Out with the old (Not Yet!!!!) Tomorrows post will be in with the new

Hello my blogging friends. I hope this post finds you well and happy. Happy New Year to everyone. Play safe this evening OK & watch out for the other guy. If they are swerving on the road PLEASE CALL 911 you could save someones' life!
My daughter and I were talking last night and she asked me why I hadn't taken any pictures of the house while it is deck out for Christmas???? I couldn't answer that one so I whipped out the camera and took a few shots of my favorite things. As I said before, I really didn't do too much this year in the way of decorating so here you have it in all it's glory... photos of my Christmas house before I take it all down next week .

This is a picture of the tree with out the flash on. I love the look of a Christmas tree at night. A house would not be a home at Christmas with out reminding us about the reason for the season and the first thing everyone see's when they walk into the house is the Nativity Scene. The rest of the photos are some of my Big Santa Clauses ans nic nacks.

I love my tree it is filled with TOYS, airplanes, trucks, blocks, kites, ballet slippers, drums, bicycles, puppets, jack in the boxes, metal and wooden pull toys, hot air balloons, balls & porcelain dolls. I may have missed something I am sure. Then I have quite the collection of all sorts of Santa's, blown glass, metal, wood, woodland, traditional and hand made Santa's. You can never have too many Santa's. Then to top it all off I have jewel toned round ornaments. I have a really beautiful Santa for the tree topper too.

This ones for you Carey xoxo

Hello to all my blogging friends. I hope this post finds you all well and happy!
Well I spent the entire day and most of last night on the computer! Can you say FLAT BUTT on the internet lololol. Boy, did I ever learn a lot today!!!! I completed all the Webnards and most of the additional training videos and took the tests. I'm not compulsive :) or anything. It is really fun to see how each presenter has their own tricks of the trade so to speak in operating their MDS. Thanks to Patty Bennett I even took  her advise and downloaded the newest version. I was running the older version of MDS as that is what it comes with. (Look under HELP on the MDS tool bar click Check for updates and it will take you through the steps to update your MDS. I somehow found a ton more free downloads on my personal SU web page yesterday too. Carey I called SU and the customer service gal directed me to a screen that had them. I think there were 4 or 5 of them. So have Vicki call SU for help in finding them OK      (I don't know how I got them or if I earned them this year but they were free). I know one was a gift from Shelli last year. I chose the calendar. I can not wait to play with that option.

I made this card especially for my BFF as she is the one who hooked me on rubber stamping :) This is supposed to be a Tri-Fold card Carey. It has been about 10 years now that she taught me to stamp. I said I wanted to learn to make cards like she did and it was love at first stamp. She took me to my first convention in Riverside Calif and as we were leaving I said "That was a blast! I gotta do some more of that". Her friend tuned around and said to me "YOU GOT $1000.00?" Because that will only get you started. Well she was right ") I won't say what my total investment in rubber is, but I know I am a better person because of it. That is why I am so grateful for my BFF. Happy New Year Friend. Enjoy your card.

My Digital Studio Oh My!!!

Hello to all my blogging friends (& My BFF Carey). I hope this post finds you all well and happy!
My DH gave me the My Digital Studio  (MDS) for Christmas and I am just so happy with it. I called SU and got all the free downloads and updates today so it is really super jammed packed with loads of fun, cool stuff. I even got to download the free Calendar program Shelli gave us 2 years ago lolol. I am so overwhelmed and excited I can't even see streight.
Jeff said I am in la la land because all he hears is oooh, ahhhh, oooh, ahhhh. He said he is going to start his own blog for  the "Widows of a Paper Crafter" hahahah. He said he is going to starve because he will never get me off this thing. He thought VC_Rocks during the summer was bad "now this"!!!!
I am really going to have to pull myself away from this new toy from time to time and cook a meal for him hahahahah.

