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!

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!

Billy and Sparky

Last night, I made a few Christmas cards – enough to have a post every night this week! This one was created with a sweet Eat Cake Graphics stamp I purchase last year (and used once). Ach! What is it about the photo that causes one to actually take a good look at the card? I just noticed the cardinal’s beak is white. It’s fixed now. All it required was a tiny speck of ink from a Sunflower marker. The rest of the image was colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and OMS. The snow is glittery, and the ornaments on the tree are sparkly, too. I stamped the image on white cardstock and cut it out. The Colonial White cardstock I used behind it is scored at 1/8th-inch intervals to resemble siding on a house.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Colonial White, and Cocoa cardstock; Basic Grey Jovial 6x6-inch paper pad; Black and Cranberry ink pads; Sunflower marker; Eat Cake Graphics Billy and Sparky at Window stamp and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp set; Brown satin ribbon from Wal-Mart; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Martha Stewart Crystal Fine glitter; XMas Red Stickles; Martha Stewart Scoring Board; McGill Multi-Tag punch.

A Slice of Life: My heart is heavy tonight, as I learned after work tonight that a cousin died tragically. Fifty years old, he was the only son of my Mom’s only sister. Growing up, he was my brother’s best buddy, and then, when he was about 16, he went to live with his father in Nevada. About six years ago, he returned to Minnesota where he lived with my aunt. While I have only seen him once since he came back, I was taken with his sense of humor and what appeared to me to be a kind heart. The news was on the radio on my way to work this morning. I only caught the last name, age, and name of the town in the report, but it piqued my interest enough to pull up a regional newspaper at my desk and confirm that the man who had been missing since Friday was indeed my cousin. His body was found outdoors this afternoon, and while an autopsy is being done and the case is still under investigation, it is believed he froze to death. Sad. I stopped at Mom’s after work. She had talked to her sister, my aunt, earlier in the day. Even though I obviously did not know my cousin very well, I feel bad – particularly for my aunt and his sisters. Life is a mystery, isn’t it?

I was busy at work today, and tonight, I’m home alone. With the Metrodome having collapsed and the Vikings game being played in Detroit, Husband, his brother, and Dustin had to go to the hunting cabin to watch it via satellite, as our local cable network isn’t airing it. While I don’t usually pay much attention to football, I hope it’s a good game to make the trip is worthwhile. LOL.

All that said, I am off to find a card to send to my aunt and then, I’ll stamp, watch TV, read, or do “something.” Was your day a good one? I sincerely hope so. Make tomorrow a good day, too. OK?

Simple Saturday

This was going to be a single-layer card until I stamped the sentiment crooked. How does that happen with clear stamps? I think it must be kind of like bowling. I know what I am supposed do to get the ball to hit the pins just right. It just doesn’t always work out that way. My brain gives the order. My arm does not listen. In bowling, if you don’t get them all the first time, you get a second chance. If you are willing to change your plan, there is often a second chance in card making, too. For this one, I straightened my sentiment by trimming, added a mat, and saved the “spare.”

Materials & Tools: Cocoa and Stampin’ Up Crumb Cake cardstock; Holiday Red, Cocoa, and White Daisy Pigment ink pads; Papertrey Ink Out on a Limb and CTMH Peace on Earth stamp sets; Speckled Background stamp (retired).

A Slice of Life: The party last night was fun. Our friend was surprised and delighted, and it was nice to have the opportunity to see some people I had not seen for quite some time. Today, I stayed in and took it easy. With temperatures in the teens, it is cold here. It’s snowing this evening. Maybe it will stay this time.

Whatever it was you did today, I hope it was enjoyable, restful, or exciting – whatever you needed it to be. I will be talking to you again soon!

Simple Saturday

Here is a simple Christmas card fashioned after the simple sympathy card I posted Thursday. Again, I used textured white cardstock. The branch is embossed in silver. I considered using foam tape to mount the focal point image but then, thought again. With no bumps or lumps, it is a very USPS friend card. It was also very fast, very easy, and I love it.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured cardstock; Holiday Red cardstock; Holiday Red and VersaMark ink pads; Silver embossing powder; Embossing heat tool.

