Sassy & Sweet Notes

Priceless...

It's a BEAUTIFUL day here today -- about 85. It's supposed to rain off and on most of the week, so I spent a couple of hours mowing the yard. Then I decided to spend a bit of time in my stampin' space.

I pulled out some of my Crafty Secrets papers, stamps and cotton scraps. I've always loved birds, and it seems like there are amazing birdies everywhere right now. How fun for ME! I should own them all, don't you think!?

I am pretty pleased with how this card turned out. I like sewing on cards, but this was the first time I put paper through the new sewing machine I bought a few months ago! It worked like a charm! =) I added some Stardust Stickles to some areas of this card too, for some sparkly charm.

I stamped "Priceless" from the Crafty Secrets Card Sentiment set onto a piece of scrap paper. This was the first time I used a Stampin' Up marker to ink up a clear stamp. I made a couple of practice impressions, and it seemed to work just great so I stitched one of the punched out sentiments to my card.

There's a light peachy organza ribbon tied around the card with some white sparkly fiber. I took a cherry blossom from the bunch of cherry branches I used to display in my dining room in the spring. I like the pop the flower has on the card.

Pretty, pretty. =)

And by the way! Julia Stainton has a wonderful tutorial on her blog about stitching on cards! Check it out!

Big, Black, WHOA....

Alan and I have been using his "bachelor-sized" refrigerator, and it's time for a change! We went to Home Depot yesterday, and look what I came home with! Well, we didn't actually get to bring it HOME, it's being delivered on Wednesday.

It's an LG Electronics 25 cubic foot French Door refrigerator with a pull out bottom freezer.

No more veggies gone bad!
More room for ice cream!

I wanted one that didn't have the ice/water business on the door. We drink bottled water, and I wanted as much room as possible inside the fridge. Yay! I'll have LOTS of ROOM!!

The Ultimate Blog Candy...

Like taking your chances at winning really cool stuff?
Check out Allison's blog, Stampin' When I Can.

Tagged... Again?!

There's more taggin' going on in the blog community, and I've been tagged again! This time, to post 7 things about myself, and pass on the favor to 7 other bloggers. Wow... the pressure!

Hmm... what to share...

1. In Jr and Sr high school I played the clarinet, but never made it beyond 2nd chair. (There was always someone better.) Practicing at home made our dog howl. Maybe I just wasn't very good!  *wink*

2. My dear friend, and once 8-year roommate, Julie helped me learn to play the guitar. I have a beautiful Takamine guitar. Today, it sits in the closet probably in need of new strings. The callouses have long since worn off my fingertips.

3. My favorite color changes with the seasons. Or maybe it changes with my mood. ...this makes me think, do I really have a "favorite" color? 'Cause there are at least 4 seasons, and I have a LOT of moods...

4. Despite how much I like organization, I suck at it!

5. One of my LEAST favorite household chores is drying wet dishes. Washing is fine ... drying them is the pits!

6. I once spent 10 days in Alaska, just me and my backpack. I stayed in hostels in Juneau, Haines and Skagway and spent the days exploring the cities and local trails and hotspots. It was a GREAT time ... I'd do it again.

7. My favorite number is 7.

I'm supposed to tag 7 others, but I'll leave the tagging to you. Choose 7 new blog links from my More Crafty Bloggers list and check out their sites! Lots of fun things to read! You'll have a great time!

Special Order: Crafty Secrets BIRD NOTES

The Crafty Secrets Bird Notes set has proven to be VERY popular, and I can't seem to keep enough in stock! So, I thought I'd do a special order. If you would like a set special ordered for you, send me a note! I'll take requests all weekend, and will submit the order on Monday.

The price of the set is $15.75, + $1.00 shipping to US addresses, shipping by quote to international addresses.

It's a beautiful set, worthy of LOTS of love from adoring stampers! =)

Currently, all other Crafty Secret sets are listed on the Sassy & Sweet shop.

King for a Day

I've always been a fan of Basic Grey papers. They have such rich colors, faux textures, and are always great eye-candy. This sheet reminds me of a weathered wall of a house in Tuscany. (Of course, I've never BEEN to Tuscany, but haven't you seen Under the Tuscan Sun, too?) Warm, weathered colors - love them!

