Seriously, Martha....

Okay- I will get to my title in a moment, but first I want to share my card for this week's sketch at CPS. LOVING the American Crafts Christmas themed paper this year...the kraft colors were a perfect touch. Perfect when you are going for clean and graphic looking design.

"Happy Christmas" Card

Supply List:

Cardstock: Scenic Route

Paper/Sticker/Rub-on: American Crafts

Twill: Rusty Pickle

Rhinestones: Doodlebug Designs

Charm: Michael's brand

Ink: Clearsnap

Corner Rounder: EK Success

Now to my title...so most of you know that I work at a local NBC affiliate. I have a TV at my desk so I can be another pair of eyes, making sure the station stays on air and that correct spots are airing. Well, I normally have the sound turned off and am listening to music. But, today for some reason I kept the volume up. So, we air "Martha", and she had a segment today where she compared toilet paper. Ummm....it is freaking toilet paper. I can totally understand making sure it is soft. That is quite important when it comes to toilet paper. But, she was talking about the designs on the toilet paper...the quilting...and how it would look in a guest bathroom. I can't honestly think of anyone in my life that worries about how the toilet paper looks in their guest bathroom. I know my reality is quite different than that of Martha Stewart...but that segment was ridiculous. I apologize if you watched it and liked it...I mean no offense. But seriously...in the long run, it is just toilet paper.

Okay- getting off my soap box. I have spent entirely too much time thinking about it, and I am going to start losing brain cells if I keep thinking about it.

So- went to Twilight last night. Though it was really good, other than the special effects that were severly lacking a budget. Especially the sparkling body part. It looked more like a combination of sweat, and a Martha Stewart glitter job. That part is so big and amazing in the book, that it was a bit of a letdown in the movie. Not the actors fault though....I thought they did a great job! Here is hoping the special effects get a beefier budget in the upcoming films, especially considering this next movies they have to turn men and teenaged boys into wolves. :)

Well, that is all I have for now!! Hope everyone is having a great week!

Until later,
~Lea

Hello from the arctic tundra.....

ETA: In honor of going to Twilight tonight...I took this little quiz:

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!
You are intelligent, outgoing & stylish. A true girly girl, you love shopping & makeovers. Although you are a generous friend, you can be coy, tricky & very persuasive in order to get your way. You are known to zone out occasionally during conversations, but your friends forgive you because you are understanding, supportive & know how to throw one heck of a party!

Hee hee...it all sounds pretty correct other than the outgoing part. I don't know how you can be all of those things and shy at the same time...but that is me! I am only shy until I get to know you though...and then I become pretty outgoing!

Umm- yeah. It is freaking cold here. I know what you must be thinking. "Hello Lea?! You live in the north, and have for the majority of your 28 years of life. You should be used to it by now, so get over it." But seriously...who actually gets over -15 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill factor of -30? It makes me shiver just thinking about it. Do you know what else makes me shiver, but not from the freezing cold? The thought of opening our power bill next month. Yep...that one is going to hurt.

I wanted to repost some layouts that have been previously published. These were in the August 2008 issue of Scrapbook Trends Magazine. Two of my favorite layouts ended up in this magazine...the football layout and the cousin layout. Still love those ones after all this time. Be sure to click on them if you want to see more detail or read the journaling!!

So, did everyone have a good weekend and beginning of the week? Our arctic cold front hit late on Friday night. We went to Drummond on Friday night to watch Casey play basketball, then we stopped in at Swedes to watch the rest of the Griz game. They beat the #1 seed James Madison University...and are headed to the national championship!! The players left today for Chattanooga, TN and us fans couldn't be more proud of them! We haven't been to the national championship since 2004, and we haven't won it since 2001. I think we are due for another flag to fly in Washington Grizzly Stadium. ;) Good luck Griz...we will be glued to ESPN2 on Friday night!!

The freaking arctic front rolled in very late Friday night/early Saturday morning...and the rest of the basketball tournament ended up being canceled. So, we did some Christmas shopping at the mall, and then went to Hooters for lunch. So not my choice, but it was me and 7 men/boys...guess who picked? I couldn't care less about Hooters to be honest...you see much more skin at the lake or on the river in summers...but the food is not wonderful. I guess it doesn't have to be when your waitress is named "princess" and wearing a push-up bra two times too small. :) Yes Casey and Tyler...she did have eyes.

