A little time to stamp

I had a busy weekend, yet I somehow managed to squeeze in a little time for stamping.

The first card was part of a Papertrey Ink Forum challenge to make a black and white masceuline card. The only stamping on this one was the sentiment from PTI's Out on a Limb set. I used patterned paper and even a tiny bit of ribbon. As an afterthought I added the black stickles to the four corners of the sentiment and it really finished off the card nicely.

The second card was my first attempt at a sympathy card. I used almost all Papertrey products including: Aqua Mist cardstock and ink, Spring Moss twill and ink, Everyday Blessings patterned paper, and the stamps are from Out of a Limb.

I was shopping for a new paper trimmer this weekend at Archiver's when a woman offered me her coupon for 30% off any one item. It was going to expire today and she knew she wouldn't use it before then. I don't know who she was, but she made my day. Thanks again! :-)

Finally a little stamping going on

After the snowy Easter egg hunt and some family time I was able to get back to some stamping. I made two cards last night. The first was a pretty quick and easy one using the My Punny Valentine/Year Round Puns stamps from Papertrey Ink on craft paper.



The second didn't photograph as well as I would've liked, but it is very pretty IRL. I used Memory Box patterend paper and added a little orange glitter to the birds. The bird stamp is from Inkadinkado's Birds Galore set with a small Happy Birthday from Papertrey's Year Round Puns (stamped in their Aqua Mist ink). I added a little more glitter to the stamped bird, some PTI Aqua Mist ribbon, and then two little dew drops to finish it off.

Back from Vacation

Well, we made it home alive despite pouring rain and a hint of TMT (too much togetherness--We were in the car A LOT!). All in all it was a good trip. I wish we had more sun, but it was warmer than home and it was nice to get away.

I took a few photos of the view from each of our rooms and there was quite a difference depending on what part of the trip we were on.

Here is our first hotel in Bay Point, FL, not far from Panama City Beach. We got in early and were upgraded to a 1-bedroom suite golf villa. The 6th hole of the golf course was right outside our sliding door. The picture was taken right before we left. For our 2 days there we had no sun, just clouds and a little rain. It cleared up just in time for us to leave, but we had a great time anyway.

We went to the new Pier Park shopping center and had lunch at Margaritaville (it had just opened the week before) and then a beer at the Hofbrau Beer Garden. They had signs all over advertising a Spring Break special--David Hasselhoff's Strip & Go Naked Punch. I forgot how big Hasselhoff is in Germany. I had to get a photo.




Next we were on our way to Point Clear, AL, about a half hour from Gulf Shores. The hotel was beautiful, and it was the only day we actually got to lay by a pool and relax. The balcony had rocking chairs on it and this is what we got to look at--not too shabby, eh?



Then it was off to New Orleans. The view wasn't quite the same as what we had been used to, but we had a great time in the French Quarter and were on Bourbon Street for a nighttime parade on St. Patty's Day. I wish I had photos of that, but I didn't take my camera down there. It was not quite as crazy as Mardi Gras, but it was a night with plenty of beer, cheer, flowers, and beads.



One of the many gift shops had this T-Shirt in their window. I thought it was pretty clever.


I was surprised by the amount of damage still there. We saw so many houses and buildings that I expected to have been bull-dozed and started rebuilding by now. We did see lots of construction work, but we saw much more that needed to be done.

Not much stamping going on

I've been getting ready for my upcoming vacation so I haven't even been able to reach my craft table or stamps. We're leaving Thursday night after work and driving to Panama City, FL for a few days, then to Gulf Shores, and finally New Orleans before coming back home Wed.

I looked at the weather this morning and it was already 54 degrees there compared to a measly 24 here. It may not be beach weather down there yet, but it's going to be a whole lot warmer than home. I can't wait to go relax.

I'll play tag too

Some fellow Papertrey Ink friends (Lynn and Beverly) have been playing tag and posted answers to questions in 4s. Here are my responses.

4 jobs I've had: waitress, bartender, retail clerk, administrative assistant

4 movies I've seen: The Godfather movies, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Steel Magnolias (who doesn't cry and laugh at that one?)

