Hey Girlahs!!

So I have been neglecting my stamping. Worse yet I have been neglecting my Girlahs!! My training is going really fab but most days it is 9-7pm and I come home burnt out and after seeing the kids a little and Kevin a little, I head to bed. Also my Granny is in the hospital, long story that ends with surgery and her doing much better. But WOW have I been busy with trying to visit her every day after work. This is the Christmas card I designed for this year. When I am gonna find time to make 50 of them I dunno! LOL!! I'll try to post more soon. Miss you all!! Counting the days till January.............

MWAH!! (kisses)

Stamp Club

Once upon a time long before SU came to Winnipeg a group of stamping diehards found each other and began stamping together once a month. They are called Just Stampers. I joined about 5 years ago. Last night was the first stamp night of the 2007-2008 season and it was at my house. After a long week of grooming training I sure appreciated kicking back and stamping with some very talented stampers. We do a card exchange and some kind of technique or challenge. Since I was hosting I picked a fall card theme, either colors or stamps and a card sketch challenge. Susan suggested one sketch and the other I found on Lauren's (Mytime's) blog. I used my umbrella stamp set for the exchange and ended up not following the sketch too well for Lauren's and ended up with a pretty decent card for Susan's. Above is my fall card and below is Susan's sketch.

TGIF!!

I have had this lunch pail for at least a year. It sat patiently on my things to do shelf for all this time. Finally, I sat down and made myself this tin. I still need to modgepodge it but that requires digging out by craft bins from the depths of storage an I can't quite make myself do it yet! LOL!! You really can't go wrong with the Cutie Pie paper and Pomegranate tho! :) I LOVE ribbon so this Celery stuff is fabu!! Now I have a pretty tin to hold all my cards. But I am trying not to be a card hoarder and send more random cards to my friends! I am also hoping to finish cleaning my stamp room this morning, I got a lot accomplished last week end and my tables reflect it! LOL!! I also need to pack up cuz it's FRIDAY NIGHT -so stamping at Jenn's! I think I am going to tackle a few challenges. It has been awhile since I have done some! The best part of all?? My Favorite Things Shower Time set JUST arrived!! Wahoo!! I have been dying to ink up this set! The first card I make tonight will be with this set for sure! I just love umbrellas -go figure.

I made the Leaf Pile!!

So I get up this morning and I am having a dragging-your-butt-how-am-I-ever-gonna-get-6- kids-to-school-on-time?? kind of morning. I always peek quickly at my email before doing much of anything. More comments on my SCS gallery -YAY!! So I go and read the comment and it is a congrats on winning?? Well wouldn't ya know, but my wiper card was nominated for the Leaf Pile for the Sept VSN. I had big plans of my participation in VSN this month and had been looking forward to it since May, but with all the other projects that had been screaming to get out of my head and working on Sat, I just didn't get to participate other than this one pre-challenge. So anyway I am really excited about that. I need someone to pay me to stamp and blog all day long I think............ :)

SO not only are my gaggle of children back to school, but so am I. This past January I thought I would try something new and did a short apprenticeship to be a Pet Groomer. I thought I was doing it for fun like most of my ADD half-projects that I never finish, but low and behold I loved it. But you see being a pet store groomer just doesn't cut it for me....If I love something I have to be one of the best at something. Back to school I go!! SO now I am studying (if you can call it that) to learn fancy cuts and show cuts and stuff. I'm loving it but it is long days and it seems as tho I'll never be done (in reality hopefully I'll be done by Christmas). In addition to ADD I have a real issue with delayed gratification. This was my first week and I went Mon-Wed. Next week I'll go Mon-Fri. I like the flexibility of working at the shop, I can work as many or as few days as I want. This going everyday stuff sucks!! LOL!!

I made these this past weekend........
It's a cardstock purse and 9 matching cards done with one 12x12 designer sheet of paper. I am making them for all the kid's girl teachers for Christmas. (any boy teacher ideas out there??) I got the original template here. I love the Au Chocolate paper by SU but you can't get it wanted something a bit more mature that the usual invite so I used my quick notebook cover to anymore. Jenn says the Charbon is supposed to be nice and make cute purses. I think I am gonna try a Cutie Pie one next as soon as I get my new order of Pomegranate and DS paper. I can't bear to use all of what I have!!