I am now in the middle of a pretty busy week. My mom was here last night. Tonight was my lazy night. Tomorrow night I am going to Twilight with two gals from work. On Thursday night Josh and I are going to some midnight showing of a newer movie...it is a private thing that the movie theater is doing for Best Buy employees and their significant others. Then Friday I have some church outreach stuff to take care of. So- it is a very busy week...if only I didn't have to work. Hee hee!

Well, I better get going for now! Have a happy rest of the night!
Until later,
~Lea

CPS 94 and a new song that I love!

Hi all!! Happy Friday to you...hope your week has been great!! I have one lone project to share with you today...my card for this week's CPS sketch. I have been taking a needed break from crafting the past couple of weeks, so that is why I haven't been posting as much. It has been nice to come home and read, or watch a movie, or just do nothing. I have also gotten most of my Christmas shopping done- just a little bit left. So- I am still here, still kicking...just taking some time for other things I love. :)

Here is my card for this week's sketch at the CPS blog. We are doing Christmas or Birthday themed cards all month long, and there are lots of fabulous cards on the blog! Be sure to check them out!

"Spread Joy" Card

Supply List:Paper/Diecuts/Chipboard: My Mind's Eye

Ribbon: KI Memories

Rhinestones: Glitz Designs (blue) & Westrim Crafts (pink)

Rub-ons: Doodlebug Designs

Scalloped Scissors: Provo Craft

Corner Rounder: Marvy Uchida

So- got any great plans for the weekend? I have a pretty busy weekend it seems. Tonight we head to Drummond, Montana for Casey's first basketball tourney of the season. Their game is at 6pm, and then we will head to the local bar/restaurant in Drummond to watch the rest of the Griz game. Their semifinal play-off game against James Madison starts at 6pm as well...so we will miss a chunk of it. I bet it is going to be pretty darn busy in Drummond...because one of our star Griz players is from the tiny town. His name is Chase Reynolds, and he is our sophomore running back. And he is an amazing football player. It is fun to watch him play, and think about the fact that he comes from the same Montana Class C football program that Casey plays in now. Pretty exciting to think that maybe one day...it will be Casey out on that field in a receiver position. Here is hoping!

Then on Saturday it is back to Drummond for Casey's other game at 2pm. Then church at 6pm. I am going to go to the movie Twilight with a gal from work on either Saturday or Sunday night...so that will be fun! Like I said in my last post...I am a bit late to this Twilight frenzy. I am on book #4 now (fast reader...always have been), and am loving it. It's a very easy read. I know that the two main actors in the movie have been thrust into the spotlight and are constantly followed by screaming fans. Do you ever wonder how that feels? It must be hard. They both seemed a little frazzled by it all in the Today Show interview that I saw with Meredith Viera. I am definitely interested to see what all the frenzy is about when it comes to the two of them...I am thinking they must have a pretty amazing on-screen chemistry.

I picked up the soundtrack for Twilight because I had heard that it was really good. I have been listening to it all week long, and it is pretty good. There are a few songs that I have to skip because they get on my nerves. But there is one song that I could listen to over and over. When I finally looked at the back of the CD to see who sings it...lo and behold it is Robert Pattinson. So he can act and sing...pretty talented kid. Here is a youtube video of it...you might want to google the lyrics because they aren't super easy to understand. Hope you like it...but if not, that is okay too. Everyone has different taste in music!

Until later,
~Lea

Perfect Football Weather!!

Oh man- yesterday was just PERFECT football weather in Montana. We (me, Josh, my dad, Casey, and two of his friends) went to the quarterfinal playoff game yesterday afternoon, and it was awesome! An awesome game with cool and crisp weather, but just warm enough that we didn't have to have on our heavy coats. The Griz avenged their only loss of the season and beat Weber State 24-13...advancing them to the semifinals against James Madison next week in Virginia. James Madison is the #1 seed...so it is going to be a hard game! But, with how young the Griz are this year, especially our defense...I don't think anyone even expected this much from the team this year! We will be watching ESPN this weekend, and are hoping for a win!! GO GRIZ!!! Here are a couple photos from the game...the first one is one of the pre-game band formations/songs, and the second one is me, Josh and Casey.

