Snail Mail Creations - Life, Love & Crafting

Fin-Tastic!

2010-08-09T18:41:00.002-05:00

There's nothing I love more than sending RAK & fun things in the mail to friends. One gal I'm always sending random letters to sends me the cutest and most thoughtful cards she's picked up at craft stores and other random places. As much as I love to sit and make people cards, I've never made her one, so I thought I'd finally make her a card. I fell in love with Amy's mermaids, and snatched up each one. When I was a kid i used to pretend and believe I was part mermaid. Splash was one of my favorite movies and I could swear I could always breathe underwater lol... funny the things we think up when we're kids huh? Anywho, since I've always had such a fondness of mermaids, after all I am one right? I thought this was too cute. I'm having a hard time sending this card off in the mail, but I made sure to take lots of pics ;) .... god I am such a dork! lol

1000 Sheets of paper!! Wow!!

2010-08-06T06:37:00.004-05:00

Hang onto your hats and brace yourself - I'm back and posting and I'm alive!!! lol I've been away for awhile due preparations for our Wedding Reception we had in June. The planning and preparations basically took up all of my time and energy so I was MIA for awhile. Even while I was gone, I've been checking in on friends posts, so what better way to come back have my first post be about some great news that's extremely exciting to me!

On my list of the top 5 most inspiring people is Amy Young. Her constant creativity and work always leaves me in awe. I am excited to announce she is having a HUGE Blog Candy Give away like never before with tons of paper and stamps. You've just got to check this out!!

More Sweet November Candy!

2010-01-23T20:28:00.004-06:00

Amy has done it again! More Sweet November Blog Candy!! Check out her newest stamps BFF's Darby & Bumble... They are Simply Adorable!!! I' sure hope I win this sweet set! :)

Joys of Baking

2010-01-23T20:09:00.004-06:00

Kevin and I have taken up baking as one of our new hobbies. To keep from consuming millions of calories, we'll enjoy one thing of whatever we're baking, and the rest of the batch goes to work for my co-workers to enjoy. Tonight I made some homemade vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting. They were really good, and tasted like the fancy-shmancy cupcakes that we love from Crave Cupcakes ;)

Journal Books

2010-01-18T21:55:00.000-06:00

My best friend Liz and I have been writing in these book/journals for years. We've maintained a long distance friendship over the past 20 years since I have a tendency to move around a lot. We write about what's been going on with our life and whatnot, to keep each other up to date on whats going on in each others lives. We decorate the book and then once we're finished writing in the book we mail them to eachother to read and keep. We make a due date of when our books will be due, so it doesn't take us forever to receive the books, and we work on it for a few weeks and then send them off in the mail. When they arrive a few days later, its really exciting to see her book, how she decorated it and then sit down and read all about what's been going on with her life. I get all the juicy details that aren't necessarily posted on facebook, myspace, twitter, or any other networking site these days so It makes me feel special, like I know parts of her life she may not always share with others. Anyway, last month I decorated the front of her book using Sweet November's Cookie Break stamp of Santa since our books were due December 15th.

This month our books were due on January 15th, and I was smart and quickly took a picture before rushing it into the package to ship it off. I wanted to make her a special twilight inspired book since I know she's seen the movies, plus I was dying to show her my TGF stamps of Flirty Edward and Camille that I got awhile back ~ I just love these! :)

Pardon the pics, but it was late and extremely dark in my kitchen when I was finishing up her book. I need to prepare more and take better pictures next time.

Thats all for now folks, I've gotta run and get some stuff done. See ya later! :)

xoxo,

Long time no see

2010-01-17T19:16:00.000-06:00

It's been awhile since I've stopped in here to say Hi. We've been busy getting unpacked and settled in the new house and with the holidays come and gone, it's taken longer than anticipated. We've been busy looking into new ventures and hobbies to do together when we have free time and on top of everything else going on, We've also started planning our wedding reception, so I haven't had much time between everything going on on the home front.

Kevin and I started baking and Kevin has found he really enjoys it, and it's fun for both of us to work in the kitchen together. We've made a few things so far and keep thinking up new ideas of what to bake. We started off with recreating one of my co-workers decadent Chocolate cake that is to die for!!Then we made Mint Chocolate Brownies... I brought them to work so we wouldnt sit there and eat them all, and they were a huge hit!!

well, I'm off for now, but I just wanted to come check in and say hi to everyone! :)

xoxo,

Priceless

2009-12-13T15:41:00.004-06:00

Blank Card................ $0.15 cents
Cardstock................. $0.70 cents
Digi Stamp.................$3.00
Embelishments........ $0.10 cents

For those times you need a handmade Christmas Card in a rush & you threw it together in 2 minutes or less..... PRICELESS!

Snow & Holly

2009-12-13T11:17:00.004-06:00

Life has been so busy over here it's hard to catch up. Between work, the holidays that are quickly approaching, and just everyday life, I haven't had much time to craft and work on any cards. I've been coloring some digi stamps at work when things are slow so in hopes that when I actually have a free moment, I can put a card together. This weekend, I finally had the chance to sit down, relax and make a card. I used one of Amy's New Sweet November Stamps Holly Starshine I have a bunch of cards waiting to be made... If only I could find a way to sneak in more hours during the day :)

Let it Snow!

2009-12-04T15:32:00.007-06:00

Hey Folks!
It's been awhile since I've had a post. Between work and trying to get settled in the new house, I've been lucky if I've had a chance to sit down and breathe. I thought I'd pop in since I was uploading photos from my camera cause we had quite an exciting day today. It actually snowed here in Houston!! Houston normally has two types of weather... Humidity & Rain... but what a delight as we had REAL snow!! It even stuck to the ground and didnt melt away :) This is a rarity so of course everyone was freaking out on the roads, but my co-workers and I had a blast with the snow. We made a few snow balls, took pictures and then they eventually closed the office early and we all got to go home! Hooray it's a snow day!

Amy's Sweet November Blog Candy!!

2009-12-03T06:52:00.003-06:00

Amy's giving away another awesome stamp over her her blog. Be sure to check out all her stamps over at All that Scraps and Check out all her fabulous cards on her blog! I am so in love with her work, she truely inspires me to create :)

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T13:32:00.003-06:00

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Kevin and I are spending the holiday here at our new house. We wished we could have joined our families to spend the holiday with them, but we weren't able to travel this year just after the move and all. We've cooked our own Thanksgiving feast and we're enjoying the day together. Wishing you all a wonderful day with your families and friends :)

Welcome Home

2009-11-12T19:21:00.004-06:00

We made it! Omg we actually made it....wheeeeew! (Huge SIGH of relief) Kevin and I finally closed escrow on our very first house together! eeeee! It's been an exciting time watching this house being built from the ground up. And after months of anticipation, waiting and way too much stress one person can handle, we closed escrow this afternoon and got our keys today! woohoo!!

We were given a lovely tollhouse cookie from the fine folks at the mortgage company :) It's so cute and such a part of this new memory, I dont know if I can cut into it. But darn it... It's a HUGE cookie that looks way too delicious! hahah Also I'm just dying to get the new Greeting Farm "My House" Stamp set to make & send out announcements with our new address :) It came out just in the nick of time since we'll be moving into a new home. ...If I only had the money! After all is said and done, this house and move is going to break me LOL!!! Ahhh well, eventually right? :) I Hope everyone is having a fine Thursday! I'm off to de-stress :) Toodles!

xoxo,

3 Days!

2009-11-09T20:45:00.004-06:00

We close escrow in 3 days! I am so excited yet totally freaked out. We've packed a total of 4 boxes and have so much more to do.

More Sweet November Candy!

2009-11-05T05:52:00.000-06:00

I go coo coo for coco-pops... I dont know why thats stuck in my head, but It reminded me of Amy's New Stamp Line Sweet November... I go coo coo her stamps!! Another chance to win her awesome blog candy!! :)

5 Random Items

2009-11-04T20:37:00.010-06:00

Show me 5 Random Items on your Desk (at work or home)

I got this from a friend of mine... It looked fun so I thought I would try it and pass it on... It's kinda fun to see the cute, weird & random things on people's desks.

Here are 5 random items from my desk @ work.

1. Flowers from Kevin

2. Bath & Body Works New Twilight Woods lotion

(it smells so good!)

