Happy Halloween!

Other appropriate titles for this post include “Simple Saturday … on Sunday,” “Inspired by Sharli,” and last, but not least, “Can This Card Be Saved?”

First, my friend Sharli at Sharli’s Place has been making some cool cards (like these Yoga cards) where she traces around a rectangular Nestabilities die to create a frame, leaving an opening for the sentiment. It’s a great look, and she inspired me to give it a try.

As for the “Can This Card Be Saved?” aspect of the card, don’t you suppose I finished it only to discover a small ink smudge in the lower right corner? Ugh! That’s where the speckling came into play – first Bamboo and then a little Autumn Terracotta. The unwanted ink was Cranberry. While I would have liked the card better without, the speckles saved it.

A couple of the tree tops were stamped on separate scraps of paper, cut out, and added with foam tape.

Materials & Tools: Naturals (retired) and Cocoa cardstock; Cocoa, Goldrush, New England Ivy, Autumn Terracotta, Cranberry, and Bamboo ink pads; Verve Stamps Autumn Splendor stamp set; CTMH Speckled Background stamp (retired); Black My Legacy Writer; Nestabilities Classic Rectangles set.

A Slice of Life: I reiterate, Happy Halloween! I hope your weekend has been wonderful. Ours certainly has been, albeit I’m too tired to think straight right now. Yesterday was really busy preparing for today, which was a joint Halloween/Birthday celebration. Sarah has expressed the desire to scrapbook, so her gift was easy – particularly in light of the fact she only had a few sheets of paper and a glue stick. She now has a few basics – a paper cutter with some replacement blades, adhesive, a large case-type tote to keep her stuff in, a huge paper assortment from my stash, and instructions to help herself to my stuff – whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. It will be fun to have someone with whom to share it.

The little guys were in fine form today and looked awesome in their Star Wars costumes. They enjoyed the treats I’d made, which included my first attempt at Cake Pops. Whether or not I will attempt these things again remains to be seen. There weren’t any problems until it came to the detail. Most definitely, Wilton would not want me to write a review for its Edible Food Writer Edible Color Markers. While they might write on something, they did not work well on the waxy surface of the candy coating. If there is a next time, I will use homemade “cookie paint” and a paint brush.

As it is too early to go to bed, I am off to see what everyone has been up to in the Blogosphere this weekend. Then, a bath. Then, bed. While it will still be earlier than usual, I don’t think falling asleep with be an issue.

Have a good week, my friends. “See” you soon!

Hooray!

It’s Friday. Is everyone gearing up for a fun weekend?

My card is based on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #132. I don’t think it requires much in the way explanation, although I might mention that I have taken quite a liking to the look achieved when one uses a Nestabilities die as a stencil for sponged ink. Not only does it add some depth and interest to the image but creates an instant border as well.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Bamboo, and Desert Sand cardstock; Silhouette Creative Basics paper; Black, Bamboo, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Hero Arts Friendship and Garden Bouquet stamps and Verve Stamps Autumn Splendor stamp pads; Black chiffon ribbon; Fiskars Apron Lace border stamp; Sponge daubers.

A Slice of Life: The birthday party for Sarah I had planned for this evening was postponed until Sunday. Cameron and Sarah got their hands on some tickets for a college hockey game tonight in Grand Forks. I didn’t mind at all. Sunday won’t be such a rush. With some extra time to prepare, I can do it up right.

It was kind of a crazy week. Wednesday night, I couldn’t get to sleep until around 2 am. At precisely 2:15, I woke up to the blaring of a car horn – not the intermittent beeps of a car alarm but a loud, continuous blast that sounded like it was coming from the parking lot below. I woke Husband, who said it wasn’t coming from a vehicle but the Civil Defense alarm. “No, dear,” I told him, “we don’t have a Civil Defense alarm that is close enough for us to hear, it is a damn horn. Now, go figure out where it’s coming from and make it stop.” Sure enough. The vehicle belonged to a tenant, who, once awakened from a deep sleep, took care of it. Temporarily. Around 5, the process had to be repeated. I got my best sleep that night between 6:45 and 7 when I got up.  Last night, it was catch up time, which, I am happy to report, went well.

