Is the glass half full or half empty?

So last week I mentioned we were stuck on two houses and we finally made a decision. We went for the great house with a smaller yard. After looking at the big yard house it just need too much work. So we are anxiously awaiting to see if our bid was accepted, we are so nervous! So that means moving time, which I am totally dreading! I will also not be blogging about cards for a while because I have to pack up my craft window in my kitchen so that people are not turned off by the massive amounts of stamping products. We outgrew our house right after we had our son so the place is packed to the gills. We've decided that we are going to rent a storage unit for a couple months and unclutter before we start showing our house to sell. Hopefully my four readers while stick around while I'm in transition because I just won't be able to make anything until we move to our new house. (I'm being very optimistic!) The cool part about moving is that there is a small study that I am going to use as a craft room for a few months or until we are able to add to our family. Once that happens the study will go back to a spare bedroom and I will have to find a new craft window to perch on.

In addition to moving our little family also received some great news...my husband got a promotion! This leads into the title of post, here's a some background and then you can decide. My husband and I met at work a few years back then got married. We were both in the same area but not in the same team. We've worked this way over the last five years and have managed to keep our private life separate from our work life. I love the expression on a person's face when they realize we are married, it takes people a while to even figure it out. So fast forward to the present, today we manage two teams and report to the same person. Insert fabulous news about hubby's promotion...my hubby will be managing the managers who manage the teams in the area. Does that sound weird? Basically my husband will become my boss and that's a no-no in our company. To be fair I think it's this way for most companies out there. So I need to find a new job, which is scary in itself. Don't get me wrong I'm not being shoved out the door. The people we work with are very understanding and are really trying to help me find a place to go. I've worked in this area for 8 years so it's hard to say that this...but this is all I know how to do and starting over is a daunting task. I'm so proud of my husband but I'm super freaked out for myself. Wow, I guess I needed to get that out. In the end I think the glass is half full, we are in a partnership and what ever happens wonderful happens for him is wonderful for me as well. Congratulations, Honey!

Party In My Tummy

Nick Jr has a new show called 'Yo Gabba, Gabba!' they have been running the promo for a month or so and it debuted this week. Every time the promo would come on my little one would stop and run back to the TV to see the little things dance. I say things because I'm not exactly sure what these things are supposed to be. Anyway I've seen the premiere no less than 10 times and I cannot get this song out of my head. I sing it in the shower, while I load the dishes, when I try to sleep at night!! So I thought I'd post a link and hope to pass on this crazy song. The show is pretty freaky but I really like the music so does the little one!

So Yummy!

Stress

I'm not sure why I came up with the genius idea of moving but I did. We've spent the last two weeks looking for the perfect place for our little family. I think at this point I'm really overwhelmed and want to be done with it now. From what I understand we've done things backwards, we went looking before we put our house on the market. We're stuck between two houses so I hope we can come to decision soon. The first house is amazing but the yard stinks, the second house is not so great but the yard is amazing. Choices?!

Pull Out Card

This is my first attempt at the pull out card and I really liked how it came out. First off the color note card I used is a beautiful lime green but somehow my kitchen lights turned it a nice pukey green. Better yet baby food green...yuck! I did not take a picture of the inside because it's blank. I went to use my 'birth announcement' stamp and the rubber was all warped so I couldn't get a clean image of what I wanted. Looks like I'm taking a trip to the closest stamp joint in town. Finally I added the clear Stickles to the stork last. I originally had it just plain white but everything looks better with a hint of sparkle!

Images, Paper, Ribbon: Amuse Art Stamps. Ink: Colorbox

Rock Star

So let me start off by saying this is not my personal design. I CASE'd it from another talented stamper named, Stilwater. Real names were not used to protect the innocent. :-)

I first saw this card during the Amuse challenges this summer and I knew I had to have the Rock Star stamp. So here is my version of Stilwater's super cool Green Rock Star...hope I did it justice! Here's a link to the original.

Green you Rock

Nice Matters!

I was tagged earlier this week but it took me a while to figure out how to get this on my blog so my apologies for my lateness. I was super excited when I got this from Simone, it was my very first tag in the blogosphere! So here are my tags, please check them out!

