Hey there ladies! Sorry I've been away from you, for a whole week . . . I've really missed you too!

As you know, we went to MonsterJam in St. Louis, last weekend. We totally forgot it was also Mardi Gras weekend! Every restaurant had almost a three hour wait . . . yeah, with 5 little boys, that could happen! :o) We all decided that we'd just eat at the Edward Jones Dome. Well, on the way to the dome, our Dad had problems breathing. It was bitterly cold outside and since Dad had asthma a long time ago, we didn't think too much about . . . we just chalked it up to a possible asthma attack. WRONG . . . our Dad has atrial fibrillation (an erratic heart rhythm)! He's been in the hospital, in Kansas City, since Wednesday . . . looks like he'll be there at least over the weekend, until they level out his heart rhythm.

Dad and LaDonna, and the rest of us, had a wonderful time @ MonsterJam. Dad loved watching all 5 boys have all their attention on these monster trucks, for 4-5 hours! Dad said that he really didn't know that five boys could sit still for that long! :o)

Tuesday night, we were getting ready to take Betty (my MIL) out to dinner for her birthday and Nathan (our oldest) came to the living room walking on the side of his left foot. Terry looked at it and saw something shiny . . . he tried to get it out, but Nathan kept pulling his foot back, because it hurt. After 45 minutes of this, I finally picked Nathan up (kicking and screaming) and put him in the car. I swear, if any of our neighbors could hear us, they would have called DFS on us. I had Patrick (our youngest) was standing in front of the back door crying, "you're not taking my brother to the hospital" . . . Nathan is yelling, "No . . . I don't want to go to the hospital"! Oh my . . . so I got him in the car and then forgot to hit the child safety lock! I had gone into the house, to get my purse and here comes Nathan into the kitchen . . . so the dragging of his happy 'lil butt into the car went on AGAIN! He was a little trooper at the hospital though. He had a small piece of glass in his foot (about 1/8" long) . . . once it was out, he wanted to take Grandma out for her birthday! How sweet! Grandma felt very heartfelt that Nathan still wanted to go and we had a wonderful time celebrating her birthday @ dinner.

So . . . needless to say, I haven't had much time to "craft" this week, or much less want to . . . Theresa and I have spent all of our time at the hospital. I did make Dad a card, last night . . . but it doesn't look like we're going to get out too much this morning. :o( It's snowing pretty heavy here in Kansas City today, it's supposed to last at least until noon. Maybe I can get out and see Dad this afternoon?!

Tammy's (Theresa's friend) daughter, Whitney, had an emergency gallbladder removal surgery yesterday. Her surgery went well and is probably going home today or tomorrow.

I know that everyone says that this stuff travels in three's . . . so there is our three! Enough is enough! On a happier note . . . here's your friendly reminder that today is the last day of February and we'll have our February Blog Candy drawing tomorrow @ 12P, noon! The Blog Candy, for February, is the Stampin' Up! Adhesive Remover. It's a must for any crafter . . . trust me!

Please keep Whitney and our big guy (Dad) in your prayers . . . talk to you soon. Thank you for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy

Thank you card . . .

Okay . . . last thing of post before leaving in the morning!

I started writing a list, of things not to forget tomorrow and on the list was punches & paper. Terry asked what I thought I'd need the punches for . . . he thought that Theresa and I were going to sneak to start crafting, while in St. Louis (after the kids went to bed). I told him that I was planning on punching some flowers out, on the way. He seems okay with it . . . WAHOO!

I thought this card turned out really cute and elegant . . . and it was SO easy! I ran the front of the card (Always Artichoke cardstock)through the Cuttlebug (Birds and Swirls) embossing folder. Stamped the "Thank you" from a new Stampin' Up Elegant Thank You stamp, on Whisper White, matted on Always Artichoke, and then Black cardstock . . . used dimensionals behind the black and then folded a piece of Old Olive grossgrain ribbon and taped it on the back. I did a little 3x3 card, to test it out on . . . which I love the 3x3 (it's just SO cute) . . . but you can't put 3x3's in the mail . . . so this is a "real sized" card! Didn't turn out cute?

Okay . . . better go get my beauty sleep! I got two anxious little men . . . that are going to be ready for MonsterJam bright and early tomorrow!! Send telepathic thoughts, for Terry wanting to drive tomorrow okay . . . then I can punch flowers out in the car! ;o) I promise to upload these when I'm done!

