Where, Oh Where ...

... did my mojo go? Oh where, oh where can it be? Simple card, right? Not for me ... today. For one thing, I seriously struggled with a new stamp set. Polymer stamps are great, providing the ink wants to stick to them. And yes, I seasoned them. The truth of the matter is all polymer is not created equal. Live and learn. Regardless of its simplicity, the card is kinda cute and a nice break from traditional pastel "baby" colors.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Tulip, and Desert Sand cardstock; Creative Basics Animal Cookies Collection; Black and Tulip ink pads; Cloud 9 Designs Simple Thoughts - Baby and C.C. Designs Bear Hugs stamp sets; Ribbon from Walmart; White mini brads.

My lack of mojo might have something to do with the fact that I'm walking around like a zombie today after staying up too late last night.

Our trip to Fargo was fun yesterday. The wedding suits are very classy. Miranda and I are going to the florist this week to check out flowers, and on Friday, we're going to the place where the reception is being held to scope that out, figure out what we need for table linens, etc. I have some ideas for invitations and am going to work on a design in my spare time this week. The show is on the road ...

Bjorn and Mathias are here this afternoon, so I'm going to go see what they want to do. Mathias has abandoned "Cootie" for the "Memory Game." That one he'll win for sure unless Grandma is extremely lucky.

I'm hoping that I'll have the time and mojo to stamp a little this evening. We'll see. In the meantime, enjoy your day, and as always know that I appreciate your stopping by my little corner of the blogosphere! Later ...

Doubling Up ...

Away from home this past weekend, I didn't get a jump start on some of the challenges I try to participate each week, and thus, I'm playing catch-up! T

o make things a little easier for myself, I doubled up on a couple of challenges with this card. The first challenge was Stamp Simply #85, "Let the Sun Shine!" on the No Time to Stamp blog. The second was this week's Weekend Sketch Challenge #79 hosted by Jenn Balcer. While I like yellow, I don't use it a lot, so the challenge was just that.

About the card, there isn't a whole lot to say. The sentiment was computer generated. The faux stitching across the top was the result of piercing that was less than straight. As for the little bee's "trail," it was freehand. Oh, and its wings have glitter on them, too.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Memory Box Homespun 6x6-inch cardstock pad; Black inkpad; Black and Sunflower markers; CC Designs Bear Hugs stamp set; Black mini brads; Prisma Glitter; Quickie Glue pen; Black My Legacy Writer; Piercing Tool; Stampin' Up Piercing Guide and Mat; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

How was your day? A good one I hope. It was a another busy one for me. My plans for the evening include playing with my grandsons who are here for the night. Once they're in bed, I hope to do a little stamping. The mail carrier brought my first-ever order from Limelight Papercrafts today. The service was great, and the shipping was reasonable. The order was inspired by a Unity stamp I saw and fell in love with. I added a second stamp, a couple of Basic Grey paper pads, and some ribbon to make the order "worthwhile." LOL. Enjoy the evening! Later ...

Simple Saturday

Here are a few more cards from that card order. When one is making cards in bulk, simple is the only way to go. It's also a good way to use up discontinued paper, not that I necessarily wish this paper was discontinued. While I wasn't crazy about all of the patterns, background & texture paper in basic colors came in handy, and I miss it. With regard to detail, there isn't much to explain. I stamped bears on Desert Sand cardstock and cut them out. The girl bears' rompers were paper-pieced. I kept the background area small, and you'll note, I like a foot "hanging over the edge." It adds a little dimension/interest.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Heavenly Blue, and Baby Pink cardstock; Black, Blush, and Crystal Blue ink pads; Retired CTMH Spring Harmony Background & Texture paper; C.C .Designs Bear Hugs and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp sets; Ribbon from Wal-Mart (pink cards) and Really Reasonable Ribbon (reasonableribbon.com); Pink and blue mini brads; Stampin' Up Word Window punch; Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edger punch; and Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Ovals and Classic Rectangles sets; Piercing tool.

I had a great day with the boys. We played together. They played on their own. I played by myself. It was just nice to have them around. I am hoping, however, that Grandpa takes charge for the rest of the evening. A little bout with insomnia last night didn't keep me from getting up with the birds this morning, and thus, I am literally beat.

