How Lucky Am I?!

Check out the beautiful RAK I received from Stacy Morgan, also known as Twinshappy. I have been truly blessed. Thank you so much Stacy for thinking of me. That was so totally sweet of you! I am honored to now own one of your cards!! I will display it and think of you and your kindness every time I see it! Thank you again my friend!

Lovely

I'm still "scrapping" - using up scraps from a previous project. This is from the Cosmo Cricket line Everlasting. I love the colors they used on it - grays, soft blue/green, rust and soft yellow. This one I focused on the blue, gray and rust. The image is from SU's Garden Silhouettes. I'm tired and forgot to put the ribbon on that I had planned...too late now. I love self-adhesive pearls, these ones are by Creative Charms. Plenty of them in a package in three different sizes. This card will be added to the pile I will use as teacher gifts at the end of the year.

Let's Scrap!

Actually, these are two cards I made out of scraps of Cosmo Cricket's "Everafter" line. I made a mini album using those papers and embellishments for my son's teacher. There was enough chipboard and stickers that it didn't end up too much like a wedding. However, there was lots of paper left over that I plan on making a nice variety of cards for the aide in his classroom as well as his speech therapist. Nothing like starting early, which is so unlike me!!!!

Colors used on the cards were Basic grey, Sahara sand, Aqua mist by PTI, Very vanilla along with the Cosmo Cricket DSP. SU's Pocket Silhouettes was used on both cards along with a Penny Black sentiment (a warm Hello) and a PTI sentiment from the set "With Sympathy." It's hard to see buy I also stamped the Filigree background onto the Aqua Mist layer. A few brads and pop-ups finish it up.

Another gorgeous day ahead! Yesterday we got our pondless waterfall going and what a peaceful sight and sound! We installed the water feature last August and it has added a whole new dimension to our landscaping!! The bird come in flocks to bathe and drink...talk about entertaining!!

Playing With PaperTrey Ink

How exciting to finally sit down and do some stamping. Yes, I should be cleaning, but I need a few thank you cards so what a perfect excuse! I signed up for a PaperTrey Ink swap over on SCS - one group involved making a card while the other group was for backgrounds. I made extra of this background so I could make something with it! I used the set Remember for the background along with the colors Black, Pure poppy, New leaf, Spring moss, Summer sunrise and Berry sorbet...and that's just the background!!!!!! The sentiment is from Floral Frenzy and is stamped inside one of the Borders & Corners circles. I am trying to simplify a lot of my cards, limiting the amount of layers and embellishments. It's not always easy, but I held back adding more to this card!!

An update on my sweet sick cat Fred, he is eating and drinking!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!! He isn't very happy when it comes medicine time but we get it into him. He has lost a big patch of fur under his chin and chest area which simply makes him look pitiful, but he has more energy now that he's eating and that makes me happy!! Thanks for all the kind words and prayers, I really appreciate it!

No Cards To Show

Last week work was so very, very busy!!! It was our belt rank advancement at karate and I get very stressed by it all. I'm what's called the floor conductor, organizing each testing, calling the students up to perform their required material so they can advance to the next belt. Lots to do and lots of stress to see that it all runs smoothly. Then I had to find time to get ready for my stamp camp of 19 ladies!! Great sales came from stamp camp, which is always good for me!!!!!


Now on to a sad note, my 12 year old black cat Fred was diagnosed today with cancer. I am so sad that I broke down and cried while trying to pay for the vet's appointment. I was fine with everything she told me because my dear sweet companion has been losing weight and just recently stopped eating all together, until she said that when things worsen I'll need to bring him back to say good-bye --- that's when I started tearing up and the secretary immediately handed me some tissues. I handed her my credit card and went for a walk, with purse wide open on the counter! I think she realized the vet handled that rather poorly, and gave me the time and space I needed. I'm actually crying right now as I type this! We will continue to love Fred and make him comfortable for whatever time he still has with us. I never had a cat growing up, my Mother "hated" them (you should see how much she adores Fred though!). He is such a lover of human contact, always greets me at the door when I come home, and even comes running whenever I call for him. I will keep you all posted and appreciate all cyber hugs sent my way, because I really need them right now!!!! Stamping will be the much needed therapy that always seems to help.

Be Still and Know I am God

For this month's Bible Verse Challenge as well as a new challenge I discovered on the Daily Dare Challenges (my link can be found over in the left column) called Color Chef Challenge. The colors are Close to my Heart colors that I actually have - Tulip and Sorbet. I used SUs Baroque Mortif and PaperTrey Ink's Guidelines and Everyday Blessings. Fun card to make! I'm off to get my son off the bus. Have a wonderful day!

Guess Who's a 4th Degree Black Belt

Yep, it's me!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!!!! A month ago I tested in Las Vegas and today the results came in, AND I PASSED!!!!! Only about 40% of us did! Boy does that make me feel extra special!! Now I can relax and get some stamping done! Or maybe not, over the weekend I started some major reorganizing of my stamping space and nothing is where it used to be!!!!! Hopefully I can get something done tonight and posted!

