:00

From blogging that is!

I didn't get anything posted on Sunday or Monday, shame shame on okie! *okie smacks the back of her right hand with her left hand*. Actually I have cards that I could post but right now I am a bit tired *okie wonders if she should tell her readers it is actually Monday night when she is writing this* and I don't feel like going in and editing pictures and such. I have been having some headaches the last few days as well, think it is the dang arthritis in my neck getting at me.

I have gotten a few more .cut files uploaded, check the layout and altered item tabs. It really is going to take longer than I thought to get all the files uploaded. I was going to load some more layout ones but I think the files are on another computer and I will have to see if that one will even fire up. Thank you to all those who have left great comments and understand this is quite an undertaking! I guess I should have done it this way long ago but I don't even think the options were offered for different pages when I first started my blog.

I went a concert on Saturday night...Charlie Wilson, ya know "my name is Charlie, last name Wilson". He is DDAAAMMMM SEXY!! I danced and sang through most of the concert. I even had a man buy me a drink! WOOT WOOT! Shoot maybe I can even get my groove back when I hit Jamaica on the cruise!

My friend Chelle called me earlier in the week asking if I wanted to go to the concert with her since she had an extra ticket. We had a blast and it was the first time Chelle and I went out and did anything in quite a long time! We were on the fifth row from the stage in the center! AWESOOMMEEE! I think Chelle was even surprised at how much I danced during the concert. My daughter was totally jealous as she loves Charlie *okie just wonders who wouldn't love Charlie*.

I was able to get some layout kits ready to take on the cruise. I am doing kits for my friend Karen and I to work on during the nightly crops. Since I have all the supplies I told her I would just do a layout kit for her when I did one for me. I am leaving some picture areas blank so she can fill in with what pictures she might like, but most of them I had double printed and including the pictures in the kit. I find it hard to scrapbook for someone else but with Karen I am not as pressured because I know she doesn't give a chit what it looks like, she is just darn happy to have it done for her! LOL

I will try to get some projects loaded to post this week. Maybe I will feel better this evening and be able to get some done.

Hello, My Name Is Okieladybug...and I am INSANE!

2012-01-14T12:32:00.002-06:00

There are many things I have done in my life, and probably quite a few in just that last month, that makes me think I am insane. But this week...well it takes the cake!

First off I saw where Linda had reorganized her ribbon and I decided to do the same *okie thinks she still needs to get a post up of that* and after 24 total hours I had all my ribbon organized, or at least I thought I did until I realized I have quite a few rolls coming from Linda that we ordered and then I found a box of ribbon when I was reorganizing after getting the headboard.

Now for the SECOND insane moment, act or whatever you want to call it!

For you new readers, here is a little back story. For you oldies but goodies, just ignore the next paragraph.

When I first started my blog I did so thinking I would use it so my friends and family could see what I was making but it quickly became a vehicle for others to get my .cut files. Years ago when I first got my Cricut there weren't as many carts and everyone was hungry for images that weren't available. I would make anything from a card to a hummingbird to a pair of dice and load up on my blog available for download. *okie sighs wistfully* I was a true Design Studio star....there were several of us back in those days, Capadia and Susan BlueRobot, were two others who worked furiously on keeping up with requests from Cricut Design Studio Users. After a time there were more carts available and people didn't need the images we made as much. I was still uploading .cut files though, mostly cards and layouts so people could download and make easily, taking out all the guess work for them. It seemed that slowly people stopped using Design Studio and I stopped uploading my .cut files. And then when the website where they were stored became unreachable I gave up.

Not long ago I did post a few in Google Docs and it seemed to work for people to go download the files and I thought I would just do the new ones I make as people ask for them. But now...like I said...I AM INSANE!

I have decided to bite the bullet and reload all my .cut files! Yes you heard me ALL...well at least most all. I have made pages at the top of my blog where you will be able to go and see a picture of the project, a link to the original post and then a link to download the .cut file. There might be a few Gypsy files in there, but not many, most are for use with Design Studio. I know a lot of people love their Gypsy's but I keep hearing more and more of people who are still AVID DIEHARD Design Studio users so I thought maybe I should just take a deep breath, crack my neck and get busy on doing this.

The downloading of the files should be fairly easy. I asked on Facebook if someone would go in and test for me and a couple of people did and they said the files downloaded with no problems.

If you have a minute please click on the page CARD - .Cut Files and tell me what you think? Does it make it easy to find what you are looking for? Is it easy to see the picture with the original post link and download link and understand what to do if you want to download the .cut file? Uh...guess I should say though, not that I would change how I have done it, I would just like some feedback if it make sense how it is set up.

Okay, so be patient with me guys...this is probably going to take several months for me to get it all together and reloaded, linked and everything available.

Stamping Multiple Images - Card

2012-01-13T09:57:00.001-06:00

I was so excited when I found a set of nice butterfly stamps at my bargain store two weeks ago. Linda, aka LGuild of Nothin' Fancy, and I love certain stamps and butterflies are one of them. I had mentioned before that I had picked up a set for her as well and she has been using them quite a bit. I finally got to use one of mine.

I have been wanting to try stamping an image over another and I really wasn't sure how it was going to look with the leaves stamped down first. I knew the color would come through on the butterfly but I think it still came out lookin quite nice even with the green being there. There was enough of the other colors that the eye focuses on the butterfly instead of the green of the leaves.

Supplies Used:
~Cloud 9 Butterfly Stamp set
~ProMarkers
~Stampin Up Best Blossoms (leaves)
~Stampin Up Elegant Greetings (sentiment)
~Imaginisce Hot Fix Pearls
~K&Co. Pattern Paper
~Various Cardstock
~Memento Inks
~Cat Eye Chalk Ink
~Grosgrain ribbon
~Terrifically Tacky Tape

I got the layout from either Pintrest or Sweet Stop Sketches, I can't remember. Linda told me about the Sweet Stop Sketches site and it has some great card layouts if you are feeling a little stumped and need ideas. I often stalk sketch sites for ideas. I tried to find a fairly generic sentiment for the card and I wanted something a little elegant looking and I thought this one seemed to work just perfectly.

I stamped the leaves, using Memento Bamboo, from the Best Blossoms on the paper first and then stamped the butterfly with Tuxedo Black Memento ink. Memento works best with the ProMarkers. Stazon seems to smear when coloring with the ProMarkers. I used Amber, Pumpkin and Sunflower to color the butterfly.

Since the grosgrain ribbon was wide I just tied a short length in a knot and clipped the ends to make it look more like a bow. I used a little Terrifically Tacky Tape to stick the bow to the ribbon on the card. That stuff is awesome and you don't have to worry about it coming off....it's there pretty much for good once it is down. The addition of the pearls on the stamped image just seemed to set the card off just right.

I am going to try and get a video made this weekend of my ribbon organization, how it looks and how it was done, so you guys can get a better idea of what works for me. WISH ME LUCK! *okie still thinks she so needs to take a video making class*

When Aunt Carolyn and Cousin Frank Come To Town...

2012-01-12T18:19:00.000-06:00

There is no telling what I might hear, find or do! Aunt Carolyn and cousin Frank come to Ada every now and then and when they do we usually meet for lunch and go to Salvation Army and anywhere else we might think of to go. Today they came to town and we went to Salvation Army so I could drop some clothes off and we could look around. I found a headboard for $5 that I wanted for my scraproom. My Aunt Carolyn actually bought it for me, that was very nice of her!

We decided on lunch at Sante Fe Steakhouse, one of my favorites! Of course any place that has steak in the name has to be a favorite of mine since my life goal is to be a meatetarian! Yet, another post I must make sometime in the future to explain that one and some theories I have on that. First I will show you the headboard, then I will tell you the story about lunch...or the story that was told to me at lunch *okie scratches her head wondering which would be the correct phrasing and then decides she doesn't really care*.

I use to have the drawer units scattered but now they are all together. I like that my inks can go on top of the headboard and that my flowers can fit on the shelves. I did get rid of some flowers though, I called my friend Wendi and told her "I got some chit I am going to throw away if you don't come get it!". She came and got the chit as soon as she got off work *okie smiles deviously at how she can so easily get someone else to take her chit*.

I think I need to make a new ink holder or at least another one maybe since I have some other inks and would like to have them all together. Hmmm, come to think of it I think I still have my boxes for the Stampin Up inks and I could probably use those for my various inks I have...oh boy, more re-organization!!

The shelf thing that I use to have my flowers in is now on top of my IKEA unit and now holds some of my Really Useful Boxes and my magazines. I have my handbooks and cartridge boxes slide into the shelf so they will still be easy to get to. I put my ribbon boxes at the end of the shelf. I was able to get my Your Story and Shrinky Dink Oven to fit on top of the shelf unit *okie doesn't believe in wasting any space*.

I would eventually like to get another IKEA unit and put it on the wall where the headboard and drawer units are. I don't care if it blocks the window, I just want more storage space!! I think when I do get another unit I will get the 5x5 cube one. That should give me plenty of room for everything I have scattered and have it all nice and neat...*okie looks at her readers* OH SHUT UP!! I DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH CHIT! ONE MORE UNIT IS ALL I WILL EVER NEED!

Now back to our lunch. They were filling me in on my Aunt Joy's, one of my dad's sisters, funeral which was last month. I didn't attend, my mom once told me that two of my aunts didn't consider me to be daddy's kid since I was adopted. Aunt Joy was one of those aunts, so figured why go to the funeral if I wasn't family in the first place.

Anywho...So during the funeral service I guess my cousin Danny, Aunt Carolyn's oldest son, was sitting next to Frank and told Frank he needed to go outside. They went outside and Danny started complaining of chest pain and that his arm was feeling numb. Frank said "Danny told me 'maybe I just need some fresh air', AND THEN HE LIT A CIGARETTE!". Long story short...Danny was having a heart attack during the funeral! He was suppose to be a pall bearer, he didn't quite make it to do that honor and duty. Frank had to stand in for him. Aunt Carolyn said she didn't even know Danny had a heart attack until my niece asked her something about how Danny was and Aunt Carolyn asked what my niece meant by that. My niece informed my aunt that Danny had left for the hospital because he was having a heart attack. Of course to hear Frank and Aunt Carolyn telling this story I was cracking up laughing and told them "this is some great script for a sitcom!" Aunt Carolyn said she couldn't believe they didn't tell her and my uncle, my cousin Frank told her "Mom! We didn't want to interrupt ya'lls mourning!" to which Aunt Carolyn replied "well it sure interrupted my evening!" and we all started laughing at that point! Oh I guess I should tell you that Danny had surgery and is doing well now.

So that is the story for today! My family can be so exciting at times *okie cracks up laughing remembering the animation and facial expressions displayed by Aunt Carolyn and Cousin Frank while they told the story and how she loves her family for always finding humor in even the most terrifying times*.

I FINISHED!

2012-01-11T07:00:00.001-06:00

I know my Facebook friends know the mission I have been on since Sunday....RIBBON ORGANIZATION! Well I can proudly and gladly say that I finally finished up last night! Well at least finished up until I get the ribbon from Linda we ordered *okie shakes her head and refuses to admit she has a ribbon addiction*.

I kept finding more and more ribbon in my craft room but I didn't give up until I had it all done! I will be honest and say some of it I bagged up and I am sending to my friend Carmen in Houston. She doesn't make multiple cards so shorter lengths of ribbon are okay for her. I, for some reason, think I can buy less than 5 yards of ribbon at a time...preferably 10 yards and sometimes 20 yards.

I will share a few pictures, maybe later today but for right now I don't think I can make my fingers work well enough to even get the pictures on my blog!

What Do You Want To See...

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000-06:00

On a blog? That question was asked recently by someone and there were various responses about what people would like to see. This got me to thinking....*okie looks around and yells* SHUT UP! I KNOW THAT IS DANGEROUS!

*okie sighs and rolls eyes* Anyway...I got to wondering what my readers would like to see more of and then I decided that I really don't care. Not that I don't appreciate my readers, I do! It's nice to know that people like to see what I make and occasionally leave a comment. But the thing about my blog, and I stress MY BLOG *okie doesn't want others to think she is referring to anyone else and they way they blog* is that it is for ME. I do this for me...totally selfish I know but yep, it is true! I now have an almost 4 year record of my paper crafting and how it has evolved over time. I can look back and see where I have made improvements over the years and laugh at some things I felt quite proud of at the time and now think "DEAR GOD WHAT WAS I THINKING?".

I have been approached by numerous companies and websites about advertising on my blog, offering commissions or products. I always decline. Now I will review a product but if I don't like it, I don't write on my blog that I do like the product or company. I give them the option of me not blogging about it or writing a negative review. They always just say never mind. Now why would I pass up the opportunity to make a little change you ask? Pure and simple...I do NOT want anyone dictating to me what I can post or write about. I own myself, no one owns me.

When I write my opinions about things, even life in general, I some times get nasty little emails or comments and have been called some bad words *okie laughs and thinks of all the bad words she calls herself sometimes* and I don't really mind, after all, people are just voicing their opinions as well. But at least I know I have been honest and forthright about my feelings and thoughts and since this is MY blog I can do that.

So sorry guys, if you ever think I will ask what you would like to see or read on my blog and I will craft or write what you are wanting me to, then you got a long wait coming. I can't craft, think, or feel for anyone else but myself. But I honestly do have to admire those who can ask others what to craft and are able to do so. I just shut down and think "I don't want this pressure, I can't handle this crap". So basically you are stuck with me and my chitty attitude, crappy projects and independent nature. Love me or hate me, you gotta respect the truth that I offer! And if ya don't...*okie shrugs*...well ya know what you can do with it!! *okie falls out chair laughing*

BUT...I certainly hope if nothing else I can be entertaining for someone other than just myself. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind laughing at myself but it is so much better to have someone laugh at you...errr, or is that with you???

Stampin Up Owl Punch Card

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

This is another Pinterest card layout scraplift! As I soon as I saw the card on Pinterest I pinned it and noted that I had that punch so I could make a card like it. Mine is a little different as far as papers and sentiment but the punch and layout is the same.

Supplies Used:
~Stampin Up Owl Punch
~Stampin Up Photo Corner Punch (retired)
~Stampin Up Occasional Quotes (retired)
~Adorn It Pink Hoot Collection
~Passion Fruit Grosgrain Ribbon
~Various Cardstock
~Hot Fix Gems (eyes)

I thought the sentiments fit the two little owls quite nicely. The stamp set was a hostess set at some point and evidently I got them when I had a party. I don't remember when it was though.

The owl on the left looks like he/she is looking at the owl on the right.

It was a pain to punch all the little pieces for the owls but I think it was worth it after I got it all done. I did punch the heart in chipboard and then with the patterned paper to make it stand out a little more, it is hard to tell in the picture though. In order to stamp the different patterns individually I cut strips of paper as not to waste with cuts I didn't need.

I think this will be a great card for one of my friends when they need a little "pick me up".

Perk Up - Stampin Up Card

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

I love coffee so when Stampin Up came out with the Morning Cup stamp set I knew I had to get it. I have made a few cards with the set in the past but it had been awhile since using it.

Supplies Used:
Stampin Up Morning Cup stamp set
Stampin Up circle punches
ProMarkers by Letraset
Cuttlebug
Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder
Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls folder
Coredinations cardstock
Pattern paper - various
Cat Eye Chalk Inks
Grosgrain Ribbon

The inside sentiment and coffee cup is included in the Morning Cup stamp set. The cup didn't take but a second to color and I think it added a nice touch to the inside of the card.

There are a lot of layers to this card but I think they all seem to work well and still show off the stamped image to where it is the focal point.

The coffee pot was easy to color with the ProMarkers, but then again ProMarkers makes anything easy to color! I have missed using them and was glad to get the out again. Believe it or not there are only two colors of red markers used. The ability to layer the colors and make them more intense makes it seem like there are more colors used.

I just realized that the past two days and today all were food and beverage cards. I guess I have been really hungry and thirsty lately!!!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Card

2012-01-08T07:00:00.001-06:00

When I saw this strawberry on Sweet Shop I new I had to order it! This is the first time I have used it but it won't be the last!

Supplies Used:
~Cricut Expression
~Cricut Sweet Shop cart
~My Creative Time "All Around Birthday"
~My Creative Time "Scallop & Stitched Circle" die set
~DCWV Farmers Market stack
~Grosgrain Ribbon
~Brads
~Coredinations Cardstock
~Stardream Cardstock
~Stampin Up Cardstock
~Hallmark Studio - inside sentiment
~ Gelly Roll black gel pen
~Signo UM 153 white gel pen

I wasn't sure what I wanted for the inside sentiment so I just made up one. I know...I know...it isn't that good and it isn't very original but what the hey...at least I did put one in there!

I am so loving Emma's stamps with the coordinating dies!!

Here is a close up of the Strawberry where you can see how the Stardream cardstock shines and gives it the shiny chocolatey look. I added the strawberry seeds with the black gel pen.

If you look in the bottom left hand corner of the picture you can see the "stitch" on the circle that the die does when you put it through the Cuttlebug. I love that stitching on there!

Yesterday I wanted lemonade and today...I WANT CHOCOLATE!! UGH!!

Chicken and Dressing Casserole Recipe

2012-01-07T16:54:00.000-06:00

This recipe is one of my daughter's favorite foods and I think she could eat it 3 times a week without a complaint. Of course I don't make it that often. I don't even use the stove 3 times a week. I don't want my stove to get the grand idea that it is an important factor in my life and if I start spending too much time with it, well...it would think I have more affection for it than I really do!

Oh back to the recipe...I have had several requests, okay actually whiny azz folks on Facebook *okie rolls her eyes about her whiny azz friends* asking for the recipe when I said I making this, so thought I would just post the recipe here.

Chicken and Dressing Casserole
1 chicken, boiled and boned
Chicken broth from boiled chicken
1 lb sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped onion
Cornbread, baked and broken up
White Sauce Gravy

To make the white sauce gravy mix flour and water to thin paste and add to chicken broth, cook until slightly thickened. Combine all ingredients, place in casserole and bake at 350 degrees until heated thoroughly and browned.

Chicken and Dressing Casserole - fresh out of the oven.

I use 3 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread mix because we like the sweet taste. I always keep two pieces back so my daughter can have cornbread and milk later on.

Also, I sautee the celery and onion in the sausage grease and then drain before mixing with everything else. I don't like to debone chicken much so most of the time I use boneless chicken breasts instead of the whole chicken.

Lemonade Card

2012-01-07T07:00:00.001-06:00

I got this stamp set when I was in Houston this summer. I was out on a little shopping trip with my friend Karen, aka flywhistle, when I ran across it at Joann's. I was at the Joann's in Norman recently and picked up the DCWV Lemon Flower stack, which I love so thought they might go together.

Supplies Used:
Cricut Expression
Cricut Lacy Labels cart
Autumn Leaves Slice of Life stamp set
DCWC Lemon Flower stack
Stampin Up Markers
ProMarkers
Stardust Glitter pen
Cardstock various
Brads

What I really liked about the stamp set is that it had a couple of nice sentiments and swirls. I think the swirl stamp at the top and bottom of the inside of the card really made the inside look nice.

I think this would make a good little pick me up card for a friend.

The coloring was very fast to do and easy. I wanted to add a little color to the pitcher so just went around the inside edges with the Powder Blue ProMarker and then used the blender pen to take some of the color away. I used a cool grey marker for the shadowing at the bottom. The little bit of shadowing really does at a lot to a colored image.

Dang, now I want a stinkin glass of lemonade!! *okie's mouth puckers up just thinking about the fresh lemons*

Another Fun Filled Evening With Linda!

2012-01-06T07:00:00.001-06:00

So last night was the first Thursday of the month. That means one thing...STAMP CLUB! Linda comes down and we go running around to see what goodies we can find, go eat dinner and then off to the LSS to meet the other ladies for a few hours of stamping.

