I'm a retired Legal Assistant, married to Garry for the past 32 years, and mom to Ashley who's married to Blake and the mother to my grandsons, Brecken and Brenner, and Amy, an intern for CRU at WSU. I love most paper crafts, but especially rubber stamping and card-making. It is, for me, exactly what the title of my blog says - therapy, it's cheaper than the real thing. I also love to laugh, travel and play BINGO!
Wanted to pop in real quick for a couple of reasons.
First, I have a card to share . . . another that I made for the Unscripted Sketches #52. I really, really liked this sketch and just had to give it another go. The candles are from a Stampendous clear set I had in my stash called “Birthday Candles”. The sentiment is from the “Birthday Messages” clear set from Hero Arts. I used my Slice and the Studio Essentials Design Card to cut the ribbon slider. Isn’t it cute?
I also wanted to let you know that I’ll probably be away from my computer for the next several days. My husband has had an accident involving his eyes and some battery acid, so I’m on my way to Arizona to drive him back to WA when the doctors say it’s okay for him to leave. I’ll be busy getting our AZ house all locked up for the summer, and then driving with my hubby and our kitty back to Washington – hopefully in time for the birth of our grandson, as well as our youngest daughter’s graduation! Yikes!! So, if you don’t hear from me, that’s why.
Lastly, I wanted to remind you about the recipe challenge we have going on over at ABC Toys & Crafts. You can get all the details of the challenge HERE. You have until Friday, April 30th to upload your project – we’d love to see your take on the challenge so get busy!!
Thanks for stopping by today! Please keep my hubby’s health and my driving skills in your prayers. LOL Hugs!
I’m back today with another sketch challenge card, this one for Unscripted Sketches #52. It’s an interesting one, for sure, which I really like. I think this also fits the Curtain Call Color Challenge Act 27. It also meets the requirements of the Our Creative Corner Challenge - Blooming Blossoms! I love it when things work out like that!
I used a couple of different flower sets from Papertrey Ink for the blossoms – Beautiful Blooms and Beautiful Blooms II. I also used the coordinating die cuts. I had so much fun putting these cute little flowers together. Buttons, Scrapper’s Floss and Pearls – the final touches. I created the stems using the newest EK Success Ric Rac punch. The sentiment is from Signature Greetings. This was a really fun sketch, and I look forward to playing along with more in the future! Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day!
Hi Peeps!
How was your weekend? Mine was fabulous, really. Nothing super exciting . . . just nice and relaxing. I wanted to pop in and let you know that the ABC Toys & Crafts Design team is participating in a little challenge, and we wanted to make sure that you all knew that we’d love for you to play along with us! It’s a fun one – a recipe! We were challenged to use the following recipe on a card or project:
1 Punch 2 Stamps 3 Embellishments
Fun, huh?
Of course, I had to bring out my all time fave My Cute Stamps set – Elegant Birds. Love, love, love those images. I stamped the bird cage onto cream cardstock and cut it out using my Labels 10 Nestabilities (Spellbinders). I colored the image with my Copics, and shaded around the image (while still inside the Nestie) with chalk ink and a dobber. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Here’s proof that I met the challenge:
We so would love it if you played along with us!! And there’s a prize!!
All of the details of the challenge, as well as Mr. Linky (where you should add a direct link to your project), can be found on the ABC TOYS & CRAFTS DESIGN BLOG. You have until Friday, April 30th, to enter your project!! This project also qualifies for the Curtain Call Color Challenge: Act 27 - fun!!
Thanks for stopping by today! I so appreciate it!
ETA: OH MY GOSH!! I made the Fab Five for the 2 Sketches 4 You Challenge for THIS card - see for yourself, if you don't believe me!! LOL Doin' the happy dance!!
I’m trying out Windows Live Writer because it offers the option of creating groups of photos. So, this is sort of a test. But believe it or not, I have another card to share with you!
I wanted to play along with the Moxie Fab World Get Sketchy Challenge. Cath challenged us to use this sketch from the “Go To Sketches” special issue. I love the clean and simple look of this sketch and can see myself using it regularly. I especially love the little message bubble. It just so happens that I had a Hero Arts clear stamp set called “Write Your Message” that worked perfectly for the sentiment bubble. I used Papertrey Ink’s “Scattered Showers” and “Scattered Showers Additions” for the rain, and the sentiment. I heat embossed the raindrops with clear embossing powder to make them look wet. And how stinkin’ cute are those gingham umbrellas?! That’s some yummolicious Jillibean Soup DP – called Egg Drop Soup. Don’t you love it?!!
That’s it for me today. I’m off to hold babies at my daughter’s church today. Hope you have a wonderful Sunday! Hugs! (Now I just need to figure out how to add my cute little siggy line . . . I just love technology!)
I created another sketch challenge card with a deadline of today, so I didn't want to miss it. Hence, the second post in one day, and on a Saturday no less. LOL
This sweet little card was created for two different challenges - Card Positioning Sketch #163, and the Wplus9 Design Studio Color Challenge #3. I'll probably use the color challenge again, since the deadline for that one isn't until May 7th. Again, I'm new to both of these challenges - fun stuff, I tell ya! I used a Hero Arts clear set called Adorable Baby Girl. Super cute images!! The background on the white panel, as well as the border on the sorbet panel were created using Papertrey Ink's Background Basics: Tin Types and Background Basics: Botanical. The sentiment came from Bitty Baby Blessings. I used my Slice and the Basic Elements Design Card that comes with it to create the circle.
I think that's it for me today . . . but don't hold your breath on that one! Hehehe
I know, I know . . . I'm posting on a Saturday. Well, I've been wandering around the house in my jammies, doing a bit of crafting, and relaxing a bit, too. I made this card for the current 2 Sketches 4 You Sketch #50 Challenge, and I needed to get it posted before the deadline. I've never played along with this challenge, so I was really excited to give it a go. Notice that I flipped the sketch on it's side. Worked better for my images. I've also used the current Caardvarks challenge, which is to make a monochromatic card. This is pretty monochromatic, right?! LOL I have until May 3rd for that challenge deadline, so I might need to do another sample. We'll see how I feel.
The pattern paper is some new Fancy Pants Road Show DP that I picked up at my LSS (which announced this week that they are closing their doors - CRAP!!). Love the soft and subtle patterns, as well as the sweet color of this paper. I thought it would go perfectly with the Impression Obsession clear set called "Home Sweet Nest." Isn't it pretty? I love that little momma birdie watching her eggs - thought this would make a great Mother's Day card, hence the sentiment.
That's it for me today! I'm having fun hanging out in my little crafting space this weekend, so I'd better get back to work before the mojo dries up. Hope you're enjoying your weekend as much as I am!
I'm on my way to get a manicure with my daughter, but I wanted to pop in quickly to share another card with you. Since my evenings are quiet (hubby is still in AZ), I've been spending them crafting. So much fun!! This is a little card I made for a couple of reasons. It'll be finding it's way to a friend's house . . . a very special friend who is my hero and inspires me every day. She's very brave, and strong, and has oodles of integrity - I want to be her when I grow up. She'll be having some surgery next week, and I wanted to let her know that she's in my thoughts and prayers. But I also want her to smile - do you think this will make her smile? I hope so . . . . I also made this for the Clean and Simple challenge on SCS this week. I'm really liking those CAS challenges. If you know of others, I'd really appreciate you letting me know about them! Thanks in advance!
Hope you have a faboo weekend. I'm going to a CABI party on Sunday, maybe doing some laundry. I don't know - I lead such an exciting life, huh?!! LOL Thanks for stopping by!
I know I've been promising those baby shower pics for a few days now . . . well, I'm finally organized enough in my life to get them posted. There aren't too many, as I tend to get distracted a bit when I have guests. But I have a few to share, along with some pics of the Diaper Cake we made!
But first, I wanted to share two cards that I made for the most recent Clean and Simple Sketch Challenge - FTL 86. It's a super fun sketch, and I had a blast creating with it. This first card is one that I made for a sweet friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I'm making dinner for her and her family tonight, and I wanted to include a card to cheer her up and inspire her to keep up the good fight!! I used a new set of stamps that I recently received from Wplus9 Design called Woodgrain Silhouettes. Love these images and will definitely be using them more and more. I also submitted this card for this week's CARDS Magazine blog challenge - to use Woodgrain. Love Paige's challenges!
