What celeb is your pet?

I just did a quiz on Dogster to find out that my little Bessie is Madonna! Too Funny! And to tell ya the truth...IT'S ALL TRUE...and I'm sure those who know her would agree! I love my sassy little Madonna dog!

Madonna
American Queen

Come on, let's just face it: We are living in a material world, and bessie is a material girl. So go ahead and thank your lucky stars—bessie is the one and only Madonna!

Always desperately seeking attention, bessie is multi-talented and savvy, not afraid to get her paws dirty and experiment with new methods of getting into the groove in order to reach her peeps. She commands respect everywhere she goes, a sophisticated traveler who insists upon the best—and more often than not, she gets what she wants. Appearance is everything for your true-blue diva and while her look may change as often as the Pellegrino in her water bowl does, her commitment to exercise is unwavering. bessie's in tip-top shape, which makes her age in pet years a non-issue. Despite the hard fur and the no-nonsense approach, she's a softy when it comes to her devoted owner. It's fair to say that bessie is, yes, crazy for you.

New Fireman in Town

Yup, Chatham has a new fireman! A friend asked me to make her a card to send to a friend who just became a fireman. I know...I said I don't like selling cards to friends but she's a good friend, I'll probably just give it to her!. This one is really out of my comfort zone, no painting, no shaded colouring...but I did a small bit of masking so that made me happy! The little fire truck is from A Muse and it had a banner hanging off the ladder that said happy birthday but I omitted it. I rented it from Paper Pickle (yes they RENT stamps...how cool is that!) The trees are from Lizzie Ann, the sentiment is Hero Arts and the grass is Hampton. Talk about pulling out all the pieces for this one! And I couldn't resist adding the hubby's little antique toy firetruck and vintage Hardy Boys books in the background...he will be proud (that is, if he ever reads my blog!)
See ya later, I should have another Bella later this week!

Preggabella

I sooooooo want to keep calling her 'preggObella' but I know that is not her name. This is another one of those images I coloured then looked for paper to match and came up with the perfect combo in the Basic Gray 6x6 Sugared paper pack. Is she NOT the cutest thing!
So why am I making expectant mother and baby cards you ask? Especially because I'm too young to be a grandmother (thank god) and too old to be a new mother (double thank god)! Well here's why. I don't often sell my cards (I feel weird about selling cards to friends), except occasionally I make them for Paper Pickle and they sell them in their sister store Bride & Joy. Bride & Joy sells PHENOM stuff for the bride to be or the expectant mother and even really neat gifty things for just about anyone. Sources tell me they will be going online in 2008!
On a personal note, this will be a pretty hectic weekend for me...I'll be shopping for backsplash tiles for my kitchen reno AND...I'm going with a bunch of girlfriends in this 'bus limo' to a wine tasting cooking class! I LOVE to cook and I LOVE wine...I'm anticipating a wonderful day!

Little Maya

Isn't she the most adorable thing you have ever seen. I don't know what it is about those Stamping Bella images but more often than not the Basic Gray Romani paper just screams out to be used! Hmmmm...I may have to get some more before it's discontinued (if it isn't already). And to my surprise the striped paper is from a Memory Box 6x6 pack and you would think it was dyed to match! I tell ya, if all I had was Basic Gray and Memory box 6x6 papers I could be content! (maybe).

And do ya see that stack of ribbon!!! Well my mom was over at JoAnn's and she spotted some American Craft ribbon on sale. Man, my Mom can sniff out a deal. The sign said they were marked down 25% but at the check out one of the boxes rang up at $1.49. whooohoooo!!!!!! I LOVE that ribbon, it is sooooooo soft and easy to tie. Feels like silk! And I think someone had the Romani paper in mind when they did this one. One last thing...did you notice the little baubles! Those are also from Stamping Bella! And you probably can't tell from the picture but I used my spica glitter pens on the headband flower and the green accents on her shirt. Adds just a bit of sparkle when seen up close.

Stella has landed!

Yuppers!

Stella landed right into her martini glass and fell into a field of Basic Gray Sultry flowers!!!!!!!! LOL! MAN...don't you just love when things come together! This is how it was with Stella. Maybe it has something to do with my love of a good fancy martini!...the colours in this card are just cryin' for a celabratory Cosmo, but with that bit of green in there I could also be swayed towards an Appeltini.

Enough of that, on with the card. I may have said before that I really love to just colour. I generally don't start with a paper in mind, just sit and colour away in colours that I think work well together. This one was done with my beloved copics, which I pretty much use exclusively these days. Then after I have a few coloured, I go thru my stash of paper and look for something that matches. WELL......I almost forgot I bought this 6x6 Basic Gray Sultry pad at Pickle and when I was flippin' thru the stash I almost DIED when I came across this one. It could not have been more perfect...not to mention the ribbon! Of course it helps when you have upwards of 150 different ribbons to choose from! LOL!!!!!!!!! And, I can't go without mentioning that Stella and the little bonbons are from Stamping Bella.

Enjoy!

The last Chatty Cathy

Here is my last Chatty Cathy card from Chatty Cathy Sunday. I can't say I saved the best for last because I love all of them! This was again coloured with my beloved copics on Papertrey White cardstock and mounted on Crate Paper that I bought at pickle. The ribbon is Ofray and I found it in my stash (i'll have a ribbon post one day soon!...too funny!) and the little flowers with crystals are from Stamping Bella...the hippest sistah you could evah meet (again...I'll save those details for a later date).

