Inked Endeavors

An order!

2008-03-17T09:22:00.002-04:00

So this very nice friend at my church asked me to make some cards for her that she can use as hostess gifts for Easter. Needless to say, I was floored! So, I've been working on them here and there over the last few weeks. I think I will put 10 cards together in a little box that I hope to complete today. Anyhow, I thought I would give you a peek at one of the cards going inside the box. I think it's suck a cute card for a little boy's birthday or to welcome a boy baby. I am going to try a girl version as well.

I used the color combo from here http://kwernerdesign.com/blog/color-inspiration/ to come up with my colors for this card. Isn't Kristina great?

Anyway, enjoy!

Looky what Santa is bringing me....

2008-03-16T20:40:00.002-04:00

Yep, I know it's March. But, I've been debating about buying a really good camera for a long time now. My Dad loved to take pictures, and so do I! And you all know I love to scrapbook too! So, why not combine them both? Our company hands out these rewards points when you do something good. (like sell a lot of pumps!) So, I had 700 just burning a hole in my pocket. After a particularly bad week (1) I lost all of my photos from 2007 and 2008 and 2) I had to work my butt off this week!) I decided to splurge and use all my points. That earned me some Best Buy gift cards, and as soon as they arrive, I'm ordering this little gem!

So all of you with kiddos at home, lock your doors. Crazy Aunt Terri is coming to use her new toy! Liz, I hope I'll have her (we need to name her!) by the time I come visit.

Happy Sunday night. Off to watch Big Give.

Thanks Girls! (and a recipe just for kicks!)

2008-01-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

So, a big THANK YOU to Liz and Shannon who made the trek all the way from Cinci on Friday night just to stamp with me this weekend! We even had a guest visitor, Molly, who made her very first scrapbook with a lot of help from me! (not!) She did great on her own and I am sure her fam will be quite proud. I have created yet another monster.

So one of my "resolutions" (it's not really....I didn't write it down or anything, I just need to be better about this!) is to finish projects I have started. I always get full of gusto and somehow poop out. It's not that I don't like them or anything. It's more that I find something ELSE that looks fun and I want to try it too! Then, I end up with neglected projects. So, I made a list of "neglected" projects and I will FINISH neglected projects. I also made a binder for projects I want to try, so I don't have to freak that they'll go away or I'll never be able to find them again. What a nerd I am!

So today's project was to just clean up the hell hole basement (most of it's done!) and to organize a few things. Boh-ring. But done.

And, we had an awesome buffalo chicken dip this weekend. I thought I would pass along the recipe, as it would be deeeelightful for the Super Bowl!

Recipe:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1-1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup KRAFT ROKA Blue Cheese Dressing
1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
MIX all ingredients in medium microwaveable bowl.

MICROWAVE on HIGH 5 min. or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is heated through, stirring after 3 min.

SERVE hot with WHEAT THINS Crackers or celery sticks.

Happy Sunday!

Now We're Rockin'...

2008-01-16T12:21:00.000-05:00

OK, I am SO not rockin' but I hope to be by next Monday! Back in October/November, I took an intro to digital scrapbooking online at this website: http://jessicasprague.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=50

Jessica was AWESOME! I learned so much. I've been trying to get a few friends on the bandwagon, but apparently the bed of the truck is too high because no one has jumped. I, on the other hand, loved it so much that I signed up for the intermediate class. (which means I'll have to go back and brush up on techs from the first class since I haven't TOUCHED PSE in, oh, 6 weeks...)

In other not-so-exciting news, I decided to post a photo of a baby paint pail I did a few weeks back for my (ahem!) ex-boyfriend's new baby. Yes, KT, I know it was 10+ years ago,but....

Anyhow, I did a little pail with onesies in it that I decorated. I also made matching "thank you" notes (Of which I have not received one. I digress...)

Anyhow, if you'd like the pattern for these (OR you'd like me to make them for your next baby shower!) I would be happy to do so!

Did you miss me?

2008-01-15T13:43:00.000-05:00

I guess some of you have! How nice. It's nice to be loved. I'm not sure what you've missed. My charming wit? Can't be that, I'm not that funny.

