Tattered Sparrow

I am not certain I am loving this card, my take on Unscripted Sketches #48. I made the mistake of turning on the news when I got home from work, and I believe it zapped the mojo right out of me. All I wanted to do after I’d listened for a few minutes was go to bed and pull the blankets over my head. I did just that for about 15 minutes but luckily, did not fall asleep. That would have just ended up adding to my woes, as surely, I would have been bright-eyed and bushy-tailed come 2 a.m.

About my card, I wanted to use my new sentiment stamp one more time with the Tattered Sparrow stamp by Tim Holtz. I love it even though it lends itself to more artiness than I am capable of. The bird is stamped with Desert Sand. I used my script stamp again in the background with the Bamboo ink that I also used to ink around the edges. The sentiment is stamped with Cocoa ink and might have looked better had I stamped it smack dab in the middle. The glare from the flash on the camera spoiled the affect of coolest thing about my card – the two Antiqued Copper photo corners that I put together to create a square embellishment. That was the most genius thing I did all day. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Desert Sand, and Cocoa cardstock; Bamboo, Desert Sand, and Cocoa ink pads; Tim Holtz Tattered Sparrow stamp; Verses Wings of Your Dreams stamp; Close To My Heart Air Mail (retired) stamp set; Antiqued Copper Mini-Medley Accents Collection; Chocolate Bigger Brads; Sponge dauber; Sanding block; 3M foam mounting tape.

I may try this sketch again. I have a vision for something brighter, more cheerful. After all, it was a beautiful day with temperatures if they didn’t reach 70 degrees were very close. I didn’t wear a coat this morning and went outside on both my breaks and at lunchtime to soak up some Vitamin D. The only not-so-good thing today was a rather boring 90-minute meeting in a room that had to have been 85 degrees. Dressed in a sweater, blazer, denim capri pants, and suede boots, I thought I would faint or worse, start pealing off my clothes and embarrass myself.

Back to the merits of the day, I had a half-hour call from my son as he was driving home from the Twin Cities this evening. He’d had a wonderful, very informative day and is so excited about the prospects of his new career path. I also had a few minutes with my grandsons this afternoon before their dad and Sarah picked them up after work.

Albeit bleak news on TV and the urge to strip, my day was a good one as I hope yours was. Enjoy your Wednesday! Later …

The Heartbeat and Freedom of Your Soul

A stone coaster on my desk features the following words by Confucius: “Words are the voice of the heart.” A lover of words, I find that statement to be so true even though there are times, I’ve learned, when there are no words to describe what the heart feels. I can no more describe the feelings I experienced when holding my newborn sons and grandsons for the first time than I can having my heart shattered into a million pieces. But for all that lies in between unadulterated joy and utter devastation, there are words – beautiful words.

When I saw the words on this inspiring card on the Suzz’s Stamping Spot blog, I knew that I had to have that sentiment stamp. I wish I had had the stamp and this card to give Dustin before he left for the Twin Cities today. Instead, I’ll put in on his desk tomorrow, so it is there when he returns to work on Wednesday.

My card was a “make-do” experiment that worked out. Like Suzanne, I stamped my Silhouette Grass stamp with VersaMark and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I did not, however, have brown pigment ink, which is where the experiment began. I knew that dye-based ink would not stick to the embossing. Would VersaMark stick? The only way to find out was to try it and then attempt to emboss the sentiment with Cocoa embossing powder over the clear embossing. It worked (yes!) even though I believe I lost some of the detail of the grass stamp when the clear embossing was reheated. I used a script stamp and Bamboo ink for the background and then sponged with Desert Sand and Chocolate inks until I achieved a look I deemed acceptable. Instead of birds, I opted for a single small butterfly, which was stamped with Cocoa, colored with markers, cut out, and attached to my card with two tiny ultra-thin “pop-dots.”

Materials and Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Cocoa and VersaMark ink pads; Sunflower and Autumn Terracotta markers; Clear and Cocoa embossing powders; Hero Arts Silhouette Grass and Verses Wings of Your Dreams rubber stamps; Close To My Heart Butterfly Kiss and Air Mail (retired) stamp sets; Cocoa grosgrain ribbon; Embossing heat tool; Round sponges; EK Success 1/16th-inch foam dots.

My workday was quite ordinary, which, all things considered, is a blessing. My spray painting experience last night was quite disastrous. Wind, albeit gentle, and spray paint on are not compatible. I  have a sweatshirt and pair of jeans that are now classified as “everyday” clothes. I think I coughed up what I inhaled. And then, after all that, I discovered I don’t really have the “right” materials to complete my project anyway. As it is/was an Easter project and I am not going to find the right materials in my “retail-challenged” town, my so-called project will probably get shelved for this year. Not a big deal.

And, now for a couple of tidbits of good news. First, my mom called last night, and the apartment she was on a waiting list for will be available June 1. Initially, I was told the wait could be up to three years. Not only is she getting an apartment but the floor plan she wanted. In a 47-unit building, there are only six with this particular floor plan, two of which are corner units with more windows. She hit the jackpot and is getting a corner unit. I’m hitting the jackpot, too. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have my mother so close again. She’s so excited, too. Imagine a new start after living in the same place for 58 years. At 19, she was a mere child when she married my dad and moved to the farm where he grew up. I am excited for her.

Did I say something about a jackpot. While I have not heard this from the horse’s mouth, it is my understanding that Dustin stopped at a casino about 50 miles down the road to pee use the restroom on his way to the Twin Cities early this afternoon. He put a 20-dollar bill in a penny machine and was fooling around with a minimum bet until looking at his watch and deciding he better step it up and get back on the road. He increased his bet and a few minutes later cashed out 70,000 pennies. He called his dad to report his 20-minute, $700 windfall. Figures. If he’d lost his 20 bucks, he would have called me for sympathy. Oh, and he wouldn’t have gotten much. There are restrooms at gas stations. LOL.

I’m getting long and had better cut it off. If you’re still with me, thanks for putting up with my drivel stories. I have to fill up all this “white space” that is making me a little crazy. I hope you day was wonderful and tomorrow even better! Later …

P.S. The thermometer climbed over 60 degrees here today! While I would not put it past Mother Nature to play a mean trick on us yet this year, I will venture to say spring has officially sprung in the frozen tundra. Yippee!

Chirpie

This top card is the first of three quick Easter cards I made using the Chirpy Collection from DigiStamp Boutique. This one is my take on FTL #84 on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog.

This second card is my adaptation of CPS160 as featured on the Card Positioning Systems blog. I colored all three images with Prismacolor colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits.

My last card is a modified version of C4C30 on the Crazy 4 Challenges blog. You can’t see it, but the eggs have glitter on them. Maybe the flower and egg on the other cards could use a little glitter, too… Hmm...

