Bohemian Birthday

Yes, I know the name of this PP is Magnolia and not Bohemian, but doesn't it just remind you of gypsies? If you look at it long enough you would swear that you can hear tambourines, smell campfires and see beautiful dark haired women dancing barefoot with their brightly colored garments swirling around them.

Ok, back to reality. Love how bright and cheerful this card turned out. The PP is by My Mind's Eye. I stamped Lizzie Anne Designs, Jolies Fleurs and Sketched Sentiments and used my piercer and Signo Uni-ball pen to create the faux stitching.

So glad Monday is one for the books. I would swear it is a full moon. Think I'll go check.

Until tomorrow....

So many stamps, so little time

Do you ever feel like that? I sure do. I have so many stamps that I have never or rarely used but I can't bear to part with them. Between work, family, housework, etc. I never seem to have as much time to stamp as I would like. I love playing with my new stamps, but I think I'll devote a day each week to a neglected stamp and see if I can give it a long overdue workout.

I love the bright spring feel to this card. I used Chatterbox PP, and Bazzill Cardstock. The stamp is from Stampin' Up's Tags So Much set and was colored with SU markers. A little paper piercing, a few brads and a touch of ribbon finished it off.

Hope everyone is having a terrific weekend.

Dusting off the X-acto

I can't remember the last time I used my X-acto knife to cut out parts of patterned paper. I love the look it gives my cards and this Lizzie Dot Paisley PP by Making Memories just cried out for it. Aren't those colors yummy? I stamped the card face with SU Linen and the sentiment is from the Butterfly Kisses set from Papertrey ink. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

That brings me to a question for you all. Do you have a hard time giving your cards away? I'll admit it. I get very attached to each card. It's almost like they are my children. I mean I did give birth to them, right? (Gotta say it usually is far less uncomfortable than real labor!) Do you eventually get over that attachment you form? I tell myself that they will bring joy to the receiver and can finally manage to slide it into the envelope and send it on its way. Please tell me that I am not the only one who suffers from this affliction.

Have a terrific Thursday everyone.

My Sunshine

There is an attorney I work with on occasion that has a bark much worse than his bite. You know the kind. Gruff, never a smile, a hard shell but soft inside. We call him "Sunshine".

He's in his seventies and I noticed lately that he's been dropping a lot of weight and walking slower than usual. I asked him if he was OK and he assured me he had just "hurt his back". Didn't explain the weight loss but it was as much as I was going to get.

It turns out that he had a malignant brain tumor and had surgery to remove it last week.

This card is for my "Sunshine".


Cardstock - Bazzill
PP - Collage Press - Seeds Mums
Stamps - Papertrey ink - Faux Ribbon
Ink - Ranger Frosted Root Beer
Organdy Ribbon - JoAnns
Eyelets - JoAnns

Make a Wish

One of the blogs I visit regularly is iheart2stamp. Jen has provided us with a sketch challenge today and this card is my entry. I love these sketch challenges. I'm finding that the more I participate, the more I am getting out of my rut. I don't know about you, but I tend to fall back on a few tried and true designs and find myself using them over and over. It's so much fun trying something new!

Recipe:
Cardstock - Bazzill
PP - DCWV Nana's Kids
Stamps - Cupcake and Candle -Stamps by Judith
Sentiment - My Favorite Things - You take the Cake
Ink - Color Box Wisteria
Markers - SU and Copic
Bling - A muse Creative Candy
Offray Ribbon

Bee Thankful

I am so totally in love with this Bee Happy Collection from Stampendous. I don't know how you can look at them and not smile. I colored the bees with Copic Markers. They're so different from watercoloring with the aquapainter and I really need to play and experiment with them more to get the right touch. I do love how vibrant they are though and they don't streak which is a huge plus. Cosmo Cricket really outdid themselves with the Dutch Girl collection. So, so cute and fun to use.

As I decided on the title for the blog today it made me pause to think about just what I am thankful for. The list is endless because I feel so blessed to be living this life. I have a great job, healthy parents who are in their 70's, wonderful children who have been one of my greatest gifts, my first grandson, and last but not least a phenomenal husband who loves me, through thick and thin and not only supports my addiction to this awesome hobby but is actually an enabler. He points out things at the craft stores that I have overlooked. He even follows me around at stamp shows and lets me select the stamps, hand them to him to purchase and sends me off to the next booth to choose more. Can't get any luckier than that!

