If You've Ever Wanted to Know What Happens

when you ask the Twitterverse to help you with a card design, well - here you go.

I really needed a creative boost tonight. So I asked, and what I love about the result is that the only two people who answered the call were men.

Love you, my manly bloggy, twittery people.

Here are the responses I got, minus the funniest one, about my magazines, which I'll keep to myself.
The good news is - God bless you, Stampin' Up! - that I just so happened to have owls and beer!

So here you go!Celebrate making fun little connections with people who make you laugh and think outside the box today, won't you?

Loveyameanitbye.


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Get Rid of All Your Stamps!!

That is such crazy talk!

I can't believe you fell for it.

First of all it would take an 18 wheeler. And really, it would just be stupid...

But you can make a card without them.

I made this one with a magazine page, my Big Shot, and those fabby Autumn Harvest rub-ons.
The DSP is the new "The Write Stuff" package.

***** CONVENTION ALERT******

It's almost time!

If you are going, and want to come to my little blogging happy hour, you have to sign up for my Google Group by FRIDAY - I need to give the restaurant a final count by Friday night. So please look in my sidebar and register. It should be a great time, and there may be a celebrity guest :). I can't take reservations anywhere but on the Google Group.

If you are unable to go this year, you may or may not know, that I am your woman on the street for all things Convention. I will make sure you feel like you are there!!!

I will be blogging, Twittering and Facebooking my adventures, giving you up to the second announcements and PRIZES! It's fast moving media here at Understand Blue, and this year, I will be doing different things on the blog, Twitter and Facebook to make it interesting. You can find the links to those places in my sidebar.

I hope you can join me up close or at a distance - either way it will be fun!

Hope you have a great Thursday!


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If I had to do it all over again..

I'd do something like this.




Have you signed up for the UBlue Cyber Club? Attended one of my Webinars?? Come on - get your geek on! :)

Want to see my other blog?

If You're Going to Shoot Yourself, Please Don't do it at Rush Hour

It took 2 hours and 15 minutes to get home yesterday. Thank God for Twitter and the three Stampington magazines that happened to be in my car, or I might have jumped out and killed the person who required a SWAT team and the bomb squad to resolve his mental issues on the greenbelt yesterday.

During this ordeal, I noticed some things that my fellow Austinites need to be reprimanded for, which I will enumerate.

1) Honking when we've all been sitting in the same place for more than an hour. Hey dummy - stifle yourself. If you want to communicate, please get on Twitter. You are angering my brain cells to the point where I might launch my cell phone charger through your oddly open window. It's 103 degrees by the way, why is your window open? Wait - don't answer that - hold still. I can hit you in the eye from here.

2) Driving around your 8000 fellow citizens to go to the front of the line because you are somehow more special than us. Do you really think that you are the person who has solved the traffic jam by simply driving up to the roadblock? A tazer to some of your more sensitive areas would be entirely too humane. If it wasn't 103 degrees, I would definitely get out and apply some serious force.

3) Driving your car up my bunghole in an attempt to make this whole process go faster. First of all, I'm tired of knowing your bumper in the biblical sense. Second - did you not see the ATF just go around us? Is there something about SWAT teams that makes you feel like that extra three inches you just moved is going to get you home faster? You need a lobotomy. And a butt tazer.

There you go. Try to behave yourselves in a way that communicates to the world that you are actually a higher life form than a howler monkey.

K. Now that that's out of the way - how about a card? Or even two?

Don't yell or anything, but I bought this stamp at Joann's. DON'T YELL. I have no idea why I would buy a stamp when the catalog just came out but WHATEVER, IT'S PRETTY I LIKED IT.

After making a hideously ugly colored version that I threw away, I did these, which I kind of like. Just black ink, white pencil, white gel pen. Which color scheme do you like better?

Hope you have a fabby Tuesday.

Loveyameanitbye.


