maria's craft room

LSC - IOU

Hi there!  Oops.  It's my pick for LSC and I went to visit my sister and her family and I didn't take a photo of my card!  I'll be sure to upload as soon as I can, but in the meantime, go check out what my crazy girls did this week:

Char   Dee   Jewels   Regan   Wendy 

Play along!  Link up your creation to the comments section under any of our blogs...we love to come visit you.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Owl Friend and My Husband Is Sleeping With a Bit@h From Finland

Hi there!  Hmm...wonder if that post title caught your eye?  All in due time, my friends.  As you can tell from my lack of posting, I haven't been doing a whole lot of paper crafting lately...we've been on vacation together.   However, I did need a thank you card for a friend and came up with this simple one. 
I've been all about the glossy accents lately.  And I picked up the owl stamp while at the actual Bella store...still a bit of a thrill for me.  Well I guess that's about it...

What?  Were you expecting something else?  Oh right!  The bit@h from Finland!   She's long and lean and her hair is dark and glossy...and she has gorgeous brown eyes.  I know!  You thought it was me until I said brown eyes.  Here's Sloane, our newest addition:
I don't advocate transporting dogs long distances for adoption.  However, a number of years ago an Italian Greyhound breeder from Finland purchased a female puppy from a breeder near us in Pennsylvania (Deuce's breeder) and part of the fee was cash and the other part was for a female progeny of the female puppy being purchased.  Flash forward five years and this little girl was scheduled to fly in from Finland as final payment (not as cargo thank goodness!  she was in the cabin under the gentleman's seat)...but the Pennsylvania breeder had already retired and moved to the west coast.  So the retired breeder called us and asked if we would be interested in adopting her and welcoming her into our home. She thought that Deuce would be the perfect big brother for this puppy.  Pfft.  Of course we said yes!  She flew in the night before last and she was a sweetheart right from the start.  She and Deuce are getting along well...better than anticipated.  And for the past two nights Sloane has been sleeping cuddled up to my husband.  See, my husband is sleeping with a bit@h from Finland!   And I'm a little jealous:)  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Gasland

This is a crafting blog and as a rule I keep all non-crafting opinions to myself.  But please, if at all possible, watch the HBO documentary film Gasland by Josh Fox.  I watched it last night, was incredibly moved and alarmed by it, and I think it's something that everyone should see.

HBO: Gasland: Home

 Until next time...M

Who Loves You, Baby?

Hi there.  The other night I asked the husband to stop on his way home from work and pick up a bag of dried chicken strips because we'd run out of treats for Deuce.  No big deal, right?  $15 or thereabouts.  So I'm cooking dinner, expecting him to come though the door at any minute and yet he's still not home.  I'm waiting...waiting... finally he comes bursting through the door.  I swear I could almost see the cloud of happy energy floating around him.  It was kinda obscured, though, but the two huge shopping bags packed to overflowing status.  What the...?  The husband proudly announces, "I've taken care of my boy!"  Ummm...I don't think Pet Smart had anything left on the shelves by the time he left.  Maybe tonight I'll ask him to stop on his way home and buy me a flower.  LOL  Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Until next time...which is tomorrow...Loonie Stampers Challenge!

M

Where is the Dog?

Hi there!  No card today, but I thought I'd share what happened the other night when I couldn't find the dog.  As you know, we've completely spoiled Deuce.  He sleeps in our bed, lays on the couch, has his own La-Z-Boy chair, etc.  And Deuce loves to cuddle and loves to be under blankets.  

So the other night the husband and I are sitting on our respective ends of the couch in the den and we realize that neither of us has the dog.  We call his name, concerned that perhaps he was getting into trouble unsupervised upstairs.  No response.  I get up and walk around the first floor, checking all usual spots.  Nothing.  I go upstairs...nothing.  Now I'm getting upset.  I come down the steps and round the corner into the den and I see this (picture above).  What???  Not only is Deuce laying on a dog bed (heaven forbid!) but he's laying between dog beds, using the one as a comforter.   And apparently all of my yelling of his name disturbed him enough that he opened one eye to look at me and then went back to sleep.  Hmmm...I think I've seen the husband do that a few times!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

ps - happy birthday Kathi!!!

