.:{ New Year: New beginning(s) }:.

As the new year approaches, just a few hours away, I am more thankful now than I was on Thanksgiving. There have been so many ups and downs, more ups than downs, and I've done many firsts.

1. I took my first cruise.

Here's a pic of my one of my very good friends, Ilene and me, on the boat. She got married, and I got a great tan (She just turned really red, I mean REALLY red. :-)

2. I started my very own business.

It's still in the works right now but it will be launching online at the beginning of the year. So super excited about that.

3. I started grad school, again.

So the stories is that I attended 4 different colleges during undergrad because I couldn't find my groove in college. I finally graduated after taking about a year and a half off. Presently I've only attended 3 graduate schools but the third time was the charm because I am fully in the groove. Getting my "Goove Back" educationally only, pretty slow in personal area. Lol.

4. I have actually scrapbooked.

Here are a few of my fav layouts. I only have a couple anyway so all of them are my favs right now. he. he.

Journaling:

It took a long time for me to love her.

To even think she's worthy to be loved at all,

And all the times she's let her heart be broken,

Made me realize that I am HER.

Beautiful in my own eyes,

And it took me too DAMN long to get to this point.

And some days I'm not there; I don't believe it, I can't believe it.

BUt now at the age of 27 almost 28,

There are more days that I do believe it than there are days that I don't.

And I've finally come in to my own as a woman,

Believing that I can do what I want to do and not taking in everybody else's opinion about it

Miss you, Alaric Layout. I made this layout in memory of my very good friend Alaric who died a few years ago of a bacterial infection. I miss him so much. This is Alaric and me with our godson Peyton.

My very first commissioned layout for a wedding gift. I used the save-the-date card and the wedding invitation on the layout. Love you Linnell.

This is my very favorite layout. This is my little brother when he was 11 (he's now 18) and my 1st Godson Landon when he was 1 year old (he's now 7). I found this picture about a month ago and just had to scrapbook it.  I'd just recieved my PTI order with the banner builder dies and stamps. I ABSOLUTELY love this layout.

This year I resolve to scrapbook more, make more time to be alone with me (massages included, and to take better care of myself. That's is. The results of those 3 things should bring about all the results I desire for the year.

Hugs & Ciao for the last time in 2010...

Striving for Badassery in 2011.

Angee Lee

Happy ChristmaHanaKwanzika!!!!

Where ever you are, What ever you believe, Whatever you celebrate,

I celebrate you and the relationships I have made this year through the online crafting community. It has been a joy to be welcomed into a group of ladies (and gentlemen) who are so open, creative, and giving. I have never met so many kind generous people in my life.

May your Christmas be filled with love, good food, happiness, and joy. God bless you and your families.

Hugs & Ciao.

Angee Lee

A Happy Birthday Thank You!!

Hi all.

I have to say I had a great birthday yesterday. Being that my birthday is so close to Christmas I normally don't really celebrate my singular birthday. Since I was about 15 or 16 I've always had a sort of joint celebration during the christmas holidays and that included joint presents. <----No fun at all.

As I've gotten older this has become the norm and my actual birthday has become just a normal day. This year was different. My good good friend Ilene conspired with my co-workers and friends to offer a great celebration. I recieved the most delicious chocolate chocolate chip pound cake from Susan, and giftcards from one of my favorite places.......Starbucks. :-) We had wassail at work with gingerbread cookies (albeit it was for the entire faculty not just me...ha!), and I was serenaded each class period by my students including a viola solo from the music department. It was the best birthday that I've had in awhile. And the best part is that it all resumes on friday (since I had my final grad school assignment for the semester due last night). Oh, and I'm on Christmas vacation for the next two weeks.

With all that being said, I just want to say a big big thank you for making my birthday a very special one.

All my love.

Angee

We are Christmas

Hi all.

I've been working on homework all week. I have 3 more days of grad school before the year ends and i have just as much work in those 3 days. I'm sharing another card with you today. All patterned papers are from the My Mind's eye Holly Jolly Collection. There is little Hero Arts in there by way of friend definition stamp on the kraft circle, and stampin up ink in chocolate chip. And that's it.

