Part 3

Such a great segment....

Enjoy!

Lara

More Sesame Street

I remember watching this growing up and it still takes me back. I remember mom making the cookies and the cold... Watching the snow and getting ready for Santa.

It's a little different now, it was 65 degrees today in NC! Not quite the same... (I would LOVE some snow here!!!)

Lara

Last of the cards!

Well, I think so.... These are the last of what I'm sending off to friends and family. Well, unless I get some surprises in the mail and have to make some up last minute...

I have to finish up the cookies for tomorrow's cookie exchange at work. (3 dozen there) and then the ones for Saturday. (12 dozen there) What the heck am I going to do with 15 dozen cookies?!! Alright, off to the cards. The card stock is SU! and the DP is unknown. I ran some ribbon down the center of the card. I used Riley from Hanna Stamps and colored him with my Copics. I also put some white puff paint on his beard and for the snow. Cute!
This one is using the Deck the Hall set from TCP. Again I used the DP from SU! I cut out the fun little tag with my Cuttlebug and attached it to the card with "Crafter's Floss" It came in a floss container. Odd but cute. The image is colored with my SU! blender pen and SU! markers. I used the same ribbon from Bazzill Basics as I did in the last one.

Last but not least, more Riley! This time the DP is Basic Grey - Wassail. The cardstock is from PTI, Kraft and Ripe Avocado cardstock. I colored Riley with my copics again. I also used my scallop punch and the ribbon is from SU!

Alright, have to run!!

Enjoy!!!

Lara

Much Love for the Street

Christmas Eve on Sesame Street from 1978 is my VERY MOST FAVORITE Christmas Special. I have it on VHS, but found it on YouTube also.

Here's part 1. Bring back any memories???

Taking a break from makin muffins

Oops, there's the buzzer, be right back.

K, I'm back. I don't know about you, but this week seems to be full of meetings before the end of the year, work parties, and baking, lots of baking.... Tomorrow at work we're having "snack day" and I had to find something to make last minute. I decided on Mini Pecan Pie Muffins and Jalapeno Bacon Dip. I know they don't really go together, but they can eat them at different times. It's a free muffin and free dip! Doesn't get much better than that!

We do a celebration in January after all the hubbub is over and it's a "Celebration of the Previous Year" rather than a "Holiday Party". It was a lot easier to be a manager before everything became offensive. I digress. After the muffins come out of the oven I need to start on 12 dozen cookies for an exchange Saturday. Yes, 12 dozen.. I decided on Pizzeles which are those thin, waffle like Italian cookies. So tasty, but really time intensive. I must have lost my mind.

I did finish a few cards for posting. I have a few more, but I think I'll have to dole them out to you over the next few days. :)

Here are the cards I made for my MIL, FIL and SIL.

Kev liked the menorah the best so I made 2 of these. One for mom and 1 for dad. The set is Mazel Tov from Paper Trey Ink, I stamped it in Versamark, and embossed with silver powder. The paper is Bazzil Basics, I used the SU! Scallop punch and the ribbon from Michaels. Super quick and really cute IMHO.

This one went to SIL. This one is MY favorite. Same layout, same ingredients, I used the dreidel instead.

Alright, off to make more cookies! Oh, and to straighten the Christmas Tree, yes the kitties knocked it over while we were at work. No real tragedies but Captain Kirk did get dislodged from the transporter. I told Kev I'd fix him tonight.

Enjoy!

Lara

Has it really been a week?

Hi all! I really do have stuff to share, I've been trying to catch up on baking, making last minute gifts, decorating the house... you know how it is.

I wanted to get in a quick post before I head over to the first party of the evening. It's my sorority AA's Christmas potluck. Then Kev and I head over to one of his co-worker's house for another party. Wow... I made Sun-dried Tomato Dip and Garlic Pesto Pasta Salad. Oh, and some White Chocolate Cran Orange cookies. AND I finished the rest of my Christmas shopping this afternoon and that was after Stamp class this morning. Run, run, run... You too? Tomorrow I need to get the boxes together to mail home presents to our parents and my Grandma.

In the mean time, let's post a few cards.

Love, love, LOVE the gnomes from OBP I thought he looked a little tired of the season, so I paired him with a sentiment from Doodlefactory I used more DP from SU!, ribbon from Bazzill Basics and the cardstock is Paper Trey Ink and SU!. I think this one is going to my brother. I also think his hat looks like a football. Hmmm... (Go Steelers!)

Here's more of the same DP, same ribbon, different stamp. This time naughty penguins from TCP. I like the colors too. :) The penguins were colored with SU! markers and my Copic Markers.

Alright, time to bag up some cookies to take tonight! ENJOY!

Lara

Wal - What?

Every knows that I despise a particular large discount store. The one with the blue lettering. Why? I've gone into it in previous posts, but what it boils down to is that time has value. What difference does it make if you save a few dollars but waste 3 hours of your time in line? That's time I could spend with family, friends or doing things that I enjoy.