1. Daily Dose of Spazz
2. ascrapaddictsblog.blogspot.com
3. Stampindamour.blogspot.com
4. cardsnstuff
5. ManyBlessings from Splitcoast Stampers (She doesn't have a blog but I didn't think it was fair to exclude.)

Ghostly Greetings!

It's Friday already and I have created nothing since Monday so I thought I better get busy. No matter how hard I try I cannot get to stamping during the week. I think it's my job that just leaves my brain mush after 5. I guess that's why everyone loves Friday a chance to relax for a few days before the craziness starts all over again on Monday.

Here's a quick card to get ready for Halloween. I love the color of this paper because of the addition of non traditional Halloween colors!

Images: Paper Salon, Hero Arts. Paper: American Crafts. Ink: VersaMark.

Sums it up...

I bought this stamp not really knowing what I wanted to do with it. I finally got a chance to play with it and I think this card really describes the way I feel about my new favorite hobby. I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks to everyone who has stopped by the last two months and left their comments. Your kind words, your presence really keeps me going. It's really wonderful to be part of such an amazing community of ladies....THANK YOU!

Images: Amuse. Ink: Colorbox & TomBow. Misc: Marvy Punches

Ohhhh..sparkly

I made this quick card last night because I could not get any sleep. It's like my stamps were calling me...'Stamp Me'. 'I'm lonely...must have ink!' I finally got to sleep around 2 am, 6 o'clock came around real fast.

So I'm waiting on my stamp-a-ma-jig to get here because I cannot stamp a straight sentiment to save my life. Other than that I used some stickles to brighten up the ring on the card.

Images: Stampin Up. Sentiment, Paper, Ribbon: Amuse. Ink: Colorbox. Misc: Marvy Punches

Pencils N Things

Yesterday I had the chance to attend a class at my local LSS, Stamp Antonio. I learned about blending and coloring with Prismacolor pencils. I didn't think it was going to be my style but I really liked the look of the pencils on the stamped images. So of course I cruised them on ebay and I picked up a set of 72 pencils for $20! Wooooohoooooo! Happy Monday!

No Layers

One last card for the Amuse challenge, no layers. I kept it simple, I kept it Amuse!

Image & Ribbon: Amuse. Ink: Memories Direct.

Over the rainbow

This is another quick for card for the Amuse challenge. It took four tries before I got the rainbow right on this one. First I tried Colorbox cateye chalk inks and I didn't like the coverage. Second I tried my tombows, too streaky. Third was my prismacolor markers, the purple markers busted while I working on it and purple ink was everywhere. Besides that I still didn't the intensity of the colors. So finally I went for my Pebbles chalks....WINNER, WINNER, WINNER!!! The chalks gave it the haze of a fresh rainbow. I really wanted to do this card because it reminded of my son, he saw his first rainbow a few weeks ago.

The second lesson for this card was using the embossing buddy if I use any other powder than the clear. You can see a slight residue of the gold powder around the sentiment but after the rainbow experiment I wasn't willing to start over.

Images: Amuse. Cloud: Rubber Soul Ink: Pebbles & Colorbox. Ribbon: Amuse. Extras: Stickles

Relax

Ahhh....back to the world of stamping. I made this card for the Amuse lover group over at SCS. So far it sounds like a lot of fun and sometimes it's easier for me create when I have a jumping off point. Pop on over if you can...

Images: Amuse. Ink: Colorbox, Prismacolor & Tombow markers. Paper: Amuse

Birthday Bella

I wanted to work with a Bella today because the Stamping Bella announced a new product that I'm really excited about. It's little baubles that add sparkle and dimension to your card creations. I hope they get here soon!

