I need your help!!

Has it really been five days {already} since I last blogged?? I didn't really mean to let that much time slip by. Oops! But we were definitely kept busy with the extended weekend, which turned out to be both quite fun and productive.

Our family fun this weekend included a movie night with the kids (How to Train Your Dragon), playing lots of Uno {and some Sorry!, too}, an afternoon of Wii games (bowling* and carnival games), an indoor holiday weekend "cookout," lots of ice cream bars and frozen treats, and our town's Memorial Day parade on Monday morning. DD marched in the parade with her Girl Scout troop, and DS marched with his Cub Scout pack. My hubby and I accompanied the Cub Scouts, hauling the 1000 American flags that the boys handed out to spectators along the parade route. I'm happy to report that the weather cooperated for our parade march!!

* Ever since noticing that the Wii Bowling game labels two strikes in a row a "Double" and three strikes in a row a "Turkey," we've been wondering what terms are used for higher numbers of consecutive strikes. Well, it turns out that the Wii game calls four- and five-consecutive strikes rather unimaginatively "fourth strike" and "fifth strike," while six consecutive strikes is called a "six pack." Go ahead and ask me how I know!! Well, it's because yours truly rolled six consecutive strikes in one of our games (with a grand total of nine strikes for that game). So now we know!! Of course, I suppose we could have looked it up on Wikipedia, but this way was much more thrilling. ;)

As for our productivity, we managed to install all of our window air conditioners for the summer season (just in the nick of time!), replaced all of our dimmer switches with standard light switches to make the ceiling receptacles safe for CFL light bulbs (generally not recommended for use with dimmers), and I spent some blissful time playing with paper in preparation for some upcoming DT commitments. It was all good!!!!

OK, so I wasn't pulling your leg with the title of this post. I really do need your help!! So here's the deal: after being two months overdue for my annual haircut, last week I finally took the time to rectify that situation. This time I went a lot shorter than I usually do (in preparation for the hot summer months ahead, I guess, but also because I wanted a little something different). I also got new glasses (OK, that's not a terribly recent occurrence--more like from last November), but now with two "big" changes in my appearance, I figured it was time to update my blog profile photo. With my new 'do fresh from the salon and still looking decent, I had my hubby and kids take a few photos of me. The problem is that they all have pros and cons, and I can't decide which is best. That's where you come in--I need your help to pick one!!

Here are the contenders:

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

So, which one do you like best? Please leave me a comment letting me know your choice!

By the way, I had worn my old glasses (yeah, go ahead and scroll up to my "old" profile photo to check them out. I'll wait.) for about 7 years, so my kids don't remember seeing me in anything else. When I got my new glasses and asked the kids what they thought of them, my 8YO son told me that I "look meaner" in my new glasses. What?!?! Wasn't expecting that!! I guess he thought that the rimless portion along the bottoms of the lenses made the frames along the top look more like a "unibrow"--the universally understood "angry look" in all the cartoons. I think he's adjusted to them now and realizes that I'm still the same old cuddly mom that I've always been. :)

OK, enough of the chit chat. Please go vote NOW!!!

Good Grief!

Yup. We all do it (or at least I think we do). Even with every birthday and other special date listed on our calendars and/or electronic planners, these special days still manage to slip by us. And by "us," I mean "me." I always have the best of intentions to get cards (especially birthday) signed, sealed, addressed, and out the door to the mailbox on time. Lots of times, I'm able to mail cards to arrive just in time. Sometimes, I'm a bit early. But more often than I would like, my cards (even special ones I've made waaaaaaay in advance) are rather tardy in making it into the mailbox. Which makes them even tardier in arriving. It's not that we (I) forget, it's just that time gets away from us (me). I know it's going to happen, so I may as well be prepared:

Inside reads:
"I'm late. I'm sorry. I hope your birthday was happy!"

This card was totally inspired by the Chevron Chic Challenge in the Moxie Fab World. Cath Edvalson challenged us to create a paper-crafted project that incorporates chevron stripes in an innovative way. Well, I must admit that when I hear "chevron," I immediately think of Charlie Brown and his yellow and black striped sweater. I can't help it!

Click here to getImages &
Charlie Brown Pictures - Pictures

And thinking of Charlie Brown leads to his trademark phrase, "Good Grief!" The two had to appear together on this card, but why on earth would a card say "good grief?" Well, to poke fun at the sender being late (again?), of course! And thus, this card was born. :)

Years ago I downloaded an awesome TrueType font called Peanuts which looks just like the handwriting Charles Schulz used to letter the speech bubbles in his Peanuts comic strips. To make my card, I created some chevrons in Microsoft Publisher, added my sentiment in this authentic-looking font, and printed out the yellow panel all ready for mounting on a black card base. No stamps were harmed in the creation of this card!

