Drama Queen

How can someone only 4 years old be so dramatic?  Two days ago Matty was on the phone with my mom (NANA) and fell off the couch while she was talking.  She said goodbye to Nana, told her she loved her, passed the phone to Matilda and then went into a bloodcurdling scream….  “ I FELL OFF THE COUCH!”  Uh yeah..that was over a minute ago while you calmly said goodbye to Nana.  DRAMA QUEEN, I tell ya!  I don’t even want to think about the teen years, maybe if I am heavily medicated I won’t notice them…what do you think, do I stand a chance?

You guys aren’t going to believe this either…I got my teachers gifts done on time!  Actually, they were two weeks early! Since we won’t be there except for maybe a picnic on the last day I decided to go ahead and get them done and given out today.  The girls always enjoy handing out gifts to the teachers and getting lots of hugs in return.  Hopefully they all liked them.  Here’s what I made, and let’s just pretend my ribbon is straight shall we?

 

There are 4 pencils, 4 thank you cards with envelopes, 4 chocolate crunch sticks and a small notebook. 

Here is a close up of a couple of the items:

The template is called “from the desk of” and is by the enormously talented Lauren Meader.  Here is what I saw of hers that I just loved:

http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/04/11/2nd-new-release-template-peek/

and here is two of them, put together back to back, to make an even cooler box:

http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/04/11/2nd-new-release-template-peek/

Here’s where you can purchase the template for $5.  I see much potential with this template….hence the purchase!

http://www.papertreyink.com/timeless_templates_download_here.html

I wish I could say that the letters are an original thought but alas, they are not…I just took the alphabet I had (define your life) and ran with it.  I would totally make some of these cubes though if I could find some for cheap!  Such a great idea! 

http://canyousayaddictedtostamps.blogspot.com/2009/04/there-she-goes-day-twoan-alphabet-set.html 

Hope everyone has a great weekend.  I may not be posting for a while.  Company is due in on Saturday!  Good times!

Ciao for now!  Deidre

From plain to shabby chic!

Not much going on here in Mooney world which is a good thing, as we will be crazy busy the next two weeks!  I am hosting a girls night stamping party tomorrow night since hubby is away.  While the cat is away and all…..We will have some pizza and brownies and work on craft projects.  I have so many things to get done…I have to make invitations for the girls birthday party (we are having a tea party and Joel has agreed to wear his tux and be prince charming and serve all the little girls...how fun is that?); invitations for my friend Shawn’s kids birthdays…one is going to be a sock monkey party, the other a penguin pool party so those are going to be fun to design and some thank you cards for her business, although I think I have those kind of done.   Let’s see what else?  Hostess gifts for my club members (hi guys!) , a grad card, June’s technique cards for my club, June’s swap cards for my Columbus friends, and oh yeah..that little thing called convention...I am doing a 3d swap, a 2 card front swap and need to make gifts for all the roomies..shout out to our group!!! Yep, I can say I have plenty to keep me busy over the next month! 

The girls have had a virus this week so I lost out on a day of school (insert sad face here).  On an up note though I did get some stamping done while they were sleeping….you will see the teacher’s gifts I made on the next post.  So today is our last day of school and I plan to use it wisely…pedicure and grocery shopping without children and hopefully get the van cleaned…keep your fingers crossed that I get it all done!

So as soon as I got in the “kind thoughts” stencil I knew I wanted to use it on one of my scrapbooks.  This poor scrapbook has just been calling out for the longest time to become something more than it’s plain old self.  So here you can see what a little bit of acrylic paint and ribbon and punches can do to a plain ole linen scrapbook…we will call it my “Susan Boyle transformation”  for those of you who have seen her on Britain’s Got Talent.  Here it is:

So  I started with cream paint on the stencil then red, then a light brown, and finally a chocolate brown.  The colors got  a little more muddled than I would have liked, but I am ok with the overall result.  A nice shabby chic don’t you think?

Ciao for now…..Deidre

Happy Memorial Day

Hey folks! We have had a nice relaxing weekend here in San Diego. We went to the pool one day, and went to the vineyard on Sunday afternoon for jazz with some friends. We just love that place! We have also been getting the house ready for our company (Hey Ficos!) that will be arriving next Saturday and for Joel to be out of town for a few nights this week as he goes to Chicago for a meeting. This will be our last week of school, since we will be busy with company next week and then in Yosemite for the week after that. Good times coming up! Joel says I can’t bring my laptop but you can bet I am smuggling it in my suitcase. Let’s hope for some WIFI in our national parks!

I came home from yoga tonight to see Matilda singing “Creep” by Radiohead and Matty banging away on the drums and they were really doing great! I am not quite sure I approve of Joel teaching our 4.5 year old to sing “what the hell am I doing here?? I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo.” But I have to say I was impressed about how well they were rocking it out. Joel was so proud! They have really enjoyed having Daddy around for 4 days straight to play monster and jump on the trampoline with them. Joel definitely has enjoyed having a few days off. Last year his big vacation was 3 days of driving the van, with a Uhaul trailer, from Oklahoma to California with the dogs in tow, not exactly a relaxing time. He is really looking forward to our time in Yosemite and doing not much of anything. I see a lot of hiking and smores and board games in our near future.