Main Image: Stamping Bella. Sentiment: Amuse. Outline: Stampin Up. Punch: Marvy Uchida. Ink: Colorbox, Prismacolor. Flowers: Prima. Paper: HL

Weekend Stamper

It seems like I can't stamp during the week, too much craziness going on. Thursday night into Friday morning was especially terrible this week. I get home on Thursday and something doesn't feel right with the AC in our house...meaning it's about a thousand degrees in my house and if I move I will surely melt. My husband does his best to get things going but no such luck. Off to Home Depot for a new thermostat, gets home still no luck. It's now about 10 at night and we have a choice to make...deal or go to a hotel. We choose to deal and sleep in the home now loving called 'The Furnace'. No biggie, we get thru all that and awake to a new morning.

It's about 6:45 am, we're trying to get ready for work and hear a knock on the door. This is very strange being that it's super early and no one ever stops by. A nice lady had come to our door with my checkbook, she had found it in her driveway on the way to work. Yes folks, my car was broken into the previous night...DRAMA! No it wasn't that bad, luckily my husband had recently cleaned the car and it was spotless. The only things in there was the checkbook because who writes checks and some CD's. At this point I think I'm even a little offended that they didn't take the CD's. What criminals don't like...The Muppet Show soundtrack, John Mayer, Michael Buble or my super fantastic mix of my favorite songs?

Again not too bad because it could have been a lot worse, so here we are waiting for the AC people to show on Friday. When they did get here they proceeded to tell us that he could fix the AC right now but it would only be a temporary fix. Basically we were on borrowed time and it could go out any second...right. Obviously we went for the quick fix and will look for a second opinion. Fine, great the AC is finally starting to work and the slow burn it beginning to wear off. The last kick in the behind was a power outage that lasted about two hours completely shutting down the AC we had just paid to get fixed. All I have to say is thank goodness for Saturday!

N Things II

My sister told me a few weeks ago she was having a small gathering for 'National Night Out'. It was a chance to meet her neighbors and get to know them better. So nothing she does is small, next thing you know the police are sending McGruff, the fire department is sending a rig and her local council person is coming to her party. So my contribution is my world famous sugar cookies, she's been begging for them since her B-Day in May but better late than never. Here's to getting to know your neighbor's, fighting crime and taking names!!!

Bunny Part 2

Being the eternal optimist I felt I had to make a sequel for the other sad bunny card I posted today. In case you were wondering they lived happily ever after. Hooray for Bunny Love!!!

Images: A Muse. Ribbon: Strano Designs. Punches: Marvy Uchida. Ink: Colorbox, Prismacolor. Paper: American Crafts.

The saddest card...

I wanted to work on my masking technique so I pulled out these stamps. After I put the card together I thought this was the saddest card I had ever made. Maybe I'm reading too much into this but the bunny looks so lonely! To redeem myself I created a part 2.

The little cloud stamp has to be my favorite part, it came in a set called 'Bon Voyage' from Rubber Soul...cute!

Images: A Muse and Rubber Soul. Paper: Amuse. Ink: Colorbox, Prismacolor Markers.

Turkey Day

It's still early for Turkey Day but I wanted to try this one out. The turkey was watercolored using my Tombows. I didn't have a thanksgiving sentiment but I thought this one was funny!

Image: Paper Salon. Sentiment: A Muse. Paper: A Muse. Ink: Colorbox, Tombow Markers. Accent: Liquid Applique.

Where it all started...

When every I take on new hobbies, I immerse myself in the 'how-to' aspect of it. So when I took up stamping I bought a bunch of stamping books and began studying. I read a particular book a few times because I felt like I learned something new each time. Each time I read it I always went to the page with this stamp on it. So I hunted it down and bought it but sad to say I never used. So I decided to take it out for a spin. The other thing about this is one is the fact that I finally figured out how to do scalloped edges using the corner rounder punch. I found a lot of great tutorials on SCS but this one was the easiest for me to get. Scallop-border-tutorial

Images: Stampendous. Ink: Colorbox. Glitter: Stickles. Punch: EK Success

The price you pay

of taking care of a sick little one, last week he was sick and this week it caught up with me. Unfortunately kleenex and antibiotics leave no room for card making. Hope to be up and around soon...