I went there to get more Christmas lights for outside. I get to the store and go in through lawn and garden in a desperate attempt to only stay in one area of the store. Then Kev calls and I have to look for Cinnamon Mini Wheats. Off into the great beyond. I step over piles of piles, navigate around random carts in the middle of the aisle and abruptly stop several times to keep from running over small children. Get the cereal, then some kitty litter, oh, and some soy milk then finally to the lights. Oooo wait, wrapping paper too. Grrr... Damn you and your conveniently placed items!!!

Get the lights, then wait 45 minutes to check out. Drive home then I get ready to hang the outside lights while Kev is in rehearsal. I take the out of the box and and test them before wrap them around the post. Wrap them, plug them in AND...

Look closely. The one on the right. See it? That only HALF of the lights are lit!! ARGH!!! (see the kitties in the doorway?)

Now I head to another large discount retailer. This one with RED lettering. You know which one. I get new lights and spend slightly more. Take them home to replace the bad ones and in the process step on one of the bulbs and it shatters! AHHH!

But Wait! Plug it in and IT STILL WORKS! Even with the busted bulb! Buyah!!

K, now that's finished, how about something crafty? I made this one using the SCS sketch challenge for last week. The paper is from the Basic Grey Wassail packet and the snowflake punch is Martha. I really love how quickly this one came together. The doggie is from TCP's Deck the Hall set. SU! scallop punch and there you are! So cute!

Alright, off to work on reviews! Enjoy!

Lara

Kitty Tree Card

I was putting the balls on my faux tree yesterday and every few balls I would have to chase Godiva away. Hang a ball, kitty swats at the ball, repeat again and again...

Last year she would run across the dinning room floor, hit the tree skirt and it would slide across the floor and I'd find it in a crumpled ball. Grrr.... I like the skirt to be nice and straight. This year I had some no skid stuff that I lined the utensil drawer with. I cut it, stuck it around the tree and laid the skirt on top. 24 hours and it's still in place. SUCCESS!

I used TCP's Deck the Hall set and colored Sprinke and the tree with my Copics. The DP is from SU! and I played along with Taylor's Cupcake Challenge for the layout. I really like this layout and think I'll use it again!

I made 3 cards last night in a desperate attempt to get caught up on Christmas cards. I also have run to Michaels and get some silver paper and ribbon to make Hanukkah cards for Kev's family. How do I not have any Silver paper?! or silver ribbon??? Crazy.

I have big plans to decorate the live tree, get groceries, do laundry, oh and go to Kev's concert tonight. Wish me luck!

Lara

Trying to get caught up on Christmas cards

I'm starting to feel as if I'm running out of time to get my Christmas stuff finished. I know it's ridiculous, but it's already the 6th EEKKK! On a happy note, I did put up the outside decorations today. I still have a few decorations to put up in the house. As you can see I am sitting on the couch with a kitty in my lap and another pressed to my side watching The Office as I blog.

K, I'm going to show you a few cards I made last night. You'll notice they are oddly similar. Basically I colored 1 Santa, stuck him in the card and decided he should be a different color. Then I ripped him off, colored a different one and swapped them out.

Santa and Sleigh are from Starving Artistamps Santa's Sweet Shoppe. The paper is Basic Grey Wassail and the cardstock is Kraft from PTI. The ribbon is PTI as well. I couldn't fit the sentiment on the front of the card so I guess it will go on the inside instead.

And the other Santa...

This time the DP is from Stampin Up! I can't recall the name right now, but it was in the special mini catalog and I just got it the other day. See, Santa and his red Stickled body just doesn't go with the other card. He too is colored with Copics and SU! markers. The sleigh is covered with Crystal Effects and is sitting on a bed of diamond stickles. The cardstock and ribbon are both PIT.

OK, off to decorate another tree! Happy Saturday!
Lara

A few of my favorite things

I ordered a few gnome stamps from Odd Bird Planet last week. I think they are absolutely adorable and needed a few more. I had ordered before and they were mailed in a very nice handmade card.

Today I opened the mail and saw an envelope that seemed a little heavy. I opened it and look what I found! They had enclosed 5 beautiful cards tied with a ribbon and an other card (the one with the giant cupcake) with the stamps. Wow! that was SO nice of them! I love them all and know they will find good homes! The one with the pink baby carriage is perfect, especially since 4 of my friends are pregnant right now. (There's something in the water so I'm drinking Diet Coke!)

Thanks for looking! Shoot on over the Odd Bird Planet and pick up some rubber!!!

More Holiday and some thoughts

So, Have you jumped on the Facebook phenomeon? I was a little reluctant at first. Here's how I figure it, I get hundreds of e-mails at work, why would I want even more? I didn't want to join. Then one day a few months ago, Kev said to me, "I set up a Facebook account for you. You should see what its about." I grudgingly accepted.

Have you ever read The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman? It's a great book which talks about the flatening of the world and how easy it has become to receive and transmit data and information. I highly recommend it. I kinda see Facebook as a prime example of that concept. It used to be that after you graduated high school or college you kept in touch with your really good friends and the rest fell to the wayside. Then came Facebook. All of a sudden you are thrust into memories that you may or may not want to recall. Sure you can choose not to accept people as friends but sometimes the most random of people pop up on the "People you may know" column. What if your HS ex is a friend if a friend and pops up, or the guy you had a crush on, or your awful ex-roommate?

