RAKapalooza

Hello stamping friends - sorry I haven't posted any cards lately, but I'm sick, cranky and my mojo is nowhere to be found. Hopefully it will turn up soon, but in the mean time I realized I am behind on posting the wonderful RAKs I've received, so here we go...

Maria sent me this beauty, which was one she had made for my From Courtney's Closet challenge. Now that I think about it, she didn't particularly like this card. But yet she sent it to me. Hmm. What does that mean? JUST KIDDING! I know that Maria knows I think this card is SUPER CUTE, and I LOVE receiving cards made for my challenge!! Thank you SO MUCH Maria! Oh and by the way, love how you ended up adding the sentiment! :-)This sweet Bella card was given to me by my sister Laura on Thanksgiving! Look at the fabulous paper piecing she did! And I just love how she stuck to the... hmm... duochromatic color scheme? Is that a word?? :-) She doesn't have a blog (yet!) so I can't link her up...Anita sent this super duper cute Thanksgiving card - I just love how she had fun with the colors. I mean, what's NOT to love about a pink turkey?? She also included a couple images of him so I can play myself (I'm thinking purple turkey??). :-) Thanks Anita, you are so kind!And this last one - holy moly - Kathryn sent me THE SWEETEST RAK! She spoiled me with all of these wonderful goodies! And look at those Pink Poison Anya images! YAY! Can't wait to play! (that is, if I ever find mojo again, and finish my DT commitments that I'm hopelessly behind on...!) Thanks Kathryn, it was such a happy surprise to find this in my mailbox!Now, if you are dying to send me a RAK yourself, you can contact any of the ladies linked above and I'm sure they will be happy to share my address with you... LOL!

RAK from Allison

Well this bit of happy mail certainly had me grinning from ear to ear! Not only did I get this extremely adorable card from the one and only Allison, but just look at the stamp she threw in with it!!! REAL WOMEN LOVE HOCKEY. Sweeeeeet!!! For some reason they don't include such rubber goodness in the dollar bins at Mike's here in Texas! Ok maybe I know why - because people here are CLUELESS about hockey. Sure, there are some exceptions (mostly northern transplants like myself) - but c'mon. We had a minor league team for a while here in Austin (but they didn't survive) - they were called the Ice Bats. You see, Austin has a very cool bat population for part of the year that we are very proud of, so Bats was a fun name. But they had to call them the ICE Bats so the silly people here would realize hockey is a game played on ice. *sigh* Anywayzzzz... thanks for the super cool RAK, Allison!!

RAK from Leslie

Oh lucky me!!!! I don't mean to brag (ok, maybe I do!) but I actually have quite a nice stack of Leslie Originals in my possession!!! I was the very lucky recipient of one of her GORGEOUS Thanksgiving cards this week!! Oh to be able to pull off simple elegance the way Leslie can! Hmm. Perhaps step 1 is actually creating a card without polka dots?? Ack. Perhaps I'll leave simple elegance to the pros, and stick with my own style, cute and silly. :D Thanks Leslie, I *love* the card!!

RAK from Anita

I got this cute and funny card in the mail today from Anita! Look at those googlie eyes she added to the cute DP - love it! Anita has got to be one of the most generous ladies in all of Blogland - a while back I mentioned that I liked some ribbon she used on a card, so she sent me some. Then I won some blog candy from her. And most recently I mentioned that I love the Stampin' Up Top Note die for the Big Shot - so in this RAK she included a few punch outs from it (and also the negatives, which is a super cool way to use it too!). Carter also loved this RAK because there was a sweet Halloween sticker, which is now proudly displayed on his t-shirt. Thanks Anita!

RAK from Sue

Lucky me, I got a Sue Original in the mail this week!!!! Isn't it adorable? I love that little witchy image, and also how Sue added the rhinestones to that felt spider web. I'm also now insanely jealous of Sue - this second photo is the inside of the card - it looks like Sue got her hands on a Martha Stewart Drippy Goo punch!!! I wanted that punch sooooo bad all of September and October, but my Michaels and Archivers both sold out of it immediately. *sigh* Maybe next year... :-) Thanks again Sue, I love the card!!