I think this bird is my absolute FAVORITE Crafty Secrets stamp. He's perfect. Today, he wears a crown -- he's King for a day. A happy, happy, happy day!

Go FISH!

WOW... I got some newly released papers for the shop today, and they're all FISHY-Angler themed! I'm totally diggin' them!

There are four papers that have a varnish applied to them (for example, on the fish on this sheet) so the fish really pop from the background! VERY cool paper, and I'm so excited about using it for father's day, birthdays, gift items, etc.

I have already listed the papers (12 different designs total) on the Sassy & Sweet shop in the Patterned Paper category. Check out Bobbers! And Sunset Wash! And Dots!! VERY cool!!

The Cake...

Oh my goodness... what a project I took on today! It shouldn't have been quite as much work as it ended up being, but sometimes things just don't go as planned.

I'm not a very good baker, so it makes projects like this even more of a challenge.

I set out to make Alan a simple chocolate cake for his birthday. Just a couple of layers and some yummy homemade frosting. Nothing fancy.

I whipped up the first cake batter, popped it in the oven and baked it as the directions stated. Maybe it's because of the humidity here lately (HUGE storm going right now!) but the cake didn't really rise all that much, although it was really "cakey" and looked beautiful! I thought maybe it was just a bad mix and since I had another mix in the cupboard, I decided to make a second cake and see if maybe it would bake up better and I would be able to make his cake out of the second baked cake.

Well..... the second cake didn't rise much more than the first one, but it looked beautiful too! So. What should be done with 4 beautiful, but FLAT, cake layers?

I stacked them up!

This photo does really show the size of this cake ... four 9" cake rounds... and it's 8" high at the center of the cake. I can't believe I actually got it to stack straight! And it didn't topple over! I served three pieces out of this cake tonight, and barely made a dent. SHEESH!  I think we're going to be eating cake for a good long while.

Maybe the gal that works at the post office will like some cake tomorrow... and maybe the mail man too... Hmmm....

Happy Birthday, ALAN!

Today is Alan's birthday!

I'm still 25 *snicker*, but today he turns 37!

YEE-HAW!!

I've got steak and roasted veggies planned for dinner (as requested), and a chocolate cake in the oven. Sounds like a pretty yummy birthday dinner to me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISTER!

Critter Update...

Thanks to all of you who've left notes and sent emails wanting to know how the farm animals have been doing. I'm so glad you appreciate them as much as we do! Just for you, I went out this evening and took some new photos. It's been a bit cloudy and windy today so getting photos was a bit challenging, but I managed to get a few good ones.

First, I thought I'd introduce you to a new critter. (Not new to the farm, just new to you.) This is Junior. Spot Junior, to be exact. He's one of the barn cats. He's a very good helper while we're out at the barn -- always making sure we get things done right, I think.

Even though it doesn't look like it in this photo, he really does have two eyes. I think he was just dozing (aka "working hard") when I caught him sitting on the tractor seat. I couldn't resist taking his photo. Of course, as soon as he heard me take his photo he jumped down off the tractor and flopped over on the ground begging for a belly rub. Yes...a real WILD animal. As WILD as they come.

The new calf has a name now... meet Ribeye! He's a wild animal too! So wild in fact, it's very difficult for me to get a photo of him because he has to get so CLOSE to me! I can't focus on something close enough to touch noses with! But he's sure a cutie. He sleeps a LOT during the day, but when he decides it's time to play he sprints around the barnyard chasing anything he can find. Chickens, cats, shadows... I can't believe he's 13 days old already! What a monster!

We don't think Ribeye will have horns. When a cow naturally doesn't have horns, it's called "polled". Polled Dexter cattle seem to have a bit more value than horned Dexter cattle. Ribeye's mother, Princess, is also a polled cow. A lot of people consider polled cattle a bit safer to work with than horned cattle (duh!).

Dixie's Chick is getting BIG, and like the rest of the "hard working" animals on the farm, she's lazy. In this photo you can see her horns starting to come in -- they're about an inch long now. Her mother, Dixie, has long forward pointing horns. Ouchie-waawaa if she were to head butt anyone! We hope Chick's hair continues to lighten up a bit to a nice chocolatey brown. She's so pretty in the sun! And we don't need any more black cows!

