Sharing What I Love

Merry Monday 4

2012-01-27T10:51:00.000-06:00

A very quick post today as I'm de-glossing cupboards. I'm squeaking this card in just before the deadline. I have to admit that it is a little difficult to be making Christmas cards but I know in the end I'll be glad I did. You can go to Merry Monday and see the other wonderful creations.

There's a brand new sketch challenge site that's starting next Friday called iSpy Sketches. It has a novel idea - be sure to click on it and join me next Friday.

Thanks for stopping in today.

Blessing from Yesterday: Getting the top of my quilted runner sewn together.

I'm Branching Out and CFC36

2012-01-26T08:45:00.001-06:00

This is my second post today and it will be short because I need to get onto my kitchen-painting project. This card is for the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge 36 - use only black and white. Last week I ordered some new DP from Ellen Hutson from a company called Echo Park. Now, I'm always slow at keeping up with new trends and I'm sure some of you have used supplies from this company, but I'm getting on their bandwagon. I bought a 6 x 6 pad of Valentine paper and totally love it. There are designs on both sides of each piece and the paper is heavy and great quality. The designs are wonderful. I'm looking forward to using them on my Valentine cards.

Not sure why there is a pinkish tint to part of the white but it really is all white. Loved this black and white plaid - looked bold and sturdy, like the tree image. This is another image from "Lovely as a Tree".

Yesterday I attended my second quilting class We are making a table runner. This weekend I have homework to do for the class on next Monday.

Finally, I just made the most delicious oatmeal breakfast. Go HERE if you like oatmeal, blueberries and bananas. Enjoy!

Blessing from Yesterday: Hiring someone to do repair on two rentals.

OLW 76

2012-01-26T08:17:00.000-06:00

I need to do two posts this morning because I'm doing two challenges. This one is for Susan's Challenge over on Simplicity - gray, white and just a teeny touch of color. This card also uses an image from the second set of stamps I'm going through in my quest to use every single image I own in the next couple years. Actually both cards I'm posting today are from this set from Stampin'Up called "Lovely as a Tree". This is is a forever keeper. Incidentally, that gray stripe down the center must be a shadow from something in the room. Thanks for visiting today.

A Hot Chocolate Valentine

2012-01-24T18:14:00.001-06:00

I belong to the Paper Crafter's Library (there's a link over on the right side bar) and last November saw this cute Hot Chocolate Holder by Tracy Wegener. If you want to see the instructions it's easy to join. This was easy to make and I'm hoping to make at least one more. This one will go to my younger daughter in her Valentine box. The little test tube came from Papertrey Ink. After I took the photo I realized the tube should have been in the middle.

Here's what it looks like inside. I bought some gourmet hot chocolate:

I've spent a majority of the day working on one section of my kitchen cupboard painting job. I have taken everything out of the cupboards, cleaned the inside, removed the doors and drawers, removed all of the hardware, washed them down and now I need to de-gloss, sand, primer and paint. I'm hoping I'll be done in a month. I have a very small, postage-size kitchen but I do have lots of cupboards and drawers. Gotta keep my eye on the end game - a fresh-looking, clean kitchen! Then John is going to put in a new sink and faucet for me.

What projects are you doing right now? Things like my project always get worse before they get better.

Thanks for stopping in today. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Blessing from Yesterday: Beginning my quilting class.

CPS 252

2012-01-23T06:17:00.002-06:00

I wanted to try the challenge over on Card Positioning Systems this week to make John's Valentine card. I've had some leftover goodies from a kit I got a couple years ago from Taylored Expressions and they worked even though it doesn't look masculine. There's no stamping on this card. I did, however, cut out a flower and added a brad to the center and adhered it over the top of the large red flower for interest. I also added a brad to two of the other flowers. If you want to see the other entries or enter one yourself, go HERE.

This is a large card measuring 8" x 5" so that I could accommodate the sentiment layer. I thought I would print off a photo of the two of us and put inside.

I'm working on a really cute hot chocolate holder/Valentine that I'll share with you tomorrow. I'm hoping to get a few of them made but they are a bit time consuming. Worth it, though.

