KISS & a couple of challenges

Sorry friends! If Indianapolis hadn't started playing football so darned well in the last half hour, I would have posted this sooner! *LOL* It's halftime right now, so I'm gonna do this, then go scream at Peyton Manning to THROW the ball & keep it off the ground (they are NOT having a good running game against Arizona)! *ROFL* Today, I have your K.I.S.S. card and two challenges.

First, your KISS card - I've taken a pre-made A2 card base, some fabric tape and a sticker from Michael's dollar bins. The result...simple, clean, and pretty for any occasion.


I'm a day late getting this one done, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway. It's from the CPS Challenge Blog (#134) & the layout was supposed to look like this:Actually, this could have qualified for KISS...IF I hadn't used a Tilda colored with COPIC markers & OMS/colored pencils. *LOL* I'm in Halloween mode & I can't decorate, since we'll be moving soon (fingers crossed), so I'm putting it all into my cards. Here's what I ended up with:

The paper is DCWV's "Autumn Mat Stack", some Prima flowers in lilac & orange, a couple of orange brads, & this precious little Tilda (thanks Vicki!).
Isn't she darling?!? One of these days, when I have money to spend on something besides necessities again, I'm buying some Tildas!

This last challenge is for a new Yahoo! group that I joined this last week, called Hearts in Touch (hi ladies!). They are such a sweet & welcoming group of gals that when Dee issued the challenge, I just could NOT refuse. I used a really cool stamp that Vicki from Stamped Smiles sent to me a couple of months ago (waving at ya, GF!!). I took a 5x7 black pre-made base, some K&Co double-sided papers, this stamp (I call him "Happy Jack"), some chipboard photo corners colored with 100 Black COPIC marker & some Studio G inks (2 shades of orange, a touch of plum, & burgundy-brown). I think he turned out pretty cool.

I'm hoping to be able to share more with you tomorrow, like an entry for COPIC Colour Challenge, but don't hold it against me if you don't see me for a day or two - the boys have a short week of school & I'll be doing my usual - cramming in all of my errands before Thursday & Friday arrive. Be sure to check out my shopping links (right sidebar) & hop over to Hearts in Touch - Frances has some really neat stamps that you might enjoy adding to your collection.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

A neat trick & a sneak peek

How's your week starting off? Okay? Mine has been busy, busy, busy. The boys' schools have parent-teacher conferences this week, which means Wednesday & Thursday is "early out" and they're doing a teacher comp day on Friday (no school), so I'm running around like a madwoman, trying to get everything done so when they're home, I'm home. So far, so good!

Do you have a stamp in your collection that is "directional" & it seems like every time you want to use it, you REALLY need it facing the other way? Well, I may have a solution for you. I found a really neat trick for those stamps that you think can only face one direction. The BoBunny Blog posted this trick & I may have to give it a try -- I have one of those stamps that could definitely qualify for this technique. You can check it out HERE.

Now that sneak peek that I promised you on Sunday...well, we Angels got word from The Angel Company home office that has caused a HUGE amount of excitement. It doesn't start until October 1st, but for now I can whet your appetite & have you guessing. What does this make you think of?I know that some of you are probably jumping up & down squealing with delight. How do I know? Because that's exactly what I did when I saw this! *LOL* Be sure to come back around the first to see ALL the news regarding this little tidbit - you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

K.I.S.S.

Happy Sunday, everyone! Hope you're having a great weekend, so far. We are having the most BEAUTIFUL weather here in the "top of Utah" -- sunny, big high fluffy clouds, slight breeze that was coming out of the West but is now coming from the Northwest, temps hovering in the upper 70s right around the 80 degree mark. It's lovely! Tomorrow's supposed to be even nicer with highs around 70 - I think autumn might be heading this way! I KNOW my electric bill is loving this weather! *ROFL*

I've got two cards for you today. This first one is quite a departure for me. I don't DO bold, bright, 60s/70s graphic looks. Don't get me wrong, they're really nice if done properly, they're just not my style or taste. I'm a shabby chic, grungy girl. In fact, my favorite shirt says "I'm just an old raggedy living in a Barbie Doll world!" *LOL* It's SO TRUE! Anyway, I had this new double-sided cardstock pad from K&Co called "Black & Ivory Fusion." There are some REALLY pretty papers in here and I was leaning more to the black/ivory combo for some grungy, antique-y cards (yet to come), but there were a couple of papers in there that are just so unlike anything that I'd ever use...so what do I do? I MAKE myself use them! Presenting, Nora's "style" departure:

I just used ONE SHEET of card stock - the black/ivory polka dots were the back side of this turquoise floral. That's one of the great things about K&Co - they take a lot of the guesswork out of things for ya!! I used a simple scallop border punch on the dotted strip, glued the whole thing down onto an A2 pre-made white base &...DONE!

