Message in a Bottle

My niece Julie is in a wedding this summer. The bride lives in Florida, so the bridesmaids are all flying to Florida for a Bachelorette Bash. Neat, huh?! Julie asked me to make a beach-themed invitation for each girl. I came up with a card and a little bottle with a message inside.
The card base is Kraft cardstock. The paper is cut 4"x12", scored at 3" from one end, 4" from the other end. This makes a nice fold with a bit of room left to stamp at the bottom. In the picture, the card looks like a standard A-2 size, but it's not. I stamped a background onto the top flap, the bridesmaid's name on the bottom and inked all the edges with white craft ink. The palm tree is stamped onto a piece of SU!'s wood sheets using brown Staz-On ink. I used the tag corner punch to trim the top corners. I inked the edges of the wood tag with light brown chalk ink and adhered it to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals. The card is finished off with hemp twine and a shell button. The wording for the invitation was printed on the computer and adhered inside.

The bottles were decorated using Scor-tape in two sizes and strips of cardstock (Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango). I stamped the palm trees using brown Staz-On ink, punched it out and inked the edges with white craft ink. Lastly, I added some hemp twine and a shell button to the neck of the bottle, put some real shells inside and the "message in a bottle" rolled up and tied with coordinating green fibers. The recipient simply uncorks the bottle to reveal the rolled up message and unties it to read it. Julie was pleased with how they turned out. I was thrilled to be doing a fun project since I have been so mojo-less lately. Click on either picture for a closer look at details...

Thanks for stopping by!

Memorial Day

Today I am grateful for the men and women who have sacrificed so much to ensure my freedom. God Bless the USA!

Garage Sale

Just a quick hello between head-bobbing in the recliner and letting the dogs out....I am whooped! The good news....the garage sale netted about $630 total between us all. The remainder of my stuff was dropped off at Goodwill this afternoon. I am so excited that I can now use some fun money for WHATEVER I WANT. I have a bad habit of giving all my money I receive as gifts...to bills! I am just too responsible I guess, but this time IT'S ALL MINE! hee hee I don't miss a thing in the stash that was in the sale. Not a thing. Hallelujah!...it's gone!!

Had a bit of a scare last night with my Grandma going via squad to the ER. Thankfully, it was just a bad case of vertigo/vomiting. She was treated and sent home. Vertigo comes out of nowhere and makes you feel like you've been hit by a truck or as Kevin said "It's like you're on a ride spinning around that you can't get off." Ugh. I am not one for amusement park rides, so I hope I NEVER get vertigo. She is super tired today, but thank goodness she's better.

I'll be back on Monday with something crafty. I gotta rest now. *snore*

Non-Crafty Update

Just a quick hello. I am preparing for a garage sale this weekend, so blogging and whatnot is pushed to the side for a bit. On Memorial Day, I hope to take pics and upload some goodies to show you. Thanks for your patience...yet again. Once I cleaned the disaster off my craft table, I realized I have SEVERAL pages I haven't shown you.

On a weird side note: I seriously have no idea just how many people are really interested in my blog. I see the counter on the bottom left increasing slowly, but that might be from repeat visitors. I hope that those of you who are faithful in reading do enjoy this blog. I often wonder if I should just hang up my blogger hat and move on to something different. I don't really find the time anymore to keep it updated as well as some people might expect. Any feedback? Keep it or move on?

Weight Progress: I had skipped Weight Watchers last week, but did go this past Monday. I was up .6 of a pound and kind of felt defeated in a way. Did I deserve a loss? No. Did I write down foods and count points? No. So, I have to get back on track, etc. etc. etc. I am still down 33.2, so I still feel a bit accomplished. I just have to get over this hump, get back to tracking my foods and move this body more. I went to Zumba tonight and quite frankly, I am whooped! I guess I've just had a lot on my mind, etc. So many people on my prayer list are dealing with some serious things and I just tend to internalize it...and eat. So, gotta Let Go and Let God and move forward.

On a funny note: I have bought three of the Glade Sense 'n Scent motion-activated fragrance things. One is in the kitchen, one is in the bathroom and the last one in the basement. Kevin just came up from the basement, where one had squirted. "fire one" Then, he came in the bathroom to brush his teeth and the second one squirted. "fire two" Then, he went in the kitchen and the last one squirted. "fire three" They do kind of surprise us, but it's kinda funny. I like the apple cinnamon ones better than the fresh linen one. It is so strong. Ok, night night.

{heart} U

A cute card using the Top Note die. Remember I showed you two cards last week that I made using this die? I love this shape! Also, the white gel pen adds some real pizzazz! Do you notice that the word pizzazz contains the word pizza? Oh brother, now I'm hungry. ha

So Sorry

Such a sweet, simple card. To color the foliage/flowers, we used a marker and a blender pen. First, color half the leaves with the marker. Second, grab some color from the brush tip of the marker onto your blender pen. Then, color the remaining leaves with the blender pen. You'll get a shade lighter than the full marker. Neat! Such an easy to get two colors without using two colored markers. I always learn neat tips from Holly!

Aloha

Love those teeny weeny stamps. Did you know there is a punch trio that you can buy to punch out those shapes? Cute!

Sweet Celebration

This is my favorite one! Notice the woodgrain background stamp. It is totally on my wish list! Love the color combo of this one!

Thoughtful Friend

Card two (of six) that we made at Holly's card class. Such a striking color combo. Love the silver shimmer paper!

Hummingbird

I attended Holly's card class on Saturday. This is one of the six cards we made. I'll be showing them to you on here this week. I debated between six different posts or one long post. I chose six different ones, so you have something to look forward to each day. At her card class, we used a lot of the new products from Stampin' Up!'s new Summer Mini Catalog.

