Happy, Happy Friday!

What a glorious day!

This evening’s card is my take on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #111. I don’t know that there is a lot to say about the card that the photograph doesn’t reveal. It came together very quickly, which I attribute to its simplicity and Close To My Heart’s wonderful matching papers, stamps, and embellishments. The fact that I am flying high this evening may have had something to do with it as well.

Materials & Tools: Vanilla Cream, Juniper, and Garden Green cardstock; Veranda Creative Basics Collection; Cocoa, Crème Brule, Juniper, and Garden Green stamp pads; So Sweet stamp set; Crème Brule Bigger Brads; EK Success corner rounder; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 1/2-inch circle punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

Have I mentioned that much of the grass is green in the frozen tundra – that the trees are leafing out? Remember how I complained about having no leaves on the trees last year as we were heading toward the end of June? It’s been cool and rainy for the past couple of day, and albeit there are a few more gloomy, rainy days in the forecast, there is little doubt it will be bright and beautiful once the sun shines again.

I come here tonight with a wonderful secret I cannot share… yet… Additionally, during the past few days, I have been working on an idea, which while I am not ready to talk about it publicly, is one that has the potential to take me to (or better said, bring me back) to where I want to be. I cannot remember a time when I have been so excited and filled with hope. My brainchild will require a lot of time and hard work, which will be OK. If it works out, the end result will be worth it, and I will once again be doing something I deem to have meaning. Even if my idea does not fly or fly as high as I want it to, it will be good for my having tried. After starting to believe the cold, corporate world had sucked the last morsels of enthusiasm and ambition out of me, just to have a dream again feels nothing short of phenomenal.

Now, for a little news that isn’t quite so mysterious. Tomorrow morning, Bjorn and Mathias are boarding a plane with their mom, her husband, and their maternal grandparents bound for Florida and a week at Disney World. Talk about enthusiasm, those were two excited little boys when we had our eight hugs and eight kisses this afternoon. They are about to have an adventure of a lifetime. As for their daddy, grandpa, and me, we’ve never been more than a few hours away from them, so having them so far away leaves us (and especially daddy) feeling a tiny bit apprehensive. I think that is understandable. We’ll just have to get busy, which will make the week go by fast.

If you’re still with me, thank you for listening. I’m thinking that in the future, I may well have more interesting things to share – something more than the standard, “My day was OK.” LOL. There will be those, too, I’m sure.

What are you doing this weekend? Anything exciting? I have a paint project in mind – one I’ve talked about before but have procrastinated actually doing. I’ll save the specifics until it’s done just in case I get sidetracked or more truthfully, find an excuse to put it off a little longer. Husband and I had dinner at a new Mexican restaurant tonight. The food was excellent. My margarita superb. Typical of me with a full stomach, I want to go to bed. LOL.  With that I’m off to go lie down, watch some TV, and see how long it takes the sandman to make his appearance.

I hope your weekend is wonderful. “See” you tomorrow for Simple Saturday!

The Real Deal

A while back, I was inspired by this stamp to make this card. Since, I have acquired the much coveted, inspirational stamp, which I combined  with a couple other Hero Arts stamps to make this evening’s offering. To make my card, I stamped the background stamp twice and cut out the butterflies, two of which were colored with markers. I embossed the wings of the third  with  clear  embossing powder. I was happy with the results, which, in real life, are much less sparkly than they appear in the photo. As for the wings of the largest butterfly, they curled up on their own, most likely from the moisture of the marker.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Cocoa, Bamboo, and Garden Green ink pads; Sunkiss Yellow, Sunny Yellow, Sunflower, Autumn Terracotta, and Grey Wool markers; Clear embossing powder; Hero Arts Antique Writing, Three Ferns, and Silhouette Fern stamps; CTMH Say it in Style stamp set;  Antiqued copper mini brads; Sponge dauber; Embossing heat tool.

Wow, it’s Friday already again tomorrow. No complaints and no specific plans for the weekend. In my book, that’s a good thing. There’s lots to do around here, and maybe – just maybe – with no interruptions I’ll get something done. A girl can hope … How was your day? A good one I hope. Tomorrow, too! With that wish, I’ll add a note of gratitude for all your support and sign off for tonight. Take care, friends.

Three Ferns, Three Cards

 

While I am occasionally guilty of impulse buying, my purchase of this Three Ferns stamp from Hero Arts was not such an act. I have wanted this simple, classic stamp since I first laid my eyes on in quite some time ago. It will be one of those stamps that will be used over and over again for years to come and will be particularly good for cards with masculine appeal.

I used a resist technique to create this first card, stamping my image with VersaMark on patterned paper. After embossing it with clear embossing powder, I used a round sponge to apply Olive ink and bring the design to live. On this card, the look is soft and subtle. I like it!

