Hope and Comfort

Here’s my take on Mojo Monday 127 . It also fits the bill for the current Stamp Simply 128 “With Sympathy” theme. on the No Time to Stamp? blog.

My card is 5-1/2 inches square. The background on the sentiment piece was created by second-generation stamping the floral stamp and lightly filling in the leaves with my blending pen and ink from a Garden Green ink pad. The lace I used is the end of a little roll of lace I picked up at Wal-Mart. It obviously isn’t something that is regularly stocked, because I haven’t been able to find more. Bummer. I finished off the inside of the card with a matted strip of the green patterned paper along the bottom – the same as the one next to the sentiment on the outside of the card – and a sentiment that reads, “With sincere condolences in your time of sorrow.”

Materials & Tools: Vanilla Cream and Garden Green cardstock; Veranda paper packet; Cocoa, Bamboo, Garden Green, Crème Brule, and Juniper ink pads; Close To My Heart So Sweet and Impression Obsession Sympathy Sentiments stamp sets; Lace from Wal-Mart; Spring Blossom Just Blooms paper flowers; Kaisercraft pearl accents; Sponge dauber.

My monitor, while usable, is looking worse today, and I didn’t have an Internet connection all afternoon again. While the monitor thing is annoying, the connection situation is just plain maddening. I’m quite certain my modem would not intermittently shut down in the afternoon and then work fine the rest of the time. It’s not that smart. Argh…

Oh well, while my connection was down, I stamped. It was fun. Earlier in the day, we stopped over at Cameron and Sarah’s to meet the newest member of the family – a chocolate, longcoat Chihuahua by the name of Princess Leia. She’s pretty sweet. I’m anxious to hear what the little boys think of her when they meet her this evening.

I have one load of clothes left to wash and clothes to prepare for the workweek. While I’d really love to lay down for a short nap, I’m going to force myself to stay upright until it’s time for bed.

I hope your weekend has been wonderful. If only they weren’t so short! LOL. Take care, friends! Later …

Simple Saturday … Kinda

My Simple Saturday offering is based on FTL80 on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. As you can tell, I was in the mood for something bright.

The image was colored with markers. I stamped it twice, cut out the bottom flower and then colored it and popped it up a bit with foam tape. I made it last night and obviously should have turned on both lamps, because I noticed when when I took my photo, the top button is not black. It’s navy blue. Sigh… I glued it on with Liquid Glass, too, which means prying it off might prove to be a challenge.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Holiday Red cardstock; Doodlebug Designs Black Eyelet and Martha Stewart Classic Woodland patterned paper; Black ink pad; Holiday Red, Cranberry, and Topiary markers; Penny Black Gossamer stamp and CTMH Say it in Style stamp set; Buttons from my stash; 3M foam mounting tape.

I’ve had a strange day. After not being able to get to sleep until around 4 am, I got up at 8 and then ran on a half a tank until 2 when I fell asleep. I just woke up again. It remains to be seen whether this odd sleep pattern will continue.

Prior to my nap, I was extremely annoyed with my computer. The Internet was cutting in and out, which seems to happen when the weather gets mild/damp.I don’t know if it’s something with the cable connection or my modem, although I tend to think it’s the former. I came home to the same thing yesterday afternoon. Additionally, my monitor is dying. The other evening, I noticed a thin, black vertical line about three-quarters of an inch long on the screen. The next day, it was a little longer. It’s about five inches long/tall today, and there appears to be another line starting right next to it. I searched Google to diagnose the problem and then called my whiz kid who confirmed the pixels are dying. However, as husband will not replace anything until it is officially dead (that might actually be a good thing for me), I’ll be living with it for however long it takes. LOL.

That’s about all I’ve got to tell you. I’ve been working on a project I’m dying to show you but need an item that will be coming with an order from CTMH this next week to finish it. Having been awake for the first reporting of the earthquake in Chile, I was relieved to wake up this evening and learn Hawaii had escaped a tsunami. 

Enough jabber. I hope you are having a great day. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Will She or Won’t She?

Will the inspirer (I didn’t know that was a word, but Spell Check likes it) of this card realize she inspired me? Not to keep you in suspense, it was Sharli (from Sharli’s Place) again with this gorgeous card.

Yup, I changed it up a bit, using different papers, etc. What I really wanted to emulate was her beautiful coloring that so perfectly coordinates with the paper she used. And don’t you love her button treatment? I settled for a piece of coordinating cardstock, border-punched to correlate with the base of the plate. What you can’t see are the yellow Stickles I added to the flame and the dimensional sentiment, which was mounted with foam tape.

Thanks, Sharli! As much as I love this stamp set, I seem to need a little help. And, I know just what my “inspirer” will say, “That’s what friends are for!”

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf, and Sorbet cardstock; Caboodle paper packet; Black, Crystal Blue, Sorbet, and Buttercup ink pads; Crystal Blue and Buttercup markers; Piece of Cake February Stamp of the Month and Happy Birthday stamp sets; Martha Stewart Embossed Zigzag Edger punch; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide, Mat, and brass circles stencil; 1 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches; Dove blending pen; 3M foam mounting tape.