Well, I thought I would post. I do have a few things to rattle off and some photos to add.

1) My dog "ate" off her cast. Yes, in the middle of the night, Lucy decided enough was enough. I went to take her out this morning and put on her little paw mitten as we do each day. And when I went to put it on, the cast was missing. "I must have the wrong paw. It's early. Hmm, it's not on the other paw either!" She ate it off. There it lay in my bed.

2) I LOVE Tombo mono glue! Do you own it? I've attached a photo. It is GREAT stuff. You can use it for just about any craft project. I especially like it in place of Mod Podge, which can get quite messy and very hard to attach paper to things other than paper, say metal tins. But the Mono ROCKS. It is cheap. Go buy some. I even adhered part of KT's ski coat back together! (Can I have the $300 I just saved him?)

3) I think I should do a "Make a card Monday" just like KWerner. (Have you seen her site? If not, go here: http://kwernerdesign.com/blog/) But I think I need a video camera. Hmph. Don't have one of those. Liz, add that to the "To Pack" list! We can practice. And then I can be a celebrity on YouTube!

4) Hmph. I'm at a loss for #4. Maybe I should tell you how excited I am to play with my new stamp sets from PaperTrey (www.papertreyink.com) I did NOT stay up for the World Premiere (dude, I'm 35. I haven't seen midnight in a very long time!) but low and beyold they still had them for moi this morning! My little peepers were barely awake, but I think I'm gonna like that branch (see "Out on a Limb") and I think I may do a vale or two with it!

Welp, gotta run. I'm gonna stamp tonight. Any suggestions? Leave me a comment and the first person to do so will get a duplicate of the card I create.

My life doing digital

2007-11-13T15:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I am a complete digital convert. My friend Liz was asking about it this weekend. Her concern was, "If you put a ribbon on your page, does it look like a ribbon?" KINDA? It is completely different from paper scrapbooking. It's hard to explain. The pages to me just look more polished. Anywho, here's a page I did today. I am so caught up on my scrapbooking since I went digital that I actually don't even need this page. But, I thought I'd put it into a 12x12 frame and hang it in my office.

Christmas Cards Galore

2007-11-04T16:11:00.000-05:00

Well, it's that time again. Time to start thinking about Christmas cards. Will I make them? Shouldn't I just print some out at CostCo? Maybe I could make tags?

Come to my workshop on November 18th from 2-4 pm. There you can learn easy Christmas cards that you make yourself, ideas about photo cards, or maybe just a tag or two to attach to a package.

And, it's free! What could be better than that? (It's free and there's wine?)

Please RSVP so I know how many to plan for. Remember, it's an open house, so feel free to stop by anytime between 2-4.

See you then!

Halloween Card

2007-10-07T17:38:00.000-04:00

OK, I promise this will be my last post for today. But I had some time in between work reports to get a few things done for next weekend. Here is the card we will be making. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the ghost is popped up and has glitter!!! (Lori would love the shiny!)

So, that's all for tonight. I have a new bug...Halloween cookie bouquets. What is my deal? I'm a freak.

Treat Tin

2007-10-07T13:19:00.001-04:00

Sorry about the photos in the last one being out of order. Who knew I could be so blog illiterate?

Here is my finished tin and the one that you will be making at class next week. I have enough for 10 people! I think they're pretty cute, and I can say that because I just embellished the original one that I saw!

I did an "aereal" view and a side view so you can see exactly what they look like from all angles. (Lord, I hate to think what I look like from all angles!)

Welcome to my newest blog reader, Kim Bowden-Adair! Thanks for "stopping by" and I hope to see you next week at the Halloween Haunt!

Flower Pens

2007-10-07T12:30:00.000-04:00

I think these are just SO cute! I see them in scrapbook stores all the time, and I figured they couldn't be that hard to make?!?! So, given that it's Sunday and WAY TOO HOT outside for an October weekend, I decided to give them a whirl!

They are relatively inexpensive and really quick. (I made 7 pens in about 15 minutes, including clean up!) I made them for the class that I'm having next weekend to make: a Halloween card, a treat tin and a treat bag. I hope everyone has fun!

