Element of Surprise!!

Ahhhh, don't you just love that moment -- the ELEMENT of SURPRISE?!? Well, I definitely enjoyed surprising my very best friend, Jodi, for her 40th birthday (belated) by planning a surprise 40th birthday scrapbooking day at my house with our friends. She was TOTALLY blown away -- and couldn't figure out why her hubby was in such a hurry to get her out of their house (okay, albeit she was LATE...but that's okay...LOL).

I had been planning this for MONTHS (in cohorts w/her hubby, too, since he was planning something else as well); but I elected to postpone mine a month. You see, Jodi's b-day was on June 12th. Her mom passed away on June 7th. I didn't feel right having it that weekend. Well, things fell into place and we decided on July 25th. We had so much fun catching up with each other, having good food and finishing off with AWESOME CUPCAKES!!!!

Jodi -- if you're reading this, I truly hope you enjoyed it and had a great time. We all love ya! Happy Birthday!!!

Happy 4th of July!!

I hope everyone is having a safe and Happy 4th of July; but, most importantly, I hope you-all are staying cool! Is it hot out there or what?!?! I saw where June was the hottest month on record for Houston area (maybe even Texas....can't remember). I hate to even begin to imagine what July & August hold for us!

If anyone follows me on Twitter, you know that I baked & "attempted" to decorate cupcakes today to take to a 4th of July party. Well, this has given me a new respect for my FAVORITE cupcake place -- Sugarbaby's. While I had fun decorating them, I kept thinking -- and I'm sure -- there is a better/easier/cleaner way to frost cupcakes.

Below are a couple of pics. Zach wanted to put all the pinwheels in as he was so pleased to be helping. So, I let him. The cupcakes are vanilla and I filled them with sugar free vanilla pudding after they were baked. Not sure how much actually got in each cupcake...any cupcake bakers/decorators want to share tips on that aspect??

Back from Vacation!

Good afternoon! We are back home from vacation! The Frio River was AWESOME! I forgot how much fun it was, and I didn't realize how much I missed it! Lots of wonderful childhood memories came rushing back as we got closer to Sabinal/Concan/Frio River. We met some wonderful new friends and are looking forward to camping with them on the Frio again next year!! :) The temps were hot, but the river made it bearable. Too low to float; but PERFECT for swimming. Freedom LOVED the water. She was a natural...and she stole the hearts of many!

What have all of you been up to?

I'm Honored -- Another Award!!

My Upline, Tina Sutton http://www.missgingerdots.blogspot.com/, has honored me with the "Lovely Blog Award." I am so excited!!

The rules for this one are:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.


2. Pass the award to 10 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are my choices (in no particular order)

1. Debbie- http://www.texasbluebonnetscrappersblog.blogspot.com/;

2. Christa - http://www.scrapnfever.blogspot.com/;

3. Melissa L. - http://www.fancymelissa.blogspot.com/;

4. Mandy - http://www.mypassionforscrapbooking.com/;

5. Shannon- http://www.stampinbuds.com/;

6. Paige - http://www.paigespaperparadise.blogspot.com/;

7. Kristine - http://www.scramping-addict.blogspot.com/;

8. Tammy - http://www.creativeimpressions-pinchme.blogspot.com/;

9. Karen - http://www.karenpedersen.blogspot.com/

10. Antoinnette - http://www.godblessyourart.blogspot.com/

Thanks again, Tina! :)

Random Stamping = Unique Patterned Paper

I LOVE Random Stamping. It is one of the EASIEST techniques and most fun to teach. It's amazing to see all the different creations people can make when using the same stamp set to Random Stamp.

To summarize, random stamping is when you use a minimum of two different stamp images. You ink up and start stamping with the bigger image in the center of the paper and stamp in trianglular movements and rotate your paper so as to get a "unique" look. Don't forget to stamp OFF of the edge!! Once finished with the bigger image, you'll do the same thing with the smaller image. When all random stamping is done, you will have your very own unique patterened paper.

Below are just a couple of samples I've done. I also like that by using the random stamping technique, the "blank" white space staring you in the face. Random stamping gives it a more personal touch.

Want to learn how to add random stamping to your crafting? Let me show you how. Call or e-mail me!

Already like random stamping? Send me your random stamped pages by June 16th and I'll send you a small token for sharing!

Yippee!!! I've earned an award!

One of my newest & dearest online/CTMH sister friends -- Shannon Buck -- has presented me with an award -- the Lemonade Stand Award. I am QUITE honored to receive this from Shannon. Thank you, thank you -- etc., etc. -- Shannon, for presenting me with this. I'm so glad to have you as a friend.

The rules of this award are:
*comment on this blog
*cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog
*nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude
*link to your nominees within your blog post
*comment on their blogs to let them know they received the award
*link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation

http://stampinbuds.blogspot.com/ (Shannon)
You are an amazing lady! I can't wait until I can meet you in person. With all that you've had going on, your sense of humor never ceases to amaze me. I enjoy checking in on your blog, the twitterin' back & forth and, of course, the e-mails. We are both tackling a lifestyle change and WE WILL CONQUER! ;) Hugs to ya!

http://www.creationsbytheheart.blogspot.com/ (Amy B.)

Amy..I've not met you in person; but from what I can tell by our e-mails and your website that you are an AWESOME person. You are a wonderful mom for all that you do with and for your girls and I'm sure your hubby loves ya dearly (except when you're impatient and buy something that he's already gotten you for a PRESENT!!!) ;) Thanks for being a WONDERFUL friend!

http://www.fancymelissa.blogspot.com/ (Melissa L.)

I've only just recently stumbled (via Twitter-land) upon your blog/website and I am sooo glad I did! You have created beautiful artwork and I look forward to getting to know you and see all of your creations -- minus lots of white space! ;)

http://www.nonapearl.blogspot.com/ (Nona D.)

I've not communicated too often with Nona personally; but I think we all know how wonderful of a person Nona is -- and how much of an awesome attitude she has. I love all the things she creates -- and I really love the "Sammy-isms" (mine are called -- "Zach-isms") HA!

Memorial Day Weekend!

Memorial Day weekend is just hours away, and I am so glad about that. We are going camping at Brazos Bend State Park outside of Needville, Texas. We're looking forward to it because this is first time we've been camping since right before Wes was deployed to Afghanistan back in 2007. The main goal this weekend is to make sure everything is working properly in the camper before our week-long vacation in just a few weeks!!

I am hoping to get some scrapbooking done, but I'm not sure how successful I'll be. I love camping. I love the peacefulness; the ability to see millions and millions of those tiny bright things in the sky -- what are they called? Oh, yeah -- STARS!!!! Ha! Living so close to Houston, you don't get the same effect of a "starry night" as you do when you're camping.

We'll come back on Monday, and then -- HOPEFULLY -- go over to my friend Leann's house for pool party!!! :) (Miss ya, girl!!)

What are YOUR plans for this long weekend?