I have come to learn 3 important things about Stamp Club night...

1. We must shop and buy something...even if it is flushable wipes! *okie thinks every good human being should keep flushable wipes on the backs of their toilets for those times when regular toilet paper just isn't enough to take care of the back alley of downtown brown*

We hit up the bargain store and I got some Perfect Pearls for $6 for the 4 container pack. Once again Linda and I got accused of not liking each other. We are quite perplexed why people would think such a thing, I mean seriously...just because we constantly argue and call each other bad names no way reflects the fondness of friendship there is between the two of us. We also found some of the "Lock N Lock" containers for a good price and we got those. As we were checking out there was an ad pop up on the cashier screen that said flushable wipes were on sale. Well of course Linda and I had to get 6 each of those! *okie thinks that she and Linda must have the same amount of traveling in the back alley of downtown brown*

2. Eating is important...probably more important that stamping!

Linda and I use to go to Taco Mayo, figuring it was cheap and we could spend more money at the LSS before going to Stamp Club. Of course that was when we use to meet at the library instead of the LSS. Then we started eating at Applebee's and we evidently got a little burned out on Applebee's because we at at Taco Mayo last night, besides, Linda had a buy one get one free coupon book! We do hit the Chinese buffet occasionally but have found out that we usually eat way too much and are miserable the whole evening.

3. Never plan to get anything accomplished...this way when you do you feel quite proud!

We always discuss what we are going to take to Stamp Club to work on, but probably not as much as we discuss were we are going to go eat, and most of the time it is a waste of time because we don't get anything accomplished. Linda however did get some really cute Valentine cards done, but she totally cheated and had everything ready. All she had to do was tape the crap down. I got a bunch of images stamped off, sheets for me, Linda and a gal named Sue. I also got a bunch of inside card sentiments stamped off for future use.

We always have a blast with the ladies at Stamp Club and I think we have started going more for the socialization with other crafter's than for the stamping but ya know what...that is A-OK!

Drunken Crafting Card

2012-01-05T07:00:00.000-06:00

I was sitting at home at Christmas enjoying some Hurricane Punch and I thought it would be a good idea to craft....don't think I need to do that again!

Supplies Used:
Stampin Up Whimsical Words (retired)
Stampin Up Marker
Stampin Up cardstock
Stampin Up 2 3/8" Scallop Punch
Petaloo's
Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby
Grosgrain Ribbon
Imaginesce heat set pearls

I used the earring jacket I talked about in an earlier post for the flower center. It makes the card where it won't be able to go through the regular mail but since I usually just give my cards away anyway I guess I wasn't concerned about it when I made the card.

I really did think this card looked nice when I was making it and then when I woke up the next morning...well...not so much!!

Rain Boots

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

When I saw this paper at the LSS I just fell in love with the rain boots! I had planned on using some of my My Favorite Things stamps with the paper, and I did use the sentiments but I just didn't use the little headless girl holding the umbrella that I had planned.

Supplies Used:
3bugsinarug - April Showers
My Favorite Things sentiment
Fiskars Apron border punch
Stampin Up cardstock
Stampin Up Modern label punch
Stampin Up 1
Button
1.25" square punch
3/4" Circle Punch
Grosgrain Ribbon
Embroidery Floss

For the inside of the card I used a piece of the left over paper that had rain boots on them and punched out the bottom right hand corner of the card insert and then put the rain boots in the square. It looked a little plain at first but after I added the faux stitching around the square it looked better. The sentiment on the front and inside of the card is from the "Rain or Shine" My Favorite Things stamp set.

Here is a close up of the rain boots in the square. I love the little birds on these rain boots. Of course come to think of it I liked all the rain boots on the paper and that is why I bought it in the first place! *okie thinks she is such a dork sometimes*.

I got the idea about the button with the folded down paper from a card class that Linda and I went to last year in Moore, OK. I think it is a nice way to show off double sided paper.

The button didn't show up too well just on the paper so I decided to put a piece of cardstock behind it. Having a good selection of circle stamps comes in handy sometimes! I just used a paper piercer to add the button on the card and then used embroidery floss *okie is slo glad for spell check because she is always misspelling embroidery* to tie the button down.

Birthday Card Tabbed Scallop

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

I received some of Emma's, from My Creative Time, All Around Birthday stamps a few weeks back and have been wanting to try them out, especially since they coordinate with her awesome Scallop and Stiched Circle die set! I found the die set simple to use. I used the Cuttlebug with the C and B plates and it cut them out beautifully! Since the stamp are clear it is easy to line up on the circle to stamp. Highly recommend these products!

I so totally swiped this card layout from Pinterest! Once I figured out how to use Pinterest I am liking it to find card layouts, I just wish people would quit pinning food...I keep wanting to eat when I get on there!

Supplies Used:
Cricut Sophie Cart
Cricut George Cart
Scenic Route Suprise collection
My Creative Time "All Around Birthday"
My Creative Time "Scallop & Stitched Circle" die set
Stampin Up "Bring On The Cake"
Stampin Up cardstock
button
Embordiery Floss
Signo UM 153 white gel pen

I needed a good inside sentiment and since the paper on the card had candles all over it I thought this sentiment from the Stampin Up "Bring On The Cake" stamp set worked perfectly.

I used Sophie and George to make the tabbed scallop, using Design Studio to weld the pieces together. I adjusted the scallop circle according to the size of Emma's die so it would fit nicely.

I am about to get my birthday card stash built back up.

Gotta Love A Good Bargain!

2012-01-02T07:00:00.001-06:00

I was headed out of town on Friday when I got a text from my friend Wendi, aka firewife, telling me that Walls *okie so loves her local bargain store* had a bunch of scrapbook stuff for 40% off. Now I go to Wall's frequently and I haven't seen this stuff so it must have come in very recently! Anyway I turned around and went to Wall's to check it out.

Once there I found Wendi and she was showing me all the cool stuff they had. There is no way I could even begin to tell you what all I bought so I did take some pictures!

I have looked at the DCWV Latte stack for quite sometime now and when I saw it sitting on the shelf and the price was under $8 I went ahead and grabbed it! The K & Co stack was under $7, I believe anyway. I did get two of the larger Cropper Hopper paper storage folders. The solid color paper is actually glitter paper. I paid 60 cents a sheet for all the loose paper since it was specialty. They had a lot of Disney but it would have been $1.20 a sheet and I thought that was just too much!

Here you see the Tim Holtz alcohol ink applicator and refills. I also got some Gelly Roll white gel pens, some Enamel Accents, a stamp cleaning pad and some heart charms. I found some K & Co buttons and since I have quite a few stacks I figured I would have something to match them for some of my layouts. One thing I was excited about were the little Memento Dew Drop ink pads. I thought these would be great to take to to Stamp Club or crops instead of carrying my larger ink pads. I wasn't sure what the regular retail price was on these but I figured $3.60 a pack was a pretty good deal since it made the pads less than a buck each.

When I first saw the stamp sets with the leaves and the butterflies I grabbed some for my friend Linda, aka LGuild, thinking I would just give them to her..well when I saw the large Memento ink pads I knew I had to call her! I did end up spending almost $85 on the things Linda wanted *okie is so glad she had gotten paid that day so she could cover the shopping excursion*. I really liked the embossing powder set because it had a variety of colors.

Over all I think I got some really good bargains!

**update**
Just did the math and regular price for all these products would have been $355.32, or some where in there close to that. I did not pay near that. But even if I had gotten all this stuff for 40% off regular price I would have paid $213.19, but wait...there's more! *okie cracks up at trying to sound like one of those TV sales people* I paid a whopping, are you ready for this...before taxes.....$142.08!!

Here's To A Colorful Year!!

2012-01-01T14:39:00.001-06:00

I have my black eyed peas in the crockpot, going to make some smoked sausage and saurkraut later and maybe some cornbread so I can have good luck this year. But, evidently it is a lucky New Year already!

I was working on reorganizing my stamp sets this morning and trying to find names of ones that I didn't know. I get sets at sales sometimes and don't have them labeled so it was a bit of a struggle, but with the help of the internet and my Facebook friends I was able to find the missing names for all of the sets.

Here is a picture of my stamps all labeled now. I do put more than one set in a DVD case as it saves a ton of room and money that way. Most of these are Stampin Up sets but there are also some Penny Black and My Creative Time and various others in there as well. I am still very pleased with my UNMOUNTED STAMPS and can't ever imagine going back to having them on blocks. The little crates are the DVD crates from Walmart I got a few years back. I think they were only a buck or two and they stack in a locking manner very nicely.

While I still have one DVD case left that is unused I know I should probably order a few more soon because I am wanting to have an online Stampin Up party in a few weeks and I will be getting some new sets *okie tries not to ponder on her Stampin Up addiction*.

Oh but the reason I say "colorful year"! After I got all the stamps labeled I was remembering a great site I use to use for Stampin Up color combo's. It was real easy to use, you just plugged in the colors you wanted to use and it would give you a bunch of combo's with other colors. This site went down over a year ago and I have always wished it would have stayed around. Since I was thinking of it I did a search for "stampin up color combo" and up popped this great site called MY CREATE INK - COLORMATCH COMBO and it has color combo's for Stampin Up, Close To My Heart, Copic, or you can mix and match the companies!! I was so happy to find it I sent in a $5 donation and adding their blinkie to my list of favorites!!

So if you are like me and need a little help with the color combinations at times you might want to check it out. Now we can all have a wonderfully colored year!!

Last card of 2012! True Fashion - Birthday Card

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000-06:00

It's New Years Eve so this will be the last post and card of the year 2011!

I love the look of Graphic 45 papers but have a hard time cutting them up. The sheet I used for these cards had a set of 12 images that I was able to cut up and use for cards so it was a little easier to allow myself to take the paper to the trimmer.

Supplies Used:
Graphic 45 Fashionista
Various Cardstock
Stampin Up Scallop Circle Punch
Grosgrain Ribbon, Blueberry
Colorbox Cateye Chalk Ink
Janome Sew Mini
Microsoft Word
Hallmark Card Studio

I matched the font from Micrsoft Word to the font in Hallmark Card Studio so the sentiments on the front and inside would match. I can't remember the font right now but I wanted one that would give the flair of the fashion era on the card. I can actually imagine giving this card to anyone of my girlfriends and them loving it!

Since the image was rather large I didn't have a lot of room for embellishing and I thought the circle sentiment went well on the card. I did add two little brads at the bottom and it just set it off just right.

This Should Be Fun!

2011-12-30T17:00:00.000-06:00

I am going to Linda's, aka LGuild, house this afternoon after going to visit with my aunt. Linda and I are going to order some ribbon from Ribbons And Bows Oh My because they are having a 20% of total order sale, AND...FREE SHIPPING!! YAY! *okie does the - I love ribbon dance*. The sale only lasts through January 1, 2012. Linda and I have been ordering from RABOM for a few years now and absolutely love their product and customer service. They have a great selection of ribbon in all kinds of styles.

I had to go through my ribbon and see what I needed to order, so that lead me to re-organize my ribbon a bit. Lately I had just been tossing it in the box and not putting it back where it belonged, but now it's all nice and neat...that is until the order comes in and then I will have to start all over again!

I keep my rolled ribbon in the Really Useful Boxes since they stack nicely and I got quite a few when they were on sale. I actually want to see if the rolls of ribbon fit in the shorter ones but haven't gone to purchase one yet to find out. I try to keep my ribbon like I do my cardstock...ROY G BIV, makes it a lot easier to find what I need.

I posted a message to Linda about the sale and she called me bossy! *okie just can't believe the nerve of Linda at times* But she also said she did need to order ribbon. We order together because it is cheaper to order in larger quantities and we can split the 20 yard rolls and save money.

If you guys are needing ribbon go check out RIBBONS AND BOWS OH MY.

Oh and this post is scheduled for after Linda and I order our ribbon. I don't want them to run out before I get my ribbon ordered! *okie grins evilly and rubs hands together feeling so proud of her evil plot*.

Popsicle - Birthday Card

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-06:00

I found this paper at the LSS and feel in love with it. I told Linda, aka LGuild, that we needed some!

Supplies Used:
Cricut Cherry Limeade cart
Cuttlebug Swiss Dot folder
American Crafts Heat Wave patterned paper
Prism Cardstock
Stampin Up Cardstock
Coredinations Cardstock
Stampin Up Ticket Punch
Striped Grosgrain Ribbon - Beach Club
Brads
Colorbox Cateye Chalk Ink

The inside sentiment is from the Stampin Up "Sweet Scoops" stamp set and I was going to link it but can't seem to find it on their website so it might be retired. The stamp set is ice cream cones so I new it would work well with the theme of this card.

I cut the top layer of the popscicle twice and then pop dotted with mounting foam. On the wooden stick I used the ripple stamp from the Sweet Scoops to give the sticks a woodgrain look. The corners of the mat were done with the Stampin Up Ticket Punch, which might be retired as well since I couldn't find it on the website either.

My daughter loved this card when she saw it and said "I WANT ONE!". I told her "It's not your birthday". She didn't get one either! I think it works well for an adult or a child which is hard to do sometimes for me since most of my cards are adult themed...uh and sometimes VERY adult themed!! *okie falls out chair laughin thinking about her Naughty Princess and Naughty Girls cards and just knows that one of these days she is gonna get kicked out of the Cricut community for some of her card ideas*.

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Back in the Saddle - Get Well Card

2011-12-29T07:00:00.000-06:00

When at Hobby Lobby sometime ago I found some western theme paper by Paper Studio and knew I wanted to make some cards with it but I wasn't sure what I wanted to make. I was going through my card inserts that I make when at Stamp Club and came across this sentiment so I grabbed my Old West cartridge and got to work!

Supplies Used:
Cricut Old West cartridge
Cricut Marker
Paper Studio Patterned paper
Coredinations Cardstock
Stampin Up Cardstock
Cri-Kit gel pen
Signo UM 153 white gel pen
Colorbox Cateye Chalk Ink
Brads
Mounting Foam

One of the great things about Stamp Club is that Carol, the lady who runs Stamp Club, brings a ton of stamps to each meeting and there are always some great sentiment stamps. A lot of the time Linda, aka LGuild, and I will take a bunch of card inserts with us and just stamp off a bunch of sentiments so we can have them for later use. I think this makes a great get well card for any cowboy or wanna be cowboy!

I don't like all the brown for the fence and the saddle and I think now I would have went with some greys for the fence so there could have been more contrast, but oh well...what's done is done! I did use mounting foam on the saddle for some added dimension. A little light sanding on the saddle gave it a worn look.

I used the Cricut markers on the fence and then used a Cri-Kit gel pen for the stitching on the saddle. While a lot of times I do this by hand I am trying to use the gel pens more often because it doesn't seem to take near as long and I don't get hand cramps that way!

My friend Nancy saw this card and said she was going to have to tell her boyfriend to get sick so she could give him one of these *okie cracks up laughin*. That girl is a nut!!

Dumpster Diving - SCORE!!

2011-12-28T17:48:00.000-06:00

I was sitting at the carwash taking a break, like I usually do, talking to my friend Carmen, aka ScrapperDelighted on the phone and told her "there is a shelf across the street by the dumpster at the vet's place". She asked if I was gonna go check it out and I told her "OF COURSE!".

I drove across the highway and the little shelf was in decent shape, needed to have the screws tightened up but otherwise okay.

I noticed some hanging plastic file folders that I thought would be nice to store scraps of paper in and told Carmen "I think I will get some of those". They had K-9 Advantix labels on the front so I figured they were suppose to be given to dog or cat owners if they bought the product. There were some that were a hunter green and some a smoky blue...I liked the smoky blue but got some of each.

I went on to this place where I see clients and when I came home I was trying out one of the file 8.5 x 11 paper perfectly and my scrap paper was fitting nice. I liked that they were able to sit up on their own with paper in them. I called my friend Linda, aka LGuild, and told her about them and asked if she might want some. I flipped one over and on the back it said STAPLES. I decided to look them up and they retail for $6.29 each. Linda told me "YOUR MISSION IS TO GO BACK AND GET THE REST OF THEM".

I hollered at Lucy and asked if she wanted to go on a mission and she ran to the front door. I drove back across town hoping the trash truck hadn't run over there yet. We pulled up at the vet, Lucy looking a little nervous because it is where she goes to the vet, and sure enough there the trash sat. I pulled in the back and started gathering up the boxes of the file folders, some boxes still not opened.

When I came back home I counted the total of file folders I got, from the first time and then my mission and I had a total of 245 plastic hanging file folders!! I did the math and with the retail price and tax I got $1,679.45 worth of file folders!!

Here is a picture of one of the file folders with my white "stamping" cardstock in it. I am not sure how much it holds, but it is quite a bit of cardstock in there.

Let's hear three cheers for dumpster diving!

HIP HIP HOORAY!
HIP HIP HOORAY!
HIP HIP HOORAY!

Butterfly Punch - All Occasion Card

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000-06:00

I have had this stamp set for quite sometime and I think I might have used it before. I got the matching Stampin Up punch since I had the stamp set but haven't used it...at least I don't think I have.

Supplies Used:
Stampin Up Butterfly Prints stamp set
Stampin Up Butterfly Punch
Stampin Up Mellow Moss Cardstock
Cuttlebug
Cuttlebug Script folder
Cuttlebug Textile folder
K & Co. Life's Journey pattern paper
Liquid Walnut Ink Stain
Spring Moss Grosgrain Ribbon
Copper Wire
Copper Brads

The sentiment for the card came with the butterfly stamp set, don't ya love easy? I think this makes a good all occasion card. On the inside paper I used the liquid walnut stain to go around the edges for an aged look. The stuff is really easy to use. I got it at a LSS a few years back and still have quite a bit left in the bottle.

The copper wire for the butterfly body and antenna is actually from some phone wire that my friend Linda, aka LGuild, gave me. I stripped off the plastic coating so I could just use the copper wire *okie grins at yet another one of her ingenious ideas*. I also used the walnut stain on the butterflies after stamping and punching them so they could have an aged look and the white cardstock wasn't so stark looking on the card.

This is a pretty simple card and I like the over all look of it.

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Downloading Cricut Handbooks to Kindle Fire

2011-12-27T11:35:00.000-06:00

I got my Kindle Fire last month and I love that thing! One of the features I love the most is that I can download the Cricut handbooks to it and use it to flip through, making it so much easier than dragging out my handbooks individually. There has been a lot of folks getting the Kindle Fire for Christmas and there were questions on how to download and view the handbooks so I thought I would do a quick video on how to download them and view them.

Pinwheel - Birthday Card

2011-12-27T07:00:00.000-06:00

I found this paper the same day I found the Carousel paper that I used for the Carousel Card, it's actually from the same line, and loved the look of the pinwheels. I wasn't sure what sentiment to use but found something after browsing the internet that I thought worked for the card theme.

Supplies Used:
Various carstock
3bugsinarug Ashtyn paper
Recollections Animal Print paper
Martha Stewart Border Punch
Stampin Up Ribbon
Stampin Up Punches
EK Success Punches
GeoBreeze Domed Clear Circles
Signo UM 153 white gel pen
Colorbox Cateye Chalk Ink
Microsoft Word
Hallmark Card Studio

You might not be able to read the sentiment on the front unless you click the picture, it reads:
"Be Wildly Enthusiastic About Little Things"
The inside reads "Play with leaves
Skip down the street
Run against the wind!
It keeps you young!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

The domed clear circles measure 1" across and I was able to apply the circle over the sentiment and then punch it out with an EK Success 1" circle punch. I also used a EK Success 1 1/4" circle punch and then the Stampin Up 1 3/8" circle punch and the Scallop Circle punch.

I think this card is very playful looking with the pinwheels and then the use of the zebra stripe paper.