I'm going to try and down load my first card  so you can see what I made last night (before all the new cool downloads). You know there is sooooo much I need to learn to be able to use this Software adequately.  I had to call SU  again to help me figure out how to turn my project into a JPG  document so I could get over here. YIKES, can we say learning curve.
  I really love Stampin Up's customer service line, they are always so very helpful and patient when I call them. Well this is going to be loads of fun I am sure. I'll have to ask  my BFF if she can help me make a recipe card to share with you :). Maybe if I ask real nice like she will show me how :)
Well there you have it my first attempt at a My Digital Studio greeting card "Oh My)! Hope you like it!
I'm going back for more fun and adventure in MDS. Stay safe my friends! We will chat soon!

Hope you all had a Wonderful Christmas!

Hello to all my blogging friends. I hope this post finds you all well and happy! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, that was shared with family and friends, and that Santa was extra nice to you!
Well we had a great time but I am glad it is over! I spent the day on the couch yesterday I WAS SPENT!!! and very sore.
The 23rd was my Moms birthday. We went to my sisters and had a nice time. With the exception of my sisters new Chihuahua dog kept nipping at my ankles- 4 x's was enough????
Christmas Eve was real small and very relaxing :). I cooked a nice Rib Eye Roast for Jeff, Jeanne' my Mom and I. We  watched old westerns and laughed and chatted it was fun. Then we opened presents. Santa was really good to us this year. Jeff just loves his Robe and puts it on every second he can. I was so excited because I knew he would love it. I got cloths, the SU MDS, a Cricut Cartridge (Elegant Cakes) Perfume. Then Jeff brought in a big surprise- a 32 inch flat screen LCD TV for the bedroom what happiness!!!! Our old one's color has been going out since last year so it was time :). Then my DD agave me an apron she had made custom just for me.
I'll have to show you a picture of it, it's amazing. She made 7 total all different for friends and family. What is so cool about it is that she just bought a sewing machine the day after Thanksgiving and learned to sew 2 weeks before Christmas. I can see that machine coming in really handy :). I believe my daughter is starting to get crafty :).
Christmas Morning we went back to my sisters and had breakfast and opened more presents.  First thing I did when I walked in the door I scolded the nipper dog and kept on her all morning just not to get near me and it worked! She didn't bother me from then on.  :)
(She is a rescue dog so you can't really get too upset with her, but I have boundaries with animals and she doesn't want me to bit her, cuz I would lolololol. I have 2 hundred pound dogs with great human manners. I don't take bad manners from dogs/ animals of any size or any back ground. Princess and I will just have to get used to each other :)  Heck I baby set 3 Hybrid wolfs and 2 very large Dobermans and they don't give me any grief.So this little 4 pound Princess has met her match with me lololol.
We left there and headed home because we were serving dinner at 2:30 pm. for 12 people. We always have a bunch of friends over for dinner and a movie on Christmas  it is always a lot of fun.
Well enough of this random Christmas ramblings, lets get to some art OK.
I made this Kleenex holder  for a gift but I liked it so much I kept it for myself  (hahahah) and made my friend something else. (The idea was found on Split Coast Stampers) I hope you like it just let me know. Chat soon stay safe, warm and dry! I'll post again before New Years, signing off me P. Love you Carey

Look what Santa brought the animals????

Hello my blogging friends, Hi BFF Carey)  I hope this post finds you all well and happy! Santa's Elves stopped by and dropped off the animals gifts (Sush don't tell them )  But he told me I had to go to the grocery store and get 3 cans of tuna for the cats hahah or Ho Ho Ho as they said it :) I got out my crafts real quick and made the Christmas bags for the animals. Each one is specially made for each animal - 2 black cats Tataniquia in pink, Mama in red & 1 for Bob in rust. Now for the dogs- My Moms dog Casey is a Miniature Pincer she has a red collar , Princess my Sisters Chauauwa is tan  with a pink collar, My boys rust for Marley and Mustard for Bear. Santa even signed each one isn't that so cute!!!!! Take a look for your self.
PS The Road Crew was out today and fixed the road so we can drive safely on it. I told my Daughter Jeanne' to stay at my Moms house last night I did not want her to drive on that road. 2 cars got stuck yesterday , it had gotten really bad can we say  ALIGNMENT!!! for New Years :( Thats just part of living in the country I guess.

