Oh No, Another Hobby! Hooked on Jewelry Making ~

Yesterday, I mentioned that my sweet DIL Jami {Crazy Daisy Creations} taught me how to make beaded bracelets. We had so much fun and I may very well be hooked on this new hobby! I thought you would enjoy seeing the two bracelets that I created. . .


I tried to make earrings to match the second one and I struggled with getting the wire wrapped correctly. Making the bracelet was much easier but I really would like to make earrings too...and necklaces! :)

I'm curious if any of you have tried beading and jewelry making. Let me know if you have any tips for this beginner, ok? Do you know of any good websites to order beads & supplies? What is your favorite beading magazine?

Now I really should fold some laundry and unload the dishwasher. ugh! Isn't it the pits when work gets in the way of your creativity?!

I hope you're all enjoying the weekend! Happy Day!




Quote for Today ~
“Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.” ~ Dale Carnegie

Word for Today ~
panache \puh-NASH; -NAHSH\, noun: Dash or flamboyance in manner or style.

A Little Birdie Told Me . . .

. . . it's your birthday!

Two of my stamping buddies ~ Jason & Karmen ~ celebrated their birthdays this week and this is the card that I made for each of them. I hope it made them SMILE! :)

I love this set and had to have it, but I've used it very little so far. It is appropriately named "A Little Birdie Told Me" by Stampin' Up! The designer paper is also by SU but I don't see it in the new catalog so it must be discontinued. The little birdie is paper-pieced with a coordinating blue polka dot paper.

Today was a fun and busy day. First, I walked along with our company float in the local parade and handed out freebies and candy. There were many community bands and floats and it was simply a perfectly beautiful autumn day for a parade.

After that, my sweet DIL Jami came out to "play". {yes, she is the one who has neglected her blog "Crazy Daisy Creations" even more than I have neglected mine!} Jami brought out some fleece material and we made two cozy Nebraska Husker blankets for her niece and nephew. I didn't think to take photos until just now. Maybe I can convince her to take some and post on her blog. :) By the way, if you're wondering what Jami is doing these days...she's busy with her student teaching. Hopefully, she'll find time to share a few of her cute kindergarten experiences with you soon. She's got some funny stories! :) After we made the blankets, we did a little cooking and made snacks for the Husker football game that was on TV tonight. From that we went to jewelry making. No kidding! Jami has made some awesome bracelets and earrings for me in the past and I've been wanting her to show me how she does it. Tomorrow, I'll post photos of the two bracelets that I made today. I think they turned out quite well for a beginner, but then I had an excellent teacher! :) Oh, I forgot to mention that we made a quick trip into town because Hobby Lobby had beads half price and I wanted my own supplies. Seriously, I can't afford another hobby, but I really enjoyed this and may very well be hooked. Yikes!

Well, it's getting late so that's all for tonight. I have some terrific new patterned papers I want to use and hope to do a little stamping tomorrow.

Enjoy your weekend!

A Beautiful Autumn Wedding ~

Happy 3rd Anniversary
Andrew & Jami!

Our son and daughter-in-law were married three years ago today in an especially beautiful autumn wedding. I thought you would enjoy seeing a few of my favorite photos from their memorable day.

And, this is the card I created to wish them a very "Happy Anniversary". . .


(inside of card)

This is a short post, but it took me forever to finish because I went through and viewed ALL their wonderful photos while I was selecting these three to share with you. Enjoy! :)

Quote for Today ~
"A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year." ~Paul Sweeney

Stampin Up Club Creations!

It was a fun-filled morning yesterday at stamp club and I left feeling totally inspired by all the creativity. We got to try some of the cool new "in colors" and played with some new sets and the awesome new scallop punch. Not to mention, how much we talked, laughed and ate! I've got to give a shout out to our talented demo Jason and to Karmen ~ our hostess with the mostess!

My favorite card we made is the "live with passion" watercolor on the right. This one blew us all away with how simple it was, yet how beautiful. We all thought Jason was fooling us with a Hallmark original. :)

Stamping with markers isn't a new technique, but I forget to use them in this way. We've used the new "Inspired by Nature" set. (p 100) Using the brush end of the marker, we applied ink directly to the stamp. Once it was inked, we spritzed the stamp lightly with water and then stamped it on the white cardstock. Easy-peasy!

Our challenge for next month is to make a card like one in the Stampin Up catalog. Afterall, they've created this beautiful idea book for us to use, right? You'll notice one of the cards below is very similar to the one on the top of page 16 in the new fall-winter catty. Would you have thought to use the spiral edge punch in this clever way? Not me! :)















Now, I better get busy here because I need to make two birthday cards for my stampin buddies (Happy Birthday Jason & Karmen!) and also a 3rd anniversary card for my son Andy and sweet dil (Hi Jami!)

Have a terrific Sunday everyone! Smiles 2 U!





Quote for Today ~ "The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas." - Linus Pauling

Word for Today ~ beneficence \buh-NEFF-i-suhns\, noun: 1. The practice of doing good; active goodness, kindness, or charity. 2. A charitable gift or act.