I can honestly say that Facebook has turned out to be such a blessing, I've been able to reconnect with friends from college and HS that I thought I'd never see again. Yes, the world is flat, but wow is it fun.

Now that my moment of Zen is over I do have a card for you. In my desperate attempt to make some Christmas cards I have this one using The Cats Pajamas set Deck the Halls I love this stamp with the curious penguins! I could totally use them especially if Kev tries to put my wrapped presents under the tree again.

The cardstock is PTI Pure Poppy and Ripe Avocado. The Ribbon is also ripe Avocado from PTI. I think the red ribbon is from Michaels. A few baubles and I used my Martha Snowflake punch. I bought the patterned paper from a lady at a show a few weeks ago. I colored the penguins with my copics and I added some red Stickles to their hats. Too cute!

Alright, off to update my Facebook page :) Have a good night!

Enjoy!

Lara

How about some holiday cheer?

Well, I received the first Christmas card of the season yesterday. I guess that means that I have to get crackin'.

I do have a few cards to show tonight. Pardon the skewing... I'm trying to get them loaded on my laptop and I am apparently not capable of making MS paint work. Nope... touch pad thingie SO different than mouse. Maybe I need a tiny mouse...

These both came from my SU! class. It was virtual last month, so I made them all by myself. :)

How cute it this one? It was super easy to make, Just some ribbon, an ornament stamp and a pretty sentiment. The next one is made mostly of paper punches. I don't have the instructions handy, but I can tell you that the feathers are made from the SU! scallop punch. I made it just in time to take it to VA for Thanksgiving.

Off to bed! I have great plans to make something tomorrow!

Enjoy!
Lara

How about a little holiday puddin'?

Bread Pudding that is!

I realized I hadn't shown any Homemade Gourmet goodies in a while, so how about something that's sure to be a hit with your friends and family??? Homemade Gourmet debuted an Orange Cranberry Bread pudding this fall and I have been serving it at shows for the past few months. It's been a HUGE hit and I wanted to show you just how easy it is to prepare! (Everyone else will think you spent hours in the kitchen!) Just like those adds for Rice Krispy Treats where the lady throws some flour on her nose and walks out with a tray of Krispy Treats and everyone "thinks" she slaved away in the kitchen.... PLEASE as if! Everyone knows how to make Krispy treats and there isn't a bit of flour involved! I call Shenagins!

K, Back to the pudding...


When you open the bag, there are 2 other bags inside. One of Crasins and one for the glaze. It's pretty obvious which is which. Just in case, HINT: the Crasins are red. :)

Check the inside flap for the instructions and additional ingredients.


3 Cups of milk, 3 eggs, got it!

Then 1/2 of a 16oz loaf of French bread. You can use the other half for sandwiches or French toast, You already have eggs and milk, right?

Chop the bread into one inch cubes.

Then you mix the first package of dry mix (the stuff that isn't the Crasins or the glaze) into a big bowl with the milk and eggs. Then toss the bread into the bowl and let it soak for 3 minutes. Then you can either pour the Crasins on top or mix them in with the soaked bread, (I mixed mine in.) Dump it all into a 13x9 baking dish, bake at 350 degrees for an hour and you get....

Mmm... While that cools, melt a 1/2 stick of unsalted butter. (I melt mine in my Pyrex measuring cup. It doesn't get hot and has a handy handle...) Mix the butter with the glaze package and a 1/4 cup of either orange or cranberry juice. Or, if you're me, a tablespoon of orange juice and the rest Grand Marnier. Mmmm...liquor...

Mix it all together and drizzle over the top of the pudding! (I stab it with a fork after I pour on the glaze to make sure it soaks into the pudding.)

That's it!

Wasn't that SO easy?!!! I know! And at only $6.50 a bag, it makes an excellent gift for friends and family! On a side note, anyone who is interested in placing an HG order of $50 or more on December 1st only will receive a FREE Garlic Basil Seasoning mix! If you're interested, click on the HG Catalog and it will take you to my HG website, my contact info is there!

HG is running specials for the 12 days of Christmas, so check back for more deals!

To my crafty card blog readers, I have some really cute stuff to show you tomorrow! But for now I have to fold some laundry!

Enjoy!

Lara

Thank you!!!

Thank you so much to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday!! You guys are the best!!!

I had a fantablous birthday in case you were wondering. Kev brought me a cake to work. 4 layers of red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting. YUM!!! It was SO good, but since it was a smaller cake I had to pick and choose who I shared it with.

I woke up this morning to no present and I waited semi-patiently ALL DAY.... When I got home from work, Kev told me that we were going to get my present at 4am on Black Friday....a laptop!! I've been hinting for a while and he wanted to surprise me! YEAH!!! Thank you!!!

Then I came home to find a box FULL of goodies from my Bella Sister! She sent me TONS of Bellas, TCP stamps, brads, ribbon, candy! Holly Cow she rocks!!! Kev didn't get it, but he saw howhappy I was, so he just went with it....

Any who, I also wanted to share a little something from Little Monkeys. Today there is a SUPER sale going on! Check out the fabulous sale news!

