Friendship

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

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

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

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

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

Simple Saturday

 

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

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

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

Pretty Flowers All in a Row

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

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

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

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

A Beauty of its Own

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Best Ship of All

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Halloween!

Other appropriate titles for this post include “Simple Saturday … on Sunday,” “Inspired by Sharli,” and last, but not least, “Can This Card Be Saved?”

First, my friend Sharli at Sharli’s Place has been making some cool cards (like these Yoga cards) where she traces around a rectangular Nestabilities die to create a frame, leaving an opening for the sentiment. It’s a great look, and she inspired me to give it a try.

As for the “Can This Card Be Saved?” aspect of the card, don’t you suppose I finished it only to discover a small ink smudge in the lower right corner? Ugh! That’s where the speckling came into play – first Bamboo and then a little Autumn Terracotta. The unwanted ink was Cranberry. While I would have liked the card better without, the speckles saved it.

A couple of the tree tops were stamped on separate scraps of paper, cut out, and added with foam tape.

Materials & Tools: Naturals (retired) and Cocoa cardstock; Cocoa, Goldrush, New England Ivy, Autumn Terracotta, Cranberry, and Bamboo ink pads; Verve Stamps Autumn Splendor stamp set; CTMH Speckled Background stamp (retired); Black My Legacy Writer; Nestabilities Classic Rectangles set.

A Slice of Life: I reiterate, Happy Halloween! I hope your weekend has been wonderful. Ours certainly has been, albeit I’m too tired to think straight right now. Yesterday was really busy preparing for today, which was a joint Halloween/Birthday celebration. Sarah has expressed the desire to scrapbook, so her gift was easy – particularly in light of the fact she only had a few sheets of paper and a glue stick. She now has a few basics – a paper cutter with some replacement blades, adhesive, a large case-type tote to keep her stuff in, a huge paper assortment from my stash, and instructions to help herself to my stuff – whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. It will be fun to have someone with whom to share it.

The little guys were in fine form today and looked awesome in their Star Wars costumes. They enjoyed the treats I’d made, which included my first attempt at Cake Pops. Whether or not I will attempt these things again remains to be seen. There weren’t any problems until it came to the detail. Most definitely, Wilton would not want me to write a review for its Edible Food Writer Edible Color Markers. While they might write on something, they did not work well on the waxy surface of the candy coating. If there is a next time, I will use homemade “cookie paint” and a paint brush.

As it is too early to go to bed, I am off to see what everyone has been up to in the Blogosphere this weekend. Then, a bath. Then, bed. While it will still be earlier than usual, I don’t think falling asleep with be an issue.

Have a good week, my friends. “See” you soon!

Hooray!

It’s Friday. Is everyone gearing up for a fun weekend?

My card is based on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #132. I don’t think it requires much in the way explanation, although I might mention that I have taken quite a liking to the look achieved when one uses a Nestabilities die as a stencil for sponged ink. Not only does it add some depth and interest to the image but creates an instant border as well.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Bamboo, and Desert Sand cardstock; Silhouette Creative Basics paper; Black, Bamboo, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Hero Arts Friendship and Garden Bouquet stamps and Verve Stamps Autumn Splendor stamp pads; Black chiffon ribbon; Fiskars Apron Lace border stamp; Sponge daubers.

A Slice of Life: The birthday party for Sarah I had planned for this evening was postponed until Sunday. Cameron and Sarah got their hands on some tickets for a college hockey game tonight in Grand Forks. I didn’t mind at all. Sunday won’t be such a rush. With some extra time to prepare, I can do it up right.

It was kind of a crazy week. Wednesday night, I couldn’t get to sleep until around 2 am. At precisely 2:15, I woke up to the blaring of a car horn – not the intermittent beeps of a car alarm but a loud, continuous blast that sounded like it was coming from the parking lot below. I woke Husband, who said it wasn’t coming from a vehicle but the Civil Defense alarm. “No, dear,” I told him, “we don’t have a Civil Defense alarm that is close enough for us to hear, it is a damn horn. Now, go figure out where it’s coming from and make it stop.” Sure enough. The vehicle belonged to a tenant, who, once awakened from a deep sleep, took care of it. Temporarily. Around 5, the process had to be repeated. I got my best sleep that night between 6:45 and 7 when I got up.  Last night, it was catch up time, which, I am happy to report, went well.

