Kiddles and Work Fun

First I'm just going to share with you a cutie picture of my niece, Jordyn. She and Ryan were at my house visiting on Saturday, and I let her use my coloring book. Yes, it is mine lol. I love coloring.
Isn't she adorable? I don't have a picture of Ryan :(  I forget to take pics of him because all they ever do is play games, and I see that all the time lol. But next time I definitely will. I love his little face too.

Just kidding. I do have a pic of Ryan. It's just not from Saturday. This is at his 9th birthday party on August 13th. His birthday is the 14th, but they left for Disneyland on that day. Yeah, that was Aunt Kim's gift. Totally trumped anyone else's lol. But we were all happy to see them get the chance to go. She took me and Garrett for his 10th birthday too.

Anywho, this is him opening our gift--a BB gun. He was so excited. He went hunting with us last year, and I think he is hooked. We're excited to shoot it with him next month (on the muzzleloader hunt). 

Onto work news.......

So I just had to share some fun news I got about my job yesterday. One of the owners pulled me aside and asked if I thought of myself as a crafty person. And, despite what y'all might be thinking, I really don't. To me crafty means that you have ideas of your own to make a fun craft project and you just dive right in and get messy and love to try new crafty things. So not me. Really. It isn't.
I peruse the internet for other people's ideas. Then, I find several tutorials and versions of whatever craft has caught my eye. I make sure I know exactly how to do it and what I will need. Then I will try it. I do like to make a mess, and love seeing a handmade work of art by yours truly. But, I hardly ever come up with ideas on my own. And I have to be sure I know what I'm doing (hence the reason I have yet to ever refinish any furniture--too complicated).
So, I was honest. I said I love doing crafts, and I love scrapbooking and cardmaking. But crafty as in coming up with ideas--ummm.......no.
Well, I guess my 'doing crafts' was good enough because now they want me to come up with 10 simple and easy craft projects to post on Pinterest for them to get the word out about their business. I think it's Pinterest. He wasn't really sure, and his wife is the one doing it. Anyhow, the point is, I get to spend a few days at work just crafting. Well, that's probably not totally true. I'm sure I'll get pulled away for other things intermittently, but it's still going to be fun.
And, they don't have to be works of art or complicated one of a kind things. Just something to show people what you can do with the items they sell. Simple, easy crafties to do with your kids or just a quick project for yourself.
I will try to make sure that I get a link for y'all to view my projects, but I haven't ventured onto Pinterest, so I'll have to figure it out. I know what I'm doing, and the projects involve tulle, ribbon, curling ribbon, hair barrette's, plastic headbands, and silk flowers. All of which is sold by the company I work for--Hairbows Unlimited (retail) & Always Underpay (wholesale).
And, he also told me today that he just wants me to know that I'm doing really well and that they definitely want to keep me. He said he has had experiences in the past with miscommunication and he didn't want me to be all 'up in the air' about how I was doing. So that's awesome. I think I'll like this place :)

Work

A lot of people have been asking me how my new job is going. Well, it's brutal lol. I am on my feet all day, there is just one swamp cooler for the entire 8000 sq ft building, and I sweat my 'A' off (or at least it would be good if that's what happened). I'm hoping I get used to it soon because I have fallen asleep on the couch every day after work so far. And, my eating habits suck. I can't muster the energy to cook dinner, so we've been eating out every night. My feet, knees, and back hurt. And I have a headache every night. I'm exhausted. But, I am confident that I will get used to it. It's only been three days. I'm sure after a couple of weeks it will be better.

I got the job!

I got a job! I got a job! I got a job! LOL--I'm so ecstatic. I have been unemployed for nearly a year and was very close to contemplating losing both of our vehicles to repossession (don't get me started on the stupidity of having two cars on credit) and turning off all cell phones and internet. So, you can imagine why I might be ecstatic, even though this job pays about $5 less an hour than my last one did.  And, it's in a warehouse with no air conditioning. But, I think I will live.

I will be a buyer's assistant (which is where my key strengths lie--I was a buyer before), and they will have a raise schedule for me to look at when I start. And, oh yeah--I start TOMORROW! Wow. 

They will start me in order fulfillment/shipping and move me around to each different department until I get a good feel for how the whole business works. That way if customers call in, I can be better prepared to answer questions.

I interviewed this morning at 11:00, was out by 11:20, and he called me to offer the job at 12:00. Amazing. And we just clicked. It felt like I was supposed to be there. I know that sounds corny, but it couldn't have been better timing. My son just went back to school yesterday.

They import and sell hair accessories, apparel for toddlers (mostly girls), costumes, party supplies, beaded watch bands, and other assorted novelties. They sell it all to individual customers on their two websites (Hairbows Unlimited, and Always Underpay) as well as to national chains (like Hobby Lobby) and smaller retail stores. I'm pretty excited.

Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes. I totally appreciate them, and it looks like they worked!

CAS-ual Embossing Challenge #CFC16

Just one more quick post tonight. I wanted to get this one done because we're going camping tomorrow night (yay!), and I need to spend my free time tomorrow loading up. Shane has to work tomorrow, but he agreed to go camping if I loaded everything. What's different from any other time we go camping? Lol--don't tell him I said that.
I created this card for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge #CFC16. The challenge was to make a clean and simple card using embossing--wet or dry--on our cards this week. And, as is usually my style, I totally cased another card I found while browsing the web. This is my case of Jackie Rockwell's card found on her blog here.

I'm pretty excited about camping, believe it or not. I don't seem like the camping type when you first get to know me, but I really am. And, we haven't been camping this whole summer because we just don't have the money. People don't think camping costs money, but you have to pay for gas in the truck (not enough room for all of our stuff in the car), and then usually you need propane for the portable BBQ, and special food because I'm not cooking what I do here out there. Even though hot dogs are cheap, it's still money. Then their is inevitably some fishing thing that they are out of or we need gas for the lantern. The list goes on and on, it costs at least $60 every time--and that's if we don't need much.
Anyhow, Shane got a bit of overtime on this check and I decided we were going. We need a getaway, even if it's just a really short one. Something to keep our minds off of everything.
So, we'll see-ya when we get back. I'll take a few pics just because I haven't taken hardly any this summer--as I said, we haven't done anything lol.
If you like this post, or any of my others, please leave me a comment. I love getting comments, not going to lie. Who doesn't? And, if you really like me (*wink*), you can find the various ways to follow my blog on the sidebar.

{YOU ROCK!}
Cardstock: White and tan are both generic from my LSS, and the others are all scraps, so I don't really know who they are from.
Accessories: Jute from DC&C, Teeny Alpha from Glitz
Tools: Corner Rounder punch from EK Success, Star Punch from Stampin' Up!
Adhesives: Tombo Mono permanent roller, Zots adhesive dots

Merry Sketch Day!

Today there is a new sketch at the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. And, I have to be honest, I wasn't excited when I first saw it. I'm just not really what you would call an abstract card designer. And that's what this sketch reminded me of. Like when you go to the museums as a child and see all of the modern art with colored shapes and lines. Maybe it's called modern art? Whatever--not me. Here is a copy of the sketch.

But then, as I looked at it, I realized the circles don't necessarily have to be circles. There just needs to be something in the place of where those circles are in order to really follow the sketch. And, since CAS also partnered with Jingle Belles this week on their weekly Christmas card challenge, snowflakes came to mind. What says Christmas like snowflakes? Well, I guess lots of things. Like Christmas bulbs, Jingle Bells, etc. But, this week it is snowflakes for me lol.
Once snowflakes came to mind, I knew I wanted to use a light blue. That seems wintry and festive to me. Plus, I've been dying to use this card by Kimmie B at Splitcoast Stampers as inspiration. Isn't it beautiful? I just fell in love with it when I saw it and new I would be doing something similar in the near future. Thanks Kimmie!
So, without further ado, here is my snowflake card entry for CAS Sketch FTL154 and for this week's Jingle Belles JB34 holiday card challenge. Let me know what you think. I think I really love this one.

Inside Decoration

{Merry Christmas}

Stamps: Script Friendship Stamp from JoAnn (I think? It doesn't say who the manufacturer is.), Merry Christmas sentiment from Rubber Stampede, Snowflakes from Winter Blues TPC Studios set

Ink: Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip

Cardstock: White is generic from my LSS, Light Blue is American Crafts, Dark Brown is also generic from the LSS, and Crumb Cake from Stampin' Up!

Accessories: Button--not sure?, Offray Ribbon, DC&C Jute

Adhesives: Tombow Mono permanent tape runner, Zots clear adhesive dots-medium

Tools: Fiskars Border Punch, Snowflake dies from Sizzix exclusive to Stampin' Up!

A Gift

I made a scrapbook layout! I haven't had any mojo to scrap whatsoever over the last few months. I've done lots of cardmaking, but that has been mostly to try to get enough done to trade my hairdresser for a cut and color lol. 