I hope you are having a great day! Footloose and fancy free shortly after 2 pm this afternoon, my day has been wonderful. And, I have a date this evening! Well… actually, it’s a husband who doesn’t feel like cooking. With that, I’d better skedaddle before he changes his mind. Enjoy your evening! Later …

Joy Forever

My card this evening was inkspired by this beautiful card on the Sunshine, Smiles & Stamps = Lovin’ Life blog. What really caught my eye was the color. I realized a while back, I don’t do grey. It’s not because I don’t like it. There is plenty of it in my closet. I’ve just never used it much for papercrafting, and when I have, I don’t think I’ve been particularly happy with the results.

Using some pretty flocked paper from DCWV’s La Crème matstack, I’m happy tonight, however.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Grey Flannel, and Black cardstock; DCWV La Crème Matstack; Grey Wool and Black ink pads; CTMH Butterfly Kiss, Joy Forever, and Promise of Spring (retired) stamp sets; Stampin’ Up Whisper White taffeta ribbon; Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edger punch; Sponge dauber.

No confusion this evening. I can officially say tomorrow is Friday. Having logged overtime every day so far this week, I can leave early if my work is done. Woo hoo!

Tonight, I’m going to clean up my corner and then spend the rest of the evening relaxing.  I hope you’re doing the same or something equally enjoyable. Thank you so much for stopping by! Later …

Retro Modern

While my version is very different, tonight’s card was inspired by this bright, fun card on the Paperlicious blog. Mine is also a 10-minute card that took about an hour to make. Out of practice, I guess. Life has been interrupting my fun for the past couple of days.

As you can see, I chose a blue/green color scheme. The stamp I used to create the mod background is from a vintage Close To My Heart set, “Modern Blocks.” With no frills, it would be a good card to give to a guy.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Star Spangled Blue, and Clover Meadow cardstock; Star Spangled Blue, Clover Meadow, and White Daisy Pigment ink pads; CTMH Modern Blocks (retired) and Papertrey Ink Birthday Basics stamp sets; Button from my stash; Blue embroidery floss; Needle.

And, look what I came across in the sitting room downstairs. Our potted hibiscus plants were moved indoors for the winter. There is one with yellow flowers that sits in front of a window on one of the stairway landings that has had three blooms, each lasting for about a day and not long enough for me to remember to grab my camera and get a shot. This red blossom has a mate. I’ll have to say they are day brighteners. It was 17 below here this morning, and regardless of what the calendar says, spring feels a long way off when it’s that darned cold. 

Also brightening my day today were two young dinner guests. I found it odd that they were in their pajamas when I got home from work. That was until they reminded me they’d had their 100 Days of School parties today, and wearing their pajamas was part of the festivities. From their reports, I gathered they had a good time.

Other than that, it has been kind of a so-so week so far. For whatever reason, I was thinking tomorrow was Friday at dinnertime and was quite disappointed to realize it’s only Thursday.

I hope you are having a wonderful week. For tonight, I’m off to do visit my favorite blogs. After that, I am looking forward to a nice, soothing bath before hopping into my warm bed. Take care. Later …

A Prototype

That’s one way of saying this card is the result of playing around with an idea. It’s not quite what I want, but the “vision,” I believe, has promise. Here’s the story: I’ve been eying this stamp from Hero Arts. While I seriously love it, I been on a penny-pinching kick, trying to replenish the savings (rocking chair funds), which were dipped into last year. So, I’ve been trying to “make do.” No sympathy is necessary. It’s not like I don’t have plenty of “stuff.” I barely fit into my corner. LOL.

Anyhoo, in my post Saturday, I told you how much I love the text backgrounds we’re seeing everywhere and how I saw the potential for such in CTMH’s State of Mind set.

For my prototype, I stamped the butterfly three times on Bamboo cardstock, masked the image with a mask cut from a Post-It note, and then stamped by text image. Had I not been so darned excited about my idea, I might have stamped the text image straight. Sigh … I distressed the edges with a sponge dauber and took a few swipes at it, too, with my Bamboo ink pad. I used my Edge Distressor as well with thoughts it might compensate for my crooked text. My efforts may well have had the opposite effect. Sigh…

I’m going to fool around some more with this concept. Play with the placement of the butterflies, ink colors, layout, etc. And, stamp straight! There’s potential here. I just need to go back to the workbench. Oh, and can you tell from the use of the words “concept,” “prototype,” and “workbench,” my job involves design engineers? Ugh… Work junk is becoming ingrained in my psyche. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Bamboo, and Black cardstock; Black and Bamboo ink pads; Sunflower and Autumn Terracotta markers; State of Mind, Butterfly Kiss, and Solo “Y” stamp sets; Black grosgrain ribbon; Pewter Designer Brads; Sponge dauber; Edge Distressor tool.

Yea, and I trashed my workbench, too, which means I better go clean it up. My day was OK … for a Monday. I hope yours was at least that good if not better. Up at 5 am this morning, I’ll be turning in early tonight and wearing my flannel jammies, too. Mother Nature has decided we need another cold snap with the thermometers dipping below 0 again. As one of my favorite little people would most adamantly say, “She’s not my friend.”

But you are, and I appreciate your stopping by and listening to (er … reading) my ramblings. Enjoy the evening!