Today, Husband was scheduled to have a tooth extracted at a dentist’s office in town. Shortly into the procedure, however, the dentist decided that an oral surgeon was needed, so he sent Marv packing – mouth full of Novocain – to a surgeon in Grand Forks. Husband calls me at work to tell me all of this when he’s already 50 miles down the road. “So,” I ask, “you’re going to have oral surgery and then drive yourself home?” Yup, that was his plan. Luckily, there was no anesthesia involved – not that I knew that for quite some time. Fortunately, too, he waited until he got back to town to take any painkillers. Worrying about him was not conducive to getting a lot done at work – at least until I knew he was home safe and sound.

The boys are staying with us tonight. We picked them up at daycare and took them out for supper, which was fun albeit the full soft drink that got knocked over right off the get go. One brother tipped it and felt bad. “Don’t worry, honey, it was an accident.” The other got wet and hollered like a stuck pig. “Knock it off. It’s not like it hurts or anything.” To Husband, “Go get a dishcloth. Get a mop, too. Refill the glass while I clean up the mess.”

Sigh … Laugh … Doesn’t this all sound like … life? The rest of the evening has been uneventful. Games. Hugs. Giggles. And the little guys fell fast asleep within minutes of saying their prayers.

I am looking forward to a busy – but calm – weekend. How about you? What are you doing? Cameron went all out on the boys’ Halloween costumes this year – Jango Fett and Bobo Fett minus the blasters, which wouldn’t have been appropriate for school. The kids were thrilled anyway. I’ll have to get some photos on Sunday. For now, it’s back to my corner for a little stamping session before bed. Hope to see you again on Simple Saturday. In the meantime, take care, and as always, thanks for stopping by.

A Quick Card and a Quick Hello

The best thing about fall is the rich colors. Although, for the most part, the time for beautiful outdoor colors has passed in northern Minnesota, there is still plenty of fall and color to be found in the produce section of the grocery store – pumpkins, different varieties of squash and apples, and more.

This quick card features some of those gorgeous colors and another favorite verse. I scrounged up some old “Naturals” cardstock. I really love that paper and wish I new of a source for it. Anyone?

Materials & Tools: Naturals (retired), Outdoor Denim, and Vineyard Berry cardstock; Autumn Terracotta, Goldrush, New England Ivy, Outdoor Denim, Vineyard Berry, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Verve Stamps Autumn Splendor stamp set; Verve Stamps Ecclesiastes 9:11 Plain Jane and CTMH Speckled Background (retired) stamps; New England Ivy button; Autumn Terracotta Designer Ribbon Round (retired); Round sponge.

A Slice of Life: Busy at work. Busy at home. Tired. That would be me. The boys are staying with us tonight. Bjorn had homework for both math and reading. I oversaw the math (counting by fives and some simple subtraction), and Grandpa listened to him read. I read Mathias’ library book to them. My thoughts were that it was a very strange story that went off in a lot of different directions. Instead of a simple message with a understandable moral to the story, it was all over the place with no clear message or meaning. Had it been humorous, I could have handled it. Out of curiosity, I’ll have to find the author’s bio and see if I can figure out what it is he is trying to convey in his writings.

Kari recently asked about the “baby bump.” Miranda and Dustin are visiting the doctor every other week now. In fact, they had an appointment today, and I just got the “report” from daddy. Miranda is measuring 30cm at 30 weeks and five days, which, I’m told, is right on the money. All is well. From what mommy reports, it sounds like our little one might be a budding gymnast. It won’t be long now.

The weather is atrocious, although much worse in other parts of the state and country. Cold. Wet and rainy. Very Windy. Colder and snowy with no wind would be preferable to what it has been like so far this week. At the very least, I hope the winds subside for the trick-or-treaters this weekend.

I hope your week is progressing well. Thanks for your visits and comments. They are what make blogging fun! Have a great Thursday. With a little luck, I’ll be back…

Sweet Treats, Etc.