A little bird

I found this little stamp in the dollar section of Michael's. Very simple, very quick. I've been experimenting with scalloped edges and different techniques. I picked up this month's 'Stamp of the Month' from my local stamp store, Stamp Antonio and this was my first chance to play with it. Also I love cutting things with my craft knife; I made a mask of this bird in case I ever needed it.

images: Studio G, Sassafrass Border. ink: colorbox. punches: Marvy

Polka Dots on the Brain...

This card was inspired by the tiny polka dot A Muse pretty little papers. I think their dots are farther apart on the design but it comes pretty close to it. It's for a birthday tomorrow, hope she likes it!

Sentiment and Gift Stamp: A Muse. Background polka dots: Hero Arts. Ink: Colorbox. Ribbon: Strano Designs.

Big, Bigger, Biggest

I wanted to play with some new tools I got from Stampin Up, I picked up the slit punch and the word window. I used to the slit punch to scallop the edges of my card and used the word window to punch out the sentiment. The word window was a bit smaller than expected but it'll work. I added red to the inside of the card because I wanted more of a fire look to it. Then I used my faithful Marvy punches for the right emphasis on the grill.

Images and Sentiment: A Muse. Punches: Marvy Uchida. Paper: A Muse. Ink: Colorbox & Tombow Markers

For my husband...

simply said

Okay maybe not so simple, I wanted to talk real quick about what I did on this card. I've wanted to play with the masking technique for a while and it was fun. See how the tree is in front of the fence...cool. This also my first attempt at an A Muse scene card! Also I think I've got my sun issues under control.

Images: A Muse. Sentiment: Hampton Arts. Ink: Colorbox & Prismacolor. Paper: A Muse

Should have been quick a quick one

This was supposed to be a quick card. I had a simple design, just a few elements. What took the longest was finding a stamp I lost! After 30 minutes of searching I gave up, it's lost to the Abyss. I was looking for a stamp that said 'Happy Birthday Little Lady' which I thought would be perfect for this sweet dress. No luck so I used this one, not bad but not was I was going for. Other that I love purple so I tend to use quite a bit.

Images: Stamping Bella. Sentiment: A Muse. Paper: A Muse. Ink: Colorbox & Prismacolor. Punches: Marvy Uchida

A Return Normalcy

My little one is feeling better so I was able to work on some cards. Here's the first of three...

The only thing I felt I had to mention about this card was the fact that I cheated...on the ribbon. I struggle constantly with ribbon issues, the perfect bow always seems to allude me. So I cut a long piece of ribbon and glued it down. Then I tied a bow and glued it down to get perfect placement. I've mentioned this product before but it really saved me with my ribbon issues, I attached the link below. This stuff dries like cement! http://stranodesigns.com/product_p/ribbonstiff.04.htm

Images: A Muse Art Stamps. Paper: A Muse. Ribbon: Strano Designs. Glue: Ribbon Stiff. Punches: Marvy Uchida

Free Goodies

Be sure to check out Simone's blog for some free goodies, all you have to do is leave a comment to be entered into the drawing. There are tons of pictures from the CHA convention last weekend. My favorite item listed was the MM embellishment organizer.

Daily Dose of Spazz

To Sentiment or Not To Sentiment

So let's discuss the obvious first...it's a dark card for a baby gift/shower. I know but don't let the black fool you; it's a great mix of warm and cool colors. Second, I have an insane number of stamps, INSANE, but I could not find the right sentiment to go with this card. I wanted some sort of 'Reatil Therapy' saying but I had nothing! So I choose not to settle and left it blank.

Images: Stamping Bella. Ink: Colorbox, Prismacolor. Paper: American Crafts. Brads: MM.

New A Muse Sentiment

I bought this reindeer stamp last Christmas and used it for my Christmas cards. Once I saw this sentiment from A Muse I knew I had to break it out. Lots of circles, lots of dots!

Images: A Muse art stamps. Punch: Marvy Uchida. Ink: Sakura Gel Pens, Colorbox, Prismacolor. Paper: A Muse

Under the Weather

My little one has been under the weather for a few days and will be for a few more. Since I'm staying at home with him I'm making cards during naps or downtime. This was the first time I've been able to update so here it goes.