TGIF!

Some come easy

and some don't. I find it fascinating that some cards seem to almost assemble themselves. The elements just flow together and it is effortless. Then, there are those that fight you right from the beginning. Case in point is today's card. I must have rethought the papers, stamps, ribbon, and sentiment 20 times before I arrived at the finished product. I still wasn't 100% sold when I was done, but it's growing on me. :-)

I started with Bazzill CS and used Baroque from Stampin' Up for the background. I've wanted to use this PP from Scenic Route for some time now. I think it is just incredibly cheerful. The ribbon was a Costco find. It came in a box of 40 ribbons, some of which are really cute. I added a sentiment from the Faux Ribbon set by Papertrey Ink and backed it with an American Crafts flower.

Thanks for dropping by!

Longing for Autumn

I know, I'm weird. While everyone else is reveling in the relatively few days we have filled with sunshine, I am longing for those wonderful fall days when the air is crisp and the colors are vibrant. I am an Autumn girl, through and through. I just seem more alive that time of year. I wonder if it has anything to do with the time of year a person is born. I am after all a November baby.

Today's card definitely has an autumn feel to it. I just love these rich colors and warm tones. I used Flair Designs PP for the panels of the tri-fold. The band is Cosmo Cricket. For the medallion, I chose a stamp from the SU Baroque Motifs set. I inked it up with Brilliance Galaxy Gold and embossed it with JudiKins gold embossing powder.

So tell me, what's your favorite time of year?

The Pensive Mouse

I watercolored this little guy some time ago and finally got around to making a card with him. Doesn't he look thoughtful? I used my acrylic stamping block from My Favorite Things as a template for the border around the image. The stamp is another Whipper Snapper design called "Not So Chairful Mouse" and the sentiment is from a clear stamp set by Fiskars. The patterned paper is one from the Autumn Leaves MOD collection.

Don't you hate it when you finish a project and it still feels like something is missing? I really felt that way with this card. Then it hit me...this guy was thinking, really hard, so I added little "thought" bubbles by using Precious Finds adhesive gems by EK Success. I think it was just what it needed. :-)

Friday the 13th

came a day early. My husband's employer sold the plant where he works and we found out yesterday that the new owners are cutting his position. So, in just 15 days, he will be officially unemployed. The good news is that he does receive a severance package and that will hopefully see us through until he gets another job. I'm so thankful at this moment that I have a wonderful job and that we could make it on just my salary if we really had to.

The card I made today is for my former mother-in-law who is turning 90 on the 25th. We're having a celebration this weekend at the Retirement Community where she and my ex father-in-law live. She was a great MIL and we have remained close. It's been very difficult the last few year's though as she has Alzheimer's and does not really know me at this point. She just thinks I'm the nice lady who does things for her. Tough on me, but even tougher on my grown children. They were the apple of their Grandmother's eye and now she does not recognize them at all. It is such an insidious disease. Sorry, real uplifting post today, huh?

I used Basic Grey's Gypsy for the PP and broke out my Cuttlebug for the embossing and flower. The scalloped circle was made with the new SU punch and the sentiment is from the Faux Ribbon set by Papertrey ink.

I hope you all, have a terrific weekend!

Simple Joys

Just wanted to post a quick card made with Papertrey ink's Text Boxed set. I love the simplicity of these stamps. The sentiment is from the Green Thumb set. I am crazy about the color combo in these PPs by Pink Martini Designs. So cute! I added a shimmer brad by Making Memories for a finishing touch.

I hate to post and run, but we're in the middle of a thunderstorm so I'll sign off until tomorrow.

Thanks for all of the terrific comments. They really make my day.

Cardstock - Bazzill
Patterned Paper - Pink Martini Designs
Stamps - Papertrey ink - Text Boxed and Green Thumb
Brad - Making Memories
Ink - Colorbox Chalk Inks
Accessories - Ribbon

As promised...

I was tagged by Shannon, so here is my list of 7 random things about me:

1. I am married to a man 6 years my junior.
   
2. My secret crush in High School was Dick Cavett. I couldn't help it, I just love a man with a great sense of humor! (I've just aged myself terribly haven't I?)
3. I decided to "dabble" in the stock market a couple of years ago and have so far managed to put several companies out of business. My husband has begged me not to purchase any Coke stock because it's his favorite soda and he's afraid I will ruin the company. :-)
   
4. One of my sisters is a minister in Taipei, Taiwan and has lived there over 20 years.
   
5. I taught myself HTML and have designed several websites.
   
6. I became a Grandma a little over a year ago. I am so in love with my little man.
7. Before I discovered scrapbooking and stamping about 2 years ago, I did not think I had a creative bone in my body. Now, I start having withdrawals if I can't do something artistic every day.
   

