Night Owl Here…

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

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!

Colored with Copics

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

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! 

In the Pink

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coming Up for Air

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Love Ewe

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 31

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

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.

Find Joy Every Day

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.

Where’s Kathi?

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

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!

What’s Black and White and Red …

… 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 Sketch Challenge Card

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

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

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

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!

Purpose

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 …

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!

 

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.