Fitz is getting HUGE! Growing like a weed! Still ornery just like his mother. When Ribeye gets a few weeks older, we'll separate Chick, Ribeye and Fitz from their mothers, and keep them in a smaller barnyard where we can work with them a bit more than we can now. They're all friendly enough animals, but Fitz tends to get bossed by his CRANKY mother a bit too much. We don't want her lack of social skills to rub off on him. So we'll put the babies in the barnyard, force affection and critter cookies on them, and teach them how to socialize with people.

Should be a rodeo.

Make A Wish...

I made this card with a couple of new sets from My Favorite Things. The doodly-swirly image is stamped onto the black cardstock with Stampin' Up White Craft ink, and then heat set to keep it from smearing. I added some Stardust Stickles to the lines for a bit of pizazz!

The woman's dress is colored in with a black gelly glaze pen that dries slightly raised from the surface of the paper, so her dress appears to be embossed. And, it actually looks like a little LEATHER black dress! Oooh la la! I used Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to color in the rest of the image.

I wasn't sure I liked this card at first... but the more I look at it, the more it grows on me. No ribbons... No hardware. Just a cute image, dressed up with a nice sentiment, and some sparkle. I like sparkle!

I should probably think about making Alan a birthday card...

Happy Earth Day!

I might do something crafty... I might go grocery shopping.... I might take some photos... One thing I know for sure is I need a nap today.

Celebrating Alan's Birthday...

This coming Tuesday is Alan's birthday, and since that's a weekday we decided to do a little celebrating today. Alan and I took his parents to Medieval Times in Dallas for dinner and the show. Whoa, cool! I liked it! But of course... horses, knights, jousting, and dinner with family -- what's not to like!?

If you're not familiar with the show, the building looks like a castle and at the center of the building is an arena surrounded by long tables and seating. A dinner is served which you eat with your fingers (chicken, ribs, bread, etc). The audience is introduced to the cast and a story of chivalry, pageantry, gaming and courage unfolds. It's an ultimate dinner theater!

Photography is allowed at the show but I decided not to take my HUGE monster of a camera and lens, and instead just took my little point & shoot Canon.

I knew the flash on the camera wouldn't throw light very far and wouldn't be able to stop the action of the horses. If I had used the flash I would have been left with dull, dark, blah photos. So instead I decided to capture extreme motion images instead, without the use of the flash.

While this style of shooting isn't necessarily something that works in every situation, it is possible to get some really great images this way of action in low light. I'm pleased with what I came home with. I feel I was able to capture in just a few images, the feeling of the show.

Of course I was in awe of the Andalusian horses, and there was a big black Friesian in the show as well. He was magnificent. They were all strong and beautiful and dressed in period costumes - very cool!

We had first row seating right in the center of the arena which was pretty cool. Although, I did come out of there with a bit of sand down my shirt! Haa! Because of where we were sitting I was able to get photos of the show without worrying about getting the heads of people sitting in front of us. And some of the gaming happened just a few feet from the front edge of our table!

I think this image is REALLY cool. Keep in mind, I'm using my little point & shoot digital camera... What you're seeing is the tip of a spear that's being carried by a knight ON A RUNNING HORSE slipping through a very small ring that's hung on the end of the bracket. Not only is this a really cool game to watch the horsemen play, but I think this is a REALLY cool photo (if I do say so MYSELF!)  *GRIN*

There's lots of excitement, lots of hootin' & hollerin' and rooting for your favorite knight. Sparks fly off of the swords as they battle, and if you're as close as we were you might bring home a little bit of sand in unexpected places! If you have the chance to go I'd recommend it. We all had a great time!

Ruffled Butterfly

I spoiled my self last week and ordered a few new stamps for myself. (Shhhhh...) 

This Ruffled Butterfly stamp by Stampendous was one of them. Life has been extra busy lately, and I am just now getting around to doing some of the projects that have been on my mind. I like how easy this card is to make, especially when there's just not a lot of time to spare in a day.

