Day Scriber

Sample Cards for Iris Folding Class

2009-05-12T19:22:00.000-07:00

Janet Bradshaw and I are scheduled to teach a tea bag folding and iris folding class in Temple on June 13th. I just finished my samples. The Texas was made with a template that Janet made on her Cricut and the heart was made using a die cut from Quickutz and making your own template. I hope this class makes because it will be a fun one to teach.

Mother's Day Pictures & Kenny's Grad Announcements

2009-05-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

Hello. Happy belated Mother's Day! We had a great day shopping for plants, having lunch, riding on my new lawnmower, finishing Kenny's graduation announcements and just spending time together!

I got the perfect combination of Mother's Day gifts. Tom bought me a scroll saw for my rubber stamps and a riding lawnmower to stroll around the yard and get the grass mowed at the same time. Maggie got me the colorful plants and Kenny got me the bloomin' cactus behind them in one of these pictures! That's just about me in a nutshell!

Kenny and Maggie had fun taking pictures and being goofy!! Just the way I like them!

Maggie designed and made Kenny's graduation announcements for me. I helped her a little bit!

Happy Mother's Day Card

2009-05-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! Life is good over here.
I just got a new order from Scrapbook Haus and putting it in the mail today.
Finished a Mother's Day Card for Tom's mom.
Working on my class at Wendaful's in Temple for tomorrow.
Joyce and I will be teaching a "Christmas in July" class at Scrapbook Haus on July 25th!
Maggie will finish semester classes today and begin studying for finals. Last final on the 19th. Kenny just completed two AP Exams this week and has two more to go next week. Then it should be smooth sailin' to graduation!!
Tom begins the first half of his 2 month PAID sabbatical June 1. He can't wait!!!

I absolutely love this JAM'N Stamps Iris stamp. I know you've seen one card with it. But I just wanted to make another and give it to Tom's mom. I know many who don't get along with their mother-in-law. This is so not the case with me. Tom's mom is awesome and we've had a great relationship for 22 years. She is kind, caring and thoughtful and I'm blessed to have her in my life!!
Happy Mother's Day! Marg!! Love, JS

Scrappin' and Stampin' Room

2009-05-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

Good Monday morning! I love this cool morning. All my windows are open - at least for a few hours. Last week, I made an effort to clean up my scrapbooking room. It is a process. I'm still mulling through my papers and trying to organize them, but I thought I should take pictures of the room before I mess it up again!

I'm also working on some cards that a friend of mine ordered. Since she ordered 100 cards, I wanted to make the majority of them simple, but always with a touch of sparkle. On the flag, I used one of the Cuttlebug strips for the first time on the card and envelope. I stamped white cardstock with our Texana Designs flag stamp and embossed it with Ranger denim. I painted the red part of the flag with Twinkling H2O Garnet and the flagpole with my Pearlescent Watercolors Gray. And for my touch of sparkle, I added one tiny red star. These are cool little peel stickers made by Stampendous!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!

House Mouse Stampin'

2009-05-03T06:10:00.001-07:00

I love House Mouse stamps. They were some of the first stamps I ever played with. My first calendar set was made with House Mouse stamps. They are cute and fun to paint. I've been cleaning up my scrapbooking room (pictures to follow in another post) and ran across my rather large bag of House Mouse stamps. I decided to take a break from our Texana Designs stamps and make a few card with the House Mouse stamps. Here are two and I have a few more I want to paint.

I stamped them with VersaMark and Black Memento ink (I agree that Memento is the best ink to use with Copic markers) and embossed with Ranger Clear embossing powder. I'm not the best painter and embossing the image helps stay inside the lines, but I still slip from time to time (no looking too close!!). Ugh! It drives me crazy, but not crazy enough to start over!! I just received the new "Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink in all eight colors. They are beautiful. I painted the umbrellas and noses and outlined the flowers with them. I used Core'dinations Paper with the Cuttlebug and some bling.

Maggie is coming over today to help with Kenny's graduation announcements. I always welcome her visual gift!!

WooHoo!

2009-04-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of us last fall at a reception for Commended National Merit Scholar recipients. Kenny was a recipient and we were very proud of him. Today, we received more good news. Kenny was accepted into the Honors Program at UNT in Denton! Way to go Kenny!!

A CARD FOR MOM

2009-04-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about my Mom today, this week and this month. Actually, I probably don't go a day without thinking about her - having some special memory of her, but this month was the 6 year anniversary of her death and Mother's Day is approaching. She died the day after Easter with her entire family with her. It was truly a holy moment and I know she left this Earth knowing how much she was loved. She was an extraordinary human being, mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, daughter, friend, and wife. Her sweet, loving spirit truly matched her physical beauty. She was funny, kind, strong, compassionate, loving and she and my Dad lived every day to the very fullest. She lived with kindest and dignity and she left this world thinking about others. I learned so much from her and received so much from her. One thing I shared with her (when I was in my twenties) was my love of plants and flowers. Boy did I reap the benefits of that one!! She loved her rose gardens and a variety of other flowers. Weekly, my Dad would send me a picture through e-mail when another flower bloomed. I loved it!!

