What my Evil Twin is Giving Away!!

Many of you guys know my my Evil Twin, but you know her as Capadia! She is a fantastic designer. The reason I call her my evil twin is that we use to be in a chat room together about two years ago and we would type the same statement and post it at the same time. Well even though we still don't chat like we use to we still often have the same ideas and same statements!

Cap will likely kill me when she finds out I posted her picture on my blog. Oh well...she shouldn't have posted it on the internet! *okie laughs evilly*


Anywho....Capadia is doing a give away on her blog of a Martha Stewart Scoreboard. Let me tell you folks...that scoreboard is AMAZING!! I am not a big fan of Martha's since she tries to tell us we can make everything elegant like she does *okie knows she could grow her own salad, butcher her own sheep, gather her own eggs and sew her own tablecloth if she had a staff of 300 living at her house*. The folks that work with Martha and designed the Scoreboard hit the nail on the head with this one! *okie highly doubts Martha designed anything on the scoreboard and still remembers the whole Martha Company telling okie that Walmart does NOT carry their products when okie contacted them about a defective stamp set she bought at Walmart*.

Oh yes back to Capadia...Just go to her blog at CAPADIA DESIGNS to see how to win the scoreboard and also to see how it used!!

Gotta stop over thinking!

It seems I can't get any crafting done because I am over thinking everything! I honestly believe having such a wide variety to choose from these days is hampering my ability to make anything! I think of something in my head but when I get Design Studio open and search a keyword there are just too many choices! *okie sighs deeply* Maybe I need to go back to using George only. At least then I knew I was creating something.

Finished the card!

Well okay finished 4 of them since ya'll know by now that I can RARELY make just one of a card! I decided to just go with the suggestion that Sandy R made about "I just add ribbon and go on from there ;)" LOL. *okie thinks Sandy is likely a genius*. Once I stopped thinking about what else I could do to the card and started inking and getting a piece of ribbon to put on it I decided I liked the card more simple! I think the heat embossed flower against the patterned papers were enough adornment.


The patterned papers and stamps are Stampin Up! I think the patterned paper is called Raspberry Tart and was one of the in color packs that I got on clearance a few months ago. I did double mat the stamped image and then pop dotted one mat and the image. It actually gives the image a more shadow effect as you can see in the picture. I used the Stampin Up! ticket punch on the corners. I can't believe there are no brads, bling or something "extra" and I like it! I usually always have to add something!! LOL

Does this ever happen to you??

I'M STUCK!! And I have been for days! I started this card I believe on Sunday and this mess you see in the picture has been sitting like that ever since then! I can't seem to put it together how I want to and until I finish it I can't go on!!

Okay granted I haven't spent much time trying to figure it out since I have been busy with work and helping my neighbor but still! SERIOUSLY?? 4 DAYS AND THE DAMN THING ISN'T DONE?? I had great intentions last night but paperwork, or lack of being able to complete the paperwork, kept me from even touching it. Hopefully I can get it done tonight after completing paperwork!! I am so ready to move on to something else!!

So bloggies.....does this ever happen to you??

Fit for a Queen!

I got a set of sentiment stamps from Stampin Up! recently and I just love them! The set is called "Favorite Thoughts" and has 4 quotes about women. I chose to use the "Don't treat me any differently than you would a queen" first.

And of course if you guys want you can treat me like a queen!! *okie does the nose in the air move and then falls over laughing*

I am not sure what kind of occasion I would use this card for but I like it. But let's be serious folks, we know good and well I never use my cards anyway! HA HA HA

Supplies used:
Cricut Expressions
Cricut Cartridges - Sweet Treats, Fabulous Finds
Patterned paper, stamped sentiment - Stampin Up!
Bling paper - Bazzil
Cardstock - Prism
Crystals - Hot Fix crystals and
Heart Crystals - Me & My Big Ideas
Brads - Spare Parts, glittered ones are ones I made
Glitter pen - Gelly Roll

The crown had a shadow layer that I think made it stand out more against the patterned paper. The layers on the crown are great and I like being able to use the different colors. I dotted around the yellow paper with the Gelly Roll glitter pen. Cat Eye Chalk Ink was used to shadow on the crown.