Here is a little something I made a while back, the idea gleaned from a Stampin’ Up catalog. It’s just a can – I had to eat a can of French-style green beans – covered with 3/4-inch cotton twill tape – somewhere along the line I acquired a 50-yard roll of this stuff, enough for Mummies en masse. LOL. A medium-sized bag of Peanut M&M’s was perfect to fill it. Note I said “was.” The mummy is waiting to be refilled. I ate the M&M’S. While I ate that can of green beans in one sitting, I am proud to say it took two sessions on two consecutive days to devour the M&M’S. I will admit, however, that a significantly larger number of M&M’S were consumed in Session I than Session II. No control. Back to the mummy, he might have looked more like a mummy had I not been quite so neat with the tape. Sometimes, my penchant for clean lines bites me.

Materials & Tools: Tin can (empty and clean), 3/4-inch twill tape, Black and White Daisy cardstock; 11/16th and 1-inch circle punches; 1-/4-inch Terrifically Tacky Tape; GlueDots, Gusseted cellophane bag; Black/white mini check ribbon from Wal-Mart; Medium-size bag of M&M’S.

A Slice of Life: How was your Monday? With regard to the workday, my day was OK – for a Monday. On a personal note, a little mystery that has been troubling me for several weeks has been solved. For several weeks, my left arm has been hurting in the area right about the elbow. When I say “hurt,” it really hurt almost all of the time during waking hours. As good as my health insurance is, I am not one who goes to the doctor very often. Between the Mayo Clinic and Web MD websites, I did a little reading but never came up with anything in the way of self-diagnosis. As for the pain, there wasn’t an anti-inflammatory over-the-counter drug that gave me any relief, which ruled out several things. I was thinking – finally – about giving in and having it checked out.  Yesterday, I noticed my arm didn’t hurt. Wow, I thought, maybe it went away on its own. Then, this afternoon, I noted an itchy, blistery rash where the pain had been. Eureka! I have shingles. I know that, because I had it before about 10 years ago. While the location of the pain and rash were different, the rest of the symptoms are identical. Nevertheless, I will probably pop into the clinic tomorrow to see if they want to treat it and find out if there is anyway to prevent a reoccurrence.

Enough talk about my aches and pains. When my Mom moved from our big family home to an apartment, she, of course, had to get rid of a lot of stuff. Back in my craftier sewing days, I gave her a lot of things that I had made. Some of those things have been returned to me, this scarecrow among them. Because I didn’t have one, I was actually kind of glad to see him. He is pretty cute, brings back memories of a happy time (my SAHM days), and is in remarkably good condition, considering he is probably more than 15 years old.

I wish I still had time do more time-consuming, domestic-type things like sewing and decorating cookies such as the ones pictured to the right.  These cookies are a creation of one of my sisters, who did 25 plates like this for a bake sale at church. It is my understanding she was up very late on several consecutive nights. Do you think? This is one of the sisters I’ve referred to as a “Martha” in recent posts (only to learn she didn’t didn’t particularly care for what was, to me, a green-with-envy compliment). Thus, it wasn’t Martha but Debbie who made these miniature masterpieces, and while she has only taken up cookie decorating as a hobby in the past couple of years, it appears to me she has it down pat. They are darned near to cute to eat, although Bjorn and Mathias may not think so. Great-grandma had me deliver this plate to Cameron to take home for the boys. All I got out of the deal was a photograph and bragging rights. LOL. I have awesome four sisters and a couple of cool brothers who inherited their creative talents from our awesome parents.

Well, this is kind of a long post, isn’t it? With a couple of ambitious (for me) projects in the works, this might be it for a couple of days. I have some sweet treats planned, which, if they turn out, I may show you and another family birthday party to prepare for on Friday evening. It’s Sarah’s birthday on Wednesday. The boys are spending Wednesday and Friday nights with us, too, which, to my delight, will occupy some of my precious time.

I hope your week is a good one. Thank you so much for stopping by. Your visits and comments are very much appreciated.

Spooky

My card was inspired by this cute card by Kelly Eubanks on her My Front Porch blog. It caught by eye when she first featured it and then again when it turned up here on the Moxie Fab World blog.

