Happy New Year?

Yes, I know I'm a little behind, wishing you all a Happy New Year 14 days late! Let's just say I have a more relaxed approach to life these days and leave it at that! Haha!



This is a picture of my 5 grandchildren taken just last month. I think their personalities show through quite well in their expressions here. LOVE that! ;)

First, I want to thank all of you who have emailed and called to check on me since closing my store. I'm alive and well...and it's going to be an AWESOME year for me! The last couple of months have been a bit "trying", I will admit. I've been super busy with closing the store and Christmas. I will admit that I am still learning to regroup after living in the fast lane for so long. But I can assure you that I finally have a grip, and life is good! It's all uphill from here!

I hope to be stamping again soon. And I desperately feel the need to get out my Tombows and color something. Who knows...I may even learn to use my Copics! At any rate, I will be back then.

Love and hugs to you all! ♥

Geaux Tigers!

So sorry that I don't have anything creative for you today. I left town Friday afternoon headed for Tiger Stadium aka Death Valley! On Saturday the Tigers beat the Florida Gators 41-11, and I was among 93,000 other fans sitting in the stadium watching it happen. It was my first LSU game, and it was awesome, I tell ya!

We had a fabulous time at the game. But the tailgaiting, both before and after the game, made for the perfect day! Great friends, great food, great entertainment! Thanks to our hosts, Scott and Joanna! Here is Joanna with her son Clinton.
I hope your weekend was a wonderful as mine! I will be back as soon as I can with something crafty. Until then...

Wonderful Weekend!

I apologize for not having anything crafty for you today, but I was gone all weekend, and had no time to stamp. I went to my grandson's Dixie League State Championship playoffs Friday, was away Saturday, then went back to watch his playoff game again today!


This is a picture I took of Christian a little earlier with his newest medal. They won third in the State Championship playoffs. Awesome job, Christian!!!

And this is the entire team after the game today. They all played really hard. And it was so H-O-T outside!

Thanks for indulging me. You know I don't put a lot of personal things on my blog, but sometimes you just have to brag on them, don't you?

I will be back later this week with a card for you. Until then...

I'm leaving...on a jet plane

By the time you read this I will be well on my way to the island of Cozumel, Mexico with my BFF! I am long overdue for a little time away, and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. I am making a concerted effort to find more "balance" in my life this year. You know...a little more time for family, friends and fun...and a little less work? I want to smell a few more roses along the way...make more memories. So please be patient with me as strive to figure out how to manage it all a little better! Balance is a new concept for me, ya know! :)



At any rate, all your orders will be shipped as soon as I return next week. In the meantime, check back here tomorrow morning for a little Stamper's Dream coupon code and some blog candy to keep you busy while I'm away.

adiós por ahora

The Crew!

I had "The Crew" here, so I made them stop long enough to let me snap a quick picture. All of them are mine, except the two (twins) on the far right. Only my oldest son was missing...and we did miss him! Needless to say, things were hoppin' at Mimi's house today! I sure do love those guys! How blessed am I!!! :)



So...due to an unexpected interruption in service {grin} I don't have a card for you today. BUT tomorrow the The Dream Team from Stamper's Dream is hopping with the JustRite Blog Team. Please be sure to join us for some inspiration and some great candy?

Until then...

CHA - Part 3

This is the last of the CHA pictures I'm going to post. But I have to say, these are a few of my favorite things:

I have to tell you that this is one of my MOST FAVORITE people in the stamping industry...Mitra Friant, owner of Impression Obsession ! You know I love ya, girl! :)
This is Wendy Senger, owner of Tattered Angels! SUPER sweet lady. She spent a lot of time with Amy and me, showing us a lot of different techniques. Since I was stranded there the day after Amy left, I went back to her booth. When I asked to take her picture she said, "Only if you're in it too!" I'm so pleased that I got to spend some time with her!


And of course, my trip would not be complete if I didn't go by the Scor-Pal booth for a hug from my friend Val Stangle ! Isn't she cute?

The people from Stampavie are sooooo sweet! My special thanks to Heidi , Michelle Oatman and Diane ! The card samples in their booth were totally gorgeous!!!

Thanks for indulging me. I will be back soon with something new.

CHA 2011 - Part 2

What's not to love? Tim Holtz Alterations, Webster's Pages Push Pins, and LOTS of Maya Road!