Today, Husband was scheduled to have a tooth extracted at a dentist’s office in town. Shortly into the procedure, however, the dentist decided that an oral surgeon was needed, so he sent Marv packing – mouth full of Novocain – to a surgeon in Grand Forks. Husband calls me at work to tell me all of this when he’s already 50 miles down the road. “So,” I ask, “you’re going to have oral surgery and then drive yourself home?” Yup, that was his plan. Luckily, there was no anesthesia involved – not that I knew that for quite some time. Fortunately, too, he waited until he got back to town to take any painkillers. Worrying about him was not conducive to getting a lot done at work – at least until I knew he was home safe and sound.

The boys are staying with us tonight. We picked them up at daycare and took them out for supper, which was fun albeit the full soft drink that got knocked over right off the get go. One brother tipped it and felt bad. “Don’t worry, honey, it was an accident.” The other got wet and hollered like a stuck pig. “Knock it off. It’s not like it hurts or anything.” To Husband, “Go get a dishcloth. Get a mop, too. Refill the glass while I clean up the mess.”

Sigh … Laugh … Doesn’t this all sound like … life? The rest of the evening has been uneventful. Games. Hugs. Giggles. And the little guys fell fast asleep within minutes of saying their prayers.

I am looking forward to a busy – but calm – weekend. How about you? What are you doing? Cameron went all out on the boys’ Halloween costumes this year – Jango Fett and Bobo Fett minus the blasters, which wouldn’t have been appropriate for school. The kids were thrilled anyway. I’ll have to get some photos on Sunday. For now, it’s back to my corner for a little stamping session before bed. Hope to see you again on Simple Saturday. In the meantime, take care, and as always, thanks for stopping by.

A Quick Card and a Quick Hello

The best thing about fall is the rich colors. Although, for the most part, the time for beautiful outdoor colors has passed in northern Minnesota, there is still plenty of fall and color to be found in the produce section of the grocery store – pumpkins, different varieties of squash and apples, and more.

This quick card features some of those gorgeous colors and another favorite verse. I scrounged up some old “Naturals” cardstock. I really love that paper and wish I new of a source for it. Anyone?

Materials & Tools: Naturals (retired), Outdoor Denim, and Vineyard Berry cardstock; Autumn Terracotta, Goldrush, New England Ivy, Outdoor Denim, Vineyard Berry, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Verve Stamps Autumn Splendor stamp set; Verve Stamps Ecclesiastes 9:11 Plain Jane and CTMH Speckled Background (retired) stamps; New England Ivy button; Autumn Terracotta Designer Ribbon Round (retired); Round sponge.

A Slice of Life: Busy at work. Busy at home. Tired. That would be me. The boys are staying with us tonight. Bjorn had homework for both math and reading. I oversaw the math (counting by fives and some simple subtraction), and Grandpa listened to him read. I read Mathias’ library book to them. My thoughts were that it was a very strange story that went off in a lot of different directions. Instead of a simple message with a understandable moral to the story, it was all over the place with no clear message or meaning. Had it been humorous, I could have handled it. Out of curiosity, I’ll have to find the author’s bio and see if I can figure out what it is he is trying to convey in his writings.

Kari recently asked about the “baby bump.” Miranda and Dustin are visiting the doctor every other week now. In fact, they had an appointment today, and I just got the “report” from daddy. Miranda is measuring 30cm at 30 weeks and five days, which, I’m told, is right on the money. All is well. From what mommy reports, it sounds like our little one might be a budding gymnast. It won’t be long now.

The weather is atrocious, although much worse in other parts of the state and country. Cold. Wet and rainy. Very Windy. Colder and snowy with no wind would be preferable to what it has been like so far this week. At the very least, I hope the winds subside for the trick-or-treaters this weekend.