To make the pumpkin face, I used stamps from Papertrey Ink’s Spooky Treats set. I stamped the facial elements on lightweight paper, cut them out, and then ran them through my Xyron Sticker Maker that was loaded with respositionable adhesive. After I had stamped the text background, I positioned my face pieces and then sponged around them with Autumn Terracotta ink. After I removed my stencils, I sponged lightly with Autumn Terracotta ink to soften the facial features a bit.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Desert Sand, Autumn Terracotta, and Cocoa ink pads; Hero Arts Friendship background stamp;  Papertrey Ink Spooky Treats and Verve Stamps Happy Fall stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Xyron Sticker Maker; Round sponge; Sponge dauber.

This next card reminds of the nursery rhyme about the crooked man who had a crooked house. I created the background using sponges and Gypsy, Moonstruck, and Black ink. The house is a Cricut die. I bought the October 31 cartridge earlier in the month for a project that didn’t get done. Talk about some intricate cutting on this cartridge. I had to trace around the die, too, so that I could back it. I had a tough time deciding what color to use and settled on Gypsy. I kind of wish I had either used something else or done in the sky in two shades of dark blue instead of the purple/blue combination. To adhere the house to the backing, I ran it through my Xyron, which didn’t work out so well either. There was an awful lot of extra glue to try to remove from all of those windows. And when it’s all done, I notice the house is a tad crooked… Yikes. A “practice” card. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Gypsy cardstock; Sunflower, Black, Gypsy, and Moonstruck ink pads; Papertrey Ink Spooky Treats stamp set; Circle punch; Cricut w/October 31 cartridge; Round sponges.

 

Here is another die from the October 31 cartridge. Before I use this cartridge again, I am going to get some black cardstock that does not have a white core or better yet some black art paper, as it really isn’t necessary for the dies to be cut from heavy paper. To facilitate sponging around the moon, I used a Nestabilities die to cut a circle from the Gypsy cardstock. I cut a white circle, too, and thus the moon is inlaid. My adhesive of choice for the witch was a glue stick – much better!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Gypsy, and Black cardstock; Black and Gypsy ink pads; Verve Stamps Happy Fall stamp set; Black mini brads; Cricut w/October 31 cartridge; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Round sponge; Glue stick.

A Slice of Life: Before I forget, this morning I added Liquid Glass to all of the little window openings of the haunted house on the card above. It looks kind of cool and adds a little interest. However, it did not photograph well, and the house is still crooked. LOL.

We ended up making a quick trip to Grand Forks yesterday. Shotgun shells (the hunt is on) went on sale at Cabela’s on Thursday. To my way of thinking, we could have just as well gotten them when we were over there on Tuesday evening for what we spent on gas. With the cost of ammunition having increased considerably in the past couple of years, I think the extra trip might have had more to do with principle than savings. Anyway, my one stop was a Michael’s, which was disappointing. While I got the gift I needed, I didn’t find anything new and interesting for myself – just a few boring odds and ends that I needed. This particular store has a little bit of everything but not a whole lot of anything – if that makes a lick of sense. After I finished shopping, the plan was for a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant. It didn’t happen. The wait would have over an hour, so we settled for Burger King on our way out of town. Husband was bummed. I didn’t care all that much.

So far today, I’ve spent some time with my Mom and that is about it. Dustin is here watching a football game with his dad. I need to finish up a few things that I didn’t get done yesterday. Other than that, I am ready for a new week.

I hope you are having a good weekend, too. Thanks for stopping by.

Simple Saturday

 

Here is another card inspired by one I found in the Verve Stamps Gallery. I embossed the “frame” with a rectangular Nestabilities die. The flowers were colored with markers. The centers of the flowers are from a couple of inexpensive bags of gem stones I found at Wal-Mart. I used Liquid Glass to glue them to my card.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Cocoa ink pad; Sunflower, Goldrush, and Garden Green markers; Verve Stamps Many Blessings stamp set; Gem stones from Wal-Mart; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Rectangles set.

