Let Me Stamp

Christmas at Disney World

We had a big Christmas surprise for our boys this year...and we succeeded in pulling it off!  Thank you to everyone that kept our secret...

We told Joey and Matthew that we decided to take a Christmas family vacation since we didn't go anywhere this year during their fall break.  Being EXTREMELY vague about our plans, we got them all the way to Ocala, Florida for the first night of the trip.  For some reason, they had decided we were going to Palm Springs (??)--but we messed that up the next morning when we gave them their Christmas present:

They didn't really understand when I told them we were going to Disney World RIGHT NOW.  But as they had time to think about it they got very excited.  Just hours later we were checked into our hotel and walking into Animal Kingdom for their first Disney experience.  They met Mickey right away:

We got to stay for 5 days--the weather was perfect!

We stayed at the Disney Wilderness Lodge--a great vacation destination of its own! It was the perfect place for boys....and they loved the pool/slide.

My favorite picture from the trip:

The parks and hotels were fabulous with all the decorations up. The boys hated to say good-bye!!

I've been planning this trip and keeping the secret for so long that it's been quite a let-down the past couple of days.  But we had a wonderful time and will have those great memories forever!

Now it's time to think about the new year and the fun Stampin' Up! catalog that starts in January.  Back to stampin'!!!

 

 

Mario Birthday Party

I've had a whole box of Stampin' Up! goodies from the new catalog waiting for me....but I've been working on a birthday party for a special boy...Joey's 7th!

 
The party stores didn't have much to offer for a Super Mario party so I scoured the internet for ideas.

I made these great fun-foam mustaches for all 10 guests and we took a picture of each of them dressed like Mario...

Then they got to spend some time in the pool. 

We played games (Mario Says, Ring Toss, etc) and they all earned "Mario coins" that they used to buy prizes:

 
I decorated the cake and it was a huge struggle--just did not go how I planned.  But in the end I liked it and as you can see from the first picture--so did Joey!

My favorite part of the party was when Joey opened a gift from my cousin.  It was a Nintendo DS game but she wrapped it about 5 times in different containers (bubble wrap envie, tupperware, cereal box, gift bag..).  The kids thought it was HILARIOUS each time he unwrapped a layer only to find another...

The kids all got a Wii Klik Candy Dispenser like the ones from our Despicable Me Party (plus all the prizes they "bought") for the goodie bags. 

It was a really fun party.  :-)

Tomorrow is our first day of school....maybe now I can get back to stampin'!

 

 

 

Greenhouse Gala Purse Card

It's time for a new mini catalog! May 1st starts the 2011 Summer Mini Catalog. It includes great stamp sets for Father's Day, 4th of July, summer-time and travel.

I used the brand new "Travel Log" set in an unexpected way for this card.  Instead of making something travel-related, I used the big stamp to create the flap for this faux alligator skin purse. 

One of the tiny button brads from the Vintage Trinkets makes the perfect closure for the flap. 

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We've had quite a week.  My in-laws left Tuesday to head back to Texas.  Somewhere in Alabama they rolled (totaled) their truck and RV.  Thankfully, no one was injured (not even one of the 4 dogs they had with them!).  My husband hopped in the car immediately and drove down to help them out. 

On Wednesday, they all drove into Louisiana and met up with my husband's brother.  He took my in-laws and what they had left of their possessions and headed toward Texas. 

This left my husband alone to drive back to Nashville.  He headed up Interstate 20.  We knew the weather was going to be BAD--but when I looked at the radar it seemed that he would be staying south of the storms.

When he got to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the radio warned all travelers to pull off the road and take shelter.  He stopped at a gas station and before long the tornado passed by.

I had lost phone contact with him, but received an email saying he was "stopped for awhile and a tornado just went by".  My NOAA radio was constantly going off--it was very stressful. Needless to say I was sick with worry until he finally called a couple hours later.

He had to drive through Birmingham and Cullman which also had twisters pass through earlier.  After a very LONG day he finally got home.  The video he took with his cell phone is terrifying--I am so thankful to the Lord that he made it home safely.

My heart goes out to our neighbors to the south.  They have a huge task ahead of them.

 

~Melany

 

All supplies Stampin' Up!

 

SEE THE SUPPLY LIST

 

 

Despicable Me Birthday!

Wow-- I didn't realize how much time has passed since I posted a project.  We've been on Spring Break for 2 weeks and I've been busy with decorating projects and my son's 9th birthday.

Matthew chose a "Despicable Me" party based on the Universal Studios movie.  While there was no stamping involved, I thought I'd share it because it is "crafty" and the kids just LOVED it.

When I got started on this party I was so surprised that there was NO DM party merchandise in the local stores.  Actually, the only DM thing we found anywhere was a DM card that played "Boogie Fever" when opened.

But--I saw these poster-board Minions at Obsessively Stitching and they were the starting point for our party (please check her site for more great Despicable party ideas!!).  My mom made 3 different sized Minions to decorate the area around our dining table (party headquarters).

 

Next was the cake.  I first considered making these adorable fondant minions from  a spoonful of sugah -- but there just wasn't enough time.  In the movie, Mr. Gru wants to steal the moon with the help of his Minions.  So-- I chose to use frosting to make one Minion looking up at a big silver moon--inspired by this theatrical release poster. 

 

I used Wilton Silver Pearlized Sugar Sprinkles for the moon.....just like my cards--it needed some bling!

