I Hate to Torture You!

Firstly; I am pooped! Those stampers WORE ME OUT today! Whoa Baby!!! We had so much fun; like crazy fun... and surprise, surprise I have lost my voice!

I will have a FULL POST all about the event soon, our vendors... pictures, etc; but I need to recover a bit first... I do need to say; I am so grateful to be a part of Splitcoaststampers and Stampin' Up! and have all these wonderful stamping friends as a result. I feel so blessed today; and just so darn grateful!

I am taking the day off tomorrow to spend time with my family who I miss terribly! Be back Monday!

Now back to the contest!

I feel so bad you all you ladies looking up all the companies; searching for HOURS! And WOW, you all did such a great job

FYI... Now the contest is NOT OVER (just keep reading) but I released all the comments (below) And we officially have a winner for the Grand Prize!!!

Stefanie said...

Wow! I'm not sure about those eggs, but here's my guess from the top down:

Paper Trey Inc
Stamping Bella
Splitcoast Stampers
Pursue Your Art
Gina K
Corduroy Lion
A Muse Rubber Art Stamps

GREAT JOB Stefanie!!! Stefanie has been sworn to secrecy since she won. She will be winning a FULL Goodie Bag from our IL SCS Gathering, and a bunch of other cool stuff!

The STUMPER apparently was Corduroy Lion! Rebecca from Corduroy Lion has been having so much fun watching this contest... and I was surprised more of you hadn't heard of her cool stamps! Her images are so sweet and elegant! Plus she has a super cute peeps stamp in her collection... go check them out! Go... right now... and then come back here and finish reading.

Funny note: guess who won those adorable egg stamps and the event? ME!!!! I was thrilled, and so glad the girls let me put MY NAME in the door prize drawing! SO awesome, I have BIG PLANS for those adorable stamps!

Did I mention the Goodie bag has Stamping Bella Stamps in it? And some super cool stuff from Amuse!

Now remember ALL the other entries get put in a second drawing for ANOTHER GOODIE BAG and a bunch of other crafty goodness... and then all you BLOGGERS can still win some stuff including ONE MORE GOODIE BAG and some other fabulous stampy things!!!

Did I mention the Goodie bags contain stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms and Missy B. Designs too?

You can still play; just post a little something... anything at all... to this thread... or the last thread... ALL the entries will be combined. Bloggers; just link to this post or the last post, and don't forget to include a link to your blog. Bloggers will be in a separate drawing to win a third Goodie Bag and other fun stuff!!!

Did I mention the Goodie Bag contains a Hand Stamped card from Artist/Stamping Goddess Nichole Heady? Did you Check out her AMAZING new stamp set just released today? I have seen it in person, and Sarah Vrolyk got to take it home! Lucky ducky! At least I know where Sarah lives. I am totally setting up a stamping play-date JUST so I can borrow it! AND some of her cool Amuse images. Wait till you SEE what she made at the gathering today! SO CUTE!!!

Contest is over on Monday, April 2nd at Midnight Central Time...

Win Some Crafty Stuff!

I am seriously thinking about running off to Mexico so I can be alone with all these stamps and other fun stuff! I am currently sitting on a nest egg of over $3000.00 in amazing donations from your favorite stampy/crafty companies! I have a LIST of 19 amazing and generous companies to tell you about; but I don't want to ruin any surprises for the 80 event attendees! Plus; I have a few fun prizes left over I can share with y'all; and a BUNCH of my own papercrafty stuff I want to GIVE AWAY!

So here is the game; Below you will find seven "sneak peak" pictures of door prize and goodie bag donations for our Big Splitcoaststamper event on Saturday.. All you have to do is name these seven wonderful companies who donated! Just leave a comment below with your answers; the first person to get all seven correct wins the BIG BOX of craftyness! But have no fear, all the participants will get a chance at a second drawing for a BIG Envelope full of papercrafty/rubberstampy stuff! Whoo hoo!

Please note; your comment/entry will not appear right away... I will save them all up and release the posts from moderation on the final day of the drawing which will be Monday, April 2nd at Midnight Central Time. (photos below are not representative of prizes being rewarded in this contest)

Bonus for Bloggers; link to this contest from your blog and let me know in the comment section below and you will be entered in a Separate Blogger Drawing for another BIG ENVELOPE full of crafty goodness! Be sure to give me the link to your blog!

Good luck to all!

Still Alive!

