Traci's Place

It Lives!!!!

2011-03-18T16:16:00.001-05:00

Well, here I am once again. I actually made it here twice this month. WOW, impressive right.

Anyway, what to talk about. Hmmmmmm....

Well, I walked into my kitchen a few days ago and got the greatest surprise ever. My gardenia that I thought I killed has actually made it through the winter. It looks pitiful, but it made it. A little back-story first then I'll show you what I walked into the kitchen and saw.

Those of you that know me that read this know that I live in Tennessee. Last year we had major flooding here in the mid-state and sorry to say but my family was affected. My nephew drown in the floods in Nashville, TN trying to get home to his children whom he was worried about and loved so much. He had a favorite flower which is the gardenia. Everyone in the family was given a gardenia plant in remembrance of him.

I love flowers and don't have any issues growing pretty much anything except this gardenia. It spent a week or so in a hot garage before I got it, and then it became infested with spider mites. I took the plant outside so I could spray it once a week and finally after about two or three months they were gone. YAY!!! Unfortunately, the leaves started to turn yellow and fall off. It looked pitiful. When it turned cold and we got our first freeze, I forgot to bring it in the house so therefore ALL the leaves got burned and fell off.

I thought that I killed this plant. My nephews favorite flower. I felt HORRIBLE. So, I stuck it out in the garage for a few months while it was really cold outside and tried to forget about it. I was telling on of the ladies that I work with about it and that I hated the thought of having to through it out. She told me to scratch some of the bark off with a knife or something sharp and if it's green underneath then there is a chance it might make it.

When I got home from work that night I promptly went into the garage, scraped it, and got really excited because it was green underneath. I immediately brought it in from the garage and put it on my kitchen counter next to the sink, where it has been sitting for a few months now. I've waited, and waited, and waited and finally I walk into the kitchen the other day and this is what I see......

YAY!!! That is why I am so EXCITED!!! I didn't kill it afterall. I'm so happy!! Now all that's left to do is to repot it with some new soil, but I may wait a while before doing that so I don't throw it into shock and do more damage to it.

Well, that's it for this post. I just wanted to stop by and share my excitement with everyone.

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!!
Traci

It's been a while.....

2011-03-04T22:39:00.001-06:00

Wow! It's been about a year and a half since I've been on here to do anything. A lot has happened in that year and a half. Good things, bad things, and exciting things. Life has happened and I'm just kind of going along with it.

At the moment I am taking a Business Systems Technology course through TN Technology Center in Pulaski, TN. So far I have earned a General Office Assistant Certificate and I am on the Director's List for having an "A" average. I have also become a Microsoft Office Specialist for Office Word 2007. I am in the process of hopefully becoming certified in Excel, Access, and PowerPoint as well. All I have to do is pass 3 more tests and I'm good to go. I am also on my way to becoming a Medical Administrative Assistant and will either be certified in billing and coding or transcription. I'm trying to do both but I'm not sure if I'm able (time wise) to do that yet or not. I'm trying to get as much done as I possibly can.

I didn't like school when I was there last time (which was about 15 years ago) so this isn't something that I thought I would ever do, but I'm glad that I've done it. It has allowed me to learn new things and to meet new people. I look forward to going to school and I actually enjoy the work. Don't get me wrong. There are things that frustrate me this time around as well, but I have learned to deal with them and move on.

I still work part-time at our local library here in town as well. Life is very interesting and busy for me right now. I don't have as much time to spend with my family but I just keep telling myself it will slow down a bit in the fall when I'm done with school and then there will be more time.

Well, that's it. That's my first post in a year and a half. Maybe I'll get a chance to stop by and do this again but hopefully a lot sooner than last time.

:) Traci

YAY!!! School is back in session!

2009-08-14T10:57:00.006-05:00

WOW! It has been one busy summer around here this year. I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted anything. Pretty soon it will be time to get started on making cards for the holidays. It seems to take forever for me to get them done so I decided to start really early this year and will hopefully have them done just in time.

I'm glad that school is back in and the kids are excited to be back in school but I have to say that with all the noise over the summer it is just a bit weird to be in the house and not hear any kid noises. I think Daisy (my basset hound) even finds it a bit strange because she keeps going upstairs and walking through their rooms and coming back downstairs to look at me as if she's saying "well, where are they at?"

Our house in the summer time is dark and like an icebox because so many of us in the house have such bad allergies that it's easier to control this way. Well, after picking the kids up from school the other day, I guess Taylor thought that Daisy was looking a bit cold so she decided to share her winter coat with her.

It was so cute I just had to get a couple of pictures of her.

Well, guess that's it for today. Hopefully I'll get a chance to get back to creating some things but I'm trying to get over a pretty good case of poison ivy right now that my 4 year old niece was kind enough to share with me.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Traci

Cottage Rumble #9... Birthday Cards

2009-06-15T12:58:00.007-05:00

Well, it’s that time again. Another rumble at the cottage. This time we had to make a birthday card with stamping on the inside as well as the outside. I have to admit that this one was pretty easy for me, time wise, because I needed to make a birthday card for my DH anyway, so why not take care of both things at one time.