Here is a card I made for my recent stamp a stack…I love all the purse cards floating around the internet and thought I would make one of my own using my favorite decorator paper sweet always…here you go:

I used the big shot texture plates to make the dry embossed backgrounds and although the top card is made from different punches…designer label, and the keyhole one I really prefer the one on the bottom using the round tab punch for all the purses. Very fun and easy to make for all your girlfriends..one of the ladies even used it for an “it’s a girl!” card which I thought was great!

Hope you are all well and enjoyed your holiday weekend…..Thanks to all you great folks who have served our country and even more…..those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We are so blessed to live in this country and enjoy those freedoms. Happy Memorial Day!

Ciao for now….Deidre

My feet hurt!

Okay, these two yahoos I am raising really crack me up sometimes. I bought Matty a new pair of croc sandals the other day, because she is down to only about 2 pairs of shoes that fit her and she really needed them. Matilda, on the other hand, can still wear all the shoes Matty has outgrown, and literally has a laundry basket full of shoes from which to choose! Needless to say, I did not buy her a pair. When I gave them to Matty, I tried to tell her not to make a big deal out of it and not to say anything to Matilda…and just be cool about them. As soon as Matty walked outside, Matilda noticed the dang shoes of course! I heard her scream and then she came running into the room to ask if I had bought her any. I tried to explain how she had plenty, but she wasn’t buying it at all. A few minutes later, still very upset, she screams….. “My feet hurt!” I say to her, “Why do your feet hurt?” She screams…. “My feet hurt because I need NEW SHOES!” He he he he..well if that is the case, sweetheart, than Mommy’s feet hurt all the time, too!

So the eye candy for you guys today is this gem:

I haven’t used this set as much as I want to yet, but I finally got to play with it a little and did some paper piercing and I really had fun making a bunch of these up for my stash. No real techniques here just adding some bling and crimping. Hope you guys are all doing well!

Ciao for now….Deidre

Kindergarten here we come!!!

Woohoo! I enrolled the girls in kindergarten today. Now how exciting is that?

Not much else to report as I have been sick this week. I ended up in the hospital on Monday and had to be rehydrated after a stomach virus all night. I took two liters of fluid and the doctor asked me if I needed to pee. I said "nope" and he said, "then you were really dehydrated!" But guess what that meant? I gained 3 pounds in one day, thanks to the plumping! I feel like those chickens in the TV commercial. And this was our biggest loser weigh in week! I am happy to report that I was down a total of 6.6 pounds though, even with my 3 pound plumping. I wish I could have weighed in before I got the IV's, but of course I wouldn't have been able to stand long enough to weigh myself, I was in such bad shape! I won't be the winner, two ladies have lost 12 pounds each; and one was my weight to start, so she will win the big jackpot. But, that is a pound a week for me and hopefully something I can keep up doing. Joel has promised me some "prize" money as an incentive if I make it to 140, so I just have to keep at it!

I made a few things this past week which are now on the way to their new home. One is for my friend Morgan who just had her 4th baby, a sweet little one named Kamryn Nicole. So I made a name frame for her and matching card. Morgan loves anything glittery and bright colors so I stepped out of my favorite, worn out, vintagey style and picked some colors that pop and will coordinate with Kamryn's nursery. Here is the name frame:














and here is the card I made to match:




















Since I rarely spend money on products that are not Stampin' Up, I don't have any Nestablilities or Copic Markers. Here is a great blog candy giveaway that I just couldn't pass up!
http://passionforcrafts.blogspot.com/

SO, if you are like me and don't want to spend the cash...go sign up for the blog candy maybe we can win some and not have to spend $$$!!!! Bona Suerte!


Ciao for now...Deidre

You rock, girlfriend!

Matteson has taken to saying this to me all the time, so I thought it would be the appropriate title for a quick little mother’s day post.  Every time she says it, I crack up laughing because it just seems too old for her and yet somehow it also suits her.  The dichotomy of a four year old.  Still your baby and needs those cuddles and attention, at the same time expanding her vocabulary and testing things out to see what my reaction is.  We had our neighbors over for dinner and we really tried to get the girls to take a nap today, but it just wasn’t happening.  When, oh when, will they learn how wonderful it is to nap?  SO, I had to resort to a movie to get everyone a little quiet time.  I am starting to get a little tired of hearing Disney movies, although I love me some Shark Tales…..my brother, my player, the shark slayer!  Matty likes to go around saying, “you’re not a nobody; you’re a WINNER!”  Anyways, it is a great movie but it was time for a change..so I served up some Goonies today!!!  You can’t forget the 1980’s and some Goonies!!  One of our favorites and although  I was a little afraid that it would be too scary for the girls, they loved it!  (Of course, they were cuddled up with daddy to help with the scary parts!)  It was great to put away the cartoons for a change and watch a great movie.  So a nice relaxing day was had here in SoCal. 

