the.amanda.sewell

Something weird is going on with my hubby. He has been super attentive to me (aka, listens to me and actually makes full eye contact so I know he is listening), he has been helping out lots to help the house run smoother, and he has been doing random things like this: Want to hear the sweetest thing? My cute husband came home yesterday with a chocolate cake (round cake with chocolate icing and chocolate circles on top- YUM) and a single rose just for me for no reason at all. I had been saying how much I craved chocolate cake on the weekend (I think it was PMS), and so he thought, since he couldn't make me one -- because he totally does not have the time, he would pick me up one and he thought the rose just went with it well. How sweet is that? I'm pretty spoiled! I would post a picture of the chocolate cake, but we ate half of it last night and it isn't pretty anymore . . . ya know? So do you think that is just weird? I do. But for now, I am just gonna enjoy it becau

Phew! I finally took some time to stamp today. Limited time, but time none the less. I am working on crocheting a blanket for my sister in law and I have to have it done by Friday, so I have been working furiously on that. M will be away this weekend at the blessing of her daughter and so he will be taking the gift to her (which is way cheaper than mailing it), so that is why it must be done. I promise to upload a photo or two of the finished blanket. I also made her a paint can (my first ever full size one) and I will post that as well soon. It is cute! Todays card was inspired by the sun. When I think of sunshine, I think of playing on the 4th of July and I decided it is not that far away, so I would make a card for the 4th. I used the Hearts and Stars set by Autumn Leaves in the Rhonna Farrer collection (it has been awhile since I pulled that out). The colors are brilliant blue, real red and white (I know, very shocking). I got the idea for the sentiment tag from a card I

This recipe comes from the book "101 More Things to Do With a Slow Cooker" by Stephanie Ashcraft and Janet Eyring. It is yummy and super simple. I made my own meatballs (rolled ground turkey into balls and boiled them) and it turned out YUMMY! We don't eat beef, so that is why the exchange. Sweet & Sour Meatballs 2 pkg's (18 0z each) frozen cooked meatballs (we used homemade ground turkey rolled into balls and boiled 1 can (14 0z) crushed pineapple (with juice) 1 cup brown sugar 3 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp cornstarch 1 tbsp water DIRECTIONS: Place frozen meatballs in a greased 3.5 to 4 quart slow cooker. In a saucepan, combine pineapple, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Bring mixture to boil stirring frequently. In a small bowl combine cornstarch and water together, then add to simmering sauce to thicken. Pour sauce over meatballs. Cover and cook on low heat, 3-4 hours. Makes 10-15 servings. Meatballs can be served on a platter with toothpicks as appetizers, or

There was not a spare second for stamping today. I had to do tons and tons of laundry and I am finally caught up on it for the time being. But now, of course, the kids want to go play in the park and really, who am I to deny that -- it is a gorgeous sunny day and they have been really good all day. So off to the park, but before I go . . . I feel like I am being inkspired by everything lately . . . I got the new pottery barn kids catalog and it has some awesome ideas in it . . . and the other day I was watching an advil commercial and I fell in love with the colors they used on that . . . Do you ever go through periods where you feel a creative overload happening? Hopefully I can get to all of these ideas soon . . . and if not . . . now you can be inkspired by them. Hope you are having a lovely Monday! ETA: Blog winners -- sorry I have slacked so badly! I am working on stuff for you -- but also other stuff that I need to do has jumped up so I will get you some packages out this

Look I did it! I created my own banner design. I am so proud of myself because I am seriously clueless sometimes when it comes to figuring out widgets and html and other such jibberish. So, what do you all think of the new banner? I love the colors! I think they are both girly and funky at the same time *grins* Oh, and my current undertaking is to try to figure out how to make my profile image centered . . . if you can help with that, send me an email or post code on here and directions on how to make that happen! Thanks in advance . . .

