This card was a pretty quick one to make - I have one of the Basic Gray 6x6 paper pads (Urban Prairie) and finally decided to try it. This works if you only want to make one or two cards - but it wouldn't be very helpful for a swap! The flowers were stamped in Honey, and Sorbet, the accent colors were Juniper and Tulip. The sentiment was stamped in Black to help it stand out from all that pink! Stamps, ink, and ribbon were all Close to My Heart.
Yesterday was a productive day - I got the washer repaired (the water pump was not working most of the time, just every now and then apparently) and to celebrate, I did 3 loads of laundry! They smell so much better (one would assume, huh). I was really having problems with my clothes coming out of the washer smelling worse than when they went into the washer. Not good. So - color me happy!
I'm off to church, and hope to craft some more this afternoon when it's too hot to be outside. Have a good day!
I do have more Animal Cookies, but thought you might like a short break?!
This one is Treetops adorned with Dew Drops (yes Leslie, you were right!) and the paper pack is Magic Moments. It was super-easy to make and could be used for all sorts of greetings.
I'm not sure about the glasses. But to be fair, I'm trying and praying and giving my poor exhausted eyes a chance to adjust. So far, not good. I'll try to post more later . . .
Do you like how I'm teasing you each day with another Animal Cookie card? Actually, I made two of the three with my friends during Open Stamping last Sunday, and the last one the morning of our Monday holiday! I love 3-day weekends. I wish I could have them all the time!
This was a fun card - The only thing I will change if I re-make it is to not color the water drops and just use the clear Stickles. What happened with this one is that it got w-a-a-a-y too dark! I'll also be in the market for a blue ribbon that really matches the blue on these papers (Dutch Blue, in case you want to know). Oh! And the little bird? It was from the set "Whoo Loves You?"
Work was good today - lots going on, productive and the headache didn't really get going until about 3 PM (3 hours later than usual). I picked up my new glasses after work and am counting on a miracle here. My plans are to stamp while the appliance repairman fixes my washer, make a dash to the post office, do some yard work in the evening, and church things on Sunday. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
This card was inspired by Laurel Seabrook. Mine isn't exactly the same, but I did my darnest! LOL
I'm enjoying these light-hearted stamps - hope you like them, too.
This paper pack is prettier in person (I know, I know) but it really is! The colors are not as "in your face primary" in person - but have slight elements of subtlety with tan, and rose colors, too. Anyway - still lends itself bravely to childrens' themes. One of the things I love about the 2009 paper packs is that the back of the Background & Texture (B&T) paper is just as interesting as the front! The stamp set is called "It's a Zoo" and the lion is pop-dotted above his friends. It's a 6x6 card. If you want to see some WONDERFUL Animal Cookie scrapbook layouts, check Lori's blog here.
Well, today made up for two days - so I'm no longer in danger of going to work on Saturday! I'm feeling "hump" day to the max today!!! So, short post and off to read my book for a bit.
Jeanette Lynton, the founder and CEO of Close To My Heart, started a color group feature a couple of weeks ago . . . these are so much fun! I couldn't get my act together for the first ones, but this time, I was able to completely "R&D" (rip-off and duplicate) one of Jeanette's gorgeous cards! You can see how successful I was by comparing my card to Jeanette's - and check out her other beautiful items made with this color group!
Work was good today, although a bit of a shock after the lovely relaxing weekend! I was surprised at least a dozen times today that it was Wednesday tomorrow. Silly me. If this keeps up, I'll be on my way to work Saturday morning (not likely!).
CTMH: You Are Beautiful stamp set, colors shown, DREAM is the color-ready alphabet stickers (these are very, very useful - and even look good plain white!). I used New England Ivy textured cardstock (backside) for the lighter green background. The only other thing I would explain is how I got the white dots so big - I used the background stamp from Argyle backgrounds and the white pigment ink pad, but then I took the re-inker (pigment) and dotted each "faint" white dot with a little dab of the re-inker. I left it to dry overnight and think it looks right.
I live in a wonderful little house that backs up onto a "lake". The water (especially in the desert) is a continual source of amazing things - from a black swan that stopped to say hello the day I passed my certification exams, to the night heron that has lived in my trees for 20 years. Today I chanced to look out the bedroom window and was surprised by this sight - 
Here she is up close. She worked for about 45 minutes laying her eggs in this muddy nest.
Isn't life amazing!?!?!?!