Don't ya just love the crown patterned paper? I got it on clearance from Stampin Up! a few months ago. I bought the paper because of the cherry sheets in it and wondered what I would use the crowns for and when I was designing this card I immediately thought of using this paper!


Fabulous Finds is great for making bookplates for sentiments! I used all 3 layers for this one, the shadow, the bookplate and the insert. I used my Stamp-ma-jig to get the sentiment centered when I did the stamping. You can see the glitter brads better in this picture. I heat the brads in embossing powder and then quickly dip them in glitter. For these I used Doodlebug Sugar Coating Glitter.

Okay off to Design Studio to see what else I can create today!

Sorry guys.....and HAPPY JUNETEENTH!

First off let me say "HAPPY JUNETEENTH!" If anyone doesn't know what Juneteenth is, it is the celebration of the day that the announcement was made that slavery was abolished. It orginally started in Texas in 1865 but has spread to 36 states as a state holiday or state holiday observance. *okie looks at some of the astonished faces* WHAT? Did you guys think the only thing I knew was how to glue paper together? *okie falls out chair laughin*

Now for the sorry.......It has been a little crazy around here this week and I haven't gotten a chance to make and post anything. Hopefully today I can have a little calmness and get something done and post.

My neighbor had been in the hospital for a week and a half and she got to come on on Wednesday. I have been helping her out as much as I can, which she says she hates to ask me to help and I tell her she better ask me to help her! LOL

My BFF Karen had been here for 3 weeks and I thought she was going to stay with me forever, but alas, it was not to be! *okie is very sad and misses BFF Karen so much already*. She was waiting for a call from Boston about a job on Wednesday thinking she might have to leave on Thursday. Well Boston didn't call so she was going to stay until Sunday and then head home for Massachusetts for a little while.

Wednesday afternoon she gets a call from her mom and her grandmother passed away peacefully. BFF Karen did head out for home early Thursday morning after all. I talked to her last night and she made it home safe and sound. Please keep her in your prayers for the next few days. She was very close to her grandmother and I know she is going to miss her tremendously.

Some of you probably know her from Facebook. I had some of my FB friends add her so she could have neighbors for some of her games. As they know, Karen is freakin hilarious!! LOVE YA KARE BEAR!!

My daughter is now assessed and enrolled in East Central University for the fall! WOOHOO! She said she is going to pledge Chi-Omega Sorority. My oldest Goddaughter, Ashley, is estatic! Ashley pledged her freshman year and is now a senior. I am excited about the girls being in a sorority together. They have literally known each other from birth. Ashley's mother is my "sista-friend" Andrea, and we have been BFF's since 1987 when we met in college.

Here is a picture of my Goddaughters and my daughter. From left to right is Ashley, Amber, Shiane and Eboni. Andrea and I both feel so fortunate to have such wonderful kids and to know they will always be friends for life. I guess it is that way when they are more like family than friends.

I still plan on doing a giveaway to celebrate 1,000 followers, although I think I am at 1,030 now LOL. I have just been so busy I haven't gotten to put anything together. Maybe I can do that this weekend.

Well I am off to try to scrap something today!

Stampin Up! Sweet Scoops

I recently acquired the Stamin Up! Sweet Scoops stamp set and I tell ya I love it! I hadn't even seen it until my friend Linda pointed it out to me. I finished up my ink club and since it was my month to be hostess I got this stamp set for free! *okie so loves free!* I went with the clear stamp option, and even though they are not clear stamps they do store nicely in the DVD case and I believe I will be ordering in future stamps in this option.












Supplies Used:
Stamps - Stampin Up! Sweet Scoops
Inks - Stampin Up!, Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Cardstock - Stampin Up! Bazzil, Prism
Patterned paper - Daisy D's, Basic Grey
Embellishments - Fiskars Zingz
Embossed Rectangle and Scallop Rectangle - Spellbinders Nestibilities

I don't use my Nestibilities very often but I do really like them. I guess sometimes I find them a pain to use because I don't make just one card so I am constantly changing plates, rubber mat, chipboard shims, etc.

The inside sentiment is from a hostess level 3 set that I got from my Stampin Up! party back in February. Both the sentiments are stamped in Brocade Blue.

