Treasures

Here are a couple of handmade cards/treasures I received for my birthday, which was last week. There are more, but they're from local friends. Dare I not exploit my local friends who are close enough to strangle me should they not desire to have their beautiful handiwork shared on the Internet. LOL.

This top card just arrived today. It's from Erin of Inky Smiles fame. Take a look at the very cool photo backdrop she made recently. It beats my Square Perfect Photo Tent all to heck. Erin's creation is much less limiting that my little 12-inch cube, which isn't good for anything much bigger than a 4-1/4 by 5-1/2 inch card.

Back to Erin, I first came to "know" her when we were fellow CTMH consultants and have gotten to know her better in the blogosphere. She's the one who roped me into her Scrap My Scraps challenge back last spring. Man, how I stressed over that challenge, waiting 'til the last minute to do my cards. As it turned out, however, it was one of the highlights of the year. It was so much fun to see what three different people did with the same scraps. Fun is a good word to describe Erin, her personality as bright and sparkly as the card that brightened my day. Thank you, Erin!

This next gorgeous card is from Jeanne of Creative Bliss renown. Her card arrived well in advance of my birthday (or so said my husband who wouldn't let me open it until "the day") along with this. Her photo does not do her masterpiece justice and neither would mine were I attempt to photograph it. Thinking about the time that she put into this gift has reduced me to tears more than once. And it's almost as beautiful as the heart of this wonderful friend - my first cyber buddy who found me, cheered me on and is most likely the biggest reason why I'm still blogging.

While she's much younger, we have a lot in common. If you read her "Cross Stitched Butterflies" post, she reveals her first memory of me, which for me is a tad embarrassing. You see, when I'm passionate about some things, I can come across as a little bitchy, particularly in writing. Marv calls it my "Poison Pen." The fact that Jeanne, while feeling as if she'd be put in her place, appreciated my passion is testament to the wonderful person she is. I don't think there is anything I would be afraid to tell her. Anyway, while I didn't remember the copyright discussion (which I may well have been wrong about), I remember her encouraging words on the CTMH Artwork board when she, too, was a consultant.

My second memory of Jeanne (and the moment a friendship started to take root) was a very supportive, out-of-the blue email message I received after she discovered my blog not too long after I started it two years ago. I told Jeanne the other day that while my Bucket List isn't very long, one of the items on my list is to meet her. Yup, when life settles down, I'm going to hop on a plane from Fargo to Denver and spend a couple of days with Jeanne. I haven't seen a mountain but from the air since I was 12 years old, so I figure if I'm in Colorado, I'll be able to check one more item off my short list.

Like I said, Jeanne and I have much in common, including our astrological signs. We're both Virgos, and Jeanne's birthday is today! As there is no post on her blog and I haven't seen a sign of her in the blogosphere today, I can only hope she's doing something fun and is having the best of days. Happy Birthday, Jeanne! You bring sunshine to not only mine but the lives of so many. Thank you for being my friend.

Speaking of friends, this crazy blog has brought so many people into my world - good people whose cyber friendships I treasure. I have to laugh, too, at how leery I was at first. While I loved them, comments on Kathi's Corner were, in the beginning, like having strangers in my living room. Then, watching my stats, I realized how many were looking and not commenting. That, at first, felt like there were Peeping Toms outside my living room window. Yes, I know. I was weird. I got over it. LOL. Anyway, what I discovered was our common bond - papercrafting that's as unique as each of us is and appreciated. It's all about the sharing - our art and snippets of our lives. A good thing.

And about my day: It was more than a typical Monday. Crazy. Busy. Behind from having missed Friday. If it were possible, I'd put a cover on my cubicle tomorrow to ward off all the little stuff, because I have a couple of BIG projects with looming deadlines that are going to take up all of my time for the next couple of days. My wild day was made OK by coming home to a couple of little boys who were here today and tonight and are spending tomorrow with Grandpa while their daycare is closed. I won at Cootie and lost at Memory, which means I have more luck than skill. I also lost at Go Fish, which is half luck and half skill. Mathias and I went through the alphabet flash cards, too, and he got all but four of them. Not bad for a four-year-old. Bjorn, who has little interest in letters but loves numbers, brought me the calculator and punched in random numbers and identified them - numbers like 763 - numbers I sure as heck didn't know prior to Kindergarten or most likely fourth grade. LOL. Man, they're fun. While I didn't know it at the time, I think I had kids so I could be a grandma.

Nope. Enough of my rambling. I hope your Monday was the start of what will be a wonderful week. Take care, friends. If I can clear the clutter, I'll make my way to my corner and show up here tomorrow night with a card or somethin'. Later...

A Couple of Sketch Challenges

I spent way more time dinging around making these cards than I should have today. I'm gonna pay, I'm sure, making the old adage, "If you want to play, you gotta pay," true. Darn. Why are weekends only two days, and why, oh why, does the clock move twice as fast on the weekends as it does during the week?

And now, about my cards. This first one is my take on Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #85. The paper, again, is from Studio 45 with the exception of the Autumn Terracotta piece, which is just cardstock with same-color ink smooshed on it directly from the stamp pad. Prettier than plain ol' cardstock I think. As for other details, the butterfly was stamped, colored with markers and cut out. I wish Colonial White didn't look so white when photograph, and I wish you could see that the butterfly is dimensional, it's body attached to the circle with Liquid Glass and its wings bent forward. Up close and personal, it looks like its about to fly off the card.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Autumn Terracotta, and Black cardstock; Studio 45 Botanicals Collection Ode to a Butterfly paper; Black ink pad; Sunflower, Autumn Terracotta, and Goldrush markers; Butterfly Kiss and Happy Birthday stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Black mini brad; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Piercing tool; Martha Stewart Embossed Zigzag Edger punch; Liquid Glass; 3M foam mounting tape.