After I decided not to continue with my design team posts, it just stopped. I think maybe I just needed a break. Or, maybe it's because we've done almost nothing this summer and I have no new pictures. I have tons of old ones to scrap, but where's the fun in that?

Anyway, this shadowbox layout is a gift for a friend of Shane's who's wife is having a baby in September. Well, he's not just a friend, they are best friends. They've known each other for over 35 years! Since Shane was 2 years old.

James and Michelle were married last December, and were ecstatic to find out that they were pregnant just a few week's later. We are very happy for both of them. This will be Michelle's first girl! She has two boys from a previous marriage, and James has two boys and a girl from his previous marriages as well.

I wasn't able to go to Michelle's baby shower because it was on the same day and at the same time as my nephew's birthday party. But, I had this idea for their gift and still wanted to make it for them. So, I asked her to send me a picture of the nursery and let me know if they'd picked out a name yet. Thankfully they had, or I wouldn't  have been able to do this yet.

The nursery has pink, yellow, and green stripes on the bottom of the wall with a daisy flower border in the same colors--cute! I hope this matches well enough and that they like it.

I had so much fun making this--I wasn't blessed with any girls, just one awesome boy. I even broke out my paint and foam stamps for this fun girly project.

And, I swear, this is a lot more straight in real life. Why do things always look so darn crooked in pictures?

Some close-up photos of the name and the "announcement" piece I did.

I made a card to go along with the gift as well--duh! I used sketch #FTL152 from the Clean & Simple blog again--love this one.

 A side view to show the simple inside decoration.

**EDIT**After I took the pictures I still felt like it was missing something. So, I added glitter to the flowers, bling to the painted flourish, and a couple of butterflies up in the right corner. Oh, and just BTW--I stamped a daisy in Versamark ink on the background paper, but you can't see it in the photos. It is quite a nice effect if I do say so myself.  I'm much happier with it now, but it's already wrapped. So, I won't be taking anymore pictures.**

Thanks for visiting today! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Or, if you really like me lol, you can find the follow button on my sidebar *wink*. Until next time.....

Kraft Crushing

So I've noticed lately that I'm totally crushing on kraft colored cardstock. Seriously, like every time I want to make a card, I go to that first. I can't help it. It looks good with everything.
These two cards are both designed using sketches from the Clean and Simple Stamping blog. This first one uses this week's current sketch FTL153. And, this week CAS is also partnering with CAS-ual Fridays, so this will also be entered in the CFC #15 sketch challenge.
This is a super simple card, but I really like it. I love the bright sunset colors against the kraft and black cardstocks. I also love that I used one of my Slice design cards that has never even been touched for this one. It is the Paper Reverie design card. Love it! So glad I didn't sell that one.

This one uses CAS layout #FTL144. I really love this layout for showcasing patterned paper. In fact, I just did a post with this layout a few weeks ago here. This is the only card today that is not on a kraft paper base.

Can I just say, I love the internet? It is such a great tool to get ideas (or, you know, outright plagiarism). 

These two cards I totally copied from Kristina Werner's blog here and here. She has such an eye for color and design. I just love her!

That's all I have for today. I would be posting pictures of my nephew's birthday bbq that we went to on Saturday, but I didn't take any pictures. My sister, Kim (another auntie), was taking pictures and didn't have time to post them before leaving to Disneyland on Sunday.

I am SO jealous. I have been to Disneyland twice in my lifetime, both after I was 30 years old. I loved it and it is really one of my favorite places. I went once with my son and my sister, Kim. And then once Roberts paid for all of us to go while we were attending CHA (Craft & Hobby Association event) in Anaheim.

Kim took G and I for his 10th birthday, and now she is taking Ryan and Jordyn for their 9th and 7th birthdays. Of course, she took the parents and Jason along too. You don't take other people's children to Disneyland without help lol. 

So far they are having a blast. But, right now, my sister tells me Ryan is in line with his mom and dad to ride California Screamin'. He is NOT a roller coaster fan lol. But, they told him he had to try it at least once. That is one of my favorite rides. Jordyn is probably pretty jealous. She IS a roller coaster (and any other big scary ride) fan. She isn't big enough to ride it yet, so Aunt Kim is sitting this one out with her.

Anyway, going to get off the computer and see what I can do to clean this house up a bit more today. Blah.

Some More Cards...