Here's a quick christmas video from Spellman College's Glee Club. I'm now in love with this song. We Are Christmas. Love he arrangement. Enjoy.

I hope to get more crafting done over christmas break. Check ya later, peeps.

Hugs & ciao.

Santa Baby + Papertrey ink

Hi All,

It's been a busy week as always. I have 2 more weeks of work & school then I go on Christmas vacation for 2 weeks. Teaching has it's perks. I hope to get alot of crafting done in those two week including getting caught up on my December Daily album. I've gotten a little behind on that since I've been trying to get ahead with grading and grad school.

I did get a couple cards made a few weeks back when I was hit with the Christmas Spirit. Here is one of my favs.

I ordered the My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly Collection paper pack a few weeks back from FlowerstoFlourishes.com and it's sure come in handy. I'm loving the distressed dots paper. Super cute.

Oh and don't forget the PaperTrey Ink sneak peak is going on right now and I'm loving all the new sets that I've gotten a peak at. Head on over to Nichole's blog for the previews.

{The Deets}

Recollections Craft Card base with matching envelope from Michaels.

My Mind's Eye Patterned Paper - Holly Jolly Collection, Cardstock Letters and Border.

Papertrey Ink Fillable Frames #9 stamp set & die.

Stampin' Up! - Riding Hood Red Classic Ink

That's all for now.

Ciao.

Holiday Busy & Merry Christmas

Hi All,

If you know any teachers you know this is a super busy time of year. Students have loads going on and teacher do too. This week we are release testing (practice standardized testing), running a modified schedule tomorrow, kids will be out of class various days this week due to holiday concerts, tours, and loads of other things, grades are due by the end of the week for progress reports, and I'm sure there is something else that I'm forgetting right now. In addition to all that I have 2 more week of grad school before this semester is over and I still have to fit in the GRE test before I take my next class. So to say I'm busy is defintely an understatement. Thank goodness I've been in a Christmas mood for weeks because I've been making and stocking up on holiday cards like this one.

The Deets:

My Mind's  Eye Patterned Paper - Holly Jolly collection

Stampin' Up! Cardstock Cherry Cobbler, Mat Stack, and Paper Piercer

Papertrey Ink Stamp- Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers

Simple and easy card. I used Stampin' Up Textured cardstock. I love how rich this color is. Now I'm off to check my schedule to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. I'm sure I have.

Oh and aren't you loving the 12 Tags of Christmas from Tim Holtz? OMGosh, every year I look forward to two things: Kristina Werner's Holiday Card series and Tim Holtz 12 tags. I just love this time of year.

That's all for now.

Ciao.

After Thanksgiving loves.

Hi all,

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday this year and I hope you had the same. We ate some great food prepared by my mom, my dad even came over and spent the holiday with us. Thank God everyone survived the day. lol. It was a great holiday with family and friends and I had a great time playing bingo with Collin, Chantel, and Nate.

My cousin Collin and Me playing with photobooth.

I also welcomed my first god-daughter, Leah Camille Gaston, on November 24th. She weighed 6 lbs 35 oz. She is the most precious little thing I've seen in a long time. I've been spending lots of time with this one in the last few days. I have to freshen up my baby skills. My youngest god-son is 6 now so it's been awhile.

Leah Camille in the hospital

The thing I love about this time of year is the point right after Thanksgiving until right before Christmas. What I love about after thanksgiving is the holiday music and christmas lights. This is my favorite time of year. Not just because my birthday is in two weeks......but because everyone tends to be in a better mood, people are nicer, and more caring, and the world seems to become a better place to be. At least to me. Oh and also because I get two more weeks off work for Christmas..........Teaching has a few perks.

I will be post Christmas cards starting on Monday so get ready for that. And expect to see Miss Leah's face around here as well.

Hugs & Ciao.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi there, and Happy Thankgiving.

Today I'm relaxing at home cooking pecan pies, my holiday celebration food contribution, lol. Also my dad and I are in the craft room making christmas cards. Want to see what we've done???



What do you think? We're pretty creative, if I do say so myself.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Hope you all enjoy your day with friends and family. I'm off to enjoy some great food courtesy of my mom. Love her.

Hugs & Ciao.

New Layout: My Boys + Glee!

