Sherrod Studio Sneak Peek - Day 3

... and the day before the awesome stamps I've been showing you these past few days will be available for purchase at Sherrod Studio!

Meet Gracie. She's a sweetheart and particularly special, because she is part of the first stamp set from Sherrod Studio for which a portion of the proceeds will go to special children's charities.

The first charity Kim has selected is the Christmas Box Lifestart Initiative, a program to assist children who have been in foster care for years and suddenly find them "aging out" of the system. More information about this wonderful program can be found here.

As for my card, I jumped out of my box a bit on this one, coloring the image with waterbase markers. And thus, if it looks like it was colored by a beginner, it was. LOL. Seriously, while I usually find that long sweeping strokes with the brush tip of the marker yields the best results, I colored the bear using a small, circular strokes with hopes the result would look like fur. I think was moderately successful. I created the "shadow" with a Dove blending pen and Twilight ink. I also used the blending pen and Chocolate ink to "ground" my image. About the red, white, and blue color scheme, 'tis the season!

Oh, and one more thing. The teddy bear is a separate image that I stamped and cut out. While it wasn't necessary, I used a craft knife to make a tiny slit around Gracie's fingers to better grip the bears arm. Gracie can also hold a flower or balloon. Additionally, the set includes two more flower images, a balloon bouquet, and a handful of fun sentiments.

That said, you need to see what other members of the design team have in store for you today: Sparkle, Mary, Kim, and the Kim on her Sherrod Studio blog. And don't forget to comment. There will be a drawing for free stamp sets with the winners announced by Kim tomorrow during Sherrod Studio's grand opening.

The clock is ticking, which means it's time for me to get ready for another day at the workplace. Once again, thanks for stopping by. Your comments and support mean the world to me. Have a good day, friends!

Sherrod Studio Sneak Peek Day 2 ... Candy, Too!

Isn't she just the cutest little thing? Can you see that her eyes are blue?

This card was made with the Happy Birthday set, one of several new sets that will be available on July 1 from the all new Sherrod Studio. In addition to the stamps I used for this card, the set includes several sentiments and ... cupcakes!

About my card, I used a Tombow marker (Flesh #580) for the little girl's skin and colored the rest of the image and the stack of gifts with Prismacolor colored pencils and Gamsol odorless mineral spirits. The pile of presents were attached to the card with foam mounting tape to add a little dimension.

Now that you've seen my card you need to check out what the rest of the design team has been up to: Sparkle, Mary, Kim, and the Kim on her Sherrod Studio blog. I'm certain they have something wonderful to share. Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment, too. Free stamp sets will be given away with the winners announced during the Sherrod Studio Grand Opening on Wednesday.

That's it for me this morning. Hi Ho, Hi Ho! It's off to work I go ... Have a wonderful day, friends! And thanks for stopping by!

Just a Little Something ...

Wow! It's Sunday night already. Where did this weekend go? Sigh ...

I saw this tutorial for a corner bookmark a few days ago on the Stamping Moments blog and thought it was cool - a great idea, too, to incorporate it into a card design. It was a fun little project that I managed between loads of laundry and games of Cootie, Memory, and a new one, Go Fish, today.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Bamboo, and Cocoa cardstock; Cocoa and Olive ink pads; Papertrey Ink Out on a Limb and Inkadinkado Delicate Branches stamp sets; Stampin' Up Old Olive grosgrain ribbon; Sponge dauber.

It was a fun afternoon with Cameron and the boys. The new Go Fish game involves matching upper and lower case letters, which was a good indicator of what they know and what needs to be worked on. I tell ya though, if I were as unlucky at life as I am when it comes to playing games with those boys, I probably wouldn't bother getting out of bed in the morning. LOL.

That's about it for me today. All tuckered out, I'm going to turn in early tonight. We have Friday off for the Independence Day holiday, so the workweek will be short. Hooray!! Do you have plans for the weekend? With all of the young ones leaving town and going to various destinations, I anticipate that our 4th of July holiday will be quiet. Right now, that sounds OK to me. I hope your week is a good one! Later ...

One Thing Leads to Another ...

I was flipping through my stamps yesterday, taking stock of what I have and looking to see if anything jumped out at me in the way of sparking a little creativity. "Be True" was the set that caught my eye, and this top card is what I initially came up with for "Simple Saturday" ... er, Sunday!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Cranberry, and Black cardstock; Cranberry and Black ink pads; Be True stamp set; Ribbon from Reasonableribbon.com; Sparkles; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

In love with the red, white, and black and that round floral stamp and with thoughts that it might make for a nice monogram card, I came up with this little gift set.

I random stamped the floral stamp on an 8-1/2 by 11-inch sheet of white cardstock, which provided me with enough pieces to make six cards and trim the box. I kept the rest of the card simple (like I really know how to do anything else -LOL), using embossed cardstock for the top piece. The monogram is attached to the card with foam mounting tape. A little ribbon tab serves as the sole embellishment.

I have good news, too! The template for the box has been reposted on the {Stampin' Gal Val} blog. You can find it here. Like last time, I used black textured cardstock to make my box. Once the box was complete, I stamped the envelope flaps to match, tied a piece of ribbon around the box and was done. I hope my sister likes them.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Cranberry, and Black cardstock; Black Textured cardstock (for box); White envelopes; Cranberry and Black ink pads; Be True stamp set; JustRite From the Desk/Kitchen/Library of ... and Trompe Script Font stamps; Ribbon from reasonableribbon.com and Wal-Mart; Cuttlebug w/Swiss Dots embossing folder and Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

How's your weekend going? I was lazy as all getout yesterday, falling back asleep after my morning blog post and sleeping until almost noon. I don't remember the last time I did that.

Before I forget, I finished a good book on Friday, The Wednesday Letters. Have any of you read it? While a light read, I didn't want to put it down, which is why I read it in a couple of days. If you're interested, you can read the reviews here.

Today, Cameron and the boys are coming over. I've got some laundry to do, too. It's supposed to be sunny outside but cool (low 70s) and windy. We'll see what the day brings! I hope your day is a good one, and in case I don't make it back here, I'll remind you now to stop back tomorrow for another Sneak Peek at one of the new stamp sets from the brand new Sherrod Studio. If you missed my first Sneak Peek, scroll down and take a look. Later ...

Introducing ...

... Sherrod Studio opening July 1!

And, here's a little sneak peek at what we have to look forward to! Isn't this the sweetest little pair? Growing up on a farm, I didn't spend much time on the beach as a kid, but I did spend a lot of time a huge sandbox playing with my sisters. This set brings back memories of those carefree summer days.

