Ending year on positive note! And including a layout!

Okay let me catch you guys up a little here and then I will get to the layout.

So you know all the issues I have had in the last few weeks and how I was down a bit. Actually I think getting sick just put the cap on it, well and then when the fridge went out. BUT....things are looking up! My wonderful sister found my daughter a car, a 99 Dodge Neon, and we will go next week and pick it up. I am buying Naomi's fridge from her and it is in my house right now keeping my diet coke cold and making ice! OMG! I am so excited about an ice maker *okie thinks she is so easy to please sometimes*. I am feeling better, still have a cough and a little runny nose but no fever and was able to get things straightened up around here today after my wonderful neighbor James and two of his friends brought the fridge over and hooked up the ice maker.

I want to thank all of you for your wonderful comments the last few weeks! It really means a lot to me to know that you guys seem to really know me and care about my well being!

Okay so now for the layout. I actually got 3 layouts done a few weeks ago but then things started getting crazy around here and I didn't get pictures of them and post them.

I thought this layout was appropriate to end the year since I titled it "gray today... gone tomorrow"! For some odd reason I thought it necessary to take pictures of me coloring my hair and I thought I would scrapbook it. I think I am very brave for posting this layout since I look like total crap in the pictures! *okie cracks up laughin and wonders if she is still running a little fever for even posting this layout*

The patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Sugared line...LUVZ IT! The flower is made from Prima's and I added a pearl brad for the center.

I used several carts for the layout. The title words were welded in Design Studio using Printing Press. ProvoCraft has retired this cart and it is one of my favorite font carts! I love the different style lettering on this cart.


I got the Look Here from Graphically Speaking. I cut it several times and did some hide contour on some of the colors to get the effect using the four different colors.

I did faux stitching on some of it and then added some dots also. I added Diamond Stickles to the "HERE" and then put some small pearls on the arrow.

The arrow in the bottom right hand corner is actually from one of the cuts. Waste not want not ya know!


I have always thought journaling printed then cut apart and the words put on individually looks so cool and I finally decided to try it. The tags were from the paper pack and I was able to match the corners on plain cardstock by using the Stampin Up! Ticket Punch on the tag at the bottom and a corner rounder on the tag at the top.

Oh you can probably see where I used the Cuttlebug on the title words in this picture better. I actually used a Stampin Up! folder on some of the words and then the others are done with the Cuttlebug folder Dots *okie wonders if that is what it is called but can't remember for sure*.

Hope you guys have enjoyed my blog this past year and I look forward to another great year in the blogging world with hopefully some decent projects for you guys to look at *okie wonders if her readers come to see the projects or just to read her mind...thinks the tin foil hat is going to be a must have purchase in the new year*. Wishing all of you a wonderful year in 2011!

Sorry I haven't posted...

I got the crud! My daughter was sick last week and I guess I got it from her. But to be honest I could have gotten it from a whole slew of folks. If you guys aren't on facebook then you might not know that this stuff is hitting EVERYWHERE! I was able to make a Christmas dinner for me and my daughter although it took a long time and much rest between each visit to the kitchen. But the last two days I have spent in the recliner in my pajamas. I hear my craft room calling me but I just can't seem to make it in there.

I think part of my issue with getting sick is that there has been some stressful things in my life in the last two weeks and it helped deplete my immune system. I was trying to fight it but when I figured out my refrigerator went out...well that was it for me! I hit the recliner and have done nothing since...no more fight in me. Just got tired of everything piling up and I gave up so here I sit cough and wheezing and wondering where and when I can get a fridge!

Hopefully this crud will go away soon and I can get out of this state of being that I am in right now.

What Christmas is about....

I first posted this story on Christmas Day 2008 here on my blog. I just thought it was worth reposting.


When my DD turned 8 years old she had gotten birthday money from relatives, she had a total of about $40. We went to Wal-Mart so she could spend her birthday money. I had decided we would go to McDonalds to get a bite to eat first. There was an Angel Tree in front of the McDonalds there in Walmart.

My DD asked what it was and I explained to her that it was for children whose parents couldn't afford to buy them Christmas gifts. I told her let's go eat and she continued to look at the names on the tree.

She grabbed my hand and said "Mom look, this little girl only wants some clothes and a barbie doll". I think she thought it impossible that a child would want mostly clothes.

I looked and noticed the only toy on there was a Barbie, I think the child's age was about 5.

My DD looked up at me and said "Moma would it be okay if I spent my birthday money on this angel?"

I couldn't speak. I was fighting tears, as I am now typing this. My DD looked at me and said "I won't Moma if you are gonna be upset". I told her "hang on a minute" as I continued to fight back the tears. I knew I would just bust out crying if I said much more. After I composed myself I told her "baby if you want to spend your birthday money on this little angel then I will match you dollar for dollar".

We went to eat and my daughter kept looking over the list of items from the angel she had pulled off the tree. After we got done she was so excited to go and buy for this little girl. I did as I promised and matched dollar for dollar, plus another $20 because DD thought the little girl needed somethings to go with her barbie doll that she picked out for the little girl. My DD even said "you don't have to buy me anymore gifts Mom, just spend it on her. Santa will bring me stuff anyway".

We got the shopping done and took it to Customer Service where my DD informed the lady to "make sure it is wrapped pretty". My DD spent every last dime of her birthday money that day on someone else.

I can honestly say that on that day I had never been more proud of my child and still am to this day for her unselfish act of giving up her birthday money to make sure some little girl got her Christmas wishes.

It's my birthday and all I got...

WAS A HUGE AZZ ZIT ON MY CHIN!