This second card took me out of the box a bit. I think I've said before that while I love the patterned paper I used for this one, it's a reach for me with regard to figuring out what to do with it. While my original intention was to stamp a flower using the Angel Whispers set I used for the stem, leaves, and sentiment, I got the idea to use a flower from the coordinating patterned paper. After cutting out the flower with a Nestabilities die, I mounted it on a same-size piece of chipboard. I also detailed (not so evenly I might add) around the edges of the petals with a Juniper marker and stamped the dotted circle in the center (or close) using a stamp from my Solo E set. The corner element under the flower was added after the card was "done," and I noticed it appeared something was "missing." Oh, and by the way, the sketch is this weeks A Sketch for You to Try on the i{heart}2stamp blog.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Olive cardstock; Cosmo Cricket Early Bird Collection; Chipboard; Olive, Garden Green, Cocoa, and Juniper stamp pads; Juniper marker; Angel Whispers stamp set; Stampin' Up Old Olive grosgrain ribbon; Yellow brad; Corner rounder; Stampin' Up Photo Corner punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

There are a hundred or so other sketches I'd love to do, but instead, I'd best get with the program and get some chores done.

The wedding reception last night was interesting. Because the bride is a daycare provider, a good number of the guests were little people - all buddies. It was pretty wild. Mathias, I learned, loves to dance. Following his lead, however, is difficult (an understatement). Bjorn danced, too, but not with Grandma. Instead, he found a little girl he didn't know and asked her to dance. Turns out, however, that the little couple's parents attended prenatal/birth classes together. Interesting.

Did I say I had work to do? It's time to get busy. I hope your weekend was great. I'm feeling fine again and am ready to go back to work tomorrow. I'm looking forward to making it a good week. Hope you are, too. Thanks for stopping by! Later...

Second Post ... Don't Faint or Anything

I'll have to say Sharon on the No Time to Stamp? blog did a little more than inspire my card. She provided a step-by-step pictorial! A good thing, too. Now, if only I'd had some of that pretty black silk ribbon and bow-maker thing, my card might be as pretty as hers.

As it was I had to make a dash to Wal-Mart to find some ribbon that "might" do. I bought a couple of different ribbons, including this wired ribbon, which was relatively easy to work with and worked out OK. The card is for the couple whose wedding reception we are attending this evening. The only thought about the personalization is that I'm only assuming she is taking his last name. One never knows these days. I asked Miranda a few weeks ago, and she is - not that the switch from Nelson to Carlson is a biggie. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Black ink pad; JustRite Damask Borders and Trompe Script Font stamps; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Kaiser Kraft pearl accents; Cuttlebug w/Textile 2A embossing folder; 3M foam mounting tape.

I suppose I'd better go get ready for tonight's festivities. Bjorn and Mathias' daycare provider was married earlier today in a private ceremony with the reception this evening. She's a nice gal who married a nice guy. She truly loves the little boys, too, which means a lot to their parents and Grandpa and me. As I'm still feeling a little punk, it's going to be a short evening for us. Granny needs her rest. With that, enjoy the evening! I'll catch you again tomorrow...

Simple Saturday

Oh, boy! I've been a lousy blogger this week ... not to say I don't have an excuse or two. The extreme fatigue I was experiencing (tiredness I was blaming on having so much on my mind) earlier in the week was most likely leading up to yesterday, which I spent flat on my back in bed. With a headache that measured a solid 8.5 on a scale of 1 to 10, body aches that extended to every hair on my head, and a fever, I figured I had full-blown influenza. But, after sleeping all day, I woke up around dinnertime feeling better. Today, I'm at around 80 percent. Whatever it was appears to be of short duration, which is good because I have things to do and places to go.

My Simple Saturday offering was created with a sweet little stamp that landed in an online shopping card a while back that I hadn't gotten around to using until now. The image was colored with markers with the exception of the background which was filled in with a watercolor brush and Petal ink. The image was stamped on Colonial White, backed with Olive cardstock, and mounted to the card with foam tape. The rest of the paper is from DCWV's Latte Matstack. I used a Gelly Roll Clear Sparkle pen to add a bit of glimmer to the bee's wings.

Material & Tools: Colonial White and Olive cardstock; DCWV Latte Matstack; Black and Petal ink pads; Petal, Chocolate, Garden Green, and Sunflower markers; Stampendous Happy Word cling stamp; Garden Green mini brads; Watercolor brush; Stampin' Up Ticket punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

Thank you for all of your kind birthday wishes. It was a good day. Today, I'm going to do as much as I feel up to doing. Tonight, we have a wedding reception to attend. I hope your day and weekend are wonderful. Later...

Make a Wish

So, where have I been? Well, last night I fell asleep on the sofa while watching TV like old people do. And tonight, it was all about the candles. Lots of candles. Yes, today is my birthday. I am 56 years old. Because I have guests here, I'm going to keep this short.

It's been a great day. My co-workers took me out to lunch, and Marv made dinner tonight. We had ice cream cake, which impressed the little boys much more than Grandpa's spaghetti did. Are you surprised? My introverted oldest son brought me flowers, and my extroverted youngest son brought me a scratch-off lottery ticket and a bottle of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum. All I can think when I look at/listen to that pair is that if I had just had one more kid, I might have had a normal one. LOL. Seriously, they're the best, and I'm so proud of both of them. The mail carrier was extremely kind to me today, too. Cards that made me laugh, smile, and a couple that made me cry. Some works of art. All from the heart. I am so blessed.

And with that, I'll sign off and get back to my company... More tomorrow night. A card, too!!

Lazy, etc.

My mind is busy. My body is lazy as all get out tonight. It's tired, too, which is due, I think, to brain overload. Have I said yet I'll be glad when the wedding is over? Between the big event and other "stuff" cluttering up my little head, I'm all tuckered out and wishing we came equipped with on and off switches. LOL.

While definitely different, my card was inspired by this card on the Laurel's Place blog. Her use of Desert Sand inspired me to use my favorite Kraft cardstock, and I loved her scoring down the side, which, on my card serves as a "channel" for my ribbon. As for the rest of my design, I used circle punches, patterned papers, and stamps from the Angel Whispers set, which just happened to still be out on my desk. I really wanted to get through one post without using the "S" word, but I gotta say it: It's another simple card.

Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up Kraft and CTMH Chocolate cardstock; Cosmo Cricket Early Bird Collection patterned paper; Chocolate, Olive, and Desert Sand ink pads; CTMH Angel Whispers and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp sets; Red mini brad; Stampin' Up Old Olive grosgrain ribbon; Various circle punches; McGill Multi-tag punch; Scor-Pal; Sponge dauber.

It was another busy day. I've got a couple of big projects going on at work with lots of little spur-of-the-moment, do-it-now-type stuff landing on my desk on a regular basis. On the home scene, things are quiet tonight - just the way I like it. With that, I'm off to clean up my corner and then find some paperwork to prove to my health insurance company that my husband of nearly 32 years is indeed my husband. It seems like a silly thing to have to do ... I hope your Tuesday was terrific and Wednesday is wonderful. Catch you again then!

A Touch of the Orient

I'm not sure what I think of the red background or, for that matter, my card. It is a result of a piecemeal affair that began with me fooling around with the Dots & Flowers background stamp... again. The metallic gold dots are acrylic paint applied with a stylus, only because I don't have a gold paint marker ... or one that I could find anyway. The sentiment, which you can barely see in the photograph, was embossed with gold detail powder. The stamp set is Inkadinkado's "Asian Life," an impulse purchase (oops!) that I've had for a while. It has some fun "inchie" images like my Butterflies & Birds set, only with an Asian theme.

Materials & Tools: Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Black, and Cranberry cardstock; Retired CTMH metallic cardstock; Black and VersaMark ink pads; Inkadinkado Asian Life and CTMH Say it in Style stamp sets; Gold mini brads; Gold metallic acrylic paint; Stylus tool; Gold detail embossing powder; Embossing heat tool; 3M foam mounting tape.

How was your day? Mine was OK ... for a Monday. It promises to be a busy week. While I'm tired and could go to bed right now, I need to order some supplies for a couple of those wedding projects I talked about last week. My plan is to spend the long Labor Day weekend getting everything done so that all there is to do the last couple of weeks is wait ... and take care of anything that was overlooked. With that, I'll bid you good night. Hope your Tuesday is a good one. Later...

Friendly Advice

I was going to title this post "Simple Sunday, Too" but then realized that "simple" would be appropriate for all of my posts - regardless of the day of the week. LOL. There was no stamping after bedtime last night, but rather ,I made these cards in the midst of bedtime battle. And, I was chewed out by one little boy who showed up by my side when he should have been sleeping because I'd used the "cranker thing" (AKA Cuttlebug) without him. What nerve! Actually, there was no battle at bedtime - just a permissive grandma who told them they could "camp out" in the living room and watch TV until they fell asleep. At 11, however, I had to turn off the television. Mathias fell promptly asleep, and a few minutes later, Bjorn, who is long accustomed to falling asleep in grandpa's arms, fell asleep in mine. Grandpa arrived home a few minutes later to relocate Bjorn to the bed and, after hearing about our bedtime adventure, tell me I'm a "pushover." Imagine!

OK. About my cards. I've had Inkadinkado's "Friendly Advice" set for quite some time and have used a couple of the stamps previously. As for the rainbow sentiment, I've had my eye out for a rainbow stamp to go with it. I've never found one I like, however, which led me to finally make a card without one. For this one, I taped five 1 by 3-3/4 inch strips of cardstock to a 5 by 3-3/4 inch piece of cardstock and ran it through the Cuttlebug as one unit. The sentiment was attached with foam mounting tape.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, Amethyst, Heavenly Blue, Key Lime, Baby Pink, and Sunkiss Yellow cardstock; White Daisy Textured cardstock; Black ink pad; Inkadinkado Friendly Advice stamp set; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Cuttlebug w/D'Vine Swirls embossing folder; 3M foam mounting tape.

My second card evolved after flipping through my embossing folders and realizing how little I use my "word" folders. In other words, it was inspired by guilt. LOL. Truly nothing to say about this one other than the fact that my "candle" was created with a stamp from "It's Your Day," the August SOTM, and the flame (inked with Sunny Yellow and then Orange) was made with a leaf from the "Angel Whispers" set. Very simple. Kinda cute.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Holiday Red, and Star Spangled Blue cardstock; Holiday Red, Clover Meadow, Sunny Yellow, and Orange stamp pads; Inkadinkado Friendly Advice, CTMH It's Your Day, and Angel Whispers stamp sets; Red mini brads; Stampin' Up Ticket punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

As I was long on the front end of this post, I'll keep it short on the end. Mathias is patiently (kind of) waiting to play a game of "Go Fish." It's all luck. I'll lose anyway. LOL.

I hope your day is wonderful. Thanks for all your sweet comments. While I'm pretty much a self-healing old broad, it's always nice to have a little understanding. Take care, friends! Later...

Personal Pep Talk

I pretty much made this card for me, which is good, because I'm not certain I'm lovin' the way it turned out. I believe I took something that was looking a bit masculine and tried unsuccessfully to make it more feminine. No matter, the card is OK, and it's the message that counts - one I needed to remind myself of.

