Kathi's Corner

#1571 at Kathi's Corner

2011-05-10T18:24:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! I have determined that spring is not my favorite season. Instead causing a surge of energy that results in a flurry of positive activities, spring fever knocks me into a hole that is dark and kind of hard to climb to climb out of.

Yup. With no mojo and little ambition, I have been in a funk these past few weeks.

No. My life has not been all bad. In fact, aspects of it have been wonderful, as my family and I have celebrated birthdays (Mathias turned six on April 11 with Grandpa turning 62 the very next day), Easter, and most recently, Mother's Day. It's all good in the family department, and there is not a day that goes by that I don not realize how truly blessed I am.

My funk has had more to do with expectations. With the new job I started in January, I anticipated a lot more time to get things done not taking into consideration I am no spring chicken and that staying up all night three days a week might leave me weary for a day or two or three... LOL. Kinda. Management, too, messed with the process and deemed quantity to be more important than quality. For a perfectionist who deems to do more than take mediocre photos of electronic components, the changes have not exactly been embraced. Thus, I'm not loving this new job that is leaving me feeling like I've been run over by a semi on Saturdays.

OK. So I have realized that, all things considered, I am not going to make great strides with regard to some of the things I want to do. Rather, I will have to settle for baby steps. That will be alright just so long as I keep moving forward.

Now about this blog. You know how it's fun to change things up a little once in a while? Well, due to the way this blog is configured and changes Blogger has made over the course of the past couple of years, I cannot make the alterationsI want to make without going through 1,570 posts and resizing the photographs. Ugh! And I'm not gonna do it! Instead, I am moving and invite you to visit me at Paper Past Times, Etc. (www.kathicarlson.blogspot.com).

If you follow me here (via My Followers or Google Reader), I hope you will follow me there and let me know what you think of the new look/format. You will notice the new blog is much simpler - no muss, fuss, side bars, or stat counters. It suits what I want to do, which is simply to share what I can when I can.

Are you with me? I hope so, because I'm back with you and anxious to resume visiting and commenting on your posts. I've missed you.

Oh, and I made a card today! You can see it here.

Night Owl Here…

2011-04-06T01:30:00.001-05:00

Thank you so much for your oh-so-sweet comments on my last post. Having been such a lousy blogger for the past couple of weeks, I didn’t expect ‘em.

Here is a card I made last week with new stamps from Flourishes. While I saw so many lovely cards made with this set (here and here and here), it was this gorgeous card that made this set irresistible to me. That sweet nest – I couldn’t help myself.

This one was colored with a waterbrush and ink from my ink pads.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Olive, and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; Passages paper packet; Black, Olive, Garden Green, Heavenly Blue, Desert Sand, Brown Bag, Chocolate, Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake, and Tim Holtz/Ranger Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Flourishes Spring Has Sprung and Stampendous Pattern Trio stamp sets; CTMH Speckled Background stamp (retired); Garden Green mini brads; Ecru crochet lace and olive twill ribbon from reasonableribbon.com; waterbrush; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Foam texture tool.

A Slice of Life: I had a fun afternoon with my Mom. We went out for lunch and then did some shopping. I finally found a pair of jeans that fit better than any of the others I currently own. What is it with all the “low rider” jeans these days. Fine for 18-year-olds maybe, but I don’t think the crack of a 57-year-old’s backside is very becoming. LOL. Tonight, I am trying to get my mind wrapped around the idea of going back to work tomorrow evening. I hope things are straightened out from the end of last week. Management couldn’t leave a good thing alone and decided to make some procedural changes in the way we get the parts we photograph. Things didn’t work out at all on Friday night, which was very frustrating, so I am hoping they have either worked the kinks out of the new process or have gone back to the way things were done previously.

For now, I am off to bed with hopes of sleeping a little later into the day. I hope yours is a happy Hump Day! Take care, and thanks for stopping by.

Don’t Get the Wrong Idea

2011-04-04T21:07:00.001-05:00

The theme of my card has nothing to do with my absence from the blogosphere even though we have had a bit of a run on sympathy cards around here recently. It feels like one of those “You know you are getting old when …” type things. Not really funny … but kind of. Certainly nothing one can do anything about.

Having made this card almost two weeks ago, I’m struggling to remember the details. One thing: I used the
“Saran Wrap” technique to add texture to the Kraft/Crumb Cake base. This technique amounts to a wadded up piece of plastic wrap used like a stamp. The result is a suede look that I love. The image was colored with Copics. One more thing: None of the cardstock colors I have coordinated very well with my image so I used a Copic to color around the edge of a piece of Colonial White cardstock and used that for my mat. One last thing: I mounted my matted image to my card using foam tape. I guess I remembered more than I thought I did. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; Black, Olive, Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake, and Tim Holtz/Ranger Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Copic markers; Stampin’ Up Elements of Style and Impression Obsession Sympathy Sentiments stamp sets; CTMH Speckled Background stamp (retired); KaiserKraft pearl accents; Ecru crochet lace from reasonableribbon.com; Sponge texture tool; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: And here I thought the new job with the new hours would give me more time for stamping and blogging. It’s not working out that way. For one thing, working while everyone else sleeps means I need to sleep when the rest of the world is awake for three days. That is not as easy as I thought it would be, and I am experiencing two, if not three, days of what feels like jetlag (or better said, kinda like I’ve been run over by a truck). I am not complaining but rather love the job and the hours. It’s just that I am not as perky as I thought I would be on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. As for Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays until 7 pm, I have been trying to be more domestic, getting my house in order and spending more time with my family. I’ve also expanded my horizons a bit, exploring different crafts and picking up on an old past time or two. As for time, I still don’t have as much as I would like and probably wouldn’t if I were retired. Should I live long enough to do all of the things I want to do. Sigh… LOL.

I hope this post finds you healthy, happy, and enjoying spring. In the weather department, we have had a few nice days interspersed with some lousy ones. Typical “spring” in the frozen tundra where Mother Nature is usually kind of slow to make up her mind. With a few cards in my “bank” that I haven’t shown you yet, I am hoping to be back soon. In the meanwhile, take care and have a good week. It was good to “see” you again!

You Make Me Smile

2011-03-22T22:50:00.001-05:00

Here is my take on FTL #132 as featured recently on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. The image was colored with Copics – more than once. What is with the inked up sentiment stamps I am dropping on almost-finished cards these days? It’s like the stamping gods are testing my patience and/or perseverance. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy cardstock; Doodlebug Design Black Eyelet patterned paper; Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad; R24, R29, YG3, and C1 Copic markers; Penny Black Gossamer stamp; Hero Arts Thinking of You stamp set; Red/white gingham ribbon from Wal-Mart; Button from my stash; Close To My Heart Licorice Opaques.

A Slice of Life: Hello! I hope this post finds you healthy, happy, and enjoying the first days of spring. I’m doing OK with regard to happy and healthy but have yet to enjoy spring – much. Currently, Mother Nature must think the inhabitants of the frozen tundra need one more blast of winter in the form of a gigantic snowstorm. While the precipitation has not yet arrived, the forecasters keep saying its coming. Ugh!

The past few days have been busy. We had three overnight guests on Saturday night – the grandkids – which made for a fun evening and Sunday when the “big kids” turned up here, too. Yesterday, I pretty much spent the day recuperating from the weekend and my funky workweek. Today, I had lunch with Mom and did some shopping. Tomorrow evening, it’s back to work. Bummer.

Speaking of “bummer,” there is so much going on in the world right now, I don’t think the media knows what the heck to report. Surely, they are not telling much in the way of good news. Much of it is depressing. Some of it is scary, and we hear much, much more about the people who are doing bad things than we do about the activities of good folks. I find that sad, because regardless of how wild and crazy the world appears to be, I maintain that most people are good people – ordinary people living ordinary lives – people like you and me.

I have met a lot of good people and wonderful friends through stamping and this blog. One of those special people is my friend, Jeanne, who took the time to email me and offer encouraging words – in a way that only she can do – when my blog was young.

Last week, I mentioned a surprise in my mailbox. It was a package from Jeanne that contained this wonderful cross-stitched birth sampler for baby Mari. I was as touched by this beautiful gift as I was by the breathtakingly gorgeous afghan and hat that Jeanne made and sent in January. While I consider myself to be reasonably good with words, I stumble as I try to describe the beauty of these keepsakes and what they mean to me – what Jeanne means to me.

In the card that accompanied the sampler, Jeanne noted the joy she derived from making it as she thought of me spending time with my new granddaughter. I believe that to be true, as she is clearly one who derives joy in using her many talents to bring happiness to others. I am so blessed to be one of the recipients of her goodness and generosity. This is one of those times when “thank you” doesn’t seem like enough. Nevertheless, it’s all that I have. Dustin, Miranda, Mari, and I thank you, Jeanne, from the bottom of our hearts.

If you are still with me, thank you for stopping by my little corner of the blogosphere. Whether it’s posting or visiting other blogs, I haven’t been around nearly as much as I would like to be lately. So much to do… So little time… and seemingly less now that I have more. Whoa. Figure that sentence out. What I am trying to say is that I have a lot going on right now. My hope is that life settles down a bit one of these days and I find more time to show up here on a regular basis. In the meanwhile, take care. Hope to “see” you soon!

Friendship

2011-03-17T18:28:00.001-05:00

"… Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world."-- John Evelyn. There. I saved you from having to read the fine print. The quote is so true.

When making this card, I kind of wished I had a punch or die that cuts waves. When I made this card, I was wishing for a die or punch that cuts grass. In both cases, I used what I have – a pair of scissors for the grass on the other card and a punch that creates gentle waves for this one. The specific punches or dies would be nice, but what I have worked, and sometimes, it is rather satisfying to simply “make do.”

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Holiday Red, and Pacifica cardstock; Black and Sky ink pads; Copic markers; Verve Stamps Text Objects; Red mini brads; Cloud stencil; EK Success border punch; Sponge texture tool.

A Slice of Life: Marv picked up Bjorn and Mathias after school today and brought them here until their dad finished work. They were sporting the green St. Patrick’s Day T-shirts I got them. While Marv was fetching them, I hid 20 “gold” coins in the living room and kitchen, which, once they found them, were redeemed for dollar bills. They thought the treasure hunt was great fun. It was nice to have a couple of hours with them.

The hours sped by at work last night. We were busy. I anticipate more of the same tonight. And as “tonight” begins in a little more than a half hour, I had best get my stuff together and make my way across town. Whether you are Irish or not, I hope your St. Patrick’s Day was a good one. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll be back soon.

Just Saying Hi …

2011-03-16T04:47:00.001-05:00

… With a simple masculine card.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Black cardstock; Graphic 45 Communiqué Collection; Black and Ranger/Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Hero Arts Just Saying Hi stamp set; Black velvet ribbon from reasonableribbon.com; Black button brads and photo clips; Sponge texture tool; Cricut w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set;3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: I’m late for Tuesday and early for Wednesday. Go figure. Yesterday, I had lunch with Mom after which we hit Wal-Mart and then the grocery store. When I got home, there was a wonderful surprise in my mailbox – something I will tell you about in the next day or two. Today, I have a few things I want to get done before going bowling and then to work. Thursday and Friday, I don’t anticipate doing anything more than working and sleeping and trying to maintain my good humor. LOL. I do hope I am not too tired on Saturday. We’re going to have three little houseguests for the night. It should be fun.

Enjoy your Wednesday. I’ll be seeing you again soon.

With Sympathy

2011-03-14T21:56:00.001-05:00

After having turned this card into a sympathy card last week, I decided to make another that was something like it to have on hand. This one turned out a bit on the feminine side, however, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but will be a determining factor with regard to how I use it.

The image was stamped with VersaMark, embossed with white embossing powder, and colored with a blending pen, using inks from various stamp pads.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Olive, and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; White Daisy Pigment, VersaMark, Baby Pink, Blush, Hollyhock, Garden Green, Olive, and Dutch Blue stamp pads; White embossing powder Hero Arts Flower Bird Garden and Leaf Cluster stamps; Impression Obsession Sympathy Sentiments stamp sets; Dove blending pen.

A Slice of Life: How was your day? I had a great day, crossing a few items of the bottomless “to do” list and enjoying a visit from Dustin, Miranda, and Mari early this evening. Have I told you lately that little Mari is the sweetest little thing I’ve ever laid eyes on? LOL. Yes, Grandma is smitten. Grandpa, too. She was propped in the crook of his knee for this photo. and evidently, she thinks he is a pretty funny guy.

I did some stamping today, too, and am happy to say I have something prepared for every day this week. No more sloughing off. LOL.

Tonight, I am tired and am about to do the sensible thing – go to bed. I hope your Tuesday is terrific. “See” you again then.

One More …

2011-03-14T02:04:00.001-05:00

Here is another really simple card made using the big Stencil Flower stamp. The only thing I can think of to say is that Close To My Heart’s Sky is about the prettiest blue I have ever laid my eyes on.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Sky cardstock; Black and White Daisy Pigment ink pads; Hero Arts Stencil Flower stamp and Truly Appreciated stamp set.

A Slice of Life: Good morning! How was your weekend? Ours was quiet and restful. As for what I am still doing up at 2 am, I am not certain. Maybe the past couple of days have been too restful. That said, I really should go to bed, so I can get up tomorrow and do something, so I have something to talk about. LOL.

I should say, too, that I wish you a wonderful week. And, as always, thanks for stopping by!

Simple Saturday

2011-03-12T18:56:00.001-06:00

When I make a card and wish I had something that looks similar hanging in my closet, I always feel like I’ve accomplished something. The “print” I created for this card would make for a nice blouse or maybe even a fun summer dress.

This card is 5-1/2 inches square. The flowers were colored with three Copic markers. The shading was accomplished with a blending pen and ink from my Grey Flannel ink pad. The flower centers are White Opal Liquid Pearls.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Tuxedo Black Memento and CTMH Grey Flannel ink pads; R24, R27, and R29 Copic markers; Hero Arts Stencil Flower stamp and Thinking of You stamp set; Ranger White Opal Liquid Pearls; Dove blending pen.

This next card was inspired by one I saw here on Nicole Heady’s Inspired Papertrey Ink blog. I wouldn’t mind wearing this one either. LOL. I stamped and shaded with Grey Wool ink. The stitching on the red strips is faux, created with a piercing tool and white gel pen.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Cranberry cardstock; Grey Wool and Black ink pads; White gel pen; Hero Arts Stencil Blossom stamp and Verve Stamps Asian Flair stamp sets; Dove blending pen; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide and Mat.

A Slice of Life: Are you having a good weekend? I hope so. Me? Right now, I am looking forward to a good night’s sleep, and then we shall see what the new week brings. Of course, I have projects in mind – more, in fact, than there are hours to accomplish them. That seems to be how life – mine, anyway – works. LOL.

For now, I am off to the bedroom to watch some TV … for about five minutes … before falling asleep. Enjoy your evening, friends. I’ll be back tomorrow after catching up on a little shuteye.

Dancing with Flowers

2011-03-10T15:47:00.001-06:00

When I look at this image, I imagine a carpet of soft green grass beneath my bare feet and the fresh smell of spring wafting through the air. What a happy thought, and even though its only 20 degrees in the frozen tundra, the power of the sun is evident. I just stepped outside for a breath of fresh air and noticed water from the melted snow falling steadily from the roof. Yes, spring and then summer will come.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White cardstock; DCWV Linen Closet patterned paper; Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake ink pad; Hero Arts Dancing with Flowers stamp; KaiserKraft pearl accents; Ivory ribbon from reasonableribbon.com; Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch; Sponge Texture Tool; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: Happy Thursday to those of you who are nearing the end of your workweek or, for that matter, anyone who is looking forward to the weekend. Most of us get to spring ahead this weekend, too, with daylight savings time starting at 2 am on Sunday morning. Usually, it takes a while for me to adjust to that lost hour. With my new schedule, I don’t think DST will have the same effect.

I got quite a workout at my job last night, taking photographs for 10 of the 12 hours I was there. As the process involves a lot of up and down – including standing on a rather wobbly stool – I could hardly move by 7 am this morning. I had my first-ever cardboard paper cut, too. On the palm of my hand, it was deep, wide, and about an inch long. Once I got the bleeding under control, I put a bandage on and forgot about it until today when the bandage fell off. Evidently, it was a clean cut, as it was completely healed except for the scar. Tonight, I anticipate spending most of the night editing all those photos I took last night. After sitting in one spot for hours on end, I will probably be stiff and sore tomorrow morning, too. That’s OK. After a few hours in bed, I’m always good to go again.

With that, I am off to the shower. Husband doesn’t know it yet, but he’s taking me out to dinner tonight before I go to work. I hope you are having a wonderful week. “See” you again soon!

Handmade Happiness

2011-03-08T17:35:00.001-06:00

As simple as it is, this card was a bit more labor intensive than most that come from my corner. Lots of cutting and pasting, including the itty bitty clothespins that reminded me of the tiny integrated circuits my clumsy fingers try to keep from dropping at work.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Outdoor Denim cardstock; Splendor paper packet (retired); Black ink pad; Brown Bag, Topiary, Sky, and Goldrush markers; Hero Arts Kiss from the Sun stamp set; Colonial White Waxy Flax; Needle, Sanding block.