This card is for my Mom and her rose gardens!

(Thanks Libby for the loan of the stamp!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAGGIE!!!!

2009-04-28T05:22:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Maggie is 22 today! She never ceases to amaze me. I'm so proud of her and what she has accomplished in her 22 years and I can't wait to see what the future holds! More importantly, I've never seen her happier! Have a great day, Ms. Mag!!! Love, MOM

Thanks for stopping by!!

A Touch of Many Things

2009-04-26T11:59:00.001-07:00

Happy Sunday!

Maggie is turning 22 on Tuesday and we are taking her out for her favorite dinner tonight -- sushi. She is absolutely loving her spruced up condo and living alone for the first time - ever. I've never seen her happier and that makes Mom happy!!

Last week was so crazy getting out stamps orders that I asked Tom to get me a scroll saw for Mother's Day. He said OK and then today asked if I might want an IPod or flowers. Not really. How about a scroll saw and some new cactus for our cactus garden. Fortunately, Kenny works at Hill Country Water Gardens and they have awesome native Texas plants, etc. there!

Today I had an opportunity to play with several techniques and products. For our Texana Designs Cactus Border stamp, I used Versamark and Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and then embossed it with Ranger Clear. I used the Cuttlebug on the background paper and flowers from my Calypso Tin of flowers. That was really cool! I used Copic markers on our Texana Designs Cactus Border Stamp and around the edge of image with a touch of sponged StazOn Timber Brown and the sun was with my new fiskers squeeze punch, colors with Copic markers and then a touch of Flower Soft on the cactus flower. And, of course, a few bling.

ATTEMPT AT FLOWER SOFT CARD

2009-04-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! Life has been crazy good around here and this week didn't leave much time for creating. I have a stamp order to get out, but decided to take time to try out my new Flower Soft products I got at Wendaful's Scrapbooks in Temple yesterday. Joyce taught a Cuttlebug class and I went along to play and deliver a stamp order. We treated ourselves to a pedicure after the class. Aah!!!

I used one of my very first stamps to make this card. I thought the flowers would work well with the Flower Soft. I used the Cuttlebug, Momento inks, Copic markers for the vase, and a few bling.

I look foward to more play time over the weekend!

Have a great one!

CARDS MY DEAR FRIEND MADE

2009-04-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

I have a dear friend (Kay Childers) that I used to work with at Cedar Valley M.S. I turned her on to scrapbooking and cardmaking when I worked there. About a month ago, I introduced her to the Cuttlebug and shortly thereafter, she purchased one. I went over to her house one afternoon and gave her a mini-tutorial. She has been one busy lady ever since - producing gorgeous cards. These are two of my favorites. I love what she did with our Texana Designs mini butterfly and I love the colors in her flower card! Love your cards, dear friend!!

Joyce and I are off to Temple tomorrow. She is teaching a Cuttlebug class and I'm going to play and deliver a stamp order!! We are treating ourselves to pedicures and one of Crow's famous burgers after the class. Too much fun!!

TWO MORE PROM PICS AND THEN BACK CREATIN'

2009-04-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

Good Monday morning! I thought I was through posting prom pictures, but I just love these two pictures. They show the personalities of Kenny and Meaghan. They are best friends who really care about each other and they love to be goofy and have fun. We took these at the Arboretum Saturday night!

Well, I'm off to play with the Cuttlebug today. Can't wait to see what we come up with.

Have a great day!

PROM PICTURES

2009-04-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I promised new Prom pictures. Here they are! They had a great time last night. Kenny took the weekend off from work. Poor Meaghan had to work today.

I'm hoping to do some creating today and I have a play day with Joyce tomorrow. I hope to have something to post Monday night or Tuesday.

Have a great day on this absolutely gorgeous day!!

PROM NIGHT

2009-04-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Kenny just left to pick up Meaghan for the Prom. I took a few pictures before he left. I need a good pic for his graduation invitations that I will be doing (haven't a clue what I want to do yet). I really like this one. We are meeting up with them in an hour to take more pictures of the group (11 couples) at the Arboretum. The first picture is Meaghan and Kenny before last year's Prom.

Next post will be this year's picture.

Meaghan will be attending U.T. next year and Kenny UNT.

We also partially moved Maggie back into the condo today. Tom is working on installing a new kitchen sink for her, and, of course, it didn't go as smoothly as planned. Back tomorrow to complete the project.

CRUISE WORD BLOOM ALBUM

2009-04-16T06:11:00.001-07:00

Hello. I can't believe it's been a week since I posted. Life is going way too fast over here. Prom is this weekend. Maggie is moving back into her condo after several weeks of sprucing it up a bit. We are going to garage sales this weekend to look for treasures for her place!! As soon as Tom puts in the new sink, she's homeward bound. It's been great having her around! And she will be only 30 minutes away. Our rent house, that was vacated the first of March, is moving right along in its renovation. We hope to have it on the market by May.

I spent Monday with friends at the Scott & White hospital in Temple. Pam's hubby had major back surgery and 3 of us kept her company. As of the last update, Rich is doing OK but lots of pain!! Something I wouldn't wish on anyone. Hopefully, he will be home this weekend.