3. Apples

4. A squeezable stress reliever toilet. (I know, you're probably thinking what the heck!?? This was given to me by one of my co-workers. We'll hang out after work and we tend to have "potty mouths" I got to work one morning and this was sitting on my desk in memory our hilarious conversations)

5. A cute miniature wooden doll from http://www.dolliewood.etsy.com/

She sits on my desk because she's small & cute!

Hope you've enjoyed seeing the random things on my desk.... Now lets see yours! :) Pass it on!

I'm alive!

2009-10-26T22:03:00.003-05:00

I'm alive, I swear! I've been so busy lately, I just haven't made any time to post. Life has been movin along with stamping, work, keeping up with my Etsy shop, you know the same ol' same ol'.... But lately we've also been looking for a new vehicle, talking about and *trying* to prepare ourselves for another move. Our new house is finished being built and it's almost move in ready. We close escrow on November 12th. Time is flying and we literally haven't done a single thing to get ready. That's 2 weeks away folks, and we have a laundry list of things to do, that's been untouched. We haven't started packing, gotten our home owners insurance, scheduled a home inspection, contacted a painter, found movers, looked for a moving truck, gotten our paint supplies, we havent put in our 30 days notice yet at our Apt complex and we also have yet to order any of the appliances we'll need like oh say.... a FRIDGE, a WASHER or DRYER!!! AYE!!!! There's so much to do, and so very little time... It's exhausing just thinking about everything.

In other such good news, I've been preparing for Halloween, my favorite time of year. I've been making ALL 12 of my close co-workers Anya themed Halloween cards w/ candy goodie bags and cupcakes. Oh crap! I just forgot abut the cupcakes till right now! lol I need to get the ball moving and finish up my Anya Halloween cards. I have like 5 more witch hats to draw and color before Friday along with the million other things to do on my list.

Here's a Preview of the huge mess of halloween greeting farm frenzy going on in my craft space. Anya isnt shown cause she isnt currently camera ready lol

Nite folks... I'm off to bed to get an early start tomorrow! ~ Toodles!

Sweet November Candy ~ Week 2

2009-10-26T21:45:00.005-05:00

Another fabulous week of Amy's Sweet November Blog Candy!!!

Feast your eyes on this my pretties.... Come on.... You know you want it... Go check it out!!

COUNTDOWN:

7 days people!! Aren't you so excited you could just spit? LOL Amy's Sweet November Stamps are being released at All That Scraps on November 2nd!!

Amy's Sweet November Blog Candy!!

2009-10-19T20:57:00.002-05:00

Yesssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!! Right from the start I *knew* deep in my gut that Amy deperately needed to have her own stamp line & company, and I had no doubts she's get it! She is so darn talented it turns my stomach! lol So when the surprise came that all her faithful blog readers wishes came true.... Voila! Sweet November Stamps is born!!

Amy is giving away some amazing blog candy, and seriously.... I hope I win!!!! Her designs are amazing. I'm hoping for the chance that the random number generator picks me, but if not, I'll still be purchasing every single one of her stamps.

Visit her blog if you havent already... Amy is truly inspiring :)

Bewitchingly Cute

2009-10-11T17:36:00.003-05:00

October has always been one of my favorite months. Falling leaves, crisp air, apple picking, pumpkin patches, Oktoberfest, festivals, and Halloween is approaching us coming soon. I've been out shopping for halloween goodies for some of my fellow co-workers. It's so much fun looking at new decorations each year. My halloween collections is becoming insane, which is good as it may help with decorations for next year. Kevin and I are hoping to have our wedding next Halloween. We want it dark, a little gothic, yet very romantic and elegant. We're hoping that if we can get the finances together and pull it off, we'll leave our guests with never forgetting our enchanting night. I've been working on halloween goodies and cards, and I just got this new cute digi stamp that I just couldnt wait to use. Isn't she cute!?

testing testing ... 1...2...3

2009-10-10T10:20:00.000-05:00

Just checking in quickly, life has been busy as ever, but I've still been checking up on all my favorite blogs daily. We're getting closer to finishing the house so we've been back n forth looking at the progress. We close escrow on November 12th, which is right around the corner. We had a slow day at work, and I worked on a card during my lunch break. Gotta love TGF and the versatility of switching stamps around. I used Reeta's head and Megan's body. Now I'm off to go get a hair cut which is extremely overdue, and to run a few errands TTFN!

You are totally Groovy!

2009-09-23T20:25:00.000-05:00

Hooray! Now that Berenice got her card, I can finally post a picture of it. I sent this card and a few other goodies to her a week or so ago :) Pardon the lighting... I deperately took this picture at work with my cell phone while I secretly packaged up her goodies in my cubicle lol! I forgot however to take pictures of the other goodies I sent her... You can get a peek over at her blog

Confession time

2009-09-23T20:10:00.000-05:00

I have a Confession:
This was the original card I made for Berenice... but I goofed it up BIG time! I stuck everything on the card with permanent adhesive and when it was finished I proudly held it up and realized the dang card opened up the wrong way! I immidiately yelled a few profanities "!@#$%^*&!!!and then laughed at myself before making her another card that wasn't upside down lol! I'm hoping I'm not the first to ever do that.... ahhh you live and learn.... that's what I get for not paying attention to what I'm doing heehee...

Love in my mailbox

2009-09-19T11:47:00.006-05:00

Today was quite the surprise. I went to check the mail and I got 2 notices to pick up packages at my Apartment Office. I walk in and one of the Apartment associates hands me 2 large packages... I say whaaat? My mom has been calling me all week asking if I received my b-day package yet, but nope these packages were not from good ol' mom. In fact, one was from my BFF Liz and the other one was quite unexpected, it was from a customer of mine Teresa. She had ordered some personalized address labels from me a couple times, and she's seriously one of the sweetest people I've NEVER met! lol The first time she ordered labels, I got a really sweet card in the mail thanking me, yet she purchased the labels from ME lol! I was so surprised I got a thank you card, so I sent her a card right back to thank her hahah!
Then she recently ordered more labels after moving, and now I get a random package in the mail. How sweet is this girl!? :) I dont even know if she knows I have a blog, but I'm going to have to come up with something really special to send her just because :)

My goodies from Liz

My goodies from Teresa

Just in case either Liz or Teresa read this...

THANK YOU GIRLS!!!! XOXOXOXO

Courage, Strength, Hope, Faith

2009-09-16T23:59:00.001-05:00

Yesterday my co-workers and I found out that another co-worker of ours just got a call from her doctor and found out she has breast cancer. My heart sank and my thoughts and prayers really went out to her since one of my Aunts recently found out she also has breast cancer. A few of us at work pitched in and got her some beautiful flowers and I was designated to make her a card. I quickly threw this together this morning while I was at work so we could all sign her card to let her know we were there for her. Now looking at the card all I see are mistakes and little things I would have changed, not to mention the lighting at work is horrible lol. It's funny how we can criticize our own work, yet it turns out she loved the card and was surprised that I made it :) It makes me feel good, to have brightened her day after receiving some unfavorable news.

Thank you Berenice!

2009-09-15T20:59:00.000-05:00

On my birthday, I received one of the cutest cards and goodies from my fellow blogger Berenice She is such a sweetheart for sending such a lovely card and gifts. She made an amazing shaker card, which I want to learn how to make! It arrived on my birthday with perfect timing :)

Thank you so much Berenice!!! xoxox

Ps. I sent you a card and some goodies.... I hope you like them :)

Halloween Labels

2009-09-14T23:00:00.007-05:00

I made these Hello Kitty Labels for Halloween. The examples below were for a friend of mine. I cant wait to stick these on my Halloween Treats and Goodies, they're so cute:)

Birthday Anya ~ Thank you's

2009-09-11T15:35:00.000-05:00

A bug definetly caught up with me. I feel like I've been run over by a truck today, but even so I was so greatful to the wonderful things people did for me at work yesterday, especially Edith. She made her wonderful cake and I wanted to give her a Thank you card because I know how much money and time goes into making her delicious cakes. It was 6am, and this is what I quickly made up before rushing off to work.

Sadie... My Wild Sprout

2009-09-11T14:53:00.000-05:00

Meet Sadie! She is my 2nd sprout I'm submitting out of the 3 we can enter. I made her look a more like the other Wild Sprouts. I purposely made her dress a little more plain looking, but only so you could have more options and decorate her dress however you'd like it to look. I hope you like her :)

Olivia... My Wild Sprout

2009-09-11T13:31:00.000-05:00

Ok so Marie posted her template and I'll be honest, I dont know how true to form my sprouts are to her template, but I drew Olivia & Sadie before she made the template so hopefully these work. If either of my sprouts were to be chosen, Maybe she can re-do them to make them look nicer and fit them how she'd like (you know... that's *if* my sprouts were to get chosen lol!)