I stamped the butterfly onto a Fabriano notecard in Black Stazon ink. I watercolored the wings with an aquapainter and ink from my re-inkers. Once the color was dry, I added a bit of shimmer to the wings with Pearl-Ex powder and Future Floor Wax in an aquapainter *dedicated* to floor wax. (Once you use floor wax in an aquapainter, it's not good to use with water anymore.) The floor wax acts as a liquid base for the pigment powdered Pearl-Ex allowing you to just brush it on like a thin paint, and also acts as a sealer to keep the Pearl-Ex where you put it!

I wanted the butterflies to have lots of visual motion, so I added the Autumn Leaves swirls. And if it wasn't sparkly enough, I added some Stardust pen sparkles to the butterfly antenna and swirls.

Pretty, pretty.

Vintage Designs

I wanted to make a couple of vintage inspired cards tonight, so I pulled out some of my Crafty Secrets stuff. I really like this image of the boys fishing -- they've really caught the big one!

The aged colors of this vintage painting remind me of a mural that my Grandma painted on the covered patio side of their garage. It has been years since I've seen the mural, but I remember there were mountains, trees, bears and deer, and some of her kids (Mom's brothers & sisters) water skiing, swimming and playing near the cabin.

I added a bit of sparkle to this image with a stardust sparkly pen. I like how it subtly added life to the water and sun's reflection. I layered the image on some Crafty Secrets vintage papers, and inked up the edges a bit. I look at this card now, and it makes me think of a painting hanging on the wall of an old national park lodge -- like in Yellowstone or the Tetons.

My Dad's a fisherman ... maybe he'll get this in the mail. (Hi, Dad!)

I also put together this card for a friend using a sassy Party Time girl image from one of the Crafty Secrets Vintage Cut tablets. These gals look like they're getting ready for a bit of fun! I used some of the stamps from the Crafty Secrets French Mail set on the background paper.

I drug out one of my gold ink pads for a bit of glitz on the edges of all the layers. I like the glam the gold ink added. And I sure do like my new rounded tab punch from Stampin' Up!

Hmm... come to think of it, Dad would probably like to receive THIS card in the mail too! *wink* (Hi, Dad!)

Keep the Pets Healthy...

Updates have been made to the Pet Food Recall list. I'm posting this for my own benefit, as much as anyone else's.  I'll always be able to find the link if I post it here! =)

Tagged...

I've been tagged! Valerie, Emily (Scoopy!), Tracy, MJ, Tracy, Mary, Michelle, Julie, Chris, Melanie, and Adelina tagged me to post five blogs I enjoy. THANKS girls! I'm totally tickled! You gotta check these blogs out:

1. Leigh O'Brien: Sunflower Studio
2. Vicki Chrisman: This Art that Makes Me Happy
3. Hilde: Stempelgals Verden
4. Lisa Kaus: Lisa Kaus
5. Heather Bailey: Hello My Name is Heather

And, after all of you who've sent me you blog location in the past couple of days, I have so many more to read and catch up on! =)

Do You Blog?

I've had several requests recently to add fellow blogger links to my blog. If you blog about stampin', paper crafts (or other crafts for that matter) or photography and would like to be added to my blog list, leave me a comment on this post. I'll check out your site, and if it's subject matter appropriate (and family friendly) I'll list your site in a blogroll.

How NICE!

I have the NICEST blog readers and stamper friends there could ever be! It's true! HUGE thanks to all of you for your always-supportive and friendly comments. You're always a highlight in my day!

I also want to extend an enormous thank you to Tracy Falco and Tracy Leggett.

I received a very fun package from Tracy Falco which had some adorable farm stickers, notepads, and note cards, all farm animal themed, that she picked up at Michael's. Thanks a MILLION, Tracy!! Check out some of Tracy's work in The Cat's Pajamas galleries - SUPER cute!

And yesterday I received MORE fun mail -- a RAK package from Tracy Leggett! Tracy sent me the cutest Girly Girl card and 4 spools of ribbon, all farm animal themed, that she also picked up at Michael's! Thanks, YARDS and YARDS, Tracy!! Check out Tracy's work on her blog, Inky Dreamz!