Spring has sprung . . . the birds are doing it on my balcony again (no really, I even showed my hubby when I glanced over out my window and they were going at it again -- he thinks it is funny) . . . it is raining a lot here in Phoenix, and I am totally into light pastel colors again! Sponging is something I TOTALLY never use. Well, that is not entirely true -- I occasionally do the "dirty" sponging using chocolate chip or close to cocoa ink . . . but usually that is because I messed something up and I am trying to fix it *wink* This challenge was cool to me. I had these little clothes pins sitting on my desk since my last trip to Scrapbooks Etc. and I knew I wanted to use them for something fun, but I was having difficulty being inkspired. Anyway, I started to cover them with paper, and this is what I came up with. At first I did the almost amythest plain, but I decided it needed some springtime oomph, so I added the little flowers in white craft in (flowers from Small S

I have to say I have just been 'tickled pink' with this new weekly challenge. Each week a stamper is featured and we are supposed to copy a layout or color combination they used, of course and give credit to them . . . thanks for the inkspiration Sharon! The challenge is called Featured Stamper. Would you believe I had to look up the meaning of the phrase " tickled pink " before I used it here on my blog. Seriously, where has my brain gone? If you find it, send it home. I love the amount of layers this card has. It was really simple stamping, but the lots of layers made it have great depth. I just loved this layout when I saw it first by Sharon (notimetostamp) on SCS. It is hard to see, but pigs are stamped on the pink background, tone on tone. Also, on the white strip across -- "tickled pink" is stamped in pretty in pink. Stickles were added (diamond ones - sorry about the orangish color) to give him a little more glam! All in all, I am pleased w

I hope you have your sunglasses on. If not, fair warning to go get them on. I made this card for the limited supply challenge on splitcoast. I wanted it to be really summer. I just love this ribbon I used on it. It matches perfectly in real life. I had so much fun making this! I love these colors together. I started off with the pink and green galore and needed another color and the cameo coral just came to me! True INKSPIRATION! I still have not mounted the whole set yet, but the sentiment is from Fancy Flexible Phrases (SU!). The flower and leaves are from All Through the Year (SU!) and that ribbon is the ribbon I posted yesterday that I got from Michaels. It is the stuff from the wooden spools. I love my scallop punches, I think I need to get the circle ones too! They are just FUN! Hope you are having a great Thursday! ETA: If you look really closely in the brad in the center, you can see me taking the picture . . . LOL!!!

IT'S THURSDAY!!!!!! If you frequent my blog, you know I love Grey's Anatomy and that there would almost certainly be a comment on last Thursdays show, but I am going to dedicate this whole post to the show because it needs to be. (If you haven't seen the episode, this is your official STOP READING SPOILER WARNING) WOW! (Or as Mer says at the end Holy . . . ) Mer just cannot be dead. She can't! I am so frustrated about this. At the end of the episode I sat there laughing. Laughing you say? Yep! My hubby thought I was nuts but I was laughing because Shonda knows the fans loved Denny and Dylanso much, she found a way to write them back into the show . . . she's a genius! But at what cost? Mer cannot be dead! In the first two minutes of the show, the scene in the water -- the music is timed perfectly to the video -- Mer says "Theres more I have to say, so much more . . . but, I disappeared" and the music says "I feel better . . . I feel better.&qu

It's 10 pm on Wednesday night, and everyone has probably already finished dinner -- OOPS, better late than never though . . . I got this one from a friend while I was living in VA (Thanks Stephanie)! Kinda junk food because of the chips, but we like it in our family and make it fairly often. Nacho Taco Casserole 1 bag nacho cheese flavored taco chips 1 can diced green chilies 1 c. sour cream 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can cream of mushroom soup 4 chicken breasts, diced and cooked Grated cheddar cheese. DIRECTIONS : Mix together chilies, sour cream, cream of chicken and cream of mushroom in a bowl. In a 9X12 baking dish, layer chips, then chicken, then pour sauce over to cover chips and chicken. Next repeat layer, chips, chicken, and sauce to cover. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake in oven at 400F for about 30 minutes or until browned on top and bubbly. ENJOY!

