"Rambling's with Ali"

Well, another cold Saturday with possible "snow" on Sunday....again. Well, the sun is now shining and coming through our family room windows....what a welcomed site that is.

So very excited that I have "zero" plans for today. I need to work on labeling my stamp sets, organizing my craft room, again! Then sit and make some cards.

I am happy to report that Valentine's for my grands are done. I mailed Addie and Elena's to them this past week. Elena is only 5 months old so she'll have to wait a little longer to "enjoy" her little gift. We are blessed to have "5" grands (6th due in July), so I usually keep these type of "holiday" gifts pretty simple, but fun. So, here's what I came up with. I used jelly jars and filled them with cookies, chocolates and suckers (I had to make the sucker stick shorter in order for them to fit in the jar). Put their initials on their jar, added ribbon and a Valentine Stamp on top of the jar (SU Happy Heart Day). I added each of their names to the Happy Heart Day stamp "after" I took these pics.

Enjoy your Saturday!

Addie and Elena (the yellow E is really hard to see)





Lola, Abe and Maggie

Everything but the Kitchen Sink-Around the House Challenge #5-Box Tops

The beautiful snow and hot chocolate (i love it) were my inspiration for this challenge. I used a hot cocoa box for the letters SNOW and for the tree cut-out. I also used a technique that I learned at my "Paper Dolls" (SU) class last week. Thanks again Joyce!
Project Materials:
SU stamp sets - Jumbo Alphabet and Branch Out
SU stamp pads - Staz-On Timber Brown, VersaMark, Real Red, Not Quite Navy, Bordering Blue and Brocade Blue
SU paper - Real Red
Accessories used - SU Crystal Effects, white gel pen, clear rhinestone

"Rambling's with Ali"

Tulip Poplar covered in snow with buds waiting to bloom in the spring, along with a birds nest just waiting on warmer weather. I'll post an updated photo of this beautiful tree in bloom in the spring.

Now, I've got to take advantage of being "snowed in...." like "clean" our home. I hope to play with some challenges later today and tomorrow. Happy Saturday!

"Rambling's by Ali"

Jeffrey, our son-in-law turned 30 on January 27th. Due to snow, no get together today. He'll eventually get his "homemade" card. He is a contractor and currently building their home. During this time of year he's always having to wear his black rubber boots. They have a countless number of trees on their 11 acres, but one in particular has a swing on it for Lola, Abe and Maggie (yes, Grana "me" has also been known to swing on it). Thus, the card was put together with all of that in mind. It's hard coming up with a "man card," but this is my attempt. These are a few of my favorite Stampin' Up stamp sets (Scene in a Garden and Branch Out). I love trees and the way they change with the seasons. The "Happy Birthday" stamp was used from a stamp set from 2002 "Button Bear." I had to really talk my sweet mom out of her collection of stamps + other stuff years ago when I discovered that she wasn't using them any longer. I received 12 stamp sets in all. I've spent the last week going through her 2002 Stampin' Up catalog to label the case and stamps. SO FUN! Thanks mom and love ya!

Project:
Stampin' Up stamps mentioned above; StazOn Jet Black and Timber Brown; Classic Brocade Blue and Barely Banana; Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon; Basic Black marker and Small Tag Punch.
Other - paper and accessory

"Rambling's with Ali"

Here is a picture of another precious "grand" of ours, Addie Lane Goolsby, turned 2 on Friday, January 29th. They live in White Sands, NM. Her dad is in the Army. She is so much fun to be with and so stinking cute too!

"Rambling's with Ali"

I LOVE snow. I think it's so beautiful. Our offices closed early Friday. Lola (our 1st born grand) came over for a couple of hours. She had school work to finish, we had lunch and then "Cinderella," again! I have to admit it's been a while since we've watched "Cinderella." It's usually a must (in Lola's world) when she comes over without Abe and Maggie (her younger siblings). So, here is a picture of a very happy little girl watching "Cinderella," and yes, a sucker after lunch.

"Rambling's with Ali"

"Rambling's with Ali" is just that....me (Alison) rambling about life and general stuff. I will save the silly and funny details of how I settled on the name for a later post. For now, I wanted to share a make-up tip I thought of (not that it's an original idea or anything....you could've been doing this for years).

You know when you are putting on eye shadow it can flake/spread around your eye? Well, this kept happening no matter what brushes I used. I found the ones that come in the compact ususally end up losing their cushioned tip long before the eye shadow is gone. When I use my more somewhat "expensive" brushes, they seem to flake/spread eye shadow on my face as well. Well one day I thought of using a q-tip for applying my eye shadow. It worked and I love it. No more "flying" eye shadow on my face. The q-tip is good for two colors...one color for each end. Toss in the trash and it's done.

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One other beauty tip I learned from one of my car-pool friends (I carpool with two lovely ladies). This tip came from Kristi. I shared my q-tip/eye shadow idea and then she gave me a tip on using a cotton ball to put on blush. I tried it and liked it. It works also. I told Kristi and Laurie (carpooler) that they were going to be a part of "Rambling's with Ali" from time to time.