 

This second card is my take on FTL #113 on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. It’s a great, classic layout that can either be dressed up or dressed down. My Simple Saturday card is a dressed down version. The only “extra” thing I did was sponge some ink around the edges of stamped images and the card base, adding depth to what otherwise would have been a pretty “flat” card.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Goldrush, and Cocoa cardstock; Cocoa, Goldrush, Sunflower, Autumn Terracotta, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Verve Stamps Autumn Splendor and Happy Fall stamp sets; Round sponges.

A Slice of Life: There will be no more stamping for this girl until she cleans up her corner. It’s to the point where I have to jump in and jump out of my chair, which, I’ve learned in the past, can be hazardous. Even if I had the athletic prowess to leap into place, there is less than a 6 by 6-inch square of workplace left on my desk. Thus, I am off to clean up my corner and a few other hot spots in my tiny abode. With some fun-looking sketch challenges offered in the blogosphere, I am hoping to get back to my corner later in the day.

Have a great Saturday, my friends, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

…If We Do Not Give Up

Here is a quick card I made last night when bit by the creative bug right at bedtime. It was inspired by this beautiful card in the Verve Stamps gallery.  You will note that only the layout is the same. I attempted to make a closer replica of the inspiration card earlier in the week, but that one didn’t work out so well, and still not feeling very friendly toward pigment ink, I tried something else. I used a circle punch to create a stencil and then a mask for what is either a sun or a harvest moon and round sponges to fill in the color. Easy does it!

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Cocoa, Autumn Terracotta, and Sunflower ink pads; Hero Arts Silhouette Grass and Verve Stamps Galatians 6:9 Plain Jane stamps; Gold Bigger and mini brads; Circle punch; Round sponges.

A Slice of Life: The verse I used on my card is one that speaks to me for a lot of different reasons.

What have you got planned for the weekend? I don’t have any specific plans although if I to make a list of what I would like to accomplish, it would probably be quite long. Today, was one of the most beautiful days we have had all fall. No clouds. No wind (for a change). Temperatures in the low 60s. I was actually hoping Husband was playing golf. He was. It is supposed to start cooling off this weekend with a chance of snow forecast for Wednesday. ‘Tis the season… or the start of it.

Whatever you do, I hope your weekend is a good one. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop back for my Simple Saturday post. Take care, and thanks for stopping by.

Those Punkins Again

A while back I said I wasn’t going to do any more Halloween unless it was cutesy. The pumpkin and bird stamps from Verve made that easy enough. I colored the orange parts of the pumpkins and the little not-quite-black bird with Prismacolor pencils and OMS and the stems and stars with markers. I used a blending pen and ink pad ink to do a little shadowing and “ground” the pumpkins. The layout is very simple. I think the narrow matting helps and was worth the effort – even if it gave me fits when assembling the pieces. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Orange cardstock; Patterned paper from Doodlebug Designs; Black, Juniper, and Chocolate ink pads; Brown Bag and Sunny Yellow markers; Verve Stamps Bountiful Harvest, Happy Fall, and Harvest Birds Plain Jane stamp sets; Orange mini brads from my stash; Prismacolor colored pencils; Odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Dove blending pen; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: If you use Google Reader, you may have already seen this card. My attempt at a scheduled post for Tuesday evening didn’t fair so well with me hitting the wrong buttons and then Blogger messing up my format. My intentions were good. LOL. It’s Thursday night again … already. While I don’t feel bad that tomorrow is Friday, I will have to say this has been a whirlwind of a week. Tuesday night, we went to husband’s “beet banquet,” a supper – complete with paychecks – hosted by the nice family he worked for. It was fun. Before supper, we made a quick trip to the mall in Grand Forks where I did a little power shopping. That was fun, too, with me picking up a couple of sweaters, a jacket, and a couple of tops. My winter wardrobe is looking better now. Last night, I bowled. A good time. My nothing-to-brag-about average is 121, and I bowled a 124, 123, and 125 – very consistent but kind of boring. LOL. Today, I came home from work a couple of hours early with the stomach ailment that seems to be making its way around. The symptoms (a tummy that felt as if it was about to erupt) came on fast and diminished within a few hours, so I guess I’m good to go again.