The sketch is a fun one - this week's A Sketch for You to Try on the i{heart}2stamp blog. There isn't too much to say about my card that you can't see for yourself. I stamped the verse twice in Olive and Petal, cut out the "Give Thanks" and used foam mounting tape to attach it over its green counterpart. My bejeweled brads are homemade, and while I could have used self-stick Sparkles, I opted for a few of the little Acrylic Gems I talked about in this post and attached them with Liquid Glass.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Olive cardstock; DCWV Latte Matstack; Olive and Petal ink pads; Verve Stamps Plain Janes Pray... stamp; Acrylic Gems from Wal-Mart; Chocolate and White Bigger Brads; CTMH and Hero Arts paper flowers; Stampin' Up Word Window punch; Liquid Glass; 3M foam mounting tape.

I've accomplished quite a bit today, all while giving myself a little pep talk and calling on my faith to help clear some of the cobwebs in my head. Things happen for a reason, and I like to think they serve to make us better. And faith tells me what I cannot understand now will be made clear to me someday.

Enough heavy stuff. My two favorite little people will be here in about an hour. Our plan is to go to the Dairy Queen for supper (and ice cream!) and then hit the park for a little outdoor fun. Then, I think Grandpa is going to go to the birthday party, and I'm going to stay home with the kids. We talked it over. It's a 40-mile trek to the party. It doesn't start until 8. The gathering place is a bar/supper club. I can handle "bedtime battle" on my own, as Mathias is the only "warrior" when it comes to going to bed. His brother (once the ultimate bedtime warrior) now knows when he's tired and even asks to go to bed sometimes, which makes him smarter than his grandmother. LOL. And, when the little darlin's are asleep, I might just sneak back into my corner for a little more stamp therapy. I hope you are having a wonderful day, too. Later ...

Simple Saturday and a Challenge(s) Card

This top card is my Simple Saturday offering, inspired by this card on the Jennifer McGuire Ink blog. I used a white gel pen to make the dots on the background. I colored the frog with markers. I usually color these little Penny Black frogs with Prismacolor pencils but think the markers worked out OK on this one. I kinda like this card that would work for a guy, gal, or kid of any age.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Sweet Leaf, and Topiary cardstock; Topiary and Black ink pads; Citrus Leaf, Topiary, Desert Sand, Brown Bag, and Black markers; Hero Arts Dots & Flowers stamp; Penny Black Toadily and CTMH Happy Birthday stamp sets; White gel pen; Black My Legacy Writer; Liquid Glass.

"Let's Polka" is the theme for this week's Stamp Simply challenge on the No Time to Stamp? blog. The sketch is Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #79. The polka thing is polka dots - my favorite. I chose to use coordinating papers from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird collection. I love these papers but struggle with them a big, perhaps because they are so bold. That's something I need consider the next time I see something wonderful someone else has made and before I go flying off to some website to gather some up for myself. Back to my card: With all that color and pattern, I left my chicken white. I colored her with markers and used a blending pen with Juniper and Chocolate inks to shadow and ground the image. You'll note I'm using a black My Legacy Writer for outlining again, and the detail you probably can't see on either card is the Liquid Glass I used on the frog and chicken's eyes.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Ponderosa Pine, and Juniper cardstock; Cosmo Cricket Early Bird collection; Black, Ponderosa Pine, Juniper, and Chocolate ink pads; Honey, Holiday Red, and Gray Flannel markers; Whipper Snapper Designs Standing Chicken stamp and CTMH Happy Birthday stamp set; Stampin' Up Old Olive grosgrain ribbon; Juniper mini brads; Black My Legacy Writer; Liquid Glass; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Piercing tool; 3M foam mounting tape.

Although I could write a novelette about all that is on my mind, I'm going to opt to go make something happen instead. And believe me, I'm sparing you. There's a lot rolling around upstairs today, some of which is personal, troubling, and stuff/crap that would take an entire novel to explain, because it's taken an entire lifetime to transpire. Anyway, accomplishing something will make me feel better. I hope your day is a good one, and as always, thanks for stopping by. Your visits and kind words mean more than you know. Later...

Hoot! Hoot! It's Friday!

How's your day going? I can't complain. For one thing, it's Friday, and besides, what good would it do? LOL.

My card was a quickie that started with my desire to try out this new (to me) background stamp from Hero Arts. After seeing so much done with it on both the Hero Arts and Jennifer McGuire Ink blogs, I finally ordered it. My thoughts are that it will be one of those "classic" stamps that I'll have in my collection (and use) five years from now. As for the rest of the card, it was simply the matter of reaching for this silly-looking owl who makes me smile.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Chocolate and Bamboo cardstock; Retired CTMH Summer Carnival B&T paper; Desert Sand and Cocoa ink pads; Chocolate marker; Hero Arts Dots & Flowers stamp; Cornish Heritage Farms U R A Hoot and Impression Obsession Anytime Messages stamp sets; Twill ribbon; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; EK Success Caption punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

As for the question about my mojo meter, the needle goes up to 10. My mojo meter and energy level gauge seem to stay relatively even. Understandable, I suppose.

What are you doing this weekend? Anything fun? Exciting? I plan to clean my house, the biggest mess being in my corner; meet with the bride and groom to review the "lists;" spend as much time as possible with the little ones, with lots of outdoor time as the weather is supposed to be nice (for a change); attend a 60th birthday party for Marv's cousin's husband; and last, but not least, make a card or two.

Marv should be occupied all weekend, watching his new TV. No more than did we get home this afternoon than he turned on the living room television only to declare, "My TV just died." Sure enough. Sound, but no picture. So, off we went to buy a new one. It seems to me there used to be a little warning before televisions died. Oh, heck. I'm so old I remember when there was TV repairman who came to the house and put in a new picture tube. Now, stuff just quits, and we buy new stuff, while trying to figure out where to store the old stuff until we can dispose of it properly.

