Wednesday, July 30, 2008

In limbo......

Hi everyone!! Sorry for the lack of posts! Sheesh, I start a blog then disappear!! I apologize but as you may know I have a very sick hubby I'm trying to tend to, plus take care of all my other "duties". I finished painting Matthew's room, now we're working on putting everything back. He has 5 Rubbermaid bins of "stuff" he needs to put back, but he has golf camp this week so he hasn't been home much to help me. I moved all his furniture yesterday ~~ twice, because I tried rearranging & it didn't work out so I had to move it back. Guess I should have measured first, lol. Anyway, I'm definitely feeling it today!!! We're having Michael's birthday party on Sunday so I'm also trying to get ready for that. We'll be gone Saturday at a baseball game so I'm trying to cram everything into the next couple of days.

My hubby did go to Urgent Care on Monday. He wasn't able to get in to the regular doctor until yesterday, so he asked me to take him to UC. He *must* be feeling bad if he actually asked to go!! They took "a gallon of blood" but didn't do much else, considering he was there for 3 hours. They didn't even scope his throat. They did, however, scope the other end, lol. Diagnosis? Reflux. Well, DUH!!!!! We *know* he has reflux!!!! But there is something else wrong, he hasn't eaten solid foods for 4 days. He's lost 30 pounds. His BP was extremely low. He tried to go to work today, but had to come home. He told his boss he has to take off the rest of the week. He did go see the doctor yesterday, & they ordered an Upper GI. He will be having that done on Friday. So, we are in limbo. He still can't eat, he still hurts, but we will know nothing more until Friday. Please continue to think good thoughts for us!! And I promise I will get back to stamping soon!!!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Update...

Thank you all so much for your good thoughts & well wishes!! So many comments left here, & emails sent to me, I appreciate it!! We never did go to the ER, hubby fell asleep on the couch & since he hasn't been sleeping well I left him. I asked how he is this morning, & he said the same. He WILL be making a doctor appointment right away tomorrow morning. At least he realizes he DOES need to see a doctor, I just wish he would have realized it before he became basically incapacitated!!! MEN!!!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Another award, & a sick hubby :(

Lucky me, I received another wonderful award!! Trina at Trina's Timeless Treasures gave this to me & I'm so honored!!!! Thank you, Trina!!


I think I'm supposed to hand this award to some other bloggers, but at the moment I'm thinking only about my husband. As I write this, I'm waiting for him to say "Take me to the ER". He has a host of health problems, including reflux so severe it often makes him throw up. He hasn't been feeling well for 2 weeks ~~ not eating, throwing up what he does eat, & having terrible pains in his chest & sides. I've begged him to go to a doctor. He doesn't have one, he never ever goes, so I've begged him to go to mine. He is SUCH a man ~~ he simply won't go. Well, now he's lying on the couch, doubled over in pain, telling me it's getting worse. I've researched his symptoms, & am very aware of all the horrible things this could be. I've shared with him what I think it is, hoping to scare him into going to see the doctor. Of course he couldn't just go during the week, like I asked him to. Now we will probably be going to the ER. I foresee a long night ahead of us!!! Please keep my hubby in your thoughts tonight!!!!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Sketch challenge: Take Two

Good morning!! Yesterday I didn't quite get the layout right on the SCS sketch challenge, so I thought I'd try again! I used an adorable Penny Black stamp I received not too long ago from HM Stamps. I'd never seen this image before & what a perfect summer card it makes!!! And this time I got the challenge right!!!


I stamped the image onto watercolor paper with black pigment ink, then embossed it with SU's Iridescent Ice embossing powder. That's right ~~ a sparkly hedgie!!! Maybe he just ran through a field of glitter!! I then used my SU markers & blender pen to color. I've tried my aquabrush many many times, but wayyy too much water comes out of that thing. I even started a thread on SCS regarding this brush, & whether or not it's a Niji. I bought it a couple of years ago, at Michael's in the art department. Some are saying Michael's doesn't carry Niji. Some say they do, & that perhaps I got a defective one. Regardless, I hate it & don't use it. I'm in search of a *real* Niji that works, & then I'm sure I'll be able to magically watercolor just like Anna!