Here's Olivia - She comes with an optional hair bow that you can place in different spots in her hair. I hope you think she's super adorable!! :)

Happy Birthday to Meeeeeeee!

2009-09-10T22:59:00.000-05:00

Well today is my Birthday! I'm older, a little wiser, feeling a little under the weather, but the day is going great! I got to work today and my cubicle was decorated which was a HUGE surprise since I'm still the "new girl" so I didn't think anyone even knew it was my birthday. This girl Edith made me her famous toffee crunch chocolate cake that is so decadent and delicious, I could have just died and gone to heaven! This is what I saw today when I got to work :)

My Little Cubicle

21... uhhh yeah 10 yrs ago today! lol but this was so cute

Edith's Killer Toffee Crunch Cake.... Mmmmm

After a busy day at work Kevin took me to dinner. We went to the fabulous J Alexander's. We then came home and I found a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a cute card that played music and a Ice Cream Cake from 31 Flavors Baskin Robbins ;)

What a day... time to crawn into bed... Nite y'all! (^_^) zzzzz

xoxo,

Wild Sprouts

2009-09-09T21:05:00.000-05:00

I am really excited with the news that Marie will letting 1 lucky winner design a new Wild Sprout for The Greeting Farm. As a kid I loved to draw, paint, doodle... there was always a pen or some sort of drawing material in my hands. I still remember back in 1st grade I said, "when I grow up I want to be an art teacher" I disliked my art teacher because she was REALLY mean and would pick on me about not drawing my palm trees the way she wanted them to look. From that point on I thought I wanted to be an art teacher because I knew I'd be a better and a nicer teacher than she ever was lol! It's funny how I can remember certain memories from my childhood, yet I cant tell you what I had for dinner last week lol! Honestly it's been years since I've gone back into drawing, but I couldn't resist drawing my my own Wild Sprout. I want to enter the challenge and I've already drawn 1 sprout and I may draw another to choose from. I'm still debating on what I'd like to name her, but I figure even if I don't get picked, it wouldnt matter because I still love the way she looks and I could use her in many of my own cards. So until the challenge starts, I leave you with a tiny sneek peek of what I drew up today.

Pardon the scan, This was drawn then colored then copied... I'm still trying to figure out the best way to scan things with my new printer.

Farm Fresh Friday - Inside Counts Challenge

2009-09-08T18:35:00.000-05:00

I’ve been waiting to create a card like this from the first moment I saw Wild West Anya & Sheriff Ian… The outside of the card looks like a regular old barn; shoot…it’s even in the shape of a barn! How sweet is that!? Then when you open it up, SURPRISE! Anya & Ian are having a Wild Western Hoe Down with their cute little Farm Friends! It’s a cute little way to say, “Howdy!” to anyone you know.

Being that I just moved to Texas, I thought this would be really cute card to send to a friend back home in California… (Californian’s have a tendency to think TX is full of barns, western gear and cowboys anyway lol! )

Ps... The Barn is a Digi Stamp made by Lynda Nielsen. I randomly came across it in her Etsy shop, and knew this was the perfect barn for my Greeting Farm Stamps. How can you have a farm without a barn anyway? :)

xoxo,

I want candy!

2009-09-07T19:09:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love amazing blog candy?? Many of you who I talk with about the greeting farm, stamping, and all of the wonderful creations I've come across thorough the blog, the shop, know that when I mention how inspired I am by Amy, then the name wont come as a surprise when I mention her again today! I talk about Amy's creations as if she were one of my closest friends, yet I dont even know her LOL!! I just love her work, and she truly inspires me with every card she makes. Check out Amy's blog and her amazing blog candy she's giving away! Don't leave a comment because I wanna win! lol j/k! (kinda) hahah....

Anywho, what are you waiting for... go check it out and stay awhile and visit her blog... it's just as awesome as she is!! :)

What I want to win the most is her card of Birthday Anya... isnt this just too cute for words??

xoxo,

Fun with Digi Stamps

2009-09-06T21:57:00.000-05:00

Awhile back I was browsing some of the many blogs I love to read and I came across In Style Stamps. I was looking for some new digital stamps cause I love instant gratification and being able to quickly download a stamp and and start on a new card. In Style Stamps has really cute Anime stamps, like Ava here. I got a bunch of new digi stamps and finally got to sit down with some and play around with them today. I made this card today using Ava Standing. Isn't she a cutie?
What I also love, is they have a variety of other fun single stamps and backgrounds that you could use with many other stamps you already own. There are some fun and unique stamps in the objects section, like the VW Van I picked up for only .99 cents which I thought will go perfectly The Greeting Farm's Hippie Anya and HG Peace Stamps. The Sunflower Ava is standing on was only $2... with prices like these, you really can't pass them up! :)

©InStyle Stamps 2008-2009

We all scream for ice cream!

2009-09-06T12:30:00.000-05:00

Growing up my sister and I would always fight over ice cream. It was always about who opened the ice cream first, who got the most, and who finished off the carton when the other person didn't get any. Occasionally, we'd work as a team to make our own ice cream... so in honor of our cool treat we also loved to eat and fight about, I made this card for my sister :)

Sending Smiles

2009-09-05T15:04:00.000-05:00

Just dropping in with a quick hello. It's labor day weekend and I haven't been feeling up to par. I dont know if it's the changing of the season or if I've been slowly catching this mysterious bug that's been going around work. While taking it easy this weekend, I was thinking of my mom and sister and made them some cards. I finished my mom's and I'll post my sisters once it's done.

The inside says:

Like the sunshine in the morning,
may this brighten your day,
and remind you that you're thought of
in a very warm way

Happy Birthday to my BFF!

2009-08-31T19:15:00.000-05:00

Ok I'm kinda hoping my best friend doesnt randomly come along and decide to read this post. Tomorrow is her birthday and I made her an extra special card. I'm broke as a joke right now since we're in the process of buying a house any and all money we've earned is going towards closing costs, moving... etc... *Wish us luck*

Anywho, so I felt really bad about not being able to spoil her on her birthday so I made her a b-day card and will have to make it up to her after we close escrow on the house. I altered Megan and swapped bodies from the Pretty Hat Set. Ever since I saw Amy alter her first Anya, I was hooked. While I haven't altered an anya yet, I'm slowly working my way there. I liked the way this card came out. It was simple, cute and special enough for my best friend :)

Farm Fresh Friday - Sketch 6

2009-08-29T17:11:00.000-05:00

Time for another Farm Fresh Friday! I need to post more regularly during the week, so my posting doesn't just happen to be for every farm fresh friday ;) My weeks are so busy between work, home, Snail Mail Creations and checking out the progress of our new house, that I haven't been able to capture everything. I'm going to make an effort to work on that this week because my days are busy and life is constantly going. It would be nice to document more.

This is my submission for this weeks challenge. I ended up altering Annika again. For some reason I just love her face and hair. I love the versitility with TGF stamps to swap heads, bodies, accessories, pets etc...

Ok gotta jet....See ya later with a sneak peek for a birthday card I made for my BFF! ;) xoxo

Happy (early) Birthday to Me!

2009-08-28T20:30:00.000-05:00

I dont know if anyone truly knows just how much I LOVE Hello Kitty! Ok so maybe that's a lie, but most people who know me pretty well know I dont just love hello kitty, they know I'm downright obsessed lol ~ Always have been... always will..... nuff said. :)

My birthday is coming up again in about 2 weeks. Meh! I hate Birthdays and getting older. Last year Kevin really outdid himself with birthday surprises that he'll probably never be able to live down for the rest of his life. #1 he proposed and #2 he also got me a puppy... talk about shocker! So now its basically impossible to top my last birthday with any sort of huge surprise. But this guy ceases to amaze me, and this year he did pretty damn good too! He got me an early birthday present and I'm really excited about it too! He got me the Sizzix Hello Kitty Big Shot. He knows how much I love HK, plus he knows how much I love crafting, scrapbooking and my obsession with The Greeting Farm and making fun & cute cards.

