Rainy Sundays, a card and toys in great peril! Oh my!

Well, it's a rainy Sunday here in CT.  David got himself a new Xbox360 game and he is way gone.  The kids got themselves some new toys thanks to Mamaw Neda (my mother) and they are way gone as well.  Which adds up to me getting some precious uninterrupted time to do a little paper crafting.  So, here's another pass at a Mother's Day card.  Wait, before I go into all that I have to share something.  As you may know the children came to be with us a year and a half ago and when they often play with their toys there would be great peril for the toys that could only be saved by repeated cries for "Mommy" and  "Daddy".  In the past two weeks that has subsided and Mommy has been replaced by their nickname for me "Bebee."  Now I am not sure what this means and am trying not to read alot into it, but I hope that it means on some level that they feel safe and know that they are and will be protected.  Then again, they could be calling out something all together different ... and I could be hearing what I want OR need to hear.

Okay, back to the project at hand.  This card went much easier than the other I last posted.  I suppose it's more my style or something.  I wonder if that's how one determines their creative style, does the project go easy?  Probably not, life is not suppose to be easy, right?  Anyway, the design is from Mary Fish's Stampin' Pretty blog AGAIN, she really does some wonderful things over there.  I spent far too much time on the ribbon.  The ribbon is SU's Whisper White Satin ribbon that I hand dyed Ruby Red - I wish I could say that it was an easy to do.  But that would be a huge freakin' lie.  This certainly wasn't my first time dying ribbon but I wanted a easier way to accomplish it and  read some obscure blog posting about using a marker instead of a reinker - let me just say that it was blotchy and looked awful.  Luckily I was able to simple wash the ribbon (after heat setting, not sure how that worked) and start over.  Take it from me using a reinker will save yourself a big mess of wasted time.

A Ruby Red Mother's Day

Details
Paper:  Close to my Heart Topstich
Cardstock:  Close to my Heart White Daisy, Chocolate, Stampin' UP! Ruby Red
Stamps:  Close to my Heart Delight in Everything, Stampin' UP! Well Scripted
Ink:  Close to my Heart Chocolate, Stampin' UP! Ruby Red
Fibers:  Stampin' UP! Whisper White Satin Ribbon
Punch:  Stampin' UP! Scallop Edge Punch
Design:  Mary Fish, Stampin Pretty Blog

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Wonderful Mother

So, here's my first take at a Mother's Day card.  These cards are never easy for me to make.  While my Mom appreciates handmade cards it ends there, scrapbooks and the like are just not received well by her ... not sure what that's about but I'm working hard to just accept it.  Mom can be a tough egg to crack sometimes, she likes to say one thing but actually feels/thinks a completely different thing.  Anyway, it's hard to do creative things when you worry that it might be unappreciated.  Sorry bout my moment of melancholy there ...

Close to my Heart Wonderful Mother

Details

Paper:  Close to my Heart Topstitch

Cardstock:  Stampin' UP! Whisper White, Close to my Heart Vineyard Berry, Colonial White

Stamps:  Close to my Heart Love Is in the Air, Stampin' UP! French Script, Well Scripted

Ink:  Close to my Heart Colonial White, Stampin' UP! Very Vanilla

Embellishments:  Close to my Heart Soft Suede Pinwheels, Mini-Medley Colonial White, Recollections Pink Rhinestones

Fibers:  Offray Organza Pink Ribbon

Punch:  EK Success Oval Punch 1-1/4" x 2"

Diecuts:  Sure Cuts A Lot Software, Cricut, Unknown Maker Scallop Ding-Bat Collection

Design:  PaperCrafts May/June 2010 issue, pg. 45 Sweet, Sweet Flower Card

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps.

Of all the people

Recently, I stumbled on a challenge over at SCS that's issued weekly called the Scrapbook Variety Challenge and a few weeks back they issued a challenge SVC118 Men in our Lives.  Since I have been thinking that I might need to do some scrapbooking for the adults in my life I thought this would be a perfect way to start.  As I previously mentioned on this blog I ran into a brick wall called life for awhile.  Eventually, I did finish the layout and here are those results.  My partner David and I have been together for 13 years now -- it's the longest sustained relationship in my life.  I won't go into the luck with which we someone found one another or the obstacles we have faced as a couple.

