Babsarella's Pocketful of Sunshine

Guess who is 4?...and other various stuff...

Yep, Miss 4-legged B turned the big 4 on Saturday!!! WOO HOO!!! It was a pretty subdued celebration, because we had a bunch of running around to do. Even got Mark to the mall to exchange the belt I purchased that turned out to be too big (based on the info I got from the guy at the store). We even dragged him to Victoria's Secret and let me tell you he was not real pleased to be in the frenzy of their big sale!!! Anyhow, Miss B and I went out after that to hit the 3 Dog Bakery so we could purchase a special treat for the birthday girl. Imagine our surprise when we got there and found it was gone!!! We ended up going to the grocery and picking up a pack of Frosty Paws doggie ice cream, which was a big hit...so the birthday girl was quite happy.

Yup...a nice long walk and a tasty treat are the perfect presents for me (cuz I got quite a lot of toys and snacks for Christmas).

Sorry I have been so absent lately, but we seem to be constantly on the move. Seems there is always somewhere to go...using gift cards, dr appointments, after holiday sales, etc. Speaking of dr appts...I waited 1 1/2 hours on Friday and still had not gotten in to see the eye dr. I ended up having to reschedule since it would have messed up other plans. Grrrrr.

So far, we have been able to see 3 movies. First was Juno. What a cute movie!!! The acting and writing were excellent. I took Miss B and her friend, and we all enjoyed it very much. Next was Sweeny Todd. If you like the darker movies of Tim Burton, and don't mind squirting blood, you will enjoy this. I thought Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter were both excellent, and the sets and costumes were just perfect for this dark and sad story. Finally, we saw Charlie Wilson's War last evening. Another enjoyable film that I would recommend. Quite an interesting story!!! There are quite a few other films I hope to catch if time permits.

After the rush rush rush of getting so many cards made, I have been taking a bit of a break from creating. (I am actually leisurely working on some ornaments I had hoped to complete before Christmas). I had heard so much buzz about the book Eat, Pray, Love, that I requested it for Christmas. Well, I did receive it and have already finished it. It was such an interesting story, and I really enjoyed it. Anyhow, there were some cards that I made which never got posted, so I will share them with you now...a bit late... (hey, better late than never)... 

We had a most lovely Christmas and are looking forward to a quite New Year's Eve at home. Maybe watching a movie or something. We are heading to New York bright and early on Wednesday, so we will also be getting our things together on New Year's Day. We will be seeing the play Young Frankenstein, and most likely Legally Blonde as well. We are also planning to hit some museums, see some decorations, visit Ground Zero, and many other fun things. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will be good. I probably won't be posting again until after we return.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and safe new year....See ya in 2008!!!

p.s. Thank you everyone who leaves comments...I greatly appreciate you stopping by!!!

Wishing you a Happy and Blessed Christmas...

Got my camera software back working again (super YEAH)...The Smith family wishes everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!   P.S. This family photo was just taken yesterday, so that is why we did not send out photo cards this year.

Somehow, everything got done...NOW THAT is a Christmas Miracle!!!    I think I deserve a little rest!

Getting out of the tornado...

Seems like life has been going at tornado speed lately, but I think things are finally starting to slow down a bit. All the cards for coworkers are complete and out the door. The electrical work in the house is complete (and most wonderful...it is so nice to have light in the bedroom, living room, and family room). The painting inside the house is complete. Miss B is finished with her exams and school is out til January 7th. Dance classes are out til January 7th. I start vaca once I leave work today. I will be off all of next week, go in on 12/31 for a few hours, then off all the rest of that week. Shopping is pretty-much done. All that is left to do is a bit of decorating and gift wrapping. Hope to start in on that tonight. Once those things are done, I can revisit the pc issues. I am so happy that tomorrow I can just stay home until the evening when we have a get-together with friends. Sunday will be a holiday brunch with family in Miami, then dessert and drinks with friends in the evening. I am looking forward to all these events. I still have all the Christmas card-makin stuff out, and my game plan is to make at least a few more before packing it away. I have decided that I really must make my holiday cards before December next year so that I am able to take time to enjoy the season.

