Kathy Griffin is a hoot!

So for the last part of my birthday, (Joel says I can not celebrate any longer!) we went out to dinner and saw Kathy Griffin with our friends, Lisa and Jeremy. We had a great time and although you won’t see us when they broadcast the show in November (we were way up in the nosebleed section) ...you might just see Lisa and Jeremy as they were in the 6th row! She talked so much smack about people, but it was really funny. Lots about Levi Johnston, (Bristol Palin’s baby daddy, as she puts it) Britney Spears and Whitney Houston. She pretty much did not let up on them either, but the funniest, I thought, was how she stalked Barbara Walters into the ladies room to talk with her on “The View.” She does a great Barbara impersonation. Anyways, we had some good laughs and a great dinner with our friends in the gaslamp district of San Diego. It was a great night out!

Other than that not much going on around here. Here was the card I made for my stamp club last month. It uses a technique called “Sepia Photo.” It is very easy to do… just stamp with stayz-on brown ink and then paint in some highlights with vanilla craft ink. You can add some more lowlights with brown ink but I did not do that on this card. I really love this monochromatic look!

I am going to use this as my shoebox card for a swap I am hopefully going to next weekend, so I am getting some big use out of this one! Hope all is well in your part of the world!

Ciao for now…….Deidre

So much fun and thank god for coffee!

I stayed up until 2:00 am last night playing with My Digital Studio (MDS).  It is addictive!  I never stay up that late but I just couldn’t stop.  Now I am really getting excited about all the possibilities.  In one night I made a 24 page book on our trip to Yosemite.  In the past year I have finished 10 regular scrapbook pages so needless to say this is just a wee bit faster!  But I have to say I am already ready for some new downloads…I want more stuff!!!  I started by using the designer templates that are already set up, you just drag your pictures in and they autofill to the size set up in the template.  (you can move them around from there really easy.)    Now I am thinking how easy will this be to get some pages done and I really like the idea of adding regular scrapbook elements on top to create hybrid pages.  But it isn’t just for scrapbooking...you can make calendars, cards, blog banners and more.  I have only watched one webinar but I am going to try and watch one a day to learn more cool stuff to do!   Some of the pages are similar but by keeping all the same colors you get a really cohesive book!  This will all be printed into a hardback book!

So without further ado here is page one of my Yosemite scrapbook:

I changed the paper from the original template, added the text, brads and ribbon knot and the cute little red scallop border and it was done.  Just right and even better…FINISHED!

Here is another page:

 

Please overlook the saggy boobs and note to self…no more hiking with only a camisole….bra is definitely a necessity after birthing children…what was I thinking?

Here’s another page:

Amazingly easy if I must say so myself!  Now I am going to make a scrapbook page from scratch that I can make into a hybrid page when it comes in.  Then a greeting card.  After that I will get them all printed so I can have samples to show everyone.  I can see how this is going to be lots of fun and now if I can just get Donna and Randy to send me some of their pics, I can easily replace the pics of my family with theirs and make them a scrapbook for Christmas…they will love that!  Literally it will probably take me 10 minutes once I get the pics!

I am seriously low tech folks and this stuff is easy and fun!  I can not wait to play some more and hee hee hee Joel has to work all weekend…so some bad parenting (putting my kids in front of a movie) and me playing with MDS sounds like a great weekend!

Ciao for now…..Deidre

Princess Peep and Princess Lolly

So today the girls were really giggling and I had to find out what was so darn funny…..they were making up rhymes all of which ended with poop or pee and some word that rhymed with poop or pee.  Yep, 5 year old humor at it’s best!  Then they told me that their names were Princess Peep and Princess Lolly and I told them that those were wonderful names for princesses who like to sing about poop!  They are too funny!  Go here to see what these funny girls look like these days:

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

They are growing up way too fast!  So, I will take all the poop and pee rhymes I can, because someday it will be so passe’! (Which is one of their favorite words!)  That is French for “over” they say all the time.  Poop and passe…yikes what a juxtaposition!

Today, I am showing you my two swap cards I made for convention.  I totally forgot to show you guys these!  I did do one thing different though after I took the picture..I added a red brad to dasher’s nose on the middle dasher so he would be more Rudolphy.  I loved this card!

Here is my other swap card from convention using the “out of the box” hostess set.  I loved all these bright colors which are not my usual choice but really look great together!

I popped up the bottom heart with a dimensional and added some crystal effects for some gloss.  The square punches make it all easy peasy!

Smiles and Ciao for now!  Deidre

Birthday Blessings

So it’s official, I am older!  42 now and it seems like just yesterday I was graduating from high school.  Man time does fly by fast and the five years with the girls seem like minutes.  They say the 40’s are the new twenties so I am going with that!  Although my sore body and grey hairs might disagree. 

I had a great day, got caught up on my errands in the morning, did a little stamping to get ready for an upcoming shoebox swap that some demonstrators here in the area are hosting, got to spend some time with my neighbor and her lovely daughter and get a little interior decorating advice as that is what she does for a living…and then out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants…Buca del Beppo’s.  Joel is not a fan of theirs but I am, and I had a coupon, so double score.  Since it was my birthday, I knew that was the only way I was going to get to eat there because it was my choice!  We had a mix of pastas and a gorgonzola salad but the best part was the yummy tiramisu…even Joel liked it and it was huge!  We all had bites and we still brought enough for 3 people home.  Big Yum-O! 

Joel is taking me to see Kathy Griffin at the end of the month for my birthday, so that should be fun.  I also found a piece of  furniture on Craig’s List that is going to fit perfect in my craft room closet and help me not waste so much space.  So going and picking it up without too much complaining was the rest of my birthday present.  I do not even want to hear the moaning and groaning I am going to get, trying to get it upstairs, (it is super heavy!!!)  but when we get it in, I will post pics for you guys!

Here is a little wall hanging I made for my two past club hostesses.  Hope they liked it.  I used the champagne shimmer paint on all the snowflakes to make them soft and shimmery.  I thought it turned out really cute!

Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes… I know I am blessed to have you all in my life……

Ciao for now……..Deidre

Nothing exciting...just stamping

So since the last few weeks were action packed, I am really glad this week was not!  Just getting stuff marked off the ole to do list, you know.  My girls were whupped come Thursday and Friday but like real troopers finished out the week strong!  Life is good.  Here is the card I made for their new teacher on the first day of school…she really liked it! 

Inside I put “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, thanks for being part of our first step!”

I tucked the little bookmarks on the ribbon in the inside to contain them a little better. 

I can’t believe my little two pounders are in school already…time is just rushing by!

Ciao for now……….Deidre

I can’t stop!

Okay, I am having way too much fun with these sweet treat cups.  They are seriously addictive!  So here is a Thanksgiving Turkey.  I have yet to see anyone else out in blog land do one of these so I think it is truly an original!!  Dang, after 5 years I think I am getting good at this stuff (YILM!) I am just so surprised after all the brain cells I have lost after birthing children, that it is in my head somewhere.  God does that on purpose I think..makes you lose brain cells when you have children so you can deal with the incessant whining, irrational behavior and no sleep!  Survival behavior at it’s finest, anyways, I digress….here’s my gobbler!

and here is a Halloween card using these cute things….

See aren’t they fun???  I love new toys…

Ciao for now…..Deidre

Sweet Treat Cups

I started playing with some of my new stuff last night. I saw a snowglobe and had to make my own version.

Here’s mine and it is not as crooked as it looks in this picture, so mea culpa for that part!!!

Such a fun idea, sweet treat cups, buffalo snow and voila’ snow globe!!…I can’t wait to play some more!

Ciao for now!!!! Deidre