In addition to this great focal point image, the set I'm featuring includes a shell border, sand pail, sand castle, and assortment of sentiments and more - lots of stamps to pique your creativity!

Over the course of the next few days, look for more sneak peeks on my blog as well as those of Sparkle, Mary, Kim, and the Sherrod Studio blog. Leave comments, too, as there are stamp sets being given away! The winners will be announced on July 1.

About my card, I colored my image with Prismacolor colored pencils and Gamsol odorless mineral spirits. If you love coloring like I do, you are going to love these stamps.

Enjoy the weekend, friends! Those clouds I mentioned yesterday brought the rain I was kind of dreading ... lots of it ... over five inches. It looks like it will be a good weekend to stamp! Later...

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ...

When I saw this week's Stamp Simply challenge on the No Time to Stamp? blog, I hopped right on it. It's a twofold challenge that entails using my favorite color green and blue combination and a technique - paper piercing.

It was a perfect opportunity to use a stamp set I've been thinking about all week, Penny Black's "Toadily" set. I also love this word set from Impression Obsession. It's so versatile, made even more so by the
Sentiments I Add-ons set. I colored my image with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits, and the card came together with some favorite papers and ribbon. A fun card, although I may be cursing myself by the end of the evening for having used the name of a song for my title. It seems to be stuck in my head. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Basic Grey Urban Prairie 6x6-inch paper pad; Black ink pad; Penny Black Toadily and Impression Obsession Sentiments I stamp sets; Black gingham ribbon; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Piercing tool; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

Happy Friday, friends! How was your day? I finished a couple of projects and tied up some loose ends at work before coming home at 4. The weather beautiful all week, the temperature has dropped significantly, and it's clouding up for what may be a cool, rainy couple of days. That's a bummer, as I was hoping for some outdoor fun with the little boys this weekend. I guess I'll have to come up with an indoor plan that Bjorn finds more interesting than Grandma's computer. That will be a challenge. LOL.

Tonight, I'm off to work on my surprise post. It'll be up first thing tomorrow morning. And no, Jeanne, as much as I wish it were true, I haven't re-learned how to crochet just yet. One of these days ... Enjoy the evening, and as always, thanks for stopping by! Later...

A Card from Erin

Today, Erin posted the sixth and final set of cards from her awesome "Scrap My Scraps" challenge on her Inky Smiles blog. What fun it was, and how grateful I am that she asked me to participate. It was very interesting to see how three people turned the same scraps into cards. Alisha and Jeanne's cards were wonderful! And it was great to see Erin's originals, too. The card I'm showing you tonight is one Erin sent when she sent my scrap packet. Isn't it beautiful? Thanks, Erin - for the card and the privilege of participating in your challenge. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

My stamp club met tonight. We colored with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol odorless mineral spirits. Not only was it fun to show them how to do something they hadn't done before but great fun to see them all so successful at it.

Today was another sad day for our sweet Miranda. Last Saturday night, a day after burying her husband, Miranda's grandma suffered a severe stroke. She died last night. Her funeral is Saturday. While passing within a few days of each other is a fitting end to her grandparents' 61-year love story, I feel so sorry for their family. The children and grandchildren. They are all physically and emotionally exhausted. Sad.

Back to happier thoughts, it's Friday tomorrow, and come Saturday, I've got something really fun to show you - a surprise! Just one little hint ... It's something you've never seen before ... Curious? With that, I'll sign off until tomorrow. Enjoy Friday!!

A Sympathy Card

Happy Hump Day, friends! Three days down. Two to go until the weekend. I'm OK with that!

While my photo is a bit unconventional tonight, it is the one that will best show you what this card really looks like. I was inspired by this post on the Jennifer McGuire Ink blog. The video demonstrating how to embossing using three different powders is located here in the Designer Bucket at Two Peas in a Bucket.

For my card, I used Olive Green and Silver embossing powders from Close To My Heart and some copper powder that is in an unmarked container. While I rarely use anything metallic on sympathy cards, this one isn't shiny per se, and the overall look is quite peaceful. My order of embossing powders was green, copper, and silver. After embossing the leaves on Kraft cardstock, I used a round sponge and Bamboo ink to highlight the images and distress the edges. Stamping additional leaves with Bamboo ink was an afterthought, which, I think, added dimension and softened the overall look a bit more. The embossed "stripe" down the side of the sentiment was created using a metal ruler and embossing pen. The matte silver cardstock from my stash that I used to mat the card front and sentiment tied all of the colors together. While I considered adding some ribbon or brads as an embellishment, I deemed the card really didn't need anything more and left it as is.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, matte silver, and Stampin' Up Kraft cardstock; VersaMark and Bamboo ink pads; Close To My Heart Promise of Spring (retired) and Wordsworth Comforting Thoughts stamp sets; Olive green, silver, and copper embossing powders; Embossing pen; Metal ruler; Round sponge, Sponge dauber; Embossing heat tool.

I hope your day was a good one. Mine was fine albeit I stayed up a little too late last night and was a bit tired. Tonight, I need to go get supplies ready for my stamp club, which meets tomorrow evening. I'm giving a little "lesson" on how to color with Prismacolor colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits, and thus, I'd best locate a tutorial or something just to make certain I'm doing it right myself!

Thanks for all your sweet comments about Mathias's latest stamping adventure. I think he's going to be the artsy one of the pair, and he sure loves my "Cranker Thing" aka Cuttlebug. And now that he's graduated from embossing folders to Nestabilities, he really thinks he's hot stuff. LOL. No, I'm just jabbering, which, with stuff to do, probably isn't such a great idea. Enjoy what is left of the evening, and have a great Thursday. I'll "see" you again then!

Look What Mathias Found...

While rummaging through my stuff last night (he likes to do that, and I let him), Mathias came across one of the first (if not the first) booking sets from Close To My Heart. He was quite taken with the frog stamp, so I had him stamp the frog and dragonfly, and I filled in the grass. Tonight, when I saw our handiwork laying on my desk, I decided to surprise him with a finished card. Either he'll love it, or he'll be put out that I didn't wait for him to finish the job. If there's one thing to be said about four-year-olds, it's the fact that they are not predictable. That's part of what makes him so much fun ... most of the time. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Indian Corn Blue, Topiary, and Sweet Leaf cardstock; Sweet Leaf, Indian Corn Blue, and Topiary ink pads; Explore Booking Set (retired) and Happy Birthday stamp set; Gold mini brads; Black My Legacy Writer.

How was your day? Mine was busy and productive - good. Due to the possibility of inclement weather, the cookout that was supposed to take place tonight was postponed until July 7. I did get my hair cut and am thrilled to be a short-haired Granny again. Maybe now that I no longer look like a wild woman, I can replace the photo that was taken standing in front of a snowdrift!