Here are some photos. (You can also see my new countertops in the photos!)

The first is how I get them to stand up straight. (River pebbles, found at JoAnn's) The second is an indi pen.
The third iss the flowers in their "pot".

If you need instructions, LMK.

Digi Pages

2007-10-01T17:22:00.000-04:00

Ooh, I am loving the digiscrapping. Yep, you never have to take out a single SHEET of paper. No clean up. Can get a page done in relatively quick time. What's not to like? AND, I find that I am doing more pages because of the aforementioned reasons.

I decided to blog this one because I tried to send it to my friend Liz and it wouldn't go thru. So, she's getting the blog version.

I plan to have lots more fun blog things in upcoming weeks as I adjust to the new craft room and get my computer all situated down there.

BTW, I am not too funny today. I had my repeat mammo. The first mammo...well, I have had gas that hurts worse than that. But, repeat mammo. Seriously next time just ask a Mack truck to run over my boob while it's laying on the street! When she was taking the photos, she said "Don't breathe". I asked her if she thought that was even possible? She didn't laugh.

Halloween Haunt #2

2007-08-21T20:47:00.001-04:00

OK, I couldn't stop myself. Here is the other project you will make in October. (Can you tell I LOVE Halloween?!?!?) I am sure my Mom will want to sign up for this class...she loves the holiday as much as I do!

Isn't it SOOOO cute?

PS-If you can't come to the class, but would still like a product list and a template, let me know. I will be happy to send them to you for a nominal fee...

Scrappy Hour

2007-08-21T20:39:00.000-04:00

Well, as promised, I will continue to attach samples of what we will be making in each class. These are just the cutest dang things, wouldn't you agree? You'll make a tin, a treat bag AND a card in the class...and you will get to take home the templates so you can make them again and again!

Hope you will sign up for the Halloween Haunt. Of course, candy corn and spiked cider will be a'flowin!

I think I've gone freaking mad....

2007-07-17T19:23:00.000-04:00

Lookie at what I just ordered? Could I have been spending my evening gardening or exercising or reading? Oh no. I have been stalking my favorite website, Splitcoast. I seriously need help. So, I start reading about these markers. Yup, this new brand of markers that everyone is gaga over. Well, do I jump right in and buy them? Nope. Instead, I research the gosh darn things for TWO HOURS! (Told you, I need help. Anyone have a good therapist?) So I end up buying the buggers. Want to see a photo? I swear, they better be made of gold.

I'm hoping my next post will be how much I LOOOOOOOOOOVE my new markers!

(At least it came with a free case)

And from the desk of TKH...

2007-07-17T19:19:00.000-04:00

Something NOT crafty, my friends. But, I had to put a link to my friend Megan's website. Megan (crazy girl that she is) is going to Ghana for a year! OMG, could I be more impressed? This is such a cool kid....oh wait, could it be because I was her favorite babysitter? Well, anyhow, here is the web address for her blog.

http://himandmeg.blogspot.com/

I will put a link up on my blog as well. Just pop over sometime and check it out. If for no other reason than she has some hilarious jokes on there! Love you Meg!

OMG, May 19th?

2007-07-07T15:28:00.000-04:00

That was a LONG time ago! And this was supposed to be the S.O.T.!!! So, I was checking out Crafty McCrafter the other day, and she has like a gagillion posts. So, I had to do something crafty. I have a few things:

1) I learned how to "digiscrap". Am I good at it? Nope. But, it's a work in progress

2) I learned how to unmount my stamps? As K.T. tells me, that's about as interested as watching paint dry. Isn't he funny. (not!) So, you will get to see the "before" and "aftah" shots of my stamp collection!

3) I made this cute baby card for my friend Andrea who just had a little girl. Note the pink and green...she lives in Grosse Pointe! (And is SO not a GP'er!)

So, that's it for today. It's too damn hot outside to be out there, so I am in here being crafty. I have another fun project, but if I don't get to it, I'll post it tomorrow!

Where oh where...