A Slice of Life: How is your week going? From my perspective, the hands on the clock seem to be moving about twice as fast as I wish they would. A few items have been checked off my “to do” list but not nearly as many as I would have liked. Perhaps, the next 24 hours will be more productive that the past couple of days have been. And then again, maybe I will get sidetracked and do something fun. LOL. Speaking of fun, Mom and I went out for lunch and did a little shopping earlier today. I still love the fact that my weird work hours enable me to do stuff like this.

No, if I am going to accomplish something today, I had best get my butt out of this chair. Enjoy the evening, my friends, and thanks for stopping by!

Colored with Copics

2011-03-06T21:11:00.001-06:00

Hi! How was your day?

Here is a card I made Friday, which was colored, nonetheless, with Copics! My friend, Alanna, very sweetly sent me five Copic Sketch pens at Christmastime – the start, she said, of my collection. How fun! The only thing I wasn’t quite certain of was how to get started. Should I buy a few random colors that appealed to me or would it be better to build my collection by purchasing markers in the same color families? Because their blending properties are what make them so special, it made sense to purchase them in color families. From my first order, I have markers from the red, blue violet, and yellow green families. When the order I placed Friday arrives, I will have also have some from the blue, green, and red violet families as well as a couple of greys for creating shadows.

I have been placing my orders with CarpeDiem, where, with a $50 purchase (13 markers), shipping is free. How long it will take to build what I will call a solid collection, I do not know, although I believe that as I get better at using them, I will want to accelerate my purchases. I cannot tell you how much I wish they were readily accessible where I live, however. Placing an order – particularly one that is carefully thought out – is work. Adding a few to a store shopping cart once in a while would make the collecting part so much easier. LOL.

OK. Because this is my first serious attempt at using these markers, please cut me some slack with this card. I used three shades from the blue violet family to color the hydrangea petals and three shades from the yellow green family to color the stems and leaves. While in the photo, it appears that I could have/should have blended the green shades better, to the naked eye, the colors look fine. Darned camera. LOL. Seriously, it’s going to take some time and probably a lot of tutorials and YouTube videos before I get it figured out. Learning the art of Copics, however, will be fun.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Spring Lilac, and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; Black Memento, CTMH Olive, and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake ink pads; Hero Arts Dots and Flowers Design Block and Hydrangea stamp; Close To My Heart Friendship Garden stamp set (retired); KaiserKraft pearl accents; Copic markers; Round Texture Tool.

A Slice of Life: It’s been a busy couple of days with a wedding yesterday and kids and grandchildren here today until after supper this evening. As planned, Mari spent the night. She has been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks. Nice. She doesn’t really cry either. Rather, she makes little sounds that have an “I’m not happy” tone to them. Kind of like a complaint. Most of the time, though, she is happy and loves to be talked to. In particular, if I tell her what a pretty baby she is, I am almost always rewarded with a great big smile. Funny, too, how she stares intently at my mouth as I speak. It’s like she really wants to get the talking thing figured out. Oh, and it was so good to see the little boys, too. Mathias and I played a bunch of games while Bjorn played on my computer. They are growing so fast in so many ways.

Thinking about my long “to do” list and not quite caught up on my sleep yet, I am most anxious to hit the sheets tonight … early … right after I straighten up my corner. I truly hope you had a great weekend, too, and are looking forward to the week ahead. That said, I’ll be back soon. Take care, and thanks for stopping by.

Simple Saturday

2011-03-05T14:17:00.001-06:00

Today’s card was inspired by a card that was featured in this post Wednesday on The Hero Arts Club blog.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; Garden Green, Olive, and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake ink pads; Hero Arts Dictionary Greeting, My Cute Stamps Ashley’s Blossoms, and Close To My Heart Thank You stamp sets; Foam Texture Tool; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: Let the weekend begin! As I said yesterday, we have a wedding to attend this evening, and tomorrow I am hoping for some time with my grandsons. Other than that, I have no specific plans for the next four days. That doesn’t mean there is nothing to do, however. My “to do” list is as long as my leg! LOL.

Just out of bed and up for the day, I am off to the shower after which I am going perform a few housekeeping chores. The cleaning fairy didn’t show up again this week. Darn.

Thank you for the comments on recent posts. Your support is always appreciated. With that, I will bid you adieu for today. Hope to “see” you soon!

I Miss You

2011-03-04T16:10:00.001-06:00

Here is a simple card I managed to eke out a couple of days ago. The image was colored with Prismacolor pencils and OMS, and I scored the cardstock I used for the background to emulate the siding of a house.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Black ink pad; Day Dreamer stamp by Leanne Ellis for Sugar Nellie Stamps; CTMH Say it in Style stamp set; Black/white mini check ribbon from Wal-Mart; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Martha Stewart Score Board.

A Slice of Life: Happy Friday! How is your week going? Mine has been good – work and all. I cannot believe how fast my “condensed” workweek goes by. I thought that once I figured out what I was doing, the work would become more routine – maybe even boring. Not so. Regardless of how good my photos are, there is always room for improvement. The same goes for editing them, and there is always something new and fun to learn and/or figure out using Photoshop.

On the home front, we have a wedding to go to tomorrow night after which Mari will be coming to spend the night. I am hoping to see Bjorn and Mathias on Sunday before they go to their mom’s for the week. It’s been way to long since I have seen those little Munchkins. Other than that, I have 101 things I want to get done on my days off but (so far) nothing on the calendar. Do you have plans for the weekend? Whatever you are doing, make it a good one! I’ll be back tomorrow with a Simple Saturday post. In the meanwhile, take care and thanks for stopping by.

Party Time!

2011-03-02T10:27:00.002-06:00

Hello, blogging buddies. In the event you thought I fell off the face of the earth, I thought I would provide a little glimpse into my world and let you know what I have been up to lately. On Sunday, my sweet sister hosted a baby shower for Miranda and Mari in the Community Room of the apartment complex where I live. Deb, along with my three other sisters, my niece, and our Mom, arrived on Saturday afternoon to decorate. She used a cute farm theme. This is what the room looked like before I turned out the lights on Saturday night.

There was a horse, of course, wearing an infant-sized cowboy hat. Mari received her first pair of western boots, too!

Bandana bouquets made for cute centerpieces on the tables.

Holy cow! Take a look at the goodie-filled diaper cake that took center stage on the gift table. It’s almost too cute for words.

More cuteness. Yummy, too! Made-from-scratch raspberry cupcakes. Sister Dianne used her Cricut to create the cute picks. Sister Kim made the cupcake wrappers. Dessert followed a wonderful lunch made by my sisters, sister-in-law, and mom. It was a fun afternoon – perfect to the last detail – and while little Mari took it all in stride, her parents were very touched by the thoughtfulness put into the event.
Oh, and I just had to show you the picture of Mari that her Mommy took late last week. Sweet, huh? I had prints made and put them into 5 x 7-inch frames – one for each of her parent’s desks at work. Mommy returned to work, and Mari spent her first day at daycare on Monday. While Miranda was sad to leave her little one, I understand all is going well for both Mommy and baby.
It’s back to work for me tonight, too. Now that I have become accustomed to my new hours, it seems like four days off fly by as fast as two days once did. I finally made a card last night, or perhaps I should say, “successfully” made a card last night. I don’t know if the organizing I have been doing has squelched by creativity or what is going on but my stamping endeavors of late have been quite disastrous. Anyway, I will post it either later today or tomorrow.
I hope this post finds you healthy and happy. It’s March already! Spring is on its way – even in the frozen tundra … eventually. LOL. Take care, my friends. I hope to “see” you again soon.

Just Saying Hi

2011-02-23T18:33:00.001-06:00

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

2011-02-22T19:20:00.001-06:00

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 …

2011-02-21T23:54:00.001-06:00

… 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

2011-02-20T09:38:00.001-06:00

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

2011-02-15T22:48:00.001-06:00

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

2011-02-06T20:37:00.001-06:00

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

2011-02-03T17:07:00.001-06:00

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!

January 31

2011-01-31T22:07:00.001-06:00

That title is about as catchy and imaginative as I am feeling this evening. Yesterday was the same, too. My mojo tank is running on empty. LOL.

The card is similar to others I’ve made – CAS using textured cardstock. The squares were adhered to the card with foam mounting tape.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy textured, Baby Pink, Blush, Hollyhock, and Vineyard Berry cardstock; Baby Pink, Blush, Hollyhock, and Vineyard Berry ink pads; Togetherness and Say it in Style stamp sets; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: There isn’t a whole lot happening in the frozen tundra. It’s too cold. Today, Mom and I drove to Beltrami for my 96-year-old great aunt’s funeral. Other than that, I didn’t do much. Tomorrow is going to be a repeat of last Tuesday – lunch with Mom and then a little shopping. If it works out, a trip to Dusty and Miranda’s house, too. We haven’t seen little Mari in more than a week – too long!

Did your week get off to a good start? I hope so. For now, I am off to straighten up my corner. Perhaps, I will find a little mojo under the mess! Take care, my friends, and thanks for stopping by.

Simple Saturday

2011-01-29T21:53:00.001-06:00

I was thinking about what I should do for Simple Saturday when I spotted Challenge #32 on the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge blog. The colors remind me of summer – a nice thought on a cold winter day.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Dutch Blue textured cardstock; Holiday Red, Sunflower, and Topiary cardstock; Holiday Red, Sunflower, Topiary, and Pear ink pads; Angel Whispers and Thank You stamp sets; Holiday Red Bigger Brad; Button from my stash; White embroider floss; 1-1/4 inch circle punch; McGill Multi-tag punch; Corner rounder; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: Today, I am tired. Tonight, I will sleep. Tomorrow, I hope to be more lively or at the very least, coherent. LOL. Seriously, I have a lot of things I would like to get done over the course of the next few days. Most require energy.

This past week, I chipped away at a few organization projects. Approximately 85 percent of my non-CTMH clear stamps are now in CD cases labeled with the name of the stamp set, manufacturer, and theme – sentiments, nature, occasions, etc. So far, I have filled five mini crates. I didn’t think I had that many…

Today, I changed the way I store my Nestabilities. They were in CD cases, which took up more space than was necessary. Last weekend, I ordered three 1 by 2-foot adhesive magnetic sheets that I cut into 6 by 6-inch squares and mounted on 6 by 6-inch square pieces of chipboard today. Nothing fancy – just functional. Now, I need to find a not-too-big-box to store them in.

The best price I found on the adhesive magnetic sheets was here. At first, I was put off by the amount for shipping. Then, I realized the $5.95 is the minimum shipping charge and not a per item fee. Of course, by the time I had three rolls of Adhes-A-MAG and a couple of other things I needed, I was at the $50 minimum for free shipping anyway.

What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, I hope you enjoy yourself. For now, I am off to straighten up my corner, so I can mess it up again tomorrow. I will “see” you again then.

Just Saying Hello

2011-01-28T17:48:00.001-06:00

Here is my take on FTL #125, the latest sketch on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. What a fun way to use scraps! To construct the card, I taped the four 1-1/4 by 2-3/4 inch pieces to a 2-3/4 by 5-inch piece of white cardstock. Then, I stamped it with a background stamp and VersaMark ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. To make the design “pop,” I sponged same color ink onto each of the four pieces, using a Post-It note to serve as a mask between sections. The card base is textured white cardstock.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy textured, Baby Pink, Blush, Hollyhock, and Vineyard Berry cardstock; VersaMark, Vineyard Berry, Hollyhock, Blush, and Baby Pink ink pads; Clear embossing powder; Hero Arts Truly Appreciated stamp set and Flowing Flowers and Leaves Cling background stamp; Stampin’ Up Whisper White taffeta ribbon.

A Slice of Life: Happy Friday! Just one more night, and I’m a free woman again. Yippee! To give you an idea of what I do at my job, I photographed Sunon micro fans last night. Tonight, it will be stuff that looks like this. While these itty bitty little components have to be “posed” just so, I don’t have to tell them to smile. LOL.

Speaking of work, I need to go finish getting ready. I hope you had a great day and are looking forward to the weekend. “See” you again tomorrow!

Find Joy Every Day

2011-01-27T16:03:00.001-06:00

I just noticed today there is a grammatical issue with the stamp I used for sentiment on this card. As it is used, “everyday” should be “every day.” “Find joy every day” is correct as would be “find everyday joy.” Some (mostly younger folks) would accuse me of just being picky. They tell me the rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling are old-fashioned. I don’t think so, although I make my share of errors – especially when writing in haste. Every once in a while, I will read and old post and cringe. LOL.

Today’s card was inspired by this card on the Simplicity blog. I used a piece of copy paper to create a stencil for my rectangle.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Pear cardstock; Black and Pear ink pads; CTHM Treasure Life and Hero Arts Anytime Messages stamp sets; Hero Arts Friend Definition stamp; Round sponge.

A Slice of Life: This being my third week of working the new hours, I have concluded that I am probably not going to move very fast on Thursdays. Work was great last night – busy and productive. Tonight promises more of the same.

For now, I am off to make a chicken and rice casserole for dinner. While it bakes, I’ll take a shower and get ready for work. Enjoy your evening, friends, and thanks for stopping by.

Happy Hump Day!

2011-01-26T17:32:00.001-06:00

Today’s card has been put together and taken apart so many times, I am surprised I did not wear out the paper. And while I am still not crazy about it, what you see is 10 times better than my other attempts. Initially, I embossed the stems (or whatever they’re called) in white on Petal cardstock. If the idea was right, the stamp was wrong. The finished card was ugly. I’m thinking that swapping out those tiny butterflies for a couple of larger ones might help this card.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Sweet Leaf cardstock; Black and Petal ink pads; Cornish Heritage Farms Silhouette Blooms I and Hero Arts Truly Appreciated stamp sets; Pearl Opaques; Martha Stewart Medium Butterfly punch; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide & Mat; Round sponge.

A Slice of Life: I chuckle at my reference to Hump Day. With my workweek just starting in about an hour, Wednesdays are now my Mondays, and I suppose Thursday is technically my Hump Day. Friday is still Friday with the exception that I don’t get done working until Saturday morning. Confused? If I don’t knock it off, I certainly will be. LOL.

With that bit of nonsense, I had best get serious and finish getting ready for work. I hope you are having a wonderful week. “See” you again soon.

In the Meadow, We Can Build a Snowman…

2011-01-25T22:15:00.001-06:00

… Or better said, we could build a snowman if it were 20+ degrees warmer. In the frozen tundra where the snow too darned c-o-l-d to stick together, you are more apt to see snowmen in the spring. And by then, if you build one, you hope he melts fast. LOL.

So far, I have yet to build a snowman that is as cute as the one on this card. As you can see, he was paper-pieced on a quarter sheet of Sky cardstock that was speckled with White Daisy pigment ink “snow.” I used Outdoor Denim and Ponderosa Pine cardstock for his hat and scarf. I sanded the paper first, which must have made it look more like fabric, because my card-critic husband was compelled to feel it. I’ve said before how much I like making cards that have that “touch me” quality.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Sky, Outdoor Denim, and Ponderosa Pine cardstock; Tuxedo Black (Memento) and CTMH White Daisy Pigment ink pads; Sunset and Grey Wool markers; Silver gel pen; Stampendous Jumbo Snowman and Impression Obsession Anytime Sentiments stamp sets; CTMH Speckled Background stamp (retired); White Daisy Bigger Brads; Sanding block.

A Slice of Life: I started this post more than three hours ago. I was interrupted to help Bjorn paint his Pinewood Derby card, which is bright green with black and white stripes. I reiterate for the umpteenth time that grandparenthood has turned me into the patient person I wish I had been 25 years ago. After the kids and their dad left, it was time for the State of the Union address.

Earlier in the day, Mom and I went out to lunch and did a little shopping. What a treat to be able to be able to go downtown on a weekday. And to think, I can do it every day should I so desire. I feel like a free woman again. LOL.

It’s back to work tomorrow night, which is OK with me. As for what that means for this blog will remain to be seen. I’m hoping not to repeat last week’s disappearing act. We’ll see …

I hope this finds you happy, healthy, and enjoying your week. Take care, my friends, and thanks for stopping by!

Where’s Kathi?

2011-01-24T19:44:00.001-06:00

With the new job and more time at home, I anticipated becoming a regular blogger again – frequent and consistent. So far, that has not happened … but it will … in good time.

I managed to eke out this card over the weekend during a brief visit to my corner. As you can see, I’m still lovin’ the Wings papers and Find Your Style January Stamp of the Month set.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Vineyard Berry cardstock; Wings Level 2 paper packet; Black, Juniper, and Bamboo ink pads; Find Your Style January Stamp of the Month set; Black Mini-Medley Accents Collection; Foam distressing tool; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: How are you? And, no. I have not fallen off the face of the earth but rather the edge of the blogosphere. It’s temporary.