Not that way you sicko you ! I meant, I got some ribbon from Michael's. I saw on Taylor's blog the other day that Michael's had some cool ribbon and so I made myself go there today and look. I looked around the whole store and could not find them anywhere! Defeated, I was about to check out, but I decided to ask the sales clerk if she knew of them . . . and she said they had them. She showed me where to find them in the store and left me to choose some! They were right by the ferns and other floral stuff in my Michaels store, on an end-cap, so if you don't find them in your store at first, be SURE to ask . . . *grins* I only ended up getting 11 of them, because I was trying to be frugal and at $1.99 each . . . it adds up fast -- but now I am wondering if I *needed* the other ones I put back? I will have to see how we are on our "budget" this month, and maybe make a repeat trip to Michaels if I can afford it! Isn't it PRETTY? Oh, and I got the lit

So due to the fact that Jody and I (her more than me) have been busy lately, we have decided to go down to one item a month. I was seriously having stampers block, but I did manage to make this simple frame for Jody using some fun paper I got at my LSS and my Simon chipboard alphas that I got from my DDSS last round. The frame was one that my friend gave to me to "do something with." The ribbon is celery and chocolate grosgrain and some pink stitched with chocolate ribbon by American Crafts. On the letter "J" I stamped a flower from SU "Polka Dots and Petals" from the new spring mini catalog (you can't see it in the picture but you can in real life) and then in the center of each flower I put a white dot using my gelly roll pen. Really simple, but I still think Jody will like it! *smiles* Jody sent me the most gorgeous item which you can view HERE .

This card was for CC102 - a color challenge on the splitcoaststampers website. I have become a little bit of a challenge stalker as they are totally inspiring and they push you to work outside your comfort zone. Todays colors were real red, basic black, and gold, in honor of the Chinese new year. I decided right away that I did not want my card to be really "Asian" in its theme, but just use those colors. The stamps are from Mixed Bouquet by SU. I decided to try and use anything other than the rose in that set, since I ALWAYS seem to use that one. The leaves were stamped in Staz on black (yep, I cheated and did not use basic black because I like how solid staz on is.) After I stamped them, I stamped the "inner leaf part" with versamark and used gold embossing powder over the top. I then stuck the mailing label panels on the basic black cardstock and where it went over the edge, I folded in to the inside. Next, I punched holes and inserted the brads in the ce

This looks so much cooler in person. I guess the best way to describe it is layer by layer. Layer 1 is basic black -- the main card. Inside it is lined with whisper white and says "Whatever happens, God is there to keep you safe within his care." The second layer is whisper white. It is also folded just like the first card, but has the front cut out. I stamped a mosaic from StarvingArtistamps and then stamped the rose from SU Mixed Bouquet on top. I then colored random "tiles" in the mosaic using my watercolor wonder crayons (you could use markers here, or whatever - it would still work fine). I left some of the pieces blank because I liked the look of it and I am lazy and that is a heck of a lot of coloring as it is! *smiles* Layer 3 is really a half layer. It is on the top part, over the window. I stamped a mosaic on an acetate sheet and after layering it to match up, I adhered it to the top part on the inside *clear as mud* Inside the window. Then I

Today we went to a fun museum in Phoenix. We went to Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum for Prospector Day. It was just me and the kids. We got lost on the way, but after we figured our way around one way streets and road construction we made it there. The kids had a lot of fun playing on the old train outside in the museum yard. They got to make wire bracelets with some free gemstones (little ones that were drilled) and make a pet rock too. In the pictures, the children cleaned some rocks. They got to touch a big rock that had all sorts of interesting mineral deposits on it. It was 81 degrees F today!

Stamperosity said... Beautiful Amanda. Tell me, are your butterflies stamped on top of your background, or are they embossed prior to doing your alcohol ink background? TIA Lynn Amanda said... They are stamped and embossed on the already alcohol inked background. I like doing it this way because if you have a background turn out not the way you want with the inks, you can just save it for another project, and try again. Anonymous said... Amanda love both cards. Can you tell us what colors you used for the alcohol background on the first card? Makes me want to try faux stitching. Is there a trick to keeping it straight and uniform? Think I would be all over the place. Amanda said... I have been using Tim Holtz inks and you can buy them here. The two colors I used on these particular cards are "currant&qu