I know I shouldn't say this but I love this card, I think it's my favorite card I've ever done. I think it's the colors but it totally makes me smile. I tried something a little different with the background, I used scalloped scissors to give it some flair. Blame on the Marvy punches for me wanting a scalloped edge on anything I do! The stamp is a 'Bella'...sheer gorgiousity! I feel like she needed heels but if she just came from the garden why would she be wearing heels. Other than my sister, she wears heels to brush her teeth.

Last but not least I got the idea for grounding the Bella stamp from Amy Rysavy, here's a link to her site. http://prairiepaperandink.typepad.com/amyr/2007/02/inspired_by.html

Images: Stamping Bella. Sentiment: A Muse. Ink: Colorbox, Prismacolor. Stickles

Beautiful...

I guess after months of talking about stamps incessantly a friend of mine decided to come over and see what the fuss was all about. I gave her a quick tutorial on the basics and she put together this amazing card...she's a natural!

Image: Bella from stamping bella. Inks: prismacolor, tombow and colorbox. Ribbon: Strano Designs & Strano ribbon adhesive. Stickles. Paper: Paper Studio

Is it Friday yet?!

The 'JOB' has been pretty hectic this week so that doesn't leave me a lot of time to feel creative. It does leave me just enough energy to shop though! I stopped by Michael's at lunch today and picked up all 12 of the Studio G $1 stamps. They are a bit small but I could not pass them up, they even had tiny acrylic blocks to use with them. Run out and get em before they are all gone!

Friday's just around the corner...

New Stuff

I just got some new stuff from Stampin Up so I thought I'd take it out for a whirl. There I go again with the huge sun, definetly need to work on that. Other than than I really like the two sets together. Rough day...that's all I can muster for the day.

Images and sentiment: Stampin up, Inks: Prismacolor, VersaMark and Colorbox.

I almost forgot...

In all the A Muse craziness I completly forgot about the Bella stamps I received. This is my first chance to work with the Bellas and they are super duper CUTE!

I know this card is pretty simple, it should have taken about 15 minutes but I spent well over an hour on this card. Chalk it up to my newbie status. It was also the first time I was able to work with Prismacolor Markers...fabulous! I intially had to heavy a hand with the markers so I was drawing outside the lines like a four year old. By the third time I had figured out how to work them. So all in all this is my style...simple and basic.

Images: Bella Stamps, Dotted Paper & sentiment: A Muse, Ink: Prismacolor Markers & Colorbox

Baby/Wedding Shower

I needed a card for a baby shower and a wedding shower; this is what I came up with. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use this one for the wedding shower because I'd like to do something a little more baby centric. Hopefully I can finish the other card tonight!

Mini Challenge- 9 Stamps Card 2

I thought this was a pretty tough challenge, make a card with 9 stamps. That's a lot of stamps! So for my second card I drew my inspiration from the Mexican Bingo cards called 'Loteria'. I wanted to write the Spanish word under each item but as I mentioned I only have 8th grade Spanish under my belt so that didn't work out the way I planned. Next I wanted to come up with a sentiment to hand write but I couldn't settle on one. The only deliberate placement on the card was the Love Potion Number 9 stamp because in the center of things baby, it's starts with LOVE!

Any thoughts/suggestions on a cute sentiment???

Images: Amuse Art Stamps, Ink: Colorbox, Punch: Marvy

Mini Challenge- 9 Stamps Card 1

This is the first card I created for the mini challenge this week. So I went for the obvious choice...the months of the year. I didn't have a sentiment that said what I wanted so I had to free hand it in the end. Most of the months don't need explaining but two. The party hat is for July because it's my birthday month! The mariachi head for September celebrates 'Diez Y Sies' which I remember from my 8th grade Spanish class and that's about it.

Images: Amuse, Ink: Colorbox, Circle: Creative Memories Circle Cutter

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 10 ATC 9

This is the last of the ATC's I submitted for this challenge and my least favorite. I had an idea in my head of where I was going with ATC but I got lost somewhere along the way. I think it was after my husband told me he didn't like the striped paper behind the butterfly image. It's probably that comment that's hidden in the back of my head that makes think maybe it was too much after all. So there it goes you were right, Honey!