I also threw together an invite for Bailey's birthday, he's gonna be 11. Boy does that ever freak me out!! I can't believe it was 11 years ago that that red-haired terror ;) entered my world!! He's thrilled with the results. When I made the notebook cover I colored it perfectly, but I realized that a less perfect coloring job is EXACTLY what a stamp like this needs! I love it!! Kevin even commented on liking the way I colored it and for him -that means something!!

So with all this free time.............

what is a girl to do?? Well stamp of course!! I found out that AmyR was doing a call for designers for ATS so I figured why not?? Maybe an expert grass drawer is what they need! ;) I also happen to have gotten my stamping mojo back so I had projects galore to share!! This Changito card is my favorite and it has been living in my head for awhile now so it is nice to finally get him into the jungle where he belongs!!

My Max also turned 6 this Summer but waited to celebrate his birthday with the boys in his Grade 1 class. A Glow in the Dark Mini Golf place opened nearby and we are going to check it out. They provided invitations but I couldn't use those!! But I did cut a piece of them off cuz I thought it made a nice Designer paper look. I wanted the invites to look like they were glowing in the dark so I went for a bright on black sort of look. I think they are really cool and better than that Max loves them!!

Tomorrow I start upgrading from pet groomer to being able to do "fancy styles" and stuff! I am all nervous in my tummy just like I used to get before school started. And freaked out that I am not going to be good enough!! I always get like this. I hate the process, but love where I am going! I can't wait till the next twelve weeks are over. It's going to be a long three months!! I'll feel better in a day or two once I get the feel of things, but right now I am like "Mellie, why do you want to do this again??" I guess I better head to bed and try to sleep (rolls eyes).

First Day Back at School

So this is it!! The first day of school. Can you hear the quiet in my house?? Nah, I guess not. We were off to a great start this morning (not) with a thunderclap being what woke my kids at 7 am. Two crying kids that didn't want to leave the house did not bode well for being on time but we did it!! I'm a bit sad cuz summer is over and my babies are off to grade one!! I like Kindergarten when they are home with me every other day. Just enough of a break to do your own thing but lots of time with the kids!! I am however really excited to focus on my grooming and stamping!! I'm just thankful that my kids go to such an awesome school that I can send them out the door with no worries!! :) Nik of course insisted on a silly picture too! He'll be thrilled to see himself on the web!!

RAK'ed

So I am FINALLY all ready for the first day of school! YAY!! I was sure I was never going to be done labeling all those supplies. So in the middle of this chore, right when I was needing a break the mailman brought me a letter from Helen. She sent me not one but two rak's. My friend Helen is VERY talented, she does all kinds of paper crafts. She sent me one of her beautiful Spirelli cards. Here are the two cards she sent me. Now wouldn't that brighten up just about any one's day??

One more day till school starts...........

Do I sound excited?? I'm not really. I haven't even BEGUN to label my kids school supplies. I figure it is going to be an all day project. I really like school supplies and I enjoy doing the labeling, I just didn't get to it soon enough this year. I am one of those mom's that label each and every individual crayon in the 64 crayon box -yep! That's where I'll be till 2am! LOL!! What I did actually manage this year was to make covers for my kids notebooks! The three older ones needed notebooks for school so last night when I was at Jenn's I threw together 4 quick covers. And I CASED Lauren Meader's lunch box cards so when my kids open their lunch kit on the first day of school they will have a card with a note in it from me and Kevin. I'm feeling really good about that. My babies Max and Summer will be in Grade One. I'm a bit traumatized, I liked having them around every second day. Even tho Max is only 6 weeks younger than Summer, I see him as the family "baby". Probably cuz Summer is so mature. I really don't want to let him go. He was the last one I gave birth to and I feel really close to him. Yesterday we were snuggling on my bed and I told him I changed my mind, I wasn't gonna let him go to first grade cuz I wanted him to stay home with me. Wanna know what he said?? He said "I have to go to first grade or I won't be able to get a good job" ROTFLMBO!! You can see what I drill into their heads at a young age huh?? And Bailey my oldest, the one who made me a Mom, he is going to Grade 6. Yeah, I can't even think about that -boggles my mind. Where did the years go?? OK I suppose I have procrastinated long enough. Wish me neat printing!! :)

Alexa's birthday!!