Still Alive but CRAZY busy here! I just finished doing ALL the shopping for the big Splitcoastamper Illinois Shoebox swap on Saturday. We have 80 stampers coming! WOW! Wait till you see all the wonderful donations we received too... I can't tell you yet... sneak peeks aplenty, plus lots of Stamping Superstars; Michelle Laycock, Sarah Vrolyk, Meg Shumaker, Lisa Somerville, Lisa Miller... star studded I tells ya!

While I am busy stamping, typing, sorting, coping and thinking... You should be getting SUPER excited about the next Blog Candy Giveaway I am going to have... now it may be a week or so; so you'll need to be patient. I will be rewarding all you VERY LOYAL readers for hanging in during the rough times! Some may say the photos of the shoebox swap will be reward enough (tee-hee!) But don't worry; I will have STUFF to give away too! :)

Here's an oldie but a goody to keep you happy... I used Watercolor Crayons direct to rubber for the flower.

No Time to Stamp!

Firstly: I have an amazing special going on this month and it's ALMOST OVER... Don't miss out! Plus there is the whole Spring Fever promotion with Stampin' Up! Great deals await you! :)

Posting another OLD picture; but a cool idea. Use StazOn Ink to Stamp on cool mini clips! Fun right?!? Use them to bind a mini book or just to embellish a card!


Remember when I used to post everyday... When it was all about the stamping; when you could see "Sarah and the Stampstars!" in concert for just $18.00 bucks? Oh those were the days!

I saw the Stampstars in '88 at Poplar Creek and Bananarama opened for them... what an awesome show! My friends and I sneeked Zima's in by pouring 'em in Mountain Dew bottles... and after the show we flirted with cute boys in the parking lot and blasted our boom boxes.



Want to be a dork like me... check this out.

Party Prep!

I had some help form my Splitcoaststamper pals today prepping for the next IL SCS Gathering on 3/31. We stuffed 90 goodie bags, and sorted all the participants into 2 stamping groups. That actually took longer than the goodie bags because of all the special requests! Then we just sat around, ate pizza and gossiped. Typical girl stuff. I have some fun pics to share with ya'll...

Left to right; Diane (Stampwithdiane), Tracy (Kydalo), Suzette (Scrapper_Lee),
Catherine (Irishcpa), Angie (Anna741), and my newest stamping pal Heather.

Suzette; AKA Inspector Number 6



Sneak Peek!

Pimpin' my Peeps!

Hey all! Super stamper Lisa Johnson is having a HUGE party... Consider yourself invited! :)

The First Card I ever Swapped!

I was just sorting through some old files and I found this fun "Color Block" card. I created it (and I use the term loosely; I'm sure I cased it!) for the first swap I was ever part of; right after I became a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator 2 years ago. It also was one of the first cards I ever uploaded to Splitcoast. I still like it... and I certainly can't say that about all the cards in my gallery! But it has a fresh look... I think I will CASE it myself and try to play around with the whole color block thing again just for fun. That's probably Bliss Blue in there too... I really liked that color and was sad to see it go. Sorry for the quick post! Lot's of work to be done for the BIG Illinois SCS gathering next weekend!!! Whoo hoo!!!

Quick post; and a Bit of Nostalgia...

Hey all! I am so busy getting ready for the Splitcoaststamper Illinois Gathering (a shoebox swap for 80 people) that I've had NO TIME to stamp! But stay tuned; I have an awesome contest coming soon, an online Garage sale of retired stuff to sell, new stuff to trade, AND a bunch of other fun stuff! Wait till you see the list of vendors that donated AWESOME prizes for this event! I am still so overwhelmed by the generosity. I hope some of you will attend our next event... maybe in September???

But if you are desperate for stamping and creative stuff, be sure to visit Craft Critique this week. We are having a great contest which I expect some of you to enter!


Off Subject:
I am brainlessly watching Grease 2 as I write this... what a stupid movie. I still can't believe they tried to make a sequel of the best movie ever made... I think I actually LIKED this movie as a kid...yikes! Did you know one of the Pink Ladies in G2 (Babette) was played by Liza Minnelli's Sister Lorna Luft? Wacky!

Here are some Classic song lyrics from Grease 2 that will make you spray your morning coffee all over your laptop...

From Who's That Guy: "He wears a pair of goggles like a man from outer-space, it really doesn't matter that I haven't seen his face".

From Cool Rider: "I want a whole lot more than the boy next door,I want hell on wheels. Just give me a fine motorcycle, With a man growin' out of the seat."

From Reproduction: "Reproduction, reproduction! Put your pollen tube to work. Reproduction, reproduction! Make my stamen go berserk."