I just wanted to drop in real quick and share some cards I made today. I've been down in the dumps without much motivation lately, so last night I cleaned up the office. I figured a clean room begs for a mess right? So maybe if I clean, I will want to mess it up a bit. And, guess what?--It worked!
This one is a card I made for my soon to be nine year-old nephew, Ryan. I've had the design in my head for days, mostly due to this week's sketch at Splitcoast Stampers, but again, no motivation. Thank goodness I got it back because his party is tomorrow lol.
I was going to try making a card to look like a game paddle because he is having a gaming party. But, I just couldn't really wrap my head around how to start it or make it look real. And when that happens, it's usually a disaster.
Plus, I have this little Bugaboo Stamps dragon, Clyde, that I specifically downloaded to make a card for Ryan. Isn't he adorable? I actually added glitter to his wings after I took the picture too.

 (Inside of card)

Then, since I had mojo, I decided to grab this Gavin Ghost freebie over at Dude Time Doodles and give their challenge a go. They've partnered up with Fetch-A-Sketch this week, so the layout is the FAS challenge sketch for this week as well.
I don't know if I like this card or not. Acutally, I think I do like it, I just never send Halloween cards. Who really does that? But, if I remember, I will send this to my niece and nephew on Halloween week.
I wanted to copy my friend, Nana Connie's, sentiment on her Gavin card. But I didn't know if that would just be lame to enter in a challenge where she was on the DT. You should look at her card here. I just love the sentiment.

 (Inside of Card)

And, finally, I decided to case a card I saw on Kristina Werner's blog here. I just love her style. And this card looked so easy that I just had to do it. It took like 10 minutes to make, no lie. I hope she's ok with people totally casing her. I think she must be since she gives tutorials on how to do just that lol.

 (Inside of Card)

Well, that's what I accomplished today. I was going to go to the store and get my prescription filled, but I can do that tomorrow lol.
If  you are interested in the products used to make these cards, I'm too lazy to post them here lol. But, you can find them here in my gallery at Splitcoast Stampers.

I Miss You

This is my entry for two challenges today. The first is this week's sketch FTL152 at the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. The second is the color challenge at Splitcoast Stampers this week (tempting turquoise, going grey, and basic white). This blue doesn't isn't really turquoise per se, but it's what I had in my scraps, and I'm trying to use those up. So I went with it. In real life, it is a little more turquoise and bright than it looks in the pictures though.
I really like how this card turned out. It would have also made a great wedding card, but I like to match wedding cards to the couples colors. So I didn't go that route.
This is the FTL152 sketch:

And, here is my take:

{i miss you}
Stamps: Not sure--random clear dollar stamp in my stash
Ink: TPC Studios Clearly Better Graphite
Cardstock: Grey and Blue are both American Crafts, White is generic from LSS
Embellies: Adhesive half pearls from Queen & Co.
Tools: Cuttlebug, Swiss Dots embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four die, Stampin Up border punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch

Childhood Memories

I just read a post on one of my new favorite blogs, Backwoods Mom, and it made me remember just a couple of things that touched my life in my childhood so much. Here is a link to that post if you want to see it.

I remember going to my grandparents house way up in Huntsville and my grandma would give us chocolate chips in pill bottles and tell us they were medicine. And Grandpa would call us little boys and we were so giggly and eager to correct him.
We always went to my Grandpa Mills's house for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had tons of cousins to run around and play with. And my Uncle Brad would tackle my mom to the floor and knock on her face with his hand. He'd make her name 10 brands of cigarettes before he'd let her up. I guess she used to do that to him growing up lol. Before we left my Grandpa would always say, "May the good Lord take a liking to ya, cause no one else is gonna." He still says that.
I remember when my dad was laid off of work and my mom went back to work to help with bills. He would stay up every night and read to us. And, after we got out of the tub, he would brush our hair and put it up in rollers. My dad is a sucker for a little girl :) He also would dress us for school every day, and that was sometimes a bit comical. 

I remember when we were little and bored out of our minds, my mom would pull out the dress-up box and we would be princesses, witches, Egyptian Queens, you name it. And if we didn't have what we wanted to dress up, she would help us make it.

I remember my sisters and I throwing blankets in the air to make our own doll houses lol. However the blanket landed, we would fashion our own Barbie bedrooms complete with slide exits that would end up in our personal pretend pools. That was fun.