Here is the card that I made:

· All stamps used from Clear Artistic Stamps A Little Note and I’m Just Saying
·Cardstock from CutCardstock: Malmero Perle 92# cover weight in Noir(black) and Blanc(white)

1. Stamp all music notes onto white cardstock then cut out.
2. Cut a white layer of cardstock and stamp with the birthday phrase then attach to the black cardstock with glue dots.
3. Attach all music notes to the white layer with glue dots.
4. Attach big music design on the inside of card.
5. Personalize the inside how you want then you’re done.

Want to get in on the rumble fun!

Make a birthday card with any stamps any way you like it BUT you also have to add some decoration/stamping on the INSIDE of the card

Here are the RULES:

1) Make a birthday card that also includes some (or a lot) of decoration inside. Upload it to your blog or any other gallery and go back to the cottage with a comment and link to your creation so that we all can see!

2) You can use ANY stamps for one entry.

3) If you use Clear Artistic Stamps you get two entries!

4) If you use a Technique Junkies technique (any stamps) you get two entries as well!

5) If you upload to SCS please add the keyword: cottagerumble9

6) Entries accepted until Friday June 26 midnight, the day of our NEXT rumble :)

All entries will be entered to win a Freckles Bearthday Set !

Have fun and we look forward to seeing what you create.

Featured on...

2009-06-09T10:55:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone. Just wanted to point out that Belinda and all of us designers at Clear Artistic Stamps were featured on the cutcardstock blog featuring some of the stamp sets.

Here is the card that I made:

Images colored using Green Olive, Burgundy, Carmel, and Iced Lavender Shimmerz.

stamp all needed images plus a few extras in case of mess-ups, color images then cut them out.
measure and cut out layering pieces. Don’t worry if they aren’t all the same size, the card is supposed to have a hand made look.
I used glue dots to put the images and layering pieces together then used 3-D dots to attach them to the card.

There you have it. Project complete. I loved the colors and how well they compliment each other. I didn’t have any problems with ink from the stamped images smearing or looking washed out.

Be sure to pop over to the cutcarstock blog and check out Belinda's write-up and the other designers sample cards. Everyone did a GREAT job.

Finally, a new post!

2009-05-31T11:13:00.012-05:00

Wow! It's been quite a while since I posted last. I've had a lot going on lately with work and the family that I haven't even had a chance to do any projects yet. I think we've finally made it past most of the rain. It seemed like everyday for a few weeks there it just rained and rained. It was great for my lillies though which is what I've decided to show you today. I've also thrown in a few pictures of Daisy and my neighbors dog (Happy) enjoying being outside. Enjoy!

Cottage Rumble 4

2009-04-03T05:00:00.002-05:00

Cottage Rumble #4

Supplies used:
Ancient Page (AP)- pink pizzazz and lemon peel
Best Occasions green and white scrap cardstock
Stampabilities black pigment ink
Gelwriter yellow glitter gel pen
Fiskars ultra thin glue dots
Blue flower brad

All images used to make this ATC were from the Delicate Moments set from
Clear Artistic Stamps. I started out by stamping the butterfly image with
The (AP) lemon peel randomly over the white cardstock, then I used the
(AP) pink pizzazz to stamp on top of the already stamped butterfly images.
I hated covering this up because it turned out really pretty.
I attached the green cardstock on top of this piece with glue dots.

I stamped one of the pretty flower images first with the
(AP) pink pizzazz then colored in the flower petals with the glitter gel pen.
Then, I stamped the flower image again with the black pigment ink,
I also stamped Grace and Serenity in the black pigment ink at this time.
I added the flower brad and edged this piece with the (AP) pink pizzazz
Then attached this to the green cardstock with glue dots.

Since I had to cover up the pretty butterfly images on the base piece,
I decided to put one on the back of the ATC along with my name and the date.

Don't forget to pop over to the Cottage Studio to see all the ATC's the designers have made. Have a GREAT weekend!!!

The difference a day can make...

2009-03-03T18:18:00.006-06:00

Well, things have changed here quite a bit since yesterday. As you saw from the pictures that I posted yesterday, we got quite a bit of snow here. I think it was about 8 to 10 inches here where I live.

As you can see from these new pictures, 24 hours can make quite a difference here in Southern Middle Tennessee. The kids got to be out of school again today. They were disappointed that it didn't last longer, I'm glad it's finally going. Well, hope you enjoy the pics.

Let it snow!

2009-03-02T09:29:00.008-06:00

We got a little bit of the white stuff here on Saturday night. It was completely unexpected by me. I didn't have a clue that it was even in the forecast. I usually watch the news during the week but not on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday nights. Boy was this a surprise.

I woke up Sunday morning and put the leash on Daisy to take her out for her morning walk. When I opened the back door... this is what I saw. When I finally picked my jaw up off the floor, I had to make Daisy go out into it. It took her a while but she finally got used to it.

It's been a while since I've posted but things have been crazy around here lately. Everyone has been sick at one time or another. I've been helping take care of my grandmother, who has some skin cancer issues going on right now. I took my daughter to the doctor because she hurts her arm in dance class. We have x-rays done and thankfully it's not broken just strained. The day after that my husband takes my oldest son to the doctor to have x-rays done because he has hurt his ankle on his scooter by doing some tricks on it. Thankfully, that too was not a break just a bad sprain.