And really, you should just read this whole stupid song; "Let's Do it For Our Country".

Do you believe this movie came out the same year as ET? Feeling old yet? Where were YOU in 1982? I was in the 5th grade; dancing to "Let's Get Physical", wearing kelly green terrycloth pants, a matching headband (wore over the forehead), a pink polo shirt (collar up) and matching Kangaroo's. Hello Kitty was proudly displayed on my lunch box. I spent most of my time dancing/lip-syncing in the mirror or trading/admiring my sticker collection... remember how the puffy ones and the scratch and sniffs were always traded at a higher exchange rate?

Some things never change I suppose. I still love ET, Hello Kitty and stickers... plus I actually own and wear a pair of Kelly Green terrycloth pants! I am a total nerd.

Welcome Spring; a Memorial for Kima

Today is officially the first Day of Spring! It would also be my Grandma Kima Probst's Birthday if she was still living. My Grandma passed away in 1999 from illness' related to her Alzheimer's Disease. She always comes to mind this time of year.

Kima was a very talented hairdresser, seamstress and cook. You may remember her Melt-away Cookies that I shared with you over the holidays. She was also known for her Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Catfish... yum! The holidays she created for us were filled with rich and fattening southern inspired foods.

Her home was warm and comfortable. While she never had any toys for us to play with she did have a basement beauty shop we loved to explore. Plus she was the "stuff" collector for the Elk's Club's annual rummage sale; so the basement was filled amazing treasures! Antique exercise equipment; like this crazy contraption with a belt you'd just wrap around your waist/hips/butt/ and turn on. Supposedly it'd vibrate the fat off you! We used to love to stand with the belt strapped in place shaking ourselves sick. Grandma also used to save her Elk's club variety show outfits for me for dress up, and let me have her out of style costume jewelry to play with. I felt like a princess many a time all made up, looking at myself in her dressing table mirror.

As a small girl I'd sit on her lap and admire her jewelry; she always wore a gold Charm bracelet, a pearl and diamond watch and several large cocktail rings, even when she was just sitting around in her house dress. She was ultra glamorous; smelling of Estee' and cigarettes she would show up to our backyard childhood birthday parties in her satin dresses with bleached blond hair and red lips.

It was after I had graduated from High School that she started to loose her memory, and years after that before she started to forget who I was. I had moved away to Arizona by then and we could still talk on the phone about her older memories; but she wasn't really sure who I was. After I moved back to Illinois I would visit her in the nursing home and she would not remember me unless I showed her a photo of me at age 4. She'd say "oh, I loved her! She was my favorite!"

I think of my Grandmother often, and I miss her very much.

Sarah and Kima, 1999
This photo of us was taken at the Nursing Home she lived at during the final years of her life. She would ask to wear this Red Elk's Club jacket every day, and still carried her purse everywhere she went. I keep this framed photo in my workshop.

Is This Bunny Cute or What???

I am so into this little bunny from the Spring Mini Set Bunny Hugs. I like him so much cause he's not just an easter bunny, but an all around springy everyday bunny! Everybody say "AW!"

This is another workshop card. The tag was created with the Large Tag punch from SU! and punched with the sentiment from Bunny Hugs. I used the Window Word punch to create the pocket. Mr. Bunny was stamped in Basic Black and then covered with a masking of the bunny. Then I just used my Sponge Dauber to add the Bashful Blue and Mellow Moss background. Lastly I used pastels to tint the bunny's ears and tummy. The background was created with the Petals Jumbo Wheel from the Spring Mini Bundle Special; it's Pretty in Pink ink on Pretty and Pink cardstock. Moss Grosgrain and a Banana colored brad seal the deal!

Spring Mini Bundle!

I had a super workshop last week with a group of regular customers of mine. Here is one of the make n' takes we created. This a great month to place a workshop order with me. Look at my Specials on my Stampin' Up! Website for the scoop!

This card was made to show off the Spring Mini Bundle. By the way if you want to take advantage of this great deal you only have until the end of the month! I am so in love with these papers. I remember feeling this way about the papers from the LAST spring mini too... this is just a great season for me I guess! I love flowers, polka dots, vivid colors and paisley! Spring is just so fun!

This is really a quick card once the paper is cut/prepped. I sandwiched two 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" cardstock pieces together; Pretty in Pink and Cool Caribbean. I made a 3/4" score on the left side of the Cool Caribbean rectangle to ease the card's opening. Now that olive layer of paper... that is actually a rectangle of Petals and Paisleys Designer Paper that has been wheeled on with the Petals Jumbo Wheel in Old Olive! Looks so cool right? The punched rectangle was created with the 1 1/4" Square Punch. With the punch upside down so I could see where I was punching, I just inserted the paper in as far as it could go and punched twice. Using the paper as a guide insures a perfect rectangle!