These flowers just kept whispering "Use me! You can do it! C'mon, you know you WANNA!" *LOL* Honestly, they kinda reminded me of zentangles. My oldest son, Cordell, and I recently got hooked into doing zentangles on artist trading cards & they're not only therapeutic but loads of fun & VERY addicting! *LOL* {I may try to use a couple of mine next week on a card to show ya!}

Now this little guy...well, you don't get any simpler than a white pre-made card base, a strip of paper out of your scrap box (Debbie Mumm), and a cute little stamped image from The Angel Company (No Bunny Like You) that requires little-to-no color (COPIC markers used), cut out with an oval punch. I just raised him up on some pop dots & the entire card took about 10 minutes from start to finish!

Well, I hope you enjoyed today's edition of K.I.S.S.! Come back tomorrow & I'll have a couple more to share with you that I made today. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Craft Critique

Is one of my favorite RSS feeds & God bless 'em, because they're focusing this week on one of my most favorite crafting tools EVAH ~~ the COPIC marker! {SQUEEE!!!} *LOL* Seriously, though, some really good articles, but LAST NIGHT'S release was by far the best one yet. They took the time to put together a list of blogs & links to picture and video tutorials covering how to use the marker AND the ABS (air brush system), along with a special "vendor spotlight."

Go HERE & spend the next couple of days learning something new about COPIC markers & whetting your appetite for a SNEAK PEEK that I'll be bringing you next Monday...heck, read the rest of the COPIC reviews while you're at it. You won't be sorry, I guarantee it!

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Hmmmmm.....ya think?

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Doris!

You are a Doris -- "I must help others."

Dorises are warm, concerned, nurturing, and sensitive to other people's needs.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.


• * Share fun times with me.


• * Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours.


• * Let me know that I am important and special to you.


• * Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.

In Intimate Relationships

• * Reassure me that I am interesting to you.


• * Reassure me often that you love me.


• * Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.

What I Like About Being a Doris

• * being able to relate easily to people and to make friends


• * knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better


• * being generous, caring, and warm


• * being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings


• * being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor

What's Hard About Being a Doris

• * not being able to say no


• * having low self-esteem


• * feeling drained from overdoing for others


• * not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish


• * criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should


• * being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tume in to them


• * working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings

Dorises as Children Often

• * are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism


• * try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding


• * are outwardly compliant


• * are popular or try to be popular with other children


• * act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention


• * are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted Dorises), or quiet and shy (the more introverted Dorises)

Dorises as Parents

• * are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)


• * are often playful with their children


• * wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"


• * can become fiercely protective

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Let me know what you're results are! Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

KISS

I mentioned that this week my KISS project would be striped...well, I've got THREE versions of striped simplicity for you to look at today. These truly ARE simple - pre-made A2 card bases, some striped papers from the Tuscany Spice pack (courtesy The Angel Company); coloring done with COPIC markers(flowers) & OMS/colored pencils (skunk with flower); & a jumbo scallop circle punch. (right click each image & select "open in new window" or "open in new tab" for a better view)Image - Gerbera Daisy
Image from Flowers & Holly
Image from Sweet Skunks

Simple in labor & time out of your day...BIG on impact! I'd love to know what you think about them, so please leave me a comment. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Some cards to share

I have 6 of them to share with you today. I made them earlier this week, but it's been so crazy around here that I haven't had time to post them. Let's just jump in & do this, shall we?

The image on this card is a "Willow" from Whiff of Joy (sorry, I don't know it's name) that Barb/Bream, a friend of mine from the PC Crafter message boards, sent to me. She's an absolute joy to color with my COPIC markers. Thank you, Barb! I mounted the purple plaid mat paper from DCWV onto an A2 pre-made base & accented it with clear Dew Drops.

This one is from The Angel Company. I just love Mabelle's images & this one from Dear Friend is no exception. Again, I took an A2 base, used some plaid mat paper from DCWV, a few Prima flowers, 3 Dew Drops, & my COPIC markers. It almost qualified for my weekly KISS entry, but I took a couple extra steps, so....

This is a Tilda from my friend, Charlene. I used my COPICs to color her, raised her up on pop dots, mounted her on a strip of paper from My Mind's Eye, a couple of Prima flowers, & two rhinestone brads from The Paper Studio. The oranges & blue-grays really worked nicely together.

This is another cute image that Barb sent me. She's really sweet, but I have NO idea the manufacturer (if you recognize her, I'd love for you to let me know!). I colored her with COPICs, mounted it onto some distressed sage green, then mounted that onto a striped paper from My Mind's Eye & an A2 card base. I had a large Prima flower that looked just like the one on her hat, a brass button, & finished with some tan Scrapper's Floss.

Now THIS card could qualify for my Sunday KISS! Sunflower image from The Angel Company's set "Flowers & Holly", colored with COPIC markers, cut out with a super jumbo scallop punch, mounted onto a 5x7 wheat-colored K&Co card base, along with some sunflower printed mat paper from DCWV.
Another contender for KISS, this time using a sweet Tilda from Charlene...colored with COPIC markers, mounted onto striped cardstock from Making Memories, a pre-made A2 card base, blue "sugar coated" Prima flower, & finished with an antique button (thanks Sharron!).
I hope you liked these. I have a few more to show you, but they can wait till Monday. I'll be back tomorrow with KISS, so until then...thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

Getting to Know Me - aka Nora-ology

I got this from a friend's blog (thanx Wench!) & thought it would be a nice way for you to get to know me a little better. If you want to play along (& I'd really love it if you would), put it up on your blog, or send me an e-mail...replace my answers with yours and re-post this as your name followed by “ology”.

***********FOOD-OLOGY***************

What is your salad dressing of choice?
Kraft Russian

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Well, I'm a lot pickier nowadays, thanks to this cranky ole pancreas, but hands down it's still MacCool's Irish Pub for buffalo shepherd's pie or A Little Taste of Britain for my fish n chips.

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Nothing really. It's a crap shoot any more. Yogurt maybe...or a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese.

What are your pizza toppings of choice?
If I could HAVE pizza again it would either be LOADED (bacon, grilled chicken, beef, mushrooms, olives, onions, sausage, extra cheese) OR the Fisherman's Wharf from Pier49 Pizza (white sauce, sun-dried tomato, shrimp, & crab - mmmmmm!)

What do you like to put on your toast?
real butter, honey, & a sprinkle of cinnamon

***********TECHNOLOGY***************

How many televisions are in your house?
only one

What color is your cellphone?
black/gray

Do you have an iPod?
Nope

***************BIOLOGY******************

Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right-handed -- I wish I could be ambidextrous like all 3 of my munchkins, tho!

Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A baby in 2002. *LOL* Oh, along with tonsils, adenoids & 8 teeth back when I was 12.

What is the last heavy item you lifted?
A box of books from Aidan's closet the other day - good grief, I think I've got enough to start my own library!

Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
Nope.

************BULL-OLOGY**************

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
No

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I wouldn't.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000?
As much as I could use $1,000 right now, if I drank a bottle of hot sauce, I'd get so sick that the co-pays would eat that up & then some, so, um.....NO!

**************FAVORITE-OLOGY****************

Season?
Spring & Autumn

Holiday?
Christmas & Halloween

Day of the week?
Monday. Kids go back to school on Mondays & everyone goes to work so I can shop in the stores without the BS. LOL

Month?
Not sure - with what I've gone through the last 2 years, there hasn't been a good month yet...I'm still waiting & hoping, tho!

***********CURRENT-OLOGY*****************

Missing someone?
Yes.

Mood?
Tired mostly - too much stress this week.

What are you listening to?
"Closer" by the Scottish group, Travis

Current worry?
Money - don't have enough of it coming in for doing what needs to be done around here & how can I get more?

***************RANDOM-OLOGY*****************

First place you went this morning
Lil girls' room

What’s the last movie you saw?
"The New World" about John Smith & Pocahontas, starring Collin Farrell, Christopher Plummer, & Christian Bale

***************OTHER-OLOGY*****************

How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
one pair that's hardly ever worn - I'd rather be barefoot

Last time you had a run-in with the cops
Aww, geez! Do I HAVE to remember something like this? *LOL* *sigh* Okay, it was a little over a year ago, a lady in my neighborhood almost ran over a little girl, when I tried to make her aware of it she flipped me off, screamed at me & like a dummy, I turned around & followed her. She called the cops & I got cited for "disorderly conduct." When it got to court, the City Prosecutor was sweet enough to DISMISS WITHOUT PREJUDICE, because I was trying to protect a child. (yippeee!)

Last person you talked to?
Chris - his sister's funeral down in Texas just ended about 5 minutes ago, so he called to check on me & the boys.