We are planning a nice little vaca to the BIG APPLE from Jan 2-5, so we will be making lists of all the fun things we want to see and do. At the TOP of my list is to go to Tinsel Trading. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will have time to work it in. Since this is technically Miss B's trip (her 8th grade graduation present), her choices must take priority. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will be nice (e.g. no blizzards) and the flights will go smoothly. While we are gone, Miss 4-legged B will be enjoying a fun time at the doggy spa! When I called to make reservations (only last week) they told me there was a 9 page waiting list. Well, lucky me (and Mom who would be dog-sitting), they called yesterday and I got a reservation...WOO HOO!!!

I hope you have a delightful weekend, enjoying all the season has to offer!!!

No time to waste...

I just keep pluggin along and sooner or later I'll be done (or I won't be done) and Christmas will be here. I finished the outside of the last card I HAD to make. Now I am working on a few extras (just in case there was someone that was forgotten), and I have to do the insides. But that is just one stamp on white paper, cut with decorative scissors, and slapped on the inside. No time for anything fancy on the inside (and I am really tired). Here is another card I had photographed and transferred before my pc issue started. The focal stamp is from Stampers Anonymous, and is from the Tim Holtz line. I already had this image stamped and colored from last year. The triangles on the top are from Purple Onion Designs. They are actually diamonds that were cut in half. Papers are from the Basic Grey Figgy Pudding line. I have been using a lot of that line in my holiday cards (in case you haven't noticed). I am always saving the scraps (cuz I can't bear to toss them out), and have even made some cards using the scraps. I am trying to photograph each card (since they are all unique) and once I get the camera issue corrected I will post them. I spent last evening working on cards for family and friends...addressing boxed cards that were purchased. No time to make another 50-something cards. And creating a family highlights letter to stick inside. I was actually on the fence about sending cards this year. We hadn't taken a family photo (I usually do photo cards). But, I was in Target the other day and found the cutest cards with dancing bulldogs, so I had to get them. I did stamp little bulldogs on the envelopes, as well as the same little dog and some pawprints on the inside of the cards, so at least there was a bit of a personal touch. All the cards and gift wrapping for coworkers must be completed by tomorrow evening, so I will be kickin it into high gear.

The electricians came today, and spent the day putting lighting in the bedroom. It took longer than we thought, so they will be back again at 7am to start on the living room. I didn't have time to decorate anyhow, so it is not really a problem that they didn't do the living room first. I have to say that I am really happy with the lighting in the bedroom, and we didn't even have enough bulbs to put in all the lights. It will be so nice to be able to read in bed!!!

Miss B is taking semester finals this week. She has completed 4 and has her last 2 tomorrow. Of course, the last ones are math and science. She says she is more concerned about science than math. I think she will be glad to have some down time. Her last dance class is tomorrow evening too, then she can just chill and catch up on some sleep (and I can sleep in...YEAH)!

Well, you are about caught up...Hope you are finding some time to enjoy the season!!!

Peace...

Yep, that is what I need right now. A little bit of peace. I always get stressed at this time of the year, and I am feelin it now. Still have a few more cards to do, plus decorating and wrapping. Somehow I know it will get done. Then I can relax. Just in time to leave on a little vaca.

Oh, and if the holiday stress is not bad enough, the pc is a problem again. Can't transfer photos (again)  and still can't scan photos. Not enough time mess with things, plus, I just have no space. I am gonna play around with moving things to my second drive, but I am gettin serious about a new PC (as much as I really don't want to). Can't even do a defrag at this point because there is not enough available space. Luckily, I still have a few other cards that I haven't posted yet, so I still have new things to share in the coming days.

I hope that your Monday was better than mine. Looking forward to a better Tuesday!!!

EDITED: A few people have asked about the bird stamp...it is from Stampers Anonymous. I did not have time to find the exact page in the catalog, but it is recently purchased, so I think is should be in there. I don't think this is from the Tim Holtz line.

A Favorite Card...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I created one of my favorite cards...so here it is (like you could not have guessed it). I had the rub on with the saying, and then thought of using this woman and giving her packages. Probably inspired by this card from Kristy. Focal image is from Character Constructions, as are the snowflakes. Damask background stamp from Purple Onion Designs. I also added some plastic snowflakes and some clear glass glitter on the ground to resemble snow. There is also a bit of sparkle on the collar and toes from some stickles glitter glue, and a rhinestone in her necklace.