So yesterday was a great mail day for me cause I got my bella order...a couple Stella's, Maya, Kirby, a new fairy and a springtini! Plus a few sentiments. If you haven't searched thru Emily's sentiments..YOU MUST DO IT NOW...they are fabulous and you are sure to find something to say exactly what Bella would say! Stick around and you should see some new cards with my new stamps next week.

One more thing while I'm on the topic of Bella's. The pickle girls were at ScrapFest in Kitchener this past weekend and although their theme was scrapbooking their make and take was a little bella bag full of jelly beans (sorry I don't have a picture). Anyhoo...their booth and the bella make and take was a huge hit!!!!!!! Kudos to Kim and Kell at Pickle and of course Emily for her bellas!

Run, Don't Walk

Sorry, no card tonight, just a little update. Class at Pickle was a blast as usual but the best part is that the Nestabilities came in and the rack is FULL again. Of course I had to get those tall rectangles that I have been patiently waiting for since their introduction at CHA! So if you are in the Chatham area go get 'em before they are gone! And, for those who have been waiting along with me, the new cuttlebug embossing folders are also in. Happy Shopping!

One more thing...I just realized that little Chatty Cathy would fit like a glove in the one of those tall rectangles...i may just have to make some more!

Another Chatty Cathy and Class Cards

Here is the second card from my Chatty Cathy Sunday. This one is for a friend who doesn't know that I have a blog yet! Since both our lives are in a busy phase right now we rarely see each other these days. This card should bring a big smile to her face!
Again, I used copics to colour the image, paper is Basic Gray, Papertrey and Crate and how could I let this one go without using the Nesties! And of course, baubles from Stamping Bella!

Tonight I'll be busy cutting paper for the class I am teaching at Paper Pickle tomorrow. I always end up leaving it to the last minute and I ALWAYS regret it! It is a simple watercolour class using Tombow markers and a couple different sets from My Favorite things. These are the cards I am teaching in class.


And go check this out...Lucky Clucker posted the cards she made in class on her blog! I think she is a natural! How exciting it was to meet someone in my class who has a blog that I regularly read and I didn't even know it was her! WOW!!!!

Holy Mackeral Batman!

Taking a break from my Chatty Cathy Sunday yesterday we took a short ride to RM Classic Cars in Blenheim to see a couple of the original Batmobiles that are on exhibit right now. Alex put on his bat belt and struck his best pose in front the batmobile from the original series.


Now Derek on the other hand...no cheezy Batmobiles for that boy. He was WAY more interested in the display of Ferrari's. Check out the shoes! They are Puma Ferrari racing shoes that he bought while on his school trip to Europe! That's my boy! It's all about the shoes!

See ya later with some more Chatty Cathys!

It was a Chatty Cathy kinda day!

Well, here I am...posting my very first cards on my blog. I admit, I'm kinda nervous about it, but oh well...her goes!

It was a Stamping Bella Chatty Cathy kinda day! She is so stinkin' cute and relatively quick to colour up! When I say quick, that means I can do it in under half an hour! I don't mass produce (unless it's Christmas) so I don't have the pressure to work under a clock. I just do it because I love it!

These were all coloured with my copics...my BELOVED copics! One thing about the copics is that i find it very difficult to pick my paper first and try to match my copics to it. It never seems to work for me. So I just stamp a few images, colour them up in what appeals to me or suits the image and then find a paper to match later. That works for me because I have a TON of paper...and if i really like the colours that I ended up with and don't have a paper to match...well then I can always create my own background with one of my background stamps!

Here is the first card from my Chatty Cathy day...stay tuned for more!

Chatty Cathy in purple

stamps: Stamping Bella
paper: Papertrey white, scenic route, stampin up
ribbon: I don't know! ... bought in at Archivers in Houston if that helps!
plastic flowers: created by cutting out flowers in my sizzix die with shrink plastic, colouring with copics and then heat setting to shrink.
embellies: crystals from Stamping Bella
markers: copic

My Blog Banner

I thought I would tell you a bit about my banner. I have the most wonderful backyard for a city gal! One of the things I love about it is my little pond and waterfall! It reminds me of vacationing up in Northern Ontario when I was young. For a few years we even had a little frog who lived in our little pond. I haven't seen him for a year or so though, and I don't like to think about what might have happened to him. Maybe one day I'll share a pic of him with you.

Anways, I digress. One day last summer I went out in the afternoon and saw the most awesome dragonfly sunning himself on a reed in the pond. He was just gorgeous so I grabbed my camera and took some pictures of him. Truth be told, I love the look of dragonflies but I am dreadfully afraid of most all bugs and when this guy took to flight to look for another reed to rest on I quickly backed away! It was one of those days where I was grateful for the zoom on my camera!

So...how did this become my banner you ask? Well, one night Mark and I were sitting here having a glass of wine and I decided to create a blog. I asked him what I should call it. We decided it should have something to do with creating, since that is what it is all about, and we thought it would be kinda neat if we could incorporate my name in it somehow. Well, Heavens is our last name so we tried a few options but they were all taken so we came up with this! Thankfully I'm married because I don't think I would have come up with something so interesting with my maiden name...Szaran!

I digress again...you probably are asking yourself so how does that tie into my banner? Well, I wanted a really cool picture to tie my blog name to my banner to the subject of the blog. I instantly thought of this dragonfly because it's beauty is a gift from Heaven and my little cards are a gift from me! Makes total sense doesn't it!