Picking up where I left off last Tuesday (ouch), we had a house full of little people last Wednesday with Bjorn and Mathias joining little Mari after school. Miranda came to fetch the baby right before I left for bowling. After bowling, it was off to work. Going forward, I believe Thursday will be the day I am most tired. Once up on Friday, I actually did some stuff around the house before going to work.

With an 11 am birthday party scheduled for Bjorn on Saturday, I used some vacation time and came home at 1 am. The party was at the waterpark at the casino. What fun! It’s official. I have now experienced a waterslide. After the party, Dustin and Miranda went to Grand Forks for dinner, leaving Miss Mari with Grandma and Grandpa again. After dinner, she was joined by her cousins who spent the night and all day yesterday with us while their dad participated in a pool tournament.

Left to my own devices today, I cleaned and sorted and cleaned some more. By the time Dusty called to visit while driving home from work, I must have been huffing and puffing. He told me to slow down, that Rome wasn’t built in a day. I told him one has to make hay while the sun shines. Once I get this place shaped up, I will have a lot more time for a lot of things.

Busy. Delighted with the new job and even happier to have this extra time at home. I hope everything in your world is good, too. Perhaps, a little jaunt around the blogosphere will tell the story.

For those of you who haven’t given up on me, thank you for stopping by. Hope to “see” you again soon!

Flowers for You

2011-01-18T22:24:00.001-06:00

Tonight’s card was inspired by the Graphic 45 patterned paper I used. If you look closely, you will notice the hat pin embellishment I added to dress up my ribbon. It’s one of Close To My Heart’s Pretty Pins. I changed out its pink bead for a neutral-colored heart-shaped bead, adding a tiny drop of Liquid Glass to cement it in place.

Materials & Tools: Vanilla Cream cardstock; Graphic 45 En Vogue paper from the Fashionista Collection; Black and Tim Holtz/Ranger Antique Linen Distressing Ink ink pads; Childhood Portraits stamp set; Colonial White chiffon ribbon; Pretty Pins; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Ovals set; Piercing tool; Sponge texture tool.

A Slice of Life: Although my days off were not quite what I envisioned, all is well, and I am ready to go back to work tomorrow evening. Between now and then I have a few things to do, too. Tomorrow morning, I need to run some errands, and in the afternoon, Grandpa and I will be watching little Mari while her mom goes to her appointment at the clinic. Sweet! If she is happy and awake, you can be sure my camera will be in her little face. For all I know, Bjorn and Mathias will be here for a couple of hours in the morning, too. They were this morning, because school started two hours late due to the frigid temperatures. Evidently, -20° is worse at 8 am than it is at 10 am. LOL. With no wind, it really isn’t all that bad outside.

Did you have a good day? I hope so. I hope, too, that I will have the chance to stamp and post over the course of the next few days. Regardless of whether or not I get anything done, I do have something very special to share. I’ve just been waiting for a photo op. Maybe tomorrow … You will have to check back to see what I am talking about. For now, goodnight and thanks for stopping by!

Masculine Monday 2

2011-01-18T09:49:00.001-06:00

Looking at the clock, I realize Monday has turned into Tuesday. However, as I cannot think of another clever title, I will leave it at “Masculine Monday.” Actually, the full title would be “Masculine Monday #2 on Tuesday with a Card Made on Sunday.”

If the truth be known, it took from Sunday until now for this card to grow on me. The paper is from a “had-to-have” but “hadn’t-gotten-around-to-using-it-yet” pad from Basic Grey. The prints in “Oliver” are masculine with this and another one especially appropriate for kids. I did alter the paper some. Although many of Basic Grey’s designs are quite rustic, most have white in them as opposed to the antique white color that I prefer when working with more primitive designs. A foam sponge tool and Antique Linen Distressing Ink took care of the too-white monkeys.

I almost forgot – the sketch is my adaptation of FTL #123 as featured on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Vineyard Berry cardstock; Basic Grey Oliver 6x6-inch paper pad; Black and Vineyard Berry ink pads; Mint Motif I’ve Got Your Number stamp set; Colonial White mini brads; 1-11/16 and 1-3/4 inch circle punches; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: Yesterday was not at all the kind of Monday I had planned thanks to another little bug that managed to a hold of me. It started in the middle of the night with the kind of headache that leaves you holding your head in your hands and moaning. About as soon as I took a couple of aspirin, my stomach erupted. Then, it was back and forth between the bed and the bathroom until about 9 o’clock when I finally fell asleep. When I woke up around 12:30, I felt good enough to enjoy the boys for a few hours. As for the 100 or so other things I wanted to do, they have been added to today’s list. A couple of “good” days would be deeply appreciated here. LOL.

With a wish that your week got off to a great start, I’ll close. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great Tuesday!

Watercolor

2011-01-16T20:58:00.001-06:00

Finally, here is a card I will not use the word “simple” to describe. It’s not that it was difficult or anything – just a bit more involved than most of what I have been doing lately. The image was watercolored using a watercolor brush and ink from my ink pads. I also speckled the background with Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink and used the stubble tool to add some texture to the solid cardstock in the background. Because I had “painted” on regular cardstock, the paper buckled. I taped it down with Terrifically Tacky Tape, which did the trick in flattening it out.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Black, and Spring Iris cardstock; Black, Spring Iris, Garden Green, Sunny Yellow, and Tim Holtz/Ranger Antique Linen Distressing Ink ink pads; Stampin’ Up Elements of Style and CTMH Say it in Style stamp sets; CTMH Speckled Background stamp (retired); Spring Iris chiffon ribbon; Pearl Opaques; Watercolor brush; McGill Multi-tag punch, Stipple texture tool.

A Slice of Life: It’s almost 9 pm, and I am still in my pajamas. That pretty much explains my day. LOL. After a two-hour nap earlier this evening, I finally have some energy again, which I plan to take full advantage of tomorrow. Oh, and there is no school tomorrow, so Bjorn and Mathias will be spending the day with us. I am so glad I will be home and have this extra opportunity to spend some time with them.

For now, I am off to the bathtub after which I will climb back into my pajamas. I hope you had a great weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead. Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Saturday

2011-01-15T18:19:00.001-06:00

A simple card for Simple Saturday made by a happy, albeit tired, stamper. I used much-favored-by-me White Daisy textured cardstock. The lines and bows were hand drawn (with the help of a straightedge!). I colored the hearts with markers and added details with a white gel pen. The hearts remind me of bandana prints.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy textured and black cardstock; Black ink pad; Black My Legacy Writer; Holiday Red Marker; White gel pen; Impression Obsession Heartlines stamp set.

A Slice of Life: Among the many things I have learned is week is that fact that one does not say, “See you tomorrow,” at the end of one’s workday. In my case, the correct thing to say is, “See you tonight,” unless, of course, it is 7 am on Saturday morning. Then you say, “See you Wednesday night.” Yippee! I am as free as a bird until Wednesday evening! The job is great. The people are great. With lots to do, the long hours don’t seem long at all. Life is good.

I am, however, a bit tired today but expect a good night’s sleep to remedy that. What am I going to do with all my free time? I am going to pick up where I left off in my kitchen and then move to the bedroom for an overhaul there as well. The “big” project is going to be my den where my computer and Kathi’s Corner are located. Major improvements are planned. It’s last on the agenda, however, for a several reasons. The biggest one is the reward factor. If I were to do my space first and finally have everything the way I want it, I probably wouldn’t be willing to leave it long enough to get to the rest of the house. LOL.

Do you have plans for the weekend? It’s cold in the frozen tundra – currently -11° on its way to a forecast -17° – a good night to stay home and take it easy. I’ll close with the wish that yours is a wonderful weekend. Take care, my friends, and thank you for stopping by.

What’s Black and White and Red …

2011-01-13T16:05:00.001-06:00

… all over? A newspaper, for one thing. Or, a zebra in a blender (yuck). And, this card. As for why the old childhood riddle popped into my head, I dunno. So far today, there is not much rolling around in my head that is making a whole lot of sense. Bear with me, friends.

As for my card, it was inspired by several pretty cards on the Wings of a Butterfly blog. As always, I am grateful for the inspiration provided by other talented stampers/bloggers.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Holiday Red ink pad; Hero Arts Friend Definition and Flowing Flowers and Leaves Cling background stamps; CTMH Say it in Style stamp set; Black/white mini check ribbon from Wal-Mart.

A Slice of Life: Well, I pulled off my first 12-hour overnight work shift. It was OK. I have a lot to learn, which is what will make the job fun and challenging. What I did not know was how hungry I would get in the middle of the night. Tonight, I will bring lunch and some healthy snacks. The Snickers, Twix bar, and bag of potato chips I acquired with quarters scrounged for from the bottom of my purse just didn’t do it for me last night. LOL. I do wish I had slept better when I got home. Falling asleep was no problem. Staying asleep was. I woke up every couple of hours and finally got up at 12:30. Thus, I am on my way back to the bedroom to see if I can nap for a couple of hours before repeating the process. All in all, I think this will work once I get into a routine.

I hope you are having a great week! Thanks for stopping by. Hugs!!

A Change of Pace

2011-01-12T15:46:00.001-06:00

I set my beloved Wings papers and stamps aside to change it up a bit with a Valentine and my take on CPS 200 as featured on the Card Positioning Systems blog. I colored my image with markers and used a white gel pen to add detail to some of the hearts.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy textured, Black, and Crystal Blue cardstock; Cherry-O Level 2 paper packet; Black ink pad; Holiday Red, Heavenly Blue, Sunflower, and Brown Bag markers; White gel pen; Impression Obsession Heartlines stamp set; Black/white gingham ribbon from Wal-Mart; Black Mini-Medley Accents Collection (button); Corner rounder.

A Slice of Life: Today is the day. I am off to work again later. Because my plan to condition myself for the new hours didn’t work out so well last night/this morning, I am hoping to nap for a couple of hours after we eat dinner at 4. Food puts me to sleep, so that should work and, hopefully, will help the cause.

Have I told you lately how sweet my granddaughter is? It was so good to get to spend some time with her last night. Unlike her dad and uncle who chunked out almost immediately, she is still quite petite. That’s a good thing, as her closet is stuffed with a lot of very cute, very small clothes. Maybe she’ll get to wear everything at least once. LOL.

I hope you are having a wonderful week. Unless I am too tired to surface tomorrow, I will be back. Take care, and thanks for stopping by.

A Sketch Challenge Card

2011-01-11T16:42:00.001-06:00

Are you tired of seeing cards made these Wings papers and stamps yet? If so, I am sorry (but only moderately so). I am so in love with the colors of these new papers and cool stamp designs that I simply cannot help myself. LOL.

This card is my rendition of Unscripted Sketches #88. There isn’t anything that warrants explanation except for the fact that the focal point image was popped up with foam mounting tape. With all those cute little button brads along its side, there was no getting it to lay flat.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Black, and Vineyard Berry cardstock; Wings Level 2 paper packet; Black and Bamboo ink pads; Find Your Style January SOTM and Say it in Style stamp sets; Black Mini-Medley Accents Collection; Foam texture tool; 3M foam mounting tape

A Slice of Life: My day so far has been a continuation of my housekeeping mission. In a bit, I am on my way out to run a couple of errands before going out Dustin and Miranda’s house for pizza. I cannot wait to see little Mari! My camera is charged and in my purse ready to go.

Tomorrow night is my first night of work already. I am looking forward to seeing what my new job is all about.

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

Spray Pen Shimmer

2011-01-10T22:59:00.001-06:00

The other day, I stamped the background for this card using stamps from the Wings set, which is included in the Wings Workshop on the Go kit – Vineyard Berry ink on Colonial White cardstock. Without having a specific plan in mind, I laid my stamped piece off to the side with the hope that I would eventually be struck by a lightening bolt of inspiration. I spied it again when looking for something to spray with my new Spray Pen gadget. Lo and behold, I love the way it turned out. I also sprayed both sides of the circle I used to make the rolled paper rose. I like the way it turned out as well.

Material & Tools: Colonial White, Vineyard Berry, and Olive cardstock; Vineyard Berry ink pad; Wings stamp set; Martha Stewart Five Leaf Branch punch; Spray Pen; Vineyard Berry reinker; Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint.

A Slice of Life: Thinking that I should probably start “priming” myself for my funky new work hours, I stayed up until 5 am this morning at which time I had no problem falling asleep or staying asleep until noon. The only problem was that I woke up with a dull, icky headache that I remedied with an aspirin but hope is not a recurring thing.

With plans to do a major overhaul of my small, currently overstuffed abode, I got the bathroom cleaned today – walls, vanity, fixtures, floor, every nook and cranny. I did the laundry, too. Tomorrow, I am going to start on the kitchen. With more time at home, I am looking forward to doing more cooking once my kitchen is in order. When I worked five days a week, I was more than happy to let Husband have reign in the kitchen. Although I enjoyed his cooking, I am not so fond of his organizational skills. He puts stuff where it fits, which is not necessarily where it fit previously. I believe I have aired this grievance before. LOL.

How was your Monday? I hope a fine start to your week. Have a great Tuesday, too! Hugs to you, my friends. Thanks for stopping by.

Soar

2011-01-09T13:01:00.001-06:00

Here is my take on FTL 122 as currently featured on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. The butterfly was stamped on Colonial White cardstock that had been misted first using Close To My Heart’s new spray pen, which holds a mixture of water, ink (from a reinker), and shimmery Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint. I am glad I was wise enough to grab a shallow box for the spraying technique. While the spray pen is small, its range of mist is wide, and without the box, I fear I would have added a shimmery Vineyard Berry mist to more that was desired. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Vineyard Berry cardstock; Wings Level 2 paper packet; Black and Vineyard Berry ink pads; Find Your Style January SOTM set; Licorice Opaques Adhesive Gems; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Spray Pen; Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint; Vineyard Berry reinker; Sponge dauber.

A Slice of Life: Yesterday was a fun, full day at my sister’s house. Today, Bjorn and Mathias are going to pay us a little visit, and later, Mom and I are going out to get some groceries. Instead of thinking about going to work tomorrow, I am thinking about the fact that I don’t have to go to work tomorrow. Ahh… LOL.

I hope you are having a great weekend. Hugs to you!

Find Your Style

2011-01-07T20:14:00.001-06:00

After a rather exhausting week, I am thrilled to say, Happy Friday!

As for my card, the Fed Ex man brought me some lovely new Close To My Heart stamps and papers yesterday, including the January Stamp of the Month set, Find Your Style. You can see more and find out about January’s great specials here in an online version of the special Inspirations brochure. What a great way to introduce CTMH’s new semi-annual Idea Book, which goes into effect on February 1.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Black, and Vineyard Berry cardstock; Wings Level 2 paper packet; Black and Bamboo ink pads; Find Your Style January Stamp of the Month set; Black Mini-Medley Accents; Sponge distressing tool.

A Slice of Life: Last night, I enjoyed an evening at Mom’s, celebrating her birthday with my sister, Karen, and her husband, John, their granddaughter, Hailey, and my brother Jim, and his wife, Joni. Deeming it too cold to go out, we ordered pizza in and then enjoyed the ice cream cake that Jim and Joni brought. A good time.

Today was a day that I have been anticipating for a very long time – my last day at my old job. I closed a door and will soon open a new one. While I know it will take some time to adjust to all that is different, I am excited and ready to begin a new chapter.

Tomorrow, Mom and I are going to a post-holiday gathering at my sister and brother-in-law’s house in Fertile. It will be good to see those that I didn’t get to see closer to Christmas. Sunday, I plan a trip to the country to see little Mari and her parents. Then, I have a couple of days off before starting my new job at 7 pm on Wednesday evening – a mini vacation of sorts! Woo hoo!

With that, I will be back! Have a great weekend, my friends, and thanks for stopping by!

A Beauty of its Own

2011-01-06T00:02:00.001-06:00

I made this card last night but didn’t post it then, because I didn’t particularly like it. This morning, I liked it better, and in the photo tonight, not so much again. Good grief. LOL.

My distaste for the card might have something to do with my current dislike for winter in general. Snowflakes are beautiful. Snowmen are the cutest, and there is nothing prettier than sparkly, frost-covered branches on the trees. If I could spend the season viewing it out a window at it or better yet, look at it in a photograph, I would be much happier, because actually dealing with it is not a whole lot of fun. Currently, the heater in my car is acting up and only working intermittently. No heater means no defrost, which means at times, I literally have to hang my head out the window to see where I am going – not fun when the thermometer is hovering around 0. I need to find a new motor for the blower online somewhere – that might be a challenge for my little import.

Done with my winter rant, I will tell you about my card. I embossed the snowflakes with clear embossing powder and used round sponges to add some Amethyst and Sky ink to the background. The sketch is Mojo Monday 172.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Sky, and Amethyst cardstock; Sky and Amethyst ink pads; Impression Obsession Holly stamp set and Verve Stamps Plain Jane Every Season stamp; White chiffon ribbon; KaiserKraft pearl accents; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles and Lacey Squares sets; Round sponges.