“Tag are Fun!” is the theme for Stamp Simply #164 on the No Time to Stamp? blog. The inspiration for my tag was derived from the plaid giftwrap I bought (in bulk) at Hallmark earlier today. Now, I’m going to have to make a few lot more! I colored the elf with markers with the exception of the Ponderosa Pine, which would have appeared too dark. For the green, I used a blending pen, and it came out just right.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Cranberry, and Ponderosa Pine cardstock; Hallmark giftwrap; Black, Ponderosa Pine, Juniper, and Tim Holtz Antique Lace Distressing Ink ink pads; Holiday Red, Baby Pink, and Tombow Flesh #580 markers; Dove blending pen; Merry Pursuits stamp set; To/From stamp (retired CTMH); Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Sponge dauber.

A Slice of Life: I spent most of the day with Mom. We went out for burgers at the American Legion and then hit the stores downtown before finishing off the day at Wal-Mart. Oh, and we went to a craft show, too. It was a good day. I bought a winter jacket – a very classic black wool pea jacket that “looks like me” and a black/gray animal print sweater that is a bit on the wild side and does not necessary look like me but is fun anyway. I picked up a couple of things at the craft show, too – a lovely glass bead necklace made by a friend of Miranda’s and a very cool cheese tray, which was made from a flattened wine bottle.

Before leaving work yesterday, I learned I should be starting my new job around the first of the year. While I was kind of hoping it would be a month sooner, it will be OK. The New Year will be a good time to start something new – a fresh beginning.

Tomorrow, it is going to be church in the morning and chores in the afternoon. I am hoping for some time to play, too. How about you? What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, I hope you are enjoying yourself. That is what weekends are all about.With my hunter away, I am off to claim his recliner, his remote, and the “good” TV – for a change. I might as well take advantage of the opportunity. LOL. Take care, my friends, and thanks for stopping by…

Simple Sympathy

Tonight’s card (made earlier in the week) was inspired by this pretty card on the Simplicity blog. In addition to her card, the title of Susan’s post caught my attention. I will have to admit, too, that there are a few colors in my collection of cardstocks that make me say “Hmmm…” Gray is one of them. I just don’t use it. Much. However, I like the looks of this simple, yet elegant, sympathy card.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured and Grey Flannel cardstock; Grey Flannel ink pad; Papertrey Ink Out on a Limb stamp set; KaiserKraft pearl accents.

A Slice of Life: Is it Friday yet? Almost. LOL. I suppose you are accustomed to my irregular posts by now. I start out every week with the best of intentions, and then, life seems to snag me in some form of busyness, tiredness, or both. Tuesday evening it was election returns, even though I did not not think I would get as caught up in the whole thing as I did. Husband was gone for the night, and I went to bed at 10 only to still be watching returns at 3 am with intermittent trips to the computer to check Minnesota returns on the Secretary of State’s website. I guess I’ve still got the nose for news. Last night, it was bowling – fun but nothing impressive in the way of personal scores. Tired might have had something to do with it. Tonight after work, I took mom to the hospital where we visited my sister who had surgery yesterday. A hysterectomy. Karen is doing well and should be released in a day or two.

With absolutely no plans and a husband who will be off deer hunting, I am looking forward to a quiet, do-whatever-I-feel-like-doing weekend. How about you? I hope you are having a great week. With hopes of stamping my little heart out this weekend, I should be “seeing” you again soon. Until then, take care.

An Attitude of Gratitude

This is my plan for November – to make a conscious effort to stop worrying about what I do not have and the situations I cannot control and  concentrate on all that I have and all that I can do to make the world a better place. Making the world a better place sounds pretty lofty, doesn’t it? Initially, I wrote “my world” but thought again. If I am a good wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, friend, employee, citizen, my example will make the world a better place – a least a little bit.

And now about my card, which was inspired by this beautiful card that was posted today on The Hero Club Blog. I would have loved to have duplicated the inspiration card right down to the last detail, including that beautiful textured paper in colors I love. Instead, I worked with with I have and am satisfied with the results.

A Slice of Life: It was a busy day at work, making for a tired Kathi tonight. Actually, I don’t think I have recovered from the weekend quite yet. Perhaps one more good night of sleep will bring me back to full steam. I have noticed one thing in the last few days, however. Overall, I feel so much better without that constant shingles pain. The rash is so much easier to contend with, and that’s starting to go away, too.