The Fiskars Zingz added just enough embellishment without making the card too ornate *for some reason okie thinks she has to have some type of embellishment on a card*

Here on the close up of the ice cream cone you can see how it was double stamped. I stamped the cone first and then the ice cream scoop. I did use my Stampin-ma-jig to get it lined up. On a seperate sheet of cardstock I stamped the ice cream scoop again and then stamped with the ridgy *okie has no idea if that is what it is called* stamp. I then cut out the scoop of ice cream and pop dotted it on top of the one stamped on the cone.

I can't wait to play with this stamp set again!

Wanna Win? Wedding Affaire Celebration!!!

Just wanted to share this with my readers!! Make sure you check Cuttlebug Challenge everyday for fanstic wedding projects and also enter to win some fabulous prizes!!

Cuttleblug Challenge - A Wedding Affaire

We have a special treat for everyone at the Cuttlebug Challenge this week! All the designers kicked into overtime creativity mode for our Wedding Affaire week! I, myself, can't wait to see the other projects for the rest of the week! Make sure you check Cuttlebug Challenge everyday this week for elegant wedding projects!

I chose to make a wedding invitation and was instructed to make "the most elegant" wedding invitation I could create and to do so I knew I would need to use Design Studio, but then again I always have to use Design Studio!! *okie still thinks DS is required for her Cricut to even turn on*

The .cut file for the WEDDING INVITATION is set to cut two at a time and does require the Cricut Expressions. All mats are labeled for easy identification and while this might look like a complicated card it truly isn't. If you are making one and intend to mail the card will require a gusset envelope and extra postage. I do have a .cut file for the GUSSET ENVELOPE that you can download to use with this card. You will need to cut the 6" one since the card is a 5.5 x 5.5 card.




Supplies Used:
Cricut Expressions
Cricut Design Studio
Cricut Cartridge Give A Hoot
Cricut Cartridge Heritage
Cricut Cartridge Storybook
Cricut Cartridge George
Cuttlebug
Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder
Teresa Collins Mr. & Mrs. patterned paper
Core'dinations Gemstone cardstock
Core'dinations Vintage cardstock
Zip Dry Glue
Kaiser Pearls and Rhinestones
Prima Flowers
Cat Eye Chalk Ink Charcoal
Pearlescent Vellum
Vellum Tape
Dimensional Foam
Microsoft Word using Charis and Champignon fonts

This picture shows how Design Studio can really add to your creativity. After creating my card base I was able to go fill in areas to keep the corner attached but still leaving open space to see the inside of the invitation. This gave the corner a lacy frilly look but with the layers it is quite durable.










I did a lot of layering of layering for elegant dimension, as you can see in this picture. The opal swirls are double cut. One cut goes directly on top of the onyx shadow and then I pop dotted the other opal layer on top. The pearls, used in graduated sizes, added to the end of the swirls made a fabulous look of elegance. The inking on the inside of the card and the name plate on the front helped make the edges stand out but also gave a soft look.





I was pleasantly surprised to find such elegant butterflies on the Give A Hoot cartridge and they worked wonderfully for the invitation. A little run through the Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots folder and a light sanding shows off the Core'dinations Vintage paper well. The edges were also lightly sanded. The antennae are flower stamens and I used small pearls for the body of the butterfly.






The Teresa Collins Mr. & Mrs. paper is double sided and I decided to use that as my invitation base and wanted to show the lovely stripes so I went with a pearlescent vellum to print the invitation on. It softened the stripes while allowing the beauty of the paper to show and yet you can still clearly read the wording.

Ladybug Trio

I decided to step out of my comfort zone and make some odd color ladybugs! *okie has a hard time accepting ladybugs in any other color than black and red* The ladybugs are a border from Walk In My Garden. I didn't add a sentiment and this allows me to stamp what I want on the inside so it can be a birthday, thinking of you or just a hello card.

Supplies Used:
Cricut Cartridge Walk In My Garden
Cuttlebug folder Floral Fantasy
Cosmo Cricut Girl Friday patterned paper
Prism color cardstock
Kraft cardstock
Flower Wedding confetti (found at Michaels)
Spare Parts brads
Janome Sew-Mini
Signo UM-153 white gel pen
Stampin Up Creamy Caramel marker
3/8" grosgrain ribbon
Corner Rounder punch

The stripe pattern paper is cut at 5.25 x 3.25 inches and the flower patterned paper is cut at 5.25 x 2 inches. The orange cardstock is cut at 4 x 2.75 inches and then I used a corner rounder on the top two corners.