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Altered Frame - Naomi's Christmas Gift

2011-12-26T07:00:00.000-06:00

I had someone snap a picture of Naomi and I at her Christmas Party, which you might have seen on a post the other day, because I wanted to make a frame for her with our picture in it. I took the frame to her on Christmas Eve. She looked at me with a frown and said "but I didn't get you anything!" I told her "I have all I want from you, your love and friendship". She said "well that is all I need too!" and I told her "oh shut up and open the dang gift!". She really liked it once she got it open *okie makes a mental note to not use so much tape next time* and talked about what a great picture it was of the both of us and how the frame matched her room. I know she was really pleased with it.

Supplies Used:
Memory Frame
Mirabelle Pattern Paper Stack
Prima Flowers
Candi embellishments
Basic Grey Brads
Glitter brads
Colorbox Cat Eye Chalk Ink

I went through my stash of Prima flowers and just found ones that complimented with the paper I used. I added various brads for the flower centers and then I pop dotted each of the flowers, layering the mounting foam on them to get them to pop out more.

Here is a close up look of the Candi embellishments. I got these in the summer when I attend CKC in Houston. I had seen them before and thought they looked interesting but this is the first time I used them. I used the glue gun to attach them since I wanted to make sure they wouldn't fall off.

I am not sure how I would attach these on a card or layout since they are domed and my trusty Scotch glue probably won't work. I guess I will figure it out when I try to use them.

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Christmas Door - Card

2011-12-25T14:00:00.000-06:00

I made this card especially for a person so I actually only made one *okie hears the gasps*. Well it was a last minute thing and I needed it done in a hurry so I didn't have time to mess around with cutting out more than one. I did however save the file in Design Studio and might make some for next year since I was pleased with how it turned out. It is bigger than an A2 card, it is classified as an A6 card, which measures 4.5 x 6.25 inches.

Supplies Used:
Cricut Christmas cartridge
Cricut Brown Marker
Cuttlebug Large Dot folder
Various cardstock
Stampin Up Photo Corner Punch
Glossy Accents
Signo UM 153 white gel pen
Brad
Mounting Foam

I used Glossy Accents in the window pane area to give it a more realistic look and I think it really added to the look of the window above the door.

On the wreath I added some marks on the top leaves with a Stampin Up marker and then dotted white dots for berries using the gel pen. I used another Stampin Up marker to go over the lines of the ribbon on the wreath.

I used mounting foam to pop dot the photo corners and the door. I also pop dotted the wreath on the door and then the step in front of the door.

I used a brad to make the door knob because I thought it looked better than the plain Cricut cut.

I used Microsoft Word to do the sentiment for the inside of the card and went with two different fonts. I am not sure I really like the sentiment but it's there now so it will have to do!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas day!

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My Annual Christmas Story

2011-12-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

Back in 2008, on Christmas day matter of fact, I posted this story about my daughter. Every year since then I have re-posted the story to share how a child can truly indeed understand the true spirit of Christmas.

When my daughter turned 8 years old she had gotten birthday money from relatives, she had a total of about $40. We went to Wal-Mart so she could spend her birthday money. I had decided we would go to McDonalds to get a bite to eat first. There was an Angel Tree in front of the McDonalds there in Walmart.

My daughter asked what it was and I explained to her that it was for children whose parents couldn't afford to buy them Christmas gifts. I told her let's go eat and she continued to look at the names on the tree.

She grabbed my hand and said "Mom look, this little girl only wants some clothes and a barbie doll". I think she thought it impossible that a child would want mostly clothes.

I looked and noticed the only toy on there was a Barbie, I think the child's age was about 5.

My daughter looked up at me with pleading eyes and said "Moma would it be okay if I spent my birthday money on this angel?"

I couldn't speak as a piercing warmth shot through my heart. I was fighting tears, as I am now remembering this moment. My daughter and said "I won't Moma if you are gonna be upset". I told her "hang on a minute" while I continued to fight back the tears and choked to find the words I wanted to say. I knew I would just bust out crying if I said much more. After a few moments and a couple of deep breaths I composed myself I told her "baby if you want to spend your birthday money on this little angel then I will match you dollar for dollar".

We went to eat and my daughter kept looking over the list of items from the angel she had pulled off the tree. After we got done she was so excited to go and buy for this little girl. I did as I promised and matched dollar for dollar, plus another $20 because daughter thought the little girl needed some things to go with her barbie doll that she picked out for the little girl. My daughter even said "you don't have to buy me anymore gifts Mom, just spend it on her. Santa will bring me stuff anyway".

We got the shopping done and took it to Customer Service where my daughter informed the lady to "make sure it is wrapped pretty". My daughter spent every last dime of her birthday money that day on someone else.

I can honestly say that on that day I had never been more proud of my child and still am to this day for her unselfish act of giving up her birthday money to make sure some little girl got her Christmas wishes.

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Party with Naomi

2011-12-24T11:51:00.000-06:00

Over the years you guys have heard so much about Naomi, the lady who use to live next door to me but more importantly a very special and dear friend, so I thought I would share a few pictures so you can see who Naomi is and also that she has a wonderful and loving family.

Thursday evening was the party where my friend Naomi is residing now and she had invited me to come. All her family were going to be there and do some singing for the residents. Of course I have a difficult time telling Naomi "no I ain't gonna come" so I got dressed up and went to the party and I am so glad I did!

Naomi's sister, brother and nephews do a lot of singing in their churches and sometimes for occasions like weddings and such. Her great niece did a dance to Jingle Bell Rock and her great nephew did a dance to Do You Know Blitzen, the kids did a fabulous job and I couldn't believe now they just got up there and danced and sang in front of all those people! Of course their grandma, Naomi's sister Janice, does a lot of work with them as she is a music teacher where they attend elementary school.

Here is a picture of Naomi's sister Janice and Janice's oldest son Justin. He has a wonderful deep voice that reverberates throughout a room and just makes one feel the music and song.

Janice forgot her camera and I told her not to worry that I would get plenty of pictures, which I think I got about 40 good ones of everyone. She wanted a picture of all of them together so we went into the library to get a family picture. Naomi's brother John and already left by this time but we did manage to get Naomi, her mom, Janice and her husband, children and grandchildren for the picture.

Oh Janice's husband James played Santa Claus for the party and Janice couldn't resist sneaking a kiss from Santa! It was funny to see the two little ones be scared of Santa, even when they showed them "it's just Pops!". Neither of the two would go to him and would shy away. I think Janice is going to have to do a little more work on the youngest two before they are going to be ready for the stage like their older brother and sister!

I feel so lucky that Naomi's family understand what a special friend Naomi is to me and they are wonderful to always include me in conversations and even invite me to family functions. I am invited for dinner tomorrow night at Janice's house. Okay, I might have really invited myself since James is the most awesome cook! But they didn't seem to mind when I asked what time dinner starts *okie giggles*. A few years back my daughter was gone to Texas for Christmas and Naomi wasn't feeling like getting out of the house and Janice was afraid Naomi wouldn't go out to Janice's for dinner so Janice called me. Janice told me "Sister (that is what they call Naomi) says she is feeling sick and doesn't want to come out to the house for dinner. I know Shiane is gone and I think if you tell her you will bring her out she will come. But you will have to stay so she will come out here." I told Janice I would talk to Naomi about it. I called Naomi and she asked, in her sickly voice I might add, if Janice had called me and I told her yes and Naomi said "well what do you think". I told her "if you want to go I will take you and since you aren't feeling well I will stay and can bring you home at anytime you are ready". Naomi, let me tell you, is one sly little dog! Her voice immediately perked up and she began to tell me what time she would be ready to go. What I didn't realize is that Naomi didn't want me to spend Christmas by myself so I think her and Janice cooked up the whole plot!

Now you know a little more about my Naomi and her wonderful family!

Oh and to end the post...

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ME AND NAOMI!

Today is December 23, 2011

2011-12-23T12:07:00.000-06:00

That means I am 46 years old today. It's all a downhill slide from here, right? I don't mean this as a negative, but rather downhill as coast and enjoy the ride.

As I sit here and think about my 46 years on this earth I think to myself about how I haven't accomplished anything great in my life...I am not the president, pope or an Indian chief. But then I have to think about everything in my life that has happened and how just being on this earth and being a happy person is quite an accomplishment and how blessed I am in my life. I have suffered much pain and sorrow in my life but it has also lead me to recognize true blessings that God has provided for me.

I was placed in foster care when I was a year and half old where I stayed for 4 years until I was adopted. Now some folks might see that as tragic. I see that as being blessed to have not only 1 but 3 families that love me! My foster home was a wonderful one and I have nothing but happy memories. One reason I never have had hard feelings about being in foster care and being adopted is that once I was adopted my mom told me "your mother didn't give you up because she didn't love you. She gave you up because she knew she couldn't care for you and she loved you enough to let go and let someone that could take care of you have you". When you think about it this way, well...isn't that the greatest sacrifice of love a parent can make? While it is hard to lose people in our lives I have learned that without feeling pain and sorrow we can never truly recognize sheer happiness and joy that others can bring into our lives.

When I was young I thought being successful as a woman meant you got married young, had kids and raised your family. Well I blew that completely out of the water! For years I thought I was never successful since I hadn't been married. Most women in my family were married before they were 25, okay usually before the age of 20, so by the time I was 30 I just knew I was a failure. By my mid 30's I knew that I was beyond the age that would produce a successful marriage. Once I was able to get passed the idea that a relationship determined the success of my life I was able to focus on basing my success on my accomplishments. By the time I was 30 I had obtained my Associates of Science, Bachelor's of Arts and Master's of Science degrees. I had a child who was the age of 5 and raised her completely on my own. It took me until I was in my 40's to recognize this and stop depending on the idea of some man on which to base my life success. So to all the men in my life that I have loved, here's to you *okie raises her coffee cup in tribute*, without you I would never know what the feeling of being in love is like. Some people only get to know once in there life what it is like to love, I have been blessed with knowing this feeling many times. And, lucky enough to experience the true "I would die for you" love 3 times in my life. The awesome thing is...I don't know if I will ever get married, but I still believe in love and believe it can happen again.

At the age of 46 I am blessed with not having one best friend but a number of BEST FRIENDS! Can I choose one and say that is my favorite? Of course not! Each one of these people hold a special place in my heart and have come from different experiences in my life. I have those that I have known from my college days, those that came within the last few years and those that fall in between. I can't imagine my life without my wonderful best friends. But not only do I have best friends I also have sooooo many friends! I am amazed sometimes when I think about the number of friends God has decided to bestow upon me!

I can't think about my blessings in my life without of course mentioning my daughter...who is also a curse at times, but aren't all kids? *okie figures if anyone thinks "no" then they are just lying to themselves*. It was having her and knowing I had to care for her that drove me to going as far with my education as I did. It was having her that motivated me to be a better person and let go of a lot of bitterness I had, but that is a whole notha' story! It is having her now that teaches me that no matter what I do, say or think I can NOT control another human being thinks, believes or chooses to do *but oh how okie wishes she could*. I wanted to raise her to be strong and independent so I never would have to worry if she could take care of herself, but I forgot to teach her "mom is always right". But I hold out hope that one day she will pick up on that on her own!

So while I might not have experienced what some people might consider HUGE success in my life I feel like I have the best success of all...LOVE AND HAPPINESS! So with that...I don't wish myself a Happy Birthday but instead...HAVE A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Life is like a Carousel - Card

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

First off let me tell you that one thing a person needs to do is double check spell check when using Microsoft Word! This cute little carousel card almost turned out to be a dirty meaning carousal card!

Linda and I saw this paper at the scrapbook store and I just couldn't resist picking up a few pieces to use on some cards. I wasn't sure at the time what I would do but couldn't wait to try it out!

Supplies Used:
Cricut Expression
Cricut Carousel cart
Cuttlebug
Cuttlebug Spots and Dots folder
Various carstock
3bugsinarug Ashtyn paper
K&Co. pattern paper
Signo UM 153 white gel pen
Colorbox Cateye Chalk Ink
Cri-Kit gel pens
Microsoft Word
Hallmark Card Studio

The card actually measures 6.25 x 4.5

As you can see by the inside sentiment that reads
"Sometimes you're up
and sometimes you're down,
and sometimes you
just go round and round!
Just remember to enjoy the ride!"
this card could have been a naughty little card if I had not caught that MS word changed Carousel to Carousal!

The ticket was a little difficult to cut since the lettering was so small that I decided to use the Cri-Kit gel pens to do the "ADMIT ONE" and the colored in with a marker. I had to use Design Studio to hide contour on the parts I didn't want drawn and then I went back after changing the blade housing and cut the rest of the ticket.

I still have some of this paper and not sure what else I might do with it but I think the brightness and cheeriness of it would be good for a pick me up card or even a child's birthday, used with the right sentiment of course!!

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Ghiradelli Christmas Boxes

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

A few years ago I came across the cutest little box on Splitcoast Stampers that was made for the little Ghiradelli Choclate squares. I loved the box but didn't want to do all the measuring so I made a cut file for the box. At that time I also didn't have the punches I do now so I made the little scallop squares in the .cut file as well so I could cut them out.

This year I decided to make some of the boxes to give to some of my favorite dealers, poker dealers that is, Linda told me I should verify what type of dealer I was talking about so no one would get the wrong idea *okie thinks Linda is so bossy sometimes*.

Supplies Used:
Cricut Expression
Cricut Plantin Schoolbook cart
Cricut Design Studio
GHIRADELLI BOX .CUT FILE
Various Cardstock and paper
Stampin Up Scallop Square punch
Stampin Up 1" Square Punch
Martha Stewart Holly Leaf punch
Hot Fix gems

For complete instructions, with pictures, please click HERE.The .cut file is set to cut 3 boxes at a time.

As you can see the little sqaures of chocolate fit wonderfully in the box. If you have the flat ones then 4 squares will fit but if you have the filled chocolate squares only 3 will fit.

To close the box the flap just slides behind the scallop square that is applied with mounting foam.

I used the Martha Stewart Holly Punch to punch out holly leaves in two different colors of green. I used a green marker for the line down the center of the leaves. The berries are hot fix rhinestones.

These make great little party favors and one of the things I like about them is that they are great for any occasion. Decorating with themed paper can make them usable for any holiday or event.

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Shadow Box Layout

2011-12-20T14:00:00.000-06:00

I thought I better get to posting the Shadow Box Layout that Linda, aka LGuild, and I worked on over the weekend since I had talked about it several times. The flowers are from Flower Shoppe and the frame around the picture is from Art Philosophy.

Supplies Used:
Shadow Box - Michaels
Cricut Flower Shoppe cart
Cricut Art Philosophy cart
Various Pattern paper
Various cardstock
Kaiser Pearls
Color Box Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Pearl Brads
Chipboard Shapes
Small Tatted Doilies
Velour Scallop Ribbon
Braiding Trim
Perfect Layers trim set

The shadow box Linda found was suppose to be for a t-shirt display box, however it worked perfectly for the layout she was wanting to do. She sent me a picture of a layout she found that she liked and thought would work with the picture. She brought the sentiment she wanted to be included.

In order to get the layout centered we measured in and then marked with a pen the 12x12 centered area and then just used the ATG gun to apply the tape and then place the layout accordingly.

I totally cheated and used the Design Studio file I had from the MEMORIES frame that I had done for the flowers. They seemed to work well for the layout and the number of flowers worked as well. This way we didn't have to figure out sizes and such.

I did add pearl brads for the flower centers, trying to use different pearls for each flower type.

Linda thought of the idea for the pearls on the flourishes. She did help some by pushing the load and unload button on the Cricut. She also glued the cardstock to the chipboard shapes.

We had a great time working on the layout even though it seemed to take all day. That might have been because we took multiple breaks and of course we had to go to lunch and the scrapbook store! Linda was kind enough to buy my lunch, saying it was my pay and that I was earning about $2 a hour! HA HA HA

Cleaning up the craft desk....

2011-12-19T19:07:00.002-06:00

My friend Linda came down Saturday and we worked on a shadow box layout that she is wanting to give as a gift for Christmas, I will post about it tomorrow, but while she was here we discussed how I have to clean up my craft table when I finish a project. I am lucky that it only takes me probably less than a minute and a half to have everything clear and back in it's place. I literally have both hands going at once putting things away so I can get it off the desk faster.

I have had this discussion with several people about if they have to clean their area after a project before starting a new one. I think I actually know more that don't than who do! I just can't stand to have stray pieces of paper on my desk unless of course they are for the project I am working on. I have to put up all my tools...scissors, pens, tweezerbees, rulers, etc, even if I know I am going to use them again in a few minutes on the next project.

I think maybe it just gives me a feeling of a fresh start on something and clearing my desk not only clears the last project off the desk but also out of my mind so I can focus on the new project *okie really wonders if she over analyzes things sometimes*, really just giving me a clean slate to start anew.

So do you have to clean off your work area before starting a new project???

Dancing Christmas Tree - Card

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

I call this the Dancing Christmas Tree because that is what my friend Carmen said it looked like. I made 18 of these cards and I am lucky I got that many done. I was just really stuck this year on what to do for Christmas cards. They aren't elaborate but they will have to do!

Supplies Used:
Cricut Paper Trimmings cartridge
GCD Studios Winter Wonderland pattern paper
DCWV Metallic Cardstock
Stampin Up Scallop Circle Punch
3/8" Grosgrain ribbon
Signo UM 153 White gel pen
Janome Sew Mini
Hot Fix Gems

I really love this tree! I thought it was going to be a pain to cut with all the little intricate designs in the middle but it cut wonderfully. When I received the Paper Trimmings cartridge I knew I wanted to use something from it for my Christmas cards. This cartridge was the latest the Cricut Circle members received as part of the membership.

Adding the hot fix gems and the white dots really made the tree stand out on the card. I did ink the edges of the tree with a dark green but you can't really tell in the picture. The tree is cut from the back of the striped paper, I really love double sided paper sometimes!!

The "Seasons Greetings" is an embossed seal sticker I got from Staples several years ago. I think I paid about a quarter a package for them. I hadn't used them until now and I thought they made a great sentiment for the front of this card. I think it probably measures about 1 1/4"since I used the 1 3/8" circle punch on some dark green cardstock to help border the embossed seal.

Like I said, these cards aren't as elaborate or cute as I have done in the past but for this year...they will just have to do!

Linda is coming tomorrow to have me help her alter a frame and work on some dry erase boards that she is wanting to give as gifts. I am sure that will be causing a trip to the scrapbook store, darn the luck! HA HA HA Later today I plan on working on some of the Ghiradelli boxes. I want to give those to my poker dealers as a little gift. I will be taking pictures of those to post.

Christmas Shopping....

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

should not be so difficult!

I have a friend that I would like to get a Christmas gift for but what the heck to get him I just don't know! Seriously the man probably has everything he wants or needs. I asked him and he said "oh just whatever cologne you like"....REALLY?? I really don't think he wants a bottle of Mary Kay Belara! I am not use to shopping for a man. I realize this now *okie smacks herself on the forehead for not thinking about this a few weeks ago instead of waiting 10 days before Christmas*. He did say something about some cologne and I looked it up and found it on eBay. Believe me when I say he won't be getting it. There is no way in hell I would ever pay $1,200 for a set of vintage cologne!

So now the dilemma is what to give this person! A tie? The man probably has over 100. A shirt? Nope, doesn't need any of those. A pair of pants...he mainly wears suits. Not getting him jewelry *okie gets a little freaked out by men who wear too much jewelry*, he doesn't have time to go to sporting events and not that there would really be any good ones to go to around here, don't know what size shoes he wears and not gonna ask, not getting anything for his vehicle...it's fully loaded, and tools are out of the question! *okie cracks up even thinking about him using a drill or router* So I am just stuck!

