Look at the "timeless" cards I uncovered

While in the midsth of unpacking, sorting out, and organizing my craft/sewing/spare guest room, I found some cards I had made when I got into cardmaking, etc. It was good to see that they could be considered "timeless" so I can still use them. In fact, this pretty embossed turtle card I am sending out for a late birthday greeting to a male nephew-all the embossing on it makes it very tactile for touching!

And at the very top are 2 more "timeless" cards I unearthed....

Just a reminder, today is the last day of the current Stampin Up mini-catalog and a new one comes out tomorrow. There is a lot of cool stuff in it & I'm sure there will be many postings on blogs featuring the products. I will be doing some too, after I get a chance to play with them myself. Been having fun seeing what others have done...Have a great weekend.

A hard workout...Follow our dog agility class Mon. night

We have been doing dog agility classes with our furbaby Inu for over a year now - she is almost two and what a difference it has made in her.  More confidence, and becoming a thinking dog, if you can imagine that....So I thought I would share one of her classes with you.  This past Monday was an especially challenging workout for her and her handler - "daddy."  The teeter (aka seesaw) has always been one of her difficult obstacles, especially since it makes a loud "bang" when the end of it hits the floor.  We take classes at an awesome indoor dog training site, with special floor padding (feels good on everyone's paws & feet!), and don't have to worry about the rain, sun, heat....and lots of run room, and sitting areas for both dogs to rest in a crate, as well as me!  Class was set up when we arrived - looks like we are going to be running two courses - see the one on the left, and the angled diagonal one on the right?

In the back of these runs, you can see we will be working on the A-frame (looks like a peaked roof) and the teeter (seesaw) - Inu's favorite....NOT.  We check out the crates and choose the one we usually put Inu into to get ready for class - I set up our notebook, water bottle, Inu's treats/tug toys, etc. and our chairs.  There  are 3 other dogs in this class.

Inu starts off well running the 2 courses...

See she is running so fast she is just a blur - Impressive huh?  What do you expect from pictures from a cell phone?!

The dogs in this class work well alongside each other too - see the other dog sitting on the left watching?  That's really good to just sit and not move - just try it sometime when there are more exciting things going on that you want to check out...that's called "proofing" the behavior, so the dog will do it NO MATTER WHAT until you tell him/her otherwise. 

The handlers work in team, helping their other assigned partner and dog while their own dog rests, so Daddy helps his partner and dog:And Inu gets to rest and wait patiently for her next workout, the next time to come out and "play" (work) and get more treats - she loves the low-fat string cheese bits - they have high value for her so she will really work for them, so only gets them for class....little does she know what is coming up.

Now the real work begins - it's Teeter Time....

Now Inu has done teeter before and has made significant improvement with the noisy teeter, but always had a table on one end of it so it didn't move up/down and free fall much.  She even pulls it down to get on it because she knows there are treats if she does....

Inu does quite well, and does what she is suppose to...

And Inu does what she usually does on the teeter, and goes back and forth on it from end to end, getting those treats, yum - what fun!

But after a couple times, Inu realizes that something is different - there is no board at the end and the teeter is moving differently than before - that's the freefalling aspect of it.  Inu decides she doesn't want to do any more of This - it's getting scary and not doing what it has in the past:

Now the teacher steps in and doesn't let Inu decide that she can stop yet - more treats and some fast talking

Well of course Inu REALLY loves those cheese bits, so stays for that....and stays and works, and works, and works

Now this is going over Inu's usual time to work - her maximum time before she has to take a mental break is 3 minutes, and we are way past that....Quick, we need more treats!

Come on Inu, just one last time and end on a positive really successful note!

Woot, we did it!!  Back to the crate for a well-deserved rest...and that was the end of Inu's night because she was just too tired to even want to do the dog A-frame, which she usually loves and hauls over...not tonight.  So Daddy helps out again (and he's tired now too with all that mental concentration)  And teacher goes through this again with another dog on the A-frame:

Tonight the equipment wasn't set as high as it would be for a tournament/competition - gee, that should have been a clue that something different was going to be done in class tonight!

Isn't this amazing how the dogs train right alongside each other?

What a great team, dogs, handlers and teacher(s)!  We love this place....We go home exhausted, but know that Inu has achieved another milestone.  BTW, Inu slept most of the next day, she was dog-tired lol.

Card kit - retired reversible designer paper-Stampin Up

     I sure didn't think I would like the reversible designer cardstock paper when Stampin Up came out with it, but am now lovin' it....All the colors coordinate and mix/match really well.  So I had to use some of the retired paper I have because they are sooo pretty.  I made up a kit with two cards out of the discontinued paper and some of the products....but used some new stuff too. 
     The kit has lots of extra embellishments to play with or make other cards too.  There is enough to make 6 cards with envelopes and I designed the cards so there is one "feminine" theme and one "masculine..."  But of course, since the paper and most of the embellishments are reversible, you can add your own touch....They are pretty self-explanatory to make (I hope, so easy even a caveman can do it lol!)  Here's a picture of the masculine and feminine cards:

Here is a closeup of the things included for the 3 "feminine" cards (sort of vintage-style I thought):

And here is a picture of the things I provided for the 3 "masculine" cards (colorful, bright, and I even used 3 patterned colors, wow):

Can you see there is even some extra reversible designer paper? 