And It Snowed

 
Hi there!  This is what you'd see if you were hanging out my bedroom window during the middle of a crazy snow storm.  And if you look right, you see this:

^{Yep.  That's the husband trying to clear the 22 inches that have already fallen.}

 
That was the view from the front door.  Just before I took this picture a woman cross-country skied down our street.  So what, you ask?  That just doesn't happen in Delaware!  And poor Deuce...the snow is over his head already and isn't supposed to stop falling for hours.  But let's not feel too sorry for Deuce.  He has it pretty good.  This is a picture of what he looked like the other morning...I'd only been away from the bed for a minute and he claimed my pillow for his own:

And since this is supposed to be a crafting blog, here's a little card I had stashed away:

I made this during my 'bling fling' last weekend.  Those are tiny twinkles stuck into the holes in the lace.  Alright...enough sharing for now.  It's time to hit the craft room and have some fun.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...(or whenever we dig out!!)...M  

   
  

A Blizzard Report From Deuce

Hi everyone.  It's me, Deuce.  I'm chillin' on the couch with my people since there's a stinkin blizzard going on outside.  We just went to our front door and had to push the snow out of the way in order to get outside so I could do my business.  And let me tell you, we Italian Greyhounds do NOT like snow.  Here are some pictures mom took earlier today:

Oh - did I mention that dad came down with the flu this morning?  Uh huh.  What timing!  Luckily his stupendously awesome wife (my mom) already had all the supplies in house to take care of him.  She spent all day tending to him, too.  Let's see...she cooked homemade pancakes, eggs and bacon for breakfast.  And made him special hot tea all day and homemade chicken noodle soup for lunch. 

And that wasn't all she did for dad.  She also put on what she calls 'the ridiculously expensive electric space heater' so it would blast hot air at him all day.  I made sure to plaster myself to dad so the hot air blew on me, too.  It was heaven!  Then mom looked like a crazy person when she spotted two teen boys walking up the street with shovels.  She just about fell over herself to get to them and hire them to shovel the driveway.  I do believe she ran out of the house in her nightgown with untied boots, her hair sticking up in wild clumps and her winter coat flapping around her.  It's a wonder the boys didn't turn and run away.  Mom running without the proper foundation garments...not a pretty sight.  The boys promised to come back tomorrow morning to shovel again but I'm not betting my rawhide on that!  Then dad asked her for homemade chocolate chip cookies.  So she - being the incredibly awesome wife she is, made them.  Still in her nightgown, of course.  Some things will never change.  The earth spins on its axis and mom doesn't dress on snow days.

 
And we had the best chicken cutlet dinner, too, with fresh green beans almondine.  In between all of that cooking she made sure that she kept him properly medicated and did the housecleaning and the laundry.  It was an amazing sight to see.  I can't remember the last time I saw mom do so much work around the house.  She didn't even touch her Kindle once today.  But I am starting to see  a desperate look at the corners of her eyes...I think she's going through crafting withdrawal.  Or housework overload.  Or perhaps sick husband overload.  I suspect she'll sneak upstairs shortly to play in her craft room.  I saw her looking at her Bing Crosby Christmas CD...maybe she'll listen to it while attempting to finish making her Christmas cards.  For a card maker she really stinks at being a card giver.  Well *yawn* that's all I have to report for now.  I can't wait to find out what our total snowfall turns out to be.  Right now they're saying close to 20 inches for us.  That's over my head!  Maybe when no one's looking I can sneak off into a corner...mmmm...better not.  If mom has to clean one more thing it might put her over the edge.  I need her to keep cooking chicken and rice for me:)

Until next time...Deuce the dog.

Baby Cards...and pictures of 'my baby'

Hi there!  I know...a weekend post, right?  I've been making mountains of cards for an upcoming craft show, so I thought I'd take a minute to show a couple of them.