I've seen so many people making some of the most amazing cards, so of course I want to make some awesome cards too! My newest thing I've been dying to get are some spellbinders nestabilities to expand the possibilities for my cardmaking etc.... With my new Hello Kitty Big Shot, I can finally make some new shapes other than just circles or scalloped circles and add more flair to my cards. I feel so outta the loop on whats new and cool with the crafting machines. I need to find some more crafty friends, take a scrapbooking class again or go hang out at Archivers and try to make some friends by hanging out all day or something? lol I need to find a Scrapbook Expo too!

Next on my Wish List:

I dont know if anyone can tell, or how obvious it is... but ALL of my cards have been made with bare minimum craft supplies since we just moved and we're planning to move again in a few months once our house is built. I'm slowly getting more and more supplies together and then once our house is finished I'm gonna have my very own kick ass craft studio to work in :) Yee-Haw! Gotta get that Texas talk in there :) hahah Ok maybe not so funny, but I amuse myself :)~
Thanks for stopping by... it's the weekend folks so I'll be making more Greeting Farm Cards. My BFF's Birthday is coming up so I've gotta make her a card! :)

TGIF!

Dream Big!

2009-08-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

" Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the Life you have imagined."

- Henry David Thoreau

xoxo,

Farm Fresh Friday - Forever Friends

2009-08-23T18:52:00.001-05:00

It's another Farm Fresh Friday Folks! I've been busy with the new job, so crafting has taken a temporary backseat until I can get used to my new 8-5 work schedule again. I was out of work for 6 months so getting back into the swing of things again has left me exhausted during the week, my only "me" time is on the weekends. So as soon as Saturday hit, I was catching up on blogs and hitting the craft table to get organized again :)

Here's my FFF Challenge - Sketch #5

This was my first time attempting to alter my TGF stamps. I swapped the heads on Annika and Megan. I also used Reeta's Kitty, and the Terrier in the Pretty Hat set. My Anya and Greeting Farm Collection of stamps is almost complete. I have an insane goal to own every stamp Marie has ever made lol! Anywho back to more stamping fun! see ya next time!

xoxo,

I Wanna be just like Amy Chellenge

2009-08-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

Over at Club Anya, They there was a new challange I couldn't pass up! It's the "I wanna be just like Amy!" Contest. Amy always creates the cutest and most creative cards I've ever seen. She's one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to card making and I think she may be the queen of altering Anya too!

This was my "attempt" at creating a card like Amy's layout. I've been dying to use my Alice Anya and my Wonderland set, so I thought I would mix them in together. I wish I could have fit more fun Wonderland items on my card, but I only had so much space to work with. Plus I didnt want my card to look too cluttered.... which I'm still wondering if I over-did it???

Anywho, here's my card.. hope you like it :)

xoxo,

The Watering Hole

2009-08-06T23:30:00.000-05:00

Kevin and I decided to take a drive out to our home site since it's been a couple weeks or so since we've stopped by or even checked in with the sales office to see how everything is coming along with our house. They originally told us in mid August we'll get to set up a meeting with the builder and around the same time they'll break ground and start building our house. We're almost in mid August so we've been wondering if anything new has been going on in our new neighborhood.

We drove by tonight and were really surprised to see them watering down our lot. This is the first step right before they break ground to build. They'll get it all nice and wet to make it easier to dig deep for plumbing etc and then lay our foundation. As we were hanging out admiring our future home, Blake (Our Home Salesman) drove by since he lives right around the corner from where our new house will be. We got a chance to speak with him for a moment and he let us know we should be setting up an appt with the builder within the next week or 2. Things are moving right along... I can't believe they're already watering down our lot to get ready to start the building process. Once they start, everything will move very fast from here on out.

If you recall, just a few weeks ago things looked like this

Now they look like this

They've just started a new home right next door to us too

While we were there we also met one of our new neighbors. He was driving around checking out the neighborhood and his lot to see if they've started anything on his new house just as Kevin and I had stopped by too. He came over and introduced himself, he was extremely nice and we got to chat a little. He and his wife are newly married and they're around the same age as Kevin and I. They're closing date is within the same month as ours, so I am really looking forward to meeting his wife once we all get moved in. It would exciting if our new neighbors lead to making some new good friends :)

Anywho... that's all the updates on the house for now. Hope you enjoy!

"My favorite things" Challenge

2009-08-02T18:54:00.000-05:00

This card resembles my most Favorite Birthday Ever. Last year on my Birthday My fiancee proposed, so it was a very special birthday since it was a complete surprise. I was so nervous the whole time he was down on one knee all I could remember hearing him say was, "Will you be my Wife?"

Challenge rules:

Create a card/layout with photos from your fave bday, or altered item that evokes and/or reminds you of your FAVORITE birthday memory. This can be your favorite present, bday party, etc. but it has to tie into your favorite memory somehow.

Farm Fresh Friday - Fluttery Floral Challenge

2009-07-26T09:12:00.000-05:00

I worked on a new Farm Fresh Friday Challenge over at The Greeting Farm. This was the Fluttery Floral challenge. The rules were to use flowers and at least 1 butterfly. This is only my second challenge, and I love how this card turned out!

xoxo,

Birthday Greetings

2009-07-24T17:50:00.000-05:00

This Monday I start my brand spankin new job, so I will have very limited crafting time. I've been busy during my last 4 days of freedom to craft as much as I can just to get my crafting fix. My sister's birthday is coming up in a week, so making her a birthday card was on my "to do" list since I hate sending late birthday cards when I'm currently ahead of schedule. I just know once I start working again, I'd probably forget or would run out of time. I am the Queen of Procrastination! lol I used the Susie Surprise stamp from The Greeting Farm for her card. I thought it came out really cute, I'm sure she'll love it.

Farm Frsh Friday's - Believe

2009-07-23T14:33:00.000-05:00

Wow, I am so excited! I finally participated in my very first Farm Fresh Friday Challenge over at The Greeting Farm's blog. I've always seen and missed the challenges every time they came up. I finally sat down and completed it in time :)

Here's the layout for the challenge:

Here's my FFF Submission:

Sold!

2009-07-19T12:17:00.000-05:00

Finally! Here's our first official picture of the new sold sign. Last month we picked out the lot we wanted in a new and very cute neighborhood in Katy. We then put our deposit down, picked out our upgrades we're adding to the house and picked out our options we can customize in our house that the builder has given us. We just turned in our loan paperwork this week and everything is moving right along. I am so excited and I can't wait till they start to break ground and actually build! We'll be meeting with the contractors in mid -August to discuss the whole build process and to get more details then. :)

The Greeting Farm Fun!

2009-07-14T16:03:00.000-05:00

I've recently discovered hidden feelings that I'm lacking creativity. My Etsy Shop has been busy with sales, but it hasn't been fulfilling my creative needs. Crafting has always been my outlet, and with my nomadic lifestyle within the past 5 years, I haven't been able to fully unpack and get back to crafting. I want to explore and expand my creativity, imagination and make new things. I think I have finally solved that problem. I have found a NEW love for stamping. I say it's a NEW love, because as a kid I always had stamps, but lately I've been wanting to take it to a whole other level. I also love to scrapbook, and now I can combine the two. I found the cutest stamps from a company called The Greeting Farm. I've purchased almost their entire inventory, and I am ready to stamp away! ;) I still have lots to learn about techniques, and I have questions on how to do certain things I've seen a some other TGF stampers do, but I am very excited. I've created 2 cards so far. I made one for my Mom and one for my Sister. I dropped them in the mail the other day just to say hello, now that I'm miles away in Texas.

Keep in mind, these are very basic cards. Most of my crafty supplies will remain packed until we move into our new house. I went out and bought some new papers and supplies to help get me started. I used the Panda Friends Set for my Mom's Card, and 2 Different Stamps of Anya from the Miss Anya Collection, and Rain Snow Shine. I colored in the stamps with copic markers and used random papers I bought.

The Anya on the left is supposed to be my sister,and the Anya on the Right with the Sunglasses is me... Cute huh! ;)

Close Up

Guess who turned 1?

2009-07-12T01:45:00.000-05:00

Guess who turned 1 today?

That's right, my little Bailey Boo just had her first Birthday. As you can see she's living it up! ;)

Update - Unemployment Blues

2009-06-29T13:07:00.000-05:00

Update to my last post....

Not even 2 minutes after I posted my last blog venting about my job situation and how I ran out of my new job and training today, I just got a call about another job!