The second card uses the same FTL 86 Sketch, but with a more masculine look to it. Not sure who I'll give it to but I really liked the end result. I used some new Bella Blvd. "All Inclusive" DP - the circles were already there, all I had to do was cut them out and arrange them. Now THAT's Clean and Simple if you ask me!! LOL Love the bright colors of this, too. Super fun to make!
If you're not interested in the pics from my daughter's baby shower, I'll just thank you for stopping by right here!! If you are interested, well then here you go! This is a pic of my daughter surrounded by all the wonderful and generous gifts that she received. This baby will be the best dressed and certainly have the latest and greatest gadgets to ensure his comfort and safety - thanks to all our amazing friends and family!
So, I didn't get any pictures of the food or anyone else that was there at the shower - but I promise you there were people there and I fed them! Very nice people and really good food!! LOL I guess I suck as a photographer. But I did think to take some pics of the diaper cake that Ashley and I made for the shower. It was much easier than I thought it would be to make, and will definitely do it again if anyone wants me to! Here's what we started with:
We used the Pamper's Swaddler Diapers in Size N and Size 1 - Size 1 on the bottom layer, and size N on the top two layers. We rolled the diapers and then wrapped them with a rubber band. That's a baby lotion bottle in the middle, and we used a plastic platter for the base. Once we had the layer done, we wrapped a large rubber band (purchased at Staples) around the whole layer. Easy so far, huh?
Here's how it looks after the three layers are in place. We shoved a 4 oz. baby bottle in the top layer, and attached that sweet puppy to the bottle. Cute, right?
Here's the finished product!! We used some Pebbles, Inc. DP called "Lil Buddy" - so stinkin' cute. We cut strips of the DP, layered them onto scalloped strips, wrapped them around each layer, and then attached a contrasting ribbon in the middle of each strip. When each of the strips were attached to the cake, we attached the coordinating stickers to the strips with dimensionals. I added all the different binkies as the final finishing touch - that kid will never want for another binkie as long as he lives!! LOL
There ya go! Baby shower pics and Diaper Cake pics!! Thanks again for stopping by today - it means the world to me. Now I'm off to the grocery store for dinner fixin's, and then I get to meet my son-in-law at Babies R Us to finish up the shopping for Baby Brecken. So excited!! Toodles!
Hope you had a great weekend like I did! The weather was amazing today - 75 and sunny!! That's unusual for this time of year here in WA, but I'm not complaining! It reminded me that spring is in the air, and that school is almost out. Time, once again, to thank your child's teacher for all the hard work that goes into educating our students. My youngest daughter is about to graduate from college as a middle school English Teacher (she still has to complete her student teaching this fall). She's fired up for the opportunity to touch the lives of young people and inspire them to learn. It's a tough job, but I think she'll be a great teacher.
I created this card using my Slice - oh my gosh, I am loving that thing!! I also used the new Fall/Back to School Design Card to cut out the apple image, first out of the red polka dot paper, and then again out of the green polka dot paper for the leaf. Isn't it stinkin' cute?!! Oh, and I just got my new Slice Hands Free Kit - amazing!! ABC Toys & Crafts had them in stock, but it seems they're sold out now. If you want one, I'm sure Julie (abctoysandcrafts@comcast.net) could order one in for you. But she does have the Fall/Back to School Design Card as well as the Slice in stock - you really need to get both of these!! LOL
STAMPS: Making the Grade (Kim Hughes Collection/Cornish Heritage Farms) INK:Tuxedo Black (Memento) PAPER: Vintage Cream CS (Papertrey Ink), Report Card DP (October Afternoon), Bitty Dots DP (Papertrey Ink), Lush Green DP (My Mind's Eye), Kiwi Kiss CS (Stampin' Up!) ACCESSORIES: Pure Poppy Saddle Stitch Ribbon (Papertrey Ink), Buttons (Papertrey Ink), Janome Sew Mini, 3D Dots (EK Success), Fall/Back to School Design Card (Slice/Making Memories), Slice (Making Memories), Rustic Cream Button Twin (Papertrey Ink), Glue Dots (Glue Dots)
This card was also one that I submitted for the September CARDS Magazine pub call, but it wasn't picked up.