So I decided to stalk the challenge this morning. Had a blast talking on the stalker thread -- lots of SCS royalty there this morning. The challenge for today was marvelous and so wide open. So many options . . . I might have to do another one later using some other techniques/ideas. The original idea for this came from Michaels.com but, since I did not have all the supplies I needed, I had to ad lib (quite a bit). I think the final result is neat. I used regular kitchen tin foil, but to get the colored look, I used my heat and stick powder and brushed pearl ex over it (extremely messy, but cool). Then I stamped the image (butterfly) from Autumn Leaves by Rhonna Farrer - in the center in staz on and gave it a couple of layers of clear embossing powder for shine. It looks so shimmery and pretty in real life. Who would have thought tin foil could make such a neat embellishment? The layout is FS01, which is a cool new thing on splitcoast on Sunday's -- every Sunday a different

I decided to work with alcohol inks some more because I really love them. This card was made using the currant color in the Tim Holtz collection. It matched super well with my ribbon. I was excited. The flowers were colored with my watercolor wonder crayons and then spritzed with water and stamped. They are actually more mustard and they look much more mustard in real life. As per usual, I just had to faux stitch on the card somewhere, but I really liked how these little tiny stitches turned out. Really sweet. Oh, and the stamp set is Happy Harmony (Stampin' Up!), a sellabration set. I need to get into spring mode soon though, this card still looks really wintry to me. Oh, and the corners -- they are a fabulous punch that I picked up on my birthday for only $10 (I had a discount). It is Nostalgiques, the attic collection by Rebecca Sower designs, made by EK Success. I love it because not only can I punch the solid color corners like this, but I can punch out of any of m

Why can't I sleep? I hate colds. They seriously suck! Both my kids have a cold right now as do I. The kids are coughing and so I worry, so I can't sleep right now. I am just sitting here, nose drippy, and listening to them cough while I stamp. I gave them medicine already, but it does not seem to be helping. *sad* SO, to pass the time, I decided to be a sketch challenge stalker and get my card in real nice and early today! This card uses a set called "Bunny Hugs" by Stampin' Up! It is in the Spring Mini catalog. I absolutely fell in love with this little guy and just had to get this set. I watercolor glazed the eggs and ears and noses. By this, I mean, I colored with my watercolor wonder crayons and then I used my gelly roll glaze pen to blend the color. The aforementioned parts are shiny like they are embossed, in real life. I paper pierced the sides and then decided it would look cool with brads, so I threw in a brad every other hole and I love how

February is such a crazy month of birthdays for us here that sometimes Valentines Day gets a little neglected. I decided since I was awake that I would make M a valentine card. I started off using a piece of 8 1/2 x11 printed paper (The Paper Studio) that I got at Hobby Lobby (be proud, it is Wednesday and I have not been there this week *wink*). I chose the paper because the caramel and red said male to me. I wanted a male card. I liked the faux stitching on it, but I decided to make it more real looking by piercing it for real. It helped a lot. I stamped the "be mine" circles from SU's Tag Time set. The ink color did not come out quite the color I wanted, so I punched some hearts (with a punch I got in the Target $1 spot), and covered up the darker ink color to make it match better. Then it was just a matter of layering it on the cardstock and adding ribbons. The caramel ribbon as well as the wine color are both from one of texasjodylynn's swaps and the c

This recipe came from one of my good friends on SCS, Dorinda. You can see her blog here: Inky Paper Menagerie . I thought this sounded yummy to try. M loves pineapple so I thought it would be yummy for Valentines day! What's For Dinner - Hawaiian Chicken 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 2/3 c hot water 2 T butter buds 2 c stove top stuffing...chicken flavor 1- 8oz can crushed pineapple undrained 2 T brown sugar 2 T vinegar 1/4 tsp ground ginger chopped green pepper DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 400F, lay chicken on flat surface pound flat with a rolling pin or meat mallet to 1/4 inch thick. Mix Hot water and butter buds in a bowl, stir in stuffing mix, green pepper & 1/2 the pineapple w/juice. Spoon stuffing mixture evenly over chicken. Roll-up tightly, starting with the long end. secure with toothpicks....place seem side down in square oiled or sprayed bake dish. Put left over stuffing in middle. Mix remaining pineapple with brown sugar and vinegar and ginger and