With a couple of things to do before bed, I’ll sign off with a thank you and wish that your Tuesday is a great day.

A Happy Hello

And here’s yet another card inspired by this card on the Inspired By… blog. I have to fess up though, I used my Photoshop skills to erase an element that, while it looks OK in person, didn’t photograph well. There are supposed to be spots on the top of the butterfly’s wings. I accented them with White Opal Liquid Pearls, which, in the photo, appear as ugly little blobs.

OK. Now that the truth is on the table, I’ll tell you the rest of the story about this card. LOL. Seriously, I love Kath’s card and was inspired to try something along along the same lines, because it is different from what I usually do. It is no secret that I have been in a bit of a rut lately – my dead end job, never enough time to do all of the things I want to do … etc., and I was feeling like everything I was creating in my corner was just “more of the same.” Such a whiner I can be sometimes.

Anyway, the card was fun. As for construction details, I think you can see ‘em, and what the photo doesn’t reveal, the Materials & Tools list will.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White cardstock; Gypsy, Black, and Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distressing Ink ink pads; Hero Arts Dots & Flowers background stamp; Hero Arts Butterflies and Thinking of You, Papertrey Ink Little Lady, and Close To My Heart Noted Background stamp sets; Flowers and button from my stash; Colonial White mini brads; Round sponge; Sponge daubers; EK Success corner round (for scallops); 3M foam mounting tape.

A Slice of Life: Thank you so much for your comments on my last post. Honestly though, I don’t know how I inspire anyone … ever! You should see my corner! It is a disaster. The rest of my small abode doesn’t look all that great right now either. Time and energy. Oh, how I wish they were commodities one could buy. However, the reason for my mess – the time I spent with the people I love – is priceless, so I shall whine no more. Tonight, anyway. LOL.

Isn’t the news from Chile spectacular? Spontaneous tears sprang to my eyes as the first miner came to the surface last night. It happened again tonight when the last miner emerged from the capsule. If only there was more good news, or, better said, if only we were made aware of the good news that, while not as dramatic as this event, happens somewhere every single day. People working together for a common good that is in no way self-serving. That is why we are here.

A good time was had by all at bowling tonight – on my team anyway. We took all four points for the second week in a row. I am there for fun, however, as are 95 percent of the other bowlers. Most of us cheer for each other, regardless of whether we win or lose. It’s just a game.

My workday was busy and productive. While the job per se may not be what I want, most of the people I work with are awesome, and eventually, I will miss them.

I will end my “Happy Hello” with the wish that you had a good day, too. Until tomorrow night, take care!

Live Your Bliss

I finished this card several days ago but have been too tired/lazy to post it until tonight. You can’t really see the Sparkles in the photograph, which is too bad, because picking and placing those tiny buggers with a needle was painstaking work. LOL.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Black cardstock; Black ink pad; Gina K Designs Fine Furnishings and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp set; Bitty Sparkles; Satin ribbon from my stash.

A Slice of Life: I have been very busy at work this week, which is good except for the fact I have been dog tired at the end of the day. Other than that, there hasn’t been a whole lot going on around here this week … so far. My mailbox held some wonderful surprises today, which I will show you about at some point tomorrow. For tonight, I’m going to go take a relaxing bath and go to bed – a few extra ZZZs in preparation for the weekend unless I get too caught up in Eat, Pray, Love, the book that has been sold out in town and I was finally lucky enough to finally get my hands on this afternoon. Make your Friday a good one, friends. Thanks for stopping by!

Another Play Day

They say all good things must come to an end. Tomorrow, it’s back to the 9 to 5 world. That’s OK. Having a job is good. Having had a wonderful weekend is better.

I made five cards today but am going to hold on to a couple of them for a day or two. The cards I am showing you were made using the same paper from the awesome “Spendor” packet and the same fun stamp set, “Love You Forever.”

With the exception of some fine detail – beaks and owl parts – that I colored in with markers, the critters and tree elements were all paper-pieced using the patterned paper for the top two cards and cardstock for the bottom one.

I made this top card first, my take on Card Patterns Sketch 71, which was featured Saturday on the Card Patterns blog. It was fun, albeit my hands seem like they include too many thumbs when it comes to handling itty bitty, little pieces such as the center of the flower. I used Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive to glue my pieces in place.