How has your weekend been? Excellent, I hope. I’ve had a great weekend albeit the hands on the clock seemed to have stepped it up. I made a trip downtown yesterday, which is something I rarely do. I also came to the realization that I live in the town where one cannot buy something as basic as a spool of thread. Wal-Mart sells small repair kits with an assortment of thread colors in them but no spools are to be found. Is it any wonder the UPS man makes regular trips to my door? I hate to half to resort to the Internet for something as basic as black thread, however. Sigh…

Dustin’s 864-word autobiography ended up being a four-hour project this afternoon. He’s determined (a nice word for stubborn) and a bit persnickety, so I was pleased when my first draft passed inspection with only a few minor changes. I fully expected that we would lock horns at some point. It didn’t happen. Nice.

Nope, I’m off to do a little spray painting before it gets too dark or cold. I bought materials for a “project” yesterday, which I will show you if it turns out. LOL. I hope your week is wonderful. Thanks for stopping by. Your visits and words of encouragement mean the world to me. Later …

Simple Saturday

While not as simple as most Simple Saturday cards, nevertheless, this card was simple. All of my cards are simple – it’s my style.

This one involves a bit of enabling, too. A link in a quick email from my wonderful friend Jeanne the other day took me to DigiStamp Boutique where I did a little shopping. LOL. Cute images. This little Japanese girl is no exception. I paper-pieced her kimono, coloring in the flowers with a marker and adding tiny dots of Liquid Pearls to their centers. After a lotta layering, I used foam tape to attach the focal point image.

Materials & Tools: Vanilla Cream, Sorbet, and Juniper cardstock; Unforgettable paper packet; Cocoa ink pad; Sorbet marker; Cute Japanese Characters from DigiStamp Boutique; Impression Obsession Sentiments I stamp set; Heritage Edge Anchors; White Opal Liquid Pearls; Spring Chalks; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide and Mat; 3M foam mounting tape.

If I get brave in the next couple of days, my blog will be “under construction.” In the mood to “remodel,” I purchased a new “blog decor” kit last night. I’m a little nervous, because I have to change the format to accommodate the new wallpaper, etc. As all of my photos, etc. are sized for the format I am currently using, I’m a little nervous that I will mess up the previous 1,350-plus posts. The idea of going back and editing them all (something I would be crazy enough to do) does not float my boat. LOL. Perhaps, I’ll just use some of the elements from the kit and leave the formatting alone. That’s if can figure any of it out.

Fooling around with my blog and/or more fun in my corner will have to wait for “reward time,” however, as I have some domestic engineering duties to take care of first this weekend. There’s also that bio to write for Dustin, too, although I’m guessing he won’t get his outline to me before tomorrow evening.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, I hope it’s fun and relaxing. Isn’t that what weekends are all about? Take care, and thanks for stopping by!

Nothing Better…

… Than starting out the weekend with a sketch challenge. This card is my take on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #106. Unlike the cards I’ve made using digital images this week, this one is all stamped.

The background was created with my Friend Definition stamp stamped with Bamboo ink. I stamped the branch from the “A Tweet” set with Garden Green ink and then filled in what I interpreted to be the wood part of the branches with my Chocolate marker. I stamped the bird with Goldrush ink on the background piece before stamping it again with Twilight ink on a scrap of Colonial White cardstock. I cut out the bird and its “freehand” wing, inking their edges with Desert Sand to add some depth. I also used a foam texture tool to daub some ink around the edges of the focal point piece and the three one-inch squares I’d stamped with a stamp from the Noted Backgrounds set. After attaching the bird’s body, I used a 1/16th inch pop dot to attach its wing. Make sense? I hope so.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa, and Twilight cardstock; Topstitch paper packet; Bamboo, Desert Sand, Cocoa, Garden Green, Goldrush, and Twilight ink pads; Chocolate marker; Hero Arts Friend Definition stamp; Close To My Heart A Tweet, Noted Backgrounds, and Springtime stamp sets; Antiqued Copper brads and Mini Medley Accents Collection; Foam Texture Tool; EK Success 1/16th inch “pop dot.”

Happy Friday! While it was an OK workweek, I had no qualms about heading for home this afternoon. LOL. I have no specific plans for the weekend with the exception of helping Dustin write a 1,000-word biography that outlines his work history. Just like his mama thought he would, he pulled off the aptitude test he took last night. His credit score checked out, and as he already has FBI clearance for a government account he is involved with and has never had as much as a parking ticket, he is confident he will pass a criminal background check. On Monday, he is going to Minneapolis for a seminar on Tuesday, which is the next step in the hiring process. His dad and I are so excited for him.

And, I’m not the only blogger with good news this week. If you haven’t done so already, you need to congratulate Alanna for having passed the final part of her CPA exam and Kari whose daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby boy today. Life is good!

Tonight, I’m going to straighten up my corner, so I can have fun messing it up again. Enjoy your weekend, friends, and if you’re not too busy, stop back to see what I’ve drummed up for Simple Saturday. Later …

Spring Greetings

Here is a very simple 5-1/2 inch square card made with a free digital image I downloaded from Birds Cards, a site that just happened to show up on my recommended reading list from Google Reader. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. I matted the finished image and adhered it to my card base (White Daisy Textured cardstock) with foam tape. I pierced a few holes to offset the sentiment, and I was done.

Last night, I attempted the Cracked Glass with this same image. I learned a couple of things. First, it is a very good idea to turn your embossing gun off when adding another layer of embossing powder. Such a mess I made. Not at all funny at the time. More humorous today. Secondly, I discovered that “glass” will not stick to a waxy colored pencil surface. My glass cracked and then proceeded to fall off. Not particularly funny either but an excellent, what-not-to-do learning experience.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured and Hydrangea cardstock; Hydrangea ink pad; Papertrey Ink Take Three: Spring stamp set; Stained Glass Butterfly digital image from Birds Cards; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide and Mat; 3M foam mounting tape.

How was your day? Mine was busy, which means it went by fast. Tonight, I’m all tuckered out. I’m on my way to the tub for a relaxing soak and then, it’s off to bed. Hooray for Friday! Enjoy it, and as always, thank you for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. Later…

Manly

While its name is “Silhouette Grass,” this stamp looks like grain to this girl from the farm, and I love it.

After using the Friendship text stamp to create the background, I stamped the grass stamp with VersaMark. I used three embossing powders, beginning with copper at the bottom, then gold, and finally silver – the same technique I used on this card. Not wanting to cover the design, I opted to emboss my sentiment on vellum using Cocoa embossing powder. It’s a card that would work for a guy but is pretty enough to send to a woman – unisex, I guess. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White cardstock; Vellum; Basic Grey Origins 6x6-inch paper pad; Bamboo and VersaMark ink pads; Hero Arts Silhouette Grass and Friendship background stamps and Thinking of You stamp set; Antiqued Copper mini brads; Copper, gold, and silver, and Cocoa embossing powders; Embossing heat tool; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Labels Eight set.

My disclaimer about not being good at directions didn’t get me off the hook on that last card. That’s OK. I like questions. This is the stamp I used. It is what I’ll call a “reverse silhouette stamp,” and so it was the background that was embossed and not the flowers. Clear, well-written, step-by-step directions, along with a photograph of Jennifer’s beautiful card, can be found here. It was a fun card to make.