I'm not sure where I picked up the Peanuts font originally, but I did a quick search and found something comparable HERE for you to check out if you are interested.

I did a little bit of horn-tooting for my daughter over the weekend (see this post), so before I go, I wanted toot my horn for my 8YO son. On Sunday his Cub Scout pack threw its annual Blue and Gold Banquet during which he advanced from Wolf Cub Scout to Bear Cub Scout. We couldn't be more proud!! Not only did he earn his Wolf Badge for his hard work this past year, he also earned a gold arrow point and four silver arrow points for completing 50 electives during the course of the year. Yay!! He was beaming with pride. Now I just need to get the new badges sewn on his uniform shirt so he can proudly wear his new awards for our Memorial Day Parade on Monday. He'll be marching with his pack--while his sister marches with her Girl Scout troop. It will be quite a day. Fingers crossed for no rain!!!

Thanks so much for dropping by to share in my little slice of bliss for this beautiful, warm, and sunny Tuesday!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Font: Peanuts (www.searchfreefonts.com)
Software: Microsoft Publisher
Paper: SU basic black, gold from The Paper Company

You're Out of This World

This week's Free for All challenge on Splitcoast was to create a card using colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel. What a fun one! I got side-tracked by many things today, but finally had a small block of time (while DH was reading to DS) to finish up this card using these color-wheel-opposites: bright blue and orange.
Isn't this a fun card?? It's also for the current DeNami Design Product Challenge to use Patterned Paper. Easy peasy!! I didn't have to look any further than an old DCWV Mat Stack for this absolutely-perfect-for-my-outer-space-scene star patterned paper. That cute rocketship and the rocket exhaust "flames" are both stamps from DeNami Design. Surprised? The flames are actually a decorative crest that I turned upside down! I thought the crest would be just perfect for getting my point across (and I always get a kick out of using stamps in unintended ways.)

To create the craters on my lunar surface, I stuck a button (well, three different sizes in turn) to my finger with a glue dot and stamped crater-like rings from the inked rim of the buttons. Loved how this turned out!

The sentiment is computer-printed from a Chickengirl Design "You're Out of this World" digi stamp. A couple of loop punch strips along the sides and a bit of Mandarin baker's twine from The Twinery and this cute boy card is DONE!

This card is also for Wee Memories Challenge #57, creations using stamps. As you can see, I used two awesome DeNami rubber stamps for this creation. :)

Thanks for dropping by to check out my little slice of bliss for today! I have another card to share with you soon, hopefully tomorrow. So I'll see you back here then!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: DeNami Design Rocketship, DeNami Design Solid Decorative Crest, sentiment from Chickengirl Design "You're Out of this World" digi
Paper: SU tangerine tango, SU whisper white, DCWV star DP, MFP pale yellow
Ink: Palette noir black, SU tangerine tango
Accessories: MS loops border punch, EK moon punch, SU large oval punch, SU scallop oval punch, buttons, colored pencils, OMS, paper blending stump, foam tape, baker's twine from The Twinery
Techniques: gamsol magic

Flashback Friday 11.0

Happy Saturday, everyone! After a week of cloudiness and too much rain, we actually saw the sun yesterday. SHOCK!! It dried things off just in time for our 12-year-old to participate in our local Relay for Life yesterday afternoon through early this morning. It was her first time in the American Cancer Society's signature fundraising event. She relayed with a team from her youth advisory board at our public library, so she wasn't there on her own, but she was a little nervous because she didn't know what to expect--and none of the rest of us were involved. Turns out she had an awesome time! She walked nearly four miles, had a blast, and even got a few hours of sleep overnight at her team's campsite. And luckily, no rain. Whew! We'd been sweating that one. We are SO proud of her--for trying something new that was a bit outside of her comfort zone (or maybe it was just outside of Mom's comfort zone?) and for the awesome fundraising she did in preparation for the event. She ended up raising $220 for the fight against cancer, which we think is just fantastic. Go, go, my sweet daughter!!

This morning I want to share a "classic" project that I'm submitting for the Flashback Friday 11.0 Challenge. Our challenge this time out is to post our first wedding card. Now I have to admit that I don't have much of a need for wedding cards these days--all of our friends are already married and everyone's kids are still too young to start off down that path. But I did make this card in February 2010. It is my first white-on-white card. I intentionally made it with no sentiment to keep it versatile, but while making it I thought it would make a great wedding card and added it to my stash with that idea in mind. It's still there (see? I told you I don't have much need for wedding cards right now!), but I know that's how I'll use it at my first opportunity. My original post for this card (in my SCS gallery--it predates my blog) may be found HERE.

