A fun little award with a cherry on top!

Hi all and Happy Wednesday! This morning when I opened up my email, I got this wonderful surprise from fellow stamper Diane Long. How fun is this? Thanks Diane! With the award, you're supposed to list three things about yourself. HHhhhmmmm.... I love to dance and often do it as I clean house to make that job less miserable. I think coloring should be part of a religion because there is nothing more peaceful and introspective than sitting down for some quiet time with a marker or pencil. I love playing Guitar Hero with my kids. There you have it... three kind of off the wall things about me. HA!

So, what bloggers do I think have a cherry on top? GOSH... there are too many to list! My blog roll is full of them! (That actually reminds me I have to update that and add a few more!)

I literally just randomly picked five for you to check out because..... let's face it... they are ALL awesome!

Susan Roberts
Amy Scheffer
Debbie Olson
Beate Johns
Barb Schram

So hop on through if you need some inspiration... these ladies won't disappoint! ;-) Thanks for stopping by and Thanks again Diane for the honor!

Cleaning House-- a mish mash of things!

Hi all! Monday was cleaning day at my house and man, oh man, I took some photos of my stamp room before... and after. If you can't handle images of stamping carnage... you might want to keep one eye open and slightly squinted and scroll down! Some of you have kidded me that you don't believe my stamp room gets dirty. Afterall, you've seen the photos here on my blog. Well folks---think again!!!!!

HERE
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THE
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PROOF!

SHRIEK!!!!! Do you think I could even find a spot to work in on my desk?!?!?!

And, here's what it looked like after a couple hours cleaning it!

A clean mean machine ready to get dirty all over again! hehe! I actually have some really fun things up my sleeve! I just got some new rubber from Impression Obsession and have to work on some catalog samples. I also got some new polymer and need to make some samples for Winter CHA. Then, there are some new releases brewing for Flourishes and... a huge fun celebration that I will be a part of! I can't tell you much more than that-- for now! So, in no time at all, my stamp room will look more like the first photo for sure!! ;-)

In the picture, you might notice my bulletin board above my desk.... well, that's my wall of fame! If someone sends me a R.A.K. it goes on the board! I have a couple that I have to put up still but --- it just goes to show how much YOU inspire ME! ;-)

On to a card....

It's actually one I wish I never had to make. Last Friday I got some new stamps from Our Daily Bread Designs. This was one of them. It's called Footprints In The Sand. When I first laid eyes on it, I thought it would be a good set to turn to for sympathy cards. I didn't know I would be grabbing it so soon. My college roomate emailed me over the weekend to let me know that her mom passed away after a year long battle with pancreatic cancer. Gosh, I hate the "c" word. It robs so many people of loved ones. Are you with me??

To make the card, I just masked and sponged ink, watercolored some of the sea grass, distressed the edges of my main focal piece and then punched a hole and added some natural cord with some beads strung on. Not too hard at all.....

On a much lighter note, my bud Jacki-- you know-- the "princess" over at the Card Castle-- gave me this fun award! And, with it comes a few rules!

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

I mean to tell you - Choosing five was hard! But, when I look to the ladies who I turn to for inspiration - I have a few "go to" blogs when my brain is zapped from a lack of creative.. or make that kreativ energy!!

So, here are a few of my favorite "kreativ" bloggers!

Becca Feeken - she's always got something crafty going on! Her tutorials are the best! I wonder many times where she comes up with this stuff!

Leslie Miller - her coloring is amazing and inspiring! And the way she puts design elements together always makes me gasp! (not to mention, she's a sweetie too!)

Sharon Johnson - her tips and projects are to die for! She's been a mentor to me so that's kind of why she rocks too! ;-)

Debbie Olson - Need I say more? I already told her I want to be the president of her fan club! She said I'd have to fight Joan Bardee for the title!!

Jerri Kay Jimenez - if you've seen what that girl can do with a paint brush.... oh my!

Thanks for stopping by! More fun here tomorrow-- I promise!

News, BFFs And A Tag!

YIPPEE SKIPPY! I just got the news yesterday that I made it to the top ten of the Papercrafts Gallery Idol contest! Can't honestly believe it. I am super excited though. The next challenge is to make a card with a quote as its focus. So, I thought - "I don't really have any quotes!" What am I going to do? So, I say - I'll just go down and check to see if I have even one quote stamp. I have 13. Can you believe a girl doesn't even really know what she has??!?? I told my younger brother about the challenge and you know what he said? "I got one for you - you could quote Winston Churchill." I said, "What's the quote?" "I may be drunk, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly." HAHAHAHAHA! I still haven't checked to see if Winston Churchill actually said that. Brothers. I tell ya! Anyway, the cards will be up Monday so check back then about links and how to vote!! Thanks to all of you who have supported me!! YOU ROCK!


I got a fun award this week that I plan to pass on!! Paylin passed this on! How fun! I'm honored!! BTW, you should check out Paylin's site. She is amazingly talented when it comes to using punches creatively! Back to the award--- I hand this on to Deb, Diane, Jennifer, Barb, Janine, and MOM! And....Renee tagged me! I have to find 7 things to share that you might not know. Well I have had this tag before so finding something new might be really, really tough! But, I'll try! Meantime, I'll try not to bore you! Some of these my be repetitive because let's face it -- my life is only so interesting! LOL!

1. One of my "trips of a lifetime" was to L.A. to see the Grammy Awards. I was on the red carpet reporting for the CBS affiliate that I worked for at the time. Blue man group crashed my liveshot and made freaky faces at me!
2. My dad was an amateur race car driver -- thus my love for fast cars. It's genetic. It has to be!
3. I have a '77 Corvette that is a work in progress.
4. I'm afraid of heights.
5. My favorite color is red.
6. I could eat pizza every day of the week - veggie, barbeque chicken, regular - any flavor - just love it!
7. I've never traveled outside of North America.

I'm supposed to tag 7 people but why don't we just do this -- Wanna play? Just leave me a comment! I'd love to read your answers!

Ok... well now that your officially asleep from all that - hope you have a great Saturday! I'll be back tomorrow!