CTD37 - Just a Little Note

This week's Color Throwdown Challenge is Sage shadow, Cameo coral and Pink Pirouette. What lovely spring colors!! I used the PaperTrey Ink set Floral Frenzy. PTI is gearing up for their monthly release (set for the 15th of each month) and so far the sneak peeks are saying "BUY ME!!" I know I'll have yet another big order for them this month!!!!! I stamped the daisies in PTI Fresh Snow, the centers in Summer sun and the stems in Sage shadow. I also sponged around the scalloped edges with Cameo coral just to darken it up a bit. The DSP is Porcelain by Basic Grey. I can't believe I put this whole card together then discovered the coordinating brads still sitting there on my desk, what a goof. Well I need to add the clear rhinestones because I smudged along the flower stems (no such thing as a smudge, only a place to embellish!!). Each of the ovals that I used my Nestabilities on are popped up for lots and lots of dimension!! And the pearls are actually Dew Drops! I love 'em!! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Easter.

Funnest Birthday Ever!

I'm in a hurry so I apologize for the picture, it seems so far away! This card is for today's color challenge on SCS - Close to cocoa, So saffron, and Bashful blue. I also used a sketch challenge from SCS as well (#215). The stamp set is from Cornish Heritage Farms by Kim Hughes called Pretty Birds. Totally adorable set, too bad I don't use it more often (I seem to be saying that about a lot of my stamps lately!!!). I am a self-proclaimed lazy stamper, doing as little as possible to get a card done. Now with that said, can you believe I stamped the bird three times, watercolored him in with re-inkers, then layered him up?! That little wing gave me grief too!!! I'm continuing to go for scraps out of my scrap bin - I don't think I will ever see the bottom of it though! The sentiment is by AMuse. Super fun card to make. Now I'm off for some lunch then gotta get to work early today. There's so much going on the next two weeks I don't know where to start!! Thank goodness for a calendar.

Rockin' Robin Challenge

These are my two cards for the Wish RAK challenge to use a bird image on your cards. I received both of these images via WRAK. Now the idea of this weekend of challenges was to make two cards, one masculine, one feminine. I can't decide which one is which here!!

The first card's bird is from the set Spring Song and the sentiment is from AMuse. I used scraps of paper from my scrap bin -- I have lots!!!!! The bird and scallop circle are cut out and embossed using my Nestibilities. I really need to buy some of the new ones!!! Birdie is colored in with watercolor pencils this time. I added some vintage brads and the Riding hood red taffeta ribbon.

The second card is from the set Tickled Pink and the sentiment is Around & About Sentiments by PaperTrey Ink. Now here I colored in the birds with Copic markers and sponged some Bashful blue for the sky. One of these days I'm going to try sponging clouds! Again, I used scraps, even the card base was from my scrap bin!!

What a beautiful day we had yesterday!! The boys spent the day outside helping Dad put up a new trampoline - our other one ripped. I had a stamp camp -- prepared cards for 10 people and only 6 showed up!!! Oh well, they all had fun. Now to get working on some spring cards since I'll probably miss Easter!!!!!!!! And I'll need some reminding of spring since snow is in the forecast for tomorrow!!!!!!!

Let's Scrap WRAK Challenge Card #1

This card I made for a WRAK challenge I am hosting - make a feminine and masculine card using something from Wish RAK as well as your scraps. As for the WRAK item, it is my image. I love all the different Bellas so I often "wish" for them. This is Billybootbella and she is wishing a warm hello. I used an old stamp camp kit again, adding a few additional layers of cardstock as needed. I really do have a lot of these kits so I hope to use 'em up!!

Let's Scrap WRAK Challenge Card #2

And here is card #2, a masculine card. I received Riley via Wish RAK. I have had him colored in for quite some time now, just didn't have the right time to use him. I guess now it is!!! I used my Copics on him. Everything is from my scrap bin, even the cardstock I used to cut out a portion of the top note die cut!

Color Throwdown #36

I can't believe I actually did another Color Throwdown Challenge (orange, turquoise and pink)...that's two in a row!! Don't know why I had such a difficult time with this one. But once again I pulled out a set that hasn't seen any ink, Treasure Life by Close to My Heart. I stamped the flower twice, once in Pretty in pink and again in Rose red. I used my spritzer tool and a gray marker to add splatter. I blue sponged around the edges too. I had the pomegranate and orange embossed layer in my stash, so why not use them!! I finally purchased the Martha Stewart butterfly punch and love it! The wings are bent up and I love the addition of the tiny pearls. A few mini brads and lovely ribbon and my card is done. My corner rounder punch broke in the middle of this card!!! I really had to work at getting all the corners punched. Time to order a new one.

Still no word on my 4th degree testing results!!! I'm not a very patient person to begin with and this is absolutely killing me!!!!! I keep thinking, every day, "could this be the day?!"

A Glistening Christmas Card Challenge

A Christmas card??????? Yep, this is for the monthly Christmas card challenge. I made ten of these simple because I spent soooooooo much last year for postage that I vowed to not repeat it this year. These are actually for the month of March (which has come and gone already!), finished yesterday -- nothing like waiting till the last moment. Anyway, the image is from a Close to My Heart set called Merry Pursuits. There are four adorable elves in the set - this one skating, one opening a present, one building a snowman, and another swinging on a string of lights! I colored them all with the same color scheme, trying to copy the In Colors. And they all got glittered somewhere. The skater was my favorite so that's why I showed him! The designer paper I stamped the snowflakes on with a Papertrey Ink set called Snowflake Additions (the sentiment also came from this set). And they even got a touch of the sparkly too. I even ran that layer thru my Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots folder, my fav. I used Pacific point and Tangerine tango cardstock and Riding hood red ribbon.

I have to get ready for work. I'm hoping to get some cards made tonight as I have a friend and her mother who both celebrate their birthdays on Saturday! We are also having another Wish RAK challenge evening on Saturday so I want to get some images colored and ready to assemble. It's great having my mojo back!!!!!!!