I'm SO delighted with my goodies!! But I just have one question...
How DID you KNOW I like farm animals?!

It's true... I do love the farm animals! Ours happen to be spoiled ROTTEN. ...and that's ALL Alan's fault. Not mine. Yup, Alan's.

This really simple card is a Fabriano note card. I stamped "thanks" and then added one of the CUTE cow stickers that I received from Tracy Falco. (I love how the cow's spots are hearts!) I added some May Arts ribbon, doodled some grass, and called it good. =) I love clean, simple designs like this. You don't need a master's degree in design, stamping, or coloring, and the end results are perfect every time.

Products Used: Thanks by A Muse; Cow sticker by Studio 18; Note card and envelope by Fabriano; Ribbon by May Arts;  Marker by Sakura.

Anna Wight Photography Note Cards

Finally ... I found a professional print studio that is able to print my note cards at a price I can afford and at a quality I appreciate!

The first run of cards is finished and available on my shop for purchase -- and I'm so excited! I'll never get rich selling my cards, but at least I'm able to get the images out there where they can be enjoyed!

The first card features two beautiful coral gerbera daisies. The image is clean and fresh, and I adore the colors of these flowers.

The quote I chose for this card reads "Let everything you do be done as if it makes a difference." by William James. I don't think nature does anything unnecessarily. It's kind of like "live with purpose". I try to.

I plan to have more cards available soon, as soon as I get them back from the print studio!

I'd love to know what you think -- do you prefer the standard 4.25"x5.5" card size (A2), or do you prefer sending larger cards (like around 5"x7")?  These particular cards are the smaller note card size (4.25"x5.5") And I know...they're not handmade... but they are still my little artful masterpieces, combining my photography and design. =)

Spring Storm

Spring weather here is crazy! There are no mountains to stop the wind and the weather can change drastically rather quickly. Earlier today was sunny and warm, though a bit windy. This evening the storms came through and several tornado watch warnings went into effect. I was just starting to cook dinner when the front came through, and Alan was out in the back yard with my camera taking photos ... he got some pretty cool shots! This one is my favorite!

Cocoa Bunny

I created this card on Tuesday evening, but am just now getting around to sharing it with you.

I really like the results of stamping all over a layer of paper to create a random background. Using these flower images from my Polka Dots & Petals set was so FUN! I stamped them in Chocolate Chip ink on Close to Cocoa paper ... oooh lala! I sponged around the edges of the paper to warm it up a bit.

The bunny is stamped on Pearlized White paper in Close to Cocoa ink, and I added just a bit of color with a blush marker to some areas of the bunny (like the inside of the ear, top of head, chest, etc. I also added Stardust Stickles to the bunny, and to the center of each flower. So sparkly!

I've received a lot of emails from people wanting to know how I'm feeling after last night's "scene". While I've felt better, I feel SOOOO MUCH BETTER than I did last night and this morning! I want to thank you for all of your kind words, thoughts, and advice. {{{{Thank You!}}}} I did call the restaurant this morning and let them know about the situation. We were at the restaurant pretty late last night, and I'm hoping that by calling them early this morning that no one else was served the bad chicken today. Blech-yucky!

Tomorrow's FRIDAY! Oh, I'm so EXCITED for the weekend! I *love* weekends! Have a GREAT day!

Products Used: Bunny by Stampendous; Polka Dots & Petals by Stampin' Up!; Close to Cocoa cardstock by Stampin' Up!'; Pearlized White and Black cardstock by Paper Accents; Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip ink by Stampin' Up!; Markers by Stampin' Up!, Sakura, and Tombow; Giga Scalloped Circle Punch by Uchida; Ribbon by May Arts; Stardust Stickles; Sponge Daubers; Dimensionals by Stampin' Up!; Tombow Mono Multi Liquid glue.

Not too whippy...

Last night, Alan and I went out to dinner with some friends who are in the area for a family memorial service. I came home not feelin' so well... and within the hour I was sicker than sick! Food poisoning. SCARY stuff. I'm not feeling' too whippy today. My head hurts. My guts hurt. My muscles ache - especially my ribs. Even my face hurts. I need to rehydrate.