Have a great weekend girls! Thanks for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy

Mother-in-Law Birthday

I was out reading the recent posts, on my blog friends sites and came across this layout for a card. Once I saw it, I got all excited and just HAD to go downstairs to make it! :o) Thank goodness the boys are in bed and Terry understands this "have to make it now" excitement, when it comes to card making! This is going to be Betty's (my MIL) birthday card; she's turning 88 on Tuesday. She's a wonderful Mom and Grandmother and I couldn't have wished for a better MIL. Our boys just love her to pieces . . . as you can see, by the smile on her face, the love is reciprocated.

I think I found yet another favorite card! Didn't it come out cute?! I used some double-sided paper, that I had bought on a recent little shopping spree with Theresa @ Michael's (when all their scrapbook paper was 7/$1) and the Congrats stamp set (#113770 from the Sale-A-Bration promotion).

No crafting this weekend! :o( Theresa and I are spending "quality time" with our fellas (husbands included) and traveling to St. Louis this weekend, for MonsterJam! It's just a 3.5 hour trip from Kansas City + potty breaks. This is our second year, traveling there for this event. It's loud, there's dirt involved, and monster trucks get all banged up . . . everything boys love! Our Dad & LaDonna are even going this year too! We should have a wonderful time! I'll upload pictures, once we get back . . . not too many, I promise! :o)

Once I come home, I've got to finish up my swaps, for the Nebraska Regionals . . . oh, I'm not complaining . . . I can't wait! Lincoln is only a little over 3 hours from here. I going to take parts of the swaps with me this weekend, to finish in the car . . . hopefully Terry will agree to drive?! I'll have to upload the pictures, when they're all done . . . they're pretty cute!

Thanks for stopping by the craft room! Have a great weekend!
Peggy

Small Post-it Note Holders

As promised . . . here are the instructions for the small (1" x 2") Post-It Note Holders . . . you can do this project in TEN easy steps:

1. Cut paper to 2" x 4-3/8"
2. Score @ 1", 1-1/4", 2-13/16", and 3-1/16"
3. Use Scallop Edge punch, at the 1" side (so add decorative edge, you don't have to do this).
4. Stamp (or color) ladybug, from the Darling Dots Hostess stamp set (level 1).
5. Punch ladybug out with 1-1/4" circle punch.
6. Punch black cardstock with 1-3/8" circle punch.
7. Adhere ladybug to black circle.
8. Place a mini-glue dot to the bottom/back of black circle.
9. Adhere black circle to holder.
10. You're done! That wasn't so hard, now was it?!

If you make a post-it note holder, and e-mail at pmfullbright@everestkc.net me the picture . . . you'll get another entry into the March 1st drawing! I'll even post your little creativity work too! Luckily they're not that difficult, since I'm going to be making about 20 of them (to swap) for the regional seminar in Lincoln, NE (in March).

I also wanted to share with you, what I do when I see a layout . . . I write and draw it up on a index card. The index cards are neatly tucked away, all in one spot! I have it divided by holidays/occasions.

Want to know more about how to get the Hostess (Level 1) stamp sets? Host a workshop or even pool your money together with a girlfriend . . . a $150 order entitles you to one free hostess stamp set of your choice (Level 1), 3 Sale-A-Bration items, and $15 worth of free products! The Sale-A-Bration promotion is through March 31st.

Let me know if you have any questions, regarding the hostess stamp sets or the instructions.

Thank you for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy

What a crafty weekend?!

Oh my goodness sakes . . . I've had withdraws from you gals! :o) I thought it was going to be a busy weekend . . . and boy oh boy . . . I wasn't lying!

Well . . . the Address Book Workshop went well! Jenny was sick, but we attempted to have fun with out her. I got the picture of Theresa and Tammy, being creative . . . as promised . . . but I had failed to get pictures of their books. Theresa came over Sunday, so I stole a couple pictures from her book (see below)!

Theresa wanted to start putting her cards in something, instead of placing them on top of each other. I have some USPS shoe boxes, so I but them to 5" and then Theresa decorated/embellished it! Didn't it come out cute? Theresa and I also have Family Countdown calendars (made with magnets and a cookie sheet), see February 8th post. The problem is we have a bunch of magnets, for the holidays . . . problem solved . . . another USPS shoe box to the rescue! We cut the lettering out with the Plantain Cricut cartridge. She's going to make some little dividers, for her cards . . . but didn't they come out cute?

On Saturday, we had my Mother-in-Law over for dinner. We fixed individual heart shaped pizzas and my MIL brought a heart shaped red-velvet cake! It was beautiful! She said it was a royal "you know what" to make though! The boys thought it was kinda cool, having a pizza all to themselves!