Pleased as punch with my first card, I thought I would try one more. This second card is my adaptation of Unscripted Sketches #62. I didn’t have a gold button, so I punched a gold circle to put behind my green button to make it stand out a little more. The smidgen of blue ribbon ties in the blue circle behind the cloud paper. The googly eyes add a whimsical element.

Oh, and before I forget, if you are not familiar with the Unscripted Sketch it Saturday blog, take a look. They have a fun Christmas in July promotion in the works, and today, their featured designer is my friend Alanna.  She made a wonderful Christmas ensemble that includes a card box, Christmas planner notebook, and three cards. Outstanding!

On a bit of a roll, I wanted to use the Love You Forever set one more time.  With baby on the brain, I could not resist making a baby card with  the little sheep stamps. And while you can’t see it, the sheep are actually three-dimensional. I stamped them twice on Grey Wool cardstock and once on white. I cut out the the grey pieces once in their entireties and from the other grey piece, just the heads. I cut out the white pieces, cutting around the bodies and heads. Then I applied white Liquid Appliqué to the bodies and let it dry.

Once the Liquid Appliqué was dry, I puffed it up with my heat tool and assembled by sheep. After gluing down the bodies, I used tiny 1/16-inch thick pop dots to attach the heads. Mama sheep was glued flat to the background paper. Baby, who wandered around my desktop, was finally captured and stuck to the card with a piece of foam tape.  Following me? LOL.

I used a silver gel pen to give Mama sheep’s bell some sparkle. Additionally, I cut a cloud from a scrap of the patterned paper, glued it to chipboard, and added to the card with foam tape.

Finally, this card is what I came up with for Get Sketchy #45 on the Get Sketchy blog. The funny thing about sketches is that sometimes I am totally into them, and other times, I am like an empty well. These past two days, I’ve loved ‘em and appreciate the folks who take the time to create them. Now, I’m going to try to assemble one Materials & Tools list for all three cards. I think that will be OK. If you have a question, please feel free to ask, and I will try to remember to answer you.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Colonial White, Goldrush, Topiary, Brown Bag, Grey Wool; and Crystal Blue cardstock; Spendor paper packet; Chipboard; Black, Bamboo, Topiary, and Crystal Blue ink pads; Love You Forever, Happy Birthday, and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp sets; Summer Craft Buttons; White buttons from Wal-Mart; Goldrush Waxy Flax; White Embroidery Floss; Blue mini-check ribbon from reasonableribbon.com; Stampin’ Up Whisper White taffeta ribbon; Googly eyes from my stash; White Liquid Appliqué; Black My Legacy Writer; Silver gel pen; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide & Mat; Fiskars Apron Lace border punch; Sponge dauber; Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive; Liquid Glass (used as an adhesive); 1/16-inch foam dots; 3M foam mounting tape.

That was fun! And, being my post is already long and it’s getting late, I’ll let you go with a wish that the rest of your week (a short workweek – yippee!) is great. Take care, dear friends, and thanks for stopping by. 

Pink or Blue? A Secret Revealed …

On my “Happy, Happy Friday!” post on April 30, I mentioned a wonderful secret. Can you guess? Yes, we are going to be grandparents again!

Here’s the story – On Tuesday, April 27, a very excited Dustin called in the evening and told me Miranda “might” be pregnant. In other words, she was late. “But we’re not going to tell anyone for a long time,” he said. My half-joking response was, “Well, now that you’ve told me this much, you are going to tell me.”

On Friday of that same week, an even more excited Dusty called before work to report that a home pregnancy test had confirmed it. Thus, my secret until now.

A test at the clinic the following week verified the home pregnancy test, and they were told to come back for their first prenatal visit in a month or so.

A couple of weeks later, I told Dustin I was curious about the baby’s due date. I told him I’d picked a random date and using an online due date calculator had come up with December 30 as their due date. I asked him to get the actual date from Miranda and see what date he came up with. The next day, he called. “Mom, you know way too much. The baby is due on December 30.”  Actually, I didn’t know anything more than what he’d told me. It was just a happy coincidence that makes for a fun story.