Seriously I do have one on my chin. But I am not upset about it, however I don't think it is right for a 45 year old woman to be getting zits!

And now we lost Sebastian....

We had to have our Siamese Sebastian put down today. He had gotten weaker in the last couple of days and refused to eat. His wound was getting worse and we took him back to the vet and the blood work showed he had Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. The only thing we could do was to let him go to sleep so he would have no more pain or suffering.

We were able to go and say our goodbyes to "Momma's pretty boy". I let him know we loved him, but I know he knew that already. I also kept telling him that when he woke up he would be feeling all better and be able to play with Simon since Simon was waiting on him. Before he was given the sedative I was petting him and talking to him and he looked up at me and then laid his head in my hand as if to tell me "it's okay, I love you too".

Sebastian had a habit of claiming areas that were not his, but let us know he claimed it so therefore it was his! For instance, a Christmas present for my brother in law and the dining room table decorated for Christmas.











Our kitties were such a big part of our lives that even my BFF Karen never flinched about taking a nap in the recliner and being kept company by "the boys".












My daughter and I will miss them dearly and our hearts are breaking right now over our loss. I am trying to find comfort in knowing that they knew they were loved and adored and that neither is suffering anymore.

Gingerbread House Card - Promarkers

I had such high hopes of getting so much done at our Stamp Club Saturday meeting two weeks ago but I just didn't quite make it! I colored these gingerbread houses and that was about all I got done! I didn't realize they were going to take so long. Of course I don't think it had anything to do with us eating and yakking the whole time *okie has innocent look on face*.

I used ProMarkers to color the images. For the gingerbread I used 3 different colors of brown, and I can't find my little piece of paper where I wrote down the colors but I think they were Cinnamon, Burnt Sienna and Tan. I did a bit of reverse coloring on the gingerbread, I started with the darker and then went in with the lighter browns. There really isn't a right or wrong way to do the layering of colors. I think it is all just personal preference.

I do like how the cards turned out. The stamps were a set from Stampin Up and I think maybe the year on the set said 2005.

If ya look on the roof you can see a pearl icing look to it. After the image was colored I used something similar to Liquid Pearls. It gave the roof a true look of icing! Okay go ahead and say it...OKIE YOU GENIUS YOU! *okie waits........waits....sighs and stops waiting*. I used some Stickles on the candies on the roof and the gum drops along the bottom. If you click the picture you can see the details a little better. Oh yes, and on the candy canes on the roof I drew a slight line with a white gel pen to give it just a little highlight.

There were some small candy images in the set and then this gingerbread man. I wanted him on the card because I thought he was cute! Cutting him out wasn't too bad. I used a white Signo gel pen for the white accents and then added Diamond Stickles. The buttons are with Holly Stickles, which are green with a hint of red mixed in. And yes he is pop dotted!

I certainly hope you guys are going to be around next week because my evil twin Capadia and I will be doing a little giveaway!

Wreath Card - Video Tutorial using Promarkers

So I made this video a few weeks ago but with all the craziness around here I just now got around to editing, publishing and uploading the video! I thought I should show the finished project so I am posting pictures of the card I made with the images I colored.

I used a Cuttlebug folder for the background. I know I should be able to tell you which one it is and I think it is called Seasons Greetings, but I am not positive. I chose to do the card in all white so the wreath would show better. I tried some patterned paper but it just made the wreath kind of washed out.

What I didn't show in the video is that I also shaded around the wreath with Ice Grey 1. I then cut the wreath out and it didn't take near as long as I thought it would. I cut a "donut" of chipboard and then glued the wreath on it so I could pop dot the wreath. On one card I also colored another bow and pop dotted it on top of the one on the wreath but I decided that made it too thick for the mail, but the effect was really nice!

Here you can see the colors a little better than you can in the first photo and also on the video.

I wish I knew the name of the stamp I used but it was one I borrowed during Stamp Club and I didn't think to check the name. Next time I will have to see if I can zoom in better *okie thinks she needs to take a video making course*. If you click the picture you can see the detail of the coloring even more.


I did add some glitter to the fruit and some Glossy Accents to the leaves after I got the image colored and I don't think any of the photos give it justice. For the glittering I used the Sakura Stardust glitter pen in clear. I wanted to give the fruit a little of the sugared look.








Here is the video of the coloring process for this image if you are interested in watching. And if you are not interested in watching...well THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME WASTE A FEW HOURS OF MY LIFE! *okie falls out of chair laughin*

Too tired to post, eBay and another trip to the vet!

I was so tired last night when I got done with my paperwork I didn't get a blog post ready. I am going to take some pics tonight of some cards and layouts I have managed to do and see if I can get them posted this week.

Have you guys checked out eBay lately? Carts were going dirt cheap the last few nights, and not just the old carts...but the new ones too! I needed to get Sports Mania for some layouts and was able to get it for $20.50 *okie thinks...Merry Christmas to me* and playing around I ended up getting Gingerbread for $9.50, both include the shipping!

My cat Sebastian was attacked sometime or another and I had to take him to the vet on Wednesday. I took this picture of him after we got home from the Vet. His wound looks a lot lot worse now but it is starting to get better.....I HOPE! He smells awful due to the drainage but the swelling has gone down and he is starting to eat. He even went outside to use the bathroom last night and today. Between his vet bill and Simons, Christmas is slim for us at the Thompson house but that is okay because that isn't what Christmas is all about anyway! And besides I am getting a new cart and ya can't beat that with a stick! Well you can but it might tear up your cartridge so I wouldn't suggest doing it.

