This 'n That

Riley got a bath Sunday. So fluffy and cute!

Handsome Jack posing in the "usual picture spot".

We got a little bit of snow Sunday, but today it POURED about 8 inches of the mess! Ice, then snow. Blech!!! I am so S.O.S. (sick of snow)!

We had a belated birthday celebration with family on Sunday, too. Another Hawkins cake. Ah, a girl can never have too much cake. :)

This was my gift from mom and dad...my first Vera Bradley purse. I never would have guessed they'd get me this, but it was a very happy surprise. I love the little pockets on each end...one for cell phone, one for keys. It's reversible, too! Neat!

Adam's Wedding

My cousin Adam got married Saturday. This is the card I made for them and a picture of us at the wedding.
Their colors were brown and pink. I found this yummy glittered paper at Archivers.

More Valentines

This is the Valentine I made for Kevin. It's a pocket-style card with little sentiment strips. I wrote something different on each one.

We received this lovely Valentine from Connie. I love the vintage feel of it.

Valentines 2011

I only made 20 Valentines this year. I used the Cuttlebug for the background texture, markers to color the sentiment, heart punches, glitter paper and some fun lace ribbon.

The good thing about the mat stack glitter paper is that it doesn't "shed" sparkles all over me. You know deep down I am a "glitterphobe". *chuckle*

I made some 3x3 notecard Valentines for my co-workers. I got the pre-cut felt hearts at Joann's.

I will say...I will NEVER buy the DCWV textured paper there again. The red paper here is made by them. Awful. The first problem is the sticker on the back of the paper. Don't try to remove it. It doesn't come off! Use Un-do and stink up your whole basement and about suffocate. Yeah, seriously. Forget it. I did that on a few, but the dumb sticker still left residue. Ewww. Don't like how it cuts either. Frays on the edges and the white core fuzzies are a nightmare. Just my opinion. Cheap price doesn't always mean good choice. Lesson learned.
Joann can keep their dumb DCWV textured paper. Sale or no sale. Blechhhhh!

Anywho. Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy 39th to me!

I haven't felt the best all week, but thought I better smile for the camera on my actual birthday. I turned 39 Friday and am thankful for the great life God has given me!
Sportin' my jammies and make-up half worn off. Oh well...it's a little Hawkins cake from my parents. :) Hawkins white cake is my favorite!

LICK!!!!!!!! Yummy! I am goofy. Love the quote the hospital maintenance man shared with me this week: Growing old is required. Growing up is optional. (I refuse to lose my "kid at heart" nature, thus pictures like this! LOL)

My co-worker made this card and everyone signed it. Cute little S'mores man. :)

I got this handmade cutie from Connie.

And, this adorable one is from Joan.

I have spent the entire weekend in jammies and resting. I am finally getting my voice back a bit and haven't quite plowed through a WHOLE box of Puffs Plus, but close! Sometimes celebrating in a low-key fashion isn't all bad. I just hope when I turn 40 my body isn't retaliating and I can WHOOP it up in style. :)

It's Your Day

I made this quick, easy card to send to my cousin's husband. I didn't have any guy cards in my stash and had to think of something fast. Hope he doesn't mind that the paper has some pink stripes. Oops. Sorry, Larry. But, it will be on time! ha ha I used my mini pinking scissors to trim the edge after I stamped the saying onto the patterned paper. I reminds me of a corn cob. I distressed and inked the edges of the turquoise to tone down the color a bit. Uhm....I still see that pink shining bright in all it's glory. Let's just say this card is corn and raw steak. How about that? Corn and pink, raw steak. That's masculine, right? Wrong. Oh well. Maybe better luck next year with him getting a card that screams "man". *chuckle*

Riley cracks me up. But, then again...you already knew that. He has this quirky habit about "needing" to take a toy or bone outside with him to go potty. If he takes a stuffed animal, it almost always comes back looking like this. Here's Mr. Ephelant (elephant) after his snow bath. I'm not sure why Riley does this, but since no animals are harmed in the making of such funny moments, I let him do it. Why not? God uses him to make me giggle daily. Plus, we can all use some fresh air now and then....even Mr. Ephelant. *snort*

Meet Mr. Elfa

Yet again, my craft area is getting revamped. I tell ya. It DRIVES ME CRAZY! About the time I think I have it just so-so, then I start making piles of this, piles of that, etc. So....I decided to get an Elfa system at The Container Store to help me utilize more vertical space on this main wall.
This is the "you really can't tell how bad it is, but trust me it's bad" before shot. What you can't see is the 4-foot table behind the chair that has PILES on it, plus the 6 feet of floor space with PILES of stuff. Oh brother. I need an intervention. I plan to sort, purge and reorganize most of my stuff. I have to or I'll never come back down here to create again. It bugs me THAT bad.

This is the "while hubby is still at work and this chick really really really wants her Elfa together and thinks she can do it alone" during picture. Seriously, don't poke your eyes out due to the 1970s vibe of grossness you see here. I am so very grateful for my space, but seriously....1970s style. hee hee Here you can see where I pushed my 8-foot table towards the middle of the space and all of the glorious piles of "certainly I should be able to make sense of this all" that are filling both tables. Again, makes you want to poke both eyes out and call the organization cops on me. Right? Right.

Oh, I see light at the end of my tunnel. Mr. Elfa is upright! I got the free-standing version so that I didn't have to drill into this lovely "Lord knows how thick it is and what's behind it" knotty pine wood panels from the 1970s. I also had to work within a 6'x9' space, avoiding the duct work that is "hidden" behind that sassy wooden box thingy. Niiiice. Not. Anywho....What is nice about the freestanding is that I can ADD ON ANOTHER SECTION as my budget allows. Ah, yes! More space, more shelves. MORE ELFA. I've died and gone to Heaven. Oh wait....Heaven will be WAY better than this. Way better. But, for now...I'll take my Elfa. Ok, onward and upward...let's scroll down to see MORE goodness in the making...

Ta-da! A desktop! Woo-hippity-hoo! It's really three shelves end to end that create my desktop. Snazzy, eh? Ok, keep going...

Bada-bing-bada-boom! Ah........Mr. Elfa...you make me smile. The only bummer is that three of my shelf brackets needed ordered so the mini shelves aren't up yet. Do you see the WAY SUPER COOL Elfa tote bag? Oh my. They had all my little goodies all organized (imagine that...The Container Store being organized...yes, ah...love it!) and ready for me to take home. The bonus....I now have a WAY SUPER COOL tote bag to use for whatever....whenever. I just might snuggle with it in my bed when I sleep. Yes, I was THAT happy to get it. I even like saying ELFA. Come on, practice with me. ELFA. ELFA. Doesn't it make your mouth all happy to say it? I knew you'd agree. (P.S. Yes, I am this nutty. Just bear with me.)

Now, the goal is to organize said space after sorting/purging/etc. but it will take a while for me to do this process. In the meantime, sweet Elfa dreams and some day I will have a true "after" picture to show. For now, I have things all over it, but not in the manner in which it will stay. It will be a work in progress. Remember, the PILES have to be tamed before I can really do this job. I might need a candy bar to help me. Anybody got any chocolate?

Thanks for stopping by. If you don't hear from me for a while, you'll know I've poked my own eyes out so I don't have to look at the PILES. *chuckle*