While the excitement has not waned for the young couple (or grandma and grandpa), the shock has worn off. Evidently, they got pregnant around the time they started discussing the subject. One of Dusty’s comments was, “I thought we’d have to practice for a while.” LOL. I remember thinking that myself a couple of times. Not so. We were blessed. They are blessed. Everyone is thrilled. While there are quite a few who think I need a granddaughter, I can honestly say that I do not care. A healthy baby is all I pray for. So far, so good. On their visit to the doctor this week, they heard the baby’s heartbeat. Mommy is feeling great and taking good care of herself. Daddy has a big grin on his face most of the time.

Now, about my card. I used a sponge dauber and Bamboo ink to define the 1-inch quilt squares. In keeping with the rustic look, I sanded the Crystal Blue “binding” and sponged more Bamboo around the perimeter of the card base and tag.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Crystal Blue cardstock; Sweet Harmony paper packet (retired); Crystal Blue and Bamboo ink pads; Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp set; White Daisy organdy ribbon; Button from my stash; White crochet cotton; McGill Multi-tag punch; Sponge dauber; Sanding block.

Did I say I’m excited? LOL. I’m excited about the weekend, too, which should be just the way I want it – relatively uneventful. Last night, we went out for supper with friends. A very good time. Tonight, Marv is at the golf course, and I’m going to play in my corner for a while before going to bed early. As for the next three days, there are things I want to get done but in no particular order and without any kind of pressure. I’m hoping the relaxed atmosphere is conducive to a little mojo in my corner, too – an area where I’ve felt lacking lately. We’ll see.

That said, I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Take care, and thanks for stopping by.

Inspired by Inspired by… Again!

Take a look at this beauty on the Inspired by… blog. While I have no clue how Sasya (yes, that’s Russian) created her beautiful background, I just had to figure out a way to emulate it.

What I did was stamp my image with VersaMark on a piece of Goldrush patterned paper from the Splendor paper packet, emboss it with clear embossing powder, and finally, sponge on some Cranberry ink. The result is a very interesting background that the photograph does not do justice. Ignore the shine from the embossing powder. Imagine the pattern of the paper coming through – subtly through the ink and with more definition from under the embossed areas. If I had not had the patterned paper, I would have used gold cardstock, which, I think, would worked just (or just about) as well.

The butterfly is a Cuttlebug die/embossing folder combo cut from Goldrush cardstock. I lightly inked its edges with Cranberry ink for a surprisingly pleasing effect. Not wanting to distract from the design, I stamped the small Happy Birthday sentiment directly onto the background. I love the way this little experiment turned out.

Oh, and if you take a look at Sasya’s blog, make note of these gorgeous spiral roses made from cotton pads. I love the glitter and how she added soft pink to the edges of her flowers. I’ll be casing the makeup department on my next trip to Wal-Mart to see if I can find what I believe to be makeup remover pads. Am I on the right trail?

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Goldrush, and Cocoa cardstock; Splendor Level 2 paper packet; VersaMark, Cranberry, and Cocoa ink pads; Clear embossing powder; Flourishes Birds in Vines and Papertrey Ink Birthday Basics stamp sets; Brown satin ribbon from Wal-Mart; KaiserKrafts pearl accents; Cuttlebug/w Butterfly Combo die and embossing folder; Round sponge.

Happy Hump Day! My day was kind of slow, albeit pleasant enough. Tonight, I’m doing the laundry that didn’t get done on the weekend and straightening up around the house. While housework isn’t very exciting, one can’t have fun every night. Tomorrow evening, we (Mom and I) are going to “Kiss Me, Kate.” Friday night, the boys are spending the night with us, so their Daddy and Sarah can have a night out. On Saturday, we have a wedding and reception to attend. As for Sunday, I haven’t got life planned that far out. LOL. Busy. It’s all good.

Enjoy the evening, and thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Greetings!