Tonight, I'm off to hit some balls on the driving range with my husband. I used to golf a lot but gave it up when I reentered the workforce. I predict that I'm stiff tomorrow. Being he's waiting for me, I'm off ... Thanks so much for stopping by! You've got to know how much I appreciate it! Enjoy your evening! Later ...

A Slice of Summer

Howdy! I feel a little better today. Didn't have a choice. Gotta work. LOL.

Anyway, I had enough gumption to make a card, too! I chose Close To My Heart's Summer Sweetness stamp set to commemorate the official start of summer. I stamped the polka dots with Papertrey Ink's Polka Dot Basics set. I love that set. The watermelon is attached to the card with foam tape.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Cranberry cardstock; Summer Carnival B&T paper (retired); Black, Cranberry, Topiary, and Sweet Leaf ink pads; CTMH Summer Sweetness and Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics and Mixed Messages stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Martha Stewart Embossed Zigzag Edger punch; McGill Multi-Tags punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

The little boys have been here since 7 a.m. this morning and are spending the night. Mathias has caught my cold and, like me, sounds like a seal when he coughs. I was busy at work today, writing numerous press releases about subject matter I know nothing about. It's a good thing I can find good information and then fake it. LOL. After work tomorrow night, my group is getting together for a potluck cookout. I'm also getting a much-needed haircut tomorrow afternoon - a short haircut. Granny is officially not growing her hair out for the wedding having determined that dark hair that is half white should not be long. I will me most happy to get rid of the unruly mop.

That's it for me today. I'm glad so many of you enjoyed Jack's video. He's a great guy. Genuine is the best word I can think of to describe him. Now, I'm off to play some games and read a few stories before bedtime. After that, I hope to do a little stamping. Thanks for stopping by! Later...

No Card Today

Hi Friends! How is your day going? While I'm relatively certain I don't have any men who read my blog (on a regular basis anyway), I hope your husbands and fathers are having a good day.


As for me, this cold or whatever it is has sucked all of the energy out of me. I've been laying around all day with the exception of an hour or so when Dustin and Miranda came to visit. Thus, no card.

Instead, I'll treat you to a video of a friend of ours. Jack sent the link to the song on Friday, and I waited until today to show it to Marv. Jack, by the way, is the clean-shaven one. He played in a band with Marv in the 60s and now makes his living as a singer/songwriter in Nashville. I love the song.

Simple Saturday

Hi! How's your day going? Mine has been up and down.

I got a few cards made, the first one pictured to the left. I was in the mood for something bright and think I accomplished my goal. The photo doesn't show the embossing along the bottom of the black piece very well or the fact the flower on the left was attached with foam mounting tape. Otherwise, what you see is what you get!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Magic Moments paper packet; Sunflower, Olive, and Black ink pads; Verve Stamps Petals & Stems and Thoughtful Florals stamp sets; Black Bitty Brads; Stampin' Up Word Window punch; Cuttlebug w/Just My Type border folder; 3M foam mounting tape.



This next card was made with an image I colored the other night. I really love this paper from My Mind's Eye. It's cardstock weight and textured. Cute.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Baby Pink cardstock; My Mind's Eye Penny Lane Tiny Dancer "Jazz" Moving Dots patterned paper; Black ink pad; Whipper Snapper Designs Megan stamp and Papertrey Ink Birthday Basics stamp set; Hero Arts paper flowers; White Bigger Brads; Yellow mini brads; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Black My Legacy Writer; Corner rounder.


My last card was made using yet another colored image.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Chocolate cardstock; Dream Street Designs Near and Dear patterned papers: Black and Chocolate ink pads; Whipper Snapper Designs Eli & Frogger stamp and Close To My Heart Happy Birthday stamp set; Pewter Picture Hanger and Brad; Cocoa Designer Ribbon Rounds (retired); Black My Legacy Writer; 3M foam mounting tape.

Bjorn and Mathias were with us until shortly after noon today. Mathias woke me up shortly after 7 with his usual, "Grandma, the sun is up! It's morning!" After breakfast, Mathias and I played our usual Cootie and Memory games. He won. Both of the boys had a little computer time, too, before we went outside to play and take advantage of a beautiful day. I was having as much fun as they were until I took a tumble while playing soccer. I hope Spray 'n Wash works as well on the grass stains on my pants as it works on their clothes. LOL.

This afternoon, Marv went to the golf course, and I took a nap. Still battling a dumb cold and cough, I'm not as perky as I wish I was. Tonight, I'm going to find something funny to watch on television. Watching news 24/7 is kind of depressing. It's seldom they tell a happy story. What are you up to today? Whatever it is, I hope it is something fun. As always, thanks for stopping by! It gives me a reason to keep coming back!! Later ...

Here's my take on Weekly Sketch Challenge#85, hosted this week by Sharon Harnist on her PaperFections blog.

My card is 5-1/2 inches square. It's pretty self-explanatory. I ran the doily through my Xyron, which worked great. The sparkles are from those bags of acrylic gems from Wal-Mart I showed you a while back.

Materials & Tools: White and Vineyard Berry cardstock; Basic Grey Bittersweet 6x6-inch paper pad; Paper doily from my stash; Vineyard Berry ink pad; Close To My Heart Gracious Greetings stamp set; Acrylic Gems from Wal-Mart; Kaiser Kraft pearl accents; Cuttlebug w/Butterfly combo.

Happy Friday! I'm so glad to be home for a couple of days. There are lots of things to do here, too, but with no one breathing down my neck. People tend to forget there is only one of me sometimes, and thus, my job is kind of like being a mom! LOL.

Speaking of being a mom, does the worry ever stop? Our oldest son is a groomsman in a wedding in the Twin Cities this weekend. He reached his destination with a pilot friend and another buddy this morning via small aircraft. While my rational mind told me that statistically the airplane is as safe or safer than a car, I worried until Cam called after they landed nonetheless. I suppose I'll go through the same thing Sunday until I hear that they've returned safe and sound. Sigh ... Dustin and Miranda stayed behind this weekend because of the family in town for her grandfather's funeral. Miranda's dad is one of 13 children, and there are lots and lots of cousins. Dustin has decided my family of six siblings is small in comparison. I think he's a bit overwhelmed. LOL.

The little boys are staying with us tonight and are currently with Grandpa at the golf course looking for Grandpa's glasses which he appears to have lost while playing in a golf tournament today. I hope they find them. Handsome as he is in his prescription sunglasses, I don't think he wants to have to wear them around the clock.

