Happy Birthday, Lou!

Happy Birthday, Lou! I love you! Have a great day!

Ok. I made a card, but haven't mailed it. (The post office is my nemesis. I hate going there.)


Materials:
Penny Black stamp
Stampin' Up celebrate stamp
FancyPants paper
Crate Paper
fuzzy white Dovecraft ribbon
black May Arts ribbon
Whisper markers
brown color pencil

I live in England...

"So what are you doing over here?"
When I first moved to England, I got asked this question a lot. Mostly from strangers. I think it's funny how people can ask me such a personal question just because I have an American accent. I don't mind, I'm a naturally curious person myself.

I tell them in the simplest way that I married an Englishman. I'm not very good at reading people, but I think a small portion that ask are surprised that I'm married at all; I think that to them it would make more sense if I were studying at the University. That's because I'm young (22) and to most people I actually look younger than I am.

"Do you like England?"
This is a funny question. Do you know how you would answer if you were asked if you liked where you lived? I always answer that I think England is normal. I mean life for me is work, eat, sleep, etc. Everyday life in England is only slightly different than in America. At least it is for me.

The biggest differences for me: snack food and sweets, and I don't drive over here. I really miss crackers, but I don't really miss driving.

"How did you meet your husband?"
Whenever I answer this one, I grin like crazy.

My husband was studying International Business at University and got the opportunity to study for a semester in Moorhead, Minnesota just across the river/state border where I was living/studying in Fargo, North Dakota (my hometown). The two cities are squished right together with only the river seperating them.

NaBloPoMo

November is NaBloPoMo (which means National Blog Posting Month). I'm not going to be able to post everyday (my life is a little too slow for that), but I will make a huge effort to make lots more posts this month. And hopefully, I'll get into the habit.

I'm going to start today, by going over the basics:

I'm 22 year-old American, married to a great English guy.

My favorite color is orange (blue is 2nd). I have a weird dislike for pink; it's just not for me. I'm trying to overcome it little by little, but something all pink puts me off.

My favorite foods: pepperoni pizza, mint chocolate chip ice cream, and mashed potatoes. (But not all together; that would be weird.)

I love animals. I have two budgies (Jack-jack and Mater). I love them to bits.
Here's an old scrapbook layout showing them:

I'll do a post later all about my birds soon.

I love crafting. Scrapbooking, card-making, and cross-stitch are the main ones right now, but I love trying lots of different crafts. I dabble in drawing, watercolor painting, beading, and quilting, and probably some more I'm forgetting at the moment.

I also love baking. Cookies, brownies, pies, tarts, and other desserts are my favorite things to make. I like trying new recipes all the time. Desserts are the most fun, but I try different meals, too, sometimes. Making the same things over and over again frustrates me.

That's all for now. I should write more about each of these topics soon. (and with photos, don't you think?)

If you have any interesting questions I could answer, I would be grateful.

Blue & Orange Whiff of Joy card

Close up of the image:

I love coloring this stamp. It is so much FUN! I made the card blue and orange for the challenge at artygirlzchallengeblog.blogspot.com. I left the card without a message, because the image is so versatile it could be several things; a thank you or a thinking of you card are my first impression.

Materials:
Whiff of Joy stamp: Melinda Helping Angel
Whisper markers
Chatterbox orange patterned paper
Penny Black flower stamp (from Salutations set)
silver glitter
blue inkpad
ribbon

Halloween cards are TRICKY! :)

Halloween cards are not easy. I have one halloween set, so that doesn't help. Does anyone else have this Inque Boutique set? It's great; I got it for the star border really. I made this one for the Halloween challenge at A spoonfull of sugar challenge.

One tip: I used my SU scallop punch to take a notch out of the corners.

Materials:
Inque Boutique stamps - Happy Halloween set
Happy Halloween foam stamp
Stampin' Up scallop punch
Whispers markers

Nature Thank you card

I made this simple card for the Nature challenge over at abc-challenge.blogspot.com. If anyone has used this stamp, or seen it used, I would love to see what others have done with it. I struggle with the size and shape of it.

Materials:
Stampin' Up - A little bit of happiness
Stampin' Up buttons
Prima flowers
Whisper markers

My first Whiff of Joy!!!

This is my very FIRST Whiff of Joy stamp. I am so thrilled. I have been drooling over these stamps ever since before they came out. I was so lucky to win one off of Katharina's blog last week. I used her sketch to make this card for Stamp Something's challenge.

Whiff of Joy stamp: Melinda Helping Angel
Patterned paper: FancyPants (purple) and Basic Grey
Bazzil Cardstock
Making memories ribbon
Prima flowers
papermania eyelets
Whispers markers and aqua-pen

Sketch by Katharina: