Dakota - 2nd Consultant Swap card

Now that the Close-to-My-Heart unit swap is completed I can post my contributions!  This one uses the Dakota papers, a new "quickie" stamp called Bountiful Season, and the awesome burlap ribbon in the new catalog.  I stamped the focal point in Barn Red and with a sponge dauber, added Goldrush to the leaf.  Then I went back with a small eye-shadow blender and added a little more of the Barn Red along some edges.

Friday night was fun - I will try to photograph the other swap cards and post them this week.  Excellent work by my unit sisters!  Joanne Zubal is my up-line and her DH (Bob) decided that we needed grilled hotdogs, corn on the cob, and munchies to have enough energy for our meeting.  WOW - that was a nice surprise!  I know we all love it when our families are supportive of our art-work.

Well, I'd better get off the computer and get this house set up for our Open Stamping!  I've gotta get extra tables out, cut up fruits and veges, and set out the chocolate treats!  Yummm.  Oh, wait, we are working on our scrapbooks, right?  ;-)

Flirty Card for a Consultant Swap

The new Close-to-My-Heart catalog has some wonderful papers and stamps!  This paper is from a set called "Flirty".  It's autumn colors (my favorite!) and the stamps are so fun!  I think the leaf stamps alone made the whole set worth getting!  My quarterly unit meeting is this weekend and this is one of the papers I promised to bring for our demo board swap.  

So, Friday night I get to see my stamping sisters, and Sunday is Open Stamping at my house when my friends come and bring their scrapbooks etc. to work on.  We always have fun on those days!  It's beginning to look like another awesome weekend!

Hugs!

Masculine Birthday card

This was a fun card to make - I had a stamp to do the "train engineer" stripes and had never shown it any ink!  Time to fix that little oversight!  The car is from PTI (I believe) and I stamped it on design paper and fussy-cut it out  (completely forgetting that I also have that die and could have just die-cut it out - silly me!).  Where the windshield should be I inserted a piece of clear acetate.  I'm not sure that shows up in this photo.  I love this card for it's simplicity and that it's just a little quirky.  After all, who would have a navy car with white circles all over it?  

I had a fabulous weekend - I went with a dear friend up to her mountain retreat and we scrapped and watched the Olympics and basically just relaxed all weekend!  It was AWESOME!  I feel refreshed and am finishing the laundry now - nearly ready for the new week.  Did you have a good weekend?

Hugs!

A little birdie told me . . .

This card was a design put out for a challenge that I didn't enter and I can't remember where. The birdie is a Waltzingmouse Stamps one - I believe the sentiment "a little birdie told me" is also, but the sentiment in the octagon was a Close-to-My-Heart stamp.  I really should be better about keeping track of what supplies I'm using, huh. ;-)

What a day today!  My first appointment was 7 AM so I was out of the house at 6, and I got home from work tonight at 7:15 PM.  I'm checking e-mail, facebook and the blog then heading into the craft room to play until bed-time.  I've earned it!  

I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday already - where do the days go?!

Hugs!

Anniversary cards!

I'm barely keeping my head above water (ok, I'm not really succeeding) with birthday cards, and then I decided to send a batch of anniversary cards!  Yikes!  What was I thinking?!  Well, to be honest, I think it's because I'm so smitten with my own darling husband, that I want to celebrate love every where I see it!  I have many friends who have been excellent examples of what a loving marriage should be - and they should be told that I'm so happy for them!

I imitated a card I saw on-line a while ago - the photo was in a stack of papers from over a year ago.  I think it must have been Heather Nichols but I couldn't find her post to link you back to her, it just looks like her style.  I used all Close-to-My-Heart products in my version.

Steve went back to his home in Minnesota today.  We will be apart until my next time off when I will fly up and join him for a vacation.  This visit was so delightful partly because we started out in North Carolina visiting my daughter and her fiancee.  The week was not too busy (although we did lots of things together!) and we enjoyed good food (my daughter and future son-in-law are both excellent cooks!), beautiful scenery, and great conversation.  It helped that I didn't have to set the alarm every morning!  I much prefer waking up when I'm ready.  ;-)

Are you planning one last trip before school starts?  
Hugs!
  

Retirement Card

A colleague and wonderful friend from work is retiring the end of this week.  I am so excited for her - she already has plans for travel, and spending more time with her grandchildren . . . imagine the possibilities!  The stamp for this card was in the Close-to-My-Heart July Stamp of the Month!  The paper is the fabulous Roxie. I would have posted the card earlier but I needed to wait for Diana's send-off before putting it up on my blog.  

Steve is still here so I'll keep this short!  I'm sure you understand ;-)
Hugs!!