Of all the people

Details 
Paper: Stampin' UP!  Treehouse
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Buckaroo Blue, True Thyme, Basic Black
Ink: Stampin' UP! Classic True Thyme
Embellishments:  Stampin' UP! Whisper White Eyelets
Ribbon:  Stampin' UP! True Thyme Grosgrain Ribbon

Diecuts:  Making Memories Slice Basics 1 Design Disc, Sizzix Sizzlits Curlie Girlie

Design:  Reflections, Jeanette R. Lynton, Sidebar - Triple, pg 42 & 3

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Heart 2 Heart Challenges: The 1.2.3 Challenge

Well, I found a bit of the old mojo and created this card for the blog Heart 2 Heart Challenges.  This week the ladies at H2H issued  a 1.2.3 challenge.  So your project must break down to use one stamp, two patterned papers, and three embellishments. The sketch is from the Card Sketch Challenge on SCS actually Card Sketch #273 (issued a couple of weeks back) and I found inspiration from a wonderful little card "Birthday Froggie" created by user Cork1035 to CASE.  I did some fussy cutting on the prince frog layering a second belly and head over the bottom which isn't quite visible in this photo.

This card will be the perfect way to remind my grandbaby Caroline that I am thinking about her.  My daughter sent some new pictures last week that I'm holding in my email inbox just waiting to be printed and made into a layout!

Prince Frog Missing You

Details
Paper: Close to my Heart Daydream Paper Packet Level II
Cardstock: Close to my Heart Blush, Sweet Leaf, Stampin' UP! Chocolate Chip
Ink: Close to my Heart Chocolate Chip

Stamps:  Studio G Clear Stamps VS4911 Series 6

Embellishments:  Recollections Clear Rhinestones Pink
Diecuts:  Making Memories Slice Basics 1 Design Disc

Punches:  Stampin' UP! 1-3/4" Circle Punch

Design:  Splitcoast Stampers Card Sketch #273, Birthday Froggie by Cork1035

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Well, updates.

Well ... anytime someone starts with "Well" you know it's not going to be good.  Last week I saw a challenge on Splitcoast Stampers entitled "The Man in my Life."  So me being me I thought I could whip this one out in a day or so ... I mean I have the best partner in the world and all.  Then life reared her big old ugly bleached head and everything just crashed to a halt.

David is in the midst of a heavy grieving period for his mother (6th month anniversary of her passing.) His sister Eileen's leukemia is back and the bone marrow doctor (pardon my ignorance of his true medical title) is saying there is nothing to be done.  So it would appear that poor David has starting his grieving process for Eileen now.  The children got a phone call that I mistakenly thought would make them happy and I'm learning otherwise with regression issues and anger.  It's a shambles around here.  One of the cats is ill, we suspect one of the dogs is ill and two others are just christening everything for the fun of it.  It's bad folks.

So I don't have anything to show you.  The layout I mentioned earlier lays incomplete of journaling and of all things a title.  Creating is a bit forced at the moment, organic thought and action don't seem to be connecting.  Hopefully, everything will become copacetic again.  For now, thank you for stopping by, reading my ramblings and looking at my creations ... your support and kind words means more to me than I can express.

A little baby chic

This layout was so much fun.  How could it not be with a totally cute picture of my grandbaby and another interesting sketch from one of the Jeanette Lynton books.  Part of me wants to point out the things that didn't work out as well as I hoped but, I'm going to endeavour to stop critiquing my work to death.  It smells of pandering for compliments and I don't want to be quilty of that.  Anyway, I had fun with this picture and making the page.  Caroline definitely looks like she is posing for her mommy, wonder if she knew Audrey Hepburn in another life - definitely has that whole Breakfast at Tiffany's look going on. 

Baby Chic

Details


Paper: Making Memories Animal Crackers Ella
Cardstock: Bazzill Textured Basics Chablis, Unknown Mfg. White
Inks: Close to my Heart Cocoa
Stamps:  Close to my Heart Chocolate Alphabet Small
Embellishments: Making Memories Animal Crackers Ella Pebble Stickers, Stampin' UP! Rub-Ons Lovely Lines
Ribbon:  A.C. Moore Satin White
Diecuts:  Cricut Fabulous Finds Shapes Cartridge
Design: Imagine, Jeanette R. Lynton, Right Layout, Perfect Prelude - pg. 26 - 27

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Remember a sympathy card

This one created for the custodian at David's work is completely CASEd.  Even though I left SU last fall there are still several demo blogs that I visit.  One of those blogs is Stampin' Pretty by Mary Fish -- she has a very clean style of papercrafting that appeals to me tremendously.  This card is her creation, in fact I liked the card so much I copied it almost exactly - it's a wonderful masculine card.  I also attempted to line an envelope and while it appears that I have gotten the mechanics down I'm not sure that the little SU paper pad that lists this paper as So Saffron is actually it and not Apricot Appeal.