HI all.

This marks my first blog post since going on Thanksgiving break. Oh the benefits of being a teacher. But here it goes. My little brother Taylor came into my office the other day with these pics of him and my first god-son Landon. These pics are at least 5 years old but they reminded me of when my babies were little and so so cute. They are still cute, btw. But I just loved these pics and they screamed scrapbook me. Now I'm not a huge scrapbooker. This is only my 4th layout that I've ever attempted but I say it's my 3rd since my first one was so horrible (Let's just not mention it at all) but I've gotten better every time I've attempted a layout and I absolutely love this one. Plus I got to use some of my PapertreyInk goodies on it, namely the banner dies.



Sorry for the poor picture quality. I took this with my iphone. I'll post a better pic later this week.

Supplies:

Papertrey Ink - Stampers Select White cardstock, Banner Builder Collection Dies, buttons, large scallop border die.  Stampin' Up! - Pear Pizzazz, Not Quite Navy, Peach Parfait, and Real Red Cardstock, Pear Pizzazz, River Rock, Sahara Sand Classic Ink. Making Memories - Big Kids Boys 8x8 Paper Collection & stickers, EK Success - Large Scallop Embossing border punch, The Twinery - Marischino Twine, Recollections - Alpha Clear Stamps (from my stash & purchased at Michaels)

I just finished up some grad school homework and was checking out my google reader when I came across this great video via Glee. Now I'm not a huge fan of TV at all. I don't get the opportunity to watch much of it but I'm a musical theatre junkie (My fav is Cats and I have it on VHS - don't laugh. ha!). So enjoy.

That's all for now. Ciao.

iTeach: Teach me how to Study........Love this...

For Hip Hop News & Entertainment at DimeWars.Com

Why I love my Job....

Coming from a corporate background where the money was great, the perks were awesome, and the stress level was crushing, I looked at teaching as something I never thought I'd be doing. I always knew that I didn't want to be a teacher, even when I didn't know what else I wanted to do either. Everyone that I'd ever encounter always told me that I needed to be a teacher. I've always been a people person and I've always been a lifelong learner.  Truth be told,   Teaching has been the most rewarding, fulfilling job that I've ever had.

I was a pharmacy recruiter right before I got my first teaching job. I'd been working there about 1.5 years when the economy tanked. I'd been doing very well up until that point even obtaining my first promotion within 6 months of starting that job, however when the economy went south so did my commission, and so did my job security. I knew it was a matter of time before I was let go and I knew I didn't want to be behind a desk anymore. I'd had enough of being on the telephone and the computer screen for 8 hours a day 5-6 days per week. I had to make a move and I wanted to make one that I could be happy with and for a long long time. I started looking into alternative certification programs here in Texas since I already had my bachelor's degree.

Now here is where God stepped in. I didn't know when I was going to be let go I just knew it was comming eventually so I started making my back up plan. I contacted the certification department of PISD (after having tried another program and hating it) and submitted all my paperwork. I wasn't accepted right away because I never took the THEA College Entrance test (I was exempt because of my SAT scores) and these scores were among the criteria for acceptance into the program. I signed up for the test and submitted my scores, was accepted, and scheduled my start date. A few weeks later my start date rolls around and I'm excited. The certification specialist advised all of the participants to keep their jobs until they had secured another position within the district so the certification classes were all scheduled at night.  I went to work at 7:30 am, was laid-off at 9:00 am, and started my program at 5:00 pm that evening. I literally started my Alternative Certification Program the same day that I was laid-off. It was hard packing up my cubicle (So glad I no longer have a cubicle!!) and driving home while everyone else was on their way to work, but the pain of being asked to leave was softened by knowing that I was on my way to a career that I'd love.

And loving my career is a huge understatement. Teaching is challenging, rewarding, and asks so much more of you than simply teaching a student how to spell, write in complete sentences, and know the difference between an article and an adjective. I've heard stories like this more often than I'd like and it's so hard to process that information, try to help in any way possible, and maintain some sort of detachment when I go home, but I do my best and I try my best and I give all that I have everyday; The rewards come with every student who trusts me with their story and the angry kid who breaks down in tears and hugs me, and tells me that no one has every made them feel as safe as they do when they are in my class. I get those rewards everyday and they mean more to me than any bonus that someone can pay me. (Although a bonus would certainly be awesome....ha ha!!). I love my job, I love my school, I love my colleagues, and I love my students. It doesn't get any better than that.

