Saved the Best for Last

I suppose that title could be subjective but decided it was fitting since I saved my favorite Valentine card share till last:)

Was I right? or Was I right?!!! Isn't this just the cutest little card? I Googled for Valentine card ideas and found this card at Inspiration in Action created by Gretchen Barron! Oh, there is sooo much talent out there just waiting to be CASed (copy and share) and I am just the person to do it!!! For this project I used:

• Real Red, Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Whisper White and Basic Black card stock
• Red Glimmer Paper--have I mentioned how much I LOVE it?!!!
• Wide Oval Punch
• 1 3/4" Circle Punch
• 1 1/4" Circle Punch
• Crop-a-dile
• Small Heart Punch
• Red grosgrain ribbon
• Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder
• Big Shot
• Sentiment stamped with budget stamp purchased from craft store using Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad

The next time I make this card I will move the body up onto the head a little more but love this card nonetheless! 

At the Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack I purchased the Girl Love Bots and Boy Love Bots Valentines for my granddaughter to make for her first grade classmates. They are so cute and were such a bargain. The Girl ones were still available last I checked. Don't forget to check back to the Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack when you have some crafting dollars that need to be spent:)

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed seeing my Ladybug card as much I enjoyed making it. Kat

Okay! Now You Can Look!

Well, now that the Happy Stampers have officially met for the month of January, I can show the rest of the projects. 

This card was a lesson in how elegant simple can be. I ran out of Real Red card stock so decided to try Cherry Cobbler and I think it turned out PERFECT! I CASed (copy and share) this card from Lee Conrey at Stampinglee Yours. The supplies I used for this card are:

• Whisper White and Cherry Cobbler card stock
• Red Glimmer Paper--LOVE it!!!
• 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon in Cherry Cobbler
• Heart to Heart Punch
• Scallop Border Punch
• Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder
• Big Shot

Check back tomorrow for our third project this month. Kat

Hope My Happy Stampers Aren't Looking!

Last week we had to reschedule our Happy Stampers Stamping Club monthly meeting because of snow and freezing rain. I was NOT a happy stamper:( I look forward to my time with the ladies every month and was disappointed I was going to have to wait another whole week to make it happen! I try not to share the stamping club projects with all of you until AFTER our club meets so it is always a surprise to the ladies what they are going to make. However, I can't wait so am going to let you see ONE project and hope the Happy Stampers aren't looking today.

This is a redo of a project I did in December but we haven't done it for stamping club yet. You can see a video on the original Gift Card Holder at Dawn Griffith's website. 


For this Gift Card Holder, I used:

• Whisper White and Basic Black card stock
• Red Glimmer Paper 
• Eyelet Border Punch 
• Heart to Heart Punch
• 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch
• 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch
• Round Tab Punch
• generic red envelope
• retired SU! stamp stamped with Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad. 

The Red Glimmer Paper made a great transition from Christmas to Valentine's Day! Love the Glimmer Papers!!!

The inside has two pockets--one for this cute little note card and one for the gift card! A fun idea for this project is to put TWO little note cards inside--one you write on and one the recipient can use when they regift the Gift Card Holder! 


Now, I hope my Happy Stampers aren't looking but if they are, YES! you get to make this project TONIGHT!!!


I will be back tomorrow with another one of our Happy Stamper projects. Just think Valentine's Day and Red Glimmer Paper!!! 


I am a Happy Stamper today! Thanks for stopping by. Kat

In Search of the Perfect Vegan Pizza

I am searching for the Perfect Vegan Pizza! Which, of course, starts with the PERFECT pizza crust! Last night I made the pizza on the left and it was okay, but I'm looking for GREAT! I used Pesto for the sauce then topped it with fresh spinach, olives, red bell pepper, fresh mushrooms and fresh tomatoes (still from last summer's garden but stored in the greenhouse). I should have used a bigger pan so the crust wouldn't be so thick around the edges. And the oil in the pesto seeped through the crust and made it a little soggy in the middle. The flavor was good. Lots of work yet to be done before I have a recipe to share.


If you have a great Pizza Dough recipe, please let me know. Pizza is on my 10 favorite foods list so making a Perfect Vegan Pizza is important to me.


Thanks for stopping by today. Kat

Oh, the Weather TWO!

The storm came in and it started snowing last Tuesday night at 7:00. The snow continued till 2:00 Wednesday afternoon leaving us with 8" of beautiful snow. Then Wednesday evening the freezing rain started and frosted the snow with a layer of ice. FINALLY, the temperature crept above freezing on Saturday and I went out of my warm cocoon to take pictures. The picture on the left is the view from our front door and living room window. It looks beautiful but by this time the snow was super crunchy! As the snow was melting on the roof, it was coming off in huge sheets!

