Last Christmas I saw this tutorial at Amy Rysavy's blog Prairie Paper & Ink and decided to give it a try! It was too late in the season to share this with my Open Stamping friends, and I wanted to hold them for a year to see if the glitter stayed put! It did! So, we're going to use Close to My Heart re-inkers and Prisma glitter to make these gorgeous ornaments for our technique tomorrow! It's easy and fast, their favorite type!
I actually cleaned out my garage yesterday! Wowie- it sure looks better. In honor of the clean garage, Keiko had a bath, too! (Keiko's the car). I pulled the boxes of Christmas decorations into the house to unpack and re-dressed the front porch. I strung the lights along the back fence (I face a lake - so the lights are very pretty reflecting off the water). I enjoyed beautiful music all day when I wasn't outside. It was a perfect day - I'm SO glad I took the day off!!!
Hugs!
I'm still posting the beautiful cards I received from my friends . . . aren't these pretty!?! Sheri colored her cornucopia while Pam used the ghosting technique! Pretty cool, both of them!
I slept so good last night (could it be the 9 pounds of turkey I ate? - just kidding!). But I'm awake now and have a full "to-do" list. I'm hoping to unpack the Christmas treasures and decorate the house. Anyone else already loaded their Christmas music into the CD player???
Yippee!
I honestly can't say whether it was the whining and pleading, or that I was down on one knee (my good one) begging, but Jone gave me TWO beautiful Thanksgiving cards this year!!! Yippee!!!! The first one uses the puddle-pad technique and the second one she used Flower Soft to make the leaves look like perfect little miniatures! Breath-taking.
I begged and pleaded at work today, too, and got Friday off. I don't have any special plans, and I'll be carrying the cell phone and pager everywhere, but I wanted to spend the weekend sans pantyhose, if you know what I mean! LOL
Do you usually get up before dawn to stand in lines and get the best deals on Friday? Is it Turkey yet?
My dear friend Jacqueline sent this gorgeous card done with the shaving cream technique that I taught during open stamping this year. She absolutely excelled at this technique - it was made for her! My own designs often come out looking like "mud" but not hers! Look at the delicate intricacies of color! Thank you, Jacqueline, for this beautiful card, and for your sweet friendship!
I finally found a "small" turkey! Wow, who knew it would be so hard? I have a perfect little 9 lb. bird - they call it "petite"! Isn't that cute? I love turkey - but for just me, it's a bit much to cook a 17 pound bird! I'm afraid it would freezer burn before I could make it into soup, enchiladas, etc. etc. LOL
So, now I'm getting hungrier by the minute! What are your plans for the Thanksgiving feast?
Hugs!
Having a December birthday - I know first hand how difficult it is for everyone to keep up with birthdays this time of year. There is so much ELSE on our minds!!! I have a dear friend at church, like an older brother to me, and he's on my list to receive cards. As I was working on the birthday card for another friend on the 24th, I looked at his name on the list and had that sinking feeling in my stomach - I forgot his birthday! Oh No! So, time for this cute elephant to try to remember! Everything is Close-to-My-Heart. Easy, quick card - too bad the "Game On" papers are retired. Update! Game On isn't retired! I don't know where I got that silly idea! Whew.
So, it's the end of the weekend so soon. Bummer. I'll let the fact that it's a short week keep me going! I did enjoy an hour of beautiful yard work this afternoon - the weather here is perfect and it's actually a JOY to work in the yard this time of year.
Hugs!
When I posted the card on the bottom, I had very few comments . . . and the more I thought about it, the more I thought it could be improved. The card on top is the "remake". I used the scraps of Stamping Up paper but rubbed over the "taupe" pattern with a lime chalk cat-eye. Then I stamped my holly leaf on the backside and cut them out. With the change from red/brown pattern to green, I needed to update the ribbon also - so I used the last of my stash of hand-dyed silk ribbon (this ribbon is so soft!). The overall dimension is 5 x 5 inches.
It's been a busy Saturday here . . . I've been running errands (well, hobbling through them). I've spent a bit of time in the craft room (so wonderful!) and had an interesting 1st (for me) - I was trying to get some bright red paint into a small plastic lid so I could dip the end of the paintbrush into it and make little "holly berry" dots on some tags I was making . . . when I some how let go of the bottle of paint! I caught it with my lap, legs, hands. DEEP, RICH RED PAINT! I'm about to go pull my jeans out of the washer to see if they have to go through again . . . I'm counting my blessings that it didn't fall on my new wood floor. I would have just cried. So, as we remember all that we are thankful for - let's add "catching the red paint!" to that list! LOL
Hugs!
