Little Boy Birthday

Hi my legion of fans (hmm...did a little research and legion is plural, so that "s" I've been adding is a no no. Also, any member of my legion is called a legionnaire. Now isn't that just tooo debonnaire? I know...big groan...I just couldn't resist.
It appears that my banner has disappeared for good and since I wan't crazy about it anyway...much as I love and collect all things frog, I've decided to bite the bullit and have the extraordinary and talented Michelle Laycock http://www.michellelaycock.blogspot.com/  make me a new one. She doesn't know this yet, but I'm counting on her. I had hoped to do it myself, but alas, I'm so NOT technie. It would take me weeks to get just the basics done. I'm hoping when Michelle hears how inept I actually am, she won't fall out of her chair laughing. And I'm also hoping that along with the design will come a lifetime of help with just basic upkeep. I'm pathetic I tell ya!
So, here's a weekend boy card. I don't do boys well. I always struggle with my grandsons'. He will be 12 this summer. That's gonna be tough. No more kiddie themes like this one. The ds paper is from a DCWV pad and just basic white with scrap yellow and red. I used Nesties for the circles and balloons. The star is a Quik-Kutz die and the rick rack is a part of a die set from Sizzix. The number is from a Cuttlebug alphabet. I printed out the sentiment using a freebie front from Scrapfonts. The stamp is from a CTMH set that was meant for Halloween, but I thought a little boy would get a kick out of the 3 eyes. Just before I popped the card into the envie, I put "real" googly eyes on and that made it cuter. The friend that I sold the card to (for a whopping $1.25...I never know how much to charge), really loved it. Well, she said she did anyway.

I hope many of you are getting in some stamping this weekend so I have lots to check on my blog subscriptions.

Erica

Blogging on Friday

Hi Everyone,
I had a ball reading the blogs that gave the deets on the CHA in CA. WHOW! Soooo much new stuff coming our way. Companies are designing fun new things faster than they have ever done. Some things that caught my eye were the Nestie punch machine and the Sizzix punch machine that Tim Holtz is lending his name to.
So, here's my Valentine card that I made and like best. I've sort of decided to go the route of clean and simple this year, without really understanding why other, than it looks nice to my eye. I thought I was one of those frilly layering type cardmakers, but I don't seem to have much success with that style. That is to say, that my legions of fans sorta pass those by, so I'm sticking with what works, that is, gets a comment or two. So what do ya' think fans? Those hearts are a Studio G $ stamp and the word Love is from SU's retired, "For A Friend". I tend to use Gina K's luxery white when I make C&S cards. and that's ribbon from my stash, as in Walmart. I put a little plastic embellie heart over the heart that is a "v" in the word.
I have been working on a few requested juvinile cards and they're done. So I'll be able to just stamp this weekend.
I'll post them soon.
It's my hope that you will be able to get in some fun time stamping  and whatever else brings joy to your heart too.
Have a blessed weekend.
Erica

My First Bella

Hi legions of fans. I know I'm probably the last one in the stamping world to get a Bella, but I just didn't. It wasn't for lack of trying though. So finally a blogger posted this one for a price I liked and I picked it up. I felt this image will lend itself to any kind of card. So here she is. I struggled with what to do with her hair. Should I color it, or not? I tried a few different things and not coloring worked best for me. I'll have to go back to check what others have done. So, I added a pin with baubles and some ribbon and I thought this ds paper worked well and voila. Hope you like her.

How's your weekend going so far. Hopefully, you're finding lots of time to stamp. A friend and I attended Michelle Zindorf's beginner brayer class this PM. We waited almost a year for her to come to AZ. We learned and had a good time. Now I have to put it all to good use. I'll post one of the cards we made in February. She asked us not to do it quite yet so she can finish up her classes using the cards she's taught this go-around.

Happy Sunday stamping.
Erica

It's Time For Hearts

Good Morning My Legions of Fans,

I hope you've had a lovely weekend and like me, been very appreciative of the life I live here in the U.S.A. Not that I'm not always given to recognize this important fact...just that now and then it is brought straight home to me because of some horrible tragedy in some other country.
Living in New York for most of my life, I knew many Haitians. They are very industrious people who are loving and kind toward strangers. They value their family above all else. We must be careful not to assume that some of the desperation we've seen in the media is "who" they are. It is just that. And we would be the same if the table were turned.
On to my card. I'm somewhat shamed. This was supposed to be in a challenge here

http://simpledoodles.blogspot.com/ and I blew it. I'm late by a day or two. It's a digi heart, and it was a freebie. I dithered (sorry Obama) about embellies for literally days and then got busy and ended up missing the deadline. I still think it needs something more, but I didn't want to cover the words. The love word stamp Rubber Stampede. The rest is just regular stuff.
We're finally getting some rain here and whow...do we ever need it. Unfortunatley, I get to babysit my 2 1/2 yr. old granddaughter and going outside to play is half our fun. Oh well, I will enjoy her no matter what.
Have a blessed week everyone and put a little stampin' in there too.