Since everyone's going to need something to do once the pies are in the oven (ha!), we're having a PIES IN THE OVEN / PRE-BLACK FRIDAY SALE - 30% off all products!! You don't need to do anything. Prices in the Little Monkeys Shop already list sale prices - just add to your cart and you're ready to go! Offer good on new purchases Wednesday, 11/26/08, only. Don't miss this first-ever sale! So, once you've got your pies baking in the oven, swing by our sale, check out the Design Monkeys' work if you haven't already and hip hop over to monkey around in the Unity Forum on Splitcoaststampers and join in the Hip Hop Thursday fun a day early! Things get started in their forum at 10AM Central and last all the way 'til midnight. Angela's always got great deals on the Unity blog and their design team has lots of fun with giveaways all day long. We're going to have a Hip Hop giveaway, too, so check it all out!Enjoy!SusanPS - Don't worry too much if you miss out on the Pies in the Oven / Pre-Black Friday Sale, though. We're keeping the fun going through the weekend with another sale to run from Thanksgiving straight on through Cyber Monday - check out the Monkey Around All Weekend Sale to get 20% off all products!!

Alright everyone, have a Happy Thanksgiving and maybe I'll see you at 4am in line!!!

Lara

Stoner Starbucks dude.

I went to the mailbox today and got 3 awesome Birthday cards from my Bella Sistah Marcia! Not only were the cards awesome, she also included some clear stamps AND a Starbucks Gift Card!!! YEAH!!!!!

I love Starbucks...

Which leads me to my next story,
I had to run to the bank on my lunch break last week and decided to head over to the drive-thru Starbucks. I order my...grande, sugar free vanilla, soy, extra hot latte. Yep, it's a mouthful, but absolutely delicious... Damn you lactose intolerance!!! (insert angry fist shake)

So, I pull up to the window to fork over my $4.20 and I reach for my new handbag. At the vendor show at work last week, this lady had handbags and I got an ADORABLE giraffe print bag with red straps and a red band around the top. Happy Birthday from me, happy birthday from me...

Any who, I reach for the bag and the Starbucks counter man says:

Stoner Starbucks Man: DUDE!! Your bag... matches your.... CAR!
Me: Yep, matches my cell phone too. (Both car and cell are red, not giraffe print. Just to clarify.)
Stoner Starbucks Man: Whoah! What kind of cell phone?!
Me: Blackberry
Stoner Starbucks Man: DUDE!
Me: I know!
Stoner Starbucks Man: Whoah! Here's your coffeelattevanilla something really hot!
Me: Thanks!

As I drove back to work, that got me to thinking, how high do you have to be before your manager sends you home from Starbucks? I mean he just gives change and hands out drinks that someone else prepares. So, unless you get an attack of the munchies and scarf down all the marble pound cake...I guess you could be pretty high and it not terribly effect your performance.

Then I started to wonder, how high would one of my employees have to be before I sent them home? Then I realized that I could never prove my suspicions and I would only know by the abundance of Cheetoes dust left on the desk top... Mmmm....

So, here's to you Stoner Starbucks man! Way to keep on keeping on!

Got my new camera...

Thanks mom for the early birthday/Christmas present! Please pardon the pix as I try to figure out how to work it!


So, since I HAD to try out the new electronics, I made this card. It's from the "Santa's Sweet Shoppe" set from Starving Artistamps. I love the images in this set, they are super cute and lots of fun to color. Yea, color...

I stamped Santa twice and colored him with my Copics and SU! Markers. I stuck him and the sign on a bed of diamond Stickles. The DP is Basic Grey Wassail and the rest of the cardstock and ribbon from PTI.

The next one is from TCP's Deck the Halls set. Ms. Godiva wasn't even a year old last Christmas, and I fear that this stamp could be a premonition of things to come...

The DP is from and old SU! pack and the cardstock and ribbon is PTI. I colored Sparkle and the tree with my Copics and SU! markers. Then I covered the tree with Crystal Effects.

I think I need to play around with the camera a little more...

Aright, we have a packed evening. Kev and I got an invitation for a free dinner at a restaurant that's opening this week. I think it's pretty cool, 2 dinners, drinks and gratuity not included. They're testing the kitchen and waitstaff before the official grand opening on Wednesday.

Brio is a really tasty Italian restaurant, they're part of a small chain which includes Bravo! and Bon Vie. I've only eaten at Brio once before but I've had Bravo more time than I can count. I used to wait tables there right after I finished grad school. After you've worked in a restaurant and looked at the food for days on end, it shouldn't be your favorite restaurant, but it is! So tasty, so tasty.... The closest one to us in in Greensboro. Needless to say, I was super excited when I saw that Brio was opening.

This kinda threw a kink in my plans though. I wanted Brio for my birthday dinner if they were open, now, I don't know if I want it twice in one week. Hmmm.... I guess we'll see how well they do tonight!

PS: if you ever get a chance to go, and you like cheesecake, theirs is ridiculous! It has a layer of caramelized sugar on top and OMG... I don't really like cheesecake but it is seriously some of the best... I also highly recommend the calamari, the spinach artichoke dip and any of the steaks.