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Olive, and Bamboo cardstock; Expedition paper packet; Olive and VersaMark ink pads; Clear embossing powder; Hero Arts Three Ferns stamp; Happy Birthday stamp set; Copper mini brads; Embossing heat tool; Round sponge.

 

 

This next card is a CAS (clean and simple) design that was going to be a one-layer card before I decided it really needed a border. Instead of mounting my card front to the mat piece and then adhering it to the card base, however, I cut down the card base and mounted it on the green piece. Following me? In other words, the larger green piece is the back of the card. Regardless, it was a 10-minute project that makes for a perfect sympathy card.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Garden Green cardstock; Garden Green ink pad; Hero Arts Three Ferns stamp; Impression Obsession Sympathy Sentiments stamp set; Kaiser Kraft pearl accents.

 

 

The photo of this last card does not do it justice. I’ve discovered metallic stuff gives me the same fits as glitter when it comes to photographing it. It’s either too much or too little. Anyhoo, I stamped the image with VersaMark again, this time embossing it with copper embossing powder. To give the Olive cardstock some texture, I used what I call the “Saran Wrap” technique. If you “stamp” with a wadded up piece of plastic wrap, you can achieve texture that almost looks like suede. Desiring more boldness with the sentiment than I achieved with the top card, I opted to stamp it with New England Ivy. Mission accomplished. And the result is an all-occasion card that would be appropriate for either a man or a woman.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Olive cardstock; Expedition paper packet; Copper metallic paper from my stash; Olive, New England Ivy, and VersaMark ink pads; Copper embossing powder; Hero Arts Three Ferns stamp; Say it in Style stamp set; 3/8-inch Natural Twill ribbon; Copper Picture Hanger and mini brads; Plastic wrap; Embossing heat tool.

 

I think I should take a little break from my corner more often. Man, all enthused about trying new/different  things, I’ve had fun the past few days. Instead of scrambling for ideas, I have ideas. 

Not feeling 100 percent, I took a little hiatus from work this afternoon, too, in the form of a half day of vacation. It must have been what I needed, because I perked up when I got home. That said, I’m off to go get a much-needed haircut.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. Enjoy the evening, and a big thanks for stopping by!

A Couple of Cards

I’ve been seeing these little spiral roses everywhere and decided to try them one more time. When I tried them the first time – quite some time ago – I must have been in a “mood” or something. Whatever my issue was at that time, however, they are very easy. If you haven’t try them yet, here is an instructional video I found on the Simply Rae blog.

For my flowers I used 1-3/4 and 1-inch circle punches. To add some color variation, I gently tapped Hollyhock ink on my Blush cardstock. I love the idea of being able to make my own flowers. Dying or painting white ones is a bit of a pain, and regardless of how many colored ones I have on hand, it seems like I never have the right color and/or size.

Materials and Tools: White Daisy, Blush (flowers),Blush Textured (card base), and Garden Green cardstock; Blush and Hollyhock ink pads; Hero Arts Friend Definition stamp; Close To My Heart Thank You stamp set; May Arts ribbon; Martha Stewart Five-Leaf Branch punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Labels Eight set; Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive; Glue Dots; Sponge dauber.

 

The epitome of relatively quick and easy, this card features all of the elements I love – texture, color, and most of all, simplicity.

Before cutting it out, I colored the butterfly using a round sponge and ink from my Heavenly Blue, Crystal Blue, and Moonstruck ink pads; I colored the dots on the wings and outlined them using a rather dried out Moonstruck marker. Had the marker not been dry, I probably would have used a blending pen and ink for the outlines. I will probably add a couple of Pop Dots under the wings to support them. A few drops of Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive on the butterfly’s body is all that currently holds it to the card.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Moonstruck cardstock; Heavenly Blue, Crystal Blue, and Moonstruck ink pads; Hero Arts Butterflies Cling set; Close To My Heart Say it in Style stamp set; Cuttlebug w/Leafy Branch embossing folder; Round sponge; Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive.

Two Peas in a Bucket had 25 percent off on its Hero Arts stamps last week. The discount combined with a free shipping code put me in retail heaven, even though I didn’t get as carried away as I would have liked. When it comes to Hero Arts stamps, I be pretty safe in saying, I want ‘em all. LOL.

Today could best be described as slow, although I’m certain the evening will not be that way. I had about a half hour to play with the little boys between the time I got home from work and their dad and Sarah came to pick them up. They were outside with Grandpa, playing with their ESPN Better Batter Baseball contraption that Uncle Dusty gave them. What a difference a year has made with regard to ability and enthusiasm. What a blessing it is to watch them grow. Life is so good.

Tonight will be a repeat of last night. A few chores and then some fun in my corner – but not before I put a few things away. My usual 6 square inches of workspace have been reduced to less than two. Such a sloppy stamper am I.