When I count MY blessings, I count YOU!
This card is for all of my dear friends, whether they be at church, home, work, or cyberspace. I have been very blessed with your friendship and support and I don't take the time often enough to let you know how much you mean to me.
I have received the most beautiful Thanksgiving cards this year - I'll start posting them very soon - but as you know, I'm up to my eyeballs in making my Christmas cards, and just couldn't do both! I hope you'll accept this visual card and know that I cherish your gifts of time and talent!
The details: CTMH November word puzzle for the wheat and saying stamps (Cocoa ink). PTI dot basics stamped on glossy cardstock with Versa Mark and sponged over with CTMH Brown Bag ink. The numbered craft paper is something I picked up at Mad Scrapper last weekend - it's by Jillibean Soup.
Namaste.
Another weekly planner page to get me "caught up"! I had a little fun with this one - the photo just said to me "neutral, black, white, and a tiny dot of red". The new office address is CP84C. (my company is weird about office numbers!). So, this is my new little home-away-from-home. It's actually very comfy. The weather is great, it's quiet (usually) and I have plenty of light. I can reach my door to close it if there is a phone call where I will be disturbing my neighbors . . . all in all, it's a great office!
I must say how much I appreciate your input on my last page! I'll post a revision as soon as I get it done! (tee, hee!) I will journal more of the story, and I loved Jane's input to do that on vellum or maybe even transparency, so I can still see the beautiful paper beneath. Yep. We'll give it the old college try!
Today was VERY productive even though I spent all day sitting on my you-know-what because my knee hurts too much to walk! ;-0 I was busy all day long with projects - the time just FLEW by! I'm off to bed now (early day tomorrow). Hope your week is wonderful and you're looking forward to the holiday coming up - I know I am!
Hugs!
There's nothing like a photo to show you where there is a B-I-G open space in your layout, huh!? I love this paper so much that I was thrilled to not cover up all the "interesting parts". What do you suggest I add to it??
This was a photo from the big dinner at my church mid-October. I'm w-a-a-y behind in my weekly planner pages (no kidding - like a month behind) but I've got little post-it notes on the page with the idea, and the photos are all taken and saved. There were 126 (I believe) people at this dinner and it was, as usual, perfect weather. I guess I need to tell more of the story perhaps? Or, should I put some embellishments in the upper part of the left-hand side . . . Help me out here . . . !
OK, now for the sad news. It's Tuesday night and I'm not at Yoga. My knee is still sore. : (
Namaste.
Happy Friday! I made this card for a friend who was just promoted at work! He liked it! I think it's pretty self-explanatory, except that I enjoyed learning that some of the Boom-di-Ada papers coordinate nicely with the Emporium set. I also realized that I had stamps that went with these patterns. Not sure how I missed seeing that before! That's why I still need to look at my stamps when I am beginning a project. The circles are pop-dotted to different levels, and the card has more twilight blue paper designing the inside where there is a "congratulations" message.
Friday - FINALLY. This week has seemed long to me. I did go to Yoga tonight but my practice was not strong. :-( My knee is bothering me today.
We're covered in clouds - might get some rain - so I'm sure that is the cause. I need to just keep trying.
Namaste.
This award is bestowed onto blogs that are exceedingly charming. These bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Yes, that's what Jamie said! Truly! I'm am in heaven!
Thank you so much Jamie - I am honored by your award. A year ago I didn't really know what a "blog" was and now I have discovered a wide-world of people who I love - I mean that! People I love because we have so much in common - and we care about each other and the artistic strugglings of each day (is strugglings not a real word? spell-check isn't convinced.).
I want to share, too - I'm listing 5 of my blogging friends who fit the description and that I don't believe have this award already (oops! if I'm wrong ;-)
1. Leslie at PandaScrapper
2. Deb at Paper, Ink, Scissors, & Stamps
3. Carla at CarlaCreates
4. Cibele at FlowerFoot
5. Terrie at My Life in Real Time
Hugs!
Racking my brain, trying to come up with a Retirement card that didn't look like a sympathy card . . . I came across this image (in my card pile) and said, YES! This is it! FREE as a bird! A dear co-worker retired this week - I bet his face hurt all day today after the ear-to-ear grins he wore all day yesterday! I used green leafy paper on the inside to try to play-down the pinks. The bird is on pop-dots, so the card has some dimension.