Sympathy Remember

Details
Paper: Stampin' UP! Prints Pack
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Textured So Saffron, Textured Taken with Teal
Ink: Stampin' UP! Classic Chocolate Chip

Stamps:  Stampin' UP! Medallion, Define Your Life

Embellishments:  Unknown Mfg., Mini Black Brads

Punches:  Stampin' UP! 1-3/4" Circle Punch

Design:  Mary Fish, Stampin' Pretty Blog

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Halloween 2009

Being that the kids came to live with us in November 2008 we missed Halloween.  So these pictures are of the first Halloween that we got to spend with them.  Both Kam and Jasey had very definite ideas of who they wanted to dress as.  At the time Kam was entranced with the Snow White movie so she of course wanted to be Snow White.  Jase is crazy for two movies, Cars and Toy Story - he wanted to be Lighting McQueen but the costumes were horrible so we talked up Buzz Lightyear and he went for it.  They were so excited getting dressed and preparing to go out ... I'm not sure but I believe it might have been the first time they ever went trick or treating.  It was a special day for ALL of us.

These pages were so much fun to do.  I love the colors and images of Halloween.  I probably should have scaled back a bit and choose one of the more kid friendly collections like Imaginese has but I went for the ever reliable Making Memories.  There's a forgettable first attempt at stitching on the second page - needed to be larger and more dramatic but there's always next year.

Halloween 2009

Details
Paper: Making Memories Spook Alley Collection, K&Company Tim Coffey Whimsy Collection
Cardstock: DCWV Textured Black
Embellishments:  Martha Stewart Halloween Transfers
Ribbon:  JoAnn Crafting Essentials Orange Twill, Black Organdy

Punches:  EK Success Photo Corners, Martha Stewart Pumpkin Double-punch, Small Bat

Diecuts: Cricut, Stamped Font Cartridge, Making Memories Slice Spellbound Design Disc

Design:  Reflections, Jeanette R. Lynton, Maine Frame - Four Square Layout, - pg. 52,  Triple Play - Three is the Charm, pg. 96

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Future PC guru

Kamdyn plays games on the PC frequently and Jasey has been begging to for awhile.  So recently, I began letting him try it, he's quite good at the mouse and knows where to find the red X to close something.  I took these pictures on the first day he got on the PC.  He was one happy little boy.  I bought this paper online and it looked so much better there.  It served it's purpose but boy I did overbuy (as usual.)  I did a little fussy cutting on the second page with the stars in an attempt to have some of them pop.  I think the effect is lost here.

Future PC guru

Details
Paper: Fancy Pants Rough and Tough by lili
Cardstock: DCWV Blue and Dark Orange
Ink: Stampin' UP! Stampin' Write Journaler Basic Black

Embellishments:  I-top 22mm Brad Maker, JoAnn Craft Essentials Hinges, Stampin' UP! Star Brads

Punches:  Marvy Uchida 2" Circle, EK Success Paper Shaper 1-3/8", Stampin' UP! 1" Circle, 1/2" Circle, Making Memories Spiral Paperclip 

Diecuts: Unknown PC Font, Sure Cuts Alot Software, Cricut

Design:  Reflections, Jeanette R. Lynton, Main Frame - Offset - pg. 57,  Sidebar - Main Frame - pg. 41

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

First day of school

I can't believe it's been so long since I last did an update, time just slips away.  I have a few things to show you today.  First of all, I have a layout of my niece Kamdyn on her first day of school (we call it that, but it's actually daycare.)  She was such a trooper on that day, a bit scared but not a tear in site (that was the next week.)  She's finishing out her time at the daycare this fall she will start kindergarten.  She's a very special little girl who has been dealt quite a raw deal in life.  It is my constant hope and prayer that we can avert the disastrous decisions that have formuated so much of her life till now.  Sorry, about that my heart turns to mush about these little kids we are attempting to raise.

Now about this page, the patterned paper is Crate Paper and do I have a beef with this company.  Over the past few months I bought four different collections from them and this page was my first use.  This paper is not true 12x12 (at least this collection isn't.)  After a bunch of measuring and remeasuring I wised up to the fact that it was not me but the actual paper that was not 12x12.  I made due but not this paper will probably be relegated to card paper which means it will be around as long as Methuselah was.

First day of school

Details
Paper: Crate Paper Bliss Collection
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Stampin' UP! Stampin' Write Journaler Basic Black

Embellishments:  Unknown Mfg., Floss Pink, Making Memories Alphabet Rub-ons Providence

Punches:  Stampin' UP! 1" Circle, 3/4" Circle 

Diecuts: Making Memories Slice Handwritten Fonts Design Disc

Design:  Imagine, Jeanette R. Lynton, Left Layout, Medley - pg. 34 - 35

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!