Enough jabber. I'm off to clean up my corner, which might just help raise the needle on the ol' mojo meter. Ya never know... Thanks for stopping by! Later...

The Needle on My Mojo Meter ...

... is hovering around three these days. It's like I park my butt in my corner, and I don't even know what to do.

We're making this card at stamp club tonight. While very simple, it has a couple of elements I like - the patterned paper base and texture created by the Cuttlebugged (new word) paper and cutout cake attached to the card with foam tape.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Tulip cardstock; Creative Basics Animal Cookies Collection; Dutch Blue, Tulip, Sunflower, and Clover Meadow ink pads; It's Your Day August Stamp of the Month stamp set; Cuttlebug w/Number Collage embossing folder; 3M foam mounting tape.

It's Friday already tomorrow. Another week has flown by. It's been an interesting one, too, with some extended family news that wasn't/isn't so great and some things happening on the work front that leave me contemplative as well. The best part of the week, by far, was spending time with the little ones last night. Such a pair they are. Mathias beat me handily at every game we played, and Bjorn and I argued about his wearing a suit to Uncle Dusty's wedding. While I don't think he even knows what a suit is, he claims he's not wearing one. We'll see. I think Grandma will win that debate.

With nothing more to say, I better get going here. I hope your week is going along splendidly. I'll catch you again tomorrow! Later ...

Scrapcrafting

Here's a quick card made with scraps that were laying on my desk. It was inspired by this card on the kwernerdesign blog. While I have to say I like Kristina's card better than mine, it was a good way to get rid of some scraps, is kinda cute, and, only after I photographed it did I realize I hadn't used a single stamp to make it. With no sentiment, either I'll add one to the inside or outside later, or I'll leave it and use it as a notecard.

Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up Kraft cardstock; CTMH Petal and Sweet Leaf cardstock; DCWV The Green Stack; Hero Arts and CTMH paper flowers; Hero Arts pearl accents; Sweet Leaf Designer Ribbon Rounds; Button from my stash; Purple embroidery floss.

I made this card and started this post last night. And then... I crashed. Tonight, Bjorn and Mathias are staying with us, so I'm off to play games and read books until bedtime. How's your week going? I hope all is well. As always, thanks for stopping by! I'll talk to you again soon.

Mission Accomplished ...

Yippee! As of about 20 minutes ago, those dreadful wedding invitations are out of my house.

And no, looking to your left, I did not change the design at the last minute. What you see is a reject, one of several design options I offered the bride and groom. Contemporary and a little bit funky, it was my personal favorite. It was the groom's favorite, too, and so, maybe we can use this design for invitations to the rehearsal dinner.

At this particular moment, however, I don't care. I just want to be left alone for a couple of days before putting together 24 pew markers that will look something like this (in different colors and with fall flowers), 400 or so napkin rings, favors, wedding programs, and who knows what else.

Oh, and if I win the lottery between now and September 19, I'll fly anyone who wants to come to TRF to help me. LOL. Seriously, I appreciate all the "I would if I could... " offers! With what the weather is doing up here, however, you wouldn't want to come. After four days of "real" summer last week, it's cold and rainy again.

Enough of my jabber. Had I been able to chase the young couple out of the house a little earlier, there would have been a card. As it was, the groom-to-be was in a silly, "entertaining" mood. I wish my mom and siblings had been here to see it. His sense of humor, silliness, expressions and even his gestures are so much like my dad's were that it's uncanny. And, because my dad has been gone since Dusty was 17, it's not imitation but rather obviously inherited traits. Also like my dad, he appears big and strong but has the softest of hearts. Like my mom, Miranda is going to have her hands full with her fun-loving, unpredictable mate. LOL.

I hope you had a great Monday. Stop back tomorrow night. I'll have a card and no commentary about the upcoming nuptials. Later...

P.S. I probably sounded a little snooty when talking about Miranda's ribbon-challenged friends. Well, we all have our difficulties. Me? I have yet to refill my ATG gun (and I've done it a lot of times) without having to watch the YouTube tutorial. While I don't know what it is about the process that isn't clicking upstairs, it's keeping me humble. LOL.

Time Out to Breathe

While I'm not certain if I have the time or simply took the time, I stole away to my corner for a few minutes. After all, all work and no play makes for a cantankerous mother of the groom. LOL.

About my card ... Although my mind is too cluttered for me to have any mojo of my own, I still have the ability to draw inspiration from others. My card was inspired by this card and this card on the No Time to Stamp? blog. Sharon's cards are beautiful, aren't they? As for explaining, I'm not sure there is much to say. I embossed the bottom background piece with my borrowed Scor-Pal and the smaller piece with a Cuttlebug folder. The sentiment is a JustRite stamp. I love those oval JustRite stamps but have yet to experience a weak moment and order 'em. I would do the LOL thing but am not certain my weak moments are all that funny. Know what I mean?

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Black ink pad; JustRite 10 Designer Borders & Centers set; Black organdy ribbon; Kaiser Kraft pearl accents; Scor-Pal; Cuttlebug w/Leafy Branch embossing folder and Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

To tell you a little about my week, the wedding invitation adventure has been just that. First, the next time I design invitations (if ever), I will make 10 of them instead of one. Then, I might have an idea of how labor intensive they are. Secondly, the next time I need help, I will recruit some of my crafty friends. Dealing with a half dozen women who had never tied a square knot (and still can't) was more unnerving than trying to cope with a room full of eight-year-old Cub Scouts.