Happy Hump Day! Cameron, Sarah, and the boys were here for supper tonight, which was fun. Dustin called, too, and is coming back tomorrow night – this time for an online assessment test. He’s really pumped about making a change. Currently, he’s a sales supervisor in the volume sales division at the same business where his brother and I work. While I don’t think any of us are particularly cut out for the corporate world, my outgoing Dusty is a born salesman and really needs to work for himself. It’s fun watching him spread his wings.

That’s about it for me tonight. I hope you are having a good week. I’ll catch you again tomorrow night when the kid is done with mom’s computer. Take care, and thank you for stopping by!

Imitation, the Highest Form of Flattery

So, if this adage is true, Jennifer McGuire will feel pretty good should she happen upon my card. It wasn’t my intention to copy her card until I looked it up to make sure I had the technique down and realized I had to attempt a card as beautiful as hers.

Instructions not being my thing, I should probably let you read them on the Hero Arts site. I stamped the Friendship background stamp on Colonial White cardstock with Desert Sand ink and then stamped the Silhouette Meadow Flowers stamp on the background with VersaMark before embossing it with clear embossing powder. The flowers and leaves were filled in with inked up sponge daubers.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Moonstruck cardstock; Desert Sand, Crystal Blue, Moonstruck, Garden Green, Olive, and VersaMark ink pads; Hero Arts Friendship Background, Silhouette Meadow Flowers, and Anytime Messages stamp set; Button and Jute from my stash; Clear and white embossing powders; Embossing heat tool; Ecru crochet cotton; Sponge daubers; Edge Distressor.

How was your day? Mine was OK. Youngest son (30 in June) Dustin was here from the time he finished work at 5 until a few minutes ago. He’s considering a career change and had a two-hour, interactive “Day in the Life” thing to do and needed a computer with a faster connection than what he has living in the country. He also filled out an online job application before sitting down and visiting with his mom for a while. I so love that boy. He was the baby that smiled at the sound of my voice when he was only a couple of days old. “Oh, it’s just gas,” they told me. No, it was not. If I’d talk, he’d smile. We repeated the exchange several times before those around me finally realized that he was truly reacting to the sound of my voice. He’s been smiling ever since. Honest, ambitious, and incredibly funny, he inherited the best qualities of his dad and his two grandfathers. What did he inherit from me? A nasty cowlick in the same place as mine. Mathias has it, too. Nothing like passing on my finest features. LOL.

To answer Kari’s question from my last post, my large printer is currently parked at an angle on my computer desk and the file cabinet that sits next to it. Luckily, my scanner fit on the slide-out printer tray. The set up is not ideal but will work until I figure out what I want to do with my space. 

For tonight, I’m off to bed. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great Wednesday!

Pure Innocence

I love Heather Ellis’ Pure Innocence images. The two I used for the cards I am posting today are digi stamps from her Etsy store. A line of Pure Innocence clear stamps is also available from My Favorite Things. For me, these images perfectly portray the simplicity – the innocence – of childhood.

I colored both images with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. The dresses were paper-pieced.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Chocolate, and Heavenly Blue cardstock; Topstitch paper packet; Pure Innocence digi stamp and Hero Arts Anytime Messages stamp set; Baby Pink brad; White Bitty Brads; Papertrey Ink Sweet Blush grosgrain ribbon; Prismacolor colored pencils: Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; 3M foam mounting tape.

 

 

 

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Chocolate, and Sorbet cardstock; Cosmo Cricket Earth Love 6x6-inch Mini Deck; Chocolate ink pad; Pure Innocence digi stamp and Papertrey Ink Take Three – Spring stamp set; Sorbet mini brads; Sorbet Ribbon Rounds; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

I had the opportunity to play around with my printer a bit this weekend, printing off some freebie digital patterned paper I came across the other day. It printed beautifully, and I’ll be using it one day soon. I don’ know how much printing of this type I will be doing. The ink for this particular printer is not cheap, so I’m anxious to see how long the cartridges last. I have located a source that sells the six cartridges in a bundle for approximately 40 percent off retail. That will help.

Today was pretty much a typical Monday – probably better than most, because I got a good night’s sleep last night. I hope you had a good day, too. With nothing on this evening’s agenda, I.m looking forward to putting my feet up and relaxing until bedtime. I’ll catch you again tomorrow. Take care, and thanks for stopping by.

A Few Challenge Cards

This first card is my take on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #105. My inspiration came from these beautiful cards posted recently by my blogging buddy Deb’s on her Scrapbook Czar blog. No lack of Mojo there!  I love the way she created three gorgeous cards in one sitting – all using DCWV’s La Crème Matstack.

My card is pretty straightforward. I inked around the edges of the focal point image and sentiment with Bamboo ink using a sponge dauber. I struggled a bit when it came to placement for the sentiment. In fact, since starting this post, it has been moved up from the lower left corner. I like it better now … I think. I always find it interesting how, when looking at my card on the computer monitor, I see things (potential improvements usually) that I don’t see when the card is right in front of me.

Material & Tools: Colonial White, Black, and Bamboo cardstock; DCWV La Crème Matstack; Black and Bamboo ink pads; Close to My Heart Treasure Life and TLC stamp sets; Hero Arts pearl accents; Martha Stewart Large Butterfly punch; 1 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches; Sponge dauber; 3M foam mounting tape.

 

 

“Fruits of Labor” is the theme for Raise the Bar Challenge #10. I colored my image with Prismacolor pencils and OMS, trying my darnedest to get the colors to coordinate with those on the patterned paper.

My initial thoughts were that this card would have to be one for the husband. Then, I thought about all the people I collaborate with on a one-on-one basis at work. I’m going to tuck this card into a desk drawer and save until such time as I’ve brought a tough project to fruition with the help of a co-worker.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Cocoa cardstock; Basic Grey 6x6-inch Nook and Pantry Paper Pad; Black ink pad; Stampendous Fresh Fruit stamp set; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Antiqued Copper mini brads; Black My Legacy Writer; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; 3M foam mounting tape

 

 

This final card today is my contribution for Unscripted Sketches #47. I must have pulled out 10 stamp sets before finally selecting “A Tweet.” I inked up my bird stamp with Honey ink and then used a sponge dauber to ink some Cocoa ink around the edges to give the image a little added dimension. It’s wing, which is not part of the stamp set and was cut freehand, is popped up with a piece of foam tape.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Cocoa cardstock; Basic Grey 6x6-inch Origins paper pad; Cocoa, Honey, and Bamboo ink pads; Close To My Heart A Tweet stamp set; Ribbon from Michael’s; Antiqued Copper bitty and mini brads; Stampin’ Up Photo Corner punch; Sponge dauber; 3M foam mounting tape.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. The wedding yesterday was lovely. I’ll tell you a bit more about it on a day when my post isn’t already so long. For now, I’d better finish up on some projects I started yesterday. Thanks for stopping by, friends! Later …

Simple Saturday X 2

Hello! How are you today? I’m doing fine. Much better, in fact, after starting the day out with a haircut. Sick on Tuesday, my original appointment, which was way overdue, had to be postponed. I am so glad to be rid of what had become an overgrown, shaggy mop. The rest of the day can be nothing but good.