Alan was so good to me while I was sick. I really hate being sick - especially that violently. I'm afraid I'm not a very good patient. I get whiny and stubborn, and cry when things hurt. And this time I was MAD! MAD! MAD!! at the restaurant we ate at! We're not going back. EVER!

But the day goes on...too much to do.

A New Baby Boy...

A new baby was born here on the farm last night, just after midnight. ...it's a boy! We'll be playing the name game for a short time while we try and think of a good name for the little fella.

I took some photos this morning at about 8:00. Looks like he'd just had himself some breakfast. He's got a bit of a milk mustache!

Here, Princess (his mama) is licking his head ... ewww ... cow licks!

After some breakfast, naps, and lunch, he spent a bit of time exploring (on very wobbly legs) the barnyard. He's very brave -- not even afraid of the chickens! =)

Build Your Own Flower Garden

Check out this site that allows you to build your own flower garden! Pretty fun!

Just click (or click and hold) your mouse anywhere on the page, and flowers will bloom. To start over, just refresh the page.

Psst...Look what's on the shop!

UPDATE: Sorry... SOLD OUT!

I just posted an ebay listing...
Hurry, hurry, while they last!
Giga Scalloped Circle Punch

Edited to add: If you're curious what this punch looks like on a card, this punch size was used for the yellow scalloped layer on this card. It's about 3" across. The white scalloped circle on this card is the Mega Scalloped Punch. This punch is on backorder with the manufacturer.

 

Hello Hello Hello...

I was chatting on the phone earlier this evening and happened to be sitting at my stamp table too, so I took advantage of the time and colored in some of the images I'd stamped earlier today.

I had to play with more of my Rosie's Roadshow images. They're just so cute, and FUN! I love their whimsy.

I stamped these images together to create this little scene, and then couldn't decide what I might want the card to say. Maybe just "hello hello hello"...

I also used this FABULOUS paper by Basic Grey. Whoa, do I love it! I must get more! Can you believe I only have one sheet?! GASP! That's just not right! I must not have been feelin' quite like myself the day I bought this paper. I never buy just ONE sheet of paper that I love! =)

This layout must be my favorite -- or at least my most often used. I never get tired of it, simple though it is.

Products Used: Stamps by Rosie's Roadshow; Pearlized White, Black and Olive cardstock by Paper Accents; designer paper by Basic Grey; Markers by Prismacolor, Copic, Sakura, and Tombow; Jet Black Stazon ink by Tsukineko; Word Window Punch by Stampin' Up!; Hole Punch by McGill; Brad by Making Memories; Tombow Mono Multi Liquid glue.

Happy Easter!

Alan and I would like to wish you, and all our friends and family, a VERY happy Easter!

We're having an Easter lunch with Alan's parents today. I made my favorite Anna Banana Bread... Mmmmm, delicious!

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Snow...in Texas...in APRIL!?

We are having some CRAZY wacky weather here today! Ice storms and Snow - in Texas - in APRIL!? I grew up in Northeastern Washington, and it was pretty typical to get the occasional bit of snow on Easter, but this is Texas!

I think this is just SO WEIRD!

I took a few photos this morning at about 11am. It was REALLY snowing!

This photo is a small part of the patch of Bluebonnets that I photographed the Longhorns in just the other day.

Look at all the SNOW coming down!

This is Rover, a stray dog (or one that was just dropped off in the area by his owner) that has decided to call our farm home. He was less than thrilled with the morning weather. Here he's about to go curl up between some of the round bales of hay and wait for things to warm up a bit.

It's just about 1:00pm now and it's still snowing, but it won't stick around for long. The ground is too warm. It's quiet outside...the look on this little concrete raccoon says it all. The chickens are all still huddled up in the barn.  The donkeys are huddled under the trees, and a few of the cows are in the barn with the chickens.

Earlier this week we had a couple of 85 degree days, so the drop to the low 30s is a bit shocking. The high temperature is supposed to be 39 today... it's only 38 now. 

Easter Greetings!

Without fail, Fabriano paper and a cute image ALWAYS makes a card I love! This one is no exception!