We had brunch with my Dad and LaDonna, on Sunday . . . we met at Winstead's, a local burger/diner place. Once we were done, Theresa had asked if she could come over and "play". Terry was glad to oblige, since he was going to be glued to the television, watching Daytona 500. Theresa wanted to make Ghirardelli chocolate boxes, that she wanted to make (it holds 4 little bars). She'd also found this flower, in the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration brochure. It stated to contact your Demonstrator, to find out how to make it . . . and she did! The flower itself is a little bit of a pain . . . it's a 12" piece of decorative paper, scored every 1/4" inch! If you hold your tongue just right, you can get that 'lil booger wrapped around the way it's supposed to be! What a joy (being very sarcastic) . . . as you can see . . . there is only one made! :o) We ran the background paper through the Cuttlebug, to add just a touch of something. The end result is very cute though. Didn't our little projects come out cute?!

I've had some requests about the the instructions, on the ladybug Post-it Note holder. I will post that tomorrow . . . they're definitely easier than the flower card, trust me!

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's weekend! Sorry this is so long, but I had alot I wanted to tell you about . . . okay that and I'm naturally long winded (from what I'm told)?! :o)

Have a wonderful day! Thanks for stopping by the craft room! Here's some pictures of Theresa's Address Book . . . once I can steal shots of Tammy's, I'll take those too!
Peggy

Happy Friday the 13th!

Okay . . . so everyone THINKS that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day . . . but it's not going to be true tonight!














I know that ladybugs are lucky, right?! Well, the gals that are attending the Address Book workshop tonight are going to get very lucky, with ladybug Post-It note holders (1"x2" Post-It notes) . . . shhh . . . don't tell them! :o)

Didn't they turn out cute?! I'm going to make a bunch of these, to take the regional seminar in March too. I needed to come up with the "recipe" for them, to get it right before I have to make a butt-load of 'em! :o)

Happy Friday the 13th . . . hope you have a very lucky day!

Thanks for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy

Valentine's Day Cards

I promised Theresa, my sister, that I wouldn't post this until the recipient (Cara & Tony) received the card she made for them. Well . . . Cara got the card today!! So . . . I could post Theresa's beautiful card! Theresa made them a card, to celebrate their Mexico/no-kid vacation next week. Didn't Theresa do a great job! I just love the little bikini, the sand, and the fish! Theresa doesn't give herself enough credit, for being creative! Great job Sissy, on the Criss-Cross card! Cara, hope you and Tony have a wonderful time!

Liz (Tidbits from Liz blog), our January Blog Candy winner, received her composition notebook in the mail. If you get a chance, be sure to check out her blog. I so look forward to reading her blog, whenever she posts . . . I know you will too! Congratulations again Liz!

I've had a busy week . . . I'm registered for the Stampin' Up! half-day regional seminar, in Lincoln, NE, on March 7th. When the seminar opened to guests, it sold out in one day! This is the first Stampin' Up! regionals that I'm going to . . . and I'll be by myself! I'm going to partake in card & 3-D swaps, that are done there at the hotel. I went over to Jeri's (my upline) house last night and we plotted out the projects that I'm going to do, what colors, and what I needed to buy. I promise to posts all my little projects, once I'm done. Oh, I'm looking so forward to this!

I made two Valentine Anniversary cards too (left)! These are a booger to find @ Hallmark sometimes! Theresa, my sister, and her husband and Jenny, girlfriend, and her husband are celebrating their Valentine wedding anniversaries, this Saturday! Theresa and Bruce are celebrating 17 years of marriage and Jenny and Scott are celebrating 5 years of marriage. Congratulations to you gals, and your husbands of course, on so many years of marital bliss!

Here's the Valentine's day card I made for Terry. . . told you that I loved the criss-cross card! Figured if I slapped the truck on there, it would make it masculine?! :o) I ran the stripes through the valentine heart Cuttlebug embossing folder too (you can see the hearts better if you click on it). I love this Stampin' Up! Loads of Love stamp set. It come with a tree, flowers, and hearts, that you can put in the back of the truck. There is also a Loads of Love accessory stamp set that comes with about 5 more holidays. I love this stamp set, because it is so versatile and covers alot of the major holidays . . . alot of bang for the buck!