Here is a picture of all the items in the kit spread out on the floor (!) for the 6 cards - I had way too much fun punching out a variety of the embellishments....kinda compulsive to make sure there was enough:

So then I packaged this all up and mailed it to Lynne, my new friend:

Sorry if the pictures are a little blurry - I was using my cell phone and it was kinda of late....But a big THANK YOU and long-distance HUG to Lynne, who was my "first" - She will know what I mean by that! 

Some more new things on my new blog background-I'm having fun

Well, now that I have been able to change my blog background, etc., I had to find out how to share a couple more things in the sidebar....First, I learned how to add the .pdfs for the new and retiring Stampin Up colors.  Then I was able to add info about their great clearance rack - you can buy products on it through me, as a demonstrator, even cheaper than I can with my discount.  Although they are retired/discontinued, but you know you can find lots of things to use them for.  And lastly, I posted a new pic of our furbaby sitting in front a beautiful display of petunias - it smelled really good there when I was taking her picture.  I still feel somewhat intimidated by the blog stuff you can get the "code" for and use, but I just keep reading, reading, reading, and some of it must be sinking in lol.   Inu will be celebrating her 2nd birthday next month, so we got her an early birthday present - a plastic baby pool!  Haven't put any water in it yet, but did put a few of her toys in it so she would get used to it and associate fun things with it....pictures of that in future posts! Thanks for stopping in - I still want a cool signature line so will be working on that.

New blog page - I did it!

Oh my and cheers to me...I was able to download a new blog page setup from one of those free sites....I am quite pleased with most of it but if I could figure out how to get my blog title and description so it fits in that circular picture frame, I would really be pleased. Although this took a good amount of time to do, since it was my first, I bet next time would be faster. Now to get a customized signature....Pat myself on the back for taking the next step in blogging!  What do you think of this template?  Leave me a comment, and/or subscribe/become a follower.  Have a great day! 

A baby bunny for our furbaby - NOT

I finally got my pics off my cell onto my computer....there were 136 of them and 4 flix!  I keep forgetting to take them off until I have no more picture room on my cell phone.  I don't use my cell phone for talking on the phone, but use it for pictures, videos, instant messaging/texting, music and especially the calendar to keep track of what I have to do everyday - you know, like those appointment books you used to WRITE in, but now we can put into our cell phone calendars.  Being able to do that makes me feel younger lol.  When I switched the pictures onto my computer, I saw some I had to share.  There were some overgrown green things in the porch/courtyard where we are now - it took my husband several times to cut them down, and down, and then take them out entirely.  Here is what they looked like before they finally got removed - our furbaby had a blast checking them out because she found little critters in them.

See her tail on the left side?  Now that this area is it only dirt, guess she will just have to dig holes!  Anyway, one of the times she was exploring in the shrubs, she found this:

Good thing my husband rescued this baby bunny before our furbaby Inu played with it.  She was pretty fascinated with it so we did some introductions:

She liked it....

Of course she wanted to play with it...but we wouldn't let her.

Instead, we had Inu pose for a picture with the baby bunny before we let him go in a safe spot - now is this self-control or what?

Good girlie Inu!

Up late last nite playing with chili peppers but didn't get burned

After I found some of my cardmaking stuff that was still packed up in the garage and hauled it into my craft room that I'm gonna set up, I made this card....This was made with the X-large two-step bird punch that Stampin Up sells (see yesterday's posting) - I had the idea to make the wings into chili peppers.  Here in Arizona there are lots of "hot" things!  I don't have a table yet in my craft room, but guess what, there was lots of floor space to use as my "table."  And since our furbaby was in her bed/crate, I didn't have to worry about her getting in the way lol.

So I was up late last night, first researching peppers, then making this card for a challenge - my first one - it's a challenge that my upline coordinates so I wanted to support her.  I haven't seen anyone use the bird punch for anything like this yet.  All those little peppers and leaves required some fine motor skills and eyes that I haven't used in quite a while!  But I think it turned out cute for my first time - All it needs is the words "hot, hot, hot!"  Here is my card - what do you think of it? 

I love the new satin ribbon and am glad that Stampin Up will be keeping it.  I really appreciate my readers, comments, and new followers/subscribers - thanks!