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Recurring Themes

Have you ever noticed that you tend to come across recurring themes? Situations that keep happening around you that lead you back to the same questions and answers?

I have some - I run across them in real life, in books, in art - that recur so frequently they are just part of me.

One of them is a classic. I even saw the theme tonight in the movie I watched - Gran Torino.

It's the "what would you do?" theme.

What would you do if something or someone or some idea you cared passionately about needed defending? What if the defense cost a LOT? Would you do it?

Stamps: Service & Sacrifice * cardstock: Kraft, Soft Sky * Ink: Real Red, Craft White * Accessories: Soft Sky Ribbon, White Gel Pen


And while you're asking yourself that, ask yourself just how much you need to care about something, someone or some idea to take up the cause.

It's a good ponder for a Monday.

I practiced the question on Splotchy yesterday. He needed to really spend some quality time right in the middle of my work area to give the question the proper amount of consideration.

He's still thinking about it.


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Maillot jaune

A confession.

I'm a baseball fan.

That's pretty much it. I love everything about baseball, and aside from hockey and Wimbledon, I pretty much use sports to provide background noise while I nap.

Not that I don't like them, but I don't love them like I love a good rooftop in Chicago when the tulips are blooming.

But today, I make an exception.

First, last night, my beloved Libby had a little creative block. Her Twitter family suggested wine and a stamping magazine, and LOOK WHAT SHE DID!! Ask, and ye shall receive. (PS - you should go through the whole blog hop she's a part of - there's some great blog candy, and some amazing artwork.)

Today, I was in her shoes. Sweet, sweet Jayne told me she missed me today, which warmed my heart, since I haven't posted in a few days. But I needed some inspiration. I asked, and I got it.

The suggestion was "Maillot jaune" - or Yellow Jersey, in French. For you Austinites who need some trivia, that's why Lance Armstrong's bike shop is called Mellow Johnny's, which I was lucky enough to find out today.

And so begins the inspiration. The yellow is so iconic, and I cannot resist an iconic color.

So I combined my waking card dream from the other day with my fortunate inspiration from my friend today and I got this.I drew a thick black border with my marker and then masked it off with post its. Then I brayered Summer Sun and a little Pumpkin Pie before stamping circle circus in black. I repeated this on a Stampin' Up! envelope, and voila - friend + me = art.

Love it when that happens.

Thank you. :) I'm very grateful.

Oh yeah, and happy....
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Where Fact & Dreaming Meet

Each man should frame life so that at some future hour fact and his dreaming meet. -Victor Hugo

I want you to ponder that today. Who can change the facts so that they meet your dreams?

This card uses K&Co. paper, a Stampin' Up! rubon and ribbon and white craft ink on kraft cardstock.

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Some People Just Get It

*******************************************************************************

GOOGLE READER WEBINAR TOMORROW - REGISTER IN MY SIDEBAR
*******************************************************************************

To balance out the yogurt guy, and the company to whom I am showing my fangs, I have a wonderful story for you today.

I was researching a project for work the other day (top secret right now, but very cool and I will share soon) and I needed to use Whitepages.com, which is a site I use personally quite a bit. It's nice because it's simple and quick, and there's not a bunch of extra junk to wade through to get what you need.

However, something strange happened while I was searching. So, at 10:44 AM, I Twittered it.
Very frequently when you Twitter a problem, someone gives you a solution. But usually, it is a co-consumer, who has had the same issue.

So imagine my surprise, when 25 minutes later, I get this..From WhitePages.com.

Note the friendly tone.

I didn't even know they were on Twitter. But not only are they there, they are very actively looking for users of their site and responding to them.

That, my friends, is how you use social media.

I sent them screen shots of my problem, and they sent it off to QA, all within the space of about an hour.

They hire well. Whoever is doing the media on their behalf is a very engaged problem solver. And they're nice. What else could you want in an employee?

Bravo @whitepages. I'm a fan.

Now, speaking of solving problems, I have a problem.