Got another busy weekend too! I took the day off of work tomorrow, so we could attend the boys Valentine parties. I look forward to these 'lil parties . . . I'll be sure to take our camera too! Oh no . . . gee . . . twist my arm . . . another reason to scrapbook/craft! Got Jenny, Tammy, and Theresa coming for the Address Book Workshop tomorrow night. Don't tell them . . . but I'll find a way to sneak in a picture . . . they're not getting away that easy this time! Terry and I ordered our Valentine's day dinner through Lobster Gram. Have you ever tried them? It's a catalog company, that deals with shrimp, crab, lobster, and steak. We've been ordering from them, since our first anniversary and haven't been disappointed yet! On Sunday, Dad & LaDonna are coming to KC. We're going to meet them for breakfast. Maybe sometime after breakfast, I'll be able to find sometime to craft? Don't you think? :o) I sure hope so!

I hope you and your valentine, whoever he/she may be, have a wonderful and Happy Valentine's Day! Thanks for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy

Valentine Mailbox

I had gotten this idea off of Kasey's blog, for Valentine mailboxes (at home). If you've never read her blog, take some time to do so . . . I enjoy reading her posts. Don't you just love their blog picture?! It's so typical of parents embarrassing their children . . . (giggling).

Our boys have decided that they want to keep them up all year, so I didn't want to get red mailboxes or decorate it just for Valentine's Day . . . so I just put our initials on the front. Since our kitchen is burgundy & white (I know . . . the cabinet is blue, I just haven't gotten around to painting it yet). Maybe decorating the mailboxes will follow, sometime (after the cabinet). With Valentine's Day, this Saturday, I wanted to get these up for the boys.

I cut the initials and the scalloped background with my Cricut. The scallops is from the Storybook cartridge (2.5") and the initials are from the Plantain cartridge (2"). I put them on a little buffet cabinet, in our kitchen.

As you can see, I left little "love notes" for all my fellas . . . this should be a fun week! Didn't they turn out cute?

I made Terry (hubby) his Valentine's Day card tonight, my boss asked me to make a Valentine's Day card for him (to give to his wife) + Theresa and Jenny are both celebrating their Valentine wedding anniversaries on Saturday too! I was a busy girl, since the boys went to bed! No (Theresa & Jenny)0, I'm not posting the picture until maybe Friday . . . give it some time to get to your homes! I don't want to spoil the surprise!

Happy Valentine's Day week! Thanks for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy

A busy day!

Yesterday was a busy day! Jenny (girlfriend) and I started @ 10A, at Jeri's house (my Stampin' Up! upline), for our monthly punch class . . . oh we had so much fun!

After our punch class, we met up with Theresa (sister) and Cara (Theresa's girlfriend) at The Scrapbook Page, a wonderful local scrapbook store. They were having their annual "Garage Sale" . . . this consists of people renting a section of a table and selling their items, that they no longer use. Items they're no longer using = major cost savings for us! I got the little chipboard accordion album, for $1 each . . . can you believe it?! What a deal! Sure . . . you might need to dig a little, but you can really find some little treasures! We sat (on the floor) in line for about one hour, just to check out . . . which just lent itself to wonderful time between sisters and girlfriends.

Jenny and I got back to my house ~ 3:30P. We had a bit of time for Jenny to make 18 Ghirardelli chocolate holders and I made a card. Although I love to make cards, I don't like making sympathy cards. I know they're necessary . . . but it means that someone very close to their heart! Making sympathy cards does make you think and appreciate the family and friends that touch your life, that's for sure!

Terry (hubby) and I had our FIRST elementary school auction. We came home with some great deals there too! (Guess yesterday was my day for bargains)! I had donated the family magnet board (similar to picture to left) and it sold for $30! WAHOO! The price included personalized names of family members too . . . I wrote them a little thank you note and asked for them to contact me, with their names. Jenny and Scott (Jenny's husband) stayed with our boys . . . they sure love their time with "Aunt Jenny" and we appreciated them watching the boys for us!

Be sure to let a loved one know how much you love them today!

Thanks for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy

February Blog Candy

I've got some NEW blog candy for you . . . a Stampin' Up! Adhesive Remover! Never worry about messy glue residue again! With this great tool, you can remove unwanted adhesive quickly and easily. Removes residue adhesive (but not tape) from unwanted areas. It's a MUST HAVE, for any crafter!! 2” x 2” x 1/2” The drawing (via random.org) will be on March 1st @ 12P!

