Hello girls! I'm Baaaaccckk!

Hi guys!

It's been quite a while since I've typed to you last! Our family has moved, although not all of our stuff has (grrr). The kids have adjusted well to their new school, and Jim and I are still recovering from our DC-sized commutes! We officially arrived in Fort Washington, MD on Valentine's Day and our new lives got going in earnest that following Tuesday. Last week was a bit of a blur: we were all so exhausted that we were in bed by 9 every night! Talk about no life! This week was much better as far as exhaustion is concerned, but getting used to the work-a-day world has been, well, tough. I'll muddle through somehow, though! I'm glad that I horded up some pics to share with you, because I have not had a single moment to stamp! That'll change soon enough, 'cuz I'm finally putting in my next toy order on Sunday (cue trumpets and angelic choirs).

This week I'm going to share with you some simple thank you cards I made. Last month was my husband's birthday, so he needed a couple of thank you's to send. I'm still trying to use up some of my retired DSP, so I figured I'd use 'em here!


Recipe:
Stamps: Elegant Thank You
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Hawaii Papaya DSP (retired), one of the holiday DSP's from the Holiday mini--sorry! the name escapes me (retired)

Happy stamping!

Elegant Valentine

Well, this is my last week here in Knoxville. It's a crazy week here, and I'm going through some serious DT's since I packed up my craft-dining room last week. I keep going in there to do something just to be painfully reminded in the doorway that anything good is in a box in the garage.

I have squirreled away some projects to share with you over the next few weeks, and I've been trying to be good about spacing them out. I think I mentioned in a previous post that we'll be moving in with my aunt until we can get settled in a new house, so my crafting time/supplies/space will be really limited. So that being said, I'm sure you've noticed that my posts have become less frequent, and that will stay that way at least for the foreseeable future. But stay tuned!

Today's card is one I made for my husband for Valentine's Day. I wanted to keep it simple and masculine, and this is what I came up with:


It's kinda reminiscent of a tuxedo, isn't it? At least, that's what I was trying to go for! I wanted to avoid all the girly reds and pinks that are so prevalent for Valentine's Day, since my husband isn't exactly a girly-man. :)

Have I told you about my love for my new stamp-a-ma-jig?? If I haven't, my Lord! This invention is da bomb! I could never have even attempted lining up the letters without it!! How did I ever craft without it?!

Alright, enough blathering. Here's the recipe:

Stamps: Lovely Letters
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot, Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls embossing folder, Scallop Edge punch, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, and Basic Black 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

My goodness, I cannot wait to get my hands on the new eyelet border punch and those textured dies for the Big Shot! But alas, I must wait a little longer..... But you don't have to wait at all! It's still Sale-a-Bration time and I can still process orders during my transition! Call me tonight!

Happy Valentine's Day everybody!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Hi guys!

Before I get on to my regularly scheduled post, I thought I'd tell you about the SNOW we got here yesterday! It was unbelievable! Ya see, here in East Tennessee, we don't see much snow (which is just fine by me!), so when it comes down, even just a little, it's a Big Event. Today, it came down so hard and with such big flakes that it knocked out our satellite for a few hours. When CJ came home from school, it was still snowing and there was actually enough to make a snowman! I'd share a picture of our snowman, but I'm a bad camera mom. Sorry! Suffice it to say, CJ had a blast. And, surprisingly enough, there is still snow on the ground! I've never seen snow last for more than a few hours here!

Today I thought I'd share with you another of the recipe cards we made at my class this month. This recipe came from my humble upline, Wanda. It's a crowd-pleaser and so super simple.

Here's the recipe for the page:
Stamps: None
Ink: Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive
Paper: Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Hawaii Papaya DSP (retired)
Accessories: Large Oval and Scallop Circle punches, Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

It's kinda hard to see, but I sponged the Pumpkin Pie ink on the Tangerine Tango ovals to add some depth. I also sponged the Old Olive around the edges of the DSP to age it a little.

Now here's the recipe for the Pumpkin Spice muffins:
1 box Spice cake mix
1-15 oz. can pumpkin puree

Mix ingredients and bake according to Spice cake directions.

Seriously, that's all that goes into these things and they come out so moist and delicious! I made these for CJ to take to school for her birthday instead of cupcakes. Her teacher told me that all the kids devoured them!

Happy stamping!