Monday Mailers for May 2011

Sorry there was no post yesterday.  Blogger was down last night so I wasn't able to post anything.  It's gotten pretty warm here .... well warm for us anyway - in the 80's.  I finally couldn't stand it any more and switched on our A/C yesterday - mainly because of the humidity.  We've had some rain this week and the air is really thick outside now.  I know my Texas friends wouldn't consider our temps as hot nor would Ashley where it is already in the 90's in Mosul.  Luckily, Ashley has been able to get a vehicle so she is not having to walk everywhere she goes.  They will be moving her clinic in the next few weeks and she tells me it will be about 1 1/2 miles from her living quarters so the vehicle will definitely come in handy!  Her attitude has not been the greatest since she returned from her R&R and I think she is marking off the days with a vengence!  August can not get here quick enough for her.  Most of the people she has been working with in the clinic have left by now and she has a new staff.  She is the only one of the medical staff that ended up having to stay for a year - the rest only had a 6-month rotation so that is not sitting well with her ... coupled by some respect issues she is running into.

Just a quick comment about American Idol before I share my cards.  I was quite shocked last night when James was voted off!!  When they announced it, Lauren and Scotty were upset, and Haley almost had a smirk on her face.  James sang one last song for us and kissed his wife in the crowd.  I thought James' performance on Wednesday night was the best of the night.  I put a lot of the blame on the 3 judges.  These judges have done a huge misjustice to the contestants by not being truthful in their comments. They seem to be afraid to step on anyones toes by giving them a bad review. All they can do it seems, is praise them, even though at times, some of the performances were horrid!!!..... Then the voters vote accordingly it seems to me.  I think the voting procedure needs to be restructured. The title is Scotty's to lose now.  I thought  it would be between Scotty and James for the final two.  Both were true to themselves and stood out each week. Biggest shock to me since Chris Daughtry went out in week 4 several years ago.  But, Durbin is better off not winning ... just like with Daughtry, the people who will buy his music are more likely to accept him now.

One more thing - Last night they showed a Steven Tyler video...so this year has been odd, videos by J-Lo, video by Steven, a book by Steven, makes ya wonder who they were marketing, the Idols or the judges? Just sayin' that's all.

OK - stepping off my Idol soapbox!



Here are the Monday Mailers so far this month:

Paper Pieced Sock Monkey - The first card I mailed to Tina.

Supplies:

• Paper:   Whisper White, Pacific Point, Real Red; Celebrations DSP 


• Ink:   Black


• Stamps:  Loads of Love; Sock Monkey, Sock Monkey Accessories


• Punches:   Circle Punch - 1 3/8" and 1 3/4"


• Accessories:  Buttons, Red Grosgrain Ribbon; Celebrations Accents; Stampin' Dimensionals

Printed Petals - Card #2 to Tina

Supplies:

• Paper:   Whisper White, Real Red; Sahara Sand; Daffodil Delight; Pear Pizazz


• Ink:    Real Red


• Stamps:  Printed Petals; Oval All


• Punches:   Ovals; Bird Punch


• Accessories:  Scallop Square Sizzix Die, Antique Brad; Finial Press Emb. Folder

Card being opened

Card completely opened.

Card #1 received from Becky

 Isn't this card the greatest?!!  I just love it.  She cut the boat out separately and popped it up with dimensionals.  This is the single stamp in the Summer Mini on page 11 - Sail Away

Card #2 from Becky

This DSP speaks for itself!  This is the paper on page 23 of Summer Mini - Beyond the Garden.

Becky sent me 2 cards this week - she didn't think the 1st card (Beyond the Garden DSP) was good enough!

This is a great card also.  I wasn't going to argue with Becky - I loved receiving both cards but it wasn't necessary!!  Don't you love how she punched the bird using the DSP (sneak peek - Paisley Prints).

Life's Lyrics

Last year when I went to CK in Charlotte,  I took a class to make a scrapbook entitled "Life's Lyrics."  The premise is that you scrapbook using song lyrics for your journaling.  That is so much easier for me to do!  I was not sure what lyrics I wanted to use for my scrapbook so the project has been on hold for a while.  Well, I decided I wanted to do the book for Ashley and take it to her when we met her in Ireland.  It would be something she could look at during the rest of her deployment to remind her of home.  Now the hard part .... narrowing down my song choices!  Ashley is a music person - I think she knows the words to every song!  She used to drive her brother crazy when we would go on trips always singing the lyrics of the songs on the radio.  I decided not to use just one song, but to use different songs on each page.  Here's my finished product:  (REMEMBER - you can click on the pictures to make them larger - you just have to click on the back arrow to come back to the blog)

COVER

 This is the inside page of the book.  This song is by Zac Brown Band and I loved the second verse "I thank God for my life and for the Stars and Stripes"

Page One - a quote from Victor Hugo

 This picture was taken last summer when we took the tour of Charlotte on those motorized scooters.  The song is by Miley Cyrus - Time of Our Life.

 This is a picture of Ashley when she went to Kenya and was taken at the equator.  The song by Green Day says "Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go - Take the photographs and still frames in your mind"  So true!!

 Another picture taken in Kenya.  The song is Unwritten by Natasha Bedinfield, "Live your life with arms wide open - Today is where your book begins - The rest is still unwritten"

 A picture of Ashley and I at a winery!  I couldn't decide so I picked two songs for this page - You're My Best Friend by Queen and Popular from Wicked.   The Queen song is self explanatory - she is my best friend and I liked the Wicked song too ' "It's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed ...."

 This song was taken on a beautiful fall day in Gettysburg.  The son is "From a Distance" by Bette Midler.  My favorite line - "from a distance we all have enought and no one is in need.  And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease, no hungry mouths to feed."

 This is a great picture of Marianne and Ashley taken last summer.  Another song by Miley Cyrus - Life's What You Make It.  And that sums up Ashley's philosophy on life I think - she is able to make life rock with a good attitude.

 This picture was taken last summer at my nephew's wedding with my niece's two boys.  I love this song by Rascal Flats, My Wish.  My wish for my daughter is "that this life becomes all that you want it to - Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small - Yo never need to carry more than you can hold"

I still had more songs I wanted to use so I put these lyrics on the back cover.  The song by Garth Brooks, The River" is a great one.  Don't you agree that "never knowing what's in store makes each day a constant battle just to stay between the shores?"  I sure do!!

So, I hope this has inspired you to think of your Life's Lyrics and make a scrapbook of them.  My Digital Studio would be a great help in doing it.