I think I can do without the crazy stress that I had last week for awhile. I just wanna stay home and scrap but I have to go to work. Oh well at least I get some extra days off this week!

This was the layout that got me hooked!

I did this layout just about a week after getting my Cricut. I joined the Cricut messageboard on Christmas Day 2007 when I registered my baby bug and that is when I saw the messageboard. I was so hooked *okie is glad she isn't hooked anymore...but then wonders about facebook and decides she should have some addictions to something that isn't illegal or unhealthy* and I couldn't stop reading and skimming through the whole board! I was so upset when school started back after the holidays and I had to get up earlier and couldn't stay up late at night reading and posting!

Oh yeah back to the layout. I am not sure what it was about this layout since the only thing Cricut was the title and the tag, but it was the one that sent me into the deep depths of the Cricut world.

Oh yes I know why this one will always be special to me, besides the awesome beauty of my daughter in the pictures...it caused me to be friends with my beloved Softbrn! It was after she commented on this layout that we started talking regularly and sending pm's. That turned into emails and the phone calls. I don't get to talk to Soft very often these days *okie thinks Soft might have her number blocked* but she is still a very dear friend to me. And like so many others, I met her on the Cricut messageboard and without that fantastic little machine I would never even know she existed!

This will be the last of the early layouts unless I want to get out the scrapbooks and take pictures and let's face it folks...we all know I am too dang lazy to do something like that! *okie falls out of her chair laughin*

Silly Glasses

Evidently I had acquired Base Camp by the time I did this layout since it is what was used for the title. Actually I still remember my first carts. George and Keystone came with my Cricut. I sold Keystone on eBay and then bought Base Camp. A dear friend of mine bought me Opposites Attract and then I got Doodle Charms. I remember thinking I wouldn't need another cart! *okie is amazed at her naivety at times*.

I made the glasses with George and Design Studio. Some of my long time followers will probably remember there was very little that I couldn't make as long as I had that combination!

I know you are probably thinking the picture quality is really bad...and it is. There were several years during my daughters life that almost all of my pictures have that great over exposure look to them. There is a very simple reason for that...she would almost always manage to open the camera! THANK GOODNESS FOR DIGITAL!

Even though the quality isn't good I am so glad I had these pictures. We had the best time with those silly little glasses that weekend and if I didn't have the pictures I might not even remember!

Oh and look how daring I got with the papers this time! Several layers! OHHH MMYY!! *okie falls out of chair laughing*. This one would have been about two months after getting my Cricut.

Getting Elfed

I am sure many of you by now have used the "Elf Yourself" program generated by Officemax. And if you haven't, well you really gotta try it! I first heard of this in 2007 and someone on the Cricut messageboard had done a layout of theirs and I thought it was just too cute not to scraplift!

I know this one had to be like the second or third layout I did after getting my Cricut since the date on the picture is December 29, 2007 and I got my first beloved Cricut on December 23, 2007.

It was quite a trick to capture the shots for the layout and get them to where I could make pictures but after some persistence I was able to do it.

The title is George and the tree is also George. I cut the curved triangles at several different sizes and then stacked them on top of each other. The little snowflakes were a Paper Studio punch.

Oh but look! I layered some printed paper with some plain cardstock! I must have been feeling a little more brave when I did this one.

Another Easter layout from early days

When I looked at this one I had to laugh because I remember doing this one and thinking what a good job I did on it. I still like the layout but it looks so bare without some extra embellishment and inking!

I was excited when I saw the ovals with the letters in them on the George cart because it just looked like eggs to me and thought it was perfect. And it still is...but man how I want to go back and add faux stitching or something to it! As you can tell I didn't know much about layering papers either. But you have to remember that when I first got my Cricut all my supplies, yes every last one of them, fit in a large Paper Studio scrap tote! *okie is still amazed at how much she has accumulated and so much from her readers and is thankful for everything she has*.

Oh a note on that dress my daughter is wearing....remember I told you guys before that I use to do a lot of sewing, well you guess it! I made that dress! It is a Daisy Kingdom dress. I don't think anything I ever sewed had as much gathering as Daisy Kingdom dresses!

I think this is all the Easter ones from the older layouts..but who knows!

Early Layouts

I was digging in my pictures stashed in my computer again and came across some layouts that I had posted on the Cricut messageboard not long after I joined and got my Cricut. I searched through my blog and didn't see where I had posted these so I thought I would share them now. So over the next few days I will be showing you some of my early Cricut work!

Oh and let's remember I got my Cricut because I wanted to cut letters, who knew I would love designing and cutting images!

For today I am showing you an Easter layout I did. This is probably one in the first five I did after getting my Cricut. I only had a few carts to work with back then *okie doesn't even want to count her carts right now*.

I am sure I welded the rabbit together with Design Studio. I am not sure about much else on the layout though *okie thinks her memory has probably gotten worse over the last 3 years anyway*.

I know I used mulberry paper for the squares. I think I actually used one of those orange Fiskars templates to do the ovals for the pictures and to do the picture.

The next few days should be interesting looking at some of my earlier Cricut work compared to what I do now!

Our little Simon is no longer with us....

Our orange tabby cat, Simon passed on yesterday morning. He was fine on Saturday and then Sunday he was acting very lethargic and had very foul smelling breath. My daughter took him to the vet Monday morning and they found a bone stuck in his mouth. They also found that there was evidently some toxin he got a hold of because his kidneys were not working properly. We went to see him Monday evening and he would not respond to our voices. We left him at the vet for the night hoping he would perk up. Sadly the vet called my daughter yesterday morning to tell us he would not last another hour.