Thanks for dropping by today. May your day be filled with bliss!!
Emily

Have a Great, Fine, Happy Day!

Just a quick post to share a card I made for the Splitcoast sketch challenge this week.

I have come to adore anything to do with Cosmo Cricket and Echo Park Paper Co. The problem with this is that I don't have the budget (or space) to indulge these weaknesses, and they are also a bit tricky to track down. I recently found a decent compromise, a way to have a little CC or EP fix without breaking the bank or worrying about where/how to store yet more stuff. Both companies offer {at least some of} their paper collections in digital form, so you can print out just the paper or element you need on your own cardstock just when you need it. Now that sounds like a great example of just-in-time inventory control to me! I've recently discovered that the CC and EP digital collections may be purchased at JessicaSprague.com. What's even better is that once a week, Jessica Sprague runs a One Buck Wednesday sale where a selection of 8 to 12 digital packs are priced at $1 each for just 24 hours. Heck, yeah, that's a steal!! And it looks like there's usually a little Echo Park and/or Cosmo Cricket in the One-Buck mix. Oh, happy day!

So, in the last week I've been able to treat myself to Echo Park's hot new For the Record collection Echo Park's sweet and of-the-moment Springtime collection, and Cosmo Cricket's very Western Wanted collection (perfect for the horse-lover in my household). All for just $3. And believe me, that's going to go a loooooooooooooooong way.

So all this to explain to you that the card I made this week used a ton of my new digital goodness! I actually stamped the sentiments the old-fashioned way, but the two patterned papers, the black scalloped border, and the chipboard-ish flowers are all digital elements that I printed out from my new For the Record files. (The stitching was added afterward with my real-live "non-digital" sewing machine.) Anyway, that was fun!!! And I loved being able to use some hot and trendy DP, especially without guilt.

And here is another card I made recently with my new For the Record digital papers and embellishments:
Well, that does it for now. Thanks for checking out my little slice of {digital} bliss today!
Emily

Have a Great Day
Card Recipe:
Paper: Echo Park For the Record digital papers and elements, snow storm, vanilla bean fleck
Ink: Marvy LePlume II black marker, Ranger tea dye distress ink
Accessories: sewing machine, sponge dauber, foam tape, scissors
Techniques: digital papers, machine stitching

Hello
Card Recipe:
Stamps: Flourishes From the Garden, Strawberries (sentiment)
Paper: Echo Park For the Record digital papers, snow storm, vanilla bean fleck
Ink: Palette water lily green, noir black
Accessories: Fiskars 2" circle punch, SU 2.5" circle punch, SU jewelry tag punch, baker's twine, foam tape
Techniques: digital papers

StampinB Spring Scene Challenge

Welcome to another rainy day on Bliss Road! The highlight of our rainy yesterday was more after-school puddle jumping. It keeps the cabin fever at bay! The kids are having a blast with their umbrellas and boots. I've gotta admit: it is pretty satisfying to walk across the mother of all puddles in a good pair of rubber boots and coming out the other side with feet still toasty and dry :). I imagine there will be no shortage of puddles this afternoon, too. Look out soggy world, here we come!!

Our Stampin' B's Challenge this week is to make a spring scene. And while my kids and I have been "making some {spring} scenes" of our own this week out there in our wellies (in full view of all the high school spring sports teams practicing--in the rain--on the HS practice fields we walk beside on our route home), it hasn't been the kind of spring scene I could easily capture in a card. So, I instead went with a "spring as the season of love" scene. Some cute paisley DP with spring colors immediately came to mind, and pretty soon, with the help of my Stampin' Up Two-Step Owl Punch, I had this card:
There's a whole lot of punchin' goin' on in this one!! But it was definitely a hoot to make. :)

Well, thanks for stopping by to check out today's little slice of bliss! If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project on your blog or SCS gallery, and link it up to the Inlinkz tool on the Stampin' B's blog. We'd love to see what you create!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Schlosser Designs Boughs
Solid Paper: snow storm CS; baja breeze, regal rose, close to cocoa, chocolate chip cardstock from Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper: Tiffany DP collection from We R Memory Keepers
Ink: Palette burnt umber, SU baja breeze
Accessories: SU two-step owl punch, SU small heart punch, dollar bin small blossom punch, Provocraft small leaf punch, SU word window punch, SU modern label punch, sponge dauber, sewing machine, Studio G Sparkle Writer
Techniques: machine stitching, punch art, sponging

Stampin' B's TGIF Challenge

A good and happy Thursday to you!! I'm so glad you dropped in. I hope you are ready for a new Stampin' B's DT Challenge, because I am the hostess this week, and I have a fun TGIF challenge for you.