I just love this layout! Two years ago I attended a professional development conference in San Francisco - and stayed over the weekend after to fulfill a life-long dream of visiting wine country! I was traveling with a colleague, and her husband flew in to "protect" us during this adventure! I captured this sweet moment of the two of them. There are many funny stories about this trip - but I'll try to not tell all of them!! I've read on some of your blogs about how you handle getting a new camera - and I admire each and every one of you for your bravery and commitment in learning the new quirks. After 35 years of wanting to visit the wineries - most of my photos were absolutely AWFUL. I had a new camera, and somehow I had the settings all wrong (white balance was off and all my photos turned blue). I don't think I've had such rotten luck when I've used just a $5 disposable film camera! Since then, I have better photo-editing software and have been able to save some of them - playing with the color balance and other setting in the editing.
CTMH products: Bella paper, Bon Appetit stamps, Edge anchors, Dimensional elements (for the bookplate), color palette is Smokey Plum, Hollyhock, Creme Brulee, Olive. I think the only non-CTMH product are the two Dew Drops!
My Open Stamping group comes tomorrow. I'll be able to post more photos after that because I have been working on a project that is a birthday gift for one of my friends. I don't want to spoil it by showing anything here before I give it to her, know what I mean? So hang in there - more is coming SOON!
This coming Sunday is the "rescheduled" Open Stamping day at Sharli's - and this is the technique we will learn! It's fun - and you can create beautiful effects with the inks! CTMH products: Rustic Flowers, black embossing powder, Buttercup - Creme Brulee - Blush reinkers, and some pretty leaves I picked up at the local craft store. You'll need the lid to a plastic item, like a cool-whip container, a small bottle that can spritz water, and a waterbrush. I used watercolor paper from the art section as it holds up really well to all that water.I had my annual performance evaluation yesterday - and am thrilled to tell you that I get to stay! They still want me ;-)
But seriously, in this economy, it is nice to hear that they recognize the good work I've been accomplishing, and even the areas where I was shown that I can do better were honest and fair - I am truly thankful for the feedback. WHEW! Glad that's over. Now - to put it into action!
You might remember that I talked about my darling daughter, Kristen, and how on Mother's Day she woke me up with one of her now famous "I'm lost, get on Mapquest and find me" laments? I was lucky enough to steal find these photos tagged on her Facebook! Isn't she BEAUTIFUL!?!?!? I'm so proud of my sweet daughter! She was driving to Sandwich, MA to celebrate the upcoming wedding of one of her classmates. Naturally, since she wasn't exactly home for Mother's day (she was on Cape Cod, I was in Arizona) I'm happy to use these photos to represent the day in my weekly planner / scrapbook.
CTMH products: Silhouette papers, vellum, and computer generated text. I know - not terribly creative - but who could outshine that smile?!
Yesterday, Kristen called me after she got home from work; running a fever, slightly sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, sneezing. She has been recovering since September 2008 from Mono, and teaches in a Middle-School so my immediate request was A) call off for tomorrow and B) go to your doctor in the morning. You see, I've been working in the incident command team at my own health care facility for weeks now on our H1N1 Influenza response and I knew enough to know she was high-risk for having been exposed to the virus. After all the years since she moved to Boston, I am beginning to learn to keep breathing when she is in difficulty there. 3,000 miles away from me. But it is not easy. Not even. Nope.
So - at the doctor this morning (yes, they saw her right away) they were able to reassure us that it isn't H1N1. She's home resting now from some other virus. If you've got a moment, a tiny prayer for her quick recovery would be awesome.
This card was inspired by Debbie Olson. As usual, I didn't have the same stamps (can you almost say it with me?) and so my card is a little different - but not that much different! What a pretty design Debbie has with the rich yellows and the bits of black! I LOVE the idea and worked on the process a bit before liking my card. I actually made another one later in the day that is a little more proportional (more space above the banner) that I like better. But, this one was in the camera so this is what you get. The flower was done with a technique called watercolor re-inkers (or at least that's what I call it!). Stay tuned and I'll post the technique later this week - as I plan to teach it at Open Stamping on Sunday.
CTMH products: Rustic Flowers, Thoughts of You (leaf), Free Spirit and Western Flourishes for the flourishes. Make My Day (the sentiment). Colors are Buttercup, Creme Brulee, Blush, and Olive.
This card was copied as closely as I could from the Spring 2009 catalog. It's actually easier to make than it looked! I LOVE the effect of the layered flowers - and I used sponge daubers to put the blush over parts of the vanilla cream cardstock - that's how they are two-toned. Sometimes it takes me awhile to catch up - but I'm SO glad I finally made this card!