Enjoy!
Lara

Update: YUMMMM!!! We just got back from Brio... They chose the appetizer for the participants tonight and they brought us the calamari! Mmmmm.... Smaller menu to choose from for the training dinner, no steaks, which makes sense I guess, it was free. I had the Brick Smushed chicken (not its real name) and for dessert you could choose from any of the desserts which were served in espresso cups. I had the tiramsu and Kev the cheesecake.... We did make reservations for Weds... Happy Birthday to me...

And the winner is....

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:77
Timestamp: 2008-11-21 03:08:57 UTC


drumroll please....
maiahs_momma said...
Hmm... my favorite kind of bday cake would have to be Ice cream cake. LOVE them, just because of the center chocolaty goodness :)! Am about to run on over to my blog to post about your blog candy that is up for grabs.

Way to go Catherine! you are the lucky winna!!!!

Thanks again to everyone who played and for helping us (and me) celebrate Little monkey's turning 1!

Thanks again ladies!!!

How about a little holiday cheer?

Alright folks, only 2 more days until the big blog candy reveal! Don't forget to scroll on down and make sure you register! It's too good to pass up!

Phew, long day, I coordinate a vendor/craft show at my work 2x per year, the fall one was today. We had a great turnout of customers and vendors and everyone seemed to do really well. I know I did and I didn't get a chance to sit down once! Boy am I pooped!

I do have a Homemade Gourmet recipe to share, but that may have to wait until tomorrow, I'm a little sleepy and have to do some tidying tonight.

So, here's a super cute card I made using the new Doodle Factory stamps. The set is ADORABLE and comes with the sentiments for only $19.99. That's a LOT of stamps for under $20. I recommend that you get the set and a sheet of EZ mount (you'll need the whole sheet) Then after you get them and mount them, stick em' in your Little Monkey's storage system.

The card stock is PTI and I got the DP from a lady at a show last weekend. So cute, I stood him on a bed of sparkly snow Stickles.

Alright, really have to go now,

Enjoy!

Lara

Gno Business like Gnome business

Real quick post before bed time.

I made this super cute holiday card with Mr Skating Gnome from Odd Bird Planet. Don't you LOVE the gnomes? I used more of the Basic Grey Wassial paper, and darn it, the presents are upside down AGAIN. I colored him with Copics and SU! Markers. the ribbon is Bazzill basics and was in the $1.99 bin at Archiver's. It was a 15 yard roll! Pretty sweet if you ask me.

Alright, don't forget that we only have a few days left for the super duper blog candy! List your favorite birthday cake to win!!!

Enjoy!

Lara

What's in a Surprise?

Blog Candy, blog candy.... read this post and scroll on down for blog candy...

Let me tell you a secret… I am terrible when it comes to presents. Terrible…. Not the giving, but the receiving. It’s not that I don’t LIKE surprises, I’m just rarely surprised. A little background for you, when I was 10 I received a purple unicorn sweater and a pink sweater with an “L” embroidered on it. I didn’t like them, and my pre-teen self was apparently pretty vocal about it. I remember they really were pretty bad, even for 1985. At that point my mother swore that I would pick out all of my own clothes for Christmas. Fine by me, but that turned into me picking out all my gifts. I make my mother a list and she gets exactly what’s on that list. Nothing more, she figures that since I asked for it. I’ll be happy to receive it. And she is correct.

Well, that’s progressed to her now telling me when she buys the item and not even trying to hide the purchase. Again, fine with me EXCEPT my DH feels that I should have all surprises and ONLY open presents on that special day. Between you and me, that is a big pile of poo. If you receive a gift in the mail you don’t SAVE it, you OPEN it! Kev goes out of his way to hide my gifts. Last year, when my mom sent the Christmas box he intercepted it and hid it in my next door neighbor’s pantry. Carrie, If Kev asks if you can “keep” something for him, it’s Christmas presents from my parents. Just tell him that I should be able to open them and you refuse to buy into the madness. THANKS! He won’t even let me make him a list or give suggestions. Seriously! He doesn’t know what lives in my head, how would he know what I really want?

Any whoo, I’ve been hinting for a while that I would like a new camera for my birthday/Christmas. You’ve seen my pix, you understand why. Perhaps the hinting was not exactly subtle, but I digress… So, I was talking to mom last night and here’s an excerpt of our conversation:

Mom: I’m mailing your birthday package next week. It might get there a little before your birthday.
Me: Can I open it when it gets here?
Mom: Yes you can open it.
Me: (covering the phone) ha ha Kev, my mom said I can open my present when it gets here! I don’t have to wait and you can’t hide it!! Ha Ha….
Mom: Yes, you can open it so you can take it with you when you go to Thanksgiving and take pictures at dinner.
Me: Thanks mom!

Notice how she didn’t try to hide the fact I was getting a camera? Thanks mom!!!

I then relay the story to Kev and he just sighs. Now I have no idea what he’s getting me or if he had coordinated with my mother or if he had planned on the camera and she beat him to the punch…. He’s not spilling. In a future post I’ll have to tell you about how he wants the ALL presents to be wrapped and under the tree for a week before Christmas. We did that the first year we were together and it didn’t go well. I mean seriously, he didn’t want me to shake them or touch them in any way. No peaking or nothing! Really, he almost lost his mind. I can be a bit, ahem persistent…. Since then the presents come out on the 24th after I’ve gone to bed. Just like Santa.