Images and sentiment: Amuse Art Stamps, Ink: Colorbox, Paper: American Crafts

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 10 ATC 8

If you haven't been able to tell there are two tools I use more than any. That would be my heat gun for embossing and my scalloped punches.I've read on different threads that embossing is a pretty old technique but I love the look and feel of raised ink off the paper. In this ATC I used VersaMark to imprint 'oh baby' behind the image to add more to the card. I knew I was going with boy colors so I was trying to stay away from ribbon or flower embellishments.

Now my love affair with the Marvy punches will probably continue for some time. Almost any stamp that I have fits perfectly into one of the punches. I will try to be creative with these in the but I'm not making any promises.

Image and sentiments: Amuse Art Stamps, Ink: VersaMark and Colorbox

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 10 ATC 7

Yesterday I was reading another card blog from someone that submitted an item for the Amuse challenge. They were talking about the their stuff not being crooked it was just the angle that the photo was taken. Well I think it's my cards and photo angles that are crooked! Sometimes I get to far into something and if I mess up it's just too late to start over. In the end I think it adds character and realism at least that's what I tell myself.

The other cool thing about this ATC is this is my first attempt at watercoloring with my markers. I know lots of firsts but it gives me a chance to pr active. Overall I liked the effect of a soft look to the outline of the stamps. Now I'm not sure what's going on with that humongaloid sun but I was going for a shaded effect around the edges. From the looks of this sun, it appears to be an ozone alert day...someone get those flowers outta there!

I realized that I already professed my love for my favorite A Muse stamp yesterday but I completely forgot about 'Mikey'. How could I forget adorable Mikey, so today I declare Mikey as my favorite stamp of the day!

Images and sentiment: A Muse Art Stamps, Markers: Tombow, Ink: Colorbox

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 10 Card 6

Sakura gel pens are smacktacular! Instead of coloring in the drinks with markers I used the pens and was pleasantly surprised. It's a great glossy look for drinks. These are obviously the kind of drinks you order on vacation or during Happy Hour. I took creative license with the orange drink I can't say I've ever seen one.

This was my last of the ATC's I came up with today. I have a few more ideas for tomorrow, hopefully I can get to them.

Image from Amuse, Marvy Scallop Punch, Sakura Gel Pens and Colorbox Ink.

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 10 Card 5

More fabulous ribbon from Strano Designs, again totally inspired the colors for the card. I used my tombow markers on the car but as you can see it left lots of streaking on the car. I just 'won' an Ebay auction for new markers so I hope to have better luck with those. I love the idea of winning on Ebay even though I didn't actually win the item. The sentiment is a bit crooked but what can you do!

Images and sentiment from Amuse, Marvy Scalloped Pucnhes and Ribbon from Strano Designs.

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 10 Card 4

Peeps...what's to say about those little puffed marshmallow devils. To this day I cannot stomach a peep after an all you can eat encounter with pink peeps when I was younger. But the phrase 'Peeps' is a favorite saying of mine, like most people I'm sure. So this ATC goes out to all my peeps...you know who you are.

When I worked on started working on these this morning, I had just received my order from Strano Designs (http://stranodesigns.com/). This particular ribbon inspired the color palette for this particular card.

Images and sentiment from Amuse Art Stamps, Ribbon from Strano Designs, Markers from Tombow, Ink from Colorbox.

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 10 Card 3

Another ATC, pretty straight forward on this one. I liked the idea of stamping Captain Jack into the screen of the TV because Pirates of the Caribbean was one of my favorite movies this summer. I added a few brads to give the TV a little oomph!

Images, sentiments and paper by Amuse Art Stamps. Brads from the MM.

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 10 Card 2

This is one of my favorite stamps from Amuse, I love the roundness of the pregnant belly. I stamped the image on the striped paper that you see under neath the green punch. The paper was glossy so I had a hard time with the ink smearing on the paper. I was able to cut out the main part of the dress and adhere it to the stamp. It left a bit of pink ink on the outside edges but I smudged it to give it a softer look. Love these colors!

