Weekend Cards

These are the cards that were made at the local scrapbooking store on my weekend up in WI with the girls. Mary Anne and I chose this activity on Saturday afternoon. Later that afternoon we connected with the other girls at a wine shoppe about two blocks away for a wine tasting.


Here is a pocket card. The pocket is formed from the side.

Here are the three tab inserts that go into the pocket of the above card.

This card as well as the rest are made with double sided paper. The band on this card wraps around the front of the card and appears on the inside top. The flower is raised up with pop dots and the center is a chipboard circle with a small brad.

This is a window card and the frame around the window is a chipboard piece held onto the card with small brads. The image inside the frame is affixed to the inside of the card.

This is another pocket card. The card opens from the bottom. The polka dot paper at the bottom forms the pocket on the inside.

This card is a folder style and the band with the word on it forms the closure.

Here are the two tabs that go inside the card above.

This is a tri-fold card with a ribbon tie closure.

These all were made from a kit. I believe that the manufacturer is S.E.I.
I purchased some paper from this shop (paper that I hadn't seen in the other stores that I visit) as well as some seals and sealing wax. This was a very cute shop and if I lived closer would be one that I would like to visit again.

Valentine XIX

Here is a valentine made from double sided paper and some embellishments that I had in my stash.

Super Tuesday

Here in Illinois it is election day. Illinois along with many other states are holding primary elections. If you are a registered voter I hope that you will exercise your right to vote. If you are of legal voting age and have not registered please do so before the general election in November. The right to vote is a very special priveledge and you should use that right to make your voice heard.

Enhanced Photos

I enhanced the dark photo's in the previous post.

Milton the Moose in all his glory.

Regular distance shot of the JUG's on the balcony.
Bobbi, Cindy, Bubbles, Patti, Mary Anne and Rhonda.

Zoomed balcony shot.

J.U.G.'s Wellness Weekend

This past weekend I went up to East Troy, WI with some of the J.U.G.'s.
The weekend was sponsored by the Y.M.C.A. and was termed a "Woman's Wellness Weekend".
I was not a good photo taker as Bubbles with her trusty tripod captured many group shots and so that we would have a least one shot that came out took two of every pose. In fact my camera spent most of the weekend in my luggage as I really forgot about it.
There was a snowstorm Thursday night into Friday and we were lucky that it stopped right before we needed to head up north. Patti and I rode together and the remainder also carpooled. Rhonda needed to arrive on Saturday so she drove alone.
We had a ton of fun and good laughs. Some of the activities that were offered over the weekend included nature hikes, cross country skiing, cardio class, yoga, pilates, tai chi, cardmaking, wine tasting, movie night, and massages.
It seems that no one made it to movie night as we chose to sit in front of the fire in our lodge and catch up with each other. I don't believe that any of the JUG's that signed up for a massage actually ever made it and gave up their spots to other campers. Mary Anne and I opted for the card making class held at the local scrapbook store. We made six cards from a S.E.I. card kit. I will post those in another post.
Some of the JUG's opted for cross country skiing. Late Saturday afternoon we all reconnected at a quaint wine shoppe in town. I found that all these years that the reason that I didn't care for wine was because I was drinking the wrong one. I hate the dry icky taste left in the mouth from the wines I was drinking and therefore thought that wine wasn't my thing. Well, this weekend I found that there are sweet wines out there that my tongue just loves. I ended up buying six bottles (4 different wines) that I really enjoyed. We deviated from the plan and went to dinner in town and skipped one of the meals offered in our package. The food prepared by the Y was very good but we all wanted a chance to sit and have someone wait on us and choose what we wanted to eat from a menu and take as long as we wanted to finish our meal. I will be getting copies of Bubbles prints and hope to scrapbook this weekend and will post here when that becomes a reality. All in all it was alot of fun and something that we want to do again whether it is back at the YMCA or somewhere else. The next time we need full JUG attendance so plans to organize next year's trip will begin soon so that everyone has a chance to line up baby-sitters and to save their pennies.

This is a shot of the J.U.G.'s up on the balcony area outside of our rooms taken yesterday right before we got ready to leave. The picture quality isn't that great. I am going to try and lighten it up and re-post. From left to right, Bobbi, Cindy, Bubbles, Patti, Mary Anne and Rhonda.