Enjoy your evening, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Let Your Light Shine …

  …before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Hero Arts’ Silhouette Grass stamp was perfect for stamping on this six-inch pillar candle, or I should say, stamping on the tissue paper that was applied to the candle. A pictorial and video explaining this technique can be found here at Splitcoaststampers. To finish it, I wrapped a length jute around the bottom, using straight pins, which pushed easily into the candle, to hold the ends.

Materials & Tools: Candle from Wal-Mart; Tissue paper; Goldrush ink pad; Hero Arts Silhouette Grass stamp; Waxed paper; Embossing heat tool; Jute; Straight pins.

The other items in the photo are treasures – the picture that features a favorite quote from Maya Angelou and the bird’s nest that once held babies in a bush right outside the front door of our house. As it’s been 13 years since we moved from that house, the nest is pretty old. I took a stab at making the eggs with Sculpey clay.

It has been a great day so far. Tonight, I’m going to do a few chores and then see if I can’t make a little magic in my corner. Enjoy the evening, and thank you so much for stopping by!

Simple Sunday …

 

 

I’m back. Are all my ducks in a row? No. Will they ever be? Most likely not. Am I OK with that? Yes.

Here’s my Simple Saturday offering. I stamped the silhouette stamp on regular Colonial white cardstock but used textured cardstock for the base to give it that little bit of texture. Very simple.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White (regular and textured) and Black cardstock; Sweet Leaf and Black ink pads; Hero Arts Silhouette Meadow Flowers stamp; Impression Obsession Anytime Messages stamp set.

 

 

This next card was made with the same silhouette stamp, using the same technique I used for this card. To get it to match, I ended up using  clear embossing powder on the sentiment, too. Oh, and the sentiment was attached to the card with foam tape. I love the colors of this one.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Olive, and Bamboo cardstock; Olive, Bamboo, Garden Green, Blush, Hollyhock, and VersaMark ink pads; Clear embossing powder; Hero Arts Friend Definition and Silhouette Meadow Flowers stamps; and Impression Obsession Anytime Messages stamp set; Sponge daubers; Embossing heat tool; Cuttlebug w/Diamonds in the Rough embossing folder; 3M foam mounting tape.

While the days away from my corner were OK, I seriously missed blogging. And here, I

thought it might be the other way around. Guess that must mean, I missed you! Thank you for your comments and email messages.

Last week was relatively uneventful, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The more ordinary my life is, the better I like it. Yesterday, I kept the laundry facilities tied up all day, washing clothes, towels, bedding, rugs – anything and everything that was fabric and could be laundered. I cleaned, too, going non-stop from morning until suppertime. Today, my activities were less physical.

With the exception of knowing I have to go to work every day this week, I don’t know what’s in store – only that I’m try going to my darnest to make every day a good one. Hope you do, too! Take care …

A Pause for the Cause

I am going to take some time off from stamping and blogging. I need time to take a look at my life and get the ducks that have fallen out of line back into formation. There is absolutely nothing to worry about. Nothing that really matters is wrong. I just have some physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual sorting to do with some areas needing more concentration than others. I’m not sure how long it will take. It might be a few days. It could be weeks. Should you miss me during my hiatus, I can be reached at kcarlson@mncable.net. Thank you for your understanding, and between now and the time I choose to resurface, take care.

So Ugly, He’s Cute

I will admit you will probably have to be an owl lover to appreciate this card. That’s OK. I love ‘im enough for all of us. Hmm… Wait. Perhaps, that isn’t true. When I saw Hero Art’s Big Owl stamp, I thought he was really cute, but I didn’t love ‘im or think I would use him enough to buy him for 10 bucks. I was, however, willing to part with 99 cents to have him in digital form. I find I have become more discriminating in the stamps I buy – trying to make purchases that have what I call “staying power.” If I can get the trendier, cutesy stuff in digital form, all the better. They don’t take up precious space, and if I only use them a couple of times, I don’t feel bad.

Anyway, this big, bold owl was colored with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. The sentiment was computer generated. The red-looking ink is really brown but photographed funny. I have seen some cute paper-pieced versions of this owl, too, but I wasn’t quite ambitious enough this evening to choose the papers, print them, and then piece him together.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Buttercup, and Chocolate cardstock; Basic Grey Origins 6x6-inch paper pad; Bamboo ink pad; Hero Arts Big Owl DigiKit; Buttercup Bigger Brads; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; EK Success Caption punch; Sponge dauber; Pop Dots.

