Mountain time

I'm currently out in Boone, NC visiting my son who is a student at Appalachian State University. It snowed here Tuesday, but lucky for me it all melted by the time I got here yesterday. I'm sitting here in a hotel room on this COLD morning, all by myself. What a strange sensation that is! I don't travel by myself very often, but it was kinda nice having some total "me" time with no distractions last night. Dan had to work, so after seeing him for a brief time, I hit the local mall and then came back to my hotel room. I put on my fuzzy socks and jammies and did absolutely nothing. I caught up on some blog reading and emails and talked to a couple friends on the phone. I'll be returning home either late tonight or tomorrow, so my little break is a short one, but nice none the less.
Once I get back home, I'll be kicking into high gear with my SU Open House preparations. This is a new thing for me and I'm a bit nervous about it. The Open House is November 8th from 1 pm - 4 pm. I'll be having some Fall and Christmas samples and make and takes. There will be door prizes too, and light refreshments. If you're local, I'd love to have you drop by. Email or call me for details.
I think I'm going to go out and brave the cold weather in town. I haven't worn this many layers in a LONG time. I don't own a "winter" coat ......it just doesn't get that cold at the beach to really need one. I may have to go by the University bookstore and get a sweatshirt.

A New Gadget

I just added a new gadget to my sidebar. If you regularly read my blog, you can sign up to be a "follower". Just go over to my sidebar and click on the "Followers" link. It will be fun to see who keeps up with my blog.

A Happy Witch

This past weekend I attended our NC Demonstrator's group Quarterly meeting in Goldsboro, NC. It was great getting to know several of the demonstrators that usually I only "see" online. It's so interesting to hear every one's stories of how they became demonstrators and just how much we have in common. I had a great time, and made some fantastic projects. And I was surprised when my entry into the 3-D competition won first place! I still can't believe that.
Onto my happy witch. I finished assembling all my Halloween pillow boxes for the trick or treaters. I had a bunch of leftover scraps and candy. So I started wrapping the Hershey's minis with the scraps. Then I needed a way to contain them. So I pulled this jar off my shelf and started constructing a punched witch. I wanted her to be a happy witch versus a scary witch. I sure don't think I'd be that happy if I had that big ole wart on the end of my nose! Maybe it's the chocolate that keeps her happy! And if you can't tell, she also has a hairy wart on her chin. I used the new large oval punch,various circle punches and the a tip from the large star punch (for her nose). I crimped some black paper and cut it into long strips to create her hair. Her hat is from the Eat, Drink and be Scary stamp set.

This is a set of mini cards I'm in the process of making. There will be a set of 4 cards in a mini pizza box. I haven't finished it yet, but when I do, I'll post a picture of the completed set.

The weather has turned a bit cool this week. I actually had to put on long pants yesterday! I'm putting off going on my bike ride this morning till it warms up a bit. I hope it doesn't take too much longer........or that bike ride just might not happen!

Crazy!

For Cupcakes!
This is the set I won at the Stampin'Up! convention. I love this set and would have bought it, so I was very happy I won it! It came with the coordinating wheel and a roll of the new 1" chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon. I didn't use the wheel or the ribbon on these cards, but I will soon. I made these cards for a fellow friend/demonstrator who doesn't have the set. She's promoting the Birthday specials this month and needed some samples. I was very happy to help her out. That's one of the best things about SU demonstrators.....everyone jumps in and helps each other out.
First card is Bella Rose papers and Riding Hood Red satin ribbon. I paper pieced the cupcake.

I watercolored the main image with my blender pens, and then applied dazzling diamonds to the cupcake frosting and crystal effects to the cherries to make them shiny. I used a small piece of Parisian Summer paper to mat the main image. I also used the small cupcake image from the Short and Sweet set in the scallop circle.

The balloons are also in the Crazy for Cupcakes set. I paper pieced them with Maine Blueberry papers and popped a couple of them up on dimensionals.


I did also stamp the insides of the cards, but didn't take pictures of that.
Thanks for looking!

A different kind of post

First of all, let me apologize for the poor pictures. I realized after downloading these that my camera had a smudge on the lens.

Did you know that October is Disability Awareness Month? Probably not.....but yes it is. Those of you that know me personally, know my youngest son David is profoundly disabled, both physically and cognitively. He is 21 years old, but basically functions at the level of a 1 year old. I don't tell you this to ask for sympathy or pity. David is a huge blessing in our lives and we are so thankful he is part of our family. He's a wonderful young man with a sweet personality. Yes, there are many limitations to what he can do. But as you can see, there are lots of things he can do as well. Here he is participating in a wonderful program known as Top Soccer. It is a national program that facilitates people with disabilities participating in soccer. Chances are, you have a similar program in your city. It is so much fun to see these kids out on the soccer field enjoying an activity that otherwise would be unavailable to them. This program relies heavily on volunteers. The program wouldn't exist without them.

We are so lucky to have a thriving Top Soccer program here where we live. They always need volunteers, so if you have spare time on a weekend, consider seeking out a program in your city and volunteering. You'll be making a huge difference to these kids, and I just bet you will get alot out of it too.

Sometimes all we see when we look at disabled people are their disability. Look past the wheelchairs, walkers or other adapted devices and really see the person inside. I think you'll find that they are just like you and me. They love to have fun, feel safe and feel love. Just like us.

This is what I'm giving out for Halloween this year. I'm making TONS of them for all the little ghosts and goblins that come to my door. The pillow box is filled with candy corn and Hershey's minis. The Designer Series Paper is Ghostly Greetings and I used the Eat, Drink and Be Scary stamp set from the Holiday mini.


Another Owl......Owl's are hot for some reason I guess. I don't quite "get it" myself, but this little guy is cute! He's punched from the Tab punch, assorted cirlce punches, scallop punch and the Boho punch for his feet. It really amazes me how versatile the punches are.




This is a small note pad holder. The note pad itself measures approx. 3" x 5". The holder is re-fillable, which is great! I wanted something small to keep by my laptop to jot down ideas or notes that I need to keep track of. I've been doing alot of notepad holders lately. This one has a little pocket on the inside cover too. Quick and easy to make.

These are some cute mini scrapbooks. They measure 3" x 3", so pretty small! The perfect size for carrying in your purse.

That's all I have for today. I think I'm off to play with my Big Shot. I have an idea for the Join in the Cheer decorative strip die, I wonder if it will turn out like I have it pictured in my head?

If it does, I'll be sure to post it next time.

Latest samples

Here are a few things I've been working on. Some of them I stamped with Peggy (my upline). She is SO good to me and we always have fun when we get together. I was at her house last week for a couple of hours and we stamped our little hearts out! I think we did about 6 cards and 2 3-D items.

The turkey card I cased from Peggy's upline (Jeria). She cased it from the Stampin Success magazine this month. I just fell in love with that little punched turkey.......too cute!

The Upsy Daisy card was one I did at Peggy's stamp camp a few weeks ago. Love that one too.

I have a few more things to photograph. I'm so bad at doing that, and my photography skills are not up to par. So sorry you have to suffer through my bad photography skills.

I finally got my Big Shot last week. However, the dies didn't come till today. They were all on backorder. Now I need to find time to play with all the cool toys. I hope to do that real soon.