A card doesn’t get much simpler than my first Simple Saturday offering. Regardless, I love it as much (or maybe more) as I would a “five-pounder.”

Materials & Tools: Colonial White cardstock; Caboodle paper packet; Garden Green ink pad; Stampin’ Up Inspired by Nature and Close To My Heart For Every Occasion stamp sets; Bitty Sparkles; Martha Stewart Butterfly punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Labels Eight set.

My second card was inspired by this very pretty card on Deb Neerman’s  Paper, Ink, Scissors, & Stamps blog. Now called the “Letterpress Technique,” inking up an embossing folder was something I tried way back in November 2007 after seeing embossed cardstock that had been chalked. With a hankering to use black ink, I figured there was potential to create quite a mess. It wasn’t too bad, however, and my embossing folder cleaned up beautifully by just running it under warm water. The card is just what I had hoped it would be.

 Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Cranberry cardstock; Black ink pad; Hero Arts Anytime Messages stamp set; Red satin ribbon from Wal-Mart; Cuttlebug w/Stylized Flowers embossing folder.

I have about a hundred things I want/need to do today before getting ready to go to the wedding this afternoon, including getting ready for my stamp club, which meets tomorrow evening. It would be nice to get a lot done today and then be able to reward myself with a quiet, relaxing day tomorrow. Maybe …

Although it is something I say everyday, I hope your day/weekend is wonderful. And, a sincere thank you for stopping by. Your visits, your sweet comments are what keep me coming back. Again, thank you. Later…

A Wedding Card

Here is a card I made for a wedding we will be attending tomorrow. Before you get the idea I could actually come up with something like this on my own though, I gotta tell you I found the template here on the Stamp-n-Design blog. Cute, huh? I believe it meets the requirements for Stamp Simply #131, too, on the No Time to Stamp? blog. This week’s theme is “CAS Texture.”  Yup, my card is clean and simple with plenty of texture.

It’s a gate fold card, the inside of which I have yet to finish. My card base is colonial white as is the dress. Instead of using sparkly embossing powder, I opted for a white-on-white look. The stripes on the shirt were drawn on with an embossing pen. I used foam tape to attach the lapel. There is also foam tape under the lower portions of the skirt panels. I believe you can see that I used Black Textured cardstock. It was a fun card to make and something a little different. Now, if I don’t screw up the sentiment, we’ll be good to go. Otherwise, it will be a quick stop at Hallmark. Been there. Done that. LOL.

Materials and Tools: Colonial White and Black (textured ) cardstock; VersaMark ink pad; Adorable Backgrounds (retired) stamp set; Silver Bitty Brads; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Sparkles; White embossing powder; Embossing heat tool; 3M foam tape.

Woo hoo! Happy Friday! Like I said, we’re going to a wedding tomorrow. Otherwise, the weekend is mine… maybe. A girl can hope. LOL.

Have you got plans for the weekend? Whatever you do, I hope your weekend includes an appreciation for the little things, which, when added up, make for a happy life. Take care, friends. Later …

Just Ducky

My intention was to make an Easter card, but with little ducks shouting “Baby,” I switched gears. As for details, the umbrella, its handle, and the ducks were paper pieced. Foam tape gives the umbrella a bit of dimension. The ribs of the umbrella were drawn on with a My Legacy Writer.

Material & Tools: Colonial White, Sorbet, Sweet Leaf, and Sunny Yellow cardstock; Caboodle paper packet; Black, Crystal blue, and Sorbet ink pads; Orange marker; Close To My Heart Springtime and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp sets; Colonial White mini brads; Black My Legacy Writer; 13/16 and 1-inch circle punches; Stampin’ Up Photo Corner punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

I have a question. Is the size of my photos OK? I am sizing them a hair larger than I was when working on a 17-inch monitor. On my old computer, they looked just right … to me. On a 21-1/2 inch monitor, they look kinda small. My personal preference is a photo that is neither too large or too small. While too small photos are frustrating, I don’t want to get in your face with my stuff either. It’s not that good. LOL.

It’s only one more day until the weekend again.The days really fly by, don’t they? We had our warmest two days of the season so far (45 and 48 degrees) yesterday and today. With the warm temperatures, however, we’ve had lots of wind, so they haven’t been all that enjoyable. It’s supposed to cool off again, starting tomorrow. That’s OK. It will help with area flooding situations, which can get a little hairy when spring comes too fast to the frozen tundra.

I’ve had a little excitement at work the past couple of days. Late yesterday, my computer was attacked by a virus – a few fast and furious pop-ups, and I was locked out of everything. While looking for datasheets on the Internet, I evidently ended up in a not-so-good place and got a lot more than I bargained for. In the end, I ended up with a new computer, but only after watching a computer operator try to bring my old one back to life for about three and a half hours this morning. Never having seen anything like that before, it was all quite an education.

How was your day? Tonight, I’m going to do a little housework in an effort to get a jumpstart on the weekend – a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it. Enjoy the evening, friends, and as always, thank you for stopping by. Later…

A Digi Image

During the months I didn’t have a printer, one of the many things I missed was not being able to use digital images. I love them and am tinkled pink to have access to them again. I don’t think the photograph does my card justice. The card base is Crystal Blue textured cardstock. You can barely see the rows of piercing. Sigh… Anyway, the image was colored with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. Oh, and before I forget, the lovely image was a freebie. I found the link to it here on the Paper Garden Projects blog.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Crystal Blue (textured) cardstock; Black ink pad; Digital image from Paper Garden Projects; Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp set; Ribbon from Michael’s; Silver mini brads; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Stampin’ Up Ticket punch; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide and Mat; McGill Multi-Tag punch.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I wore a green sweater today, and Bjorn and Mathias went off to school sporting green shirts. Bjorn was all excited about a “Tasting the Alphabet” party. His letter was “A,” so his contribution was apples. Still feeling kind of punk, I only worked a half day today. My chest not hurting as much, I figure I’m on the mend.

I hope your day was wonderful. Your visits and kind comments are so appreciated. Take care, and thanks again.

Bright Like Sunshine

Here’s my take on FTL 82 as featured on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. This card features all kinds of favorites. First, I love this fun stamp set. Secondly, this – Holiday Red, Dutch Blue, Topiary, and Sunflower – is one of my favorite color combinations. It’s happy! Finally, this versatile sketch could easily become a favorite.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Dutch Blue, and Holiday Red cardstock; Dutch Blue, Holiday Red, Sunflower, and Topiary ink pads; Close To My Heart One of a Kind stamp set; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; EK Success corner rounder (used to cut the scallops)

A little stamping session was just what I needed last night. When I’m making a mess card, the rest of the world just kind of melts away. And while life is good at the moment, I can’t help but recall how therapeutic this hobby has been when things haven’t been so good. I think I’ve recognized the value of hobbies my whole life and to back myself up, I found an article about the benefits of hobbies here. The following is an excerpt:

Psychologist Michael Brickey, Ph.D., is the author of the book “Defy Aging.” His focus is on helping people stay physically and mentally active so they can enjoy their later years. Dr. Brickey says hobbies help by reducing stress and providing a sense of accomplishment.