The picture on the right is from the slope behind our house. As you can see, the ice/snow has started to melt off the solar panels and we were thrilled when the windmill unfroze! For three days we didn't have solar or wind power so had to run the generator a bit each day to keep the batteries charged. We were thankful to have our own power when we heard about the power outages going on around us.


Today, we still have ice/snow while the world beyond has thawed and melted. By the looks of things it will likely take most of the week for us to thaw completely. However, the blue sky is wonderful and if I make it to the end of my driveway, the roads are clear and dry:)


Thank you for visiting my little winter wonderland today! Kat

Oh, the Weather!

Last night was supposed to be the Happy Stampers Stamping Club January meeting but the weather didn't cooperate:( Between 7:00 pm on Tuesday night and 2:00 yesterday afternoon, we got 8" of snow. Our little English Bulldog puppy thought he was in Disneyland and our Great Dane was romping through the snow like he didn't have any sense! Wait! The jury is still out on that one!!! Our 11 year old miniature dachshund hates the snow and doesn't even want to go off the porch to do his business!

Needless to say I was very disappointed about stamping club but was able to reschedule for next week. Good thing or I would have had 21 Valentines cut out and ready to go! I will share those with you next week. However, in trying to figure out what we were going to make at stamping club I made a couple of test cards that didn't make the cut--not because I don't like them but because of what was involved.

This card used Pretty in Pink card stock on a Basic Black card stock base. On the bottom piece of card stock I used the Lots of Love Letterpress Plate inked with Versamark Ink and run through the Big Shot. I also used Real Red grosgrain ribbon, Big Designer Button, Red Glimmer Paper, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Heart to Heart Punch and Scallop Border Punch. I CASed this card from Heather Summers at Stamp with Heather but changed it up a big to use what I had on hand. Made in a different color this card would make a great anniversary card.

This second card is the same design as the first but I used a Pretty in Pink card stock base with Whisper White as the second layer. The strip is Basic Black card stock with a Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon  through the middle. My Big Designer Button has a bow made from Early Espresso Baker's Twine. I used Pretty in Pink ink on the Lots of Love Letterpress Plate and ran it through the Big Shot. The hearts stamped at the top are from a cheap set I picked up at the craft store. I used Red Glimmer Paper to punch out the cute little hearts on the tails of my bow.

So glad you stopped by today. Have a great day and a wonderful weekend. Kat

New Year's Resolutions

As I was looking over my Resolutions for last year and deciding what to do this year, I was surprised that I did as well as I did. The success or failure of the resolutions probably lay with Resolution #10: Set goals for each resolution. Since I didn't do that one at all, my success was not as good as it should have been. So, let's see how I did:

1. Organize Craft Room--half done and will most likely have it done by March, 2012.
2. Get up at 5:00 am.--wondering if this one is really necessary since I am retired.
3. Exercise 5 x per week--did really good with this one for awhile but need to get back to it. 
4. Lose 30#--I lost 15# so should be able to lose the other 15 this year.
5. Read one non-fiction book per month--did this one in spades! Sometimes two non-fiction books a month.
6. Make all cards I give this year--very nearly aced this one. We did purchase Christmas cards. I look forward to making ALL my cards in 2012.
7. Become reacquainted with Flylady.net--well, let's just say we have a lot to do on our relationship!
8. Take more pictures--I am taking more pictures because of this blog and because of our new puppy. Looking forward to taking even more pictures in 2012:)
9. Paint, paper and tile kitchen--didn't happen:( Will see if I can muster the energy this year to get it done.
10. Set goals for each resolution--didn't happen.

For 2012 I am not going to have Resolutions, I am going to have Goals! That takes care of #10 right off the bat! So, for this year my Goals are:

1. Finish Craft Room
2. Finish UFOs (unfinished objects or projects). I could probably take care of next year's Christmas list right here!
3. Sew more
4. Make two baby blankets for Stitches from the Heart and two lap robes or prayer shawls for Hospice.
5. Lose 20 more pounds
6. Exercise 5 X week
7. Visit more--take time for friendly visits over tea or lunch
8. Send more snail mail! Especially to children:)
9. Definitely make more cards!
10. More Blog Posts. Last year I did 87 so would like to double that! That is only 14.5 blog posts per month. Let's see how I do!
11. Make or purchase two Christmas gifts and one birthday gift per month, wrap and tag them. This would make gift giving sooo much more fun and I do love to give gifts! My daughter reminded me to put them where I can find them:)

Okay, I will do an update on my resolutions in March to let you know how I'm doing. 

Have a great day and a wonderful week! Kat