I hope your week is progressing well. Thanks for your visits and comments. They are what make blogging fun! Have a great Thursday. With a little luck, I’ll be back…

Simple Saturday

 

Here is another card inspired by one I found in the Verve Stamps Gallery. I embossed the “frame” with a rectangular Nestabilities die. The flowers were colored with markers. The centers of the flowers are from a couple of inexpensive bags of gem stones I found at Wal-Mart. I used Liquid Glass to glue them to my card.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Cocoa ink pad; Sunflower, Goldrush, and Garden Green markers; Verve Stamps Many Blessings stamp set; Gem stones from Wal-Mart; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Rectangles set.

 

This second card is my take on FTL #113 on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. It’s a great, classic layout that can either be dressed up or dressed down. My Simple Saturday card is a dressed down version. The only “extra” thing I did was sponge some ink around the edges of stamped images and the card base, adding depth to what otherwise would have been a pretty “flat” card.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Goldrush, and Cocoa cardstock; Cocoa, Goldrush, Sunflower, Autumn Terracotta, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink stamp pads; Verve Stamps Autumn Splendor and Happy Fall stamp sets; Round sponges.

A Slice of Life: There will be no more stamping for this girl until she cleans up her corner. It’s to the point where I have to jump in and jump out of my chair, which, I’ve learned in the past, can be hazardous. Even if I had the athletic prowess to leap into place, there is less than a 6 by 6-inch square of workplace left on my desk. Thus, I am off to clean up my corner and a few other hot spots in my tiny abode. With some fun-looking sketch challenges offered in the blogosphere, I am hoping to get back to my corner later in the day.

Have a great Saturday, my friends, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

…If We Do Not Give Up

Here is a quick card I made last night when bit by the creative bug right at bedtime. It was inspired by this beautiful card in the Verve Stamps gallery.  You will note that only the layout is the same. I attempted to make a closer replica of the inspiration card earlier in the week, but that one didn’t work out so well, and still not feeling very friendly toward pigment ink, I tried something else. I used a circle punch to create a stencil and then a mask for what is either a sun or a harvest moon and round sponges to fill in the color. Easy does it!

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Cocoa cardstock; Cocoa, Autumn Terracotta, and Sunflower ink pads; Hero Arts Silhouette Grass and Verve Stamps Galatians 6:9 Plain Jane stamps; Gold Bigger and mini brads; Circle punch; Round sponges.

A Slice of Life: The verse I used on my card is one that speaks to me for a lot of different reasons.

What have you got planned for the weekend? I don’t have any specific plans although if I to make a list of what I would like to accomplish, it would probably be quite long. Today, was one of the most beautiful days we have had all fall. No clouds. No wind (for a change). Temperatures in the low 60s. I was actually hoping Husband was playing golf. He was. It is supposed to start cooling off this weekend with a chance of snow forecast for Wednesday. ‘Tis the season… or the start of it.

Whatever you do, I hope your weekend is a good one. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop back for my Simple Saturday post. Take care, and thanks for stopping by.

Those Punkins Again

A while back I said I wasn’t going to do any more Halloween unless it was cutesy. The pumpkin and bird stamps from Verve made that easy enough. I colored the orange parts of the pumpkins and the little not-quite-black bird with Prismacolor pencils and OMS and the stems and stars with markers. I used a blending pen and ink pad ink to do a little shadowing and “ground” the pumpkins. The layout is very simple. I think the narrow matting helps and was worth the effort – even if it gave me fits when assembling the pieces. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Orange cardstock; Patterned paper from Doodlebug Designs; Black, Juniper, and Chocolate ink pads; Brown Bag and Sunny Yellow markers; Verve Stamps Bountiful Harvest, Happy Fall, and Harvest Birds Plain Jane stamp sets; Orange mini brads from my stash; Prismacolor colored pencils; Odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Dove blending pen; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: If you use Google Reader, you may have already seen this card. My attempt at a scheduled post for Tuesday evening didn’t fair so well with me hitting the wrong buttons and then Blogger messing up my format. My intentions were good. LOL. It’s Thursday night again … already. While I don’t feel bad that tomorrow is Friday, I will have to say this has been a whirlwind of a week. Tuesday night, we went to husband’s “beet banquet,” a supper – complete with paychecks – hosted by the nice family he worked for. It was fun. Before supper, we made a quick trip to the mall in Grand Forks where I did a little power shopping. That was fun, too, with me picking up a couple of sweaters, a jacket, and a couple of tops. My winter wardrobe is looking better now. Last night, I bowled. A good time. My nothing-to-brag-about average is 121, and I bowled a 124, 123, and 125 – very consistent but kind of boring. LOL. Today, I came home from work a couple of hours early with the stomach ailment that seems to be making its way around. The symptoms (a tummy that felt as if it was about to erupt) came on fast and diminished within a few hours, so I guess I’m good to go again.

