I've Got Your Back....

Welcome back!
Today is the fourth and final day of the August sneak peeks at The Craft's Meow!
It has been so much fun joining all of the ladies at The Craft's Meow as their 'Friend" this week.
Thank you all for hanging out here this week and watching the new stamps being unveiled!

I have another fabulous set today, "In Tandem", designed for The Craft's Meow, by the beautiful and talented Nina Brackett of Nina B. Designs. This is yet one more totally fun set, with several sentiments - each one just perfect for someone needing a happy greeting.

Here is my card...

I did a teensy bit of coloring and outlining with my Copic markers, dotted the bottom half in greens and the top half in blues. The image and mat were die cut using oval Nesties. I dotted and tore the CS prior to stamping the sentiment, and tore the bottom of the mat as well. Also dotted with black Copic around the inside oval. Everything is popped up with dimensional squares. Added a bit of bling from Michael's and a flower from Hobby Lobby. The DP is Echo Park, and can be found at The Craft's Meow Store.


Be sure to check out The Craft's Meow Blog, to see all of the other beautiful creations, and don't forget to comment! One lucky person will win this set!!!


Hope you can plan to hop with us on August 1st. The Craft's Meow August release blog hop will feature all of the great stamp sets you have seen this week, and that's not all! You will be able to shop for the sets that day as well! You'll want to be sure to leave comments, as one lucky winner will receive all four new sets!


Smiles,
Patti J.

Telegram...

Happy Saturday, and welcome to day 3 of The Craft's Meow Sneak Peek!


I have another fabulous set to preview for you today. This set, "Telegram" is designed by the amazing Nina Brackett of Nina B. Designs! It's always fun to see what Nina's new designs are! She never seems to run out of ideas, and I love her sets that take us down memory lane, like this one today does.


Oh my goodness - there are so many possibilites with "Telegram". The set includes many sentiments, as well as several images. Again, the stamps work like a dream - the ink covers beautifully, and clean up so easily.


Here is my card:


This was a lot of fun to work with - it got me outside of the 'cutesy' box that I seem to have been in for a while, and mussing it up a bit was fun too! After I had adhered the two pieces on the front, I realized that I had forgotten to distress their edges like I did the DP background. Sigh.... sometimes I think I'd forget who I was if I couldn't refer to my driver's license - lol!!!


Hurry over to The Craft's Meow, to see who else has previews for you today! I know you won't be disappointed! Don't forget to leave comments! One lucky person who comments on The Craft's Meow blog will win this set! Woot woot for FREE stamps!


Have a great weekend!

Hugs and smiles,
Patti J.

Supplies: DP: Tim Holtz Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink Crocheted Trim: from my stash Buttons: Grandma's button jar Hand: The Red Rooster, Farmington, Mo.

Owl See You in Class...

Woo hoo - let's see that happy dance, folks!
It's Friday...........!

Welcome back! It's Day 2 of The Craft's Meow Sneak Peek previews! Today's wonderful set is "Owl See You in Class", and is another fabulous design by Jenny Suchin. Oh my goodness - this set is so cute! I must say that these stamps are such a joy to stamp with. They have fabulous coverage, and although I'm never without my Stamp-a-ma-jig, they are so accurate that I don't feel the need to use it! I actually 'overstamped' the sentiments on the chalkboard below, as I felt my ink was a little dry, and needed a second application.




You are going to want to be first in line for this cute set! What fun projects you can make for back to school, teacher appreciation, or school's out events!!!


Hopefully, this little critter brought you a smile or two! I'm still smiling, and I stamped him up yesterday!


Be sure to hurry over to The Craft's Meow to see who else has some 'classy' cards to share! Don't forget that one lucky person to leave a comment will win this set! The only thing better than fun new stamps, are fun FREE new stamps!!!


Happy Friday,
Patti J.

Supplies:
CS: Gina K. Pure Luxury White, Bazzill Basics Black
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up Whisper White
Copic Markers
Pearls: Kaiser Crafts
Scor-Bug and Scor-Pal

The Craft's Meow Sneak Peek - "Owl Be Thinking of You"

Hello!


I am so excited to have been asked by Lisa to be a Friend of The Craft's Meow for the
month of August! Lisa and I seemed to connect right from the beginning of our blogging
adventures, and I feel so blessed to have her in my life!


How much fun it is to be able to help Lisa and her amazing Design Team showcase
the new realeases for the month! I am having a blast playing with these new stamps,
and I know that you will too!!!