Miranda's recruits, however, were pretty good at placing the stamps on the envelopes until, that is, we ran out of envelopes. The printer either lost or ruined 75 envelopes. I have no way of knowing, because they won't own up to it and pretty much told me, "Tough luck." Customer service is obviously not this business' forte, and it will be a cold day in hell-o before they do any printing for me again. Finding 75 5x7-inch ivory envelopes with flaps quickly was part of the reason we went to Grand Forks on Friday. The search was looking pretty futile until I insisted we backtrack to JoAnne's "just to make sure." There, on clearance no less, were two sets of 50 ivory 5x7-inch cards and perfect, flapped envelopes. Had it not been for that stroke of luck I would have ended up paying overnight shipping for $10 worth of envelopes.

We also ran out of ribbon. My fault. Dumb me had figured out that I needed five 25-yard rolls, which mathematically, was correct and just enough. Why, oh why, though, at $1.97 a roll would I have not ordered an extra just to make sure? I reiterate, dumb on my part. Michael's saved the day on this one with me gathering up enough ribbon to redo a few of the ones that don't measure up to my standards - my project for this afternoon after I'm done talking about it.

We're going to finish these things today/this evening - as soon as the groom gets here. That will be one monkey - the most stressful one, I hope - off my back. Crazy, isn't it? So much commotion over something that, in a very short amount of time, won't make a bit of difference.

With that, I better grab my ATG gun and get back at it. I hope you're having a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

My Heart is with You ...

Hello! Just a Simple Saturday card with a message that holds some significance. The sketch has become my signature "standby" design to be used: A) When I come across paper I deem pretty enough to stand alone. B) When I have no mojo. C) When I am bone tired. And/or D) All of the above. If you guessed D, you have me pegged.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Petal cardstock; DCWV Latte Matstack; Smokey Plum ink pad; Verve Stamps Heartfelt Phrases stamp set; Stampin' Up Whisper White taffeta ribbon; Kaiser Kraft pearl accents; EK Success corner rounder.

No whining from me tonight, because I have nothing to complain about. There are far too many good people dealing with real problems they don't deserve for me to say anything about a few trivial inconveniences. I hope you are enjoying the weekend. Today was a good day. The bridal shower was lots of fun. All tuckered out tonight, I'm going to head to bed. Catch ya tomorrow ...

I'll Be Back ...

And soon, I hope! Right now, we're on our way to Grand Forks to pick up some wedding supplies and buy a gift for Miranda's shower tomorrow. Just wanted you to know I'm OK, as I was a little out of sorts when I posted last. Sleep is a good thing and does wonders for the attitude! I've been a lousy blog buddy for the past few days, too - peeking at posts but without enough time to comment. After this weekend, things should calm down enough for me to reclaim a portion of my life. Yippee! In the meanwhile, I might be able to sneak in a Simple Saturday post. 'Til then, take care and enjoy the start of the weekend! Later...

Today is the Day!

It's Release Day at Sherrod Studio for three great new stamp sets - Friendship Blossoms, All Hallow's Eve, and Harvest Blessing!

I have a couple simple cards for you today. I love, love, love this spooky house image in the All Hallow's Eve set! Additionally, I adore the font Kim used for the sentiments in this set! Due to time constraints, I chose the easy route and stamped my image with black ink on orange cardstock. Did you see it colored on Kim's blog. If not, take a look at this! Isn't that just the coolest coloring job? Love it!

As for my second card, I'm not lovin' it nearly as much as I love the stamps I used to make it. The Friendship Blossoms set has SO many possibilities and will be one of the "staple" sets in my collection. With the mojo being sucked out of me preparing for a wedding, I haven't done these sets justice ... yet! But, my fellow design team members have done a great job this week! And so, go take a look at what they have to show you today: Mary V., Sparkle, Leah, Ceal, Joseline, Mary G., Dawn, Kelly, Kim, and Sherrod Studio. Additionally, be sure to leave a comment on the Sherrod Studio blog to be eligible to win the stamp set Kim is giving away! Woo hoo!

I'd comment about my day yesterday were it not for the fact that there are least a few of you who think I'm "nice." If I were to tell you what I'm thinkin' right now, you'd deem me a crotchety old biddy who isn't at all nice. Sleep. I need sleep. Thanks for hanging in there with me. Your visits, comments and kind words are so appreciated!! Take care.

Sherrod Studio Sneak Peak Day #3

Yesterday, I promised two cards. How about two tomorrow instead? With my paper cutter and glue gun in another room, finishing my second card last night would have meant taking a chance on waking Marv, which is the equivalent of messing around with a sleeping bear. I wasn't in the mood to be growled at and thought you'd understand.

Now, let's get down to business. This is another card created with stamps from the beautiful Friendship Blossoms set from Sherrod Studios. This set, along with "All Hallow's Eve" and "Harvest Blessing" will be available on Thursday. For my flowers, I stamped the lined image with Chocolate ink. Then, I took the corresponding solid stamp, inked it up with Sunflower and then rolled the edges in Autumn Terracotta. A quick and easy technique with great results. The flower centers and sentiment were stamped with Chocolate. To finish it off I used Autumn Terracotta ink to add some speckles. Very simple, but a fun card nonetheless.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Chocolate cardstock; Chocolate, Sunflower, and Autumn Terracotta ink pads; Sherrod Studio Friendship Blossoms stamp set; Ribbon from Wal-Mart.

Now that you've seen my card, go see what the other design team members have to show you today: Mary V., Sparkle, Leah, Ceal, Joseline, Mary G., Dawn, Kelly, Kim, and Sherrod Studio.

And now, it's off to bed, as the "last night" I referenced earlier is still tonight for me, and I'm exhausted. I didn't get quite as far with my invitation project tonight (or last night) as I had hoped. It's OK. Tomorrow/today is a new day. Speaking of ... Make it a good one!!! Later ...

One Down, 299 to Go ...

LOL. First, if you are here for the Sherrod Studio sneak peak, scroll down.