I did the dumbest thing last night, playing a ridiculous online computer game until almost 4 am. Seems that after the busy weekend, I needed some mindless downtime. While I was OK at work today, I’m dragging now and will be turning in early tonight. In her comment on my last post, Jeanne mentioned that the weather appears to be mild in the frozen tundra. It is! In fact, at 72 degrees, today was more like a nice summer day than a typical day in April. I noticed on the way home that the grass is turning green, and some of the trees are starting to bud. Last year, we didn’t have leaves until the end of June. I like this much better.

That’s enough from me tonight. I hope your week was off to a wonderful start. Thanks for stopping by!

Boys Will Be Boys

Just a short post. The cards I made at stamp club tonight you’ve already seen. The little boys got squirt guns at the birthday party today. It looks like we may need at least couple more. LOL. The kids didn’t get nearly as wet as Grandpa and Uncle Dusty. What a fun, full day! But Grandma is all tuckered out. Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t cure. Have a great week. I’ll talk to you again tomorrow night when I’ve got a card to show you …

Simple Saturday

My Simple Saturday offering was inspired by a couple of cute cards I spotted here on the Simplicity blog. Newly discovered this morning, Simplicity, I believe, is destined to become a favorite. Man, if  I could make simple look that good, I could get rid of about 75 percent of my stuff, and space would no longer be an issue. LOL. I love her style. This will make a great second club card for tomorrow night.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Stampin’ Up Kraft cardstock; Black ink pad; Noted Backgrounds, Flower Pot (April Stamp of the Month), and Thank You stamp sets; Black mini brads.

I so enjoyed my time with Bjorn and Mathias last night and this morning. Mathias and I must have played every game we own – some more than once. Compared to no-nonsense Grandpa, I can be pretty silly sometimes. This morning, the boys “hypnotized” me and giggled with glee as I responded to their commands, some of which were pretty darned crazy. My dad was silly, too, and when they remember him, my boys usually have big grins on their faces. I hope to be remembered like that someday.

What are you up to today? I’ve got a party and stamp club to prepare for and a hundred or so other things to do, which means I’d best get moving. Have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by.

Friday Fun

I don’t know what anyone else will think about this card, but I had so much fun making it, I don’t really give a hoot! Actually, I’m kidding. Me and my ego hope you like it. LOL. It was fun though – my take on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #109 – a sketch, that were the mojo not flowing (somewhat at least), would give me fits.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Chocolate cardstock; Basic Grey Origins 6x6-inch paper pad; Chocolate, Brown Bag, Garden Green, Cocoa, Bamboo, and Honey ink pads; Chocolate, Cocoa, Brown Bag, and Honey markers; Close To My Heart You’re a Hoot stamp set; Chocolate grosgrain ribbon; Googly eyes from my stash; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Sponge daubers; Sanding block.

Happy, happy Friday! It’s so good to be home. It’s going to be a wonderful evening at our house with games, stories, and lots and lots of hugs. Grandpa’s got spaghetti ready for supper, too. Maybe I’ll be nice and do the dishes. LOL.

Whatever you have planned, I hope you are looking forward to the weekend as much as I am. For now, I’d better run. Perhaps, I can help set the table, too. Take care, friends, and thanks for stopping by!

What Should Have Been a 10-Minute Card …

… took forever to photograph. However, before I go into my troublesome tale, I’ll give credit where credit is due. My card was inspired by this gorgeous card by Sally Sherfield.

Between the shiny, clear-embossed background, glittered vellum butterfly, and Sparkles, I had a card that was a nightmare to photograph before I figured out a way to get a photo without flash.  While you’ll have to use your imagination with regard to color, the photo I finally settled for shows the detail. Sigh …

Materials & Tools: CTMH White Daisy Textured and Papertrey Ink Berry Sorbet cardstock; PTI Berry Sorbet and VersaMark ink pads; Clear embossing powder; Hero Arts Antique Brocade Cling stamp; PTI Mixed Messages stamp set; May Arts ribbon; Sparkles; Martha Stewart Large Butterfly punch and Crystal Fine glitter; McGill Multi-Label punch; Embossing heat tool; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Labels Eight set.

My day was interesting. How about yours? Having stayed up a little later than I should have last night, I’m whipped and am looking forward to a good night’s sleep tonight. But not until after I clean up my corner. What a disaster. Anyone but a fellow stamper would condemn it. LOL. Tomorrow night, we are having miniature houseguests. I’m so excited. While I have seen them in several times this week in passing, Grandma has yet to spend some serious time with them and has missed them.

Nope, my corner isn’t getting clean with me sitting here yakking. Have a great Friday! I’ll be back …

Look Ma, No Stamps!

I’m late tonight. I bowled until 7, and then it was dinner and some hubby time. He watched American Idol with me – straight through without touching his damned darned remote control. He must have realized, after I left the room in a huff last night, that I don’t appreciate his habitual channel surfing. I will no more than get interested in something than “click,” it’s gone. We don’t watch a lot of television together. LOL.

