Challenge Image

This pretty little card is made from an image that was sent to a few of us in a private challenge on SCS. I love it (great choice Denise)! I used my favorite designer paper set from Stampin' Up! and coordinating cardstock. The image is colored with water color wonder crayons (also by SU). I find it easiest for me to use one brand of products because all of the papers, coloring tools, ribbon, etc. match perfectly and I don't have to hunt through all of my "stash" to find the right match. I do however have tons of products from many different companies but I use them more for scrapbooking than card making. Of course I can always sneak in some Basic Grey onto my cards :)

As far as the house, we are still having lot's of showings which I might add is a pain to keep the dogs with me and keep the house perfect but it seems our buyer is going through the motions of purchasing so keep praying it all works out!

I made something finally!

These are for a swap I am in called "Grunge Tags". The idea is to use one of Tim Holtz techniques using his grunge type products. I used crackle paint, walnut ink stain, his acrylic paint daubers and some of my seashell stamps. I didn't have a way to do much more than this. So I made the best of it, I did the resist technique with the paint and the walnut ink, I did the crackle technique and a few other one's I read on his blog. Not the usual detail I would like but it was due Saturday and I simply didn't have the time to put into it then. They are kind of cool though :) So here ya go! Oh, we had 4 showings Saturday on the house and an offer! Wooo Hooo! Plus the open house had 11 couple come through in two hours. So we are happy! Praise God!

So the Stager Came

and this is my teenage son's room now! I had the pictures and red pillow etc. in there before but now that all the video games, computers and "crap" are gone his room looks 10 times bigger and fantastic! The only drawback is I have to make his bed everyday to look like that. He just throws the comforter on and slaps the pillows up there. She wanted this white sheet covering his black comforter and then show just the top part of the comforter folded back. So this is what a stager does and we sure have a good one! The other picture is what she did with the foyer. It had that gorgeous green and cream colored credenza before but it was huge and overpowering so she moved this table and the foyer does look more open. Besides after removing my scraproom you can now see the columns in the dining room LOL! She did a great job with the house and I am hoping for a quick sale :)

I Am Beat!

This is what I am working so hard for!

Can I just say I am beat? Today I went to the dump twice, Goodwill once, storage unit twice and packed more boxes. I have vacuumed the house yet again and reorganized my laundry room and all the shelves. Tomorrow I have three appointments coming to my house for various reasons (measuring, estimate for handyman stuff, etc.) and I just never knew there was so much to selling a house! Towards the end of this week it will all be done and all I have to do (ha, ha) is keep the house neat and tidy for buyers. With two boys, one cat and two dogs it ain't easy LOL! Goodnight! :)

About the new house

To answer some questions about the new house, it is in the same town, just bigger. It's so funny how when you remove all the clutter from your home to sell it, suddenly you like your house again! Now if only we could live in this house with another house next door to store our stuff in! You know, holiday dishes and plates, appliances, video games, scrapbooking and stamping stuff, TV's, all that stuff that there is no room for and makes things look cluttered! Living with-out them is just sitting in an empty house going "what a pretty house" though. Hence the need for a bigger house. Or at least one with cupboards, pantry, linen closets, another bedroom etc. I can't imagine why they built this house without them! Let me clarify that, I do have some kitchen cupboards but all I can fit is our every day dishes, glasses, canned goods, cereal and stuff. We put our linens (towels, blankets and sheets) in our clothes closet and in a dresser scrunched in the hallway. No basement or walk up attic either. Like I said pretty house, not functional. We didn't know when we bought it! OK hopefully no one who is looking at my blog would have bought my house until I said this LOL!

Back to the new house. It has a huge kitchen with an island (lots of storage underneath), butler's pantry, regular pantry, some other storage closet(which is not the coat closet) off the kitchen (going to be used for vacuum cleaner, kids backpacks and the like) has a bar counter so we can put bar stools there and eat, has 4 (yes, 4!) linen closets upstairs and cupboards in the laundry room! That hopefully will to do it LOL! Did I mention the master bedroom closets? There are two and each one is 9 feet long and 4 feet wide. Oh my goodness the space is going to be overwhelming. Remind me not to fill every inch so it still feels spacious and nice!!! I must remember "no over-stuffing the new house"! I need to read this blog a year from now :)

I will say it is going to take me a week to clean this house every week (get it, haha). Not sure I am prepared for that but I know it is the price I will have to pay so I am ready (so I say, huh?). I need the exercise anyway. Oh, did I mention the third floor? It is unfinished but an awesome walk up storage room and if we want to finish it some day (and lose our storage, I think not LOL!) it is a bedroom and a bonus room and plumbed and framed for a full bath. Besides, more rooms to clean and I don't need that! We are more happy about having stairs to an attic, a big floor in it so we have a place for the Christmas decorations, and other stuff we can't part with :)

So that's the story, we are so very excited!

House Buying/Selling

I have been wanting to move for a couple of years now, we are overcrowded in our house etc. Plus I like to move to new places (comes from moving so much growing up) LOL! I am so done with this one. However I must add at this point our next one is going to be our last home for quite a while. Anyway we had signed a contract picked out a house to build and everything was good. Then they hadn't completed the paperwork yet and I got to thinking, hmmm waiting 8 months, moving to an apartment then moving again, much less finding one that takes 3 pets etc. was going to be a hassle. So I mentioned to my husband - why don't we look at some houses that are ready? Good idea. So we did. So for the last 4 days we have gone around with the real estate agent looking at houses, making a bid, waiting, hearing someone else made a bid - looking at more homes on and on.