Inkspired by Sharli

Today’s card was inkspired by this card by my friend Sharli on her Sharli’s Place blog. I love Close To My Heart’s February Stamp of the Month “Piece of Cake” set, but when it came to doing something with it, I needed a little help. It was Sharli to the rescue! Thanks, friend!

For my card, I colored the image with Prismacolor colored pencils and outlined the focal point image with a My Legacy Writer.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Chocolate, and Baby Pink cardstock; Topstitch paper packet; Black and Chocolate ink pads; Piece of Cake February Stamp of the Month; Pink acrylic disks from Michaels; Black My Legacy Writer; Prismacolor colored pencils.

You may have noticed I have done a little work on my sidebar. There are some things that are currently missing (profile, etc.) and I’ve updated my blog lists … almost. Arranged in alphabetical order, you’ll note the “More Blogs that Inspire” list only includes one blog past the letter “M.” I have approximately half the list yet to go. And yes, it’s long. LOL. There are so many awesome blogs out there.

Today, I’m going to finish preparing for my stamp club that meets tonight and spend some precious time with family. I won’t mind sneaking outside for a walk, too. It’s a beautiful, sunny, no-wind day, and with yesterday’s new snow, the landscape looks as if it has been dusted with Prisma Glitter.

I hope your day is wonderful, and as always, thank you for stopping by!

Simple Saturday

A “word person” I love all the cards I see with text in the background. Thus, when I saw Close To My Heart’s new State of Mind stamp set, I immediately thought of how much I would probably use the stamps as background stamps. And, when I finally got my hands on this lovely set, that’s the first thing I did, using Bamboo ink on Vanilla Cream cardstock.

The bird, branch, and sentiment stamps are from CTMH’s new A-size “A Tweet” set. I love the fact that CTMH lowered the price on its A-size sets to $7.95.

Material & Tools: Vanilla Cream and Cocoa cardstock; Veranda paper packet; Juniper, Bamboo, and Cocoa ink pads; A Tweet and State of Mind stamp sets; Sponge dauber; Sanding block.

I laid down to watch Olympic figure skating last night and fell asleep right before Belbin and Agosto’s performance. I guess I’ll have to read about it. Certainly, I got a good night’s sleep even if I did wake up for an hour around midnight.

It’s snowing today. With no wind, the flakes are kind of just floating around, taking their time in hitting the ground. I think I’ll follow Mother Nature’s lead today – Do something but without pushing too hard. LOL.

That said, I’m off to float through my chores, and when they’re done, I hope to land in my corner. Enjoy your day! Later …

Starting the Weekend Out Right!

With a fun sketch – my take on Taylored Expressions Challenge Sketch #101. I love sketch challenges and am always a happy camper when I have the chance to participate. This weekend, I hope to get to a few more.

Aren’t the spring-like colors in Close To My Heart’s Caboodle paper packet fun?

Materials & Tools: Vanilla Cream, Crystal Blue, and Sweet Leaf (textured) cardstock; Caboodle paper packet; Black, Crystal Blue, Chocolate, Brown Bag, Sorbet, Sweet Leaf, Sunflower, Buttercup, and Juniper ink pads; Love You Forever and Togetherness stamp sets; Crystal Blue mini brads; Black My Legacy Writer; Dove blending pen; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch.

Wow! I don’t usually say this, but this past week has really flown by. I don’t suppose I can expect the clock to slow down for the weekend either. Heaven knows, I’ll be slowing down my pace a bit though in a effort to stretch it out just as long as I can.

Do you have plans? I’m going to do the usual domestic stuff, spend some time with the little guys, and prepare for my stamp club group, which meets on Sunday evening. It will be a full, but fun, weekend. Tonight, I’m going to go straighten up my corner a bit. It’s a mess … again.

Thanks for stopping by, and don’t forget to stop back tomorrow for Simple Saturday. Later…

Blessed by Your Kindness

First, thank you for all of your lovely comments on my Hop(e) for Haiti post. The blog hop was so much fun and for such a wonderful and worthwhile cause. All of the cards shown that day are now up for auction on eBay with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the American Red Cross to aid its Haitian relief effort. The eBay listing for my cards can be found here. The listing for all of the artists’ cards as well as four pre-release sets of Skipping Stones Design stamps can be found here. Additionally, $2.00 from every stamp set sold at Skipping Stones Design between February 16th and 22nd will be donated to the Red Cross.

Tonight’s 10-minute card was inspired by several I’ve seen recently on a number of blogs. It was pretty much made with scraps that were laying on my desk.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Olive cardstock; Veranda Creative Basics; Olive and Bamboo ink pads; Waltzingmouse Blessed by You stamp set; Grosgrain ribbon from Wal-Mart; Basic Craft Buttons; Ecru crochet cotton; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Labels Eight set; Sponge dauber; Sanding block.

I didn’t make it to my corner yesterday. When I got home from bowling, there were two little boys here to play with until bedtime. I’d been so busy at work, I hadn’t had time to eat with the exception of six peanut M&Ms I found in a desk drawer. By the time I finally got some food in my stomach, I was too tired to do anything more than stare at the television for an hour before clonking out for the night.