I cannot throw away the billions of little die cut shapes that accumulate when you use a Big Shot die. Sometimes they are the negative space of a design, sometimes they are part of the die that you're not using - for example the Bigz XL dies that have multiple designs, and you're using only the bird, maybe and not the flower.

So after using the lattice die in club last weekend, I had all these little petal looking thingies. I had already used the stars here.

But the petals cried out for this. The big circle was also a leftover. It's Melon Mambo, as is the ribbon. I used the new movers & shapers die that layers with our scallop punch to make the More Mustard mat. This is a 5 minute card.

I hope you have a great ... what day is it??

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The Tigers of Wrath

Sometimes, you just have to draw the line.

It's different for everyone, of course, the line.

I'll give you an example. One of the grocery stores I shop at is maddening. They refuse to stock overnight, even though they are open 24 hours. So that means when you are shopping, there are huge pallets blocking the aisles, with surly stockers preventing you from getting anything you want. If I ever actually see the yogurt stocker outside of the door of that store I'm tackling him and teaching him a lesson. That's right yogurt guy - watch your back. If I don't finish you off, Kim will.

And yet I go back. I'm annoyed every time I do, but I go because it's close, and there are things that outweigh the pain of the stockers.

And then there are the line crossers.

There are the companies that rub up against your philosophies in an unpleasant way. The way this happens is nearly always with a sneak attack. People tend to do business with companies they believe in for one reason or another. A sudden realization that a company will not manifest its stated philosophy when things get a little uncomfortable is usually a deal breaker.

At least for the line drawers such as myself.

So, today, I draw a line.

And, oddly enough - I got this quote tonight on Twitter, via @SurrendrDorothy:

The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction.
-William Blake

Well said, William Blake. Time for a little tiger. :)

Since I was drawing lines, I thought I'd draw some lines. with a white gel pen. Beneath the Circle Circus balloons in Chocolate Chip and Melon Mambo, on the K & Co paper, on the Melon Mambo card base.

Hope you have a great day.

RAWR. You know who you are.

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I Lost my Voice

Not literally, but I did, just the same.

My beloved Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes, has died. If you haven't read his books, let me just be selfish for a moment. Indulge me.

Frank McCourt, and a few others, speak the language of my gene pool. When I first read Angela's Ashes, I felt this harmonic conversion I am not sure I ever felt before with the written word. I could hear the characters speaking, and the mixture of the tragic with the moments so funny I had to put the book down and wipe my eyes and shake was soooo ... familiar. We Irish types are so at home with both the grim and the grin.

The lyrical magic of Irish writing is just a part of me. The most gifted storytellers have that music that maybe only kin can hear. I resonate to it.

The closest analogy I can make is from Harry Potter, believe it or not. Remember that moment when he took the egg that was shrieking and he put it underwater and could hear these beautiful clear voices, singing the answers to him?

That is what a *click* sounds like. And of course a click is beyond good. :)

I am sad to say goodbye to a man who was indirectly part of the voice I speak and write and giggle and cry with every day. I thank God I was lucky enough to hear him speak in person.

He would have loved Make me Laugh Monday. He certainly appreciated the life force in a good belly laugh.

I know you do too. So today, make me laugh in honor of Frank McCourt.

Limericks welcome!!

Bye Frank. Thank you. I'll read your next book in heaven. :)

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It's not just ANY Caturday..

Remember this? Maddie waterboarding Punky under the bed?Or little Splotch having a snooze in my paw?
Or when Splotchy
And Maddie were just the size of rubber stamps?
When they were too little to have all their fur?
Well maybe you guessed it already - that was a year ago this Caturday!

Their first birthday is today - you have probably seen the celebrations all over the world on the news. I especially liked the ones in Rio de Janiero! The fireworks were spectacular!

Look how teeny they were when they were just fresh off the street - cast out to be little kitty hobos on the mean streets of Austin.