I entered into a card swap, on SplitCoastStampers. I made 6 cards (1 was for the "hostess" who coordinated the whole thing) and then I received 5 back, in the mail. Look at the cards I received! This kind of swap gives you so many ideas/layouts and a great inspiration, to get movin' on some cards! Aren't they just the cutest?














Good luck ladies! Thanks for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy

Save the date card!

I was out on SplitCoastStampers website, awhile ago, and found a tuxedo card that I thought was very cute (made by gv913). Steff (a friend of mine at work) is getting married and she's been looking for a "Save the date" card, to inform their out of town guests.

When I found the card, I e-mail gv13 and asked for the dimensions (or recipe) for the card. She e-mailed me back and said that it'd be just as easy to put one in the mail to me! Can you believe that?! I was so excited when I got it in the mail!

Steff's birthday is on Thursday, but we're celebrating it tomorrow. I made this to put in her little birthday care package. Fannie Jo and I also got her a bride and groom clear stamp set and a gift card to Archiver's. We hope she enjoys her gifts . . . and that she doesn't read this before lunch tomorrow! :o) Her boss gave her a gift card to Archiver's, for Christmas, so we thought we'd just add a bit more so she could just go nuts! (It's so easy to do in that store!) Happy birthday Steff!

Inside the card I was sent, reads: "You better take lots of pictures, cause you'll never get him this dressed up again. Congrats on your Wedding!" Too bad that it's true, huh?!

Thanks for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy

Superbowl Sunday

I ended up owing Terry (my husband) $1 yesterday! I was so wanting the Cardinals to win yesterday. I was really hoping they'd pull it out in the 4th quarter . . . dog-gone-it! Here are my fellas, watching Superbowl XLIII! We decided to eat in the living room and watch the game . . . we don't do this very often, so it's a little treat!

For a little history, Terry and I dated right after I graduated high school, for about a year or so, until he moved away to college. Our BFF's were married to each other and they brought us back together, 16 years later!

I don't recall what the real name of the recipe was, but I'd seen it on the FoodNetwork the night before and decided to try it out on Terry, for our second 1st date (11 years ago). We now we call "Superbowl Chicken" and have made it every Superbowl since! I guess he must have liked it, because he kept dating me!

To make "Superbowl Chicken", you pound out 1/2 of a chicken breast and spread spinach leaves all over. You then take about 3-4 large/jumbo shrimp and roll it all up together! Take a wooden skewer and weave it through the chicken breast, to hold the edges together. Season the top of the chicken breast to taste and bake @ 325 degrees, until it reaches 180 degrees (internally). Who would have thought, 11 years ago, that we'd be here . . . married and with two kids! I'm sure Terry didn't! :o) We had asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes with it! Yummy! I think it looks so pretty, when you cut into it!

Let me know if you try it! It really is delicious! Thanks for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy

Blog Candy Winner!

And the Blog Candy winner is . . . Liz! (Random.org Timestamp: 2009-02-01 18:31:22 UTC)

Liz: Please e-mail me your home address and I'll get your 'lil composition notebook in the mail to you! Way to go girl! Congratulations!

The Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration promotion started today, through March 31st ! Here's the promition details:

Customers
When you spend $50 on Stampin' Up! merchandise, you'll receive a free Sale-A-Bration reward! There's no limit—for every $50 you spend, you can select another free Sale-A-Bration reward.

Hostesses
When you host a workshop of at least $300 (before tax and shipping), you'll receive a free Sale-A-Bration reward, in addition to all of the regular hostess benefits!

Recruits
During Sale-A-Bration, anyone who joins as a demonstrator can choose any stamp set—a value of up to $47.95—from the current Idea Book & Catalog! Plus, new recruits get 15% off the Starter Kit—over $350 of Stampin’ Up! products and business supplies for only $169!

I am going to sweeten the deal a bit too! Anyone who places a $50 order, during Sale-A-Bration time (February 1- March 31, 2009), will be entered to win the Heart-to-Heart punch (item # 113694-page 27). The drawing will be held on April 1, 2009 . . . this is not an April fool’s joke, I promise!

Contact me today to book your workshop or learn more about this promotion.

Congratulations again Liz! Thanks for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy

Oh me, oh my!

Happy Superbowl Sunday!

I just have to tell you, I had an absolute ball yesterday! I was surrounded by SO much talent yesterday! These ladies, that I shared the afternoon with, are so creative, fun, and inspirational! Here are all my 'lil goodies I brought home! Aren't they beautiful?

Just a little friendly reminder . . . you have until 12P today, to be entered for the Blog Candy!

Thank you for stopping by the craft room!
Peggy