I do have a few cards to share. I have had these done for awhile, but never gotten around to sharing them! First up is my card for this past week's sketch at CPS, where we were sponsored by My Favorite Things stamps.

"Baby It's Cold Outside" Card
Cardstock: Bazzill
Paper: My Mind's Eye
Stamps: My Favorite Things
Ink: Clearsnap & Staz-On
Chipboard: Technique Tuesday
Ribbon/button: SEI
Rhinestones: Doodlebug Designs (red) & Glitz Designs (green)
Glitter: Stickles by Ranger
Border Punch: Martha Stewart Crafts
Corner Rounder: EK Success

Next up is a card I did for the sketch two weeks ago (#92) at CPS. I forgot to post it...me being flighty. It tends to happen this time of year!

"A Day To Remember" Card
Supply List:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Paper/Stickers/Transarency: My Little Yellow Bicycle
Rhinestones: Doodlebug Designs
Ink: Clearsnap
Tulle

And last is just an Easter card I made awhile back. I picked up these cute felt stickers at Michael's, and I really wanted to use the cute little lamb. Perfect for an Easter card!

"Worthy Is The Lamb..." Card
Supply List:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Paper: Cornish Heritage Farms (Kim Hughes "Mocha Chica" collection) & American Crafts
Stickers: Martha Stewart Crafts (felt lamb) & MAMBI (rhinestone cross)
Rhinestones: Doodlebug Designs
Diecuts: Cricut Expression by Provo Craft w/Plantin Schoolbook cartridge (brackets)
Ink: Clearsnap
Font: Amaze
Felt

Well, that is about it for me! I am going to go get cleaned up for the day, and then just veg out. I might read a bit (I am totally late to the Twilight frenzy...but I am really enjoying the story. I am halfway through book #2), or make some cards. Not really sure what I feel like doing yet. When Josh gets home from work, we are going to go to the next showing of the new James Bond movie...so that should be fun! I am not the biggest fan of going to the movie theater because I freeze no matter what time of year it is, and I am always uncomfortable in the chairs. But, some movies you just have to see in the theater, and this is one of them! So, I will go with a smile on my face, enjoy the movie...and just move around a lot in my seat. Oh, and wear LOTS of layers. :)

Have a great Sunday!
~Lea

Tap...Tap...Tap....Does anyone still read this blog?

Well, I have certainly been neglectful of my blog as of late. So- I wouldn't be surprised if most have jumped ship from reading it...hee hee! Sorry- life has been busy, and I haven't really had much that I can share project wise. I think I am past this spot of creating for assignments, and now have a few things I can share!! I do hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Ours was nice and relaxing....I didn't even take any photos! And I am okay with that...we don't really do anything fancy anyways! Now, on to some cards!

First up, my card for this week's sketch at 2 sketches 4 U! The sketches are always fun to work with, and the design team did a fabulous job! Be sure to check them out!

"Look Who's Turning 30!" Card
Supply List:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Paper/Diecuts: Sassafras Lass
Rub-on: American Crafts
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms (Kim Hughes "U R A Hoot" collection)
Ink: Staz-On & Clearsnap
Rhinestones: Glitz Designs
Corner Rounder: Marvy Uchida

Next up is this cute cherry card that I did using my new "Hello Kitty Greetings" cartridge and my Cricut Expression by Provo Craft. This cart is darling...and it has this awesome card feature on it...where all of the images in the cut can be turned into a card. I did another card with it, but I can't share that one. It really is a super fun and cute card...if you have the Expression, I would totally recommend this cartridge!
"I *heart* U" Card
Supply List:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Ribbon: Michael's brand
Rhinestones: Doodlebug Designs (red) & Glitz Designs (green)
Stickers: Making Memories
Diecut Machine: Cricut Expression by Provo Craft (Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge)
Twine: Darice
Button: craft supply

And with the passing of December 1st, I am now able to post anything that was published in October issues. These were in the October issue of Cards Magazine.

Well, that is all I have for now. Going to go watch "Fred Claus" with my hubby...just came in our mailbox via Netflix. Enjoy your Wednesday night!

Until later,
~Lea