Happy New Year!!!

As of this morning I have no plans for New Year's Eve. That's okay. I'm not a big party animal anyway. Maybe I'll rent a movie.

I have some new products in my stores this week. At Quirky Twerp a new group called Gridiron Grit. I had a special request to create a football kit that has a vintage grungy feel and I'm pleased with the result.

Gridiron Grit Scrapbook Kit
Gridiron Grit Paper Pack
And from Arty Pants....
Game Time Digital Stamp
Recently, I have gone on three dates with a really wonderful guy named Steve. Our first date was just meeting and getting to know a little about each other so we met at a Dairy Queen for hot fudge sundaes. Then we enjoyed each others' company enough that we decided to go on a "real" date so he came to my house, bouquet of flowers in hand, and took me out for dinner. We had a very nice time.

A couple days ago, he came to my house....this time with a stocking full of candy! The kind of candy that he knows I like!!
Then we went out for dinner and had another wonderful time.  He's a very impressive guy and I'm looking forward to the next date!

I'm FREEZING!

Oh how I don't like a Midwestern winter. I grew up in Montana so one would think I could tolerate winter a little better, but something about a Midwestern winter....it just feels colder. I sooooo look forward to SPRING! I have a new kit I've been working on that I'll release next week, I think, but I was noticing that it's reflecting my wishes for a speedy arrival of Spring. Pretty, bright, clean florals. Ahhh. Just what I'm looking forward to!

In the meantime, this week, talented hybrid chick Cathy, asked that I create a football kit for something she's working on. So, I fulfilled her wishes and my football kit will be available on Thursday. I tried to keep it pretty generic so each crafter can make it work for their favorite team. Here's a sneak peek!
I also wanted to report that my sweet dog, Pepper, is doing pretty well. She's skinny but seems to have a really good appetite and a decent amount of energy for being a little old lady! She turned 13 on Christmas Day.

Now, here's wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year's holiday!

Update on Pepper

I brought Pepper home on Thursday afternoon and she has been doing wonderfully. Her appetite is great and she hasn't vomited. She seems to have a decent amount of energy for her age and she always has a smile on her pretty little face.

We DID have a struggle with pill taking. She is far too smart to fool. No hiding medication in food...she won't eat it. Wrapping a pill in a piece of lunch meat...lunch meat devoured, pill drops out onto the floor. Wrapping pill coated in peanut butter surrounded by a bit of bread...bread eaten, peanut butter licked off, pill drops out onto the floor! Next I resorted to forcing it down her throat. I was actually successful twice. Once because she didn't know what I was doing. Twice because I had her pinned between my legs and we were on the kitchen floor where she couldn't get traction. I was unsuccessful four times and finally gave up. I sure hope she is healed enough that missing out on those pills won't harm her too bad!

The past few days I have felt REALLY busy but I can't think of much that I accomplished! Ha I DID finally get my Christmas cards addressed, my little insert written and the envelopes stamped and in the drop box at the post office. I hope they arrive at their destinations before Christmas.

I've been messing around with some new kits for Quirky Twerp but I don't have anything to put in my store just yet. A little more work is required!

Stay warm and have a happy week!

A Little Update

Oh my...my world went into a little bit of upheaval last weekend when my beloved dog, Pepper, got sick. I had to take her to the Pet ER on Sunday morning. She stayed there overnight and they gave her IV fluids and various medications. Her blood test revealed that there is something wrong with her liver but it's a mystery, unfortunately! Monday morning I took her to her regular vet and they also performed a blood test with similar results about her liver.

She has spent three nights at the vet, poor little thing. I went to visit her Wednesday afternoon and she was in good spirits and wagging her tail. Pepper will be 13 years old on Christmas Day so I know she's a little old lady and heading toward the end of her life, but I would really like to get her home where she is surrounded by all her loved ones. I don't like her being in a little metal pen at the vet hospital.
They were going to do the blood test again this afternoon. I really don't want to leave her there another night!!! She was so happy to see me on Wednesday and we just sat and cuddled for the longest time. She's a dream dog. She's really smart. She's very polite. She's sweet and affectionate. She is kind to other animals. And she's protective. So maybe you could send Pepper some good thoughts that she gets better. I'm not ready to let her go just yet.

Since I've been focused on Pepper I don't have much to release this week...but what I have is pretty stinkin' cute! I did this Christmas alphabet to match my Sweet & Crafty Scrapbook Pack.

On sale Thursday and Friday, Sweet & Crafty Alphabet Pack.
And here is a sweet layout from Jacinda. She always does an amazing job with her creations.

A Little Gift from Arty Pants

Click Here for an Arty Pants Christmas Stocking Digital Stamp Freebie

I tried my hand at making a card...my first attempt so it's pretty amateur. Of course the ribbons and such could be real after printing out the illustration, but I don't have a great printer so I just did everything digitally.

I wanted to show a "before and after" because my Arty Pants stamp downloads include something wonderful...a layered .psd file, with separate layers, for easy clipping. For my card, I used my new Quirky Twerp Sweet & Crafty Pack and also one paper from my Christmas Retrospect Pack.

Easy as can be and really fun! Enjoy....now go create! :-)

Sweet & Crafty Kits

Since I did "pretty and classic" last week, I thought I needed to do "cute and fun" this week, so here are my new products:

Sweet & Crafty Scrapbook Pack
Sweet & Crafty Paper Pack
Santa the Drummer Digital Stamp
And here are a couple cute layouts.
This first one is by Holly. So adorable. Look at that cute photo. :-)

And this one is by Jacinda. Always sweet from her, as well.
I sure appreciate these chicks! They're very talented.

Also, you might want to check out this Holly Jolly Grab Bag by The Digichick Designers. A $55.00 value for just $10.00!!! It's only available through the 12th of December and it's jam-packed with products so jump over and grab it while it's in the store. Included in the pack is an alphabet I created which matches my new releases this week.

Now on to my house!!! I have been working on my kitchen floor tiles. I had been procrastinating for quite awhile but decided that the weekend after Thanksgiving would be a good time. I had plenty of free hours, I had all the supplies and my best friend helped me move my appliances into the dining room. It was actually pretty easy and I should have and could have done it months ago!!!

When I went looking for flooring, I wasn't sure whether I wanted vinyl or ceramic tile. They were all so boring to me! Everything is beige, tan, cream, NEUTRAL. Well, as you can tell from previous photos, my house is NOT neutral! When I saw these commercial composite tiles and found out they came in "hot" colors, I knew this is what I wanted. I hope I don't regret it. :-) They had so many funky colors! I chose yellow and hot pink. The kitchen is looking very bright and cheery now.
I really should have sanded my cabinets first, but I've been doing everything backwards so that will be the next step. I need to buckle down and just get that done! I have a vision for those and I can't wait to see them complete.

Thank you for looking and have a wonderful rest of the week!