During all this craziness I have managed to work on some ATC's we are doing for Clear Artistic Stamps. It is a Spring time theme using Clear Artistic Stamps. Go to the forum at Etha's blog for more details.

Well, all that's left now is to post some of the snow pictures I took yesterday. Enjoy!!

Have a GREAT week everyone!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2009-02-14T06:00:00.002-06:00

I made this cute card for the February Cottage Rumble challenge In the Cottage Studio for Clear Artistic Stamps. We were supposed to use the Sweetpea Sweetheart set as the main stamps for our cards. I kinda messed up on that part because I also used the pretty roses from the Nature in Word set. I'm hoping they'll forgive me since I used more images from the Sweetpea set than the Nature in Word one. :) Oh well.

This card was fairly easy but a little time consuming (I stretched it out for over a week because of family illnesses and lots of laundry. ICK!!)

Some supplies I used were:

Shimmerz: Royal Red
Blingz: Spiced Cider, Wintergreen, Pink Poinsettia
Tulip brand pink bead paint
love card attachment
phrase from my Stemma "Victorian" scrap pad kit
1/8" 3-D dots
crystal gems
precision cutter
various brands of cardstock scraps
glue dots

I started off with stamping the images and painting them with the Shimmerz and Blingz. I stamped an extra rose image so I would be able to use the 3-D dots to give that image a 3-D effect. I even painted the image underneath with Shimmerz and Blingz. I attached the white carstock stip to the red cardstock with pink bead paint. I then attached the crystal gems in the corners with the bead paint as well. Keep in mind that I made this red layer first.

Before attaching the red layer to the card I had to measure and cut the window in the front of the card. After doing that I attached some pink and white swirly paper as another layer under the red one. I attached both layers with glue dots. Finally, I attached the "love" card attachment to the front and the phrase to the inside of the card. The phrase was just one piece originally but I decided to cut and place it the way I liked.

Well, that's it. Pretty easy to make.

I decided to attach this close-up view of the heart and roses so you can see the sparkle of the Shimmerz and Blingz that you really can't see in the other pictures.

Thanks for visiting.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Thank You!!

2009-02-08T13:50:00.009-06:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything, but I think it was worth the wait. I made this card for 2 GREAT people, not naming any names but you know who you are :)

To make this card I used the Intrigue set from Clear Artistic Stamps and the sentiment is from the I'm Just Saying set. I just love that flower. Isn't it pretty. Other supplies I used were: Razzleberry Pack from Prism, Shimmerz and Blingz, photo corners, glitter gel pens (on the dragonfly only), and 1/8 inch 3-D dots.

I stamped 2 images, one on the card and the other on a separate piece of cardstock. I painted the flower images with the Shimmerz color Burgundy and the leaves have 2 coats of the Blingz color Wintergreen. I have to say that I love how shimmery and sparkly these paints are, and so easy to use. Be sure to click on the pictures to get the full shimmery effect. While waiting for the paint to dry (not very long) I used the glitter gel pens and colored the dragonfly that accompanies the Thank You sentiment. With the paint dry, I cut out the image from the separate piece of cardstock leaving a little white border around the edges.

I used 2 of the 3-D dots to place the image on top of the card image giving it the very pretty 3-D effect. Finally, I slid the photo corners onto the corners of the completed image and carefully placed it on the card.

It took me maybe an hour to make this card but only because of the painting that was done and since I had never used the Shimmerz and Blingz before I was taking my time so I could get it right on the first try. Guess what! I actually did!!

Hope everyone has a GREAT week!!!

Great party last night!!

2009-01-21T12:25:00.008-06:00

Well, we had our chat party at Clear Artistic Stamps last night celebrating the engagement of Sarah Bunnie to Thomas Rabbitte and the release of the NEW Romantic Thoughts set called Moments in Lace. Everyone had a blast.

Sarah must keep watch on our blogs because she even showed up for the chat. She hinted around that there was something that she wanted to tell everyone but snuck out before doing so. She's got us all on our toes trying to figure out what it is.

To celebrate their engagement, I made a cute card like this one for all of the designers at Clear Artistic Stamps. The stamped image is one of many from the new Moments in Lace set. The glittery background is some awesome glitter cardstock that I picked up from Wal-Mart (of all places) the other day. It took all of 10 minutes to make this card, if that long. Very easy.

Have a GREAT week!!

My dress finally arrived!!

2009-01-17T21:00:00.008-06:00

My bridesmaid dress finally arrived and it is everything I was hoping it would be. Slimming and blue.

I was starting to get a little worried though, since some of the other gals got theirs sooner. Sarah Bunnie called me yesterday to let me know that she had heard I was having back problems so she waited a little longer before sending mine out. She said that she knew I would just love it and wouldn't be able to keep myself from trying it on even though I was in a bit of pain and that is why she delayed mine. How thoughtful is that. She is such a sweet bunnie.

Clear Artistic Stamps is hosting a bridal shower/release party for their new set Moments in Lace that everyone is invited to on January 20th at 8pm CST. Be sure to come and join the fun cause there will be games and prizes and lots of chatting and silliness.