Here is Milton the Moose who hung above the fireplace where we had cocktails on Friday and Saturday nights and deep conversations.

Here is the view from our (Bubbles, Rhonda and myself)bedroom window

Bobbi, Patti and Mary Anne in the foreground.
Rhonda, Cindy and Bubbles in the background.
We took a Sunday morning hike before we went to brunch at 10:30.

Another shot of the hikers

Here is just a shot of the path that we walked. Look at the beauty of the trees.

The hikers.

Valentines XVI, XVII & XVIII

Here are three of the same basic design. The cardstock is Stampin UP very vanilla. I used the SU double sided designer paper and just reversed the combo. On one I just punched the corner with the SU ticket corner punch. The stamped image is from the $1.00 bin at Michael's and was stamped using SU Real Red.

Made It To Work

Well I made it to work in just about my average time, it took 40 minutes.
I got stuck in the alley when I left for about 5 minutes.
Seems that my car (Pontiac Sunfire) with the front wheel drive got better traction going in reverse then it did going forward through the deep snow. So I backed up out of the alley to the street and then proceeded forward. Once I was on the secondary streets it was smooth sailing. The parking lot here at work has not been plowed yet so it was a bit iffy and hopefully I will not have a problem getting out to go on my weekend later this afternoon.

Here are two more valentines, I think they are XIV and XV, not real good with the Roman numerals. The birthday card is going out to my nephew, it is belated so hopefully he will forgive me.

Everyone stay warm and dry this weekend and if you are in a snowy climate be careful. Those of you in warm climates, we can make snowmen and you can't, na, na.

Snow!

It is snowing like crazy here in Chicago, so I thought that I would post a picture from my CA trip in December. Nothing like a beautiful bird of paradise flower to cheer up a snowy Friday. I am working from home and listening to The Beach Boys. I will need to get to the office today to wrap up some things before I head up north to WI for the weekend. Seven of the twelve J.U.G.'s are doing a "women's wellness weekend". I have to get up to Cary to meet up with Patti and the two of us will be making the rest of the trip together. I have both my digital and regular cameras with me so I will hopefully have some pics of very relaxed women next week. On my agenda is a card making class, wine tasting (I'll probably get drunk since I really don't drink), yoga and cross country skiing. I have brought some crocheting in case I decide to just be a slug and sit in front of the fire. Either way I'm sure it will be FUN!!!

I will post some cards when I get to the office.

Valentine XIII

This was made with SU cardstock, KI Memories patterned paper. The phrase is also KI cut out of a sheet of 12x12 patterned paper. The brads are Making Memories.

Valentine XII

This card used SU cardstock and the patterned paper is KI Memories.

Valentines X & XI

Cardstock from SU and patterned paper from the Target $ spot.


Cardstock from SU and patterned paper from the Target $ spot.

Valentine VIII & IX

Here are two more Valentines that I made this weekend.



This card was made with Stampin Up cardstock but the designer paper and embellishment are from the Target $1 spot. (Gotta love Target)




This card was made with Stampin Up cardstock and the Love & Joy SU stamp set and the designer paper is from the Target $1 spot.

Birthday Shout Out!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIMONE!!!!

It is a pleasure to have you in my life. I wish you a day of fun, laughter and good eats! A year of good health, good love and many many days filled with smiles and sunshine!

This is on it's way, sorry for the delay, it's just a way to celebrate another day!

RAK Sent

Okay, so this is the stuff that I sent out for the January RAK that I spoke of in a previous post. These items are on their way to Florida. The card was from my last SU demo in November. I left it blank so that Florence could use it herself. I had the card and wanted to make sure that these items got out in time and that I wasn't holding it up trying to come up with a January card idea. The stickers (I did not photograph all the stickers sheets) and the mini scrapbook package are for her to use in crafty projects of her own. The blue/yellow items are a notebook and pen set for making lists of ideas or supplies that need to be purchased. I hope that Florence enjoys her items.

Reality TV

I promise to post pictures of the RAK that I sent out on Tuesday. The recipient should have it today and I feel safe posting what I sent later today.