Hump day already?! Last night was Yoga - and I felt so strong! I'm loving this "strong" feeling!!! It's rather addictive (like scrapping, or blogging!)
Have a great day tomorrow - the weekend is on the way now.
Namaste.
This card is "revisited" because I chose different design papers to sew behind the focal image from the ones on my prototype (here). I do love this card - it's different (for me). I learned a LOT about using my sewing machine (for example, it is possible to put the bobbin in backwards - but it doesn't work right that way). I also scaled it down to a 4 1/2 x 5 3/4" card. The prototype was a 5 x 7. This is the "ghosting" technique - where you clear emboss your image, then ink over it (creating the Desert Sand shading) then you lift off the clear embossing by using a piece of scrap paper and a hot iron. Naturally - of the 17 cards made yesterday, I picked up the one to photograph that still has shiny! (It's my fate)I had a very busy evening - 3 thank you cards (all re-makes) and 2 congratulations cards (both new) and sorting a big Close-to-My-Heart order (which always feels like CHRISTMAS!) and oh-my-gosh it's almost 9 PM already! Yikes! I've still got to do a few chores before bed, so I'll wish you good-night!
This will probably be my 4th Christmas card design for this year - I just need 15 more cards (I hope) to finish out my list. That will be 105 total. This one was pretty easy - and I think the simplicity makes it pretty stunning. I'm a sucker for the traditional colors - but the addition of Cocoa in this instead of green really appeals to me. Have you ever realized how many different colors of "red" buttons there are? I had a pile I was sorting through looking for the right colors . . . what a variety!
It was a good weekend, but like others who've mentioned it in their blogs this weekend, I'm tired. I'm not sure if I'm fighting off an infection, or just getting old! Probably the latter.
Going to bed early. Have a great week!Hugs!
My darling daughter has been fighting a cold for about a week now, and I wish with all my heart I could be in Boston to take her a bowl of chicken soup! This card will have to do for now.
It was inspired by Heather Nichols with this post of Christmas cards! I really love her style! The papers are all Close-to-My-Heart, the Chicken Soup image is from Cats Pajamas and the writing on the craft cardstock is from Papertrey Ink.
Friday was a great day - I got a lot of work done, made it to Yoga class, and finally had my "special reward" for making Yoga-goal of getting green curry from Swadees for dinner! YUMMMMMMM. The owners were so happy to see me - well, it has been over a month with the knee issues and all. Have a wonderful weekend!
Namaste.
Oh My Goodness! Jane at ScossieJane thought I should have this award! I've been enjoying seeing everyone's answers to the questions - and will give it my best shot!
The Rules are:
1. You can only use ONE word!!!
2. Pass this along to 5 of your favorite bloggers!
3. Alert them that you have given them this award!
4. HAVE FUN!!!
******************
Here goes -1. Where is your cell phone? table2. Your hair? red3. Your mother? missed4. Your father? also5. Your favorite food? Thai6. Your dream last night? work7. Your favorite drink? water8. Your dream/goal? WorldPeace9. What room are you in? den10. Your hobby? Scrapbooking11. Your fear? illness12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here13. Where were you last night? craftroom14. Something that you aren't? negative15. Muffins? warm16. Wish list item? fence17. Where did you grow up? USAF-all over18. Last thing you did? dishes19. What are you wearing? Jeans20. Your TV? Off21. Your pets? missed22. Friends? blessings23. Your life? Happy24. Your mood? quiet25. Missing someone? Kristen26. Vehicle? Keiko27. Something you're not wearing? perfume28. Your favorite store? Nordstroms29. Your favorite color? Green30. When was the last time you laughed? SecondsAgo31. Last time you cried? weeks32. Your best friend? Kristen33. One place that I go over and over? Yoga34. Facebook? Occasionally35. Favorite place to eat? Out ;-)
I'm supposed to give this to 5 bloggers but I think instead I will leave it open and you can play if you're interested! Thanks again to Jane for honoring me!
