Sunday, August 14, 2011

Pair-a-Phrase Blog Hop...

It's a little weird for me to be "hopping" in the middle of the month but CTMH has got a deal for you!!! 

To celebrate National Stamping Month, CTMH is offering for the first time EVER...a dual stamp set!  All of the stamp images below come on 2 carrying sheets inside one envelope!  Yes, you've figured right...that's TWO D-Size stamp sets you're seeing there!!! The BEST PART is that you can have this set for FREE when you purchase $75 worth of CTMH product starting August 15th through September 30th!  I can EASILY think of $75 worth of stuff to buy...the FIRST thing that comes to mind is the NEW Art Philosophy (A/P) Cricut Cartridge!!!

Here's a look at what the Pair-A-Phrase stamp set looks like...
Now lets see what everyone's done with it...

If you've come from Brae's Blog, you're on the right track...I'm sure she's left you with a taste of what can be done with this versatile stamp set.  Now let's see if I can keep tempting you...

Here's my first SIMPLE card...it's almost a standard size card but has the cute little sentiment flag sticking out so the finished size measure about 4-1/2 x 5-1/2.  I used the NEW paper packet, Elemental, and added color to the image using CTMH's Watercolor Pencils...
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Here's a close-up of the sentiment banner I cut using the NEW A/P Cricut Cartridge...
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And, here's the inside....
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Here's another one I did using the A/P Cartridge to make the scallop borders and the frame that the cute little bicycle is framed in.  I used two paper packets on this one...Typeset and Dreamin'...and of course had to use my all-time FAVORITE cardstock...Kraft!!!  This card measures 5x7 and has a lot of layers...
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Here's a close-up of the cute little bike...colored using CTMH's Watercolor Pencils...
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Here's a close-up of the scallops...SO MUCH EASIER than using my corner rounder with the guard off!!!
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And here's the inside...
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Thanks for hopping by...

Don't forget...for the rest of the month of August, when you purchase $50 worth of CTMH product AND purchase the August SOTM for only $5, you'll get this stamp set FREE...not to mention that you're almost to $75 which is the purchase limit to get the Pair-A-Phrase for FREE as well!!!!

Here's a look at both Wicked (August SOTM) and A Typeface...

Now...keep hopping to Jennifer's Blog...I'm sure she has something SUPER cute to share with you!

Don't forget...you can order this set as well as the Wicked and A-Typeface sets through the month of August!!!  If you don't have a consultant and want your order shipped directly to your door, click here to order from my website...otherwise, you can order through me directly by dropping me an e-mail or leaving a comment with your contact information and I'll get right back to you!

Monday, August 1, 2011

David's Bridal Review....

I think I'm gonna just list the time line of events and you can decide whether it's a "good" review or a "bad" one.  It's a LONG story but definitely a good read!!!

Saturday, March 26th - 90 days out...
My mother, sister (Matron of Honor) and I drove to Abilene which is about an hour and 15 minute drive from here (us Texans gauge everything in time...NOT miles...lol).  We arrived a little before my appointment time...I filled out my paperwork, told them my size (which I gave 2 sizes...we'll call them M and L), told them my budget which was small and told them the kind of dress I was looking for (which was "flowy"...not "satin"...Ivory in color, PLAIN, long and strapless).

(me filling out all the paperwork)

I was assigned a "helper" and she went to find me some dresses (they call them floor models) to try on.  These "floor models" are purchasable but meant to find what you want and then you order a new one so you don't have to wear one that's been tried on a hundred times.

She brought out 4 or 5 dresses...only one was "flowy" but I played along.  Oh...and they also bring you a tummy control slip and bra thing that restricts your breathing just as much as holding in all your fat rolls.  As she and I were in the dressing room trying on things, my sister and mother waited outside for me to "appear" and ooooo and awwwww.

The first one I tried was the "flowy" one (see picture below)...I was IN LOVE!!!  The only thing was...I was SET ON wearing a flower in my hair so my sister and I thought that the flowers on the shoulder would be a little too much coupled with the flower in my hair.  I told the girl to mark this as a finalist and then asked the price...it was on sale but still $150 OVER my budget which equated to 50% of my total budget (clear as mud)....they do this on purpose so you fall in love and up your budget (I saw it on "say yes to the dress" on TV).

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They brought a flower for my hair since my sister and I were worried about how it would look...see, it's a little too much. Hind sight, I probably would've changed my mind on the flower in my hair...oh well!


The next few I tried on weren't "flowy" but I loved them...I chose one of the three...
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we liked this one...especially the back but I wasn't too fond of the sparkly thing on the hip...
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here's the back that we loved...those little buttons were so lovely

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I'm not sure what they were thinking when they brought me this...I made my notes on the photo...lol

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and here is a rough sneak peek at the dress I chose...don't worry, there's a full size photo at the end!



I told the girl that I didn't like the breath-sucker bra and asked if I could take it off and try it on...I did and then the dress felt kinda loose up top...you know, like I was gonna bend over and the girls were gonna fall out...so the seamstress from the Alterations Department came out to see if I could go down a size (they didn't have the M size for me to try on)...she pinched 4 inches and told me that the only difference in the L and M was 2 inches so I'd be fine. I accepted their explanation...after all, they're the "experts", right...and I've never done this before. We ordered a M size in Ivory and I waited patiently for it to arrive.


May 6th
I got an e-mail and a call saying my dress was in so I called to set up an appointment for May 14th.  We, once again, drove to Abilene (just me and my mother this time) prepared to pick up my dress and bring it home and hide it from QT so he'd be surprised.  I arrived and was escorted back to the Alterations Department.  They had a hard time finding my dress but finally did and brought it in.  I tried it on and it zipped up perfectly until it got to my bra line and then it wouldn't budge.  I didn't understand...the floor model I tried on was 4" too big and the alterations lady told me the only difference in size was 2".  The alterations lady that was helping me now said that the floor models stretch because of all the people trying it on (uh...shouldn't the original ladies helping me out a month ago have known this????).  I was in tears as the alterations lady was telling me that there wasn't enough material for her to alter this dress so we'd have to order a new one in the Large size and it would cost me $60 for a rush order since my wedding was less than 2 months away.  You've got to be kidding me!!!!!  It's not my fault that I didn't know all of this.  The new alterations lady could see my disappointment and ANGER so she offered to do all she could to get one ordered and here in time to make the alterations if any were needed.  Oh...and have I mentioned that my dress is WHITE....NOT Ivory!!!!  I was told that when you put it up next to the white dresses, you can tell it's Ivory...uh, hello???? I'm not going to be anywhere near any white dresses on MY BIG DAY!!!  But...AGAIN...what could I do?  In fact, when shopping for shoes, I had to buy WHITE patent leather ones...lol...but that's a whole nother post.

So...we left our second trip to David's Bridal with no dress in hand and our fingers crossed that the new, size L, dress would arrive in time.

May 25th (1 month out)
We made our 3rd trip to Abilene to pick up my newly sized and newly ordered dress.  Got there, tried it on and WHAT...it still didn't fit!!!!  Their explanation was that maybe the floor model I tried on was "mis-sized"...lol...you've got to be kidding me, right!  They tried to find the floor model so I could try it on but they "think it was sold" 'cause they couldn't find it.  It came a lot closer to zipping up but if I wanted to breath, we were gonna have to do something.  FINALLY...someone thinks to measure my chest and a plan is put in place!  She would take out an inch or two...all at a cost of an additional $100...at this point, what are my choices...NOTHING!  We agree and THEN she tells me that it will take her 3 weeks....yes, THREE WEEKS to get the alterations done...that would mean that the weekend BEFORE my wedding, I would be making a FOURTH TRIP up there!!!

June 17th (9 days before my wedding)
We made our 4th trip to Abilene (my mother and brother joined me)...we left work early since it was a Friday and my appointment was at 6:30pm.  We get half way there (so it's a little before 6pm at this point) and my cell phone rings...it's David's Bridal asking if I could reschedule because my dress is "no where near finished"...I paused for what seemed like a minute (probably more like 10 seconds but you know how that goes) and said "what happens if I say ABSOLUTELY NOT?...I don't live in Abilene...I'm about half way there...this is my FOURTH trip and my wedding is in a week!!!!"  She said she understood and that she thought she'd try asking anyway.  I told her that I was about to lose cell coverage and that if they needed me to, I could come at 8:45p (they close at 9p) and to CALL ME BACK in about 30 minutes to confirm.  We hung up.  About 45 minutes had passed and I hadn't heard from her so I decided to call them back.  I told the lady who answered the phone my name and the "scenario"...she said "come now, you're dress is ready"...I said "what...I thought it was no where close to being finished"...she said "no, come now, you had an appointment, it'll be ready".  This made me a little nervous...I mean I didn't want them hurrying up and my seams busting...lol

We arrived and had to wait only 15 minutes...I tried it on and it still felt the same as it did the last time I tried it...my mother who has been the "zipper upper" all these times assured me that the zipper zipped up so much easier this time around.  I stood in the mirror...no one helped me...they just stood there looking...tight lipped...waiting for me to go off on all of them.  I took a deep breath and said "I guess it'll have to work"...took it off, they pressed it in record time and I loaded it in the car.  At this point, I'm not in love with my dress anymore...all my "budget" money is spent and I probably couldn't find another dress in a week even if I tried.

June 26th (the BIG day)
I took the dress out of the bag, put it on and walked down the isle to the man I have loved for almost 13 years (if you ask him, he'll tell you that I loved him from the moment we first started dating...I have to act like it isn't true just to save face...but truth be known, I probably have!!!). 