My daughter and I have shed our tears and will likely shed more. But we have some great memories and luckily I have some more pictures of him that I can scrap so he will never be forgotten.

Here are some pictures of dear Simon.


Not long after we got him. When my daughter got her first job she decided that with her paycheck she wanted to go to the shelter and get a kitten. He was super friendly since he was found by the animal warden when he was only a few days old and was use to human contact from the beginning. We didn't realize he had a respiratory infection when we got him but it lead to him being babied for a week or so by us.








He was so funny watching Animal Planet! He was trying to paw at the Koala bear on the tv here. He always wanted to lay on the keyboard drawer when I was at the computer. And also lay on my scrap table when I was trying to craft. We had a few words about that but he insisted on keeping me company.



My BFF Karen was making little hats for preemies and we decided to try one on him. He never even pawed trying to get it off. Karen always said she thought Simon acted like a dog and thought Simon probably thought he was a dog. You could call his name and he would come running. He wasn't snobby like most cats, he was always ready for affection, never demanding things were on his terms.



He could be a very ornery boy! I had to make sure paper towels were put where he couldn't get them. I had been moving stuff around trying to get my scraproom re-organized *okie knows she has issues with this and loses valuable crafting time* and had run to Home Depot to get some shelves. When I got home this is what I came in the scraproom to see. Of course I had to grab the camera!








This was the first layout I did of Simon. He loved playing with the bubbles anytime someone took a bubble bath. This was when he was probably about 3 months old or so. But even just last week he came in and played with the bubbles as I was taking a bath.












I am always amazed at the bonds between humans and animals. I know there are so many people in the world that are not animal lovers. THOSE PEOPLE, I feel sorry for.

Simon loved and was loved.

The Mouse Trap - layout

Lucy and I were visiting Naomi one day and Lucy being nosy was snooping around in the kitchen and got her paw caught on one of those glue mouse traps. Naomi and I kept hearing a noise and then Lucy walked over to where we could see her with this trap stuck to her paw and she was shaking her paw trying to get it loose. We laughed until we cried...poor Lucy! In one picture on the right she looks like she is laughing at herself!

The pictures aren't too clear since I took them with my cell phone and it doesn't do well with indoor lighting. I am just glad that for some reason I had my cell phone with me that day so I could take these pictures!

I used Mickey Font and Don Juan for the title of the layout. On the "the" and "MOUSE" I used cat eye ink to make the two toned lettering. I did faux stitching on the MOUSE and dotted Cinnamon Stickles on the THE.

The background paper came in a pack I got at Big Lots during one of Linda, aka LGuild, and I's excellent adventures. I was going to throw away the edges but then my daughter said "SAVE THAT!" and the she paired it with a piece of green cardstock to use for a different layout sometime in the future. I used my Janome Sew Mini to do the stitching. Oh the cut is from Storybook and I used Design Studio to stretch it into a more square design since it was oblong.

On the "TRAP" I used the charm function and then used a zig glue pen to add the glitter to the letters. I used the red Doodlebug sugar glitter and it actually seemed to match some of the hearts on the background paper pretty good.

I used 4 different dog themed brads to attach the charm letters onto the turquoise ribbon. It's amazing what I can find for embellishments when I start digging through my themed drawers! *okie wonders why she thinks of underwear everytime she says drawers and wonders if anyone else does that*.

I cut Mickey at 4 1/2 inches *okie thinks it might have been 4 inches*. I liked this pose of Mickey because it seemed like he was saying "GOTCHA". I looked through images on my carts and I was going to go with a regular mouse but since I hate mice and I might like to look at this layout again sometime I thought I better go with Mickey. I mean after all, a mouse that wears shorts can't be a real mouse can he!


I think I forget how much I like doing layouts. I get busy with cards since they seem to go much quicker and I don't have to think so hard *okie's extraordinarily large brain gets tired of thinking of ways to make a layout look decent*. I do have to admit I used Pagemaps for the idea for this layout. I am looking forward to taking some time off during the holidays to get some more layouts done! I will be sending 175 pictures to get printed soon so I will have plenty to keep me busy!

HO HO HO...Jolly Holidays Santa

I cut these little happy Santa's from Holly Jolly right after I got the cart but I couldn't figure out how to do a card with them. I bet I cut 3 or 4 different pieces of paper trying to get them to work before I liked what I ended up with!

Next time I think I will cut him a little smaller. I believe I cut him at 3 1/2" and he is almost too big for the card.

The background papers are from a DCWV Christmas stack from a few years ago. I have used the heck out of this stack and I am still using it!!

I did decide to sew on the card and I think it made it look better. The ribbon is 1/4" grosgrain. The brads are Spareparts from Hobby Lobby. Ya'll know I am some kinda crazy about brads!

I used a Cuttlebug folder for the HO's and it actually said Happy Holidays on part of the folder and I just cut small pieces of aluminum and then trimmed after I embossed so I could just use the HO part. It took me awhile to get all the HO's I needed but I think it was worth the effort. The aluminum is from some pans I got at school quite awhile ago and I love putting it through the Cuttlebug!

I tried coloring the letters but couldn't get it to work so they remain just plain ol silver.

On the Santa I used Divine Swirls for his beard and then Swiss Dots on his sack. I went over the swirls lightly with a gray Colorbox Cat Eye ink pad.

You can also see the sewing a little closer. If you guys are trying to think of something to tell someone to get you for Christmas I think you should tell them you need a Janome Sew Mini! I am still so lovin mine!

I have my office Christmas party tonight so won't be able to craft and then I have my Stamp Club all day stamping event on Saturday so I might not have anything to post for a few days.