I went to Rubber Maidens class last night where my friend Joyce taught. We had a great time, but how can you not have fun when Joyce is around!! I will post my project when it's completed. I have a few little final touches to do!

And, Etsy has been pretty good to Texana Designs this week!

Last week, I did a CRUISE album (Heart of Texas Studio chipboard word blooms) as a sample for a possible class. The class didn't work out, but I now have my Cruise book from a cruise I took last year with a friend of mine. I immediately made her book, but dropped the ball on mine. I love this book made with Bo Bunny polka dot papers. It's amazing how one's looks can change in a year. In the book, I have short red hair. Now I have medium length silver hair!

Have a great day and enjoy the rain!!

BITTERSWEET MOMENT!

2009-04-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday! My son, Kenny, is a senior at McNeil H.S. He has been in theatre all 4 years and every production in all 4 years. Last week was his last high school play competition and last production. They performed "Madwoman of Chaillot". Unfortunately, they did not advance, but everyone did a great job. As the year draws to an end, I'm about to complete a chapter in my life. The chapter of public school volunteering. I've been in PTA (mostly officer role) for the last 16 years and Theatre Booster Club Officer for 4 years. It was a great way for me to be part of Kenny's public school experience and I met an extraordinary group of students and parents.

Kenny will begin his new chapter in life at the University of North Texas in the fall. His major will be in psychology and hope to go to grad school and study "sleep disorders."

Maggie continues this chapter in her life with a slight change. She will stay at U.T. at least one more year and get a double major in anthropology/biology so she will have more options for grad school. She has been leaning more toward the study of cephalopods (octupus, squid, etc.) and not just primates. Santa Cruz on Monterey Bay is looking pretty good right now!!! Mom wouldn't mind visiting at all!!

I'm looking forward to the next chapter "It's All About Me" (just kidding). But it's time to focus more on my passion "creating". I'm looking forward to learning new techniques, taking classes, teaching classes, meeting many, many like-minded people, and spending time with the friends I already have in my life!

And, Tom and I would love to continue our travels. We hope the economy works with us on that one!!

It's Another Copic Wildflower Day!

2009-04-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

It's already been a busy weekend. I have an order for 4 sets of coasters (bluebonnets and chili peppers) and worked on them all morning. I'm almost done. I need to protect them, pad them, and pretty them up with ribbon!

Here's another one of Joyce's wildflower stamps painted with Copic markers! Too much fun!

Have a great weekend!

P.S. If anyone is having a birthday soon, this card is for you!!

Copic Marker Cards!!! I love these markers!!

2009-03-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

I have had so much fun today! Between my new Copic markers, Core'dinations Paper and the Cuttlebug, I would have a hard time choosing which one I'm enjoying the most! These three products make for awesome cardmaking and stamping.

The first card I made was with Joyce's "Paintbrush" stamp. Important: Do not use StazOn with your Copic markers. It will bleed. I used Memento Black. I used three orange-red markers for the flower, two green markers for the leave. The frame is in a teal blue. Used a teal Core'dination paper, Orange textured cardstock and the Cuttlebug with a little green ribbon and orange bling.

The second card I also made with Joyce's "Iris" stamp. Joyce's stamps are great for painting with Copic markers. I used two purple markers and one yellow for the flower and two green for the leaves. I smudged the rim of the card with StazOn purple (fine for using around the card, just not painting in the stamp). Purple Core'dination paper, Yellow textured cardstock and Cuttlebug with some bling and our Texana Designs "Thank You" stamp.

Have a great day!

CRUISIN' AND SCRAPBOOKIN' - GREAT COMBINATION!!!

2009-03-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

Joyce and I spent the day in Temple at Wendaful Scrapbooks teaching a class, discussing future classes and talking about the upcoming First Wendaful Scrapbook Cruise (October 31st - November 5th). I've been on several cruises and went on this particular cruise just last spring with a girlfriend, but it was not a scrapbooking cruise. It was great fun! I've always wanted to do a scrapbooking cruise and this one just plopped into my lap unexpectedly.

Janet Bradshaw and I will be doing a Round Robin at Wendafuls on May 9th and teaching tea bag and iris folding classes June 13th.

I also purchased my first set of Copic Markers and can't wait to get started. I will attend an Introductory Class in April at Wendaful Scrapbooks, but also spend some time looking for great Copic Marker tutorials.

And, I found a great denim shirt!

Not to mention, that one of my high school girlfriends, (who lives in Temple) that I had not seen in over 30 years, came by the store and surprised me. We had a wonderful visit and promised to not wait 30 more years (ha!) to get together again! Overall, A GREAT DAY!!

Maggie and Petey's Playday

2009-03-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Maggie and her pet snake, Petey, have been together since her sophomore year in high school. She is now a senior at U.T. When Mags got home from school today, she and Petey had playtime together. I know how many feel about snakes, but Petey is a really fun snake. I had the best time with her yesterday while Kenny and Maggie cleaned out her home. I was on the computer holding her and she decided that the books in the bookshelf looked interesting. She curled in behind the books and knocked all of them off the shelf. They were falling all over me, but I couldn't catch them and continue to hold on to Petey at the same time. I wish I had pictures of it. I don't. But I do have pictures of Maggie and Petey having fun together.

