Wallowing....

Who wants to read a post about THAT?!?

I generally try to be an upbeat person - find that silver lining, what you put out to the world, you get back... you know?  I've been fighting this silly upper respiratory thing for a few weeks now, and I'm just getting WORN OUT -  some of that 'find that silver lining' stuff is getting lost...

So I needed a recharge.

Last night, my husband took my older daughter to basketball practice... this is new for us.  Are there any other basketball moms out there?  Tell me if there is certain basketball etiquette I need to know ;).

But anyway, they were out of the house, it was just me, my 8 year old and the puppy.  Decided to make myself a nice hot cup of tea with honey, in my favorite "Rise and Smile" mug from Just Dandy Studio, and get some snuggles in...

Lucky for me, Zana was an eager participant!  This sweet little pup has stolen my heart (AND my slippers...  like CRAZY for them...my husband wants to know what I put on my feet to make her want them so bad! HA!)  Guess I know something I need come Winter :).

Melissa has got some great new things coming to the store today -- these sweet blocks -- I LOVE them!!!  I've got a few ideas, let's see if I can employ them, once I get my hands on some :)

Lastly, the new Dandy Mail Kit is available in the store today -- November is allllll about being thankful.  Order yours today to share some love with someone YOU are thankful for!  Lots of great goodies included in this kit!!!

I am thankful for my doctor, who prescribed me some antibiotics, and will be REALLY thankful when I am back to my old self!  Maybe I'll have to send her this month's card :).  What/who are YOU thankful for??

Make it a great day!!

Tracey ♥

And Then This Happened... A Photo Journey...

So, it's been a crazy ride since 2015 began.  My mom passed away in January, somewhat unexpectly, and it seems everyone I know has had something major happen to them this year.  I often remind myself that while I don't understand it, there's a plan at work here that is bigger than me.  I've learned this year that some things just aren't worth getting worked up over.  I've learned that there are things I would like to change, and am working on it.  You grow from every experience, right?

Well, sometimes you just have a day where you have so many hopes and plans, and then.....

So I started out the day like this:

Who here doesn't love coffee???  Alright, I suppose there are some of you out there, but this is how I need to start my day.  Then I went out to my desk, and it looked like this:

Yeah.  Keepin' it real.  An absolute  disaster area!  So I began to clean it up and this happened:

My little one wound up with a fever, and needed some ever important cuddles... Then this happened:

This, is Zana - also known as Zany Zana.  She is our puppy!  We have had her a little over 3 weeks now.  But yes, if you've ever had a puppy, you know that they often require more attention than a newborn!  She's a great pup, but often takes me off task....a lot!  

It was.  I was unexpectedly home in the middle of the week with my baby and my puppy, a beautiful, sunshiney day (and now I have "Sunshine Day" by The Brady Bunch in my head.... You're welcome ;) ) and then this happened:

Technology is awesome, isn't it?  The ability to be practically anywhere with the WHOLE WORLD at your fingertips... But yeah, this also means, the ability to complete work from home...sometimes it's a blessing, sometimes, not so much.  So, I got some work done, and this happened: 

yes, again.  Not only do I love coffee, it helps me power through the day sometimes.  By now, my older daughter is off the bus, the dog needs to go for a walk and the off to the vet.  Dinner has to be cooked, older daughter to taekwondo, and then this happened: 

It was a beautiful evening in our little town.  My phone could not capture the beauty of the landscape and the moon that night, but I tried anyway :).  We headed home, my desk still looked like this:

So then, this happened:

Decaf this time though...I can't do all nighters anymore, after my kids, my husband and my coffee, I love my sleep ;).  Read to the girls, got them tucked in, looked around, THOUGHT about cleaning the desk, and instead, THIS happened:

Nothing like a big fat pile of Laundry to fold at 9:30!  But hey, I've got clean clothes to wear, right?  Yeah, it didn't work when I said it to myself either.  When I finished the laundry, I had decided that it was time for this to happen: 

OH. YES. IT. DID.  And it was glorious.  Truly truly glorious....And now it was late, and I was tired, and my desk was still a mess, but you know what?!?!  This happened:

It's a week later, my desk is STILL a mess, but my girls are healthy, the puppy is still crazy (and I love it).  The ice cream is gone (thanks to all of us) but I'm still smiling.  I hope you do, too!

All quote cards and the  coffee mug used in this post came from Just Dandy Studio - be sure to check out all of the fabulous goodies Melissa has to share with you!

Just Dandy!!!

later in the day than I had planned, but welcome to my blog, and the first to feature some new goodies from Just Dandy Studio, brought to you by no other than Melissa Bickford!  I've been a fan of Melissa's style for years, when she was designing stamps, and now that she's started this new venture, I'm excited to see what is coming next!  Bright, cheery, coffee and fun!  

I am a HUGE coffee fan, I definitely drink more than I should, but it's so warm, creamy, mmmmmmm, happiness in a cup!  Super fun that Melissa has this great mug up for sale, and I have a feeling there are more to come!

It's a GORGEOUS sunny day here in NY, and I happen to be home from work, because my 7 year old is sick with a virus.  (I certainly don't mind the snuggles from her AND our puppy who joined our family a little less than 3 weeks ago.  Her name is Zana, and we're totally in love!! (Check out my Instagram account for photos of her!). 

I also put together a little something using the Inspiring Quote Cards - Collection 1 :

Love the bold font with such great messages!  And they're perfect to add to a card front, or tuck it into your husband's pocket with a note, your kids' backpacks, really, there's no limit!  I'll have some more to share in days to come, but in the meantime, thanks for stopping by!!!