The key tag punch worked perfect for this sentiment from the set Polka Dots and Paisley, and that element is popped up on dimensionals. I used my Paper Piercer and template to make the line of holes under the sentiment. A 1/2" hole punch was used to make the circles at the top, and punched the tiny flowers last, also in Old Olive. Another layer of the Designer Paper, White Grosgrain and Organdy Ribbon complete the binding on the edge.

Sorry!

Sorry I have been a bad blogger the past week... but I will make up for it.... I promise! I have some blog candy coming for you soon.... just hang in there!

Check this out... we are having a COOL CONTEST on Craft Critique! You should enter! (look at the sidebar for the scoop).

Retro Stamping!

I have some super cool images to show you from a company I recently discovered called Sideshow Stamps. They have all these awesome retro images; 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's... I love them ALL! I have been doing a bit of design work for them; and I am so excited to share a couple cards today featuring their hip stamps. It was so much fun getting a little retro; and let these unique images inspire me!

First up we have this late 1940's early 1950's inspired card. Done in with all Stampin' Up! Paper and inks; Real Red, Basic Black and Whisper White... the ribbon is SU! and a cute polka dot scrap I had in my ribbon scrap bin. The center ribbon slide was created on my Cuttlebug. The card has a lot of dimension too... hard to see in the picture I fear; but the center/focal image of the Saddle Shoe is up on Stampin' Up! Dimentionals. All the Stamps; "Neat!", "Cherry Pair" and "1950's Saddle Shoes" are by Sideshow Stamps.



The next card I created was inspired by those crazy lacquered/modge-podge wood plaques we all had hanging in our bedrooms in the 70's... I swear that's almost the SAME OWL! All Stamps are by Sideshow Stamps. All papers/inks by Stampin' Up!; Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, More Mustard, Kraft, and Very Vanilla Paper.... and the same shades in inks... plus Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie and Summer Sun.

I watercolored the owl, called "70's Owl", direct from the ink pad with an Aquapen. I further sponged it and distressed the edge with my Cutter Kit (by SU!). It is mounted with Dimensionals and gold brads on a rectangle of sweded Chocolate Chip Paper. The background was created with the stamp "Acorn and Leaves". I fancied the ribbon embellishment with Stampin' Up! On Board Accents sponged with Old Olive Classic Ink. The new Petals and Paisley Paper from the Spring Mini is masquerading as one strip of ribbon... I also stamped over it to further disguise it! The other ribbons are SU!'s Twill tape, also stamped, and some VERY 70's inspired ribbon by Prima. AND all those polka dots; on the twill tape and the background, are created with a pencil eraser! The perfect DOT! A small oval punch frames the cool Sideshow Stamps sentiment "Heck Yeah!"... groovy!

Be sure to visit Sideshow Stamps... the owner Jennifer is the bomb... her and her honey own Sideshow Stamps and live in the Mojave Desert! They also play in a cool Surf Band! They sell their stamps mounted or unmounted. I opted for the nnmounted and bought some of that "creative cling" stuff and mounted them on that... works GREAT! and saves me some space!

Lokks like they are having a SALE right now too! Be sure to tell 'em Sarah and the Stampstars sent you! And stay tuned; I have A LOT of these great images... and I have PLANS for them!

Polka Dot and Petals, a Simple Composition

I made this pretty card for a swap club I am in. I was a little nervous about it; the card is pretty simple... and some of the cards I received back in the swap were really elaborate! I hope everyone liked my card! It thought it was a terrific swap!

I was inspired to do this Navy/Pink/White/Gray color combo after seeing a bedroom on the blog Design Sponge done in these colors... the room used Silver which I replaced with Gray. Also present in the room was a big white bed with a cool white waffle patterned bedspread... the bed held a single Navy daisy pillow... I duplicated this look with the embossed square in the upper right hand corner; also with a Navy colored daisy!

Stamps: Much Appreciated, Polka Dots and Petals (spring Mini).
Paper: Night of Navy, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White.
Ink: Night of Navy, Going Gray, Pretty in Pink.
Accessories: Pink Brad, "Shapes" Brass Embossing Stencil. 1/8" hole punch

My friend Nancy thought this card was an easy example of some basic composition concepts... and we chatted about it when I showed her the card... She remembers her Art 101 better than I do! SO it was nice to be reminded of some of the terms, methods and composition techniques I now often take for granted. I thought I'd share some with you.