A Slice of Life: Once my head thawed out from driving home from bowling with it hanging out the car window, I fell asleep for a couple of hours. Work was busy yesterday and today with much to do during the next couple of days as well. My mixed feelings about moving to a different job have dissipated after being reminded yesterday of just why it is I want to leave. There are a few elements of the job and a lot of good people I will miss. There are a lot of elements of the job and a few subhuman-types I will not miss. I am ready for 4:30 pm on Friday.

Tomorrow evening, I have a special birthday to help celebrate – my Mom’s. If you see this before I see you, Happy Birthday, Mom! I will see you after work.

To everyone else, thank you for stopping by! Have a great Thursday.

Masculine Monday

2011-01-03T21:35:00.001-06:00

Hmm… masculine Monday. Could this be the start of something? It might be. Either that or it sounds good for tonight. LOL. As you can see, I used some paper scraps that were on my desk from yesterday’s project. I used stamps I bought last year but hadn’t gotten around to using yet (shame on me), which means my card meets the criteria for PIO#1 – this week’s “Brand Spankin’ New” theme on the Pile It On blog.

There isn’t much to say about the card construction. I like the sentiment. The inside of the card holds a birthday greeting.

Materials & Tools: Black and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; Graphic 45 Shutter Speed from the Communiqué Collection; Black Tim Holtz/Ranger Antique Linen Distressing Ink ink pads; Mint Motif What a Card and I’ve Got Your Number stamp sets; Black Bigger Brads; EK Success corner rounder; Sponge distressing tool.

A Slice of Life: This is going to be a tough week with a lot going on at work in the way of stuff to do and feelings to be sorted out. After making a difficult decision a few years ago, Husband told me I was the most resilient person he has ever known. I was younger then. Change was easier to accept. Still, thinking way back, I remember how fearful I was when encountering something new. Unless I am worried about someone I care about, there isn’t much that frightens me anymore.

Enough of the serious stuff. It will all be good. A week from now, I will be telling you how I spent my day either at home or out and about having had some fun – maybe both!

How was your day? I hope your week got off to a great start. If you want to pity me, it’s COLD here at -10° F. If you want to envy me, sweet Husband, who put all of the Christmas decorations up, took them all down and put them away today – a job I was dreading. Sweet guy.

Finally, thanks for your comments on my posts. They mean the world to me.

P.S. Husband just caught sight of my card and is impressed – a rare occasion. He informed me, however, that while my choice of numbers/suits was good, the worst cards one can be dealt in poker are a seven and a two of different suits. I will retain that information for future reference. LOL.

Purpose

2011-01-02T21:36:00.001-06:00

As noted in a previous post, before Christmas, I guided Sarah through the process of covering boxes – recipe boxes/gifts for her three sisters. At that time, I started to work on one, too, but got so caught up in helping her, my box got set aside. I finished it today.

Instead of wrapping the entire box, I do it the lazy way, cutting paper to fit the front, back, sides, top, and flap. The parts of the box that are exposed and the chipboard letters were painted with Antique White Delta Ceramcoat acrylic paint.

If the paper I am using to cover a box is lightweight, I use Yes! paste. Because the Graphic 45 paper I used to cover this box is heavier, I ran the larger pieces through my Xyron and used 1/4-inch Terrifically Tacky Tape for the trim pieces. Easy!

You cannot see it in the photograph, but I used the stubble tool from CTMH’s Texture Tools to pounce Tim Holtz/Ranger Tea Dye Distressing Ink on the painted letters to give them the same look as the light colored dots on the patterned paper. The chipboard letters (from Heidi Swapp, I think) were self-adhesive at one time. After sitting around for a while, however, they seemed to have lost their stickiness. Not a problem. I adhered them to my box with Liquid Glass. They will never come off. As for the metal buckle, it is from a vast collection of seldom-used Making Memories embellishments.

The dividers I am going to make for the inside of the box will be labeled birthday, thank you, baby, sympathy, thinking of you/get well, friendship, etc.

Materials & Tools: Close To My Heart Recipe/Photo Box; Antique White Delta Ceramcoat acrylic paint; Graphic 45 Shutter Speed from the Communiqué Collection; Black cardstock; Tim Holtz/Ranger Tea Dye Distressing Ink stamp pad; Heidi Swapp chipboard letters; Making Memories buckle; Black grosgrain ribbon; Stubble distressing tool; Xyron; Liquid Glass.

A Slice of Life: I saw my baby today! I even let Grandpa hold her … long enough to snap a few (a lot) of photos. She was awake most of the afternoon but drifted off after I gave her a bottle. Mommy and Daddy are doing great, albeit Dusty was pouting, because he has to leave Miranda and Mari to go to work tomorrow. He doesn’t want to miss a thing. Sweet.

Now, I quick word about the title of my post. I do not make New Year’s resolutions. I used to, only to feel like a loser by the 10th or so. LOL. I do, however, like the idea of choosing a word to focus on throughout the year, a concept Ali Edwards came up with in 2007. My “One Little Word” for 2011 is “purpose.” I often feel as if I just kind of stumble through life.

The words in the following quote pretty much tell my story: “For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last, it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.” – Alfred D’Souza

Some of my obstacles have been the normal, every day things that are not unique to me. Others have turned my life upside down and inside out. Nevertheless, I have frequently found myself thinking, “Once I get through this, life will be …”

About purpose, I would like to start living life more intentionally, purposefully. If I get knocked of track, I would like to get back on a bit more quickly than I have in the past.

Purpose should extend to my hobbies. Making the box today was fulfilling. For one thing, it was an unfinished project that I completed. There are more. Secondly, the cards I make to put in it will have purpose. I am actually going to use them. LOL. And what I cannot use, I am going to give away as gifts, donations, etc. If I keep the word “purpose” in mind, I will spend my money more intentionally, too. Often, I find myself asking, “Why did I buy this?” Usually, the answer is, because it looked so darned good … on someone else’s blog! LOL.

Do you have “One Little Word” that you are going to focus on in 2011? If so, I would love to hear what it is.

I am off to do a few things to prepare for the workweek – my last regular 40-hour gig – one of the obstacles, as in “time still to be served.” LOL. Seriously, I can imagine my new hours are going to require some adjustment and will be an obstacle, too, until I have had time to work it all into a routine. It will happen.

With the hope that your New Year has gotten off to a great start, I will close with the wish that your week is a good one. Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Saturday Continued …

2011-01-01T17:25:00.001-06:00

If you scroll down, you’ll see the cards that started this stamping frenzy, which I must say has been quite enjoyable after a holiday/baby hiatus. Again, I worked with textured cardstock with the exception of the image in the lower right corner. I call this one an “Uptown Girl,” and initially, I was going to paper-piece her outfit. Unable to decide on a color, I stamped two – one in Hollyhock and the other in Grey Wool for a more sophisticated look. I went so far as to cut them out and “try them on her” before deciding I didn’t like either of them. Now what? Flat black would be too boring. OK. I’ll emboss her with black embossing powder … but not on textured cardstock. I found out the hard way that doesn’t work very well.With or without the Embossing Buddy, I couldn’t seem to stamp and emboss an image that was speck-free even though I laboriously attempted to brush every tiny granule away with a small paintbrush – three times! I give up. While you can’t see it in the photo, the shiny embossed image on the flat white cardstock was just the pizazz this card needed.

Using more glitter from the Glitter Stack, the top card was easy as was the last one albeit her tiny paper-pieced bracelet, which you need a magnifying glass to see in the photo and I needed a magnifying glass to find on my desktop – literally. LOL.

Now, if I can come up with some clever packaging, I will give these cards to a teenage niece who might enjoy them. Making them was fun.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, White Daisy textured, Black, Pear, and Holiday Red cardstock; Black, Pear, and VersaMark ink pads; Black marker; Black embossing powder; Be Yourself, Thank You, and Say it in Style stamp sets; Glitter Stack; Quickie Glue pen.

Another Slice of Life: Our guests – Bjorn and Mathias – have gone back to their Mom’s house. It’s quiet around here again, which is always kind of hard to get used to after 24 hours of nonstop activity and noise. The weather has lived up to expectations with lots of new, blowing snow and wind chill advisories of 20+ degrees below 0. By hook or by crook, we are venturing out of town tomorrow to visit Mari and her parents. A mobile upload photo from her Daddy this afternoon showed a little face that is changing already – getting chubbier. If I can muster up the courage to go out, I am going to go see Mom this evening. A respite from listening to football in the next room will be welcome. So, that’s my weekend thus far. What are you up to? Whatever it is, I hope you are bringing in the New Year right. Enjoy the evening, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Simple Saturday … Hello 2011!

2011-01-01T11:24:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! While this card may not be as simple as yesterday’s was, it fills the bill and is another that was made with a leftover element (the square present) that was laying on my desk.

What’s to explain? LOL. I used White Daisy textured cardstock, wondering all the while what I am going to do when my supply is depleted. Oops! I should have looked before I spoke. Although the colored textured cardstock was retired, White Daisy is listed in Close To My Heart’s new Spring/Summer Idea Book. Well, make my day. When I run out, I’ll just order some more! Back to my card, the tall, skinny gift was mounted with foam tape. As for the color combination, I love it.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, White Daisy textured, and Pear cardstock; Pear and Lagoon ink pads; Happy Birthday (retired) and It’s Your Day stamp sets; Sparkles – Blue & Green Assortment; 3M foam mounting tape.

Using the same sketch (if you can call it that) and White Daisy textured cardstock, I made these cards last night (or better said, during the night) as well. I love them and could have kept going, using every stamp in the Be Yourself stamp set. Perhaps I will make a few more and turn them into a gift set. I made the top one first, stamping the dress on a separate piece of regular cardstock and paper-pieced it. I used a glue pen and glitter from my ancient (and bottomless) Glitter Stack to dress up the other two. Fun!

A little hint – I’ve found that water-base ink, solid stamps, and textured cardstock are not very compatible. It is difficult to get a good solid image. Thus, I do the best I can and then color over it with a marker – in this case a black marker.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, White Daisy textured, and Black cardstock; Black and Cranberry ink pads; Black marker; Happy Birthday (retired) and Be Yourself stamp sets; Glitter Stack; Quickie Glue pen.

A Slice of Life: I reiterate Happy New Year! I look back on 2010 with mixed feelings. Certain aspects of it were not great. Changes at work left me showing up every day with no real job description. For the second time in less than three years, I was shoved off a corporate ladder I had no interest in climbing to begin with. I learned lessons about human nature as it relates to the business world that I would have been happier not having realized. After only five more days in purgatory, however, all of this is going to change. Yippee!

On the home front, 2010 was full of blessings. Shortly after the first of the year, my mother decided to begin a new chapter in her life. I was surprised and delighted when I learned she wanted to move here, and little did we know it would happen so fast. Having her here and being able to spend time with her is a gift I never expected.

Speaking of gifts, little Marla Jean is an absolute treasure – even if she is currently keeping her Mommy and Daddy up all night! Another healthy grandchild – our first granddaughter – a dream come true. At five and almost seven, our grandsons are growing, learning, happy, healthy little boys. The parents of these children – our sons – are “settled” and happy and healthy, too. Miranda and Sarah are like the daughters I never had. Finally, there’s Husband, who is the best Grandpa and a great Dad. He takes care of me, grumbling if I don’t eat right or get enough sleep. He laughs with me, dries my tears, and puts up with my many idiosyncrasies. He loves me, and although he has a way of ticking me off every once in a while, he makes my life complete.

Who could ask for more? I begin 2011 very grateful and prayerful for not only my continued blessings but yours as well. May the New Year bring you good health, peace, and joy.

Goodbye, 2010

2010-12-31T20:08:00.001-06:00

Truly, I should have saved this card for tomorrow’s Simple Saturday post, because I seriously doubt tomorrow’s offering will be faster or easier than this one was. When straightening up my desk this afternoon, I came across a couple of corners I had cut from a large, square paper doily. I had used the other two for a quick, bagger topper I made before Christmas – so last minute I didn’t have time to photograph it.

Anyhow, I ran the doily remnant through my Xyron, centered it on a 5-1/2 by 4-1/4 piece of Sky cardstock, stamped a sentiment from Close To My Heart’s Thank You stamp set with same color ink, and adhered it to a card base. It’s pretty even though it was shamefully easy to make.

A Slice of Life: After all of the activity of the past couple of weeks, today ended up being my day to crash. And I don’t mean crash in a bad way. All is good. I just didn’t do much of anything today. There wasn’t even a whole lot of brain activity.

I did talk to Dustin a couple of times. They were up all night last night with a crying baby, and tired beyond words, he was pretty much beside himself this morning. This afternoon’s conversation – after he had some sleep – was more positive. Of course, little Mari had been sleeping throughout the day as well. I wonder what tonight will bring. The first few days for first-time parents are always tough. They will get through it. Mari’s name, by the way, is pronounced MAR-ee with a short a and a long e.

I guess that is it for tonight. Bjorn and Mathias are staying with us tonight, and I have been summoned to the living room for fun and games. Happy New Year, my friends!

The Best Ship of All

2010-12-30T20:05:00.001-06:00

Finally! Here is a card I started – and almost finished – nearly two weeks ago. For all the commotion, it seems like it has been month or more. Is life going to calm down now? It could … and should … I hope!

Back to the card, it’s simple – my signature style.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Holiday Red, and Pacifica cardstock; Black and Pacifica stamp pads; Pacifica and Holiday Red markers; Verve Stamps Text Objects stamp set; Silver mini brads; EK Success Dotted Wave border punch; 1-11/16 inch circle punch; 2-inch scalloped circle punch; Sanding block.

A Slice of Life: Wow. What a week it has been. Little Mari and her parents went home from the hospital on Tuesday. Mom/Great-grandma, my sister, Karen, and I were at the hospital at checkout time and helped them get ready to leave. It must have taken a good half-hour to get the baby into her car seat – a process that is very different from the way it was 30-plus years ago when car seats were optional. The hospital is quite particular about the process with a nurse buckling the baby in while offering a lengthy explanation of how it should be. And, did you know that car seats now have expiration dates? Manufactured in 2010, Dustin and Miranda’s car seat will be good for seven years. I have to wonder if young folks these days take such things into consideration when planning their families. LOL.

Mari’s going home was not the only excitement on Tuesday. Bjorn and Mathias’ mom and her husband had a baby that day – a sweet little boy they named Jonah. The new big brothers spent the night with us Tuesday night after having met their little brother and their new cousin before she left the hospital.

With the exception of a couple hours that I took off on Monday and leaving an hour early on Tuesday, I managed to work the rest of the week. We’re off tomorrow – thankfully! Oh, and I learned that next Friday will be my last day in my current position. I will then have a few days off before starting my new gig on January 12. Woo hoo! I am so ready for this new adventure.

What am I going to do this weekend? After straightening up my corner, I am going to teach myself to stamp again. If the weather is decent enough, I am going to venture out to visit my granddaughter and her parents. I believe the little boys are scheduled to spend New Year’s Day with us. There is also a holiday gather planned for that day at my sister and brother-in-law’s house in Fertile – again dependent on the weather. Currently, it is cold (5 degrees), snowing, and blowing with more of the same in the forecast – typical winter in the frozen tundra. After a couple of whirlwind weeks, being stuck at home is not the worst thing I can think of, although I really want to get better acquainted with little Mari! I have yet to here her cry. In the hospital, she made faces like she was going to fuss but then changed her mind.

What have you got planned for the weekend? Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? While I am not much for resolutions, I have lots of plans for things I want to accomplish once I have recovered from all of the end of the year excitement and transitioned into my new job. Tonight, however, I am going to visit my blogging buddies, clean up my corner, and then relax … maybe fall asleep early … dream… Thanks for stopping by and for all of you sweet comments on my last post. “See” you again tomorrow!

Belated Wishes …

2010-12-27T20:43:00.001-06:00

… to you, my blog friends. I hope your Christmases were the merriest and that you are anticipating the New Year with hope and joy. Before briefing you on what transpired during my unintended (but necessary) hiatus from the blogosphere, I’ll tell you about our most recent and blessed event.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to the newest member of the Carlson family. Named for her maternal grandmother, Marla Jean was born Sunday, December 26, at 8:06 pm. Little “Mari” weighed in at 6 pounds, 13.3 ounces and was 19-1/2 inches long. Not quite an hour old in this photo, she was wide-eyed and very attentive as she got acquainted with her Daddy. According to Dusty, who described the day as “intense,” Mommy did great throughout the day and the birthing process. Their joy was obvious. Grandma and Grandpa are – once again – overwhelmed as we welcome another precious little one into our family.

OK. I left off on the day of my cousin’s memorial service, which I attended. Sad and yet a good day for a family to be together. It was an opportunity to get to better know the families of my surviving cousins and spend time with my aunt. It was a good reminder that we should not wait for troubled times before getting together again.

After that, I got caught up in the busyness of Christmas. I shopped, wrapped, made treats, cooked, and shopped and wrapped some more right up until “show time” on Christmas Eve. Oh yea, I worked throughout most of the week, too, and we managed to celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary on the 23rd. It was a non-stop whirlwind of activity.