Etha, our awesome design team coordinator even has some blog candy up for grabs on her website. I bet you're wondering what you have to do to win this yummy candy aren't you? It is so easy you just wouldn't belive it. All you have to do is comment on whether you'd rather post in a forum setting or in a real time chat room setting and what would tempt you to attend. Oh yeah! If you are a member of the Clear Artistic Stamps Yahoo Group you get to leave two comments which means you would be entered twice for the yummy blog candy.

So what are you waiting for? Get hopping over there for your chance to win. Hope to see you at the party next week!!!

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!!

It came in the mail today!!

2009-01-06T21:41:00.009-06:00

I got my invitation in the mail today, and guess what?? I was

asked to be a bridesmaid!!! How great is that. I'm so excited. I

wonder what my dress will look like? I hope it's something slimming

and blue since blue is my favorite color.

Be sure to drop by the Cottage Studio to see the Wedding Announcement

and a short story on how these two love bunnies met.

Don't you just love those flower corners on the invitation! They are just a sample of what is to come during the release of the new set called Moments in Lace on January 20th at Clear Artistic Stamps. Hope you can stop by and join us at the chat party!

Be sure to check back here for more updates on what is sure to be a BEAUTIFUL wedding!!

Smokey Mountain holiday!

2008-12-31T00:20:00.001-06:00

Well, we managed to make it back from the Smokey Mountains in one piece. We had a great vacation. It was a little crazy around the cabin at times with up to 21 people in the cabin at one time.

Luckily it was a huge cabin. Three floors, 7 bedrooms, 7 1/2 bathrooms, a gameroom, laundryroom, the nice whirlpool tubs in the bathrooms,
an upstairs deck,
and a downstairs deck with a hot tub.

Not to mention the kitchen that is open to the living room and dining room both. I actually enjoyed cleaning and being in the kitchen here.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any snow. :( We very rarely get snow at home so I was hoping there'd be at least a little bit there. It rained a few times and one day it was very windy.

It's hard to believe that we are about to close out another year. This year has just flown by so fast. It's not too bad until we get to Halloween but from there on it seems like we squeeze 2 months into 2 weeks. I can't wait till next week. Things start to get back to normal, kids back in school:) and we're back to work.

Speaking of work...but the kind of work that's fun.

In January we have the release of Moments in Lace at Clear Artistic Stamps. We have some fun stuff planned for that so be sure to keep a watch out for that In the Cottage Studio and on the other Clear Artistic Stamps designer's blogs. They are listed on the right hand side of my blog here.

Well...
Hope everyone has a Safe and Happy New Year!!

and remember... if you decide to have a few drinks to ring in the new year, please have a designated driver. Don't Drink and Drive!!

Happy Holidays!!

2008-12-21T14:00:00.001-06:00

Well, we are officially on Christmas vacation with the family now. The whole family decide to get a cabin in the Smokey Mountains with every one of us under the same roof. It promises to be very interesting. It's beautiful here. I've never been here before so of course I'm taking lots of pictures that I'll be sharing when I get back.

I wanted to share a cute Christmas card I made before leaving. This will be the last one of the season. :( I used the Joy of the Season set from Clear Artistic Stamps to make this cute card. Isn't that kitty just adorable!! I also used glitter gel pens to color it so don't forget to click on the picture to really see it sparkle. What's really awesome is that this set and 2 other holiday sets are on sale for &8.95 (regular $13.95) until December 31st, but there are only a limited amount of these sets left so be sure and get your order in before they're gone.

Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday!!

It FINALLY happened!!

2008-12-12T10:28:00.010-06:00

Well, as you can see from the pictures on the left here, we finally got some snow.
We actually got sleet first which started around 4pm and went on for about an
hour or so. The snow then started coming down pretty heavy and we had a few

hours of that.

I got up to take Daisy, my Basset Hound, out this morning and it had all turned

to ice. My feet didn't even sink in while I was walking. Granted, there wasn't all that much to begin with, but that's beside the point.

Daisy, being the girly girl that she is, tried to very delicately place her feet in

just the right spots while walking. It was hilarious.

I think maybe the reason she did this was because the last time we had snow,
only about 2 inches if that much, she tried to take off running when we went
out but promptly sank that few inches. She's been kind of wary of it since.

The snow we get here in Tennessee, when we get it, never lasts for very long.
There is still some on the grass and driveway and the road out front, but the
pretty trees and branches you see on the left here, it's already completely melted
off of.

We know that we have to be quick to get outside and get pictures before it's all
gone. You know, that way we have something to show the grandkids...when we're old enough to have them that is. I remember playing in snow up to my knees
when I was a kid, right here in the same town. I don't think that will ever happen
around here again. Oh well.

Be sure to click on the images to view the larger picture.

Hope everyone has a Great Day!!

Sneaky Peek!!

2008-12-07T13:45:00.002-06:00

Well here it is. One of my sneak peeks from the new Girlie Girls© line from Clear Artistic Stamps. Aren't they the cutest little stamps you've ever seen!! Pop over to the Cottage Studio to see my other sneak peek as well as peeks from some of the other designer's.

I decided to make a scrapbook page for my daughter using these cute little sets, since she's the Girlie Girl of the family. I used glitter gel pens and Prismacolor markers to color them with. Click on the image to see the glitter and sparkle of the images.

Don't forget to join us at Clear Artistic Stamps for the chat party starting at 8pm CST followed by the release at 9pm CST. It'll be lots of fun. See you then!!

