Just Saying Hi

Initially, last night’s stamping session didn’t go so well. To make a long story short, I dropped a black ink pad just as I was adding the finishing touches to a rather “fussy” card. The edge of the pad caught  my very pretty pastel focal point  image, leaving an less-than-attractive black streak that could not be repaired, cut off, or wished away. That’s what I get for trying to make an impression with a fancier than usual card. LOL.

After feeling sorry for myself for a few minutes, I cleaned up my desk and started over, reverting to my simple style with different stamps and papers. As I did when making this card the other day, I used an acrylic block as a shadow stamp. Everything else is pretty much self-explanatory. You might not be able to see that I used an edge distressing tool on the right hand side of the “notebook” paper. I think I might have liked a torn edge even more.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Black cardstock; Studio 45 Communiqué Collection patterned paper; Memento black and Tim Holtz/Ranger Antique Linen and Tea Dye Distressing Ink stamp pads; Hero Arts Just Saying Hi and Close To My Heart Noted Background (retired) stamp sets; Antiqued Copper mini brads; Stampin’ Up Spiral and Ticket punches; Edge Distressor; Foam Texture Tools.

A Slice of Life: Whoa. I hope the night passes as quickly as the day did. I am on my way out the door in a few minutes to go earn part of that paycheck that keeps showing up every other Thursday.

I hope you are having a wonderful week. Talk to you soon!

In the Pink

The first time I embossed the Large Blossom image with white embossing powder on white cardstock I realized I couldn’t see enough of the detail to successfully apply color to the flowers, leaves and stems. Thus, I grabbed my waterbrush and simply washed color over the embossed image. My intent was to use it as a guide, which I did with the card I posted last night.

Today, I gave my “guide” a second look, really liked what I saw, and noted that the randomly selected color I had used  coordinates with(darned near matches) CTMH’s new Cotton Candy pink.  I guess we’ll call this card a “happy accident.” One note about embossed and watercolor images: In lieu of watercolor paper, I used regular cardstock that tends to buckle from the moisture. The weight of a couple of heavy books will flatten the image. Additionally, I used Terrifically Tacky tape to adhere it to the cardstock mat.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Cotton Candy, and Black cardstock; Black and VersaMark ink pads; White embossing powder; Hero Arts Large Blossom stamp; CTMH Happy Birthday (retired) stamp set; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Lyra Aquacolor water soluble wax crayons; Embossing heat tool.

A Slice of Life: And here is more “In the Pink.” It’s eight-week-old Mari on the verge of the great big smile that emerged right after the flash of Grandma’s camera. Chubby cheeks. A little rosebud mouth. A double chin. Huge blue eyes and more hair in the back than she has on the sides or on top. She looks like Daddy. She looks like Mommy. Mostly, she looks like Mari and is (in my opinion) as cute as a bug’s ear. The photo to the left reveals what she did most of the afternoon. Evidently, it is hard work being a baby. Sleeping or awake, she is perfect. What a blessing it is to be able to take care of her. I would be happy to just sit in a chair and drink in her sweetness and innocence all day long.

Baby is coming back tomorrow. If she doesn’t have anything else going on, I am hoping to bring Mom over for the afternoon. I want Mari to know Great-Grandma.

I hope your day was a good one. It’s back to work for me tomorrow evening. I am thinking my days off this time went by way too fast. Tonight, I am going to stamp. Enjoy your evening, and thanks for stopping by. Hope to “see” you again soon.

Inspired …

… by this beautiful card I saw a couple of weeks ago on Card of the Week.com. Of course, I was enabled, too, because I had to get my hot little hands on the stamps before I could make the card. LOL. Made in haste, my creation is not as pretty as Susan’s is. I need to watch the video she posted yesterday and see if I can’t improve my painting technique. For this card, I used my waterbrush and Lyra Aquacolor crayons. As you can see, it is unadorned. I wanted to add some twine but couldn’t get it to look/lay right and gave up before frustration set in.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Barn Red, and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; White Daisy Pigment and VersaMark ink pads; White embossing powder;  Hero Arts Large Blossom and Leaf Clusters stamps; Lyra Aquacolor water soluble wax crayons; Embossing heat tool.