RAK from Leslie

(Ok, now you can scroll two down for this week's From Courtney's Closet challenge! :-)) Gosh, I told you in the last post that I'm a very lucky girl, but I didn't expect to be lucky enough to get RAKs two days in a row!! My hubby just came from the mailbox with this beauty from Leslie!! We all know that Leslie is known for her coloring skills - but wow, seeing it up close and in person, it's just amazing!! So much talent. You can see Leslie's original post here. Leslie had made this card a while back for a From Courtney's Closet challenge, and now she sent it to me as a thank you for her birthday gift. You are very welcome, my friend - and thank YOU for this beautiful card!!

RAK from Megan

(Scroll down for this week's From Courtney's Closet challenge!!) I got this beautiful card in the mail yesterday from Megan. She had made it for a From Courtney's Closet challenge a few weeks back. I just love it, it's even *more* beautiful in person than I realized! For one thing, I don't think I had fully realized that she stitched the butterfly's antennae. So many gorgeous details! Thanks Megan, I love it!

So about RAKs... I have received soooo many beautiful RAKs this year. Between Courtney's birth and my birthday and just general RAKs, I've been such a lucky girl! (back when the gorgeous cards were pouring in when Courtney was born, my sister said she wants to start a blog before she ever has a baby so she can be so lucky too, LOL!) I've been beating myself up all year about being so rotten about photographing and posting them. I keep meaning to do it, but I just never find the time (or make the time?). Anyway, I've decided to release the guilt and just start fresh, going forward from today. No more beating myself up about the past. I realize it's not even a "requirement" that I post them - many people do not - but I wanted to and I feel bad that I never did. Or I *felt* bad, anyway. So... if you've sent me cards this year, please know I appreciate them SO MUCH!! And if you send me more, I'll post them. LOL! I'm also really trying to quit hoarding cards, so hopefully I'll be sending lots of RAKs out myself from here on out. :-) So there you have it - my RAK confession. Have a nice weekend! :-)

I forgot this beauty...!

(Scroll down for this week's From Courtney's Closet post!) I meant to include this beautiful card in my roundup last night!!! What can I say - I was finishing up that post at 3 in the morning and my brain wasn't working very well. Monica sent this card to me for my birthday, so she didn't technically play From Courtney's Closet - but her card was a PERFECT fit for the challenge! I just love this card - it's so pretty IRL. She used markers to color the flower stamp, so it looks all watercolory (is that a word?) and lovely. The flower image is cut out and popped up, and the coolest thing is that little photo turn is holding shut a little card on the card - the panel opens up to reveal a really great quote (you can see it on her post). Such a wonderful card, from such a wonderful person! I received a little stack of wonderful cards for my birthday, actually, and I've been meaning to photograph them and post them here. I've also meant to post the recap of my Cape Cod trip. And the huge stack of wonderful cards I got when Courtney was born. *sigh* I am such a rotten blogger. How do you people put up with me??

Another RAK - from Leslie - could I be more lucky???

Make sure to check out my blog candy post, if ya like that sort of thing... (because some people DON'T like a chance at cool free stuff? Huh??) :-)

So here I am posting yet another RAK - am I making you all completely JEALOUS or what?? I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet lately! And all I had to do to get showered with these gorgeous cards was go through several months of all-day sickness ("morning" sickness is such a stupid term!), have my already-foggy-from-pregnancy-#1 brain turn even more to mush, and let all the sugar I've been craving like a mad woman go straight to my butt and thighs... no problem! ;-) Just kidding, this is a beautiful, magical time that I am treasuring every moment of... blah blah blah...

ANYWAY (wow did I digress...) this COMPLETELY ADORABLE card is from Leslie over at Running with Scissors, another one of my favorite stampers ON THE PLANET! I am always sooooo thrilled when something arrives in my mailbox from the Oregon coast - I literally squeal when I see that familiar return address! I absolutely love this card - that little chicken is just the cutest and I love the colors she used. You can read her take on this card here. And not only is Leslie immensely talented, she's also the sweetest person - she sent the cutest little pink outfit for the baby with owls on it (I LOVE OWLS!) (but to clarify, I do not love owls like Frances loves owls...!) :-) - and not only that, she also thought of Carter and sent him a stuffed monkey (which he LOVES)!! I don't know what I did to deserve her friendship - actually, I haven't done much - I really need to get some thank you RAKs in the mail to people ASAP! But thank you Leslie, hopefully you know how much I appreciate your kindness, even if I've only said so via email and my blog and not RUBBER!

Another RAK - from Rose Ann!

Well if you haven't noticed, I've been a very lucky girl lately!! I am trying to get caught up on all my RAK thank yous! Tonight's ADORABLE card is from Rose Ann, the sweetest stamper I know, who posts her wonderful art over at Paper Delightz. Many who have seen this card proudly displayed on my kitchen counter have commented that this cute pocket design would make a perfect baby announcement - so thanks Rose Ann, you may have saved me some struggles trying to figure out what to do with that! We'll see... if I procrastinate on the announcements as long as I did with Carter, I may have to go with a MUCH simpler design! (and my sister is probably reading this thinking "PLEASE go with a simpler design!" since she got stuck doing the majority of the work on Carter's announcements!!!) You can read Rose Ann's post about this card here. I feel so very fortunate that Rose Ann stumbled upon my blog many months ago - its new friendships like these that make me so very thankful that I went ahead with my crazy idea to start my own little blog!!! And I'm sure all of you visit Rose Ann daily, but if you don't, be sure to check her out! She completely puts me to shame, not only is she the busy mom to three adorable kids (I can hardly handle one!) but she is one of the most consistent blog-posters out there! I don't know how she finds time for it all, I truly think she's a wonder woman! Thanks again for this adorable card Rose Ann!!

Super cute RAK from Dina!

Isn't this little birdie just the cutest thing?? I got this adorable RAK in the mail from Dina, aka Mama Dini, and it came all the way from Indonesia! A little while back I posted about gamsol, or odorless mineral spirits, perhaps not being the best thing to use while pregnant. I mentioned that I would give baby oil a try instead when coloring with my Prismacolors. Dina was so nice & left a comment with links to threads over on SCS regarding baby oil, and then sat down to play with baby oil herself, created this adorable card, and put it in the mail to me!! I'm such a lucky girl! You can read the details about this card on Dina's excellent blog here - and while you're there you'll surely want to look around a bit, if you've been living under a rock and have never visited before. :-) Thanks Dina, I so appreciated this very special RAK!

RAK from TruCarMa!!!

Ok for those of you who've followed my blog from the get-go, you know I'm a complete freak when it comes to coming in "contact" with my stamping idols! When I started this blog and found comments from the likes of Leslie, Jenn, Beate, Debbie, etc, I nearly peed my pants (just ask my husband, he saw me totally geek out about it!). WELL - I had another pee my pants moment (as I like to call it!) a little while back!! I've been a big fan of TruCarMa, aka Carole Burrage, ever since I happily stumbled upon one of her cards many months ago on SCS. There have been many times I've forwarded a link to one of her cards to my sister, saying "this is so stinkin cute!" or "isn't this the funniest card EVER??". I love her sense of humor which comes across both in her art and in her posts about her art! WELL - imagine my surprise when out of the blue I got an email from Carole herself, telling *ME* that I made *HER* day when she stumbled upon my blog & saw her name listed as one of my favorite SCS galleries! And then she went and mailed me this RAK as well!!! I have an actual, original TruCarMa card in my possession!!! I couldn't be more excited!!! As most of you have probably heard by now, Carole has started a blog of her own (and here's the card she sent me on her blog). Make sure and check out Mother's Little Helper - I just LOVE it!!! Her cards are without exception fabulous, and she has THE BEST sense of humor, her writing is so much fun to read! I am so sad I've been on Blog Hiatus recently - not only did I miss her appearance on Millionaire, but I also missed her being the SCS Featured Stamper!!! I knew that would happen before long!!! Congrats Carole, and thanks again for the RAK - you really made my day, even if I'm ridiculously late saying so!!!