Terri Digness - (Buglady) Last but certainly not least, is this amazing card by Terri. WOW! This card is just outstanding. The chipboard is awesome, and the ribbons punched though is AWESOME. The stitching and the brads are so pretty. I love the background papers and you can never go wrong with pink and brown, but the silver was just gorgeous with this. Oh, and the little heart at the bottom is covered in microbeads. I just love this. Stamps: Loving Hearts, Wild Hearts background stamp, Fancy Flexible phrases. Paper: Loves Me Double Sided Designer paper, Pretty in pink, regal rose, shimmery white, silver metallic. Ink: Close to cocoa, pretty in pink, white craft, taken with teal. Accessories: chipboard hearts, cropodile, rose grosgrain ribbon, microbeads, silver brads, silver EP, silver cord, stampin' dimensionals.

Sarah Moore (staramaze) I just loved this little pocket note card by Sarah Moore. She hosted this wonderful swap for us. It was so well done. Inside this little book is a couple of shimmery white paper pages which are also stamped. Oh, and as if that was not enough, Sarah sent each of us participants a book mark, which is just too cute! Thank you Sarah -- cannot wait to participate again when you host another blogger swap. POCKET CARD -- Stamps: Hampton Arts Ink: Black Stazon, Pretty in Pink, Versamark, SU! markers Paper: Loves Me DP, Pretty in Pink, Shimmery White, Pretty in Pink Pocket notes Accessories: Metal Edged Tags, Silver cord, Creative Candy Pink "bling" by Amuse, Die cut heart, letters & embossed swirls by Cuttlebug, Silver EP BOOKMARK -- Cuttlebug Die Cut Bookmark and heart, chipboard is packing cardboard from SU! Paper: Love Me Designer Series papers, taken with teal Ink: Chocolate Chip Accessories: Flirty ribbon originals, silver cord, silver g

LEE -- yep, I am an Amanda Lee (my mom wanted to make my middle name Lynn originally but my Grandma convinced her she could not name me after an instrument - a mandolin). Thank you to all of you who participated in this 50K visitors celebration. Happy Monday! We are now at 51K! WOOHOO! The people who guessed right were: StampHappyInkyMomma, Peggy Maier, Lisa, Jen Marie, mishkismom, Dorinda, Sharon, gowens, and Amy H. And the winner is *insert drumroll here* (P.S. I made M wake up to pick a piece of paper so this drawing would be official - LOL) . . . JenMarie . JenMarie, please email me your snail mail address so I can send you your prize. A special honorable mention goes to Melissa (first poster) who guessed Iphigenia! You made me laugh out loud, so you will be getting something in the mail too! Please email me your snail mail address! You crack me up girlie!!! Gotta love Greys (P.S. Is it Thursday yet, I am dying here -- Mer better live). For the second part, a drawing fr

Awhile ago I signed up to receive some free samples of UHU glue products. I got two products in the mail. One was a colored glue stick (which I have used before - pretty normal except you can see where the glue is on your page), and the second was something I had not seen before, UHU Creativ Scrapbookers Pen. I admit, I was completely skeptical because usually liquid glues do all sorts of horrid stuff, like bubble your paper, or make them rip easily, still I gave this one a chance because as part of receiving the samples, I was supposed to include a review here on my blog. Also, I wanted to include a link to Maria Filosa's Project Blog -- I think you might like it! This is a name frame I made. If you click on it, you can see it in better detail. I am really pleased with how it turned out. I used the UHU Creativ Scrapbookers Pen on the letters to adhere the paper to them. The letters are made of cardboard (thin cardboard). They are raised on popdots. I sponged the outside

This was an interesting read. The story was not at all what I expected, as in, it had more depth than I was thinking it would. The characters are interesting and it really does show well how women can remain friends through it all -- sometimes we get mad at each other, sometimes we disagree with each other, but in the end, we still really care about each other and will be there for each other. I enjoyed it. The topics discussed in it are murder, drugs, sex/AIDS/HIV, pornography. Basically not for a younger reader.