The boys loved the Despicable Me treat bags.  Since Matthew only had his best friends over I could spend a little more on each bag. 

Each bag contained:

-Minion Stick (Yellow Glow Stick from dollar store)

-Minion Goggles (from dollar store)-- or you could get the glasses with the big nose attached to look like Vector

-Shrink Ray Gun (candy/squirt gun)

-Vector's Video Game Remote (Wii Klik Candy Dispenser)

-Vector's Silly Straw

 

The boys took the silly straw and goggles out of the bags for the party. They wore the Minion "goggles" during the party:

 

We used the straws in their "Vector Juice" that we served with pizza:

Although the boys couldn't wait to get their hands on Matthew's new LEGOS, we did manage to play a party game.  I modified a "Minute to Win It" game and called it "Minion to Win It".  I used chocolate chip cookies (since Vector bought cookies from the little girls) and the kids had a minute to move a cookie from thier forehead to their mouth without using any hands. 

There are some more great party game ideas on The Party Animal Blog.  I had planned to play the "Most Annoying Noise" game but we just never got to it.  Instead, the boys spent some time dancing to "Boogie Fever" and "You Should Be Dancing" which are on the Despicable Me soundtrack.  Very fun!

 

Happy Spring!

 

~Melany Watson

 

 

I'm Published!!

Exciting news--some of my cards have been published! 

Waaaay back in December, my friend, Julie Salva, called and asked me to provide some artwork for a magazine interview she was doing.

The article was for --of all places-- Tractor Supply Company!  They have a printed/online magazine called "Out There" and wanted to teach their readers about rubber stamping. 

The photography team (Mark and Leah) came out to Julie's house and we got to help them with the shots they needed.  It was really fun!

Here is the card Mark is taking a picture of:

It uses the "Take a Spin" stamp set and the Game Spinner Hands from the 2011 Occasions Mini Catalog.

 

So-- check out pages 26/27 of the Out Here Spring edition to see all my cards and Julie's great interview! 

 

Here's a big THANK YOU to Julie for asking me to participate!

Don't forget about SALE-a-BRATION....FREE stamps until March 31st!! 

Happy stamping!

 

~Melany

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Wishing you all the blessings of this special season!

Merry Christmas to you!

 

~The Watsons

Awesome Achievement!

Sorry I've been missing for awhile.  We took another trip back to Texas last week to attend my husband's graduation from the University of North Texas.  When we moved to Tennessee he had good intentions of still working on his degree, but life got in the way and many years passed.  Last year the opportunity to jump back into school presented itself and we decided he should go for it.

Sooo...Bill received his PhD (molecular biology) last Friday! 

 

We are very, very proud of him! 

Blog Candy Winner!

Thanks to all of you who have kept the Middle Tennessee area in your prayers this week.  We did not have any damage at my house--but the water levels in the neighborhood were the highest I've ever seen them.  I'm heartbroken to see so many of Nashville's treasures damaged and that so many of my "neighbors" have lost so much. 

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The Royal Blog Tour was a huge success!  I hope you enjoyed your travels to castles near and far.  The comments I received were very uplifting and encouraging!

I offered the fabulous Level 2 Hostess set "Wings of Friendship" as blog candy during the tour.  I'm please to announce that the winner is comment #51....

Jean Buelow

Her comment read:  "Very nice projects. Thanks for sharing your talents and giving me more ideas for this set. You Rock  Jean B"

Congratulations, Jean!

My Silly Son

Hello!

Sorry I haven't been here in cyberspace lately.  I'm working on my entries for the Stampin' Up! Artisan Award contest and time is running out!

So here's a project from a guest stamper--  my 5-year old, Joey.  Joey wanted to make a scrapbook page for my Mom who came to visit from Texas over Spring Break.  He had me print out a great picture of him so he could make a nice layout. 

Well, he got the pic and started working intently on his creation. Later I passed by his work table and saw this....

 

Complete with googly eyes (they didn't scan too well!) and buck teeth (or are those fangs?) and I think that's yellow ear wax.  

And you know---my Mom absolutely loved it!  :-)

I Won! I Won! (and other news)

I was so excited this morning to hear I had won Shelli's Blog "Autumn Challenge"!!  Why does that have me charged up?  Because Shelli Gardner is the CEO (and co-founder) of Stampin' Up!  She has a monthly challenge on her own blog www.soshelli.com and she personally picks her favorites as winners.  It's so cool to know that she visited my blog and enjoyed my project! 

What did I enter in the contest you ask?  You might remember this fun back to school card that I made for my "baby" when he started kindergarten....

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Stampin' Up! has brought back the "Deals of the Week" during October.  Choose these fun punches at a discount until October 12th (10:00am Central time)!

Week 1 Deals of the Week

Item	Description	Special Price
109183	Trio Flower punch	$10.99
109041	5-Petal Flower punch	$10.99
110709	My Way punch	$11.99

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MY DIGITAL STUDIO NOW AVAILABLE!!

The awesome new "My Digital Studio" software is waiting for you!  Tons of your favorite Stampin' Up! image, papers and embellishments have gone digital.  There are pre-made layouts...or create you own projects! Here's a great video from the Stampin' Up! Channel on youtube.com:

I've got my copy...be watching for samples soon!

My Digital Studio    Item #118108  $79.95 US