If you're wondering what else I'm up to these days, you are in the right place. Here is the wedding invitation ensemble - the invitation, envelope, reception, enclosure, and accommodation cards. You can click on the photo to see the detail. As for the background, it's a little sneak peak at part of my ensemble, which came today. The three-piece suit is exquisite, beautifully constructed, and fits like it was tailor made. I need to send it out to have it pressed, steamed, or whatever they do with stuff like this. All I need are shoes to match. The top, skirt, and jacket are all fully lined, which means I don't need any special undergarments (not even a padded bra). Hooray!

Now, back to my little invitation project. The layout and design is mine. The printing was done professionally. While I've done them for others on my ink jet, I have always been a little apprehensive about moisture, as in rain and snow. Thus, I cough up the cash for a printing press. The colors are Colonial White, Bamboo, and Stampin' Up's Bravo Burgundy. The 3/4-inch strip of Bamboo cardstock was embossed using the Cuttlebug and Textile embossing folder. I cut 60 4-3/4 by 3-3/4 inch pieces of Bamboo, ran them through the Cuttlebug, and then each piece into five 3/4 by 4-3/4 inch strips. The embossed strips lay between raised lines, embossed with a Scor-Pal. The ribbon, that is tied prior to adhering the invitation to the background piece, serves to hold the enclosure cards in place, so there isn't a bunch of loose stuff in the envelope.

As of this moment (I'm calling it a "break"), the Bamboo pieces are done, and the scoring is done on all but about 20 card, and Bamboo strips have been adhered to approximately 50 pieces. If I can complete this step before bed tonight, I'll be a happy camper. Tomorrow evening, Miranda is coming over with a few friends to tie ribbon, put stamps on the envelopes and reply cards, and hopefully, address the envelopes.

Oh, and I got the ribbon here. They carry a ton of colors; the ribbon is nice, and the price is right! I really like the 3/8-inch width and might just order some for card-making once I have time to think about it again ... No complaints. It's been a good day. The bride and groom-to-be are happy as clams. The mother-of-the-groom has something to wear to the wedding, and Marv is now a pro at embossing with the Scor-Pal. Actually, he only did about 30 of them before leaving his post to go outside and hit some golf balls. I guess he lacks endurance. LOL. Nope, my break is over. I hope your day has been wonderful, too! Catch ya tomorrow with another sneak peak of the new stamp sets from Sherrod Studio, which will be released on Thursday! Take care!!

A Good and Sparkly Witch - Sherrod Studio Sneak Peak #2

Believe it or not, I've searched Google with regard to photographing glitter. To know avail, however. And thus, you will have to take my word that my witch from Sherrod Studio's new "All Hallow's Eve" set is sparkly and about as cute and sweet as a witch can be.

What a treat it was to see how the design team members who previewed her yesterday colored this image. Surprising, too, was the fact that so many of us had the same general idea. Missing from my card is traditional Halloween orange unless, of course, you consider her red hair. I just wish I'd photographed my card when my coloring appeared all nice and even -before adding the Stickles (painted on with a small, flat brush) to her hat and dress. Sigh. I reiterate you will have to take my word for it.

No Copics for me (yet ...), I used water-base markers. I think everything else explains itself.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, Citrus Leaf, Hydrangea, and Breeze cardstock; Black and Juniper ink pads; Hydrangea, Citrus Leaf, Breeze, Autumn Terracotta, Baby Pink, Heavenly Blue, Brown Bag, Goldrush, and Tombow #580 Flesh markers; Sherrod Studio All Hallow's Eve stamp set; Ribbon from my stash; Dove blending pen; Diamond Stickles; #4 shader (flat paintbrush); Cuttlebug w/D'vine Swirl embossing folder and Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

Stop back tomorrow for a couple of cards - a fun floral card created with stamps from Friendship Blossoms and a quick Halloween card made with stamps from the All Hallow's Eve set.

In the interim, go check out what design team members Mary V., Sparkle, Leah, Ceal, Joseline, Mary G., Dawn, Kelly, Kim, and Sherrod Studio created today.

I survived Monday and am looking forward to a busy Tuesday. Summer has arrived in Minnesota with temperatures in the 80s and maybe even the 90s before the end of the week. With the air conditioning set on high, I'm still wearing a sweatshirt. LOL. Hope your week is off to a wonderful start. Thanks for stopping by!!

Introducing Friendship Blossoms ...

from Sherrod Studio! This stamp set features 17 images, including five sentiments about ... you guessed it ... friendship! Although my embossed sentiment is easy to read in person, it didn't photograph all that well and says, "To the soul there is hardly anything more healing than friendship." Thomas Moore said these wise words.

Now, more about my card. This set includes both lined and solid images, which affords one the option of using them either individually or as a two-step stamp like I did. To create my roses, I stamped the lined image with Hollyhock ink and used Baby Pink on the solid image. To give the rose petals more depth, I outlined them with a Baby Pink marker. I used Olive and Garden Green ink pads for my two-step leaves. The only other thing that isn't obvious is the fact that I used a stipple brush to pounce a bit of Baby Pink ink between the roses on the background piece. The vellum is attached to the background piece by the no-knot pink bow.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy cardstock; Hollyhock, Baby Pink, Olive, Garden Green, and VersaMark ink pads; Baby Pink and Olive markers; Sherrod Studio Friendship Blossoms stamp set; Pink grosgrain ribbon from my stash; White embossing powder; Embossing heat tool; Crop-o-dile (for punching holes).

Look for another card or two made with this beautiful set over the course of the next few days. In the meanwhile, go see what Mary V., Sparkle, Leah, Ceal, Joseline, Mary G., Dawn, Kelly, Kim, and Sherrod Studio have in store for you.