I remember watching The Jungle Book with my brother 14 times a day. And I remember how he has always been able to pick up on the funniest things in movies and remember them forever. I also remember playing the "ketchup" or "kaboom" game with him on the bed to make him giggle. And bouncing him on my knee to the farmer song. And suggesting to he and our stepsister that maybe sliding down the stairs on a shiny sleeping bag might be fun. 

Awww.......that was a fun trip down memory lane.

Zucchini Onion Bake

Found another zucchini recipe to try. Well, not really a recipe. I got the idea while looking at other recipes. But, since I didn't have everything the recipes called for, I used what I had. And it came out really good.
First I cut a small zucchini (I'd say about 8"-10") in half lengthwise. Then I scooped out the pulp leaving about a 1/4" of the shell. I spread a thin layer of butter in each shell and sprinkled a little bit of garlic powder in. Then, I  cooked them at 375 deg. until they were slightly soft.
While the shells were cooking, I sauteed the pulp that was scooped out along with one small chopped onion in a frying pan with a bit more butter.
When the shells were soft, I scooped the sautee mix into them and put them back in the toaster oven for about 5 minutes. Then I took them out, sprinkled some pepper jack cheese on, and put them back in just long enough to melt the cheese.
I have to say, these turned out really good. And Shane didn't even say I ruined his zucchini this time. I know the butter and the cheese weren't the healthiest choices, but I didn't use that much butter. And the cheese is just a must. Sorry.

Zucchini Sausage Skillet Meal

So I have zucchini coming out of my ears lol.  My father-in-law plants a big garden every year, and for the last few years my husband has planted a small one as well. My FIL doesn't eat most of his produce since he had gastric bypass surgery a couple of years ago and isn't able to eat very much. But, he was a farmer all his life and just can't really seem to scale down the garden and plant only what he will eat. Or, maybe he just wants to share it. In any case, Shane and his sister, Debbi, end up with most of it. Deb isn't able to visit as often as Shane though, so we get the bulk of it.
Anyhow, I don't really like the flavor of zucchini. I'm not really sure why, but I sort of think it tastes like grass or something lol.  So I did a little research on the internet for some recipes that might make it a little more appetizing for me. I hate to waste food, especially since we're having such a rough time with my being unemployed. And Shane really loves zucchini, so he wouldn't let me even if I wanted to. I found this recipe at Taste of Home and thought it sounded pretty good. And, I had most of the ingredients on hand already.
I decided to try it tonight, and I was not sorry. Garrett and I both loved it (incidentally, he doesn't like zucchini or tomatoes), and Shane liked it too. But he told me I wasn't allowed to ruin his zucchini like that all the time. He likes it plain boiled, fried, or steamed with butter, salt, and pepper.

I think I'll keep looking for recipes though. Because we've got a load more zucchini coming, and I don't think Shane is prepared to eat it all by himself. No matter how much he loves it lol.

Enjoy Your Day FTL151

Well, the hubby and I had a pretty stressful weekend. I'm not going to go into it, but suffice it to say that my not having a job is starting to have a serious impact on our financial situation. But, we decided to just do the best we can, ask for help where we can, and keep plugging along. There is no sense arguing and fighting about it because that is the best we can do.

Anyway, I decided that making a card this morning would help me cheer up a little bit. It's a good thing I have such a huge stash of product to keep me going with my little hobby. That's one great thing that my last job did for me-a good employee discount and tradeshow freebies built me a mountainous stash lol. And it really does help me feel better to make something pretty. 

I've been really loving the sketches at Clean & Simple Stamping, and this is the latest one released on Friday.

CAS sketch FTL151

My Card:

Inside:

I've been selling a few cards here and there, and a good friend of mine who owns her own salon said she would trade me a box of handmade cards for a severely needed haircut and color--she is so danged awesome! The above card will be one of those in the box I hope to give her sometime this month.

I also just listed some of my extra stuff and tools that I don't use much in the local classified ads (see below post if you're interested). So hopefully I can get a bit extra from that as well.

Thanks for visiting me today, and for reading my personal crap lol.  Let me know what you think about this card.

{Enjoy Your Day}
Stamps: Everyday Expressions (Paper Studio)
Ink: Crumb Cake (SU)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake (SU) and generic white from LSS
Patterned Paper: Old Chatterbox--pattern on one side, yellow on other (love this paper, and it's my last bit)
Embellies: Queen & Co. Half Pearls, American Crafts Ribbon
Tools: Scallop Border Punch (SU), Paper Piercing Tool (SU), Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Cuttlebug, Spellbinders Impressabilities Butterfly