Catching Up - Three Posts Today!

2009-03-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, we have been busy sprucing up our condo where Maggie lives! She has really taken ownership on her place and spent many hours (all of us) painting. In fact, she loves painting baseboards (Ugh!) and won't let anyone else touch them. Bless her heart!!

Unfortunately, we did not take before pictures. So I have some "during" pictures and then will post more after the carpet is put in. The condo is 3 floors (sort of). The first floor is a one car garage and the entry way. The second floor is a rather large living area, dining area and kitchen and the third floor is the master bedroom and bath, and second bedroom and bath. We bought this the Spring of Maggie's freshman year at U.T. and decided it would be better to invest than to pay rent for 3+ more years. It is located off Enfield and Exposition - great location!

The master bedroom is 15 x 13 with beautiful sunlight pouring in throughout the day. This place is filled with windows!

Every wall in this place was painted a different dark color. We primed every wall - some twice - and Maggie picked out this cool light green color for the entire place - except for the kitchen and second bath. We decided to keep some of the funkiness in the place. Afterall, she is a college student. Painting the stairs was a real trip. Fortunately, we have two tall men in our family and they had no problem reaching the high spots.

The living room and master bedroom have hardwood floors. We are replacing the carpet in the stairs and second bedroom and will eventually replace the tile in the kitchen and entry way.

The first 3 pictures: Maggie's bedroom. We completed this room first because the mattresses were being delivered on Friday morning. Maggie and Tom set up the bed frame and night stand just in time for their arrival. Then Maggie and Kenny enjoyed hangin' on the bed.

The last picture is her large living area. All that's left is the baseboard and we can arrange the furniture! Tom and I are headed over there now to measure the carpet and get it ordered!

Backyard This Morning!

2009-03-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures taken this morning! This is what we learned: Texas native plants really do come back! Asparagus ferns are the hardiest of all ferns and we will plant more this year. My cactus garden is hard to weed!!! Too many pricklies!
We've been planting tomatoes for almost 20 years and talk about spoiled!! I'm always a little sad when are tomatoes are gone and I have to "make do" with commercial ones.

I love sharing my neighbors plants!! Thanks to them I get to enjoy the above plants and before too long our entire back fence will be solid morning glories!

This is our invisible fountain that we got at Hill Country Water Gardens last summer. They have so many to choose from. I hope to get one more very soon!

A Different Kind of Creating!!

2009-03-22T09:50:00.001-07:00

This has been a labor intensive week at the Mitchell household, but in many ways instant gratification! Today, Tom and I took some time out from the rent house and condo work to plant our tomatoes and bell peppers and do a little pruning. He spent many hours last Spring creating a fern and cactus garden. Lucky for us, Kenny works at Hill Country Water Gardens and we were able to take advantage of his discount and purchase some beautiful pots and plants. Here are some pictures of last year and what we hope our yard will look like again in a few months. We have a huge backyard and have so many dreams and ideas as to what to do with it. We are still in the dreaming stage.

CUTTLEBUGGIN AND METAL ART

2009-03-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

I spent the day with friends making cards and a picture frame. It was a good day and saw many of my Scrapbook Fever friends.

I actually got some things done. Sometimes, I just socialize and piddle around!!

I made several cards, but decided to post this one. I just love my Cuttlebug and both card and frame were made using the Cuttlebug.

THIS IS MY KIND OF WEATHER!!

2009-03-13T09:55:00.001-07:00

I love this weather - if - one can stay home and putter around the house or read a good book or make the card of the day!

Today, I'm featuring our Texana Designs cactus and "thank you" stamps.

The "Thank You" and cactus stamps were embossed with JudiKins Rustique Bent Nail.

The cactus was painted with Pearlescence paints by Yasutomo. I used yellow, orange, and copperish colors.

I used Stampin' Up green(can't remember the name) card stock and core'dinations brown paper from their vintage collection. I used the Cuttlebug bubble folder on the brown paper.

And then I put the final touches on with brown and and dark orange bling.

Thank you card!

2009-03-12T06:35:00.000-07:00

Good morning! I'm sending out a stamp order today and always send a "thank you" note with each order. Today I'm showcasing the Texana Designs "Texas Star". This stamp takes on an entirely different look when it is painted. I used Navy and Gold Twinkling H2O's on the star, embossed it with Ranger's Rich Red embossing powder. I used the "thanks" Cuttlebug folder on blue card stock and pearl and star embellishments. Also red and white polka dot ribbon.

Have a great day! My yard and plants are soooooooooooooo happy with this rain.

IRIS FOLDING - One of My Favorite Things To Do!

2009-03-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

I love to iris fold and hope to teach a class an Iris Folding Class at Wendaful's this summer! I must admit, I did not do these card today. I was in a (forced or go insane) organizing mood this morning and started organizing my Texana Designs computer files. I ran across some of my favorite iris folding cards and thought I would share them with you. The Texas iris folding card is Janet Bradshaw's creation and has become one of my favorites! She used her Cricut "states" cartridge to create the pattern. Last Fall we made some with Christmas paper and they were a big hit! My wrapping paper is awesome to do these cards. It's so light weight and makes for an easier fold.