Well, since we all know it's my birthday month.... Have you seen the blog candy? Scroll down 2 more posts to check it out! I was super excited to use my TCP stamps and play along with this weeks TCPTUES.

The challenge was to use Pacific Blue, Sky Blue, Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Chip. Here's my contribution. This card DEFINITELY falls into the "so much cuter in real life" category. Hopefully my new camera will pick up colors a little better... Grin... The DP is from an old SU! pack and the cardstock is from PTI. So awesome.... I Stickled the cakes and put some Crystal Effects on the stands. WAY cuter in person.

Any who, while you're here, shoot on over to Laura's blog she is a fellow Design Monkey and has some pretty sweet blog candy as well!!!

Alright everyone, enjoy your weekend!!

Lara

Someone's Been Naughty!

Only a few more days to get in on my blog candy! Scroll down to get the details!

And for once it wasn’t me! It was our computer. It seems that she’s been out trolling the mean streets of the internet and caught herself a virus and a pretty bad addiction to porn. She kept popping up dirty sites, I guess the poor girl couldn’t stop…. We warned her to be careful and to always use protection, but you know how kids are these days, they have to learn their lessons the hard way. Needless to say, she had to go to rehab and after a pretty intense in-patient program, she’s back and even better than before!!! Hooray!

To celebrate, I have a few cards to show you. The first one is a Thanksgiving Riley from Hanna Stamps. He is too cute holding the turkey and so fun to color! The paper is from SU!,cardstock and DP. The plaid DP is from Michaels. I colored him with my copics and SU! Markers.

The coolest thing about Thanksgiving is that it’s the day after my birthday this year. Have you signed up for the blog candy???? Read the rest of this post then scroll on down!

I also decided to take the plunge and make my first Christmas Card. I used Santa Riley from Hanna Stamps and this time the DP is Basic Grey – Wassail. If you look closely, you’ll notice the presents are upside down. Not intentional and I thankfully don’t subscribe to the thought that inverted things are evil. If so, I can’t imagine the ramifications. All those little packages filled with nasty? Perish the thought!

Off to work on stuff for this weekend’s show!
Enjoy!
Lara

They say it's my birthday... month! So how about some BLOG CANDY!!

Disclaimer, the post is kinda long and the candy is at the end. All good things come to those who wait, right??

As you may have noticed from the lovely blinkie on the side of my blog, I am a Design Team member for the Little Monkey's Stamp storage system. Well, in honor of Little Monkeys Turning one year old they've teamed up with some pretty awesome companies to help us celebrate!

In October, we were very fortunate to be able to be able to play with Alma and The Cats Pajamas stamps. I've you've read my blog, you know that I already LOVE their stamps and was super excited that they were helping us celebrate. Alma donated 2 stamp sets, "You say It's your Birthday" and "Smells Like Cake" to each DT member for us to play with!

I decided to make a "Birthday in a Box". I wanted all the pieces to be able to fit in the container and they do, with only a tiny bit of squeezing! See, imagine your friend is having a birthday and you want to cheer them up, send a Birthday in a Box. It's got everything you need, even a sparkly noisemaker.





I took an old container that held Christmas chocolates and covered with some awesome plaid paper. I used my nesties to cut out the scalloped circles and made a belly band to fit around the container. I also used my SU! scalloped punch to make a decorative edge around the top.

What's a container without an embellished lid? Again, used my oval nesties. Note to self, don't cover entire container with paper, if you do the lid won't fit. Then you'll have to re-do the whole thing. Learning experience, right?

And a party without a hat? I bought a paper hat at the party store and tore it apart to make a template. So cute!

Of course you need a birthday card to go with! I embossed the paper with my Swiss dots Cuttlebug folder. I also popped out the balloon and the penguin with some dimentionals.

So I mentioned that TCP had given each of the Design Monkeys 2 sets of stamps to work with, welllllll.... I kinda already owned them both. So in honor of my birthday month how about I offer them up as BLOG CANDY!! I am giving away not one BUT BOTH SETS!!!! OMG, Lara's birthday month and she's giving away presents, could it get any better???? Yep it can because Susan, the Little Monkey's owner is throwing in a starter kit!!!! All the stamps from both sets fit on 1 page with plenty of room to spare so that leaves you 5 1/2 pages of inserts to fill with the rest of your collection! I love my starter kit and I have 2 pages filled with TCP stamps. You'll be plesantly amazed by the number of stamps you can fit per page, and then you'll also know how many TCP stamps I have. Grin...

How do you play? It's pretty simple. Leave me a post and let me know your favorite kind of birthday cake. Then post a link on your blog to my blog to share the fun. If you don't have a blog, just let me know how you spread the word!

Oh what the heck, with all this cake talk, I'll also throw in a package of Homemade Gourmet Carrot Cake. You can eat it on the 26th and celebrate my birthday in the comfort of your own home! Sound birthday-tastic? You have until the 20th to enter. That's plenty of time to spread the word!

PS: My fav birthday cake is Red Velvet with cream cheese icing. Yum!!

Enjoy!

Lara

DP - Making memories, card stock from Bazzill Basics. Oval and circle scalloped Nestabilities, ribbon from Michaels. Stamps - TCP. Copic and SU! markers.