This image is from the Hoppy Easter set by My Favorite Things. I love the personality of these critters and the GIANT egg!

After I stamped the image onto the white Fabriano paper, I colored the image with Stampin' Up! markers in Apricot, Amethyst, Blush, and Moss. I added a bit of light shadows with my light gray marker, and added just a HINT of light blue to the white areas of the egg.

Once the image was colored, I used Future Floor Wax and Pearl-Ex powders (in light lilac and pearl) to add a bit of shimmer and shine to the colored areas of the egg and the chicks. And because I'm a sparkle addict, I brushed a light layer of pearly colored Pearl-Ex over the entire card front with a soft bristle brush. Ooooh-ahhhh sparkle and shimmer!

Aren't you glad it's FRIDAY!?  ...I know I am!

Essential Glue Pad Special Order: CLOSED for TODAY

Hi Gals!
I've been in touch with each one of you who wanted in on TODAY'S special order for the Glue Pads, and I'm now done taking orders for the day. The BIG order has been placed.

If you didn't get in on today's order but still would like to purchase the product, send me a note. I'll take names for a second special order to be placed this upcoming week.

Price:
$10 (shipping included for US addresses)
$10 + shipping for International addresses

EDITED: If you didn't get in on today's order but still would like purchase the product, STAY TUNED... I may be able to open a second special order on MONDAY. It looks as though the distributor might be OUT of supply now, and I don't want to take another large number of orders if the distributor has the item on backorder already.

More on this on MONDAY when I can call the sales rep.

Enjoy your weekend!

-Anna.

Tsukineko Essential Glue Pad...

I only had a couple of minutes tonight to test the Glue Pad, but in this short amount of time I've determined that this thing is AWESOME!

The pad comes bare without any product on it. It was easy to add just a bit of the glue from the refill bottle to a small area of the pad, large enough for my stamp to be evenly "glued".

I stamped a couple of flower images onto shimmery white paper, and while the glue was still wet I sprinkled a light glitter (similar to Dazzling Diamonds) onto the stamped image. GASP! Fabulous!

Then I let the glue of a few more stamped images dry until the glue was just tacky to the touch (which only took a couple of minutes). I brushed on a ruby colored Pearl-Ex powder with a soft paintbrush. GASP! Perfect!!

I love using Pearl-Ex on my cards with VersaMark-stamped images but find that with VersaMark the bond isn't quite good enough for the applied powder to last very long. Eventually the VersaMark and pretty powders rub off. BUT once the powder-coated glue pad adhesive dried I wasn't able to rub off ANY of the powder with my finger! Love it!!

Clean up was a snap! I spritzed the stamp with Stampin' Up! cleaner, rubbed it with a clean paper towel, and the stamp looked new again. No sticky residue at all!

Oooooh, I can't wait until I have more time to play!

I'm still taking special orders! See the below post for details.

Tsukineko Essential Glue Pad - Special Order

I'm placing an order for Tsukineko Essential Glue Pad kits (pad + refill) on Friday morning at 4:00pm CENTRAL time. Please contact me if you're interested in having one (or more) ordered for you.

The Essential Glue Pad is a clear, heat free adhesive. Just stamp, daub or apply a light layer of Essential Glue to your project and apply your embellishments.

The Essential Glue Pad is great for:

• pearlesent powders
• chalks
• metallic foils
• ultra-fine glitter

Price:
$10 (shipping included for US addresses)
$10 + shipping for International addresses

Texas Longhorns

The family that owns the land across the road from us keep a small herd of Texas Longhorns. Today the cows and their babies were milling around and napping in the HUGE area of Bluebonnets just on the other side of the fence from us. Compared to our little Dexter cows, these Longhorns are enormous! And would you LOOK at all those flowers! Beautiful!

We got another storm tonight, although a small one. And a little bit of rain to feed the fields. It's a lovely spring here this year...we could use more rain! A couple years of drought have really dried things out. It's so NICE to see green!!

Moo!

Gladys Hardy on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

You've got to listen to this clip from the Ellen DeGeneres Show - it's HYSTERICAL!

Gladys Hardy on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Gladys leaves Ellen a message, and the next day Ellen calls Gladys back.
This is almost seven minutes of fun!!