In the meanwhile we are packing boxes, got a storage unit and a home stager is coming Weds. to tell us what furniture, pictures and chotchki's (sp?) to move around or store. I was already told to remove my entire craft room and let the dining room be the dining room (you see that on HGTV all the time "show the room for it's intended purpose"). The moving guys come Friday to put it all in storage. So needless to say I haven't even seen my stamping or scrapbooking stuff since middle of last week. I will keep you posted but it is looking like for the rest of this week I may not get to make anything :( Please bare with me, I will get back to it!!!

Buried in Swaps

I don't usually sign up for but one swap every few months but for some reason I got a little crazy and signed up for 5 at once. Well I got two done, one continues until July (SOTM - Stamp of the Month for House Mouse), then there is "Grunge tags", "Image" card swap, and "Gruffies" card swap. All this and I have to pack my stuff away! Sooo feeling a little stressed lately :)

I haven't made a card all week. No I take that back, I finished my April swap for SOTM but I don't have anything for here! I can't post that card yet as it will spoil it for some of the gals in the group (they look at my blog). Some of them don't like to see other's cards until they made their own. We all use the same image so we all want to be original with-out influence.

OH! I have been blog tagged! Woo Hoo! By Peanutbee check out her blog from SCS, I have to write 7 random things about myself so here we go:

1. I am left handed but I cut with scissors with my right hand.
2. I don't think I have ever lived without a dog.
3. I love fruit desserts but don't like chocolate desserts.
4. I wish I could visit my online scrapbooking friend and her daughter in New Zealand.
5. I never imagined I would have a child let alone two (and be happy about it)!
6. I was saved when I was 14 at a concert at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.
7. I have lost 50 pounds 6 times (and found it obviously!)


Now for the card above. It is a card I CASE'd from SCS because it is so pretty! Had to try it myself. Being left handed I had a heck of a time with the marker ink smearing but alas I tried to white out (with a white gel marker pen) the messes.

Here is a little something I did a few weeks ago for an image challenge. It is the same Gruffie stamp just done totally different! Last week was a house hunting week for us. We have contracted to build yet another house. It won't be far to move but will be nice to have 1600 additional square feet! Oh yeah, craft room will be all to myself :) No one seeing my "creative" mess either!

Planner Cover

I just had to use this cute little Chihuahua again! So now she is on the cover of my planner in my purse :) I saw this on another blog and loved it! I just changed the papers and sentiment.

A Quick Swap

This is for a scrapbook page swap for a dog album that I wanted to join but the page size just doesn't work for me ( 8 1/2 x 11). I wanted to do it because last year I did an entire scrapbook at Archivers for dogs and it had tons of great ideas I could transfer to this swap. Well I declined and then the gal that's hosting the swap asked for an angel yesterday and I decided to go for it. I am donating the pages to the shelter. This is what I made, 6 of them and it's in the mail already! This is how I need to tackle all my swaps LOL! I have two hanging right now, one is due the 25th of this month and the other is due June 1st so of course I lolly-gag (procrastinate). Eeek they aren't that hard! I am just motivated by the last minute :) I hope the people who receive these like them! A 4 x 6 photo fits under the corner mounts.

Ohhhhhh myyyyy Love this stamp!

Note: click on it to see the card better (bigger)then come back here ;)

So I saw this stamp on a card a few weeks back. It was a "sneak peak" of a new set coming out by Hanna Stamps. For those of you who know my love for Chihuahua's, what Chihuahua stamp do I not have?!!! Of course I was practically chomping at the bit to get this. I patiently waited for the Release Party on SCS, then ran (my fingers across the keyboard and went to the web-site LOL) and placed my order! I got this stamp yesterday (we had our mail held for vacation or I would have had it sooner) and had to ink it immediately. I had no earthly idea of a layout or colors so I thought I would do the color challenge for the week. Well I swayed too much from the challenge to post it, ooops. I used Apricot, Coral & Celery. I was supposed to us Moss not celery and add caramel. Oh well, I love this combo! I kind of forgot about embellishments since I was so enamored with this adorable little Chi :) I added some brads and cord as an afterthought and it looks it but I just wanted to use the stamp and only had a few minutes. I promise to make more and take my time with more embellishments and such this cutie pie deserves! Thanks for looking! Run over to Hanna Stamps, she has many different kinds of sets. Kristi is great, great customer service and great products.

Busch Gardens Europe (Williamsburg)

Here are some pictures from the chilly day at Busch Gardens. They have changed their name from Williamsburg to Europe. It is themed from several countries over there. This picture is of the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster, guess which country it is in? It is the yellow tracks you see through the tree and other junk in this picture. I couldn't find a good angle to take a picture of this but I wanted to be able to show what was NOT scary to my 5 year old. I wouldn't even go on it and I used to be a big roller coaster lover! Daddy braved it out with him. We also went to Germany and rode the Big bad Wolf. I went on that and it was fun. It is a hanging ride which makes you swing out and it feels like you are flying! He would have gone on all of them but (thank God) he was too short for some of the coasters.

This picture is of the snake he had painted on his face. It was so cold we decided to leave after three hours and sort of let him do this because we felt so bad about leaving. It is one thing walking up and down hills for miles through the park to go on one ride here and there, it is another to do it freezing. I would not have chosen the snake but it is what they offered for boys.




These are some of the flowers throughout the amusement park. It was gorgeous! Beautiful Tulips and Daffodils and such everywhere. Plus some of the Azalea's starting blooming. What a gorgeous landscape!




These are some of the cherry blossoms on the trees and they are in full bloom right now. They were everywhere in Williamsburg! These were on the grounds of the condo place we stayed.




That's about it for today!