Today is day 1 of The Craft's Meow Sneak Peek previews, and this first set, called, "Owl Be Thinking of You", is designed by the amazingly talented Jenny Suchin.

I can't wait for you to check out the full set - there are oodles of wonderful stamps!

My first card features the darling owls.

I created a step card, and used some adorable Echo Park DP, which you can also find at The Craft's Meow. Hope you like this - I thought it would be just right for someone who's been away from home for a while, or in the hospital.

The clouds have frosted Stickles on them, and there are Glossy Accents on all of the hearts, eyes, and parts of the birdhouse.

The next card, again from the "Owl Be Thinking of You" set, features the sweet little birds. When I saw the sentiments, I thought I could put the Welcome and the Little One together and have a perfect card for a new baby. I thought it turned out pretty cute - what do you think???

Hurry over to The Craft's Meow to see who else has sneak peeks for you, and for your chance to win! One lucky person will win this stamp set!

This stamp set, and more will be available in The Craft's Meow Store on August 1st!

Thanks for dropping by, and don't forget to stop back by tomorrow for another sneak peek!!!

Hugs and blessings,
Patti J.


Supply list:
Stamps: The Craft's Meow
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
DP: Echo Park (The Craft's Meow)
Glossy Accents
Dimensional Squares (Hobby Lobby)
Ribbon: My stash
White Pearls: Kaiser Crafts
Copic Markers
Stampin UP! Square Lattice Embossing Folder
Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics

Wanna Trade???

My ribbon storage method...

Hello!

Happy Tuesday, fellow stampers :)

I was wondering if anyone was up for a fun swap... no stamping, fussy cutting, or layering!

I would love to do a Ribbon Swap. Each participant would send 1 yard each of several different ribbons (the number would depend on the number of participants).

I don't know about you, but I love getting new ribbons, but hate that I have to buy 15 yards at a time, when I usually only make one or two items with what I buy.

If you are interested, leave a short comment here, and drop me an e-mail. I'm thinking that maybe these would be due on August 31st. What do you think???

Can't wait to see who wants to 'play'!!!

Hugs,
Patti J.

Thanks a Bunch...

Good morning, and Happy Monday!


Hope that you all had a great weekend. Ours was good, but where did it go? Why is it that they go by SO quickly???


I have a quick card to share today - it's from the new Jargon Mix set at Clear Dollar Stamps. I also used my new Martha Stewart border punch that my friend Shirley's DH stood in line at Michael's to pick up for me! Not too many men will stand in line with a coupon at Michael's for their wife's friend! Thanks Wayne!!!



I wish I had more for you today, but that's it! I am going to spend the entire day cleaning this messy girl cave so that I really CAN get some work done in here! Pray for me, 'cause it's one ginormous mess!


Hugs and smiles,
Patti J.


Food for thought: Sometimes good manners is just a matter of putting up with someone else's bad manners :)

Long time, no see....

Good morning everyone, and Happy Friday!

Short post here today - lots to do...

Today's card features one of the new digi releases from Clear Dollar Stamps, Gigi Giraffe. Is this not the cutest little critter? Can't you just see a baby shower using this darling little guy? This digi set comes with 3 Designer Papers (two that I have used here and one more), 1 pre-colored Gigi image, 1 outlines Gigi image,and 4 sentiments for only $3.00!

I am entering this in the challenge at Card Positioning Systems, which uses this sketch:

Hope that your day is good, and that you have a nice weekend planned. My friend Shirley is a demonstrator for The Angel Company, and is having her TAC open house tomorrow, so I get to spend the day with stamping friends - what better way to spend a Saturday???


Have a wonderful weekend!

Patti J.


Food for thought:
While you are earning your 'daily bread', be sure to share with those less fortunate!

No Name has New Name!

Wow, what fun! A few days ago, I posted photos of the new pup that has come to reside with us. I gave YOU, the smartest readers in the world, a chance to "Name that Doggie"...

Here are the names that were suggested:

Angel
Puff Ball
Snow Ball
Killer
Sadie
Ada
Rex
Bailey
Sasha
Sophie
Chloe
Zoe
Annie
Mia
Allie
Cuddles
Cleo
Lovey
Happy
Molly
Abby
Lucy
Honey
Toasty
Gracey
Lacey
Candy
Lovey
Noodle
Foxy

Here's what we did. The last few days, we have called her all of these names several times. There was one name that she responded to over and over again, so we decided to let HER pick her name! Drum roll please........

Her name is SOPHIE!!!

