Anything but traditional

I sent an email to a stamper that I really admire and I entitled the email: Don't think I'm a weirdo. I have never heard back from this gal. Then I really did feel like a weirdo. Anyway, I'll try again in six months or so. She's young (just kidding if you read this oh-stamper-that-I-admire-in-a-crafty-kind-of-way).

The stamper that I speak of gave me some great ideas on color. So I wanted to share those with you today. (The two with Groovy Guava)

I really don't like Valentine's Day and I have been using a lot of non-traditional colors to make my cards. I have a workshop on Friday and I have been struggling to put a final idea together. I know, I should already have the house clean and brownies made. Leave me alone.

The Purely Pomegranate card is a favorite...This is used with the textured paper and purely pomegranate designer series paper, too.

It's who I am.

It occured to me yesterday that I don't share one of the more importatnt details of my life with people and that is that I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I'm not sure why I don't. I love answering people's questions, even the dumb ones. But being a member of my faith has been a great blessing to me and my children.

Our church lost its president on Sunday evening and I wasn't sad, simply humbled by him. Gordon B. Hinckley was an unbelievable figure to anyone of any faith.

I saw an excerpt from Glenn Beck (you can pause the music down below in order to hear)...now you're getting to know me even more, and I was impressed with how he described President Hinckley. And like Mr. Beck, I was not saddened by the news of his passing. My first thought was how happy he will be to reunite with his dear wife Marjorie whom he loved and respected so much.

I think President Hinckley's example was a very outstanding reminder that I have a lot of work to do to carry the qualities of such a man, husband, and father.

Thank you card

I'm stuck on these crazy 3x3 cards. They are so simple and inexpensive to make. Maybe it's because I don't have to work with such a big space and try to fill it, but I have another 3x3 to share. It's similar to the earth tone ones I made before, but who cares.

The second one is debatable. I'm not sure if I like it or not. I'm leaning towards not liking it. Let me know what you think. All two of you who visit my website. I appreciate your opinions.

Maybe I should start offering blog candy...that is such a weird concept, but it works for a lot of people I know!!

Here are a couple more toppers

Valentine Class Cards

Here are the cards and bag toppers we made for the Three for Three class I had on Friday. I already showed you the 3x3's....

Don't Look if You Don't Want a Ruined Surprise.

I am going to post a couple of the 3x3 cards I have been working on for my workshops and classes. I love making these little ones. Don't put them in the mail, however, because the postal service will not be happy with you and will have to declare another federal holiday in your honor because you mailed a 3x3 card when you weren't supposed to. I'll have to think of a name for that holiday and get back to you...

I used the Happy Heart Day stamp set and the Sealed with a Kiss set. The rest is easy to see.

Tah Dah!

Okay, I'm going to be totally honest, I love Blaine's shirt! Ethan has one, too. My dad and step-mom got them for the boys for Christmas. I'm also going to tell you that I don't deserve the boys to be wearing those shirts this week.

It may be that Blaine is trying to butter me up. I have been referring to myself as "The Dragon Lady" this week. I swear I could breathe fire if I needed to. I would love to blame exhaustion, but that's no reason to have scales and breathe fire on my kids. Well...maybe.

With all of this "heated" energy, I finally went to town on my craft room. Ideally, I would love to have a counter top and cabinets, but I'm pleased to have the space I have and it's tidy and organized now.

You can refer to a couple weeks back when I attacked the craft room with the raging energy I had from missing our trip to San Diego because I didn't turn my alarm clock on. I'm over it now, but I was able to get a lot of things done that week. Believe me, I would have rather been in San Diego.

So, now that you think I'm a psychopath and are tempted to call social services, rest assured that Blaine and I spent quality time calming ourselves down to the sounds of Michael Buble while he stamped and I cleaned. I even made him homemade hot chocolate. Ooooooh Yeah.

The recipe is as follows (Brace yourself, I don't think it's high in fat):

Mix 1/4 cup water with 2 TBS cocoa powder and 2TBS sugar (I use Splenda or half Splenda, half sugar). Put in the microwave for 30-40 seconds.

Then add 1 1/2 cups fat free milk and put in the microwave for 3-4minutes. Times vary. I have the world's smallest microwave. When finished, make sure the chocolate doesn't have bits left at the bottom. Be advised, these chocolate bits are not tasty because it's pure cocoa powder. Ugh.

Add 1/2tsp of vanilla and then ruin the weight-conscious goodness with a wollop (that's about 4 dollops) of whip cream. I like the stuff out of the can or homemade, but either way...bring it on big time.

At this point, you'll want to make sure the kids are wearing their "Mom Rocks" t-shirts because this is a really good recipe and they will be too busy drinking the goodness to tell you how cool you are!

My mom and step-dad were able to come up for a quick visit, too. It was a blurr because we crammed a lot into the short weekend, but it was fun. We have been so fortunate to see the Grand-P's for two weekends in a row and from all over the nation!!!

I will be posting card pictures after tomorrow. I have a workshop and don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone who may be attending.