That's it for me today, kids! I'll post pics of my daughter's baby shower, as well as the Diaper Cake that we made, tomorrow! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Just had to pop in to share some incredible news . . . oh my gosh, I can hardly say it out loud for fear that it won't be true. Okay . . . here it goes. Another one of my cards will be published in the September issue of CARDS Magazine!! Holy Crap, Batman!! I can't share the card with you here just yet because then you won't buy the magazine to see for yourself, right?!! LOL I am over the moon thrilled beyond belief and just had to share with all my stamping peeps. Thanks for letting me dance like a fool! LOL
I also wanted to share a card today. I made this for my mom's birthday, which was on April 1st (yes, she really was born on April Fool's Day!) I used my fave Solid Zinnia (A Muse) stamp with Versamark and Powder Embossing Powder (Zing/American Crafts). I feel like it's a really cool contrast with the Hawaiian Shores CS, accented with the Aqua Mist CS (both from Papertrey Ink). I used my fave-a-lave Retro Diamonds (QuicKutz) embossing folder for dimension and, of course some pearls and Satin Polka Dot Ribbon. Oh, and the Upper Crest border punch (Fiskars) - love it! The sentiment is from an old SU set that is timeless (but I can't remember the name of it and am too lazy to go upstairs and look it up). My mom really liked this card, but I seriously think I could smear some dog doo doo on some cardstock and she'd love it - she's a good mom. LOL
Thanks for stopping by today and for letting me share my good news! I'll share pictures of the Diaper Cake that we made yesterday soon . . . probably on Sunday, after I've recovered from the baby shower! LOL
It's ABC Toys & Crafts Tuesday at my house!! I hope you're as excited as I am! Hehehe
My sister and I are giving my oldest daughter a baby shower this coming Saturday. My grandson is due on May 16th, and it is an understatement to say that we are super excited for that little boy to arrive! The shower is this Saturday.
I recently received the new Baby Design Card for my Slice, and oh my gravy it has some stinkin' cute die cuts for a baby theme. First, I made the baby shower invitations. I cut the onesie out of the American Crafts Baby pattern paper. The star border was created using a Martha Stewart Crafts Stars Border Punch - I have a ton of ideas for that one!! Here's a mini shot of the inside of the invite - the text is computer generated. I made 34 of these puppies - can you say "mass production?!"
The next thing I made for the shower was the favors for the guests. Every party needs to have favors, right?! These were super easy. Again I used the Baby Design Card and my Slice to create the onesie, and the Basic Elements Design Card (that came with my Slice) and my Slice for the tag shape. Then I just filled some cellophane bags with candy, and tied the tag on with some ribbon. Super easy, and pretty cute if I do say so myself! LOL
Lastly, I made this banner again using the onesie, as well as the diaper, bib, and the heart images from the Baby Design Card and my Slice. Ohhhh how I'm loving my Slice!! I adhered the images and the letters (also cut out using the Baby Design Card and my Slice - surprise, surprise!) with 3D Dots to the banner shapes, and then sewed them to the wide saddle stitch ribbon. How stinkin' cute is that?! And super easy!! I can't wait for my daughter to see this stuff - she's going to flip out!
We're also planning on making a diaper cake, but not until Wednesday. I'll take pictures of that and post those later on this week.
That's it for me today! I hope you enjoyed my ABC Toys & Crafts Tuesday share. Thanks so much for stopping by. Oh, and before I forget - wanna win some Copics? Julie is giving some away - all you have to do is click on the picture of the Copics in my right side bar. All the details of the contest are there. Good luck - I hope you win!
I'm so sorry that I've been MIA lately. I've been working really hard to get settled here in WA and have been catching up with old friends. I also spent the weekend with my youngest at WSU for my last Mom's Weekend. We had such a great time - lots of laundry, shopping, eating good food, laughing at Jay Leno (he was the entertainment!), and just hanging out with each other. Good times, good times.