So I went to my UL's house tonight to stamp. We don't get to do that very often but her DH and boys were at the lake so we managed to grab a few hours! I was on a mission tonight to complete a card for Alexa's birthday that I was struggling with all afternoon and use my Umbrelli stamp. Well I accomplished both!! Alexa is a delightful soon to be 8 year old girl who has had a stamp set designed in her honor to raise money for cancer research. You can read all about it here. I love how this turned out it is so girly and pink!! :) Everyone sort of has a stamping thing, some people love Butterflies and others like anything floral, I have realised that I love umbrellas! I am obsessed with stamps with umbrellas and I am not sure why. Here is my first umbrelli card. I also am waiting on the new spring shower set from My favorite things that has an umbrella in it too!! Can't wait!!

Im Mellie da Marcos

So, I spent the evening with Jenn last night and managed to finally put some ink to my new stamp order. I have been dying to use SU's new In Colors as well as my Bugz!! This is my first card. It is a Sketch Challenge from Splitcoast and I am really pleased with how it turned out!! As for the drama with my sister, there is always one thing that makes me feel better ............. RETAIL THERAPY!! Now granted, I haven't gone and got them yet but just knowing that I am going to makes me all giddy!! What could it be that isn't stamps that gets me all excited?? Can you guess from the title?? SHOES!! That's right I love shoes. Particularly the high heeled impractical kind that a mom of 6 that grooms dogs for a living doesn't have much occasion to wear. I made Kevin promise that if I died young and before him and hadn't yet owned a pair of Mahnalo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos, that he would buy me a pair to be buried in. And we already own our plots and are going to be cremated so how bizarre -but whatever! It made me feel better to know at one point they would grace my feet. Well in an effort to cheer me up Kevin said I could get my hair done and get a new outfit for the wedding next year so....................... that's when I realized I need to get me some new shoes. Who can feel bad about not being your sister's bridesmaid when you have $500 shoes on your feet?? I can't wait!! This might be the best thing that ever happened to me! *GRIN* (Talk about making Lemonaid out of Lemons!!) And we are taking ballroom dancing lessons. Yes, that's right we are HUGE Dancing with the Stars fans. Been watching since Season 1. Drew and Cheryl are our faves!! Kevin even splurged and got us table/dance floor side seats when they came to Winnipeg!! We could have reached out and touched them it was SOOO cool!! And Kevin really is a fan too!! It's funny that we have the hots for the exact same team!! I always thought Nick Lachey was cute but Drew........SIGH, you get the idea!! And I can't blame him for wanting Cheryl, she's drop dead gorgeous too!! Hugs to you all!

MissyB Designs!!

New RUBBAH!! So as I am sitting here sulking in my pink robe. (Did ya know I love everything pink??) The doorbell rings -it's Can Post with my new MissyB stamps! YAY!! I got Alexa's Set and Sassy Girls. If you don't know about Alexa she is a inspiring little girl battling leukemia and you can read all about it here. I love princesses and pink (have I mentioned that before??) and the Sassy Girls set might be fun considering how funky I feel about my family. I am still really sad but the bottom line is I did what I had to and will walk out the consequences proudly as I watch my kids grow up. TTYL!

Hugs to my girlahs!!

So I spent Thursday and Friday evening with my GF Jenn. Just love her. Spent all Thurs. eve talking and not stamping (gasp-the horrors :) ) but really had a fabu time!! Fri. we got a little more stamping done and I made this baby card using the wiper technique. It's really cute (I think!) cuz when you open it the giraffe pops out! I love the colors which came from a card Jenn had made. I love stamping with her cuz we share ideas and come up with these awesome creations. I think lots of our cards are collaborations but they make me smile cuz of the time shared making them -ya know?? Which brings me to the conclusion that I really like my friends!!

