I Miss You

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.

Drummer Boy

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.

A Couple of Cards

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Wedding Card

Here is a card I made for a wedding we will be attending tomorrow. Before you get the idea I could actually come up with something like this on my own though, I gotta tell you I found the template here on the Stamp-n-Design blog. Cute, huh? I believe it meets the requirements for Stamp Simply #131, too, on the No Time to Stamp? blog. This week’s theme is “CAS Texture.”  Yup, my card is clean and simple with plenty of texture.

It’s a gate fold card, the inside of which I have yet to finish. My card base is colonial white as is the dress. Instead of using sparkly embossing powder, I opted for a white-on-white look. The stripes on the shirt were drawn on with an embossing pen. I used foam tape to attach the lapel. There is also foam tape under the lower portions of the skirt panels. I believe you can see that I used Black Textured cardstock. It was a fun card to make and something a little different. Now, if I don’t screw up the sentiment, we’ll be good to go. Otherwise, it will be a quick stop at Hallmark. Been there. Done that. LOL.

Materials and Tools: Colonial White and Black (textured ) cardstock; VersaMark ink pad; Adorable Backgrounds (retired) stamp set; Silver Bitty Brads; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Sparkles; White embossing powder; Embossing heat tool; 3M foam tape.

Woo hoo! Happy Friday! Like I said, we’re going to a wedding tomorrow. Otherwise, the weekend is mine… maybe. A girl can hope. LOL.

Have you got plans for the weekend? Whatever you do, I hope your weekend includes an appreciation for the little things, which, when added up, make for a happy life. Take care, friends. Later …

A Silhouette

With the card base and background piece already made and laying on my desk, this card took me about five minutes to put together this evening.

The background was created using the baby wipe technique. The colors – Sweet Leaf, Crystal Blue, and Sweet Leaf.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and White Glossy cardstock; Black ink pad; Sweet Leaf, Crystal Blue, and Sweet Leaf reinkers; Treasure Life stamp set; Baby wipes.

I woke up with an icky headache this morning, took a couple of aspirin, and went to work. I came home at 1:15. I’ve taken more aspirin, slept for a few hours, and still have the headache. My throat has been a little scratchy for a couple of days, too, so I’m not sure if I’m coming down with something or already have it. As I really want to go to work tomorrow and  have stuff I want to get done this weekend, I’m hoping whatever this is short-lived. Besides, I hate talking about feeling crummy. Aches and pains make for poor conversation. Kinda like lousy weather. LOL.

I hope your day was a good one! Later …

Winter Neighborhood

Here’s another cute image  from Eat Cake Graphics. Of course, I didn’t realize how wide it would be. It’s OK, though. I can always use a partial image for smaller cards, and won’t the big image make for a cute gift bag, box, or scrapbook element?

For this card, I stamped the image on White Daisy Textured cardstock and colored it with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. While I considered glittering the snow-covered rooftops, etc., I kept it simple by doing a little shading on the eaves and using Diamond Stickles on the falling snowflakes.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured, White Daisy, and Sorbet cardstock; Jingle paper packet; Black and Juniper ink pads; Eat Cake Graphics Winter Neighborhood stamp and Close To My Heart Card Chatter – Christmas stamp set; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Diamond Stickles.

We had a fun morning with the boys, and this afternoon, I’m working on a little project. So far, I’ve covered the pages of a Close To My Heart My Creations™ All-Sorts Mini Album with cardstock. It killed me that the thing is 6-1/4 by 7-inches, because I could only cover one page per sheet of cardstock. No, it’s not like I was left with scraps I won’t use. It just seemed to me that had it been six inches in height, nothing would have been lost, and it would have been a hair more practical. It bugs me that I’m complaining about it, too. “Practical” is such a “grandma” word. LOL.

As for what I’m going to do with my album, I’m not sure. Have I mentioned my printer died? While I could buy a new one, it doesn’t seem like a practical (there’s that damn word again) purchase right before Christmas. Besides, I’m researching printers, and although I’m 99 percent sure which one I want, I want to do a little more checking. For certain, it’s going to be one that uses pigment ink and prints a 12x12-inch borderless print … just in case I get around to taking up digital scrapbooking.

Well, that’s enough jabber out of me. Hope you are having a great weekend, too. Thanks for stopping by! Later, friends …

Another Day of Blessings

Here’s a simple card made with one of my all-time favorite stamp sets, CTMH’s Nature’s Vein. I think I noticed it on this year’s retiring list, so if you love it as much as I do, now is the time to get it.

This set is perfect to use with the stamp rolling technique, which is what I did for this card – first inking up my stamp with Autumn Terracotta and then rolling the edges on my Chocolate pad. Every leaf comes out a little different which is just the way real leaves are. To fill in the background a bit, I used my Speckled Background stamp and Bamboo ink. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a little thing going these days with satin ribbon. The button is the perfect finishing touch.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Autumn Terracotta, and Chocolate cardstock; Autumn Terracotta, Chocolate, and Bamboo ink pads; Nature’s Vein and Papertrey Ink Out on a Limb stamp sets; Retired Speckled Background stamp; Offray brown satin ribbon from Wal-Mart; Button from my stash; McGill Multi-Tag punch; Ecru crochet cotton; Needle; Sponge dauber.

How was your Monday? Mine was busy, which is par for the course. A little stampin’ session is definitely in order this evening. That said, thanks for stopping by! Later …

Cards, cards, cards …

Here are a few cards I’ve made over the course of the past couple of days.

This first one is my take on Weekend Sketch Challenge #100 on the Fresh & Fun blog. I don’t think I’ve ever used so many brads on a card before. It’s pretty masculine looking. Definitely heavy metal. I love the Autumn Flower Soft.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Barn Red, and Autumn Terracotta cardstock; Basic Grey Indian Summer 6x6-inch paper pad; Cocoa, Barn Red and Autumn Terracotta ink pads; Brown Bag marker; Flourishes Forest of Trees and Impression Obsession Sentiments I stamp sets; Retired CTMH Speckled Background stamp; Gold mini brads; Autumn Flower Soft; 1 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles and Labels 6 sets; Sponge dauber; 3M foam mounting tape.

This next card was one I created the other evening with my favorite cone flowers stamps. I colored the image with a blending pen and ink from my ink pads.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Pansy Purple cardstock; DCWV Indian Summer Fall Matstack; Black, Olive, Pansy Purple, Chocolate, Bamboo, and Twilight ink pads; Whipper Snapper Designs Blossoms & Butterflies and CTMH Thank You stamp sets; CTMH Retired Speckled Background stamp; Kaiser Craft pearl accents; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Sponge dauber; 3M foam mounting tape.

This last card was made using the apron stamp I love and Cosmo Cricket’s Early Bird paper. I was so happy to see Cosmo Cricket scale its 12x12-inch papers down into 6x6-inch Mini Decks for card makers.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Olive, and Twilight cardstock; Cosmo Cricket Early Bird Mini Deck; Black, Olive, and Bamboo ink pads; Lockhart Vintage Apron stamp and Hero Arts Anytime Messages stamp set; Twilight, Cranberry, and Olive mini brads; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Piercing tool; Sponge dauber; 3M foam mounting tape.

I hope you’re having a great Saturday! Thanks for stopping by!

Clean & Green

Here's my card for Kelly Jo's Color Chef Challenge #7 on her KJ's Stamp Pad blog. I was thrilled to see this color combination, because, like Kelly Jo, I like the clean, crisp look. And, why is it we all save our leaf stamps until fall? Leaves are a beautiful green before taking on the multi-color hues of fall. Well, that's unless you live in northern Minnesota where the trees are still bare - a few days before Memorial Day, no less!

Back to my card, I inked up the larger stamps with Sweet Leaf and then rolled the edges in Topiary. And, while they might not be all that realistic, they sure are pretty! To soften the background a bit, I used my Speckled Background stamp with Sweet Leaf ink. The only thing you can't see in the photo is the embossed line between the two rows of dots created by the edger punch.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Sweet Leaf, and Topiary cardstock; Sweet Leaf and Topiary ink pads; CTMH Nature's Vein and Verve Stamps Thoughtful Florals stamp sets; Retired CTMH Speckled Backgrounds stamp; EK Success Lines N Dots Edger punch.

What a fun day! Bjorn's preschool graduation program was so sweet. They sang several cute little songs before receiving their diplomas. I got some cute photos, although there were times when I wished I'd worn an old Thief River Falls Times jacket, which would have afforded me the privilege of marching right up front and taking photos without getting any dirty looks from anyone. As it was, I was afraid of looking like a pushy, overzealous old grandma, so I hung back. LOL.