A very exciting announcement at church this morning - our pastor, Father Ron, announced that he got married last night in a private ceremony - and that we would be having wedding cake and mimosas at the "coffee hour". Those who don't know me, may be thinking "what? mimosas at church?" but I am Episcopalian and it's pretty common to have wine at church functions (just not often in the mornings!). It was a lovely surprise and I am SO happy for them!!
I know you were getting might sick of "Bella" so I thought I'd give you a break tonight! This is the new Back Country paper and the stamps are called Back Woods. Perfect for documenting all those family camping trips! I have a closet full of photos from Girl Scout encampments that will look great with this paper. Did I tell you I was active with Girl Scouting for about 11 years? This card is for a swap - the only thing requiring explanation is that the center "baby tree" is pop-dotted up. It looks like a tree family, don't you think?
I had a very productive day. Ran errands and such, had a delicious 90 minute call from Kristen. I also did yard work and laundry tonight.
By the way - thank you so much for your comments on my posts! I treasure your input, and feel so connected to many of you, learning that you, too, practice Yoga, or had a VW for your first car, or sometimes have trouble standing without falling! I never knew how much fun blogging could be (it was just something scary!) but I'm enjoying your friendship very much and learning new tricks all the time. Having said that, please, if I make a blogging faux pas please tell me. I won't be offended, I promise. I just want to do this in a way that we will all enjoy the process and if I don't know something isn't "done" then I might keep going and annoy all sorts of people!
I'm an usher at church in the morning and so I'll close and go to bed. I'll have more to post tomorrow!
I had a happy accident with these cards . . . I had used white embossing powder for the monograms, and it was, well, it was white. It really looked awful. BUT, in a fit of "they're useless anyway - let's try something" I rubbed them with a bisque creamy brown color chalk ink (cat-eye) and let it dry really good. Then, to check if this was a good or a bad idea, I rubbed with a clean tissue. It stayed! I like the antique look . . .
This week has gone by so fast! It's been busy and full of interesting things and that in itself is a blessing. Tonight was my second Yoga night of the week. You know how some times you are so strong, and some times you can't stand up straight? I had no balance and fell over twice tonight! The first one I was a little embarrassed, but the second time it made me giggle - and I can accept that not every practice will be the best one.
Namaste
Oh My Goodness!!! I'm so excited! Leslie at Pandascrapper gave me a Lemonade Stand award for having a something nice to say! Thank you Leslie - I'm flattered, and very thankful! Leslie is very creative - her blog is beautiful - her post today features the most AMAZING card! You should click on the link and go check it out!
I've seen some awesome blogs as I explore and learn from all the amazing people who live in this blog-world! Therefore, I'd like to pay it forward and honor them for their upbeat attitude and obvious love of life.
Julia - Create With Me - who doesn't seem to mind that my blog is a poor imitation of her blog! Julia is a great artist and person who I feel would be a close friend if we lived near each other!
Deb - Paper,Ink, Scissors, & Stamps - who cracks me up every day with her Sheila and Reid the wild child stories! I love her artwork, and can't wait to see what she's posted!
Laurel - Laurel's Place - what an artist! I drool over her work - and realize that I may never achieve the consistently outstanding original work that Laurel does. But, it doesn't hurt to TRY!
Rachele - The Ink Boutique - who has been MIA for TOO long but recently returned with a whole new positive and wonderful attitude! You have to go check out her style - Rachele is amazing! Hugs!
My biggest cheerleader in my short time blogging has been Kathi Carlson. Kathi, thank you so much for your support! I see that Leslie already beat me to giving you the award - so I'll just "second that motion" here for everyone to see that I, too, love Kathi's Corner!
The rules of the award (to pick up the Lemonade Stand Award):
- Comment on this blog.
- Cut and paste the award logo and use it in your own blog.
- Nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude.
- Link to your nominees within your blog post.
- Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received the award.
- Link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation.
Are you sick of these papers yet? I hope not, because I think Bella is going to be showing up for awhile!!! This is another fun card - I used dilute re-inkers to dye the white flowers just the color I wanted, and did "dry embossing" with my bone folder and the groove on the paper cutter (from the back, then flip it over and sand lightly).
My day? LONG! I worked 12 hours today - stopped at Costco on the way home (which was nearly empty) - I think everyone but me is attending graduation at ASU tonight (President Obama) I wish I could be there - even with the heat and all! We hit 101 today. I'm too tired to turn on the TV and watch - so I'll just post and "waddle" off to bed. Hope to "see" you tomorrow!