In contrast, today they ate sushi tuna and lounged around amongst their many shaky mice. They still have flashbacks to the hobo days, but life is pretty good for these two little rescues. And I love the little beasts. Even when Maddie wakes me up at 4 on a Caturday. I suppose she can be bad on her birthday.

Feel free to link to any sassy birthday cards you've made that you think they'd like to see! They love a good card.

Here's the one I made in honor of the occasion. The collars and the fish have little rhinestones, and I thought the crowns were fitting!! I used the new C is for Cat stamp set.
It's a very very special Caturday. Feel free to tell me how you are celebrating the momentous birth of little Madagascar Bat & Splotchy Paprika. :)

And have a fabby evening!

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Buried for Another Day...

I feel like that sometimes.

Like I'm running around like a little blue squirrel, burying things, trying to remember where they are and come back to them.

My Google Task list (which I LOVE, btw), it overfloweth. My inbox runneth over.

When things get that way, my cards get simple. And I kinda like it.
How about that sassy woodgrain stamp from the new catalog?? Huh? You want it, don't cha? I like how it's a clean, modern version, and not rustic. It made me think of Martha's beautiful faux bois projects.

I love it in white on blue. I would love it in blue on white. :)

The little blue squirrel is from Animal Crackers. PS - on images where the greeting and the image are together, I always cut them apart so that I can use the images by themselves. Don't forget you can always customize your stamps before you mount them!

A few little events you might want to know about:

The starter kit is on sale for $85!! If you want to join the Understand Blue group of demonstrators, now is the time!! Welcome to Cara Chatfield, the first to take advantage of this special in my group.

If you want to, click here to join. The password is understandblue. :)

Also, I'm having a blogger webinar tonight. If you want to set up a blog, or if you already have one and want to spiff it up - join us tonight! Registration is in my sidebar!

Have a great Thursday!

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The Salty, the One Eyed, the Misunderstood

My friend Melissa and I were talking about underdogs the other day. Both of us are the underdog lovers. We love the hopeless, the one eared, the quirky, be it furry or human.

I wonder why that is.

I wonder if there's a gene that determines whether you will gravitate towards the perfectly tanned, chiclet toothed investment banker/June Cleaver type people and the $2000 dogs or fluffy Himalayan cats with immaculate fur ...

or towards the kinky tailed bowlegged cats, and friends with asymmetrical smiles and adorable little chips in one tooth?

I bet there is a gene. Because I can't help it. I'm just not a chiclet toothed fluffy himalayan pedigree chick.

Which might be why I love pirates.

There's no stray more fun than a pirate. A peg legged, one eyed little outcast sounds like so much fun. Especially if you run around taking the king's stuff.

The new catalog is crammed full of lopsided cuteness, including pirate stuff. And so I finally found a use for those popsicle sticks that come with the rub-ons. I usually throw them away - but today? Today I hoist a jolly roger on them!!The background is made with white craft ink and Real Red ink with the new grunge background set called Extreme Elements, and the rest is from Pirate Time.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

Just a few days till the weekend!!

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It's a Passion!

There are degrees of obsession, I think.

Let's talk about something you and I understand. Stamps.

We're all obsessed right? We use words like "HAVE TO HAVE" and "NEED" (insert squealing and gasping).

You can be obsessed with cleanliness. Or checking the door forty times when you leave to make sure it's locked.

Those are fun and/or harmless. And there are some obsessions that aren't either.

But obsession and passion are very different.

For example, stamps are an obsession for me, but ART is a passion. The flame never dies, I always love it, it always brings me joy, and I miss it when I'm separated from it. But that being said, I take it everywhere with me. I don't see words sometimes in magazines - I see patterns. I see color combinations in the clothes people wear. I want to take apart things, like office supplies, or junk mail, and put them back together in a way that pleases me. I love being around arty people, talking about art, reading about art. I love the smell of art in a museum.

You know.