Anyway, back to the card. I used a lot of Bazzill Bling ~~ that would be all the rosy red paper. I *heart* Bazzill Bling!! I bought an 8X8 pad at Michael's, then went back & bought another because I knew I'd be using it a lot!! (If any of you have found good deals on this paper online, please enlighten me!!) I used a piece from the Basic Grey Sugared 6X6 pad for the first time ~ had to break that baby in!! I made the flower in the corner from various flower punches, using the same Bling & Sugared papers, & added some Prima leaves & a Dew Drop. To adhere the Dew Drop, I used Stickles so it's a bit sparkly :) 3 Dew Drops in the corner, some ribbon & of course some Crystal Effects on the ice cream, & I was done!!! And I am very happy with how it turned out! See, I *can* follow directions!!!


I'm about to start the rag rolling part of my painting project, & I'm a bit nervous about it. Originally I was going to paint the wall green, & rag roll the beige onto that. However, in my search through the 'net I've found that it works better to use the lighter color as the base, & to roll the darker color onto that. Which, of course, means I'll have to go get another gallon of paint before I get started. What a project!! Wish me luck!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Quick Magnolia

I managed to make another Magnolia card ~ thanks to everyone who has sent me images! I can never get enough of these cuties, & I'm too broke to order my own :)

This is for today's sketch challenge on SCS, although my panels are a bit off. I had the Magnolia colored, & the paper that I wanted to use out on my desk. I took a quick glance at the challenge first thing this morning & thought "Perfect!". Well, I must be a bit blurry eyed from painting because the panel going across should not be all the way to the edge, & should be more under my main image panel. Oh well, hopefully it's close enough :) I want to do another ~~ the correct way ~~ but it will have to wait until tonight.

Isn't the paper gorgeous?? It's Organic Poppy by Bo Bunny & I wish I had bought more of it. Ditto on the ribbon, I bought that last summer at Hobby Lobby & it was ON CLEARANCE!! Why, oh why, did I not buy it ALL?? The pink panel is actually the other side of the Bo Bunny, run through my Cuttlebug, & I used Bazzill Bling on the layer behind my image. Here's a close up of the Magnolia cutie:


I used Liquid Applique on the frosting on the cake, Crystal Effects on the candle & just a bit of Stickles on the flame.

Thanks so much for looking!! Oh, & I want to thank Valerie for also giving me the Stempel Award! Please go visit her blog Pixie Dream Designs ~ she does some great altered projects!!

Have a great day!!!! I'm off to hopefully finish painting my son's room!!!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Meeting TWO stamping idols, & MORE blog candy!!!!

Well, I had a great time yesterday meeting Anna Wight!!! And what a surprise when I got there ~~ Leigh O'Brien was there as well!! She had flown into Chicago for CHA & came up to Creative Pals to spend some time with Anna. So I got to meet TWO of my very favorite stampers. I have to laugh at this ~ when I got home my husband asked "So ~ was she everything you expected her to be?" Ha!!!! I'd been so looking forward to meeting Anna, I think he thought I was going to leave him for her!!! LOL!!! Yes, she was everything I expected & more!! A terrific person & of course her watercoloring was over-the-top. Not only was she signing stamps that people either bought there or brought in, but she graciously created samples for everyone & signed them as well. You should have seen us sitting around the table, just staring at her while she nonchalantly did her thing. That woman could color in her sleep!!! Here's a picture of Anna & Leigh:


Aren't they both gorgeous??? And here's a picture of my friend, Copic QUEEN Kathy Sanders. She does the samples for Whipper Snapper & also teaches most of the classes, including the Copic coloring classes. She's been using Copics for YEARS, way before the craze started & she is UBER talented. If you've ever been to Creative Pals, you've seen her work all over the store. I never tire of going in there, even if it's not to buy anything (rarely happens) but just to gaze at all her beautiful work! Isn't she adorable????