My kitchen cupboard painting project is slowly getting underway. Removing all of the hardware and sanding is not fun. Yep! It's going to take me a month to get this job done. I can only handle working on it for a few hours a day.

Today I begin a quilting class. The class lasts 4 days and is taught by a friend of mine. She did the finishing work on the quilt I made my grandson for Christmas. I'll share my progress on that too as it happens.

It's really windy here this morning and warmer again. Such weird weather this winter.

Thank you for your visit.

Blessing from Yesterday: Several kitchen drawers emptied and readied for painting.

Merry Monday #3

2012-01-22T13:36:00.000-06:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was going to try to join the new "Merry Monday" Challenge. Lesley presents us with the challenge for the week and we are to make a Christmas card inspired by her challenge. This last week she had a sketch for us and below is my take on it. I turned the sketch on its side to fit my tree. You can't see it but there are sprinkles of "snow" on the blue background. This card also features an image from the second set I'm using as part of me going through all of my stamp sets. It's one of my favorites and can you believe it came out in 2001? It will remain on my craft table until I use all of the images in it.

Thank you for visiting today. I wish I could sit down with you and have a cup of coffee and a piece of my blueberry bread. I'm off to continue on preparation for painting my kitchen cupboards. What are you doing today?

Blessing from Yesterday: John set up a little painting area for my kitchen cupboard doors and drawers down in the basement.

First Stamp Set - Done!

2012-01-20T15:25:00.001-06:00

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I was going to take up my friend Susan's challenge and use each and every one of my stamp sets. The first set I pulled out of one of my drawers was this beautiful set by Our Daily Bread called "On Eagles' Wings". I decided to make two cards with it while I had it out and after using my Copics on the first card, I wanted to try water-coloring the second one. When I used the Copics I had to go back over the brown color with the colorless blender to remove some of the pigment so that the detail would show. Before you leave me any accolades, I completely CASEd this from a beautiful card that Amy Sheffer did HERE. Give her the accolades.

The second card is also a CASE job from Mostamps HERE. I didn't have any patterned paper that I liked so I made my own using Papertrey Inks Faux Ribbon. The cloud background was made with a template I have. My younger daughter asked me to make her a few more cards for her stash so this will be put aside until I get a few more to send her.

American Idol started this week and I'm already quite impressed with several of the voices. Some of their stories are so moving. Do you watch it, too?

Thank you for stopping by. Stay warm.

Blessing from Yesterday: Safety for my family in Seattle during this terrible snow storm.

Valentine Beginnings Inspired by Freshly Made Sketches

2012-01-19T13:26:00.000-06:00

I seem to send more Valentines than I do Christmas cards but I'm getting a late start getting them made. I just bought two adorable Pure Innocence sets from My Favorite Things. I used the current sketch from Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #18.

See the grey Awareness Ribbon on the first card? Did you know the Awareness Ribbon representing diabetes and brain cancer is grey? I'm kind of partial to these ribbons since John has Type 2 Diabetes and my sweet friend, Janelle, is battling brain cancer. I also have a heart for purple Awareness Ribbons because they represent Alzheimer's, which my Mom suffered with for many years before she passed away. Did you know there are MANY Awareness Ribbons and one place you can see all of them is HERE

So, the first Valentine will go to my friend Janelle.

The second card will be for one of my daughters. I really love to color and/or paper piece these Pure Innocence images. I also added some Glossy Accents to the hearts on both cards for a bit of interest.

I've decided to join my friend, Susan, over on Simplicity to use every SINGLE, image I own. I imagine this will take at least a couple years. Today I'm using a lovely set from a company called Our Daily Bread. I should have a couple cards to share sometime soon.

Thank you for visiting today. Hope you are staying warm and cozy wherever you are.

Blessing from Yesterday: Signing up for a quilting class.