A Slice of Life: Today was certainly a quick day. Having stayed up late, I slept late. When I got up I did some general housekeeping chores and then finally finished my current “project,” which has been sorting through my paper. As I noted long ago, I use Cropper Hopper 12 x 12-inch vertical paper holders. Ten of them hold of Close To My Heart cardstock. Patterned papers fill 13 more. Each cardstock color and patterned paper packet/set is kept/put in a zip-top bag with another quart-size bag at the front of each to hold my scraps. My sorting project has entailed taking stock of what I have, separating full sheets from partial sheets, and throwing out the too-small scraps. It goes without saying that I have a lot of paper … that I probably won’t live long enough to use it all … that I should declare a moratorium on buying paper. And stamps, too, for that matter. But aware of my weaknesses, I only said “should.” LOL.

This evening, Mom and I attended a shower for Mari and Miranda that was held at the tiny country church where Miranda is a member. The ladies served a light supper that was scrumptious. The program included devotions and a couple of readings – one serious and a funny one. Mari slept in my arms while Mommy opened a tableful of lovely gifts that included more mostly pink clothes, some toys, various other useful items, and a highchair. It was nice.

Speaking of little Mari, I am taking care of her tomorrow while Miranda does some housekeeping in her horse barn and Wednesday when the veterinarian making a house call. Next week, she goes back to work and baby goes to daycare. The time has gone by fast. Photos of my little visitor will be forthcoming.

Now, I had better get this posted before it isn’t Monday anymore. I hope your day was wonderful. Tomorrow, too. Until next time, take care and thanks for stopping by.

A New Week Begins

As you may have guessed by now, I am really loving Close To My Heart’s new Pear color. It is such a fresh, pretty green and a perfect complement to Topiary.

I tried a new (to me) technique, too, using an acrylic block to stamp the background.  For this card, I used my 4-1/2 by 6 inch block, which covered the whole piece. The use of a smaller block would result in a look similar to that of a shadow stamp.  The vellum sentiment strip was inspired by the Make It Monday #2 post on Papertrey Ink’s blog.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Topiary cardstock; Vellum; Pear and Topiary ink pads; Clear embossing powder; Hero Arts Leaf Cluster Cling stamp and Truly Appreciated stamp set; Acrylic “Dew Drops” from Michael’s; 4-1/2 by 6 inch acrylic block; Embossing heat tool.

A Slice of Life: After sleeping for about 16 of the last 24 hours, I am caught up and ready to start a new week. As for what is on the agenda today, I haven’t decided yet. There is still a lot of sorting and purging to be done in my corner. I would love to just sit and stamp for a while, too. I guess we will see what the day brings.

How are you doing? It’s hard to believe it is the last week in February already, isn’t it? It doesn’t seem to matter what kind of work schedule I have. The days seem to zip right by. And that means that if I am going to have anything to show you or tell you in coming days, I better “get to getting.” Enjoy your Sunday, my friends, and thanks for stopping by!

Coming Up for Air

Hi! Remember me? If you don’t, it is OK. It’s been darned near that long.

Here is a card I made last week. It was inspired by this pretty card on Laurie’s Stampin and Scrappin Place blog.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, White Daisy textured, and Topiary cardstock; Pear and VersaMark ink pads; White embossing powder; Hero Arts Truly Appreciated and Close To My Heart Air Mail (retired) stamp sets; Hero Arts Three Ferns stamp; Topiary brads; Round sponge; Embossing heat tool.

Several Slices of Life: Where have I been? Most recently (as in this evening) I visited my granddaughter (and her parents, of course). I just had to see one more of Mari’s sweet little smiles before starting my so-called “workweek” tomorrow evening. At seven weeks, she is becoming quite social and changing daily.

How was your Valentine’s Day? I hope it was nice. Ours was interrupted by a stomach virus – Bjorn, its victim. The “plan” was to have the whole family over for supper. However, after Grandpa had to make a quick trip to the school to pick up a sick little boy, Grandma hastily “uninvited” Dustin, Miranda, Mari, and Great-grandma. Sarah wasn’t feeling well either, so it ended up being Marv and me, Cameron, and Mathias. Leftovers fill the refrigerator. I know what I will be eating at work this week. It’s OK. Life happens, and better Valentine’s Day than Christmas.