When we were having refreshments, I looked at Bjorn and thought he'd lost his first tooth. Nope, it's still there ... barely, and his mommy reported that he not only has one loose tooth but four! Two on the bottom, and his two front teeth. It shouldn't be a surprise as this little boy had a mouthful of teeth when he was nine months old, unlike his daddy whose first tooth didn't show until the day of his first birthday - the same day he took his first steps!

Watching Bjorn today took me back in time, too. The photo on the left is one of his daddy (the little guy on the right) at his preschool graduation program in May of 1984. Oh, how fast the years go by ... The photo to the right is my favorite of day - Bjorn in Papa's arm bearing a big grin as Mommy tickles his ear. My heart is so full of gratitude for the joy this little boy and his brother have brought into our lives. With that, I'll just say that I hope Grandpa and I are around for many more milestone moments such as the ones we shared in today.

Now, it's off to go check out my favorite blogs while watching the finale of American Idol. Marv left this evening on a one-night/one-day fishing trip with Dustin, his brother, and nephews, so I'm home alone. That means if I go flying off the couch when they announce the winner on Idol, I'll be talkin' to myself. I'll guess I'll just have to call someone who cares. LOL. I hope your day was a good one, too! Take care, and as always thank you for taking the time to visit!

Simple Saturday ... Not!

Here's my take on Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #67. While it doesn't qualify as simple by my standards, my card wasn't difficult either. All of the stamped elements cut out, it was just a little time-consuming. To add a little dimension, I "curled" the flower petals with my thumbnail (my favorite "technique" LOL) and attached the bottom flower and center of the top flower with Pop Dots. The sentiment will have to go on the inside.

Materials & Tools: Vanilla Cream and Smokey Plum cardstock; Bella paper packet; Creme Brule, Petal, Olive, Chocolate, and Bamboo Ink pads; Endless Friendship stamp set; ribbon from Wal-Mart; Kaiser Kraft pearl accents; EK Success corner rounder; Pop Dots.

I think the best word to describe me today is "sluggish." The only thing moving fast is the clock. Marv left a few minutes ago to go fishing. It's opening day in Minnesota. I love to fish, but not when it's 40 degrees. Brr... While it's quiet, I'm going to take a nap. Whatever you're doing, I hope you're enjoying the weekend. Later...

A Rare Bird ... And if You Scroll Down, a More Well-defined Bird

Here's my take on this week's A Sketch for You to Try from the i {heart} to stamp blog. The only thing that you can't see in the photo is the dimension. The focal point image and the bird's wing and tail are mounted to the card using foam tape.

Materials & Tools: Colonial and Cocoa cardstock; Emporium paper packet; Buttercup, Barn Red, Cocoa, and Honey ink pads; Honey marker; Bird Basics and Impression Obsession Anytime Messages stamp sets; Acrylic Disks from Michael's; Black My Legacy Writer; 3M foam mounting tape.

I fell asleep before 8 p.m. last night, long before Marv and the boys came upstairs from playing George of the Jungle on Wii. I was up and making my first pot of coffee at 4:15 this morning. What I did with the four-plus hours before the rest of the household surfaced was plan my "new" den.

I don't know how detailed I've been in the past with regard to the room I spend nearly all my non-working waking hours. It's dimensions are 9-1/2 by 17. Currently, it contains a large futon, a television armoire, two desks, two desk chairs, a file cabinet, and four bookcases. The way it is set up now, with two tall bookcases serving as a room divider, it's not as bad it sounds. Nevertheless, it's tight, especially Kathi's Corner.

My plan includes getting rid of everything that is in here with the exception the bookcase that holds my books. I found the perfect double-desk set up on IKEA's website, a Papasan chair and ottoman on Pier 1's website, shelving, standards, and brackets on Lowe's website, and a flat-panel TV on Sharp's website, which I can buy under the employee discount program (the business I work for is a distributor for Sharp). The best part of my entire plan is the fact that it doesn't add up to $1,000. Now, I just need to make a trip to Grand Forks to go to Lowe's and Pier 1 and arrange for a trucker friend to make a trip to IKEA on my behalf when he makes a run that goes through the Twin Cities. I'm getting long here, but I'm so darned excited. While I like small-space living, I'm not crazy about tight-space living, which is what my little den has become.

That's enough jabber for now. Nice mom that I am, I have Cameron and the boys' laundry to do this afternoon. I need to put my house back in order, too. Sweet as they are, Bjorn and Mathias are messy little characters. I've got a little "copy-cat" project going, too, that I'll show you later. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the afternoon!