The Girlie Girls© are almost here!!!

2008-12-07T11:57:00.007-06:00

Well, it's about that time again. We're all getting so excited about the new Girlie Girls© line that's coming out on Dec. 9th at Clear Artistic Stamps. We'll be having a chat party that starts at

8pm CST with games and prizes followed by the release at 9pm CST.

If you haven't taken the Girlie Girl© quiz yet, be sure to pop over to Belinda's blog and have a look. It's so cute! Hope everyone can make it!! See you there.

Happy Anniversary!

2008-12-03T21:22:00.002-06:00

I've been going through some cards that I've made in the past year and decided to post them here, since I've done nothing with them so far.
I made this card cute and simple card with 3 different sets from Clear Artistic Stamps. The 3 sets I used were I'm Just Saying, Nature in Word, and Sweetpea Sweetheart.

Other supplies I used were:

Vellum
Vellum tape
Yellow ribbon
Glitter
Cardstock tag
Prismacolor markers
Rose printed cardstock
hole puncher

I started out by stamping all images and coloring them. The rose image and the love sentiment I stamped again and sprinkled glitter over them. I then used vellum tape and taped the piece of vellum with these images to the card. Then I punched two holes in the card and ran the ribbon through. I finished up this cute card by threading the ribbon through the tag and tying it in a bow.

Stop back by soon for a Sneak Peak from the Girly Girl collection being released by Clear Artistic Stamps on December 9th.
We celebrate all our releases with a chat party starting at 8pm CST. There will be games and prizes and lots of chatting going on. Lots of fun. More details coming soon.

Box of Love

2008-11-24T21:24:00.003-06:00

I know it's been a few weeks since I've posted anything on here. It's been kinda crazy around here with the release of three new sets (Intrigue, Little Blossom Cottage, and Little Blossom Accessories) over at Clear Artistic Stamps and a chat party with games and prizes on Nov. 18th.

I then got to make some Christmas cards for a card swap, which I have NEVER done before, that was due in the mail by today. I'm happy to report that I was able to get those out last week.

Then I had the usual things around the house, kids to the doctor, give the dog a bath, oh and did I mention the loads and loads of laundry that NEVER seems to end. So, I made a little bit of time to throw together a quick project to kind of help wind myself down a bit.

I was able to use the new Intrigue set from Clear Artistic Stamps to make this cute and simple little trinket/jewelry gift box.

Other supplies I used:

drapery fabric samples
Prismacolor markers
Elmer's gluestick
jewelry/trinket box
glue dots

First, I glued the drapery fabric to the box. Then, I stamped the image on yellow scrap paper and colored it with Prismacolor markers and cut it out. Finally, I attached the image to the box with glue dots.

That's it! Easy Peasy.

This project took all of ten minutes to make.

Something a little different!

2008-11-08T19:00:00.015-06:00

This card I used the Shadows of Memories collection from Clear Artistic Stamps.

Other supplies I used were:

Elmer’s gluestick
Prismacolor markers
Green ribbon
White cardstock
Adhesive dots
Large pinking scissors

I did something a little different with this card, something I’ve never done before. I used sample drapery fabric swatches as the background instead of paper or cardstock.

I had to cut off some bad spots to be able to use the piece on the front, which is why it’s not as wide as the piece on the back.

To fill in the empty space on the sides I just cut up another piece of fabric and glued it onto the card.

I then used the green ribbon and glued it down to cover the lines where the two fabrics meet together.

I then used the large pinking scissors and cut down the sides of the fabric to give a jagged look on the back and then glued it down.

Whew!! The hard part is done.

To do the phrase the way I did I had to cut it into three different pieces…Very Carefully!! I then stamped all images onto cardstock and used the Prismacolor markers to color it.

Finally, I cut out all the pieces and used the adhesive dots to put it on the card.

I really liked doing this card. It took more time trying to decide which fabrics to use than anything else. Once I finally decided it took no time at all.

Fairies make....

2008-11-04T09:45:00.003-06:00

Here is another card that I made some time ago. With this card I used the stamps from the Teacup Fairies collection from Clear Artistic Stamps.

Other supplies I used were:

pink pastel colored cardstock from Wal-Mart
Paperbilities printed paper
leftover scarf fabric
trim from the craft dept. @ Wal-Mart
double sided tape
Elmer's gluestick

First , I folded the pastel cardstock in half longways then cut it. Then I folded it in half end to end.

Then, I cut and glued down a piece of the Paperbilities printed paper.

I then glued down a piece of the leftover scarf fabric.

Then, I stamped and colored the images onto a piece of scrap cardstock.

I then cut the images out with my large pinking scissors and glued it onto the scrap fabric with gluestick.

Finally, I put the border on with double sided tape.

There you have it. Nice and cheery.

Blackberries are....

2008-10-30T13:05:00.001-05:00

Here is another card that I've made except this time the stamps I used are from the Blackberry Fields collection from Clear Artistic Stamps.

Other supplies I used are:

pastel blue cardstock from Wal-Mart
glitter gel pens
bendable shimmery beaded ribbon
Elmer's gluestick
double sided tape (I forget what brand)
large pinking scissors

First, I folded the pastel paper in half longways and cut it. Then I folded that piece in half from end to end.