And yes, I did manage to get a picture of Anna & me. But it's for my eyes only :) I will print it out & put it in a frame, right next to the magnificent sample she made for me!

As I was perusing my favorite blogs this morning, I came across more BLOG CANDY!! Ila at Artfully Ila is giving away Magnolia stamps from their newest collection, "Party and Vacation 2008". Head on over to her blog to enter!!!

I'm starting my painting project today ~~~ I did start a card last night that hopefully I'll be able to finish in between all of my goings-on today. On top of painting I have a list a mile long of other things I need to do ~~~ I must be pretty optimistic thinking I have *that* much energy!!! I'm still recuperating from yesterday ~ watching Anna do all that coloring (I was there quite a while, lol) really wore me out!!!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Miscellaneous Saturday.....

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!!! My posting is going to be very sporadic over the next few days. I'll be gone most of the day tomorrow, then starting Monday I'm tackling my 9 yr old's bedroom. We moved into this house when he was 3, & he's had Bugs Bunny & friends staring at him from his walls this whole time. I decorated his room with that theme thinking he'd love it forever!! Who doesn't love Bugs? Well, apparently it's time to move on to something else. So, we have to finish moving everything out of his room, I have to prep the walls, tape the molding, fix his wall where he peeled his drywall, prime & paint, & on one wall I'm going try rag-rolling (I've never done this before so who knows how it will turn out!!) then put everything back.....I figure it will take at least a week!!! I'm pretty sure I will have very little time to stamp or post here.

I have a few things to share today. I took this picture a few days ago of a sunflower in my front garden. I didn't plant any sunflowers in my front garden. I did plant some in my back garden. However, there are NO sunflowers growing in my back garden :( Seems *someone* did a little rearranging of my seeds!! No matter, they're pretty wherever they pop up! (But the ones in my back garden were RED! I wanted RED sunflowers!!)


I also want to mention some blog candy offerings:

Donalda at Enjoying the Journey is celebrating her upcoming 10,000 hits with an adorable Tilda stamp.

Kimmie at Kraftin' Kimmie's Corner is giving away some Magnolia goodies if you participate in her challenge!

and Marlene at A Lil Bit Of Me is celebrating the end of school with a Hanglar stamp & a ton of Hanglar images.

Head on over to these blogs to enter!!! These ladies create some fabulous stuff so plan on staying a while!!

I also thought I'd post a card I did a few weeks ago which turned out to be one of my favorites. I absolutely ADORE Penny Black stamps & of course I ADORE cats, so I just had to get this stamp!!


I don't think this picture will enlarge when you click it because I took the picture even before I had this blog, before I learned about the different resolutions on my camera!! LOL!! But I just really like how this turned out. I stamped the image onto watercolor paper & colored it with my SU markers & blender pen. The kitty with the book is cut out & popped on dimensionals, the cup has Crystal Effects & I used my Sakura glitter pen on the steam. I believe this is the first card I used my Fiskars Threading Water punch on. I added lots of Stickles to the many Primas in the corner. Penny Black & Primas & Stickles........it all adds up to a fun card!!

Thanks for checking in, it may be a few days before I can post anything new. I'm thrilled that I've received more fun Magnolia images in the mail in the past couple of days so hopefully I'll find some time to play with those!!!!!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Are you sick of sea life yet?

Ha!! I'm not!!! I *heart* the sea life images!! I loved yesterday's sketch challenge so much that I had to use it again, but this time I kept it the way it was given.