I don’t know why the photograph of this card is so funky. I tried different light situations and camera settings but to no avail. You’ll just have to take my word that it looks better in person, where the black looks black instead of gray, and the rose is a deep red and not an almost orangey red. Sigh…

The card is my take on FTL 91 as featured on the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. I did pretty darned good with the sketch considering I’d only glanced at it. Wanting a paper rose that was bigger than any I’d made so far, I used a scalloped Nestabilities die to cut my circle. Did I measure it? No. But I’m guessing it was about three inches in diameter. Prior to cutting my spiral, I ran the circle through my paper corrugator a few times. That softened it up, which made it easier to work with. The corrugation also created an interesting texture as did the scalloped edges. After the flower was done and dry, I used a Cranberry marker to cover some of the paper’s white core. While it took some time to work up the courage to try one of these flowers, I’m certainly glad I did. They are so much fun.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Black, Cranberry, Topiary, and Stampin’ Up Kraft cardstock; Black and Colonial White Pigment ink; Cranberry marker; Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics and Flourishes Falling Leaves stamp sets; EK Success Diamond border punch; Martha Stewart Five-Leaf Branch punch; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Classic Circles set; Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive.

How is your day going? I got off to a slow start but only because I stayed up way to late last night and have been dragging my butt around because of it. I know. I’m a foolish girl. As an excuse I’ll say I have a lot on my mind and have been in a bit of a funk again lately. There have been a lot of changes at work recently – pretty much one bombshell after another, none of which will improve the quality of my job or life in general. I’ve said numerous times, I’m not cut out for Corporate America. I’m like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole, and I don’t play the game well. And currently, I’m in an area where if you don’t play, you pay. The fact that I’m at least 20 years older than most of my co-workers complicates my quandary. My age is also one of the factors that keeps me from singing, “Take this job and shove it. I ain’t workin’ here no more …” on my way out the door. Man, and I thought life would get easier as I got older.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, trying to put the job situation into perspective. The one thing I’ve realized is that no matter how lousy I feel about what I’m being handed, my integrity remains in tact. That’s important to me. While I am in desperate need of a temporary fix (as in a different job in a different department), I have an escape plan, too – an idea to which I need to fully commit myself. Therefore, should I disappear from the blogosphere you will know what I am doing.

Although I have about 40 hours a week that aren’t so great right now, the rest of my life – family, friends, my home, hobbies to distract me – is awesome. And for that, I am so very grateful.

If you’re still with me, thank you for listening.  I don’t like to complain, particularly about my job. If mine were the worst job in the world, it’s better than no job. I realize that and the fact that there are folks out there who are experiencing a world of hurt, because they have no jobs or prospects for jobs. I should instead complain about my rather warped-looking debit card that I just managed to wash and then dry. I guess I’ll have to make a trip to the ATM machine to see if it still works. Doubtful. Darn. Good thing I do 90 percent of my shopping online. LOL.

My laundry almost done, I’m going to go zone out in my corner for a while. Husband is at the golf course and promised to bring me ice cream when he comes home. Can’t wait. I hope your day/weekend was a great start to what will be a great week. Take care, friends. I’ll be talking to you again soon.

What Should Have Been a 10-Minute Card …

… took forever to photograph. However, before I go into my troublesome tale, I’ll give credit where credit is due. My card was inspired by this gorgeous card by Sally Sherfield.

Between the shiny, clear-embossed background, glittered vellum butterfly, and Sparkles, I had a card that was a nightmare to photograph before I figured out a way to get a photo without flash.  While you’ll have to use your imagination with regard to color, the photo I finally settled for shows the detail. Sigh …

Materials & Tools: CTMH White Daisy Textured and Papertrey Ink Berry Sorbet cardstock; PTI Berry Sorbet and VersaMark ink pads; Clear embossing powder; Hero Arts Antique Brocade Cling stamp; PTI Mixed Messages stamp set; May Arts ribbon; Sparkles; Martha Stewart Large Butterfly punch and Crystal Fine glitter; McGill Multi-Label punch; Embossing heat tool; Cuttlebug w/Nestabilities Labels Eight set.

My day was interesting. How about yours? Having stayed up a little later than I should have last night, I’m whipped and am looking forward to a good night’s sleep tonight. But not until after I clean up my corner. What a disaster. Anyone but a fellow stamper would condemn it. LOL. Tomorrow night, we are having miniature houseguests. I’m so excited. While I have seen them in several times this week in passing, Grandma has yet to spend some serious time with them and has missed them.