Did my guests know all the problems I faced with my dress...no.  Was I uncomfortable in it...HECK YEAH...my ribs hurt so bad that night when I took off the dress and probably for a whole week after...lol.  Do I have some pictures that show major back fat hanging over...of course!  Will those be in my scrapbook....how else would I get to tell my story!  Will I use David's Bridal again...hopefully not since I won't be walking down the isle again!  Will I know the questions to ask in case a friend or niece uses them in their wedding...I'll be right there bugging them to the end. 
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Here's what we looked like on the BIG day...
you be the judge,
WHITE or IVORY????
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To put a "perfect" ending to this "perfect" story...I got a call the day after our wedding from the Driskill Hotel where we spent our wedding night.  They left a message saying "Um...I'm so-and-so with the Driskill Hotel and I'm calling because we found a wedding dress that was left in the closet this morning and this phone number was written on the tag attached to the dress bag so we were hoping you'd know something about it"...lmbo!!!!  I guess they were confused since the name on my wedding dress was my maiden name and the room was reserved under my husband's name and plus...WHO THE HECK leaves their wedding dress in the hotel when they check out...lol!

Luckily my best friend lives in the area so she picked it up for me...I'm sure had a laugh at my expense with the front desk...and brought it to me later that week!  It's now hanging in my closet waiting to be cleaned and then it will be sold...I wonder what size I should put on the ad...lol.

Flower Girl Rehearsal Dress...

This originally was going to be the dress for the wedding but I ended up finding a more FABULOUSLY CUTE one at Dillard's so we decided to use this for Rehearsal...

I bought the dress at Kohl's on sale of course...but, it had pink ribbon and that just wouldn't do...
I carefully took the ribbon off...

I added Sweet Leaf 1" Stitched Ribbon from CTMH...

Then I added some Tulle on the bottom that was pretty close to Sweet Leaf but I have no picture to show
:0(

My sister made some ADORABLE flip flops for the cute little flower girl (my niece)...but I don't have a picture of those either...

Here's the sweet little flower girl at Rehearsal Dinner...all smiles and she sure was CUTE!!!

Once I get our pictures back from our photographer, I'll know if she got any pictures at the Rehearsal that show the dress more...

Wicked Blog Hop...

Welcome to this month's SOTM Blog Hop using WICKED, the SOTM for August, out of the NEW Autumn/Winter Idea Book!!!  I guarantee, with over 60 Consultants participating this month, you'll see lots of NEW product so let's get started (or continue depending on where you are in the hop)...

Here's a view of the stamp set for this month...{SEE THE NEW SOTM POLICY AT THE END OF THIS POST}


Isn't it so CUTE...and not too "wicked" if you ask me!

If you've come from Paige's Blog and seen her ADORABLE home decor item, you're on the right track...if you get lost along the way, you can find a complete list at Helen's Blog.

I've had so much fun playing with this set, I decided to make several cards...the first are my usual "simple" cards...these are SO FAST to put together and so easy to mail since they don't have a lot of dimension to them...

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Here's a closeup of the cat's eyes using Red Sparkles from the Red, Pink & Purple Sparkle Assortment...at only $2.95, I love to purchase these to use on just about anything! 

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And...just for an another excuse to play with my NEW Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, I decide to take the card above and add some Cricut flare to it...I cut the card base and the focal piece from White Daisy Cardstock...then cut the same size decorative square out of B&T from our Halloween paper packet, Mischief...added the same hat and sentiment...then took the NEW "zip strip" that's located on our 12" x 12" B&T (one side contains all the copyright information as well as the paper packet name and colors, etc...you cut it off before using it and don't have to worry about the CMTH logo on the backside of the B&T...ALSO the flip side of the zip strip is patterned so it can be used on layouts and cards just like I did on this card)...OH...and that cute little spiky flower at the bottom is ALSO CUT USING THE SAME CRICUT CARTRIDGE!!!!  This time I added a Purple Sparkle from the same Red, Pink & Purple Sparkle Assortment! The outline of the "bracket" is hand-drawn using our Black Marker...I just followed the edge all the way around...

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Here's a close-up of the flower and the flip side of the "zip strip"...

That's all I've done with the stamp set so far but I'm sure it'll stay close at hand throughout the month so I can play with it some more...

Thanks for stopping by!!!  Now...hop on over to Dawn's Blog to see what "wicked" thing she's done using the stamp set...don't forget to read the NEW policy below to find out how to get your hands on this stamp set!

New SOTM Policy:  STARTING in August with the NEW Idea Book, the SOTM policy has changed! Now...you can purchase it at full retail price at only $17.95...which, by the way, CTMH has adjusted all their stamp prices DOWN to make them more affordable!!! OR...when you purchase $50 in CTMH product, you can purchase it for only $5...as easy as that...only 2 price points to memorize and if you ask me, the $50 in CTMH product will be EASY to reach!!!  If you need help, all SOTM's pictured in the Idea Book come with a full list of items used to make the artwork you see pictured...most of them will get you half way there so half the work is done for you!  And just when you thought it couldn't get any better...each SOTM stamp set comes with a full color copy of the artwork pictured...it's an insert that comes in your stamp set carrier.

Don't forget...you only have 'till August 31st to get your hands on this "wicked" stamp set!!!  And to make it even MORE ENTICING....during the month of August, when you purchase $50 in product AND purchase the SOTM for only $5, you will receive "A Typeface" FREE!!!!  I've included a picture of both to entice you further...