Today, I left my crazy job at 12:45 to have lunch with my mother and two of my sisters and then go look at an apartment for my mom in a senior living facility across town. After living on the farm for 58 years, my mother is ready for a new adventure. I am so excited for her and delighted by the prospect of her living in Thief River Falls.

I mentioned scraps on my desk, didn’t I? Lots of ‘em, so I’m going to go clean it up, so I can do some serious stamping tomorrow night, Saturday, and Sunday. Yippee! The weekend is almost here.

I hope you’ve had a good couple of days. Again, thanks for stopping by!

Hop(e) for Haiti

Welcome to Skipping Stones Design’s Blog Hop(e) for Haiti. If you just happened upon my blog today, you’ll want to go back to the beginning at Skipping Stones Design.  You should have come from Latisha’s blog.

As a company, Skipping Stones Design wanted to do something to give back to the people who have been so devastated by the recent earthquake in Haiti.   And so, the folks there thought, "What better way than to invite some of our favorite stampers to join us in this cause?" That's where I came into the picture with my friend Erin, a member of the Skipping Stones Design Stamp Tramps design team, asking me to participate. For such a worthy cause, my answer was a resounding, "Yes!"   Now, I'm going to show you my cards but only with the promise that you'll keep reading. There is more great information below.

Erin provided a great sketch for this first card. The stamp I used for my focal point image is from Skipping Stones Design's Garden Kiss stamp set. What a cool stamp set - a bird, a butterfly, and flower and some fun texture stamps with which to "kiss" them. If you're unfamiliar with the kiss technique, this awesome video will show you how. And, as I was having so much fun with this stamp set, I decided to make a couple more!

Oh, how I wish you could see how pretty this card is in person with each butterfly showcasing a different texture design. The sentiment is stamped on chipboard. 

While it's shamelessly simple, this last card shows you how you can use the flower stamp in the Garden Kiss set to create a dimensional flower. I stamped (and kissed) my image four times, snipping between the petals on two of them to aid in shaping my flower. The leaves? Well, I cut them freehand and realize now, looking at the photo, they could have been a smidgen smaller.

Now for the good part. Each card you see on the blog hop today will be auctioned on eBay with all of the proceeds going to the Red Cross in support of the Haitian Relief Effort  (please check the Skipping Stones Design website for the link to the auction).  Additionally, $2.00 from every Skipping Stones Design stamp set purchased from February 16 - 22 will be donated to the Red Cross. Skipping Stones Design knows that it can make a difference. 

Thank you for stopping by, and thanks to Erin for inviting me to participate. It was an honor. The next stop on Hop(e) for Haiti is Jami's blog at Stamp Happy with Sgt. Stamper.

One more thing! How about a prize? In addition to the fabulous eye candy, Skipping Stones Design has decided to hide some prizes. There will be a few pre-release sets up for grabs hidden along the blog hop.  The fun part is... they're not telling you who or where it is! So as you hop, make sure you leave comments on every post, so you have a chance to win!!

It’s Not All Black and White

When I sat down at my stamp desk tonight, this stamp caught my eye. I just love it plain and simple. The card? It’ll be a good one to send to one of my big boys for no reason more than I want to tell him I love ‘im. I do that once in a while, and while they contain their excitement, I can tell they kinda like it. 

Anyone remember this patterned paper? It’s an old CTMH pattern from back in the days when it offered Background and Texture papers to match each of its cardstock colors. While I sold most of my full sheets after these papers were retired, I have a huge bag of scraps that is kind of fun to dig into once in a while.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Cranberry cardstock; Retired Black B&T paper; Black and Cranberry ink pads; Unity Stamps Love Ewe and Hero Arts Anytime Messages stamp sets; Cranberry grosgrain ribbon; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stump; 3M foam mounting tape.

I had a great day today with the exception of a little bout with nausea that sent me home around midday. What that was about, I dunno. Pregnancy has been ruled out. LOL. It might have been the bottle of orange juice I drank this morning. That’s what I get for trying to do something healthy.

How was your day? Before I sign off I need to remind you to stop back for tomorrow’s  Hop(e) for Haiti blog hop. My cards are ready, and I’m so excited about doing something for such a good cause. With that, enjoy the evening and hope to see you again tomorrow! Later…

Simple Sunday, too!

I came across this little flower image this morning while looking for a different stamp and could resist making a card with it. The image looks like it was drawn by a child and reminds me of Bjorn.

It’s probably been a couple of years since I taught him how to draw flowers, trees, the sun, etc. He was one who always wanted me to do his drawing for him, and I obliged until one day when I told him, “You can do this, Bjorn.” I had him copy what I was doing and praised his every stroke of the marker. When he was done, he was so proud. And while his drawing has improved significantly, he’s still doing things the way I showed him. His sun always has a smiley face. So sweet.

About my card, I stamped my image on textured cardstock and colored it with markers. I used foam tape to mount the image to the card base. Simple. Sweet.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured and Black cardstock; Black ink pad; Holiday Red, Topiary, Dutch Blue, Sunflower, and Chocolate markers; Stampendous Field of Blooms Cling stamp and CTMH Say it in Style stamp set; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Black mini brads; 3M foam mounting tape.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m busy today doing all the stuff I didn’t do yesterday. I think it’s just going to be Grandpa and me celebrating, and I think he’s about given up with regard to “doing” something. He mentioned a half a dozen or so different places to go out to eat with none of them causing me to jump up and down with excitement. After 32 years, he should know food is not the way to my heart. I eat to live (as opposed to live to eat) and am just as happy with a peanut butter sandwich as I am with steak and lobster. Now, if he’d go out and get me a box of chocolates … LOL.