No Card but Two Photos

2012-01-17T07:09:00.001-06:00

Every January 16th John and I have a little celebratory dinner, recognizing the day we first met IRL. Yesterday we celebrated 10 years. Not sure how that may years could have snuck by but it was January 16, 2002 when this 80-year-old guy flew 2,500 miles to meet me. On March 1st, we got married and it's been a wild and crazy adventure ever since. Here's our photo from last night:

Each year, on this day, we reminisce about the day's events in 2002. John flew into Seattle. He took a shuttle bus another 100 miles to where I lived. I was working and ran to the local airport during my lunch break because that was where the shuttle was supposed to let him off. Unbeknownst to me, John paid the shuttle driver extra to take him right to his motel. When he called the Church, where I worked, I wasn't there - I was at the airport. One of my friends had me paged to tell me that John was at his motel and was going to go get him. I hurried back to work and within five minutes, in walked my future husband. We've never looked back. I make John a photo album every year and the last two years, I've made the album online and the photo from our January 16th celebration is on the front. He loves to look through the albums and see where we've been and what we've done.

We have 4 pair of resident cardinals that keep John busy filling the feeders. Here is one male, waiting for his turn to eat.

I'm working on a couple Valentines that use my new Pure Innocence stamps from MFT and hopefully I'll have one to share with you tomorrow.

Thank you for visiting me and for your kind comments. I appreciate you.

Blessing from Yesterday: Being able to celebrate another ten years with my favorite guy.

A Winner and One More Card

2012-01-15T08:24:00.000-06:00

The winner of my little give-away is #1 - Denise!! Congrats, Denise. Please email me your mailing address at berkerster at gmail dot com. I did use random.org to pick the winning number but I couldn't figure out how to show it on here. You'll just have to trust me. :0)

I needed a card for a friend and wanted to use a stamp set I haven't used for a couple years. It's fun to try to decide what to "paint" the house and trim. Nichole Heady did such a fun job designing this set.

I did add some rays to the little sun (which is covering up a smudge I accidentally made after I had finished the card) so it looks more like a sun, rather than a yellow circle stuck on there for no reason. I may also stamp a little "hello" on it too.

Today we will visit some friends in Springfield. We are looking forward to that. Thank you for stopping by for a visit.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got to chat with my BFF on the phone.

CAS-ual Fridays 35

2012-01-14T05:29:00.000-06:00

I always have such good intentions about entering several different challenges and then end up not entering any. Yesterday I needed a card for a friend and decided it was time to do a CAS-ual Friday challenge. For this challenge we were to use scallops on our card. Here's my take on the challenge:

As I did with my last card, I used sticky back canvas for the main image. I'm not sure you can tell but I pulled a couple of the threads around the canvas to add a little fringe.

I'm waiting for an order from MFT - a couple Pure Innocence sets. I want to get started on my Valentine cards.

My friend, Bonnie, had a link on her site this morning to a new challenge that I'm going to try to join. It's called Merry Monday Challenge - you make a Christmas card every week. I probably won't make one every week but hopefully this will inspire me to make more than I did last year. How about joining me?

Finally, you have until tomorrow morning to enter to win Marianne Walker's book called Shadows and Shading. You can see details on this post. Please note that you need to leave a comment telling me how you celebrate Valentine's Day.

Thank you for visiting and for all of your encouraging comments. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Blessing from Yesterday: A warm home and wool socks.

Inspired by Jaydee

2012-01-13T05:52:00.000-06:00

First of all, if you use Copic pens you may want to enter my little contest. Go HERE to read about it.

I needed a sympathy card for my stepdaughter's significant other this week and after seeing Jaydee's beautiful card, I was inspired to make this one:

I always struggle with the placement of the sentiment on nearly every card I make and this one was no different. Not sure I like where it ended up. The image layer is stamped on sticky back canvas with Versamark and embossed with SU white embossing powder. Then I just swiped Ranger's Broken China and Shabby Shutters Distress Ink across it, followed by rubbing it with a piece of paper towel sprayed VERY lightly with stamp cleaner.

I learned about this technique last summer when I took a class from Jennifer McGuire.

Well, we got our first real snow storm yesterday. We live out in the country, surrounded by corn and soy bean fields so when the wind blows, there's no stopping the drifting. I was out in it in town for a couple hours yesterday and so glad to get home and be warm. I think today will be an inside day.