I took the day off yesterday! I just did not feel like stamping much *I know shock* and I decided to go get some other stuff done that needed to be done -- like getting new glass for my DS's picture. I also got some paper for DD's name frame. But, on to more important things! TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! I plan to head to Mesa today, to one of my fave scrap stores to do a little birthday present shopping (they sent me a 20% off your entire purchase coupon), and eat at Cafe Rio (one of my mostest favorite restaurants). DH said he would make or buy me a cake tonight (pfffffft -- like I even want a cake -- I am trying to lose weight). So today, you get no pictures of stamping from me, but I am going to post a couple of the birthday cards I have gotten in the mail the past couple days! Hope you like them! Deb Moody - (JacobsMeeMaw) Joni Fields (jstarbright) Teresa Shaw (jtkshaw) Michele Yoos (myoos913)

Look, I remembered to post this first thing in the morning! AMAZING! I had this one first at a gathering for woman in my church called Super Saturday. It was just DIVINE! Thought I would share it with you all, since we are still in February and most of you don't get to live in sunny AZ (it was 84 degrees here yesterday) and are probably freezing your butts off. ENJOY! What's for Dinner Wednesday - White Chili 1 lb boneless chicken (cubed) 1 medium onion (chopped) 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 Tbsp veggie oil 3 cans Great Northern Beans (rinsed and drained) 1 can chicken broth 2 4 oz cans diced green chiles tsp salt tsp cumin tsp oregano 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup whipping cream DIRECTIONS : Saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil. Add beans, broth, chiles and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add sour cream and whipping cream.

Michelle Laycock I have always loved Michelle's stuff, so this card was no exception at all to that. I love it. I love all the different things -- love the tag, love the background stamped with multiple patterns and colors, love the eyelets, love the hemp and beads, I LOVE THE LOVE CARD! Thanks so much Michelle for rocking, as usual! Here is her recipe info: Stamps: Much Love, Print Pattern, Classic Alpha, Simply Said Paper: WW, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Pixie Pink Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pixie Pink, Orchid Opulence, Chocolate Chip, White Craft Accessories: Gold eyelets, small and regular tag punches, natural hemp, 1/8 circle punch, antique glass beads, dimensionals

EDITED TO ADD: I go by my first name, not my middle. My first name is Amanda. *smiles* Also, I am going to keep this post bumped up to the top so people can find it, but I will be posting more, so please take a moment to scroll down to find the latest stuff -- this will stay up until 50K is reached. *************************** I am so amazed that so many people have been interested in little old stamping me. Okay, well, not me actually, probably mostly my work, but either way, I'm SUPER FLATTERED! I appreciate all the comments you leave me. They really do validate me and make me feel like I should keep on going with this blog. You all ROCK! So, I have decided to do a small giveaway to show my appreciation to you. I will have two separate contests. Both of these contests will win you blog candy (yummy embellishments, and other such fun stuff). The first one is to guess my middle name. You can post your guess as a comment to this post and then I will do a drawing of every

Lynn Mercurio - (Lynn in St. Louis) Paper: Pretty in pink, close to cocoa, glossy white cardstock, tempting turquoise, designer series patterned paper: Loves Me. Ink: Craft Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Real Red reinker, Pink Passion reinker, Petite Rose Reinker. Stamps: Noteworthy, Double Line Doodle, Floral. Accessories: rubbing alcohol, Winter White embossing powder, blue stickles, turquoise grosgrain, flirty velvet turquoise ribbon, dimensionals. Lynn's card ROCKS! I just love the floral background! It is so subtle but so packs a punch. The stickles around the circle are fun too! (Now that I am not a stickles virgin, I love them lots). I love how everything on this card matches so well. The polished stone look in the background is pretty snazzy too!!!