Enough jabber! What are you doing this weekend? Anything fun? I hope so. I'm hoping to get some stuff done around the house, do a little stamping, and work on a couple of special projects. With a little luck, I'll have a few things to show you over the course of the next couple of days. Between now and then, take care and enjoy whatever it is you are doing. Later ...

Swirly Bird

Just a card tonight, friends! No wild stories. Couldn't tell it if I had one. I'm too darned tired and so glad tomorrow is Friday.

The other night I colored a bunch of images for no reason other than I felt like coloring. I put this card together with one of those images and stuff that was cluttering my desk. Not much to say about the card, but I do have a couple of tips. While both have been offered before, someone might have missed one or both and find them useful. Although I love Close To My Heart's white-core cardstock, I don't necessarily always want the white core to show when its Cuttlebug embossed. To keep the cardstock from cracking I sandwich it between two 4-1/4 by 5-1/2 inch pieces of text-weight (copy) paper. Depending on the embossing folder, it works most of the time. In the event that the paper cracks anyway, I either sand it or add some same-color ink with a round sponge.

About the little heart, it's what I call "faux" chipboard, five punched hearts that when glued together are the same thickness as chipboard. I find this last tip particularly useful when I want a chipboard circle in a particular size. Oh, and if you're wondering about the placement of that heart, it was strategically placed there to cover up a little boo boo. Freehand paper-piercing was not a good idea this evening. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Indian Corn Blue, Tulip, and Chocolate cardstock; Black and Chocolate ink pads; Whipper Snapper Designs Pete stamp and Papertrey Ink Birthday Basics stamp set; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Autumn Soft Chalks; EK Success heart punch; Cuttlebug w/D'Vine Swirl embossing folder; Corner rounder; Sanding block.

It's been a long week with some rather grueling deadlines. On a different note, I might just have talked myself into a different job this week. I made a suggestion to someone in upper management, who evidently sees the same need as I do (or did when I brought it to his attention). We'll see. It involves the creation of a new position, something upper-upper management might not want to do - at least not right now. My interest in the job is dependent on several factors. Stress is one. Another is opportunity. There are others, and I reiterate, we'll see. In the meanwhile, I have more than enough work to do.

For tonight, I'm off to take a peek at a few more blogs before heading to bed. Have a good Friday! I know I will - simply because it is Friday! Until then, take care!

I Shouldn't Even Show You ...

... and wouldn't have had it not been for that little teaser last night. Now before you say, "What the heck is that?," I've got to tell you that up close and personal, it's a darned cute card. It simply will NOT photograph well, and it's not for lack of trying. Thirty-eight photos have been taken, using a variety of backgrounds and lighting conditions. I have given up.

Getting to the "story," my card was inspired by this cute card on the Lucy's Cards blog. Instead of using a ladybug stamp, I thought of some cute buttons I'd purchased at Wal-Mart a while back before they so rudely closed their fabric department.

This is where the interesting tools come into play. I attempted to cut off the shanks using the blue-handled tool thing show below. It snapped them right off, only not flush with the back of the button. They need to be flat. I grabbed a sanding block first. No go. A metal file was my next tool of choice. However, it was slow going, filing those little hard plastic ends. Then came the light bulb moment. Plastic melts! That's when I grabbed the "torch" (aka the Scripto lighter I use to light candles). Yup, plastic melts. It also gets very HOT, or so the thumb and pointer finger on my left hand found out when I attempted to hold the first one while torching it. The other two buttons were placed on the stone coaster, which handled the firing much better than my fingers.

Of course, I made a little noise over the burned flesh, which warranted the usual exchange: "What are you doing?" asked the man in the other room. "Never mind!" "Do you need help?" "NO!!" With my left hand in a bag of ice, I used my right hand to stamp the ladybug's antennae and the sentiment and then glued my now flat-backed ladybugs to my card with Liquid Glass. Crazy, huh?

Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up Kraft cardstock; CTMH Summer Carnival B&T paper (retired); Black stamp pad; Papertrey Ink Ladybug Luck and Hero Arts Trees, Birds, and Sentiments stamp sets; 1-1/4-inch circle punch; Liquid Glass.

How was your day? Mine was ... crazy busy. My head is still spinning. We had dinner with Dustin and Miranda right after work. It was fun. With a lot of stuff going on right now, I'm glad we made the time. Still wound up from my workday, I'm going to go relax in the bathtub for a while before attempting to get some much needed sleep. Oh, and this is it for the wild card-making stories this week. LOL. I hope yours was a great day. Thanks for taking the time to visit me! Later ...

Scrappin' My Own Scraps

Have you had a chance take a peek at the Scrap My Scraps Challenge on Erin's Inky Smiles blog? It was so much fun albeit a little intimidating once I saw who the other participants were. I also messed things up right from the start. When I received my packet from Erin, I pulled the contents from the envelope only to have the pieces for all six cards fall into one big pile. You would have thought I was a man, because had I read the directions first, I would have learned that the pieces for each card were in an organized stack that should have been removed from their packaging more carefully. Embarrassed, I emailed Erin and told her of my plight, and a day or so later I received photographs from Jeanne showing what pieces went with what cards. Thank you, Jeanne! Once I commenced to making the cards, there was only bunch of card components that really threw me, and those were the pieces used to create the card #2 that Erin posted last night.

The card I'm showing you tonight is my take on Jeanette Lynton's Color Me Monday "Hollyhock in Bloom!" color combination. It's also a another rendition of one of the cards (posted Sunday evening), I made for Erin's challenge.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Blush, Hollyhock, and Juniper cardstock; Blush, Hollyhock, Juniper, Creme Brulee, and White Pigment ink pads; Hollyhock marker; Spot-on Backgrounds and Say it in Style stamp sets; Fancy Cuts Botanicals; Spring Blossoms Mini Medley Accents Collection; Hollyhock mini brads; Sponge dauber.

This next photo is a picture of some of my new stamping tools and a little teaser for the card I'll be posting tomorrow. I'd post it tonight, but after the debacle I described in last night's post, I didn't think you needed to hear about a "card with a story" two nights in a row. Tomorrow's story isn't quite as long, although I'm still licking the wounds incurred while making another not-so-simple simple card. It's a tough job, but somebody has got to do it. LOL.

How was your day? Mine was a good one as in productive and hassle-free. With all that is going on I managed to make some plans, and we're having dinner with Dustin and Miranda tomorrow evening.