That's why you're here.

So tonight, with the help of my friend Angelique, I'd like to make a case for my passion for shoes. I can't explain what happens when a girl and a shoe meet - I just know it's a passion.

Angelique described it so beautifully here, that I cannot top it. All I can do is show you.

A month or so ago, on Miss B's blog, she had a photography challenge. Photograph your favorite pair of shoes. For whatever reason, the challenge spoke to me. Maybe because my favorite pair of shoes is from London. They were too expensive. I only wore them once. In Kansas. They are

in my closet, each lovingly placed inside its own bag, inside their lovely box. But I love them like they are living breathing things. And I am pretty sure they love me back.

Meet ... my shoes.

*sigh*

Who wouldn't be passionate about those? And yes, I clicked my heels together.

And I know it's a letdown after that, but here's my card.

Appropriately, it's from the new catalog set called "Things I Love".

You know what the beasts love? Organic Greek Yogurt. It's a passion. :)

Two notes to Stampin' Up! people. I will be Twittering during convention the up to the minute skinny - and is my custom, blogging. As is also my custom, I will be giving out prizes.

This will begin when I depart for the airport, so follow me on Twitter, join my fan page on Facebook and subscribe to the blog. There will be different prizes in different places, and guess what?

I accidentally ordered some of the stamp sets we are getting free at convention - so the prizes this year will include stamp sets!! INCLUDING THIS ONE! :)

And if you're coming to convention and would like to meet up with me and other readers at a little happy hour, please join the Google Group in my sidebar - that's where all official communication about the event will take place!

Finally - I have another Blogger Webinar on Thursday, with staggered times for newbies and people who already have a blog but want to spiff up. Register in my sidebar.

Happy Tuesday!!

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It's...

Make MILLIE laugh Monday!

Normally, it's Make ME laugh Monday, but my fellow demonstrator Millie needs a laugh more than me, so see what you can do people!!

I'm back tomorrow with sparkly red shoes!!

Can't wait to hear your stories. Go to town with funniness in a comment and my fave gets a prize!!


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I'm Not a Hooker, I'm from Texas..

Isn't it wonderful that this great land of ours is so big that there are significant cultural differences between our states? Shoot, Texas is big enough that we have our own subcultures.

For example, there are places in America where people would have no idea what you meant if you said you were "fixin' to go have some chicken fried steak." Or, a little farther east "There's only one place you can get really good water-ice." (Isn't all ice water? Well you east coasters know what I'm talking about.. But in Austin, that's just crazy talk)

You know, culture.

Well in some places, people think you're a hooker just because you're from Texas.

I'll start small, because I understand how funny this is.

I went to college in upstate New York. I loved it. Best thing I ever did. But I was one of a very few southerners in my school. Most kids were from New York, and the rest from New England and the surrounds.

I found out extremely quickly that a key cultural difference was just - saying hello. We Texans holler out "hey" "hi" "howdy" "how's it goin" "what's up" "take it easy" and much more when we are within six feet of another human. If you get close enough we'll hug and kiss you and give you something to eat. So I land in New York in a decade far, far away and quickly discover that to the boys in New York, who had never encountered such behavior in their XX chromosome state-mates, this means "I'd like to marry you and I'm indicating that by saying "hi" and making eye contact."

I adjusted and escaped without marrying anyone.

Fast forward to 2002. I go on a work trip to NYC. I love New York, and spent a lot of time there when I was in college.

During this trip, we all went to see the Lion King on Broadway one night. We zipped back to Times Square, and changed clothes afterwards. I opted for the following outfit: black Levi 501's, black long sleeved t-shirt, black leather jacket, and black winter boots. I also had on a black Kippy's belt. This is the exact belt.

It's adorable. Sparkly, fun, rhinestoney goodness. Otherwise, I looked like everyone else on the street, bundled up for a cold December night. Or so I thought.