I spent quite some time playing with Copics...so after all of that coloring I left the designs relatively simple.  After making these and what feels like a million other baby card designs (I'll share them another day), I was in the mood to sort through some recent pictures of my baby, my dog Deuce.  He's a stocky Italian Greyhound fast approaching his 7th birthday and he is the completely spoiled recipient of our attention.  He sleeps in our bed and I'm not talking about at the foot of the bed, either.  I think we may have done everything wrong when it comes to this little guy, but there's not much we can do about it now!  Every morning while the husband and I are getting ready for work, Deuce just lays in bed.  This is normal for him...under covers, head on pillow.  I know, I know.  But he's just so darn cute.  By the way, we're making progress with saving up for that handcrafted Amish bed.  We absolutely love the kitchen table and chairs that we had made for us.  I really can't say enough about the craftsmanship.  And having a 'grown-up' kitchen table actually led to the husband and I having more dinners at the table instead of on the couch in front of the tv.  Amazing.  I know that the bed frame will be a once-in-a-lifetime purchase, both for the quality and the cost! And here's the little prince enjoying one of his favorite things to do...lay in the sun at the back door.  And isn't that hallway weird?  That brick jutting out is the side of our fireplace.  It's floor to ceiling brick but on an angle at the back corner of our family room.  Consequently it blocks 6 inches of the back hallway.  I have to wonder if it was added after the original framing of the house...we live in one of the original 'model' houses of our early '70's neighborhood and I think a lot of options were thrown on at the last minute...almost like they were making it up as they went along! 

Well thank you for stopping by today and letting me ramble.  I'm off to avoid some housework and hopefully catch up on emails and blurfing.  Enjoy your Saturday!

Until next time...M

Supplies:  all Papertrey except deckle Nesties, May Arts white ribbon and BasicGrey papers

Craft Room Photos

Ok...I promised some updated pictures.  The room isn't completely finished yet, but here you go!  I like having things right within reach so we installed some shelving and added storage bins up top to take care of storage issues.  Some pictures were taken last night and some this morning (hence the difference).  I knew I'd have trouble with the window side with the natural light.

Left side (where I sit and work):

 

 

I put up a card from each of the Loonies plus my sister (mom of twins) and my friends Liz and Fran.  Yes, Liz...you're on the top shelf, third one in!  I have Fran's and my sister's on the shelf with the tv.  Fran has made me so many beautiful cards that I'm planning on rotating them weekly for added inspiration.

So as you go around the room this is my die cut and embellishment 'station'.  I have my nesties in cd cases on the left of the closet wall, and the shelves contain a candy store of buttons, flowers, ribbon, eyelets, dew drops, glitter glue and liquid pearls. 

Hey...stop looking at those boxes on top.  They're not organized yet.  But who am I kidding?  I'm not even 5 feet tall and I have horrible balance issues.  It's not likely I'll be getting up there any time soon:)   And finally, here's the right side of the room:

I took that from a weird angle because I still have things laid out on the floor in front of the dressers that I have to sort through.  Didn't want you seeing that mess!   And I haven't finished clearing off the guest desk (90 degrees to the right of where this picture was taken) either but I'll have to do it soon.  The husband is having a fantasy football draft here next weekend and he invited one of the other wives to come over and play in my craft room.  I've never met her.  Ummm...and he invited her to my craft room.  I'm sure she's fabulous but...it's my craft room of all places!  My happy place...my therapy...my sanctuary.  Ahhhh...I'll have to practice sharing this week.  Grrr!  These are my toys!  *giggle*  I know it'll be fun.  And it was time to clean and re-organize anyway.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

New Blog Design

Hi there...yes, it took me hours today (why won't technology be my friend?!?) but I finally built a custom theme and created my own blog header.  One small step for blogging, one HUGE leap for me:)  So...what do you think?  Do you like the blue? 