Have a great day and I hope the time change doesn't make you too weird!!!

Music and Laughter - Awesome Combination!!

2009-03-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

Good morning! It's Friday and suppose to be a beautiful day! Music and laughter are two of my favorite things to do. I wanted to showcase Texana Designs guitar stamp and this is how it turned out.

Stamp: Texana Designs guitar and Stampabilities "Take Time"
Embossing Powder: Ranger Mint Green
Embossing Foil: Ranger Violet
Papers: Green and Black cardstock and Wassau metallic purple
Cuttlebug Allegro folder
And, of course: BLING!

Have a great weekend!

Just got another stamp order (all of them mounted). My hubby's "honey do" list is growing!!!!! He makes all my wooden mounts for me!

Dragonfly Season

2009-03-05T15:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I wasn't going to do a card today and let Joyce's new stamps be my posting. However, I saw a tutorial today on Stamp TV about watercolor pencils and blending solution and thought I would give it a try.

Supplies used:

Stamp: Texana Designs dragonfly
Paper: Wassau metallic purple (only seen it at Michael's)
Stampin' Up Watercolor Pencils
Shimmerz December Sky
Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers folder
Sticklers Icicle
Pink bling

My goal is to get the watercoloring a little more vibrant - hopefully practice will improve my technique!!

More JAM'N Stamps on the Way!

2009-03-05T09:30:00.001-08:00

By popular demand, we added more of Joyce's stamps and they are being shipped as I write this. Here are some to look forward to! Not the original sizes. They will be posted on Etsy and Texana Designs this weekend!

2009-03-04T06:53:00.001-08:00

Good morning! This is a very simple card, but my goal was to show off this beautiful Texana Designs stamp. I love this hummingbird/hibiscus stamp but was having trouble figuring out how best to use it. I really like how this one turned out.

Stamps: Texana Designs hummingbird/hibiscus and happy birthday
Papers: Black and purple cardstock
Embossing Powder: Ranger Candy Pink
Embossing Foil: Ranger Violet
Embellishments: Bling

Lemurs in Love

2009-03-03T08:49:00.000-08:00

I realize that Valentine's Day is over, but I just love this Texana Designs stamp and wanted to do a card with it.

Stamp: Texana Designs "Lemurs in Love" and "Congratulations"
Embossing Powder: Ranger Expresso
Shimmerz: Coffee for the log and Angel for the edge of the stamp
Twinkling H2O: Rich Cocoa for the lemurs
Cuttlebug folder: Heart Blocks
Embellishments: Pearl and rhinestone bling

It doesn't really show in the picture, but the edge of the stamp shimmers and the lemur has a bling eye!! I also used white pigment ink and ran it over the Cuttlebug folder before running it through. It gave the card a very light glaze of white on the red.

Got a new stamp account yesterday so I'm off to prepare my order!!

Have a great day!!

Kenny's Senior Scrapbook

2009-03-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure I'll get my card of the day made today, but I did get caught up on Kenny's senior scrapbook this weekend. I did not have any pictures of the Austin City Limits Festival and Kenny's girlfriend, Meaghan, brought me a CD of pics on Saturday. Yesterday, I scrapped these pages and I got to use my new chipboard letters with guitars, pianos, and drums on them!!

CUTTLEBUGGING IN NY CENTRAL PARK

2009-03-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

About a year ago, I spent several days in NYC with my nephew who is a professional photographer in New York. We spent one day in Central Park and took many pictures. I decided to take two of them and run them through the Cuttlebug. I used the Birds and Swirls folder with the tree picture and the Leafy Branches with the birds picture. I sanded each one. This was really fun to do!

Have a great Sunday!

Butterfly Card made with Fun Products!

2009-02-28T12:56:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try and make a card a day with all these fun new products I've purchase. Today's card is Texana Designs butterfly.

I stamped the butterfly with VersaMark and embossed with Ranger Queen Gold.
I just received my shipment of Shimmerz and used Aqua Marine, Burgandy, Iced Lavender and Angel Wings to paint the butterfly
Someone turned me on to Black Magic ColorCore Cardstock and I just had to try it out. You can sand, tear, and antique it. The one I used is black on one side and purple on the other.
I ran the black and purple paper through the Cuttlebug using the Stylized Flowers folder. Then I sanded it so the purple would show through.
I tore the butterfly paper and painted the edge with Angel Wings Shimmerz and then tore the Black Magic ColorCore paper.
I added a touch of turqoise bling to bring out the Aqua Marine paint on the butterfly.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Our class in New Braunfels didn't make, so I will have more time to play!

Cuttlebug Play!

2009-02-27T11:37:00.000-08:00

Spring is in the air and I'm playing with the leafy branch cuttlebug folder. After embossing I used green chalk, copper dabber and finished is off with bling and and an embellishment with the word "relax" on it. I have a dear friend who could use this card right now. I think I'll send it her way!!