Mari stayed with us on Saturday night and spent most of the day with us on Sunday. While I do not know if I would have the stamina to have a baby around all of the time, it sure was fun for the 20 or so hours we had her. She’s so sweet.

And, what I have been doing the rest of the time? Well, the kitchen and bathroom are clean. The bedroom is clean. The living room is presentable, and I have been working feverishly in my den/craft room. I am thankful this is only an apartment, because if it were anything more, I might not ever get to come up for some air. LOL. I’m making progress, and once things are organized with a plan for keeping them that way, I will have a lot more time for the fun stuff.

I sincerely hope life is treating you well. We have had a nice break in the weather with temperatures in the 30s and 40s. According to the weatherman, however, it’s back to cold come Friday. That will be OK. Just a taste of spring is enough to let us know it will come – eventually. It’s back to work tomorrow evening, and that is OK, too. Those 12-hour shifts fly by, and there are only three of them! Take care, my friends. Talk to you soon.

Love Ewe

Are you having a good weekend? I just caught the half-time act during the Super Bowl. What fun! I also saw/heard Christina Aguilera sing (“mangle” according to USA Today) the national anthem at the start of the game. I will just say that it was not my favorite rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Lea Michele’s “America the Beautiful” was great. So much for my armchair critique. With Husband manning the remote control and more channel surfing than normal going on, I’m not even trying to follow the game. May the best team win.

I didn’t feel like stamping today until I saw some of this week’s sketch challenges. This one is SSS94 as featured on The Sweet Stop blog.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Holiday Red, and Black cardstock; Black, Holiday Red, Grey Flannel, and White Daisy pigment ink stamp pads; Unity Love Ewe, Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics, and Close To My Heart Togetherness stamp sets; Black grosgrain ribbon; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Dove blending pen; Round sponge; 1/2-inch heart punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: Well, I made it through another workweek and believe I have caught up on my rest. Sixteen hours should do it. LOL. Bjorn and Mathias stayed with us last night. Mari was here, too, for about an hour in the afternoon while her Mommy and Daddy did some shopping. She’s coming back tomorrow afternoon. Miranda has a doctor’s appointment. Next Saturday, she’s spending the night! After the little boys left today, I went to have coffee with Mom and make a lunch/shopping date for tomorrow. I’m going to bring her home with me, too, so she can spend a little time with her great-granddaughter.

As usual, I have 100 or so things I want to get done during the next few days. More realistically, I made a “Gotta Do” list with six items on it. There is one that  I can accomplish tonight if I just get to it … like now. LOL.

I will close with the wish that your week is wonderful. Take care, and thanks for stopping by!

Pretty Flowers All in a Row

Hi! How’s your week going? Work went great last night/this morning. As for sleeping when I got home, not so good – even after Husband gave me half of one of the sleeping pills that were prescribed for him earlier in the week. Hmm… I need to figure something out here. I don’t want Husband to have to flee for his safety again this Saturday, because his tired wife is acting like a witch. LOL.

My card was inspired by this card – one I spotted a while back on the 2bKrafty blog. I colored the flowers with Close To My Heart markers. Yellow Stickles make the center of the flowers sparkle.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Cotton Candy cardstock; Black ink pad; Sunny Yellow, Cotton Candy, and Pear markers; Verve Stamps Many Blessings and Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics and Birthday Basics stamp sets; Yellow Stickles.

Another Slice of Life: Yesterday, our weather was cold and windy with wind chills of –50°. It was miserable. Currently, it is 25° and gorgeous. A little break from the frigid weather is always welcome. As planned, Mom and I went out for lunch and did a little shopping on Tuesday. I bought the supplies for a crafty project. Here’s a little peek at a what I’ve accomplished so far – photos of the finished project to come – providing I get it done. LOL. If you want to see a finished project, Jeanne has been playing around with Styrofoam balls, too.  Take a look at her felt spheres as well as some of her other great Valentine’s Day decorations on her Creative Bliss blog. With a couple of hours before it is time to go to work, I am going to go take a short nap with hope that it will be a quicker-picker-upper. Enjoy your evening. Thanks for stopping by!