Congratulations to Cat, for picking just the right name, and thanks to everyone else who submitted names!

The name drawn at random is: TheBug415! Congratulations!

Both ladies will receive an "Itty Bitty (really!) Blog Candy". Please e-mail me with your name and address, and I'll get your teensy weensy prizes in the mail asap!

Thanks again, everyone!
Back tomorrow!

Hugs, Patti J.

Food for thought: Did you know that every single minute you are angry about something, you lose 60 seconds of your life?

U 2

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

Most of you know this, but several weeks ago, DS called and said, "mom, FedEx is bringing you a surprise". Well, the surprise was 2 tickets to last night's U-2 concert in St. Louis. This was a rather big ordeal for us in St.Louis! They actually tore up all of the turf on the ball field at Bush Stadium in order to set up their staging!!! DD was my date for the evening, and we stayed out well past my bedtime! There were reportedly around sixty thousand people there, and we actually knew several people there! Jenny B., if you are reading, we saw your dad there! DD did an excellent job of planning which parking lot would be an easy getaway after the show. We were only about a 5 minute walk (paid dearly for the parking!) to the stadium, and after the show, we were on the highway 23 minutes after starting the car. Not bad!!! About 90 minutes later we were home - got here about 2 a.m.


I'm sharing photos with you today - hope you don't mind! Between the concert, and DH's new puppy, I don't have any new cards to share today!!!


These photos are not in order! I'll try to explain a bit about some of them. Others are strickly changes in the set, band performing, etc..... self-explanatory.


This first photo is taken as the crowd is beginning to filter in. Wow...ton's of people!!!

Set in blue...

Set toward the end...

More of set changing toward the end.

Wish this next photo had turned out better. Bono asked that the lights all be turned out, and for everyone to take their phones out and turn them around lighted, in honor of all of the folks in Joplin Missouri, who are just haning on and trying to survive after their terrible tornado in April. Goose bumps!!!

Sorry, out of order! Another early shot, prior to the concert beginning...

Another shot of the blue set.


More goose bumps! Serious goosebumps! This is Gabby Gifford's husband telling Gabby and the world how much he loves her from space. Wow.....


This is where it all happens. The lighting, the sound, the special effects, etc.

Bono himself!!!

John, if you are reading, thank you so much! What an incredible evening we had!


That's it for today! I'm sure that I either walked or sweated off a pound or two, as it was upper 90's to 100 degrees here yesterday. Time for some foot/ankle elevation!


Take care everyone, and thanks for looking! Don't forget to scroll down and leave me a name in my "Name that Dog" contest!!! I'm extending it until tonight.


Hugs and smiles,
Patti J.

A Bit of Cheer...

Happy Sunday!


I have a super quick post for you today.


This card uses the Doodle Pantry Quirky Cat set. I made this card very simple and child-like, as it's going to a very young girl who had a heart and lung transplant this past week. We're doing a little card drive for her, and I thought this Cat very fitting for a sweet little gal who has a cat!


I am entering this in the Card Patterns challenge this week. Here is their sketch:


Hope that you are having a delightful Sunday. Tonight is the U2 concert! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers! Hope that my ankle and DD's foot hold out, and that we survive the 100+ temperatures! There are 54,000 people expected!!! DS, if you are reading, thanks again for the wonderful surprise gift of these tickets!!! You are the best son ever!


Have a great day,

Hugs,
Patti J.

Food for thought:
If you take care of your character, your reputation will take care of itself.

Name that Dog!!!!!

So, look what came home from work with DH today! lol.....


She's sort of a funny lookin' little gal - has the face of a tiny dog, but even though her body is teensy, it has the look of a big dog. Anyway, she certainly needs a home, and DH certainly thinks it should be THIS home. (Her personality is wonderful - she's a total cuddler, and probably weighs about 8 or 9 lbs., and is SO soft and fluffy!)


So....if said new dog stays in said home, she must be called something other than 'New Dog'!


Do I hear BLOG CANDY?????


Let's hear all of your best names for this little lady. If we decide to use the name that YOU submit, you will win some Itty Bitty Blog Candy!!!! Another lucky commenter, drawn at random will also win some Itty Bitty Blog Candy!!!!


All righty folks, let's hear those names!!!

Now, I know it's been a while since you've seen the granddaughter doggie, Rosie the Wonder Dog! We got to dog sit while her momma went to Florida for a week, and while we had her, she went to the groomer with Flake! The bows and bandana lasted just long enough for this photo...lol!!!