Thinking about Dustin's birthday, I can't help but remember what I was doing 29 years ago. My pregnancy with him was not fun. I believe I started vomiting the morning after conception and kept puking right up until the day he was born. Nevertheless, I managed to gain 85 pounds. I owned maternity pants in five sizes, starting with a six and working my way up to a 14. This photo was taken at a golf course event a couple of days before he was born. I look like a beached whale, and a skinny friend is shown holding Cameron, most likely because I wasn't able to do so. Anyway, the day before he was born, I did the "nesting" thing, doing all the laundry and cleaning everything in sight. Sure enough, I woke up the next morning in labor and as miserable as the pregnancy had been, labor and delivery were relatively easy. He was a sweet little boy who has grown up to be a wonderful man, worth every white hair he caused getting him to where he is today.

I didn't intend for this to be such a long post and will cut it off now before I bore you to tears. I hope yours was a great day and tomorrow is, too! Catch ya later ...

Another One of "Those" Cards ...

With a vision of what I wanted to do, I sat down last night to make a simple (or what should have been simple/easy) card.

It's my take on this week's Stamp Simply Challenge on the No Time to Stamp? blog. The theme is "Half Circles." I've had a bug to make a card using paper doilies since seeing this awesome card on Sarah's Sarah's Paper Tray blog. Isn't hers a sweet card? I've been happy to see cards made with doilies on Sarah's and other blogs since I still have a stash from the last time they were in vogue.

About my not-so-simple simple card, I cut my doily in half and determined that the best way to adhere it to the patterned paper would be with a glue stick. Wrong. The patterned paper buckled. Of course, I didn't notice until the card was almost done, and while I tried, there was no fixing it. Instead, I made an attempt to rescue my butterfly. Wrong. It tore, and the whole thing went into the trash. Card #2 was perfect until I deemed that some Liquid Pearls would look nice on the butterfly's body and wings. Wrong. It looked like hell-o. Luckily, butterfly #2 was not quite as stuck to the paper as #1. Only a smidgen of paper came off with him, leaving a white patch that I was able to cover up with butterfly #3.

Were I so persistent in other areas of my life, I'd be rich and famous. LOL. That was quite an adventure for an OK card. Oh, and doily #2 was glued to the patterned paper with Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive carefully applied with a toothpick. Butterflies #1, 2, and 3 were stamped with VersaMark and chalked with Sorbet and Tulip.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Sorbet cardstock; Perfect Day paper packet; White doily from my stash; Sorbet and VersaMark ink pads; Basic Grey Ambrosia Bitsy Bohemia and Close To My Heart Say it in Style stamp sets; Kaiser Kraft pearl accents; Spring Soft Chalks.

While less frustrating than last night's card-making endeavors, it was a busy Monday. It was a sad day, too. Miranda's paternal grandfather died early this morning after having suffered a stroke last Wednesday. His funeral is Friday. With Dustin and Miranda's birthdays to celebrate this week, I was waiting to hear about the arrangements before attempting to make any kind of plans. There's no waiting until the weekend either, because Dustin, Miranda, and Cameron (a groomsman) are going to the Twin Cities for a friend's wedding on Saturday. Thinking about "available" time, our little celebration might just end up having to wait until next week or maybe Sunday evening when they get back from the wedding. At 29 and 27, I have a feeling my "baby" and his fiancée don't care as much as their mother does. LOL.

The only other news I have is that I have managed to catch yet another cold, which, so far, is manageable during the day and miserable at night. Enough about me. How was your day? I hope it was a good one and your week got off to a great start.

One last thing tonight, take a look at the Scrap My Scraps challenge on Erin's Inky Smiles blog. Participating was great fun. I'll let Erin tell the story ...

A Project

You've seen this card before. The initials were different. These are the initials of my soon-to-be daughter-in-law Miranda, and I didn't make one card but six with matching envelopes and a cute little desktop box in which to store them.

I was all ready to link you up to the template for the box only to find the post it on which it appeared has disappeared. My thoughts are the ownership of the template is in dispute. As of me, I'm innocent in that I have no idea of the template is "hot" or not. In the case that it is, I'll be more than happy to pay for it. I respect copyrights although I tend to think the template thing is a bit subjective. As with cards, I don't know that I've ever seen a box that no one has ever made before. Boxes such as this one have existed in the retail world for eons.

Back to my card, as this is a repeat, I'll link you to the Materials & Tools list.

I used textured Black cardstock to make the box and decorated it with a scrap of patterned paper and paper flower. In areas where the white core showed, I carefully went over the edges with my black marker. As I was making six cards, I kept telling myself that I should be making a set of eight. I'm glad I made six though, as eight embellished cards with envelopes would not have fit in the box. I pulled a couple of the cards out for the photograph.

So, that is my project for today. I've done a few other projects, too, in the way of laundry and some domestic chores - the not-so-fun stuff that's gotta be done. The boys and Cameron were here for most of the day, too. That was fun.

This evening, I need to get my clothes ready for work this week and get some stuff ready to put in the mail. Was your weekend a good one? I hope so. As always, thank you for stopping by. Your kind words are always appreciated. Take care.

One Petal at a Time

This card is my take on this week's Sketch for You to Try on Jen Del Muro's i{heart}2stamp blog. I colored the flowers and leaves with markers and the bucket with Prismacolor colored pencils. Three tiny self-stick pearls accent the flowers. The rest explains itself, and it goes without saying I love these colors!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Juniper, Black, and Tulip cardstock; Basic Grey Urban Prairie 6x6-inch paper pad; Black ink pad; Tulip and Garden Green markers; Whipper Snapper Designs Posies for You and Blooming Expressions stamp sets; Kaiser Kraft pearl accents; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Black My Legacy Writer.

According to the calendar, it's almost the middle of June already. Yikes! Speaking of time, I need to get off the computer and go do what I didn't do yesterday. I hope your day is a good one. Thanks for stopping by! Later...

Simple Saturday Times Two!

A one layer card. I don't make very many of these anymore. Isn't this the sweetest little bunch of flowers? They remind me of a child's drawing. Bjorn draws the cutest flowers. When I showed him how, the first words out of his mouth were, "I can't do it, Grandma." "Yes, you can," I told him. Step-by-step, we drew that first flower together, and he's been drawing them all on his own ever since. "Yes, you can" are important words for children. If they hear them often enough, they start saying them to themselves and believing in themselves.

About my card, I colored the images with markers. At most, it was a 10-minute card.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy cardstock; Black ink pad; Clover Meadow, Sunflower, Brown Bag, Hydrangea, Lilac Mist, Dutch Blue, and Holiday Red markers; Stampendous Field of Blooms stamp and Say it in Style stamp set; Cranberry gingham ribbon.

My second card was a 10-minute job, too. It was inspired by this card on Maria's Scraps by M blog.

Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up Kraft cardstock; CTMH Silhouette paper packet; Black ink pad; Stampendous Field of Blooms stamp and CTMH Say it in Style stamp set; Cranberry grosgrain ribbon.