I used a zig zag stitch to attach the patterned papers together and then used a straight stitch around the outside edge. I used my ATG gun to adhere the patterned mat to the card base.

Here is a close up picture so you can see more detail on the card.

I would post more about the card but I am watching Transformers on TNT right now. So if you have any questions....well don't ask because I really want to watch this movie! I have seen most of it but I never got to see the end!! *okie so hopes the cars don't die*

I "Frog-ot"

And boy did I ever! My partner in crime Linda, aka LGuild, had her birthday on Tuesday. I knew it was her birthday and I FORGOT! Luckily BFF Karen was headed up Linda's way on Wednesday so I was able to get a card made and send with her to give to Linda *okie sometimes sucks as a friend since she never gets birthday cards sent out*.

I got this really cute Cuttlebug set called Garden Creatures sometime ago and kept trying to think of what I could use them for. I thought about the card for Linda and the saying "Frog-ot" and POOF a card was born!! *okie waves her hands over her head like there is sunshine coming out of her brain....then cracks up laughin about how dorky she is*.

The die is a 2x2 set and includes a butterfly, flower and bee with small flower also. The frog die included the frog and a fly.

Supplies used:
Cuttlebug 2x2 die Garden Creatures - frog
Cuttlebug A2 embossing folder - D'vine Swirl
Patterned Paper - My Mind's Eye
EK Success Whale of a Punch - daisy
Stampin Up Punches - Scallop Border, Modern Label, Word Window
Stickles - Lime Green
Signo UM-153 white gel pen
3/8" Lemongrass grosgrain ribbon
Cat Eye Ink - Lime Pastel, Chestnut Roan

The sentiment on the front and inside of the card was computer generated using Microsoft Word. I really like the Word Window and Modern Label punches for short sentiments. They also work great for the Stampin Up Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set *okie thinks she has mentioned these before but is totally too lazy to go back in her blog and look*.

If ya click the picture you can read the sentiment but in case you don't want to click it the sentiment says:
Your Birthday!
No fly...I hope it was a good one!
*okie grins smugly at her sheer genius of thinking of the "no fly" part in the sentiment*.


Here you can see the frog close up...ISN'T HE ADORABLE!! I did use a black Stampin Up marker to line the eyes and mouth of the frog. You can see where I added lime green Stickles to his spots on his back. BFF Karen told me to add red Stickles for a tongue.....I told her to go back to her farm *okie knows Facebook friends will know what okie is talkin about*.

I did talk to Linda on the phone and she told me thank you and how much she liked the card. She wanted to know where I got the frog, and did guess that it was Cuttlebug. I told her she could borrow it anytime she wanted...if I remember correctly she said something like "I know". *okie will never understand why her friends just ASSume they can borrow okie's stuff!! Afterall, okie is the most uncaring and not understanding person that some people have ever met*. But the truth is...Linda could borrow anything I had if she wanted....except my Expressions! And my ATG gun.....and probably my Stickles, and ribbon...okay maybe not anything *okie falls out her chair laughin*.

1,000

I just noticed I have 1,000 followers!! Lil O' Me!! I can't believe there are 1,000 people in this world that are the slight bit interested in what I have to post on my blog!!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH EVERYONE! It sure makes it worth posting my creations when I know people are interested! *okie knows there are more than a few that think okie is rather odd for posting her thoughts but okie still likes those folks too*

In celebration I would like to do a give away but have to think about what to give away!! LOL So stay tuned folks and I will try to come up with something this week!

Friends - Give a Hoot

I have the cartridge Give a Hoot and wasn't sure I liked it. I kept looking at the cuts on it and thinking there were some cute cuts but just wasn't having that "lovin it" feeling. Then I started looking at the cuts on a more individual basis rather than what is suppose to go together and guess what! I am now having that "LOVIN IT" feeling!!

BFF Karen and I decided to make a card and I wanted to use some of the word paper I got at the GASC. I looked through one of my CARDS magazines and decided on layout for a card. The cut file for FRIENDS is set to cut 4 at a time.