Name that Dog contest will end Monday evening!!! Good luck!!!

10 Minute Card...

The Free for All Challenge, hosted by Tami Mayberry at Stamp TV this week calls for a CAS card that can be re-created in 10 minutes. This card was so easy-peasy!

Scored a dotted line toward the bottom of the card. Scored a solid line 1/8" up from solid line. Stamped border. Scored a solid line, then a dotted line. Stamped ornaments at top of card. Colored QUICKLY with Spica Glitter Pens. Added store bought bow with glue dot. Voila!

What's in it: Gina K. Pure Luxury White Cardstock, GKD Vintage Borders (by Nina Brackett), Bow (Hobby Lobby), atyou Spica Glitter Pens, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, Scor-Pal, Scor-Bug


I think it really took longer to type these directions than to make the card!
Give this challenge a try!
If you decide to enter a card in the challenge,
or maybe I should say WHEN you enter your card in the challenge, it should be tagged Stvfritami1 and should be posted by 8 a.m. July 31st.

Hope that your weekend is off to a great start!

Ya'll take care!

Patti J.

Food for thought:
The happiest people don't always have the best of everything,
but they make the best of everything they have!

Rose....

Hello, and...

Happy Friday!!!


It's the 15th of the month - that means it's Digi Release Day at Clear Dollar Stamps!!!
I have a couple of cards to show you today that feature the June Flower of the Month set, "Rose". I thought that this beautiful flower would look pretty in pink, so that's what I decided to use. It will be fun to work this up in different colors to see how the look changes with color variations. The sentiment I used in both cards is from the Patriotic Charlie set - isn't it a beautiful font? The first card is standard A2 size, while the second card is a 5 3/4 square.

All coloring is with Copic Markers. Cardstock is Bazzill Basics, trim and ribbon is from Hobby Lobby. Pink Pearls are ZVA Creations, white pearls are Hobby Lobby, and oval Spellbinders were used. The background DP is from Graphics 45 Once Upon a Springtime Collection.

To see all of the new digi stamps, hop on over to the Clearly i Stamp blog, or to the Clear Dollar Stamps Website. Be sure to also visit the other DT members - I'm sure that they will have some beautiful creations posted on their blogs!


Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend - stay cool :) The forecast here is upper nineties through Sunday, then in the triple digits next week. Add 'heat index' to that, and it's going to be scorcher days! U2 concert Sunday night here, hope you have some fun planned for the weekend!


Hugs and smiles,
Patti J.


Food for thought:

"It's been a rough day. I got up this morning...put on a shirt and the button fell off. I picked up my briefcase and the handle came off. I'm afraid to go to the bathroom."
~Rodney Dangerfield

Every have one of those days??? lol...

Good News?

Good morning to you, and hope that your morning is off to a good start. It's a pretty day here, so far, and I've managed to get a few things accomplished this morning!

So....went to the doc yesterday, and the good news is that there is nothing broken in the foot or ankle. However, the bad news is that there is nothing broken as well! I apparenlty have a sprain, and so far, every person I've talked to has said that it will take longer to heal from a sprain than a break. So....now that I know nothing is broken, I will work like crazy to heal things up!




I actually made a card this morning... Is this not the cutest little face ever? I just want to grab this little guy up and hug him!!! Plush Panda is one of Laurie's adorable images that can be found at Doodle Pantry. He comes with his own designer paper and sentiments! AND...yes, he is pre-colored! Now, how easy is this when you need a quick card? Be sure to check out all of the new releases, and the sale items at Doodle Pantry! There is also a challenge going on at the DP Blog - the only requirement is to use a DP image - easy peasy! Hope to see you there.


Well, peeps, thanks for stopping by. I'm going to take advantage of the fact that I can stand AND walk today, and go see my friend Penny. She's still in that motorized chair that she's been in since you all sent her those gorgeous cards in March. She's still not allowed to bear any weight on that leg. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers, please.


Hugs and smiles to you all,
Patti J.


Food for thought:
Women complain about PMS, but I think of it as the only time of the month
when I can be myself. -- Roseanne Barr

Sew Thankful...

Hi everyone!

Hope that you are all doing well. I am once again unable to do much more than a hobble...must find out what is going on. If the ice bag and I are together much more, we are going to have to get married!


I thought I'd share a card that I made a while back. It was a "reject", made for one of the on-line PaperCrafts call, so I think it's safe to post now. The images are all from a set called "Sew Thankful", from The Angel Company.

