Happy St Patrick's Day!

My neighbor asked me if I had my potatoes and peas planted yet--St Patrick's Day is supposed to be the planting goal! Nope. Hopefully we'll get it done by the end of March, though.

Three of my daughters did Irish Dance for years, so this used to be a particularly busy time of year. Somehow I remember it being warmer than this, but that's probably just old age setting in. LOL We drove all over the valley, performing at schools, businesses, nursing homes, the state capitol. It was a BIG deal. Kinda glad those days are past, even though the kids were so cute!

Without further delay, my St Patrick's Day Pillowbox!



I made these to give out to my Card Buffet ladies last week, and they were a hit! This project uses the Big Shot Pillowbox die and the brand-spanking-new Scalloped Oval Punch (available for order April 1!). There is acetate behind the window, to keep the candy from falling out. 'Cause you don't want your candy falling all over the place! {wink} I used butter mints, but M&Ms would have been cute, too. Or chocolate covered almonds. Or mini-Snickers bars.

It must be time for lunch.

Meet Caramel

We've been looking for a puppy, and today turned out to be "golden!" Here's our sweet new puppy, Caramel, just a few minutes after she came home.



She's 13 weeks old and a real sweetie. Her mother is a Black Lab. The father is 'unknown.' LOL Any guesses???

She's already getting along well with all the other creatures here, especially the kid creatures! Caramel and Tip, our 7yo Border Collie, are happily sharing a dog house tonight.

With friends like this . . .

So between everybody here being sick, and this being my Card Buffet week, I'm waaaaay behind on my blog reading! Today, I found this tag from Britiney, who I *thought* was my friend! LOL

I had to get my daughter to snap a photo, I kept cutting off parts of my face--maybe I should have gone with one of those! And I find it awfully coincidental that Britiney just *happened* have a new haircut for her photo, don't you????




My hair is longer now, in case you didn't notice. LOL I'm not going to tag anybody, because I have few enough friends as it is! But if you would like to participate, consider yourself tagged!

The rules:
1. Take a picture of yourself right now. No primping or preparing. Just snap a picture.
2. Load it onto your blog.
3. Tag three people to play. Remember, if you're tagged on another blog, we will all be heading to yours to see if you played along.

My Fabulous Friends

Another Swappers Anonymous swap card! This one was for a new accessory in the Spring-Summer Catalog. There were so many great ones to choose from! My assignment was the Jumbo Brads. I really struggled with this one, I'll admit. I couldn't come up with something good enough! Then I decided to go with the FABULOUS Pink Flamingo DSP. Isn't it dramatic???/ It really gave the card some punch, and it defintely sets off that gorgeous white jumbo brad!

Check out the other swaps in the Stampin Addicts Gallery!

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Stamps: Really Retro
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Pink Flamingo DSP
Ink: Real Red Craft
Accessories: 5/8" Jumbo Brads, Eyelet Edge Punch, Clear EP, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, 1/4" Grosgrain Real Red, Dimensionals

Thoughts and Prayers

This is my card for the Swappers Anonymous New Catalog Set swap! This is a great set--especially if you find yourself needing a sympathy card!



I had seen so many cards done with this beautiful set, and I wanted to send my Swap Sisters something a little bit different--a little *more*. And this is what I ended up with! I markered the tree with Old Olive and Chocolate Chip. It's hard to see in the photo, but there is glitter on some of the leaves.

The circle is cut with my beloved Big Shot, using the Scallop Circle die. I used the Cropadile to make the holes in the scallops. Then it just seemed to need a little "something," so I added some paper piercing. Sometimes I just don't know when to quit. LOL

There are several great sentiments in this set--I know it will get lots of use at my house! You can check out the rest of the swaps in the Stampin Addicts Gallery!

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Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers
Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Ink: Old Olive Classic, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Big Shot, Scallop Circle die, Cropadile, Wide Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals

You've got a friend in me

Hey, I am still among the living! We've all had that nasty respiratory virus, and it managed to stick around and cause me some secondary infections. Yuck. On the way back to consciousness now, so I wanted to post.

First, I want to tell you about my new online hangout--Stampin Addicts! There's a link over in my sidebar, too. If you're looking for an upbeat, positive place to chat about stamping and Stampin Up, this is the place for you! We are building galleries, holding challenges, and having ALL kinds of fun! Please join us!



This is my card for Jami's new catalog swap. My assignment was to use the Retro Fresh color combination: Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Pacific Blue.

I set a goal for myself to make a card work with ALL those colors! The Rose Red had me stumped, right up until the end. Thank goodness for buttons! And I had to figure out a way to get that awesome new glitter on there! When did I become a glitter-lover???? Dunno. But I am!

Hope you like it! Check out the other cards at Jami's blog.

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Stamps: Cheep Talk
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Pacific Point, Whisper White, Good Morning Sunshine DSP
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Fresh Favorites II Buttons, Linen Thread, Fine Supernova Glitter, Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain, Dimensionals

Friendly Sketch Challenge

I am not normally a "challenge chaser." The pressure gets to me! LOL But the organizer for this one put me In Charge of a sketch challenge! How's that for sneaky! {Krista} Anyway, a group of friends worked on challenges this past weekend, and I wanted to share this one.

Here is a link to the sketch I chose.

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Stamps: Friendly Words Wheel, Stem Silhouettes
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Urban Garden DSP
Ink: Baja Breeze
Accessories: Pink Pirouette 1 1/4" Grosgrain, White 1/4" Grosgrain, Button Latte, Dimensionals

Another Quilted Top Note

These cards are so fun to make! If you have any scraps of Designer Series Papers that you just *can’t* bring yourself to throw away, this is the project for you!

Cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock to 3 3/4 x 5 inches. Punch squares of your DSP scraps with the 1 1/4″ square punch. Arrange them in an appealing way, and adhere them to the Whisper White. I used Tombo Multi Glue (the green and white bottle) because it dries quickly. Tape adhesives don’t work as well on this project, as you’re going to be die-cutting later.

After your quilt squares have set for a minute or two, to make sure the glue is dry, run your cardstock through the Big Shot with the Top Note die.

Embellish as you prefer, and adhere to your card!

Supplies used are all Stampin Up. To purchase them, contact your demonstrator or visit my Stampin Up website to order.

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Stamps: A Little Birthday Cheer

Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Pink Flamingo DSP

Ink: Tempting Turquoise

Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note Die, Regal Rose 5/8″ grosgrain, 1 1/4″ Square Punch, Oval Punches