The following supplies were used:
Cricut Carts - Give a Hoot, Alphalicious, Storybook
Patterned Paper - K & Company, Little Yellow Bicycle
Cardstock - Coredinations, Stardream
Grosgrain ribbon
Stickles - Cinnamon
Cat Eye Chalk Ink - Chestnut Roan

I cut off the f on the word friends from Give a Hoot and replaced it with a larger F from Alphalicious. The chipboard F was cut with the shadow feature as was the blue cardstock and top layer from patterned paper. I dotted Stickles along one side because.....well I just like bling! *okie thinks everyone should know by now that she has a serious bling addiction* And of course I pop dotted the F.

Karen did the inking on some of the cards. She kept telling me "I CAN DO STUFF" when I told her she wasn't allowed to sew on the cards.

I pounced the ink pad on the top layer of 'riends' so it would show up better. The paper I used looked a bit washed out before I did the pouncing.


The flower is cut at 1", 1.5" and 1.75" for a layered look. I used Coredinations Vintage for the bottom and top layer and Stardream for the middle layer. I crumpled the flowers and then sanded the Vintage for a more distressed look. A yellow brad finished off the flower quite nicely.

Maybe BFF Karen and I can make something again today! But maybe the pool is calling us....guess we will just have to see! *okie looks down at her arms and admires her kickin tan* Yep, the pool might win out!

GASC 2010 - WE SURVIVED!!

So Linda, Karen and I survived our trip to Arlington Texas for the Great American Scrapbook Convention. We have all decided we hate the roads in Dallas since there are 12 names for each road and each one splits 3 ways at any given time. But that aside.....WE HAD A BLAST!! You can see a security guard in the background. I think he wanted to pat us down for alcohol *okie now wonders if that really is water in Linda's water bottle*.

We didn't get there until almost 11 am and not long after arriving we decided we should eat lunch. We brought our lunch to save money and ate out in the van. The weather wasn't too bad and with the doors open we got a nice breeze. We had a great view of the roller coasters at Six Flags LOL

There were tons of vendors there and I kept forgetting to take pictures due to seeing all the pretties in the booths! I did get to meet ~CinnamonSpice~ from the Cricut MB *okie still can't believe she didn't have someone take a picture*. I also got to see Joy and Tammy that Linda and I met last year in Texas on our IKEA adventure *okie thinks Bill and Ted have nothing on Linda and okie*.

Tim Holtz was at the convention and was doing demo's quite a bit of the day. I got a picture with my cell phone to post on Facebook but went back later with my real camera and got some good snapshots of him. He was really nice and wonderful about answering people's questions. I know he maybe a scrapping celebrity but he just seemed like a regular Joe, very approachable.

I do have more pictures of him on my Facebook page.



Okay now to the good stuff........MY GOODIES!!!

First off I forgot to take a picture of my $36 worth of Cat Eye Chalk Inks and Stickles...but you guys know what those look like. The booth where I purchased them had the inks for $1.50 and the Stickles for $1.50...I think. I had to run to the bathroom and left my wallet with Karen to pay. I think I ended up buying her a few pens also since she didn't want to hold up the line LOL.

I hit the Dollar Scrapbooking booth twice! I couldn't resist going back before we left. I got tons of great brads there. The first time I was there the man kept trying to give me a bigger basket or another basket. I kept telling him one basket full was my limit. Well when I went back again he ran and got a basket to give me!! I told him "you weren't suppose to remember me!" and he said "HOW COULD I FORGET YOU?" *okie wonders now if that was a compliment or not*.

The brads at the bottom of the picture came from the Eyelet Outlet booth. I didn't buy many because I think I get a better deal online. But of course I only shop clearance *okie is soooo cheap*.

I was excited about finding the BE (bare elements) purses for $2.50. I am going to use them to alter and put cards in for my Annual Girlfriend Christmas party this year. A2 cards will fit in the purse perfectly! WOOT WOOT! *okie puts her hands in the air and does the woot woot movement*. I got 6 of these and do regret not buying more! I know the price isn't like rock bottom but considering I didn't have to pay shipping and handling I think it was pretty good! I can't wait to alter one!


Another good booth was the WANT 2 SCRAP booth. They had bling for a $1 a package! After I got home I noticed they have a website and guess what.....the packages are only $1.29 on their website!! Guess I know where I will be ordering from in the future!