Late afternoon edit: I hate making crappy cards, and this one didn't do it for me. Looking at it occasionally throughout the day, I realized a little Bamboo ink around the edges image might have helped. Too late. Taking a sponge dauber to the finished card would have done nothing more than create a mess that would have ended up in the trash. Instead I used a My Legacy Writer to go around the edges. Better. The Buttercup bird on the Colonial White cardstock was still lookin' a little sick. My Honey ink pad still out on my desk, I grabbed by blending pen and gave her a little more color. Much better! Later ...

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!

Inkspired

Good evening, and Happy Friday! I hope that I can stay awake long enough to get through this post.

My card was inspired by this card on a fun blog I came across last night, Stamping Moments. What attracted me to Jenny's pretty card was what I considered an unusual, albeit very attractive, color combination. As is sometimes the case when I attempt to "lift" a card, I like the original (as in Jenny's card) better. Sometimes when I'm working with different stamps or papers, I'm just not capable of capturing the essence of the card that inspires me.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Olive, Moonstruck, and Cranberry cardstock; Moonstruck, Cranberry, and Olive ink pads; CTMH Butterfly Kiss and Air Mail (retired) stamp sets; Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp set; Pewter picture hangers; Olive chiffon ribbon; 1 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches; Cuttlebug w/Floral Fantasy embossing folder; 3M foam mounting tape.

What an incredibly long day it was and so hard to get anything done, because there were so many people who weren't around - typical of a Friday prior to a long holiday weekend. I spent most of the morning exchanging emails with an editor in Germany regarding a story I'm working on. His name is Siegfried, and on the third or fourth exchange, he started signing off as "Sigi." I thought, "Ooh, we're getting intimate here." I got a kick out of it. With a six-hour time difference, my fun with him ended around noon when he said he was heading to the pub for a "bier."

We had dinner with Dusty and Miranda right after work, with most of the conversation centering around Senator Obama's speech last night and Senator McCain's stunning vice presidential pick. What a year for surprises, and while I thought the fun might be over, I'm thinking now that with Governor Palin in the mix, things might be interesting to the end. I've heard many say, and I'll have to agree, that this has been the most unusual political season of my lifetime. I'm sure I'll fall asleep tonight listening to the political pundits rehash the events of the last few days.

Speaking of sleep, a big meal always makes me tired, so I think I'll go lay down. What have you got planned for the weekend? I'm going to try to get a few things done on the domestic scene and otherwise, relax. Whatever you're doing, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by!

It's My Party

And I'll cry if I want to . . .You would cry, too, if it happened to you. I'm back with music trivia again. The artist was Lesley Gore. The year was 1963. Today is my long-contemplated 55th birthday. As for the song, it's my attempt at humor . . . kind of.

About the card, there are elements of it I like, but as a whole, it's not great. I like the leaves, stamped with a stamp from the awesome September Stamp of the Month set, and I like the bird, created by inking the stamp with Autumn Terracotta and then using a sponge dauber to add Brown Bag ink. I just couldn't figure out what to do with the darned bird and couldn't image the "a little birdie told me . . ." thing without a bird. I fussed around for a while before losing my patience and just kind of sticking him on top of the sentiment. What can I say? My mojo was missing last night.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Olive cardstock; Olive, Autumn Terracotta, and Brown Bag ink pads; CTMH Treasure Life September SOTM and Impression Obsession A Little Birdie stamp sets; Twill ribbon; Antiqued Copper mini brads; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

Today has been the craziest of days. I am so busy at work that I am going to have to put in a few hours over the long weekend to meet deadlines. In the midst of the madness, I ended up taking a couple hours off today, too. When Cameron called to wish me a happy birthday, he mentioned that he was taking the boys to the dentist this morning. I offered to go with him, with thoughts that the two of them might be more than one person could successfully manage. I was right. While three-year-old Mathias had no issues and cooperated fully, four-year-old Bjorn was terrified. My heart broke for him. This evening, we planned to have dinner with Dustin and Miranda. As it turned out, the boys' mother called and needed us to take them tonight, so our plans were postponed until Friday evening. Instead, it was supper at the Dairy Queen. We had to get an ice cream cake, too, because what is a birthday without cake? For the first time ever, Bjorn and Mathias sang the Birthday Song to me. That melted my heart. I'm glad things turned out the way they did, and I'm glad they're here tonight. It was a birthday bonus! Plus, they kept me too busy to fret over the fact that I'm now old enough for free coffee at McDonald's. Whoopee!

With the munchkins in bed, I'm going to go see if I have any mojo tonight. Thanks for stopping. The old lady will be back tomorrow. 'Til then, take care!