How has your week been? Are you, like me, looking forward to the weekend? I have quite a list of projects I would like to accomplish – most likely more than are possible in a couple of days. We’ll give it a whirl, however, and see what transpires. In the meantime, have a great Friday, and take care.

From Hopeless to Hopeful

My cryptic title has nothing to do with my card. I will attempt to explain later.

The card is my take on Mojo Monday 160 – last week’s sketch. The paper-pieced pumpkins are from Verve’s new Bountiful Harvest set, which was part of its latest release … that is sitting on my desk waiting for me to get back in a stamping mode. Cute pumpkins, huh? They will be even cuter after I add some yellow Stickles to those stars.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Sunset cardstock; Olivia and Veranda paper packets; Black, Bamboo, and Cocoa ink pads; Sunny Yellow and Brown Bag markers; Clear acrylic disks from Michael’s; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Hole punch; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Liquid Glass (used as adhesive) Sponge dauber; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Labels 8 set.

A Slice of Life: I have been kind of hopeless lately but am hopeful I will pull it together one of these days. I took the little boys to visit Great-grandma on Friday evening and spent a good part of the day with Mom on Saturday – first having lunch and then bumming around downtown. The beet harvest was wrapped up on Saturday, too, with husband arriving home early in the evening. Yesterday, I just kind of aimlessly lolled around. My attempt at stamping was a bit of a disaster. My white pigment ink pad and I were not friends yesterday, although I didn’t manage to ruin my rather nice card until after I’d finished it. Frustration yesterday. Sort of funny today.

Today was an OK workday. Someone interviewed for my position this morning, and I am hopeful she will be the right candidate. I am very anxious to move on and in the interim am feeling like I am just going through the motions. A new job with a new routine (albeit a bit strange) will give me the new outlook I need. Crazy as those new hours will be, I won’t be working once I come to life on Saturdays or on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, or during the day on Wednesdays. Woo hoo!

Tonight, I am going to visit my blogging buddies and then try to figure out my three-year-old, too-high-tech-for-this-granny label maker. It doesn’t help that the print in the instruction manual is microscopic. Am I headed for an evening of frustration? Maybe. If nothing else, I can print small and don’t really care how my stamps are labeled – just that they are. LOL.

I hope life is treating you well and that today was the start of what will be a good week. Take care, friends, and thanks for stopping by.

A Happy Hello

And here’s yet another card inspired by this card on the Inspired By… blog. I have to fess up though, I used my Photoshop skills to erase an element that, while it looks OK in person, didn’t photograph well. There are supposed to be spots on the top of the butterfly’s wings. I accented them with White Opal Liquid Pearls, which, in the photo, appear as ugly little blobs.

OK. Now that the truth is on the table, I’ll tell you the rest of the story about this card. LOL. Seriously, I love Kath’s card and was inspired to try something along along the same lines, because it is different from what I usually do. It is no secret that I have been in a bit of a rut lately – my dead end job, never enough time to do all of the things I want to do … etc., and I was feeling like everything I was creating in my corner was just “more of the same.” Such a whiner I can be sometimes.

Anyway, the card was fun. As for construction details, I think you can see ‘em, and what the photo doesn’t reveal, the Materials & Tools list will.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White cardstock; Gypsy, Black, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink ink pads; Hero Arts Dots & Flowers background stamp; Hero Arts Butterflies and Thinking of You, Papertrey Ink Little Lady, and Close To My Heart Noted Background stamp sets; Flowers and button from my stash; Colonial White mini brads; Round sponge; Sponge daubers; EK Success corner round (for scallops); 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: Thank you so much for your comments on my last post. Honestly though, I don’t know how I inspire anyone … ever! You should see my corner! It is a disaster. The rest of my small abode doesn’t look all that great right now either. Time and energy. Oh, how I wish they were commodities one could buy. However, the reason for my mess – the time I spent with the people I love – is priceless, so I shall whine no more. Tonight, anyway. LOL.

Isn’t the news from Chile spectacular? Spontaneous tears sprang to my eyes as the first miner came to the surface last night. It happened again tonight when the last miner emerged from the capsule. If only there was more good news, or, better said, if only we were made aware of the good news that, while not as dramatic as this event, happens somewhere every single day. People working together for a common good that is in no way self-serving. That is why we are here.