No, I’d better get back with the program. I hope your day is wonderful. Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Saturday

The green/purple color scheme is so pretty, I decided to create one more, using the scraps of Sweet Leaf and Amethyst Textured cardstock that were cluttering up my desktop. What makes the card so much prettier in person is the Diamond Stickles on the spots of the butterfly’s wings.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy cardstock; Amethyst, Sweet Leaf, and White Daisy Textured cardstock; Sweet Leaf, Amethyst, and VersaMark ink pads; Penny Black Gossamer Butterfly stamp and CTMH Air Mail (retired) and Say it in Style stamp sets; Diamond Stickles; White Embossing powder; Embossing heat tool; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Round sponge.

While there are a thousand things I could/should be doing, I’m relaxing today. Perhaps I’ll get a surge of ambition later. Maybe not. LOL. I hope you’re having a good day, too! Later, friends ….

Delight in Everything

Here is a simple card for Stamp Simply #126 – A Color Challenge, which is featured today on the No Time to Stamp? blog. The colors (as you can see) are green and purple. Fun!

I used textured cardstock and was thinking as I made my card that Close To My Heart’s Buy-One-Get-One-Free special couldn’t be coming at a better time for me. So cool, too, that $2 from every sale is going to help Operation Smile in Haiti.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy cardstock; Sweet Leaf, Amethyst, and White Daisy Textured cardstock; Sweet Leaf and Amethyst ink pads; Delight in Everything stamp set; Sweet Leaf Designer Ribbon Rounds; Retired CTMH buttons; White thread; Needle; Cuttlebug w/Shapeabilities Ribbon Tag Trio.

I got home shortly before 5 pm this afternoon and promptly fell asleep. It was kind of a fitful nap, however. I woke up frequently and kept thinking it was morning and I had to go to work. Before getting up at 7:45, I glanced over at the alarm clock and was certain for a few seconds that I had overslept. It wasn’t very restful, which is OK, because I really want to get a good night’s sleep tonight.

Anyway, I’m glad to be home for a couple of days. What are you doing this weekend? We don’t have plans, although I would like to gather my family on Sunday night – long enough to share a little Valentine’s Day love and maybe enjoy something good to eat. We’ll see. Dustin is ice fishing on Lake of the Woods this weekend, and Cameron and Sarah went to Fargo for dinner this evening. It’s hard to remember a time when husband would drive 120 miles one way to take me out to dinner. LOL.

For tonight, I’m off to peruse a new Papercrafts magazine that came earlier in the week. I hope your weekend is wonderful. And, don’t forget to stop back tomorrow for Simple Saturday!

Happy Friday!

I know it's early, but I'm so darned glad tomorrow is Friday, I couldn't help myself. Besides, it's not nice to say you've had a lousy day and then disappear for a couple of days. Didn't want ya to think I'd gone off the deep end or anything. 


The reason for my absence is a simple lack of mojo, which I anticipate will return late tomorrow afternoon when I have returned home and am free of the workplace for a couple of days. Woo hoo!  See you then! 

Coming to a Blog Near You!

On Tuesday, February 16th, Skipping Stones Design will launch a very special blog hop.

Hop(e) for Haiti

During Hop(e) for Haiti, we can all work together to help raise money for a very special cause. Money raised by this fund-raiser blog hop will be donated to the Red Cross to help those who are still struggling to have their basic needs met after surviving the devastating January earthquake in Haiti.
On February 16th, this special blog hop will kickoff at Skipping Stones Design with links to the blogs of its Stamp Tramps Design Team as well as numerous guest bloggers who have been invited to participate in this special event.

During the week following February 16th, you will not only have the chance to win fabulous prizes (including pre-released stamp sets) but the opportunity to bid on some of your favorite artists’ artwork on Skipping Stones Design’s special eBay auctions. Links to these sales will be provided with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Red Cross. Updates will be available at Skipping Stones Design.

I am very pleased to announce that I have been asked by my friend and Stamp Tramps design team member Erin of Inky Smiles to participate in this very worthy cause as one of Skipping Stones Design’s guest bloggers. Fun! I hope you can join us!

One of a Kind Times Two

I have two cards to show you tonight – one I like and the other? Not so much.

I was inspired to purchase the new One of a Kind stamp set by artwork in the Idea Book. I love how it was used on the front cover (so far, that hasn’t worked out so well for me), and I was really taken by the card shown on page 34. This is my rendition of that card – the one I like. The color combination is one of my favorites.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Holiday Red, Dutch Blue, and Sunflower cardstock; Tinkerin’ paper packet; Topiary, Holiday Red, Dutch Blue, and Sunflower ink pads; One of a Kind stamp set; Silver mini brads; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up piercing mat; Stampin’ Up Photo Corner punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

Color might be what I don’t like about this card. Do ya think maybe those little flowers should have been a different color?  I might like it better, too, if the pink flower was more up and down instead of leaning so far to the right.