This post would not be complete without thanking my Mom for everything she has done for me in the past and does for us to this day.  She is the epitome of selflessness, giving and caring and I hope that I am half the Mom that she is.  She will always be my hero and my heart.  I love and miss you Mom!

For all the great Moms out there that I know and love..here is a bouquet for you all:

I used the directions found here:

http://sluman.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/01/25/flower-pot-pocket-card/

The paper is Parisian Breeze and Kraft Cardstock.  A bunch of embellishments were used such as corduroy brads, 5/16” brads, filigree brads and button bouquet buttons in white.  ]

Happy Mother’s Day!  Ciao for now….Deidre

Boxers or Briefs?

Hey everyone..I played a great game last night at a Mom’s night out that I got invited to, called Boxers or Briefs.  You roll the dice for a color and then everyone has seven cards that have different statements  in different colors.  You pick the one that you think is the most appropriate comment for that person and put it in the stack of cards in front of the person..they read them all and pick the funniest one and the truest one.  Whoever submitted the cards that get picked get a token.  Person with the most tokens wins….very fun!!!  Some examples of what the cards say:

“I am dead sexy”

“I don’t wear underwear”

“I don’t care what people think”

We had a ball..of course the mojitos didn’t hurt!!! 

SO I have been having some fun with a new stampin’ up tool….the stencil!  Check out what I have done with it..I think this is totally original…at least I hope it is……I haven’t had time to look at SCS lately so I don’t think I have seen anything like this anywhere else….I am very proud of my creations!

I used a sponge and dabbed the baja breeze on the stencil first, then creamy caramel, then chocolate chip at the edges.  Creamy caramel was sponged all around the edges of all the pieces.  My favorite edge scalloped lace punch  and some beautiful wide grosgrain ribbon..I think it is lovely!!!!

Here’s a different take:

and here is a different color combination using rose red:

These also use the Friends 24-7 stamp set, and oval all stamp set and baroque motiffs stamp set.  Close to Cocoa paper and very vanilla paper.  Enjoy your day!!!

PS… on an exercise/weight loss note..I am down 5.5 pounds..one more week to go on my biggest loser contest…the mojitos last night didn’t help… but we are still going in the right direction!

Ciao for now….Deidre M

Cutest Birthday Invites

I have the coolest friend here in San Diego.  I met her (again) my first week here thanks to my brother.  She is married to one of my brother’s best friends and I met her 14 or 15 years ago when they graduated from college….  She has taught me quite a few things in the short time that I have known her here such as:  let the girls have milk in their teapot and pour it themselves when we have tea parties (that is the fun part…don’t worry about the mess! This is hard for me..I always want to wipe up the spills!); hot chocolate chip cookies MAKE a tea party even more special, how to relax a little and enjoy the kids as they are, and even how to use my camera better..she is an INCREDIBLE photographer!…if you don’t believe me check out her blog:

http://www.lifeshadowsphotography.com/blog/

or even better check out her web site:

http://www.lifeshadowsphotography.com/

I can’t wait until I get the girls pictures taken this year by her…I know they will be amazing! 

Anyways her oldest is having a pajama party to celebrate turning 7, so I really enjoyed helping her make some invitations for the party.  We had both done some scouring of the internet and found the cutest idea for the invites…sewing material into a pillowcase and having the card with all the details slide in and out.  Shawn also had the great idea to put bubble wrap in the case to make it look more puffy like a pillow…so she came over the other day and we whipped up the cutest invites in just a few hours….I hope they have a blast at the party and the kids all enjoy their special invites!  Here is what we made:

So how cute are they, with all the paper piercing on the little birds???  It was a blast making them and even more spending time with our friends!  Have a great day folks! 

Ciao for now!  Deidre 

Hey everyone..time is zipping past!!

Wow again it has taken me forever to sit down and write a post..sorry about that…make sure you go check out all the cool pics I added to my last post..

http://stampindipitybydeidre.blogspot.com/2009/04/losing-days.html

you can see all the places we saw the past few weeks in person! 

The last weekend that my dad was here we did make it to the Carlsbad flower fields and they were well worth the visit!  Little did I know that this place is the world’s largest commercial grower of ronunculous!  Don’t know what those are?  Neither did I until last Saturday.  Here’s a few pics:

this last one is from the orchid show they were having..quite the unusual flower huh???

So I have had two small stamping workshops this week and that seems to have kept me super busy!  Here is one of the cards we made for Mother’s Day:

This uses the great friendly words wheel, and the thought and prayers stamp set.  The colors are baja breeze, not quite navy and kiwi kiss.

Hope all is well..I just edited a bunch of pictures so I will post them pretty soon so keep checking back….Miss you all….Ciao for now…Deidre