Thanks giving card - Still stink

Still have not found the cord for the camera. Perhaps a new one for my birthday? hint hint... (the 26th in case you forgot!)

Any who, Here's a Thanksgiving card I made using chefabella. In case you didn't notice, I still had out the SU! DP I used in the MFT card. I think it's adorable!!

I think I'll make a few Thanksgiving cards and sent to my grandma. She's in a nursing home and likes to mail cards to people.

I stamped her on cream PTI cardstock and I paper pieced the white apron and hat. I tried something a little different too. I colored her pants with SU! markers and then I pulled up a little bit of color with my blender pen. Pretty cool if you ask me! I also sponged the edges with Tangerine Tango ink. I'm not sure if I care for the effect. What do you think?

Well, that's enough for tonight, Enjoy!

Lara

Thank you Carrie for suggesting the card reader! My pictures are back!

TCP Tues - I Stink

I finally got to play along with TCPTUES! It's been a while, let me tell you! Well our inspiration this week as this picture. Go ahead, check, I'll wait...

That really is unfortunate isn't it? Poor doggie, just wanted to have a relaxing Friday evening and instead he gets ... that...

I pulled out my pirate TCP stamps AND I thought I was a big mulitstaker using the SCS weekly sketch. The I realized that It was LAST week's sketch. Darn!!!

What stinks the MOST is that I lost the cord to my camera and now my images are sitting on the camera with NO way to get to the computer. Ergh! I have to use the scanner instead and it just isn't the same. Sniff sniff.

So, I used my TCP stamps and the sentiment is from Starving Artistamps. I also used up some of my leftover Halloween DP from Stampin Up! I think it turned out OK, but the picture is WAY better.

Enjoy!

Lara

I should be ashamed of myself...

But I’m not.

Let me tell you a story, a story of a girl who loves election Tuesday and eagerly awaits the coverage every 4 years. She's always voted and thinks that every vote counts. Well she married a boy who doesn’t vote. He simply doesn’t have the time. Despite their political differences, they married and have lived very happily for the past 2 years.

The girl wants the boy to vote but how? Knowing his competitive nature, she initiates a wager. If the boy votes, she will cook him dinner every night for a week. If he doesn’t, he has to do the laundry, washing AND folding for 2 weeks. Simple enough right? The girl bases her bet on 2 things.

Inertia – boy has never voted.
Procrastination – The boy will put off voting until the last minute, on Election Day, with Tuesday’s being his busiest work day.
The unknown – Could everything truly go right the FIRST time he tries to vote?

Needless to say, the boy accepts the wager. During the weeks leading to the election, the boy and girl have regularly discussed the merits of the wager. Was it a good wager and why? The girl stands her ground and routinely goads the boy about voting and how she doesn’t think it will happen. The boy retaliates and begins to make a menu of the dinners he wants to eat.

Fast forward to Election Day. The boy has put off voting (didn’t early vote) and has 1 day remaining…

Morning – Boy goes to voting precinct. (If he had voted early he could have gone to any voting station in the county. On Election Day he has to go to his assigned precinct.) He isn’t in the book of voters. Apparently he failed to update his address when they moved 2 years ago. To vote he must go to his old precinct, obtain a letter and take it back to the correct precinct to be able to vote. Calls girl with update. The tide seems to be swinging in her favor. Girl laughs and explains how she counted on the unknown factor. Boy angers and seems to have reached deep for that little something extra to propel him through the rest of the day.

Afternoon – Between meetings and driving between appointments, boy makes it to the precinct and gets letter! Calls girl to gloat…

Evening – the bet still stands! What will happen? Will the boy’s competitive nature win in the end???

To Be Continued….

UPDATE!!! He voted! I think everyone wins in the end. Don't you?

Sisters and Chocolate what a combo!

I got this set from MFT stamps a while ago, but with all the Halloween festivities, it got lost in the shuffle. Aww... Well, I was feeling a little retro and her fun flowered couch reminded me of the couch my parents had while we were growing up. Thank goodness neither SU! nor Copic makes that exact color of yellow/green/brown velour that I remember ever so well. Sorry couch of the past, now you're brown.

The DP is from the new SU! pack. Autumn prints I think? Not really sure, but I love the colors! And I am pretty partial to orange this time of year, especially in November. Not sure why, but perhaps because citrine is this month's birth stone? November=jewelry=citrine. Have I mentioned yet that my birthday is this month?? Darn tootin' it is! I think I need a countdown. (It's the 26th!)

OK, I colored this lady with my SU! markers and some Copics. I especially love the sentiment. "Sisters and Chocolate make life bearable." I do not have any biological sisters. What I do have is an awesome group of sorority sisters who I've met both in college and in the alumnae world. We didn't know anyone when we moved to NC and I met a great group of ladies through the KD alumnae association. Everyone's been so helpful and inviting and I've actually had such a great time with them that I'm the president of the organization this year.

Any who, this card is going to one of them. I won't say who, but girls, I can be bribed. :)

Gotta fold some laundry so I won't have to worry about it tomorrow during the festivities! I {heart} election day! I really do!! Call me crazy but I LOVE watching the states turn colors and waiting for the states to be called! Love, love, looooooveeeee it.