In the interim I want to know if anyone else digs reality tv like me.

In particular (since it was just on last night) Project Runway.

What's with Rickie?
Why is he always crying?
He cries when he's under pressure.
He cries when he's sad and thinks he's not good enough.
He cried last night because he WON!!!
WTH???

Jillian seems to be my favorite along with Rahmy (sp?) so far.
Christian puts out new ideas and I like his clothes, but I don't care for his attitude.
Sweet Pea is soooo nice but I'm not sure she has it in her to win it all.

Anybody else out there watch this or another one of the reality fare?
Leave a comment and let's dish.

What's In A Name

What Constance Means

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily.
You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind.
A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.
You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you.
At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.
You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.
You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.

You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life.
You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home.
You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble.

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality.





You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

A Mini Rant

I have nothing to show today because if I post my "creation" then the recipient might see it before they should and that would not be right.

Instead I just have a mini rant inside that I must get off of my chest.

Living in Chicago most of my life (the nice stint down in Florida for some of my schooling was a treat)I have come to deal with snow. Unless the snow is measuring in feet and the crews have not been out to clear the streets, there is no reason to stay at home when you are expected somewhere. Specifically work. I just do not understand the people that when there is more than an inch of snow believe that they cannot navigate the roads and get to work. The person of whom I speak grew up in Pennsylvania, a snow state! The vehicle is dependable and working, the drive is under 50 miles. Why would you put additional pressure on your co-workers because you want to stay home? I just don't understand people. I just get aggravated because as the manager of this department it gets under my skin when the good workers constantly have to keep things running smoothly when the icky ones are being icky. Enough of that!!!

Sorry for the rant!

On the bright side, the sun is shining on the newly fallen snow and it is a winter wonderland.

My chihuahua Gidget even had fun playing in the snow, even if it was for only a minute or two before her poor belly got all wet and cold.

I also want to admit that I have a problem, not just the one mentioned in the rant above. I am a craft supply hoarder! I recently invested in a SU ink pad holder. When I assembled it and saw how many spaces for ink pads there were I never thought I would ever fill them all up. This morning before work I went down to my craft cellar and began to put away the ink pads. To my amazement and horror, I filled up the entire thing!!! I have to buy the extender. YIKERS!!! Once I straighten out a few things I will post a picture of my craft cellar and the hoards of supplies.

Hope everyone has a good Tuesday and that if you have to navigate the snow that you are safe.

Hibernation

This weekend it was bitter cold here in the Windy City and I was all for hibernation whenever I had the chance.

Friday night had me at my J.U.G. friend Debbie's house to do some crafting. Some of the scrapbook pages that Debbie had done were spectacular. I got 8 cards partially finished. Partially because I didn't prepare my supplies correctly and didn't have all of the cardstock that I needed for my design idea. Therefore, I have nothing to post for the visual side of this post.

Saturday, I met my Bally buddy Steve and we worked out for 1-1/2 hours. I love working out in the morning it makes the whole day better. I just wish it was plausible during my work week. Steve and I have a standing arrangement to meet every Saturday morning at 8:00am. Working out with a buddy is SOOOOO much easier and way cheaper than a personal trainer. Hopefully by the summer I will have a leaner buffer body. I just need to find a week-day buddy so that I get my arse to the gym more than just once a week.

This is for any "scientist" readers of my blog. Would someone please look into making foods that are good for me (veggies, low fat, low carb) taste like chocolate. I would be eating those foods all of the time because I wanted to and not because I should be eating them.

With the Martin Luther King holiday being observed today I don't have school tonight and intend to do some crafting so hopefully I will have a new "creation" up for tomorrow's post.

Stay warm!!!

Jen T's January RAK

I received my Jen T's January RAK from Jodie of Honolulu, Hawaii. The first picture is of the lovely card that Jodie sent along with some wonderful goodies. Some silk flower embellishments, some rose stickers and a very cute card with a pocket on the inside to slip a gift card into or a note.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH JODIE!!!

I can't wait to use the embellishments and hope to have something up soon using my new gift.

Valentine Cards V, VI & VII

Last night was a school night so these are "cheater" cards. I had a card kit that had the cards, the embellishments and all I had to do was put them together.