My sister and I used to be BFF. We are very different and she is 5 years younger than I but somehow it always worked. Well a couple of years ago Kevin and I decided that we needed to pick new guardians for the kids as she only wanted the boys (they are biologically ours and the girls are not). We felt the right thing to do was to tell her the truth. She also doesn't go to church and wouldn't have kept them in private school. She told me herself. So my kids would lose both their parents, their sisters, their church and their school in one fell swoop. So we chose good friends of ours who would support our dying wishes. She has been mad at me ever since. And unless you have had my sister mad at you, you can't even imagine what it could be like. Well, now she is getting married. My mother had to tell me and we just came from a family get together where she showed everyone the pictures of her dress. Well, everyone but me until I asked point blank, and she isn't having me in her wedding party. I know it shouldn't matter but it does. She was my maid-of-honor and I know she's upset but we are sisters and I still love her -ya know? She is using the excuse that she can't count on me cuz I didn't come to her birthday party this past year. The history on that is that the past few years this has been an adult only dinner at a restaurant. This year she decided my boys were invited but not the girls. I couldn't take half my children to a party and leave the others at home wondering why their Aunt didn't invite them too. So we abstained. Now supposedly this means I can't be counted on. I know I have done the right thing for my family and don't' regret my decision, but it still hurts. I don't think her fiance likes me either. I have no issues with him. He's not an easy person to get to know but I try to talk to him. The only way to fix it would be to make her the boy's guardian and just not have both of us die. ;) But I just can't, this is all my kids futures we're talking about, and I am not sure it would change anything between us anyway. So tonight I am sad, but holding on tight to those who love me despite my flaws and my 6 kids and even when I make mistakes or do things to hurt them. Sleep well my dear girlahs! Hugs to you all!!

Dirty Dare '07

I really like the soft colors in this one. Almost Amethyst is another favorite color of mine. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE this flower. Isn't it cute?? I colored the coffee cups to look like Starbucks. I love Vanilla Earl Grey Mistos..............just thinking about it makes me want one right now! LOL!! My girlah, Jenn loves her coffee too! I think I am going to RAK her with this card. Hopefully, she will take no interest in my blog and my SCS gallery! Delayed gratification is not my strong point so I always post as soon as I finish a card. Makes me feel like I really accomplished something!! I have an SU order coming on Friday and I am looking forward to playing with some of their new stuff. I just haven't been inspired by my SU stamps lately. :( So I finally managed to create something with my new Lizzie Anne stamps! I was having stamping block so I headed over to SCS to the Dirty Dare '07 Challenges and used Lauren Meader's Sketch (Mytime) to create this card. I love everything and anything pink!! And pink and brown together are my all-time favorite combination!! I'm still a bit blocked tho and am looking forward to some of my other stamping goodies on the way! Poor Kevin!! I have been holed up in the basement on a stamping rampage lately, and now when I am not stamping I am hogging the computer uploading to SCS and blogging. I think he is hoping for some face time tho, so I guess I better get off soon!

Lizzie Anne Rocks!!

I just picked up my new stamps!! I got Jolie Fleurs, Blissful Blossoms, and Daisy Dots and a variety of singles including the coffee cup and the saying that goes with it!! So much for working on my new blog, I am off to my Stamping Spot (which I cleaned in anticipation last night) to play with my new RUBBAH!!! Love it!! TTYL!

My babies!

So these are my darlings this past Christmas. Bailey -11, Alliyah -10, Thania -9, Nikolas -8, and Max and Summer -6. And the 3 GSD's. Hooch is with Bay and Max, Kiwi with Alliyah and Nik and Georgia (or as he insists on calling her -Mary).

Blingabella

So this is my current favorite card. I made it for my lil' sisters engagement. Actually I made 3 but this is my fav. I am really proud of this one tho 'cuz it got mentioned on FAVORITES WEEK ENDING AUGUST 19 on SCS!! Yeah, baby!! Maybe I do have some stamping talent after all!! Currently I am stalking the mailbox for 4 orders. That's right FOUR orders. One from SU, Lizzie Anne, MissyB and All that Scraps. The Lizzie Anne one was delivered by Canada Post while I was at swimming lessons for the kids and they didn't leave it 'cuz I owe duty. I swear they stalk me stalking my mailbox and only bring my packages AFTER they see me leave. *SIGH* Hopefully my package will be at the local post office soon 'cuz I need some new inspiration!!

Once upon a time.......

I had this friend who I loved and lost. Then recently we reconnected thru email for a "catch up" on each others lives. She has been out of my life for so long and email is so not the same as hearing someone's voice, that when I was emailing her I felt like I was talking to no one at all -KWIM?? But I found the experience strangely cathartic, like many of you out there must find writing in a journal. We really aren't buds again but I find myself wanting to email her often. Now I have never been a writer. I am left-handed and my penmanship is awful so I have never experienced anything like this. So I thought blogging just might be the answer. I have no idea who might actually read this, but it is an opportunity for me to unload my life and share my successes with the great unknown. LOL!! Also, apparently all stampers are blogging now and I am caving to peer pressure ;) so here goes!!