I stamped the image onto shimmery white cardstock (I use the Cryogen white found here), then used my Prismas & gamsol to color it in. I sponged Ranger Broken China Distress Ink all over (I went a little crazy with that, the water's a bit darker in some spots, lol) & used Crystal Effects on the bubbles & his mask. I took a close up of the diver so you could see a little better, although my pictures today are coming out somewhat blurry. I apologize for that ~ not sure how to fix it. I even used my timer thinking I was shaking the tripod, but they still aren't that great! I used the "Hugs & Kisses" sentiment, but I made it two lines instead of one by inking the words with a marker. I wanted to use my circle punch on it so I had to make it fit. Please don't look at it too closely, I didn't do a very good job lining it up! I wanted to finish by putting something in the corners, but nothing looked right. Dew Drops were a little too big, & rhinestones didn't look right. So I took a hole punch (sorry, not sure of the size) & punched 4 holes in the Blue Bayou cardstock. Glued them in the corners & added Crystal Effects to the top ~ VOILA ~~ brads that aren't bulky!! I've done this many times, & I sometimes add glitter to the CE to make them sparkly. I tried to take a close up but again ~~ blurry picture!


Here's a picture of the inside of my card, so you can see how I decorated it. (At this point I was ready to throw my camera out the window! If anyone has any tips I would appreciate it!! I even sharpened the images a bit in PSP & they are still blurry!! Please do not click on this last picture, the enlarged version is HORRIBLE, lol!). This card ended up being a crazy size ~~ 5.75" X 5". That's because I started with the image & worked my way out, & that just happens to be the size it ended up being!! I will have to attempt to make my first envelope if I actually want to sell this card. I've never made one before but I have a couple of emails in to some faithful friends who HAVE made envelopes. Again, tips are welcome!!!!


It's supposed to be in the 90's here today, & stormy. We could actually use the rain but I have lots of errands to run today so hopefully Mother Nature will wait until we get home!!!!! Hope you all have a splendid day!!

EDITED: I've decided that all the white space on the inside of my card is what makes it look blurry. So I took a picture just of the image I stamped inside, but you can still see the layers I added. Looks better than that nasty ole blurry pic!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

My very first Magnolia!

Hello, everyone!! We spent the day yesterday at the beach!!! I haven't been to a beach in ages, & I remembered why when a big ole fish came floating by me, belly up. Ewwwwww!!! But I went with a friend I hadn't seen in AGES, & all our kids had lots of fun so it was worth it. Today, though, we are nursing some sunburns!

I've been eyeing up the Magnolias for quite a while. I can't afford them right now, so I asked for them on the Wish RAK forum. It's a great place on SCS where you can ask for images, ribbon, cardstock.....anything that can be sent through the mail. In return, you send images, ribbon, cardstock, etc that YOU have to others who wish for them. It's a great place of sharing, & I've been able to acquire quite a few things I wouldn't normally be able to have!! So here is my first attempt at one of the cutie-pie Magnolia girls:


I used the Color Challenge from SCS yesterday ~ Wild Wasabi, So Saffron & Almost Amethyst. I got the Wasabi & Saffron part right away ~~ I found some designer paper that was sent to me, again from someone in the Wish RAK group (they are so generous!!). Now......how to incorporate the Amethyst, one of my least-used colors. Well, since I didn't have any matching Primas, I used various flower punches & for the biggest layer I used Amethyst. I also used today's Sketch Challenge from SCS. I had to flip it to make it work, & I probably have either one more or one less layer than I'm supposed to, but it worked!! I added some Stickles to the punched flowers, & I used a glue pen & SU's Dazzling Diamonds glitter for her wings. I included a close up so you could see her sparkly wings :)

Hopefully I will receive more Magnolias in the future ~~ I do adore these sweet little images!!

Monday, July 14, 2008

A whale of a good time.....

Good Monday afternoon everyone!! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!! Or should I say FIN-tastic??? I just finished another card using the High Hopes new release stamps. I seem to be a bit partial to the sea life stamps, there are just SO MANY to choose from!! And there are so many sayings to go along with them!! Crissy did such a fabulous job with these images, & somehow she managed to make TONS of cards using these images!!!! Click on her name to check them out, she is just the best artist!!!!! Of course, I probably don't have to tell you that ~~ she's UBER popular on SCS already, well known as one of the masters!!!!!

