First challenge is.....

A Walk in the Garden http://www.cropstop.com/ has it's Grand Opening this weekend and will be having fun and games thorughout the weekend. There are a Bunch of prizes to be won. So stop by and Walk in the Garden - don't forget to stop and smell the roses on the way!Saturdays Blog Hop The Final Bouquet . Your Saturday Bouquet item is a technique, torn paper please refer to the CropStop Message Boards Final Bouquet Thread for the rules.To get your next Bouquet item please go to Sherry at http://www.sherry-m.blogspot.com/

Tomorrow is the Day

to join the fun at our Grand Opening www.cropstop.com so hurry up and join the forum. Then tomorrow morning come and do the blog hop, perform some of the challenges, have fun with some of our games. I will be the hostess tomorrow night between 6 and 9. So make sure you start at www.cropstop.com for the details and join the forum ( message board)

Sometimes life just isn't going my way

I have to leave and go out of town for three days next week and my darling honey can't go with me. That my friends sucks. You see my best friend is my darling honey and he always goes with me. He keeps me company in hotel rooms...... lonely hotel rooms are not my best thing in life. Here is me in a hotel room..... go to meetings, stop by drive through, park by front door , run up to the room and stay there until the next morning. But with my darling honey I am able to go explore the city, go out to a restaurant even shopping. But without my honey I am alone.
I hate sleeping alone hate it. I hate going back to a lonely hotel room just hate it.

Have I said how much I hate it yet??????? I will take a bunch of books to read on the plane and in the hotel room. Three days alone...... woe is me

thank goodness for free long distance but poor honey will have a cauliflower ear by the time I return.

I haven't even left yet but boy I am missing my honey already.

So, honey if you read this while I am gone.... know that I am missing you tons.

Cabinet Cards from Toni

Imagine my surprise when this wonderful purple package arrived at my door. Now if I could figure out how to scan them I would. Got this new wireless printer/scanner/thingy that I can't figure out how to scan.

i love these so much..... Cabinet cards are the best thing ever to alter. Thank you so much T

You are invited

to join me here
http://www.cropstopcommunity.com/forum/

It is an online scrapbooking/ all arts/dies/ even stuff for me kinda store.
Anyway Haylie has opened up a message board that is small so join now and help us grow. We have tons of fun there and there are classes yes you heard me classes so do you want to learn a new trick? Right now we have a class on how to make a flag book. No it is not like the flag you and I both know. It is an awesome way to make a book that you can journal, scrapbook, even stamp pages in. So seriously come on over register and join in on the fun. Let me know if you sign up. you will have fun I promise.

Please help me welcome a new blogging friend

Beckie
Here is her link stop on over and visit her and say hi. I will add her to my blog roll on the right so check her out weekly too.
http://artbeckons.blogspot.com/

Saturday November first is fun day

So, here is the scoop
www.cropstop.com is having their grand opening and we are going to have some fun. I am hosting a special challenge so make sure you come here. Also we are having a blog hop where you can get some awesome prizes. So, please save that day and come on over for some fun and prizes.

Guess WHAT????

I have been asked to be a GUEST DESIGNER for http://www.cropstop.com/ AGAIN!!!!!!

Isn't that awesome? I am so excited that I just had to share with everyone. Now don't forget you have to save Saturday November 1st for me!!!!!

My challenge is too much fun so you must join us for our grand opening and commit to do my challenge. I promise you will have a blast. PINKY SWEAR

See you there.... oh wait better yet.....

Leave me a message if you can join me!!!! Come on all my friends out there in cyber world... I need you!!!!!!!!

And you could win a prize...... I also will be giving out prizes on my own and they are some really cool prizes.

Blog backgrounds

I often receive questions about the backgrounds that I use. I use backgrounds from here
www.thecutestblogontheblock.com you will find amazing backgrounds there. Now here is the bestest news. YOU DON'T LOSE a thing when you change the background. If you use someone else's you may lose all your gadgets and then have to go back and do it all over again but with the cutest blog you don't.
So here is the cliff note version of how to change your background
First go to the above site and pick out the blog background you like. Then click on the background and a page with an html code will pop up. Copy that HTML code and now go back to your blog. Make sure you are logged on then click on Customize, then click on layout then click on add a gadget.
You want to pick the html gadget.... when you click on that a box will pop up. Paste the code into the large box and click on save. then click on save again on your screen and then view blog. There you have it. your brand new blog and you didn't lose a thing.
If you need any help just ask and I will be glad to help you.

Five hours is how long it took

to buy a car. Can you believe it... five hours.

Hour number one
walk the lot, check out the cars, test drive a couple
Hour number two
compair prices, print out reports to compair, shoot the breeze with the salesman
Hour number three and four
HAGGLE the price, give me your best price now go back and do better. Fill out forms etc
Hour number five
Spend the entire time listening to why you need this extra five thousand dollars of coverage for your car...NOT
Hour number five and one mintue telling the business manager YOU DON"T NEED all that and just process the paperwork.

I hate buying a new car. I rather have a root canal. Now with that said we did buy a new 09 Red Rav 4 fully loaded. Now we have his and hers RAV 4's. Thanks Toyota for your zero interest rate.
Now are you ready for the biggest laugh.....my baby my sweet sweet baby my loving Camary was only worth 300 bucks for a trade in. hahahahha so much for an eleven year old car.