About my card, it is my take on Mojo Monday 134. The sentiment is a digital image from Squigglefly. The butterfly was cut with Martha Stewart’s large butterfly punch. I would really like to have a matching solid punch, as it would save me from having to trace around it to create a background. Even with the Autumn Terracotta backing, my butterfly was looking a little bland before I filled in the cutout spots with Orange Peel Stickles. A little glitter made all the difference. Oh, and the sentiment was mounted to the card with Pop Dots to accommodate the rather fat ribbon.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Goldrush, Autumn Terracotta, and Black cardstock; Graphic 45 Botanicabella Collection Ode to a Butterfly paper; Bamboo ink pad; Digital sentiment from Squigglefly; Ribbon from Michael’s; Martha Stewart Large Butterfly punch; Orange Peel Stickles; Sponge dauber; Sanding block; Pop Dots.

Happy Hump Day! My team ended the season by taking all four points tonight. We all bowled well. It was fun. Other than that, it was kind of a ho-hum day. I don’t have a whole lot going on at work and am finding it really hard to there when I have so much I want to do at home. I’ll have to admit, too, I have been having a bit of a Pity Party for myself these past few days. Don’t really know what it’s about and have no good reason to be down. So knock it off, right?

Enough jabber. It’s late. My bed beckons me. I hope your day was a good one and that your Thursday is as well. Take care, friends, and as always, thank you so much for stopping by.

One more thing. A question from my last post. OMS is an acronym for the odorless mineral spirits I with my Prismacolor pencils. If you’re not familiar with the technique, it’s best explained here. I love questions, even though I think I might be a tad remiss in answering them sometimes.

Flower Pot

Hi! How is your week going? With a couple of workdays already under our belts, all is well in sunny (and windy) Thief River Falls. Yesterday was husband’s birthday. Dustin and Miranda took us out to dinner, which was nice and explains my absence from the blogosphere.

About my card, I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and OMS.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Chocolate cardstock; BoBunny Press Shabby Princess Collection; Black and Chocolate ink pads; Close To My Heart Flower Pot April Stamp of the Month; Hollyhock Designer Ribbon Rounds; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Black My Legacy Writer; EK Success corner rounder.

I feel a little “off” tonight – Tuesday doldrums maybe? Perhaps just tired. With that, I’m off to the tub for a relaxing soak after which I am going to check out what my blogging buddies have been up to. Tomorrow night is my last night of bowling. I’ll catch you again when I get home. Between now and then, take care and know this blogger appreciates your visits.

It’s a Party

Hi! How has your weekend been? I’ve had a great weekend even though the hands on the clock seem to have to stepped it up, and I haven’t got everything done I hope to accomplish yet today.

This is as close to card making as I got today. The image is a digital from Bugaboo Stamps. Lucky for me, it was free last week. Love it! I colored this one with Prismacolor pencils. I’m going to try markers on the next one. Because time is of the essence, whichever one is faster and still looks good is going to be the winner. The wording was done on my computer using the Noodge font from Close To My Heart.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Holiday Red cardstock; Digital image from Bugaboo Stamps; Prismacolor colored pencils; Close To My Heart Expressives Noodge font; Computer; Printer.

The room I worked so feverishly on yesterday was my den where I spend about 90 percent of my waking time when I am home. Currently, the room is divided into two areas – one where my computer, television, futon, and books are located and the other, Kathi’s Corner. I worked on the computer side of the room, washing the walls and window and moving the futon, computer desk, file cabinet, bookcase, television, and the armoire that held the TV. That last piece, in fact, was moved out to make more room.

Less perky (but not sore), I started on the dreaded “corner” today. The process there, I am afraid, is going to be a lot slower. I have a significant amount of purging to do. This week it is my goal to get my paper in order. Having been a CTMH consultant for nearly 12 years, I have accumulated a lot of paper. The last time I had a sale, I sold all my full sheets of discontinued Background & Texture paper. The scraps have occupied a big CTMH bag, which has been sitting in the corner of my closet. Until today, that is. The stack of paper in the photo is comprised of 5-1/2 inch “card-maker” squares. I’m hoping not to keep them but rather sell ‘em (cheap) in seasonal packages of 50 sheets. Anyone venture to guess how many squares of paper are in that stack? I gulped and discarded the paper that didn’t meet the size criteria.

Once Kathi’s Corner has been purged of its excess and everything is sorted out, I want to reconfigure the shelving and get my desk out of its claustrophobic corner.

For now, I’d better get my butt off the computer and back to the tasks at hand. Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope your Sunday was the start to a wonderful week. Later…

Beat the Clock

Hey! Wonder of wonders. This is my second post of the evening. Scroll down to check out my Simple Saturday offering.