CHA 2011 - Part 1

Just a few quick pics from CHA! This is the very first picture I took. From left to right you will see A J Otto . I hadn't met her before, and she was super sweet. Then there is the infamous Eva Dobilas (and what a hoot SHE is)! Then on the far right is my good friend, Dream Team member and traveling companion, Amy Sheffer . What a GREAT group of ladies!!!
One of my favorite booths that was overflowing with eye candy was the Graphics 45 booth. Feast your eyes on all this loveliness!!!

Aren't their designers talented? I mean....this stuff is awesome!

I SO wanted to take this clock home with me. I have just the perfect place for it in my house. And it would be loved and appreciated there. But I decided they might notice if I carried it away. Darn it!

I would have even settled for this beauty. *sigh*

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I will be back soon with more pictures from CHA!

Stranded at DFW

But I will be the first to admit that it's MUCH better than being stranded at the airport in Los Angeles (which is what happened Tuesday night)!


What a trip!!! CHA was GREAT fun! I have so much to tell you, and I took pictures to share. But until I get home and off this laptop I will just have to keep you in suspense.

I hope to finally get home tonight! More delays with flights, and we are supposed to get snow in Shreveport tonight, which is my destination airport. I think I've been bumped from my flight 6 or 7 times now. But I'm not complaining...there are many who have it way worse than I. Do you think I will ever see my luggage again??? LOL!

So...until I can get back home there is a delay with shipping your orders. So sorry! You all KNOW how I feel about fast shipping!

Remember that we still have the blog candy giveaway going on the post below. Why don't you comment on this post for a second chance at it? AND...if the winner mentions your name as a referral in their post, I will send a little something to the person who referred them if they are the lucky winner! So tell your friends to comment, and mention your name in their post! Got it? Two chances to comment...once on the post below and another chance on this one. When I get home I'll let you know who the winner is.

Thanks for hanging in there with me. Hugs to all!!!

Grandparents Day at the Grand Ole Opry

Actually, we weren't at the Grand Old Opry...but it sure seemed that way! For Grandparents Day at the children's school the production had a great country theme. Some of the 5th graders sang solos...and were even dressed and made up to look like the country singer they portrayed. They had Roy Acuff, Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner, and Conway Twitty to name just a few. The young man in black is my 10 year old grandson Dylan. He performed singing a solo by Tim McGraw. The song he sang was "Live Like You Were Dying". The kids thought it was really funny that he was singing that song to a bunch of older grandparents. LOL!
This is Christian. He has his fake beard pulled down so you can see his face. He's into the "I'm not smiling for pictures" stage. Geez! They even sprayed his hair gray so he would look a little more like Kenny Rogers. His class sang "Coward of the County" and "Lucille".
This is Ryker, who is almost 7. He sang with the other kids from his class in a group. They belted out several country songs. Of course, they had all the hand motions to go with them. So stinkin' cute!
And last but not least, here is Ashlyn, the youngest of my 5 grandchildren. She sat in the audience with us since they don't allow the kindergarten age students to participate in the production. And I totally get that!!! Haha!
Thanks so much for indulging me. I am so proud of these kids, I just have to share once in a while! :) I will be back tomorrow with something crafty for you.

Weekend with the grands...

My BFF and I traveled Saturday morning to watch my grandson play football. It's about an hour and a half one way. After we all got there, the other team forfeited, so there was no game after all. Dang it! This is Dylan in his uniform...ready to play. He is the sweetest child, if I do say so myself! :)

All the grands came here and spent the night last night. While Dad and the three older brothers were riding their mountain bikes, the two younger ones and I made cards. Ashlyn made this one for her mom. She just turned five about two weeks ago, and she's the baby with four older brothers. WHEN do they stop doing that cheesey grin thing??? Geez!


The next picture is her older brother Ryker. He is almost seven...and good at it! You will notice that his arm is in a sling. He fractured it Friday morning at school playing kick ball. And believe me when I tell you he's milking it for all it's worth! LOL! The card he made is for his favorite teacher.

Thanks for indulging me. I will be back soon with something crafty. Until then...

An Artiste...

I am NOT!
But I will admit it was a lot of fun painting on canvas with acrylics. Much different from rubber stamping a card, for sure! I'm not sure what I will do with it. I'm certain that I won't frame it, but maybe I can find a place for it to hang in my garage. Ha!

I lifted this picture from Romy's Facebook page. I was tagged in this photo, but didn't know she was taking the picture because I was so intense working on my painting. I'm the one with her head down on the right, third from the bottom.