Heartbroken

You know in our zanny world of art we meet a lot of people. It is an instant kinship we feel for one another. Need another stamp? I have that and will send it to you free. Need a gizzwilly for that project you have been working on and just can't find it? Someone will send it to you and usually free.
Then you meet folks who make a living out of this zanny world we love and we try and help them buy purchasing their art. I am heartbroken because I did just that. I thought I would help someone out and purchase some of their art.
Now almost nine weeks later I haven't heard a word. You know it truly isn't the money I miss..... it is the friendship I thought we had. I guess that with this computer world you really can't form lasting friendships. At one point or another something will happen and you will lose that.
But then..........there are those people who no matter what always stick by their commitments. So my question is..... what makes those artists different... the ones that stick by their commitments and those who just toss you aside?
Thoughts?

p.s. nope won't even tell who it is..... they know

On the road again

Well, it is back to the road for me again. Rick and I will be leaving this Tuesday morning at 5 a.m. to drive to Raleigh N.C. for a District Manager's meeting. I will be there for two days then back because Thursday I have an award luncheon that I need to attend. I am off on Friday but have to work Saturday. BUT Sunday guess who is coming to my shopping mall? Go ahead guess..... are you done yet. Donna Downey yes that is right. She is doing workshops here in Virginia Beach. I am so going to splurge and attend one.... at least that is my plan.
I will attend her painting class and not the scrapbooking one. Not a scrapbooker but for sure would love to attend her painting class.
Back to work on the following Monday then off to New Jersey for three days for a meeting.
Then back to work to get ready for the holiday season. I love Christmas and I hate Christmas. I hate the fact that some people find any reason to be rude. I love the fact that the music will all be Christmas Carols.
Some of the people are so sweet then others.....well......... um not so much.


This year I am so not sure what to ask Santa to bring me....
A new Sony Cyber shot camera sounds good
A couple of my Elm Creek Quilting books by Jennifer Chiaverini I have read the first three
Any new books that Debbie Macomber comes out with
A new pair of Uggs
Anything Paula Deen has out in print. Gotta love that woman she is so my Mom
OH and last but not least a new stooooopppppid hot curling brush. Do you know I burn one out every three months. True story for the last six years I have burnt one out every three months. Does anyone use one daily that has lasted longer than three months? If so let me know.

Yep that is it that is all I want. I know what Big Daddy wants .... this fancy smancy fishing rod and hot shot reel. I already took care of that. Not sure what else to get him. Any ideas????
His hobbies.... FISHING
His wishes ...... FISHING
His life...............FISHING
Yep, it is all about FISHING. Oh and bears, moose and anything else you can find in Canada.

I usually will listen to see if he mentions anything. This year NADDA nutin he hasn't said a word.

Well, almost time for this old woman to hit the sheets. I am exhausted.
Tomorrow time to tackle all my art projects that have been waiting for that next day off.

My weekend plans

This is my list of things to do this weekend.
1 Read the amazing reverie letter from my sister toni
2 finish my 26 altered christmas stockings for an affair with art
3 work on a project for february for www.lisasalteredart.com
4 clean up my studio
5 play with my new copics
6 buy a new car ( I rather have a root canal) I hate buying a new car hate it hate it hate it... I keep telling my husband that my eleven year old camary is JUST FINE. But truly I do need another car and I will not under any circumstances buy anything other than Toyota. I may just buy me a new Rav4 in bright red and tool around town...think I could alter it?

7 I have to under no circumstances work on Toni's reverie letter and mail her some things I had for her for months.
8 I think I may buy a few bellas this weekend
9 relax...
So what are your plans

Stop what you are doing and mark this down

There is a grand opening happening November 1st and 2nd. Tons of prizes and challenges. We will have a scavenger hunt, blog hopping candy and tons of challenges.
So make sure you block out those two days and make sure you stop here.
I will have some fun candy to give out. WWW.Cropstop.com will provide some fun candy and I have a 26 pc rubberstamp holiday set that I will be giving away as candy too. So, mark that calender now.
See you then if not sooner

If you are using Copic Markers you must go here

http://ilikemarkers.blogspot.com/



She is a Copic trainer and oh my gosh. In the hour I have been on her blog I have learned a ton. So seriously if you use copic markers or any other marker for that matter go there and learn. She actually is a certifier for copic.

The cabinet card holder

Here is the outside of the container. I used a Stampin Up plastic stamp container and altered it. Hummm didn't show up as well as I wanted but I used Tim Holtz inks to ink the inside

Up close it says this is my story, my story must be told and then the metal says Hopes and Dreams. On the woman it says... my muse

Well, I finally got the altered cabinet card container done!!!! Now I put all of the cabinet cards ( once I put a back on them ) into the container and send them off to Jeri at AAWA.

Now in a few weeks I will receive back a container back with six altered cabinet cards. I hope you enjoy this.

Altered Cabinet Cards

My cabinet cards are all done for my swap. This one is a bride. This one is the queen of her art world

This one is the dreamer of the group
And this one is enjoying her journey
and this one well, it is a family
and this one well she is a mail order bride......
enjoy....... Now I have to create the box they will go in.

For all you scrapbookers

love this one

to brighten your morning

This one is just too cheery. I love the colors. Once we move to our new home I will paint my studio apple green and purple.

Freebies

Here is another one I just think is fun