2007-05-19T22:14:00.000-04:00

Has the time gone? Is it possible it's been nearly a month since my last post?!?!? I know you all sit at home with bated breath, waiting for me to post. (hahaha!) Well, that gosh darn Half Ironman is over, so now I can focus on other things...my nerdy crafting for example! We're affectionately referring to this summer as "S.O.T." or Summer of Terri. Yes, my friends, I cannot wait to be like a normal human being....sleeping in on Saturdays, crafting my heart away in the evenings. I celebrated this morning by staying in bed until 10! (Even little Lucy indulged her Mom!)

So, now that it's my summer o' fun, guess what I have learned? Digiscrapping. Yes, that is a verb. (Kelly, Adam would be mortified...digiscrapping? He thinks it's ridiculous that scrapping PERIOD is a verb!) Well, digiscrapping is by far the coolest thing I've ever done! It is literally addicting, and I pray there is a 10 step program. So far, I begged out of a concert with K.T. JUST so I could digiscrap! (Dear God, don't tell him!)

I got hooked on this program called LifeTimez, which allows you to create beautiful scrapbook pages in minutes. Then, I unleashed the fury. It has been non-stop since. There is SO MUCH to find on the Internet. AND, I can make beautiful cards, announcements, invitations, etc. just with a few clicks of the mouse. (and a little wine never hurts either!)

In other news, I am also celebrating the SOT with a visit to my dear friend Lizzie Lou and the new bambinos! I couldn't be more excited!

I'm posting a card I made digitally this evening. (Kelly, if you're reading this, DON'T PEEK! It's for you!)

Happy digiscrapping!

CosmoBella

2007-04-24T17:38:00.000-04:00

Well how flippin' cute is this little gal? Why can't I look like that in a pair of jeans? Oh wait, it's because I drink too much wine. Sigh, I digress. Anyhow, if you have a birthday in May or June (or July, August, September for that matter) AND you drink martinis, you are getting some variation on this baby. She is so fun to color, and I just learned this awesome technique whereby you spray an acrylic sealer on your image BEFORE you color it, and the paper doesn't pill. How cool is that? And, it totally works!!! :):):) Ooh, another fun technique I learned is to take your watercolor markers and color on a CD case lid...then, you can use a blender pen to pick up the color. Wipe the lid off with a baby wipe, and voila...a cheap, easy painters tool. Happy Tuesday techniques for you!

What else made my Tuesday so good? Well, I hired a lawn service this summer. Yes, I know it's lame. But, given all of my training and how burned out I am, I have decided it's the "S.O.T."----Summer of Terri. Yes friends, I may lay by the pool, read some books, drink some wine (whoops, already do that one!) but I will NOT train for any darn race. So, I thought a lawn service may be just the ticket to increased enjoyment. Yet again, I digress. So sorry.

Well, enjoy CosmoBella. She's having an apple martini. Sounds deeee-lightful. PrezzieBella may make her debut tonight yet. It's nice and sunny, and I feel like stampin!

PaperTrey

2007-04-24T09:37:00.000-04:00

I got my PaperTrey stamps AND my Bellas yesterday. More enabling, I'm afraid! I love how the PaperTrey stamps come packaged...such a clever idea! They suggest storing your clear stamps in CD cases. How convenient and Type A, just like me! So, since I am home waiting for a pump to arrive, I thought, "Well, I'll get out my new stamps and make a card for Liz!" (So Liz, sorry if you read my blog and I ruin the surprise!)

Anyhow, if you want the website for either the PaperTrey or Bella stamps, let me know. I'll try to post a Bella later today. She is currently drying, as I had to apply some tacky glue to her backside. (I, on the other hand, need NOTHING applied to my backside...It's big enough from all that biking!)

P.S.-The photo does NOT do this card justice. The flowers are stamped with (Shannon's new fav) Almost Amethyst, and since Liz loves purple, I wanted to do the flowers a pretty purple shade, but they didn't show up well in the scan. She is also getting another little care package from me, but I'll keep that a secret. She will LOVE it!