The girl on the left is my best friend's daughter Megan who is getting married in July. I'm making her shower invitations...more about that later. The one in the middle is my best friend Nina, and the one on the right is our friend Sherri.

This is our friend Romy on the left, who sat straight across from me during the class. She is such a hoot!

I highly recommend taking a class at Painting With A Twist . If there is one in your area be sure to check it out!

Thanks for stopping by. I will be back tomorrow with something crafty. Until then...

My Feathered Friends

So sorry, but I don't have a card for you today. I've been concentrating on getting The Gallery at Stamper's Dream caught up with all those pretty cards The Dream Team has been making for you!

I've also been busy ordering new stamps. The April releases from Flourishes will be in the store soon. I have an order from Holly Berry House which has already shipped, so it should be here in a few days. New stamps from the Pure Innocence collection by My Favorite Things have been ordered as well. AND Hero Arts is releasing a new collection called Artists Proofs, so I spent last evening ordering LOTS of those gorgeous beauties.

I wanted to show you my feathered friends, who are visiting for the third consecutive year. Sorry for the fuzzy foto, but it was taken this morning about 6:30 am. I was still on my first cup of java! :)

Actually, they have been dropping in for about three years now, always about this time of year. See THIS POST in April of 2007.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope to be back soon with something creative! Until then...

Christmas at Mimi's

Just a quick post to share a few pictures with you. The first one is my granddaughter Ashlyn. She is four...and good at it! Being the only girl, and the youngest...well, you get the picture!
This is Ryker, age 6. Don't you love it when they are going through that cheesy grin stage? LOL!
The last picture is Christian, 8 and Dylan, 10. They are such good boys...so smart and well mannered. And they are good big brothers to their younger siblings.

It was a great Christmas, and one to remember, for sure. I hope yours was too.

Don't forget that we have A LOT of things on sale in the store. Be sure to check them out in the Sales and Specials section.

I did a little stamping this weekend, so I will be back soon with a card for you. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Crazy Day!

What a day! I had every intention of posting a card tonight, but life got in the way of writing the post. Both of my sons called, I had packages coming in, and some to wrap for going out, new Kaiser Craft paper to package for the store. You get the idea!

On top of all that, I worked late...so I didn't even get a good start. My boss announced to our staff today that he is being deployed to Iraq for 12 months, and he is leaving in January. SO...that changes my life significantly for the next 12 months or so! Oh well, we do what we must!

Anyway...I wanted you to see these pics of the grands. They were here this weekend and I snapped just a few. It's hard to get them to stand still for very long. And those of you with kids know that there is ALWAYS one who doesn't want their picture made. You can tell from the pics who it is.
Even if they ARE mine, I have to admit they are pretty cute.

Short story...Ashlyn is my little granddaughter. She just turned 4 years old last week, and she is quite the pill with all those older brothers.

Saturday night we were all in my studio. I had everyone working on their own project so it was unusually quiet as they were working. Ashlyn was sitting on the floor coloring some images I had stamped for her when she burst out in song..."I love God, Beer is good, and people are cra-zy." It was obvious that was the only verse to the song she knew because she sang it over and over again. How embarassing is THAT???

As they left for Sunday school the next morning I warned her dad that he may need a little talk with her before she sang it to her Sunday school class! Jesus Loves Me is always a better choice for a 4 year old, don't you think? LOL!


All the kids in this pic are my grandchildren, except for the older girl. She is Jacob's new "friend". She went to church with him Sunday, then came to my house for lunch. It's the first time he's brought a girl here. Whatever that means, I can assure you I'm not prepared to deal with it yet!

Thanks so much for indulging me. I will be back with a card for you tomorrow.

It's my birthday...and we're having a SALE!

I couldn't resist putting this video on my blog. It's my FAVORITE! I spend EVERY birthday with Paul McCarntney. :-) Doesn't he make you want to get up and dance?

I have to say, this has been the most special birthday I can remember! The fabulous Dream Team and some very, very dear friends of mine honored me today by posting birthday cards for me. (And what a surprise that was!!!) I tell ya...it brought tears to my eyes to know you all went to so much trouble just for me! Thanks to every single one of you, from the bottom of my heart! I have the bestest friends, don't I?

And to celebrate my birthday I put A LOT of things on sale in the store, and further marked down some that were already on sale!

All Our Craft Lounge stamps are now 40% off!

All Spellbinders Impressabilities , Labels Four , and Dahlia Nestabilities are on sale for 20% off!