This is CPS Sketch Challenge 161, which I just came across this evening. When I saw the deadline to get one’s card posted was 8 pm, it became a double challenge to see if I could beat the clock, too. Silly. It’s not like I hadn’t pushed myself already today. Fun, though.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Chocolate cardstock; Twitterpated paper packet; Bamboo, Chocolate, and Sweet Leaf ink pads; Close To My Heart Grown with Love and State of Mind stamp sets; Hero Arts Thinking of You stamp set; CTMH Organic Dimensional Elements; Ecru crochet cotton; Sponge dauber.

I am now on my way to the sofa where I will most likely pass out. LOL. Later…

Simple Saturday

This is a club card for our monthly get together on the 18th. I promised a couple of gals we would make crumpled paper flowers. The background was created using a stamp from the Noted Backgrounds set. I think the only thing we’ll do different for our club cards is attach the text piece to  our card bases right side up instead of upside down like my sample. I just noticed. Sheesh…

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, Holiday Red, and Clover Meadow cardstock; Black and Cranberry ink pads; Close To My Heart Noted Backgrounds and Thank You stamp sets; Button from my stash; Black/white mini check ribbon from Wal-Mart; 2-inch scalloped circle punch; Paper corrugator; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Labels Eight set.

Now that I have sat down, I don’t know if I will be able to get up again. Starting before 7 am, I have sorted, pitched, moved, scrubbed, vacuumed, and dusted more stuff today than I probably have in the past year. Something tells me I am going to sleep well tonight. But not before I have retreated to my corner for some much-deserved R&R.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. Thanks for stopping by.

In the Meadow

I’m getting anxious to see green again – as in grass and leaves. Some extra cash would be nice, too. LOL. Seriously, as eager as I am for green, I cannot complain about our spring-like weather. Temperatures in the 50s during the day and 30s at night are about the best we can hope for in early April in the frozen tundra.

My card was inspired by this lovely card, which was featured recently on The Hero Club Blog. The butterflies are from Hero Arts Winged Friends DigiKit, printed on Petal cardstock. I speckled the background (and my desk. LOL) with an old toothbrush and Smokey Plum ink. As for the remaining details, I believe the following Materials & Tools list will tell the rest of the story.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Smokey Plum cardstock; Garden Green, Petal, and Smokey Plum ink pads; Smokey Plum reinker; Hero Arts Silhouette Grass stamp, Winged Friends DigiKit, and Thinking of You stamp set; Close To My Heart Treasure Life stamp set; KaiserKraft pearl accents; Sponge dauber; Old toothbrush.

I got home at about 3 o’clock this week happy to be done with the workweek. Husband is gone for the weekend, too, which is OK. I have a project in mind that involves making a mess to clean up a mess – reorganizing an area of my den. With the exception of moving some furniture around, it will be easier to accomplish my task if I am alone. I am relatively certain that in his efforts to “help,” he would manage to get under my skin. Been there. Done that. LOL.

What have you got up your sleeve for the weekend? Anything fun? In addition to probably pulling some muscles, I have errands to run and a few smaller projects in mind.

And now, I’m off to see what’s in the refrigerator. Thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post. I’ll have to make lemonade more often. Enjoy your evening, friends. Later…

A Lemonade Card

Confused by my title? Let me explain. When I sat down in my corner last night, my screw up from the night before – the image I had run through my Xyron upside down – was laying there. And so, what do you do with the pretty image that is covered with adhesive? You pour glitter on it and hope for the best – kinda like the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

All things considered, I’m pretty darned happy with my card, which is also my rendition of Mojo Monday 133. I will have to say, too, that Martha’s Stewart’s Crystal Fine glitter is my sparkle of choice. It is perfectly clear unlike some of the other fine glitters that always look to me like they have green and sometimes red in them.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Juniper, and Cocoa cardstock; Creative Basics Veranda Collection; Cocoa, Juniper, Garden Green, and Bamboo ink pads; Close To My Heart So Sweet stamp set; Antiqued Copper mini brads; Spring Blossom Just Blooms paper flowers; Hero Arts pearl accents; Martha Stewart Crystal Fine glitter; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Ovals set; Sponge dauber; Xyron; 3M foam mounting tape.

Whoa! It’s Friday already tomorrow. It’s been a fast week albeit a couple of really slow days at work that I haven’t particularly enjoyed. Too busy beats nothin’ to do hands down. Such is not the case at home, however, where the “to do” list is so long I don’t know where to start. LOL. From the sounds of things, I will have the weekend to myself to chip away on my list, as Husband is going to the hunting cabin for a work weekend. The prospect of having some alone time sounds good to me.

I hope your day was a good one. Until tomorrow, take care!

A Birthday Bear

Regardless of whether they’re in vogue, I love cute bears. I’m happy, too, that they appear to be making their way back as headliners on the stamping stage. There are some darned cute new images out there, including this digital image that I just couldn’t resist from the DigiStamp Boutique. 