"Hush little baby, don't you cry"...

... "Mama's gonna sing you a lullaby."

This image was sent to me by Nancy (directmailscrapper) at the Stamp Shack for a Virtual Swap she is hosting. Our challenge was to color the image and create a card with it. I don't think I've ever colored an image quite like this one. It has all kinds of little black dots in the image. It was a challenge to know how much color to add or when to stop. I used prismacolor pencils and a blending stump dipped in odorless mineral spirits. If you like the image, Nancy said the stamp is by Paper Inspirations.

That's all for tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow to show you all the fabulous creations we made at our Stampin Up! get together this morning. We always have such a great time and our demo (Hi Jason!) always inspires us to try new techniques.

Have a wonderful weekend! Smiles, Pam :)

Quote for Today ~ "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

Word for Today ~ halcyon \HAL-see-uhn\adjective: Calm; quiet; peaceful; undisturbed; happy; as, "deep, halcyon repose."

Over 35 years together!

This summer, "Mr Wonderful" & I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary and this is the card I made for him. I've still got it sitting here on the shelf in my stamping room and thought I would share it with you tonight. I'm not sure why I made it pink, except that I had this terrific new designer paper by Stampin Up that I wanted to use. :) And you all know I love these stinkin cute little Changito monkeys! Yep, almost as much as MW! LoL

We've had such a happy & blessed life together. He is my rock of strength, the sunshine of my days and the love of my life. But, I have to tell you...with all the home improvement projects going on this summer there were times we joked about not making it to 36 years! :)

I'll try to make something new to post in the next few days. I've got some new sets that haven't seen ink yet.
Smiles 2 U & Happy Stamping! ~ Pam :)

Quote for Today ~ "Marriage is made in Heaven ~ but so are thunder & lightning!"

Word for Today ~ sobriquet \SO-brih-kay; -ket; so-brih-KAY; -KET\, noun: A nickname; an assumed name; . . . such as "Mr Wonderful."

Supplies ~ Stamps: Stampendous Changito Love Balloon, Jive alpha (numbers) by Stamp Craft. Stampin Up close to cocoa, Berry Bliss designer paper. Ink: Versafine onyx clack, clear embossing powder. Other: prisma color pencils, close to cocoa ribbon, brads.

How Many Fingers are You?

Isn't this a funny stamp? I purchased it for half price this summer and finally had a chance yesterday to ink it up and create a few silly birthday cards. My inspiration for the layout came from Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. Her sketch was just the spark I need to get started again.

Don't you think this whimsical designer paper is appropriate for the childish image? I did some random stitching around the edges and attached the cutout circle and flower with dimensionals.

My friend Michele's mom celebrates her 80th birthday this week so I'm sending this to her. I think it will make her smile, don't you? :) I sure hope she doesn't think I'm being a wiseacre! LoL

It is such a pleasure to be creating again. Thank you all for your words of encouragement. Your comments inspire me!

Happy Day! ~ Pam :)

Quote for Today ~ "If you carry your childhood with you, you never become old." ~Tom Stoppard

Word for Today ~ wiseacre \WY-zay-kuhr\, noun: One who pretends to knowledge or cleverness; a would-be wise person; a smart aleck.

Supplies ~ Stamps: Inkadinkado, Paper: Stampin Up chocolate chip, cool caribbean. Patterned paper by The Paper Studio. Random stitching with Janome Sew Mini.

Missed U All So Much!

Where oh where did our summer go?! They say "time flys when you're having FUN", but let me tell you it hasn't been all fun, it's been mostly work around here! The good news is that we finally finished painting our house...which included some siding repair, washing windows, new shutters, landscaping, etc, etc. We've been procrastinating about this project for a couple years, so it really needed to be done. Now that it is, we can relax a bit and get back to our favorite hobbies. :)

I've missed stamping and cardmaking SO much and I've especially missed all of you dear friends! Several of you, bless your hearts, have contacted me to see if I was still alive and happily I am! Honestly, I had no intention of abandoning my blog reading and posting for such a loooong time, but most of our "free" time has been spent working on the house. We've got a few projects planned for the inside now...painting, new flooring in the bathrooms, etc...but MW (Mr Wonderful) really needed a break and so do I! :)

So, this afternoon I've been stamping and enjoying every minute of it! Of course, it took me awhile to get started and it may take a few more cards before I find my mojo again. :) This is one I made today to let you all know I really did MISS U! And it feels especially GREAT to be back!

BIG SMILES & warm Hugs 2 All! ~ Pam :)

Quote for Today ~
"If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden." ~Claudia Ghandi

Word for Today ~
privation \pry-VAY-shun\, noun: the state of being deprived of something. (like stamping & blogging!)

Supplies ~
Stamps: Changito Notes by Stampendous
Cardstock: Stampin Up basic black, green galore. Floral paper by The Paper Studio.
Ink: Versafine onyx black
Other: colored image with prismacolor pencils, Stampin Up ribbon