I now realize why I have a lot of female friends rather than male friends. Females are so much more easier to shop for and please! I never even had to ask any of my female friends what they would like for Christmas...I usually always know what they would like and if all else fails I can just make them something.

Ya know come to think of it, that Old Spice guy on TV is kinda sexy and since Dos Equis beer makes a man the most interesting man in the world I am thinking a bottle of beer and some Old Spice and calling it good! *okie walks off huffin and cussin about avoiding male friends in the future*

Recipe Books

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

I posted about the recipe books a few weeks ago and how I was working on them and determined to get them done for the party. I was able to get all 4 completed and used them as prizes. My friend Carmen knew I had been working on them and when she found out that she was going to be able to make it to the party she said "I don't care if I win anything else, I just want a recipe book!"

I used the Cinch and 1 1/4" wires to bind the books. If you are on the fence about whether to get a Bind It All or a Cinch I would highly recommend the Cinch. It is very simple to use and is pretty much dummy proof *okie wonders if she should share why she says almost and then decides she doesn't want her readers to know she once again messed something up due to watching TV while trying to craft*. Another recommendation I have is Undu...it really is a scrappers best friend *okie laughs at her having to 'undu' pages because of the Cinch mishap*. The pages of the book are 6x6 inches.

Some of the pages have been posted before but I am posting all of them now in sequential order so you can see how it looked completed. You can click on the pictures to see them bigger if you would like to see more details.

Back when I started the books there wasn't a lot of "cooking" themed paper available, but 3 years later there are some wonderful lines and gorgeous fun papers to use for such projects. There also wasn't any food themed Cricut cuts, so some of the cuts you see are ones I designed myself when I started the books. For the cover I used CM Traveler, Graphically Speaking and From My Kitchen. The patterned paper is TPC Studios - So Delish.

I know I could have added more recipes by forgoing on the index and divider pages but to be honest I wanted to keep the book true to the title, "favorite recipes". Since I don't like to cook I really don't have a lot of favorites. This is the index page where the list of recipes are and also the title page for the appetizer section. The word "index" is from Feeling Groovy. I feel in love with that cart as soon as I saw it. I just love the funkiness of the font. On the opposite page I used From My Kitchen and Block Party.

These pages are two of the ones I completed 3 years ago, like I said earlier, back then there wasn't the huge selection of cuts that are available now. I used Cutting Up for the title on Bacon Crisp, the pig's head is from Animal Kingdom and I pop dotted the snot for a little dimension. The chicken head is from Animal Kingdome as well. I used some little black brads for the eyes of the chicken. I wanted some dimension in the book so tried to add where I could but without making it too thick.

I honestly don't remember what cart the spoon came from, but I believe I added the little handle top myself. These pages were some I did 3 years ago as well. On the 7 layer Salad the title is from Printing Press, one of my favorite fonts! The salad bowl is one I made and I used Mulberry paper for the lettuce and some skittles to look like little tomatoes. I believe they are more red looking in person than they are in the photo.

I had finished the Steak Marinade page years ago so the steak is an original design of mine that I made. I wanted to use a steak for obvious reasons and of course back then there were very few food cuts available. For those that don't know, I use to make a lot of original cut files using George and Basic Shapes. On the Main Dish I used Feeling Groovy on the title and the place setting is from From My Kitchen. I just did a hand cut for the placemat.

The chicken is from Animal Kingdom. I did some doodling on the chicken because without it the poor little chicken just blended to the background paper too much. The crockpot is an original cut file I made and the title on that page is from Base Camp. Way back when, there was a person who was doing a recipe page for a swap and needed a crockpot so I did share the file and I think I did several different sizes.

I used Cursive 101 for the title on Pepper Steak. Now we have several font cartridges that weld well together that are cursive type but back then this was the cartridge to have since most others were more of a print font. The bell pepper is an original cut file I made. The little pig is from Animal Kingdom and I used the Cricut markers to help outline the little pig so he stood out a little more.

The potatoes are just ovals from George and Basic Shapes. I inked to give them some more detail so they would just look like ovals and then I used stylus to add some little "eyes", which might be hard to see in the photo. The carrot is an original cut file I made. On the Sweet Shop I used Pop Up Neighborhood, which is a Circle Exclusive cartridge. That cart has gotten bad reviews because of the lack of instructions for making the pop up cards but I love it for the variety of cuts, such as this little bakery and doubt I ever use it for making a card.

The "Better Than Sex Dessert" recipe was a little lengthy and I didn't have much room for embellishing. I also wondered how I would embellish according to title since that is what I tried to do on most of the recipes. I thought the ribbon and little flower worked fine in this case. The title on the other page is from Alphalicious. I did like the background paper for the dessert recipes, at least back then. I am glad that now days we have a lot more variety of cooking themed papers.

The scallop circle and circles are Stampin Up punches. The little stamp is from Stampin Up as well. That page went together really quickly, thank goodness because I remember getting tired of making recipe pages and started trying to find the easy way out on some of these. The pecan pie title is from Old West.

I think the cake on the Pig Pickin Cake is from Sweet Treats but I can't be sure and to tell ya the truth, I am too lazy to go look it up. I wanted to make sure the winners of the recipe books remembered where the book came from and when so I wrote a little poem and signed my name. I also added the year at the bottom.

All 4 of the receipents of the recipe books were thrilled with their prize and while it took a long time to finish these I know it was worth getting the projects done.

I have always been a crafter....

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

My earliest memories of doing arts and crafts is helping my mom and sister sew flowers and pearls on the train of my sisters wedding dress. I was about 8 years old at the time. That was also about the time my mom taught me how to use a sewing machine. She started me out on some cardboard inserts that came in a package of pantyhose. She drew straight lines, curved lines, spirals and rectangles so I could learn to follow the guide on the sewing machine.

My next craft was my Aunt Mary teach me how to embrodiery. I made a dresser scarf that had the heads of Laborador Retrievers on the ends. I was so proud and gave it to my grandma and grandpa for their 50th wedding anniversary. Of course my grandma acted like it was the most wonderful thing ever and she kept it until she died. I think it was actually given back to me and is probably in a dresser drawer in my guest room. I, not being my grandmother, think the thing is hideous and don't want a soul to see it!

My mother then taught me how to crochet and I would make baby aghans and hats. I even sold some of the hats and pot holders when I was in grade school to make Christmas money. Soon I moved on to Cross Stitch, which I taught myself to do. I also taught myself to knit but found I didn't care for it much, it was too easy to make a mistake.

I have dabbled in a little of everything from the things I have talked about to woodworking, cake decorating, ceramics, quilting, beadwork and decorative painting before I got into papercrafting. Just to show you guys I haven't always been a papercrafter and that I did things before getting my Cricut I thought I would post a picture of an ornament I painted about 10 years ago.

This is a light bulb that hand burned out. I had found a book at Hobby Lobby that had instructions for several designs. I made Santa Claus's, penguins, bird houses and snowmen. I might have done some others too but have slept since then and don't remember.

I made some for my friends for Christmas one year and they loved them. I think I might make some for prizes for my Christmas party next year. That is, if I can stop papercrafting long enough to pick up the paint brush again!

Altered Frame - Memories

2011-12-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

I saved this frame to post last because it was my favorite and I think by far the best of the frames I did. I sure didn't want to post it first and then have you guys look at the others and think "damn okie that one looks like chit compared to the first one" *okie smiles slyly at the methods to her madness*.

I actually saved this frame to use as my Dirty Santa gift. I was concerned people wouldn't care for the frames but after sending pictures to a friend who said she loved them I thought the frames would make good prizes. I made this frame last and even I was impressed with how it turned out! Of course it wasn't my talent that made the frame but the awesome elements that worked together and the benefit of using the Flower Shoppe cartridge! I spent quite a bit of time on this frame, mostly because of the cutting of flowers and assembling.

Supplies Used:
Ready to Finish 12x12 Memory Frame
Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden Collection
Various Cardstock
Cricut Flower Shoppe cartridge
Cricut Home Decor cartridge
Imaginesce Heat Set Pearls
Small Doilies
Glimmer Mist
Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Glittered Brads

I am really enjoying making the flowers and they are a lot more simple than I thought they would be. I can't wait to do some more of these for some projects. I of course used Design Studio to layout the basic flower so I could figure out the sizes I needed. I did two different leave cuts for the frame and folded them in half before scrunching the ends toward the middle.

I used a background swirl stamp and did heat embossing before assembling but after adding the glimmer mist you can't really see the embossing much in the picture. It did show up a little better in person. Next time I will forgo the Glimmer Mist if I want to add heat embossing to the flowers.

Inking the edges of the flowers seemed to give them a more realistic look and besides, ya'll know I have an inking fetish *okie is seriously thinking of seeking treatment*. You can see the brads a little better in this picture. I just used regular brads I got on clearance at the Dollar Store and put a glue dot on top and then dipped in some glitter. It's an inexpensive way to make glitter brads and you can make the color you want.

On the title I inked the lower half of memories because it just looked a bit stark at first. I like how the inking only half made it seem to blend better in with the theme and elements. I cut the title shadow out of some chipboard to help give it a little more dimension.

I think one reason I am enjoying making these frames so much is because you can add so much dimension to it without worrying about the elements getting smashed like they might if it were a scrapbook page going in a scrapbook. One thing I have done since making the frames is invest in a fine tip glue gun. The one I had has a larger tip and was a little to difficult to work with on some of the smaller items such as the flower centers.

Like I posted last week, Consumer Crafts is having their shipping special for the rest of the month and while they are still having the special I am going to order quite a few of the 12x12 frames and probably a few of the smaller ones. I am actually thinking of making some...okay ya'll don't faint...and selling them!! *okie watches a few of her readers faint* Uh will someone grab the smelling salts?

Altered Frame - You & Me

2011-12-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

I love the colors in this frame and it seems very cheerful. This design would be great for a couple, a parent and child, friends, etc. I liked that it had endless possibilities for the photo to be used.

Supplies Used:
Ready to Finish 12x12 Memory Frame
Fancy Pants All Fall
Various cardstock
Cricut CM Cheerful Seasons cartridge
Cricut Flower Shoppe cartridge
Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes folder
Stampin Up marker
Pearl Glimmer Mist
Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Signo UM 153 white gel pen

That little bird has two light blue layers and two medium blue layers. I used mounting foam between the layers to give him dimension, it is hard to tell in the photo though. I actually had the flower left over from another project but since it was the same paper and seemed to go well I thought "what the heck girl...USE IT!" and so I did. I used a Decorative Accent, also known as a "skittle" on the Cricut MB for the eye. I colored the bottom with a black ProMarker before attaching to the bird.

The title shadow was cut twice out of brown for added dimension. I pop dotted the shadow layers. I also pop dotted the ampersand, but before doing that I ran it through the Distressed Stripe Cuttlebug folder and sanded lightly.

Glimmer mist was added on the flourishes for a little subtle bling look.

Make sure to come back tomorrow for my favorite frame I altered. I actually used it as my Dirty Santa gift and it was a HUGE SUCCESS!

Altered Frame - Mon Amour

2011-12-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

While this frame doens't have much Cricut on it, I am still pleased with the overall look! I think it would be great for that special guy in your life of a picture of your children...or heck, even your favorite pet!

Supplies Used:
Ready to Finish 12x12 Memory Frame
Basic Grey Boxer Collection
Coredinations Color cardstock
Cricut Sentimentals cartridge
Cuttlebug Textile folder
Stampin Up marker
Heat set studs
Cat Eye Chalk Ink

This size frame holds a 5x7 picture and it can be turned to use horizontally or vertically.

I wanted to add a little texture to the title so I ran the title through the Cuttlebug using the Textile folder and then sanded lightly to allow the color core of the Core'dinations to come through. Please excuse the glue mess on the blue cardstock, that is what happens when you try to watch Gibbs and craft at the same time *okie so knows better than to try and do anything while Jethro Gibbs is on the screen*.

The chipboard pieces are from the Basic Grey Boxer collection as well and since they seemed to work well for the frame it saved me from having to find elements on Cricut cartridges to use. I thought the use of the flower kept this from being a totally masculine frame, it gives a softness without too much femininity to the over all look. My friend Andrea is the one that won this frame and said "OMG! I love it. I don't know what it says...BUT I LOVE IT!". I had to tell her it meant "my love".

After I got the frame completed I thought it just needed something and that is when I added the silver heat set studs, that just seemed to give it that little UM-PF needed.

Tomorrow's frame will have more Cricut elements. Don't forget that Consumer Crafts is having their shipping special for the rest of the month...$1.97 on any order!

Altered Frame - Key to my Heart

2011-12-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

This is the first of four 12x12 frames I will be posting, and I have to say it is my least favorite. I don't know if I just think it is bland or what. However, my party guests loved it, but it was the first one opened and they all felt they just got better as each one was opened.

Supplies Used:
Ready to Finish 12x12 Memory Frame
The Paper Studio Mirabelle stack
Cricut Sentimentals cartridge
Stampin Up marker
Tassel cord
3/8" Grosgrain Ribbon
Cat Eye Chalk Ink

Consumer Crafts is having a $1.97 shipping promo until the end of the month so if you are interested in ordering frames now would be a great time to do so! The shipping will not show up until you get ready to place your order, then it will have the special price in there.

I used some tassel cord I had gotten at a garage sale to make the little tassel for the key and I think it might be the only thing that saved this frame, well at least in my eyes. All the cuts are from Sentimentals and I like the concept of the frame, maybe I just think the colors are to blah. I added some faux stitching to try and make it look a little more interesting. I think the final recipient of the frame was still pleased with their prize so guess it was okay anyway.

Tomorrows frame will be a lot better!

Altered Frames - 9 x 7 sizes

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

I made a few of the altered frames for the Christmas party and my guests loved them! The ones I am posting today are the smaller frames and hold 4x6 photos. I am so in love with altering these frames and I am hoping to do a lot more for next years party.

Supplies Used:
Ready to Finish 9x7 Memory Frame
My Minds Eye Laundry Line
Petaloo Flowers
Stampin Up button
Stampin Up Ticket Punch
Cuttlebug Cut Emboss Butterfly
Want 2 Scrap bling
Grosgrain Ribbon
Cat Eye Chalk Ink

I tried to go with colors that were neutral on most of the frames I made. It is difficult when you don't know who is going to receive a particular gift and if they will be able to use it. Luckily my guests were good about trading if they felt it was something someone else could make better use of. I had gotten some Laundry Line titles really cheap some time ago and they worked great with the frames.

I layered two Petaloo flowers and used a darker color thinking this oculd be used for a female or male. The center of teh flower is a Corduroy Kiwi Kiss button from Stampin Up. The flowers did come with centers but I thought the button added some nice texture and dimension.

I added a circle of chipboard on the back of the flower to give it some body and then used mounting foam to make the flower pop up a bit. I also used chipboard behind the titles and popped them with mounting foam. It's hard to see the dimension in pictures but in real life..it is there!

This one is probably definitely more feminine with the butterflies and bling but I just loved the paper and couldn't resist using it. The title tag is another from the grab bag of titles I got. I already had the Laundry Line stack and the titles match perfectly.

I cut and embossed the butterfly out of some green cardstock and then inked it lightly on the top and then around the edges.I then cut and embossed a butterfly out of some acetate, more specifically the acetate that the Cricut cartridges come packaged in. I added two copper brads to the middle of the butterfly to hold the layers together and then gently bent the acetate layer up a little so it wouldn't just lay flat on the green cardstock. I added the clear bling swirl along the bottom of the butterfly to give it a flight pattern effect.

I will be posting the 12x12 frames I did over the next few days so be sure to come back and see how those turned out!

What Is Really Important This Time Of Year

2011-12-07T17:40:00.001-06:00

During the Christmas Holidays so many people are bustling around buying gifts, cooking meals, it's a time where most people spend the joyous season with family and friends that they haven't seen in a year, or maybe just saw last week. Rarely do you find those who don't spend the holiday surrounded in the bosom of family and friends. But I know of a few populations of people who have a difficult time during this time of year. Often the severely mentally ill have no family to spend the holidays with and also I see this with the developmentally delayed population I work with several days a week.

I was having a group session at the ICF/MR where I have clients, you might remember the grasshopper story, and the topic was how to cope with the holidays. Some of the women discussed how they feel bad for those who don't have family to spend time with and think those people would feel sad. Suddenly one of the women started crying and said "I wish I could be with my family". Immediately the other four women set aside their excitement about going home and spending time with family to give attention to this group member who was sobbing and heart broken. One started patting her on the back and saying "I love you" and the others soon cooed in with sincere statements of "I love you too" and "I care about you". In just a matter of minutes the woman who had been crying was smiling and wiping her tears. She thanked the other group members and told them she appreciated them caring about her. I sat there rather amazed how quickly they tuned in on the woman's feelings of pain and despair and wanted to make sure she was not alone and that there were people who love her and care about her, even if her family hasn't come for years to see her, they were there for her.

I sometimes just wonder if this residential community I go to several days a week isn't some type of self check that God makes sure I get, letting me know that every little small thing matters. It never ceases to amaze me at the love and support the residents can share with one another. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a Utopia by a long shot. They have their times of bickering and behaviors but it just always seems that when one of them starts hurting there are those that flock to that person soothing their hurt feelings with words of encouragement and love.

I generally feel we live in a wondrous world that is full of blessings but sometimes feel as a society we get lost in the self absorbed issues we feel are problems and get to feeling sorry for ourselves about stuff that doesn't really matter. As I watched the comforting going on of this group of women who will never have the opportunities in life that most of us are afforded I realized that to them just being able to offer words of encouragement and a loving pat on the back or a tender hug was worth more than all the gold in the world. Shouldn't we all be so lucky to know what is really important this time of year...the giving of ourselves to others!

Annual Girlfriend Christmas Party - Goodie Bags

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

WAS ANOTHER HUGE SUCCESS!

I picked up Karen and a surprise guest from the airport on Thursday. Karen flew in from Connecticut and had a connecting flight in Houston. When she arrived she got a surprise as my friend Carmen was there. Karen had no idea that Carmen was coming! It was really hard to keep it a secret but it was so worth surprising Karen. Carmen had made a video of her surprising Karen but I can't get the sound to work so I can load it to my blog *okie really thinks she needs to take some video classes or something*.

On Friday Karen, Carmen and I ran around and got some of our last minute shopping done and had lunch with Naomi, which it just happened to be Naomi's birthday so we each took her a birthday card as well. That afternoon my sister Cheryl and my friend Robyn made it in.

Back to the party stuff...each guest received a goodie bag filled with some little gifts from me. Here are some pictures.

After Christmas last year I found Santa hats on clearance for 25 cents and I knew they would make good little goodie bags for my guests so I snatched up a bunch of them. To make them keep their "bowl shape" I used a safety pin to pin up the pointy end to the side of the hat. I used some paper twisted up to make the circle stay at the bottom. I used green and white tissue paper to add a little bit of festivity and the filled with the goodies.

You might have already seen the wine charm that I posted yesterday, but these were put in the goodie bags, hanging from the ribbon on the Santa Bucks holders. This is a little bit better of a picture than I posted yesterday. You can see more detail of the beads and coloring on the charm. They were super simple to make and everyone loved having their own wine charm.

Each year my guests get Santa Bucks for the auction, this year I used Tags, Bags, Boxes and more to make the little holders for the Santa Bucks. I used my Stampin Up scallop punch to make the red circle and used Microsoft Word to print the white and then punched with a circle punch. I added some white silver adorned ribbon around the middle and then added some at the top.

They each started out with 280 Santa Bucks and were able to earn more by winning at the games they played.