A good time was had by all at bowling tonight – on my team anyway. We took all four points for the second week in a row. I am there for fun, however, as are 95 percent of the other bowlers. Most of us cheer for each other, regardless of whether we win or lose. It’s just a game.

My workday was busy and productive. While the job per se may not be what I want, most of the people I work with are awesome, and eventually, I will miss them.

I will end my “Happy Hello” with the wish that you had a good day, too. Until tomorrow night, take care!

Inspired by …

… this gorgeous card on the Inspired By … blog. I stamped my Colonial White card base with a script stamp using Chocolate ink and then stamped the flowers with VersaMark, embossing them with clear embossing powder. I used sponges and ink from my Desert Sand and new Sky ink pads to color the background. The sponged distressing around the edges is Chocolate.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Chocolate cardstock; Chocolate, Desert Sand, Sky, and VersaMark ink pads; Clear embossing powder; Hero Arts Wildflower Garden and Thinking of You stamp sets; KaiserKraft pearl accents; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Labels 8 set; Embossing heat tool; Round sponges; Sponge dauber.

A Slice of Life: Our 10-10-10 birthday party came off without a hitch – kind of. While I was in the mood to make the birthday boy’s favorite cake – German chocolate with the traditional coconut/pecan frosting, I didn’t feel much like cooking, so I decided we’d order pizza (one of his favorite foods) from the establishment of his choice. Two hours before the appointed hour, however, I learned that he, Sarah, and the boys had eaten pizza for lunch. It turned out though that he’d actually wanted subs and the little guys had insisted on pizza. OK. We’ll have subs for supper, so I made a couple of quick calls to find out what everyone wanted and sent husband to Subway with a type-written, very detailed list of sandwich orders. In the end, everyone was happy, and I didn’t have to cook. LOL.

Taking a break from unpacking at their new house, Miranda and Dustin were at the party, too. Not having gained the excessive amount of weight that her mother-in-law did when she was pregnant, Miranda is getting rounder but isn’t nearly as large as I was. She feels great, too. The most recent ultrasound pictures of the baby are amazing. I have seen her little face and counted her tiny fingers and toes. I cannot wait to meet her and hold her in my arms in December or early January. What a wonderful way to end or begin a year.

Bjorn and Mathias stayed with us last night at Grandpa’s request. He’s going back to his truck-driving gig tomorrow and if the weather holds, won’t be around for the rest of the week and/or until the beet harvest is done. We had a good time. Bjorn has to read out loud every night. It’s fun to see his progress from week to week.

It goes without saying, I’ve worked the past couple of days. Busy.

I bowl tomorrow night, which means I may or may not have something to post. We’ll see…

Lastly, I hope you are having a good week. As always, thank you for stopping by, and know that it is YOU that keeps me coming back.

Autumn Passages

Hello, blogosphere! Here’s my take on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #131. I don’t know if there is much to say about the construction of my card other than I colored my images with sponges and ink from my stamp pads. Additionally, the pumpkin is mounted to the square with foam tape. Speaking of pumpkin, several of the stamp companies are making dies that coordinate with the stamps they offer like the set I used from Prickley Pear. They are pretty cool.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Chocolate cardstock; Passages paper packet; Chocolate, New England Ivy, Autumn Terracotta, Olive, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Prickley Pear Clearly Beautiful Pumpkins stamp set; KaiserKraft pearl accents; Round sponges; Cuttlebug w/Prickley Pear Pumpkin die and Nestabilities Lacey Squares; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: How are you doing? I hope you are having a great weekend. I had a lazy day. With workplace woes getting the best of me, I don’t have energy or enthusiasm for much of anything right now. Every few days, I give myself a little pep talk to get me off my duff for a day or two. I need to do that tonight, as we are entertaining for our oldest son’s 32nd birthday tomorrow. I need to figure out a menu and then get my backside to the grocery store first thing tomorrow morning. It will work out.

Again, I hope your weekend is awesome. Thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comments. They are always so appreciated.