Tomorrow, I have to get the rest of the week figured out. We have two birthdays next weekend. Mathias will be four on Saturday, and Marv will turn 60 on Sunday. Regardless of the holiday weekend, I want to do something special for them, particularly Mathias. Understandably, Marv is less excited about the birthday thing. All I've heard from him is that Sunday is the last day of the Master's golf tournament, so my guess is what would make him happiest is the afternoon in his recliner. For now, I'm going to go take a closer look at CTMH's new summer catalog that arrived the other day. Enjoy the evening! I'll catch you tomorrow ...

Playin' Around

A friend left her Scor-Pal with me the other day to try out, so I thought I'd play around with it a little this afternoon. I found a tutorial for this "Flap-fold Card" here on the Score-Pal website.

It was fun project, and while the jury is still out with regard to whether or not I actually need one of these things, I'm guessing that I will deem the Score-Pal a very useful tool once I've tried a few more projects.

About my card, the dimensions are 3-1/2 by 4-1/4. Once the base was cut and scored, I embossed the flap using my Cuttlebug. The bear was stamped on Bamboo cardstock, and like I did on the first card I made with this set, I went around the edges with a same-color marker to give the image some depth. Her cheeks were chalked, and I paper-pieced a little romper from Baby Pink cardstock. I think she's pretty sweet, if I do say so myself. The flap of the card is held down with Basic Grey Magnetic Snaps, the bottom one concealed behind the white stamped piece I used for the inside of my card. Although I don't have occasion to use them all that often, the Magnetic Snaps can come in very handy. They are very thin and so much easier to work with than Velcro. I just noticed, too, that my card sticks to my file cabinet, which means it would stick to a refrigerator or magnetic memo board. Cool.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Bamboo, and Baby Pink cardstock; Baby Pink gingham paper (retired); Black, Baby Pink, and Blush ink pads; Bamboo and Baby Pink markers; C.C. Designs Bear Hugs, Papertrey Ink Polka Basics and Mixed Messages, and CTMH For Every Occasion and Simple Stitches stamp sets; Hero Arts Art Flowers Spring; White Bitty Brads; Spring chalks; Score-Pal; Coluzzle mat and knife w/circle template; Cuttlebug w/Argyle embossing folder and Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

It turns out I'm having kind of a lazy day. The blogosphere is quiet, which tells me people are out doin' stuff. Marv came home from the golf course mid-afternoon and promptly fell asleep. I suppose I should give him a little poke pretty soon, so he can sleep tonight. Besides, I'm hungry. Perhaps if I eat something, I'll have a surge of energy. Then again, maybe not. I'll put it in gear tomorrow. Later!

A Pair of Bears

First a little disclaimer . . . You're probably going to see the word "new" rather frequently this weekend. I want you know, however, (and I haven't the foggiest notion why!) that I've been really "good" lately. I haven't bought "much." About the bear stamps, they are new and one of the latest releases from C.C. Designs. For me, it was love at first sight, and to date, they are the cutest bear stamps I've ever laid my eyes on. While making my purchase at All That Scraps, I picked up this Argyle Cuttlebug embossing folder, too. I've seen so many cute baby cards made with this folder that I thought it would be a good one to add to my collection. I might add that while it wasn't the only new folder I liked, it was the only one I bought . . . so far, anyway. Back to the bears, I almost consider a cute bear stamp a stamping "staple." You know - like sugar, flour, and rice in your kitchen cupboards.

Now, about the card, it's my rendition of the sketch for Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #30 . I took the easy way out with the bears, stamping them on Brown Bag cardstock and cutting them out. I also ran the brush tip of the same-color marker around the stamped lines to give them added dimension. A little Carnation Pink chalk on their cheeks gave them some personality. They make me smile. The sitting bear is mounted to the card with foam tape, and I used Mini Glue Dots to attach their satin ribbon ties. Use pink instead of blue, and those two little boy bears will transform into a cute pair of girl bears.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Heavenly Blue, and Brown Bag cardstock; Heavenly Blue gingham paper (retired); Black and Crystal Blue ink pads; Brown Bag marker; C.C. Designs Bear Hugs and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp sets; Light blue satin ribbon; Spring chalks; Cuttlebug w/Argyle embossing folder; Black My Legacy Writer; 3M foam mounting tape.

So much for sleeping in on a Saturday morning. It was 5:38 when I tiptoed to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. "You up?" Marv muttered. "Yup." I had the chance to make a couple of cards before the little boys woke up. They are in fine form this morning. This has got to be the best time of day with little kids, which means I should get my butt off the computer and go enjoy them. You have a good day. I'll catch you later . . .