Anyway, enough gushing about Crissy. On to the card I *finally* finished!

I used the whale, the starfish, the seaweed stuff, & the waves to make this card. I used tons of Bazzill Bling paper ~~ I just *adore* this paper!! I used the Cuttlebug swirls folder on the blue layer, although you can't see too much of it. Guess I should have made the card just a bit bigger (it's 5.5" X 5.5"). I colored everything with pencils & Gamsol & cut the starfish out. Then I used my Versamark marker on the water & embossed it with Iridescent Ice & clear EP. I wanted it clear & 3 dimensional, but I also wanted sparkle so I used both. I used little bits of Liquid Applique on the waves. I sponged the sky with So Saffron & Cameo Coral, added some ribbon & 3 little pearls I got from Ellen Hutson's store, & called it done!!!

As you can see from the last picture, I love to use dimensionals!!! I never used to, I used to just glue all my layers together. But then I saw a lot of cards on Ebay with lots of dimension & I really liked how it looked. so I had to copy :) You wouldn't believe how many packs of dimensionals I go through!! I prefer the 1/16" thick, which I can find at Joanns & stock up on when their adhesives are on sale!!


One word about my ribbon, because I've had a few comments & emails about them. I LOVE that you love my ribbons. *HOWEVER*, my ribbons are an attempt to copy Pam Bassett's ribbon blossoms, which I have not been able to do. So many of us have tried, we could start a club. We stalk her blog, Indigo Studio. We stalk her SCS gallery. There's a thread under "Tutorials" on SCS in which we chit chat while patiently waiting for word that she's posted the tutorial on her blog. Thank you for the compliments on my ribbon "blobs" (hers are blossoms, mine are clearly "blobs"). But all I'm doing is desperately trying to recreate something that one of my stamping idols does!!!

One more quick word ~~ I do sell my cards on Ebay. I generally get them listed over there a day or two after posting them here & on SCS, so if you're interested, the link is on my sidebar. And thank you to those of you who have already bought cards from me (you know who you are!!!) ~~ you all are so kind & supportive!!!!!!

Thank You 4

Sunday, July 13, 2008

**sniff** My first award!!!!!




Ila over at Artfully Ila gave me an award!!! How cool is that?? I am so completely honored ~~ she tells me *I* inspire *her*. I cannot even tell you all how inspiring SHE is to ME!!!! Her coloring is absolutely over-the-top fabulous, her layouts are primo, she always uses just the right amount of embellishments & she's a good friend to boot!!! She's the one who helped me so much with this blog. So thank you Ila!!!

I don't have a long list of blogs on my sidebar, because I've only had this blog for a couple of weeks!! I'm sure my list will grow as time goes on because I'm inspired by so many. I'm not going to pick just one or two.......I love them all......so please run over & check them out, you will be inspired, too!!!


Awww....nuts.....

.....I don't have a new card to show. I'm hard at work on one, I swear, but it's a work in progress. It's a LOT of coloring & I haven't been home much this weekend. Yesterday the kids & I spent the day at my mom's, & today I met my friend Cris for coffee & a wee bit o' shopping. I was good, I spent less than $15 ~~~well, not counting the Vanilla Coffee Cooler I had at Caribou Coffee! But it was soooo yummy & I'm pretty sure I used up all of my calories with that one cup of icy goodness!

So......I will hopefully get that card done tonight. But since my last few posts have been ramblings & expressions of frustration over the idiosyncracies of blogging, I did want to share a card with you. This is the card I did for the May Project of the Month at High Hopes. It was a fun card to make, & it's always a thrill to see MY card posted on the web site!!