The middle row of pearls are Queen and Company. I had a coupon for buy 10 get 2 free, and they were only $1 a package.

Oh the cherry brads at the bottom came from Dollar Scrapbooking also.


I passed on the cardstock by the pound since it looked to be the same type that Hobby Lobby sells in open stock and I don't seem to have much luck with it in the Cricut. I did however stop at the SEI booth and get some paper, and I meant to go back but forgot. I also got a pizza box full of paper from the Little Yellow Bicycle booth. OMG! AWESOME PAPER!!




Here is the paper spread out. Most of it is Little Yellow Bicycle but a few sheets are SEI. Oh the yellow and orange cardstock is SEI, dark on one side and light on the other. Make sure ya click on the picture to see the paper close up. There is some flocked, shimmer, glitter and embossed paper in there.






I got this glitter paper from the Doodlebug Designs booth. I have seen it in the scrapbook stores for around $2 a sheet I think. I got it for 50 cents a sheet. I bought 2 of each since I do use it sparingly.






So that wraps up my adventure and goodies from the GASC 2010! I had a great time but am so glad it only happens once a year. Not sure my wallet could take another hit like that anytime soon! LOL

Cuttlebug Challenge - Fab Friday Video

Hey everyone! Welcome to my very first Fab Friday Video tutorial for the Cuttlebug Challenge! Since I did glass etching in my project for this week I decided to do a tutorial on how easy it is to etch glass. I have been using Armour Etching cream for a few years now but since getting my Cricut the detail and designs are so much better!

To make a candle holder of your own you will need the following supplies:
Glass candle holder
Armour Etching cream
Vinyl
Paintbrush
Cricut cuts of your choice. Mickey Font, Don Juan, Stretch Your Imagination were used for this project.


Without further ado here is the video tutorial on glass etching.



If you guys have ideas for future Fab Friday videos please let me know! I could always use a good idea!

Sweet Treats Thursday - Cuttlebug Challenge BEACH THEME

Happy Sweet Treats Thursday bloggies!! This week's theme at Cuttlebug Challenge is Beach and how befitting since it is hotter than hades here in Oklahoma. My fellow designers for the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog have created sunny projects to share with you also, so make sure you check out their projects for some bright inspiration. Also don't forget to sign up for this week's giveaway TBA!

My friend Karen and I brainstormed about what kind of neat beach projects to do. We soon found out that our brains are not so stormy *okie sighs deeply*. When all was said and done I think Karen and I both decided we did like the card and candle holder that we came up with.

The BYOB PARTY INVITATION is a 5.5 square card. The cut file is set to cut two at a time. Karen and I decided BYOB was bring your own bikini but Karen quickly pointed out that it could be a variety of beach theme words for the inside of the invitation.



Supplies used:
Cricut cartridges - Doodlecharms, Everyday Paper Dolls,
Pattern Paper - Bo Bunny
Carstock - Prism
Diamond Stickles
Stampin Up markers- Creamy Carmel, Old Olive
Cat Eye Chalk ink
Signo UM-153 gel pen
Spare parts brads

I cut the umbrella with four different colors and then cut them apart and pieced them together. For the printed paper on the chair I cut off what would be the metal supports and then adhered on top of the chair base. The towel and wooden sign was done in the same manner.

Be sure to click on the pictures if you would like to see more detail.

The candle holder was a snap to make. I used some tiny shells in the bottom to add some more beach theme to the candle holder. I just used a tealight candle in the holder. These would be great to make for each guest as a party favor if you are having a beach theme party.

Supplies used:
Cricut cartridges - Mickey Font, Don Juan, Stretch Your Imagination
Armour Etching cream
vinyl
paintbrush


Be sure to check back tomorrow for the video tutorial on how to make one of your very own!

Great American Scrapbook Convention

HERE I COME! Well along with my friends Linda and Karen. We are going down to Arlington Texas on Thursday to check out the GASC. We aren't going to scrap, we aren't going to workshops....WE ARE GOING TO SHOP! What we are shopping for I have no idea but I know it will be something good!
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Just a little update.......I do have coupons printed! *okie holds them up to the monitor to show everyone* Ya'll know I gotta have my coupons!! LOL