Made by Me and a Couple of Helpers

I'm getting pretty good at making cards with kids in my lap. They can cut paper, run dies through the Cuttlebug, poke holes with the piercing tool, and operate a tape runner. All I had to do was sit back and offer a little instruction. I'm joking. While they can do all these things, this was more a "Where there's a will, there's a way" type situation, and I am infinitely pleased (and a tad surprised) by not only the results of our card-making adventure, but the patience I must have gained a few years back - around the same time someone started calling me "Grandma."

About our card, we were inspired by one in the Verve Stamps gallery. The papers are from the Perfect Day paper packet and the little metal corner accents from the Spring Blossom Mini-Medley Accents Collection. Fun stuff just like the Stampin' Up Build-A-Brad I used for the center of my flower. As for the sentiment, I love it.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Tulip cardstock; Perfect Day paper packet; Tulip and Chocolate ink pads; Verve Stamps Beautiful You stamp set; Spring Blossom Mini-Medley Accents Collection; Stampin' Up Build-A-Brad set; Just Blooms Big Pinks; Sponge dauber; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

Unexpectedly, albeit pleasantly, I gained a couple of sidekicks this afternoon. Bjorn is a bit under the weather. He has a sore throat and isn't eating well, so I'm pumping him full of liquids. His mother said he didn't sleep much last night. I'm hoping that isn't the case tonight. I called his daddy and requested that he bring some Motrin over - just in case. Poor little guy, although I have to say he's more than happy right now, sitting in Grandpa's big chair "studying" the latest Fisher Price catalog that Grandma got in the mail the other day. Grandpa just called, too, and is on his way home from the cabin - a good thing in the event of bedtime battles. Speaking of bedtime, it is time to get a couple of little people into their pajamas. Perhaps, if all goes well, I'll be able to hit my corner one more time before I call it a day. I hope your weekend is going well. Later . . .

P.S. Jeanne! Your grandmother lives in International Falls? Although I'm not certain whether the mileage I have is road miles or "as the crow flies," I am only 132 miles from there. Have you ever been there? If not, you might not want to go in the winter, unless, of course, you want to participate in a 10k and 5k run called the "Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run," which is part of the "Ice Box Days" festival. Your dad, if he hasn't told you, was raised in a town that has the distinction of being the coldest city in the continental 48 states. Seriously, while it's been a long time since I've been there, it's a beautiful place anytime of the year. And, were you to come "way north," I'd be in 7th heaven!