I did not complete as many cards as I had hoped. In fact, I did not even start on them until this afternoon. I did get all my secret sisters gifts wrapped and ready to mail off tomorrow. In fact, everything that needs to go out of town will be heading out tomorrow. The current card count is 15. I took 3 off my list, so that leaves me with 6 more to make. I am hoping I can get them finished by Tuesday so that I can start decorating the house for Christmas.

On Saturday evening, Miss B and I went to a concert. It was a fun event put on by one of the local radio stations. I enjoyed most of the groups, except for some group I think called Flo Rider that sings some "low, low, low" song. The main guy had his boxers hanging out and his pants half-way down his buttox (I just finished watchin Forrest Gump) and felt the need to constantly check his manhood. I'm not really a rap kinda girl. I did like Sean Kingston though. Elliot Yamin was excellent, but the crowd was not appreciating his music. Natasha Bedingfield was also excellent, and she only had 1 background singer and a guitar helping her out. I also enjoyed One Republic and Good Charlotte. The weirdest thing though, was that Ashley Tidsdale was supposed to be there, and when Good Charlotte finished, the lights came up and everyone was leaving. I have been looking on the internet to see what exactly happened. We were not the only confused concert-goers. I think Miss B enjoyed it, but after a busy day of dancing and shopping, she was pretty tired by the end.

Well, it is getting late, so I got to head off to bed.

Oh, and miracle of miracles...the Miami Dolphins finally won a game today!!!

Half way there and some cool new stamps...

Well, I finished 2 more cards last night, glittered up a bunch of stuff that I wanted to start working on, and made some lovely things for my Secret Sister's holiday gift box. I feel like I accomplished quite a bit. I think one of the newest cards is my favorite, and you will be able to tell why as soon as you see it (hint: it involves shopping). So, here is today's card. Had this image (Character Constructions) all nicely colored and ready to use so I found this piece of batting in my Holiday box and decided to just stitch the image right to it. Put some red tacky tape on the back to attach it to the card. Added a button tied with twine, numbers, and a rubon (be jolly). I debated about stitching the batting to the cardstock before attaching it to the card, but the tape won out in the end!!! Oh, and there is also a touch of glitter glue on the snowflakes for some extra sparkle. With the 2 cards I completed yesterday, that makes 12, so I am now half way done. YEAH!!! I found a few more of these images already colored, so I will most likely use them for some of the cards I still have left to make. I plan to work on my cards this evening and most of tomorrow, so I should be able to complete everything and then start with the wrapping. At least, that is the gameplan.

As long as we are talking stamps, did you know that Character Constructions is coming out with a new Marie Antoinette inspired line???  I just found out that the new images are posted here!!! SWOON...Aren't they divine????!!! I just love the teeny-tiny shoes in plate #2. I can't wait to get my hands on these lovelies and have some fun. I think they would be just perfect for Valentine's Day cards!!! So glad that January is not too far off!!!

Oh, and guess where I'll be tomorrow evening with the oh-so-sweet Miss B???? Why the Y100 Jingle Ball, of course!!! I thought this looked like a really fun concert and something we both would enjoy. Mr. Mark opted not to attend...his loss. Other than that, not much else to report. Hope you have a wonderful, safe, and fun filled weekend...and for those of you up north...stay warm too!!!

Project Runway and a card...

Ta Da...Here is the card for today. Now, let me say that while I really love the color in this card, it was quite labor intensive. Thus, I will not be making multitudes of this card. I was quite happy with the background, and I actually  had the foresite to scan it before using it in this card, so I could possibly create more using a copy....hmmmm food for thought. In case you did not realize it, these are the same diamonds from Purple Onion Designs that I used to create the star card a couple of days ago. In this case, I placed them on a block and stamped. And, believe it or not, this was all done by eyeball. The focal image and sentiment are from Character Constructions, and in this card the  image is flat against the background. Why, you might ask??? Hell if I know. Gotta mix it up a bit now and then!!!