Then, I cut the line of beads off of the ribbon and glued down just the shimmery part of the ribbon with the gluestick.

Then, I went around all four sides with the beaded strips that I cut off sticking them down with the double sided tape.

Then, I stamped the blackberry sprigs in the four corners and colored them with the glitter gel pens.

Then, I stamped the pot and the phrase onto the same color of scrap paper.

Then, I colored the pot with the gel pens and cut it out and glued it to the shimmery ribbon with the gluestick.

Finally, I cut out the phrase with the large pinking scissors and stuck it down with double sided tape.

And there you have it, simple and cute.

Roses are Red....

2008-10-23T21:02:00.015-05:00

Well, I've finally had a little bit of time to share a card that I made a little while back.

The stamp that I used for it is in the Nature in Word collection from Clear Artistic Stamps.

Other supplies that I used were:

printed paper from Paperbilities
Prismatics Twilight Accent Pack from Prism
rope trim from craft dept. @ Wal-Mart
leftover scarf fabric that I used to make some cloth goody bags with.
white cardstock from Wal-Mart
Elmer's Gluestick
Hot gluegun
Marvy pens
Large Pinking Scissors

First, I folded the Prism cardstock in half end to end.

Then, I cut the Paperbilities paper to the size I wanted and glued it down with plain old Elmer's gluestick.

Then, I glued down the piece of scarf fabric also using the gluestick.

I then stamped the image on the cardstock and colored with Marvy Pens.

Then, I cut out the image with my Large Pinking Scissors.

I then glued the image onto the swatch of scarf fabric and used a black Mary Pen to edge around the fabric and the white cardstock and then did some zigzags to give some depth.

Finally, I used the hot gluegun to glue down the trim.

Looking back on these instructions... It wasn't as complicated as it sounds. It all took me maybe twenty minutes to get done.

Things that kids say!

2008-10-22T11:46:00.004-05:00

Last week, on the first day of Fall break, I took my 6 year old son Xander back to the doctor to get his lungs checked and to be sure everything else was okay. I can tell that he was feeling better for this visit because he actually had time to flirt with the nurse while she was checking his weight and height.

The doctor comes into the room and starts talking to Xander, asking him a few questions. The doc. then proceeds to listen to his heart and lungs. When he starts to try and check Xander's blood pressure Xander speaks up and says, "Whoa, you have to be careful with that arm, it's important and expensive!"

The doc. looks over at me with a grin and I give him the all too familiar "I don't know" shrug. The doctor then asks Xander why is it so important and expensive. Xander pipes up with "because it's the hand that I write with and I can't afford to lose it!"

At this point me and the doctor both are just howling with laughter. Xander just laughs along with us then asks why were we laughing at him. We then had to explain that we weren't laughing at him but laughing at what he said. It took him a little while to understand even after making it out to the vehicle and on our way home. When he finally got it, he thought it was funny too.

School's back in session!!!

2008-10-19T20:40:00.003-05:00

Finally, school starts back tomorrow after being out for a week for Fall Break. I have to say, it feels like it's been a lot longer than that.

My youngest son was out of school for over a week before Fall Break being sick with severe allergies at first, but then all that settled into his lungs causing a lung infection where we had to do breathing treatments 3 times a day along with extra allergy medicine and a high dose of antibiotics to help kick the infection.

The day after Fall Break starts I'm at the doctors office with my daughter who we find out has strep throat for the 5th time this year. Four of those times being between December and May. If we get it again the tonsils have to come out.

Hopefully that's it for everyone being sick around here. It gets tiring disinfecting everything after each sickness. Not to mention trying to catch up on some much needed rest.

Well, guess that's it for now.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Update on my dad!!

2008-10-03T12:11:00.003-05:00

My dad went back to the doctor on the 30th of September and things are looking good so far. All the news he got was good news. He particularly loves the fact that he gets to get rid of the walker by the middle of October. He still has to wear the immobilizing neckbrace for 6 more weeks I believe then he gets to graduate down to a soft neckbrace. He's pretty happy about all this as well as everyone else.

Family trip to Chattanooga

2008-09-24T13:58:00.004-05:00

After the long summer break with the kids at home as well as my neice and nephew, we decided to take the kids on a weekend vacation to Chattanooga before school started. We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo on one of the actual train cars. The kids loved it.

We took them to Rock City, Lookout Mountain, and on the Incline Railway. I've decided to share some of the pictures of our trip with you. Hope you enjoy them.

http://picasaweb.google.com/tracilandtroop/FamilyTripToChattanooga#

Anniversary Blues

2008-09-17T11:29:00.006-05:00

Well, my 9th anniversary was last week and how did I celebrate it? By being sick with bronchitis and congestion so bad that I couldn't talk or breate very well. It was bad enough to have to make an E.R. visit before the night was over.

Dwain and I decided to celebrate it on another day when I'm feeling better.
I hate that I was sick on our day because I have the habbit of forgetting birthdays and anniversaries and the one time that I actually remembered...I was sick.

Well, I'm a week and a half into being sick and I can proudly say that I can halfway talk now but not without hacking my brains out. I can actually walk from the living room to the kitchen now without getting shortwinded.

I'm still working on trying to get a good night's sleep. Although, the cough syrup I've been taking for the past two nights has helped a little bit with that.