I GET NO RESPECT!!

NONE! ZILCH! NADA!!

Last year on the Cricut MB my FORMER dear friend Denise, aka StarlightScrapper thought it would be funny to dress me up for Christmas. She took my profile picture and added a few things to my lovely picture to make me look like I was in the holiday spirit. Well lo and behold Sharon Skippy thought she needed to start a thread of "What I miss most this Christmas on the new mb" and said

"Okie's twinkling avatar with her reindeer ears on !!!"

"C'mon okie...where is it?"

Well this lead to some folks diggin up the picture and posting it on the MB. And Scrapalette even had to dig up the song that Denise wrote:

**hum to red nosed reindeer tune**

okie the cricut scrapper
had a very funny way
and if you ever pm'd her
she would always make your day

all of the other scrappers
used to laugh and read her blog
they loved to see her cut files
and stories about her dog

Then one foggy November eve
someone edited her pic
"Okie look at what I made
please laugh and don't get ticked"

then all the mb joined in
and they shouted out with glee
we love your pic all decked with lights
with love, from your bug family!



Now you would think that would be good enough.....but NNNOOOO!! Denise had to get busy and update my new avatar!

Notice I got some nice purple ball earrings.....errr, antler rings as the case may be.

HA HA HA HA *okie says the HA's sarcastically* Yeah yeah yeah, that should be it now, right? NOPE!!!

Scrapalette thought she had to open her big mouth once again and say "Oh, can you now make her pic all green and grinchy? Pretty please!"

And Denise being the okie hater she is did this.......

While I have to admit my figure looks better in the picture than in real life, I have always wanted hips, but I would prefer to be a bit more busty! BUT....I do not appreciate being green! I have worked hard on getting the beautiful bronze colored skin I have! Oh wait.....I think I was born with it come to think of it. But no matter, brown is better than green!

So that is the end of the fun, CORRECT??









HELL NO!! They had to drag my dear beloved Lucy LuLu into the fiasco!!!

*okie sighs deeply* But on the positive side I am definitely going to save money this Christmas because EVERYONE on the Cricut Messagebard is now OFFICIALLY OFF THE OKIE CHRISTMAS CARD LIST!!!

Can't get enough cherries!

You guys know I love my cherries! About a month ago I wanted to make something and couldn't think of what to make and looked up a "map" on Pagemaps.com to use. I used the Stampin Up Tart N Tangy cherry stamp. If you are one of my facebook friends you probably recognize the card since I did add a picture there after I made it. But just pretend this is the first time you are seeing it!

The paper is Stampin Up but I can't remember the name of the paper off hand, or on hand either! I know I have been sitting on this paper for awhile and afraid to use it because....yeah, the same ol reason! If I use it I won't have it anymore! *okie thinks papercrafters can be an odd lot at times*

I used a scallop edge punch on the green paper, I believe it is the Fiskars Apron punch or something like that.

I used a 2 3/8" and 2" scallop circle punch to punch blue paper for the double layer look. I also punched a piece of cardstock to put in the middle to add extra pop to the image. I believe the cherries were punched with a 1 3/4" circle punch.

Here on the close up of the cherries you can see the glitter a bit better. I used the Quickie Glue pen to fill in the area and then sprinkled with Doodlebug glitter. Oh the cherries were colored with Stampin Up Real Red and Old Olive. I dotted around the circle with the black Stampin Up marker.

You can also see the double layer of ribbon I used and I think both ribbons worked well with the card.


I did something on the sentiment I rarely do...I wrote it by hand! *okie gasps* I can't stand my handwriting and I would venture to say I have the absolute worst handwriting in the world. Oh sure I can make it presentable if I take my time, but I don't want to take my time!

I used the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher to add the sentiment to the front of the card. I won the Tiny Attacher at the last Swarm I went to in Norman and I was really excited to win it! Of course Tim Holtz excites me...er, I mean anything from the Tim Holtz products line, yeah that's what I mean!

Yudu Giveaway!

Provocraft has teamed with Heidi Swapp of House of 3 Design District to give away a Yudu! House of 3 is throwing in a $100 gift certificate to the winner!

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!

If House of 3 Design District gets over 1200 comments there will be ANOTHER YUDU AND GIFT CERTIFICATE GIVEN AWAY!!

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!

If House of 3 Design District gets over 1500 comments there will be a 3rd, yes you heard me right, a 3rd Yudu and gift certificate given away!!

HOLD YOUR HORSES! If you are a Cricut Circle member and win Provocraft is throwing in some extra goodies to use with our Yudu, such as foil and flock and other fabulous prizes!!

So head on over and leave a comment on the YUDU giveaway....let the Christmas cheer begin! post for your chance to win!!

But hurry! This offer ends at 10 pm Sunday night!!

Vintage Santa using ProMarkers

When I went to stamp club last week I found this stamp of a vintage Santa Claus and I fell in love with it. I was wanting to use some glossy paper my cousin Lisa sent me and wondered how I could incorporate ProMarkers with the glossy paper and this card was the result.

Letraset now has a blog where you can learn more about their products! If you would like to check them out then hop on over to LETRASET OFFICIAL BLOG.

I wish I could tell you who made this stamp but it was just in a big tray of stamps and I didn't look at the maker at the time. I used Memento ink to stamp with and it did well on the glossy. I did have to wait for it to dry a bit longer than I do with the regular cardstock I generally use. I also had to be careful not to let it "slide" when stamping since the glossy paper is a bit slick with the ink. FINE! I will be honest, I did ruin 2 images that way and that is how I know! *okie frowns* Hope you are happy now! *okie crosses arms across chest and gives a long hard huff*

I used two different Martha Stewart snowflake punches to add the snowflakes on the front. The photocorners are an EK Success punch. The sentiment on the front is a clear sticker by Paper Studio. I put it on a piece of Mica cardstock and then cut it out.