And then, it was calm. We spent a wonderful Christmas Eve at Mom’s with my sister and her husband and Cameron and Sarah. Christmas Day we all (Marv and I, Cam, Sarah, and the boys, and Marv’s mom) went to Miranda and Dustin’s house for a 5 o’clock dinner and once the dishes were done, our gift exchange. Dustin made ribs, and I brought the rest of the food. It was a great time, and when we left around 10:30, there was no indication that the final – and best – gift of this year’s Christmas would reveal herself the very next day. In fact, when I woke up yesterday, I thought I might actually have a chance to catch my breath and relax. That lasted until the phone rang at 11:04 am – Dustin calling to tell us they were on their way to the hospital. By 12:15, I was rather frantically asking Marv, “Why hasn’t he called?” That’s when my husband reminded me that having a usually take more than an hour. LOL. It’s also about the time Dustin called to ask me to bring him some food, which I did. The rest of the day, we received intermittent reports via telephone and text message. Then, we didn’t hear anything for a while, and it was Grandpa who rather frantically asked, “Why hasn’t he called?” around 8:20. The phone rang within a few minutes. Mari was here and anxious to meet her grandparents.

I have yet to catch my breath but will within the next day or two. I am also going to place a stamp or two in my hand and catch up on the 1500 or so blog posts that I am behind. I am also going to take the time to finally enjoy the beautiful handmade cards I received and acknowledge them. To those of you who sent them, thank you.

For tonight, I am off to enjoy a leisurely soak in the tub before climbing into my nice soft bed for what I hope will be a full night’s sleep – the first in a while. Take care, my friends. I will be “seeing” you again soon.

Drummer Boy

2010-12-17T20:14:00.001-06:00

Last year, I received this precious stamp from a special friend, and once in the mood to color, I could not wait to ink it up again. I mentioned last year that “Little Drummer Boy” has always been a favorite Christmas song. As for the word, “Noel,” which is French for Christmas, I chuckle almost every time I see it. I’ve told this story before, too. One of my first experiences with an alphabet stamp set was at Christmastime. I laid my stamps out on a block, inked it up, and oh-so carefully stamped “Leon” on my card. Had anyone been watching, I am certain the look on my face would have been a pretty funny sight. Funnier yet was the fact it took a few moments for me to realize what I had done wrong. Initially, I wondered, “What the heck is wrong with these stamps?” LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Basic Grey Jovial 6x6-inch paper pad; Black, Cocoa, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink ink pads; Stampendous Drummer Boy stamp and CTMH Say it in Style stamp set; Antiqued copper mini brads; Prismacolor color pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Sponge distressing tool; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: I took a half-day of vacation, did some shopping, and went to visit Mom this afternoon. Tomorrow, I will be attending the memorial service for my cousin in Crookston while the rest of my family celebrates “Carlson Christmas” at the hunting cabin. Although I am going to miss the fun, “no muss, no fuss” holiday atmosphere that one finds at the cabin, I need to be with my extended family tomorrow.

Tonight, I’m taking it easy. How about you? Are the elves at work at your house this weekend? Whatever you’re doing – enjoy! “See” you again soon.

Holiday House

2010-12-16T20:48:00.001-06:00

Here is another simple Christmas card made with Close To My Heart’s Snow Days stamp set and Mistletoe paper packet. The image was stamped with New England Ivy ink. I used a blending pen to do some shading with same color ink, colored the bow on the door wreath with a marker, and then speckled it and the piece the sentiment is on to emulate the fine speckling on the striped paper. I sponged the edges of my pieces with more Antique Linen Distressing Ink.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and New England Ivy cardstock; Mistletoe Level 2 paper packet; New England Ivy and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Cranberry marker; Dove blending pen; Say it in Style and Snow Days stamp sets; Speckled Background stamp (retired); New England Ivy and Cranberry brads; Sponge distressing tool.

A Slice of Life: I must be in a holiday stupor this evening. Seldom am I at a loss for words. Another day at work – engaging (a synonym for “busy,” a word I have overused recently). Tired, which is a Thursday thing – I think. Glad tomorrow is Friday – always!

How about you? Are you ready for Christmas? I hope you are enjoying the days leading up to it. After all, that’s what it is all about. For me, the holidays bring more anticipation than usual, which might account for feeling a bit dazed. First, there is the baby. A precious gift that/who will appear in her own time. And a new job shortly after the first of the year with hours that should afford me a different – and I am 99 percent certain, better – lifestyle. Soon.

No, I am washing a couple loads of clothes and best go tend to them. I hope your day was wonderful! Thanks for stopping by, friends.

And a Red Bird in a Pear Tree …

2010-12-15T22:39:00.001-06:00

I love this simple image, which colored up quickly with markers. As there are fine speckles in the patterned paper, I speckled my image, too, and distressed the edges with Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink from Ranger. As for a sentiment, I guess it is going on the inside. I didn’t even miss it until know.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and New England Ivy cardstock; Mistletoe Level 2 paper packet; Black and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Holiday Red, Garden Green, and Buttercup markers; Stampendous Partridge Tree and CTMH Speckled Background (retired) stamps; Red spiral clip; Foam distressing tool.

A Slice of Life: I need to be careful with regard to the titles I give my posts. Yesterday’s post attracted a comment from some weirdo who preached about the sins of eating meat. Delete. While I understand passion – I’m passionate about a lot of things – I don’t understand how single causes become missions that seem to consume people.

My day was busy and productive, and – best of all – I didn’t have to eat at 10:30. One of the gals in our department wasn’t in today and had left her invitation with a co-worker who passed it on to me. The food was scrumptious. Had they authorized us to take 90 minute naps afterwards, it would have been a perfect day. LOL.

It’s Thursday already tomorrow. I need to make a trip to Grand Forks within the next couple of days but haven’t made definite plans or even mentioned it to Husband, as I’m trying to figure out what the weather is going to do. It warmed up a bit here (into the teens and 20s, which makes the weather much more unpredictable. Miranda and Dustin had a doctor’s appointment today but obviously, there isn’t anything to report, because he hasn’t called. I am impressed that he has not missed a single appointment throughout this entire pregnancy.

I hope you are having a wonderful week. Mine remains a little off kilter, which, under the circumstances is probably understandable. As I stamped up a storm on Sunday evening, however, I should be back tomorrow evening with a card. I’ll “see” you again then. In the meantime, take care and thanks for stopping by!

Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Men

2010-12-14T21:46:00.001-06:00

Tonight’s card is based on FTL #120 as featured on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. The snowflake was created with Cricut’s Winter Lace cartridge. It’s covered with ultra fine glitter and is much prettier in person. You’ve heard that one before. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Juniper and White Daisy Textured cardstock; Basic Grey Jovial 6x6-inch paper pad; Juniper ink pad; Say it in Style stamp set; Sparkles; White satin ribbon from Wal-Mart; Martha Stewart Crystal Fine glitter; Cricut w/Winter Lace cartridge.

A Slice of Life: Busy. Have I used that word lately? Like every day? Everyone I know is busy. Tonight, however, I am taking things kind of slow and easy. The events of the last few days have been (Sharli used a good word in her sweet comment on my last post) “unsettling.” Mom talked to her sister again this morning and learned that no arrangements can be made until after the autopsy of my cousin’s body is complete on Thursday. I am certain the hours are dragging by for my aunt and cousins. Two of my siblings and their spouses went to spend some time with them this evening. I was glad to hear that.

We have our holiday meal at work tomorrow. The food is always wonderful, catered by a local guy who amazingly can pull off a feast for 2,300 people. I’d be looking forward to it a bit more than I am had I not been my invitation not been for 10:30 am. I don’t know if that was the “luck of the draw” or what. The idea of a big meal with a rich dessert at that time of day is not very appealing to me. As for sneaking in a little later, our invitations, which we have to present at mealtime, are color-coded this year. No cheatin’ LOL. I’ll survive.

After making one more little tour around the blogosphere, I am off to bed. Thank you for you kind comments. I appreciate them from the bottom of my heart. Have a great Hump Day. I’ll stop back with a card after bowling tomorrow night. Take care.

Billy and Sparky

2010-12-13T19:26:00.001-06:00

Last night, I made a few Christmas cards – enough to have a post every night this week! This one was created with a sweet Eat Cake Graphics stamp I purchase last year (and used once). Ach! What is it about the photo that causes one to actually take a good look at the card? I just noticed the cardinal’s beak is white. It’s fixed now. All it required was a tiny speck of ink from a Sunflower marker. The rest of the image was colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and OMS. The snow is glittery, and the ornaments on the tree are sparkly, too. I stamped the image on white cardstock and cut it out. The Colonial White cardstock I used behind it is scored at 1/8th-inch intervals to resemble siding on a house.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Colonial White, and Cocoa cardstock; Basic Grey Jovial 6x6-inch paper pad; Black and Cranberry ink pads; Sunflower marker; Eat Cake Graphics Billy and Sparky at Window stamp and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp set; Brown satin ribbon from Wal-Mart; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Martha Stewart Crystal Fine glitter; XMas Red Stickles; Martha Stewart Scoring Board; McGill Multi-Tag punch.

A Slice of Life: My heart is heavy tonight, as I learned after work tonight that a cousin died tragically. Fifty years old, he was the only son of my Mom’s only sister. Growing up, he was my brother’s best buddy, and then, when he was about 16, he went to live with his father in Nevada. About six years ago, he returned to Minnesota where he lived with my aunt. While I have only seen him once since he came back, I was taken with his sense of humor and what appeared to me to be a kind heart. The news was on the radio on my way to work this morning. I only caught the last name, age, and name of the town in the report, but it piqued my interest enough to pull up a regional newspaper at my desk and confirm that the man who had been missing since Friday was indeed my cousin. His body was found outdoors this afternoon, and while an autopsy is being done and the case is still under investigation, it is believed he froze to death. Sad. I stopped at Mom’s after work. She had talked to her sister, my aunt, earlier in the day. Even though I obviously did not know my cousin very well, I feel bad – particularly for my aunt and his sisters. Life is a mystery, isn’t it?

I was busy at work today, and tonight, I’m home alone. With the Metrodome having collapsed and the Vikings game being played in Detroit, Husband, his brother, and Dustin had to go to the hunting cabin to watch it via satellite, as our local cable network isn’t airing it. While I don’t usually pay much attention to football, I hope it’s a good game to make the trip is worthwhile. LOL.

All that said, I am off to find a card to send to my aunt and then, I’ll stamp, watch TV, read, or do “something.” Was your day a good one? I sincerely hope so. Make tomorrow a good day, too. OK?

Simple Saturday

2010-12-12T13:36:00.001-06:00

The old idiom, “A day late and a dollar short,” is coming to mind this afternoon. The day late thing is obvious. Simple Saturday posts on Sunday are getting to be a regular thing. As for “a dollar short,” ‘tis the season. LOL.

My card was inspired by someone … somewhere in Blogland, but I am remiss as to who, when, or where. Shame on me. As for embossing with a Nestabilities die, I pulled up this video on YouTube to make certain I got the “sandwich” right. The paper I used is retired CTMH “Naturals” cardstock. When making a card this simple, I like to use paper that has texture.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa and retired Naturals cardstock; Cocoa ink pad; Live Inspired and Thank You stamp sets; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Labels 3 set.

A Slice of Life: With Minnesota weather making the national news, you might think I am either up to my eyeballs in snow or that our roof has collapsed as it did on the Metrodome last night. Nope. In the northern areas of the frozen tundra, all is calm and bright. No new snow. No wind. Just cold (currently –2 degrees).

Yesterday’s baby shower was most enjoyable. My granddaughter will be well dressed and have a good selection to choose from with regard to which blanket she deems her favorite. I don’t know if I have ever seen so much pink in one room. As you can see in the photo, Miranda looks wonderful. I emailed this photo to Dustin along with one of my ginormous self that was taken a couple of days before he was born. He replied that he doesn’t think their baby will be very big. I told him he might be surprised – that it is not necessary to gain 85 pounds to have an 8 pound baby. LOL.

It is quiet around here today – nice. So far, I’ve done a little cleaning and some cybershopping. While I will never get everything done that I want to accomplish before Christmas, I am, nonetheless, feeling pretty good. I guess I have learned through the years that Christmas happens and is wonderful regardless of how prepared we are.

What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, I hope you are warm and enjoying yourself. Take care, friends, and thanks for stopping by.

Make a Wish

2010-12-10T21:24:00.001-06:00

Christmas is in two weeks. It’s 1 degree outside – Yes, just 1 degree Fahrenheit. And I’m playing around with bright, summer colors. This is Penny Black’s Betsy Bluebell again. I colored the image with Prismacolor colored pencils and OMS. Another birthday card for my stash.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Cotton Candy, Sky, and Sunny Yellow cardstock; Black and Cotton Candy ink pads; Penny Black Betsy Bluebell and CTMH Party Pennants stamp sets; Sparkles – Red, Purple, and Pink Assortment; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; 1 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches; Cuttlebug w/Stampin’ Up Lattice Squares embossing folder.

A Slice of Life: Happy Friday! It was another fast, busy day. I anticipate a fast, busy weekend, too. There is a lot to be done. Places to go, too. Miranda’s friends are throwing a baby shower for Mommy and Baby Girl Carlson tomorrow afternoon. Someone asked. Yes, Baby has a name, but I’m holding out for the big announcement. Soon? Maybe, although her doctor’s nurse has predicted January 7, which, if she is going to hold out that long could just as well be a day earlier, so she and Great-grandma (my mom) can share their birthdays. That would be cool.

Sarah and I had a great time finishing her recipe boxes last night, and they really turned out nice. We used Yes! paste for two of them, which were covered with thinner paper, and the Xyron to accommodate heavier stock. She thought the Xyron was pretty cool and probably would have opted to use it for all three had I given her the option. I thought she needed a “paste experience,” however. LOL. Regardless, she did an awesome job and was really proud of her gifts for her sisters. Sweet.

I’m off to see what everyone else has been up to in Blogland before slipping into my jammies for an early bedtime. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. “See” you soon!

Not Quite 10-Minute Tuesday

2010-12-09T18:13:00.001-06:00

Yes, I know it is Thursday, and yes, that is an indication of how the week is going.

You can tell I’m a simple gal when I say I like this card as much as any I have made so far this season. And you’ve seen the layout before – it’s my Pretty-Paper-too-Pretty-to-Cover-Up-Sketch or PPTPTCU Sketch if you are into acronyms. Ugh.

Materials & Tools: Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; Basic Grey Jovial 6x6-inch paper pad; Olive ink pad; Red satin ribbon from Wal-Mart.

A Slice of Life: This has been another whirlwind week. Busy at work. Busy at home. My engine is all revved up, but my wheels are not moving forward, which is a bit disheartening at this time of year. No panic … yet … but soon.

The highlight of my week has been spending a little (but not enough) time with the little guys. They spent the night last night, so I had a half hour with them after bowling and before bedtime. We had breakfast together this morning. They’re so darned sweet.

I think Sarah is coming over tonight to finish her recipe box project that we started Tuesday evening. Guiding her through a project is easy and fun – she’s a natural.

I best go get a few things done before she gets here. I hope you are having a great week and that I have enough time to make a little tour around the blogosphere tonight. I’ll talk to you again soon. Thanks for stopping!

More Birthday Cards

2010-12-06T19:38:00.001-06:00

Here is my take on Get Sketchy #67. I stamped each one of the round stamps twice, cut the little presents out from five of them, and put foam mounting tape under them. There’s foam tape under the second and fourth circles as well. As for the “Cuttlebugged” white background, it was a must on this card. Flat white would have been just that – flat.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Pear, and Lagoon cardstock; Pear and Lagoon ink pads; Party Pennants and Happy Birthday stamp sets; Lagoon Mini Medley Accents Collection; Cuttlebug w/Stampin’Up Lattice Squares embossing folder; 1 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

This last card in my birthday “series” is a take on CardPatterns Sketch 93. There isn’t much to say about this one that the photograph and materials list won’t tell you.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Pear, and Lagoon cardstock; Pear, Lagoon, and Sunny Yellow ink pads; It’s Your Day stamp set; Lagoon Mini Medley Accents Collection; Cuttlebug w/Stampin’Up Lattice Squares embossing folder; EK Success corner rounder; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: It was a fast, busy day at work. And guess what? Crossing my fingers worked. I came home to a decorated Christmas tree! It’s beautiful and done with the exception of a few ornaments he left in the box for me to add to the tree, because he thinks I should. No problem. There are also several totes of various collectibles to be set out here and there, which is pretty much everywhere in our now tiny abode.