I'm done Yippee

Hello to all my blogging friends. I hope this post finds you all well and happy! Well I finished , creating, wrapping & Cleaning up my messes :) The studio is cleaned the paper, stamps, punches, ribbons, adhesives, Big Shot, Dies and do dads are all put away My desk is even cleaned off!!!!  What you say and there is more- The tree is up and trimmed, the house is nicely decorated and I have today to relax can you believe that !!!!!!
But rest is only for today here is the line up for the rest of the week Thurs- Cook red potatoes and make a salad to bring to my sisters for my Moms birthday dinner. I think she is going to be 86 or 87 and she is doing pretty good so far. Thank you God! Friday cook 6 bone standing Rib Eye Roast , beans, salad and potatoes for X-Mas Eve dinner.
Saturday cook, ham, baked tortellini, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, candied yams and a condiment tray for Christmas dinner. So I'm glad I have today to rest up. I think I will pull out all the serving trays and platters for this weekend and I can precook the potatoes and yams Friday to get a jump start on things.
I was thinking of making the dogs a little gift bag full of their treat bones. I may even make my mom & sisters dogs one each. I can make a gift bag for the cats too put a can of tuna in there and they will be in heaven :) Lets see what I come up with lolol.
I will take pictures of the roads outside. On the way to work this morning Jeff said a PT Crusier was sunk in a hole in the road and the road was washed out. He had to take side roads to get to work. He was half way in to work and said the streets were flooded so bad he had to take several detours. He got a call from his boss stating if he was having a hard time getting in today to turn around and go home. As the roads near his job were flooded. So he did and he is home safe with me :) It would be sort of OK to drive the roads in the daylight but very dangerous to travel that dirt road on the way home. Pot holes, sink holes, rocks and a flat tire ready to happen. So you all stay dry today OK
As promised here are a couple pictures of the porch. I only saw one leak from this weeks storms, that is really good considering last year it wasn't even covered. We have new carpet, lattice and rain gutters. I just have a few finishing touches to do and it is done. We even put the boys houses back on the porch for the winter so they are happy too.
Have a great rest of the week. Your friend Patrice

It's almost Christmas YIKES!!!!

Hello to all my blogging friends, I hope this post finds you all well and happy! I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year. My wish for all of us this year is to be filled with good health and lots of laughter, to be surrounded by friends and family and have pockets full of money.
Are you ready for Christmas????? I am so close to being done :) I have the final touches on my gifts yet to go. I think it will take another day or two. A quick tidy up to the house and yard and that's it!
It has been raining for several days now and the yard is a mess. BUT THE PORCH IS DRY!!!!!
We went to my moms and picked up our Nativity set, the tree, ornaments and a couple of my large Santa's and that's it. I put up the tree tonight and I found that I forgot to add a few strands of colored lights to  my load, so we need to get some more at Cost Co tomorrow night. Then I can put on the ornaments and be done with the tree.  I'm not going all out this year and you know I am pretty good with that too. I just can't see busting my you know what to make sure I get it all done in time. It is just not going to happen. We bought a really nice Roast of Christmas Eve and and Ham for Christmas. Again we will have a house full for Christmas and that makes us really happy. I have a ton of single friends or single parent friends and everyone loves to come over here for Holidays, even their kids love to come and hang out. We are blessed for sure. It is a very peaceful home and no one goes hungry.
I delivered all my orders this weekend and collected some cash today, so I get to get Jeff his Robe :) I am so excited about that :) Money I earned. Go Stampin' UP!
I took  some pictures of a couple of the projects I sold. My friend Amy made me one of these Tri Fold Booklets -My Dear Kind Wonderful Friend with Bath Salts instead of Hot Coco this summer I used her template and tweaked it for Christmas a bit. The last page is a pocket for gift cards. Then I put them in little gift bags to dress them up . I made several Bags of Tags to give to my customers that included 8 gift tags. Just a little something to say thanks with. Let me know what you think OK!!!