The image is pop dotted *okie thinks everyone is probably thinking "yeah we figured that much you dumb butt"* and you know I have an addiction to that...just like I have an addiction to inking the edges! I used a silver Signo Gel Pen to add the stitching and dots to the front of the card.

I found the inside sentiment on the Hallmark Greetings program that my friend Linda, aka LGuild gave me. I wanted something that went well with the stamp and I think the talk about the evergreen trees just made the right touch.

I punched a few branches with the Martha Stewart Branch punch and added them to the inside just for a little nice touch. I would have added berries but I didn't want to go overboard and besides it was getting late as I was finishing up...OKAY OKAY I WAS TOO LAZY! *okie sighs and rolls eyes and hates that her readers make her be so honest about crap*.

The coloring didn't take long at all. I only colored part of the image so it focused on the Santa Clause. I used Pear Green and Pastel Beige for his gown, dress....uh whatever it is. I first colored with Pastel Beige and then went and blended in with the Pear Green. I first tried with Pear Green and Marsh Green but it was just too dark and bright *okie wonders if that even makes sense* for a vintage image.

For the coat I used Crimson and nothing else. I think the close dots of the stamped image did well enough for shading.

On the fur I used Ice Grey 3 and on the beard there is a touch of Pastel Beige. You might have to click the picture in order to see the coloring in those areas.

I tell ya'll what, I am really enjoying my ProMarkers! I am glad I ordered the extra 24 colors I did and I am thinking after Christmas and the cruise I will be ordering a "few" more markers! I have 64 right now and there are 148. I don't know that I need all 148, but I might!!

On a side note...my friend Enfys has a giveaway going on right now at her blog GOING BUGGY for a set of 10 Promarkers! Just check her Monday December 6th post for details!
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LITTLE UPDATE
Carol H evidently knows the stamp if you guys are interested, here is what she had to say...
"I have that stamp!!! It says 2005. Paper Inspirations, paperinspirations.com . It is named Father Christmas. I got it last year and love it. I think I got it at Hobby Lobby."

So if ya like the stamp at least know you know where it can be purchased! Thanks Carol!!

A layout? WHHHATT??

I bet ya'll forgot I did layouts huh! *okie cracks up laughing* Now some of you probably will remember the days when that is what I mainly did. I would do a card every now and then but layouts were my game. Somewhere along the line I never posted this layout! Not sure how that happened. Well actually I do know. I have a lot of layouts that I never posted to my blog because it was before I was posting so frequently. I started my blog almost 3 years ago to share my cut files, so I didn't always post what I was making.

Anyhow, this is a layout of my daughter when she was a year old. I had put the Christmas tree up and I had to take it down because she kept kicking it over! I so love the picture of her trying to run off when I caught her messing with the tree AGAIN.


I believe the title was cut with Christmas Cheer. The embellishments are chipboard embellishments that I purchased. I did a lot of doodling as you can tell. The paper is from a DCWV Christmas stack from a few years back.

The ribbon was something I thought really added to the embellishment of this layout. I use mostly grosgrain ribbon but every now and then I find ribbon that has a little something extra to it and just can't resist paying a little more for it.

I used some brads that I flocked myself. Those are simple to do but take a little while to dry. I just dipped the brad in Scotch Quick Dry glue and then dipped them in flock. If you want to try this yourself you can also use Glue Dots, just make sure they cover the whole brad.

I was glad to find this layout to post tonight since I didn't get to take pictures of the cards I worked on this weekend. I went to see Naomi and they hadn't moved her to her new room yet and I thought they must have decided to wait until tomorrow. But, all the sudden her family swooped in and before I knew it I was grabbing stuff out of her closet and bathroom and shoving stuff in drawers and moving things around! LOL Maybe I need to look through more of my pictures to see what I haven't posted from the past!

It's Sunday night...

And I will be having some projects posted this week! I was able to get some cards done this weekend and even a video. I will be hopefully posting one on Tuesday since I won't have it done to post tomorrow. That thing called a job sure does interfere with my crafting time! I really need to be independently wealthy so I can stay home and craft at my leisure. But since that isn't happening I guess I better keep working so I can keep earning money so I can keep my crafting addiction fed!

Naomi got moved into the assisted living center on Friday and I think she is going to like it. The place is really nice and the staff seems to honestly care about the residents. I went to see Naomi today and she said she is changing rooms tomorrow to one that is a little bigger. She was bossing me around about getting her some ice, some diet coke, changing her clock....seemed like nothing will change! HA HA HA I even got a list of things to get from the house for her. I went over to her house earlier and got the things gathered up and will take them to her tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully I will get there after the move and won't have to move stuff *okie falls out chair laughing*.

Today is the day

Today is the day that Naomi moves, and it is also her birthday.

I have enjoyed the last few evenings with her and her sister. We have laughed so much while going through Naomi's things trying to help her figure out what she wants to take with her, what she wants to put in a garage sale and what she wants to trash. And as you know the old saying...one man's trash is another man's treasure!

I couldn't hold back my tears several times yesterday when I would think about her moving. I made no apologies for my tears, just gave a brief explanation. I did good about not letting Naomi see my tears because I know she is nervous enough already and I didn't want to add to any anxiety she might be having. I know it is what is best for her and I will be okay, I am just a big ol sentimental fool sometimes. Heck I cry at that dang coffee commercial where the college kid makes a surprise visit home and his parents wake up to the smell of the coffee and go down and see him talking to his little brother!

