Happiness

Happiness is defined as a "mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy"  I do believe after a long hard week, a busy week, or just an average week that happiness begins with simple things...Paper and scissors.  I have always loved to create things.  As a child I made elaborate settings for Barbies, as a teen I painted every single day of my life, after marriage I worked on the road and my creative genes were used in creating training sheets and stationary to write letters to people.  In 1990, I begin making memory books for myself.  Seeing as I have NEVER had a great memory, and the desire to remember every detail about some things made me create these books.  They are ugly and very much NOT the way you should preserve things, but they are MINE.  I made them.  The memories make me happy and knowing the memories tickles me pink.  In 1997, I discovered Creative Memories and learned how to preserve my memories and mementos the "right" way.  I have made 48 book (large books not mini albums) since 1997, and that number keeps growing.  Why do you care?  You don't but look at the pictures of how far I have come. 


And I cannot get these photos to turn right. I put them in photoshop, in Microsoft digital image, in word...NOTHING.  They will NOT turn the way they should, any suggestions???????

This could only happen to me

So I am a creature of habit...every Saturday morning, I get up and go to the bathroom.  There I brush my teeth and comb my hair and put on my clothes.  After that, I walk down the hall (still brushing my teeth) and feed the cat because usually at this point she is begging.  Yesterday however she was not begging and slowly I made my way to the kitchen.  I was finishing up with the brushing of my teeth. I spit in the kitchen sink, tore off a paper towel and placed it on the bar.  I rinsed my toothbrush and placed it on the paper towel.  UH, the kitchen is a mess. I started seeing things that needed to be picked up.  I started with the corner of the bar.  Here there was a jug of Hawaiian punch, 3 tomatoes, a butter dish, and a toy snake.  I reach for the toy snake, all the while getting angry with my son for leaving his toys on my kitchen counter and it MOVES!!! I scream LOUDLY because at this point I realize...this is not Trevor's toy snake...there is a snake in my house.  I run down the hall and throw open the bedroom door. John is at this point sitting up in bed because he heard me scream.  I tell him there is a snake in the kitchen and he runs to the kitchen.  At this point, the snake has left the bar and we can't find it.  Callie is in the utility room looking funny and we figure out that he is in there.  He was around Callie's food bowl. 

We thought about what to do. I went next door to the game cop's house and he was asleep.  So John decided to trap him in one of Hannah's plastic drawers.  Then I pulled the board out from between Trevor's mattresses and John figured out a way to get the board under the drawer.  In the process, he cut part of the snakes tail off and that snake was very angry with him.  Together we picked up the board and the box and placed it into the back of the truck and John got into the truck and I drove to an open field.....there we left that little bugger go.  The End!

the purple has it

I did a second design in the color choices for this week. I am not submitting this one because I think I can only enter one per week. I only made it because I HATE having extra paper lying around, so using the same papers I created a wedding card.  I am thinking of giving it to the bride that will get married in just a few days.  A bride that I work with.  It sort of reminds me of her...romantic, light, moral...yeah that's her.

To get  the look:
all papers are open stock at Hobby Lobby
Stamps are Thank you by Inkadinkadoo
flowers are prima
rhinestones are by bead party
all pens by sharpie
butterflies and trails are drawn by me

ink is eggplant envy by Stampin UP!

Mojo Monday 191 and CR84FN 29

This card was in answer to two website challenges.  I LOVE the color choices this week...love love love them.  Since they are some of my favorite colors, I chose one of my favorite songs to go with the card.  I chose the lyrics to "In my life".  If you are not familiar with the song, by all means please read the lyrics below:

There are places I'll remember

All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
In my life I love you more

And set to music, it is simply astounding.....wow! 

Anyway, back to what we were talking about.  The card....if you want my look here are some of the things you need:

Kraft and purple cardstock from open stock at Hobby Lobby

purple pen by Sharpie

green ink by Close to my Heart clover meadow

brown ink by Stampin UP!  chocolate chip

black ink by Stazon

pattern stripe paper by recollections ravenhood manor

the purple patterned paper was found in my scrap bin...and I found it originally in the scraps of some lady's while at a crop.

Leaf by me---I drew them on paper and cut them out...they are inked with the stazon black and the clover meadow green

flower by me---I hand cut each petal and stamped each petal in eggplant envy by Stampin UP!

then I layered the petals on top of each other in a flower fashion.  The middle of my flower was made by cutting out a swirl and rolling it up the "wrong" way ontop of itself.  

Cuchi cuchi

There was once a TV show that I loved. It came on ABC so it was not a show I could watch often, but when I could I was in love with it. It was called the Love Boat. I know you have heard of it, many have; but have you ever seen an episode? I have been watching all the shows on the TV.com app on my droidX and it is bringing back so many memories. Patrick Duffy, Joyce Bulafant, Kristie Alley (in her Saviak days), Willie Ames, the lovely Morgan Brittany (from Dallas), Barbi Benton, Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary Ingalls) and half pint too (Melissa Gilbert), Cyd Charisse, as well as Gene Kelly (ah) and Howard Keel, Donna (I love her) Mills, Jack Klugman, and my favorite CHARO!!! This is only a SMALL portion of the celebrities that graced the promenade deck. This is where I fell for ships! A hot tub, pool, cabins, a cruise director....it's a lot like real life ONLY smaller.

If you have never checked out the show, please do. It's campy, 1970's, but loads of fun. There are many storylines in each episode and somehow everything rights itself by the time they dock in Los Angles.

Crazy 4 Challenges: CR4C87

I was THRILLED that I found another challenge website.  This weeks challenge speaks to my very soul...CHOCOLATE!!! What girl does not love CHOCOLATE?  Ok, I admit about 5 years ago, I did not much care for it, but that is when I really got into scrapbooking and a friend turned me onto DARK chocolate, truffles and Java Chip Frappicino..yeah, I am hooked.

I made this card for someone like me that loves chocolate...it is a bit romantic like the feeling you have when you have some good quality chocolate....oh wait, this comes with a piece of good chocolate too...who would NOT be cheered up by this card?

To get the look:

Pink card stock from my scrap bin
ALL pattern paper is Cut and Paste by K&co
Tulle from Amanda's wedding pew bows

flowers by prima and from an arrangement that I took apart
Chocolate by Ghirardelli
paper ribbon by a gift tag that I received from a preschool friend
quote by Lucy Van Pelt

Mojo Monday 190

Here is my version of this week's sketch. Actually, before I show it to you, I would like to say this is my first week playing along. I am looking forward to participating with everyone. From what I have seen you are all TREMENDOUSLY talented....I am inspired just by looking at your work. Thank you for sharing it with us.


My recipe:

Cream card stock and Kraft card stock....open stock HObby Lobby

Blue flower paper, and blue splottching paper Magnolia by MME

Font by CK Ali Edwards Handwriting (love her)

bingo chip by Maya Road

Buttons by Making Memories

Flower by Prima

Stamps by Technique Tuesday (love them the most)

Black Stamp ink by stazon

Thread by DMC B5200

Brown ink by Stampin up! (chocolate chip)

Blue edges by my crayola water color pencil

Pink card stock from my scrap bin (did not cut, just inked)