It didn't turn out like it was supposed to. I had an idea in my head & this wasn't quite it, but it's still okay. Heck, Jeanne Streiff made the other card for that month, that's a LOT of pressure!! I had to make sure it didn't look TOO bad next to hers!! LOL!! Anyway, I used SU's Basic Gray & Pink Passion papers, plus Papertrey Ink's Stamper's Select white card stock. I used a Splatter background ~~ the very first "background" stamp I bought (although it's smaller than SU's background stamps) ~~ which I *think* is from All Night Media on the white layer, then stamped the bag of peanuts & the single peanut all over the vertical strip. I used the corner rounder for the scallops (this was before I found Fiskar's wonderful Threading Water border punch!!), SU's ticket corner punch on all the corners & a bit of silver cord in the corner. I went a little overboard sponging behind the elephant, but all in all it turned out okay!!!!

Now off to work on that card with the NEW releases from High Hopes!!!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Well, color me clueless!

Who knew there would be *so* much to learn about blogging?! First there was the spacing issue, which wouldn't have been an issue if I didn't have a bit of OCD. Secondly, the enlarging/non-enlarging pictures. Thirdly, the subcriptions/non-subscriptions. I think I've got it all covered now!!!!!!! As I posted earlier, I have resolved the subscription issue! If you are still not getting notifications, please let me know!! AND.....drumroll......MY PICTURES WILL NOW ENLARGE WHEN YOU CLICK ON THEM!!!!! Thank you so much to my good friend Ila, who spent a lot of time helping me. She even took some of my photos via email & tried to enlarge them. Then she mentioned resolution. BAM!! *smacks forehead* THAT'S the problem!! I had my camera set to the smallest size, because when I got my camera last Xmas, it was set to the factory default of ~~ well, the highest resolution. When I was posting auctions on Ebay, my pictures were wayyyyy too big & at the time, I didn't have PSP installed on my computer. My old dinosaur computer wouldn't support it, so all I had was the editing program that came with it, which didn't allow me to resize SO (TMI, I know!!!! I talk a lot when I get excited, lol!!!) I reset my camera & never thought to change that for my blog, or my pictures I post on SCS for that matter. Geez, my pictures are probably all blurry over there in my gallery.

So anyway, I went back & redid a few of my pictures, the new release cards I did for High Hopes (the fish, the pirate & the clown), the Penny Black card from yesterday, & I even took a new picture of my Zinnia, because it rained last night & it was so pretty with water all over it. Those should all enlarge now when you click on them. If they are too big, I don't want to hear it!!!! LOL!!! Some of the cards I've posted are no longer in my possession, so I couldn't retake the photos but I did re-upload some of them in a larger setting.

SO ~~~~ barring any more problems ~~~ things should be smooth from hereon out. Thank you so much for being patient with me, it is definitely a learning process!!!!!

Anna Wight is coming to town!!!!

This is more exciting than *Santa Claus* coming to town!! In case you didn't hear the big news, Anna Wight will be at Creative Pals in Brookfield, WI next week Sunday, July 20th, starting at noon. She will be there all day doing demos with my friend & colorist Kathy Sanders ~ the extremely talented artist who does many of the samples for Whipper Snapper. If you've ever been to Creative Pals, then you've seen Kathy's exquisite work all over the store!!! Wild horses could not keep me away, I've admired Anna for a long time & we're even on the same design team, how could I NOT meet her!!! I hope to see you there!!!!

Feedblitz *should* work now!

I apologize profusely to those who weren't getting updates. Which would be everyone who subscribed, because it was my fault! The widget I installed for Feedblitz doesn't work with password protected blogs! So, I disabled the password thingie & it should work now, hopefully I don't have to reinstall it. And I'm hoping I won't get too much spam, but if I do there is a different widget I can use ~ I just didn't want everyone to have to resubscribe. NOW let me know if you are getting the notifications, or if there is still a problem. Thanks!!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Subscribers.......

I'm wondering if anyone else is having problems receiving notifications of my new posts?? One subscriber mentioned she hasn't received any updates via email ~~ anyone else??? I changed the template the other night plus a few other things, I hope I didn't mess anything up!!! Please let me know if you're receiving them or not!!! I'm so darn interesting I'd hate for any of you to miss anything!! LOL!!!!

Thank you!!!!!