"How exactly does one fit TGIF into a card or paper project?" you ask?? Well, that's an excellent question, and one that I plan to answer right about . . . NOW!!

I'm using TGIF as a little acronym for the project recipe I'm challenging everyone to use:

T = be sure to add some texture
G = we've gotta see some green
I = include something iridescent
F = use anything that begins with the letter "F"--your choice!
But be sure to tell us what "F" choice is!

So my sample card for this TGIF challenge is a little something I cooked up for the DeNami Design Girlie Girl Challenge. You'll see texture in my stitching and lace, green in lots of places, iridescence in the butterfly sticker, and flowers for my letter "F" choice!
I was a first-time participant in the DeNami Girlie Girl Blog Hop earlier in the week and had a fabulous time! When I was making my card for the blog hop, I was torn between going the sophisticated-girlie route or the frilly-girlie route. In the end, sophistication won out for the blog hop, but frilly has been on my mind ever since. Luckily, DeNami issued a girlie-girl challenge along with the blog hop, and I got to try out my frilly-girlie ideas after all! And all of my girlie ideas fit perfectly within my TGIF recipe. ;)

For this card, I concentrated on pink with green, another favorite combo! I stamped and colored the DeNami Rosebud Trio and punched it out with my decorative label punch from Stampin' Up. It was fun adding girlie decorative details: hot pink stitching, a short length of lace trim, a shiny dimensional butterfly sticker, a bit of sheer hot pink ribbon tied through a fancy paperclip (a birthday gift from my kids), some sparkly rhinestones, and a chipboard GROW sticker, which I thought was a particularly appropriate match to those pretty rosebuds!!
Well, thanks for stopping by to check out today's little slice of bliss! If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project on your blog or SCS gallery, and link it up to the Inlinkz tool on the Stampin' B's blog. We'd love to see what you create!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Rosebud Trio from DeNami Design
Solid Paper: kraft and snow storm smooth 100 lb. card stock from Mark's Finest Papers
Patterned Paper: Lemonade DP collection from BasicGrey
Ink: Palette noir black
Accessories: Decorative label punch from Stampin' Up, adhesive rhinestones from Q & Co., foam tape, markers, sewing machine, Sandylion dimensional butterfly sticker, K&Co chipboard GROW sticker, lace trim remnant, sheer ribbon remnant, triangle paper clip from Target

We have a WINNER!!!

(scroll down or click HERE for my Day 2 Blog Hop post for Mark's Finest Papers)

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my Mother's Day Blog Candy contest for 5 yards of pink & black striped grosgrain ribbon. I had such fun reading about which colors you like to pair with PINK!! This morning I used random.org to draw a winner:

And lucky commenter #2 is Annette Holleger of Feeding the Soul!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Annette, you have until noon EDT on Saturday, May 14, 2011, to email me with your full name and mailing address to claim your prize. (Click on "View my Complete Profile" under ABOUT ME in the right-hand sidebar. You'll find a link to my email address there.)

If I don't hear from Annette by the deadline, I will draw a new winner on Saturday afternoon. So stay tuned!

Have a day filled with bliss, everyone!
Emily

DeNami Girlie Girl Blog Hop

Welcome to the DeNami Design Girlie Girl Blog Hop!

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Debbie Marcinkiewicz's blog, Simple Treasures. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

I am super excited to be participating in my very first DeNami Design blog hop today! I first discovered the ultra adorable DeNami stamps at the beginning of the year. (But DeNami Design is no new kid on the block. These delightful stamps have been around since 1989. I know, where have I been???) As soon as I discovered DeNami, I started hopping along with the monthly hops to check out the awesome eye candy DeNami customers and design team members create. Before long I had won a $20 gift voucher to put toward my first DeNami purchase (and, yes, I went *way* over $20 on that order. I couldn't help it! There are SO many fun stamps to choose from. It took forever for me to make up my mind.) And now, for the first time, here I am among the blog hop participants. Yay!

So, here's the deal. Today's blog hop is brimming with ideas for making Girlie Girl cards and projects using DeNami stamp images! Hop along for some great inspiration and comment along the way for a chance at some free DeNami products! Here are the details:

When: The blog hop starts on May 8 at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until May 9, 2011, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).