Tonight is Stamp Club so my friend Linda, aka LGuild, will be coming down this afternoon and we will be doing some running around before we go a stampin. Maybe I will finally have something to post on here that is crafty!

Where is Okie? Where is Okie?

Here I am!
Here I am!

What are you a scrappin?

Nothing much a happenin!

Maybe today!
Maybe today!

*okie waits for the applause and upon not hearing any shrugs her shoulders and smiles because she likes her little song even if no one else does*

So yeah.......haven't been scrappin. Nope, nothing, nada........ZILCH! I could give you a million reasons and at least 10 out of those million would be true and good!

To be honest I have been a little down the last few days and haven't been able to get into the swing of doing any crafting. I know some of you are probably familiar with my Naomi stories. For those just joining the program - Naomi is my next door neighbor and is also a very dear friend. She will be moving this week to an assisted living center. I think she will really like it once she gets there and the place does look nice but I feel like I am losing my best friend!

There will be no more quick runs next door to share exciting news. There will be no more stomping next door to vent so I don't kill someone. There will be no lesiurely walks to next door just to say hi. There will be no more trips to the grocery store, Walmart, the little meat market on the corner or other places I went for her. There will be no more Wednesdays where we go over the grocery ads and make our lists. Heck even as I am typing this right now I am fighting back tears. Who knew I would get so attached to that ol' ornery woman!

Naomi won't be far, maybe 3 miles from my house..but she won't be next door anymore either! I know the move is what is best for her but I am feeling a little selfish and self pity right now. I know in a few days I will take a deep breath, suck it up and know that everything will be okay, but until then....I am feeling just a little sad and maybe even a little lonely.

My daugther's birthday...

Today is my daughter's 19th birthday. NINETEEN. That means she only has one more year to be a teenager and be able to screw up and people can say "oh well she is still a teenager" *okie laughs knowing her daughter would roll her eyes at that*.

As I think back on the last 19 years it seems like it wasn't long ago that I would cradle her in my arms looking down at her face and just cry because I couldn't believe she was mine. I wanted to revel in every precious moment with her, soak in her look, smell, movements...burn them into my brain so I could never forget what a gift this child of mine was to me. And then....she turned into a toddler........*okie closes eyes, inhales deeply and exhales slowly*.

She was a very active, strong willed and determined toddler *okie thinks some things never change* and she had an ability to reason and plot beyond a toddler's mind. I use to call my mother crying and telling her "I know she was suppose to be twins! I know God would never put this much orneriness in one child!". You know it is bad when one of the first sentences that comes out of your child's mouth is "I git mu poon! I pank u butt!". Actually her first group of words she formed was "You go Walmot wit me". Not sure what that says for my parenting skills either. But what's done is done *okie shrugs nonchalantly*.

I do admit I have probably learned much more about life and myself from her than she will ever learn from me. I believe she and I are both at a place with our mother daughter relationship where we can enjoy the rest of life's wonderful journey.

Gotta scrap these pictures!!

I went picking up pecans this morning with my Aunt Betty and then my cousin Shelly, her husband Donny and son Kevin joined us later. Lucy had a blast out in the country and it probably reminded her of her youthful days out in eastern Oklahoma. I have a fantastic picture of where she is nipping at the heels of a cow but will have to load it after I get home.

Here are a few pictures I took with my phone.

Okay so after trying to upload the pictures twice now on my Aunt Betty's dinosaur of a computer and it not working I give up. I will just have to add pictures later! But if you have me on facebook you can see some of them since they are posted on there.

Well off to eat a sandwich and then to start cooking the items I am taking for tomorrow's dinner!
UPDATE:

Here is Lucy sitting by the bucket of pecans. She looks like she is proud that she picked up so many. But actually she just ran around the pasture and chased the cows!

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY!!

VOTE VOTE VOTE! Today is the last day to vote for Capadia's layout and get her on that cruise ship!

Click here to vote ---- CAPADIA'S GENERATIONS LAYOUT

This link is not with facebook so you don't have to have facebook to vote!

I AM A BOA BABE!

Linda and I survived our excursion to OKC for a little shopping on Saturday *okie wonders if people thought maybe survival was not a success*.

We hit Hobby Lobby first. I was in luck and the scrapbook storage was on sale 50% off and I was able to pick up another set of the vertical paper holders, the bummer part was that there was only one! I did also get a few of the SpareParts brads. Oh I found the cutest bling owls that I got because my daughter's sorority has owls as the mascot. I grabbed two packs and Linda talked me into grabbing two more! I think Linda and I are very good at spending each others money! I also got a Tim Holtz paper pack and an K & Company paper pack. Who can resist at 50% off??

Linda wanted to look for tiny bows so we went to the Christmas section and I saw these boas and told Linda I wanted one. I was trying them on for size and Linda said she needed to take a picture. I do look good in red don't ya think?

Went to eat lunch at Olive Garden but it was too packed so we went to Michaels. Linda left with a little jar of embossing powder and I left with nothing. Yes you heard me.....NOTHING! I have always preferred Hobby Lobby over Michaels and usually always find more at HL that I want.

After Michaels we went back to Olive Garden to eat. I had the appetizer platter and salad *okie wonders if her leftovers are still good in the fridge*. The waitress was either new, on drugs or dropped on her head as a baby because she was a little ditzy! She is lucky she didn't get cussed a few times. The food was good of course! Linda shared her pie cake thing with me and it was very good. I think she said something about a tuxedo in the name of it. When I say share she said she would split it with me. Well when I think of split I think of half. Let's just say we were NOT equals that day! Yeah...Linda took the bigger piece! HOW RUDE!