Tuesdays are good, Life is good! Tuesday is Yoga night (one of two each week) and I feel so strong, and relaxed, and will sleep so deeply tonight . . . it's almost like magic.
Life is good - this sentiment comes in the new Treetops stamp set! Pair that with the beautiful Bella papers, and it's just as easy as can be! I whipped up a slew of 3x3 cards in under an hour!
Last week Jeanette Lynton started posting Color Groups to inspire us! And boy, are these beautiful and fun!!! She also created some beautiful artwork - so please click on the link to go check out her extraordinary talent!
I'm basking in the end of a wonderful day. I pulled out my old pair of glasses and lo-and-behold, scratches and all, my headache is about half as bad as I was experiencing all last week. Maybe it couldn't all be blamed on the car woes. I feel so much better, and got LOTS of things accomplished today! I'm going to just have a wonderful week - hope you all do too!
Simple and easy! That was good for today - - - I needed a quick but pretty birthday card! These Bella papers are just exquisite.
You've been so patient! Waiting for DAYS for me to post something crafty! I've been trying - believe me. Tomorrow I can post more . . . as some things I've been doing would be spoiled if I posted them today!
This is a 6x6 card using the new Bella paper (it's absolutely gorgeous!) and the new Bon Appetit stamps. I stamped the grapes again (lighter) and cut those out and pieced them on pop-dots. The rest is pretty straight forward! Hope you like it!
I have to share, Chloe has gotten TWO get well cards! One from my friend Jone 
and another from "Diana Speedcraft". That one was found in the mailbox addressed simply to "Chloe Berge". I finally figured out it was from Sean, Kristen's BFF. It was really funny, and sweet. A lot like Sean, honestly!
Chloe is home from the "hospital" and she's perfect! This weekend I'll treat her to a long, careful bath to clean out all the dust and mud - make her feel all young again. I stopped by the car shop this morning on my way to work to drop off flowers for the mechanics and take a photo of Chloe up on the rack. They were very indulgent.
I'm going to bed early - headache. I think it's stress! LOL I hope to post some art tomorrow.
This card was inspired by Heather Nichols, who was inspired by a quilt! What a clever way to use up scrap paper! I always hoped there would be something wonderful to do with those tiny pieces some day . . . LOL! I recently noticed that my favorite blogs are using a little larger font - so I thought I'd try it. Hope you like it?!
It's been a hard day for me. I'll try not to cry - but on the way to work my sweet Chloe (the car) started really struggling to shift gears. We limped straight to my favorite mechanic, and $4,500 later she will have a brand new transmission. I'm shell-shocked. They said if I send it out to a transmission shop, or to the VW dealer, it might have been $1K more even. I believe them, too, because they have been so completely good and honest with me for years now. At one point in the discussions - my consultant made a gentle suggestion that it might be time for a new car? I just couldn't face that! I love my Chloe. She is my commuting partner and I had planned to drive her another 3 - 5 years. Well, I will be able to do that. I just won't be able to EAT for awhile. (not really - I'm being melodramatic, and to tell the truth, I need to eat less anyway). I should be able to drive Chloe home tomorrow night. I'll try to post something happier tomorrow. Thanks for listening.
Well, I was so pleased with the beautiful colors in my yard that I made it the theme for my weekly planner two weeks ago . . . and this evening I opened an e-mail with photos from a friend who moved to Cape Cod - and you wouldn't believe how beautiful their spring is. Well, maybe you would - I was just stunned. I've been living in the desert for so-o-o long now. This page is very self-explanatory. I might say that it's a 9 x 9 layout and the little circle goes on the planner side of the page. It's a photo of a piece of cake. Coca-cola cake, in fact. (see previous post on 4/27/09)
The concert last night was something I hope to remember the rest of my life! It was absolutely beautiful. The space has the best acoustics, and as you can tell, I was sitting very close. Their music, voices, balance . . . it was all PERFECT. I wish you had all been there with me to drink in this beauty and feel it's peace.
A peek at NEW STUFF! The stamp set, anyway, is from the just released today Summer Close to My Heart catalog. It's called Treetops and has lots of cute possibilities! These little (3x3) cards easy to make using the Emporium papers, Cocoa and Olive inks. I'm thankful for the weekend and hope to post some new creations tomorrow (after I make them!) For tonight, I'm changing to leave the house again - off to a concert; The Orpheus Men's Choir. What a treat to relax and enjoy excellent music. Hope you have a great Friday night, too!
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