We were all going to meet up at a pub and have a drink. It was just a few blocks off Times Square, but clearly in the wrong direction - it was downright skeevy a few blocks in. But as happens in New York, one block later you can be totally safe, and the pub was very nice.

We get settled in a giant booth and wait for everyone - there were going to be 12 of us. A small pack got lost and called me for directions. I stepped out onto the street so that I could hear. While I was on the phone, a very nicely dressed business man came up very close to me, took his wallet out and started mumbling dollar figures. "Three hundred or six hundred or.." Assuming he was crazy, as I always do, I ignored him, paced around and finished my phone call. He followed me back and forth, playing with his money and mumbling.

I went back inside, told everyone some crazy guy outside was trying to give me money, and ...

Then it hits us.

All at once.

He thought I was a hooker!

You have never heard 12 people laugh so hard in your life, I guarantee it. After the group analyzes why that might have happened, we settle on my glittery belt.

A sparkly black cowgirl belt is totally okay for a Saturday afternoon at the grocery store in any far flung corner of the Lone Star state. It's hard to catch us out without our rhinestones. But in New York - it totally makes you a hooker.

Sometimes, you just feel like a stranger in a strange land, yes?

That story is what inspired this card, which is my entry for the Stampin' Success contest this month. It uses the new Greetings Earthling set, and two of the new colors - Bermuda Bay and Dusty Durango. I used my blender pen to color the creatures (they are on watercolor paper), and you cant' see it in this pic, but the helmet has Crystal Effects on it. The little design on the side is what's left over from cutting the lattice pattern with the new SU! Sizzix die. We used that in my class yesterday. I'd show you the project but I can't unless you're in my cyber club!

The class was MOMENTOUS!! You know why??

Because I finally got to meet Stampin' Libby!!! I have waited so long!! I love her blog, and have "talked" to her in cyberspace for a while, but we finally got to see each other yesterday, and it was so fun. She is even prettier and sweeter in real life, if you can believe that!! Come back any time Libby. Or better yet, move south in a hurry! :)

Here are my friends Betty & Nicole. Betty was a first time stamper and is AMAZING!!! Nicole was already a crafty goddess and guided Betty on the crafty path..

Please note rhinestones on Betty.

Finally, here are Emily and her momma, Berne - also sporting rhinestones on her T-shirt. I rest my case. :)

Have a great Sunday!

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Want to see my other blog?

Life BC

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Hey - before I start, there is going to be one more Blogger Webinar before I go to convention. If you haven't signed up already, please do so in my sidebar - try to sign up this week so I can get it on the schedule. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

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Remember way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and we were all in a time BC - Before Catalog - and I told you that I loved the new Asian stuff they had in there?

Well this message is brought to you by I WAS NOT LYING. I LOVE IT.

Especially this set, which is called Dream Gardens. It has this gorgeous teapot in it that I can't wait to use!!

So tonight I sat down to make a blue and white card with the teapot and the border, and then David Duchovny showed up, I saw a bright light, I lost 12 minutes on my watch, and I wound up here.

Alien abduction really changes up your color scheme and layout, FYI. Other than that I feel fine. :)

Well, my skin is glowing, but really, other than that I'm fine.

Hey - if you are in Austin, consider voting for me for Best Local Blog & Best Local Blogger in our Austin Chronicle poll! I'm in the Media section.

Here's the link.

Have a great Thursday!!

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Need a Little Classic Decor?

Well you are in luck!! Welcome to my little stop on the Doodle Factory Blog Hop celebration of Irene's latest amazing creation - Classic Decor! You have a chance to win all the stamps in this new set as well as the matching sentiments, so don't miss a word!

The next stop after my blog is the incredibly talented Andrea Cloutier - wait till you see what she has cooked up.

But first, come into the little sassy home I've created with these images.

First, you know I had to start with a beast. This chubby little kitty cried out for a wallpapered drawing room and a flowered chaise lounge, courtesy Basic Grey Marrakech paper.

