Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

I'm back into the working world (almost full-time!) and it's proved to be a busy couple of weeks.

In addition to my work schedule, I have been baking:

This is a hand pie that is made from a great little invention from Williams-Sonoma. Here is the link if you'd like to see the actual pocket pie mold. It's a quick and easy dessert. I used a ready-made Pillsbury pie crust, sliced a few apples and tossed them with cinnamon and sugar.

I have also been cardmaking:

And, oh yes...there was that little trip to New York to see my friend Martha:

My friend, Chris, and I stood outside the Martha studio to ensure that we would be front and center and guess what happened?.....

THIS IS WHAT WE SAW FROM OUR SEATS!

We were ushered to seats in the second row on the actual floor section. It was so much fun! And, it was so amazing to see all the people that it takes to make this show work.

The set was gorgeous!

And, of course, Martha was fabulous and very gracious when taking audience questions.

Happy Tuesday!

P S - I Love You

My posts have been, a-hem, sporadic, at best. I've been crazy busy. I went to the Atlanta Gift Show, which was fabulous. We spent the better part of 3 days covering 3 skyscraper-size buildings filled with everything from fashion to furniture to christmas decor.

While I was in Atlanta, I did a phone interview with a company called Paper Source (the " P S" part of the title). And, when I got home, I was offered the position! Training started this past Monday and I am loving every minute of it. Paper Source has retail shops all over the country where they offer chic gift items, wrap, and custom invitations for just about any occasion.

Another thing that happened while we were in Atlanta is very exciting. A few weeks back, I was chatting with the same friend who I went to the Atlanta Gift Show with and she had mentioned she was also going to the New York Gift Show. Wouldn't it be great if she could get tickets to the Martha Stewart Show while she was there? I went to the MS website and submitted a request for tickets for that week. And, wouldn't you know it, she got a confirmation email while we were in Atlanta that she had been selected for tickets! And, she invited me to go along as her guest! So, on Monday, January 31st, I will be happily nestled in my seat on the MS Show set!

Until I get through this next couple of weeks, I may be missing in action...

Hope you are having a great 2011 so far!

Fine & Dandy

I found a great way to use my Paper Trey Ink stamps with a fun new My Mind's Eye paper. This paper is from the Fine & Dandy collection and I was so excited when I saw that they offered it in a 6 x 6 stack.

So I stamped the different hot air balloons in Staz-On ink and cut around the image.

Then I adhered them to the cloud background paper. I used pop-up dots on some of them to give a 3-d effect and the others I glued down. And, I used varying sizes to make it look like some were flying further away.

This was one of the cards I gave away in a group for a Christmas gift.

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend.

Tag Happy

I love featuring tags on my cards. They are always the perfect landing spot for my sentiment. I used paper from the Lilac House collection by Fancy Pants:

Happy Thursday!

Thanks For a Great New Year

Happy 2011!

For my first greeting, I am posting a card I made with paper from Basic Grey's Curio collection. I'm posting a "thanks" card because I am thankful for everything that I am blessed with and keeping an optimistic frame of mind for what's to come in 2011.

CB and I had a very uneventful New Year's Eve. We went to the gym (sick, I know) and then we went and had margaritas and mexican food. We were snuggled in by 8 pm, watched "Salt" and rang in 2011.

Happy Tuesday!

Hope you are having a good week so far.

2009 vs. 2010

What a difference a year makes! Last Christmas, we celebrated Christmas morning at mom and dad's old house:

Circa 2009

This year, we celebrated at mom and dad's NEW house:

Circa 2010

Wherever you may be celebrating your holidays, may it be joyful!

Happy 2011!

'Twas a Couple Days After Christmas...

We had a great Christmas. I can't believe it's already over. All that shopping, and baking, and wrapping, and creating. It's done in such a frenzied pace, and then, it's all over.

Here are some pictures from my birthday:

The. Best. Cake. Ever.

The pictures just don't do it justice. It is white cake with raspberry and lime jello and frosted with Cool Whip. And, you can eat it on a full stomach and not feel a bit of pain or guilt!

YUM!

Onto a holiday greeting that I had planned to post on Christmas Day, but just didn't make it. I used one of Tim Holtz's new holiday texture fades - super cool. Then I used my signo white pen to color the raised "December" and "25". The patterned papers are from Bo Bunny and Webster's Pages.

So sad it's already come and gone.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2011!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

My last holiday craft for the season was finished yesterday.

I filled some antique bottles with paper shred, tinsel and mica flakes.

I bought the vintage Santa graphics on Etsy and I printed them out on cardstock. Then I embellished them with MS glitter and stickles.

I thought they would make the perfect holiday trinket for a windowsill or shelf.

Wishing you all a Merry Little Christmas!

I Run On Dunkin'

This morning, CB sprang from the bed at about 6:50 am - which is out of the ordinary. I heard the garage door open and close; Either he was picking up Brad Paisley at the airport for my birthday surprise or he was off to Dunkin' Donuts for my birthday breakfast. When he returned 10 minutes later, I knew I'd have to settle for a donut, although Brad covered in sprinkles would have been preferred.

Today is officially the 10th anniversary of my golden birthday...

I am still creating Christmas greetings. Here is one made with papers from Basic Grey's Jovial collection.

Have a great day! I know I will - I'm really looking forward to my red and green jello birthday cake!

Let It Snow Christmas Greeting

I simply love this paper that is part of the "Snow Day" collection by Crate Paper. And, since it's part of that collection, I thought it was fitting to stamp this holiday greeting with "let it snow".

Another thing I am loving right now is craft paper. It's something that's been a favorite of mine for a while and it was the perfect backdrop for stamping my snowflakes.

Only 3 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!

2010 Ornament - DONE!

Today, I'm feeling Jovial:

—Synonyms
1. merry, jolly, convivial, gay, joyful, mirthful. Jovial, jocose,jocular, jocund agree in referring to someone who is in a goodhumor. Jovial suggests a hearty, joyous humor: a jovial person.Jocose refers to that which causes laughter; it suggests someonewho is playful and given to jesting: with jocose and comical airs.Jocular means humorous, facetious, mirthful, and waggish: jocularenough to keep up the spirits of all around him. Jocund, now aliterary word, suggests a cheerful, light-hearted, and sprightlygaiety: glad and jocund company.

The reason for this "light-hearted" mood is that my 2010 Christmas ornaments are officially DONE! But, let's not get ahead of ourselves here...

My first holiday card is also done, and I've used some paper from Basic Grey's "Jovial" collection. It's not Christmas-y in the "traditional" sense, but it makes me feel like winter...

I even decorated the inside:

And, lyrics from a Christmas carol is the icing on the cutout...

Without further ado, a close-up of this year's ornament:

Actually, it's big enough to use as a holiday decoration:

But, fits perfectly on the tree. I used a variety of different papers:

The basket shape is cut from the Tags, Bags, Boxes & More Cricut cartridge:

And I used Christmas carol sheet shred and old fashioned tinsel to fill the basket:

I can't wait to give these to all my friends and family!

Happy Thursday!