I hope to be feeling better soon because this sitting around not doing much of anything is getting old. I have been able to get some cards made though.

Motorcycles

2008-08-21T21:00:00.006-05:00

After the recent events that have taken place in my life over this past weekend, I now have a new outlook on motorcycles. On August 15, 2008 at 10am, my father was almost killed on a motorcycle, but by the grace of god he wasn't.

My father has driven a number of different motorcycles over the years and nothing like this has ever happened to him. I will tell what I know of this story and hopefully it will help people be more aware of their surroundings and other drivers when they are behind the wheel of any motor vehicle.

My father lives out in the country where there are lots of steep hills and curves. Everyone that drives on this road tends to drive like they drive for Nascar or something. I'm sure you know people like this and may have done it a few times yourself.

You know, you're driving fast enough around a curve that you have to get into the other lane just to keep from running off the road and you manage to get back onto your side of the road before you meet another car coming the opposite direction where if you were just 30 seconds later than you were, you would have hit them. Or, better yet, you speed up considerably to make it up that steep hill and accidentally veer into the other lane but you manage to get back into your lane just in time to keep from hitting the other driver coming up on the other side of the hill.

Well, on this particular day my father was on his way up one of those steep hills on his way to town to go to the bank. A car comes flying over the hill and he is partly in my fathers lane so my father swerves to the right to get out of the way. The bike starts to vibrate and shutter because he hits some loose gravel. He tries to pull back to the left to get out of the gravel but loses control of the bike. He then slams into the guardrail where the bike pins his leg to the rail and breaks it, stopping him in the process while the bike continues to go about another 15 to 20 feet up the hill. At this point the other vehicle doesn't even realize what has happened because they were driving so fast they missed it all.

A neighbor of my fathers comes along and finds him probably a minute or so after all this happened. He calls the paramedics who then life-flights him to a major metropolitan hospital. Did I mention that we live in a small town.

My father had to spend almost a week in the hospital. He fractured 7 ribs, bruised both lungs, fractured his clavicle, fractured a vertebrae in his neck so he has to wear a neck brace for at least 6 to 8 weeks, broke his right leg(the one the bike pinned to the rail) he had to have surgery on this to put in a plate and some screws, a laceration down to the muscle on his right arm, and numerous other cuts, scrapes, and bruises. And did I mention all the road rash covering his face as well.

He got lucky. I just sit and think of all the other people that you hear about on the news that either die instantly, or they are in critical condition and they don't expect them to make it through the night. That could have been my dad. All because some idiot can't stay on his side of the road and drive the way they are supposed to.

That was one of the worst phone calls I have ever received. I don't know what I would have done if all of this had a different outcome and a different phone call. I try not to think of that.

Well, thanks for listening to me complain.

Traci

North Carolina pictures and trip summary

2008-07-28T20:08:00.011-05:00

Well, I finally posted some of the pictures from my trip. These were not all of them by any means, I just had too many to post all of them. Just click on the link below to see them.

http://picasaweb.google.com/tracilandtroop/MyTripToNorthCarolina#

I had a really great time on the trip with my sister-in-law Lisa. I had never been to North Carolina before and she had never driven there before so off we went to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in Raleigh. We got there around 7:30 eastern/6:30 central time. We stopped at Bonefish Grill and had dinner and then checked into our room at the Embassy Suites. That was pretty much it for Friday since we spent all day on the road. I think it was about 8 to 8 1/2 hours on the road only stopping maybe 3 or 4 times.

Saturday, we went to Pullen Park which is located in Cary, North Carolina if my memory is correct... which it usually isn't so I hope that's right. I got some really good pictures there, a lot more than what I have posted here. The park was gorgeous.

Then, we made our way to Duke University to see the chapel. It was beautiful. We were hoping to see the inside but it was closed to the public because of a wedding to take place that evening. The pictures that I took of it don't do it justice. It's definitely one of those places you have to see for yourself to fully appreciate it. All of the buildings were awesome and the grounds were beautiful.

We then went back to the hotel and had an early dinner at the bar since the dining room wasn't open yet. We left the hotel around 5:30-6:00 to make our way to Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The show was opened by Steve Winwood. I vaguely recognized the name but didn't actually know who he was until I heard a couple of his songs. It was an awesome concert. I think it finally ended, to everyones dismay, around 10:45pm. Even though our hotel wasn't but 15 miles up the road we still didn't get back to our room until midnight or close to that time.

We got up the next morning, Lisa had breakfast, I can't eat until after 9am at least, and started on our long drive back. We stopped more times on the way back than we did getting there. We finally made it back to Spring Hill around 6 or 6:30 I think. Well, that in a nutshell was our trip. It was lots of fun. Hope to get to do it again sometime.

We made it!

2008-07-12T14:53:00.004-05:00

Well, we finally made it to North Carolina. We left Spring Hill, Tn around 11am and arrived in Raleigh around 7:30pm. I am so excited. We finally get to see Tom Petty in concert tonite @7:15. We did some awesome sight seeing today. First, we went to Pullen Park, which by the way is gorgeous. Took some pictures there. Then we went to Duke University and got to see Duke Chapel. This is by far the greatest, awesome-est, structure I have ever seen. We did lots of walking and picture taking. I'll post some of the pictures next week after I get back and have a vacation from my vacation. Time to go relax.