Alright, I've searched and searched and I think everyone has already been tagged at least once, so to avoid being annoying, I'll refrain from tagging anyone else this time.

I am such a sissy

when it comes to the heat. I'm from the Pacific Northwest for heaven's sake! It's not supposed to get to 100º here. I planned to upload a card last night but as I was working away, blip, off goes the power. I thought we had thrown a breaker because we had 5, count 'em 5, fans going. It turned out to be a power outage to over 15,000 homes. Guess we overloaded the circuits. :-)

I got my shipment of stamps and various other goodies from the new SU catalog yesterday. (Shout out to my terrific demo Marti!) I had such a tough time deciding which set to play with first. As today's card would indicate, I settled on "Wanted". I love how this set co-ordinates with the Wanted collection by Cosmo Cricket. I added some metal embellishments that started out silver but I antiqued them with my Copic Markers. The scallop at the bottom of the card was done with the SU slit punch. It you haven't already seen it, check out the terrific tutorial by Julia Stainton.

I got tagged today by Shannon McGann! Check out her blog, Stamp Till You Cramp!. She makes cute cards and even cuter boys. :-) I'll try to tackle the questions tomorrow Shannon.

That's all for now....

The Nu Me

This is the by far the closest I have been to something this sweet since April 1, 2007 and boy does it look yummy! I have battled my weight ever since I quit smoking over 10 years ago and I finally took the proverbial bull by the horns and joined NutriSystem. I have lost a little over 35 pounds since 4/1 and should reach my goal weight around February or March of 2008. I can honestly say it has been easier than I thought it would be and I am so excited to think that I may finally be slim and healthy again.

The stamp used today is Tiers of Treats by Stampendous and the sentiment is from SUs Warmest Regards set. I adore this PP by Anna Griffin. The shades of pink are gorgeous! I used Tombo and SU markers with the aquapainter to watercolor the image and added just a touch of Stickles. Enjoy!

Even porcupines need love...

I checked out another SCS challenge today and whipped up this little guy for LSC 123. This was fun! The goal was to CASE a card from the new SU catalog using the same number of layers as the original. I chose a cute card from page 140. The porcupine is a Stamps by Judith stamp and I used Hang in There a Changito stamp by Stampendous for the sentiment. The PP is by Crate Paper. Sssh, don't tell anyone, but the paper is really from the package cover page. You know, the one with all the little sample photos of what's inside. I think it was Donna Downey that had that tip awhile back. I dyed the ribbon with my new Copic markers.

Sorry about the funky hues in the background. I'm trying to photograph my cards under various lights and backgrounds, and this one will not get an encore performance.

Mixed Emotions

I found it difficult to reconcile making a sympathy card on what is supposed to be the luckiest of days, 7/7/07. I made this card for one of my husband's co-workers whose adult daughter was murdered last week. I can't begin to comprehend the grief that he and his wife are experiencing.

I used the Agapanthus Cluster stamp by Stampendous which I saw and fell in love with on Amy Westerman's Heartfelt Greetings blog. (See her 6/21/07 entry) I am such a fan of her work. She inspires me every day! The sentiment is from SUs Warmest Regards set. Patterned paper is by Tinkering Ink.

On another note, I can't tell you how excited I was to see that six people left a comment on the first blog entry! I never dreamed anyone would even view it. Thank you so much. It meant a lot to me. :-)

I'm dipping my toe

into the blogging waters. I'm excited to have a place to chronicle my stamping and hope this will light a fire under me to create more often. I just purchased several Whipper Snapper Designs stamps and this card is the result of my first time playing with them. This little guy is their "Happy Birthday to Me" stamp. Isn't he cute?! I used Tombo and SU markers with an aquapainter to color the image. I'm just starting to get the hang of it. The patterned paper is Chatterbox.

I recently stumbled upon (I know, I know, I must have had my head in the sand) Splitcoast Stampers and have found so much inspiration from all the beautiful cards. I wish I could thank each person individually for sharing their talent with the rest of us. Thanks!