A huge part of my apprehension for my new job I accepted was due to a call I received last week. I think I had mentioned in my previous post that the same day I accepted my job offer I got a call about another job that sounded more up my alley and more like something I'd want to do. When I got the call I was really busy and was in the middle of trying to take care of "house stuff" and we were putting a deposit down on our house. Thinking back now, I shouldn't have answered my phone. I'm more likely to call someone back if I get a voicemail and can sit down at a later time and talk to someone about a job versus when I'm running around in a hurry trying to get as much stuff done. I told her I would think it over and call her back. Because of the timing of the phone call and being in the middle of trying to take care of things with the house, I never called her back. Instead I just obsessed about it all week feeling like an asshole for not calling her back. Then like an idiot I waited a week before finally calling her because I kept thinking it was too late, or that I waited too long and I was sure the job was taken by now. Also since I didnt call her back the next day, I was really feeling pretty jerky. Not to mention on top of it all, I already accepted the other job and my first day was today - Ugh! - I'm just a mess I tell you!

Anwyays...All week while my intuition was going crazy and red flags were flying up everywhere about this new job I accepted, I still couldn't let this other job go and it was constantly in the back of my mind. Then yesterday in between the stress and the tears about starting my new job, I called the other lady back and left her a voicemail. I appologized for not getting back to her sooner and just wanted to see if the job was still available. Then today after flipping out over this job and running outta there like a bat out of hell, I came home and posted my blog venting since I'm just feeling outta whack right now. Then not even 2 minutes later I just got a call from that lady about the other job I've been thinking about. Yay!!! So now I have an interview tomorrow. She was honest with me and said they were considering another gal for the job too, but told me the other girl hasn't even interviewed yet but they had interest in her by her resume. But then I guess they did about me too. So tomorrow's my interview and we'll see what happens :)

See folks... This is why I listen to my intuition.... it NEVER lets me down! :)

Unemployment Blues

2009-06-29T12:05:00.000-05:00

Jobs are like men... You can't live with them.... and you cant live without them!

Things have been so busy and just kinda crazy lately, I'm just feeling stressed, frustrated and feeling like I've got the unemployment blues. I need a regular 8-9 hr job so I have a regular income coming in. Since moving to Houston I've had oh maybe 5-10 interviews I'm guessing? And I've received 3 job offers, all of which did not feel like the right job for me. Either the schedules were too crazy, or the pay wasn't what I'm looking for. I nicely declined 2 of the positions, and accepted one of the job offers. Later that same day I got a call about another job that sounded more up my alley, but I never called that lady back. Instead I've just been thinking about it all week - Ugh! So this morning was my first day of training at my new job I accepted. I was in tears yesterday and last night because I still can't shake this feeling that this just isn't the right job for me. In past experience, If I dont feel right about a job, or I hate the job before I even start, or I'm just not feeling like this is a good fit for me, I just cant see myself there for any length of time. Also in the past my intuition has never done me wrong, for example - I passed up 2 job offers before I got my kick ass job at Waste Management. If I just took either of the first 2 jobs that came along, I wouldn't have been available to get the job at WM. The first 2 jobs just didnt feel right and my intuition has always been right. When I go against it, bad things happen every single time. When I got laid off at Waste Management in January, I started a new job at a wholesale t-shirt/design company. It seemed ok at first, the pay wasn't quite what I wanted and then I kept getting all these red flags about the job and my intuition was going haywire! The people who interviewed me talked very negatively about their own boss, they seemed like they all hated their jobs and asked me if I was sure I wanted the position. I quickly said yes without really thinking it over just because I wanted to start working again and I almost didn't care where I was working. Then I started the job, and the owner of the company was a total dickhole! He would yell and cuss at his employees and call his customers assholes, idiots, and every other profanity he could think of. He was ex-military, very strict, very much an asshole and everyone that worked there kept warning me about him. I should have listened to my intuition since I was weary about this job and after my first day I was in tears and didn't want to go back. A few days later they let me go anyways, because they wanted someone bi-lingual, but I was sooo glad because by that time I was too chicken shit to quit! I mean right there that tells you that you need to listen to your gut and trust in yourself, and when I go against myself, things just don't work out.

So this morning I went to this new job even after crying about going last night and I was sitting in the room where they do the training. I was filling out my w4 and my new hire paperwork and I was shaking. I still could not get over this feeling like I just wanted to run out of the room and leave. I kept cursing myself that I even walked in there. While I filled out all of my paperwork, the HR lady gave us more info about the sales job and then it just made it even more apparent I really didn't want this type of job. I've been open to looking into different jobs and even interviewing with everyone because sometimes you just never know... but this time, I was just a wreck over feeling "stuck" in this job if I started it. I know myself too well, and if I were to start this job, I'd be miserable every single day, in tears when I'm home, stressed out beyond belief, but I would never quit. I'd just let myself be stuck, and honestly that's not how I want to live my life. So as some of the other new hires in the room were finishing up their paperwork, I was like ok this is it... I need to make a break and just get out of here. I mean there's no sense in wasting their time training me or wasting my time sitting in that room for 8 hours today if I knew I wouldn't want to go back tomorrow or ever again. So I finally just said screw it and went up to the HR lady and gave her my new hire packet that wasn't filled out yet and politely let her know I had changed my mind about the position, and thanked them for their time and flew outta there like a bat outta hell!

I've never felt so relieved, embarrassed, stressed out, and so guilty all at the same time! I know I will find a job that's a right fit for me, but I just need to be patient, and keep applying for more jobs.

Anyways, thanks for listening...

Unbalanced Creativity

2009-06-29T09:56:00.000-05:00

There's lots going on this week and I don't know how to feel about any of it. I temporarily closed my etsy shop yesterday because I'm just not feeling very fulfilled with my shop. Don't get me wrong, the sales are good, but I used to "craft" and make physical things I'd sell in my shop like pouches, purses, plush, coasters and other things that challenged my creativity and kept my mind constantly occupied. I always had new ideas of things I wanted to make or ideas of things I wanted to try making. Now days I'm just making and printing paper goods like address labels and note cards, and I'm not using my hands or imagination to make anything to fulfill my creative needs.

Crafting and creating has always been an outlet in my life that I love to get lost in. In 2006 I lived in Connecticut with an ex-boyfriend. We bought a 3 bedroom house together and I got my very own craft room. For the first time in my life I had a space all to myself. I spent hours upon hours in my craft room just enjoying every minute of the day that I was creating something, and even when I wasn't creating things, I was thinking of new ideas and all the things I wanted to make. I had laundry lists of things to make, things to try, supplies to get, and it just fulfilled my creative mind. Then the relationship I was in abruptly ended and I moved out of our house and moved on. I ended up moving back home to California and moved back in with my mom in her Apartment. Ever since I moved back to San Diego from Connecticut, I've stopped crafting and creating. I think it was mostly due to the fact that I went from living in a 3 bedroom house with my own craft room to shoving everything I owned into 1 bedroom in my mom's apartment. I'm grateful she had a place for me to stay, but everything from that point changed.I've since moved out of my mom's apartment, but I still haven't had the space to unpack my craft supplies let alone have enough space to sit and create. I'm at the point now where not having an outlet to explore my creativity is hindering my spirit and my life. I just have this constant feeling like something isn't right in my life, when I know for a fact, I'm very blessed and have no reason to complain. I just have these wild desires to craft and create, but the timing isn't right. We just moved to Houston and we're temporarily in an Apartment until we buy a home and escrow closes. The good thing is, we're in the process of getting our new home which will be large enough for me to have my own craft room again, but my creativity has been suppressed for so long it feels like it's killing me. I just want to bust out all of my craft stuff and just make something already!! In the meantime, I just don't feel like keeping my etsy shop open and that saddens me.

Our Future House

2009-06-28T11:57:00.001-05:00

Our Future House

Kevin and I put a deposit down on a brand new house last week. It's not built yet, so we'll get to pick out some specifications as to what color brick we want, and we'll also get to pick other details like tile colors for flooring, counter tops, etc at a design center. We're hoping everything goes smoothly so we can get the ball rolling so we can close escrow before the end of November. We'd really like to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit before it expires this year.

This house is 2012 sq Ft. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 Baths, Laundry Room, Formal Dining Room, Kitchen Dining Area, Family Room, and 2 Car Garage and a Backyard. We'll have plenty of room if anyone wants to come visit us! :) *hint hint*

Wish us luck!