A few Christmas Cards

Hello Carey :) and my other blogging friends lolol I hope this post finds you well and happy! Please drive safely for those of you who endure the snow and ice???? I call that stuff involuntary wet! Yuck ... I'm a Californian and you don't even want me on the roads in that weather :~. Well today I just rested and really took it easy. I have been sleeping lots and that is a good thing I guess, but it puts me more behind every day. Oh well that's the breaks I guess. You all will just have to receive your Christmas cards either by snail mail late or e-mail early :) Hey what a great idea. Saves on postage and its GREEN to boot. Here are just a few new ones I have made and or revamped ones I made last year and didn't like. Have you ever done that one? Well my friends stay safe, dry and warm.

Some more Christmas goodies

Hello all my blogging buddies, I hope this post finds you all well and happy. I'm happy just not well. I have bronchitis YUCK !! And I have so much to do still. I am running out of time :( I think I will be able to put up my tree and set out a few things only this year. If you really knew me you would know something was wrong with that statement for sure. I usually deck out every room even the two bath rooms as a Christmas tree each. I have a huge collection of Santa's and all sorts of Holiday decorations. But my Sciatica is still raging and has really slowed me down. I just finished all my orders (Thank you God) and will get paid this weekend Yippee!!!!! I'm going to get my honey a new comfy bath robe with my own money no less!!!! :) instead of here honey I bought you something with your money! I realize it is our money but it always makes me feel good when there is extra and both he and I get a little something. Because you know I will be low on supplies come the first of the year lololol. I see new Mini goodies dancing my way :).

OK, so  now with the creative stuff. I made these two ornaments for the ornament share I spoke with you about in my last post. They were made with all Stampin' Up products I even drew in the faces. You can't see it but Santa has Dazzling Diamonds for his beard , and I put Dazzling Diamonds on the cuffs front side and back. I think they turned out really cute. I believe I Cased the snowman from Kim over at Paper Punch Addiction. I made 3 different colored Snowmen, Red, Blue & Yellow, Thanks for the great idea Kim. The Santa was my idea. Who knows maybe someone, somewhere has made him before. It just seem the next logical step :).
I packaged each one separately in glycine bags and made a pretty Top Note topper for the give away. I also enclosed an entire set of Tags Till Christmas for all 20 attendees in a separate small glycine bag along with my business card. Maybe I will drum up some business????
I took seperate pictures of each ornament. I hope you like them and maybe were a little inspired :)

I still have pictures of the Porch and some of the cards and gifts I made, which I will share with you this week. Take care and stay dry!!!

I'm Back! Did ya miss me????