What I do like is the use of CTMH’s Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint that was mixed with reinkers and “dip-dotted” onto the flowers. I’m really excited that the paint shows up in the photos, too. Shimmer, yes! Glitter, no. LOL.  As the card has elements I like, maybe I’ll try again and get it right next time. I’ll call this one a “prototype.”

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Spring Iris, and White Daisy textured cardstock; Baby Pink, Lilac Mist, Spring Iris,and Garden Green ink pads; Baby Pink, Spring Iris, and Lilac Mist reinkers; One of a Kind, Intrinsic Backgrounds, and Happy Birthday stamp sets; Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint; Medium stylus; 3M foam mounting tape.

There is no nice way to say this. I had a lousy day and currently detest my job – actually the whole place.  These feelings, I am certain, are temporary. For tonight, however, they would make for a poor conversationalist, so instead of spreading my gloom, I am going to go park my crabby butt in my corner for a little stamp therapy. Unless I am inconsolable (which I doubt), stamping will cheer me up and give me something to show you tomorrow night.

Until then, take care and, as always, thank you for stopping by!

So Sweet

You were warned. Here are a couple more cards made with Close To My Hearts new So Sweet stamp set and Veranda papers.

This first card is my take on CPS 153 as featured on the Card Positioning Systems blog.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Veranda paper packet; Cocoa, Juniper, and Crème Brule ink pads; Garden Green marker; So Sweet and Say it in Style stamp sets; Stampin’ Up Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Rectangles and Labels Eight sets; 3M foam mounting tape.

While it’s not often I say I love something I have created, I will have to admit a fondness for this little 4-1/4 inch round card, which is my adaptation of SSS 42 on the The Sweet Stop sketch challenge blog.

The image behind the sentiment was stamped with second generation ink. I colored the leaves and added a little more color to the flowers with a blending pen and ink from my ink pads. While my camera didn’t do it justice, the little butterfly (from CTMH’s Spring Blossom Just Blooms collection) is sweet and a coordinates beautifully with the Crème Brule paper.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Veranda paper packet; Cocoa, Juniper, and Garden Green ink pads; So Sweet stamp sets; Hero Arts pearl accents; Spring Blossom Just Blooms collection; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Stampin’ Up Ticket punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Dove blending pen.

It looks like we made it through Monday. For me, it wasn’t all that busy a day, which might mean I will be avalanched tomorrow. That will be OK. Busy makes the time go faster. Tonight, I’m going to go hang out in my corner for a while before attempting to go to bed at a decent time.

I hope you enjoy your evening, too. Thanks for stopping! Later…

Looking Ahead …

You’ll be seeing a couple more cards made with this stamp set and the new Veranda papers in days to come.

This particular card is my take on Card Patterns Sketch 50 … kind of. I had a strip of coordinating paper that I meant to add across the middle. It was laying there … all ready … I assembled the card without it. Sigh. And, I was too lazy for surgery that involved extracting brads.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Vanilla Cream, Crème Brule, and Cocoa cardstock; Veranda packet; Cocoa, Crème Brule, and Bamboo ink pads; Garden Green marker; So Sweet stamp set; Antiqued Copper mini brads; Hero Arts pearl accents; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles and Labels Six sets; Sponge daubers; Sanding block.

The weekend went by all too fast … again. The little boys, their daddy, and Sarah spent the afternoon with us. It was fun. Tonight, I made an attempt to watch the Superbowl, but I fell asleep and missed all but the last five minutes. How that little nap will affect what should be tonight’s big sleep remains to be seen.

Nope, it’s time to jump into my jammies. I hope your Sunday was the start of what will be a wonderful week. Take care, and thanks for stopping by!

Just Because …

It was my original intention to make Valentine’s Day cards, but I think they are going to be “Just Because” cards instead – cards to drop in the mail or tuck into backpacks with encouraging messages.

The images on both cards were colored with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. The sentiments on both were attached to the cards with foam mounting tape.

I used Liquid Glass to attach the googly eyes, which was the most time consuming element of this card making session. I would have sworn I had 10 thumbs for the number of times the little buggers got away from me.

I went around the perimeter of both stamped images with a My Legacy Writer to give them a little added definition against their yellow mats. A sponge dauber with a little blue ink was used to define the punched caption on the top card.

  Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Sunny Yellow, and Orange cardstock; Tinkerin’ paper packet; Black and Dutch Blue ink pads; Stampendous Love Robotz stamp set; Brads and googly eyes from my stash; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; 1 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches; Black My Legacy Writer; Liquid Glass; EK Success Caption punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

Ah! Superbowl Sunday. That doesn’t mean much to me. And, as the Vikings aren’t playing, I don’t suspect the game will be too much of a disruption in my household. All things considered, that is a good thing. LOL. While the details haven’t been established yet, I’m looking forward to spending some time with my grandsons today, too.

Last night was a quiet evening at home with Marv winning the best out of three in cribbage. No surprise.