These little stockings were found last year after Christmas as well for a quarter. I put some little dress ornaments in them that I found at a bargain store here in town. I forgot to take pictures of them. Each dress was a little different and my friend Lisa wrote on the back of each one "7th Annual Girlfriend Christmas Party Dec 3, 2011". My hand writing is awful, I so appreciated Lisa taking the time to help me with them! She also helped with getting most of the stuff ready for the goodie bags.

I used the scallop punch again for the little tag on the stocking.

Another little goodie I put in the bags was a spa sock cupcake. I used Cupcake Wrappers to make the wrapper and chose this one because I thought it looked the most festive for Christmas.

Here is a great tutorial on how to make the Spa Sock Cupcakes.
GREENBEAN CRAFTEROLE SPA SOCK CUPCAKE

I think I cut these at 3.5 inches, how big you need to cut them depends individually on the wrapper since they seem to come out different sizes depending on the design of the wrapper.

I added a little bottle of Bath and Body Works lotion and a little squeegee in the bags as well. Everybody was thrilled with their goodie bags!

Here are some pictures of my guests looking through the goodie bags.

Karen, Andrea and my big butt


Carmen, Robyn, Nancy and Cheryl

Cheryl, Wendi, Carrie and Linda


Lucy, Me, Linda, Carmen, Wendi, Robyn, Carrie

This is a picture of the "Cricut Crew".

Back Row: LGuild, ScrapperDelighted, birdsofafeather

Front Row: Lucy, okieladybug, firewife, StarOklaCity

Shrinky Dink Wine Charms - with Video!

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

One of the gifts for the goodie bags for my Christmas Party guests was a personalized wine charm. I used Shrinky Dink material for the charm and my ProMarkers to color them.

Here is a picture of the finished product, well at least a few of them. I had bought a beaded necklace on sale somewhere a long time ago to make some anklets with but instead I used it for the charms. I used some jewelry wire to put the beads on and using jewelry pliers I made loops and hooks so the charms can be easily attached and removed from the stems of the glasses.

All my guests seemed to really love the charms!

Here is the video of how I made the charm part.

It's Time to Start Planning!

2011-12-05T18:09:00.001-06:00

For next year's Girlfriend Christmas Party! I know some might think I am crazy for even thinking about it but let me tell ya, it's no easy task pulling off a party like the Annual Girlfriend Christmas Party.

I took my friends Karen and Carmen to the airport today and right now I feel like I could hit the bed and not get up for days! But since that isn't a option I am taking this evening to rest and relax before going back to work tomorrow.

All the guests seemed to really enjoy themselves and there was a lot of hooping, hollering and laughing that caused crossing of the legs *okie knows ladies will understand this one*. While I would love to share all of this with you I am just too pooped tonight to go through photos, edit, upload and write about them all. However if you would like to get some information you can check out Linda's, aka LGuild, blog at Nothin Fancy and see some of her pictures and commentary about it all.

Now I think I will grab my Kindle, head to the couch and snuggle up with my mink throw and enjoy the evening just reading and remember the great time I had with my friends over the weekend.

It Starts Today!

2011-12-01T07:16:00.001-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in the last few days but I have been so busy getting everything ready for company and the party that I haven't even had time to log into my computer!

Last night my daughter and I had to go to Home Depot and get some replacement bolts for a daybed. That seemed to take a lot longer than I thought it would but the good news is that we were able to finally find what we needed and get the daybed and trundle bed set up in one of the bedrooms. I will now have two functional guest rooms, one with a full size bed and one that can have two twin beds. I am going to need all the bed space I can get for the party this year. I am still not sure how many I will have staying over for the weekend but my rough estimate is 5-7. My friend Robyn is afraid of getting snowed in out in western Oklahoma so she will be arriving tomorrow. My sister will also be coming in tomorrow evening sometime. Today I go pick up Karen at the airport and also take care of a little surprise that I will tell you about tomorrow.

On Tuesday evening I was finally able to get all the prizes wrapped and get bows on the packages. It literally took me from the time I got home from work to the time I went to bed, which was about 6 hours, to finish wrapping the gifts and putting on the bows! Luckily some gifts were already wrapped. This picture isn't very good since it was taken with my cell phone but you can get an idea of how many prizes there are! To be honest I am not sure how many I have, somewhere between 32 and 36. I don't plan on moving them all to count either.

I got an excellent deal on the pretty foil wrapping papers I used, once again my favorite bargain store came through for me! The bows are made out of tulle. I bought several yards of blue, silver and white. I folded the tulle lengthwise and then cut 3" strips to make the bows and wrap around the packages. Tulle is awesome for bows and while it is more expensive than using the little sticky bows *okie so hates sticky bows* it is cheaper than using wired ribbon or other cloth ribbon. I love the elegance it adds to packages!

My friend came to see me last night and he said "you sure have a lot of presents under your tree" and I told him "those are all prizes!". He looked again, I think maybe trying to count, and then looked at me and said "so let me get this straight...everyone of those packages are for your friends". I told him "yep" and he shook his head and said "so you give your friends all of that and you don't get any". I laughed and told him "yep! It's my Christmas present to my friends!". He turned to me smiling and said "that's my girl! Always doing for others and never expecting anything in return". He always tells me I am going to be abundantly blessed one day and I always say "I ALREADY AM!". To tell ya the truth there is nothing that could be a better gift than having all my friends together with me for one evening a year and enjoying the laughter and love we all share.

I will be sure to try and post for tomorrow about how a little surprise that is going to happen turned out! I am hoping to be able and add pictures as well, but will have to see how it all plays out first.

ONE WEEK? WTH?

2011-11-26T10:55:00.001-06:00

I am working frantically at this point as it really hit me this morning that I only have one week until my Girlfriend Christmas Party! Where did the time go? I always do this, thinking I have plenty of time and then the pressure gets on when I realize....I HAVE NO TIME!

This morning I am working on finishing up the wine charms for each guest. I will be posting a video of how I did the shrinky dinks for the wine charms and also the finished project. There will be other posts coming soon of some other projects that I have made for the party but don't want to post yet. So you see I have been crafting, crafting like crazy actually...I just can't post the projects until after the party.

My BFF Karen will be in on Thursday evening. I will go to OKC and pick her up at the airport. We will spend Friday doing our grocery shopping and getting the tables ready and living room ready. Karen always comes in a few days early and helps me. I am hoping to have more done this year so we can enjoy our time together instead of just working on the party stuff *okie knows in her heart that won't be happening and that poor BFF Karen will be running around as frantic as okie*. We do plan on having lunch with Naomi on Friday. I already told Naomi we would bring her lunch that day and I think she is looking forward to seeing Karen. Everyone always loves Karen! She is one of those people who are funnier than hell without even trying to be funny.

I first met Karen back in January of 1987, she was an exchange student from a university in Massachusetts. We quickly became friends and remained friends throughout the years. We would lose contact occasionally but then find each other again. Karen decided to fly out to see me several years ago and ever since then we have contact from once a week to daily. Now days if she goes a few days without returning my call I will leave her a voice mail and say "Karen, you have until tomorrow to call me. If I don't hear from you by then I AM CALLING DORIS!", Doris is Karen's mother. I generally get a call within a few hours saying "OMG! DON'T CALL DORIS!" and we both laugh.

Now you might wonder why I would worry about Karen not returning my call since she is an adult. Karen is a travel nurse and goes all over the United States to locations that she hasn't been before and where she doesn't know anyone, I being the mother hen of course worry about her. When she is driving to a new location I will work my schedule around her driving so I can be available to guide her through different highways and interstates. She does have a GPS, but let me tell ya something...those things aren't always right! I also will make hotel reservations for Karen. When she starts feeling tired she will let me know how much longer she wants to drive and I will get on the computer and start looking for hotels in the area. I should have her credit card number memorized by now as many times as I have made reservations for her, but I am not good with remembering numbers. Maybe that is why she is always so willing to tell it to me again, knowing I will never remember it *okie thinks she might write it down next time and keep it in a safe place and do some damage at the Coach Outlet*.

But back to the party! I still have some things to wrap up, literally, but must take pictures of the projects first. My daughter will work on decorating the house tomorrow. I have to get the swag bags ready, putting all the items in. I will take pictures of those as well to show you guys. I did get my Santa Bucks for the auction all printed and put in their envelopes I made *okie makes a mental note to take pictures of those and post an explanation about Santa Bucks*. Linda, aka LGuild, informed me this morning that I have to make the same appetizers I do every year, even though I was wanting to try something new I guess I won't *okie swears she has the bossiest friends on this earth*. I have my list on the computer of things I need to do and things I have completed so I am good there. I am just afraid to look at the list and see that I might be further behind than I think! I guess I better get busy and get more things done or I will be rushing around here like a chicken with my head cut off. Now that's an odd little saying isn't it? But no time to try and contemplate where it came from...I GOT WORK TO DO!

A True Story of Black Friday Karma

2011-11-25T11:09:00.001-06:00

I am a full believer in Karma. I always feel if you do bad by people then bad will come to you, if you do good by people then good will come to you. Today's post is about Karma and how once again I feel I live a blessed life. Oh sure it isn't always the feeling of blessing but I prefer to look at those rougher experiences and times as learning experiences or God testing my strength *okie thinks God really likes to test her sometimes and thinks she needs to schedule an appointment with Him to discuss this in the future*. But for today, well...it's about good Karma and even better, good Karma on Black Friday!

I had my list ready for Black Friday. There wasn't much I was wanting to get. I wanted the Ninja Blender and Naomi wanted some sheets. I was going to look at a few other things while I was there as well but figured I would have no problems getting the items I was wanting since mine weren't big ticket items. I had decided to stop in at the casino before heading across the street to Walmart. The pitboss asked if I had already been to Walmart and I told him the stuff I was wanting didn't go on sale until 10pm so I had a little while before I had to go. One of the dealers, Davy is his name, overheard me and asked if I would be willing to pick up an Xbox 360 with Kinect for him. He thought he would go over on a break or after work and get it for his wife. He wanted to surprise her for Christmas. I laughed at him about how he thought he would just be able to dash over there and get it, after all I am a seasoned Black Friday shopper and know how this chit works! I told him I didn't mind a bit. Since I knew I would need to get there and stand in line I headed over there an hour early.

I got to Walmart and of course the parking lot was full. With lights shimmering off the shiny metal it almost looked like a placid lake at night when stars reflect of the ripples of water . I was lucky and found a decent spot and headed off in the store. There was not one buggy to be found but I figured how heavy could an Xbox, a blender and a set of sheets be. Thanks to my handy dandy map of Walmart I quickly found the line...the long line...the very long line, for the Xbox with Kinect. I asked the man ahead of me if he knew how many they had and he said he didn't. I asked him if he had counted the people in line and he looked at me like I had 3 heads. I laughed and told him "look if you will save my spot I will go ask how many they have and then count the people and see if we stand a chance, this way we don't waste our time standing here waiting when we could be getting something else". He, of course, eagerly agreed to this ingenious plan *okie smiles slightly at just another fantabulous ingenious plan of hers*. I found the beginning of the line and asked how many they had and they said "we have 147". I then started counting people, all of which who were very cooperative and would tell me if they had someone else in line and were each getting one or if they had multiple people there but were only getting one. After counting and adding a few extra in for good measure I happily reported to the man "well it looks like we are in good shape, we are standing around 80 and they have 147". The lady that had come while I was on my mission didn't even mind me getting back in line and said she appreciated knowing that she was going to be able to get one.

As time went on and we were standing there everyone was chit chatting. Every now and then I would see someone else get in line and voice concerns about there being enough and I would assure them "oh yes you are around" so and so "number and there are 147". Everyone in our line seemed to be in good spirits and discussed other things they were wanting. Suddenly we heard a commotion and I, being the totally nosy person I am said "oh ya'll watch my spot I gotta go see what's going on". Off I went to see what the noise was all about! I quickly learned that Paula Dean cookware was worth fighting over and getting tasered, well not me tasered but someone else. I found this out later on when I bumped into my daughter in law and she was wanting some of the cookware but didn't get it.

After what seemed like forever, and me seeing Ninja blenders go by and wondering why they were already being released, our line started moving. Of course my ingenious plan worked and I was able to get Davy the Xbox with Kinect so he can surprise his wife for Christmas. I quickly head off to where the blenders were suppose to be and lo and behold....THEY WERE GONE! I didn't get mad or upset, I actually kinda laughed about it. To tell ya the truth I was happier about knowing someone else was going to be able to surprise someone they loved with an awesome Christmas gift.

I roamed around the store since the sheets were sold out as well and came across a few other little items to pick up. I went to the jewelry department to look for the Timex watches and on the jewelry counter sat nothing other than a Ninja Blender! There was a man standing in front of it and I kindly said "excuse me sir, is that your blender?". He turned to me and I noticed he had on a lanyard identifying him as a Walmart employee. He smile and said "no, I just picked it up out of the aisle". I told him the story of how that was the one thing I was wanting for myself and wasn't able to get it. He grabbed the blender and placed it in my cart and said "well Merry Christmas ma'am!". I told him thank you about 12 times and I just thought to myself...WOW! KARMA WAS ON MY SIDE! With my awesome blender acquired I headed off to the check out counter. I noticed a few people had a Kindle Fire in their buggy and I knew those probably went fast. Of course I looked at them drooling but knew I didn't have the money for one right now anyway and if it was meant for me to get one I would get one eventually. I mean it's not like they are going to stop manufacturing them.

I drove back over to the casino and took Davy his Xbox. I handed it to one of the floor managers as Davy was dealing at the time and wasn't able to get it. The guys playing poker started discussing the craziness of Black Friday and how they thought it was great of me to get Davy the game console. I told them all the story of the blender and they agreed that good deeds pay off. Davy told me to keep the change, which was about 11 bucks. I later took him his receipt and the $50 gift card that was included with the Xbox. He told me he didn't even know it came with a gift card and he wouldn't have known if I kept it. I told him it wasn't mine to keep!

I decided to play the slots for a little while, knowing I didn't have much money I knew I wouldn't be there long. I put 5 bucks in a machine and played for a bit and then it was gone. I took the $11 that Davy told me to keep and put it in the machine. Long story short, I hit enough money to get my Amazon Kindle Fire, if only it had happened earlier! *okie laughs and shakes her head about how missed chances happen sometimes*. I visited with some friends for a bit and went and played poker for awhile, not really winning big but did come out a little ahead. After I got done I remembered I was out of coffee, so off to Walmart I went.

Luckily Walmart was cleared out by this time, almost looking like an abandoned ghost town, even down to the lonely pieces of paper and trash blowing around the parking lot as if they were tumble weeds rolling down a dusty road. I went in, got my coffee and picked up a few other things. I remembered I needed hairspray so head to the other side of the store. I saw where there were several of the $19 Shop-Vacs left and put one in my buggy. I have always wanted a Shop-Vac and my Aunt Betty swears by them and it was a good buy. I thought "well Merry Christmas to me". I was headed back to checkout and went by electronics. There were 3 guys standing around and I smiled and asked "got any of those Kindle Fires left?". One of them laughed and said "How many you want? Seven?". I laughed and said "that's what I figured". Another guy said "No seriously, do you want seven?". The third guy told me "we sold out immediately and people were upset because there weren't that many. I don't usually work in electronics so I didn't know where everything was and after all the chaos was over I went in the back and there were two more buggies full of the Kindle Fires" and he pointed behind him and sure enough there sat two buggies full of them! My mouth dropped open and said "How can I not get one?!". He quickly grabbed one and handed it to me and told me "tell all your friends!". I kept justifying to myself why I should buy this Kindle Fire when I still have a cruise to pay for. I then thought "Karma, it's all about Karma!". I usually don't want anything for Christmas. The last time I really wanted anything was 4 years ago when I wanted a Cricut, which I did get, and that was another Karma story I do believe. I soon put my guilt aside and decided "MERRY CHRISTMAS SHIRLEY! ENJOY!"

When I said I believe in Karma I truly meant that, how else could all these events be explained? Okay, I admit it could be seen as a blessing from God but since gambling was involved I think it was Karma as I am still not sure how God feels about gambling and I don't plan on asking Him about His feelings on that vice.

So you see, on this Black Friday I was visited by Karma and it was GOOD!

I want it so bad!

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

I do, I really do! I have looked at it, read about it, researched the reviews and have decided....

I WANT THE KINDLE FIRE!

If I had been a good girl maybe Santa would bring me one for Christmas, but come on now we all know that probably won't be happening *okie wonders if it was the cuss words that came flying out her mouth, telling her daughter she couldn't move back home, wishing that the man who cut in front of her would get a flat tire, or many other things* since Santa probably thinks I haven't been too good this year. I love the idea of being able to get magazines this way and it would be awesome to get the Cards magazine or the Cricut magazine on the Kindle Fire. Also I think it would be awesome to be able to download the cartridge handbooks and have them all handy that way.

The book option would be great as well, if I read books that is. It isn't that I don't like to read, I do like to read. I just can't read. Well I can read, but I shouldn't do it very often. When I start to read a book I can't stop. It irritates me when people call, I have to go to the bathroom, Lucy needs to go to the bathroom, I have to stop and eat, etc. Several years ago I actually read the 4 books in the Twilight series from noon on a Saturday to about 10pm on Monday. That was with going to work on Monday which irritated the holy...*okie thinks maybe she better refrain from the word so Santa might reconsider*, um, it irritated me greatly! When I had an Iphone I read books on it and it didn't make my eyes hurt like regular books do so figure this would do the same thing.

One of these years I am going to be a good girl and get something for Christmas...one of these years.....

Altered Frame

2011-11-20T00:12:00.001-06:00

I got some frames from Consumer Crafts sometime ago with the intention of altering them and using them as prizes for my Christmas party. Yesterday I was finally able to get one done!

Here is what the frame looks like unaltered. It was simple to work with and I actually just turned it the other way to use it for this particular project. The way the kick stand *okie isn't sure what that thing is called but it does remind her of a kick stand on a bicycle or motorcycle since it keeps the frame from falling over* is on the back you can turn it either way without a problem. I have of the 12x12 size frames as well and they hold 5x7 photos. I will probably working on one or two of those today.

Supplies Used:
Ready to Finish Memory Frame
Crate Paper Restoration Collection
Chipboard
Basic Grey File Kit
Earring Jackets, Earring Pearls
Acetate
Brad
Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Liquid Pearls

The paper was double sided so I simply cut one piece of paper the size of the overall frame and then made a cut on that paper at 3", flipping the 3" piece over and using it on the left hand side.

I didn't use my Cricut at all on this project as the collection had some great little extra's that I thought worked well. I did add chipboard under the the punch out elements of the photo corners, banner, clock, flower and circle with words. I pop dotted the banner and the circle. The clock has two layers of chipboard behind it. I glued the flower and the photo corners directly to the frame after covering it with the paper. The border strip was also part of the collection pack.

I loved the little clock and wanted to use it for the frame but wasn't sure how to tie it into the banner until I saw the little circle with the words that say "Where does the TIME go?" and then I thought yep that will do it! *okie thinks this is just once again proving what a mind of sheer genius that okie posesses*. I used a 1 3/8" circle punch to punch a piece of clear acetate to fit on top of the clock and then punched a hole, lining it up in the center and added a brad to keep the acetate on and also to make it look like it was part of the clock hands.

I told you guys about the load of earring jackets and little pearl earrings I got when I posted the altered Paisley Purse, well when I did the frame I got some of the jackets out, which are the flowers and thought I would try alcohol inks on them. They are originally frosted in color. They took the inks fabulously! I cut most of the post off of the yellow pearl earring and then used hot glue to adhere the flower jacket and pearl earring to the frame. I think the little flowers add the little "something special" that we all usually try to find for each project.

Well I am off to work on some more of these suckers and hope to get 2-3 done today, however I might be setting my sights a little high HA HA HA.

Recipe books completed!