I wish that the basket of cards I posted earlier this week were all I need - but in truth, they are only about half of the cards I will make this year! This design is only for my MOST discriminating friends! I was limited to just 8 of these. I was inspired for this card by Beate Johns (linked from my first attempt here) and, as usual, changed it to work with the stamps that I have! I was excited to finally use the Glimmer Mists that I bought this summer in Payson, AZ. I used both the New England green one and the Scarlet. The trick? I cut the shape in the nestabilities, and left the paper in the nestie and sprayed it with the Glimmer mist. The edge of the nestie creates the white border (also the part that would be lower if embossed). The stamps are Close-to-My-Heart but the paper - (oh, that paper!) is a flocked paper from SU. Isn't is just yummy??? I've already posted the 3rd card version that I'll send this year (here). I plan to make about 30 of that one although I've settled on different papers for it, too. I have a few (3) left over from last year, and there are the 4 Hanukkah cards . . . I may only need 3 or 4 more to complete the list! :-)
Hump day! My filing cabinet was delivered at 10 AM this morning - and I had meetings from 10:30 on so there was no un-packing for me today! I'm hoping to unpack and get settled in my new space tomorrow afternoon. I had a great day - productive meetings, and I "babysat" the phones and front desk in a department while the nurses went to a much deserved lunch out with the boss. The visitors during that time period were so sweet and kind - understanding that I couldn't really answer their questions but that the nurses would get back to them within the hour! As always - I'm so proud to work with such consumate professionals - even during times of great stress!
Wash your hands. (My latest mantra)
I have several friends who are Jewish - and each year I try to make a Hanukkah card for them! I really fell in love with this stamp from Stampin'Up ("Let there be light!") that I purchased from my favorite Stampin' Up Consultant, Deb Neerman, and the other stamps on this card are all Close-to-My-Heart ones. I was generous with the Stickles - this card really glitters and glows in real life! Hanukkah is early this year - December 12th - so I moved this project up in the schedule of things!
Work was physically hard today! We moved our offices. Yes, there is a crew to lift the heavy stuff - but there is all that packing and, naturally, they stacked 12 boxes that belonged to another person in the department in my office (right where the file cabinet was supposed to go - no file cabinet in sight) and my boxes were scattered thither and yon! So, I got a bit of a work-out finding things and moving them again into the correct location. The good news??? I went to Yoga tonight and we did AWESOME stretching and I feel so-o-o-o much better. I will certainly sleep good tonight.
Namaste.
Ok. True confessions here. This is the card that had the "glue accident". Have you found a good way to adhere what I will call "fuzzy paper"? I had these snips of mulberry paper left-over from the Harvest Steak Fry at church - I used the paper to wrap around some "holy candles" - the ones you buy at the grocery store (I get the clear ones) - these are a great starter for centerpieces for this type of church event and I've used mine for at least 5 years now! The paper is translucent enough to let the light shine through beautifully! When I use lighter color papers, I stamp images on them and that's even prettier! Anyway - I digress.
So - I couldn't get the mulberry paper to stick to the card! I finally lifted it up a bit and squirted some of the "best glue on earth" (liquid glass) underneath only I forgot that if it squeezed through the paper, it would look shiny??!! It did. Can you tell where it showed through? Oh, come on. Look closely.
Aren't pearls wonderful?
Work today? It was wonderful! Today was new employee orientation. I don't know if the new employees love it as much as I do - but meeting all of these interesting new people and sharing a bit about my amazing organization - well, I just love doing it! It makes me happy.
Hugs!
It's been many days since I posted - but not because I haven't been crafty - I've been in PRODUCTION mode! I completed 50 of one design for my Christmas cards this year! I love them - but I admit, I'm tired of them. LOL
I love Halloween and All Saints. This has been a weekend full of blessings, to be sure! The sweet children tip-toeing up to the door - needing encouragement from their parents to actually knock! Their delighted faces and adorable "Happy Hallerween" (really!) and those costumes! (Deep sigh!) It makes me feel like all is still right with the world.
All Saints today was wonderful because there were people that I've missed and was so happy to greet again! The service was beautiful - our choir master is just amazing. The music just takes me away to another place - I can pray deeply - meditatively - with these ethereal voices.
I hope your weekend was full of wonder!
Hugs.
Last Christmas I saw this tutorial at Amy Rysavy's blog Prairie Paper & Ink and decided to give it a try! It was too late in the season to share this with my Open Stamping friends, and I wanted to hold them for a year to see if the glitter stayed put! It did! So, we're going to use Close to My Heart re-inkers and Prisma glitter to make these gorgeous ornaments for our technique tomorrow! It's easy and fast, their favorite type!
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