sideshow stamps

Palm Domino Pin Supplies Stamp: Sideshow Stamps: Ink: Ranger, Tsukineko; Embossing Powder: Stampin’ Up; Other: Domino, pinback

Tropical ATC Supplies Cardstock: Stampin’ Up; Stamp: Sideshow Stamps; Ink: Tsukineko, Ranger; Other: Linen thread, bark paper, pop dots


Gift Card Holder Supplies Bag, Tag: Hot off the Press; Ribbon: American Crafts; Ric Rac: Wrights; Stamp: Sideshow Stamps; Ink: Tsukineko, Ranger


I made these for the a review of Sideshow Stamps for SNR. I have to tell you I love this company. The stamps are beautifully pressed and cut. The designs are unique and so much fun. I love their tropical stamps that I used here and those owls are the only owls living in my house besides a very old realistic psx owl. I have this odd aversion to anything extremely trendy. As soon as everyone wants it, I'm no longer interested. These little owls are different than the "everyone is making them trendy owls", at least to me they are.

I'm going to make a much bigger effort about sharing the items I'm making for the magazine. We have a no show for 30 days policy and I guess after that I just get lazy. It seems that the majority of my creative efforts are going toward the magazine, the videos, and teaching classes. If I don't start sharing these, things will get pretty dull around here. Thanks for stopping by.

rappers delight babies

I don't think I've ever put somebody else's video on my blog, but dang, this is hilarious and adorable. Side note: My hunky hubby knows every word to this song, which always cracks me up. This one's for you, honey.

faux art glass embellishment tutorial

Here's a new one for you. Some of my videos are basic techniques that have been around for a while. As far as I know, this one is all my own. I took a stroll through the cake decorating section and was inspired by the tiny cookie cutters. I had to laugh at myself working with this hot stuff right in the middle of summer. I'd love to know if you try this one and how you use the embellishment.

home again

This is a traveling summer for us. We took a wonderful trip down to Cabo San Lucas. Cool water, beautiful snorkeling, gorgeous hotel, amazing food, fun family time. My sweet hubby beat me to the punch posting photos on his blog, so here's the link if you want to peek at some of the photos.

fair fun

The giant slide. Oh, I do love the giant slide.

These little piglets are only 6 days old. Awwwww.

The grandfinale. Deep fried cheesecake.

We had an amazing day at the fair. Neither boy threw up, though they admit they came close. Lots of rides, lots of good food, and lots of fun.

the older I get, the younger I feel

I'm giddy with anticipation tonight. I'm taking my son and his friend to the fair tomorrow. You know, the place with deep fried everything and the giant slide. We went online tonight and looked at all the disgusting food offerings like deep fried oreos, crispy cream donut chicken sandwich, deep fried twinkies and snickers, deep fried zucchini weenie, deep fried coke, deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Listening to two bottomless pit 14 year old boys discussing how much of this nasty food they can eat and then ride all those carnival rides just cracked me up. I think they may be planning a who can hurl first contest. I have slightly different plans. I plan to watch them eat that stuff and take pictures. Then I'm going to check out all the animals, hand made crafts, the wine tasting booth, and some lighter fair food. I hear there's a greek stand that makes some great falafels and the giant lemon shaped stand with fresh squeezed lemonade. Then there's the chinese acrobats and the pig races. Oh, and did I mention the giant slide. I love the giant slide.

patriotic again

I was so inspired by all the patriotic cards in the blog hop, that I just had to make one. I actually made this for the Cuttlebug Challenge blog, but darn it all, I missed the deadline. It just seems time gets away from me so quickly. I wanted to share it anyhow. I used an old twist tie in the middle of that Jenni Bowlin button. It was holding together some vintage lace in my stash, no telling how long it's been around.