How has your week been? Are you, like me, looking forward to the weekend? I have quite a list of projects I would like to accomplish – most likely more than are possible in a couple of days. We’ll give it a whirl, however, and see what transpires. In the meantime, have a great Friday, and take care.

From Hopeless to Hopeful

My cryptic title has nothing to do with my card. I will attempt to explain later.

The card is my take on Mojo Monday 160 – last week’s sketch. The paper-pieced pumpkins are from Verve’s new Bountiful Harvest set, which was part of its latest release … that is sitting on my desk waiting for me to get back in a stamping mode. Cute pumpkins, huh? They will be even cuter after I add some yellow Stickles to those stars.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Sunset cardstock; Olivia and Veranda paper packets; Black, Bamboo, and Cocoa ink pads; Sunny Yellow and Brown Bag markers; Clear acrylic disks from Michael’s; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Hole punch; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Liquid Glass (used as adhesive) Sponge dauber; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Labels 8 set.

A Slice of Life: I have been kind of hopeless lately but am hopeful I will pull it together one of these days. I took the little boys to visit Great-grandma on Friday evening and spent a good part of the day with Mom on Saturday – first having lunch and then bumming around downtown. The beet harvest was wrapped up on Saturday, too, with husband arriving home early in the evening. Yesterday, I just kind of aimlessly lolled around. My attempt at stamping was a bit of a disaster. My white pigment ink pad and I were not friends yesterday, although I didn’t manage to ruin my rather nice card until after I’d finished it. Frustration yesterday. Sort of funny today.

Today was an OK workday. Someone interviewed for my position this morning, and I am hopeful she will be the right candidate. I am very anxious to move on and in the interim am feeling like I am just going through the motions. A new job with a new routine (albeit a bit strange) will give me the new outlook I need. Crazy as those new hours will be, I won’t be working once I come to life on Saturdays or on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, or during the day on Wednesdays. Woo hoo!

Tonight, I am going to visit my blogging buddies and then try to figure out my three-year-old, too-high-tech-for-this-granny label maker. It doesn’t help that the print in the instruction manual is microscopic. Am I headed for an evening of frustration? Maybe. If nothing else, I can print small and don’t really care how my stamps are labeled – just that they are. LOL.

I hope life is treating you well and that today was the start of what will be a good week. Take care, friends, and thanks for stopping by.

Almost Tuesday

I was in the mood for a Pure Innocence image tonight and realized I had a digital image in my file that had yet to see ink.  As for my card, it started with a sketch, but then I had to drop a layer because of the way I sized by image. That’s OK. I like it anyway. I paper-pierced the dress and colored the rest of the image with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. I added two silver Bitty Brads as  buttons on her shoes and mounted the image to the card using foam tape.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Basic Grey Olivia 6x6-inch paper pad; Black and Twilight ink pads; Pure Innocence digital image; Verve Stamps Asian Flair; Silver Bitty Brads; Button from my stash; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Dove blending pen; 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: Another Monday is out of the way. I was busy at work, doing priority projects as they came my way and in between, trying to chip away at the other stuff. Tonight, I went to visit Mom and ran a couple of errands. And now, I am off to bed in anticipation of another busy day. Have a great Tuesday, friends! Later …

Fun on the 4th of July

My idea of fun anyway! Last night, I went through the challenge blogs, made a list and between then and now, have made a few cards. I thought about posting them one-by-one, maybe saving a couple for the inevitable day when I either can’t get here or have no mojo, but then I thought, what the heck… And so, here you are!

This first card is the byproduct of a personal challenge – to use up some of the squares I cut for the quilt card I made the other day.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Crystal Blue cardstock; Sweet Harmony paper packet (retired); Crystal Blue and Blush ink pads; Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp set; Martha Stewart Doily Lace edger punch; Cuttlebug w/Swiss Dots embossing folder; Sponge daubers.