Kenny's Band Palehorse

2009-02-26T06:38:00.000-08:00

My son, Kenny, is in a band called Palehorse. They participated in Battle of the Bands at the Red Eyed Fly on 6th Street last Sunday night. There is a possibility they will be in the finals. Kenny is the tall blonde with glasses. He plays lead, bass and does the vocals. Go Palehorse!!

Another Play Day!

2009-02-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

I went to Joyce's house today to play with my new Cuttlebug! These are the two cards I made, but she showed me so many more fun things to do with photos, paper, bleach, ink, etc. That will be a posting for another day - like when I get them done! The flower card was embossed through the Cuttlebug then painted with Pearlescent Watercolors and Bird card was embossed through the Cuttlebug then rubbed with three different ink pads (Adirondack Dye Ink) with a touch of bling to finish it off. Plus, the dye cuts Hi and Kindred Spirit.

2009-02-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

Some days are just too much fun! This week I attended the Rubber Madens group for the first time. The project was this picture frame. I had just bought a Cuttlebug this week (finally) and I was excited to be able to use it for this project. It's amazing what you can do with an old picture frame, metal tape, and some stain.

PEARLESCENT WATERCOLORS

2009-02-16T12:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I have some sad news (for me) and some good news (for me). I was delivering stamps to Wendafuls in Temple today and Wenda told me she got a flier indicating that Luminart (home of the Twinkling H2O's) is going out of business. For those who know me, know that I am a huge fan of Twinking H2O's and do many projects and teach classes using this product. I was so sad to hear. THEN, I remembered ordering a product called Pearlescent Watercolors (by Yasumoto) several months ago and just had not taken the time to play with them. They're shiny like my H2O's, so maybe, just maybe they would work! They paint beautifully and have the same effect as my H2O's! I went online and others are saying the same thing about them. And, the great news is they are so reasonably priced - $5.99 for palette of 21.

Bleach and Foam Fun!

2009-02-13T06:40:00.000-08:00

Friday the 13th one day and Valentine's Day the next. What an interesting combination!! Last week I had two play days with two different friends and I had so much fun playing with bleach and fun foam! If you haven't seen or used the Doublemate Cardstock, you must check it out.

The bluebonnet was stamped on plain blue cardstock, embossed with JudiKins Rustique Bent Nail, partially bleached on the flower only. I painted the stem with Twinking H2O Green Moss and then finished it off with Icicle Stickles.

The boot was stamped on the Doublemate Brown Cardstock (not sure what the real name is) and embossed with Ranger Copper and bleached. That's it! I can't wait to get all the colors and see what this boot looks like bleached on each one.

Joyce Meyer Jam'n Stamp Paintbrush was also stamped on the Doublemate Brown Cardstock, stamped with black pigment ink and embossed with clear, the flower was bleached and then painted with Twinking H2O Garnet and Moss Green. Green and copper metalic paper was used to add a glowing touch to this gorgeous flower.

While I was visiting Pam last week, she showed me how to stamp with fun foam. Oh my! It has a cool three dimensional look. This is going to add a whole new dimension to some of my projects. I immediately went to Michael's and bought many colors of foam to play with. Unfortunately, life has been "good" busy and I will wait until tomorrow to play some more. I'm going to try painting on this foam and see what comes out. Stay tuned.

Joyce and I have two class dates schedules at Wendaful in Temple. The owner's goal this year is to add more Texas products! Yea us! I'm going to teach a class using Heart of Texas Studio chipboard. Yea Pam!

2009-02-11T08:16:00.000-08:00

Life has been kind of crazy around here! Boredom doesn't exist in our household! Kenny was in the musical "Urinetown". Interesting name, right? "Urinetown" is an American award-winning satirical comedy musical that pokes fun at capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and petty small town politics. Kenny was one of the poor people. He was Hot Blades Harry (a psychopathic, loose cannon). This was a juicy part that he could play "over the top." I was amazed at the talent in this production. One of the best I've seen!

Saturday's Play Day With Maggie

2009-02-01T07:50:00.000-08:00

I love scrapbooking and cardmaking with Maggie! She is such a visual person and loves to think outside the box. I've learned so much from her! Maggie spent Saturday with us and we made sample cards for some Texas scrapbooking stores and Texas reps. One rep has Corpus Christi, so we made a pelican and octupus card for her to show. We also made a pirate card since "pirates" is a popular theme for boys' birthday parties. And, of course, a bluebonnet card! I'm having another play day with Joyce on Tuesday. This is too much fun!!

WE'RE GOING TO NEW BRAUNFELS!!

2009-01-29T14:55:00.000-08:00

Joyce and I had the BEST day trip to New Braunfels and San Antonio. Our stamps were well received by all and Scrapbook Haus booked us to teach a class on March 1st. We are waiting for call backs from Stamp Antonio and Scrapbook Heaven, whose owners were at CHA.

And, of course, I had to do a little shopping while there. I found this paper and matching letters by piggy tales for Kenny's "Battle of the Bands" (February 22nd) scrap pages.