"Hobbies can be thought of on three levels," Dr. Brickey says. "The first is as a diversion. Hobbies help us pass the time. The second is as a passion. When a hobby becomes a passion, we become truly engaged in doing something we love. It not only helps us pass time, it makes us unaware that time is passing. The third level is as something that creates a sense of purpose. We all need that." The ideal hobby, he says, combines all three levels.

"Hobbies can become so important, especially if they are a way to connect with others, that they become part of who we are," Dr. Brickey adds.

It sounds like our little obsession passion is healthy, doesn’t it? Preventive medicine. That’s what I’m going to tell Husband the next time I warn tell him the UPS man person is coming. LOL.

I made the card and drafted my post thus far last night – before I started coughing my fool head off and my chest started to hurt. It was a rough night, and I didn’t go to work today. Leave it to me to wait until the weather gets nice to get sick. I’m drinking lots of fluids and taking extra Vitamin C. It’s just a cold. Nevertheless, I am quite miserable this evening and am on my way back to bed.

I hope your week is going great. Hope, too, to talk to you again tomorrow night. ‘Til then, take care, and thank you for taking the time to stop by. Later…

Slow and Steady

I watercolored this image on Friday evening after posting my other Bunny Kiss card. Those watercolor crayons are fun to play around with, and I figured I could use a little more practice.

I painted the bunny gray this time, the chick a brighter yellow, and the sky a brighter shade of blue. Everything else about the 5-1/2 inch square card explains itself … I think.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Baby Pink, and Breeze (retired) cardstock; Sweet Pea paper packet; Black and Petal ink pads; Penny Black Bunny Kiss stamp and CTMH Say it in Style stamp set; Paper flowers and brads from my stash; KaiserCraft pearl accent; Lyra Aquacolor crayons; Waterbrush; Fiskar Apron Lace border punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

While my the computer is unbelievably fast, I’m pokey – proof that the old adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” is true. LOL. It will get better. Funny thing, though. I find as I get older, I have more patience with everyone else and less with myself … maybe Husband, too, or at least that is what he’d say. It was an OK day at work. Tonight, I think I’ll take a break from Computer 101 and spend some time in my corner where I know what I’m doing.

How was your day? A good one, I hope. Enjoy your evening! Later …

Coming Up for Air

Just checking in to let you know I'm alive and well. Kind of. I am making an attempt to get to know my new computer. We are not friends yet, and there have been a few moments when I've thought we never will be. For example, the email program I have used for years is not compatible with Windows 7 64 bit. Had it been, I would have been able to do a file transfer. Had I realized it wasn't compatible, I would have transferred the important stuff to my gmail account and written down my contact information. As it is, it's lost. Speaking of compatibility, a note with the software that came with my printer said that the provided version of Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 may not be compatible either. There are a host of other things, too. Even the new keyboard is making me batty. I guess the shift key was sticky on the old one and made everyone else crazy. I must have been accustomed to it. On this one, I keep inadvertently hitting the caps lock.

You probably don't want to hear about this - the saga of the old lady trying to adapt to new technology. All I can say is, I'd rather be stamping. LOL. I hope your weekend was wonderful.  I'll try to get back tomorrow night with a card to share. Until then, take care!

Simple Saturday

Today’s Simple Saturday offering was lifted from the gallery at Papertrey Ink. I simply reversed the colors Maile Belles used to create her beautiful card. I used textured cardstock, which makes all the difference for a card so simple.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Twilight Textured cardstock; Sweet Leaf and Black ink pads; Papertrey Ink Take Three – Spring stamp set; Corner rounder.

As predicted, I’m busy today. Does anyone remember the television show, “Bewitched?”  Man, I wish I had Samantha’s powers and could make short work of housekeeping. With a twitch of her nose and a nod of her head, that gal could make things happen. Me? I’m just plugging away with everything I’m trying to do taking twice as long as I thought it would. The weekend is going to be short.

On a more positive note, while it’s cloudy here again today (for about the 10th day in a row), it’s much brighter than it has been. The snow continues to melt with the open patches of grass starting to show signs of green. Woo hoo!

Whatever you are doing today, I hope you are healthy and happy. Thank you so much for your visits and sweet comments. They truly warm my heart. Later…

Spring Greetings

This week’s Stamp Simply #130 on the No Time to Stamp? blog is a color challenge – to make a card or stamped project using the colors pink and green. The sketch is my take on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #104.

My image was stamped on watercolor paper and then colored with a waterbrush and Lyra Aquacolor crayons. I have had a set of 48 of these crayons for years and up until this evening, had yet to use them. While I am certain there is much room for improvement, I’m not entirely unhappy with my first try. And, aside from the image, I’m surprised this card looks as good as is does for as many times as it was pulled apart and put back together again. Some days are like that.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Sweet Leaf cardstock; Daydream paper packet; Black ink pad; Penny Black Bunny Kiss stamp and Impression Obsession Sentiments II stamp set; White mini brads; Sweet Leaf Designer Ribbon Rounds; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Lyra Aquacolor crayons; Waterbrush; 3M foam mounting tape.

Do you have plans for the weekend? It’s going to be a busy one for me – everything from cleaning and laundry to bookwork and getting electronic equipment up and running. For what is left of the evening, however, I am going to kick back and relax. I hope you have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Happiness Is …

Thank heaven for fellow bloggers who share all of their great ideas! My little pocket card this evening was inspired by this awesome card on Aaron’s Booth #32 blog. And, not only did she share the idea but the template as well. Thank you, Aaron!

As I have yet to get my hot little hands on the April Stamp of the Month set, “Flower Pot,” that Aaron showcased, I opted to use another favorite, “Happiness.” I embossed my flower head with white embossing powder and then sponged it with Grey Flannel ink so the detail would show.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Topiary cardstock; Doodlebug Design Black Eyelet paper; Black, Topiary, Sunflower, Grey Flannel, and VersaMark ink pads; Happiness stamp set; White embossing powder; Embossing heat tool; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide and Mat; Stampin’ Up Round Tab punch; 1-inch and 1/2-inch circle punches; Round sponge; Seed packet.

What’s everyone up to this week? The blogosphere seems kind of quiet. Spring fever perhaps? I think the thermometer may have hit 40 degrees here today. It’s been mild here all week with occasional rain. The snow is melting. Sunshine would be nice, too, although it isn’t forecast until next week. When I saw we switch to Daylight Savings Time again already on Sunday, I just about jumped for joy. Having an extra hour of daylight after getting home from work will be awesome. I tend to shut down once it is dark, which isn’t very conducive to getting anything done around the house in the evenings.