I'm having a great day. How about you? After posting this morning, I finished up some challenge cards, which will be appearing next week on Erin's Inky Smiles blog. Creating them was quite an adventure. Fun. Definitely a challenge. You'll see why when the time comes.

I don't know if you've noticed or not, but I haven't complained about the weather for a few days. That's because I don't have anything to complain about! We've had at least three consecutive nice days with decent weather forecast for the coming week. Temperatures are in the 70s - perfect in my book.

With that, I think I'll catch a little nap before Marv gets home from the golf course. I hope your weekend is progressing wonderfully. Enjoy! Later ...

Wobot

If I told you how long it took me to make this card last night, you'd laugh out loud. I had "no mojo." None. Nada. I didn't have any energy either, and thus, no post yesterday. I was asleep for the night shortly after 9 p.m.

About my "no mojo" card, the stamps are cute, and regardless of the less than great card design, the four-year-old "wobot" lover who receives it will think it is very cool, particularly if it arrives in the "real" mail.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Star Spangled Blue, and Clover Meadow cardstock; Black and Clover Meadow ink pads; White Daisy Pigment ink pad; Stampendous Love Robotz and Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics stamp sets; Silver mini brads; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; EK Success Dotted Wave Edger punch; Black My Legacy Writer; Cuttlebug w/Spots and Dots embossing folder; 3M foam mounting tape.

When I posted Thursday, I was off to have an afternoon adventure with the little guys. The local library kicked off its summer program for children that day with Zoo Man at one of the parks. The boys loved the program and were thrilled by the opportunity to "pet" a 23-foot Burmese python. Grandma passed. From there, we went to have their photographs taken by a traveling photographer who had set up shop at a local drug store. Although they were in silly moods and not all that cooperative, I think the photos will turn out OK. Then, it was off to another park to play before eating supper at the Dairy Queen. There was a puppet show at the library that evening, too, but we were all too tired by then and happy just to hang out at home. Yesterday, I went to work very early, came home early, and as I stated previously, went to bed early. I have lots of stuff to do today and best get to it. I'll be back later with a Simple Saturday post. Between now and then, I hope your day is a good one! Later ...

A Masculine Card

Good afternoon! Guess who's playing hooky? Not really. I took vacation time for some afternoon activities with my grandsons.

Here's a card I made the other evening based on the June 6 Time to Create Sketch on Lauren's My Time. My Creations. My Stampendence. blog. It's made with paper I love - Close To My Hearts Naturals cardstock and the Rustic Trails paper packet. Both are retired. As for the Naturals cardstock, my stash is nearly depleted, which means I'll be looking for a comparable replacement.

Materials & Tools: CTMH Naturals (retired) and Autumn Terracotta cardstock; Rustic Trails paper packet (retired); Olive ink pad; Chocolate and Olive markers; Verve Stamps Abundance and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp sets; Chocolate Bigger Brads; Cocoa Designer Ribbon Rounds (retired); Jute; Sanding block; 3M foam mounting tape.

For now, I'm off to get the boys dressed for our afternoon adventure. Most likely, I'll be back later to tell you about it. I might even have a photo or two. Enjoy your afternoon! Later ...

Another Oops! That Turned Out OK ...

This card was inspired by one in the June issue of Cards magazine. With several elements (actually, all of them) I love, I'm pretty happy with the results even though there was a major oops! that occurred during its construction.

The paper is another pattern from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird collection, and the chipboard bird from Maya Road's Birds of a Feather set. I traced the bird and wing on Juniper cardstock, cut them out, glued the cardstock to the chipboard pieces, and then went around the edges with a sanding block. After preparing my patterned paper with a Sunflower punched border and Holiday Red "piping," I adhered it to the Kraft card base, added the ribbon, and attached the bird with Liquid Glass for a strong hold.

The final step was to stamp my sentiment on the bottom of the card. I found the stamp I wanted to use, grabbed my Holiday Red ink pad and proceeded to stamp one very crooked Hello in the bottom left corner. If I didn't say "Crap" or some such word out loud, you can be sure I said it to myself. I also asked myself how, with clear stamps, on an acrylic block can I make such a mess of a perfectly fine, almost-finished card. Big sigh... And time for a little cosmetic surgery, which entailed covering up the Kraft cardstock on the bottom with a piece of sanded Juniper paper to match the bird. Luckily, I was able to slide it under the punched border. The second time around I managed to stamp my sentiment successfully. As it turned out, I liked the card with the Juniper bottom even more than I would have liked it had I got it right the first time.

Materials & Tools: CTMH Holiday Red, Sunflower, and Juniper cardstock; Stampin' Up Kraft cardstock; Cosmo Cricket Early Bird patterned paper; Juniper ink pad; Hero Arts Bird, Tree & Messages stamp set; Maya Road Birds of a Feather chipboard set; Stampin' Up Old Olive ribbon; EK Success Dotted Wave Edger punch; Liquid Glass; Sanding block; Black My Legacy Writer.

Marv and I had a nice dinner last night. Tonight, he's on the golf course. He usually shows up at home around 7:30 after they've finished golfing and his buddies head for the bar. After three extremely busy days at work, I am exhausted this evening with plans to go to bed very early. First, however, I have a little picking up to do. One would think I was a teenager for the way I've strewn my clothes around for the past couple of days. No, not quite. My stuff is draped over the arms of chairs and hanging on door knobs. Teenagers, as I remember, wear clothes for 10 minutes and then leave them on the floor. LOL.

How was your day? A good one, I hope. Thanks for all your sweet comments on recent posts. They're a real "pick-me-up!" Your visits mean a lot, and that includes those of you who are too shy or too busy to comment. Take care, friends! I'll catch you again tomorrow.

Simple Elegance

Here is a simple wedding card that was inspired by this card on the Cards Blog (as in Cards magazine). I used White Daisy textured cardstock for the base. As for the pink, my decision to use it was based on the ribbon I had on hand. Papertrey Ink's Sweet Blush ribbon and Close To My Heart's Blush cardstock were the closest I could come to a match. You get the idea. It's a pretty card for a 10-minute effort.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Blush cardstock; White Daisy textured cardstock; Blush ink pad; Impression Obsession Sentiments I stamp set; Papertrey Ink Sweet Blush ribbon; Kaiser Krafts pearl accents; Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edger punch; Cuttlebug w/Textile Texture embossing folder.

Today was another busy day at work, and right, Marv is rushing me out the door to go have dinner. Who can argue with a handsome man who wants to buy her dinner? With that, I'll cut it short. Hope your day was a good one! Later ...

Happy Camper Revisited

Like I said, I made several cards yesterday before I got caught up in making the birdhouse. Thank you for the nice comments. It's fun to get out of the card zone once in a while and do something different.