Creating Depth: What may be difficult to see in this picture is the holes punched in the White layer... revealing a Pink layer below. SO there are really 5 layers... or at least field depths in this card. Something I like doing in subtle ways like this. So on this card you have the Navy base, the Pink under-layer, the White main layer, the raised embossed layer and the pink brad. Creating multiple layers in simple ways can add a lot of dimension to a card without a lot of heaviness. Overlapping objects; or in this case stamped images as I did on the left is another way to create a sense of depth. As well as varying the value or shades of color.

Rhythm, Design and Balance: I try to think of my layouts in terms of thirds and triangles. Three focal areas, three lines for your eyes to travel across, and the focal point is rarely in the center of the card. Picture this card divided into thirds vertically and horizontally. You can see then how the focal points fall near the areas where those lines would meet. This is also referred to as the rule of thirds; a term mostly used in Photography circles; but it applies sensibly to card making and general composition as well.

Wow... I guess I really do remember some of my very expensive education. I guess I did learn something in college!

Super Mom Makes Candy Sushi!

This week was Super Mom week at the Moore home; with my hubby out of town; for the first time EVER without us... Andy and I were so lonely! But tonight he is BACK! Hooray!

I tried to keep busy, and keep Andy's mind off daddy...and I wanted to spoil him a bit. I asked him (age 32 mo.) what his favorite food was at the beginning of the week, and he actually requested sushi! I think it's because he knows that sushi is MY fave food... But he answered...
"sushi, like in the movies!"
"what movie Andy?", I mean has he been watching Japanese art films while I'm not looking?
"like Monstas INK!" (written phonetically for your enjoyment)

So OK... were gonna have sushi... I had all these big plans. Well you know how THAT goes... and before you scare me with your personal horror stories about toddlers and raw fish; lemme assure you... I would not give a child raw fish... at least raw fish I bought in Illinois; perhaps if we were on the coast... but an Illinois bred California or Unagi Roll never hurt anyone.

Tuesday afternoon I decided we were NOT going to drive the required 10 miles to aquire GOOD sushi... or sushi making supplies... so I improvised... a short trip to Jewel later we were ready to craft some kid friendly sushi.

Forgive the darkness of this picture; I have weird lights in my kitchen...

This is made just like regular sushi rolls... but instead of Rice we have Rice Krispy Treats, and instead of Salmon we use Swedish Fish (only the red ones... or orange perhaps). The "Nori" is made from fruit roll ups! I used a regular ole Bamboo Sushi Mat to assemble the Roll... but a placemat or just a piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper would work too... Here is an AWESOME tutorial on regular sushi roll assembly if you are interested.

The end results...

I think they turned out fabulous! The instruction on how to create the Nigiri style candy sushi's is probably self explanatory... just cut the Krispy Treats as usual and wrap a strip of the roll up around the rice/fish combo. Plus they taste pretty good... I ate a few and didn't die of sweetness.

The super cool pottery slab/tray was created my my Uncle Mike... a wonderful artist who you should check out.

Now I am off to teach a 2 year old how to use chopsticks... wish me luck!

I Heart Cupcakes!

I have started a new addiction... Cupcake Blogs. Just reading them makes me happy and fills my mental tummy. They seem to satisfy my love of cake and cute in one little hand-held bite. They have also enabled me to purchase the following items from Target.

I am in love with this new JUMBO line from Wilton... take a look at Wilton's site for the entire line of Jumbo Sprinkles... NEAT!

The sprinkles on the right are also by Wilton; but were made exclusively for Target. This entire line; paper plates, napkins... it's all amazing; really bright and colorful! Look for this exclusive line in the Easter section. The other stuff was from the kitchen section; Jumbo muffin tin, Jumbo cupcake liners and those nifty sprinkles.

Now on the subject of cupcake blogs; please visit these blogs on a full stomach! Be sure to tell 'em "Sarah and the Stampstars!" sent you!

Vanilla Garlic
All cupcakes, all the time
Cupcake Bakeshop
Cupcake Frenzy
52 Cupcakes
Vegan Cupcakes
Cupcaketastic
Couture Cupcakes
GiGi Cakes
Stepped in Cupcake Batter

Yum...Magnolia.
Originally uploaded by AnnecyEmily.

