{ 25th Anniversary }

Hello everyone!

So I still haven't had much time to stamp. I have a bunch of half finished cards on my desk, but nothing completed lately.  I just ordered a new laptop which will be arriving this weekend, so I'm cleaning out my files so I don't move any garbage onto my new computer. I came across these pictures of a project I never got to blog on so I thought I'd share them with you.

This is a coffee filter book I made for my mom for their 25th wedding anniversary. Actually, originally it was just a regular scrapbook, which got ruined when I moved, so I took all the pictures out and redid it. I absolutely love the way it turned out. I would have never thought about doing a scrapbook like this, but one of my friends was really ga-ga over these, so we made a couple together.  I'm thinking I might do another with pictures of Ammi sometime soon, hahaha! Yeah like I"ll have the time for that right?

{ Dinner Thank You Notes }

Some people from our church were kind enough to make us meals after the baby was born, so I needed to make yet some more thank you cards! They didn't turn out as I envisioned, partially because of lack of stamps. I can't believe with ALL the darn stamps that I have I don't have one of food! Fortunately I did have the tag set with the "Yum, Yum" stamp. I was definitely happy to find that stamp so I didn't have to go out and try to buy one.




Also pretty simple and explanation shouldn't be needed. I love how these cards turned out. In my opinion they are some of the best cards I've made. All the paper and ribbon was old scraps. So my color choices were somewhat limited. Also some of the cards open on the side and some on the top. The ribbon was adhered to the back of the tags, which are popped up with dimensionals. Anyway, hope you like!

Supplies
Stamps: SU- Too Terrific Tags
Paper: SU- Rose Red, Very Vanilla, Taken with Teal, Regal Rose, Ballet Blue
Ink: SU- Rose Red, Taken with Teal, Regal Rose, Ballet Blue
Embellishments: Primas, Snaps, Brads
Other: Cuttlebug Paisley Embossing Folder, Dimensionals, SU Ticket Punch
Techniques: Cuttlebug Embossing

{ Baby Thank You Notes }

Hello Everyone!

Well it has been a LONG time but I actually had some time to stamp for a change. Of course it's all baby related though. She's sleeping right now, I have a bunch to post and not much time so I'm going to make all this quick.

In February I made a ton of thank you cards, but I ran out, so I had to make some more today.

I don't think much explanation is needed here. Due to lack of time I went super simple. The coloring was done with my watercolor crayons. I think the hardest thing about these cards were finding the supplies as I moved since I last stamped and I couldn't remember where I put everything!

Supplies
Stamps: SU Bundle of Joy
Paper: SU Whisper White
Ink: SU Chocolate Chip
Embellishments: SU Ribbon
Other: SU Watercolor Wonder Crayons
Techniques: Watercoloring

{ Introducing Ammi Joelyn Lauren Hartley }

Ammi Joelyn Lauren Hartley was born yesterday, July 17th, 2008 at 1:15 in the afternoon. She weighed 8 pounds 15 ouches! at birth and was 21 inches long.

{ Oh no!! Where did I go? }

It has been almost two months, I know. I promised a post and I never got it. I still haven't figured out why Photoshop won't work the way it use to before my computer crashed. But then again, I haven't had much time to try and figure it out. Shortly after my last post my brother-in-law came for a visit. It was his first time on the East Coast so we did a lot of site seeing in Boston and Manhattan. So needless to say I was busy.

About half way through the visit my husband and I found out I was pregnant! Yes it was planned, well pretty much. I stopped taking birth control a little over a year ago because we decided to leave it in God's hands if I was going to get pregnant and when. Right now I'm 12 weeks along.

Since we live in a one bedroom condo we are forced to move, very sad because I LOVE my home! We have rented out the condo and are in the process of finding a new place to buy. Currently we're in a hotel because our last place fell through, ugggh! No stamping stuff with me now.

So between all of this and the holidays I've been slammed. I've also been contemplating whether or not I'm going to continue my blog. With the move, the baby on the way, work and family obligations I just don't see how I can continue it at this point in time. I'm not going to take it down, since I may be able to continue sometime in the future, but for now I have to take a break, that I can pretty much guarantee will be for a long while. In the rare chance I may have some spare time I may post, but it won't be on a regular basis. So if you leave Feedblitz set up you may get a treat every now and then.

I want to thank all my loyal readers, I've had fun with this and enjoyed hearing your comments. Oh and happy stamping!

I'll leave you with the project I mentioned in my last post, as I am really proud of it... minus my water mark, guess I'll just have to take the chance since I want to leave you with something.

This coaster set was an anniversary gift for a friend I grew up with and his wife. I used cork board shelf lining paper on the back to make the rough tile easier on furniture. The hearts were done with a mask, sponge and Staz-On ink. I can't remember where the "love" stamp came from and since my stuff is packed and in storage I really can't find out.

The small lettering under the "love" image was done with one of those stamps where the individual letters roll to make a phrase or word of your choice. That was definitely the hardest part! I couldn't get it straight to match up w/the angle on the "love" image. Looking back I should have done the small lettering first since the "love" image was acrylic, but I had to do it the hard way, lol! Even with that little difficulty they were incredibly easy and I LOVE the way they turned out.

These coasters were also very inexpensive! At least if you already have the inks they are. The tiles were about a dollar a piece and the cork shelf liner was about five dollars for a roll that I understand will make about 60 coasters. Time wise I spent about an hour and most of it was on the design, I had some real duds the first few go arounds. Fortunately Staz-On cleans of very easily with cleaner from the tiles.

If you haven't tried making tile coasters yet I strongly suggest you do, they are so quick, easy and inexpensive... oh and don't forget make a wonderful personalized gift! Enjoy.

{ One Thing After Another }

I decided to take a break from my housework and post some of the cards I've done this week. First I can't get a good picture. Then when I finally get something that I am happy with I go to put my watermark on them. Ummm yeah, last month my computer had a total melt down! So I had to reload Adobe. Okay no biggy.... now for the watermark, but it's missing. I can't find the file anywhere. So I try to make a new one, but for some weird reason Photoshop isn't working the same it use to. Don't know why because I never gave it any special settings or anything before my computer melt down. So, I've been doing working on this for hours and I'm tired and have to get up early tomorrow. I'm forced to give up. I'll try again tomorrow afternoon, maybe I'll have better luck then.

{ Creative Block.... Ugggh! }

I've sat down to stamp dozens of times this week and all that comes out is junk! I'm so frustrated. I want to stamp so bad, but nothing and I mean nothing looks good.

{ PanAway Essential Oil }

I've had a lot of questions about the oil I used for my wrist, so here's some information about it for those who are interested.

I've been using a therapeutic grade essential oil called "PanAway" produced by Young Living. It's a blend of wintergreen, helichrysum, clove and peppermint oils. I mix about 2-5 drops (depending on my pain scale) with about a dime sized amount of Vitamin E oil and rub it over my wrist and elbow. Normally all the pain goes away within a few minutes. If not I use a little more. I've never had to apply more than twice.

PanAway is $37.50 for a 5ml bottle. Young Living has V-6 oil to mix it with for $10.53 for 3.8oz. I don't use Young Livings V-6 oil though, I get a Vitamin E oil from Trader Joe's. I think it's $4 for 4oz.

One thing I do want to make clear is that what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for everyone. I would hate for anyone to go out and buy this product, have it not work then be upset with me. However, if you buy it and it works great, you are free to love me! LOL. I used the oil on my husband's back last week when he was having some pain and it worked great, but my mom used some on her neck for some pain she's had for years and it didn't help much. Essential oils work differently with different bodies. In my mom's case her neck pain was caused by stress, so she had to stop the stress problem to stop the pain. There are also other things that can cause essential oils to not work to their full potential, like using a lot of medications or consuming a lot of caffeine. My husband and I don't consume hardly any caffeine, we don't take any medications and we eat mostly organic and all natural foods so there isn't a lot of "junk" in our bodies. I'd be happy to talk more about this to anyone who is interested, just send me an e-mail.

More information on Young Living products can be found on their website.

You can't buy directly from Young Living since they are a wholesaler, so you have to find a distributor. I had trouble finding a distributor where I live so I signed up to be a distributor. You can find a distributor online or order through me if you wish using PayPal.

I'll be placing an order at the end of this month so if your interested or have any more questions send an e-mail to me at heartstampedart@yahoo.com.

{ Stampin' Again! }

Good evening ladies!

Well, I'm finally stamping again... the first time in almost four months! I had some bad with drawls for a while there, but I'm doing good now.

If you don't know I had to stop stamping because of a problem with my wrist. I couldn't hold stamps, tools or other supplies with my right hand at all for a while. I also couldn't use my computer because it was too painful which is why I haven't posted much either. My doctor gave me some pain meds, but it only allowed me to use my hand for a couple hours a day which had to be used for working on the computer.

When I was in California my mom put this therapeutic grade essential oil on my wrist and all the pain went away almost immediately and stayed away for about 12 hours. I used more oil and I was completely pain free for the whole weekend. She gave me a little to take home, which I used up over the course of two weeks. I didn't have any pain for about a month after I ran out, then slowly the pain started to come back. I ordered some of the oil for myself and have been pretty much pain free since. I put the oil on every few days and have been trying to be more ergonomically correct with my computer and other things that caused pain. I haven't felt any pain at all for a few weeks now so I figure it's time to start stamping again!

This weekend I cleaned up my desk and started stamping, unfortunately for my faithful blog readers I made a gift for someone who knows about and has checked out my blog recently, so I can't post it yet. Don't worry, I'll be taking pictures and posting my project as soon as I can. Check back because it's a fun, simple project that everyone should try. In the meantime I'm sure I'll be posting some other fun new stuff... I have sooooo many stamp sets I purchased over the summer that I'm dieing to use!

If you carry a purse, read this!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I haven't stamped at all since I got back from California in July. This summer has been crazy busy! Hopefully things will be back to normal soon. In the mean time I wanted to share something important!

I caught a few minutes of a news show last night and heard about a new way thieves are stealing identities from women. Check out this video.





So lock your doors when your at the gas station!

A Little About Me

I saw this on Melanie's blog and since I can't stamp right now I figured I'd post a little something this morning!

Yourself: Huh?

Your Partner: Wonderful! A true gift from God!

Your Hair: Short & LOVE it!!

Your Mother: The jury's out on that one, getting better though.

Your Father: Love him & miss him!

Your Favorite Item: I have a few things I treasure, a painting by my brother, a vase of my great grandmothers, painted plates my great grandfather gave me, a box my grandfather made that my husband has.... those kind of things.

Your Dream Last Night: Interesting! But I can't remember anymore.

Your Favorite Drink: Iced Tea all the way, that and water

Your Dream Car: I'd love another convertible

Dream Home: Out in the country

The Room You Are In: My grandpa's spare bedroom

Your Fear: Loosing my husband

Where You Want to be in Ten Years: In a bigger home, really settled down

Who You Hung Out With Last Night: My grandfather and Carmen

You’re Not: In any pain, woohoo!

One of Your Wish List Items: Some Essential Oils that made my wrist stop hurting for the first time!! Not stamps??? That's a change!

The Last Thing You Did: Checked the work e-mail, nothing, WOW!

You Are Wearing: PJ's, just woke up

Your Favorite Weather: Winter, thunderstorms, snow, cold!!

Last Thing You Ate: Mexican

Your Life: Great!

Your Mood: Content

Your Best Friend: Which one? Todd, Jill, Stephanie all wonderful and great

What Are You Thinking About Right Now: Work, uggggh... I hope it's slow today!

Your Car: Sierra 1500, my husband's truck I got it by default

What Are You Doing At The Moment: This survey then up to get ready

Relationship Status: Happily married

What Is On Your TV: Probably nothing, hubby's probably already left for work and I'm 3000 miles away. The news is on my grandpa's TV in the other room here though.

What Is The Weather Like: A little warm but not uncomfortable.

{ Tagged... }

How come I always get tagged when I'm on vacation? Well technically I'm not on vacation right now, but I am out of state and I've been tagged twice since I left! One from Kathat & another from Mercy. They're both the same tag, to list 7 random facts about myself. It's going to be hard enough to come up with 7 different facts, so I'm just going to do this once for the two tags.

1. I'm an over the top perfectionist! I say it's to a fault because I get stressed out when things aren't perfect.

2. I looooooooooove macaroni & cheese! Minus the milk and use real butter, yummy! It's a guilty pleasure of mine!

3. I collect pencils. I have near 6000 of them right now and my goal is to break a world record. I now have more pencils that the current world record, but I'm waiting to get a good number more before I go for it.

4. I have declared Spring, Summer and Fall flip-flop season! I had surgery on my ankle about three years ago so I can't wear any shoes with height and I hate tennis shoes and boots, so the minute the weather is warm enough it's flip flop season!

5. I talk to my cats! Well mainly just the one, but I talk to her like she's a person.

6. My favorite place to shop is American Eagle.

7. I'm insanely clean! Except when it comes to my stamping desk the rest of my house is normally immaculate. I get stressed when it isn't!

I'm tagging Jilly Dreadful & Melanie (Batgirl)

{ Coffee Filter Book }

So I promised a fun little project, so here it is! My friend, Stephanie, that I'm staying with here in California saw these at a scrap booking store a while back and we decided to give them a try. We used cone shaped coffee filters, covered them with card stock then decorated them as we liked. They are bound together with clips and there are little pull outs with more pictures and quotes inside each of the coffee filters. A little time consuming, but a lot of fun!

The finished book is 14 pages front and back. I only took a few pictures of my favorites.

I made the album for my mom and dad. Their 25th wedding anniversary was two years ago. I had made a cute little album for them which got ruined when I moved. So I figured this was a good way to redo it.

{ Monkey Invites }

When I was a teenager I had a few pen pals, around 20 I think. One, Rheanna, I met through a homeschooling magazine and years later we ended up meeting each other by chance at the home school convention. Of all my pen pals Rheanna is the the only one I kept in touch with through the years. We've kept in contact through e-mail, myspace and instant messaging and we both went to each others weddings. She just has a baby last August and asked me to make the invitations for baby Brian's first birthday. This is what I came up with.


First I stamped the images on the background in different colors then I ran them through my Cuttlebug with the Happy Birthday embossing folder. The card opens up by un-tieing the ribbon. The heart and "1" were both made with my Cricut.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU Monkey Business
Paper: SU Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, So Saffron
Ink: SU Always Artichoke, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip
Embellishments: SU Ribbon
Other: Provocraft Cricut & Cuttlebug; SU Pastels
Techniques: Rock & Roll

{ Something Fun in the Works! }

I've have been busy stamping the last few days but I don't have much to show yet. I'm actually working on a scrapbooking project and I don't want to share it until it's done. Right now it's pretty slow going since I don't have full use of my right hand, which by the way is actually getting worst! It is extremely hard to type too, so I'm going to keep this short. But check back, I should have something fun posted in the next couple days!

{ Update }

Well I got a hold of the Doctor and they said they could see me today if I was there in fifteen minutes. Good grief! Obviously I went. I found out the problem is not actually with my wrist, but with my Ulnar nerve (aka Funny Bone) in my elbow. Or so that is what the Doctor is speculating at this point. I have to have an x-ray done to rule out anything else and was given some pain killers. I was also told to relax it for a while. Kind of good timing since I am going out of the state on Friday. I have a lot to do the next few days so not being able to stamp will actually be a good thing, no distractions! I should be doing a lot of stamping while I'm gone, maybe even some of my first ever scrapbook pages! We'll see how it goes.

{ I Think I'm Going to Cry! }

My right wrist hurts!

It has been bugging me for about a month, at least at the end of the day it does. When it starts to hurt I stop working on the computer and stamping, the two things that aggravate it. I put a brace on and wait till the next day to continue. But yesterday it started hurting around 10am and just got worst all day! That would be why you haven't seen anything new from me this weekend. By the end of the day it hurt so bad I had to take a Vicodin that was prescribed for something else. I couldn't sleep otherwise. Today I woke up and the pain is gone, but it is stiff and feels very uncomfortable. I'll be calling the Dr. as soon as the office opens.

If you don't see anything new work from me for a few while that is why. I can't stamp right now, I want to cry!

{ Waiting on Mr. Brown }

I spent today stamping, while I waited for UPS to get here. I live in a condo complex where pretty much everyone works during the day so UPS never comes before 6pm. Frustrating when I know a delivery is coming. I've probably had 30 or so deliveries from UPS since I've lived here and only once did they come before 6pm... that was the one time I went out for 15 minutes. Yes, I came home and there was a tag on my door! So today, being anxious for a SU delivery I didn't dare leave the house. I stamped instead, so I'm not complaining. They finally showed up at 7:25pm, about two minutes after finishing my last card, so at least it was good timing. If they showed up before I finished I probably would have set the card aside and forgot about it being I wasn't really loving this card too much.

There really isn't much too this card. I stamped the flower first then masked it off and stamped all the doodles, which I then water colored. Actually I used rubbing alcohol, so alcohol colored! LOL. The ribbon was plain black organdy ribbon. I cut to a point on one end. I then held about three of the fibers in the middle tightly and pulled the edges slowly until it curled up to my liking. That's pretty much it. Let me know what you think.

Oh and this was for today's SCS challenge, using scallops.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU Pick A Petal, Lexicon of Love, Doodle This
Paper: SU Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla
Ink: SU Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi; Versafine Onyx Black
Embellishments: SU Hodgepodge Hardware, Ribbon
Other: SU Ticket Punch; Marvy Scallop Punches
Techniques: Water coloring (with Alcohol), Masking, Sponging, Rock & Roll

{ Three More }

So I had to make some more of these cute cards.... here are three more I just finished.

Supplies:
Stamps: Studio G Rubber & Acrylic $1 Stamps
Paper: SU Whisper White, So Saffron, Purely Pomegranate, Bleu Bayou
Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black
Embellishments: SU Ribbon; Hemp
Other: Pop Dots; Prismacolor Pencils; Odorless Mineral Spirits; Ranger Stickles

{ Dollar Stamp Fun! }

I've always loved Julie Ebersole's (JulieHRR) simple cards, but I've never been able to create something so simple and beautiful as hers. Last night I was looking at Melanie's blog, at these really cute little one 1x1 cards. It gave me a great idea. So I sat down at my stampin' desk and made one of these card (big flower). I absolutely loved it! So I made another (bubble bath). I absolutely love it, so again I made another (cherries)... until I had all six made. I have no reason for these. I ended up with six really cute cards with nothing to do with them!

All of the stamps, except the stick figure stamp, are dollar stamps. I finally put them to good use! I collect and collect and collect, but hardly ever use them. So I think I'll have to make some more sets like this! All the coloring was done with Prismacolor pencils and I added just a touch of Stickles to each card. The ribbon and hemp was an idea I got from a card made by corrinesumerville, a card I also CASED a few days ago.

So here they are, a cute little gift set. I would have finished them and posted them last night. But my husband was tired, and my stamping desk unfortunately is my bedroom so my stamping time was cut short yesterday! Hope you like.

Supplies:
Stamps: Studio G Rubber & Acrylic $1 Stamps; Rubber Soul Stick Love
Paper: SU Whisper White, So Saffron, Purely Pomegranate, Bleu Bayou, Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky
Ink: VersaFine Black
Embellishments: SU Ribbon; Hemp
Other: Pop Dots; Prismacolor Pencils; Odorless Mineral Spirits; Ranger Stickles