My Secret Hobby

2009-06-28T02:25:00.000-05:00

Most people dont really know I collect cute salt & pepper shakers. This is one hobby I've purposely keep a secret, otherwise the next thing I know i'd start getting s&p shakers for my birthday or holidays, and that's the last thing I need. (I've had past experience back in the 90's when I told people I loved ladybugs, fairies and tinkerbell lol) I'm pretty picky when it comes to my "collections". I dont collect just any type of s&p shakers, I only like to collect really cute or unique shakers from japan, cupcakes, and some from new places I visit. I was out running some errands a couple weeks ago and stopped in this pharmacy not too far from my house. The pharmacy had a post office inside, games, toys, greeting cards, make up, kitchenware and all sorts of neat little nick knacks. It reminded me of Burns Drugs in La Jolla, so I felt right at home. While I was there I found the cutest little salt and pepper shaker to add to my collection. It almost matches another cupcake shaker I have, only this one is smaller and it's a little more decorative. I thought it was adorable, so I picked it up. The top where the frosting is comes apart from the bottom, so it's stackable. It's just too cute!

Moving to Houston

2009-06-27T22:40:00.000-05:00

I've finally unpacked and gotten Kevin and I settled in our Apartment in Houston. Our apartment is really cute, and much larger than our apartment we had back in San Diego. We've got about 200-250 sq ft extra, with new carpet, new appliances, a fireplace, central air conditioning, a pool, and a fitness center, all for $100 more per month in rent!

Our trip was exhausting and Kevin and I both agree we will most likely never make the drive to or from Texas to California ever again unless we give ourselves more time, even then, that’s a stretch. We were utterly exhausted and it was physically painful to be in a car for 10+ hours a day. I took lots of pictures to remember our journey, since I know one day I'll look back and be glad we had the experience of driving cross country for our big move. If we ever do it again, I'd want to ride with Kevin in the same car. It might make things a little more interesting. Overall we made it safe and sound and the pets did really well in the car over the 2 day trip. Bailey was on her best behavior, we didn’t have any accidents and she didn’t whine or make a peep the entire time. She was a trooper! :)

Day 1:

6:00 a.m. - all packed up and ready to go!

Got the dog?.... Check!Got the cat?.... Check!Headed out on the 8 going east!Headed into Imperial ValleySleepy BaileyHeaded towards Yuma, AZWelcome to Arizona!Space Age LodgeDinosaurs hanging out at the Shell StationDriving through miles and miles of catusEnjoying the beautiful scenery in Arizona

Driving though New Mexico.

The clouds are coming down in a funnel - we're headed towards a stormWe're about to drive under a gigantic rainbowThe storm gets darkerWelcome to Texas!

Day 2:

Driving through the dark since 4:00 a.m... the first sign of lightWatching the sun riseSmile! ...( I'm so exhausted!)Stopping to fill up the gas guzzlerKevin in the Penske TruckBailey waking up from sleeping all morningAre we there yet?

Packing Boxes & The Curious Lil Dog

2009-05-12T15:28:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted anything in awhile, but that's because I've been lost in a sea of moving boxes. I'm still alive, just ruthlessly packing. Maddie has been in hiding because she knows a big move is coming, but Bailey has been curious as to what on earth is going on around here. This is her 1st move, so she has no idea what's going on, and likes to keep me company while I'm packing. Other than packing, I've also been busy trying to sneak in any last doctors/dentist/vet appointments, and seeing any friends before I leave. If anyone would like to plan a lunch date or hang out even if it was for a few hours... let me know and I'll schedule you in :) We're moving on May 24th, so I only have another 10 days to do anything"fun" besides pack, cause we all know how much fun packing is lol... So let me know, and I'll put my packing tape down, move some boxes to the side and head out just to spend some time with y'all before we make our 20 hour drive to Houston.

Here's some pictures so you can see how my life & living quarters have been over the past few weeks ...Pardon the mess, as you can see I have a lot of crap, and zero space to store stuff that's already packed lol!

The Sea of Boxes

just a few things left in the kitchen

Boxes stacked from the floor to ceiling!

My little helper ;)

Back from Houston

2009-04-23T10:56:00.001-05:00

We had a great trip to houston, but boy is it good to be back home. I was getting tired of living out of my suitcase, eating out for each & every meal and I was just ready to crawl back into my own bed. This trip was shorter than our last trip to Texas, but we were able to tell almost immediately that we loved Houston better than Austin & San Antonio. We're very spoiled living here in San Diego and we're used to having certain conveiniences around us within a very short radius like grocery stores, Target, Walmart, Costco etc...
Houston had TONS of shopping (and I mean TONS!), with a bigger city feel and with nicer suburbs. One of the things we didnt like in Austin and San Antonio is you still had to drive a distance just to run simple errands. We loved San Antonio for other reasons, but it wasn't convenient for us. So we've decided to make the move to Houston!

So now our plan is we'll finish packing up here, find an apartment & a storage unit in Houston. We'll rent a U-Haul or Penske truck of sorts, and then on Sunday May 24th, Kevin & I will drive out to Houston with all of our belongings. Kevin will drive out with me to help move and unload, and then he will fly back to San Diego to go back to work the following day. So basically once we arrive, I will be in Houston all by myself!!! eee! We still need an income coming in, so Kevin will continue working in California until I find a job in Houston. Then once I find a job, I'll let Kevin know and he'll put in his 2 week notice and fly out to Houston.
There was a small part of me that was telling me I should be nervous about this move, plus being away from Kevin will be tough, but then there's the rest of me thats saying, This is exciting! and not to worry because I'll do just fine on my own! Besides, it's only temporary until I find a job, and Kevin will be out in Houston before I know it. I've had quite a few employers interested in meeting with me, but because I am not in Houston it makes it a little harder to meet with anyone. Plus not to mention, even if I wanted to leave for Houston earlier than scheduled, we're just not ready... I have so much packing to do! Anywho, here's a few photos from our trip :)

This was in Katy, TX. (Most likely where we'll want to buy a home). It's sooooo beautiful & Green here with lots of trees!Kemah, TXOn our way to Kemah Boardwalk. Kemah is down along the Gulf Coast.The gulf coast Karyn & I with her new BFF Spongebob! lolKevin & I @ the BoardwalkCheese! Karyn & I with Mr. Sharky by the Aquarium."Welcome Y'all"Deep in the heart of Texas!

Hollister Rd. ;)

Off to Houston!

2009-04-11T10:30:00.000-05:00

We've packed our bags and we're on the road! We'll be in Houston from the 11th-19th!

See ya when we get back :)

Gnome Love

2009-04-09T22:56:00.001-05:00

My Gnome Labels were featured in a G.N.O.M.E.S Etsy Treasury today! - Yay!! ;)

Moving Preparations

2009-04-07T09:26:00.000-05:00

We decided it would be wise if we started preparing for the move before we go visit Houston in a few days. We went out and got a bunch of packing supplies and I came home and found my cat sitting in the sun next to some boxes. Looks like she's doing her part to prepare for the move., There's nothing she loves more than the warm sun and cardboard! It was so cute I had to grab my camera.

Moving Sale!

2009-04-04T18:30:00.000-05:00

..•:*¨¨*:• We're having a moving Sale Folks!!! •:*¨¨*:•..

We're having a Sale on all of our Plush and Houseware Items. We're moving across country, and I just cant bear to pack up and move all of my inventory (again). We're tight on space & everything must go! Check out my shop for some cute items and great deals!

Etsy Finds

2009-04-03T15:44:00.000-05:00

I found the most adorable bunny vase the other day.... Squeee! I am in love!

Flickr Collage

2009-03-30T00:56:00.000-05:00

My sleeping schedule has been all out of wack lately since we've been discussing moving. I have too much on my mind, and it's hard to sleep with thoughts flooding my mind. So rather than sleeping, I wanted to post this meme I found. It uses the search feature on Flickr.

How it works:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into a Flickr search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into the Mosaic Maker.

The Questions:
1. First name?
2. Favorite food?
3. High school you attended?
4. Favorite color?
5. Celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your Flickr name.

Here's how my collage looks

1. Jess 2. Mexican food 3. La Jolla 4.Pink 5. John Cusak 6. Iced Tea 7. Tahiti 8. Cake 9. Mommy* 10. My Honey Bunny 11. Cute* 12. iridescent spark

*Questions # 9 & 10 were from my hubby since I drew blanks for those two.