Bloglovin'

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Have you seen the "New" release sneak peaks. OMGoodness. I have my eye on this right now.

Banners are the hottest thing right now and I'm just loving the fact that Papertrey is jumping in on this trend. I'm sure this stamp set will be one of my favorites. Hopefully there will be a matching die. *I swoon.

In the words of Rachel Zoe, "I die". Seriously.

You can't help but love the mat stacks. They are super awesome and a must have for cardmakers like myself. I simply can't wait until the 15th.

Enjoy. Ciao.

Holiday Card Sneak Peaks

Hi All. I've been crafting up a storm but it seems I'm in a holiday moods because all I've been making is holiday cards. Christmas to be exact. So check out my Facebook and Tumblr accounts to see my holiday card sneak peaks.

Here's a little recap:

Hi All. I've been crafting up a storm but it seems I'm in a holiday moods because all I've been making is holiday cards. Christmas to be exact. So check out my Facebook and Tumblr accounts to see my holiday card sneak peaks.

Here's a little recap:

I'll hold of posting these until we're at least in the month of December. Ha!!

Ciao.

Let's Eat: Your House or Mine?

My card today was made using a store bought card base with a pre-printed background. All I did was take the green printed cardbase, and add a few embellies and here's a quick and easy card.

So I'm having a love hate relationship with this card. I love the color. This is a great vibrant green but it's not too offensive. I'm loving that PTI stamp of the utensils. It stamps perfectly crisp. The Bordering Blue Classic Ink ended up looking fantastic. It dried a perfect light grey color although it says blue. Plus this is only the second time I've tried coloring with a blender pen (haven't worked any copics into my budget yet....more on that later). I'm definitely going to try this color combo again. So what is it that I don't like?? The sentiment of course. Everytime I try to use my own handwriting as a sentiment, I just don't like it. Staying away from the handwritten sentiments. I will leave that for the insides of cards.

That's all for now. Ciao.

The Deets:

Die Cuts: Nestabilities - Labels 16, PapertreyInk - Mat Stack 1 Ribbon - Stampin' Up! - Taffeta Ribbon in Basic Grey {110110} Stamps - PapertreyInk - Friendship Jar Fillers Ink - Momento - Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up! - Classic Ink in Bordering Blue {102265} Tools - Stampin' Up! - Blender Pen {102845}

YT Finds: Furoshiki Gift Wrap....Recyclable gift wrap.

I have no idea how I happen across these things online but I can always seem to find the most interesting things, like the following video:
Furoshiki Gift Wrapping


How awesome is this??? Love love love this.

High Fashion Home Art Prints

Happened across these online and I'm loving them.

I found these at High Fashion Home. They are Awesome, don't you think??? At $46 each they are not super expensive. And with some crafty know-how I'm sure I can recreate these for much cheaper.

Hugs

Hi all.

Here is another quick card I made with a 2 Dollar bin stamps from Michaels and some goodies I just got from Stampin' Up!

My good friend was out of town this past weekend and when she got back I went over to hang out. I was busy all weekend with crafty deadlines and business deadlines but I missed her alot. Well I decided to make her a card so tell her that.....and to put my new goodies to use. ;-D

Card Deets:

Stampin' Up! - Cardstock in Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry,

Stampin' Up! Classic Ink in Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry.

Stampin' Up! Bigz die in Scallop Envelope, and 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Bunch

Marvy Uchida 2"  in Circle punch

$1 bin stamps (HUG! and Row of Flowers)

You & Me

Love. It's a funny thing to me in that I can't explain it, I can't control it, and I can't seem to find success with it....Yet.

Here is a quick card I made with some left over Ribbon Scraps from Making Memories, Vellum, and the Hero Arts friend definition background stamp. Oh and I used my iRock tool from Imaginisce.

Which do you trust......Your Head or Your Heart?