As my posts over the course of the next few days will be scheduled for the early AM, they probably won't include a lot of commentary. Just know that when I am not at work or making cards for this week's Sneak Peeks, I will have the pedal to the metal working on wedding stuff. I'll fill you in on my progress at the end of the week. In the interim, have a great week and know that I appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to visit me. Take care!

Simple Saturday... Sunday

I really shouldn't even be showing you this card. The image is a digi image ... a freebie ... and I don't know where I got it. How bad is that? I was blog hopping the other night and came across a new-to-me blog that offered this free image. I saved it to my desktop, and in the meanwhile, Firefox crashed. Oops! In the days that have ensued, I haven't had the time to embark on an Internet hunt, but when I do, I'll find it and give credit where credit is due.

About my card, I colored the image with markers and used my blending pen and Juniper ink to add the shading. Those leaves would have looked pretty in autumn colors had the person doing the coloring been a little more willing to accept the fact that fall really isn't all that far away. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Cranberry cardstock; Doodlebug Designs Black Eyelet patterned paper; Black and Juniper ink pads; Cranberry, Garden Green, Olive, Brown Bag, and Chocolate markers; Digital image of unknown origin; Impression Obsession Anytime Messages stamp set; Black mini brads; Dove blending pen; Stampin' Up Word Window punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Ovals set.

This has been the best weekend I've had in a long time. The boys and I didn't go out of town yesterday because of the questionable weather. Regardless, we had a wonderful day doing ordinary activities such as laundry, housework, and shopping. Now that the house is quiet again, I'm going to catch up on what's going on in the blogosphere and do some stamping. Stop back tomorrow through Wednesday to catch some sneak peeks at cards made with new sets from Sherrod Studio. Check out the previews here. Release day is Thursday, August 13th. Fun!

Some days are like that ...

This is a key (as in the car key) laying on the roof. We live on the third floor of a
large, 25-unit apartment building. In fact, we manage the place, having taken on the
job and moving here "temporarily" 11 years ago. Another story. Anyway, we quickly
learned that if you forget something when you leave, having to go back in for it is a
royal pain in the you-know-where. And, while there are not too many items I am willing
to hurl out the window, I deemed long ago tossing the car key into waiting hands below
to be acceptable. It's a simple matter of popping out the screen and using just the right amount of arm power to get the keys to their destination. Marv and I have it down to a science. Cameron, however, obviously needs some practice.

I so love the dumbfounded look on his face. In the meanwhile, his
oldest son was rolling on the living room floor, laughing his fool head off.

Once he regained his composure, Cameron promptly delivered
my broom to his dad, who quickly solved of the problem and told the kid,
"Next time, have your mother throw my keys." And, if you're thinking
we're kind of weird around here, you're right. We are. LOL. I'll be back
in a bit with my "Simple Saturday" offering.

Sweet Friend

"That's What Friends Are For" is the theme for Stamp Simply #99 on the No Time to Stamp? blog. The only requirement for this week's challenge is that the word "friend" appear somewhere on the card front. Not a problem!

Button cards abound these days, inspired, I believe, by the introduction of this cute stamp set from Papertrey Ink. My simple, fun-to-make rendition is just one more.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Black cardstock; Studio 45 Communique Collection Society Page patterned paper; Garden Green, Olive, Black, and Bamboo ink pads; Garden Green marker; Serendipity, Soul Mates, and Say it in Style stamp sets; Buttons from my stash; Dark red embroidery floss; Vineyard Berry grosgrain ribbon; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Ovals set; Sponge dauber; 3M foam mounting tape.

Happy Friday! How was your day? Mine was busy albeit a bit slow, waiting for the 5 o'clock hour to roll around. The earlier portion of the evening was spent playing with the boys. I'm not sure what we'll be doing tomorrow. While I'd really wanted to take them to the farm, I was also hoping for some decent weather, so they could spend some time outside. It rained today. We'll see what tomorrow looks like in the morning. Before we go anywhere, I have a pile of laundry and some housework to address. For tonight, I'm going to bed.

I hope your weekend is great. I also hope to make it back with something for Simple Saturday. If not, I'll catch you Sunday. Besides, it's been kinda "simple" around here all week ... LOL. Take care!!

I Think I Could Get Used to This ...

But before I tell you what it is, I need to tell you to skedaddle over to my friend Alanna's blog and congratulate her on her 300th post and nearly 15,000 hits. She's got a great giveaway going on and wonderful cards to inspire you to boot.

And now, about my card. Take a look at that floral motif in the corner. I didn't stamp it. Rather, it's part of the paper design, and what you can't see is that it's flocked. Not only does it look great, it feels fuzzy and wonderful. All I had to do was layer my papers, stamp my monogram, and embellish with a length of ribbon and a few adhesive-backed pearl accents. So pretty, and so quick and easy.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Black cardstock; DCWV La Creme Matstack; Black ink pad; JustRite Damask Borders and Trompe Script stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Kaiser Krafts pearl accents; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

It's Thursday again already. Friday tomorrow. Yea! The next few days are going to be busy. Bjorn and Mathias are staying with us until Sunday. For the third consecutive year, their daddy and Uncle Dusty are organizing our company's annual golf social. Thus, the boys stay with us while Cameron takes care of all the last minute preparations. On Saturday, Marv is going to play with them, and so, it will be just me and the boys. If all works out, I'm hoping to take them down to see my mom. A day at the farm would be good for them ... and me. I love to see them running around the same yard their great-grandfather, grandmother (me), and dad played in when we were their ages. I love that their roots run so deep.

After supper tonight, Marv took the boys and went to the golf course, which afforded me time to do a little stamping. If they don't come home soon, however, they will be lucky to catch Grandma before she falls asleep. I stayed up a little later than I should have last night and thus, am wiped out tonight. With that, I'm going to go take a quick shower and jump into my jammies. I hope your day was great. Until tomorrow, take care!