Che Bella Vista

Isn't this adorable? It was designed by Fiskars/Heidi Grace, and is a project from one of my Fiskars training classes in Texas. This is actually a canvas frame, covered with Heidi Grace flocked paper, then flipped over. What you are looking at is the backside of the frame. The picture, taken in Italy by my oldest, is inset to the frame.

On a funny side note, after selecting this photo for this project, I spent over 20 minutes going through the hundreds of pictures that my oldest son took while on his European trip. He went to several countries, and sorted his pictures into many folders. It took a while before I could determine that he took this in La Magdallena, Italy. After discovering the location, I flipped the picture over to apply adhesive, and written on the back I saw, "La Madgallena, Italy". Talk about a Du'h moment!!

Christmas Eve Dinner ....... Oops!

I couldn't resist grabbing my camera after our (yes....our..... I had help with this one) latest cooking debacle.

Digital kit is Holiday Spirit, designed by Misty Cato.

Journaling reads:

THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

After spending hours working on the perfect dish of sweet potatoes, we open the oven and FLAMES shoot out! The smoke alarm sounded, but the kids merely laughed. They assumed that it was the normal, "mom must be cooking" routine. Terry and I remained calm as we extinguished the flames, wondering if we should tell the kids that this wasn't a drill!

OK....so in my defense, we have a really sensitive smoke alarm that is precariously located close to our oven. If I set the oven for higher than 375, the alarm sounds off. I just couldn't believe it this time when the alarm sounded, we opened the oven and "whoosh", out shoot flames!! It startled me for a moment, but I stayed calm. It took us over 5 minutes to extinguish the flames. A wee bit scary, but we did laugh once the ordeal was over.

Beauty Lies Within

These are pictures of a project that I started in San Antonio and FINALLY finished last week. The primary tool for this project is the Fiskars Round Punch. It's a wonderful tool. It comes with a 4 or 6 inch template for cutting circles. After the circles are cut, simply punch with the round punch and an intricate design is created. Super easy, super fun. Defintely a favorite tool of mine.



The ribbon was a lot of fun to make. I used Fiskars Clear Stamps, "Just Between Friends", and stamped an image, with Staz-On Timber Brown ink, directly to the ribbon. The effect is wonderful.


Papers are Cloud 9.
Project created by Fiskars/Cloud 9.

I'm on Cloud 9

Christmas shopping this year means more gift cards, and less tangible presents. Thankfully, there are so many gift cards to chose from, and places to purchase them. After giftcertificates.com messed up my order (boo hiss), I cancelled said order and hubby drove me over to our local Safeway where I could choose from over 100 cards.

The cards are handy, but presenting them can be rather dull. I decided to dress them up with some of the Cloud 9 paper collection. It was super fast and easy, and lots of fun. Here is a picture of my favorite wrappings.

Here is a link to Cloud 9 Designs:

http://www.cloud9design.biz/

I'm on Fiskars TV!

Woo Hoo! The Fiskars TV segment that I filmed in San Antionio has "aired". Here is the link:
http://www.fiskarscrafts.com/tv/

Look for the "Holiday Show 'n Tell with the Fiskateers" dated 12/14/07 . I'm the first person featured, but if you watch until the end, you will have an opportunity to win some free goodies!

I have to say.....I look gross!!! LOL! At least I can laugh at myself. This is what I look like after 40 hours that includes only 4 hours sleep, 6 classes, 2 tours, a 7am call, my conditioner left at home, humidity that makes everything cling, and a multiple tumors in my belly!! Oh well, I gueess even unwelcome tumors deserve their 15 seconds of fame, too! Now that the tumors are gone, what can I blame my fat tummy on? Hmmmmm........I may have to get creative with this excuse!

The Fiskars Love was Spread to Me (and, Oh, I'm Back)!

Yesterday I received this GIANT package in the mail. It was filled with all sorts of swap goodies. I recognized the little bags and tags from the monthly Fiskateer's swap. I didn't participate in November, so I figured that it had to be a mistake. As I looked closer, many of the labels had "Mystery Swapper" written on them. It took me a bit to figure out that I was the "Mystery Swapper". Hisaho (my flight companion to/from Texas for the Fiskars weekend) took it upon herself to include me in the November swap. She knew that I was too busy to join in because of my surgery, so she did a little goody bag up for me and labeled it, "Mystery Swapper". What a wonderful gesture! It was fun going through all the goody bags, and the items are of incredible quality! It really made my day, and honestly, I was feeling so much better after receiving that incredible surprise. Yet another example of how the Fiskateers is both an online and offline community, and how people there are genuinely nice and thoughtful.

Of course, I am back from the hospital. This first week has been rough. Lots of pain (sad face). Each day usually brings some improvement, and looking back I can say that I truly feel better now than I did 9 days ago. I felt like a cat the first few days. Eat and sleep, with emphasis on the sleep, LOL! Sleep becomes a bit more elusive, though, as the days go on. There are less drugs in my system, the anesthesia has worked it's way out, but neck stiffness from all of the uncomfortable positions is really setting in. Overall, though, it's good to be home!