With that I am off to decorate and later, run some errands. I hope your day was awesome. Tomorrow night, Sarah is coming over to work on some recipe box projects for her sisters for Christmas. I have a couple to work on myself. I will show them to you if I get them done. Until tomorrow, take care, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

Simple Saturday …

2010-12-05T16:52:00.001-06:00

…on Sunday, because I was too pooped to post last night. Actually, I have four cards to show you but will save a couple until tomorrow. If you have Google Reader, you might have noticed my unsuccessful attempt to put all of the cards into a SmileBox slideshow. While I might have eventually figured out how to upload the darned thing into my post, I was frustrated as heck and decided to give up before frustration turned into a seriously bad mood. Back to my cards – they are the result of my realization that for all the cards I have sitting around here, I don’t have very many birthday cards for young people . I seem to make what I feel like making and don’t pay a lot of attention to what I actually need. A New Year’s Resolution: Stamp with a Plan. We’ll see how that goes. LOL.

All for of the cards I made use the same bright, fun color scheme, and none of them were made using any patterned paper. Instead, I used the Cuttlebug and embossing folders to add texture on all but one.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Lagoon, and Pear cardstock; Lagoon, Pear, and Sunny Yellow ink pads; Party Pennants stamp set; White mini brads; Cuttlebug w/Happy Birthday embossing folder.

This second card is my adaptation of Unscripted Sketches #84 and was pretty much as design-as-you go thing. The strips along the side are cardstock and were looking a bit boring before I added a couple of rows of piercing. For continuity, I carried the piercing over to the upper left hand corner. The circle element needed some pattern behind the candles, but not too much, which is why I stamped the confetti with second generation ink. The flames were inked up with Sunny Yellow and rolled in Sunset. Yellow Stickles make them glow.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Lagoon, Pear, and Sunny Yellow cardstock; Lagoon, Pear, Sunny Yellow, and Sunset ink pads; Happy Birthday, Party Pennants, and Candlelight stamp sets; Lagoon Mini Medley Accents; Yellow Stickles; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide & Mat; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

A Slice of Life: The party yesterday for my 10-year-old niece and 17-year-old nephew was fun. It was held at a huge waterpark that is part of a casino/resort, which is located about seven miles from town. Watching the kids have so much fun, I have decided that I am going to buy a new swimsuit and join the fun next time, which may very well be for Bjorn’s 7th party birthday next month.

As for today, there is not a lot to say. I puttered around with a few things but didn’t accomplish much. Our Christmas decorations have been brought out of storage, and thus, there are totes stacked to the ceiling in the living room. It will be a works in progress over the course of the next two evenings, unless, that is, I get lucky, and Husband takes care of the tree while I am at work tomorrow. I thought about suggesting as much but then thought again. He’s a man. It’s got to be his idea. I’ll just cross my fingers.

What has everyone got on their agendas for the week? For me, there is work, of course, and Christmas to prepare for – decorating, shopping, addressing cards, menu planning, and a thousand little things. It will be fun.

For now, I am off to fix the hem on a couple of pairs of pants – glad that the seams hold up better than the hems on what seems like everything I buy these days. Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by. Your visits, friendship, and comments are what make it all worthwhile.

PIP Christmas Card

2010-12-03T21:07:00.001-06:00

As much as I don’t like to do this, I’m asking you to do it again – take my word for it, that is, about this PIP (prettier in person) card. It’s white on white on white – so subtle and yet striking in its crispness. If you could see the sparkle of the snowflake – covered with ultra fine crystal glitter – you would get the full affect.

I used textured cardstock for the richness it adds and a lot of foam mounting tape behind the embossed piece to keep it from caving. The sentiment on the inside of the card, “May All Your Days be Merry and Bright,” was stamped with Holiday Red ink. It’s another keeper/sender, although I might have to make one like this for myself, too. For whatever reason, it makes me feel good to look at it.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured cardstock; Holiday Red ink pad; Mint Motif Very Merry Sentiments stamp set; Red satin ribbon from my stash; Martha Stewart Ultra-Fine Crystal glitter; Cuttlebug w/Snowflakes embossing folder, Snowflake die/folder Combo, and Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: For no particular reason, I am happy tonight. Having put in some extra time earlier in the week, my workday was short and not quite as intense as the other this week. Marv went with his brother to the cabin today to decorate for “Carlson Christmas,” which will be celebrated on the 18th. I think they were going to do some bow hunting, too. With no husband to cook, I called Mom to go out and have a bite. We both had Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches. Good food. Good company. You can’t beat that.

I do believe my night owl ways have caught up with me this evening, however, as I am tired. Leave it to me to wait until the weekend to go to bed early. LOL. Oh, but there is always the possibility I will get a second wind. We shall see. For now, I am off to the bathtub and then maybe to my corner for another stamping session before bed. Have a great weekend, everyone, and thanks for stopping by.

Gingerbread Snowflake

2010-12-02T22:03:00.001-06:00

I thought I’d offer an explanation in my title tonight. That way, you won’t be thinking, “What’s with the brown snowflake?” LOL. The inspiration for my card was derived from this Tuesday Trigger on the Moxie Fab World blog. It was further inspired by this beauty on the Lucy’s Cards blog. My gingerbread snowflake is Brown Bag cardstock cut with a Cuttlebug die. After embossing my “cookie,” I inked around the edges with Chocolate ink, careful not to burn it! After it had cooled, I “iced” it with a white gel pen and then sprinkled it with sparkly sugar (Icicle Stickles). Antique Linen Distressing Ink was used to tone down my too-white ribbon. All the while I was making this card, I didn’t think I was going to like it. All put together, however, it’s a keeper. Wait. I take that back. It’s not a keeper but rather a “sender.” I’m adding it to the growing pile of cards I hope to send out this year … if time doesn’t get away from me.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Brown Bag, and New England Ivy cardstock; New England Ivy, Chocolate, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; White Uni-ball Signo Broad tip gel pen; Say it in Style Stamp set; Red mini check ribbon from Wal-Mart; Pearl Opaques; Cuttlebug w/Snowflake die/embossing folder combo; Sponge distressing tool; Sponge dauber.

A Slice of Life: Whoa. If the next 23 days fly by as fast as the last five have, Christmas will be here in no time. After four days off, I was anticipating a long workweek. Not so at all – the result of having been busy and enjoying what I was doing. I stopped at Mom’s after work tonight and visited with her and my sister Karen, who happened to be there today.

Even though the temperatures have dropped (it is currently –4 degrees), the sun has been shining and weather hasn’t seemed too bad the past couple of days. No wind – the good weather/bad weather differentiator.

Are you thinking ahead to the weekend? We have a family birthday party on Saturday. Other than that, I believe it is time to decorate for the holidays and perhaps do a little cyber shopping. Fun. Tonight, I will let you go with a wish that your Friday is fantastic. Thanks for stopping by, my friends.

Joy to the World

2010-12-01T18:30:00.001-06:00

Oh, how I wish you could see this card is person. It’s much sparklier and prettier than the photograph reveals. And, it was inspired by this beautiful card by Dawn Easton on her Treasure Oiler Designz blog. My background was created with a round sponge and Heavenly Blue ink. A 1-inch circle punch was used to create a reverse stencil for the moon. Waiting for the Stickles to dry was the most time consuming aspect of this card. Otherwise, it falls into the quick and easy category. I love it.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Heavenly Blue, and Pacifica cardstock; Black and Pacifica ink pads; Beautiful Things and Christmas Wishes (retired ) stamp sets; Sparkles – Blue & Green Assortment; Martha Stewart Snowflake punch; 1-inch circle punch; Round sponge.

A Slice of Life: After a very busy, fulfilling day at work, I was all ready for beer and bowling (not in that order and only one beer) at 5 pm only to discover when I arrived at the bowling alley that I didn’t have to bowl tonight. It’s a three-man (woman actually) team with four members, so we rotate, and Kathi, obviously, can’t keep track of the schedule. Anyway, I visited with my teammates for a few minutes while enjoying a quick cocktail and came home. I guess I’ll stamp!

I hope your Wednesday was wonderful. Have a great evening, and thanks for stopping by.

Thanks a Bunch

2010-11-30T22:28:00.001-06:00

I took a little break from making Christmas cards to play with a new stamp set, Penny Black’s Betsy Bluebell. While I certainly did not need another stamp set, this little one’s cuteness wore down my resistance – like it took much. LOL. Anyway, I paper-pieced her dress and colored the rest of the image with Prismacolor pencils and OMS.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Indian Corn Blue, and Olive cardstock; Patterned paper scrap from my stash; Black, Olive, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Penny Black Betsy Bluebell stamp set; Dark red grosgrain ribbon from Wal-Mart; Summer Craft Buttons; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Foam distressing tool; Cuttlebug w/ Stampin’ Up Square Lattice embossing folder; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: It was another busy day at work. As for the weather, it was frightful – very windy and because of it, very cold. Tonight it is even colder – 10 degrees but the winds have subsided, which any temperature more tolerable. Your probably wondering, “Am I going to have to listen to this girl complain about the weather for the next five or so months?” Nope, I will get used to it. Besides, with that new job I’m starting next month, I won’t have to go outside as often.

It’s Hump Day already tomorrow. Make yours a good one!

Christmas Continued

2010-11-29T20:30:00.001-06:00

This first card was inspired by this beautiful card,which was posted yesterday on my friend Barb’s The Buzz blog. Barb was the guest designer for 2010 Christmas Card Challenge Week #52 on Sparkle Creations Weekly Christmas Card Challenges blog. I love the sketch and at this late date, can’t tell you how much I wish I had played along all year.

There isn’t much to say about my card that isn’t self explanatory. I used Crystal Stickles on the rooftops and trees, and while you can see some of the sparkle in the photo, it is much sparklier in real life.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Bamboo, and New England Ivy cardstock; Mistletoe Level 2 paper packet; New England Ivy and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Snow Days stamp set; New England Ivy chiffon ribbon; Crystal Stickles; Cuttlebug w/Stampin’ Up Square Lattice embossing folder and Nestabilities Classic Ovals set; Sponge distressing tool.

This next card was a quick and simple creation. With no embellishments, it is USPS friendly, too. I colored the stamped image with Prismacolor colored pencils and OMS.

Materials & Tools: New England Ivy and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; Black and New England Ivy stamp pads; Stampendous Partridge Tree stamp and CTMH Say it in Style stamp set; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps.

Can you handle one more? This last card was inspired by the poinsettia Debbie Olson (Thinking Inking) made for her card that was shown here on the CLASSroom blog. The flower is made with Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Alterations die. I used Cranberry cardstock, stamping the text and sponging the edges of the petals with Garnet ink. I used the handle of my piercing tool to curl the petals of the top flower for a little added dimension. More quick and easy.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cranberry, and New England Ivy cardstock; Passages and Mistletoe Level 2 paper packets; New England Ivy and Garnet ink pads; Hero Arts Friends Definition background stamp and CTMH Say it in Style stamp set; Button from my stash; Ecru crochet cotton; Piercing tool; Cuttlebug w/Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Alterations die; Sponge dauber.

A Slice of Life: Busy at work, I sailed through the first workday of the week. If they are all like this (and I anticipate they will be, it will be 5 o’clock on Friday in no time. It’s been snowing and blowing since midafternoon. If the first 10 or so days of snowy weather have been any indication, it’s going to be a blustery winter. We’ll just hope it isn’t too long. I made a beeline home from work today to sew Bjorn’s patches on his Cub Scout shirt before Pack Night this evening. After they bought, it Cameron called to ask if there was a quick/easy way to put patches on a Scout shirt. Nope, I told him, as far as I knew they still had to be sewn on, and yes, I would do it for him. It was like history repeating itself. Having been Mama Den Leader turned Cubmaster with her Cub/then Boy Scouts, I have had plenty of practice at sewing on patches. I am as pleased as punch, too, to see the Scouting tradition continue in a new generation.

How was your day? I hope it was a good one. Before I get ready for bed, I’m going to make a tour around the blogosphere and a stop at my stamping desk where I plan to take a little break from the Christmas cards I have been making these past few days. Have a great Tuesday, and thanks for taking the time to visit!

In the Mood …

2010-11-28T20:54:00.001-06:00

… for a sketch (Get Sketchy’s GS#66) and another Christmas card.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and New England Ivy cardstock; Mistletoe Level 2 paper packet; New England Ivy and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Peace on Earth stamp set; Gold mini brads; Red Sparkles; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide & Mat; Martha Stewart Snowflake punch; Stampin’ Up Metallic Gold Cord; Sponge distressing tool.

A Slice of Life: I found out today what it is I want/need for Christmas – a sled with shock absorbers. This afternoon Marv and I joined Cam, Sarah, and the boys at the sliding hill behind the National Guard Armory. My intention was to take some photos, which I did, capturing smiles so bright you can almost hear the giggles that went with them. Then, someone suggested I take a trip down the hill. Lacking the common sense of most people my age and still wanting to be part of the fun, I selected a lime green saucer as my vehicle of choice. Once I was in the sitting, cross-legged position required to ride on that small, concave plate, Marv gave me a push, and I was off, flying (literally at times) down the hill. Great fun. Tonight, however, I have a kink in my back representative of every bump I encountered, which were numerous in quantity. But really, what did I expect? Providing I can walk tomorrow, it was worth it. LOL.

That was my excitement for the day. Are you all geared up for the coming week? After four days off, I am ready to go back to work. I hope you had a great Sunday, and I’ll be “seeing” you again soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Simple Saturday – Christmas

2010-11-27T21:13:00.001-06:00

After last night’s post, I hopped (not quite) over to my corner and popped out (just about) these three cards. I didn’t have a specific plan in mind when I started any of them. They just kind of evolved – all quick and easy and what I’m going to need if I am going to make handmade cards this year. There is not a whole lot to say regarding technique. I colored Father Christmas with markers. Everything else is obvious – I think.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cranberry, New England Ivy, and Garden Green cardstock; Mistletoe Level 2 paper packet; New England Ivy, Cranberry, Garden Green, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Garden Green, New England Ivy, Holiday Red, Goldrush, Baby Pink, and Tombow Flesh markers; Father Christmas and Peace on Earth stamp sets; Red Sparkles; New England Ivy Bigger Brads; 1/2-inch square punch; Foam distressing tool; Nestabilities Classic Ovals set (used as a cutting guide); Craft knife.

A Slice of Life: Our “second” Thanksgiving was wonderful as our family celebrations always are. The only thing that wasn’t great was the fact there weren’t as many of us there as there would have been had we been able to get together on Thursday – 18 verses 34 or so.

Tonight, I am tuckered out and ready for a quiet day tomorrow. How about you? Are you having a nice weekend? I hope so. Now, I think I will mosey over to my corner, clean up last night’s mess, and maybe create a little something for tomorrow. Have a great Sunday!

Many Blessings …

2010-11-26T21:41:00.001-06:00

Look what arrived in my mailbox this week from Jeanne. Along with card was one of her Cricut cartridges – Mother’s Day – that she told me to use to my heart’s content for as long as I wanted. What a sweet, thoughtful gesture. And use it I will … once life settles down … someday. If you are familiar with Jeanne’s blog you know that she has been using her Cricut to make some awesome cards – like this one, these, and so many more. I really love this pumpkin card – made with the Cricut George cartridge – and am so thrilled to have it. Thank you, Jeanne!

When I count my blessings, the wonderful people I have met through blogging and Close To My Heart’s bulletin board are right up there on my list. One of the things I am anticipating with the new job is more time to blog, post on CTMH’s site, leave comments, and build on these friendships.

Speaking of friendships, Alanna is another special blogging friend, who sent me this gorgeous card a few weeks back. There is nothing like telling someone you love a card and having it show up in your mailbox a few days later. And it was the perfect pick-me-up that came at a time when I needed a little boost. Thank you, my friend. It meant more than words can say.

Did everyone have a good Thanksgiving? We did even though Mother Nature raised havoc with our plans to travel. Winter has arrived and with it, lots of snow. Combine snow with blow, and you get a blizzard and weather advisories that keep you at home. Before the snow, there was some freezing rain south of here that made the roads slippery, too. As a result, the family Thanksgiving dinner at my sister and brother-in-law’s house was postponed until tomorrow. Yesterday, we had dinner her for Cameron, Sarah, and the boys, and my mom. We had pork loin (the “other white meat”), baked potatoes, corn, mixed vegetables, coleslaw, and a yummy pumpkin dessert. Not traditional but good nonetheless. I had a little “Martha” moment, too, and made some turkey treats – an idea from Our Best Bites. As you can see, my turkeys – off center tail feathers and all – didn’t look quite as good as the ones on the website. Nevertheless, my guests liked them, and they made great bribes with regard to getting the little boys to eat their dinner. “No turkey until you’ve finished your meal!”

Cameron and Sarah worked today, so Bjorn and Mathias stayed last night and spent the day with us. After work, Cam, Sarah, the boys, and Grandpa went to a motel that is down the street from us for a swim. The owners are friends and have told us repeatedly to use the pool whenever we want – “Our pool is your pool.” Today, we finally took them up on their offer. I’m told the kids had a blast, and even though it would have been fun to see it, I’m not sorry that I stayed home and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Two days of non-stop activity, and this Grandma is ready to relax.

Dustin and Miranda visited today. The crib ensemble that they’d picked out and we purchased for them arrived earlier in the week. Isn’t Abby’s Farm cute? They are going to get the nursery painted (a coordinating soft pink) and then Dustin and I are going to do some coordinating mural painting – the tree, owl, and bird for sure and more if there is room. I tried to convince Mommy that once the design is on the wall, it’s as easy as coloring in a coloring book, but I don’t think she believed me. Dusty is all about it, however. I’ll do the drawing. He can do the painting. It will be fun. Photos to come.

As for the first part of the week, Bjorn and Mathias had programs (still called “informances”) at school Tuesday, so I took the afternoon off. When I was at work, I was busy. In December, things should slow down. That will be good, as I would like to have everything in order for my successor. I haven’t had a chance to stamp since Sunday, which has been a bit of a bummer. I am hoping that I will get a chance to be at least a little creative once we get back from Fertile tomorrow.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you for your friendship and support. It warms my heart. I’ll be back as soon.

Anticipation

2010-11-21T21:07:00.001-06:00

As is my tendency to do these days, I picked up a few little pink things recently and thought I would make a card to go with them. The sketch is from Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 94. The sweet image is a digital image from by LORi designs. I had fun paper-piecing her dress, shoes, hair bow, bag, shoes, and carriage with patterned paper and cardstock. Paper-piecing reminds me of cutting out paper dolls – a favorite activity of mine 50 or so years ago. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Lilac Mist, and Baby Pink cardstock; Sweet Pea paper packet (retired); Baby Pink, Grey Flannel; and Blush ink pads; Brown Bag, Baby Pink, and Tombow #580 Flesh markers; Dove blending pen; Girl with Stroller digital image from by LORi designs; Say it in Style stamp set; Silver Bitty Brads; Buttons from my stash; Stampin’ Up Word Window punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles and Classic Scallop Circles sets; Pink chalk with sponge applicator; Round sponge.

A Slice of Life: Other than paying a visit to my mom this afternoon, I had another quiet, lazy day. With the holiday season fast approaching, this might be the last quiet weekend for a while. That is OK. I’m looking forward to the busyness of Christmas and, of course, the birth of Baby Girl Carlson. Will she be here for Christmas? Maybe. Due on the 30th, there is the possibility she will be a New Year’s baby. I don’t care. I’m just excited to meet her.

Now, I’m off to check out my closet and decide what to wear tomorrow. A three-day workweek. Yippee. We’re going to my sister and brother-in-law’s house for Thanksgiving. The little boys are going to spend the day with us on Friday. It’s gonna be a good week. You have a good one, too!

Simple Saturday

2010-11-20T22:04:00.001-06:00

This was going to be a single-layer card until I stamped the sentiment crooked. How does that happen with clear stamps? I think it must be kind of like bowling. I know what I am supposed do to get the ball to hit the pins just right. It just doesn’t always work out that way. My brain gives the order. My arm does not listen. In bowling, if you don’t get them all the first time, you get a second chance. If you are willing to change your plan, there is often a second chance in card making, too. For this one, I straightened my sentiment by trimming, added a mat, and saved the “spare.”

Materials & Tools: Cocoa and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; Holiday Red, Cocoa, and White Daisy Pigment ink pads; Papertrey Ink Out on a Limb and CTMH Peace on Earth stamp sets; Speckled Background stamp (retired).

A Slice of Life: The party last night was fun. Our friend was surprised and delighted, and it was nice to have the opportunity to see some people I had not seen for quite some time. Today, I stayed in and took it easy. With temperatures in the teens, it is cold here. It’s snowing this evening. Maybe it will stay this time.

Whatever it was you did today, I hope it was enjoyable, restful, or exciting – whatever you needed it to be. I will be talking to you again soon!

Sometimes …

2010-11-18T22:39:00.001-06:00

Tonight’s card was inspired by this lovely card on the Inspired By blog. “Hmmm…” you say? That’s OK. I’m saying it, too, and wondering if this card will grow on me. Sometimes, they do. Sometimes, they don’t. LOL. I will share a little tidbit of information you might find helpful at some point. If you cut three squares that are just a tiny smidgeon over 1-3/8 inches, you get three squares that fit on a card that is 4-1/4 inches wide. My scallops are four 1-1/4 inch circles. For placement, I marked the center at 2-1/8 inches and worked from the center to the edges, trimming them flush after they were attached. Make sense? Probably not … Hey, I tried.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa, and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; Cocoa, Twilight, Petal, Sweet Leaf, and SU Crumb Cake ink pads; Hero Arts Friendship Background stamp; CTMH Enjoy Every Moment stamp set; 3/8” natural twill ribbon; Cocoa Waxy Flax; 1-1/4 inch circle punch; Round sponges.

A Slice of Life: Good news at work today. My replacement has been hired and is tentatively scheduled to start January 3. Once I have shown her the ropes, my new adventure will begin. No stress that I can foresee. No office politics. More time at home to do the things that are important to me. Other than that tidbit of news, it was an ordinary day.

How was your day? A good one, I hope. Do you have plans for the weekend? Tomorrow night, we will be attending a surprise birthday dinner party for a longtime friend – a woman who, while not old enough to be my mother, was like a grandmother to our boys. Sunday evening, I have stampers coming over. It should be a good weekend here. For tonight, though, I’m off to bed. Have a great Friday. I’ll be “seeing” you…

Monster Hugs

2010-11-17T21:50:00.001-06:00

A kid card for you-know-who for no reason more than to let them know I love ‘em. I also love the bright, fun Hooligans paper from Close To My Hearts and Hero Arts’ Monster Fun stamp set. After an unsuccessful attempt to color the monster with markers, he/she was colored with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. I cut him out, too, and popped him up with a little foam tape. Because I didn’t have a googly eye that was large enough, I used a Page Pebble in its place. Fun!

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Lagoon, Pear, and Sunset cardstock; Hooligans Level 2 paper packet; Black ink pad; Hero Arts Monster Fun stamp set; Black brads; Making Memories Page Pebbles; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Black My Legacy Writer; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: It was a busy day at work and a fun night at bowling albeit I am determined I will have a new pair of bowling shoes before I go back there. No, my 20+ year-old bowling shoes are not worn out. In fact, they look like new. They are too small. My feet have either grown or my arches have fallen enough over the years that I now wear shoes a half-size larger than I did. Anyway, I have limped out of the bowling alley for the last time. Surely, there is a cheapbowlingshoes.com out there somewhere, and when I have finished this post, I am going to find it. LOL. Having worked only a day and a half so far this week, I don’t know why I am so anxious for the weekend. Nevertheless, it cannot come soon enough. As I glance out the window, I notice there is a bit of snow on the ground. ‘Tis the season, and as much as I am not wild about the prospect of cold, I am thankful it has taken as long as it has. In Minnesota, this could have been two months ago. I’ll whine if it’s still here in May. That is a possibility, too. Ah, life in the frozen tundra. LOL.

I hope your day was great and tomorrow is as well. Thank you so much for your visits and kind comments. They mean a lot. Take care, friends. With a couple of ideas floating around in my head, I hope to have something to share tomorrow, too.

Monday Musings

2010-11-16T20:12:00.001-06:00

My most recent disappearing act was not planned but rather the result of a rather unpleasant “slice of life.” I’ll explain later. As for my card, I colored my image with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. The bird (attached with foam tape) was embossed with Chocolate embossing powder.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Olive cardstock; K&Company Remake Earth Browns Mat Pad; Black, Desert Sand, Chocolate, VersaMark, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink ink pads; Chocolate embossing powder; Stampin’ Up Elements of Style stamp set; CTMH Speckled Background stamp (retired); Mocha Opaques; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Embossing heat tool; Sponge Texture tool; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: Sunday was family day – time with Mom and Karen in the morning, son and grandsons in the afternoon, and home-from-the-hunt husband in the evening. Yesterday, I got up and while I had the ickiest of headaches, I got dressed and was on my way out the door when my stomach started to lurch, and I made a beeline for the bathroom. Once my stomach was empty, I made another beeline for my bed where I slept for about 20 of the next 24 hours. I was hot. I was cold. When I was awake, my head pounded and my stomach continued to expel whatever was in it, which wasn’t much. Although I felt worn out from the ordeal, I was better this morning and went to work this afternoon. A bug – nasty as could be but short in duration. A waste of time nevertheless.

I certainly hope your week got off to a better start. That said, I am off to see what you’ve been up to. After that, I’m heading back to my corner to try to make up for lost time. Have a great Wednesday, friends, and thanks for stopping by.

Simple Saturday

2010-11-13T23:04:00.001-06:00

Had I not wrestled with ribbon for 20 minutes, this would have been a 5-minute card. I need to go find some double-faced satin ribbon, which is much easier to work with than the type that is only shiny on one side. Otherwise, there isn’t much to say about my Simple Saturday offering. The stamps are from Stampin’ Up. I love the flowers and look forward to doing some colored variations, so you just might be seeing more from this set in coming days. That’s if I can stay home long enough to stamp. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Black ink pad; Stampin’Up Elements of Style stamp set; Red satin ribbon from Wal-Mart.

A Slice of Life: I spent the day with Mom and my sister, Karen, who has made a remarkable recovery from her surgery 10 days ago. There was another craft show in town this weekend – Holiday Fair, the juried show that I participated in for several consecutive years way back when. While there was a nice assortment of items, handmade jewelry appeared to be the most plentiful. After the craft show, we had lunch and then did some shopping downtown. It was a fun time.

I hope you had a good day, too. Until next time, take care, and thanks for stopping by!

Give Thanks

2010-11-11T22:52:00.001-06:00

Here is another card inspired by one I found in CardMaker magazine. It afforded me the opportunity to try out a new embossing folder – Stampin’ Up’s Square Lattice folder – that I used at the workshop I attended last month and fell in love with. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the folder doesn’t chew up CTMH’s white core cardstock as much as I thought it might due to the fineness its pattern. Oh, and about Stampin’ Up’s Kraft cardstock, I was wrong last night about the name of the new color. It’s Crumb Cake, not Biscuit. Where, I wonder, did that come from?

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Autumn Terracotta, Barn Red, and Olive cardstock; Felicity Collection (CTMH promotion/retired); Chocolate and Barn Red ink pads; CTMH Four Seasons and Verve Stamps Happy Fall stamp sets; Pewter mini brads; Autumn Flower Soft; Cuttlebug w/Stampin’ Up Square Lattice embossing folder and Nestabilities Scalloped Classic Rectangles set.

A Slice of Life: Like every other day so far this week, my workday was very busy. With so many “do it now” projects coming at me from so many directions, thoughts of catching up on the less pressing but still important stuff this week have faded away.

Husband has returned to the hunting cabin for a few days. We’ve experienced a change in the weather. It’s cool but not nearly as cool/cold/frigid as it could be – a good thing in my book. I stopped by Mom’s this afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to find a sister – the cookie maker – there. I think I convinced her to return to town, along with another sister or two or three, on Saturday. There is another craft show in town, and I thought it would be fun for the “Page” women to make a day of it.

That is enough small talk. Today is Veteran’s Day – a day to reflect, remember, and honor those whose sacrifices allow us the freedoms we so often take for granted.

And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me ….

Have a great Friday, my friends, and thanks for stopping by.

It Will Move…

2010-11-10T21:36:00.001-06:00

I picked up a copy of CardMaker magazine on the newsstand the other day and was inspired by the first card I saw when I quickly flipped through it. The gatefold is fun but what I really love is the verse and have someone special in mind for the card. What I didn’t have was the stamp (yet), so I did the next best thing …on my computer. Did you know that Stampin’ Up has discontinued its Kraft cardstock? Actually, I think what they did was rename it, “Biscuit,” and now there is ink to match, which I used to stamp the mountain scene in the background. I love the blues and brown with the Kraft ….er, Biscuit… cardstock. The card has a manly feel, too, which is good considering that special someone is a guy.

Materials & Tools: Stampin’ Up Biscuit cardstock; Basic Grey Granola 6x6-inch paper pad; Stampin’ Up Biscuit ink pad; Computer-generated sentiment; CTMH Beautiful Things stamp set; Outdoor Denim grosgrain ribbon.

A Slice of Life: I bowled this evening and had a couple of so-so scores before impressing myself (and a couple of other people) with a 172. I came home to Husband and a couple of sweet little boys, who were looking forward to story time and a little TLC from Grandma. At 8 p.m., however, they were ready for bed and were asleep within minutes of saying “Amen.” They are really tired after a full day of school. Marv came home last night and is going back to the hunting cabin tomorrow. As predicted, I was glad to see him. Busy every day at work, the week is flying by. A funny little story… I was going to get the boys’ suitcase from their dad before leaving work this afternoon. I stopped by Cameron’s desk on my way out of the office, and supposedly, he opened the hatch on their Explorer remotely from his desk. When I got to his truck, however, the only door that was open was the door on the driver’s side. Not wanting to take the time to figure out what button to push to open the hatch, I crawled in and over the seats to retrieve the suitcase. As I am a relatively spry old broad, all was fine until I attempted to back my way out and got wedged between the driver and passenger’s seats. I’m glad I was wearing pants, although I may not have attempted such a foolish fete in a skirt. Of course, I managed to pry myself out all the while hoping no one was watching. It must have been quite a sight. LOL.

Leaving you with a mental picture of my backside stuck between the seats of my kid’s truck, I’ll sign off for tonight. I hope you are having the best of days. Thanks for stopping by!

Something Different

2010-11-08T23:09:00.001-06:00

For those of you who have been blogging a while, do you sometimes feel as though you’ve done it all when it comes to card making? I am nearing 1,500 posts, and lately, I have had the feeling that nearly everything I do is a repeat of something I have done before. Of course, that is not true – a fact that was made clear to me tonight when I opened the latest Stampin’ Up catalog up to a random page. This evening’s cards were inspired by the two cards that first caught my eye on Page 96. Although, of course, the colors are not exactly the same, they are close and a color combination (Heavenly Blue and Bamboo) I don’t believe I have ever used before. The stamps are different, too, but similar and used in a different way that, most likely, I would not have thought of on my own. It was kind of fun and enough to convince me that I have yet to “do it all.” LOL.

There isn’t much to explain that the Materials & Tools list will not reveal. There was a question about my Speckled Background stamp a few posts back. It is an old (darned near brittle) CTMH wood-mount stamp that I would not part with for the world. Speckling can also be achieved with reinker ink or thinned (watered-down) acrylic paint and an old toothbrush. My precious stamp achieves the same look and isn’t nearly as messy.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Bamboo, and Heavenly Blue cardstock; Bamboo, Heavenly Blue, and Desert Sand ink pads; Hot Diggity, Solo “B”, and promotional alphabet stamp sets; Speckled Background stamp (retired); Heavenly Blue mini brads; Twine; 3/8-inch natural twill ribbon.

A Slice of Life: What a fun evening I’ve had – certainly more enjoyable than the usual Monday night. Cameron’s Sarah emailed me at work today and said she needed a couple of cards and was wondering if she could come over and check out my stash. Of course. When she arrived, I asked if she wanted cards that I had already made or if she wanted to make them herself. The girl wanted to stamp! I offered a couple of samples, and under my direction she made this card, replacing the “Thinking of You” with “Happy Birthday” for her Dad’s BD next week and the blue version of this card for a new nephew who was born this past weekend in Wasilla, Alaska (Sarah Palin territory). Although everything was new to her, she followed my directions to a tee, and her cards turned out perfect. Her excitement was contagious, too. The embossing process and the results amazed her, and she is quite taken with the Cuttlebug and all that it can do – stuff that I take for granted. Like I said, it was a good time. Such a nice young woman, too.

It was a busy day at work and as the weatherman promised, another gorgeous day. I am still struggling a bit with the time change and think I would prefer darkness at the beginning of the day as opposed to the late afternoon. Once I start working during the night and sleeping during the day, it probably won’t matter.

Did you have a good day? I hope so. Make tomorrow a good one, too. OK? Take care, friends, and thanks for stopping by.

A Cup of Kisses

2010-11-07T22:46:00.001-06:00

I found my inspiration for the day when I came across this post on the {Stampin’ Gal Val} blog. The tutorial for this fun little project can be found here along with several others in Scor-Pal’s November E-Zine. The finished cup is 3-inches tall by about 2-1/2 inches in diameter. It’s kind of cute, don’t you think?

Materials & Tools: Colonial White cardstock; Martha Stewart 12x12-inch Classic Woodland Paper Pad; Cocoa and Ranger Antique Linen Distressing Ink ink pads; Mint Motif Very Square Sentiments; CTMH Just Blooms; Chocolate brad; Cocoa chiffon ribbon; Brown crochet cotton; Martha Stewart Score Board; 1/4-inch Terrifically Tacky Tape; McGill Multi-Tag punch; Sponge dauber.

A Slice of Life: Today was exactly what I said it was going to be – church and chores. Expecting it to be cold, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a gorgeous day when I walked outside this morning. Sunshine. Nothing more than a gentle breeze. In fact, the thermometer reached 60 here today. Very nice. A couple more mild days are forecast before the temperatures drop 15 degrees or so later in the week. I will take them!

