Life...

Life has been interesting around here so far this year.

As many of you know, my husband, Jerry, received a new, experimental treatment using his own stem cells. He has PAD (peripheral artery disease) or what we always called arterial sclerosis (hardening of the arteries). The treatment is part of a clinical trial hoping to promote the use of stem cells to treat more and more diseases.

My mother-in-law passed away because of this...my father-in-law could barely walk before he passed. I did not want my husband to pass away when medical science could help!

But, there were a few very negative emails that I received after I posted about his treatment. I want to clear up a few thing...

The stem cells that were used were his own. The doctor extracted bone marrow from his hip and then removed the 50 or so stem cells that were there. The stem cells were "multiplied" to create around 4 million...the wonders of modern science! He received 40 injections in the calf muscles of each leg...one leg got the stem cells, the other leg got saline (it's the control).

I wish to assure everyone that there were absolutely NO controversial processes.

To our family, a traditional Catholic family, there were absolutely NO religious conflicts.

Whatever your views of stem cell research, I completely honor them. Our family did not feel that there were any reasons to object to using what was already his. And I am trying to keep Jerry's quality of life as high as possible.

We've been through so much as a family with him...the quadruple bypass of his heart, the kidney cancer, the other attempts to provide his legs with better blood flow, and that horrible brain injury from his nosedive off a ladder. The probable amputation of a limb was, and is, something we're trying to prevent.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers...we need them!

And now that we are waiting to see the long term results of his treatment, I'm hoping to get back to my crafting and stamping!!!

Happy 2009!

Another day, a new year!!!

I think I've cooked more food in the last 2 weeks than I have in the last two months, lol. Take that back, maybe in the last 6 months!

Following our family traditions, and the traditions of New Orleans (and probably the south), we've had our black eyed peas and rice, smothered cabbage, baked ham, potato salad, and other assorted food and sweets to ring in the new year. I hope it works, lol!

The next big day around here is the "Twelth Night"...or the twelth day of Christmas, or Epiphany, or what we call around here "King's Day", the countdown to Lent. King cakes officially start that day, and I'll post more about that later.

I hope everyone, and I do mean everyone, has a fantastic new year!

Mojo Monday #66 & CCEE Stampers

I think this will definately be my last post until after the first of the year...I have got to clean off my dining room table!!! ROFL!

I have lots of people coming for Christmas dinner, and then I have a small party planned for Friday night looks like and then there is New Year's dinner! Yummy!!! My favorite meal of the year!

But I did get a chance to make a few cards for friends, and I also got a chance to use the sketch from Poetic Artistry. And I combined Julee's fabulous sketch with the black and white challenge from CCEE Stampers.

I used Very Vanilla instead of Whisper White on this card, I thought the white was too stark and plain.

And yet, I used Whisper White on this card, the embossing called for the white. I absolutely love this embossing folder!!! You can't really see it, but I glittered the berries. I love how the card finished!

Thank You card details:
Stamps: Upsy Daisy (SU!)
Patterned Paper: 5th Avenue (MM)
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Black (SU!)
Ink: Basic Black (SU!)

FaLaLaLa card details:
Stamps: Sentiment (Rubberneckers)
Patterned Paper: 5th Avenue (MM)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black (SU!)
Ink: Basic Black (SU!)
Accessories: glitter

I hope you like my cards! Merry Christmas!

Mr. Bingle

When I was a little girl (yes, back in the dinosaur days as my girls say), there was a local department store called Maison Blanche.

Every Christmas season, Momma & Daddy would bundle us into the car and we'd drive downtown into New Orleans to see the lights, and we would ALWAYS drive down Canal Street past the Maison Blanche store.

Mr. Bingle was the store's mascot...and there was a huge Mr. Bingle on the outside of the store. Mr. Bingle = Maison Blanche, get it????

And Maison Blanche always did it right! There was a song and even a puppet show in the afternoons! It was great growing up with Mr. Bingle!!! Watch this video!


Now, Maison Blanche is gone, Dillard's owns the store. And Mr. Bingle now resides in City Park for their Christmas in the Oaks celebration, but since Katrina, you can only see him on the walking tour.

Even after all these years, Mr. Bingle is alive in many adult hearts around the world. And he has a fan club. Enjoy him!

This is my 2008 Mr. Bingle ornament...I think I have all of them! I'll take some pictures of him once I put him on my Christmas tree.

Jewelry Color Inspiration #16

I always look forward to Stacey's Stamping Stage's jewelry inspiration challenge. She finds the absolute best jewelry!!

Fabulous colors as usual!!! I am in a "green" phase, so this challenge played right into my current mood. Then disaster struck!!! Again, I couldn't find what I was looking for (if you saw my cropping area you'd know why, lol). So I really struggled with the card.

This is what I came up with...not fancy, not fussy.

I have a problem using both Whisper White and Very Vanilla, and as usual, I couldn't make myself use both. A mind block!!!!

Merry Christmas card details:
Stamps: Series 22 (Studio G)
Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Always Artichoke (SU!)
Ink: Green Galore (SU!)
Accessories: glitter, ribbon, various circle punches

I hope you like my card! And thanks for looking!

Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge # 11

I think this is going to have to be the last day I can participate in any kind of challenge, and I'm really sad about it. I do all my work on my dining room table, and I kind of need it now, lol. I've been packing the table up for days now, and I realized yesterday when I went to make my card, I had packed up more than I thought.

I couldn't find the patterned paper I wanted to use...
I couldn't find my craft knife...
I couldn't find this really cool bell stamp...
I couldn't find some wide burgundy ribbon...

ARGH!!!

And being me, over-critical & anal, I just couldn't make my card come out the way I saw it. But I'm posting it anyway, lol!

This week's Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge is inspired by one of the best classic Christmas movies, It's A Wonderful Life.

I used a sketch that I'm 99.9% sure came from Paper Craft Planet, again, I didn't write it down. I don't know what's wrong with me lately!

I found a pack of very old Stampin' Up metallic paper...and I wanted to make my card have some kind of metal on it. And the paper was perfect!

I couldn't find the stamps that I wanted to use, but I did know of a bell that I have on a CD in my graphic library. So I printed it directly on the cardstock and I thought it looked fabulous! A little glitter and the bells are perfect! I can't find this really fabulous burgundy ribbon so I just epoxied the bow as it was. BUT I'm going to keep looking for the ribbon and I'll re-post the card after I redo the card, lol!

When A Bell Rings card details:
Paper: Silver, Bravo Burgundy - retired (SU!)
Accessories: glitter, liquid epoxy, punches, ribbon

I hope you like my card! And thanks for looking!

Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration #35

Kristina Werner has yet another fabulous color inspiration up on her blog! I just love the way this week's colors work together!!!


Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze, So Saffron and Very Vanilla - WOW! What fabulous colors!


I used this sketch, and I have to admit, I don't remember where I got it from. I know, I'm so bad!!! But seriously, if you know where it came from, please email me. I feel awful that I didn't write it down!


Anyway, I used my new Bella stamp, Christmatini. We are having a few of our neighbors over for drinks between Christmas and New Year's, so I'm playing with invitations. I glittered the ornament that's sitting in the glass, but now I'm wondering if I should have glittered the entire glass. I also used a touch of Kiwi Kiss to the ornament and tree...the So Saffron and Baja Breeze didn't look right, lol!

Holiday Cheer card details:
Stamps: Christmatini (Stamping Bella), Ornamental Christmas (Verve)
Patterned Paper: Frosty Day DSP (SU!)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Very Vanilla (SU!)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: glitter

I hope you like my card! And thanks for looking!