2011-11-19T10:18:00.001-06:00

I can't believe after 3 years I finally pulled these darn things out and finished them! The bad news is that I can't post them now because I don't want my party guests to see them before the party. I only made 4 and there are 14 guests invited so that makes it pretty obvious that not everyone will get one. The fun part will be after the first one is won and the reaction it gets. I am wondering if others will be trying to figure out exactly which box the other 3 are in and wait for bidding.

Okay let me explain this a little about the prizes and such. Each guest at my party will get a certain amount of Santa Bucks in their swag bags that way everyone has some money to spend at the auction. They will play games and have a chance to win more Santa Bucks during the night. At the end of the night I will hold the auction for the prizes I have made for the party. The prizes are all wrapped up so no one knows what are in the boxes they are bidding on. When they open the box they can keep the prize or sell it back to me for half of what they paid for it. If they sell it back the prize is set back for the end of the auction for guests to bid on. The fun part for me is to choose a box and have people bid on a wrapped gift that they have no idea what it could be! All the gifts are wrapped in two different wrapping papers and there are different size boxes so it will be hard to determine what is in the box even though there are some duplicate prizes. Sound like fun? It might not be fun for my guests but it sure is a lot of fun for me, and in the long run isn't that all that matters? *okie laughs evilly*.

Since I won't be posting the whole recipe book until after the party I thought I would at least show you guys the cover of the books.

There are only 15 recipes in the book. I would have liked to included more but not sure I would have found O-wires big enough if I made it any thicker!

I used a lot of cuts from the From My Kitchen cartridge and there are a lot of cuts in the book that I don't remember where I got them, remember this was started 3 years ago! I know some of them are original designs I made using George because back when I started this book we didn't have all the options for cuts like we do now.

I believe the prize winners will like the books and if they don't...well they can always sell it back to me and I can auction it off again later. However, I don't think that will be happening!

Found Out I Love...

2011-11-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

THE CINCH!!

A wonderful person named RoseMary sent me a Cinch some time ago and I haven't had a chance to use it until last night. I have been working diligently on finishing up some recipe books I started 3 years ago. Here is a link to pages, not the whole book, I finished way back when - RECIPE BOOK. I had decided I was going to finish these up for prizes for my party this year or just cancel the party! *okie knows she is exaggerating a little*.

These books are truly a labor of love. There are 15 recipes in the book, all are some of my favorites. I won't post other pictures until after my party so my guests don't see what they look like until the night of the party.

Oh but back to the Cinch. It is so super simple to use! I have used the Bind It All and while I love it, I had no idea how Super Simple the Cinch would be to use! The directions are all printed on the machine so no need to go look for the directions when I want to use it. It cut through the chipboard like butter and the only mistake that was made was because I wasn't paying attention *okie thinks "dang that David Letterman anyway"* and didn't have a page slide all the way in. Thanks to some Undu it was a fairly simple fix.

If you don't have a binding machine and are considering one I would HIGHLY recommend the Cinch!

Be Jolly - Party Invitation

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

I sent out the last of the party invitations so I thought I would get them posted on here for you guys to see.

Supplies Used:
Cricut 3 Birds On Parade
Cricut Art Philosophy
Various patterned papers
Various cardstock
Decoart Snow Writer
Brads
Signo UM 153 gel pen
Stampin Up marker
Diamond Stickles

I used the Hallmark Software to do the inside of the card and came up with sentiment on my own. I know, I know, not too original but it works! Noticed I blotted out my address and time, didn't want a bunch of unexpected guests showing up at my party!! *okie falls out chair laughing*.

I wasn't sure what color to make the bird and actually wanted a red bird but thought it would be too much with the hats and boots he is wearing so I opted for the blue bird. I used DecoArt Snow Writer for the "fur" on the hat and the ball. I used the white gel pen to add a few highlight marks.

The "Be Jolly" is from the 3 Birds cartridge as well. I went over the green with Diamond Stickles and it looks a lot better in person than in the picture.

A few of my guests have contacted me to let me know they got their invitation and how they just thought it was "the cutest thing".

And as much as I would love to stay and chat a bit I just don't have the time right now. I am beginning to feel like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland...I'M LATE! I'M LATE! I'M LATE FOR VERY IMPORTANT DATE! NO TIME TO SAY HELLO GOODBYE! I'M LATE! I'M LATE! I'M LATE! Okay maybe not late, but always in a hurry these days!

Been workin, workin, workin....BUSY BUSY!

2011-11-15T18:40:00.001-06:00

I have been busy workin not only at my job but also on stuff for my Christmas Party. My daughter and I have managed to get all the prizes wrapped that are ready at this time. I always like to make sure there are plenty of prizes and with 14 guests invited this year, well that is a lot of prizes to get ready! I am working on 4 more prizes right now and have a few more in mind I want to make. I am running out of time!!! AACCKK!! Thanksgiving holiday is gonna really mess up my schedule at work but hoping the weekend of Thanksgiving I can get the last minute things done and wrapped up before my guests start arriving the next week.

My friend Karen got her flight booked and will be coming in on Thursday. My friend Angela will be coming up from Texas on Friday and then the rest of the guests will be coming on the day of the party. I am sure we will be having a wonderful time. Karen always comes in early to help me the day before the party and I don't think she has any idea how much I truly appreciate it! Of course I always cook her a ribeye steak dinner when she comes so that is a big incentive for her.

I have my games picked out, my Santa Bucks ready to copy, my Santa Buck envelopes made and ready and all the invitations sent out!

Tomorrow I will be posting the invitations I made for the party. I meant to post earlier but haven't had time to breath much less edit pictures and get them posted.

Okay I am out of here for now, so much to do and so little time!!!

True Friendship...and a Miracle too!

2011-11-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

I told you the story concerning my apprehension about attending my class reunion. I told you the story of how I made it to the reunion and had a fabulous time. Now let me tell you the story of how I also learned that once you are friends you are always friends and miracles do occur!

As everyone was leaving the reunion and getting into their cars I stayed and talked to Sheri and Tonya for some time. We were probably there about 20 minutes after everyone else had gone. Sheri left to go to her mom's and Tonya and I stayed for about another 10 minutes.

My daughter and I started up the van and were ready to head home. I tried to put the van in reverse and the gear shift wouldn't budge! I turned the van off several times and would try again but still that gear shift was stuck like it had been set in concrete. My daughter asked what we were going to do. I think I forgot to mention that the little school I went to was out in the middle of the country. The closest town is about 12 miles away. I remember growing up, way before cell phones were even thought of, if you had car problems you just went to the nearest house and could say "I got my truck stuck on the side of the road and I was wondering if you could help me. I am Shirley Thompson, my parents are Don and Nellie" and the farmer would say "sure thing, just let me get my boots on" and sure enough he would grab a chain, hop on his tractor and come pull ya out. You never offered them money because it would offend them, all they would ever accept was a very grateful and sincere "THANK YOU SO MUCH SIR!" and the reply would always be "anytime kiddo".

Anyway back to my story....Thank goodness to this wonderful age of cell phones I was able to call my friend Heath. I said "Heath do you have Ed's number? My van won't go in gear and I want to call and see if he knows what might be wrong". Heath asked if I was still at the school and when I told him I was he said "I got Ed's number in my phone but I'm on my way. We can call him when I get there".

Sure enough Heath showed up not long after I called. He worked on trying to figure out the problem but was quite perplexed. He gave me Ed's phone number, who just so happens to be a mechanic and actually teaches at Gordon Cooper Vocational School in Shawnee Oklahoma, and I called him. His wife answered the phone and I told her "This is Shirley. I am stuck at the school because my van won't go into gear. Is Ed around? I thought I would ask him if he knew what the problem might be". She quickly gave the phone to Ed. He asked "do you want to wait for me" and I told him "well I ain't goin no where". Ed kinda laughed and said "give me about 15 minutes and I'll be there". There was a couple in the gym and they came out to see what the problem was. Now this was close to 9pm at night and it was rather chilly as strong winds were blowing. The man tried to take a look and he and Heath still couldn't figure out the problem, even with trying to rock the van in case it was seized up and checking the fuse box under the hood.

At this point I started praying, well actually I don't pray as much as I just converse with God. I said "God, I don't think I ask for much but I really need your help tonight. It's too cold for me and my daughter to be stranded out here in the middle of the country. My nice friends are out here trying to help me and I think we could use a little of Your help right now". Now I am not a religious person at all, I could write several posts about my thoughts and opinions on religion but I will spare you at this time. I am however a VERY SPIRITUAL PERSON. I feel my relationship with God is more binding and sacred than any marriage or relationship that could ever occur.

Soon Ed showed up and the men *okie giggles at the thought of calling her "boys" men* discussed what all Heath had tried. Ed hopped in the van, stepped on the brake and looked toward the rear of the van, explaining to us that if the brake lights go out the gear shift won't work, some kinda sensor thing. He got out and they popped the hood again and checked the fuse box and didn't see the fuse Ed was looking for. Ed crawled into the floorboard of the van and said "there is another fuse box down here". They were talking about the amps of the fuses and Ed pulled out the 10 amp fuse that was in the slot for the brake lights and said "sure enough, it's blown". Ed asked Heath if he had a 10 amp fuse and Heath said he just bought some but they were all 20 or 30 amps. I told Ed, well I don't need a radio so if that works just take it out. Ed suddenly seemed a bit perplexed for a moment and said "this should take a 20 amp fuse". About that time Ed looked down and picked something up off the floorboard and said "where did this 20 amp fuse come from?". They discussed how none of them took out a fuse and it must have fallen out but it couldn't have fallen out.

I looked at them and with a bit of a smug smile on my face I said "God sent it. I prayed". They began discussing how some woman and her daughter had gotten stuck in a bad part of town and their car wouldn't start. They began to pray and the car started. Once home the husband checked the car and there was NO battery. We discussed a little about miracles. I just shrugged slightly and smiled to give them a little "well, I'm not surprised" reaction. Ed popped the fuse into the slot and told me to try it. I hopped in the van, turned the ignition and stepped on the brake...I didn't even have any worry that the gear shift wouldn't move because I knew God had provided...and pushed the button on the gear shift and of course it moved without a problem.

My knights in shining armor!

I thanked everyone profusely for coming to help me. Of course they acted like it was no big deal, that's how country folks are ya know. But as I drove away I started thinking about what had just occurred. Not only did I see a little miracle from God but I also realized that "my boys", even after all these years, were still there for me. They did not question, they did not hesitate. All I needed to do was call and say "I got a problem" and just like knights in shining armor they were there in no time at my side during my time of need. I am not sure which I am more thankful to God for right now, the 20 amp fuse that miraculously appeared or the action of Ed and Heath proving once again that "once friends, always friends". I think it is the latter actually. A 20 amp fuse can be bought at any automotive store. True friendship however, can never be bought, sold or fade away.

I went, I saw....I had a great time!

2011-11-13T09:21:00.001-06:00

I made it to my class reunion. I really wasn't sure what to expect and of course I was ready to go into "shell mode", you know the kinda mode where you figure there might be something hard to hear, deal with or see so you feel like you have a protective bubble around you. I didn't go in on shell mode, was just prepared in case. But ya know what...I didn't need to hit that mode!

My daughter and I got there a little early, actually the first to arrive *okie thinks she needs to write that on her calendar since she is generally fashionably late...then giggles to herself because she calls it "running on Indian time"*. My friend Heath and his wife soon showed up. The last time I saw Heath was at Gary's funeral. He didn't look any different, but then again I think in this electronic age in which we live and can see a lot of folks on Facebook it helps us feel we get to "see" people more than we really do. We went into the cafeteria and started setting things up. My daugther, who can be so wonderful at time...and it is getting to be most of the time these days knew just how those new fangled lunchroom tables worked and was able to get them set up in no time. Heath got the projector ready and started setting up the pictures.

There weren't as many people as we had thought would come but ya know what...I feel we all still had the best time ever. Ed, who started organizing this little shindig, and Heath did a fabulous job! I can't believe that after all these years Heath had the Last Will and Testament that he and I read at our Jr./Sr. Prom. He also had the Senior Spotlight which was a little paper, evidently I was the editor, where all the Seniors were interviewed about what they planned for their futures. Most were rather hilarious.

During the slide show there were quite a few pictures of Gary. I was able to look without tears, I was able to look without heartache. I was able to look with a warm feeling and a slight smile on my face. I had taken many of those pictures since I was on the school newspaper and yearbook staff and did a lot of the photography and darkroom work. I could remember the stories behind not only the pictures of Gary but many of the other pictures. I had no idea that I even still had those memories in my brain *okie thinks to herself...yeah my extraordinarily large brain, but I won't say that*. We all would start talking at a picture that brought the memories rushing back. Of course the majority of our classmates were not there to add their memories but it didn't seem to matter because the ones that were there...well we had enough memories of different events that would fill a book.

Here is a group picture of the classmates that made it to the reunion. The guy in the green shirt in the back was actually a year younger but like I said we were a small school and a tight knit group.There were a few people that showed up who graduated a year before us. Somehow I missed getting a picture of them.

I also learned something very important last night...about how it doesn't matter how many years have passed, how long it has been since you have seen your "friends" they are always there for you! And that my dears, will be the story for tomorrow!

It's my blog and I can be melancholy if I want to

2011-11-12T11:33:00.001-06:00

Do you ever....Look forward to something and dread it at the same time? I am at that point right at this very moment.

I graduated in 1984 and today we are having a reunion. That was 27 years ago, a bit odd of a benchmark for a reunion but hey, that was always us. We didn't even want to have a graduation ceremony and agreed to go through with it if they didn't make us have a speaker. We were a bunch of 18 year old kids who were more interested in going on our senior trip to California. That was a pretty big deal back in those days, some of us had never been out of the state of Oklahoma. Heck there might have been one or two that hadn't been much further than the big cities of Oklahoma City or Tulsa.

It's not that I mind seeing my classmates, I am looking forward to that. It's not that I was an unpopular kid and have terrible memories of high school. Just the opposite actually. High school years were awesome for me! What I am dreading is not seeing the one classmate that meant the most to me. Gary Keith. I still remember the first time I saw him. It was my first day at a new school at the beginning of my 7th grade year. I was so nervous about it and the school was so tiny that the whole 7th grade was in one classroom, I think there might have been about 25 students. I was sitting at my desk with my head down wishing so hard that I could go back to my old school when I heard a voice say "Hey, what's your name". I looked up and there was this red headed freckle faced kid smiling at me with dimpled cheeks, I swear I thought I had suddenly been transported to Mayberry USA and Opie was talkin to me! I looked at him and said "Shirley" and he said "Welcome to Strother, I'm Gary Keith". I was so grateful for that break in the ice and even more grateful that years later I was able to tell him how much that meant to me.

Gary become a dear friend during the rest of our school days. But then again when there are only 200 students in the entire student body of a school most everyone becomes close friends. Anyway, things changed between us our Senior year and we suddenly realized that we cared a little more for each other but being young kids we never really knew how to express it. We dated off and on our senior year and the two years I was in junior college. I left for an out of town college in the fall of 1986. I would see him when I came home for weekend visits...but then my visits got less and less frequent. Next thing I knew he was married and had a baby on the way. I would run into him occasionally over the years, always glad to see him but always knowing things were over between us.

We reunited again in October of 1998, he was getting a divorce and I had just called off a wedding, that was about 14 years after our graduation. My mother was actually the one that suggested to Gary that he call me and we go out and do something. For the next 5 years we were together off and on, more off than on, but my love never faded. We had talked about how we both thought back when I left for college that I would go off and finish college and once done I would come back and we would be together. It just didn't work that way. We talked seriously of marriage but there was one thing that always stood in the way. I always told him "I refuse to come second to a bottle of beer and a game of pool". While I loved that man dearly, I loved myself and my daughter more and couldn't fully commit to someone who couldn't stop drinking, the whole "been there done that" type thing. If it had been just me I probably would have accepted it, but for the sake of my daughter....well I just couldn't. I wasn't going to let her grow up in a home where there was just too much tension and dysfunction *okie figures her daughter got enough dysfunction by having okie as a mom*.

It came to a point where I knew I had to call it quits for good. I couldn't allow myself to hold on to a busted dream that would never happen. Then the letter came...I swear it was probably as close as a love letter than man ever wrote. I still have that letter. My emotions were torn and I took some time, well okay a few weeks, to think things over before contacting him. I called him and he sounded pretty chipper. Then came the punch to my gut. He told me he was getting married. I was hurt, furious, relieved and so many more other emotions all at once. Had he not just written me 6 weeks prior to tell me I was the love of his life and he always loved me and wanted us to be together? But here he was suddenly telling me he was getting married!

I didn't talk to him again after that, but in my heart I hoped he had finally found the happiness he was seeking. I had convinced myself he had found happiness and everything was roses.

Over the years I would dream of him, that he came back to me and things were better with him. All those dreams were shattered early on a Sunday morning, November 5th 2006 to be exact. I got a call from another classmate, my dear friend Heath. He called to tell me that Gary had died due to injuries from a car accident. My heart sank. I won't go into the details of everything but I will just say that Gary was evidently not living the fairy tale I had hoped for him.

I debated about not going to the funeral but with my Aunt Betty at my side I was able to make it there. I had told myself I would be okay. And I thought I would be until we walked in the church and sat down. I couldn't stop crying...sobbing actually. There laid the one man who would always have my heart. Sure I have loved other men in my life but nothing like the love I had, or should I say have, for Gary. When it was time to walk through and view his body I looked down at him, he looked as if he almost had a little smile on his face and years of memories and emotions rushed through my head. I felt my knees start to buckle and I had to quickly get out of there. Once in the hallway I looked at my Aunt Betty and told her "I am going to pass out". She swiftly grabbed my elbow and lead me to a chair that was in the hallway. I was able to pull myself together and we left for the cemetery. After the grave side service was over and everyone was mingling around I saw his wife standing next to the casket. I wondered for a moment if I should go say something to her and decided to go and offer my condolences. I told her "I know there is nothing I can do or say to help with the pain you are feeling right now but I do understand". She looked at me and smiled and said "You know he always loved you". I was stunned, floored, shocked...you know the type that makes you feel all the air escapes your lungs swiftly and you wonder if you will be able to breath again. I stood there not knowing what to say to this woman who had just lost her husband, a man we both loved. I just looked at her and said "I never stopped loving him". We hugged each other with an understanding that only two women who loved the same man could ever have.

Over the last 5 years since Gary's death I have avoided trying to be anywhere or see people who would bring back the painful loss. Yeah I know the steps of grief and how resolving is essential in order to move on, I am a therapist for goodness sakes. I have been able to get past many deaths in my life. I have been able to overcome some very painful childhood experiences. But the whole situation with Gary is different, and always will be. I still dream of him occasionally. The same haunting dream where he appears and I tell him "you came back to me". I will admit that the pain has lessened over the years and I don't wake up and cry anymore, but there is still a degree of heartache that occurs.

Today I will be hit full force with memories of Gary as I know he will be the topic of many conversations as we all go down memory lane. I don't know what to expect or how my emotional state will be and I told my friend Heath just this morning "you know I am dreading this". Heath is likely the only person from our class that understands the full extent of my dread. But I have to go. I promised Heath I would be there, even told him I would be there a little early to help with some pictures.

Maybe typing all of this out will help me. Once this posts it will be out there for anyone to read and know how I feel. Maybe that is what I need, to just get it all off my chest. It's time for me to take a deep breath and exhale slowly and let it go. Let go of the pain, heartache and loss and realize it doesn't mean I am letting go of Gary. I know I will always have my memories of Gary and will always feel love for that man. I feel blessed to know that he did always love me. Even though he is no longer of this earth I will always treasure knowing that Gary was my first love and the love of my life.

Sorry for such a long boring post today and an unusual downer post at that. I just figured I need to get some of this stuff out so I can carry on today and make it through. Heck maybe no one will take the time to read this sucker today and after returning home this evening I can log back in and delete it, no one ever knowing that even I have my melancholy days.

Paisley Purse - Altered Item

2011-11-11T07:45:00.000-06:00

This is the last of my little Bare Elements Sonia purses. I really do wish I had a few more. I only had gotten 6 at the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington when I was able to attend in 2010. Hopefully I can find something just as cool next June when I get to go again.

Supplies Used:
Bare Elements Sonia Purse
Cricut Flower Shoppe cartridge
FancyPants All Fall patterned paper
Various cardstock
Prima Paper Flowers
Swarovski Crystals
Cat Eye Chalk Inks
Glimmer Mist
Basic Grey brad
Pearl edging
Pearl earrings minus posts

Since the paper was double sided I was able to use one of the sides for the large flower and not have to worry so much about trying to match the colors *okie so loves things made simple*. the center is cut from the green and brown polka dot you see on the purse flap. I am not sure how I like the patterned paper flower but it stuck on there now and actually might be wrapped up already so I can't change it. The little blue flowers are made from Flower Shoppe and I used Prism paper for those.

I wanted to try and show you the sparkle of the Swarovski crystals but let me tell ya, it ain't easy photographing sparkle! My friend Carol, aka Carol with two hearts, had sent me some of the crystals from her stash probably about two years ago. Well I am so picky about who I use them on that I rarely use them. I don't want to waste them on a card someone will throw away so I thought this purse was a great use for a few of them.

Here you can see where I randomly added a few of the crystals. It just kinda like the overall design of the flowers seem to flow over the flap of the purse.

You might be able to notice the pearl center in the small flower at the bottom of the picture, that is the earring with the post cut off. Years ago I went into a shop that was going out of business and they had this HUGE container of pearl earrings, fake of course, and earring jackets so I snatched them up. I had forgotten about them until the other day when I was looking for something else and got the needlework and beads tote down off the shelf. I wondered if I could cut the posts off and since I had some jewelry wire pliers/cutters I was able to snip them off easily. You will probably be seeing these in the future as well.

For the flower petals I folded down the middle lengthwise. I wanted to give the flower a Mum sort of look and I think it worked out pretty good. I again used a piece of chipboard and cardstock left over from another project to add to the top of the flap so I would have a little more room to work with and would have some extra support for the flower that is "standing" off the top of the purse.

Not sure I will get a project done tonight to post. I need to wrap some more of the prizes for my party. I got 8 wrapped last night. I still have to get the tulle so I can make the bows for them. I also have to take Naomi to wound care today. For those who know who Naomi is, she is doing well. Her surgery a few months ago went well and she goes for treatment once a week. She says there is no pain and if she hadn't gotten infection while her incision was healing she probably would be fully recovered by now. However, she is in great spirits, other than being really ticked about having to go to wound care and treatment. I told her "well ya ding bat it is better than the alternative!" and she just laughed and agreed.

Linen And Lace Purse - Altered Item

2011-11-10T13:42:00.001-06:00

Blogger hasn't been working to well for me so this is posting a little late today!

Here is the finished project I did with the flowers I showed earlier this week. I hope you can see why I am so loving Flower Shoppe! I love the idea of being able to bend or curl the flower petals and make them look almost alive! If you want to ooh and ahhh right now that is fine. It's pretty much what I did when I got the flowers finished and put on the purse. I think this cart can make even the most simplistic project into something that everyone will ohhh and ahhh over!

Supplies Used:
Bare Elements Sonia Purse
Cricut Expression
Cricut Flower Shoppe cartridge
DCWV Linen and Lace
Various cardstock
Pearl Brad
Imaginesce heat set pearls
Small tatted doily
Cat Eye Chalk Inks
Glimmer Mist

I cut the brown flowers from paper scraps from the Linen and Lace stack and also from some Prism pink cardstock. You can see the heat set pearls that I used around the edging of the flap. I really love those little pearls and wished they offered different colors of them. I used a scrap piece of cardstock and paper I had cut out from another project to adhere the tatted doily to the purse. This also gave me a little extra room to add the flowers and leaves.

I used Coredinations to make the leaves. I first crumpled the cardstock and then sanded it a little for the distressed look. I used a paper towel to wipe off the excess paper dust before putting down on my Cricut mat to cut. I cut the leaves in two different sizes. After getting the leaves cut and inked I folded them in half length wise and then smooshed it together a little to get the effect you see in the picture. I think it helped give them a more realistic dimensional look than just a flat leaf would look.

If you watched the CRICUT PROJECT FLOWER SHOPPE video that Christina did you saw where she sprayed with water and suggested glimmer mist, I used the glimmer mist. It is hard to see in the photos but it shows more in person and gives the pieces a nice little shimmer.

I love the little rosettes and I was concerned about them being difficult to work with due to the small size but thanks to Christina's instructions it was very simple. I think I do want to get a quilling tool like she used as it might make it easier to assemble the smaller flower centers or rosettes.

I will be posting another altered purse tomorrow. I wasn't sure if I liked it. I send a picture to my friend Carmen and she said she liked it even better and thinks it is because of the colors. You guys can make your judgements tomorrow.

Take A Grasshopper For A Walk

2011-11-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

I was going to edit some pictures of the projects I did using the Flower Shoppe cartridge and get one of them posted today but I decided to wait and write about this instead...

I have a a client base at a residential facilty for people who are developmentally delayed and have been going there for over two years now to see clients. I always enjoy my days there and make sure to take time and talk to residents who aren't my clients. It's always nice to walk in the workshop and hear several voices calling my name excited to tell me their latest news, whether it is they got a letter from dad with $10 in it, if they got a phone call from their brother, if they get to go into town and go shopping on the weekend or even if it is just for them to say hi and ask how I am doing.

Yesterday I had gotten one of my clients, who has the sweetest nature and disposition you can ever imagine, and asked if she wanted to walk "the circle". "The Circle" is a sidewalk that goes around the inside of the campus and links to each cottage on the campus. She was very eager to go outside and walk after being "rained in" all day. She quickly began telling me how she had stood up for herself and made a decision to break up with her boyfriend and get a new boyfriend who "is nicer to me". I was praising her about her good work when all the sudden she says "OH! There is a grasshopper!". She moved quickly to catch the grasshopper and cradled it in her hand. She spoke softly to the grasshopper and asked him "do you want to take a walk with us?" We walked further talking and she would make comments to the grasshopper occasionally asking such things as if he was enjoying the walk, if he was comfortable and was he enjoying the beautiful day after all the rain. I kept reassuring her what a wonderful job she did on being assertive and how I was so proud of her. She smiled sweetly at me and said she was proud of herself.

At one point I looked at her hand and noticed the grasshopper was just sitting calmly on her thumb, not moving, not trying to jump away, but instead like he was just listening to our conversation and very aware of the fact that she was just trying to take him on a little walk. We discussed some of the past issues she had about letting others "take advantage" of her and how she doesn't want to do that anymore. She looked up me and said "you know what?" and I smiled back at her and said "no I don't know". She suddenly had a very serious look on her face and said "I feel safe now. I feel like I can stand up to people and they listen to me". I told her "That is because you have become a stronger person now". With her free hand she grabbed my hand and made me stop, she looked up at me and said "Thank you. You have helped me become a strong person". Of course I smiled at her and let her know she had done the work, that I was just a tool for her to build herself stronger.

She let go of my hand and we continued to walk and talk until we got closer to the building where she works. Suddenly she stopped for a moment and bent over and told the grasshopper "Okay it's time for you to go now. I hope you enjoyed your walk with us Mr. Grasshopper". I told her "oh I am sure he enjoyed it since he didn't ever try to run off". We finished the last little bit of our walk just chit chatting about her work assignment and how she has the right to make the decision where she works, me always reassuring her that she was in charge of her life and her choices. As we got back to the door she just simply said "okay I gotta get back to work now but I will see you at group tomorrow, right?" I told her we would indeed have group tomorrow and then I was off to get my next client.

On my drive home I got to thinking about this client of mine and how joyous the simple things in life are to her. How taking a grasshopper for a walk gives her joy, how learning to stand up for herself and be assertive with others gives her such a sense of pride and it made me think of how to be thankful for the little things in my life. Sometimes I think we get so involved in the materialistic belongings, hustle and bustle of family affairs, stress of our jobs, etc. that we forget we indeed have small things in our lives to enjoy and for which to be thankful. Maybe we all need to learn to take a grasshopper for a walk every now and then, thinking about how wonderfully blessed we are and be thankful for every little thing!

It's A Soapbox Day....

2011-11-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

No I am not making soap or boxes for soap...I am on my soap box *okie suddenly fears this dang box she is standing on might not be sturdy enough to hold her fat azz and steps down*. Okay it is theoretically a soapbox...

I know I have talked many times about my feelings concerning ProvoCraft and their customer base, but I am going to do it again today.

I guess I am still amazed at how so many consumers have a sense of "ownership" of ProvoCraft and how they are never pleased and want to tell ProvoCraft how to run the company, what changes need to be made, how to treat their customers and so many other things. I can't think of any other company that I deal with, and I stress the "I" in that, that allows their customers so much input to the likes of ProvoCraft. I can't imagine being on a messageboard for my cellphone and telling HTC that they need to stop making new models of phones, or they need to make new models of phones. I can't imagine being on a Dell messageboard and telling them what processors they need to use, what color of computers they need to manufacture, etc.

I guess what I am trying to say is that there are so many products in our lives that we don't even consider trying to tell the companies that make the products how to run their company or manufacture their products to please us I wonder why we often feel we can with ProvoCraft. Heck if there is a product I like I buy it. If I don't like like the product I stop buying it. I don't go and tell the company how I think they need to do things differently. Sure I might shoot them an email and tell them "hey tried your product and it fell apart on me. Not to pleased with the service so from now on I won't be buying from you again", at least this way I got it off my chest and they know I was a dissatisfied customer. But I don't see myself continually emailing or messaging the company and telling them "you need to do this, or you need to do that". I am more of a "put your money where your mouth is" kinda person...

Oh and let me ask...*okie hopes people realize this is a rhetorical question*, why is it that when I tell someone "Put your money where your mouth is" people think I am rude? I am simply saying "if you don't like the product don't buy it" *okie sighs and rolls her eyes at the thought of some, especially ONE, super sensitive person she encounters at times*.

That's all for that today...just had a few thoughts about all this and figured I could type them out on my blog. Oh and...just remember one thing 'THIS IS MY HOUSE UP IN HERE! I WON'T TAKE NO ABUSE IN MY HOUSE".

*okie smiles sweetly* Hope everyone has a great day!!

I have a problem....Flower Shoppe cartridge

2011-11-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

I am one of those personality types that when I get a good thing I want more and more and more of it. It doesn't matter if it is a good pack of Cream Horns, gorgeous paper, comfortable socks or heck even men! *okie thinks she might not want to go into that right now as it would take a whole notha blog to even begin to explain okie and the male species* Anyway I think I am going to have this problem with the Flower Shoppe cartridge!

I found two more of the chipboard purses that needed to be altered and wanted to get them done for my Girlfriend Christmas party as prizes. I picked out some papers and got them covered and then remembered I had the Flower Shoppe cartridge that I hadn't used yet. I have been wanting to try it but thought it was going to be very difficult to use and of course I didn't really look at the handbook *okie thinks instructions are for boys*. I went to Christina's blog, ya know Creations with Christina *okie would so hate Christina's butt for being uber talented if Christina wasn't such a sweetheart*, and of course she has the video CRICUT PROJECT FLOWER SHOP showing how to make the flowers. Well within 10 minutes I felt like I could be an expert flower maker!

This is the first flower I made and it was super super simple to do thanks to the video! You guys know me and my inking habit *okie thinks it is more like an addiction than a habit* so I had to ink the petals a little. I used a pearl brad for the flower center. I think Eyelet Outlet actually as some of these very pearl brads in their clearance section right now.

Here is the group of flowers for the project. I will post the project sometime this week. But for now I just wanted to share a little of the project and let you guys know how much I am gonna love this cart! I am not sure how many of these flowers i would use for scrapbooking or cardmaking since some stand up quite a bit, but I know they will be fabulous for altered projects for sure!

Photo Tray Project

2011-11-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

I have seen the photo tray's before and always thought how cool they looked. I never pictured me making one because I wasn't sure what I would put in it and always figured it needed a theme base to make sense. I finally figured out a great theme for one....THE CRICUT CRUISE!!

Supplies Used:
- 7 Gypsies Photo Tray
- Cricut Expression
- Creative Memories Cricut Traveler Cartridge
- Patterned paper - Hobby Lobby
- Various cardstock
- Mounting foam
- Cat Eye Chalk Ink
- Charms, buttons, etc
- KI Alphabet Soup
- Seashells from various locations
- Heat set pearls
- Red Line Tape

I printed my pictures in my photo software using the feature that allows me to a number of small prints at once. I wanted to get as many photos included so it would tell the story of the Cruise. The pictures are actually in order of our trip starting at the top and working down to the bottom of the tray. I was able to find all the great cuts for this project on the Creative Memories Traveler cartridge.

I added seashells from the actual beaches where we stopped while on the cruise. I thought they would give a little extra momento to the project. I had to use Red Line Tape or Mounting Foam to get them adhered but they worked out great and I dont think they are going to be falling off *at least okie hopes not*.

As soon as I saw this cut on the Traveler cartrdige I knew I would use it for the picture of my daughter holding a bunch of cameras. We had met up with some friends in Ft. Lauderdale the night before leaving and everyone gave her their camera's so she could snap a few group pictures. I love this picture of her because she definitely looks like a tourist!

Here is a good close up of some of the shells. I had them in baggies labeled with the beach we were at so I was able to get the appropriate ones with the right photos, although I am so no one would know the difference since they all seemed to be pretty much a like. For the palm tree to be dimensional I used 3 layers of mounting foam. I also did this on various other cuts and pictures in the project.

The word "ocean" is with the KI Alphabet soup, as are the flowers in the picture perfect slot. I have had these for sometime but haven't ever used them on anything until now and it seemed like the perfect embellishment. The little fish charm is something I found in my stash of chotskies. I also found the embellies in the taxi slot in the same container. I used tape from my ATG gun to attach the letters.

This project is definitely a labor of love as it is to be a gift for a very special person. I certainly hope they enjoy it as much as I loved making it!

Your Story Bundle

2011-11-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in yesterdays post how I got a Your Story Bundle and thought I would explain that a little. I know a lot of you took advantage of the fantastic price that was available a few weeks ago. There were several ladies who got 2-4 of the bundles so they could give as gifts. I don't know anyone crafty enough that would want to use this so I just got one for myself.

This picture pretty much represents what was included in the Your Story bundle

Provocraft was running a great Green Wedneday special a few weeks ago where you got an extra *okie tries to remember*, I think 20% off but it might have been 30%. If you were a Cricut Circle member you got another 10% off. They were also offering free shipping at the time. The bundle was on sale for around $17 or so and after all the discounts it was less than $12. My friend Amy, aka Scraparazzi, kept telling me about the bundle and about the trimmer. I wasn't sold on the Your Story machine but was intrigued by the trimmer so I took the bait. I had $60 credit on Cricut.com so figured I would get that and stock up on blades. I ended up ordering 7 packs of blades *okie is so thankful she did since she can't seem to find them locally anymore*.

I am not sure what I will make with the Your Story but I did ask around about it and a lot of people love it for laminating things. I did hear that you can use the Scotch laminating sheets in the Your Story and they work great. I guess I will have to find something to bind or laminate soon just so I can use it!

Actually Got A Card Made

2011-11-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

in Stamp Club last night! I usually never complete anything when I go to Stamp Club so me finishing even one card is quite a feat! I generally am too nosy seeing what everyone else is doing and talking to be able to complete a card.

Linda came to town around 4pm and we headed off to Walmart so she could look for some ribbon she was needing. We then went and ate dinner at the Super China Buffet. We usually go to Applebee's but we are about Applebee'd out at this point. After dinner we decided to go ahead and go to Scraptopia, where Stamp Club is now being held. Of course that meant browsing through the store! I quickly found some really great paper on clearance for 25 cents a sheet. After I got all I wanted I went and showed Linda *okie smiles to herself at her sly move of making sure she got what she wanted before informing Linda of the awesome sale*. The ladies who own the store are so awesome and are always ready to help us find what we need. They are also very willing to order things if we ask. This time we asked for refills for our Memento ink pads. Linda and I may have caused some others to get addicted to the ProMarkers!

Carol, the lady who runs Stamp Club, brought a ton of great Thanksgiving stamps and I chose a vintage looking one that had a turkey. She said it was meant to be just stamped and used but I couldnt resist using my ProMarkers on them *okie thinks she better start using those markers more before she forgets how to use them*. Since the stamp was so detailed I didn't want to color everything because it would have taken me 3 days to get it all colored.

The turkey was pretty easy to color but I had to look at a picture to decide how it needed to be colored. I used 4 different shades of brown and to be honest right now I can't remember which ones.

I dipped 3 orange brads into the Cat Eye Chestnut Roan chalk ink to tone down the color a little and make them blend with the colors of the card a little more.

The wavy edge on the deep red paper is a blade from the Your Story Trimmer *okie suddenly remember she never posted about getting the Your Story bundle and makes a mental note to do a blog post about it*. I really like the trimmer. It is convenient to take to Stamp Club but it won't take the place of my beloved Xacto Guillotine trimmer.

My friend Lisa is coming over this evening to help me work on the spa sock cupcakes. I have the wrappers all cut and put together, the socks all rolled and in the wrappers. We just have to add the little cherry pom poms and package them up. I will be posting them once they are all done and I get pictures taken.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!

No Project, Just Chit Chat

2011-11-03T08:21:00.000-05:00

I don't have a project to post today so just turn around and go back out the door *okie points to the door and then cracks up laughing*. I guess we can't always have something to post but if you read my blog a lot you probably already know that. Especially since this summer I didn't get anything done to post.

My next few weeks are going to be busy getting ready for my Annual Girlfriend Christmas party. I started having the Christmas party because I thought it would be a nice thing to do with my friends and after the first year my friends decided it needed to be a yearly event *okie thinks her friends can be such pushy beeches sometimes*.

I have the invitations all made, just need to get them addressed and probably mailed out next week. Why so early you ask? Well because my party is always the first Saturday in December. That way it gets my girlfriends in the Christmas spirit and doesn't conflict with any work or family obligations during the holidays. I have a very tight guest list. My house is not big so I can only invite 12-14 of my closest friends *okie suddenly thinks about that number and realizes how blessed she is to have 12-14 close friends*. The list does rotate out sometimes due to friends moving or having other obligations but the core list still stays the same. I can always count on about 6 to always be there as they have attended every year. This will be year 7 *okie suddenly feels depressed realizing she is getting old*.

Last year after Christmas my daughter and I were at Walmart and they were clearancing out some of the left over Christmas items at really great prices. My daughter, being the bargain hunter that her mother is, noticed that a man was clearancing out Santa hats for 25 cents! We quickly snatched enough for every guest. I will be filling the hats with little gifts for my guests. I have some things accumulated now but will probably be trying to find a few other things as well. I will post pictures on here later of some of the items for the "swag bags" and also some of the prizes. I use to buy things on clearance, ranging from bath and body products to jewelry, as gifts but after getting the Cricut I started making some prizes and they seemed to love those even more.

Okay I am off to do my groups with the lovely, attitude filled teenagers I work with. You guys have a great day!

Vacation Time card - DT Project

2011-11-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

One of the requirements for being on the Obsessed with Scrapbooking Design Team right now is that we use the Traveler Cartridge. I really love the cuts on this cartridge. While at first there seems to be just beach theme cuts there are some wonderful cuts that go with other vacation themes, some of which I will use on my next project that will post later this week.