4 places I've been: Key West FL, New Orleans LA, Fort Dix NJ, Nashville TN

4 places I've lived: Maplewood, Shrewsbury, O'Fallon, and St. Charles--all of which are in Missouri. I've never lived anywhere outside of MO.

4 TV programs I watch: Dexter, American Idol, Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader, Weeds

4 radio shows I listen to: I listen to Sirius satellite radio and I usually tune into the Hits channel (new hits), the Pulse (90s and new hits), 60s Vibrations (speaks for itself), and Blue Collar Radio (comedy)

4 favorite foods: Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, pot roast with veggies, lasagna, gooey butter cake

4 places I'd rather be right now: Florida (I'll be there a week from now), my craft room, home snuggled up on my sofa with my kitty, anywhere warm--we just had 10" of snow the other day.

We're not actually tagging anyone, but everyone is welcome to play along. We may just find out a few interesting things about each other. Let me know if you decide to answer also.

Snowy Day Continued

When I finally got to leave work yesterday this is what I came out to. The snow had been drifting up so I was in it up to my knees to clean my car off.

Of course, the man with the snow plow was there and I was the only car left in the lot. He watched me clean it off and then when I brought the broom back inside he decided to push a bunch of snow up behind me so I couldn't leave. I bit my tongue while my boss asked him nicely if he could move it back out of the way so I could leave. Sometimes I wonder about people.

When I got home this was the view out of my back window. It's very pretty when you don't have to drive in it. Kind of hard to believe it was 78 degrees 2 days ago.


Now on to stamping....

Once I was warm and toasty I had a chance to break out my new Papertrey stamps. I am so happy I was able to get the Out on a Limb set. On this card I used Out on a Limb and Butterfly Kisses (sentiment) stamps, spring moss cardstock, and spring moss swiss dots ribbon. My flowers were stamped with chalk ink, then I accented them with a pink souffle pen and a yellow glitter pen. The pearlescent pink background really makes this card pretty in person.



Just for fun I also tried out the My Punny Valentine set so I could ink up that adorable sheep. The sentiment is from a local stamp artist (saltbox studios Sheep Sayings). I used Papertrey's aqua mist cardstock, stamped with Versamark, and aqua mist ribbon and ink. Just a fun quick card.

The Weatherman Was Right!

They kept saying we were going to get snow today, but when I woke up and left for work there was only ice left over from yesterday's sleet. Since 8:30 a.m. it has been snowing non-stop and it's supposed to last until 6:00 p.m. I tried to get a picture that would accurately show how much snow we've gotten, but instead I pushed the door open, aimed, and shot this photo. It may not look like much, but it's pretty ugly outside. I hope I can get out of work tonight--I love my job and all, but I don't want to sleep here. LOL



I was going to take a picture out the window, but the snow is drifted up 8" in the window sill, covering most of where I can see out.

On Sunday it reached 78 degrees, yesterday we had sleet/freezing rain and today this. Like they always say--if you don't like the weather in St. Louis, wait a few minutes--it'll change!

Well, I completed my ink project this weekend. I bought some crates at Hobby Lobby that I was going to glue some dividers in, but I was having some problems getting the sizes right so that all of my ink pads would fit. So Plan B was to visit a few antique malls and see if I could find an old soda crate or something similar.

The second store I visited had a few soda crates, but once I saw one in person I realized the sections were going to be too small for most of my inks. Then I started noticing how perfect some of the knick-knack storage shelves would be. Of course, most of them were marked NFS, but I happened upon one that was for sale for only $12. I brought it home, cleaned it up a little bit and got to work labeling my ink pads. They didn't all fit, so I'll have to keep a lookout for another shelf, but here's the final result. I did use one of the HL crates for my distress inks and a few others that I use more often.



I also finally got my Easter decorations out. I went a little overboard with my Happy Easter sign, but I couldn't help it I was having so much fun with my acrylic paints and glitter and ribbon. The two smallest decorations were hand made for my boyfriend by a neighbor when he was little--they're about 30 yrs old. He told me that she had her own studio in her basement where she made pottery. His mother just gave them to us yesterday.