Another Not-So-Simple KISS Card

This is a remake of a card I made last night that didn't work out so great. I'm not sure this one did either . . . My intention was to stamp silhouette images on patterned paper. Originally, I used Twilight ink, which, I discovered with the light of day, was greenish in hue on the patterned paper and did not coordinate at all with the Twilight butterfly or cardstock that I'd used to back the stamped image. Darn. Obviously, there's something to be said for pigment and hybrid inks. Anyway, I scrapped the original and tried again. The black flowers were fine, but I didn't want to use a black butterfly. Maybe I should have, because that blue butterfly is sticking out like a sore thumb even after I shaved an eighth-inch from my finished card front and added yet another layer of Twilight cardstock. Yup. It's another simple card that would have been a whole lot simpler had I gotten it right the first time!

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Black, Bamboo, and Twilight cardstock; Stampin' Up Porcelain Prints paper (retired); Design Originals polka dot vellum ; Black ink pad; Treasure Life September SOTM stamp set; Impression Obsession Butterfly Counts rubber stamp; Silver Bitty Brads; Martha Stewart Butterfly punch.

I love the sentiment on this card. It speaks volumes.

Cameron and the boys are on their way over for a visit before he takes them to their mom's house for the week. I gotta have my seven hugs and seven kisses (times two), you know. Once my house is quiet again, I'll most likely be back. Later . . .

Keep It Simple Sunday

That KISS sounds better than "Keep it simple, stupid," doesn't it? This card is simple but not at all what I started out to make. My vision was to have a big flower where the sentiment is. The reality of my vision, however, was butt ugly, so I yanked the flower off - along with a little paper . . ugh. With a boo boo to cover up, I settled for the sentiment, which, while it didn't make for a drop dead gorgeous card, is OK. Sometimes "simple" just ain't so . . .

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Sunflower, and Chocolate cardstock; K&Company Wild Saffron Daisies paper; Chocolate, Sunflower, and Bamboo ink pads; Rustic Flowers stamp set; Antiqued Copper mini brads; Sanding block.

I woke up with the birds again this morning at 5:30 but went back to sleep. Seven-thirty is more like it on the weekend. Right now, I'm chipping away at a mountain of laundry. The other day when driving home from work, I drove past an older home and noticed an old-fashioned clothesline in the yard with bed sheets and an assortment of clothing hanging from it. You don't see that very often anymore. It made me miss the "good old days." Regardless of what kind of fabric softener I use, my sheets do not smell like they were dried outdoors. Of course, there was the time we had a skunk in the backyard, too. I had to rewash those sheets about 10 times . . . That's enough reminiscing for this morning. Have a good day. With more cards to post, I'll be stopping back as time allows. In the meanwhile, take care.

Doubly Grateful

I gotta tell ya, this card is cuter in person and was actually inspired by a card in the new Papercrafts Cards, Gifts, & More - Paper Crafting 3 Ways. Nevertheless, it's pretty plan - kinda like me in the morning before I have my face on . . . and don't take that as an admission that I think I'm anything special with it on. LOL. Back to the card, it's a little simple even for my tastes.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Chocolate, Goldrush, Barn Red, Autumn Terracotta, and Olive cardstock; VersaMark ink pad; Goldrush embossing powder; Say it in Style stamp set; Buttons from Stampin' Up; Colonial White Waxy Flax; Embossing tool; Sanding block.

I'm proud to say that the idea to step up my second card did not come from the magazine. It's still a simple card but a whole lot prettier. To create the pattern I used the Abundance Borders stamp set, stamping with VersaMark and embossing with clear embossing powder. Then it was just to rub on some same color ink with a round sponge. It makes quite a difference, doesn't it?

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Chocolate, Goldrush, Barn Red, Autumn Terracotta, and Olive cardstock; Chocolate, Goldrush, Barn Red, Autumn Terracotta, and Olive ink pads; Versamark ink pad; Clear embossing powder; Abundance Borders and Say it in Style stamp sets; Gold mini brads; Stampin' Up Word Window punch; Embossing tool; Round sponge.

I should have skipped the nap this afternoon, because I woke up feeling more sluggish than I did before I laid down and functioned accordingly afterwards. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. There's nothing going on around here this evening. Papa's in his chair watching some rather loud sporting event, and I have the same news channel on that I've been listening to all day. No wonder I'm sluggish after hearing the same story over and over again. I wonder if Senator McCain's choice of running mate will be a shocker, too. This entire political season, from the first primary, has been surprising for me. I would venture to predict nothing. On that note, I'll sign off for tonight. I hope you are having a nice weekend, and once again, thanks for stopping by.