Hello all my blogging friends! I hope this post finds you all well and happy :) I have been so super busy making card and project orders and working on the porch :) That I have not had any time to post YIKES!!! We are 98% finished with the porch I'll post those pitures next week. I AM SOOOO EXCITED that it is almost done. We have a few things we have to detail still. But, the good news is it hasn't leaked during the last 2 moderate storms!
I bet all of you all can relate to this next statement... All the Christmas festivities are in full motion!!!! We have family and friend parties book the rest of the month and I have been working really hard on those projects. I still have to get out my own Christmas Cards lolol.
Last weekend was an ornament swap (My first) It was a lot of fun I've got pictures to share but, I'll have to save that for another post though OK.
Tonight we have a special family holiday party to attend and I made the hostess Yvette (Hi girlfriend :) a really cool gift box. I made the box out of a 12x12 sheet of CS and did that wonderfully easy box with the scoring technique @ 1 inch and 2 inches all the way around and then I  made a custom  divider to separate the gift card purses and envelopes from the 8 pieces of Hersey's Nuggets that I decorated (Yummy) and then there are the 6 Gift Tags. Then I custom made the envelopes for the 6 little purse cards that I cased  from Becky Roberts over at Inking Idaho. I really think this gift set came out really cute I hope she likes it. The Purses have lined paper inside so she will be able to write a little note, and the Gift Tags have a To: & From: piece of paper on the back side of each one.
The Red Polka Dot Ribbon slides off very easily so she can get to her goodies with out a fuss. The box dimension is 8 x 8 the lid is 8 1/8 x 8 1/8. The Gift Tags are 3/34 x 2 1/2. I added a separate 8 x 8 pieces of thin card bord under the divider to make it more secure. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about this project. Have a great weekend I will chat with you very soon OK.

Christmas before Thanksgiving

Hello my blogging friends. I hope this post finds you all well and happy! I have been busy this week creating, creating and more creating. I finished my November Group Card Swap & here it is. I really like our new Northern Flurry Embossing Folder. You can find it in the Holiday Mini Catalog, lower right hand side of this post. 

The second card was made by the blog candy (Stampin Up stamp set Snow Swirled) I won over at Marilyn San Clementes  blog http://marilynstamps.blogspot.com   during the Royal Blog Hop. I just love this stamp set!  I CASED a card that was one of her cards that she showcased for the hop, but tweaked it a bit to make it my own. Hope you like it Marilyn lolol.

The third card (Front Door) I also CASED but made a few minor alterations to it.  I saw this great card she called "Welcome Home" at   kjskorner.blogspot.com/2010/11/welcome-home.html . I just love the simplicity of this card. I am really thinking of making these for our Christmas cards, but need a vote from the family still.

 Now I am looking for ideas for Christmas Ornaments to make for an Ornament Swap I am in on December 5th. I have to make 22 of them Yikes. I want to make them cost effective but still showcase the creativity of Stampin Up products and there versatility. I saw the red a red and green double paper ornament on SCS then I made the single green one as my own design.
But, I really like the fancy flower ball ornament I have seen on SCS , the name of the type of paper fold slips my mind at the moment. I am going to give it a try this weekend. I'll show you later what I come up with.
Well I hope you enjoy today's post as much as I did in making these fun cards and ornaments. Now it is your turn, go and create something fun. Be safe and drive safely. It is wet over here in California.

Diaper Cake for Cassie and James

     Hello to all my blogging friends, I hope this post finds you all well and happy! Wow, that was some blog hop this weekend! It warmed my heart to read  all the stories of how Operation Write Home has touched so many lives.
Talk about creativity and talent! Boy oh boy there are some really talented paper crafters out there in blog land. You can still enjoy the blog hop by following this link.  http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org  I think it will be up for a few more days.
     In the mean time, I would like to share with you my first attempt at making a Diaper Cake. My daughter's long time girlfriend Cassie and her husband James are having a baby. Regan should be here around the first of the new year. Everyone can't wait as it will be nice to have a new baby around the house. The baby shower was yesterday and we wanted to give her a really nice gift, so I put together this diaper cake. I took 172 diapers to make the cake along with all the goodies included (toys, 2-binkies, bath & body items, 4 receiving blankets, 5 onezies, 5 t-shirts, 1 rubber duck :),10 hangers, and a little stuffed lamb. It weighed about 15-20 lbs. It took me a little over 3 hours to complete it. But it took me about 3 days to sort it out in my head how I was going to construct it lololol. The 10 hangers and a couple dowels and garden wire were  life savers. (Note to self, must have items)

     I always learn by doing and the next time (Maybe lolol) I will be more prepared and able to add more paper crafted ideas to it, now that I have a better idea about the size and what all is involved. It was a hit at the shower and everyone thought it was a real cake. Many had never seen or heard of a diaper cake before. Welcome to the world of papercrafters. We can do almost anything in paper if we put our minds to it.

