Monday, July 28, 2008

Me & Weird Al

Curtis and I went to Cheddar's last night for dinner and guess who was sitting just four tables from us??? It was Weird Al Yankovic. I'm kicking myself for not asking for his autograph, but that's hindsight, huh? My rearend DID touch his table as we walked by, but that's only because the aisle was narrow and... well... my rearend is kinda wide! :) Anyway, Weird Al is performing at the Ozark Empire Fair tonight which explains his visit to Springtown. He was alone last night and was, obviously, trying to keep a low profile. I was (and still am) a big fan of his work, especially in the 80's. He had some GREAT spoofs on some Michael Jackson songs. Well, that's my claim to fame... my rearend touched Weird Al's table.

Vanessa and I leave for convention tomorrow. Our flight leaves at 3:05 PM and we couldn't be more excited! I think Vanessa was packed and ready to leave when I talked to her yesterday. I still have a few things to gather up before we depart, but am mostly ready to go. I'm sure I'll have lots to share when I get back. I'm taking 160 swaps so, hopefully, I'll have lots of swaps to share with you, as well as photos, tips, tricks, and new products.

I THINK I spotted Tripod this weekend. There was a rabbit in a yard two houses down from ours that appeared to have an odd hop. It looked like it's back leg stuck out to the side, so maybe Tripod IS okay. I just know he's not coming home for oatmeal anymore. They just grow up SO fast! Toodles!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

2008-2009 In Colors Sneak Peek

Just thought I'd share a sneak peek of the new "In Colors" that will be coming out in the new Stampin' Up! catalog in August. I received my new supplies earlier this week and have been playing with them a little, although not as much as I'd like. This summer has been crazy and doens't look to get much better anytime soon! The new "In Colors" are (from left to right) Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, and Pink Pirouette.

I wasn't absolutely thrilled with these colors when I first saw them, but then I challenged myself to do something using ALL the colors, whether I liked them or not. A friend of mine had surgery last week, so I made this gift set for her. The flower arrangement was made using the 'One Of A Kind' stamp set, Jet Black StazOn ink and the new In Colors. After cutting each piece out, I used my two-way glue pen to add Dazzling Diamonds. Each flower was taped to a wooden floral stem with Scotch tape. My "vase" is a recycled Starbucks Frapuccino bottle. The flower stems are held in place by marbles in the bottom of the bottle. I have uploaded some photos to my Kodak Gallery so you can view them more closely if you'd like. You can see those photos here. I made the gift boxes so that I could fill them with rows of Dove chocolates. There are two boxes with lids, stacked, and then tied together with white organdy ribbon. I added a flower to the top of the box to match those in the bouquet. The card also has one of the flowers on the front of it and a bow made from Pretty In Pink taffeta ribbon. After completing this project, I have a much greater appreciation for the new colors and REALLY like them.


This is a sneak peek at two of the new Designer Series Papers coming out. The first one is called "Holiday Happenings".








This one, which is ABSOLUTELY SPLENDIFEROUS, is called "Bella Rose". I already know that this is going to be one of my favorites and I might as well order another pack now! It's SO much prettier in real life!!








I haven't seen Tripod in several days and think something must have happened to him. Up until about three days ago, he was waiting by the fence every day for his oatmeal. Three days ago, I took his oatmeal to him and he wasn't there. I held out hope that he was just out somewhere being a "normal" bunny and that he'd come back for his oatmeal later. The oats haven't been touched since then, though, and we've seen no other signs of Tripod. I was afraid something like this might happen, but I also know that a wild bunny would never be happy living his entire life in a small cage. I'm glad that we had the experience of knowing him and I hope we made his life, at least, a little better.

Convention is coming up in just 10 days and I'm still not finished with swaps, so I need to get to work!! With everything that's going on in the next several weeks, I may not have another blog post for a while. I'll definitely have LOTS to share when I get back from Salt Lake City, though!! Toodles!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Tripod Sighting


We kept Tripod through this last weekend because my nieces and my nephew wanted to meet him before we set him free. They all had a turn to pet him and they all loved him. I'm not sure he'd say the same about them or any other human, but he handled the situation very well for a wild bunny. This is Tripod and my niece, Rachel. Curtis and I took him out to the corner of our back yard where he was originally found to set him free around 7:30 PM on Sunday evening. I think Curtis went just to humor me, but it was nice of him to go. I had become quite attached to Tripod, so it was hard to see him hopping away. He flopped around for a bit while he figured out how to use his bad leg. It wasn't long, though, before he started heading north along the fence line. I said goodbye to him knowing I probably wouldn't see him again. After he was on his way, I filled his little bowl with some rabbit food and set it in the corner of the back yard in case he came back. On Monday none of the food was gone. On Tuesday all the food was still there and had gotten wet, so I picked the bowl up to take it back to the house and clean it. As I stood up, I noticed two little beady eyes staring back at me from inside the shrubs. It was, indeed, a bunny about the size of Tripod. It was facing me and I couldn't see his back feet to tell if it was Tripod. He was only about three feet from me, so I moved a little closer to him. When I was about a foot from him, he hopped once and I could tell immediately that it was, in fact, my little Tripod. I took his food bowl back to the house and cleaned it before filling it with old-fashioned oats. I took the bowl back out to him and he began eating right away. When Curtis got home I was beside myself with excitement so I made him go out to see Tripod, too. I don't think he was quite as excited as I was but, again, I'm glad he ACTED like he cared. Today, as soon as I got home from work, I headed out to the back corner of the yard. Tripod's little bowl was empty and he was sitting not too far from it so I filled it with oats again. I think he's going to do just fine if he can avoid the neighborhood dogs. It's SO neat that's he's hung around after being set free.
We had a WONDERFUL 4th of July weekend. We didn't celebrate the 4th as much as we celebrated family, friends, and Curt's 40th birthday. Curt's parents and his sister and her family arrived on Friday morning. We all spent the day together and then went out to dinner with our friends, Linda and Mary. Everyone came back to the house after dinner. The kids all got scooter rides, while the adults enjoyed visiting. On Saturday, Curtis went to work, so Nicole, Alice, and I spent the day preparing for his birthday party that evening. We decorated the front yard and the back patio with "40th birthday" decorations. I think we had 20 people, total, and everyone just had the best time. In addition to Curt's family, my parents and my brother, Derek, and his family were here. Momma Sue was also here, as well as our friends, Linda and Mary. We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and everyone brought at least one side dish, so we had TONS of food. I had planned a game of "water balloon volleyball", which turned out to be a hoot. Hopefully, everyone who wanted to play had a chance to do so. On Sunday, we went to church and then went out for lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. Curt's family left to start their trip home around 4:30 PM. Curtis and I spent the rest of the day, putting things back in order, doing laundry, cleaning out the fridge... all the regular Sunday evening chores. It was a great weekend!! Here is a link to pictures that were taken. These photos were a joint effort by me and Nicole.
Hope you had a wonderful holiday, too! Toodles!