And, tomorrow is Friday. How sweet is that? While I’ve had a good week at work, I will be more than happy to spend a couple of days at home. With my current monitor’s pixels dying fast, we need to get the new computer up and running - “Big Bertha” printer, too … somewhere. LOL. For tonight, I’m going to go clean up my corner, so I can “start fresh” tomorrow night. Enjoy the evening! Later …

Quick Card … Quick Post

Here’s a very simple, no frills card I pretty much made with stuff that was out on my desk. I colored my image with markers.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Black ink pad; Bubblegum and Topiary markers; Hero Arts Special Moments Cling and CTMH Say it in Style stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Cuttlebug w/Swiss Dots embossing folder.

Happy Hump Day! My day was busy, and I bowled tonight, which was fun. I hope your day was a good one, too. And now, I’m off to bed. Thanks for stopping by!

Piece of Cake

Tonight’s card was inspired my this very cool card on Mariana Grigsby’s blog. I loved her ribbon treatment and the way she layered her tone-on-tone textured papers.

I, too, used textured paper, loving the two-tone quality of CTMH’s textured cardstock. I colored my image with markers and grounded the cake plate with a gray Prismacolor pencil. In lieu of stitching (dragging out my big, cumbersome sewing machine that I would have to put away again), I pierced a border around the background piece. Both the background piece and image were layered with foam mounting tape – layered just like the cake!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Baby Pink (textured) cardstock; Baby Pink Gingham B&T paper (retired); Black ink pad; Baby Pink and Clover Meadow markers; Piece of Cake (February Stamp of the Month) and Say it in Style stamp sets; White Daisy eyelets; Ribbon from reasonableribbon.com; Crop-O-Dile; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide and Mat; Black My Legacy Writer; Gray Prismacolor colored pencil; 3M foam mounting tape.

Look what the Fed Ex man brought today. Husband was shocked by its size. “Try and lift that thing,” he challenged me. Yes, it’s heavy, but I assured him that it isn’t portable and something I’m going to be carrying around. Actually, its humongous size is a dilemma – something I didn’t think about before the fact and nothing I’ve told him about … yet. It won’t fit in the printer “slot” in my current computer desk. It won’t fit on top of my “current” computer desk. The only place I can see it will fit is in the middle of the floor, and that is not going to work. My redecorating plan may well become a forced issue, and while my initial reaction was, “Darn,” it might just be a way of getting some things I’ve been procrastinating about done once and for all.

How was your day? I had a slow day at work. It’s feast or famine at my desk with me preferring a feast as opposed to boredom. It’s gloomy outdoors. We got more than 2 inches of rain last night which is weird when the ground is covered with piles of snow. Thankfully, the temperatures have remained above freezing, and all the moisture hasn’t turned to ice. I slept like a baby last night and am hoping for an encore performance tonight.

Enjoy the evening! I’m off to find the tape measure and try to come up with a plan. Stay tuned … LOL.

Wilson

March is Women’s History Month, and to commemorate women’s achievements Raise the Bar Challenge #8 is to use an image that includes a book. I thought I was out on this one until I remembered a stamp I have had since back in the day when I thought rubber stamps were decorative and looked cute in a shadow box hanging on one of my dining room walls. From Uptown Rubber Stamps, “Wilson … Love Sonnets” is/was part of The Boyd’s Collection. While most of my stamps from 15-plus years ago are long gone, I haven’t had the heart to part with Wilson and one other stamp from the Boyd’s Collection.

Speaking of old, I didn’t realize the ribbon I was using was from the retired Twilight Ribbon Rounds collection until after the fact. Thankfully, it coordinates with the Indian Corn Blue paper I used on my card. The image was colored with Prismacolor pencils and OMS and mounted to the card with foam tape.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Indian Corn Blue paper packet; Sweet Home paper packet; Black, Garnet, and Bamboo ink pads; Uptown Rubber Stamps Wilson… Love Sonnets rubber stamp and CTMH Say it with Style stamp set; Retired Twilight Ribbon Rounds; Antiqued Copper mini brads; Antiqued Copper Mini Medley Accents; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide and Mat; Sponge dauber; Sanding block; 3M foam mounting tape.

All things considered, today was a fine day. I was just a little tired. It seems, once again, I didn’t want the weekend to end with sleep eluding me until somewhere between 3 and 4 am. Do I need therapy or what? LOL. Anyway, I’ll be attempting to make up/catch up tonight.

I hope your day was awesome. With that, I’m off to clean up my corner and maybe get a little jumpstart on tomorrow’s card. Take care, friends. Later…

The Project

After playing it up a bit, I hope my little project doesn’t disappoint. There’s a bit of a story that goes with it, too.

First of all, the My Creations Journal is a new product from Close To My Heart that I ended up with by accident. I meant to order two packages of the new Bitty Sparkles (Z1263), but due to either small numbers in the CTMH catalog or a typo, I received two journals (Z1268). I asked the “What the heck?” question a couple of times – first, because I’d received them in the first place and secondly, because this product that I was unfamiliar with had a plastic sleeve thing on the cover. I ripped it off one of the books and am glad I left it alone on the other, but that was only after I saw Sarah’s breathtakingly beautiful journal on her blog, Sarah’s Paper Tray. OK, I thought when I saw hers, I get it now.

So, what you see is what I did with my “altered” book. Does it remind you of anything? The cover of the spring CTMH Idea Book, maybe? I removed the covers from the binding and covered them with paper that I ran through my Xyron. I used stamps from three different sets. The title is on a piece of chipboard – a happy accident after stamping it directly on the almost-finished cover didn’t work out so well. As for finishing it, can you guess what I was waiting for? Yup, it was those Bitty Sparkles that I meant to order in the first place. LOL. As for the photo to the right, it’s not much to see. I just wanted you to see how I finished the inside cover. The back cover is done the same way with the Juniper print on the outside and Crème Brule on the inside. I’ll probably use it to record cute things the little guys say, etc.

Materials & Tools: Modified My Creations Journal; Veranda paper packet; Cocoa ink pad; One of a Kind, Felicity, and Key to my Heart stamp sets; Chocolate mini brads; Spring Blossom Just Blooms paper flowers; Basic Craft Buttons; Ecru embroidery floss; Sparkles and Bitty Sparkles; Sponge dauber; GlueDots; Xyron.


How was your day? After taking some Sudafed right after my post this morning, I’ve felt OK. I seem to be in the habit of getting half-sick these days, which is much better than sick-sick. It just kind of slows me down. Cameron, Sarah, and the boys spent the afternoon with us. While Bjorn and Sarah spent the afternoon coloring, Mathias and I washed clothes and must have played every game we own. Grandpa made dinner. It was a good day.

