Saturday, January 29, 2011

Out to dinner with family and friends at the Texas Road House in Oklahoma City!

Friday, January 28, 2011

American Heathen on ShockNet Radio

Enjoying American Heathen on ShockNet Radio!

Inara and Horace

At my daughters house you have to take at least one kitty with you to the toliet or something horrible can happen to you!  Lord knows you might fall in that water hole! Sent from my iPhone

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Pay it Forward


The above cute image was acquired from Keryn as I've entered her 'pay it forward' and now it's my turn to pay it forward too.

I promise to send something handmade to the first five people who comment on this post. But if you enter you must post this too, and offer something handmade to another five people that comment on your blog.

The rules are that it must be something handmade or homemade by you and it has to be sent to five other people during 2011, so we all have plenty of time :D!

If you'd like to join in the fun, then be among the first five to post a comment and something handmade or homemade will be coming your way at some point this year.

I think this a very sweet idea and hope that five of you would like to join me!

WOYWW #86

Something seems to be going on my posting ability tonight. Please bear with me if the post comes and goes. Maybe I should just go to bed and get up in the morning and do it. It is almost 3 am Oklahoma time so I might just be tired early for once!!

Welcome to my work desk this Wednesday. This is my third week to post to WOYWW and I am thoroughly enjoying sneaking peaks at the desks of other creative people around the world each Wednesday! I you would like to see what I am talking about go to Julia Dunnits site Stamping Ground to see what I am talking about.

I have been busy this week with all sorts of creative things. If you want to see what I made with my matchboxes from last week click here to see the blue box and here to see the red box. The post before this is my kitchen
renovation
.

Here is a picture of my work desk tonight. I am trying to come up with 3 Valentine tags that are TH style that would still appeal to a lot of the ladies that attend my classes. It is sometimes a struggle cause they want everything bright and sparkly and I am not necessarily a bright and sparkly girl!! Still I have a pretty good following of 4 to 10 participants every class I do. Anyway back to the desk. It is pretty junky but it is good junk none the less!
A lot of people were asking me what the storage was to the right on my desk so today I took a picture of it! It is a wire rack that holds 180 containers/bottles of acrylic paint. I do some folk art, Scandinavian rosemaling, plus just using it for all sorts of projects. I tend to use the rack also to hold things with rings on the grid work so that I can have it easily accessible when I work.
Another thing I have been doing this week is converting my stamps from wood block to cushion cling. I don't know how many stamp sets I have but originally I only had rubber on wood and it became a storage issue. It takes time but it is so worth having the smaller boxes to store. It is about 3 boxes of cling to 1 of the wood block. I use a hot blade to cut them out and it slides through the mount like a hot knife through butter.
Since I took so long to get this all uploaded...I don't know what is up with Google tonight...maybe it was traumatized after my kitchen renovation post...any how here is what I have been working on while waiting for it to work!


Hope you have a creative desk this week. I am going to go and start looking...

Kitchen Renovation

I keep getting questions about when I'm going to post something on my blog about my kitchen renovation. I think I'll do it now. I posted these same pictures on Facebook and a friend said 'Well, what about the rest of us that don't do FB?' What do you mean, no Facebook?! Hello?!! OKAY - this one's for you!!

In 2009, I retired from Norman Regional Hospital after 23 years of employment there, and this year in July I decided to cash out one of the 'retirement' funds. Since I had retired, I was no longer eligible to participate in that one and I was going to be charged a hefty 20% fee to be rolled over into another type of fund. I'd been thinking about doing this for about 4 years because the fund manager was mismanaging my money...or so I felt...and I couldn't change companies because it was owned by my employer NRH. I was frustrated at the money loss and thought if I could take that money out, I could do something good with it, such as get a new kitchen put in. At least I could feel the love of where my money was going!!!

When we first moved into this house in 1987, the kitchen was one of the things on our list that we wanted to redo when time and money became available. It was old, dark, and the cabinets were something that belonged in a cheap trailer house - not in our house. The person that lived here before us had some strange ideas about how to do home repairs and slapped white paint over stained wood, layered wallpaper, layered flooring etc. For some reason they went around taking all the support boards from beneath the shelving at the backs of the shelves, which caused the particle board shelving to sag and crumble. It was a mess.

I went to Home Depot in late August and ordered the cabinets and counter tops I wanted. The cabinets arrived in late September and the fun began. We had started demolishing the kitchen around the middle of the month and it has been a roller coaster of ups and downs ever since. Ran out of money...if I knew then what I know now, I would have allotted a certain amount to 'unforeseen complications' rather than spending what I had. We ran into a lot of termite damage, electric rewiring (the house is wired with aluminum except for the kitchen now), and plumbing problems. Takes lots of money to change things out and naively I thought it just meant changing out cabinets!
Delivery of the cabinets:

Heather making sure it is getting done right!

Somewhere I have pictures of Michael having fun with his sledge hammer tearing out the old cabinets, but for some reason they aren't in this file and I could only find this one! I'll post later when I find them!
Here is a picture of the east wall in the kitchen before anything was done:There was very little room on this side of the kitchen to do much of anything. There was about 12-16 inches of counter space on either side of the stove top, so I ended up using the stove as a holding area for various and sundry things. It looks so junked up because I was moving stuff out getting ready to box it up but most days it didn't look much different. I don't know what was going on with all the refrigerator magnets either! I think we started putting them on there when the kids where smaller and just kept adding to them. See the bottom drawer under the cook top? The drawer front literally fell off the drawer the week we moved in and Chuck had to screw it back on because it was just held in place with staples.
Bare walls! Wish I had painted or plastered at this point but all the trades people said they wanted to do it last! If I ever do this renovation thing again, it will be done first thing!
Almost done:
West wall before:

Empty bare walls:
Almost finished:
This is the north wall. I love all the extra work space now. I'm going to rip out the door behind the refrigerator and move it over a couple inches to make things line up. I don't know why a door is there anyway!

South wall! OH MY GOD!!! Look at the kitty...don't freak out! It is such a mess!

South wall with empty bare walls:

There is no 'almost done' photo because nothing else has been done on this end as it holds 'stuff' for the renovation.
My nephew Kevin and his coworker Tom came in to do the electrical work. It's nice to have licensed electricians and plumbers in the family!
This is a good picture of the of my new solar tube I had installed. I had one put in the kitchen and another one in the laundry room (which is getting redone at the same time)! It literally took a week to get used to so much light and to control the urge to turn off the lights all the time!
I had a class the day Kevin finished the electrical work, so he sent me this picture of the new can lights!

Kevin also helped me with more than just the electrical. The next few pictures are part of the reason that it has taken so long to get this far. We had pretty extensive termite damage on the southwest corner wall and the window wall, that had to be repaired before we could move on. It isn't inexpensive to get the termite damage repaired either! We knew 20 years ago we had termites and we had the house sprayed. Then the neighbors moved out and new neighbors moved in and found damage in their house and sprayed. Yep! They moved back to our house again. We've been told any damage is from those years, because there isn't any 'new' damage. Evidently, there's a way to know when something is old or new damage. Hope it's all old anyway! Never know unless you remove the wall board!
This is a picture of Kevin and my brother-in-law Stan working on the termite wall.


Another thing that I found interesting in the renovation was the flooring! When the cabinets


Kevin removed the plaster from the ceiling because he didn't like the idea the contractor was trying to sell me on. The ceiling was scraped and new pieces of wall board patched in to remove all the old damaged spots hidden behind the old dropped ceiling in the kitchen area.
Here are a couple pictures of things I found interesting in the demolishing of the kitchen. This picture shows the flooring. Evidently no one thought about removing anything from the concrete before putting on another layer. There is linoleum, old gold kitchen carpet, and then the kitchen carpet that was put in just before we moved in. Hmmmm....I wondered why it never stayed clean when I got it steam cleaned!

This second picture is of the floor and wall on the west wall. See the hole? We were standing there wondering what it was because it didn't attach to anything and that piece of sheet metal (to the left) was just tented over it. About the time we were about to give up the guessing contest, the A/C came on. Yep - it was a vent. Unfortunately, the vent front was another cabinet down the line and evidently they just pointed the tent thing in that direction - it was supposed to supply the air through a hole in the cabinet base. Another issue is the crack in the floor in the upper left. It goes from about 1 inch wide to about 3 inches wide by the door into the kitchen. I have a sunken living room, so this crack is the transition from the living room to the kitchen. The step down is 6 inches, but I was surprised to see this crack concealed behind the cabinets.

Well that's all that I have for now. I took more pictures, but they're just more of the same. I hope that my non-Facebook friends are happy now that they haven't been discriminated against and can see the work being done! Hey peeps! I tried to friend you but...you gotta click confirm. Until next time....

Monday, January 24, 2011

Sale-A-Bration 2011 is here!



There are three easy ways to earn FREE products

..{spend}...
Spend $50* and earn one free Sale-A-Bration product of your choice.

..{host}..

Host a workshop of at least $300 and earn one free Sale-A-Bration product in addition to the generous hostess benefits.

..{join}..
Join Stampin'Up! by becoming a demonstrator during Sale-A-Bration and get 15% off your starter kit. Plus, get a bonus bundle filled with over $50 in free products.

host
..{for the most}..

Earn one free Sale-A-Bration product for every $300 in workshop sales in addition to all the generous benefits you already earn for hosting the choice of hostess sets and other products from the catalog.

Shop my Stampin'Up! online store 24/7. Don't forget to check out the clearance rack for some awesome bargains while you are there.

*net sales before shipping, handling, and taxes.

Last day for the Filled with Love Bundle


Today is the last day to take advantage of the Filled with Love bundle from Stampin Up! The set includes the Filled with Love stampset in your choice of wood or acrylic mount. A package of Love Patterns designer paper and a free Bitty Buttons!
Click on the Filled with Love image on the side bar to visit my website at www.okienurse.stampinup.net to order!

Don't forget salebration starts tomorrow where you can choose a free gift with every $50 you spend on Stampin Up! product. Watch for the link to become active tomorrow!

Another box...oh my!

I had so much fun making the birthday card/box for Heather I decided to try my hand making another one. This one is essentially the same but I changed the platform from 5.5x5.5" to 6x6" and I don't think I like it as well. I used a textured card stock and I don't think it was as heavy a weight at the brown on the first box (or the change in the size of the platform had an influence on it) and when I glued the sides on it tended to 'warp' a little but it still looks okay. What do you think?

I love the easel card on the side view. It is so pretty and sets the box/box off.


I took several up close of the picture and the sentiment together but couldn't get them to look the way I wanted to so I divided them up to conquer the issue!! I love this stamp set from Stampin Up! It is retired from 1999 and one of the first I bought from someone getting out of stamping a couple years ago. I am a stamp hoarder! If I love them I am keeping them! Currently I have 200-300 stamp sets and I keep thinking I should weed them out but how do you get rid of a much loved child?


How about this sentiment! I thought that the Bella Rose paper, the tea pot image and this sentiment were just about perfect on this card!





Materials: Stampin Up! except where listed
Stamp sets: Gentle Thoughts (1999 retired) and Favorite Thoughts
Bella Rose designer paper (retired)
Ridinghood Red textured card stock
Kiwi Kiss textured card stock (retired)
Whisper White card stock
Inks: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black
Ribbon: Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla two sided(retired)
Match Box die
Big Shot
Punches: 1/2" circle, corner rounder
Embellies: Fleurettes crocheted flowers, Glimmer brads, Pearl brads from stash.
Crystal Effects
Distress Stickles Worn Lipstick

I can already hear the complaints from some friends about the (retired) Stampin Up! stuff and not being able to get it now but I am fulfilling a resolution I made to use up some of my stuff!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Boxes! Interesting concept! Challenge #3 at Joans Garden

I have been busy this week working on a birthday gift/card for my daughter and some decorative boxes. Last year or a couple years ago I started seeing these boxes around the web and thought how neat it would be to make one. Most all I have seen have been made with boxes bigger then the matchboxes that I used to make this box. I was reading a post by Joan when I read the blog post about a challenge at Joans Garden (Joans Garden is where I shop to pick up Graphic 45, Tim Holtz, Penny Black Stamps and just about anything I need to make cards, tags, or scrap book layouts.)I decided that the box/card actually meets all the criteria Joan has for this weeks challenge. The rules are simple, anything goes, except that your submission must be or have the following!

1.Make a box...any kind of box will work...even an alter box(how about a box for your tags)
2. a flourish
3. a butterfly
4. Make a flower (alright...if you can't make one use one you have purchased)

Hmmmm....two birds with one stone! Am I efficient or what. Here is what I came up with.

Because I am trying to use up all the products I have stashed I decided to make this box primarily from Stampin' Up! products. The designer paper is Elegant Soiree, the card stock is Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla. I used the MatchBox die to cut out 8 matchboxes on the Big Shot. They are glued to a 5 1/2 in square base of Crumb Cake.
The easel card on top of the box is 5x5 in. The drawer pulls are SU! glimmer brads, the frames are 1/2" circles, the Fleurettes II crochet flower is dyed with SU! Baja Breeze reinker. The flower button in the center is from the designer buttons in Crumb Cake. The edges are distressed in Chocolate Chip.



I cut the butterfly out with the SU! punch then used Rock Candy Distress Stickles on them. The Ribbon is 5/8" Very Vanilla Satin.




The bling is from my stash but not SU! I think it maybe Prima. The sentiment is from SU! Happy Harmony stamp set.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

WOYWW #85

Oh my gosh where has the week gone! I had such a good time with the WOYWW last week hosted by Julia Dunnit at Stamping Ground that I decided that I had to give it a go again this week. Actually I have to confess I think that I am already addicted!

I just finished straightening by desk after doing a couple projects and was putting the Big Shot away when I got an 'itch' to make a 'box' using the matchbox die from Stampin' Up! I have seen several examples on the net recently using the matchboxes to make cards, calenders, and all sorts of fun things so I decided maybe I would try my hand at it. I will have post the finished project later this week on my blog.

Well it is just at 0500 here in Oklahoma, USA and I have spent way too much time in my craft room tonight. I will start looking at the blogs when I get up later. If I started now I would never make it to bed tonight! I am so proud of myself cause I made it to all the blogs last week. It was so much fun scoping out everyone's 'stuff'.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

2 page layout for Valentine's Sweeties

Today I am doing a 2 page layout class for Valentines sweeties at my local scrap book store Whole Lotta Scrap here in Norman. It is one of the most awesome scrap book stores anywhere. I consider Leslie my other daughter from another mother she is such a very nice person who runs an tight ship and makes it a haven for all that crop there.


This is a fairly simple and straight forward layout but adding stamping and glitter glue to the pages makes it pop. The paper is from the BoBunny Crush line, Bazzil red, black, and white cardstock. Tim Holtz Valentine set Love Struck, BoBunny Crush clear stamps. Stickles Christmas Red and Diamond. Ribbon from the stash. Sizzix heart embossing die cut flower heart and Creative Memories tag punch, Stampin up Corner rounder, Basic Gray, Basic Black, and Real Red ink pads.



Both pages have a 12"x1" frame that runs around the border then the 10"x10" square from each piece is cut up to make mats for the pictures. One 5"x7" on page one and a 4"x6" on page two and there are five 2"x3" matted tags in a pocket on page two to hold more pictures or journaling. Fun!

Step 1: To make the red heart frames around both pages take the 12”x12” designer paper (DP) and cut 1” inside the edge on all four sides. Using glue runner adhere frames to both sheets of white cardstock.

Step 2: Now is the time to stamp the images of hearts and cupids on the white cardstock inside the frames if you desire to do so. I stamped the cupid from Tim Holtz Valentine set “Love Struck” on page 2 and cut out one on page one. I used the BoBunny Crush clear stamp set heart on both sides in red and gray ink. I brought different stamp sets so if you want to use a different stamp feel free to be creative and change things around! I used Christmas red Stickles to make comma hearts inside the inked hearts. Do that last if you are going to use stickles.

Step 3: Make mats for your pictures using the 10”x10” pieces of Crush designer paper. The measurements for the mats are”
on page 1 is the DP is 5 ½”x7 ½”
black mat is 5 ¼” x 7 ¼”
black mat around Valentine sentiment is ¼” wider/longer than you cut out the sentiment. The DP mat is then ¼” wider/longer than the black mat.
page 2: DP is 4 ½”x6 ½”
black is 4 ¼”x6 ¼”
each mat on the tags is 1 3/4"x 2 1/4" out of the DP
Mat on the tag pocket is black 2”x8” and DP is 1 ¾”x7 ¾”
The black mat is ½”x7 ½”
Mat under Love sentiment is cut from black card stock and is dependent on how big you cut that out.

Step 4: Adhere ribbon to mats before sticking them down to your pages. I used
super sticky tape to tape the tag pocket to the page.

Step 5: Use foam pop dots to pop the cupid and red flower heart on page one.

Step 6: tie ribbon to tags and put in pocket. Stick down all pieces as shown above. Adhere Love ticket to front of tag pocket!

I used Distress Stickles on the wings of the cupid to give a little more texture and the Diamond Stickles in the center of each flower on the heart.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

A tag using Tim Holtz Products.

I decided that year I was going to try and follow a few challenges on line. The first challenge was with CPC last week and this week I was going to put a tag in at Joan's Garden but thought the cutoff was at midnight instead of 9pm so didn't get it in on time due to my putting off posting it. Go on over to her site and take a look they are all so beautiful it will be hard to vote on just one!

I have really gotten into the Tim Holtz product line and love the papers and 'finds' that he makes available. This tag is a little larger then the standard #8 tag but lent itself well to the design. The paper is from the Lost and Found paper stack, the ink is vintage photo and walnut stain. The sentiment is from the Going Somewhere Stamp set, philosophy tags, charms,trinket pin are all Tim Holtz. The ribbon is from Close to My Heart.



I love the tooth wash graphic on the paper. I can remember as a child seeing the tall oval cans that had a label similar to this. I put as little Rock Candy Distress Stickles on the writing tag that says Imperial, tooth wash and on the flowers. Doesn't it give it a little 'sparkle.




The sentiment is awesome. I love the sentiments that come with most of the stamp sets. They speak to my heart!





The Rosebud perfume tag was made with a piece of paper scrap that was glued to a charm and then covered with Ranger Ink Glossy Accents. A loop through to charm was placed around the trinket pin and it and philosophy tag was attached to the ribbon.


The flowers and brads are some that were in the stash. Some friends have said that they give it a Christmasy look but I don't think so. I used the red and green to bring out the colors in the paper. I think it worked! Hope you like it!