Seasons Change…

… and so did I. I didn’t know why those words popped until to my head until I “Googled” them. Ah, yes, they’re from the hit song, No Time, by the Guess Who. The band my husband was in during the 60s served as the backup band for The Guess Who frequently when they performed gigs in the Midwest and Canada. Thus, when he talks about Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman, he’s discussing old friends.

Enough music trivia. “Three is the Number” is the theme of Stamp Simply #159 on the No Time to Stamp blog. Although three could have been anything – from images to embellishments – I was so taken with Sharon’s lovely sample card, I used her sketch. The card went together easily with the bow presenting the only challenge. For one thing, my ribbon supply is getting low – kind of. I was glad there is enough green in the paper to warrant using green ribbon. The second dilemma was the fact the card needed a bow that was “fluffier” than a regular single loop bow. I was wishing for one of those bow maker devices when I recalled the homemade device I came up with to make pew bows for a wedding a few years back. I used a piece of chipboard to make a smaller version that aided in a successful double loop bow. A button from my stash finished it off.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Barn Red, and Sunset cardstock; Olivia Workshop Kit; Barn Red and Sunset ink pads; Olive chiffon ribbon; Button from my stash; Martha Stewart Five-Leaf Branch punch; Sponge dauber.

A Slice of Life: Happy Friday! It’s not often I find myself posting in the morning. Exhausted and having gone to bed very early last night, however, I found myself getting up earlier than usual today, so a morning post it is. It’s a shame, too, that it has taken three days to get this card posted. It’s been another crazy week.

The temperature is supposed to reach close to 80 degrees today – unseasonably warm for October in Minnesota. It would be a great day to take a vacation day if I felt I had the time to spare. Oh well. With a lot to do, the day will go by fast. And with that, I best get ready and skedaddle off to work. I hope your day is wonderful. Thanks for stopping by!

Today is a Gift

Beautiful words and so true. The card is my take on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #130.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa, Barn Red, and Sunset cardstock; Olivia Level 2 paper packet; Cocoa and Bamboo ink pads; The Present stamp set; KaiserKraft pearl accents; Martha Stewart Large Butterfly punch; Sanding block; Foam sponge tool.

A Slice of Life: Last week was one of emotional overload – so much so, I pretty much made myself sick. Thus, Friday ended up being a day of rest and on Saturday, I got up and started walking forward again. Along the way, however, I must have bent over or picked up something (a laundry basket perhaps) the wrong way, because I  “jarred” my back, which caused me to move slowly and carefully for the rest of the weekend. While I don’t feel like doing cartwheels or anything, it feels better today.

As for overload, sometimes it seems as if it is easier to deal with the big things than it is a lot of little things. Or, perhaps one should deal with the little things as they arise, because then, they would not accumulate and turn into something more than they are. Who knows? Certainly not me. If I had it all figured out, I’d be writing a syndicated advice column and doing interviews on Oprah. LOL.

Husband started his annual truck-driving sugar beet gig on Friday. Just as I was thinking today about the fact that they had gone for four days in a row without rain, they shut down at noon today, because it is too warm for the beets to be piled. They will spoil. Too hot. Too cold. Too wet. What a touchy crop and a good example of why I had no desire to be a farmer and/or a farm wife. LOL.

I am incredibly busy at work. I was informed they are hoping they will have new people hired so I can start my new job by mid-November. It cannot be soon enough for me. While I have done my best to make the best of a bad situation these past few months, now that I know I am soon out of there, I am chomping at the bit.

This is a photo of the wool felt table runner I mentioned a few weeks ago. I finally finished it yesterday – not because it was difficult but rather because I am such a pathetic perfectionist, I had ripped out that blanket stitching around the edges about a hundred times before finally making up my mind to just “do it.” Once that determination was made it was fun, and although it is really a very simple project, I really felt as though I had accomplished something when it was finished.

How have you been? I hope you forgive me for not only being a bad blogger but a lousy blogging buddy. I am going to visit everyone this evening and am anxious catch up on what you have been doing. I hope my visits find everyone healthy, happy, and creating up a storm. Take care, friends, and thanks for stopping by.