Riley is so NOT a morning dog. On Saturday morning after we got up, I found him in this "warm, sunny spot" in the living room. Too cute! He lays right next to me in bed and since his "warm momma" wasn't available, he chose the next best spot. :)

Dollar Spot Flowers

Here's version #2 of the Top Note mini card using more of the flowers from Target.

I am looking forward to the weekend ahead. On Saturday, mom and I are going to Holly's card class. I am also working on the final details of a fun project for my niece. She is in charge of everything regarding a friend's bachelorette party in Florida. How cool is that...all the girls are flying to Florida to have a fun weekend with the bride-to-be. I am designing a unique beach-themed invitation for the girls. Once I have it all finished and take pictures, I'll post them here.

Weight Watchers update: Down 33.8 as of Monday. As I creep closer to my 50-pound goal, it seems like I have some weeks where I am just tired of eating healthy and I eat junk. It comes back to bite me in the behind (pun intended), but then I'll get motivated again and get back on track. Food has been the wonder drug for so many years, so like a drug addict has to avoid crack, I must choose to not use food to medicate my happy, sad or frustrated moments. It's hard. It's really hard. I have learned a lot about myself in the process...good and bad. I am going to keep plugging away. I am still motivated, but I have my moments. One day I'll be thrilled to post on here that I am down 40, then wait until I can say 50. One pound at a time...one pound at a time. God is good!

Happy Birthday, Caroline!

I sent this to my best friend's oldest daughter, Caroline. I remember when she was born. Today she turns a whopping 14! Time sure flies...Happy Birthday, Caroline!

I used the Top Note Die from Stampin' Up! The card is folded, then placed on the die so that the fold doesn't get cut. Run it through the die-cutting machine (I have a Cuttlebug.) and you get a cute, smaller-sized card with that neat edge. I found a pack of 32 felt flowers at Target's Dollar Spot a few months ago. I made several of these in the same design and still have flowers left over. Can't beat a $1.00 deal!!

Mother's Day 2010

The card I made my mom. Her fav color is purple.

The card I made my Grandma. She loves blue.

The card I made my sister. She's fun so I tried to reflect that in her card design.

I made identical cards for my nieces as they are no yet moms, but are FURmoms like I am. They each brought their dog, but I left my two at home this time.
Here's the cake I ordered for Sunday's dessert. Hawkins' cakes are simply the best!
Oh my gosh...so incredibly delicious!

Four generations: Julie, Rhonda, Bernice, Stephanie, Brooke

or, as they are related to me: niece, sister, grandma, mom, niece

Three generations: Bernice, Stephanie, Natalie

God has blessed our family with wonderful women and moms. Some of those wonderful women have already passed away, but Mother's Day is a great time to honor all the moms.

I love you, MOM!

OSU Fan

My co-worker's b-day was this past week. I made this for everyone to sign. I will be making more to add to an OSU raffle basket that will help benefit a hospital employee who is battling cancer. Our office will be doing an OSU-themed basket. I can't wait to see how it turns out. And, thanks again to Connie for letting me borrow the football stamp. :)

Just a funny....If I sit down to read the newspaper or a magazine I usually have two pooches who jump on my lap. Jack is the worst about REALLY wanting petted when I read the newspaper. I was cracking up when he did this and luckily Kevin got a picture before he moved. What a rascal! He's a sweetie though.

This is my niece's new dog, Brodie. He was doing his Star Wars Yoda impression here. Actually, he was just really scared of me and the camera. He's a Chihuahua mix. What a cutie!

This week was more low-key...just as I wanted. I had to get my car repaired, skipped both of my Zumba classes and just did some things around the house. Today, I have enjoyed sleeping in, cleaning, vacuuming and doing some laundry. It's 2pm and I'm still in my jammies! I have to run a few errands and then tomorrow our family will get together to honor the mothers. I am so very blessed to be surrounded my women in my family who truly cherish their children. I might not be a mom, but I try to be a good fur-mom to my doggies. Happy Mother's Day to all of you blessed to be a mom. Children are a gift from God and you, too, are your children's gift from God! :)

Jenny's Page

These pages belong to a fellow scrapbooker I met recently. She got permission from her sister for me to post these pictures. She had adorable supplies she found at the Target Dollar Spot and had asked for me to help with a few details when we sat near each other at a crop. This is how things turned out. The lighting isn't all that great and the pic looks crooked as I had to stand on a chair to get the full layout in one shot. :) I handcut the large heart and she made the cute faux candy. You can see a close-up of that below. Her niece's shirt says "sweet as candy" so it matched the page theme perfectly! Isn't her niece adorable?!!

A few punches, a cute brad and recycling some plastic packaging makes one cute piece of candy! To keep the ends secure, we used dental floss to "tie" it. Funny, huh?! It worked!

The last two weeks of April flew by and I haven't been on this blog in ages. I've been to two more scrapbooking crops since I last posted and have lost another two pounds. I have recently started training for two 5K races that will take place this summer. It is a challenge, but I am adding some running to my exercise program. I can't wait to hit the finish line of both races with huge tears of accomplishment in my eyes! I can do this, I can do this, I can do this!!! Some days I feel like the girl I was 34 pounds ago, but other days I feel like a lighter, more improved version of me. It isn't easy, but there's no stopping me now. I will win this battle one pound at a time (with God's help!). This next week I hope to spend more time training and just taking it easy here at home. I feel a huge need to exhale after being so busy the last month or so. I have a gazillion weeds that need pulled, and a to-do list that overwhelms me. I think I need to do little projects here and there to keep the "gotta keep busy" part of me satisfied, yet back off on other things so I can rest. We'll see how I do...I have a hard time some days just giving myself permission to do nothing. I'll try to get around to posting more fun stuff on here soon. Just not feeling my mojo lately. Sorry.