A Time to Retreat

2009-01-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

January has been a retreat month for me. I've been staying home reading, watching some TV (totally hooked on Battlestar Galactica and thanks to Net Flix I can watch several episodes at at time) and basically enjoying some much needed down time. I love snuggling under quilts in my recliner with a cup of tea and a good book!

Tomorrow, I will be taking a day trip with Joyce Meyers to several scrapbooking stores in the San Antonio area to discuss the possibility of teaching some classes with our stamp line. Wish us luck!!

A friend of mine ask if I could make her some Valentine tiles for her niece and include her initials. This is the design she liked.

Have a great day! Stay warm!

GREAT NEWS FROM TEXANA DESIGNS!

2009-01-11T09:05:00.000-08:00

I'm sure some of you have heard the name Joyce Meyer and JAM'n Stamps. If not, you stampers will definitely recognize some of her stamp designs. JAM'n Stamps was in business from 2000-2005. In 2006, Joyce wanted to devote more time to her art and spend more time with her family. For those of you who know Joyce, I'm thankful to report that her eyes are improving!!

She is one of the sweetest spirits I have ever met. Her passion for art and enthusiasm for life is totally infectious and I've had the best time getting to know her. At one time, Joyce had her line of stamps in 33 Texas stores. Well, Texana Designs is adding some of Joyce's designs to the catalog and sending them out to our "reps". We are going to start small with only 4 of her designs, but no doubt that number will increase at a very fast pace.

Joyce has her BFA in Art and MA in Art Education. She taught art in the Texas Public Schools for 21 years! She has been an artist all her life and loves drawing, painting, photography and LOVES TEXAS. She is first and foremost a teacher. AND, we begin our second new venture in a few weeks by taking two days trips to some scrapbooking stores to talk about teaching classes. I know I'm going to learn so much from Joyce. She is a true PRO!!

Here are the 4 of her designs!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

I'm looking forward to 2009 and want to be "present" for each day! I started the new year:

eating healthier,
practicing more positive thinking,
reading good books to help start my day with a great attitude, and
staying in the moment.

Easier said that done!! But, being intentional and practicing awareness will help.

2009 is the year of many changes:

taking the next step with Texana Designs by having a "rep" to help promote our stamp line.
Kenny,my youngest, will graduate from McNeil High School and leave for UNT Denton in August.
Tom and I become empty nesters
My nephew (my sister's son who is no longer with us) is getting married on the land he just purchased in Vermont. We will spend 3 days in a cottage on the lake celebrating his marriage
Maggie has decided to get a double major anthropology/biology and will be at U.T. until completion (I get to have her around a little longer!!!)

And this is just what I know now! Who knows what tomorrow will bring! I better catch up on last year's scrapping because there will be lots to do in 2009!

My wish for each of you:

may you make time for yourself and do what you enjoy doing
may you have a healthy and happy year
may you spend many moments in good conversation with family and friends
may you create new projects and complete the projects that are important to you
may you "live, laugh, and love" and
may it be a year of peace for all!

2008-12-30T11:35:00.001-08:00

PAM! What would I do without you and your word blooms!! I just finished my last one for the year. I can't even count how many I've done or Maggie has done. We are heading to Houston on New Year's Day to celebrate Christmas with Tom's family. I just finished this "grandkids" word bloom for Tom's mom and thought I would share some of it with you. Grandma I hope you don't look at my blog until after New Year's Day!!! No peeking!!

Wonderful Christmas Eve with Family!!

2008-12-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!
It was touch and go on Tuesday night. My nephew and his fiancee were stuck in New York trying to get to Austin. It didn't happen. Their flight was canceled, but they were able to fly out of New York Wednesday morning and fly all the way to L.A. and then fly to Texas. Weird! But it worked. They arrived around 6ish on Christmas Eve and we had the best evening together! It was Carolinne's first time to Texas and Maggie and I made her a TEXAS Word Bloom (thanks Pam). She was thrilled!! I got wonderful treasures from Madagascar, India, and Kyoto. My nephew is a photographer in New York and travels all over the world. And, of course, Maggie brought back many treats from Madagascar for everyone.

2008-12-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

It's the day before Christmas Eve and all is well. Maggie is spending the day completing her baskets with her baked goodies! She has baked poppy seed bread for at least the last 8 years. She is adding puppy chow to her treats this year!

My nephew and his fiancee are flying in from New York tonight. She is from New Jersey and this will be her first real visit to Texas. We are fixing a fajita feast for Christmas Eve in honor of Carolinne!

I was shopping at Michael's last week and discovered these awesome wooden star ornaments at 60% off and thought they would be fun to stamp. I bought all they had!! Here's an example!

I hope each and everyone of you have a safe, healthy, and happy holiday!!

2008-12-15T14:47:00.000-08:00

Brrrrrrr! What's up with this weather? I woke up feeling like I was in a refrigerator this morning and have been trying to get warm all day. It does feel like Christmas is around the corner. Hopefully tomorrow, with Maggie's help, we will get most of the packages wrapped and under the tree and spend the rest of the day finishing our handmade presents.

Saturday was so much fun! I spent the entire time making Texas iris folding cards. I never get tired of making them because with each new set of papers a completely different card is created.