And guess what?  I've been overhauling my craft room this entire week.  I'll have pictures to share with you in a post tomorrow.  Shelves and bins, ladies.  Brace yourselves!!!  *giggle*  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

So Sweet...Describes Our Trip To Eagles' Training Camp

Hi there!  I know...what is it with me and the fuzzy pictures lately?  Ack!  Better luck next time, right?  Well here's another one with my new favorite set...I've made so many cards with this set already that it's almost embarrassing!  I'll never post all of them...promise:)  And speaking of promises, below are some pictures I took at Friday's morning session of the Philadelphia Eagles' training camp in Lehigh, Pennsylvania.  The husband and I had a great time on the trip.  The drive wasn't all that fun (horrible traffic) but the scenery was beautiful.  Here's a look through my windshield at the mountains surrounding Bethlehem, PA:  

Bethlehem is only five or six miles away from Allentown, and as we were driving up and seeing all of the Allentown road signs I kept hearing Billy Joel's song in my head.  Dang...now it's back again.  If I did it to you I apologize!

Um, yep.  It was overcast with the threat of "drenching downpours", if the weather forecasters were to be believed.  In this case, they were right.  Just our luck, no?  I'd been prepared to see a lot of fans in attendance...I'm told it's the most heavily attended training camp of all of the teams in the NFL.  But seriously - despite the weather there were tons of people there.  We had driven up on Thursday and spent the night so that we could get there early and secure a seat on the bleachers.  Practice didn't start until 8:10am, but the husband made me get up at 5:30.  Uh huh.  Wouldn't even let me go get a real breakfast, either.  Just grab something at the 'complementary' buffet at the hotel and go.  Shall we examine 'complementary'?  In my mind, considering what we paid for the room, it was an 'obligatory' breakfast buffet.  I digress...here's the offense on the field.  Please, contain your excitement.  What - you'd rather I was sharing photos from a trip to CHA?  Guess what?  Me too!!!  Back to the program...so we secured great parking and seats on the bleachers @ 7am.  And it was a good thing that the husband got me there early.  By 7:30am there was no room left on the bleachers, by 9am there was no room left to stand along the edges of the field, no room to walk at the bottom of the bleachers...I simply sat there and prayed that the rain would hold off and that I wouldn't have to use the restroom.  (Prayers were answered!)  The biggest disappointment for me was that I couldn't make it down the bleachers and through the crowd in time to get an autograph from my favorite sportswriter, Ray Didinger.  He is a member of the sportswriter's hall of fame and let me tell you:  when Ray speaks, people listen.  And with good reason!  If you ever want to learn about Philadelphia sports, check out what Ray's said and/or written.  And he seems like such a nice man, too.  He signed autographs and shook hands all the way down the sideline (hence the pen in his mouth).  Well...that's it for this girl's report from Eagles' Training Camp.  While I love my Philly sports, I love papercrafting just a teensy bit more.  I'm off to blurf to find pictures from CHA.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Supplies:  Ink, cardstock and stamps all Papertrey, BasicGrey lemonade papers, Websters trim, Nesties, Papertrey buttons, SU tag corner punch, unk brads

Elephants For Lisa...or Doggie Dental Central?

Hi there!  Happy Tuesday to you...hope you're doing well.  And no, no need to adjust your monitor.  I did voluntarily use purple in these cards!!!  I made this set for another of my brunch girlfriends; she loves elephants:)  In fact, I bought this SU set just for the elephant so that I could eventually make something for Lisa.  And I paired the image with that sentiment on purpose...kinda tongue-in-cheek.  Elephants never forget!  Hah!  I crack myself up, at least. 

And would you believe that I've had to take Deuce to the vet four times in the month of June?  Leg problems, allergy problems, reaction to medication and now...an abscessed tooth! 