I’m hoping my computer guy will have an evening later in the week to set up my computer and printer. I don’t care if it’s “plug and play.” I don’t want to do it. Oh, and I’m getting an HP desktop with lots of power, a ton of storage, and a 21-inch HD monitor. It’s functional. Practical. Everything I will need. Like I told a friend, that’s pretty much how this old lady chooses her underwear these days, too. I’m just a little more excited about the new computer gear than I would be a new package of cotton briefs. LOL.

That, I’m sure, is enough, but if you’re still with me, thanks for stopping by! I hope your week is wonderful.

Aspiration

Here’s my take on Unscripted Sketches #45. What a fun sketch! With its metal accents and strong color, my card has a bolder look than what I had envisioned. Even though the stamped image includes flowers, I am not so sure I wouldn’t give this one to a man, although I suppose the “with love” sentiment limits it to only a few candidates. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Perfect Day paper packet; Cocoa, Juniper, and Bamboo ink pads; Aspiration and Say it in Style stamp sets; Stampin’ Up Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon; Chocolate Waxy Flax; Antiqued Copper mini brads and Mini Medley Accents; Sponge dauber; Sanding block.

Here’s an Easter card I put together last night – my take on Mojo Monday 128.  I colored the bunny with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. I was thinking about how some stitching around the outside would added a little flair. Oh, to figure out how to incorporate a sewing machine into my tight, little corner. A small sewing machine, maybe? I actually dreamt about the Janome Mini last night. It must have been a sign. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Sweet Leaf, and Sorbet cardstock; Caboodle paper packet; Black and Crystal Blue ink pads; Bunny Love and Say it in Style stamp sets; White Daisy Mini Medley Accents; Sweet Leaf Designer Ribbon Rounds; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Piercing tool; 3M foam mounting tape.

Before I forget, there was a question about the Sizzix embossing folder I used for my Simple Saturday card. Yes, Sizzix’s embossing folders are compatible with the Cuttlebug. They look just like a Cuttlebug folder, and the only difference I noticed was their size. They will emboss a full 4-1/4 by 5-1/2 piece of piece of paper – a feature I appreciated.

I woke up this morning feeling pretty lousy – sore throat, icky headache, the start of a cold – not down-and-out sick but close. Shoot. Little Bjorn has had a cold and cough all week, and while it might have been wiser to have kept my distance, I couldn’t do it.

I guess I will rest today and see what transpires. For now, I’m off to the medicine cabinet to see if I can find something to take care of the headache.

Thank you for all of your sweet comments on my Simple Saturday posts. The encouragement is always appreciated. Have a wonderful day! Later …

Simple Saturday III – A Tutorial

Comments regarding the complexity of my Simple Saturday II card spurred me to prove you wrong even though you’ve got to know by now, I don’t do difficult or time consuming. I worked with squares instead of circles for this card. As I mentioned in my previous post, I used a brass stencil with circle patterns to pierce my cardstock. With no stencil, I started off by trying to create three squares using my Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide. When keeping them straight and lined up proved to be a pain in the backside, I opted to create a template that I would use for all three squares. That worked much better.

I worked with three strands of DMC embroidery floss, simply connecting the holes and learning that additional holes needed to be punched in two of the corners of each square. I accomplished that with my needle. The most difficult thing about any of this was threading the darned needle.  I tried a couple different pairs of bifocals neither of which were much help. Were I to get serious about stitching again, I suppose one of those around-the-neck magnifier things would be the ticket.

Heck, I’m not proud. I’ll show you the back of my work if it will help convince you that this really isn’t difficult. You’ll note I secured one of the short tails with a small piece of tape.

And here’s the finished card. Again, I used textured cardstock. The square that features the stamped image (from CTMH’s Thank You set) was mounted on the card with foam tape. Fun. Easy (I promise!). Something a little different. If you have any questions, please ask.

And now, I’m off to finish cleaning up my corner for real! If you get a chance, stop back tomorrow. I have a card to show you as well as that “project” I’ve mentioned a couple of times. Later …

Simple Saturday II

This is my second post of the day, so if you are visiting for the first time, please scroll down to check out Simple Saturday I.

This card is my take on FTL#81, which is featured on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. It’s so nice of those gals to come up with a sketch for my Simple Saturday offering!

Fun, too, is the fact that this one is a little out of the box. I used a Stampin’ Up brass stencil to pierce the circles on textured cardstock, which I then filled in with a needle and embroidery floss in primary colors. Kinda cute. Easy. Different.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured cardstock; White Daisy and Cranberry cardstock; Cranberry ink pad; Thank You stamp set; Red, green, blue, and gold embroidery floss; Needle; Stampin’ Up brass stencil.

Oh, wow! The hours are flying by. This card came about when I was in the midst of cleaning up my corner. Time to get back at it.

Hope you are having a great day! Later …

Simple Saturday

This card is all about the embossing. Isn’t it pretty? I love the deep embossing, which, unfortunately, is a bit of problem for CTMH’s white-core cardstock. The embossing folder is from Sizzix.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy textured, black, and Papertrey Ink Berry Sorbet cardstock; Black ink pad; PTI Mixed Messages stamp set; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Hero Arts pearl accents; McGill multi-tag punch; Corner rounder; Cuttlebug w/ Sizzix Hello Friend embossing folder set.

We had a good time with the little guys. Last night, the four of us went out to dinner with Marv’s brother and his wife, and this morning, we played games and had all kinds of fun. Their daddy came to get them a little while ago.

My plans for today include cleaning up computer files. There is no sense transferring “junk” to the new one. With the help of my computer kid, I decided on an HP this time around – nothing real fancy but definitely, everything I need. My printer, which I bought directly from Epson, will be here Tuesday, and so, at some time next week, we’ll be “all new” again.

What are you up to this weekend? Anything fun? While it’s only 24 degrees, it’s a beautiful day here. Sunshine makes such a difference.

No, with a wish that yours is a wonderful day, I’d better go get something done. Thanks for stopping by!

A Five-Pounder

If you stop by my blog with any kind of regularity, you know heavily embellished cards are not my thing. I call ‘em five-pounders, and I don’t do ‘em. Well, last night I was in the mood for something different – as in “Vintage,” and one thing led to another. It’s a four and a half pound card, and I’m not sure if it’s “vintage” or just dirty pink. LOL.

I was inspired by Stamped Simply #129 “Punched Borders” theme on the No Time to Stamp? blog. I’ve got a little bit of everything going here, including a couple of sweet crocheted flowers from my even sweeter friend Jeanne. Scroll down on her Creative Bliss blog a bit to see the cool knitting project she’s got going – the cutest bunny I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Back to my card, there’s not much more to say with the exception that my sponge got quite a workout. I went so far as to dirty up the ribbon and am checking my fingers for blisters. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Blush cardstock; Blush, Baby Pink, and Bamboo ink pads; Papertrey Ink Take Three: Spring stamp set; Hero Arts Spring Memories stamp (old); Crocheted Flowers by Jeanne (sounds like the name for an Etsy shop, doesn’t it?), Basic Craft Buttons; KaiserKraft pearl accents; Stampin’ Up Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon; Ecru crochet cotton; Pretty Pins; GlueDots; Edge Distressor tool; Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edger punch.