I hope your weekend is going well. Enjoy Sunday! Later…

More Love You Forever

Second Post of the Day – Scroll Down for “Simple Saturday”

“Oh Baby!” is the theme of Stamp Simply #125 as featured this week on the No Time to Stamp? blog. I saw the challenge as an opportunity to try out the little sheep stamps from the so-sweet “Love You Forever” stamp set.

As you can see I used Liquid Appliqué to create “wool.” The baby sheep was stamped on a separate piece of paper, cut out, and adhere to the card with foam tape.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Lilac Mist cardstock; Sweet Pea paper packet; Black and Lilac Mist ink pads; Love You Forever and Sweet Baby stamp sets; Baby Pink and Heavenly Blue mini brads; Stampin’ Up Whisper White taffeta ribbon; White Liquid Appliqué; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stump; Stampin’ Up Horizontal Slot punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

This next card was one of those that just kind of evolved. The little birds are paper-pieced, and I did a little faux stitching on the grass, piercing holes and then connecting them with my Key Lime marker. I used foam tape to give the overlapping cloud a “little lift.”

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Heavenly Blue, Key Lime, and Lilac Mist cardstock; Sweet Pea paper packet; Black ink pad; Key Lime, Lilac Mist, and Sunflower markers; Love You Forever and TLC stamp sets; 3M foam mounting tape.

My cards are kind of spring-like, don’t you think? I girl can hope. I’ve been watching the news today and am marveling that all that is shut down on the East Coast due to a snow storm. That doesn’t happen on the frozen tundra. Schools close. That’s it. When working in a bank in Crookston before I was married, we had a big storm, and a bank officer came to get me on his snowmobile to bring me to work. I remember it being a cold ride. Business clothes aren’t all that warm, and, of course, I was too young to be sensible. LOL.

I’ve had a good day and hope yours has been a good one, too. Later…

Simple Saturday

Good afternoon! If you combine adorable stamps with an awesome paper packet (that includes matching ribbon!), a few ink pads,  and a blending pen, it’s not hard to come up with a fun card. You’ll probably tire of hearing me say how much I love CTMH’s new Creative Basics Veranda Collection. A beautiful blue/green color combination – What more can a girl ask for?

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Juniper cardstock; Creative Basics Veranda Collection; Black, Juniper, Garden Green, and Chocolate ink pads; Love You Forever stamp set; Antiqued Copper Bitty and mini brads; Dove blending pen.

Holy cow! It’s after noon already. That means I need to go get some stuff done, so I have time to play later! I hope your weekend has gotten off to a good start. With more to show you, I’ll more than likely surface in the blogosphere again later in the day. ‘Til then, take care, and thanks for stopping by!

A Couple More

I’m finally showing you the last of the cards made during my recent stamping binge. Time to start over, which is exactly what I hope to do this weekend!

I used textured cardstock for this card, and I didn’t get a good image, which happens occasionally particularly if the image is large like this one. Not to worry. I just colored in the leaves and branches with a black marker, and drew in any missing flower elements with a black My Legacy Writer. You would not have been any the wiser had I not told you.

The flowers were colored with a marker. The open flowers have Christmas Red Stickles centers.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Tulip, White Daisy Textured, and Black Textured cardstock; Black inkpad; Black and Tulip markers; My Cute Stamps Ashley’s Blossoms stamp set; Christmas Red Stickles; EK Success Diamond Lace border punch.

This card was inspired by one in Close To My Hearts’ Autumn/Winter Idea Book. The little vase on the table is a solid stamp that I colored with markers. Practicing first on scratch paper, I found I got the best results if I colored and stamped the vase first, then the stem and leaves, and finally, the flower. Being able to see where you are stamping is truly the beauty of clear stamps. One more thing, a Bitty Brad made for a perfect knob for the drawer on the end table. Fun!

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Indian Corn Blue cardstock; Sweet Home paper packet; Indian Corn Blue, Garnet, Cocoa, and Bamboo ink pads; Indian Corn Blue, Olive, and Cranberry markers; Gold Bitty and mini brads; Sponge dauber.

Happy Friday! I didn’t think 4:15 would ever come today, and when it did, I certainly didn’t waste any time escaping the workplace. While I think the work ethic in America is great, I wouldn’t mind if they added a day to the weekend. Even a half a day …

Do you have plans for the weekend? As I said last night, mine are to stay close to home. Our weather is mild, and currently, Mother Nature can’t seem to decide between snow and rain. Snow would be preferable to the rain that will turn to ice.

For now, I’m off to my corner to see what I can drum up for Simple Saturday. Enjoy the evening, and thanks for stopping by!

A Couple of Cards

This card is the result of my coming across the package of Heartfelt die cuts that I had been ignoring for a few months. Although I had seen some cute cards and projects made by others using these cool felt dies, I was at a loss as to what I should do with them.

Stitching around the the outside and inside cutout of the heart took a while. It was kind of fun, too. Relaxing. At least until I finished sewing and then asked myself what the heck I should do with it. I didn’t fret too much though but rather added a few buttons and used Glue Dots to stick it on a piece of coordinating textured cardstock. It’s not my most favorite card, but at least, I’m not afraid of the felt anymore. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Desert Sand Textured cardstock; Tulip ink pad; Say it in Style stamp set; Heartfelt Whimsy die cuts; Basic Craft Buttons; Ecru crochet cotton; Needle.

