A Few Things to Show You

I was in and out of my corner throughout the day. My computer, however, was being used to research a paper that Cameron is writing for school. Most of what I was able to accomplish was done while Bjorn and Mathias napped and after Grandpa came home from the hunting cabin.

The paper and the stamps used for my first two cards are from the new Summer catalog. The Creative Basics Boom-Di-Ada collection is fun with a spool of Hollyhock ribbon included instead of the traditional ribbon. I love the monthly Word Puzzle sets. The stamp collections are so versatile and useful for a lot of different application. I hope this first card isn't too hard on the eyes with the striped paper laid out this way. It's just four rectangles of paper, two with the stripes running horizontally and two with the stripes running vertically cut into 2-1/8 by 2-3/4 inch pieces. The little tabs were made using the Stampin' Up Word Window punch. My second card uses the same stamps and is pretty straight forward. I colored the center of the flowers with a Buttercup marker before attaching the clear acrylic discs with Liquid Glass. To save a little keyboarding time, I'm going to combine the materials, etc. I used for both cards into one list. You'll figure it out!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Hollyhock, Buttercup, and Olive cardstock; Creative Basics Boom-Di-Ada Collection; Hollyhock and Olive ink pads; Buttercup markers; April Word Puzzle and Say in in Style May Stamp of the Month stamp sets; Garden Green, Buttercup, and Hollyhocks My Accents (buttons and mini brads); Acrylic discs from Michael's; White embroidery floss; Stampin' Up Word Window punch; 1 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches; Mini Glue Dots (for attaching rick rack); 3M foam mounting tape; Liquid Glass.

Here's my funny little owl again, this time colored with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. I'm very pleased with the way the coloring turned out and relieved that I don't need any Copic markers! I can't say I know exactly what "Whoot, Whoot" is all about, but it amuses me.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Chocolate, and Garden Green cardstock; Basic Grey Archaic designer paper; Black, Cocoa, and Chocolate ink pads; Cornish Heritage Farms U R A Hoot stamp set; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol Odorless Mineral Spirits; Paper blending stubs; Brown mini brads; Sponge dauber; Sanding block.

This last card was made with the Silhouette Blooms I set from Cornish Heritage Farms. Again, the stamps are rubber, mounted on Cling Mount to be used with acrylic blocks. While I bought this particular set for silhouette-type cards, I made my first card by coloring the images with markers and then misting them with water from a fine mist spritzer. I love the watercolor look. The Outdoor Denim cardstock is textured, and I used the new Itty Bitty Brads on the sentiment. Aren't they cute?

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Outdoor Denim, Pansy Purple, and Indian Corn Blue cardstock; New England Ivy, Olive, Garden Green, Autumn Terracotta, Indian Corn Blue, Pansy Purple, Orange, and Sunflower markers; Cornish Heritage Farms Silhouette Blooms I stamp set; CTMH retired Speckled Backgrounds stamp; Itty Bitty Brads; EK Success Corner rounder; Coluzzle Knife, Mat, and Oval templates; Sanding block.

Although I did not take a photo to prove it, I have three blisters on the fingers of my right hand - two on my thumb and one on my third (as in middle) finger. No, I didn't stamp that hard, and no, it wasn't from any kind of physical labor, which is where I thought one got blisters. They are the result of my finally sharpening all of the pencils in my Prismacolor set. Marv left this morning to go do some work at the hunting cabin, so it was just me and the boys for a couple of hours. Stamping, when it's just the three of us, is pretty much out of the question, so I decided to sharpen my pencils. I've mentioned before that I've had this 120-pencil set (a steal on eBay) for more than a year and hadn't gotten around to sharpening more than 20 to 30 of them yet. Well, they're sharpened now. I didn't notice the blisters until I was three-quarters of the way through the project and didn't figure there was any sense in quitting at that point.

Other than my little injury, which doesn't bother me (much), today was a perfect day. I love having Cameron and the boys here on Sundays. It's just one fun adventure after another and enough love to keep my heart warm throughout the week. As for the coming week, I'll don't know what's on the agenda with the exception that I'll be spending some time in my corner. With most of the officers and a few others at a show in Las Vegas this week, I anticipate things being quiet at work. It will be a good time to play "catch-up." I hope you have a good week and that you'll stop back to see what I'm up to.