What? You say you don't bake??? Well that's ok... you can get yourself a dozen yummy cupcakes from some of the BEST cupcake shops in town... Lemme know your fave in the comments below! (yummy Magnolia Bakery Pic shared on Flickr by AnnecyEmily)




Albuquerque: Cake Fetish
Beverly Hills: Sprinkles
Chicago: Swirlz Cupcakes
Glasgow: Cupcake Cupcake
Houston: The Cookie Jar Bakery
LA: Suzie Cakes
New York: Magnolia Cupcakes
Seattle: Cupcake Royale
San Francisco: Citizen Cupcake
Singapore: The Cupcake Bakery
Sydney: My Little Cupcake
Vancouver: Cupcakes by Heather and Lori

My personal fave; be sure to get the yellow cake white butter cream frosting WITH sprinkles. Find this yummy bakery in Elk Grove, IL... they also make the prettiest vintage inspired cakes. Get 2 dozen... they freeze well!
Chicago Burbs: Jarosch Bakery

Make this Duck!

Felt Duckie
Originally uploaded by IamSusie.

If you are local... Chicago/NW burbs.... you SHOULD join the Chicagoland Craft Collective! We will be making this ADORABLE felt duckie next Month (March 22nd).

You can Visit the Chicagoland Craft Collective at Meetup.com and check us out... we are a diverse group of women (and hey men are welcome... we don't bite). We have been meeting in Schaumburg, IL. The members take turns offering a craft for the group to make. We always bring Crafts to share and we leave feeling inspired!

This adorable duckie was made by my CCC friend Susie Z. You can see all her work... and some of the cool crafty swaps she's received HERE. She is what I call a "supercrafter"... everything she makes is just dripping with adorable!

Look Ma! No Stamps!

If you are like me you have a BIG jar of miscellaneous buttons sitting around. I have actually MOVED with buttons; extras sewn onto dress tags, buttons that fall off a shirt I later give to charity rather than mend... and buttons that just appear seemingly from nowhere! Who the heck is leaving these buttons all over my house? Button Pixies???

Well some of them are just so pretty... so I made them into a button bracelet! I used Stampin' Up Linen Thread to string it up... and it's surprisingly quite sturdy. I have worn this bracelet several times already and I love how the thread gets a bit more frayed and worn each time I wear it. It was quick and simple to make too.


If I didn't just get a HUGE stamp order I would have more time to make other crafts like these! I also have some projects I am working on for www.sideshowstamps.com. They have some amazingly quirky stuff; and I am making some VERY special things to show off to all of you retro lovers. I am going to start to switch things up a bit more here at Sarah and the Stampstars... more of what I love to create and less of what I think my customers and readers want to see... I hope you all stick with me! I truly LOVE blogging for you all... I am just feeling a need to create more for me and the love of creation; not just the love of Stampin' Up!... you follow?

I also want to welcome the newest member of the Stampstars team; Creative Katie! She is a total stamp addict who lost her "dealer" and decided she would rather be a pusher than a junkie! She OFFICIALLY became a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator on Wednesday, and she is so excited! Be sure to visit her blog Katemade Designs and say howdy and welcome to SU! I am so happy to have her on my team and look forward to getting to know her better!

Oh and another bit of unrelated info... several of you asked me who WON the Googley eye challenge... You can see the winners HERE. They're ok I guess... not as cute as my little tomato trapped in a box... the tomato is still "alive" by the way; I am letting him age so I can get an "old man tomato" picture of him... stay tuned!

Well I better get to bed; it's 2:00 AM here. The sky is an odd color of pink and it's windy "as all get out" here in Elgin, IL. If I had a hatch to "batten down" I would batten it... whatever that means. Off to lie in bed and watch the Weather Channel.

Help! They plan to make me into salsa!

Bloggers Needed!

Hey bloggers! Craft Critique needs your help! We are hosting a blog carnival next week on Paper Punches; and we need your posts! If you have anything cool on your blog regarding punches; tips and tricks, projects or reviews we want to know about it! You can also write something about paper punches this week and submit it to us! If you are NOT a blogger, but a blog lover, you can still submit your fave posts to us!

Visit Craft Critique and take a look at the sidebar for more details... and dates. I hope some of you will play!


Totally OFF TOPIC...

I forgot to share these pictures with you... I created them for a contest I participated in a while back (which by the way I did not win). Amy Sedaris, who is a laugh riot, hosted this cool and weird contest where she asked her fans to stick googley eyes on food and photograph it. HERE are my submissions. And HERE is the Flickr group set... all so cute, weird and funny! Enjoy!