Autumn Is . . .

The weather has cooled down considerably. It's the 22nd of August. Autumn and eventually winter are going to come, so I'm going to give in and start posting some cards made in fall colors. Unlike a lot of other bloggers, however, I'm drawing the line on Christmas . . . for a little while.

This card is another take on the sketch from Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #30. The leaf and sentiment stamps are rubber stamps mounted on Cling Mount from Impression Obsession. I tried to use a variety of autumn colors into this card and used the stamp rolling technique for my leaf image.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Goldrush, Autumn Terracotta, Chocolate, and Barn Red cardstock; Cocoa, Goldrush, Autumn Terracotta, Barn Red, and Olive stamp pads; CTMH Legendary Moments stamp set; Impression Obsession Maple Leaf and Autumn Quote rubber stamps; Autumn Terracotta Designer Ribbon Rounds (retired); Rustic Edge Anchors; Sanding block; 3M foam mounting tape.

Cameron came to round up his little ones, and Marv is gone to the golf course. As I got up so darned early, I'm ready for a nap, which is just what I'm going to do while the house is so quiet. After that, I've got some serious housecleaning to do. Darned maid didn't show up again this week. LOL. I've got a few more cards made, so most likely, I'll be back later to share them with you. 'Til then, take care.

Beate's Back!

Actually, Beate has been posting again for a little more than a week, but this is her first Weekend Sketch Challenge following her much-deserved hiatus from blogging. I'm glad she's back, as in addition to all the great stuff she posts throughout the week, her sketch is always something to look forward to on Fridays.

Isn't this patterned paper cute? Now that I have it, I wish I'd ordered more than two sheets. I suppose I could use what I have and then order some more . . . even though that would be a new concept for a hoarder. LOL. The sentiment is perfect for quite a few people I know. It's a rubber stamp mounted on Cling Mount from Impression Obsession. I'm pleased that several companies (including IO and Whipper Snapper Designs) are now offering the option of either Cling Mount or the traditional wood mount. With regard to the construction of my card, there isn't too much to say. The only thing the camera probably doesn't show is that the cup and saucer were adhered to the card with foam mounting tape.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Brown Bag, and Chocolate cardstock; Flair "Coffee Talk" patterned paper; Brown Bag, Chocolate, and Bamboo ink pads; CTMH Coffee Shop and Spot on Backgrounds stamp sets; Impression Obsession Successful Woman rubber stamp; Shades of Chocolate Mini Medley accents; Pewter spiral clip; Chocolate gingham ribbon; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; 3M foam mounting tape.

We have little people staying with us tonight, so their Daddy could spend some time with his "fend" as Mathias calls the new lady in his life. Their relatively new, but seemingly serious, relationship is about to go long distance when she returns to school at the University of Minnesota Duluth over Labor Day weekend. Sweet young woman that she is, I'm going to miss her myself. The boys settled down pretty fast tonight, a surprise considering it was a rainy, and they'd been cooped up inside all day. Hopefully, it will be nice enough to get outside in the morning before Daddy comes to get them.

Past playing with Bjorn and Mathias in the morning, I don't have anything planned for the rest of the weekend. After a busy week, my preference is to lay low, stamp a little, and putz around the house. We'll see how my plan, or lack thereof, works out. Between now and whenever I get back here, I hope your weekend is a good one, and as always, thanks for stopping!

Nothing Special

I made this card yesterday and probably wouldn't have posted it had I had enough energy to make one tonight. As for not being crazy about the card, I think I should have brought one more color into the mix. One element that I do like is the flower stamped around the O on the word "of." I do love this stamp set though, regardless of whether every card I make with it is one I'm wild about.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Sunflower, and Cocoa cardstock; Sunflower, Cocoa, and Bamboo ink pads; Rustic Flowers stamp set; Cocoa ribbon; Stampin' Up Horizontal Slot punch; 3M foam mounting tape; Sanding block.

As I alluded to at the beginning of this post, I'm a little zapped tonight, and what energy I had at the end of the workday, I used to entertain Bjorn and Mathias who are here tonight and are currently giving Grandpa a hard time about going to bed. With that, I suppose I should go try to help him out. I'll be back tomorrow night with a little something. In the meanwhile, take care and have a great day tomorrow.