Happy Friday! I’m posting earlier than usual, because we have little guests again tonight. I am so glad, too, because I will finally have a solid “block” of time with them. I look forward to tomorrow morning, too. Kids are so sweet in the morning. They always wake up happy and excited to take on the new day.

No. With a couple of things to do before the little munchkins arrive, I’d best close for now. As always, thank you for your visits. Have a great weekend, and if you get a chance, stop back to check out my Simple Saturday offering. I’ve got a little project (more than a card) to share, too! Later …

Fresh

Tonight’s card is my take on Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 58 as featured on the sweetest thing… blog. It also meets the criteria for Raise the Bar Challenge #7, which is “Three’s Company” – use an increment of three anywhere on your card.

As for my title, fresh was the first word that popped into my head when I looked at my green, springy card. I had to chuckle a bit, too, over my use of the word. Back in my day (a phrase I did not think I would ever use), a warning not to let a young man “get fresh” was usually the last thing a girl would hear before he arrived to take her on a date. I had to look “fresh” up to see if there was a definition that corresponded with what Dad meant. The closest thing I could find was the informal definition: forward or presumptuous. Yup, if some guy were to try to steal a kiss, I was supposed to slug him. LOL. Heck, I don’t know if the word “date” is even used any more. I think today’s young people “hook up.” Had I told my dad I was going to “hook up,” I doubt he would have let me out the door… ever. LOL.

Now, about my card. I stamped my images on white cardstock squares with VersaMark and embossed them with white embossing powder. A round sponge was used to add color. This 15-minute card was perfect for a day that held the promise of spring. It was sunny this afternoon with temperatures in the high 30s – beautiful and darned near sweatshirt weather in the frozen tundra.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Topiary, and Sweet Leaf (textured) cardstock; Topiary and VersaMark ink pads; Papertrey Ink Take Three: Spring stamp set; White grosgrain ribbon; Petaloo paper flower; White Bigger Brad; White embossing powder; Martha Stewart Arch Lattice border punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

Tonight, I am enjoying an evening by myself. Husband went to East Grand Forks to take in the Section 8 hockey championship with son Dustin, his brother, and a nephew or two. As much as I love my family, a little quietude once in a while is blissful – refreshing.

How was your Thursday? I hope it was a good day. That said, I’m off to take a leisurely bath and then perhaps have another little stamping session in my pajamas. Later …

A Tall Order

I think I shy away from these tall cards, because they are so darned hard to photograph. An artificial light situation didn’t help. Ok. That’s all the complaining you’ll hear from me this evening.

My card is my take on CPS #156 as featured on the Card Positioning Systems blog. If you take a peek at the sketch, you’ll note I turned it around a bit. The sentiment on the right with the bird facing the fold of the card didn’t look right.

About that bird, I made two. The first one fell on the floor, and I couldn’t for the life of me find it. The funny thing was the floor was clear with the exception of a couple small scraps of paper. Hmm… a disappearing bird that will eventually show up in some strange location. Oh, and the stamped bird was mounted on a piece of chipboard, which I attached to the card with foam tape.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Chocolate, Honey, and Autumn Terracotta cardstock; Felicity patterned paper and stamps; Chocolate, Honey, and Bamboo ink pads; Treasure Life stamp set; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Sponge daubers; 3M foam mounting tape.

Here are a couple more cards, which were inspired by this awesome card on the P[inks] blog. It’s based on a sketch challenge, too, but I don’t know which one and am too lazy to hunt for it. These were quick, easy, fun cards. The only challenge involved cutting out the babies with their stick arms and legs.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Heavenly Blue, Baby Pink, and Key Lime cardstock; Sweet Pea paper packet; Black, Heavenly Blue, Crystal Blue, Baby Pink, Blush, and Key Lime ink pads; Heavenly Blue and Baby Pink markers; Family Ties – Adults, Family Ties – Children, Sweet Baby, and Togetherness stamp sets; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Ovals set; 1 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches; 2-inch scalloped circle punch; Black My Legacy Writer; 3M foam mounting tape.

Tired and not feeling quite right, I took the afternoon off to come home and rest. After having done that, I’m perkier and getting ready to go bowling. When I get home, there will be a pair of little overnight guests waiting to play until bedtime. There is no better way to end the day.

I hope your day is going well. On a high note, the workweek is on the downslide. Only two days left. Take care, friends, and enjoy the evening. Talk to you again soon.

Almost Spring Chicken

A yen to color was the inspiration for this card, my take on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #102.

I used a combination of colored pencils and OMS and markers to color this cute chick. Her umbrella was paper-pieced. I’m loving the colors of the Caboodle paper packet – so springy!

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Crystal Blue cardstock; Caboodle paper packet; Black and Juniper ink pads; Holiday Red and Brown Bag markers; Whipper Snapper Designs Springtime Rain Chick stamp and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp set; Crystal Blue mini brads; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Black My Legacy Writer; Dove blending pen.

How was your day? Mine was, for the most part, uneventful. Tonight, my aim is to keep it that way with a little stamping and then, a good night’s sleep. I gotta rest up, so I can bowl like a rock star tomorrow night. LOL. 

Thank you for the encouraging comments and your visits. You’ve got to know they mean the world to me. Enjoy the evening! Later …

It’s March!

I will have to admit I was a little intimated by Unscripted Sketches #44 but think I managed to pull it off.

I don’t think my card requires a whole lot of explaining either!

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Baby Pink, Chocolate, and Crystal Blue cardstock; Topstitch paper packet; Chocolate ink pad; Togetherness and Happy Birthday stamp sets; Chocolate big brad.

In my ongoing computer saga, we didn’t have Internet service again this afternoon, so husband called our cable provider, who said it sounds like we have a line problem. Just what I thought. They are coming tomorrow. As for the dying monitor, I took the bull by the horns and told computer whiz kid to go to Dell’s website tonight and build me a whole new computer. Whether I get another one from Dell or not remains to be seen, but he knows what I want/need and will give me an idea of approximately how much $$ I will have to part with. While I’m at it, I’m getting a new printer, too – the wide format one I’ve been eyeing from Epson that will be good for digital scrapbooking. I informed husband of my plans when I got home tonight. As nothing is completely dead yet, he grumbled a bit but will get over it. In fact, once everything is here and set up, he’ll turn the story around so that somehow it was all his idea. After close to 33 years, I’ve got him figured out. LOL.

It was a quiet day at work, which was fine by me. I did find out I have to move again on Friday, which is not so fine but the way it is when a company has outgrown its 600,000 square foot facility. What’s crazy is that when I started seven years ago, they were just putting the finishing touches on a 400,000 square foot addition, and most of it was empty. There were 800 employees then and now over 2,000.

Tonight, I am going to tackle a pile of clutter in my den and then kick back for the rest of the evening. I hope yours was a good day, too, and that you enjoy the evening. As always, thanks for stopping by! Later …