Thanks A Bunch!

I took some time this evening to make a couple of cheery cards. I've been in kind of a stamping slump lately. You may have noticed the lack of paper projects being posted to my blog.

Creativity comes and goes in spurts. Life is busy, and I'm really enjoying photography at the moment, so paper crafts seem to have taken a back seat for a bit.

But don't be alarmed ... someone came to my rescue!

I received the sweetest card from Anette Eakins! I used her card for inspiration tonight (thanks Anette!) I used a couple of different SEI papers, along with black matting, and two simple stamped images. It's a tidy layout with so many possibilities -- and you can't go wrong with polka dot ribbon!!

Isn't Anette's bunny card just adorable??!! I just might find myself on a mission to buy that bunny stamp! (She says it's a Penny Black image, by the way...)

So, thanks again, Anette! You make me smile, too!

Products Used on my cards: Thanks a Bunch by Image Tree; Bird w/ Flower by Whipper Snapper; Pearlized White and Black cardstock by Paper Accents; designer paper by SEI; Markers by Prismacolor, Copic, Sakura, and Tombow; Stardust Stickles by Ranger; Jet Black Stazon ink by Tsukineko; Tombow Mono Multi Liquid glue; Dimensionals by Stampin' Up!; Ribbon by May Arts.

Card by Anette Eakins posted with permission.

Photos in the Bluebonnets

This afternoon we took Daisy and Farley out to the pasture behind the house so I could get some photos of them in the Bluebonnets.

They chased each other round and round and round until they were both totally worn out -- and of course, all this BEFORE we took photos. Before we could do photos I had to clean up lots of slobber, and I got a LOT of shots with big tongues! Oh well... at least they had a good time!

Between the two storms we had on Thursday and Friday, we got over 9 inches of rain here on the farm. Sheesh! Talk about soggy!

And the weather has taken another crazy turn... it was 80+ today, and supposed to be about 84-85 through Tuesday before it cools down again later in the week. I can't wait to see how the fields of wildflowers thrive with all the rain and now the warmth! Should be extra beautiful!

The flowers are so pretty, and really smell good too! They're kind of sweet smelling. They seem to have kind of like an artificial grape scent. We don't have many Indian Paint Brush flowers on the farm, but there are some up the road a bit, so at some point this week I'll try and get out to get some photos. Maybe I can find a few other types of flowers as well.

I look at these photos and I can't believe how gray Daisy and Farley are getting. They'll both be seven this year. Farley on April 8th (SOON!), and Daisy in September. What a couple of happy pups.

I haven't been able to do much crafting this weekend. We've been pretty busy with out-of-the-ordinary things.

Alan and I spent the better part of yesterday in North Dallas. We had to take Twinkle Toes up to a bird clinic to have an egg removed. She layed four eggs this week, and we think it made her so tired she wasn't able to lay the fifth. Poor little thing!

She was looking really sickly and tired Friday night, and I was so worried about her. But we had an appointment with the vet bright and early Saturday morning, and the vet was able to collapse the egg and get it out of Twinkle Toes. She's going to be on antibiotics and serious vitamins for the next couple of months while her body heals. She's feeling MUCH better, but still not 100%. She can't be in the same room as Huey now, since it seems that his swooning could put her right back in egg-laying mode which would be very devastating to her little body. Who knew Huey could be so convincing!

Thanks to all of you for the good thoughts and kind notes you sent while we had the big storms. I've learned a lot about Texas weather in the past week. I know we're not the only area to have wicked weather this past week, so here's hoping you're all safe where you live as well!

Crafty Secret Stamps Back in the Shop!

Crafty Secrets stamps are BACK in the Sassy & Sweet Shop! Get them while they're in!

The set shown here is called Bird Notes - and I *love* it! The birds are perfect, and the detail of these images is amazing!

There are eight different sets available, including Kewpies, Kitchen Classics, Artsy Alphabet, French Mail, Card Sentiments, Cherubs, Bird Notes, and Rosy Wishes.

You'll want to check out the Craft Secrets Sample Gallery for some fantastic projects featuring the stamps. I think you'll love what you see!