Headed to Houston

2009-03-29T16:23:00.000-05:00

We're heading back to Texas in just a couple of weeks, and this time we're headed to Houston. We've been looking to move to Texas, as last year we went to Austin & San Antonio. So far by the way things are going, i'd say we currently have a 95% chance we're actually moving. It's pretty exciting since we both feel as though we can't move in a forward direction in life and as a couple in California. It's time for a change and this feels like good timing.

We've been lookiong for things to do while we're in Houston and I have to admit, the only place I'm really looking forward to going to so far is CRAVE.

Dont's these look delicious? I could so go forma cupcake now! yum!

Etsy Treasury

2009-03-25T14:10:00.000-05:00

Etsy Treasuries are Awesome! My Ladybug and Clover Labels made it on a BNR treasury yesterday. Whoo!

We've officially set a date!!

2009-03-23T15:40:00.000-05:00

Safari & Zoo Stickers

2009-03-20T18:10:00.000-05:00

Here's some new stickers I made for a customer. She is having a Safari/Zoo themed Baby Shower. I made some examples and decided to add them to the shop ;) Safari Themed Showers and birthdays must be popular, this was my second request this month.

St. Patricks Day Labels

2009-03-17T13:30:00.000-05:00

I made these for St. Patricks Day, but really I love these for any time of the year.

Busy Bee!

2008-11-08T14:38:00.000-06:00

Been a little while since I checked in here. Life has been pretty crazy lately. Updates as of Lately:

1. Turned the BIG 30 in September
2. Got a mini daschund Puppy for my birthday.
3. Got Engaged on my Birthday.
4. My Fiancee moved in with me.
5. My Aunt Passed Away.
6. My Mom went into the hospital for a week.
7. PLanning and preparing for the Holidays.
8. Officially planning a wedding now! I feel kinda like a chicken with my head cut off between work, etsy orders, the puppy, family, wedding planning..etc...

Here's some pictures of Bailey...aka "The Destroyer of ALL things" LOL

8 weeks old - Her first night home

8 weeks old - Bailey was so shy

11 weeks old

14 weeks old - @ home relaxing in the sun

14 weeks old - Hanging at home w/ mom

LA County Fair

2008-09-14T20:27:00.000-05:00

So the summer is just about over, and we’re heading into fall, which happens to be one of my favorite times of year. Falling leaves, carmel apples, pumpkin patches, and Halloween. We don’t really get to experience the changing seasons in San Diego, but I still get to look forward to the carnivals, craft fairs, Oktoberfest, and festivals that are coming up... My best friend Liz, her Boyfriend Sam, Kevin and I all headed to the L.A. County Fair Today.... We had so much crap to eat... BBQ, Carmel Apples, Funnel Cake, Mini Doughnuts, etc... How can you go to a fair and not eat!?

Cuteness to the Max!

2008-08-01T14:04:00.000-05:00

The cuteness kills me. I want to get a mini daschund so bad it's killing me! I was looking for daschund breeders earlier tonight.... eee! I mean how could you honestly resist these faces??

Deep in the heart of Texas!

2008-07-19T22:41:00.000-05:00

Its been awhile since I've checked in here, but I've been around keeping myself busy! The last update I posted was Kevin and I were going to Texas. We were going to fly into Austin and work our way around till we got to San Antonio. We went to look at the area, to check out houses, and overall just to see if we could see ourselves moving there. We had an Amazing trip! We traveled all over Austin, areas surrounding Austin, and then made our way down to San Antonio stopping in each city along the way. We looked at a ton of houses in differnt suburbs/cities, and even had time for some touristy fun. Some of the houses we saw were in very nice areas, and others were just too far out in the boonies. At this point, we're not sure if we're planning to move to TX, as that's still up for discussion. But for right now, we're both pretty happy right here in San Diego.

7 days till Austin!

2008-05-11T16:53:00.000-05:00

7 Days to go and Kevin and I leave for our trip to Austin. I'm getting more excited about our trip. I was having a hard time at first, because we're not just going on a vacation, but we're going to check out the city, as Kevin and I may be planning to purchase a home in Austin. I was having a few fears as it still feels like I just moved home from CT, and I'm already planning to jet off to another state. We had a talk about some of my fears and anxiety over this trip, and Kevin put alot of them to rest. He's so patient, understanding and he actually listens when I talk. It's amazing. I told him I would take some time today to make a plan of some things I would like to see while we're in Austin. I'm having a hard time finding things to do there during the day . We'll be heading over to San Antonio as well.... I'm finding tons to do there! Kevin is so excited about this trip its absolutely adorable! I still need to research more and maybe find a few houses we can check out.

Seasons of Change

2008-04-19T00:46:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted a blog in a long time. I guess I didn't think I really had anything worth sharing. I went through a lot of changes since I moved back home from Connecticut, and things are going to be changing dramatically over the next year. Here's a mini re-cap on whats been going on over here in my world just to catch you up to speed....

~2007~
I've been working at my full time job which I absolutely love.
I moved out and got an Apartment with my sister.
Reunited with some old friends and got my social life back.

~2008~
Still at my job, and I still love it!
I wasn't looking for a relationship, I was still running from the thought of dating again. But before I could shoo him away I started seeing a new guy. We took things slow in the beginning which I needed, and we're officially together. Things are going great, and life is so much more exciting now! Yay! ^_^

I've been traveling up a storm. I've been to Vegas, went on a camping trip, Disneyland, and we're planning a trip to LA for this weekend, and Texas next month.
My sister moved out, and I'm living on my own .... Finally!!
Been busy fixing up my apartment and doing small fixer-uper projects around here.... lots of painting, rearranging, bought new furniture- this place is looking so cute!
Snail Mail Creations is on a temporary hiatus till I figure out what I want to do with it. - My website is currently down, but I still have my Etsy shop. I'd like to do a whole overhaul of my website, and re-start with a fresh look and ideas.... The hamster wheel is still turning over this one..... more to come later...

I haven't felt any sort of creative buzz in over a year. I went through a huge transition with 2 moves and just wasn't up to doing anything. I think I just needed a break. Today I started crafting again. It just felt good. I'm beginning to feel like myself again.
Been busy working on myself, having a social life, traveling and planning for the future.... lots of changes are coming.... I can feel the seasons of change.

Ps... I'm blonde now too! ha!

Cool stuff on Etsy.com: Featured Item: Green Apple Plushie

2006-08-24T11:19:00.000-05:00

Yay! my green apple plushies were featured on Cool Stuff on Etsy

Featured on Dreams & Jewelry!

2006-07-30T23:55:00.000-05:00

Such a sweetheart! Andrea from Dreams & Jewelry featured some of the items in my shop that she thought were cute. I feel so honored and loved ♥ ~ Thanks Andrea!

New Blog

2005-12-11T22:47:00.000-06:00

Hey.. Not that anyone reads this blog, but just in case...

I havent been using this blog really since I made it.. if you want to catch more updated action of me and what i've been up to, go to my regular Blog at:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/iridescentspark/

xo~ Jess

Moving Time Approaching Quickly

2005-10-18T23:36:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited, Ahhh!! The anticipation is killing me. Mike and I find out this Friday if we'll be getting our new house. Everything has gone great so far, and it's just so exciting and scary at the same time. I dont see any reason why we wouldnt get our house, but its still just a little scary since we've heard horror stories from friends about how everything went great, and then for some reason or another the day of closing something fell through, and they didnt get their house. - So I guess I just have a few little fears. I know I cant control the situation or get us our house or not, so I really need to just let go, and trust that everything will work out and be ok. :)On another note, Our Apartment looks like a complete and total disaster right now lol. There are boxes everywhere!! My poor cat Maddie just looks so scared. I think the last time she saw this many boxes is when I moved to L.A. for 6 months, and she had to stay with my mom while I was living with my Grandparents. Everyone told me just to give my cat away while I went to live with my Grandparents (since they wouldnt let me take her with me) - but i refused. I told my mom I'd rather go homeless or live in my car to keep my cat, rather than give her away. So my mom agreed to take her in and watch her for me till I got my own place. Then the next thing you knew I moved to CT, and I had my sister fly maddie out here to be with me. I can tell maddie knows something is up, and she just looks scared. She doesnt know why everything in our Apt is dissapearing, and why boxes are everywhere. I hope she doesnt think im leaving her again. Poor Kitty. So yeah, If everything goes as planned, We'll be in our new house This Friday. We'll be making the big move this Weekend. So as of Friday if no one hears from me for a few days, Its because My Internet wont be hooked up until Monday the 24th. Well darlins, I better get going. :)