Thank you for stopping in today. Love your visits.

Blessing from Yesterday: Re-connecting with an old friend from my Church in Washington State via phone last night. It was delightful to catch up!

A Card and A Little Contest

2012-01-12T05:21:00.000-06:00

If you use Copics you may be particularly interested in winning this book by Marianne Walker called Shadows and Shading. I purchased one and then I won one. If you are interested in entering to win my extra one, here's the details:

This is open to anyone, anywhere
Only one entry per person
Contest is open until Sunday, January 15th, 2012, 9a.m. central time. I will draw one name to win the book.
To enter, leave a comment, on this post only, telling me what you do on Valentine's Day
You must leave some way for me to contact you. If you don't claim the book within 48 hours of winning, I'll pick another winner

Here's one more card I sent to the MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The hardest part of this card was lining up all of those squares. Hopefully the card was useful for someone.

I'm going to try and squeeze in some stamping for an hour as soon as I post this. I have a Landlord meeting at noon today and I am the treasurer and need to get some information ready for the meeting.

Thanks for visiting my blog today. I hope you enter my contest - I need some new ideas for Valentine's Day from all of you!! I appreciate you.

Blessing from Yesterday: Feeling better than I did the last 4 days.

Finally - A Card

2012-01-11T07:14:00.002-06:00

I'm still busy getting back to life here at home but I did manage to get a card made for one of my friends that just had surgery. My friend, Allison, sent me an adorable set from Hero Arts called World Dolls and I wanted to use an image from it for my friend's card. This set has many sweet images of dolls from other lands. I saw so many "tag cards" during December and I always wanted to try making one but just never got to it. Thought I'd do it for this one. The tag can be removed and used if the recipient so wishes. I used a layout I saw on a card by Kim O'Connell but couldn't find it on her blog. She does wonderful work, though, if you want to click on her name and have a look.

I wanted to try to show the detail on the image - Glossy Accents on the flower in her hair and Diamond Stickles on ta-tahs. Sorry the photo isn't clearer.

So far, this has been a very mild winter - cool temps but no snow. February can sometimes be brutal, here, though, so I'm sure we'll see some snow and ice.

My next post will have a little contest in it. I have an extra "Shadows and Shading" book by Marianne Walker. If you use Copics you may want to enter to win it. Stay tuned.

Thank you for dropping in today. I love it when you visit.

Blessing from Yesterday: Being able to rest in the afternoon - I'm still tired from our trip.

No Cards - Only Photos

2012-01-09T06:13:00.000-06:00

I'm having a difficult time getting back to blogging. We got home from Washington State last Thursday evening and I've either been tired from the trip or busy doing catch-up with laundry, bookwork tending to the rentals, or watching dvr'd tv programs. I got a delightfully adorable stamp set from my friend, Allison, inside her beautiful Christmas card and I'm working on a card from one of the set's images. So cute!

Since I have nothing crafty to share at this moment I thought I'd share some photos from our 3 plus week stay with family. If you'd rather not continue on, thank you for stopping by and hopefully in the next few days I'll have a new card to show you.

While staying with my younger daughter, Jennifer, we spent one evening driving around to see some awesome Christmas light displays. This neighborhood was FULL of decorated homes.

We also spent another evening driving to this home where they had a very fun and FABULOUS Christmas light show set to the music of several songs. Click on the link below and have a look at their shows. They don't have videos of 2011's shows yet but many of the same shows were presented in 2010. Just click on the tab on their site that says videos. If you're ever in the Seattle area during Christmas I highly recommend seeing this:

The Helmstetler Family Christmas Spectacular

On Christmas Eve we had a glorious time at my sister and brother-in-law's home. 27 family members dined together at this table.

On Christmas morning we were at my older daughter and son-in-law's home, opening gifts and sharing another wonderful Christmas dinner. Even the dog loved her new Christmas bed.

We spent an afternoon in downtown Seattle at Pike Place Market. Had some delicious crab cocktail and clam chowder.