Keri Lee Sereika - (sereikastamper) Paper: Very Vanilla, Pixie Pink, Certainly Celery. Stamps: Inky Antics Accessories: Cuttlebug Hearts Folder, SU Ticket Corner punch, SU Small corner rounder, Prismacolor pencils, baby oil and blending stumps, SU cream ribbon. How can you not love this little pup? (probably when he pees on your carpet, but he is good right now with that cute Valentine in his mouth for you). I really love this. It makes me feel like I need a Cuttlebug. I am trying so hard to resist because it is mucho dinero for poor little stamping stay at home me, but this card makes it awful hard on me.

Jody (texasjodylynn) is doing another ribbon share. She is so silly and I am sure her hands are raw from cutting ribbon, but she is doing one again. The ribbon is quality and cost is awesome for what you are getting. I don't know if you readers out in blog land have ordered from her before, but she is a friend of mine (aka, I have been to her house) and it is a totally awesome share to do if you have not done it before. You can find out the details on her blog: http://confessionsofaribbonaddict.blogspot.com/2007/02/february-ribbon-share.html There, that is all my enabling for the weekend. I seriously try to avoid enabling, but this is one sweet deal that you should not miss!

Okay, only six are pictured but that is cause one of them was late . . . So E turned 4 on Friday and we had a party for her today. She chose the theme of Disney Princesses so we went with that. I had never had a party for her, I am new at it. Everyone except one person we invited ended up coming. It was a lot of fun. I gave the parents the option to stay or leave (and would it surprise you to know that all but one left -- and that one lived far so it was easier to stay). The girls made necklaces, watched the Disney Princess movie, made crowns, colored princess pictures, and ate cake. I think they had fun! I certainly enjoyed it. It was a blast! Picture Details: Girls stringing beads, girls watching princess movie, E doing her happy party dance (take a good look at that face on her -- LMBO). The picture below is of E blowing out her candles on her cake. She was pretty excited.

Erika Martin - (SunshineMama) Paper: Sahara sand, cameo coral, glossy white Ink: Sahara Sand, cameo coral, rose red, versamark. Accessories: black gingham ribbon, clear embossing powder, stamping sponges, chipboard, glue dots, dimensionals. Technique: Double Resist. This is one of those cards that when I saw it I was like "Why don't I ever remember to do cool techniques on a swap?" I love the embossing/ghosting on this card. The colors are fabulous also, I am so always stuck in the rut with theme colors, know what I mean? Awesome job Erika!

Oh my gosh! The show was so amazing tonight. I thought it was so cool that they all pulled together to work on that patient. And how cool is it that Bailey got her clinic? Does anyone else think that Bailey is going to be named new Chief?(*raise your hand*) I keep getting that vibe. Oh, and George and Callie with her insane middle name (way to go on that one writers) made me laugh out loud. I am so glad that they are married. Oh, and I am glad that Kristina said yes! YAY! Addison Montgomery -- SHAME SHAME SHAME! I could not even believe it! Such a BAD girl! Not a lot of McDreamy moments in this episode, but I suppose it is good that they develop the other characters -- right? I also wanted to comment on Meredith and her acting on this episode. I am so used to seeing her as weak, la di da Mer, that it was so cool to see her act. She did awesome. I love that they made her character more tonight! I absolutely LOVE this show! They previews for the next three episodes loo

WOW! I ran out in the rain today to see if my box from the PRIMA share had come yet. It had not, I just found Papercrafts, and a card from my LSS for 20% my whole purchase anytime during my birthday month, and I found a different box instead. It was from my DDSS, whom I might add, already has sent me a ton of awesome stuff, and I thought that the round was over in Dec, but apparently my DDSS decided to spoil me stupid! I am dumbfounded. I don't even know what to say besides, THANK YOU! She said in her last package that she would reveal who she was soon, so I thought, fine, that is cool, she is gonna send another card and reveal! Sweet! The package I got today left me in tears. It included: A gorgeous card (so pretty), 4 packages of metal edge tags (which I have wanted forever but never have bought for myself), a target mailbox (all finished and decorated with a simply scrappin' kit) and and extra blank one to play with, an address book, a box of Lindor truffles (which