2005-10-16T14:20:00.000-05:00

Ok, I don't mean to make this entry a total bitch-fest, but in the last 24 hours since I wrote last, everything has just been.. well exhausting. So since this is my journal,I figure I'm going to sometime or another. So if you dont wanna read any of my bitchin, this is your last chance to Exit. lolSo Last night I could have sworn I was going to freeze to death. There's nothing like crawling in bed waiting to hop into some covers and hit the hay...But that didnt happen. I laid in bed for almost an hour trying to fall asleep cause there's nothing like a bedhog and cover-stealing boyfriend & cat to keep you frozen through most of the night. haha Mike must have been dreaming but I dont know what was going on in his dreams, but I almost got elbowed and sucker punched in the eye a few times while trying to fall asleep. Then he starts flailing around in bed tossing and turning and then starts snoring really loud. He normally never snors, so i was super annoyed by this lol. I moved his head so he'd stop snoring, and then between fighting for an inch of covers with Mike and trying to find a place to put my feet where i could be comfortable, my cat refused to move off the edge of the bed. All I can say is she puts up a mean fight- stubborn cat! I kept moving my feet trying to make her get up and jump off the bed, but she wasn't havin it. She stayed put, and then eventually got up only to lay on top of me. lol ~ Last night was definetly not one of my better nights of sleep. I woke up this morning with a sore throat, and stuffy nose.. I was not a happy camper! All i remember is waking up and mumbling to Mike telling him he's a Cover Whore! LOL When I was slightly more coherent, I checked for any signs of frostbite LOL. Luckily, I didnt lose any limbs. - I think when we move, I want my own room, and my own bed hahah! A girl just needs her sleep dammit!
Today was a busy day, It was still raining when we woke up, so I went and took a hot shower, hoping that would make me feel a little better. Then we went out to run our normal Saturday errands, like the Bank, Post Office and anything else that needs to be done. Then we stopped off at Mike's mom's house to pick up some boxes she saved from when she moved. We're moving in a week, and have no boxes and have hardly packed anything. So we went there, and got the boxes and talked with her a bit. She made us some lunch, and then we watched the neighbors across the street because one of the girls across the street was getting married. I saw her pop out in her front yard to see if it had stopped raining yet, and she was in her wedding gown. - She had a georgous gown!! I was so envious of her today. - The maybe a 1/2 hour later if even that, it had seemed that magically is had stopped raining and the sun came out!! I couldnt believe it!! The clouds parted and we had blue skies.. it was Beautiful today around 1-2pm. :) That girl who was getting married must have been soooo happy!! It had rained 8 days straight, and on her wedding day, by noon the sun comes out.- Now thats awesome! So then mike and i went home, and started packing since we got a whole bunch of boxes. Then after we did that, we decided that we really needed to paint out bedroom. When we moved here our walls were white, so we decided to paint the bedroom, and always said we'd just paint it back to white when we moved...Man was that a stupid plan! I would have just said forget it, and let them take part of my deposit so they can paint the walls back to white after we move, but our landlords are nice, and told us not to pay our last month of rent, and they'll just use our deposit. So now we felt obligated to paint the walls back ourselves since we said we'd do it from the begining. So we spent the rest of our afternnon painting. - It didnt take too long to paint, but we wernt neccessarily using our brains when we thought since we were painting, we should finish up our room and take the air conditioners out of our windows, so our bedroom would pretty much be done till moving day. Well when we took the air conditoner out of the window water came gushing out like there was no tomorrow!! - it was soooooo disgusting!! I loved having the air conditioners this summer, but after seeing the inside of an AC after it was running most of the summer, and then its been raining cats and dogs here, its just not a pretty sight. Anyways, so after cleaning that up and finishing the painting, I'm just pooped now. lol I didnt lose any limbs last night from frostbite, but my body is so damn sore from painting, and reaching, and bending, and painting, and moving heavy furniture, I think my legs are going to detach themselves from my body at any moment. LOL Argh well i gota go- Mike is whinning to help him go put our room back together since our bed is still up against the dresser, and everything is out of place since we were letting the paint dry.. Bye for now :)Updated after quickly rushing off to help my incompetent boyfriend: Ok Mike is such a dork! I hurried and ended my jounral entry as fast as I could so he'd stop whining to come and help him put the room back together, and then I get there, and he's finished. - Pfft!! Men! Argh! How Typical! lol

2005-10-15T01:45:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, I was feeling the chill of the October air all day today. I was a little bummed out because it's almost Halloween, and I haven't gotten to decorate at all. We're in the process of packing everything up and getting ready to move by next week, so I've been unable to decorate anything for Halloween. It's been a bummer, cause I have these really cute Halloween Decorations that I bought, and cant put them out yet until we move. Once we move and semi get settled, the decorations will get to be on display for about a week, then the next thing you know Halloween will be over, and I'll have to try again on the whole Halloween Decorating next year. Ahh.. C'est La Vie..
Anyways, The weather has been so crazy lately- It has been raining a week straight. I've almost forgotten what the sun looks like LOL I miss the warmth. Its so crazy cause It's fall.. My first fall season ever, and if this rain doesnt stop soon, I'll miss all the Fall Foliage, and all the trees will lose all their leaves, and it'll be too cold and wet and we'll go straight into winter. (I really hope that doesnt happen)I was supposed to take pictures of my first fall.

This is what we "should" be seeing...

This is what we're currently seeing.... lol

I love it when it rains at night, and your trying to fall asleep.. its so relaxing and soothing... Speaking of sleep.. i guess I better get some. I've got a busy day tomorrow.

Nighty Night! -*Miss J*

What have you done?

2005-10-06T15:19:00.000-05:00

I thought this meme was cool so i took it from limelady -Surprisingly to my own disbelief, I've done a lot of these ;)

*The Things I've done are in Bold*

Graduated High School.
Kissed someone.
Smoked cigarettes.
Made out with someone of the opposite sex.
Collected something really stupid.
Gone to a rock concert.
Helped someone.
Gone fishing.
Spun turn tables.
Watched four movies in one night.
Gone long periods of time with out sleep.
Lied to someone.
Dealt drugs.
Taken a college level course.
Been in a car accident.
Been in a tornado.
Done hard drugs.
Watched someone die.
Been to a funeral.
Burned yourself.
Ran a marathon.
Had an eating disorder
Lost your virginity.
Your parents got divorced.
Cried yourself to sleep.
Spent over $200 in one day.
Flown on a plane.
Cheated on someone.
Been cheated on.
Written a 10 page letter.
Gone skiing.
Been sailing.
Had a best friend.
Lost someone you loved.
Shoplifted something.
Been to jail.
Had detention.
Skipped classes.
Got in trouble for something you didn't do.
Stolen books from the library.
Gone to a different country.
Dropped out of school.
Been in a mental hospital.
Watched the "Harry Potter" movies.
Had an online diary.
Fired a gun.
Gambled in a casino.
Had a yardsale.
Had a lemonade stand.
Actually made money at the lemonade stand.
Been in a school play.
Been fired from a job.
Taken a lie detector test.
Swam with dolphins.
Gone to seaworld.
Voted for American/Australian Idol.
Written poetry.
Read more than 20 books a year.
Gone to Europe.
Loved someone you couldn't have.
Wondered about your sexuality.
Used a coloring book over age 12.
Had surgery.
Had stitches.
Taken a taxi.
Seen the Washington Monument.
Had more than 5 IM's/online conversations
going at once.
Overdosed.
Had a drug or alcohol problem.
Been in a fist fight.
Suffered any form of abuse.
Had a hamster.
Pet a wild animal.
Used a credit card.
Gone surfing in California. (boogie boarding)
Did "spirit day" at school.
Dyed your hair.
Got a tattoo.
Had something pierced.
Your parents sent you to a shrink.
Been handcuffed.
Known someone with HIV or AIDS.
Taken pictures with a webcam.
Started a fire.
Had a party while your parents weren't home.
Gotten caught having a party while they were gone.
Done surveys like this to pass the time.