“Coco” was colored with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. I think everything else about the card is relatively straightforward.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa, and Hollyhock cardstock; That’s Armore paper packet; Cocoa ink pad; Coco with Flowers digital image from DigiStamp Boutique; Close To My Heart Happy Birthday set; Baby Pink Designer Ribbon Rounds; Acrylic discs from Michael’s; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Sanding block.

Happy Hump Day! I am noticing that the blogosphere gets a little quiet midweek. What? People have something else to do? LOL. Husband commented about my blogging the other night. “Do you enjoy it?” he asked. “Yup,” I said. His second question was, “Do you ever feel obligated?” My response? First, yes and then, no. I told him that after almost three years, it has simply become part of what I do – an extension of my stamping hobby – that the friends I have met along the way are important to me, and this is the way I stay connected with them.

He thinks I’m weird anyway. When I got home from bowling a few minutes ago, he asked how I bowled and darned near threw a fit when I told him I didn’t know. I know how our team did, which, in my book, was all that mattered. I don’t have his competitive nature – probably because I don’t have his athletic prowess. I’m just a “good time girl.” LOL.

Enough jabber. I’m off to my corner with hopes I have more mojo than I did last night when I attempted to cover a little chipboard box and put my paper and stamped piece through my Xyron upside down. It was one of those times when I just had to shake my head and walk away. I hope yours was a great day, and as always, I thank you for stopping by. Later …

Challenge Cards

This first card is my take on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #107.  The umbrella was paper-pieced, and the ducks were stamped on Sunny Yellow cardstock. After coloring their feet and beaks with an Orange marker, I ran my Sunny Yellow marker around the outside of the image to give them a little extra dimension. A pair of paper-pieced boots and an extra duck decorate the lower right corner of the inside of the card. One last thing – the forward-facing ducks were adhered to the card with foam mounting tape.

Materials & Tools: Vanilla Cream, Sorbet, Sunny Yellow, and Sweet Leaf cardstock; Caboodle paper packet; Black and Sorbet ink pads; Sunny Yellow and Sorbet markers; Close To My Heart Springtime and Verve Stamps Thankful Hearts stamp sets; Sorbet Designer Ribbon Rounds; Sorbet and Crystal Blue mini brads; Piercing tool; Black My Legacy Writer; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

This second card is my modified version of Unscripted Sketches #49. It also meets the criteria for Stamp Simply #133 – Chipboard as featured on the No Time to Stamp? blog. The cherries are a digital image from Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff that I colored with markers. The leaf was cut freehand, folded lengthwise, and run through my paper corrugator. I used a chipboard bookplate (or part of one) to frame my sentiment. The color on the bookplate was added with a round sponge.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa, and New England Ivy cardstock; Graphic 45 Times Nouveau Collection Bee’s Knees paper; Close To My Heart Veranda paper packet; Cocoa and Bamboo ink pads; Holiday Red and Garden Green markers; Digital Image from Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff; CTMH Noted Backgrounds and Sweet Baby stamp sets; Chipboard bookplate; Antiqued Copper mini brad; Paper corrugator; Piercing tool; Sanding block; Round sponge; Sponge dauber.

Another day, another dollar… or two. LOL. I’m glad to be home where there is a pile of laundry that I didn’t get to on the weekend waiting for my attention. With the hope that yours was a good day, too, I’ll let you go. Take care, friends, and as always, thank you for stopping by! Later …

Harold

Mathias is going to be five this coming Sunday, which got me to thinking about birthday cards for little boys. Meet Harold, a digital image from DigiStamp Boutique. There is something about him I think is so darned cute.

The image is colored with Prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. Someone left a question recently about the use of mineral spirits. The blending technique is explained here and on numerous other websites and blogs, all of which will do a much better job of describing it than I could.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Autumn Terracotta cardstock; Basic Grey Archaic 6x6-inch paper pad; Chocolate ink pad; Digital image from DigiStamp Boutique; Close To My Heart Happy Birthday stamp set; Chocolate Bigger Brads; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Sanding block

I hope you had a great day! Mine was a good one, albeit I’m still tired from the weekend. Easter at my sister and brother-in-law’s house was so much fun. My mom, five of my six siblings, their spouses, seven of the 12 grandchildren, three more spouses/significant others, the three great-grandchildren, and Husband and I were there. The food (enough to feed a small army) was wonderful. There was also enough laughter to keep me smiling until the next time we get together. For now, I gotta run. Husband wants to go out for dinner. In no mood to cook, I’m all about eating out. Have a great evening, and thanks for stopping by! Later …

Happy Easter!