Birthday RAKs!

I wanted to share some amazing birthday RAKs I received in the mail over the past couple weeks. I am SUCH a lucky girl!!! I loved each of these cards when I originally saw them on their respective blogs, and was THRILLED to find them in my own mailbox!!

The first was from Leslie. She originally posted this on her blog here. Her photo is better, so take a look! I just love this Cake Decorating 101 set from Flourishes, and this card is just beautiful (and YUMMY!) in real life. I love the silver embossing on the cake stand.

Next I had a BIG surprise from Rose Ann. Not only did she send me this GORGEOUS card (originally posted here) but she also sent me that Cake Decorating 101 set that I LOVE! Rose Ann is just the sweetest, I cannot believe her generosity! The other thing that made me super happy was that I got both Leslie's and Rose Ann's cards on the same day - what a glorious Infuse mail day!!

Finally, this ADORABLE card from Corie - I've loved these smile flower cards she's been posting on her blog, they are so happy and fun. Corie also included some stamped poinsettia images, I can't wait to play with those! (although I'm nervous, I often mess up when coloring and have to start over - well at least she sent two so I can hopefully not mess both up! LOL!)

Thank you ladies - this was such happy mail!!!!!

Long Overdue!

Isn't this card GORGEOUS?!?! The nicest blogger I know, Rose Ann, sent this to me about a million years ago, and as most of you know I haven't been very good about blogging the past few months, so I neglected to ever get a proper thank you posted! I just *LOVE* everything about this card! I loved it when she originally posted it and told her so, and I was absolutely thrilled to receive it in the mail! This was her first time trying the Featured Stamper challenge over at SCS, and she CASE'ed a card by another of my all-time favorite stampers, Kirsten DuBosque. I love the colors & papers Rose Ann chose for her card, I love her adorable scalloped border, that flower is just stunning, and of course I cannot resist anything stamped with a Bella! I love my Bellas!!! Thank you so much for sending this to me Rose Ann, it made my day (months ago....!). :-)

Happy Mail!

It's so great when something arrives in your U.S. Postal mailbox other than a bill or junk mail!! I received this adorable RAK today from Kitty (OregonStamper) - I just love these SU Doodle This flowers! I recently joined the RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) group on Splitcoaststampers, and this is my welcome card. :-) Now I really need to get crackin' and get some cards of my own sent out!!

Flower Friday

My husband and I had a meeting this afternoon with our financial advisor (who confirmed we're still ok with me staying home, *big sigh of relief*) (Good thing my hubby is so good with money considering all I want to do is spend it on stamps and embellishments!!) Since we already had our son staying with friends, we decided to take advantage of the situation and also catch an early movie, which we had not done in ages. We saw Waitress - cute movie but it left us both craving pie! We had driven separately to the appointment, me coming from home and Joel from work. So on the way home, I picked up our son while he stopped for the mail. After I got Carter down to sleep, I went and checked the mail he had deposited on the counter... and literally SQUEALED when I saw the return address on one of the envelopes! My wonderful new blogger friend Leslie had sent me a card!! Thank you SO MUCH Leslie - you made *me* smile big time with this!!! So here it is for everyone else to enjoy, on Flower Friday. Isn't it just gorgeous?? It completely made my day. Have a great weekend everyone!!!