The card that I'm posting tonight was made with the Happy Camper set. Cute owl, huh? As for the card sketch, what was in my head when I started was quite different from what you see. Nevertheless, it turned out OK. Lucky for you, too, I don't think it requires much explaining. The little circle elements in the top corners were an afterthought, the result of a 1/2-inch circle punch and scrap of patterned paper laying within inches of one another on my desktop. Oh, and most likely too pale to see in the photo, I sponged a little Heavenly Blue ink around my stamped image.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Indian Corn Blue, Cocoa, and Sunflower cardstock; Magic Moments paper packet; Black, Cocoa, Olive, and Heavenly Blue ink pads; The Cat's Pajamas Happy Camper and Impression Obsession Sentiments II stamp sets; Hollyhock and Chocolate mini brads; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Ovals set; Stampin' Up Word Window punch; Piercing tool; 1/2-inch circle punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

How was your day? Mine was great with the exception of an out-of-the-blue panic attack that lasted for about two hours. Such a nuisance... and always a little scary even though I knew exactly what was going on. Despite that rude interruption, my day was very productive, and everyone I dealt with was agreeable, which was appreciated.

Bjorn and Mathias are staying with us tonight and are currently playing George of the Jungle on Wii with Grandpa. It's also Miranda's birthday today. Dustin took her to Grand Forks for supper tonight, and because she's going on a horseback-riding trip to western North Dakota in a couple of days, we're going to have a family celebration early next week - a dual celebration, as Dusty's birthday is on the 17th.

Now, I'm going to go check on the boys and see if I can interest one or both in a few books before they have to go to bed. Tired, I'm not going to be too far behind them tonight. I hope your week got off to a great start. I'll catch you again tomorrow night. Until then, take care!

Jeanne Made Me Do It ...

There's one more thing my/our friend Jeanne does that I didn't mention in my post below. She frequently comes up with the cutest projects made with templates. And, she did it again today! Take a look at her cupcake box. Isn't that the cutest darned thing? I told her that I love the fact that she's so adventurous with her projects albeit the fact she makes me feel so ordinary. LOL.

Anyway, seeing her fun project reminded me of a cute template I'd saved a while back, and with the urge to keep up with the Joneses... er Tomshacks ... I pulled it up and printed it off on white cardstock. And here's my almost finished birdhouse. The template is by Nicole Heady of Papertrey Ink and is a free download you can find here.

Still holding out on the Scor-Pal, I have to do things the old-fashioned way as in after I cut it out, I scored it on the designated lines with a medium embossing tool and metal-edged ruler. Then, I used my Empressor tool and mat to score the sides of the house and roof to resemble siding and shingles. I used Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle dies to cut the hole and trim. My roof a little limp from the scoring and sanding, I decided to fortify it with a same-size piece of cardstock. I added some flowers and leaves and declared it done ... almost. Actually, the roof isn't attached, because I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it just yet. It was fun, and I'm grateful to Jeanne for inspiring me to do something different.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Holiday Red, and Indian Corn Blue cardstock; Close To My Heart Just Blooms and Hero Arts paper flowers; Holiday Red Bigger Brads; Crystal Blue mini brads; White Bitty Brads; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Embossing tool; Metal-edged ruler; Empressor tool and mat; Terrifically Tacky Tape; Sanding block.

Between chores, I managed to make a few cards today, too. I'll show them to you over the course of the next couple of days. For now, I'm going to go straighten up my corner and then go through my brief bag to figure out what the workweek has in store for me. I know I have a big week ahead of me and that's without whatever gets dropped on my desk that needs to be yesterday... I'm just hoping I don't end up unable to sleep in anticipation of it all. A warm bath with some lavender bath salts followed by a cup of Sleepytime tea should help. I'll probably pass out. That said, I'll close with a wish that your week is wonderful! Later...

Skunked ...

You know how I mentioned the other evening how with the Happy Camper set I'd acquired my first skunk stamp? Well, I no more than finished my post when Marv asked, "What's that smell?" Sure enough. The odor wafting in the breeze through our open windows was the smell of skunk! Cute as the stamp is, the smell of a real skunk is most unpleasant, and thus, we quickly closed the windows and suffered in stuffiness for a couple of hours until the odor dissipated. What a coincidence!

Now, about my card, to get the skunk to sit on the log, I had to mask him, and in the process, discovered a new masking material. While reaching for the Post-It note that I usually use for masking, a package of Avery 4x3-inch removable labels fell off the shelf. Having purchased them in error (I needed permanent labels), they'd been sitting on the shelf for a long time. As I reached to put them back, it dawned on me that they might work for masking, too. I stamped my image, cut it out and found that not only did my new mask work well, it is one that can be used again. When I was done, I just stuck it to the back of the stamp set's carrier sheet where it will stay stuck until the next time I need it. Cool!

I colored my image with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. If you're thinking that cutting around the skunk's tail was clever, I have to tell you doing so was the result of a happy accident. When I went to mat my stamped image, I found the image was too wide to look good on my card base. Thus, I used my paper trimmer to carefully cut down to the top of the tail and up to its bottom and then trimmed around the part of the tail that would extend off the side with my scissors. Make sense? Embellishments include a little paper flower held in place by a white Bitty Brad and a punched button that I sewed to the card with crochet cotton.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Indian Corn Blue, Sunflower, and Sweet Leaf cardstock; Magic Moments paper packet; Black ink pad; The Cat's Pajamas Happy Camper stamp set; Just Blooms Summer Posies Collection; White Bitty Brad; Martha Stewart Embossed Button punch; White crochet cotton; Needle; Black My Legacy Writer.

I have more energy today, although yes, Jeanne, I think you might be right about our crazy weather affecting the way I feel ... both physically and mentally. Overcast skies day after day are a real downer, and it's cool and damp, which seems to bring on a variety of aches and pains. Regardless of the weather, Marv went to the golf course, and so, for now, I've got the house to myself ... meaning I should get busy! Cleaning is so much easier and much less annoying when he's not here. Dusting around the big lout stretched out in his recliner and having to duck as not to get in the way of the television screen bugs the heck out of me. Ah, marital bliss. LOL. Ya know I love 'im anyway! I'll have at least one more card to show you later, so if you're in the neighborhood, stop back. In the interim, take care and enjoy the day!

Simple Saturday and More ...

First, my Simple Saturday card is a combination of pretty papers, a sentiment stamp, and the sweetest of embellishments.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa, and Garden Green cardstock; Basic Grey Porcelain 6x6-inch paper pad; Cocoa and Bamboo ink pads; Impression Obsession A Friend Is... rubber stamp; Crocheted flower from Jeanne; Basic Grey Porcelain brad; Martha Stewart Five-Leaf Branch punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Ovals set; Sponge dauber.

