I plan on sending out a few Halloween cards and decided to start experimenting with some of the colors and stamp sets that I already had. This was suppose to be a prototype but I'm not completely in love with it yet so I'll continue playing in my scraproom.

Supplies Used:

• Stamps: house of haunts
• Paper: kiwi kiss, rich razzleberry, black patterned paper (source unknown)
• Ink: basic black
• Other: black embossing powder, versamark, corduroy button, twine, distressing file

Note: all products used are Stampin Up unless otherwise noted.

A Cute Little Deer

This past weekend I had a few of my crafty friends over for some card-making and scrapbooking fun. Here's a project that we worked on during our time together. Since fall has definitely arrived in Chicago, I thought it would be appropriate to create something with fall colors and a little deer to boot. We didn't stamp a greeting so that you can customize it accordingly.

Supplies Used:

• Stamps: Deer Friends
• Paper: soft suede, whisper white, Sweet Pea designer paper pack
• Ink: soft suede
• Other: scallop edge punch, gingham ribbon (American Crafts), faux stitching - paper piercer and white gel pen

Note: All products used are Stampin Up unless otherwise noted.

HGTV Urban Oasis Giveaway

HGTV is giving away a Manhattan apartment that was designed by my boyfriend Vern Yip and I plan on entering twice a day and win this baby. I've never been to NYC but I know I'd love it because I love other large cities. Plus what's not to love about a Manhattan apartment that's worth $1.5 million dollars!!!! The apartment is located on the 34th floor of the W Hotel and has a killer view. Here's a few pictures to show the beauty of this apartment.

W Hotel - 34th floor Manhattan apartment

Living Room

I really like the gray couch and all of the metal accents.

Living Room

A fuller view of the living room and the office area, aren't the large windows gorgeous?

Living Room View

Killer view.........

Foyer

Kitchen

The kitchen is truly gorgeous and the backsplash is very modern. I like that the dining room is so close and so is the laundry room (my new favorite place these days).

Laundry Area/Kitchen

Dining Room/Living Room view

Aren't the ghost chairs beautiful?

Bedroom

This is very similar to the size of our bedroom so I love seeing how they used the space. I only wish I had a view like that with a window seat. There is also a lot more closet space which is a huge plus.

Bathroom

I think the walls, flooring, but most of all the toilet are uber-cool!

Last but not least....The View!!!

You can enter twice a day to win the $1.5million package.

Enter once at HGTV.

Enter again at Front Door.  

Laundry Room Demo - The Big Reveal

The big Laundry Room Reveal is here! I know you have stuck with me through the day by day progress of the laundry room and now I get to show you the final result. What started out as a whole lot of "I wishes" turned into reality with the help of a fabulous contractor. We have been using our new appliances for a couple of weeks and I have almost forgotten what it was like before - but not quite.

Here's a quick recap of our little laundry room transformation:

• On Day 1 they demoed the area and moved all of the plumbing to gain our extra 6 inches of space.
• On Day 2 they built the new wall and began drywalling the area.
• On Day 3 they finished putting up the drywall, cut and laid out the tiles, installed the can lights, and assembled the cabinets.
• On Days 4-5 the tiles were grouted, the drywall finished drying, the walls were primed/painted, cabinets were installed along with the filler, and last but not least the new washer and dryer were installed.
• And last but not least bead board was just added to hide the ugly 220 volt outlet and some of the plumbing with a little access panel.

And with that - here's our new laundry room!

Concealing all of that necessary but unattractive stuff!

P.S. Sorry the pictures are a bit dark.....the bead board went up today and I couldn't wait a second longer to share the complete project with you. I hope you forgive me and have enjoyed the process as much as we have. With that I am off to find something to wash.....

Cardinals vs. Brewers

There is nothing like a holiday weekend in the summer and baseball. Around our house that would be Cardinals baseball! My husband has been a Cardinals fan his entire life and I have his teeny tiny little jersey to prove it. I look forward to the day that our children get to wear the same jersey that David did. In the meantime we'll continue cheering on the redbirds and taking lots of pictures of the action. Here's a few from our weekend.

Labor Day

Our friend's son Ryan enjoying a little break from the game.

The man Pujols hitting a double

Here he is warming up and getting ready for the big game. Sorry I couldn't help the view.

And this was right after the GRAND SLAM!!! That's the first time we have seen that in person and it was totally awesome! The score was 8 - 2 at this point and a short while later we decided to leave the game a bit early to beat the traffic. Good thing....they ended up winning only by 8 - 6. Another memorable day at the ballpark! Go Redbirds.