While blog hopping on Tumblr I came across this quote. I must say right now I trust my head way more than my heart, in matters that concern me, myself, and only I (in Love) I wouldn't say I'm unlucky because I am loved by some truly great people, and I love them back. I'm just not that great at choosing for myself romantically. A good friend of mine said that I'm a very self aware person and I need to learn to trust myself, especially in that area of choosing a person to share my life with. I've made a two choices that started out wonderful and fabulous but ended, not sourly, but leaving behind serious doubts as to my ability to judge lasting character.

I had another friend ask me if I ever thought of giving up on finding love. Um.....I'm 28, of course not. My philosophy is that I've had my heart broken enough that I definitely know how to put the pieces back together. If anything I still put myself out there because I know that if it doesn't work, I am skilled at broken-heart-repair and I know that I will be fine in the end. Plus, if you don't risk it you will never find it.

But right now my focus is solely on me, my career, and some amazing business opportunites that have come my way. I simply wanted to share a quote then got all pour-your-heart-out on you guys. Thanks for listening.

So do you have a better head or better heart?

Card Deets:

SEI patterned papers

American Crafts Silver Foil paper

PTI (PapertreyInk) Signature Greetings Stamp Set

Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack is HOT HOT HOT!!!

If you haven't looked already you really should. The clearance rack at Stampinup.com is looking fabulous. I placed my order today....have you??

Take a look at what I got:



And my highest priced item was $6 yes that SIX dollars was my HIGHEST priced item. Go get em'.

Booklist

On my list:

The City of Ember Series by Jeanne DuPrau

1. The City of Ember


2. The People of Sparks


3. The Prophet of Yonwood


4. The Diamond of Darkhold

The Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz

1) Stormbreaker
2) Point Blank
3) Skeleton Key
4) Eagle Strike
5) Scorpia
6) Ark Angel
7) Snakehead
8) Crocodile Tears

And many many more. Remember I am an 8th grade teacher so many of the books on my list are teen fiction, which are incredible well written.

Oh and Yes, a Kindle is on my wishlist.

What's on your book list.

Internet Finds: Vibram FiveFingers

If you've ever been around me then you know I absolutely hate wearing shoes. Well.......from my massive shoes collection you may not realize that off hand but if you've known me for years and years then you'd know that I don't like them. I'm a run-barefoot-through-plush-carpet-tile-and-anything-else-except-grass (darn allergies) type girl. I love being in bare feet. It may be all my former dance training and spending hours upon hours working on pirouettes in the dance room barefoot that brought this about. I'm not exactly sure but for as long as I can remember I've disliked shoes.

Actually I think it's because of my foot abnormality. I was born with broken feet. I had to wear special shoes as a toddler to correct this issues. These shoes had a hard sole and included a metal bar that attached to both shoes to keep the shoes in the "correct" position that the child wears while they sleep. Horrible shoes. Horrible.

But imagine my delight and utter jubilation when I came across these shoes on youtube. Every now and then I will just browse youtube for great workout video as inspiration and motivation to get back into a regular workout routine. One of the reasons I don't like working out (besides sweating.....a story for another day) is the fact that not only do you have to wear shoes you have to wear socks too. <-----Did I mention I hate socks too? Anywhoo, I came across this video of Mark deGrasse from MBodyStrength wearing the awesome looking shoes.

Thank goodness for comments. Just as I was about to message MBodyStrength I read in the comments a mention of Vibrams. What the heck is a vibram? I was already familiar with kettlebells so I knew they could not be talking about the weights, so a quick google search later I came across this.

Remember going barefoot as a child? It’s the way you first discovered and conquered your world—without the constraint of shoes. Or the sense of duty you acquired later on.

Now you can experience that same physical and visceral sensation in Vibram FiveFingers—the only footwear to offer the exhilarating joy of going barefoot with the protection and sure-footed grip of a Vibram® sole.

FiveFingers footwear connects you to the earth and your surroundings in a way that is simply not possible in conventional shoes. It puts you in touch with the earth beneath your feet and liberates you to move in a more natural, healthy way. FiveFingers stimulate the muscles in your feet and lower legs to build strength and improve range of motion. Our customers report an increased sense of balance, greater agility, and visibly improved posture.

Choose from a variety of designs to cover the wide range of activities you would rather do barefoot—everything from fitness training and yoga, to running and trekking, to kayaking and sailing. Discover a level of performance and a connection to your environment that is positively without peer.

So you mean there is a "shoe" (and I'm using the term loosely solely for my peace of mind) that feels like your barefoot??? Am I in wanna-be-country-girl-in-a-city-girls-body heaven or what.

Now of course I spent the better part of an hour researching these shoes, the pros and cons, types, and prices. Here's what I found.

• There are 9 types of these shoes in the USA with more rumored to be released soon.


• Prices range from $75 to $125 brand new from the VibramFiveFingers.com Site.


• You can wear them to do most anything from casual leisure activities to rigorous workouts depending on the type.


• They are supposed to feel like you are barefoot.


• They have even been worn while running marathons and scuba diving.


• They are not sized like normal shoes. Here is a quick video about how to measure your foot for Vibrams.

I even found a beginner's guide to these awesome shoes. They are on youtube, and facebook so you can find them everywhere.

As you can see they are sort of my new "thing", and I'm loving them. I found a couple stores here in Houston, TX that offer them so I will be trying them out and purchasing soon.

Toodles.

Silhouette is now MAC ready - Confirmed.

As you know I recently purchased a Silhouette and it arrived today along with this news direct from SilhouetteAmerica.com regarding the new MAC compatible software. I was super excited to hear all this seeing as I'm a MAC user and I don't even have a working PC in my home anymore.

Well much to my dismay, I was unable to get the MAC software to install on my BRAND NEW iMac today and I'm not too happy about it. I called Silhouette America customer service and...........I could not get the issue resolved. Apparently I was one of the first people to have issues so I had to send a lengthy email with screen shots of the problem so their TECH guys could investigate. So for right now I have a non working Silhouette sitting pretty on my craft table.

I'm going to get my old laptop back up and running soon so that will temporarily solve the problem. Ugh.

Later.

Updated to add: My silhouette is working perfectly. I received it from Craftysteals.com on the day that the NEW Mac software was debuted. Talk about coincidence. But that first day I totally couldn't get the program to install. I called Silhouette America (the company that owns silhouette, of course) and they didn't have an immediate solution. I sent them screen shots of the errors I was getting and they called back within 10 minutes to take a statement from me and to tell me that the software developers would look into the problem. I finally went to bed frustrated that I had this brand new gadget and I couldn't use it because I don't have a PC at home anymore. The next day I had the bright idea to uninstall the previous download and try again, and BINGO....Success at last. I've used it everyday since then and it's been awesome. It's the best machine. My only con is the cutting area. I would like a machine that could cut full 12 X 12 sheets of cardstock. That's one of the reasons that I'm still thinking of getting a Cricut Expression. They still have the pink on at the Michael's near me. But then again buying cartridges is not exactly my idea of a bargain so I guess I need to budget in the SCAL software. Decisions Decisions.

New Music from Pomplamoose......Love them.

Updates & SugarHillCo Blog Train!

It's been so long since I've had the time to sit and just blog. There has been so much going on in my life, from rekindling old friendships, to school starting again and getting a whole new set of students, to me really beginning to ground myself as a teacher, to reorganizing my life, starting with my craft room. My BFF's preggo with her first (so excited about that!), and I'm looking for finally strike out on my own and buy a home. Still warming up to that idea. There's been so much that has gotten me out of my level of comfort and onto the path of bigger and better.

Speaking of bigger and better......I just went on a Blog Train. Yep, a Blog Train courtesy of Sugar Hill Co.

Look at this!



If you can resist all this fabulousness then you are much stronger than me, besides it's all FREE!!!!! and you get to blog hop and see all the fabulous design team, including my Facebook friend Leah Farquharson .

Isn't that just the bees knees. Oh, I love it. I'm not a huge digi-scrapper but I do hoard digi-design elements because one day I will sit down and figure it all out. Looks like that day may be today. :-D

Angee Lee's Deal of the Day: QK Silhouette $199

Hi all,

Sorry I've been away for so long. My life has been a rollercoaster lately, between studying for the GRE in hopes of going back to grad school, my second school year of teaching starting, and some other MALE related DRAMA that is finally over, I've been super busy.