I made this card with a few people in mind. As you know the information for the next Cricut Cruise has been released and I have a few friends from last time that are going to be on the boat as well as a few new sailors. I thought I would send my friends this card about a month before the cruise just to let them know it was almost vacation time and that I am looking forward to spending the time with them.

Supplies Used:
- Cricut Expression
- Creative Memories Cricut Traveler Cartridge
- Patterned paper - Creative Imaginations
- Doodlebug glitter cardstock
- Various cardstock
- Signo UM 153 Gel Pen
- Mounting foam
- Cat Eye Chalk Ink
- Heat set gems
- twine

I loved the postage stamp cut on the cartridge and decided to use it to mat the flip flop cuts on. My friend Karen is gonna go GAGA over this cut as she is a lover of flip flops. In the summer it is rare to see her in any other kind of shoe and I think that is what she wore on the cruise unless we were going to the dining room. Oh anyhow back to the flip flops, I used a 5mm heat set gem for a little added bling. The strap was cut from Doodlebug glitter paper. I thought the twine just added a little more accent and went well with the tropical theme of the card.

This phrase was readily available on the cartridge and just seems perfect for the occasion in which I will be sending the card. While I might have been better off choosing a different color I am still over all pleased with the card.

If you would like to order the Creative Memories Traveler Cartridge you can order it from Joy at her CREATIVE MEMORIES WEBSITE.

Sympathy Card - Seashell theme

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

A dear friend of mine recently lost her mother and I wanted to make her a nice card. I was trying to find a good sentiment and found this one in the Hallmark Card software program that my friend Linda, aka LGuild, shared with me. I knew there had to be a nice cut on a cartridge of a seashell and I was able to find this one on Dreams Come True.

Supplies Used -
Disney Princess Dreams Come True
Stamp Up cardstock
Patterned Paper - various
1/2" circle punch
Signo Um 153 white gel pen
Cat Eye Inks
Microsoft Word
Perfect Layers

The card is an A6 size *okie always has a hard time remembering exactly what size that is* and I think that means it is 4.5" x 6.25".

The sentiment reads "Seashells remind us that each passing life leaves something beautiful behind" and the inside says "May beauty live on in your memories and bring you peace".

I used Microsoft word to print the sentiment. For the front I cut close to the sentiment and then used Perfect Layers to get the mat shadow. I had a few scraps of the large mat from the front so I added a strip at the bottom of the card for the inside.

Since the theme was seashell and pearl I thought it was good to use a shimmery paper. I can't remember what the paper is, but it is some I got in a pack at Big Lots some time ago. I used Mica Stardream to punch out for the pearl and then just added a little highlight with the white gel pen.

I inked around the edges of the pink for some depth and plus, as you know, I can't NOT ink *okie still swears it is an addiction/disease at this point*. On the shell base I used the ink pad at an angle to get get the curved shadows to go up on the shell *okie re-reads that to see if that makes sense and decides it probably doesn't but isn't sure how to write it to make it more clear*.

I really like the simple elegance of this card. I find it hard to make sympathy cards because it's sometimes difficult to find a cut to go with a nice sentiment. I think this one just seemed to be perfect.

Have A Wicked Halloween

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

I had made 12 of these cards to take to the card swap at the Swarm I was suppose to go to and since I was unable to attend for several reasons I now have these cards sitting at my house and wondering what to do with them! Actually I will probably put them back and give them to the ladies at the next swarm since they were nice enough to send me the cards they made! Renee of Paper Renee has been hosting the Swarms recently and she does a fantastic job. I am hoping Linda, aka LGuild, and I can go up some weekend soon just for a nice little lunch and shopping date with Renee.

Supplies Used:
CTMH Wicked Stamp set
Stampin Up Crackle background stamp
Stampin Up Inks
Stampin Up Markers
Glimmer Mist - Mimosa
Cardstock - various
Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper
3/8" Striped Ribbon
1/8" eyelets
Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Signo UM 153 white gel pen

The Close To My Heart stamps are really high quality and I love the crisp images I get from them. I know there are a lot of acrylic stamps out there in the big world of crafting and I have tried quite a few but to be honest, I don't think any of them have stamped as well as the CTMH brand. I do think they can be a little pricey but then I think about not getting a good image and like the old saying goes "ya get what you pay for". Needless to say I am sure my CTMH stamp family will be growing!

I played around with how I wanted to stamp the image before making a final choice. It just seemed to stark for me on some white or off white paper. Deciding on a nice background stamp I then stamped the image of the witch on top of that. While I liked the effect it seemed to need a little something. I sprayed with Glimmer mist and it seemed to be just what I was looking for. I am not sure how well the shimmer shows up in the picture but in person it looks really nice.

I wish you all a Wonderfully Wicked Halloween!!

Stollen not stolen - layout

2011-10-30T14:02:00.000-05:00

I find that I scrap some odd things sometimes and while I think this is an odd thing to scrap it is something I want to always remember. My friend Larry, who lives in L.A., had a family tradition of having Stollen at Christmas. He told me this story a few years back and we talked about how nice it is to remember traditions and what good memories they can bring. Larry told me he was always so excited to have Stollen because "then I knew it was Christmas". Well now Larry has a loaf of Stollen sent to me every year from Dinkle's Bakery in Chicago and I am always so excited because now I think "It's Christmas!".

Last year Shiane was at home when the Stollen arrived in the mail and she wanted to know what it was. I reminded her about Larry sending me "Stollen bread" and she had an odd look on her face and asked "why does he steal it" so I had to explain to her "it's Stollen, not stolen".

Supplies Used:
Quarter Note cart
Cheerful Seasons cart
Fabulous Finds cart
From My Kitchen Cart
Patterned paper - Pink Paislee Santa's Workshop
Various Cardstock
Doodlebug Glitter
Doodlebug Flock
Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Signo UM 153 white gel pen
Star Brads

I am really happy with how the font on Quarter Note welds together. The tails on the lettering are generous enough to allow the word to flow well without making them to squished together like you have on some of the cursive fonts. I ran the white layer of the words upside down in my Xyron and then sprinkled with white Doodlebug glitter. You might need to click the picture to see the glittering and how well it turned out. On the little date tag I used a bread tag cut from Fabulous Finds. I added the star brads to attach to the picture because I thought they coordinated well with the stars on the patterned paper.

The holly leaves are from Cheerful Seasons, I am so lovin this cartridge! Again I would like to thank the mysterious "Cricut Circle Friend" who was so generous in sending this to me! The layering on the images is great. I always love a little flourish and on the holly it is fabulous. The little berries are cut out of Mica Stardream and I just added white dots with the gel pen where there were little circles cut.

The loaf of bread is a From My Kitchen cut. I had to hand cut the bottom a little to make it rounded and look more how Stollen looks. For the powdered sugar effect I cut a piece of cardstock to cover the area I didn't want flocked and then laid it on the loaf and ran the cut through my Xyron. I then removed the piece of scrap cardstock and sprinkled the cut with white Doodlebug Flock. It didn't turn out as sugary as looking as I wanted but I still think the effect works.

This is the last of the layouts from the kits I had prepared and I guess now I will have to find something else to work on...hhmm, what to do what to do *okie thinks and realizes she better get to crackin on getting stuff ready for her Annual Girlfriend Christmas party*. I think I will be having plenty to do for the next month!

CRICUT CRUISE INFORMATION!!

2011-10-29T10:27:00.000-05:00

I have posted the CRICUT CRUISE information on the Cruising With The Cricut website. Please feel free to pop over there for the information that is available at this time.

Brrrr - Snow layout

2011-10-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

I love scrapping pictures of snow. I guess it is because we don't get as much snow as other states so it really is nice to see when it comes *okie thinks it is nice to see it go as well*. I really went out on the bling on this one but I think it gave the layout a nice "crystal snow" look.

Supplies used
Cheerful Seasons cart
Winter Woodland cart
Seasonal Cake Art cart
Imaginisce hot fix pearls
Hot fix Gems
My Minds Eye patterned paper
Prism cardstock
Mica Stardream cardstock
Martha Steward snowflake punches
Janome Sew Mini
Cat Eye Chalk Ink

I forgot to take a picture of the second page of the layout so you only get to see the first page close up. The title "Brrr" was done with Winter Woodland cartridge. The snowflake under the top picture is from Cheerful Seasons and was put together and then cut in half. The bordering snowflakes were done with the Seasonal Cake Art cartridge.

I used the Janome Sew Mini to sew a line for the blue paper on to the lighter background paper. I think this paper is really totally awesome for a snow layout!!

This shows the snowflake a little better. it was pretty easy to cut. I was worried about the intricacy but it didn't seem to be a problem.

I am not sure how happy I am with the snow border and I think it is because of the size of it. It doesn't really look like snowflakes to me and I am not sure what it looks like. But since it is on the layout all glued, nailed, polished and taped down it won't be going anywhere *okie thinks she might have went a little overboard on that description*.

On the close up of the title you can see where I added some of the hot fix rhinestomes to the letters. It really made a difference on making it stand out a little more. I think adding the blue snowflake on the B also made the title look a little better and not so stark.

Pirate Life For Me - layout

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

When I had my eye infection I was asked to take a picture of myself with my nice little eye patch and post it on Facebook. Well of course it was going to end up being a layout! *okie is beginning to think she scraps some of the most stupid stuff* I am sure my friend Linda will get a kick out of this one since she wanted me to make a layout kit to take to the Swarm.

Supplies Used:
Paperdoll Dress Up Cricut Cartridge
Life's A Beach Cricut Cartridge
BlackLetter Cricut Cartridge
Coredinations Cardstock
Cloud print paper
Cuttlebug Distressed Strips Embossing folder
Stampin Up Marker
Signo UM 153 white gel pen
Mica Stardream Cardstock
Creek Bank Liquid Walnut Ink
Creative Imaginations skull brad

I actually had to use the Gypsy on this one because I was wanting to use Blackletter cartridge for the title because it just looked piratey *okie thinks she sure is making up a lot of words lately*. I used the Liquid Walnut ink on the bottom of the letters to give the lettering an aged look. Click the picture if you would like to see closer detail of the effect the ink gives.

On the cloud paper I tore across and then burned the edge.

I used Cat Eye Chalk ink in Popcorn on the waves to make them look like they had white caps. The "sand" was crumpled and then sanded.

I blacked out some of the pieces to make the trunk have a wood base and then "metal" top layer. The lock was colored with a silver gel pen.

I also had to do some work in Design Studio to get the ship to have a wooden look base and then the white sails. I did have to hand cut the eye patch and then just used a black marker for the "string".

You guys know I am never very happy with the things I do but I really like how this layout turned out. I just wish it would have had a better "picture subject"!

Enjoy the Ride - Another Lucy layout!

2011-10-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

This layout is one of those "so silly ya just gotta scrap it" type layouts. Lucy loves to go "bye-bye" and this time we were heading to my sisters so we could drop Lucy to stay for a week while we went on the Cricut Cruise. I was snapping pictures and then Lucy moved and it looked like she was driving so of course I had to scrap the pictures then!

Supplies Used:
Cricut Graphically Speaking cartridge
Mica Stardream cardstock
Prism cardstock
Patterned paper unknown
Stampin Up Photo Corner Punch
Stampin Up marker
Cat Eye Chalk Ink

For the car I added some sliver for the grill area and some white cardstock for the headlights. I thought it looked better that way. I pop dotted the red layer onto the black layer to give it some dimension.

I think Graphically Speaking is an really awesome cartridge and it has some great cuts on it. It came out about 2 years ago and everyone went crazy about it but I am not sure it gets the props it deserves!

ECU 2011 - Graduation layout

2011-10-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

I generally don't care for papers that have the specific background images and you have to scrap around them. But this time I made an exception, for one I couldn't think of a way to cut it up and use it and for two...well it just seemed to work out okay for this layout. It isn't anything elaborate but it still works for me.

Supplies Used:

Cricut Varsity cartridge

Cricut Carasoul cartridge

DCWV patterned paper

Various cardstock

Creative Imagination brads

Spareparts Brads

The Varsity cartridge is great for school type layouts and projects. I am thinking I need to use it to cut some material and make myself a sweatshirt of my Alma Mater but let's face it...it wont happen. And why wont' it happen?? BECAUSE I AM TOO LAZY! *okie is hoping her readers really are starting to understand how truly lazy okie is*.

I used Design Studio to hide contour on the stripes for the black layer. Since Carousel is a lite there aren't many options for layering and DS comes in handy for such things. Yes I know I can do it on the Gypsy but come on guys!! Ya'll know I don't like using that thing!

GERTIE - Vintage Layout of My Grandma

2011-10-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

My cousin Lisa had photocopied some pictures of our grandparents to share with us and I have had this picture for sometime and knew I wanted to scrap it. I did scan the one she gave me and then printed on photo paper. I kept trying to think of how I wanted to scrap the picture because I wanted it to be something special, after all my grandma was very special *okie knows everyone always thinks they have the best grandma in the world but okie knows hers was really the best*. I didn't get to see my grandma much growing up as she lived in West Virginia and our trips there were few and far between. My cousins and I talk about how grandma had a way of always making all her grand kids feel they were all loved just the same even if she didn't always get to see them. Anyway I knew I would need the "just right" items to really make this special picture be something fabulous. I always kept an eye out for something but never was able to find what I felt I needed.

My friend Carmen, aka ScrapperDelighted, called me all excited this summer about a deal Websters Pages was having. You could get a box of different items for $25. She ordered 3, one for me, one for her and one for another friend. When I went to Houston to see her I got to open my box and I knew immediately I was going to use the product on some older photos I had and especially this picture of my Grandma.

Supplies Used:
Cricut Storybook Cartridge
Websters Pages paper and elements
Cardstock is various
Stampin Up Crackle background stamp
Stampin Up Mesh background stamp
Liquid Pearls Platinum
Printed butterfly image
Want2Scrap Pearl Swirl
Signo UM 153 white gel pen
Stampin Up marker
Cat Eye Chalk Ink

I printed two pictures at 4x6 of my grandma and then trimmed one smaller than the other. I added some chipboard behind the top layer to give it some strength so it would hold up and then pop dotted and placed it over the bottom image. I did this because the picture quality was not very good and I didn't want the picture to get lost in the elements of the page.

The Monarch butterflies were printed from my computer. I found an image I liked on the internet printed it 3 times from my photo program. I layered two of the images, which you probably really can't tell in the picture, and used brads to keep the images together and used small squares of mounting foam between the wings. The pearls were placed as to make it look like that butterfly was in flight.

GERTIE was cut using Storybook. I used some Mica Stardream Cardstock in copper and brown. I need colors that were going to stand out since there were so many colors in the papers I thought the darker colors would work better. I added the Liquid Pearls after placing the letters on the layout.

I have to say this really goes beyond what I am usually comfortable doing since it is a really heavily embellished and busy layout but I do like how it turned out!

Friend to Friend Sunflower Card

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

I do have a good reason for not posting this card before now. I actually sent this to a few friends *okie hears the gasps of of her readers at the words that okie actually sent a card to someone*. I know! I know! I am as shocked as you are! Anyway, my friends did like the card so at least I know it was a good one!

I had stamped and colored the images with my ProMarkers sometime ago in Stamp Club and recently found them in my scrapbook tote.

I left the inside of the card blank so I could write whatever I wanted. My friend Carmen said she was surprised to get the card from me but she was more surprised because the image and sentiment were not straight on the card. I told her I was stepping out of my comfort zone on this one and put them on there catty wampus *okie wonders if caddy wampus is really a word and thinks she will Google it later on*.

BAD BLOGGER OKIE! But here's a card

2011-10-23T13:37:00.000-05:00

Yep I have been a bad blogger. I haven't posted since Wednesday and there really isn't a good excuse *okie isn't sure she really does excuses much anyway*, I just haven't felt like taking pictures, editing, writing, and posting.

I made this card I think last weekend, or it might have been before that. I can't really remember. My friend Nancy asked if I had a card for a boy who was into remote control cars. Of course she asks this and I tell her "uh, no, don't have many boy cards" and then I ask when she needs it. And like most responses I get she said "oh tomorrow". I told her if I had time I would see what I could make. I was able to make one for her but it wasn't a very good one in my opinion *okie so hates working under pressure*.

When she came to get the card she said it was perfect. However I am not sure I believe her since she hasn't contacted me since then and I have no idea of the boy liked the card or thought it was the most stupid card he ever got in his life.

Either way I figured I would post the card for you guys to see.

I used Groovy Times for the car and Batman for the words. I also used the Cuttlebug Diamond Plate embossing folder for the bottom strip on the card mat. Like I said it is a pretty simple card but at least it was a car like what was requested. Oh and on the inside I printed "Hope you have a Winner of a birthday" and added some clipart checkered flags.

I didn't go to the Swarm this past weekend, had a pretty stressful week with work and personal life situations. I did however, work on the layouts this weekend and got them all done anyway and will be posting them throughout the week. I really like one or two of them.

Finished up my layout kits!

2011-10-19T18:56:00.003-05:00

I finished up another layout kit for a total of 5 one page layout kits and 1 two page layout kits. I think that will be enough to keep me busy at the swarm for sure! My friend Angela is suppose to be here tomorrow and I hope we can get some crafting done while she is here but I am thinking we will be doing a whole lot of talking LOL. My layouts vary from snow to pirates to graduation to...well I don't even remember right now! HA HA HA

It seems odd to have craft stuff kinda done but no pictures to post! I can't really post the pictures of the layouts until I get the done but will be sure to post them. I still haven't taken pictures of the two cards I made last week. I tell ya once I get on a roll of creating I don't like to stop and do such menial tasks as taking and editing pictures. I am excited about a few of the layouts as I think they are going to turn out cute but the odd thing is, ya don't know until it is all put together and done.

I am also excited to hear about more information on the next Cricut Cruise which is suppose to be released next week! My friend Wendi that lives here in the same town is going to be going on the cruise as well and we are going to see about finding a room for 3 people so she, Karen and I can all be in the same cabin. Wendi is a cute little thing and I told her that if she looks good in her bikini that Karen and I will be tossing her azz overboard HA HA HA *okie hopes everyone knows that okie is only kidding...or is she*.

Will try to post about the adventures Angela and I have while she is here!! This should be fun!! I think some of her family and friends are concerned about her coming to stay with me since we have never met in person. I assured her that I am safe and that she won't be the first to come and stay at my house with never meeting me before!!

OOPPSS! Been busy with layout kits!

2011-10-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

I tell ya since I have been working so much I am lucky I even remember who I am these days! I have gotten a few cards made and will have to get pictures of them and get them posted. But what I have been spending most of my time on is layout kits!

I will be going to a Swarm next Saturday in Norman and in order to get anything done I have to make layout kits. This way I have all my elements ready and I just have to embellish, doodle, brad, faux stitch, ink, glitter, etc etc etc and put it all together and have something accomplished for my time while scrapping with friends! I was able to get 1 two page layout kit and 4 one page layout kits ready to take with me. I have some others designed in DS and if I have time this week I might cut out a few more. I am actually thinking this might be the best way for me to scrapbook from now on as well. That way when I don't feel like designing and cutting I will have something to complete *okie thinks deeply for a moment and wonders if she really is that ambitious*.

I have a friend coming next week as well! My friend Angela from Texas, who is also a Cricut lover *and okie thinks "expert" since Angela knows how to use the buttons on the Cricut*, is coming to spend a few days with me and will also be attending the swarm! She is excited about getting to meet some of the other Cricut folks that she has talked to on the MB and Facebook. I am sure we will have a blast. I don't think we will have any problems finding common ground or things to talk about since when we do talk on the phone it is rarely less than a 3 hour conversation!

Oh in case you are wondering about how I do my layout kits I thought I would repost the video I did before showing how I do mine.