 

This next card is my take on FTL97 featured this week on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. After waiting for a backorder, I finally got my hot little hands on Tim Holtz’s Tattered Florals die.

The flowers were made with Baby Pink cardstock that I sponged with Blush ink and ran through the paper corrugator multiple times to both soften up the paper and give my flowers some texture. The card base is textured white cardstock.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured and Black cardstock; Black and Blush ink pads; CTMH Gracious Greetings stamp set; Buttons from my stash; Black/White mini check ribbon from Wal-Mart; White embroidery tread; Cuttlebug w/Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Florals BigZ Sizzix die; Sponge dauber; Fiskars paper corrugator.

 

This card is my adaptation of Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #119. I inked my stamp with markers with the intentions of spritzing it with water to create a watercolor look. The problem was, when the time came, no water bottle was to be found. Thus, I huffed … and huffed … and huffed until I was darned near lightheaded. Lucky me. The image came out OK. To add a little texture, I stamped the background of my image with my Speckled Background stamp and used a sponge dauber to add some Bamboo ink around the edges.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Olive cardstock; Basic Grey Origins 6x6-inch paper pad; Olive and Bamboo ink pads; Sunflower, Olive, and Cocoa markers; Stampin’ Up Inspired by Nature and CTMH Happy Birthday stamp sets; CTMH Speckled Background stamp (retired); Antiqued Copper mini brads; 1 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches; Sponge dauber.

 

 

 

I was intrigued by CPS #174 on the Card Positioning Systems blog and thought the sketch would be a bigger challenge than it turned out to be.

I stamped some images on my script patterned paper with Bamboo ink – kind of collage style. Deciding how to embellish a rather plain, monochromatic card proved to be the greatest challenge. I ended up piercing around the perimeter of the stamped background piece and adding three mini brads before calling it “good enough.” Best of all, I actually like the way it turned out.

Materials & Tools: Colonial white and Cocoa cardstock; Passages paper packet; Bamboo and Cocoa ink pads; CTMH Live Inspired stamp set; Antiqued copper mini brads; Piercing Tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide & Mat; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Sponge dauber.

 

 

 

 

When I saw C4C44 – a challenge to use two or more ribbons – on the Crazy 4 Challenges blog, I remembered a favorite sentiment stamp and knew immediately what I wanted to do.

It cannot be a surprise that the card base is White Daisy textured cardstock – my favorite for CAS. And, I’m sure you know, too, I love this card – the colors, the message, the clean and simple style.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured cardstock; Ocean ink pad; Verve Stamps Asian Flair stamp set; Striped ribbon from reasonableribbon.com; Grosgrain ribbons from Wal-Mart; Gemstones from Wal-Mart; Liquid Glass.

 

So, if you are wondering what else I’ve done so far today, the answer would be, “Not much.” LOL. I have managed to make a bit of a mess in my corner, and I am struggling to stay cool. After several days of temperatures in the high 80s and lower 90s, it’s dropped to 79 degrees today – cool enough that husband doesn’t think the air conditioner is necessary. As I type, I have two loud, annoying fans blowing hot air at me. Men get the dumbest notions in their heads sometimes, don’t they?

Tonight, we are going to a small town about 30 miles from here for a concert. It’s Oklee’s centennial celebration, and our friend, Jack Sundrud, has returned to his hometown from Nashville and will be performing. I guess that means I will have to comb my hair. LOL.

What are you up to? If you are out and about, I hope you are safe and enjoying yourself. If you’re relishing time at home like me, I hope you are having as much fun as I am. Take care, friends, and as always, thank you for stopping by.

Hmm …

Here is my take on Unscripted Sketches #60. In commemoration of National Eat Oreos Day, the bonus challenge was to make a black and white card. It was a challenging sketch, and as you can see, I felt the need to add a bit of catsup to my Oreos. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Cranberry cardstock; Black ink pad; Inkadinkado Asian Life and Verve Stamps Thankful Hearts stamp sets; Black/white mini check ribbon from Wal-Mart.