     I hope you like it and now you go create something fun. 

Operation Write Home Blog Hop

     Hello my blogging friends, I hope this post finds you all well and happy. What a great blog hop we have in store for you this weekend.  I can't  wait to see all the creative ideas everyone has to share with us to celebrate Valentines Day. But first, I have a few business items I am supposed to share with you before I get to my projects ( :  
     First off, the deadline for submitting Christmas Cards to Operation Write Home has passed, but you have until January 7th 2011 to submit your Valentines cards. Operation Write Home requests that all Holiday cards are submitted at least 6 weeks prior to a given holiday. The Jan. 7th deadline allows soldiers to receive Valentine cards in ample time to get them sent back out to their loved ones by February 14th, 2011. Next, I have given you all a link so that you can VOTE DAILY at Joann's Fabric and Craft Store. Operation Write Home could win $50.000 to help support our cause of supplying hand made cards to deployed soldiers. Please vote here http://www.joann.com/CraftForaCause and remember to VOTE DAILY.
      Now you get to view what I have created especially for this hop. I hope you enjoy these projects as much as I did in making them. I made 3 cards and a cute little gift box to put them in. This set includes the envelopes as well. A special note all of my projects were made with Stampin' Up Products. If you would like additional information on these projects and or Stampin' Up products feel free to leave me a comment with your e-mail address, and I will get back to you early next week. Or just leave me a comment, I'd love to hear what you thought about them as well.  Your next stop will bring you to Shelly's blog  http://shellyrharris.blogspot.com/2010/11/create-valentine-cards-for-our-heroes.html. If you would like additional information about Operation Write Home  just click the following link  http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org/ This link will tell you everything you need to know about OWH.

Oh my goodness!! I almost forgot to tell you. If you have ever wanted to join Stampin' Up or wanted to get your SU supplies at a discount now is the time to do it. The Starter Kit's are half off ! That is right 50% off. You can join right now for $87.50. (Nov. 15th through Nov. 30th.) Click on the flier on the right hand side of this post for details. If you would like more information please contact me at trygod20@verizon.net. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by, now go create something fun.

Christmas Journal

Hello my blogging friends, I hope this post finds you all well and happy. Wow wasn't that Royal Blog tour the best! There were so many beautiful cards, gift ideas and scrapbook page layouts that my head was swimming. Oh did  I mention Blog Candy?? Well these gals were offering so much eye candy, blog candy and hot tips a plenty. I even won some. I left a message on Marilyn San Clemente's blog about a beautiful card she made with the Snow Swirled stamp set and I won a new stamp set!! Yippee. You need to go see her blog http://www.stampwithmarilyn.com/ she is quite talented and generous too.  Thanks Marilyn for the wonderful blog candy.

Well, I have been really busy this week planning several projects for the Operation Write Home blog hop this weekend. http://operationwritehome.org I can not show them to you yet though lolol . The Blog hop is spotlighting Valentines Cards, as they always work on getting the soldiers card out to them 6 weeks in advance. If you would like to stop by this weekend and see what I have come up with and what the other crafter's have in store for Valentines Day. Stop in on Saturday morning and I will have all the link information ready for you. At least I hope so? I contacted them again today to make sure I'm really in lolol But had not heard back with link info. If not come see what I have done and I'll find a link to hop from here. Operation Write Home is a great program. We make cards that get sent to soldiers here and abroad, so they can send cards to their family, friends and love ones. If you are interested in doing something like this let me know and I will get you connected.

Here is a Christmas Gift idea I have for sale. A Journal for $15.00 plus shipping. If you would like to order one like this please let me know and I will get it out to you. Several pages are stamped inside and there is also a pocket or two for keepsakes.

Thanks for stopping by and go create something fun.