I'll be busy this week getting ready for my oldest daughter's baby shower that my sister and I are throwing. There are a couple of fun baby shower papercrafting projects in my future, and I'll be sharing a few of them with you here this week. But today, I wanted to share another card that I threw together for the most recent CARDS Magazine pub call. It features two new stamps sets from Gina K Designs. I'm kind of obsessed lately with doilies and sewing images, and these are no exception. I'll definitely be using these images again.
STAMPS: Nana's Needlework and Nana's Needlework Sentiments (Gina K Designs) INK: Rich Cocoa (Memento) PAPER: Spring Moss CS (Papertrey Ink), Gossamer DP (Memory Box), White CS (Neenah) ACCESSORIES: Janome Sew Mini, Lace (JoAnn's), Spring Moss Satin Ribbon (Papertrey Ink), Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!), Corner Rounder (EK Success)
I'm off to run some errands for the baby shower. I'll be back tomorrow with my ABC Toys & Crafts project. Speaking of ABC Toys & Crafts, Julie (the owner) has an amazing give away going on at the store blog - she's giving away a set of Copics people - you NEED to get over there quickly and enter to win!! (CLICK HERE)----->FREE COPICS<----------(CLICK HERE)
I'm back in Washington and gradually getting settled into my routine here. We had a wonderful family Easter (minus our youngest daughter, Amy - missed you, Ames!) and I was lucky enough to be invited to one of my oldest daughter's baby showers last night. Super fun and so many adorable baby gifts. Can't wait for that sweet baby boy to be born already!!
It's Tuesday, and time for another ABC Toys & Crafts share. I made this for an upcoming CARDS Magazine submission, and used two of my favorite Hero Arts clear stamp sets - Scalloped Borders and Essential Messages. Both of these sets are so incredibly versatile that I find myself grabbing them on a very regular basis. No stamp collection should be without them, in my humble opinion. To create the apples, I used a Martha Stewart apple punch (it seems that ABC Toys is out of this particular punch, but if you're interested in buying it, you could send Julie an email - abctoysandcrafts@comcast.net - and she might be able to order it in for you.)
STAMPS:Scalloped Borders (Hero Arts), Essential Messages (Hero Arts) INK: Enchanted Evening (PTI), Versamark (Tsukineko) PAPER: Kraft CS (PTI), Enchanted Evening CS (PTI), Sour Apple CS (Poptone), Bitty Dots DP (PTI) ACCESSORIES: Pure Poppy Saddle Stitch Ribbon (PTI), White Embossing Powder (Zing/American Crafts), 3D Dots (EK Success), Apple Punch (Martha Stewart Crafts)
That's it for me today. Thank you so much for stopping by. Hugs!
This will be a really quick post as I'm on my way to help my daughter in the nursery at her church. I get to hold the babies!! Yippee!!! Can't wait for that one . . . .
I wanted to share this card that I made as a proposed "Tuesday Trigger" for the Moxie Fab World. It uses my fun little "Get Crackin'" Fiskars Squeeze Punch again . . . I just love that baby! The rest is pretty self-explanatory.
STAMPS: Spring Baskets (Waltzing Mouse Stamps), Wood Grain Background (Hero Arts) INK: Rich Cocoa (Memento) PAPER: Kioshi DP (Basic Grey), Spring Moss CS (PTI), Grapesicle CS (Poptone) ACCESSORIES: Get Crackin' Squeeze Punch (Fiskars), Medium Scallop Border Die (PTI), Cuttlebug, Stampin' Dimensionals, Vintage Cream Satin Ribbon (PTI), Janome Sew Mini, Corner Rounder (EK Success)
Easter dinner is at my sister's later on today. Steak and crab for dinner - yummy!! Wishing you and yours a very blessed Easter. Thanks so much for stopping by today.
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just had to give it another go. The candles are from a Stampendous clear set I had in my stash called “Birthday Candles”. The sentiment is from the “Birthday Messages” clear set from Hero Arts. I used my Slice and the Studio Essentials Design Card to cut the ribbon slider. Isn’t it cute?