A number of items are on sale in the JustRite Stampers category including the newly released Tiny Words & Centers .

Other categories have sale items as well, but you can find them ALL if you click on SALES AND SPECIALS .

Thanks so very much for all your birthday wishes, and for stopping by today!

Flourishes Release TONIGHT!

Today is the third and final day for the Flourishes February release! In addition to the talented Denise Marzec and Kimberly Crawford of the Stamper's Dream Team, we also have a special guest. It is my dear friend Amy Sheffer ! Please be sure to check out the beautiful cards they have made with the Signs of Spring stamp set!

The Flourishes stamps will be released for sale on the Stamper's Dream website tonight at 9 pm EST. Be sure to come by to see them all!

My personal thanks to the entire Dream Team for their fabulous Flourishes posts this week! And a special thanks to Carolyn King and Amy Sheffer for honoring us as our special guests! I just love you guys! You honor me, in every way!

Well, I know I've been a total slacker this week not posting cards. But honestly with all the new inventory in the store, and the funeral in Texas this week, it's been impossible for me to find even a moment to stamp. I DID want to leave you with this special piece of art.

After all the grands left yesterday to go home, I found this on my refrigerator as a surprise from my 6 year old grandson Christian. I'm here to tell ya...there's nothing better than being a Mimi. :-)

I plan to do some serious stamping this weekend, and will be back soon with something new!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Back from CHA!

OH MY GOSH! What a fabulous trip I had! I don't even know where to begin to tell you about all the exciting products we saw!

Our first stop was at the JustRite Stamper's booth. I just happened to know that Debbie Olson was going to be there! Since she is MY IDOL, I had to stop by to see her in person. When I introduced myself she stood up, reached across the table and gave me the biggest hug! I must say that she is one of the sweetest and most lovely people! Love ya Debbie!

The new products in the JustRite booth are sooooo exciting! We had a long visit with Kellie Fortin, who has become a great friend! It was fun to finally meet her in person. I got big hugs from her too! LOL! We also visited with Craig, the owner of JustRite and got a lot of insight into product development and great things to come.

Their new Demi Phrases set is only one of their new releases, and it's such a fun one! It fits on their new 2" Wood Stamper, and has unlimited possibilities. I really love the flexibility. Imagine the different phrases you can make to complete the demi phrase that comes in the kit!


This is a picture of three of my cards I had in the JustRite booth. I was honored that Kellie asked me to bring them for display. You can see my original blog post with these cards HERE .

The first shipment of stamps from JustRite will be March 10, so be sure to watch the store for the new releases. I bought A LOT of them for you! :-)



The new Cosmo Cricket paper is absolutely gorgeous! I love all of it...so I ordered ALL OF IT! I haven't stocked 12 x 12 paper in the store before, but some of it is just irresistable. So I finally decided to bite the bullet and add it to the store's inventory! I think you will be excited about all the new papers I'm adding! I know I am!


I so enjoyed our stop at Our Craft Lounge! I met Joy , Cambria and Kim, and I must say they are all just the sweetest! Don't you just love their stamps? Do you want them? I DO...so we're getting them. Fun, fun, fun stuff! I think those will be shipping in a couple of weeks.

The Penny Black booth had some of the cutest samples! This is one of the sample boards using some of their critter stamps. Of course I placed an order, but they couldn't give me a ship date, so we'll see them when we see them!


This may not come as a surprise to you, but I spent A LOT of money in the Spellbinders booth! There was just no getting around it since we love it all! I can't wait to get my hands on it! This is a sample board they had in their booth using Spellbinders dies with metal. Isn't it gorgeous?

While I was waiting in the airport I met Stacy's sister and we had a great visit. She had all the new Spellbinders dies with her. I kept trying to get her to go to the ladies room while I watched her bags. But she was on to me! ROTF!



As much as I hate posting my picture, I had to share this photo! I realize I don't need to tell you who these ladies are, but I'm going to anyway! It's the infamous Debbie Olson and Ellen Hutson . I can't begin to tell you how sweet and kind these ladies are, and how easy they are to talk with. We visited as if we had known one another for years! I truly admire them both. They are so humble, and I find that very appealing! True stamping royalty indeed!

So, that's it for now. I have packages to ship and more unpacking to do. I will be back soon. Thanks so much for stopping by!

And if you haven't registered for the Dreamy Treats, be sure to do that in the posts below. The winner will be announced tomorrow night.

Until then...