Enjoy!

Lara

The State Fair!!

Kev and I moved to North Carolina 3 years ago this past August. Prior to that we were in the Eastern Panhandle of WV.... (please insert your own comment). We were pretty excited to move to a place that had, ahem.. slightly more to offer. A few weeks after we got there we started seeing signs for the NC State Fair. Now, we had never been to a state fair before. Parking Lot carnivals, sure, but never a "state fair" So that first year, our curiosity won out and we've been going every year since.

This year I brought the camera to take pictures of all the delights of this year's fair. First stop, the chicken tent. Not being a "country girl" I've never seen animals or livestock up close before. TV sure, but I'm pretty sure the petting zoo at the park only had a goat and some random ducks.


There were other decorated chickens throughout the fair. There may have been other animals, not really sure, but I "know" there was at least 1 giant decorated chicken.. Inside the chicken tent we saw this guy. Apparently he is the best that turkeydom has to offer. He isn't on my table filled with oyster stuffing, so he doesn't rank terribly high in my book. And he hid behind the sign. bad turkey.

Near the turkey there were a bunch of baby chickies and duckies. Awww... You could hold them and they peeped. So cute, the first time I've ever held a bird of any sort, Kev had a duckie, and a chickie for me. I told my mom and she said: "Did you wash your hands?!" Yes mom, I washed my hands after I touched the birdies. They're too young to have birdie HIV, I can't imagine what else they could be carrying. Ewww. perhaps it was to clean off the birdie poo...

Then we made our way over to the bunny tent. I HAVE seen a bunny up close before. Unfortunately it had to be wrestled away from a certain kitty. No, not my present kitties, it was our cat when I was growing up. My kitties would love to chase a bunny if they could but I'm not sure what they would do with it. I can't imagine if they caught this one.

I think this bunny would kick your a$$ if you let him out of the cage. I'm pretty sure he has a pair of brass knuckles hidden under that pile of fur. You know, it kinda looks like a bunny head sitting on top of a pile of gray cookie monster fur. Did I mention that this is also a highly revered bunny? First in his class thank you. I think he threatened to rough up the judges if you know what I mean.

Here is the most fascinating and horrifying part of the fair, the fried atrocities. I think that people who work at carnivals and other assorted traveling food stands have nothing better to do in the evening than get drunk and smoke some happy. Add that to a jar of batter and some hot oil, and this is what you come up with.

This year's newest "creations" were fried Mac and Cheese and Fried Pecan Pie. Last year they had fried Coke. No, I don't understand how they did that one. Kev did try the fried PB&J last year. It was a Smuckers Stuffable on a stick. Yes, everything is on a stick.

If you squint you can see the sign for fried whoopie pies. Shudder...

Next over to the exhibition hall to see the giant vegetables, quilts and prize winning pigs. In the lobby was this guy. I don't know what it was or what he was promoting. I do know that it was 10 feet tall, spoke in a creepy voice and made children cry. Notice the frightened child in the picture?

We ended out day staring at the 600 pound pumpkin. (Do you see all the people who come out to look at vegetables?)

After that we headed home. the TV men were coming with Kev's TV and we had to move some furniture. Overall, a successful day. I held a chicken, saw 40 types of bunnies and got some cotton candy. Nice...

Enjoy!

Lara

How Lush-ious

I was super excited to see that a Lush store had opened at the mall. For those of you who've never been, Lush is an awesome company who makes cosmetics by hand using fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. They also use little to no preservatives or packaging. Yes, everything really is made by hand, each item in the store has a little sticker on it with a picture of the person who made it and a use by date.

They have a lot of great soaps and bath bombs. The soap is made in giant blocks and you tell the lady how much poundage you want. She then slices it and wraps it in wax paper. Just like cheese, but you want to rub this stuff on your body. Well, perhaps you also rub cheese on your body... who am I to judge, but I really think you'd have more friends if you switched to Lush soap...

I digress, I bought a few things the other day, one of them being the "I Love Juicy" Shampoo, mmmm it smells just like a fruit smoothie and your hair smells good ALL day.

The one I had to share with you was the soap. I bought a chunk of the Godmother Soap. Why that soap? 2 reasons, first, I had no soap in the downstairs bathroom. Second, there was a Swedish fish stuck to the sign. Why a Swedish Fish you ask? Well, the soap smells like Swedish Fish! The color of the bar also coordinates nicely with the walls in my bathroom. I know I'm a dork...

I take it home and put it in my bathroom. It really smells like Swedish Fish and now, my entire bathroom to smells like candy. Note, while it does smell like candy it definitely does not taste like candy... Yes, I did, I was curious... Here's my problem, the walls are a deep red color, very similar to the fishy candy. If you close your eyes or leave the lights off in the bathroom, which, I actually do frequently as that the sink and mirror are directly in front of the toilet. Very disturbing to look at yourself while in such an indelicate position, it kinda feels like you're p'ing in a giant fish. For real, I could imagine that the sensations would be frighteningly similar, except perhaps the t-seat would be slightly more squishy. Sorry, I had to share.

Off I go to get ready for this weekend's show!

Enjoy!

Lara