This one is quite a contrast from the top card, isn’t it? It’s also the one that got me out of bed the other night. The baby wipe technique again.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Holiday Red, Sunflower, Black, and Glossy White cardstock; Black ink pad; Holiday red, Orange,and Sunflower reinkers; Inkadinkado Delicate Branches and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; McGill Multi-Tag punch; Baby wipes.

One more day, and it’s the weekend again. Yee haw! I’m looking forward to the privilege of simply staying home. My mom, four of my six siblings, a brother-in-law, my niece, and one of my nephews and his girlfriend all left for Las Vegas today for a few days. When the trip was planned, I was still in the wedding recovery mode… kind of a stupor. At the time, I couldn’t imagine thinking about one more thing, and so I declined. I think I still must be in a daze, because while I hope they all have fun (and I’m sure they will), I’m happy to be right where I am.

I hope you’ve had a great week. Thanks for stopping by! Your visits mean the world to me. And, with that, I’ll sign off until tomorrow when I’ll be back with a couple more cards! Later…

Coffee with a Friend

Here's my card for Mojo Monday 124. Deviating from the sketch more than I usually do, I had fun with it. What's obvious (but somethin' to say) is the fact that the cup is paper-pieced.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Olive cardstock; Cosmo Cricket Early Bird Mini Deck; Black, Olive, Grey Flannel, and Bamboo ink pads; Flourishes Coffee with Friends stamp set; Stampin' Up Old Olive grosgrain ribbon; Ecru crocheted lace from Wal-Mart; Juniper mini brads; 1-3/4 inch circle punch; 2-inch scallop punch; Sponge dauber; Sanding block; 3M foam mounting tape.

I'm bowling this evening, so I'm trying a scheduled post. If I'm not too pooped or occupied with little guests, I might pop in with another card when I get home.

 I hope you're having a great day! Later ...

10-Minute Tuesday

Simple might be too much word to describe this card. It is the result of me coming across something I didn’t remember I owned. Imagine that! LOL. It’s me finally doing something with Close To My Heart’s Color Ready Alphabet, which are alphabet adhesive sheets that I purchased who knows when.

To color the letters, I first stamped them with background stamps from the Spot on Backgrounds set and then used a sponge to rub on some same color ink. After determining the center of my piece of Sunkiss Yellow Textured cardstock, I stuck ‘em on, using a metal-edge ruler to keep ‘em straight. A few snips with a corner rounder, and I was done. Easy and IMO kind of cute.

Materials (All CTMH) & Tools: White Daisy and Sunkiss Yellow Textured cardstock; Heavenly Blue, Key Lime, Baby Pink, and Amethyst ink pads; Spot on Backgrounds stamp set; Color Ready Alphabet Oxford Caps; Round sponges; Corner rounder.

And, before I forget to mention it yet again. Close To My Heart is having a buy-one-get-one-free special on its textured cardstock during the month of February with $2.00 from each sale going to benefit Operation Smile in Haiti. I’ll say yet again how much I love textured cardstock. If it came in all 60 colors, it would be all I would use.

I had a good day at work and am looking forward to a quiet evening. I thought about attending a political caucus tonight but thought again. Nah… It’s my nature to get drawn into things, which was fine when I was younger and wasn’t doing the 40-hour gig. Now, I’m kind of selfish with my time.

How was your day? The blogosphere kind of quiet so far today, which I’ll take as a sign that people are busy and have more to do than stamp. Speaking of stamping, I’m off to my clean up my corner that I trashed last night making my Mojo Monday card and another with “found” supplies. I’ll show them to you tomorrow. Until then, thanks for stopping by. Blog friends are the bestest!!

Sympathy and Gratitude

I have a couple of cards to show you tonight. Both were inspired by cards I found in the latest issue of Papercrafts’ Stamp It! Cards.

I’m not sure that there is much to say about either that won’t be reveal in the photographs. For this sympathy card, I sanded my Sorbet cardstock before stamping on it and kept the black mat narrow as not to overpower.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Sorbet, and Black cardstock; Perfect Day paper packet; Sorbet and Black ink pads; My Cute Stamps Ashley’s Blossoms stamp set; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Kaiser Kraft pearl accent; Martha Stewart Butterfly punch.

About this card, I don’t mix and match paper packets much but think I should. Again, a narrow black mat with the images stamped on White Daisy Textured cardstock.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and White Daisy Textured cardstock; Key to My Heart (retired) and Silhouette paper packets; Black and Juniper ink pads; My Cute Stamps Ashley’s Blossoms and Close To My Heart Thank You stamp sets; Button from my stash; White embroidery floss; Martha Stewart Arch Lattice border punch.

If I didn’t stamp again this week, I’d have cards to show you through Friday. My mojo last night extended so far that I had a “vision” after I’d gone to bed and had to get up and make one more card. And, had I known I was going to be staring at the alarm clock until 4 am, I would have kept stamping. Like I so often do on Sundays, I “slept fast” and started out the workweek tired. So far, so good though. I worked like a beaver today and have enough energy left to do what I gotta do tonight before hitting the hay early.

How was your Monday? I hope it was a good day. Enjoy the evening! Later…