Penny Black kitty

Good morning everyone!! Wow, did we have some storms here last night!!! Cracks of thunder & lightning, & some very loud rain made for a sleepless night for me! With all the flooding last month around here, I'm sure all that rain was the last thing some folks needed!!!

I did get to finish my card last night. Nothing special, just another adorable image from Penny Black. I actually picked this one up at a rummage sale at my LSS earlier this year. I love *all* Penny Black critters, & I'm usually lucky enough to find one or two at this rummage sale that they have twice a year. I used LAST weeks sketch from the Friday Sketchers blog, of course now they have a new one posted today. I'm usually a week late :) Click here to see *this* week's sketch. I love sketches ~ the hardest part of making a card for me is coming up with layouts, so I appreciate the people who take the time to post sketches on their blogs, the people who create sketch blogs like Friday Sketchers, & of course SCS, which has a sketch challenge each Wednesday.


Since I'm still trying to figure out how to make my pictures larger when they are clicked (I did try uploading them a different way today), I included a close up of the embossing I did. I used Colorbox black pigment ink to stamp the image onto watercolor paper, then embossed it with Ranger clear Embossing Powder. I generally will emboss the image if I plan on watercoloring it. And watercoloring for me means using my SU markers & blender pen. I canNOT color with ink refills, nor can I use that darn Aquapainter. I always get too much water! I even tried stuffing the end with a small piece of sponge like some recommended, but I still get wayyyy too much water. If I want to use water I will use a regular old paintbrush dipped in water. But I like my blender pen, I'm able to control it a lot better.

After coloring it I punched out a bunch of flowers with different punches using Bazzill Bling paper, one of my very favorite papers. Put them all together, added some Dew Drops in the lower left corner & added some Stickles to the flowers. All done!!!

And lookie what I woke up to ~~ an email from Inky Antics announcing the July special. Does the card of the week look familiar??????

Ok, I'd better get started on my day. I am getting my older son's room ready to paint & we have to take everything out. He's been busy for the last few weeks putting all his junk.......I mean, precious belongings.......into bins. Today we have to fill about 2 more bins, take stuff off the walls & start taking furniture out. He will bunk with my younger son for the next week or so.......I'm envisioning a few giggly, sleepless nights in the near future!!!!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Today is nature day

I wanted to share with you all this picture I just snapped of Papa bluebird & his babies at our birdbath (yes, the water gets changed every day ~ looks pretty gross, doesn't it?). I was at the kitchen table eating lunch & ran to get my camera when I saw them. I opened the patio door & they flew away. I went back in, leaving the door open a crack & sure enough they came back. I wish I had a better zoom on my camera, this is the closest shot I could get. Aren't they cute??


While I was out there, I thought I'd get a picture of one of my Zinnias. I've never had Zinnia's before, but I bought 2 different kinds this year. I'm not sure what the technical term for this one is ~~ all you master gardeners out there will have to help me out ~~ but I love the full heads they get. So pretty :)


I *am* working on a card, but I have a lot of domestic duties to get done today (other than taking pictures of birds) so I probably won't get to finish it until tonight. I promise I'll work on that rather than playing around with my blog colors & fonts!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Playing around...

Apparently I have nothing better to do than to play with my new blog :) No cards to make, no laundry to fold, no toys to pick up......nope, I'm completely bored. Actually, that pink was just too much for me. I kept looking at my boys faces in that picture over there & thinking "they would NOT appreciate being surround by pink!" So I changed it. I know I have a hard time not just with bright colors, but squishy fonts when I read blogs. Hope this is easier on the eyes!

And I'm STILL trying to figure out the picture thing ~~ I've had some good tips, I just need to sit & play around with it in my editing program. But not right now. I'm *really* busy!

Claudia's blog candy....

I wanted to let you all know about Claudia's FAB blog candy she's offering to celebrate 170,000 hits!! Way to go, Claudia!! You can find her blog, Pretty Pressings, here, & her De-licious blog candy here. She is an amazing artist, so plan on staying awhile!!!


Summer CHA!!

First, let me say that I am FLOORED that my blog has over 1,000 hits already!!!! In just over a week!! Mom, are you visiting my blog 50 times a day???? Thank you to everyone for your friendship, support & all of your comments!!!! I appreciate all of you!!!!

Summer CHA is just over a week away, how exciting for those of you who get to attend!! I've heard so much about it, & have seen many pictures on other people's blogs ~ I can only imagine what it's like to attend such a show! I, of course, am not going, but I have some cards that will be there!!! Jackie Lewis, founder of & now art director for Inky Antics, & I have become friends over the last 2 years. I'm a member of the Inky chat forum, where I started chatting with Jackie, & got to meet her in person when she came to my city for a stamp show. She's so sweet! Last winter she contacted me, & asked if I would like to make some card samples for the CHA ~ of course I said yes! I ended up doing 14 cards for them & even had a picture of one of my cards on the SCS CHA blog!! Nobody knew I had made the card, but I still felt famous, lol!! (That's my card, underneath the picture of Jami Sibley & Ronnie Walter).

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. Jackie emailed me & asked if I would like to do more samples for the Summer CHA. This time she wanted a total of 28 cards ~~ 14 designs, 2 of each. Now, I'm not good at creating duplicates. It bores me. Which is why I don't participate in many swaps. But I would do anything for Jackie, so I got to work. I did all 28 cards & even got them in the mail BEFORE the deadline!!!! I wanted to share a couple of those samples with you. I had to keep them a bit more simple than what I usually make, due to the amount of cards I did.


These samples are using the Well Seasoned line of stamps found here. Aren't they adorable??? They are created by Ronnie Walter, a fabulously talented artist who has done many other lines of stamps for Inky Antics. If you've never shopped at Inky Antics, hop on over there right now. They run specials each month, & for the month of July it's FREE watercolors!! You'll receive a set of free pearlescent watercolor set with an order of $45 or more. Go check it out!! And for those of you attending the CHA, lucky you!!! Stop & introduce yourself to Jackie, you will love her. Maybe you'll even get to meet Ronnie!! Oh, & say HI to my cards!!!!!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Coop party

I don't know if I'll have time to make a new card today ~~ I have tons of errands to run & as soon as my 5 year old is done with his tantrum, we'll be on our way ~~ so I wanted to share with you one of my very favorite cards I've ever made. I absolutely LOVE the Penny Black stamps ~~ those critters are just so gosh darn cute. The best place I've discovered to purchase them (with the help of some SCSers) is HM Stamps. Dick has a huge selection of stamps (& not just Penny Black, he also carries Great Impressions, House Mouse, Snoopy & many others), the best customer service & to top it off he's HILARIOUS!! His newsletters are always fun to read!! Anyway, back to the card:


I embossed the chickens onto watercolor paper using Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder. In the second picture you can really see the sparkle!! This image is so fun, so I thought it would be fun to glitterize the chickens! Then, I colored the image with my Stampin' Up markers & a blender pen. I love coloring this way & I'm trying to do it more often. I don't watercolor well with reinkers, the most popular way of watercoloring. I don't have any Watercolor Crayons. So this is my way of doing it. I added some flowers & some ribbon & I was done! I love the way this turned out!! And I don't say that very often!


Then of course I had to decorate the inside of the card, & the envelope. I had some leftover patterned paper so I used that, along with some white cardstock, to line the inside. I used a balloon stamp that I thought matched the Penny Black stamp very well, & stamped the inside plus the envelope. I love it when everything matches!!


This card ended up going to my friend Dawn. We met on SCS & have become good friends. She was so excited when she found out I sell my cards on Ebay, & has been bidding away ever since. This one didn't go nearly as high as some of my other cards, but it's okay because it went to Dawn :)

EDITED TO ADD: I guess I *don't* have the enlarging-the-photo-with-a-click right ~ I'll keep working on it though!!!

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