Make it a great day!

Tracey

Loading.....2.0 coming soon!

Long time, no blog!!  That will all be changing, and soon!!

Melissa Bickford has given me the opportunity to be a part of her team over at Just Dandy Studios.  I've neglected the old blog for TOO long, so I am looking to get back in the habit.

 

Looking forward to getting back in the swing of things :)

Make it a great day!
Tracey

Making an Effort...

I seem to go in spurts, posting to the blog here, but I REALLY am going to try to keep this a consistent thing.  It's pretty amazing, how easy it can be to neglect writing new posts.  Today, I am sharing a card I made for one of my nephews.  I saw a similar design (and I apologize, because I now can not find the original source) and I thought it would be a great 'boy' design.

I pulled out my papers, inks, stamps and dies and got myself ready to create a masterpiece!  Alright, well, maybe not a MASTERPIECE, but the birthday boy liked it, so all good in my eyes :).

I started out with a Tropical Teal base, if you've never used Papertrey Ink's Cardstock, it is heavenly - nice and thick and sturdy, love it!  On the white layer, I stamped some images from Grunge Me in Kraft ink, to anchor the focal point.

Next, I die cut some stars using the Sketched Stars dies, in a few different colors (Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse, and Tropical Teal), and on top of that, I placed a Kraft star, stamped with images from Star Prints, die cut with the Seeing Stars dies.

To add my sentiment, I used the 3 colors of ink that coordinated with the die cut stars, and made an 'ombre effect' on the 'happy' from Wet Paint - and finished off the sentiment with True Black ink.

Off to another birthday party today -- with a family as big as ours, we're BOUND to be headed off to a party on any given weekend, lol... Thanks for stopping by!!!

Supplies (all PTI unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Wet Paint, Star Prints, Grunge Me
Ink: Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, Tropical Teal, True Black, Classic Kraft
Paper: Tropical Teal, Select White, Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse, Classic Kraft
Accessories: Seeing Stars Dies, Sketched Stars Dies, Corner rounder punch

Alice in Wonderland!

Hey there!!!  LOOOOOONG time no see!  It's been one heck of a year.  Some good, some bad, but it's ALL flying by!  I've made some cards here and there throughout the year, but most haven't made it here to the blog, but check out my Instagram account, they usually at very least make it there :). (link is in the upper right of the screen)

I came by to share this card with you that I made this past weekend. My neighbor is turning 7, and wanted an Alice in Wonderland party.  I thought long and hard, and the idea hit me!  How about a card with the Cheshire Cat??  You know, when we first meet him, in the dark??  YUP!  I can do that! lol.  I broke out my punches, and my large circle nestabilities, and got to work.  Here's the front -- the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Stylish Sentiments: Birthday.

Ok, so that came out kind of cute -- used a thin line black marker to draw his teeth.  Next, on to the inside!  I drew his tail freehand on an old piece of Orchid Opulence CS from SU!, and cut it out, then added some strips of Rich Razzleberry (Also SU!) to make the stripes on his tail.  The sentiment inside are cut from various Papertrey Ink Dies.  This has GOT to be one of my favorite cards that I have made recently...just fun.

My girls each made something too - A made her card 2 months ago in anticipation of this day, so she was disappointed that hers wasn't Alice themed, but I thought she did a great job.  The only thing I helped with was die cutting the '7'.

This was the front:

And here is the back:

Lastly S made this one, to look like a playing card, another nod to the movie, and she colored the adorable Rio image from Simply Betty Stamps like Alice:

A lot of fun we had with this birthday!! :)  Thanks for stopping by!!

Cheshire Cat Card:
Stamps: Stylish Sentiments: Birthday (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Versamark
Paper: True Black, Select White, Hawaiian Shores (PTI) Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence (retired), Yoyo Yellow (Retired) (SU!)
Accessories: White EP, Circle Nestabilities (Large), 1" Circle punch, 1/4" circle punch (I think), Birthday Trio Dies, By the Numbers and By the Numbers Mats dies,   Block Alphabet dies, One Liners: Happy dies, Suffix Style dies

Lay in the Sun...Reverse Confetti Color Challenge!

It feels SO good to be crafting again!!!  Thanks to everyone who commented on my card for the PTI blog hop the other day, I had a lot of fun, just making something for me :).  Wellllll, I'm back again today, because as soon as I saw this color challenge over at Reverse Confetti, I was in LOVE.  Totally love this color combo!!!

I've been playing around with my copics alot lately, and just wanted to do something bright and warm.  It's been SO COLD here in NY, I thought of a nice Caribbean getaway...ahhhhhhhh....

A little gold glitter sets off the 'shimmer' in the water...oh, to be in Grand Turk, lol....that's what this color of water reminds me of.  Have you ever been there?  It's gorgeous.  I was fortunate enough to go on a cruise with my entire family the Summer before last, and Grand Turk was one of the stops.  It was my favorite.  I wish we had more time there than we did.   Anyway - thanks Jen for this awesome color combo, and all of the inspiration.  The sentiment is from Count Your Rainbows.

What's your favorite vacation place?  Snowy Colorado for skiing? Or someplace warm and sunny??  I'd love to hear! :)

Hope you have a great week!

Tracey

Supplies:
Stamps: Count Your Rainbows (Reverse Confetti)
Ink: Versamark
Paper: Select White, Classic Kraft
Accessories: Copic Markers, quickie glue pen, gold glitter, white embossing powder