I made her striped with the Colorless Copic Blender after coloring her all over with brown. Same with the highlight on the kibble dish.

Now, let's move into the dining room, where I've hung a chandelier. I made it LOOK like I paper pieced this intricate beauty, but I didn't - I just hung the "walls" with Stampin' Up! Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, stamped the chandelier on top, and then colored it with my white gel pen and added rhinestones for the crystal!
The floor is also Razzleberry Lemonade, and the ribbon is Soft Suede.

The greeting is from the matching Doodle Factory Classic Decor Sentiments - and you have to see all the cool typography in this set. As a designer, I'm a font nut, and these really stole my heart.

Now, are you thirsty? How rude to invite you into my Classic Decor home without offering you a drink! What will it be? Wine? Coffee? Tea? You're in luck - we have them all!
I stamped these in black on kraft cardstock, and then colored them with copics and my white gel pen. The colored cardstock and ribbon are SU! Bermuda Bay. The sentiment is from the matching set, which I know you're gonna win! Wait for it...

Now the formal living room is very understated. I love to hang out in this monochromatic room on the lounge with my flowers and a book. I think about you when I'm in there, and how you make me feel at home!! :)
Fun, yeah?

Ready to see some more? Ready to WIN these??? Well head on over to Andrea's, or if you came directly here, there's a full hop list below - be sure and start at the top so you don't miss any blog with a prize on it!!

And if you don't win - no problem. There's a special for the release - if you buy the full Classic Decor set and matching sentiments, you will get all your cling mount FREE! This special runs from today through the 10th.

So here's the list - enjoy your trip!

Starving Artistamps

Donna D

Juliana

Donna B

Kathy

Lori

Me

Andrea

Natasha

Irene

Dawn

Jenn

Nina

Laura

Kazan

Tracey

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BLOG HOP TOMORROW!!!

*SQUEAL*

Tomorrow is the much anticipated StarvingArtistamps Blog Hop - and you know what that means!!

Yep, I've been sitting on the new Doodle Factory release! Mwwwaaahhhhaaa - see - I CAN keep a secret!!

But tomorrow at 10 AM Central, I can let it out!

One of the blogs you will be hopping to will have BLOG CANDY, and of course there's a super secret special.

But you're gonna have to come back here to find out the deets and see my fun Doodle Factory creations! See ya tomorrow!

CU tomorrow at 10 Central!!

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You Don't Know What Color My Polar Bear Is...

You don't.

Well, you might. Mine might, possibly, be blue. But if yours is green that's fine. Or orange, or whatever!

What in the world kind of teacher would tell a child their polar bear was the wrong color??

Don't get me started.

If I wasn't so sleepy, I would tell you a story about how I lost my mojo tonight, temporarily, and how blue squirrels made me decide to make a card anyway.

But I'm sleepy. So I don't have time to tell you the whole thing.

However, my new stamps from the new catalog came today!! And, even though they're not blue, check out the squirrels..

The little bench with squirrels is from the new Pendant Park set, and the greeting is from the new Kind & Caring thoughts. Yeah - it's all great.

Somebody on Twitter asked today what one thing you had to have on your cards. I thought about it for a bit, and then I answered - "space".

After I said it, I thought - Hmmm, maybe it's more than my cards. I love space. I love quiet, peaceful space.

I can't go to the movies, because I don't have space. I understand that that isn't normal, but I don't care. I love the desert. I can't stand the mall. I love the sky in TX that comes down to my feet. I love the early morning when no one is awake but me and a select few. I don't like corn fields, but I love wheat, because I can see over it.

I need to be able to see.

What do you have to have?

I hope a giggle, because don't forget - it's MMLM.

Oh, and speaking of laughing, I'm really a ding dong. I entered my order wrong from the new catalog, so I ordered two of this adorable set!!

So the winner of THIS week's Make Me Laugh Monday wins this set - WOW - who knew???