 Today’s card was inspired by this card on Mariana Grigsby’s Blog. I was drawn to the color combination and dragonflies. For my card, I stamped two pairs of dragonflies, the first two on my Buttercup background and the second two on a piece of white scrap cardstock. To color the wings, I randomly dotted on some ink with a Breeze (retired) marker. After I cut them out, I covered them with VersaMark ink and embossed them with clear embossing powder.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Buttercup, Ocean, and Black cardstock; Black, Buttercup, and VersaMark ink pads; Breeze (retired) and Grey Flannel markers; Clear embossing powder; Hero Arts Friendship Definition stamp; Wordsworth Men’s Collection and Close To My Heart Butterfly Kiss stamp sets; KaiserKraft pearl accents; Black mini-check ribbon from Wal-Mart; Black mini brads; Embossing heat tool; 3M foam mounting tape.

Happy Easter, friends! I hope your day is filled with wonderful blessings. We are looking forward to dinner and a fun afternoon with my mom and my siblings and their families at my sister and brother-in-law’s house. It’s a beautiful day. There must be hundreds of birds outside who have been belting the Hallelujah Chorus since well before sunrise. Perfect!

Simple Saturday

Blooming from late spring through the summer in fields and along roadways, the common daisy is classified as a noxious weed in Minnesota. Some of us don’t care. We love ‘em anyway.

I colored my image with colored pencils. The sentiment was stamped on vellum with Olive ink and then embossed using Olive embossing powder. I love the simple patterned paper that looks like textured fabric.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; DCWV Indian Summer Matstack; Vellum; Black and Olive ink pads; Olive embossing powder; Close To My Heart Enjoy Every Moment stamp set; White Daisy Edge Anchors; Prismacolor colored pencils; Embossing heat tool.

I’m on  my way out the door to go do a little shopping. It’s going to be a busy day. Whether you are relaxing or, like me, have a lot going on, I hope your day is wonderful. Catch ya later!

Flower Pot Revisited

Here’s another card made with Close To My Heart’s Flower Pot April Stamp of the Month set. I “doctored” the window a bit by drawing in the window frame with a black My Legacy Writer. After coloring the window and shutters with Prismacolor pencils and OMS, I used a craft knife to cute out the panes. An added piece of acetate emulates glass, while a scrap of patterned paper creates a wallpaper background. I used my “still-borrowed” Scor-Pal to score the Buttercup “siding.” The flowers in the flower box, which were colored with markers, were attached with foam tape. The finished card is kinda cute and was fun to make.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Buttercup, and Outdoor Denim cardstock; Sweet Home paper packet; Acetate; Black and Outdoor Denim ink pads; Cranberry, Sunny Yellow, and Topiary markers; Flower Pot April Stamp of the Month; Pewter Bitty Brads; Cranberry grosgrain ribbon; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Scor-Pal; 3M foam mounting tape.

Happy Friday! I’ve had a good week and hope you have, too. After struggling these past weeks/months with my new job, it is starting to come together. The past two jobs I’ve had have been newly created positions, which require one to carve one’s own niche, which can be kind of stressful, particularly for someone who is not very aggressive.

Tonight, I’m going to do a few chores, make a game plan for the rest of the weekend, and come up with a little something for Simple Saturday. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop back! Later …

It’s No April Fool’s Day Joke

Close To My Heart’s April Stamp of the Month set, “Flower Pot,” is one of the cutest sets ever! Flowers, pots and planters, a shuttered window, cute sentiments – this set has it all.

While I only had time for a quick card tonight, you can see many more great cards made with this fun set by taking in the April SOTM Blog Hop that starts here on Helen Onulak’s Hooked on Stamping blog.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Pansy Purple cardstock; Black ink pad; Flower Pot April Stamp of the Month set; Prima Flowers; White Daisy Bitty Brads; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Black My Legacy Writer; Cuttlebug w/Swiss Dots embossing folder; 3M foam mounting tape

I didn’t make it here last night. I came home from bowling around 7:30 and was out for the night before 9 pm. No, it wasn’t the beer. I was just that tired. With miniature houseguests this evening, I didn’t think I get a card made tonight either. I wanted to play with the boys until bedtime, and then there wasn’t six square inches of workspace on my desk, and thus, there was a little straightening up to do before I could play.

I hope you are having a wonderful week. Wow! It’s Friday already tomorrow. Are you doing anything for Easter? We’re going to my sister and brother-in-law’s house in Fertile to celebrate with my family. On Saturday afternoon, I’m going to host a little Easter Adventure for the boys – color eggs, make a “dirt cake” for Sunday, have an egg hunt, etc. Busy. Fun.

Exhausted again tonight, I’m going to hang up the clothes I’ve been draping over a chair all week, tidy up my corner again, and head for bed. Thank you so much for stopping by. Your visits are so appreciated! Later…