SUSTARS November 2010 Bloghop... It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!

Hi, and welcome to FancyNancyKay's blog and the SUStars blog hop for November where we hope to help you get in the Christmas spirit! You may have arrived here from Raissa's blog:www.raissastamps.com... whether you did or not, please peruse my shares since you're here :) , and then at the bottom of this post you'll find the link to the next hop spot... if you keep following around, you'll make a complete circle and back here again :)

My share will be from my recent Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack!

Attendees made 6 each of four different designs - some I CASEd almost completely as they were shared by another person, and some came from goodness knows where... but I think they all work!

Card 1: Cherry Cobbler cardstock cut 4.25x11, tied with crochet ribbon over Artichoke seam binding around the trimmed and punched CC piece. A 4.25x5.5 piece of Crumb cake is stamped with the cool Christmas background stamp and Merry Christmas is stamped in the window opening stamped on the front, while a scallop punched sentiment is popped up on dimensionals on the left (both of these stamped in Cherry Cobbler).

Card 2:

More Cherry Cobbler with tiny dot embossed white over some of our cool designer paper... with a sentiment from Word Play embellished by a rhinestone, and popped up on dimensionals, and further enhanced by a bow made from a strip of the matching fabric.

Card 3:

WOOD - yes, wood! Cut into strips and stamped on, makes the title sentiment piece for this card. Old Olive and Riding Hood Red DSP, crochet thread, and tinsel from the Mini, plus a half pearl make this a fun card!

Card 4:

Contempo Christmas tree stamped in Artichoke on Vanilla shares the stage with DSP and Artichoke seam binding... and a punched heart with a Cherry Cobbler punchie inside makes the scene!

I am in the process of packing up to move - we were supposed to close on the house today, but alas - one more piece of paper to go (pray that that's it, please!) - looks like MAYBE Wednesday, but with daddy back in the hospital - this time with a broken hip, and mom not willing to leave him, we will be packing them up, too :)

God is in control - glad I know that :)

Next hop stop would be here: http://www.addalittledazzle.com

I know Monica's got something cute to share!

And here is the WHOLE list of blogs to hop, in case you get lost somewhere!

|1|Veronica|Bluegrass Stamper Studio|http://bluegrassstamperstudio.blogspot.com/

|2|Shirley|Stamper Shirley|stampershirley.blogspot.com

|3|Raissa|RaissaStamps|www.raissastamps.com

|4|Nancy|Scrapbook Kits & More by FancyNancyKay|http://fancynancykay.blogspot.com/

|5|Monica|Add a Little Dazzle|http://www.addalittledazzle.com

|6|Mary |Mimi To Jett|http://www.mimitojett.blogspot.com

|7|Martha Lucia|Stampartpapel|http://stampartpapel.blogspot.com

|8|Marisol|A Touch of Sol|http://atouchofsol.blogspot.com

|9|Maria|ScrapLoveCreate|http://www.scraplovecreate.blogspot.com/

|10|Jackie|Creative Designs by Jackie|http://jackielwatson.blogspot.com

|11|Diane|Stampin Ldyglfr62|http://www.stampinldyglfr62.blogspot.com/

|12|Diana|Stamping My Life Away|http://handmadebydiana.typepad.com

|13|Denise|Denise Foor Studio PA|http://denisefoor.blogspot.com/

|14|carolyn|inkingthenightaway|http://www.inkingthenightaway.blogspot.com/

|15|Vikki|Inky Fingers|http://drgonflydreams.blogspot.com

|16|Deborah|Thoughts of a Grasshopper|http://beantowngrasshopper.blogspot.com/

|17|Courtney |Brighten Your Day the Stampin' Up Way!|www.letSUbrightnurday.blogspot.com

|18|Brenda|Brenda's Stamping Corner|http://brendasstampingcorner.blogspot.com

|19|Angela|Life with a Wiener Dog|www.lifewithawienerdog.com

|20|Amanda|Stamp Vamps.com|http://www.stampvamps.com

|21|Tory|If I can stamp, you can,too|icanstamp2.blogspot.com

|22|Loni|Loni's Life|www.loniholt.blogspot.com

Jump, or HOP ON!!!!!!!

Hugs,

Nanc

WOWZA - What an offer!!!!!!!!

Occasionally an offer comes along that no matter what, you really just cannot resist!

This is definitely one of those offers! If you have ever been considering becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, this is your big chance! HALF OFF starter kits...

yeah, you heard me - HALF OFF!!!!

That's the standard kit OR the digital starter kit - here are more details:

• Offer good from November 15 - 30 only
• Standard or Digital kit = $87.50 - your choice of which one (50% off regular price of $175 with a value of over $310!) - this is the FULL starter kit - not a mini, pared down version!
• Sign up on paper OR on my website: Paper Independent Demonstrator Agreements (IDA)must be received by Tuesday November 30 6:50 pm Mountain Time; Online IDA submitted by 11:50 pm same date
• You may still add the Stampin' Memories or Digital + Add-on for the regular add-on price
• New recruits are still eligible for all the programs available to new recruits, such as the extra 10% Instant Income offer, Stampin' Start, purchase of Business Booster kit, and FREE 2-month Demonstrator Business Web Services subscription (DBWS)

Simply go to my demo website to sign up: www.fancynancykay.stampinup.net. Click on the START YOUR OWN BUSINESS LINK on the right, then in the drop down, the same words again. Look to the left and you'll see JOIN NOW... the IDA will pop up - read and click and follow the prompts. When you get to the password for your recruiter, type in Aardvark - yeah - aardvark... silly, but memorable.... like me!!!!!!

Email me with your questions and don't delay because this offer ends soon!!!!!!

October Club Projects

We made a really cool scrapbook layout for my October club meeting! I saw someone's awesome stained glass techniqueand thought,"Oooh, that would look cool on a scrapbook page:

Since that and the box I CASEd took a bit of time to do, we made an easy last card by adding WISH BIG from Word Play and did this:

Here is the SPOOKY box I CASEd - I let my ladies choose their own papers for the patterns - we had a lovely little collection of cool Halloween boxes!

SADLY - although I looked on my computer, I can't find the really safe place where I saved my inspiration - it is probably in the folder I've been browsing (that I need to straighten up a little) in my Stampin' folder on my computer... but it is not appearing before my eyes (SIGH) - so if someone recognizes the inspiration and wants to credit, claim or link - please feel free to comment and do so!

Have a great Saturday - my Christmas Card Stamp-a-stack begins in 40 minutes - WHOO HOO!!!!!!! Soon a room full of ladies will be making cards and watching Christmas movies together :)

Congratulations to Nolan Ryan and the Texas Rangers, and here's to you, Josh Hamilton!

Although my beloved Astros didn't make it into the playoffs (yet again :), and although Lance Berkman, one of my favorite players DID make it into the playoffs, albeit for totally the wrong team, I have to say:

WHOO HOO - WAY TO GO, RANGERS!!!!!!!!

It hurt to see Berkman wearing that Yankee's uniform (no offense to Yankee fans, but that was just wrong!) - but I was glad he got to make some good hits and some good plays, and got to play in the playoffs again - he deserves it - he's a great player, and even better, a strong person with a strong Christian testimony.

I confess, I don't typically follow Rangers baseball, but you know, I just can't feel bad about a Texas team playing in the World Series again.

Lance - we miss you, but we're still proud of you down here in Houston. Hope to see you back here soon!

Nolan - we're proud of you of you, too - you've come a long way from the kid throwing stuff in the back yard whose daddy thought you'd be better off learning to throw a baseball instead. Congratulations to you and your Rangers.

Josh Hamilton - thank you for giving credit where credit is due - to our Lord, and congratulations on being the ALCS MVP. You've worked hard to get where you are, and you are obviously respected by your organization when instead of spraying champagne, they choose to use ginger ale out of respect for the long journey you took back from addiction. You've come a long way, too - may you continue to walk with God as He unfolds His plan for your life!

Stampers (if any of you are still reading :) - thank you for reading - I promise - I'll have something else to share soon because today - maybe just for today - I HAVE FINALLY CAUGHT UP WITH MY PAPERWORK at school - (thank to Shermie for her help!) and am not so exhausted.

Now, turning off the talking heads on TV that are dissecting the win, and going back to work on a progressive layout to share... it's SPOOKY!

Welcome once again to the SUSTARS Blog Hop!

You should have arrived here from:

Martha Lucia Gomez at: http://stampartpapel.blogspot.com

Below my shares, you'll see where to head next!

This sample is cased from the catalog, page 108. I used the Distressing Essentials kit to add the color to the textured cardstock (made that way with the Big Shot and the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder). I used Crumb Cake cardstock and ink, and the distressing is Tea Stain from the kit. Chocolate Chip ink and cardstock and our new crochet ribbon were also used. The cardstock that I textured and stamped on is Naturals Ivory - hmmmm love that stuff!!!!

(I used sticky notes to mask the sentiment so I didn't stamp my flourishes over it!)

So, what does this card have to do with Thanksgiving or Thank you?

Well - at Thanksgiving, in my family, we share what we are thankful for - one of the things I am most thankful for are my friends - see the connection :) ?

Just to keep it totally kosher, though, I have a second project to share - an older Thanksgiving scrapbook layout I did with my club:

We have current paper that would sub great for what I used here - check out the mini catalog on page 13 - Autumn Spice - Item 120808 ($11.95US). The sentiment from Days of Gratitude on page 12 (Item 121148 in clear mount, 120835 in wood mount) would be perfect for the bracketed sentiment area. I placed the strips of Old Olive about 3 inches from top and bottom, and the strips of designer paper are 3 inches wide. I anchored my journaling strips with squares of Old Olive.

Next stop would be Miss Sassy herself:

Shirley Northey at: http://stampershirley.blogspot.com

Have a GREAT hop! I'm thankful you're here - and of course, your comments feed the soul - thank you in advance for your thoughts!

PS: If you get distracted, interrupted or otherwise lost during the Blog Hop, you can always come back to my page, start at the beginning or anywhere along the way. Thanks to Brenda for providing a repost of the complete list of the blogs participating this weekend.

Start: http://www.su-stars.blogspot.com/

1. Deborah Robb at: http://beantowngrasshopper.blogspot.com/

2. Mary Campbell at: www.mimitojett.blogspot.com

3. Angela Walters at: www.lifewithawienerdog.com

4. Angie Valle-Peters at: http://www.paperluxuries.blogspot.com

5. Barbara Furlong at: http://www.theloveofstamping.com

6. Brenda Hugar at: http://brendasstampingcorner.blogspot.com

7. Martha Lucia Gomez at: http://stampartpapel.blogspot.com

8. Nancy Keithley at: http://fancynancykay.blogspot.com

9. Shirley Northey at: http://stampershirley.blogspot.com

10. Raissa Spatola at: www.raissastamps.com

11. Diana Soling at: http://handmadebydiana.typepad.com

12. Jackie Watson at: http://jackielwatson.blogspot.com

13. Jane Hignite at: http://www.stampwithjane.com

14. Denise Foor at: http://denisefoor.blogspot.com

15. Monica Weaver at: http://www.addalittledazzle.com

16. Carolyn Sharkas at: http://www.inkingthenightaway.blogspot.com

17. Loni Holt at: www.loniholt.blogspot.com

Hop on!

SUSTARS Inaugural Blog Hop

Welcome to the SUSTARS Inaugural Blog Hop.

The Hop officially starts on Saturday, September 18th at 7AM Pacific/8Am Mountain/9AM Central/10AM Eastern and posts will be up thru Sunday. If you saw some of my VCRocks blog hop posts, this hop is a continuation of that great idea!

Our theme this month is Halloween or Fall and there are some SUPER projects on the hop. If you get lost, hop back to our SUStars blog here and pick up where you left off. SuStars is a group of Stampin' Up! Demonstrators who, in the spirit of SU's Statement of the Heart share creative ideas with one another, and with you!

You should have arrived here from Raissa's blog, www.raissastamps.com but if not, don't worry, you can continue hopping and circle all the way around.

Here's my project for today:



This two page 12x12 layout uses the Wicked Cool stamp set ((118738 WM, 120600 CM), the owl punch (118074), Cajun Craze, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla, Whisper White and Basic Black cardstock, Wicked Fun specialty DSP (117400), new Big shot border die (120893), Distressing Essentials kit (118762) and Black Waffle paper (120985). Obviously I haven't planted my photos yet, but the mattes are 8.5x5.5, 4x6, 4x6, 3x3 and 3x3. Any of those could also be used as a spot for journaling also. My intent is to add a title across the top cut with my Big Shot, but I'm waiting to see what my beautiful granddaughter wears for Halloween this month - her lovely mommy (my eldest) is an extremely creative woman, so I know it'll be cool!

Continue hopping now to Loni's blog: www.loniholt.blogspot.com

Thanks for hopping by!

QOTW - School's back in session here!

Here is our QOTW - as always, I'd love seeing your responses and comments on this (even if they are smart-alecky;)

I know you probably had plans to take certain photos yesterday... so here's the bottom line - what photos did you take, and HOW MANY?

I actually took....






are you ready?






NONE!






I was busy helping teachers in the classroom yesterday with crying 3-4 year olds.... going to school can be a difficult adjustment, ya know :)



Today I'll be testing another three year old - and probably meeting a couple of transfers for me program. Feeling the love here :)


Have a blessed day, and don't forget to respond!

VC ROCKS - BLOG HOP #4 - Last one for 2010!

VC-Rocks has been a real blast this year, and I'll be sad to see it end for another year! For those who don't know, VC-R is a virtual celebration of Stampin' Up! for demonstrators and non-demonstrators alike. This is our fourth and final blog hop for this year, and as we get set to say "see you next year", I'd remind my VC-R pals that are demos to check out SUDEMOSONLY yahoo group, and non-demos and demos alike to sneak a peak at Stampin-UpI yahoo group. There are many great groups out there, but these just happen to be ones that I moderate or own.

Also, please feel free to browse my blog to find other fun things and leave comments - those are always welcome!

If you are following the blog hop, you should have landed here from LORI PALMER'S BLOG.

Here is my offering for the last blog hop of this year from VC-R - a scrapbook layout showcasing the owl punch - item 118074 and some new cool designer paper - PlayDate - item 117168. (Link to my website for ordering in the sidebar :)

(The white papers are placeholders for photos...)
To find the blog hop beginning, click on this: VC-ROCKS BLOG and to move on to the next stop in the blog hop, go HERE to Stace's Blog.

I have something to share....

.... raising my hand, jumping up and down a little (no, not for THAT!).....

but for this!!!!!!
It's a girl.... Peanut has officially been determined to be.... a girl....!!!

Many names have been suggested to my daughter and SIL for this one... the first grandgirl, Ava, is now 2, and her full name is Ava Kate (after my other daughter)... Robles (NOT robulls... pronounced RO-bless, in case you wonder)....

One young lady suggested.... Lily, Lucille, Vada.... what do you think - have any cool names that you think Ava's sister might be? Please feel free to comment....

(She's not due til around New Year's.... about the time my house should be done, lol!)

Also - I'm working on Ava & Peanut's daddy's birthday card - I'll share when it's done, even though I am SO CASEing it from someone.... it's a Deere card....

for now - I've got to get to bed - I'm beat! This going back to school thing is interfering with my play time!!!!

Watch for my card later this weekend... and don't forget - if you're in Texas - this is Tax Free Weekend - certain items are tax free through Sunday night at 11:59!

Adding a watermark to your card and other shares - the FancyNancy way :)

Someone asked how I added watermarks to my scrapbook kits, card and scrapbook page shares, and as I shared it on another group, I thought perhaps some of you might want to know!

So, here's how I do it:
Launch PowerPoint
Insert> Word Art, Selecting a white/gray combo style
Type what you want it to say, then, change the font to what you want, and hit OK
Save the PPT file (where you will be able to always get to it easily) as your working copy of your watermark, since the SU copyright date changes yearly to include the coming year, for example, I just updated mine to read "All images©Stampin' Up! 1990-2011" - this way, you can still come back and change it without recreating it each year.
Click on the WordArt piece so that the lines around it appear, then RIGHT CLICK and select SAVE AS PICTURE
Navigate to your desktop or other handy location, save it as something you can find there
(You only have to do all this above ONCE, except when you change the date or your name, then you go back to the original PPT file, fix it, save the PPT, right click and save the WordArt as a picture and go)

To add it to a picture, I launch PowerPoint, go to INSERT>PICTURE>FROM FILE
Find the snapshot of the card or layout you want to share and insert it
Then, go to INSERT>PICTURE>FROM FILE and find your watermark and add it (doing it in this order automatically puts the watermark on a layer in front of the card share as it builds from bottom to top, like MDS does).
Select both the watermark and the picture by holding down SHIFT and click on the picture, click on the watermark
Then right click and select GROUP>GROUP
Then right click and select SAVE AS PICTURE

Once you have done this once or twice, it is so easy to do, and if your computer came with Microsoft Office on it like mine, it costs you not a cent to do!

You could also do this in MDS with similar steps, except that PPT is the only one I know with the option to group various objects and right click to SAVE AS PICTURE, which is pretty fast to do....

You can also insert MDS created pictures that you've saved as JPGs to share in there to watermark....

Just one thought on watermarking - what has worked for me for years... if you have questions when you try it, email me - I am back at school already - (yeah, hurrah, but I really am grateful for my job, even though this educator got no summer, lol)

And even though the 'stros lost last night, we STILL won the series against the Cards -

GO ASTROS!
:)n

Question of the Week... Respondez-vouz, s'il vous plait :)

OK, I post a Question of the Week on my three favorite scrapbooking lists (it's a day late, but we'll all live... I needed inspiration and I just got it unexpectedly, lol! The Astros are inspiring me at the moment as they are beating the Cards 10-4....at the moment.... ahem!), and also got inspired to share with YOU, and see if you'd answer this one.... I'd love to know!!!!!!

HERE is your question of the week.... please leave a comment.... and tell us....
if you found a Scrapbooking Magic Lamp, and rubbed it, and the Scrapbooking Genie (fill in the name of your favorite Scrappin guru here, please) told you that she/he/it would grant you THREE SCRAPBOOKING WISHES....

what would your three scrapbooking wishes be?
(and feel free to share the name of your particular Scrapbooking Genie)

(No fair going to politically-correct-Sunday-school-type-peace-on-earth-good-will-toward-men-health-and-wealth-for-everyone-type answers.... we'll all presume that we would ALL want that first.... I'm saying - be a little selfish here... if you could have ANYTHING scrappy - what would your three wishes be - the sky's the limit!!!! Money is no object - Nothing is too big, outrageous or expensive for this QOTW....!!!!!! And if I could afford it, I'd give it to ya!)

Oh, and the score is now:
HOUSTON 12
St. Louis 4
with 0 out in the 7th

GO 'STROS!!!!!!!!!

Wait - 13-4 now!!!!! OOPS - Now it's 14-4!!!!!

Let the comments begin :)
(And since I also typically share a sketch of the week with the groups, I'll try to share that with ya, too)

Astros and Camera cords and tutorials, oh my

You know, if you've read my blog at all, I am a die-hard Astros fan.... Since well, forever, you'd *have* to be a fan to keep watching them, lol. Case in point - tonight's game - ahead 6-1 - looking good, eh? Yeah, and then we lose it 14 to 7.... ah, well - got to see young Chris Johnson add another homer to his list, and Carlos Lee get his 1900th career hit - wow! All this is still a great experience for these young players, though - Pence, Castro, Johnson, to name 3 :) ... even when we lose the game.

As for losing things... among the lost is my Kodak camera dock... and along with it, all the cords that fit my camera to recharge it... I know it's in a really safe place, because, after all *I* packed it - yes, ME - I DID IT, lol!!!!!! My SIL says he has one that will fit, so I just have to connect with them to be able to charge it back up and download the tutorial I snapped the other day... I'd tell you what the tutorial was about, but honestly, I so do not remember, lol!!!!!

Wait - got it - it's a little tutorial on ...darn, lost it again!

Guess you'll have to tune in on Thursday and see if I remembered that I did a little tutorial on ...

VC-Rocks Blog Hop - the fun begins again NOW!

I am so excited to once again be part of the VC-Rocks Blog Hop! There is a great line-up of ladies participating in this hop, so if you are one of my followers and started here, please, continue on with the next hopper and go through the whole group to see the great ideas presented by these stampers! Or, you can go to the VC-Rocks blog and start there and work your way through the list.

If you have already been working the list, you may have landed here from Artful Imagination, the blog of Kym Schwinkendorf.

Here is my share - two takes on one card, using French Filigree and Friends Never Fade. Although I do not have a picture of the inside, I used sentiments from Messages for Mom - and all of these sets may be purchased through my SU website (just click on SHOP NOW when you get there)!

The first sample is made using a color combination suggested by the Color Coach - Rich Razzleberry (textured CS and ink), Pretty in Pink (CS and ribbon) and Early Espresso (ink, stamped on Soft Suede). The sketch was loosely based on the King of the Grill sample in the Summer Mini Catalog. I decided to have a little fun with the ribbon and wrapped it twice before knotting it in a simple knot.

This second sample is the same card - but I used Old Olive (ink and CS), Pumpkin Pie (ink and CS) and Daffodil Delight (ribbon and CS)! I just love this new color, AND the new skinny taffeta ribbon - isn't it fun?

OK, you've probably been here long enough! Jump on over to Donna Rogers' blog: High Altitude Creations and see what she has cooked up for you!

Thanks for stopping by! And be sure and come back for more goodies as I finish unpacking and settling into my temporary home while our house is being built!

Happy Birthday to Ava!

Although she is arguably the most intelligent and wonderful two-year-old on earth in my eyes, she doesn't read yet, but still, I must wish my beautiful curly-headed granddaughter, Ava, a happy 2nd birthday.
And even though we've had massive amounts of rain, here on the dirty side of Hurricane Alex (yeah - I'm still blaming it on that, lol), the sun actually shone for awhile on our little firecracker's day!

Her great-aunt Karen made the cutest Sponge Bob cake, with a companion small cake for Ava to bite into - and she did (and I have the pictures to prove it - but I took them on Kari and Garrett's camera, and I bet they haven't had a chance to upload them yet...).

Even though we had to leave the party and go back to the old house and pack up more stuff and move a few more things to mom and dad's, it's been a great day!

One funny - we were late to the party - because I sent Bo back to the house to get my punches so I could make a Sesame Street card for Ava - kind of like this one - WHICH I DID NOT MAKE but copied really well, lol...I *think* the credit for this goes to Jackie Topa, but if you know for sure, I'll be delighted to give the creator credit!!!!!! Anyway - this card was a HUGE hit - Kari let Ava open it first and she was so delighted with "Melmo"that she nearly didn't get on with opening the remainder of her gifts, lol!
(So whoever I cased this from - thanks! it was a BIG HIT!)

VC-Rocks Blog Hop - the fun begins NOW!

Welcome to the VC-Rocks Blog Hop. If you are joining part-way thru the hop , the starting point is VCRocks Home - www.vcrocks.blogspot.com, however, you may see the links below for the next one after mine and continue at your leisure. You may have landed here from Carolyn Sharkas's blog at www.inkingthenightaway.blogspot.com. At any rate, WELCOME! Look for the next blog link after my project. While you're here, please follow my blog for future fun project ideas!

I created this scrapbook layout for my Stamp Club for June. It is a 2 page, 12x12 layout. We used the Frost White Shimmer paint (sponged onto the stamps), the new Fourth of July set, the Priceless stamp set and the large star punch and the retiring small star punch. The pattern paper is the new Presto Patterns and the retiring Bride specialty pattern paper. We sponged Night of Navy ink on the Presto patterns cross grid strips and Real Red on the Bride Specialty stripe strips.



For more fun stuff, continue to the next blog on the hop: Alexandria's ReadyCraftCreate

Watch for our next Blog Hop : July 17/18

Moving

Ah, moving is SO much fun!!!!

But, it needs to be done. In case you've missed my saga, here is the Nancy's digest condensed version... we decided over two years ago that it would be wise to plan for mom and dad to be living in the same house as us as they are getting to the point where they need some extra help, and we all are adamant that we won't be shipping them off to a nursing home or assisted living place unless it were absolutely medically necessary... so we started talking about building a house. Well, here we are - we had hoped to be in the house last September (!), but purchasing the acre from our daughter and son-in-law was insanely difficult thanks to the employee of Chase who no longer works there, because evidently she did others like she did us (fax that to me TODAY - then not look at it for 2 weeks after my wonderful SIL called her three times to ask about it... then something else always had to be done that she hadn't communicated to him, etc, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat - when she was replaced, her replacement got us finished in 2 weeks!), then the county approving the plat of the land took months, plus an additional $6K in surveyor's fees (which he definitely earned:), etc, etc, etc...

Now, FINALLY, Bo will, dare I say it? - be able to get our building permit next week, but, since we decided it was time to close the LBC chapter of our lives and move on to a different ministry - we know not where or what at this point... it may be just taking care of mom and dad... we have to be out of this house (church parsonage) by WEDNESDAY - can you say... "Nancy is not packed yet" with me???

So today, I am packing, moving stuff and will be repeating that tomorrow, Sunday after church, Monday and Tuesday (thank God our SIL is off today and tomorrow and is willing and eager to help, God bless him!). I need to film and upload my blog hop entry... it is a 2 page scrapbook layout for the 4th of July, so hopefully it will inspire you... but then, once I get that done, I'm off the computer (yeah, we'll see) for a while!

Have a lovely weekend, and think of me while I'm packing, sorting and moving... and if you're in the Houston area and want to come help, I'll give you directions to my house, lol!!!

Blog Hop this weekend!

Just a heads up to be watching for a great blog hop by some of the ladies of VC-Rocks! VC-Rocks, in case you've never heard of it, is a group of SU aficionados who mostly do not get to go to convention for one reason or other, so we have a Virtual Convention (the VC in VC-Rocks). The group has evolved a bit over the years, but is always GREAT FUN!

Please check back this weekend and see the special goodies being shared - you may start on my blog and continue through the cycle. We have some extremely talented ladies in the group, and I'm honored to be included in the blog hop!

Thanks for stopping by!

LAST CHANCE...

Ah, summer - baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, LAST CHANCE LISTS....

yeah.... Last Chance on some wicked cool goodies! The Last Chance list is out - here. You really need to check this out! Then, after you find those things you just have to have, you need to email me OR go to my Demo Web site - here - to get the goods...(look for the SHOP NOW button on the right side toward the top) because once they're gone, they're GONE!

Go - browse - shop!

VC ROCKS BLOG HOP!

VC really does rock! In honor of our first 10th Anniversary Blog Hop (there will be more blog hops this convention season), we are celebrating retiring colors or Summer Mini products...If you don't know about VC Rocks - VC stands for Virtual Convention - and celebrates the advent of the New Stampin' Up Catalog each year for those of us who cannot make the annual trek to see the awesomeness unveiled in person... of course, I'll be celebrating the new catalog a little early, personally, as mine will be mailed on MONDAY next for taking part in the new Recruit Crew program and getting a new recruit in March! However, since I can't go to Convention in SLC in July (we'll be unpacking from a move), I am excited to be back at VC because VC Rocks!

Now, if you've been following the blog hop, you should have arrived here from the blog of Tammy Howell, aka Tarheel Stamper - HERE. If you came upon this accidentally, please feel free to continue on the hop... and before you leave - your comments are WELCOME!

My post celebrates some Summer Mini products: Smooch Spritz, Clear mount stamp sets Elements of Style and Sentimental Journey, and the ever-so-awesome Presto Patterns Designer paper! Other products used include the Big Shot LATTICE die, oval, oval scallop, 1 inch round, word window and modern label punches, vintage brads, vanilla taffeta ribbon and chocolate chip cardstock and ink.

I *definitely* advise the purchase of the Color Catcher to use with the Smooch Spritz, although I did discover that when you Smooch Spritz your work table and Gazelle, Stampin' Mist goes a long way toward cleaning it all up and removing the evidence, lol!!!!

Continue hopping on our VCRocks Blog Hop to Loni Holt's Blog HERE.

Thanks for stopping by - Please come back and visit and see what else I have here :)

ASTROS and Scrapbook in a Day

Oh, ye of little faith - the Astros showed up for games at home, but they showed up to PLAY in St. Louis last night and tonight! It was awesome to see some of my favorite hitters HIT, and in Berkman's case - walk - 4 times....

WAY TO GO, 'Stros!!!!!!!!

I got LOTS of WHOO HOOS in there tonight - thanks for a GREAT game!

In other news, I have all but one of my packets cut and prepped for Saturday! YEAH! However, I still have a bazillion kids to test, amendments to print and send home to parents, and ARDs to hold! I'm feeling the love here!!!!! If you missed signing up got it, remember that you can still order the precut kit TO GO!

I completed 20 scrapbook pages - Christmas pictures from 2002 to 2009 - last weekend - and still did a BUNCH of other stuff! Most of the sketches in the plans are my own, or loosely based on various sketches I've seen... one is directly borrowed from SU's My Digital Studio (which is another awesome scrapbooking tool!).

Have you scrapped or yelled WHOO HOO today? Well, what are you waiting for?

The Astros

I am a Fan...

fan with a little /f/ just isn't enough....

it's an up and down thing... but it's NEVER boring, at least not to me.

Glad to see a glimmer of hope tonight... I needed that.

GO, ASTROS!

Signed...
A Fan (with a capital /F/)

Pink and Brown Flowers

Kit Options

Monthly ship - buy 7, free shipping $10.00 Kit w/ asap ship $14.95

To purchase this set and be able to add more to cart, use the button below:

Haiti Relief

As we all know by now, Haiti suffered a massive earthquake, and thousands have died. Because of a myriad of issues, not the least of which is political in nature, Haiti does not have the infrastructure to deal with a disaster of this magnitude. I am so proud that so many Americans and US-based corporations have mobilized to help out.

I'm even prouder that Stampin' Up! is joining the effort. From now until February 28, 2010, $2 from every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set you buy will be donated to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

Product Name Item # Price
I {Heart} Hearts – clear-mount (block D recommended) 118571 $18.95
I {Heart} Hearts – wood-mount 117010 $26.95

This is a simple and straightforward plan; the more stamp sets bought, the greater the difference you make. Often it is the simplest plans that work best! (Plus, in addition to the warm fuzzy feeling of helping out, the buyer gets a great product with which to make cards and scrapbook pages which is also pretty cool).

To order, go to my SU website http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/fancynancykay/ and click on SHOP NOW, and enter the Item number of your choice - either the clear mount, which requires an acrylic block to use, which we also sell, or you may have on hand :), or the traditional wood mount - BOTH in our awesome red rubber - - - to maximize shipping costs, you may order other items, of course, or email me to order.

My thanks to Debbie at www.craftyperson.com for the cool button for my blog.

And my thank to you for reading (and buying and donating :)...