On last week's many visits to Hobby Lobby, I discovered these wonderful Texas snowmen. I just couldn't resist them. They reminded me of our business and who knows next year's Christmas stamp just might have to be a Texas snowman!!

"Slice" Playing

2008-12-11T16:37:00.001-08:00

I finally got to play with my "Slice" today - for the first time! It's a sad affair when you have a new toy and can't find the time to play with it! I have 4 cartridges, but only played with the Christmas cartridge today. Here's a sample of the fun I had!!

It's very easy to use. Some reviewers don't like the fact that you have to hold it while it cuts. I personally enjoyed it and it doesn't take very long. I did notice that after using the blade about 6-7 times, the thicker paper did not cut as thoroughly as the thinner paper. Experience and use will determine how long a blade last.

CLOSE CALL!!

2008-12-11T06:50:00.000-08:00

Good morning friends,

I had a scary phone call this morning. It was from the fraud unit at Chase regarding my VISA card. Around 6:30 this morning, someone made about 5 charges to places like World Singles Service, American Singles Service, and Odyssey Bar. Fortunately, the staff at Chase were on the ball, flagged these purchases and called me. The representative said these were classic examples of fraudulent activity on a card. The "not so good" news is they had to shut down my account. The "good and grateful news" is the representative was so helpful and said they would ship new cards overnight, delete the charges, and dismiss any penalties. The "awesome" news is they caught it within 3 hours of purchases. All this to say, check your purchase activities on a regular basis! It could have been a sad holiday, but thankfully it will be a happy one!!!

Shopping and Creating

2008-12-09T16:18:00.001-08:00

Maggie and I had a wonderful day today Christmas shopping, creating Heart of Texas Word Blooms and making ceramic coasters with our Texana Designs stamps. I've spent so much time preparing for and participating in bazaars this Fall that no time was left for filling our craft orders for Christmas - until today! Here are a few of the coasters that customers have ordered.

It's truly been a therapeutic day of creating for us!

End Result of Our Stamp-making Day!

2008-12-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

So, here's the final product! They're not beautiful, but they are handmade and stamp beautifully!

STAMP-MAKING DAY AT THE MITCHELL'S HOUSE

2008-12-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

It's been a long weekend and I thought I would be tired today. But -- I'm so excited about Tom's progress on making custom stamps that I've forgotten to be tired. I thought I would share with you what he has been doing this morning. If stamp-making goes as planned, I will have samples and order forms by the December 13th "Scrappy" just in time for Christmas!!

I took pictures of Tom making the stamps today and thought I would post them. It's quite an interesting process and a very delicate and tedious process. Timing is most important - along with patience!

It all starts at th e computer and printing on a transparency.

Then, placing and pouring the special liquid. It's so hard not to get bubbles and very tedious to get them out! After exposing them under a UV light and a little peeling, washing, and drying - Voila! Sometimes the bubbles grow and you have to start all over again. Sometimes the letters peel off during the process and you have to start all over again. Sometimes everything works and it is a happy feeling!!!!

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY, KENNY!

2008-12-04T03:37:00.000-08:00

Oh my, how the years do fly by. My youngest is 18 today and going to college in September. He has decided on the University of North Texas in Denton. Did you know that UNT is home to the largest music school in the nation? And did you know that Paste Magazine named Denton, Texas the number one music city in the nation for 2008? Yeppers!! Even though Kenny is interested in majoring in psychology (specializing in sleep disorders), he is a passionate musician. He's been playing guitar since he was 6, and also loves to play piano, drums and a variety of unique instruments. I do believe he will fit right in.

On another note, Maggie and I have a booth at the Teravista Elementary School Holiday Bazaar (across from IKEA) this Friday (3-8) and Saturday (9-4). If you are out and about, drop by. We will have our stamps and other creative goodies, Janet's tea bag folding and iris folding kits, and Marie's stickers. There are around 26 vendors participating. Hope to see you there!!

Finally going to try this again!

2008-12-03T16:39:00.000-08:00

I'm tired of seeing all of my friends wonderful blogs and I have nothing on mine. It makes me feel lazy. So, here's my first shot at it.

First of all, my wonderful daughter is home safe and sound from Madagascar with many, many stories to tell. Not to mention that she brought back a few friends with her in her belly, but we are in the process of telling them to go back to Madagascar!!

I've been keeping busy doing bazaars while Maggie has been gone. Thanks to my friend Janet, I was able to make these Texas gifts tags by using her Cricut machine for the dye cut and embossing our mini Christmas boot stamp to add a nice touch.

I've been making Desk Calendars for about 5 years now and was thrilled when we were able to use our own stamps to make the calendars. Our calendars were a big hit at the Granbury Christmas Bazaar.

With the Texas Word Bloom from "Heart of Texas Studio" and our Texana Designs stamps, I had so much fun creating this Christmas in Wimberley album. I made it into kits and took them to Granbury. They were gone within one hour!!!! Thank you Pam for making life more fun with your Word Blooms!!!

First Entry

2008-09-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at my friend Marie's desk learning how to do this blog.