After arriving home from work one day last week, Marv handed me a box that the mail carrier had delivered earlier. Inside was this card and a bag of beautiful crocheted flowers made by my friend Jeanne.

Additionally, the box held something she'd sent for Bjorn and Mathias. As I removed a cute crocheted robot, alien, rocket, and spaceship from the box, Marv's comment was, "I don't think she meant to make you cry." No, she most certainly didn't. I was just that touched.

As for the boys, they were really tickled and have played and played with these fun toys, which really spark their imaginations. Additionally, as I suspected might become the case, they are also now among the big armload of soft things Mathias takes to bed with him at night. As you can see in the photo below, he also holds them while sitting on Grandma's bed watching the latest episode of Sponge Bob.

As for my little crocheted flowers, I know Jeanne intended them as card embellishments, but what I really want to do is hoard 'em. LOL. I would also love to teach myself to crochet again. The craft has made quite a resurgence, and there are some really cool patterns available. Between her crocheting, quilling, digi scrapbooking, and all of the fun techniques she uses in her cardmaking, Jeanne inspires me to want to try a lot of things. As one who is incredibly kind and "just plain good," she also inspires me to try to be a better person. Thank you, Jeanne!

It's been a weird day. After I posted this morning, I ate a sandwich and laid down only to sleep until after 4 o'clock. I don't feel bad ... just not particularly good and very fatigued. I'm also a little bummed that I accomplished absolutely nothing today. I'm hoping for a surge of energy tomorrow. For now, I'm going to wander back to my corner and see what happens. I'll catch you again tomorrow. In the meanwhile, take care and thanks for stopping by!

Challenged

OK. My card looks better in person. Really, it does. I don't think my camera likes it though and had a tough time pulling all that pattern into focus regardless of what settings I used.

This card is my take on two challenges. The sketch is Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #71. Additionally, the theme for this week's Stamp Simply Challenge on the No Time to Stamp? blog is "Gone to Pot." The card is pretty straightforward. Up close and personal, the twill ribbon stands out more than it does in the photo. The image was adhered to the card with foam mounting tape, too. Now that I've cut into all (or most) of my new Cosmo Cricket paper, perhaps I will be able to move on to something else.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Ponderosa Pine cardstock; Cosmo Cricket Early Bird patterned paper; Black and Cranberry ink pads; Whipper Snapper Designs Friendship Blooms stamp set; Natural twill ribbon; Sunflower mini brad; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; 3M foam mounting tape.

I'm not moving very fast yet today but seriously need to get motivated to do something. It's not like there aren't plenty of projects on my list from which to choose. That said, I'm going to go take a shower, grab something to eat, and then pick a project to tackle first. Enjoy your day! If I can get the mojo going, I'll be back later with a Simple Saturday card. Later ....

P.S. I've done my share of whining about the weather in recent posts, and yes, it was 30 degrees here this morning. It could be worse, however. Take a look at this post on the Willow & Paisley blog. Seriously, I would cry ...

Da Bear ... Again!

Good evening, and Happy Friday! Even though, as Mathias would say, "It's not my favorite," I'm going to show you this card anyway in the event I don't get anything else stamped tonight. This is the bear again from the Happy Camper set.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Sunflower, and Ponderosa Pine cardstock; Cosmo Cricket Early Bird patterned paper; Black ink pad; Holiday Red and Garden Green markers; The Cat's Pajamas Happy Camper and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp sets; Natural twill ribbon; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

Yes, I'm happy again today. Work was fine. I caught up on a bunch of stuff and avoided anyone I thought might be unpleasant. I also had my time for the week in before 3, so I was out of there pronto, so Miranda and I could go check out the wedding reception facility and go to the flower shop. As soon as I got home I was on the Internet checking out places that rent chair covers and table linens. I also spotted some lighted glass blocks in the flower shop that I thought would make beautiful table decorations. Miranda loved them, so I did a little hunting around for supplies to make them, too. Ribbon for pew bows and fabric for chair sashes, too. We discussed invitations, gift registry, setting up a wedding website, engagement photos, etc., etc., as well. And thus, by the time I got home my little brain was/is on overload. It's time to make a list!

I can make my list this weekend, cuz heaven knows I won't be hankering to go outside. It's currently 48 degrees. Tonight it is supposed to get down to 36. The thermometer isn't supposed to hit 70 again before next Friday. This is unbelievable, and so help me if I see a snowflake in June, I'm going to pack up and move. Not that I'm complaining or anything. LOL.

Right now, I think I'm going to go put my feet up, rest, and see if I can get my head to stop spinning. If you read all this garble, thanks for hearing me out. I hope your weekend is wonderful. If you're in a warm place, enjoy! If you're in a cold place like me, put a sweatshirt on. Thanks for stopping by, and I'll talk to you again on Simple Saturday!

Stamp Stalker ...

It's not often I buy a set of stamps the day they are released. Usually, I think about it, and a lot of times I think myself right out of whatever it is that caught my eye. That was not the case, however, with the Happy Camper set by The Cat's Pajamas. A few sneak peeks, and I was "sold" on this set before its release date. Is this not one of the cutest bears you've ever seen? The other animals in the set are equally as cute, and with this set, I own my very first skunk stamp. With regard to my impulse purchase, I don't think I'll be sorry about this one.

This first card was a quick one. I used Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits to color the bear and the fire. You can't see the Liquid Applique on the marshmallow. It's pretty cute if I say so myself. The patterned paper is from Cosmo Cricket's new Early Bird collection.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Ponderosa Pine cardstock; Cosmo Cricket Early Bird patterned paper; Black, Ponderosa Pine, and Olive ink pads; The Cat's Pajamas Happy Camper stamp set; Natural twill ribbon; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; White Liquid Applique.

Bjorn and Mathias are staying with us tonight - the very best part of an otherwise not-so-great day. While I'm thinking tonight a four-day workweek this week would have been great for my mental health, I'm also thinking that a good night's sleep will fortify me for one more day. Why people have to be so difficult I will never understand. Perhaps, I could write a book about my lousy corporate experience. I'll aptly title it Fish Out of Water. To sell it, though, I'll have to fictionalize it with a few scandalous romances and some intrigue. At least I can still crack a joke. I hate to think of how crazy I'd be if I didn't have a sense of humor.

How was your day? I hope it was good. Any interesting weekend plans? Before I close, I have to take the time to thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. Your comments are very sweet and encouraging. I understand the time it takes and truly appreciate it. That said, I'm off to bed. Until tomorrow, take care!