When I left the house yesterday he was fine.  When I returned from work he looked like this first picture.  I immediately thought 'abscess!'.   I also thought of a few choice words because I never budget for four vet visits in one month!!!  We got him into the vet within a couple of hours and we were even able to have him seen by our absolute favorite doctor in the practice.   It turns out that it's no big deal...treat with antibiotics and hope that's the end of it.  Well...I woke up this morning to find this pitiful thing next to me:

The entire side of his face is now swollen!  Yikes!  My poor little guy.  I think there's some homemade chicken and rice coming his way tonight:) 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Supplies:

Ink:  Papertrey true black and SU elegant eggplant

Cardstock:  Papertrey select white

Patterned Paper:  My Mind's Eye

Stamps:  SU (argh...it's a baby set...forget the name...sorry), Papertrey Everyday Classics (sentiment)

Other:  Labels Three nesties, Papertrey spring rain buttons, SU silver cording

Thursday Inspiration Photo

Hi there!  This morning I needed a little creative boost so I went searching through the photos still on my camera.  This one was too cute so I thought I'd share it with you in case you were also in need of inspiration on a rainy Thursday.  A couple of weeks ago I went to a local zoo with my nieces and nephews.  It was so fun to watch their eyes go round as saucers as they looked at the exhibits:)  And then we had a potluck picnic and would you believe I wasn't the only one who brought cold pizza as my contribution?  One of my sisters did, too!  I'm not entirely convinced that my mother found our contributions appropriate, lol!  Anyhow, if I experience my normal afternoon slump at work today I'm going to try to channel some of the excitement and enthusiasm that these three had that day at the zoo.  Hope you have a good day...thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

ps - see you tomorrow for the next Loonie Stampers Challenge.  It's Regan's turn and it's going to be fun!

Hello...And Easter, Part Two

  Hi there!  How are you doing?  I hope you had an enjoyable holiday weekend.  I know I did, though I'm suffering from a bit of holiday hangover today.  Not the alcohol kind...just the I'm pleasantly tired and holy cow I can't believe my house is dirty again kind.  We had a great time yesterday; everyone came over to our house to celebrate Easter.  I'm so lucky because my mom and sisters did the cooking.  All I had to do was prepare the 'venue' and do beverages and desserts.  And the nieces and nephews were so cute!  The twins were dressed up -  Jack had a suit and tie on!  What is it about a little boy in a suit that is just too cute for words?  And my sisters planned an egg hunt on our front lawn.  Of course, that meant that there were piles of eggs sitting out in the middle of the yard.  After all, the oldest grandchild isn't quite three yet:)  It was the first egg hunt in our family since my sisters and I were little.  So much fun!  And poor Deuce - he is not used to having little ones running around and lots of noise.  He's exhausted!  In fact, he's still upstairs in bed right now.  I suppose it's only polite if I go back up and keep him company, right?  *grins*  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M

Supplies:

Ink:  ranger antique linen distress ink; papertrey dark chocolate, ocean tides and spring moss

Cardstock:  papertrey white, lemon tart and spring moss

Stamps:  papertrey simple little things and beyond basic borders and polka dot basics (centers of focal piece circles)

Other:  circle and label three Nesties, sei buttons, martha stewart twine, piercing tool, my mind's eye patterned paper

Easter...Part One

Hi there!  Happy Saturday to you:)  I'm so pleased with myself that I have to share this with you.  I drove into the city yesterday all by myself.  Stop laughing!  I'm serious!  One of my quirks is that I am irrationally afraid of driving in city situations.  I freak out at the throught of missing a turn and becoming lost in a maze of one way streets.  Well, I put on my big girl panties yesterday and went for it.  Not only did I drive into the city (using the interstate, mind you) but I also found parking in a garage and managed to find my way back out of the city.  Are you asking yourself why I'd suddenly do this?  Easy answer:  baked goods from a famous four star hotel.  Yes, I cheated a bit and ordered all of the baked goods for Easter dinner.  (More on those later.)   I also ordered a bunch of cookies to give as Easter gifts.  This is a picture of the basket I put together for the husband.  Macaroons and sugar cookies.  He's going to love it.  I still have to put together and decorate the boxes for the nieces/nephews...I'll share pics of those tomorrow.  Oh - I sort of picked up something for myself: 

Chocolate-dipped macaroons.  Hell-o.  Don't you wish you were on my Easter list?!?  *giggles*  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...M