Last person you hugged?
Aidan Chance

Do you always answer your phone?
Not always - these boys are like Pavlov's dogs - the phone rings & they all jump & start barking! *LOL*

It’s four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
A wrong # because anyone that knows me knows that I don't DO text messages. *ROFL*

If you could change your eye color what would it be?
I wouldn't - I like my gray eyes.

What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic?
Limes in my Dr Pepper OR I'll have them add mocha & caramel to my Java Chiller

Do you own a digital camera?
Yep - a KODAK Easy Share Z700

Have you ever had a pet fish?
yes

Favorite Christmas song(s)
Mary Did You Know?; Beautiful Star of Bethlehem; Christmastime at Home; A Gentleman's Lady; Silent Night (in Gaelic); Away in a Manger; Christmas Cookies; Go Tell it on the Mountain; Rise Up Shepherds and Follow; Adeste Fideles; Christmas in Kilarney; and dozens of others...

What’s on your wish list for your birthday
Just had my birthday on Wednesday (the 9th) & I didn't get ANYTHING off of my list - didn't get anything, period - oh, well, maybe next year...

Can you do push ups?
Why the flip would I want to? *LOL* Okay, okay...if I HAVE to, I could knock off a few.

Can you do a split?
I can do a banana split. Does that count? *LOL*

Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
Normally, excited . The unknowns are what makes life fun. Lately, though, nervous, because I have no idea what else is gonna be dropped into my lap to deal with! grrrr.....

Do you have any saved texts?
The reminders for my Cricket payments every month - never read.

Have you ever been in a car accident?
Yes, two of them, 90 days apart, 6 years ago.

Do you have an accent?
Yup! Even after being in Utah almost 13years it hasn't worn off...it's HEAVY Okie & when I'm tired I sound like Reba McEntire! *LOL*

What is the last movie to made you cry?
"The New World"

Plans tonight?
The usual...hanging out with my boys, fix their dinner, eat some yogurt, watch Ghost Whisperer & Doctor Who

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
Yes. Two days ago on my birthday (but not BECAUSE of my birthday - just REALLY bad timing).

Name 3 things you bought yesterday?
nothing, nothing, & oh, nothing *LOL*

Have you ever been given roses?
Yes, tho I prefer daisies

Met someone who changed your life?
Every person who comes into my life changes it in some way or another…

How will you bring in the New Year?
No clue. It’s like 3 months away

What song represents you?
"I'm a Survivor" by Reba McEntire or "You Do Something To Me" by Paul Weller or "I'm a Bitch" by Meredith Brooks

Would you go back in time if you were given the chance?
I might, it depends.

Do you have any tattoos/piercings?
Pierced ears (2 in the left, 1 in the right); one tattoo & if I ever get back down to a weight that I can tolerate, I'll have it changed up a bit. Do NOT ask to see it! *ROFL*

Does anyone love you?
Yes. Thank Heaven!

Would you be a pirate?
No, but I think I married one...oh, wait, he's a biker..I guess that's pretty much the SAME THING! *LOL*

What songs do you sing in the shower?
Whatever is playing on the radio while I'm in there.

Ever had someone sing to you?
Yes a few actually - Wild Rose (for taking them to Sam's club - long story), Neal McCoy, & Doug Stone

Do you like to cuddle?
Yes & I'd like it even more if I could cuddle with my "Hot Scot"! *ROFL*

Have you held hands with anyone today?
Not yet, but Aidan will be back here later to visit me & I'm sure we will - we always do!

Who was the last person you took a picture of?
Usually I'm taking pix of cards, so it's been a while (need to change that....)

Are most of the friends in your life new or old?
A fantastic combination of old and new, from all over the world & I love 'em all.

Do you like pulpy orange juice?
LOVE it, tho I can't drink it much anymore.

What is something your friends make fun of you for?
It's not really "making fun" but more teasing me about my fan-girl crush on David Tennant. *LOL*

***************

I'll have some cards to share with you tomorrow...quite a few of them, too. Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

K.I.S.S.

Hi & welcome to KISS - Keep It Simple Sunday. Hope you liked last week's kickoff to this series & I really hope you like what I've got for you today. One skunk, two looks:

I've used an image from Sweet Skunks by The Angel Company; colored them both with my COPIC markers, changing only the color of the flower; mat paper from Debbie Mumm, cut in half & mounted on each card base; mega scalloped circle punch; white A2 pre-made card bases; pop dots to raise the images up a bit.

I've got two different cards, simply by changing a bit of color. Easy? Yup! Almost TOO easy! *LOL* I really like how changing the color of the flower brings out different colors in the background matting. So....whaddya think...something you can do? I think you can! Next week, I'll be working with STRIPES...

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!