Baby Shower Favors

2007-04-18T13:50:00.000-04:00

Wow, I took a lot of time off! Work has been just crazy, and Sunday I spent recovering from my bike crash instead of crafting as I had planned. Anyhow, I am hosting my friend, Lisa's, baby shower this weekend. She and her hubby just adopted a little girl from Russia...Katie Grace. (cute little bugger, I tell you!) So, I wanted to give out little favors. I have to give credit where it's due though...I got the idea from Liz's shower, as her friend Liz G. made little magnets that were so cute. I just pretty much stole the idea and changed them around a smidge. So, here they are. If you want to try the idea, LMK and I'll post the directions. They were SUPER easy and only took me about 30 minutes to complete!

Ooh Ah...

2007-04-11T18:16:00.000-04:00

You wish you had a Cuttlebug.
Ooh ah, you wish you had a Cuttlebug.

Man, I love the Bug! What did I do before Cricut and Cuttlebug? (I'll have to brag about Cricut in an upcoming post) I bought the Bug at Mike's with my 40% off coupon. I'm pretty sure they weren't supposed to let me use my coupon, but I say that makes up for all the times I forgot one. And while we're on the subject of "what did I do before...?" WHAT DID I DO BEFORE 40% OFF COUPONS? What would happen to the world if they were discontinued?

Well, the Cuttlebug is a cool little tool. It's dry embossing without the rig-a-ma-roll of embossing. Have you ever embossed? It's not terribly fun. And, it's time consuming. So now, I can make all of these cool patterns on things by just rolling a piece of paper through a machine. My kind of work! Allows me to drink my wine and roll, all at the same time, thanks to the suction cups that hold the little guy in place.

So, I urge you to run, not walk, to your nearest store, 40% coupon in hand and buy a Cuttlebug. You will thank me someday!

(And yes, I know, I should sell the thing on QVC. Wouldn't I make a lovely QVC hostess? Maybe someone from QVC will read my blog and bring me in to interview. Oh, how lovely!)

Challenge put to work

2007-04-11T18:05:00.000-04:00

OMG, I just received the highest compliment EVAH! Liz (you know, my friend with the twins AND cancer...dear God, who could make that up?) just told me on my blog I'm the funniest person she knows. Has she met herself? Has she read her own care page? It makes me laugh out loud...and it's so dang clever. I have not a clever bone in my bod. Ability to copy stuff bone? Yep, got one of those!

OK, back to my story. So, it is literally so miserable here in MI today. It is like raining/sleeting/snowing. Has Mother Nature checked in to the calendar to see THAT IT IS APRIL?!?!?!?! Hello????? Ugh, again I digress. So, crap weather=stamp time. (and wine time, but no one's here to see that!) So, I made a card for the Sketch Challenge that I posted earlier. I really, really like this sketch. The other thing I like is that you can print all of the other sketches from previous weeks, and VOILA, new card ideas. So, here dear friends, is my card. I love the springy colors these days. Makes me hopeful that one day my tulips will rear their pretty little faces.

Sketch Challenge

2007-04-11T10:20:00.000-04:00

Anyone up for a sketch challenge today? This makes a pretty darn cute card. My first attempt was a birthday card for my friend Lisa's daughter, Katie, who was adopted from Russia and is turning one this weekend. I'll have to try another one this afternoon if there's time.

Color Challenge

2007-04-10T16:13:00.000-04:00

Well, I started this card off for a color challenge on SCS...and then realized that the green in my patterned paper is nowhere close to the green in the challenge. Poop on a stick! So then, I just went ahead and used my new thanks stamp from CTMH and made a thank-you note for the Willey family. They were so nice to have us over on Easter when my Mom abandoned us. (JK MOM!!!) Dont'cha just love rhinestones!

Thanks to Michelle, Molly's cousin, for helping me with the photo upload process. Man I am a complete moron when it comes to this kind of stuff, but I am learning!

My very first blog

2007-04-09T14:32:00.001-04:00

Wow, welcome to my first blog! I have had great intentions of starting one, but I just found the whole process so unbelievably overwhelming. Then, my friend Michelle passed along this website and said, (and I quote) "it's the web equal of macaroni and cheese". Clearly, she has no idea of my computer abilites. (or lack thereof!)

Nonetheless, here it is! I hope to keep card samples, templates and the like on here for you to see, borrow, whatever. And, I'll be happy to upload any of your crafty ideas too!

Happy Monday all!