Lots of fun planned for the weekend ahead. Hot date night with my cutie hubby tonight to listen to live music with a picnic dinner. I'm teaching a free online class Saturday at SNR.Then, I'm teaching a real life class in Escondido. After that we are going on an Artwalk and having a little lunch. I think I'll take a nap on Sunday. I hope you have fun weekend plans. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies: Cuttlebug embossing folder, grungeboard star, Jenni Bowlin button, red buttons and lace from my stash, script stamp (no name), stars paper from the scrap box, Versafine ink, Cosmo Cricket polka dot paper, distress ink, SU punch.

collections and a winner

Be still my heart; I've found many fellow button collecting blog friends. I thank each and every one of you who shared your beautiful stories about button jars and tins and stringing buttons and your grandma's collections of buttons and your button treasure hunting expeditions. There are so many memories tied to buttons. I was amazed at the other wonderful things everyone collects. Here's a quick list I made of the things collected, while browsing through all of your beautiful comments.

bells, beanie babies, buttons, button pins, currency, Dopey, dust, elephants, humming birds, jewelry, old love letters, paper, penguins, pretty rocks, ribbon, rubber stamps, seashells, tea cups and teapots, vintage junk

I must admit that I also collect dust, pretty rocks, rubber stamps, and vintage junk. This blog hop was so much fun for me. I really enjoyed visiting everyone's blog and reading all the kind comments left for me. Thank you to everyone who played along in the hop. I hope you found as much inspiration as I did. We had a wonderful holiday weekend filled with bbq, fireworks, games, and some rockin' 80's live music.

Congratulations to Beth on winning the one month subscription to SNR. We're getting her all set up to access the magazine. The newest issue was published on Sunday, chock full of amazing ideas and inspiration. Don't forget, we've got a big event coming up on Saturday with classes on wonderful techniques and projects.

wear your colors proudly

Congratulations, you made it to the last blog on the SNR Card Universe Blog Hop! If you came from Karolyn's blog, you're on the right track. If you didn't you may want to hop to SNR Card Universe, and start at the beginning. The last place to hop is back to SNR.


Since you made it all the way to the end I wanted to offer something different. I have lots of crafty interests and weird collections here that seem to make their way into my creative realm. So, for the 4th, I got out the button jars. Oh, yes I have more than one. I'm addicted to old buttons. I made a new button charm bracelet to share with you today. If you look closely, you'll see that there are a few non-buttons in the mix. I included an old bingo marker, a couple of silver charms, and a fragment. I had to drill a hole in the bingo marker and I finally got out my Fiskars hand drill for the job. Oh my goodness, why did I wait to use this handy little tool. It worked beautifully and cut so smoothly. I didn't even have to sand away any rough edges. The word charm says courage on one side and hope on the other. I salvaged it from a piece of jewelry that I took apart to use in new pieces. There's something lyrical about those words and how they came to be remade into this piece. I'll be wearing it to the fireworks display over the lake tonight.

Leave a comment here to be entered in a random drawing for a one month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review. I'd love to hear about your collections, especially if you have an affinity for buttons.

If you have more time, there's a bigger prize you can play for. All participating SNR staff members have part of a phrase posted on their blog today. Find each staffer’s blog along the hop, jot down their portion of the phrase, unscramble the wording, then send an email to games@scrapbooknewsandreview.com with the full phrase. My word is ASK. One hopper will win a full one year subscription to Scrapbook News and Review. You have until monday night to get your answer emailed. I hope you had fun on the hop and found lots of inspiration.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Enjoy the BBQ and fireworks wherever you are. The last place to hop is back to SNR.

a great vacation

Kyle on a float tube for the first time at Lake Crowley

Mom overlooking the river she wants to be able to raft


Curtis, Kyle, and Dad on father's day morning pre-fishing


Mom and I at Devil's Post Pile. I love rocks.


It was such a great vacation that I've been home for a week and haven't blogged yet. I guess since I'm not working this summer, you could say I'm still on vacation. We had a memorable trip up to Mammoth, CA. My parents joined us for the first time on this journey. We had a beautiful condo to stay in and it couldn't have been a better trip. If you're not familiar with the area we went to, it's on the eastern side of the Sierra Mountains. Gorgeous scenery, fresh air, evergreens, stunning sunsets, amazing mountains. You get the idea. The guys had an amazing time doing some 3 generation fishing including my guys' first time on float tubes and some first attempts at fly fishing. Paca had much to teach his grandson. They're like two peas in a pod when it comes to patience. Mom and I did some sightseeing since she'd never been around the area, just had driven through. It was so fun to take her out to see such majestical sights. Of course there was lots of laughter and fun times in the mix. Mom taught me how to knit. We watched some movies, played cards, and ate out most of the time. It was so nice to get away and just enjoy our time together. I hope you're making new family memories this summer.