Nope, my corner isn’t getting clean with me sitting here yakking. Have a great Friday! I’ll be back …

Spring Greetings

Here is a very simple 5-1/2 inch square card made with a free digital image I downloaded from Birds Cards, a site that just happened to show up on my recommended reading list from Google Reader. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. I matted the finished image and adhered it to my card base (White Daisy Textured cardstock) with foam tape. I pierced a few holes to offset the sentiment, and I was done.

Last night, I attempted the Cracked Glass with this same image. I learned a couple of things. First, it is a very good idea to turn your embossing gun off when adding another layer of embossing powder. Such a mess I made. Not at all funny at the time. More humorous today. Secondly, I discovered that “glass” will not stick to a waxy colored pencil surface. My glass cracked and then proceeded to fall off. Not particularly funny either but an excellent, what-not-to-do learning experience.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy Textured and Hydrangea cardstock; Hydrangea ink pad; Papertrey Ink Take Three: Spring stamp set; Stained Glass Butterfly digital image from Birds Cards; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide and Mat; 3M foam mounting tape.

How was your day? Mine was busy, which means it went by fast. Tonight, I’m all tuckered out. I’m on my way to the tub for a relaxing soak and then, it’s off to bed. Hooray for Friday! Enjoy it, and as always, thank you for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. Later…

Just Ducky

My intention was to make an Easter card, but with little ducks shouting “Baby,” I switched gears. As for details, the umbrella, its handle, and the ducks were paper pieced. Foam tape gives the umbrella a bit of dimension. The ribs of the umbrella were drawn on with a My Legacy Writer.

Material & Tools: Colonial White, Sorbet, Sweet Leaf, and Sunny Yellow cardstock; Caboodle paper packet; Black, Crystal blue, and Sorbet ink pads; Orange marker; Close To My Heart Springtime and Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp sets; Colonial White mini brads; Black My Legacy Writer; 13/16 and 1-inch circle punches; Stampin’ Up Photo Corner punch; 3M foam mounting tape.

I have a question. Is the size of my photos OK? I am sizing them a hair larger than I was when working on a 17-inch monitor. On my old computer, they looked just right … to me. On a 21-1/2 inch monitor, they look kinda small. My personal preference is a photo that is neither too large or too small. While too small photos are frustrating, I don’t want to get in your face with my stuff either. It’s not that good. LOL.

It’s only one more day until the weekend again.The days really fly by, don’t they? We had our warmest two days of the season so far (45 and 48 degrees) yesterday and today. With the warm temperatures, however, we’ve had lots of wind, so they haven’t been all that enjoyable. It’s supposed to cool off again, starting tomorrow. That’s OK. It will help with area flooding situations, which can get a little hairy when spring comes too fast to the frozen tundra.

I’ve had a little excitement at work the past couple of days. Late yesterday, my computer was attacked by a virus – a few fast and furious pop-ups, and I was locked out of everything. While looking for datasheets on the Internet, I evidently ended up in a not-so-good place and got a lot more than I bargained for. In the end, I ended up with a new computer, but only after watching a computer operator try to bring my old one back to life for about three and a half hours this morning. Never having seen anything like that before, it was all quite an education.

How was your day? Tonight, I’m going to do a little housework in an effort to get a jumpstart on the weekend – a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it. Enjoy the evening, friends, and as always, thank you for stopping by. Later…

A Digi Image

During the months I didn’t have a printer, one of the many things I missed was not being able to use digital images. I love them and am tinkled pink to have access to them again. I don’t think the photograph does my card justice. The card base is Crystal Blue textured cardstock. You can barely see the rows of piercing. Sigh… Anyway, the image was colored with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. Oh, and before I forget, the lovely image was a freebie. I found the link to it here on the Paper Garden Projects blog.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Black, and Crystal Blue (textured) cardstock; Black ink pad; Digital image from Paper Garden Projects; Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages stamp set; Ribbon from Michael’s; Silver mini brads; Prismacolor colored pencils; Gamsol odorless mineral spirits; Blending stumps; Stampin’ Up Ticket punch; Piercing tool; Stampin’ Up Piercing Guide and Mat; McGill Multi-Tag punch.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I wore a green sweater today, and Bjorn and Mathias went off to school sporting green shirts. Bjorn was all excited about a “Tasting the Alphabet” party. His letter was “A,” so his contribution was apples. Still feeling kind of punk, I only worked a half day today. My chest not hurting as much, I figure I’m on the mend.