Why: To be inspired by beautiful girlie creations featuring DeNami Design stamps and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: DeNami is giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to their website! They'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random blog hop participant (DT members not eligible) and then they'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

OK, enough of the chit-chat. Let's meet today's DeNami Girlie Girl card:

When I started thinking about my girlie-girl DeNami card for this hop, I couldn't decide whether to go sophisticated-girlie or frilly-girlie. In the end, I went "uptown" for some girlie sophistication. My focal point is the fabulous DeNami Solid Decorative Crest. Of course, my uptown girl theme dictated lots of sparkle and bling (supplied by stick-on rhinestones and Sparkle Writer glitter glue). And how much more girlie could I get with hot pink? (Balanced with the cool sophistication of lots of never-out-of-style black, naturally!) I have a {bad?} habit of saving ribbons and tags from product packaging to re-purpose in my paper projects, and this card is no exception. My pretty hot pink sheer ribbon was rescued from some luscious locally made whoopie pies. The color was perfect!

Well, I think that wraps up my girlie girl card. (Details may be found at the end of this post.) Be sure to comment here for a chance at some free DeNami products before you hop off to our next fabulous Girlie Girl Blog Hop participant:

Heidi Hurley

WAIT!!

One last thing before you go: Are you a girlie girl who just can't get enough of hot pink? Does your heart go pitty-pat at the thought of a classic black and pink color combo? Are you gaga over grosgrain? Then have I got a {slight} detour for you!! Be sure to check out my Pink and Black BLOG CANDY before you continue on with the DeNami Blog Hop. I think you'll be glad you did!
(Blog Candy drawing closes at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 10, 2011. Winner will be announced on May 11.)

OK, what are you waiting for? NOW you can continue along on your hopping way!! Go visit Heidi.

Thanks for checking out my little slice of girlie girl bliss!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Solid Decorative Crest from DeNami Design
Solid Paper: snow storm smooth 100 lb. card stock from Mark's Finest Papers; basic black and rich razzleberry card stock from Stampin' Up; melon mambo textured card stock from Stampin' Up
Patterned Paper: Uptown Girl DP collection from The Angel Company
Ink: melon mambo from Stampin' Up
Accessories: 3" scallop circle punch from EK Success, 2.5" circle punch from Stampin' Up, 2.25" circle punch from EK Success, 2" circle punch from Fiskars, adhesive rhinestones and half pearls from Q & Co., Sparkle Writer glitter glue from Studio G, foam tape, BowEasy, rescued sheer ribbon from whoopie pie packaging

BLOG CANDY

Happy Mother's Day to all of you fabulous mothers out there!!

To celebrate Mother's Day, I am offering a little bit of girlie girl BLOG CANDY. And here's the great thing: you don't have to be a mother to play along. All you need is to have, or have had, a mother. The way I see it, that includes pretty much EVERYONE, right? Right. :)

I have a stash of this lovely hot pink, black, and white striped 1.5"-wide grosgrain ribbon. Go ahead: take a closer look (just click on the photo to enlarge it). I'll wait.

I love it {a lot} but I have a ton of it, and today I'd like to share some with one of you, my lovely friends and readers, in honor of Mother's Day. So, up for grabs is 5 yards of this striped grosgrain ribbon. I'll send it to a randomly drawn winner anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. (Sorry for the restriction, folks. Having to feed my own two munchkins siphons off funds for shipping to a wider audience.) Here's what you need to do:

• If you aren't already a follower, I would love for you to become one! It's easy to "follow" using the button for Google Friend Connect on my right-hand side bar. Or consider subscribing to My Little Slice of Bliss posts via email. You'll find a "Subscribe via email" block on my right-hand side bar just under "Followers." Just type in your email address and you will be on your way to subscribing!! (Following is not required to enter the blog candy drawing.)
  
• Leave me a comment on this post answering this question: What color do you love to pair with PINK? (One comment per person please). Be sure to mention your favorite go-with-pink color in your comment or you will be ineligible for the prize.

Entries for the blog candy drawing close at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 10, 2011. I will announce the winner here on my blog on Wednesday, May 11, by noon EDT. The winner will have until noon EDT on Saturday, May 14, to contact me via email to claim her prize, or a new winner will be drawn.

I'll be back in a bit with a card that uses this oh, so girlie pink & black color combo as part of the DeNami Design Girlie Girl Blog Hop. I hope you can join me!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today, checking out my little slice of bliss, and helping me celebrate Mother's Day! I hope you'll come back to visit again soon!!

Have a terrific day!
Cheers,
Emily