In addition to the takeover of what he thinks is his TV, Husband’s absence due to hunting affords me the opportunity to eat what I want when I want. While he is about 100 times more willing to try new things now than he was when I married him, he still likes to stick to the basics – the meat and potatoes that don’t do much for me. Anyway, his being away spurred me to try this recipe I came across the other day on the House of Hepworths blog. Oh my goodness. Is it good. Husband might even eat it, although I think he would might at the artichokes. I think I might become a bit more adventurous in the kitchen again once I’m home more.

While I sound happy to have the hubby gone, and it is kind of nice to have a couple of days of quiet, I will be missing him by tomorrow night and will be very happy to see him on Wednesday. It’s always that way.

After a little blog surfing, I’m going to bed. As usual, the time change has me a little off. I hope you have a wonderful week. Talk to you soon!

Simple Saturday

2010-11-06T21:42:00.001-05:00

Here is a simple Christmas card fashioned after the simple sympathy card I posted Thursday. Again, I used textured white cardstock. The branch is embossed in silver. I considered using foam tape to mount the focal point image but then, thought again. With no bumps or lumps, it is a very USPS friend card. It was also very fast, very easy, and I love it.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured cardstock; Holiday Red cardstock; Holiday Red and VersaMark ink pads; Silver embossing powder; Embossing heat tool.

“Tag are Fun!” is the theme for Stamp Simply #164 on the No Time to Stamp? blog. The inspiration for my tag was derived from the plaid giftwrap I bought (in bulk) at Hallmark earlier today. Now, I’m going to have to make a ~~few~~ lot more! I colored the elf with markers with the exception of the Ponderosa Pine, which would have appeared too dark. For the green, I used a blending pen, and it came out just right.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cranberry, and Ponderosa Pine cardstock; Hallmark giftwrap; Black, Ponderosa Pine, Juniper, and Tim Holtz Antique Lace Distressing Ink ink pads; Holiday Red, Baby Pink, and Tombow Flesh #580 markers; Dove blending pen; Merry Pursuits stamp set; To/From stamp (retired CTMH); Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Sponge dauber.

A Slice of Life: I spent most of the day with Mom. We went out for burgers at the American Legion and then hit the stores downtown before finishing off the day at Wal-Mart. Oh, and we went to a craft show, too. It was a good day. I bought a winter jacket – a very classic black wool pea jacket that “looks like me” and a black/gray animal print sweater that is a bit on the wild side and does not necessary look like me but is fun anyway. I picked up a couple of things at the craft show, too – a lovely glass bead necklace made by a friend of Miranda’s and a very cool cheese tray, which was made from a flattened wine bottle.

Before leaving work yesterday, I learned I should be starting my new job around the first of the year. While I was kind of hoping it would be a month sooner, it will be OK. The New Year will be a good time to start something new – a fresh beginning.

Tomorrow, it is going to be church in the morning and chores in the afternoon. I am hoping for some time to play, too. How about you? What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, I hope you are enjoying yourself. That is what weekends are all about.With my hunter away, I am off to claim his recliner, his remote, and the “good” TV – for a change. I might as well take advantage of the opportunity. LOL. Take care, my friends, and thanks for stopping by…

Simple Sympathy

2010-11-04T21:15:00.001-05:00

Tonight’s card (made earlier in the week) was inspired by this pretty card on the Simplicity blog. In addition to her card, the title of Susan’s post caught my attention. I will have to admit, too, that there are a few colors in my collection of cardstocks that make me say “Hmmm…” Gray is one of them. I just don’t use it. Much. However, I like the looks of this simple, yet elegant, sympathy card.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured and Grey Flannel cardstock; Grey Flannel ink pad; Papertrey Ink Out on a Limb stamp set; KaiserKraft pearl accents.

A Slice of Life: Is it Friday yet? Almost. LOL. I suppose you are accustomed to my irregular posts by now. I start out every week with the best of intentions, and then, life seems to snag me in some form of busyness, tiredness, or both. Tuesday evening it was election returns, even though I did not not think I would get as caught up in the whole thing as I did. Husband was gone for the night, and I went to bed at 10 only to still be watching returns at 3 am with intermittent trips to the computer to check Minnesota returns on the Secretary of State’s website. I guess I’ve still got the nose for news. Last night, it was bowling – fun but nothing impressive in the way of personal scores. Tired might have had something to do with it. Tonight after work, I took mom to the hospital where we visited my sister who had surgery yesterday. A hysterectomy. Karen is doing well and should be released in a day or two.

With absolutely no plans and a husband who will be off deer hunting, I am looking forward to a quiet, do-whatever-I-feel-like-doing weekend. How about you? I hope you are having a great week. With hopes of stamping my little heart out this weekend, I should be “seeing” you again soon. Until then, take care.

An Attitude of Gratitude

2010-11-01T21:59:00.001-05:00

This is my plan for November – to make a conscious effort to stop worrying about what I do not have and the situations I cannot control and concentrate on all that I have and all that I can do to make the world a better place. Making the world a better place sounds pretty lofty, doesn’t it? Initially, I wrote “my world” but thought again. If I am a good wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, friend, employee, citizen, my example will make the world a better place – a least a little bit.

And now about my card, which was inspired by this beautiful card that was posted today on The Hero Club Blog. I would have loved to have duplicated the inspiration card right down to the last detail, including that beautiful textured paper in colors I love. Instead, I worked with with I have and am satisfied with the results.

A Slice of Life: It was a busy day at work, making for a tired Kathi tonight. Actually, I don’t think I have recovered from the weekend quite yet. Perhaps one more good night of sleep will bring me back to full steam. I have noticed one thing in the last few days, however. Overall, I feel so much better without that constant shingles pain. The rash is so much easier to contend with, and that’s starting to go away, too.

With a couple of things to do before bed, I’ll sign off with a thank you and wish that your Tuesday is a great day.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T20:14:00.001-05:00

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!

2010-10-29T21:49:00.001-05:00

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

2010-10-27T21:15:00.001-05:00

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.

2010-10-25T22:11:00.003-05:00

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

2010-10-24T16:20:00.001-05:00

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

2010-10-23T10:10:00.001-05:00

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

2010-10-22T19:57:00.001-05:00

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

2010-10-21T19:55:00.001-05:00

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

2010-10-18T19:38:00.001-05:00

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

2010-10-13T21:44:00.001-05:00

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 …

2010-10-12T20:12:00.001-05:00

… 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

2010-10-09T20:55:00.001-05:00

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…

2010-10-08T07:10:00.001-05:00

… 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

2010-10-04T19:05:00.001-05:00

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.

Sittin’ on Top of the World…

2010-09-27T22:07:00.001-05:00

I will tell you why after I have shown you a couple of cards. This is yet another card from the Saturday event. I have seriously adored this stamp set – Stampin’ Up’s Season of Friendship – since it was introduced a couple of years ago. I have yet to purchase it, however, which means either I don’t love it quite enough or I have remarkable restraint – kind of like with that cute owl punch that I have yet to declare my own. LOL.

About this card, some of the leaves are cut out and were mounted with SU Dimensionals. The colors are very nice, although I don’t know what they are. I like the weight of SU’s cardstock. In certain circumstances, I like the solid core, too.

Oh heck, I like it all. Stamping is a good hobby. Actually, all hobbies are good. They give us something to look forward to doing. They are pleasant to think about. If life is otherwise overwhelming, they provide us with a nice diversion. According to studies, folks with hobbies are mentally and physically healthier than those do don’t have them.

Here is a similar version of the same card made with Close To My Heart stamps. Mom likes this one better. I’m on the fence. The CTMH stamp is a more traditional-looking tree. The SU tree is contemporary – a look I really like. If I were to wear one of the cards (and that would be quite a sight), I would opt for the top one. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Autumn Terracotta cardstock; Chocolate, Autumn Terracotta, Goldrush, and Olive stamp pads; Grown with Love and TLC stamp sets; Autumn Terracotta Designer Ribbon Rounds (retired); Stampin’ Up Pewter Jumbo Brads; Crop-O-Dile; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide & Mat; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: Today was what one might call a banner day. The weather was gorgeous, and I found out early this afternoon (drum roll, please) that I got a new job. Tonight, I can’t even remember what the title is. I know the last word is photographer. It doesn’t matter. What I am over the moon happy about are my new hours – from 7 pm to 7 am Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Yes, it is a 12-hour overnight shift three days/nights a week. What it means to me is that I will come home from work on Saturday at 7 am, sleep until early afternoon sometime and then not have to think about work again until Wednesday evening.

While I have not said a lot about it, my current job has amounted to what seems like a roller coaster ride within the Twilight Zone these past few months. A management change during what was supposed to have been a job transition for me led to nothing but confusion, disappointment, and heartache for me. During the process, I’ve lost respect for people I need to respect and no longer have much enthusiasm for what I do. I was told this type of turmoil is common in big business. That is too bad and probably one of the reasons Corporate America is despised by so many. The sad thing is that it was nothing that a little honest communication would not have prevented.

Anyway, I will be elated to be removed from all of it. The job basically entails photographing electronic components and then retouching and cataloging them. They will be used on the website and in promotional materials. Because of my experience and company/product knowledge, I get to forego the usual three weeks of formal training and train on the job. Before I can start, however, they need to hire a couple of people. It cannot be soon enough for me.

To make a good day better, the little guys are staying with us tonight. For supper, we got some fast food and went to the park. Did I mention Bjorn got glasses? He wasn’t crazy about the idea, and his Daddy said his glasses were in his backpack when he picked him up at school today. We reminded him of how handsome and smart he looks. Cute is my word.

Tomorrow night, we are going out to see Dustin and Miranda’s new place. Evidently, Dustin has got things “just so” and will finally let me in. LOL. I know that he has done much of the work himself, so it will be fun to see the reason I am so proud. They are moving in this weekend. Finally, a place of their own, and it is nice that they will be there for a few months before Baby Carlson arrives.

I hope your day was wonderful, too. Take care, and I will “see” you again soon.

Another Retreat Card

2010-09-26T21:49:00.001-05:00

Here is another card from yesterday’s workshop. Stampin’ Up’s owl punch is so doggone cute I can hardly stand it. I’m also quite fond of SU’s Square Lattice embossing folder. I do not think, however, the fine design of this folder would work very well with CTMH cardstock because of its white core.

Speaking of punches, my name was the first drawn for a door prize yesterday, and I had a whole table of goodies from which to choose. Lucky me! I picked this bird punch, which I love – even more because I was fortunate enough to win it. The new flat punch design – much like that of EK Success – is cool. Flat punches are definitely easier to store than those with handles. So, what did I do with the new punch?

Last night, I didn’t think I would want to stamp today, but it turned out I was wrong. Using many of the same design elements that were used for the owl card, I made this card. Why the color of the Crème Brule ribbon is so washed out looking in the photograph, I don’t know. In person, it matches. I used a sponge dauber to ink the edges of the bird to give it a little added dimension. Otherwise, everything is pretty straightforward … I think.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa, Crème Brule, Juniper, and Olive cardstock; Veranda paper packet; Juniper, Cocoa, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Happy Birthday stamp set; Crème Brule ribbon; Juniper mini brads; Stampin’ Up Bird, Ticket, and Word Window punches; Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch; Sponge daubers; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: My day was quiet and restful. This evening, I made a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a couple of supplies for my table runner project and was happy to actually find them. I also stopped to visit with Mom for an hour or so. We experienced another day without rain, and the forecast for the week is mostly sunny with temperatures in the 60s – perfect autumn days. As I write, I am wrapping my mind around the idea of another workweek. It will be busy. That much I know. On the social scene, I am lucky that I do not have to bowl on Wednesday evening, as there is a going away party after work for the young woman, who, until December, was my supervisor for five years. She is leaving the corporate world to explore new avenues, which will include at least few months at home with her preschool daughter. I am so happy for her and know that whatever she does, she will do it well.

That is enough jabber from me for tonight. I hope you had a great day and are looking forward to the week ahead. Make it a good one!

It was a Marathon

2010-09-25T21:51:00.001-05:00

I never thought there would come a day when I would declare myself too old to stamp, but I am kind of feeling that way tonight. We arrived at the so-called stamp “retreat” in Grand Forks at 8:55 am. We finished at 5:35 pm. For each project – 12, 11 of which were cards – there was a table that seated four as well as tool (Cuttlebug, etc.), cutting, and glitter stations. All of the materials were provided and prepared. The rented facility was spacious and very nice. The food was awesome. Due to the varying levels of difficult and/or number of steps required for each project, there was some waiting time in the afternoon, which would have been OK had a few not become impatient and start removing things from the tables to work ahead in different locations. Very annoying. Anyway, the event was as organized an event of this magnitude could have been. For me and at least a couple of my friends (those in my age bracket), however, stamping began to feel more like work than leisure around 3 o’clock. In fact, it seemed a bit more like a marathon than a retreat.

The card I am showing you was one of my favorites. The stamp set we used, Elements of Style, is one I have been admiring since it came out last spring. One other cool thing I will mention is the pre-embossed paper we sponged to create the background for this card. I love it, although the same effect could be accomplished with a stamp and clear embossing powder. I will keep a few of the other cards in reserve to show you on days when I don’t feel like stamping, which could be as soon as tomorrow. The day provided a plethora of neat ideas, and it was a lot of fun.

I guess that was my “Slice of Life” for today. How about your day? I hope it was a good one. I’ll “see” you again tomorrow, providing I’ve recovered from the ~~marathon~~ retreat. LOL. Take care, friends, and as always, thank you so much for stopping by.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea

2010-09-24T22:38:00.001-05:00

A while back (long enough ago that I had forgotten where I had put them and had to hunt), I bought a package of Shake-It Pouches from Impression Obsession. Tonight, I had the bright idea to make a fall card with them using Flower Soft with a tree image. What I did not think about was the fact that Flower Soft is basically colored Styrofoam that – due to static – would stick to the plastic of the pouch. The look is OK, but it doesn’t shake all that well.

About the pouches, they are pretty slick, although next time, I will make a greater effort to get my paper placed over the pouch so that its flat rim either doesn’t show or is equal around the circumference of the circle. Live and learn – the story of my life. LOL. The next shaker card you see on this blog will probably involve snow when (and if) I can bear to think about it.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa, Desert Sand, and Autumn Terracotta cardstock; Retired CTMH patterned paper; Shake-It Pouch; Cocoa, Desert Sand, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink stamp pads; Renaissance by Design Roots & Wings stamp set; Cocoa grosgrain ribbon; Basic Craft Buttons; Autumn Flower Soft; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Sponge dauber.

A Slice of Life: I came home early today with a stomach ache. It started last night. I was fine so long as I didn’t put food in my stomach. If I did, it hurt. This evening, I am fine again, so it must have been some little bug that came and went. Now, I need to get to bed, as I am being picked up shortly after 7 in the morning, which means I need to get up an hour earlier than usual. While that is not my usual Saturday routine, I am looking forward to a day with friends.

I hope you are looking forward to the weekend, too. It finally quit raining here … for a while anyway. It was nice to see the sun again. Take care, and thanks for stopping by.

Pretty Circles All in a Row

2010-09-23T19:23:00.001-05:00

My card tonight is based on a tutorial that appeared recently on the Create: blog. Note I said “based on.” That means I scanned through the directions and pretty much did my own thing – mostly because I didn’t have the 1-1/2 inch circle punch for which the directions called. I have a 1-3/4 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches and opted to use the smaller of the two.

I see I could have/should have added one more row of circles. Next time it will be easier, as having done it once, my second card will be more intentional and less experimental. I have been wanting to do something like this for a long time, having seen rows of circles to form scallops used in a variety of ways on different cards. It is a good way to use scraps or, as in my case, a great way to use paper you love but find challenging to use.

Materials & Tools: Kraft cardstock (retired CTMH); Cosmo Cricket Earth Love Mini Deck; Cocoa ink pad; Hero Arts Thinking of You stamp set; Cocoa grosgrain ribbon; 1-1/4 inch circle punch.

A Slice of Life: While I had a good time, bowling was not in my area of expertise last night. Thank goodness for handicaps. We won three of four games anyway. Today (and yesterday, for that matter) was another busy day at work. I am hoping the incoming flow slows down tomorrow, enabling me to get caught up before the weekend. It has been raining off and on (on for the past several hours) for the past 24-plus hours. It would be nice if one were a duck. I could use a little sunshine to perk me up. That is about it. The mailman brought me a new Halloween Cricut cartridge today, which I am hope has some silhouette-type images suitable for a project similar to this one. As for my felt table runner, it is in progress – kind of. So many things I want to do … so little time. Do you ever feel like that, too?

I hope your week is going well. On Saturday, I am going on a road trip with friends to a Stampin’ Up workshop in Grand Forks. It will be fun. If my cards turn out (LOL), I’ll show you what I make. For tonight, I’m off to straighten up my corner and maybe stamp a little something for tomorrow. I will “see” you again then. In the meanwhile, take care, and thanks for stopping by.