I hope your day was wonderful. Your visits and kind comments are so appreciated. Take care, and thanks again.

Simple Saturday

Today’s Simple Saturday offering was lifted from the gallery at Papertrey Ink. I simply reversed the colors Maile Belles used to create her beautiful card. I used textured cardstock, which makes all the difference for a card so simple.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Twilight Textured cardstock; Sweet Leaf and Black ink pads; Papertrey Ink Take Three – Spring stamp set; Corner rounder.

As predicted, I’m busy today. Does anyone remember the television show, “Bewitched?”  Man, I wish I had Samantha’s powers and could make short work of housekeeping. With a twitch of her nose and a nod of her head, that gal could make things happen. Me? I’m just plugging away with everything I’m trying to do taking twice as long as I thought it would. The weekend is going to be short.

On a more positive note, while it’s cloudy here again today (for about the 10th day in a row), it’s much brighter than it has been. The snow continues to melt with the open patches of grass starting to show signs of green. Woo hoo!

Whatever you are doing today, I hope you are healthy and happy. Thank you so much for your visits and sweet comments. They truly warm my heart. Later…

Simple Saturday

This card is all about the embossing. Isn’t it pretty? I love the deep embossing, which, unfortunately, is a bit of problem for CTMH’s white-core cardstock. The embossing folder is from Sizzix.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy textured, black, and Papertrey Ink Berry Sorbet cardstock; Black ink pad; PTI Mixed Messages stamp set; Ribbon from Wal-Mart; Hero Arts pearl accents; McGill multi-tag punch; Corner rounder; Cuttlebug w/ Sizzix Hello Friend embossing folder set.

We had a good time with the little guys. Last night, the four of us went out to dinner with Marv’s brother and his wife, and this morning, we played games and had all kinds of fun. Their daddy came to get them a little while ago.

My plans for today include cleaning up computer files. There is no sense transferring “junk” to the new one. With the help of my computer kid, I decided on an HP this time around – nothing real fancy but definitely, everything I need. My printer, which I bought directly from Epson, will be here Tuesday, and so, at some time next week, we’ll be “all new” again.

What are you up to this weekend? Anything fun? While it’s only 24 degrees, it’s a beautiful day here. Sunshine makes such a difference.

No, with a wish that yours is a wonderful day, I’d better go get something done. Thanks for stopping by!

A Five-Pounder

If you stop by my blog with any kind of regularity, you know heavily embellished cards are not my thing. I call ‘em five-pounders, and I don’t do ‘em. Well, last night I was in the mood for something different – as in “Vintage,” and one thing led to another. It’s a four and a half pound card, and I’m not sure if it’s “vintage” or just dirty pink. LOL.

I was inspired by Stamped Simply #129 “Punched Borders” theme on the No Time to Stamp? blog. I’ve got a little bit of everything going here, including a couple of sweet crocheted flowers from my even sweeter friend Jeanne. Scroll down on her Creative Bliss blog a bit to see the cool knitting project she’s got going – the cutest bunny I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Back to my card, there’s not much more to say with the exception that my sponge got quite a workout. I went so far as to dirty up the ribbon and am checking my fingers for blisters. LOL.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White and Blush cardstock; Blush, Baby Pink, and Bamboo ink pads; Papertrey Ink Take Three: Spring stamp set; Hero Arts Spring Memories stamp (old); Crocheted Flowers by Jeanne (sounds like the name for an Etsy shop, doesn’t it?), Basic Craft Buttons; KaiserKraft pearl accents; Stampin’ Up Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon; Ecru crochet cotton; Pretty Pins; GlueDots; Edge Distressor tool; Martha Stewart Doily Lace Edger punch.

Happy Friday! I’m posting earlier than usual, because we have little guests again tonight. I am so glad, too, because I will finally have a solid “block” of time with them. I look forward to tomorrow morning, too. Kids are so sweet in the morning. They always wake up happy and excited to take on the new day.

No. With a couple of things to do before the little munchkins arrive, I’d best close for now. As always, thank you for your visits. Have a great weekend, and if you get a chance, stop back to check out my Simple Saturday offering. I’ve got a little project (more than a card) to share, too! Later …