But today I bring you a great deal from CraftySteals.com

The Silhouette SD from Silhouette America formerly of QuicKutz.

IN THE BOX

The Silhouette machine ships with the following important items:

• Silhouette machine


• Software for Windows XP/Vista


• Power cable, USB cable


• 2 Cutting mats (one for thick media, one for thin media)


• Cutting blade


• $10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store

And you get all this for $199. That's $100 off the retail price of $299 and it's for today only.

I've been looking at this machine for a long long time trying to justify the purchase. I've even been collection great die cuts to use with the machine knowing one day I'd succumb and get one. Well today was my day. My total purchase price was $227.36 ($199 for the machine, $16.42 in tax, and $11.94 in shipping). That is cheaper than any other website out there right now including the shipping and tax so if you were like me and waiting for a great deal, TODAY IS YOUR DAY. {Our day =)} These machines will ship in 7 days from Crafty Steals.

Oh and one more thing before I am late for work:

If you have a MAC like me, don't worry. According to the Silhouette Blog and the Crafty Steals website, the new Silhouette Design Studio software will be available for download on 9/14 and it is MAC compatible. Yippee. Just 6 days away.

Toodles.

Stampin' Up + Tax Free Holiday = Awesome Deals!!

It's time to shop, and the tax is FREE!!! Here in Texas we celebrate the tax free weekend, and Stampin' Up is celebrating too. Shop between August 20 – 22 and get the following Stampin' Up! supplies for free during this holiday period:

Item #	Description	Price
100425	2-Way Glue Pen	$3.50
104332	SNAIL Adhesive	$6.95
104331	SNAIL Adhesive Refill	$4.50
103305	Dotto	$12.95
100902	Dotto Refill	$6.50
104045	Anywhere Glue Stick	$3.95
104294	Sticky Strip	$6.95
104430	Stampin' Dimensionals	$3.95
103683	Mini Glue Dots	$4.95
103579	Paper Snips	$9.95
103179	Craft & Rubber Scissors	$19.95
108360	Craft & Paper Scissors	$29.95
101879	Watercolor Pencils	$19.95
105021	White Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen	$3.95
102845	Blender Pens	$9.95
Various	Stampin’ Write Markers (individual)	$3.50
120948	Many Marvelous Markers New Color Kit	$35.95
119801	Many Marvelous Markers In Color	$14.95
119700	Many Marvelous Markers Subtles	$28.95
119701	Many Marvelous Markers Regals	$28.95
119702	Many Marvelous Markers Brights	$28.95
119703	Many Marvelous Markers Neutrals	$22.95
120949	Watercolor Wonder Crayons New Color Kit	$39.95
119802	Watercolor Wonder Crayons Subtles	$16.95
119803	Watercolor Wonder Crayons Regals	$16.95
119804	Watercolor Wonder Crayons Brights	$16.95
119805	Watercolor Wonder Crayons Neutrals	$16.95
105394	Basic Black Stampin’ Write Journaler	$3.50
110755	Multipurpose Liquid Glue	$3.95
120962	Stampin' Pastels	$24.95
120963	Stampin’ Pastels New Color Kit	$14.95

These are some of the best tools Stampin' Up! has to offer. Don't miss out on this great deal. It won't come around again until next year. To order, Click here then click SHOP NOW in the upper right hand corner.

Angee Lee's Deal of the Day: Pink ATG

Hi all.

Here's another deal of the day brought to you by Flowers to Flourishes. They have the new PINK ATG (Advanced Tape Glider).



Now I did not order this today because I have 2 ATG's already. I have the Yellow 1/2" and the Red 1/4" so I can't say I need it just because it's pink, but I can say that I was REALLY tempted to buy it.

If you would like an ATG and love the fact that it's pink, Flowers to Flourishes has them today for $21.99 + $5.99 shipping.

Later.

Feeling a bit Country today. For your listening pleasure......