Did you have a good day? I certainly did. As planned, the family was here for supper. I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen, trying not one but two new recipes. The first was for Southwestern Lasagna, and the second was for made-from-scratch cornbread muffins. The lasagna was good. The recipe for the muffins called for both honey and granulated sugar, which made them just a tad sweet for my taste. I can’t take credit for the dessert – a turtle ice cake that came from the frozen food section at the grocery store. It was yummy and was a much bigger hit with the little boys than the “serious” food had been. LOL.

No, I had better get this posted while it’s still Sunday and then skedaddle off to bed. Bjorn and Mathias are staying with us tomorrow night. Tuesday night there is a community picnic I plan to attend, and one night this week, I am going to attend the second Community Arts Council production of the season – “Kiss Me, Kate.” The turtle is sticking her head out of her shell once in a while. LOL.

I hope your week is wonderful. See you soon!

More Challenge Cards

 

 

Every once in a while, I make a card I love. While it is nothing fancy (a different way of saying “simple”), it’s a pretty combination of paper, ink, stamps, ribbon, and a punched border and my take on Card Patterns Sketch 64.

The card base is 3-3/4 by 5-1/2 to accommodate the lace border. Everything else, I believe, you will understand from the following list of materials and tools. It’s a short one!

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa, and Sweet Leaf cardstock; DCWV Latte Matstack; Cocoa and Sweet Leaf ink pads; Verve Stamps Serenity stamp set; Papertrey Ink Spring Moss grosgrain ribbon; Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edger punch.

 

 

 

 

 

This next card is my adaptation of CPS 67 as featured on the Card Positioning Systems blog. It also meets the criteria for this week’s theme, “Let’s Hear It for the Boys,” masculine birthday card challenge on the Our Creative Corner blog.

I used the Happy Birthday stamp from Close To My Heart’s Candlelight set to create a background for the candles. The candles and flames were stamped, cut out, and mounted to the card with foam tape. While I don’t usually use glitter on cards for guys, I didn’t think that adding Orange Peel Stickles to the flames would strip the card of its masculine appeal. The same goes for the not-so-feminine ribbon tied using a square knot.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa, Barn Red, and Ocean cardstock; Sarsaparilla paper packet; Cocoa, Sunny Yellow, Orange, and Bamboo ink pads;  Candlelight stamp set; Ribbon and brads from my stash; Orange Peel Stickles; 13/16-inch circle punch; Sponge dauber; 3M foam mounting tape.

 

 

Another good day for me. How about you? I am tired, however, and by no fault of my own. The phone rang at 2:30 am – a very sweet 97-year-old tenant with breathing problems – which resulted in a 911 call. I don’t know about you, but I don’t sleep well when there are police cars and an ambulance outside my front door. It was a couple of hours before things settled down again. And the tenant? She was home again before I went to work this morning. Obviously, whatever was ailing her was not serious. I am glad she is OK.

We’ll try the sleep thing again tonight. But first, I’m going to slip over to see what I can come up with for tomorrow. Enjoy your evening!

P,S. About yesterday’s post, I didn’t mean for my wisecrack to sound sarcastic. I truly appreciate being appreciated by my sons. And, I am so very blessed to be their mother. With beautiful (inside and out) women in their lives and the precious grandsons Cameron has brought into my life, my blessings have multiplied. It’s all good … very good, and I’m grateful.

Challenge Cards

This first card is my take on Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #107.  The umbrella was paper-pieced, and the ducks were stamped on Sunny Yellow cardstock. After coloring their feet and beaks with an Orange marker, I ran my Sunny Yellow marker around the outside of the image to give them a little extra dimension. A pair of paper-pieced boots and an extra duck decorate the lower right corner of the inside of the card. One last thing – the forward-facing ducks were adhered to the card with foam mounting tape.

Materials & Tools: Vanilla Cream, Sorbet, Sunny Yellow, and Sweet Leaf cardstock; Caboodle paper packet; Black and Sorbet ink pads; Sunny Yellow and Sorbet markers; Close To My Heart Springtime and Verve Stamps Thankful Hearts stamp sets; Sorbet Designer Ribbon Rounds; Sorbet and Crystal Blue mini brads; Piercing tool; Black My Legacy Writer; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set.