Images and sentiment from Amuse Art Stamps, Marvy Uchida Scallop Punch, and Colorbox ink.

A-MUSE-A-PALOOZA Challenge 10 Card 1

When I saw the A Muse challenge I was a little worried. I'm barely getting used to creating cards and they throw a curve ball my way, to create something other than a card. I found myself thinking about this challenge most of this week and came up with the ATC. Being new to stamping I had no idea what an ATC was so here are my best attempts at creating Artist Trading Cards. This ATC was inspired my crazy sister, her super crazy husband and all their 'mexiCANness'.

Images and sentiment by Amuse Art Stamps, Colorbox Ink, and Stickles by Ranger.

Boys are Gross!!

Let's start at the beginning...I have a two year old son that I love dearly but seriously boys are gross. For about two days there was this smell that I could not wash away from him. I bathed him about three times a day and wiped him with baby wipes all day. Nothing could get rid of the smell so we gave in and took him to the doctor. So what are you supposed to say when the nurse asks why you need the appointment? 'My kid stinks, please help!!' After she stopped laughing at me I had my appointment. Fast forward to the appointment, the doctor checks his ears as a precaution then on to the nose. And the words I feared the most came next 'FOREIGN OBJECT'. Ewwwwwwwwwwww!!! He wasn't sure how long it had been up there but that's what was causing the smell. I promised my little one a lollipop if he let the Dr. look up his nose, which he was more than happy to oblige. Believe me I wanted to look away but since my husband wasn't there I knew I had to look because he was going to ask a thousand questions. So out came a skinny piece of blue foam and up came a bit of my lunch. I have been warned this is the first of many of these escapades!

Craft Window

From what I can tell most people are able to dedicate a whole room to their scrapbook/stamping supplies. There are two reasons I'm not able to do this just yet...1. Before my son was born I took up cake decorating as a hobby. I went to classes, bought a bunch of pans and supplies. Two years later the supplies are stuffed in my pantry and I only use them for special occasions. Needless to say my husband is worrying this is another passing fancy. I have to admit I started scrapbooking primarily and have moved more to stamping side. I think I read a magazine that featured some of the A Muse stamps and I was hooked. 2. We don't have the extra space right now but soon hopefully. So I've made do with the space I do have, my kitchen's bay window. This was a space that was previously used by my cat, he has since taken up residence on my couch.

All of the white containers are from Target with the exception of the one that holds stamps. I love, love, love the Target containers. I originally found a similiar type of storage system at M's but it was double the price.

The stamp/inkpad holder was from a company in Canada that I found on Ebay. This was my original stamp collection until a few weeks ago.

The eight clear containers are the rest of my stamps, all A Muse. When I have the space I hope to display them to make them easier to work with. It's a work in progress but it's mine!

Cards from A-Muse-A-Palooza Challenge 9 Card 5

I think this was my favorite card of the challenge since Cupcakes are a fantasical pick me up!!

Sentiment Stamps: A Muse, Ribbon: Michael's, Paper: American Crafts, Punch: Marvy. Stickles for a sparkly look.

Cards from A-Muse-A-Palooza Challenge 9 Card 4

I cut a piece of turquoise paper in half so I suppose I felt obliged to use the other half. I believe I even used the same color scheme of Pink, Turquoise and Lime Green. So much for creativity after 11pm. Again wanted to add an additional sentiment to 'Sunny Days' but I did not have the stamp to say what I needed so I free handed it.

Stamps: A Muse, Punch: Marvy, Ribbon: Creative Express

Cards from A-Muse-A-Palooza Challenge 9 Card 3

This was my first foray into the world of Ultra Fine glitter. I painted the glue onto the stamped image and dropped the glitter on. Glitter away!!!

Since this was a ribbon challenge I had a hard time finding ribbon that matched really well. So I just added two accent pieces but I'm not completely sold on the fact they belong. I seem to be draw to orange, brown and blue right now. Today I bought three spools of ribbon from M's and when I was paying I noticed that all three had these colors in common.

Stamps: A Muse, Punch: Marvy