For the ladies: A little Carrie Underwood Undo it. Carrie Underwood "Undo It"



For the fellas: Jarrod Niemann "Lover, Lover"



And just because I love this song: Trace Adkins "This Ain't No Love Song"

The "New" Cricut Imagine Demo by Craft Critique

I think most crafters have either heard of a cricut, or have a cricket, and love a cricut. Since I didn't get a chance to go to CHA this year (boooo) I've been glued to Youtube watching all the demos from Craft Critique, and Noel Hyman of Paperclipping.com. There have definitely been some great items out there being debuted at CHA this year and I will definitely be making plans to attend next year for winter CHA.

My feature today is the Cricut Image. It is the rumored print & cut cricut machine. Yay!!! Take a look at this extensive demonstration by Christy of Provocraft filmed by Craft Critique. Enjoy.



MSRP: for the Machine - $599

MSRP: for the ink - $34.99/black $39.99/Color

The "New" Cricut Imagine Demo

I think most crafters have either heard of a cricut, or have a cricket, and love a cricut. Since I didn't get a chance to go to CHA this year (boooo) I've been glued to Youtube watching all the demos from Craft Critique, and Noel Hyman of Paperclipping.com. There have definitely been some great items out there being debuted at CHA this year and I will definitely be making plans to attend next year for winter CHA.

My feature today is the Cricut Image. It is the rumored print & cut cricut machine. Yay!!! Take a look at this extensive demonstration by Christy of Provocraft filmed by Craft Critique. Enjoy.



MSRP: for the Machine - $599

MSRP: for the ink - $34.99/black $39.99/Color

Texas Style Howdy

My very dear friend Linnell is one of the most genuine, supportive, encouraging people I know. I just met her this year as I began my teaching career here in Houston. He's been a teacher for probably as long as I've been alive and she is so well respected in our school community that if I could be half the teacher she is I know I will have done a good job.

Not only is Linnell supportive of my teaching career she is also very supportive of my crafting. I've made a few things for her including this wedding present. Click here for the original post.



She had the awesome idea of using wedding invitations and save the date cards to make a commemorative wedding present for the bride and groom. How awesome is that idea. And I had loads of inspiration from the save the date cards since they had a layout already on them.

Linnell is also a facebook friend of mine and she contacted me last week about making a card for her. She wanted a Texas themed card, so instantly I thought of vintage, brown, and metal. After talking about it a couple more times she said she wanted cowboy boots on the card. Now this posed a problem in that I don't have any cowboy boot stamps or images on hand, so off I went to google and found a great pair of vintage distressed boots that I simply printed on white cardstock. Well after I had the image I realized that i needed to color the image. I don't have very many markers or colored pencils for that matter so I decided to sponge the boots with Distress Ink. Here's what I came up with.



You can't really tell from the picture but the cardstock behind the brown scallop is embossed with antique gold embossing powder and looks super awesome in person. This was a pretty difficult card for  me to come up with. I made about 3 others before I came up with this one and I think I'm going to reprint the boots and color them again to smooth out the blending.

Supplies:

Tim Holtz: Distress ink - Vintage Photo, Brushed Corduroy, Scattered Straw. Stampabilities: Embossing Powder in Antique Gold, PaperTreyInk - Rustic Twine, Misc. - Cream cardstock, eyelet, tag.

That's all for now.

Hugs.

Angee Lee

Internet Finds: Necklush

I spend lots of time on the internet and I frequently come across awesome things online. They can be just from searching Google and clicking on a advertisements in the sidebar, or it may be something my favorite Youtuber mentioned, or it can even be a misspelled website that I happened to click on. If you come across any links that you think I would be interested in, just leave me a comment or email me at angee {at} angeeleebutler {dot} com. On to the internet finds.

Today I came across a great website called Necklush. If the name wasn't enough to entice you to click then the fact that they make awesome scarves definitely will.



These are not necklaces and not really a scarf but sort of a hybrid between the two. Being a crafter I just love the endless possibilities of the accessory. I can imagine wearing it all year long, with dresses, skirts, suits, and the like. Whether you put a broach on it, twist it up, or leave it long, you will love the versatility of the necklush.

Here is a few of the hundreds of different ways you can wear the necklush.

And here is an instructional video for you.

I'm so super excited about this, Necklush. I can't wait to get mine in the mail and accessorize it all up. This is a quick way to add some color when your in a hurry and still want to be the creative DIVA, or Cool Dad, that you are.

Hugs,

Angee Lee