He's Here!

Logan was born at 6:40 PM by c-section. I got the call about 6:48 - Mom was still in surgery but Dad and baby were off to the nursery. Nana sounded VERY TIRED! No details (weight, height, etc.) but we'll know more soon. Thank you all for your prayers!

Animal Cookie - Take 4

Fun, fun, fun unit meeting today - I am working on putting together the new Summer 2009 catalog swap that we did and it is truly wonderful! I didn't want to keep you waiting - so I'm posting this card now, and will get the whole board up as soon as possible! (I'm just making headers and such).

It was a busy day! I ran errands early, then had a hair appointment (and am all beautiful again) and then the unit meeting. I stopped to do a little shopping on my way home but gave up pretty quickly as the "monster" headache returned. So, the later part of this afternoon hasn't been very productive. I'm going to bed early tonight and planning on a better Sunday afternoon - where all I need to do it laundry and stamping. Sounds perfect, truly!

ps - no word from my friend Pam on the status of her grandbaby. Keep praying!

It's A Boy!

No, As far as I know, he's not here quite yet - but they are inducing Pam's DD today so he may be born on Saturday! I am so exciting, waiting for word from one of my friends that her 1st Grandchild has arrived. This card doesn't actually have ANY stamping on it. The boat was paper pieced from shapes, the sayings were computer generated and the only ink I applied to the paper was to edge and draw in some stitching lines. Oh, and remember that one of my objectives in doing this blog was to improve my photography skills? It's amazing to me what you "see" with the camera that you don't "see" with your eyes! For instance, the card looked perfectly fine on the black background in real life . . .

Yoga tonight was "mellow". Our instructor gently chided us saying that there was "low energy" in the room. No kidding! I think the 6 brave souls that came tonight would have rather spent the entire 90 minutes in the "final resting pose"!!! But, having said that, we actually did many balance poses tonight and I was stronger and steadier than usual. A good practice today.

Tomorrow is the bi-monthly CTMH Unit meeting where we get togther and swap cards, share pot-luck lunch, and share ideas and projects. My unit sisters are very special to me and I look forward to our meetings very much.
I'll try to post tomorrow with some of the inspirations from the day!

Namaste. (which means roughly, "the light within me honors the light within you")

Sympathy

I worked a half-day today (dentist appointment) and came home to nap after the experience. I slept fitfully, and awoke with a vision of chocolate brown and blush in my head. This card is not exactly what I was dreaming of, but it looks good and it is the right colors!

Stamps - Papertrey's "Out On A Limb" and the papers/inks are Close to My Heart "Adorable" and Chocolate / Blush. The ribbon was a steal find at the closing of a local art store. I bought all they had in every color combination. When you touch it, it feels so soft - like butter. There is nothing quite like exquisite ribbon.

So, the dentist? I hate to admit it, but I hadn't been to the dentist in over 10 years. I can't even remember the name of the dentist I last saw. I'm sure that's like the way you don't remember the pain of childbirth - too horrible to keep around in your head. I did a little homework and found someone promising - I have to admit, I like him. He was kind and gentle. He will help me feel better. I think we finally know what is causing my horrible headaches! I'm scheduled for a root canal and crown next week. Somehow just knowing that we will fix it next week gives me strength to keep going.
Wishing you a happy Friday!

Hot Air Balloon!

There is a new stamp set out there (Verve's Up, Up, and Away) that has Hot Air Balloons - I was inspired by one of the artists with this design (sure wish I could remember WHO so I could link you here?!) - and since I didn't have the stamps, I improvised! Interesting discovery - I've "always" used the round sponge cut into a little wedge (like a piece of cheddar from a cheese wheel?) to sponge inks onto my paper. For this card, I grabbed the sponge on a handle tool out of my distressing toolkit. Man-oh-man, I like this tool!!! It gave me more control and was less tiring on my hands. It's a little hard to see, but there is blue in the sky of both image plates. The balloon and basket are pop-dotted up and the ropes were wire in my first incarnation, and became black waxy flax for this card. (my first card the balloon was too small! Yikes!) Someday I'll break down and try Copics - the coloring could have been so much better.

CTMH: Sarsparilla and Game On papers, Heavenly Blue, Olive, Bamboo, and Chocolate inks. LSS ribbon and a button from my button box with hemp.

Before and After

I've seen a few brave artists post "before" and "after" photos of things they've created. I've never done this - and am prepared to be laughed at! Truly - I laughed myself at the first card! It's so off balance it's almost silly looking. The second card isn't much better to be honest - but is "passable". I'll leave it alone now - but I wanted to show you that the creative process requires many a few "do-overs"!

CTMH: Treetops, Airmail, You are Beautiful stamps. Garden Green, Bamboo, and Chocolate inks and cardstock. The flower is Petal and Pansy Purple with the waterbrush.

Work was wonderful today. I am so blessed to work somewhere with nice people, a focus on quality, and time to do my job correctly. I love that I am respected at work, and I love that I can continue to learn and grow. Happy Tuesday!

Inspired by Julia Aston!

I even signed the photo as such - because other than using my Close to My Heart stars, the entire card is a complete rip-off of Julia's!!! I did pretty good, huh?! ;-)

CTMH: Wishing Star, You Make me Happy stamp sets, Cranberry, Moonstruck inks.

Today was good - busy and productive at work, and I made my favorite soup (Refrigerator soup) for dinner and ran a load of laundry! There are no refrigerators in Refrigerator Soup. What goes into the soup is all the vegetables in the refrigerator that are begging to be eaten before they spoil (which when you live alone, is most of them!). I add a little grilled chicken, low-salt broth, tarragon, thyme, coriander, and 2 cloves of crushed garlic. It makes the whole house smell divine, and is very satisfying. It never turns out the same, although usually close, because I don't measure anything - I just clean, chop, pinch and toss. I cool and then freeze the leftovers (usually 3 more meals) and when those are all gone, it's time to make Refrigerator Soup again!

Have a wonderful evening - "see" you again soon!