Better make it good ladies!!!

And to be fair, and spread the mirth to all, all entries must be in comments on this post.

LOVEYAMEANITBYE.

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# i thank America

Soo... Woke up this morning and started out on a very long walk. I love I've been able to do it three days in a row instead of two. When I hit the street, it's dark. An early start caused by a yowly Maddie Bat. She needs to be hugged before the sun rises or she turns into a werecat. Very scary stuff.

I fire up Twitter on my phone to entertain myself for the 20 minute walk to Starbucks.

And I discover that a new topic has been introduced overnight. Posts tagged with the keyword #ithankAmerica. Some people, as befitting the normal 80/20 rule, were idiots, but some people

were really cool and made me smile.

Here are a few of my favorites that made me forget where I was.

From @browneyedpea:

#ithankamerica for beautiful artists with plant names who send tears into space & rescue bunnies.

#ithankamerica that @understandblue is willing to take on North Korea mano a mano

#ithankamerica for friends from coast to coast

From @mariamkobras

#ithankamerica for lox bagels, smoothies, NY cheesecake, iPods and iPhones

#ithankamerica for Starbucks

#ithankamerica for @paperbat, @holyxuxa, @understandblue, @patriciamonkey and @browneyed pea for being friends.

Me too, Mariam.

You guys leave me your #ithankAmerica in the comments today and I will send one of you the card below.

I kept it simple, since here, it's kinda the thought that counts on this one. I bought this set in both French and English, because they're both sweet. They're from the new catty.

#ithankAmerica for you coming here today :)

Oh PS - years ago I bought this dog pillow at World Market. See the little doggie head on the corner? The beasts love it as you can see here, with little Maddie Bat hugging it post-nap.

Does anyone know where I can get another so that each beast can have one?

And to my friend - well, you know who you are - that observed that quite possibly, this little panther is spoiled, I would just ask - is to love, to spoil? Mmm - I think maybe no. :)

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Independence Day 2009

Happy Independence Day, Understand Blue visitors!!

I hope today finds you happy, healthy and safe.

I know it finds you free from tyranny. I know it finds you defended on all fronts by men and women of unimaginable courage. I know it finds you expressing your beliefs in the absence of fear of repression. It finds you with your God given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It finds you able to freely travel to see loved ones across state borders.

It finds you in red states, blue states, and everything in between, in peaceful co-existence.

It finds you charmed, and blessed, from sea to shining sea.

And if it finds you here today, I am grateful.

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OMG IT'S CHRISTMAS!

Seriously - it's July!!! Do you know what that means??? We've all got to start working on our Christmas cards!!!

At least, that's what I tell myself each July. Then I don't do them until Thanksgiving, but I feel so organized and Martha-y for a few months while I'm thinking I'm ahead of the game.

At least at this time last year I had a vision of the card. This year - nothing.

106 degrees every day for two weeks will do that to a person.

It's giving me the dumbz.

Anyway, here's a card for you that is more appropriate for squinting at the sun like someone in a post apocalyptic Mel Gibson movie.

This is all the new Stampin' Up! In Colors - Crushed Curry, the Razzleberry Lemonade paper, Dusty Durango, Melon Mambo.

Hope you have some fun and relaxing plans for the 4th - Stop back by here and Project Reanimate tomorrow for a little patriotic tribute (or two) ...

LOVEYAMEANITBYE

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STARTER KIT FOR $85!!

Now is the time to join my UBlue demo group!!!

This is the lowest price I've seen in my career for the starter kit - $85!

Contact me today to join the best stamping organization in the world and my own group of amazing demonstrators. You will get all of your stamps at an instant 20% off, up to 30% off total, and you will get your choice of sets from the new catalog from me when you join!!

Email me now to find out dates and details!!


Have you signed up for the UBlue Cyber Club? Attended one of my Webinars?? Come on - get your geek on! :)

Want to see my other blog?