Double duty, triple duty, don't you just love it

I have started to discover how great your punches can be....The Stampin Up scallop circle was my favorite, until I saw what else you can do with the ornament punch, and now, the bird punch. In one of the blogs I follow, a question was asked about the Stampin Up bird punch....This is a great punch to have, cause not only can you do birds and twigs with it, since it is a 3-part punch, you can use the punches for other stuff.  Take a look at what you can make with it as a "bird" punch (sorry I don't have all the info as to who made them, my bad...)  I have posted some other birds in previous postings, but look at these:

I love anything with flowers, so this is great:

Here is a chick that someone made with this punch:

And here's another type of bird - a parrot!  How creative is this?

Now if that wasn't enough just to make a ton of birds, you can manipulate different parts of the punch to make flowers....Can you see the parts of the bird punch used in these?

I don't know about you, but I am inspired to punch out a bunch of different colors and patterns with the bird punch, and see what I can come up with....and put it in the SUDSOL contest for it this week.  I have a couple ideas floating around in my head....If you don't have a Stampin Up demonstrator that you order from yet, please consider me!  Thanks, muchas gracias, spaciba (I know I spelled that Russian word way wrong...), merci beaucoup.  So what do birds, flower, chili peppers, have in common??!

Doggy friends; turquoise sombrero; our neighborhood ducks

Funny how if you have a dog, you gravitate towards friends who have dogs too....such has been our life since we got our little furbaby.  Here is one of her friends modeling the cute turquoise sombrero her owners got while on an RV trip to Mexico - she has the most gorgeous blond hair and is such a sweetie.  I can imagine combing it and dressing her up in hair ribbons, bows, etc. Ha, but I don't think her owners would let me.  Our Inu's hair is not quite long enough to put bows in it, and her fur/hair is too silky to keep them in, like baby hair. 

When we were out for one of our walks, we were able to get really close to the ducks that visit the little lakes here, so that I could take some pics:

Now if we could get close enough to touch one of them....Inu would be beside herself - would be good practice for proofing her distractability and attention lol.

Everyone's talking up a storm-renovated Stampin Up colors coming

Oh my, just when you're getting used to the colors that Stampin Up has, they renovate and reorganize them....Some of the colors are ones they used to have too.  Everyone is talking all about how to handle this change that happens in 3 months.  Well, I don't have a bunch of colors in anything really, since it costs $$ and I am only a year-old demonstrator.  But this reorganization of colors will help to save $$ and have fun with something old and something new - wait, that's for weddings.....Maybe it's Make new friends, but keep the old (that's an old girl scout song -- am I dating myself?)  Have a peek at the upcoming new color collection that starts July 1 - the "kraft" color is gonna be named "crumb cake" - yummy.  When I get around to setting up my craft/sewing/spare guest room, I can go through what few colors and stuff I have, right?

Just to confuse you a little more, here are the "retiring" colors that will be going bye-bye:

"Turquoise" necklaces - Guess what they are made from!!

I got the idea for today's post from a commenter who likes turquoise - made me think of the gorgeous turquoise jewelry, which is usually pretty expensive if it is the real thing.  A lot of the faux turquoise looks faux, but take a look at this turquoise necklace, which is handmade:

I know my picture is a little blurry....sorry.  Here is a closeup of the necklace this lady made:

Doesn't it look like the real thing?  I also made a couple of these necklaces - mine were mauve, and one lady also did a black one.  The people I gave my 2 necklaces to for Christmas thought they were made of stones....Here is what the necklaces started off as:

Can you guess what they are yet?  Here is the next step after these nuggets were  "prepared" to use:

They were painted with craft paint and spray sealed....then liquid twinkle glitter was painted over them (silver or gold or iridescent)- a little of this glitter paint goes a long way - here is a picture of that step (do you know what the necklaces are made of yet??)   When I was spray sealing mine, I dropped the whole board; fortunately only a couple broke, but I had made sooo many of them, that I had lots of extras - I kinda get carried away sometimes

Now once the paint is dried (dries fairly quickly as we were able to complete them this night - except for me, I'm slow), you take your silver or gold or whatever color and/shape beads you want to use with these nugget beads, and plan out your necklace, like this:

Now you can string them up, adjust to the length you want, and tie the necklace off:

Have you figured out what you use to make these jewelry nugget beads with yet?  Here is one more shot of them, ready to be pulled off their toothpicks:

Dragging out the suspense a little longer....lol....here are the 2 mauve necklaces I made that I scanned in my computer!  I used crystal beads and iridescent twinkle glitter....notice the irregular shapes of the nugget beads and that I put lockets on mine:

And even though these beads are totally dried and sealed with paint, they will not revert back to their original form, which were cut potato pieces!!!  Can you believe it??!  And no, they don't smell either! But I wouldn't want to stand out in the rain with my necklace on, just in case, ha ha.  Hard to believe that you take these ugly brown things and turn them into something beautiful - kinda like the ugly duckling huh?

Here are the directions for them if you want to try them - I would love it if you left a comment and tell me what you thought of this post and these necklaces....Thanks for spending time with me today: