Friday Prettys

It's all Pretty In Pink ladies!!!

Friday's Pretty Pretties

"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset."

New release by Spellbinders..... "GRAND Series" for their new machine that takes a full 8.5x11 piece of paper.... so just IMAGINE how BIG these FABULOUS labels are!!!! oh lawrdy I hope they will fit in the Big Shot I now have!

"'You don't need anyone else's permission to be happy. Your life is magnificent not because someone says it is, but because you choose to see it as such."
Ralph Marston

I just couldn't help myself; I had to go downstairs to create something!!! I used scrap Certainly Celery and Real Red, Artistic Etchings medallion, ?damask embossing folder, old tag stamp set and real red button, all Stampin' Up! I am going to see if gift cards will fit in this little cutie!

fact!

• I need six pillows on my bed, three to sleep with
• I am really quite attached to my cat
• the pain in my ankle scares me
• I am so excited about how my studio is coming along
• I am not a fan of Hallowe'en
• I miss being an ER nurse

A little quickie this morning. Real Red cardstock, Bazzil Swiss dot cardstock, Stampin' Up Mini Milk Carton die for use by Big Shot, older Stampin' Up! Tag punch and stamp set, unknown ribbon and Stampin' Up! buttons... nearly could have said it was all Stampin' Up! but I found the Versamark Diamond Dazzle ink I had spent $18 and wanted to see how it worked. Anyways, voila... a cute (I think) little Christmas treat holder!

Stampin' Up!'s Statement of the Heart

to make you smile....

a treat for myself in a moment of deep fretting

beautiful purple flowers from my beautiful rocketgirl

"“You can gain more friends by being yourself than you can by putting up a front. You can gain more friends by building people up than you can by tearing them down. And you can gain more friends by taking a few minutes from each day to do something kind for someone, whether it be a friend or a complete stranger. What a difference one person can make!”
Sasha Azevedo

• ugh I feel so gross with the heat. I know it is crazy I`m going to Vegas for summer vacay but there will be SEVEN pools there! And lovely slushy tropical drinks. Wish I could be at home and go to the river right now...
• having a bit of a personal issue...ok I have a few (HA) but this one is in the forefront and I`m not going to discuss it in detail but the ``M`` problem is real and kicking me in the ass
• I bought two Christmas presents yesterday and am pleased about that. Love me some sales!

"“What you truly acknowledge truly is yours. Invite your heart to be grateful and your thank yous will be heard even when you don't use words.”
Pavithra Mehta

Trifecta was today and because it was 1) so hot we needed to be downstairs with fans going the whole time and 2) it was at my place, so we decided to cardmake and try out my new products. I especially was interested it trying out the Big Shot and using the dies. *B* and *D* wanted to cardmake. It was a nice quiet time spent together, too short, but someone had just gotten off nights, I had lousy news and D wasn't feeling so well. But the big point is we made it together! The bottom picture has four projects, solely from Stampin' Up! Fancy Favour box, Box 2, Mini milk carton and the pillow box. SO many options!!! Super easy to assemble. Now to plan Christmas projects!*!*!*!*!

OH. MY. GOSH.

The upcoming Sept 1-Jan 3 Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalogue arrived in the mail today. Just sayin!!!

oy!

• so here I sit, on my break, fourth shift. so so so tired and so very nauseated. one more night to go
• 25th high school reunion this weekend. feeling ambevilent about it. apparently small number of people are attending. have a dress for it, and my g/f *L* is my date. hope it's good, I will be getting off nights that am
• have my first Stampin' Up! party booked and that's very exciting. Thanks *B*!!!
• have done two bits of OT this set. first was the extra day at the beginning and then a 16 hour shift on my 2nd shift. that one hurt. physically. hope it's all worth it when the paycheck comes!
• good news about housekeeping; may have found someone willing to come to my home every few weeks or so. what a blessing that would be. I so hate housecleaning and I stink at it.
• have just about put together all my stamp sets. my g/f thinks her husband will be able to nicely trim my paper holders so that they can go nicely into my storage unit. planning to do some serious play with my Big Shot on my days off
• sleep. how I wish for regular 8 hour sleeps. so envious of people who can sleep all night. shift work is cruel on the body man. I think I work hard for the wage I make, at work, for my patients. But I don't think the money is enough for all the negative effects on the body
• think my daughter is going to come down for a couple days; plan is to go to Ikea to look at furniture. I'm hoping she'll stay over and we can go see Salt. Nothing like Angelina Jolie kicking some serious ass.

"“You can gain more friends by being yourself than you can by putting up a front. You can gain more friends by building people up than you can by tearing them down. And you can gain more friends by taking a few minutes from each day to do something kind for someone, whether it be a friend or a complete stranger. What a difference one person can make!”"

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."

I can't say much but I simply ADORE "Jolly Old Saint Nick". So reminds me of Christmas time growing up as a child. a MUST HAVE asap!

oh oh! Spellbinders is coming out with new releases for Summer 2010 !!! *heart* my nestabilities! This one is Label 14.

A quickie I made last night. Absolutely love this Butterfly stamp... think it's Hero Arts? Bazzill and Stampin' Up Cardstock, Stampin' Up ink and sizzlet.

"That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong. "
- William J. H. Boetcker

Glorious glorious buttons

I have always ALWAYS loved buttons for my scrapbooking and cardmaking. I remember once my exhusband asked, but what do they mean? lol. Nothing but I love them. So look at these beauties, all Stampin Up, new colour groupings. Displayed in a "bbq" unit I got a Home Sense. So gorgeous. Happiness and bliss.

The most anticipated first Stampin' Up! order...arrived!

Inside the first box - cardstock, Big Shot dies, inks and stamps

Bazzill cardstock, Michaels stamp, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Nestabilities, Stampin' up corner punch, dew drops

ALL NEW PRODUCTS FROM STAMPIN' UP!: In colours cardstock, All a Flutter Artistic etchings stamp set, Stampin' Up label punch, buttons and embossing folder

• My Stampin' Up ordered arrived yesterday afternoon after being uncermoniously dumped on my front doorstep by UPS, blocking my door. Didn't ring for a signature or anything. That's a lot of product you just left out there buddy! boo hiss UPS man.
• back to the Stampin' Up order! BLISS BLISS BLISS I have put together about 7 stamp sets so far. Most of them I ordered in wood mount; hey, I'm an old fashioned girl. Need to figure out the acrylic mount ones and find a nice basket to store them in. I am in love with all the colours; got lots of cardstock, inks and pens. Am quite excited to pull out the Big Shot and try to do some of the projects - mini milk carton, pillow box, flavour box and then some regular dies. Lots of embellishments - buttons, rhinestones and pearls. Punches in a new design..smart! Love the size of the photo corners. My only disappointment is the paper holders do not fit inside my expedit shelves. *sigh* I don't know if I should try to send them all back or trim them to size. *sigh*
• doing another OT, which I know is going to seriously kick my butt. But I just have to keep telling myself that bills have to be paid and I'm going to Vegas with my daughter and we like to go there in style! It's going to be especially hard as I get off the morning of the day of my 25 year high school reunion. It's going to be tough to get up for that one.
• my brother and mother came down and helped me set up the tv my *D* gave me, in my bedroom. I feel like I'm in a movie theatre now, cept that I'm laying in bed. Simple pleasures of having more than 10 tv channels, and my DVD player! Not liking how the vanity and dresser are in the bedroom so I foresee some rearranging in the future.
• having lunch with my mother and daughter today and then off for a pedicure. this is how days off are meant to be!

• here it is, the middle of the night and I'm on a break so thought I should update my blog. it's been a lovely set so far with lovely patients.
• anxiously awaiting my Stampin' Up! order. I looked online at UPS and they are sending three parcels; each weighs 16 pounds! *giggle*
• my brother is going to come in a few days and help me with some heavy chores around the house. I'm really looking forward to the end result because it means my bedroom will be nearly complete! The vanity will be moved in and he'll set up the big tv on the new tv stand, bringing over the digital box and DVD player from the guest bedroom. So long to having only channels 3-12! Still not sure what I will be putting in my vanity drawers or actually what I will be using it for. Still plan to get glass to cover both it and the chest of drawer to protect from the cat jumping up and scratching. I would like to get one of those tall 9 drawer lingerie dressers; that would free up more space in the currest dresser which isn't big enough to hold all of my pjs.
• on my days off I am hoping to make more progress in the studio as well as maybe picking up an OT shift. AND....hopefully unpacking my order!
• after setting up the portable a/c unit, I had much better sleeps. though I couldn't handle having it run all night as it is SO loud, but the room was cooled down enough that I could have a soft fan on. past few days have become cooler again so that's been nice. supposed to be very hot in Vegas right now....
• ankle has been real achey lately. hmmmm see the doctor early August and I guess we'll decide then what to do
• the other day our unit was having some waxing done and it got so hard for me to breathe that they wanted me to go home. thankfully a friend on the oncology unit was willing to switch mid shift so I went over there and finished his shift and he took over for me. I felt like a fish out of water; hopefully I did everything right. - patients were stable thankfully and it was a "quiet" afternoon. Guess I should start reading up on the different chemo protocols...
• just over a month and I'll be on vacation. Hello Vegas!!!

WOO HOO, I placed my first Stampin' Up! order tonight, as a demonstrator. It's all startup supplies for me. I spent so much I ended up getting three hostess gifts and $175 in "free" products. Can't wait for this parcel to arrive! WOO HOO

• it's official. I've been awake for over 24 hours. so flippin tired. even had some "help" and just could not fall asleep. room was nice and cool. fresh sheets. just could not fall asleep. everything aches and the nausea, ugh. now I have to try to stay awake for at least four more hours. dayshift tomorrow. OY!
• started working on a few cards today. looking forward to my days off when I can continue to unpack and set up my studio. looking forward to having my happy place. I envision that by Christmas time, I even have a couch and tv down there, complete with Christmas tree.
• finishing up Season 3 of ER. love it. such good entertainment.
• had a good OT shift last night. great team, great patients. glad to have gotten the OT but tough having a short turn around and back to days. would love another one before vacation though!
• the air conditioner is working well. the only problem is it is so flippin loud. wonder what the hydro bill is going to be like.... oy! I'm glad I hooked it up; doesn't look very nice but, it's a lifesaver!
• still browsing through my new Stampin' Up catalogue every night, well actually, every few hours it seems! Just a few more days and I'll be placing my first order! When I'm on my breaks at work, I search for project and card ideas
• hoping my brother might be able to come down next weekend and help me move my vanity into my bedroom and set up the big tv *D*gave me, with dvd player and box, and put in the bar fridge down into the studio and some other handy man, brotherly jobs!
• one of my friends at work brought in all her favorite quotes and stories last night and what a treat it was to "borrow" some for my quote journal. interesting to see which ones "speak" to me and which don't. guess that's what makes us all unique
• will end with some shocking information: I actually hand washed a load of dishes this afternoon, all non dishwasher safe stuff. I (lol) let it stack up for weeks until I have no more to use and then get to work. My friend from work would be horrified! lol

3 must have dies

Oh the fabulous "mini milk carton", SO cute for so many different projects!

The "pillowbox die"; so many potential ideas stirring in my head

The "lattice" die which I have seen adorn many gorgeous cords and even made into snowflakes for the Christmas tree!

3 stamp picks

Below are three stamp sets I will be ordering with my first order. So excited!

Background stamp: Wonderfully worn I love how a background stamp can add just that something extra to a card

"Artistic Etchings". By far, my most favorite set of the whole catalogue. So in love! So many great ideas out there already!

"Just believe" is just a great inspirational set that speaks to me

A simple linear card I made. I can't remember the stamp set, it's a clear acrylic "inchie" set. Martha Stewart Punch. Bazzill and Stampin' Up! cardstock, as well as the hospital paper. Stampin' Up inks and wait for this, Creative Memories corner rounder.

• The heat is here and again, I suffer. Ugh. Headaches, nausea, heavy breathing and the awful embarrassing sweating. I don't mind the heat as long as there is a lovely beach or pool in front of me. Preferably with blendy drink. Actually I would prefer to be IN the water. I love being in the water. And today I got myself a new swimsuit, 50% off, for Vegas. I have to have a new swimsuit for all the poolside photos!
• bought a new polish today, by China Glaze. Grape Juice. Reminds me of Koolaid. With sparkles. Will be perfect with my dress for the reunion.
• started another card this morning but couldn't find some supplies so abandoned it pretty quickly. it's not much cooler downstairs so unpacking wasn't a priority for me. Am going to ask my gfs if they can do a little sewing project for me - I need to put up temporary sheers over my on SU supplies when I have workshops.
• feeling homesick, more and more. *sigh*
• having an extra shift tomorrow night which is perfect timing for our vacation. Would love another one before we go though... please Santa?

A simple card I made this afternoon. Stampin' Up stamps, Bazzill and Stampin' Up cardstock (Rich Razzleberrry - one of my most favorite colours), Cuttlebug embossing folder, Nestabilities and cardstock from work. At the staff entrance is the sterilizing area and once in a while they have these stacks and stacks of thick white paper, 4x6, a bit glossy on one side. They come in some sort of packaging and aren't used so left out free for people. I like them for cardmaking sometimes. Closer to cardboard than cardstock. Embosses nicely.

some products from Stampin' Up!

some lovely rhinestones, love the different sizes in one package!

The Big Shot; will be one of my first purchases - Stampin' Up! has some many great 3D dies for fantastic projects...

The new colour swatch makes choosing your colours easy; designer ideas on the back of each swatch