Later,
Traci

Back to normal....almost!

2008-06-21T22:30:00.007-05:00

Well. It's official. I have been keeping my niece(3) and my nephew(5) for two weeks now and all the madness around the house is starting to wind down. Thank goodness. I has taken me that long to break them of quite a few bad habits that they were allowed to get away with. Not anymore, at least not at my house anyway. I am finally able to get a few things done before having to referee the kids.

I had a yard sale this weekend and was able to clean quite a bit of stuff out of my garage. Now I can actually walk through without having to move things around and the dog doesn't mind following me in now either. I think she was a little worried about getting lost in there before. My husband will finish organizing things in there so the kids will actually to hang out in there during the summer and have fun. He is setting up the dart board, air hockey table, fooseball table and other fun things for the kids. Hopefully it will be done before the end of summer vacation.

Wow!
I didn't realize it was this late already. My lack of sleep for the past week is starting to catch up with me. Guess I should get to bed since I'm actually feeling tired. I will try to type more in the next few days. Goodnight.

Summer Break

2008-06-14T19:38:00.026-05:00

picture taken in Belinda Landtroop's front yard

Well, that time of year again folks. Children running through the house yelling "stop that",

"leave me alone",
"mooom","he hit me again",
and so on...you get the idea. The kids are home for the summer and things are crazy around the house and I can't find a quiet spot anywhere. Not to mention that I decided to keep my neice and nephew during the summer as well, which makes the total of kids in my house for up to nine hours a day 5. One is thirteen, one is nine, and the rest are six and under. Not to mention a crazy Basset Hound chasing them thru the house making them squeal and scream with laughter. Not much time to do any stamping with all this going on since I try to get them out of the house and go to the park, library,pool and other places for them to burn as much energy as possible so it's a little quieter when we make it back to the house.

I hate that I haven't been blogging much. I'm still trying to get used to the idea of typing what's going on here for people that I don't even know to read. This whole thing is kind of weird for me.

I'm starting to get really excited about a trip that I will be going on with my sister-in-law next month. We are going to Raliegh, North Carolina to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in concert. I have only ever been to one other concert in my entire adult life and that was to see Ozzy Osbourne back in 1997 or 1998 in Nashville, Tennessee. Also, I've never been to North Carolina either, so we decided to drive and see the sites and scenery along the way. I plan on taking my camera with me to get some great pictures. The concert isn't until Saturday July 12th but we decided to leave on Friday the 11th so we can take our time to get there and hopefully not get stuck in any bad traffic along the way. I plan on posting some of the pictures I take here on my blog for everyone to get to see.

Well, I think that's about all I can think up to talk about for now. Hopefully I'll get the chance to post again soon.

Hope you all are have a great summer so far!

Spring Break

2008-04-22T11:54:00.002-05:00

Well, it's that time of year again. The craziness around the house with the kids being home this week for spring break. One child , unfortunately, is sick with strep throat and the other one is extremely hyper and wanting to go swimming but since the other one sick we can't....so ensues the craziness. Time to pull out the craft stuff to put the hyper one to work making stuff and hopefully having some fun at the same time. Maybe I'll still have hair left by the end of the week. Have a Great Week!!

Spring..... a long time coming!

2008-04-14T15:06:00.004-05:00

Well, we made it through the bad weather Friday. Nothing like spending time in the basement while the storms blow over to get you to think about how things are going in your life. All the signs of spring are here but the temperature is saying otherwise at the moment. All the flowers and trees are blooming, birds sitting on their nests hatching eggs and even a crazy cardinal who can't get enough of seeing himself in the car window and side mirror. I actually had time to work on some cards Sunday and got three done. That is the most that I have managed to get done in one sitting. The kids actually got along with each other and that was the only reason I got so much done at one time. I never realized how much time you waste when you are constantly seperating the kids when they aren't getting along. Not to mention a dog that acts like it needs to go outside every few minutes when you are trying to work. Well, time to calm down the kids ...again. Hope you have a great week!

Rain, Rain, go away!

2008-04-03T09:39:00.003-05:00

Well, it's raining again today. 100% chance of it for tomorrow they say. It seems like it's been raining off and on for a few weeks now. It's all gloomy outside and all you want to do is just climb back into bed and sleep until it stops. We have had a few days here and there where it was nice and sunny but couldn't really take the kids out to do much since the ground is so wet and muddy. The dog doesn't even want to go out when she needs to. But, I guess we do need the rain since we had a drought last summer and we'll be wishing for it this summer. If the weather could just make up its mind about if it wants to be 70-75 degrees one day or 30-35 degrees the next. I'm about tired of the temperature fluctuations making everyone at home, especially the kids, sick. I guess that's just Tennessee weather for ya! I'd much rather it be rain than all the snow some other places are getting. Well, that's enough of my ranting for now. Hope you have a pleasant day.

Out of the Mouth's of Babes

2008-03-03T11:40:00.002-06:00

We all have those days when we start to make the perfect card and find out we were wrong!
So, when my beautiful card looked all wrong to my 9 year old daughter, who tried to let me down gently, I knew to rethink it.

Well it ended up a great three piece set. Boy are they right about out of the mouth's of babes.