This second card is my modified version of Unscripted Sketches #49. It also meets the criteria for Stamp Simply #133 – Chipboard as featured on the No Time to Stamp? blog. The cherries are a digital image from Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff that I colored with markers. The leaf was cut freehand, folded lengthwise, and run through my paper corrugator. I used a chipboard bookplate (or part of one) to frame my sentiment. The color on the bookplate was added with a round sponge.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cocoa, and New England Ivy cardstock; Graphic 45 Times Nouveau Collection Bee’s Knees paper; Close To My Heart Veranda paper packet; Cocoa and Bamboo ink pads; Holiday Red and Garden Green markers; Digital Image from Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff; CTMH Noted Backgrounds and Sweet Baby stamp sets; Chipboard bookplate; Antiqued Copper mini brad; Paper corrugator; Piercing tool; Sanding block; Round sponge; Sponge dauber.

Another day, another dollar… or two. LOL. I’m glad to be home where there is a pile of laundry that I didn’t get to on the weekend waiting for my attention. With the hope that yours was a good day, too, I’ll let you go. Take care, friends, and as always, thank you for stopping by! Later …

Filigree Fantasy

Good morning! Thanks for your well wishes. I’m feeling much better today. I was delighted that so many of you recognized the lyrics of the Beatles’ song. All My Loving was the opening number when they debuted on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. At 10 years of age, I was among the 73 million viewers who watched them that night – the most viewers to date for a television program and back in the day when a million was an almost inconceivable number. Back to ‘64, I developed what would become a lifelong crush on Paul McCartney that night. I still think he’s cute. LOL. 

OK. You didn’t stop by for music trivia. Here’s a simple card created with Verve Stamps’ Filigree Fantasy set. The red Stickles glimmer in person. I wanted to add some ribbon, too, every which way I tried to add it, it looked like it didn’t belong there. I gave up.

Materials & Tools: Black and White Daisy Textured cardstock; Black ink pad; Verve Stamps Filigree Fantasy and Close To My Heart Happy Birthday stamp sets; Christmas Red Stickles; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch.

I slept away most of yesterday. From the amount of sweat that exuded from my body, I’m guessing I was feverish. The headache was blinding. Again, I thought it might be the real deal influenza. If it was, it was short-lived. I’m fine today, which, with lots to do, is a good thing.

I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend. Again, thanks for stopping by! Later…

Glitter Butt Is Here!

Do you see what I mean about glitter showing up better on my pants than it does on my cards? And the envelope in the lower right corner is the mate to the one I sat on.

Here are a couple more cards I made to go with the set I mentioned the other day. There’s a little spot of stickles on each of the hearts. I stamped the row of hearts (a border-type stamp) on white textured cardstock. The stitching was accomplished with a stamp from my CTMH Simple Stitches set. The sentiment on the standing card is from Verve Stamps Heartfelt phrases set.


And here are the last two cards, which when combined with the above and those from my Simple Saturday post made a set of six. I added red Sparkles to the standing card and used red Stickles on the card and envelope that are shown lying down. The “Just a Note” sentiment on the bottom card is from Verve’s Asian Flair set.

The sets that all of the cards have in common are Verve’s Thankful Hearts and Thankful Accents. Oh, and I might mention the circle with the sentiment on the “Thanks for Caring” card was mounted to the card with foam tape. While I can usually find something wrong with the cards I make, I’ll have to say, I was pretty happy with this set when it was finished.

I don’t know if you’d call me late from yesterday or early for today. I do know I’d best get to bed. Being tired does not fair well for me at work these days. Too much to do.

I am glad you enjoyed my little Glitter Butt story. My camera was within arm’s reach, and snapping the photo only took a couple of seconds. And, if I’m gonna do dumb stuff, I might as well share it, right?
I hope your week is going well. Later, friends!

Very Simple Saturday

Here are a couple of simple cards I made last night. There are two, because I plan make more and put them together into a set with matching envelopes to donate to benefit that is being held at work next week.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Cranberry, and White Daisy Textured cardstock; Cranberry ink pad; Verve Stamps Thankful Hearts and Thankful Accents stamp sets.

Like most weekends, the hands on the clock are racing. And if I’m going to stamp, stamp, and then, stamp some more like I want to, I’d best skedaddle my butt away from the computer and get some chores done. I hope you are having a wonderful day! Later…