Just Give Me Stamps...

Treat Yourself...

Hi there!  It's been a while since I've posted...  What have I been up to?  Well, Thanksgiving was pretty busy around our house, I've been battling a nasty sinus infection, I've been working on lots of Christmas projects (not to mention some online shopping), and our oldest son celebrated his thirteenth birthday!  Whew!  I need a nap just thinking about it all!  LOL!

First, I want to share with you a card that I made a while ago but never got around to photographing (a reoccuring flaw of mine).

For my card, I used Verve's Sip & Savor set (which happens to be on SALE right now!!) along with some fun, rainbow colors!  I do love me some rainbow colors!  :-)

Next, I have some family photos to share with you.  As I mentioned earlier, my son just turned thirteen!  Now I officially have 2 teenagers!!  Yikes!  (Just kidding...I actually really enjoy this age!)

Here is a photo of one of the cupcakes I made for him.  These are kind of like homemade Ding Dongs!  You start with a basic chocolate cake recipe (I like the ones that use sour cream) then insert some cream filling (sour cream, cool whip, & powdered sugar), and then top with a basic chocolate pan frosting!  Easy and SO yummy!

This is the photo I took of Jared the morning of his birthday (at school).  Jared is so smart (4.0 at school), extremely athletic (you can see all the photos below), and has amazing character!  DH and I truly don't know why we were SO blessed with the amazing children we have, but we are so grateful!

This photo is of J running (he's the one with the football), just before he scored a touchdown! 

This photo (one of our good friends Heiko Rhodde took this one) was taken at one of his school's basketball game.  All of the rural schools compete against each other.

This photo was one that I took last Spring during J's track meet.  All of the rural schools compete against each other in track as well.  This is truly where Jared shines.  He is fast...really fast, and won all the events he competed in (all 7 of them)!

Finally, this photo is one I took of him and Ali (also taken last Spring) after he won one of his track events.  In fact, this is one of my favorite photos of him!

Well, that's all from me!  Thanks for indulging me a bit today!  I hope you have an amazing day!  ~Laurie

Paper Smooches winners announced!

Good morning! 

I'm popping in here to announce the winner from the Paper Smooches November Blog Hop!
And the winner is.................................

 

Kerry P said...

Super cute cake-pops! Those are very popular in my house, just now :)

Reply November 24, 2011 at 10:08 AM

 

Congratulations Kerry P!  You are the winner of a shiny new Word Salad set compliments of Kim from Paper Smooches!!  I will be in contact via email soon!

Have a GREAT day everyone!  Hugs, Laurie

November Paper Smooches DT blog hop!

It's Pep Rally week and we are here today to share a sampling of the Paper Smooches December stamp release with you! The three NEW clear stamp sets will be available to purchase on December 1st. You will find them HERE. Follow the Paper Smooches blog for more sneak peeks.

To add extra fun to our blog hop...we are offering up a prize! Just leave a comment on any of the five design team blogs listed below for your chance to win one of the three new December stamp sets! (you do not need to comment on all blogs to qualify) You have until midnight MT on Friday, November 25th to leave a comment. Please check all five blogs on Saturday, November 26th to see if you are one of the five lucky winners.

• Heidi Van Laar
• Heather Pulvirenti
• Kryssi Ng
• Laurie Schmidlin
• Teri Anderson

To increase your chances of winning:

1. Leave a comment on this blog post

2. Tell us that you Facebooked about our blog hop

3. Tell us that you Tweeted about our hop

4. Tell us that you posted on your blog about our blog hop

 

(which means that you have up to four chances to win on each blog)

For my card, I used the new Word Salad set (sentiment and little heart) combined with the cake pop image from the Sugar Rush set!  I just adore Kim's sentiments and I love how they go so well with all of her other stamp sets! 

I want to wish all of my American friends a VERY happy Thanksgiving!  I know that I am so thankful to have met so many caring and wonderful people through this shared passion...stamping!  Big hugs to all of you!  ~Laurie

You're an All Star...

Good morning!  I'm popping in here to share some photos from my youngest son's birthday party, as well as his birthday card that I made for him!  :-)

Since he adores football (just like his two older brothers), I just had to make him a football birthday card!  ((grin))  Actually, when I saw this football image from Paper Smooch's My Guy set, I knew what I would be doing! I've had this background paper (I think it's from S.E.I.) for a while, and thought it would fit this card nicely.  It sort of reminds me of a referee uniform!  :-)

Here's a photo of my little guy at his birthday party...

Having a birthday party so late in the year (when it's SO cold outside), not to mention after school...well, it's tough!  Since my guy loves pizza, we decided to have his party at our local Pizza Hut.  The only downside was that it was so dark in there and I had to use my flash...  :-(

This photo is my guy posing with his gift that Grossi and Papi gave to him (my husband's parents from Switzerland).  I love how he's rocking the missing tooth look!  I ADORE this age!!  :-)

Finally, here is a photo of the cupcakes I made for him to share at school on his birthday.  Yep, my guy is ALL boy and these kind of cupcakes are right up his alley!  LOL!

Well, I will be back tomorrow with a fun post!  For all of my US friends, please travel safely this Thanksgiving weekend!

Hugs, Laurie

Handmade Felt Ornaments...

Good morning!  Okay, morning is almost over.  Sigh...  Is it just me, or are all of you really busy also?  Between school functions and fund raisers, birthdays, remodeling, and the everyday kind of stuff (like my mountain of folded laundry that needs to be put away), I feel like I am always on the go.  I am so determined to not let that happen next month!  I know what a busy time the Holidays are, but I really am going to try to make it special and fun...not just a whirlwind of to-do lists!

I mentioned here before that I have been working on making Christmas gifts whenever I get a spare minute.  Several of you agreed that you are also working on the same thing!  :-)  Well, today I get to show you one of the projects...

Today, I am kicking off the Verve Holiday Diva Dare (hosted over at the Verve Blog)!  This month's theme is A Handmade Christmas!  Perfect theme for me to not only get a kick-start making my gifts and cards, but to gather ideas as each of the Divas post their creations!  YAY!!

I created these little felt ornaments using just felt, dies, a sewing machine, and minimal embellishments!  Not only are these guys quick and easy to make, but also inexpensive!

The only thing these little 2 1/2" in diameter ornaments need are some cute packaging...

To create the packaging, I started with some mini notebook printed paper bags. I then stamped three different sentiments as well as the star image from the Bright Spirits set. The label was created by using the Curved Bookplate die to cut around the stamped sentiments.

To make the little stars, I stamped them, colored them in with Copics, then used the Winter Fun Die Set to cut them out!

Not only were the ornaments quick and easy to make, but I kept the packaging simple as well! Perfect for mass production!

Before I go, I want to tell you that there are two ways you could win some brand new Verve!  If you play along with our Dare, you will be entered to win a $30 gift certificate to the Verve Store!  You could also win by leaving some comment love on each Holiday Diva Dare post (over at the Verve Blog)!

Have a great day!  Laurie