As you can see, this is gatefolded...

I made a belly band by covering a strip of brown CS (Bazzill) with a narrow lace trim, and then some narrower satin ribbon (Hobby Lobby). The sewing machine, needle, and sentiment were stamped with Versafine Brown Ink on Kraft (you all know my Kraft addiction...), then mounted on brown CS.

Adding a magnet strip to the back of each piece helped the sewing machine piece to double as a refrigerator magnet!

Randomly stamped the other images from the sets on the two panels, matted and adhered them.

Last, the dress form was stamped on Kraft, cut out and adhered with pop dots on the inside panel. The 'needles' had been stamped prior to adding the dress form.

Have a wonderful day! I'm going to try to work on some DT cards today, so hopefully, I will be back tomorrow with some fun things to show you.

Hugs and blessings...
Patti J.

Thought for today: Ouch.

Toot Toot !

Good morning! Hope your Sunday is off to a wonderful beginning. I have to take a very short minute and share my excitement with you! I have a project in this month's CardMaker magazine!

When you get your issue, turn to page 16, and this is what you will see. I am still pinching myself! This pocket can also hold a Ghirardelli candy, or other small items. The image is one of the darling C.C. Designs images, Pumpin Emma. I totally adore the C.C. Designs images, and you can find them at All That Scraps! The sentiment and little flowers on the envelopes are another of my favorite companies, The Stamps of Life. If you've never checked out Stephanie's fun stamps, you should hurry over and do so!!!




I want to thank Mary Anne for thinking of me with a wonderful blog award this week! Mary Anne is one special lady, a special blogging friend, and especially talented! If you've never checked out her blog, please do! I'm supposed to tell you seven things about myself. Hmmmm....where to start? I'm SO boring these days!



1. As of July 1st, I've been retired two full years!
2. My DH is my best friend, my soulmate, and I'm so blessed that he's put up with me all these years (38 of them)!!!
3. I want to sky dive and zip line before I leave this earth!
4. I need to lose 100 pounds!
5. I have two of the most wonderful and amazingly thoughtful grown children ever!!!
6. I am a homebody!
7. I sometimes ride around town 'topless'. Really! Honestly! For our 30th wedding anniversary, my wonderful husband bought me a little black BMW Z3 convertible. When I put the top down, I am 'topless'! lol..... I think it had about 27,000 miles on it when he bought it, and it's only up to about 33,000! It's pretty impractical, but OMG it's so much fun to feel the breeze blowing through my hair!



I told you I was boring! Now I am supposed to pass this on - this is the part of these awards that I don't like :( I have so many wonderful blogging friends - I never know who to pass them on to, so please, grab this award if you are reading, tell us some things about yourself, and pass it on!!! Thanks again, Mary Anne!


Hope the rest of your weekend is full of blessings! I'll be back tomorrow with a card or two! Take care,

Patti J.

Food for thought: Hmmmm......think it's accidental that stressed spelled backwards is desserts?

What's New???

Hi Everyone! Hope that your 4th of July was wonderful. Ours certainly was. It was a day filled with family, friends, and more than an ample supply of food!


So....What's New today at Doodle Pantry? Lots! Laurie has stocked the Doodle Pantry with the July releases, and I can't wait for you to see them!


I have two cards to show you today. The first card, So Thankful, features a brand new set for fall, called Harvest Bounty. For this card, I decided to bring out my colored pencils. What a great image for coloring! I took a fine point marker and drew a 'frame' around the image, and cut it out, added a bow, and mounted the image on a piece of embossed green cardstock. Voila!




For this card, I decided to have a little fun with the new Digital Paper Pack, Primary Patterns. Using the 'Pinwheel' technique, I chose two of the fun DP's, and could not resist using one of the sentiments from the Peacock Birdie set!


Head over to the Doodle Pantry, and check out the fabulous new releases! While you are there, check out the Grab Bag section. Items in this section will be marked down 50% for a short time - from July 5th to July 19th!


Also, there is a new challenge up! DPDC14 has been posted on the Doodle Pantry Blog! The challenge theme is easy peasy: Use a Doodle Pantry image. For participating , and submitting an entry using a Doodle Pantry Image, will receive a complimentary "Peacock Birdie" image FREE!!! Also, there will be one lucky winner, chosen randomly, that will win a $10 gift certificate to the Doodle Pantry store - how cool is that???


Have a great day, and a week full of blessings!


Patti J.

Food for thought:
You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him. - Anonymous