Sentimental Journey (S-A-B) + Musical Treat

Feeling Sentimental may be my favorite Sale-a-Bration stamp set! It evokes a whimsical sense of the past and is perfect for masculine cards, too :) Best of all, it's one of the choices you can choose FREE when you spend $50 before March 22nd!

To make it even easier, I created these cards with a custom kit that will create 48 cards:

Crumb Cake 8.5"x11" card stock (120953) $6.95
Black card 8.5"x11" card stock (121045) $6.95
Very Vanilla 8.5"x11" card stock (101650) $8.50
Silver Glimmer Paper (124005) $4.95
First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper (121878) $12.95
Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon (122332) $6.95
Basic Black Stamp Pad (126980) $5.95
TOTAL: $53.20 (+tax and shipping)
+ Get the Feeling Sentimental stamp set FREE!!!

If you already have any of the supplies, you can substitute one of these items:
Crumb Cake envelopes (107297) $6.50
Stamping Sponges (101610) $3.50
SNAIL refill (104331) $4.50

There will be plenty of supplies left over...the only things you may need to order more of (in order to make more of the same cards) would be the Crumb Cake card stock and ribbon. You can choose your Sale-a-Bration stamps in wood mounted OR clear mount. If you choose the latter, you will need clear block D (118485) with it.

Here's another version using the same supplies (the bow makes it a little more feminine, too):

Shop, Host or Join!

And for your listening pleasure today, I want to share one of our family's favorite new songs that we've been singing around the house...the music video is incredibly delightful, too:

Mary, Did You Know?

Musical Indulgence

Please indulge me for a few moments. I am a drama nerd. My favorite plays are musicals. And the creme de la creme of musicals is indisputably Les Miserables. So the fact that it comes out in DECEMBER as a movie that will be Absolutely. Incredible. is just a wonderful gift I can hardly wait to open! So I've been obsessing over it for a few days and when I found this Nick Pitera One-Man-Show, how could I not pause to pay homage? The kids introduced me to Nick a few years ago when he did both parts of Aladdin's "A Whole New World" and we've been fans since then. So if you have a few minutes, pull up a chair and some popcorn:

Now, if you have been buried in the Sahara for a few months and didn't know the movie is coming (with Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter, Amanda Seyfried and some other EXCRUCIATINGLY talented people), then be prepared to be blown away:
Thanks for spending a few minutes with me and allowing me to share something I love!

Prepare to be amazed...

I can play the piano.

I'm not a concert pianist, but I can play the hymns at church and I can play some of the fun things I hear on the radio, too.

For the record...everything your mom told you about practicing is true: You WILL be glad she forced you to sit at the piano practicing scales while your friends ride their bikes past your window. It IS a life skill that you will be grateful for. And GUARANTEED, you WILL regret it if you give it up. THANKS, MOM for not letting me get away with it when I called you after you had baby #3 at the hospital on medication and tried to quit piano lessons!

As a college student, I continued to study piano with Lu Jennings (bless her soul in heaven, she was a wonderful and patient teacher), I still wasn't convinced that I would eventually be grateful for this talent. Then I had a nightmare/dream that I was attending an Air Supply Concert (I just gave away  my age) and the pianist died onstage, but as they say in show business, "The Show Must Go On" ...so in my dream concert, they asked if anyone could play the piano: I raised my hand and was called up to play for remainder of the concert. The nightmare started when I looked at the music and there were 6 flats AND 7 sharps! For non-musical types, that wouldn't happen...unless you are Debussy, whose music I only tried to tackle ONCE.

Once in a while, I'll be playing the piano and think to myself, "This is really incredible that I can look at black dots on the paper and my right hand can play one thing while my left hand is playing different notes!" And then I usually mess up whatever I'm playing because I'm over-thinking it. Which is why I admire the talents of those who CAN play the piano beautifully, and this is a young man you will want to watch for: Josh Wright.



Remember the name.

And if you can read this, thank a music teacher:

Music & Lyrics

While I was at Stampin' Up! Leadership, I learned a fun idea from presenter Shannon West and it seems to fit my theme this week of Music and Lyrics. Her suggestion was substitute lyrics from your favorite song as journaling for your scrapbook! You saw a peek at our On Board Heart Book available in the Occasions Mini Catalog (also in Scallop Circle and Bird shapes) in this post, but check out the inside of her Valentine Album...she used lyrics from Diana Ross' song "Love Hangover":

 

 

 

 

 

Now isn't that simply adorable? Thanks, Shannon, for the tip! If I was going to make a "song" book, I'd use "The Pina Colada Song" (official title: "Escape" by Rupert Holmes) because that is on the play list for my life :)

What about you? Which song could you create a scrapbook to? Please comment!

Ode to the Supermarket Musical

I am *always* inspired by music (have I mentioned my college degree was in music ed?) and recently I've been pondering what the sound-track to my life would be. I'm composing the play-list for my existence, but when I saw the following video, I was infatuated! I've always wanted to stage a spontaneous musical (um, you may have noticed my devotion to improveverywhere...) so today I present my "Ode to the Supermarket Musical":

I’m ambling through the produce aisle

When suddenly I stop and smile,

And looking through the garden fare

Imagine music playing there

Enticing me to sing and dance

Amidst the veggies, fruits and plants.

Spontaneously I bounce and skip

Through frozen food and take a trip

(While singing) past the dairy case ~

Another shopper pulls a face!

I guess they can’t enjoy the glee

This Spontaneous Musical supplies me!

So on past cereal, cheese and chips

I wave my arms and shake my hips!

What if the whole store met to belt

A tune while letting ice cream melt?

So on with grocery shopping ‘til

Applause and cheers! My cart I fill

And take my bow. The concert ends,

But in my dream the song extends,

Encompassing a marching band.

The clerks join in (and all unplanned)

We journey to the parking lot

In chorus line with all we bought!

Absurd? Not so! Just tap your toe

And sing along…you’ll say “Bravo!”

--Loni Spendlove, January 2010 

Do You Have Room?

A beautiful Christmas Message/Music for you today:

I Love Lunch, Too

It's no secret I love LUNCH (and Breakfast, Dinner and a good midnight snack) AND I love Improv Everywhere (you may have seen them here before). This latest mission includes a cameo performance by Ann Curry of the Today Show and will bring a smile to your day!


I'll be getting back to stamping once I get new batteries for my camera, meanwhile, enjoy your lunch!

Web Site Story: Sublime Musical Parody!

I'm an avid admirer of the musical parody genius of the likes of Weird Al Yankovic, Capitol Steps and now College Humor has hit gold: When I saw "Web Site Story" with all it's cunning social-networking name-dropping, I was hooked! West Side Story is one of my all-time favorite musicals (side note: my mom was Maria on the Dixie College stage back in the 60's and I stepped into Anita's shoes in the Dixie High production 20 years later!) so sit back and enjoy some harmonic creativity:

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER: There are other videos on the College Humor Site that I DON'T recommend...obviously "college humor" leans to the crude side for some sad reason (is it because the brains of college kids aren't fully developed??), but Web-Site Story was a moment of unsullied clarity for these folks :)

A Very Jonas Fourth!

I was settling down for a quiet 4th of July when my friend Vicki called at 7 p.m. and said, "We have two extra tickets for the Stadium of Fire...want to come quick?" The show started at 8 in Provo and with my family spread all over the map, I had to find a date FAST! I called my friend Leslie and we raced to the stadium in time to find our seats (ON THE FIELD!!! THANK YOU VICKI!!) and watch Glenn Beck march in 76-Trombone Style:Next, SheDaisy took the stage...welcome home to Utah, ladies!Things then got a little crazy...


(This one is for Mindi...) In case it gets *too* crazy, just break out a good book and settle in :) Yes, this was taken AS the Jonas Brothers were singing!! WHAT IN THE WORLD? I love me a good book as much as the next person (and may have even been caught reading Harry Potter 7 at Stampin' Up! Convention...) but seriously? Maybe she is the grandmother of Kevin, Nick and Joe and has seen them perform hundreds of times...

We finished up with some spectacular fireworks and it was a very memorable holiday! So if you need any gifts for Young Women or Girl's Camp...support Vicki's lds-yw site because she totally ROCKS for letting us celebrate in style!

Simon Cowell Speechless?

Okay, most of you have already heard about Susan Boyle, but just in case you haven't seen/heard this spunky British Lady, click. Here. Watch. Smile. Cry. Now!

Joy to Everyone

Ever see something that touches you so deeply that your breath is taken away? That is how I felt when I saw this new video: the pictures are so stunning and the music so moving and joyous, it was the first time I've truly felt the true spirit of Christmas this year. Really.

The artists that composed the music and took the pictures made this as a gift. Joy to Everyone expresses the hope that everyone feels love, peace and joy this Christmas. This is my hope, too.

To download the song and music free for yourself, click here.