We stopped at an electronics store since I am in the market for a new TV. I didn't buy one but did find out that electronic stores are quite a bit higher than Walmart! And yes my dear readers I am stalking the Walmart BF ad!

Linda introduced me to Sam's Club. I have been there a few times, but only for a quick trip in and out. We weren't in a hurry Saturday so we went through the whole store! We didn't even have to buy supper since we at going down the aisles! I was able to pick up a few things that I was needing at home anyway. I told Linda if I had more money I would be in trouble because I would be a lot more! If I go again I will have to remember to take bags with me. Who knew they didn't have bags for your stuff! *okie thinks "well self you didn't know you idiot"*.

After Sam's we hit another Hobby Lobby. I was able to pick up two more of the paper holders and two My Mind's Eye packs *okie so totally love's MME glitter packs*. Linda struck up conversation with a young lady and I started feeling sorry for the girl because Linda was telling the poor gal that Linda could show her how to max out her credit card. All the girl wanted to do was make a card! *okie thinks Linda can be such a pushy enabler and is so glad not to be that way herself*

We got back to Linda's around 8 pm or so. I was able to get my markers from her! And I did give her the paper! She has already made some cards with it..you can see them HERE, along with her version of our day.

Don't forget to VOTE today!

We only have two days left to be able to vote for Capadia!!

Click here to vote ---- CAPADIA'S GENERATIONS LAYOUT

Remember the link above is not connected to facebook, all you have to do is click it and then click on Cap's entry and you are done voting for the day!

You can vote even if you don't have facebook!

If you have been wanting to vote for Capadia's layout and don't have Facebook you can use this LINK!

We only have until Wednesday to vote!!

Last of the Tag Cards

at least for now!

This set has less embellishment than the other two designs I did. I think I wanted the beauty of the tag to show through since they have less going on in the design. I haven't done the inside sentiment yet because I can't decide what to do. I want to do something about a girdle at our age...but not sure how to word it yet.

Yep...that is K & Company Maison again. But the strip in the middle is some that I got at Hobby Lobby for a wedding project I did. I thought it went well with the papers and I had some scrap, so I used it! *okie is all about using the scrap*.

Speaking of using scraps! I have to tell you...Last night I was over visiting with Naomi and she told me she thought I was a hoarder! Can you believe the nerve of her! I told her I was not a hoarder, that I use my stuff but I just can't use it as fast as I would like because I have to work! Of course we both cracked up laughin at that one. She did tell me that I need to start selling my cards instead of "hoarding them in those boxes!" She can be so bossy sometimes!

I did again put the tag on chipboard to make it sturdier. When you pop dot, if you don't know this already, you need a little more "body" to your paper or cardstock so the image will stay popped better. I wrapped the ribbon along the bottom of the tag and tied it off. I punched hole with my Crop-a-dile and then put the jeweled brad through the flower and then the hole.

The sentiment is Stampin Up Teeny Tiny Wishes and the punches used were Word Window and Modern Label. And yes you did see those yesterday. *okie looks at her readers, shakes head, rolls eyes and sighs* AS A MATTER OF FACT I DO HAVE OTHER PUNCHES! But, I like them so just get over it!

I am not sure if I will have anything to post tomorrow or Sunday. My friend Linda, aka LGuid, and I are going to the big city on tomorrow to run around. I just wonder what will happen on THIS adventure!!

Just a reminder to vote!

Don't be a slacker! Your vote can be a factor! *okie cracks up at her corny self*

Make sure you vote today for Capadia's GENERATIONS layout!!

Just click the LINK to the contest page and give her your vote! Remember you have to have a Facebook account in order to vote.

Your cooperation is demanded!! HA HA HA HA

BIG SURPRISE.......not........

I told you I was going to post some more tag cards! What? What do you mean you didn't believe me and thought I would post some fantastic project? *okie rolls eyes and sighs* You guys just never listen do you?

Well you will just have to accept that the post for today is TAG CARDS AGAIN! So stop complaining and just look at the pictures and read the descriptions!

I again used the K & Company Maison stack. It just seems to go well with the tags. The flowers are Prima's and I layered two different sizes. Since I had 6 cards to make I was able to cut them in half and use only 3 of each size to make the cards. Three small pearls were added for centers. Okay go ahead and say "ooh and aah" I will wait right here....are you done yet? Then let's look at the next picture.


I think by popping up the tag it gives it more focus in the card. That and ya'll know I got a serious addiction to mounting foam. Can't get enough of it!

If you will notice the 3 ribbons on the card I will tell you how I did that. I made my card mat first, using both the patterned papers. I then used a button hole punch, Paper Studio brand I believe, and punched my holes. I cut my ribbon at an angle so it would be easier to thread through and then just tied into a knot. Now, could I have just tied ribbon in a knot and put it on the card, probably. But it really does give it a different look by doing it this way.



The sentiment is from Stampin Up's Teeny Tiny Wishes set. I use this set frequently! Especially since it works so well with the Stampin Up Word Window and Modern Label punches.

I added a strip of braiding at the bottom of the tag and then thought it needed something else so I looked on my bling pegs and found these small flowers. I did add the pearl to the middle of the flower.

Oh and guess what is coming up tomorrow!! Yep, another set of tag cards. So if ya don't like them...DON'T COME BACK! *okie falls out chair laughin*