Erica

Just One More

I've tried getting this post up since last night and have been having trouble with getting thrown off the Net. Bother. In between...I managed to get 5 laundry loads done...folded and put away, changed beds, mopped my largest open area floor and the master bedroom. You say, why is she writing this? We all gotta clean our houses. Well, I hate housework with a passion and I confess I only do it when I know I'm going to have company that week. I still have to dust, clean 2 bathrms., and my stamp room needs serious tidying up. When I first moved into this house, I did so with the understanding that I'd have  cleaning service 2x a month. That happened for about 2 yrs. I found a lovely Mexican woman (a citizen too...how 'bout that here in AZ?), who I now realize I didn't pay well. Wouldn't you know it, she got cancer and couldn't work anymore. At least that's what she told me! She calls me at Christmas and always asks if I have replaced her. My answer is always no and I ask after her health. Since she never volunteers to return, I never ask her to either. Now I can't afford to anyhow. UGH! I'm gonna vent a bit here. I didn't used to mind house-cleaning, even with a full-time job for many years, but now my husband is an invalid and I have the task of care-taking along with the house. I want out of here and bad.  Back to my cleaning only for company. We are moving in with my youngest dd, just as soon as we can get a short-sale. So I'm cleaning for the realtor. I don't know that it matters. She won't be buying the house. It's so sad that our house isn't worth the price we paid for it, and of course, we have the ubiquitous 2nd mortgage, hence, no equity whatsoever. I praise God that my dd wants us and though we will have many changes facing us, I will have only 2 rms. + bath to take care of. And one of those rooms is a craft room larger than what I have now. There's also the bonus of being with  2 of my grands (and a step-grand who is a sweetheart) whom I adore and my dd and sil are great people. I also get to cook less as we will share the duties and in a marvelous kitchen. Their house is beautiful. So there you have it...way more than you asked for, huh? Well this is a diary of sorts, so put your big girl panties on and realize how blessed you are and me too.

And finally, here's my card. It's a Magnolia image, the only one I own. My stampin' bud, El, has issues with her lack of a mouth. Once in a while, I put a little heart-shaped mouth on her, but don't post those cards as it has to be some sort of infringement on the designers' copyright, I'll bet. So don't go and tell anyone, OK? The papers are all from CTMH as is the bling. I used a Nesties for the ovals and the border is an EKS punch. The skin tone, which can be difficult on my own peeps, was done with Lyra Skin Tone pencils. They come 12 to a pkg., and I have never seen them anywhere except Hobby Lobby. Her outfit was fun to color too. The ribbon is from my stash and the snowflakes are a very old little punch I've had forever.

Well, we only  have Sunday left to the weekend. So be sure to stamp something for yourself. As for me, I shall continue cleaning the house, after church....and I'm gonna BBQ some spareribs. It's gonna be 65 tomorrow. Sorry mid-Westerners, I hear your pain....onward Christian soldier.

Blessings, Erica

This Excerpt Moves Me.

Journaling reads: Remember... do not destroy your child's HOPE... HOPE that is unbridled, wildly creative, and a force that can change the path for humankind. Do not destroy HOPE with a maelstrom of anger or negativity... HOPE exists everywhere... we are the only ones that can break the bird's wing and destroy HOPE in humankind. HOPE is a song that never ends as long as we do not let it. May HOPE (Peace, Santa, God... whatever you may call it) always be with you!

 I snatched that beautiful excerpt from Windy here http://windyrobinson.blogspot.com/. I hope she won't mind since it is a bit of her very own journaling. But it is so lovely and poignant to me.
This is what I always told myself when I was raising my children. My own hope had been snatched away from me as a teenager. I never became what I believe I could have with hope and encouragement. Of course, I know that God had a plan for me and that's the one that I'm living, right now...but still....

Enough theorizing for the day and onward Christian soldier...my legions of fans call. So I must satisfy their yearning. Ha Ha! Loving the Lord today...returned to Bible Study after our Christmas recess and YIKES...did we have a lot to share and even more to pray for. So, I thought I'd get myself ready to honor one of those resolutions of mine and set the tone with this card. The card stuff is old and self-explanatory and should any one of my legionnaires require deets..., well, they know where to find me.

Hugs & Blessings,
Erica

Well Someone out there likes me

And the New Year begins. I found it astonishingly easy to write 2010 on the two checks I have had to write already. Kink in the water system to the tune of $139.00 and $72.00 at Walmart. And I have so little to show for my WAMA jaunt. I wandered into Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon and $3.00 and couldn't find a thing I had to have for less than $20 bucks. WHAAA! A pox on budgets, I say.
So only one person answered my post on resolutions. See the comment in previous post. She got one of them right...I guess it was a bit obvious. What else would I be biting, huh?

Here's the rest.      Don't bite NAILS
                              Get out of the HOUSE and WALK
                              Get on my KNEES in prayer daily
                              Be less JUDGMENTAL and more UNDERSTANDING
                              Quit NAGGING husband (it's only for his own good, but
                              he doesn't see it that way.)

Had a lovely New Years Day with family and dis manage to use some cool coupons at Michaels where I got  some punches, ribbon and dollar stamps.
Here's a card that I created with very little stamping. The paper did everything I needed it to. It is DCWV La Creme matstock and the stamp is a CTMH sentiment. I wish the photo reflected the actual color better. It is creme and black, not white. I so need to work on my photo skills. All in due time, all in due time. BTW, that's my 40 yr. old Kitchen Aid mixer in the background. I parted company with it last week. What emotional ties I had to that machine. I grew up with it, I baked, mashed, mixed and almost dropped it once. I gave it away. It was not as strong as it used to be. And its replacement...a Bosch mixer that my eldest dd gave me years ago. It was feeling neglected and I was feeling for sorry for it. After all, mixers aren't like stamps. One is usually enough.

Have a great week.
Erica