Traditionally, we enjoy the Zoo Lights at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma with my older daughter and her family. Love the 100's of thousands of lights even when it rains as it did this year:

We did several other fun things including seeing an IMAX movie, lunch with my nieces and sister-in-law, riding the Light Rail into Seattle, seeing two other movies, enjoying a Starbuck's morning with my grandson, taking my girls for a pedicure and eating way too many goodies.

Most days we were going some place or doing something. I do hope you, too, had a wonderful Christmas. It will be difficult for me to top this year's. I'm thankful for our health that we can enjoy so many things.

Thank you for your continued visits and comments. Sometime in the near future I have a little giveaway. Stay tuned.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got caught up on my laundry.

Does Time Fly?

2012-01-03T10:57:00.000-06:00

Last year really flew by for us. Do you find that is true in your life, too? That time goes so fast?

We have two more days with my family and then we'll be home. We've had a great time here. Special times, particularly for me, being able to spend some one-on-one with my grandson. Yesterday he and I made a morning Starbuck's run. He doesn't drink coffee yet but likes Starbuck's hot chocolate. Seattle is Starbuck Heaven - you don't drive very far before there's you see one.

I may have made a dozen Christmas cards - at the most - this year. Below is one of them. I'm considering making a few each month this year so that when December arrives, I'll have a larger stash.

And here is another card I made to send to the MD Anderson Cancer Center during Splitcoaststampers Hope You Can Cling To Challenge in November. This card uses "inches" for the stamped image.

I'm not sure when I'll be back. I have lots to do our final two days here. Laundry and packing are at the top of the list today. There's also one more movie I'd like to see before heading home. Thank you for stopping by today. Your visits are always appreciated.

Blessing from Yesterday: Shopping with John, my daughters and my grandson.

Hope

2012-01-01T05:27:00.000-06:00

As a human being, we all need some amount of hope. After considering 3 different words, I finally decided to concentrate on "hope" as my "word" for 2012. I think sometimes "hope" can be overused or misused but I'm "hoping" I'll remember to recognize it better than I did my word for last year.

I think "hope" can be such a positive thought. Ultimately, my "hope" rests in the Lord. "Hope" is not really something we can control. Having been through clinical depression in my life, many years ago, I know what it feels like to not have "hope". It's not a good place to be. I'll try to share my "hope" with you in the coming year.

I get a daily devotion from Joni Eareckson Tada and this morning's really cinched my decision for this year's word. Here is what her devotion was about:

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him". --I Corinthians 2:9

I have several things I "hope" to do in the coming year.

Take good card of John

Visit my family in the spring

Read my Bible more often

Get back to walking and sign up for some 5k's

Take sugar and fat out of my diet as much as I can

Take a photo every day on my iPhone for the 365 photo challenge

Try some new things as a Landlord

Increase my stamping skills

Increase my Copic coloring skills

Do things for others to help them

Let my loved ones know I love them

Downsize more in our home

Take better care of my garden

Learn how to use my Yamaha keyboard

We spent a very quiet evening last night and were in bed before the new year arrived.

As always, thank you for your visit. I'll be back tomorrow with a card to share.

Blessing from Yesterday: Starting the New Year with my husband and my family.

How I Celebtrated 2011

2011-12-31T18:51:00.001-06:00

For the last few years I have joined several other bloggers that pick a "word for the year" to be a focus for the coming new year. My word last year was "celebrate". I have to admit that much of the year I forgot about my word and yet as I look through all of my 2011 photos, I certainly did celebrate many things. I share them below if you wish to look but first of all I want to say a couple things.

Thank you very much for your faithful visits and your caring comments. On the average, my stat counter showed 100 of you popping in for a few minutes most days. I appreciate that you come here.

One of my visitors named Linda left me such a kind and encouraging comment a couple days ago that I feel it's necessary to publicly say thank you. So, Linda, thank you for your faithful visits and for taking the time to write a very sweet note.

There are several blogs that are sharing some things from this past year that I thought were really cool. Here's some links in case you want to see them yourself:

From Joan B - Joan's favorite posts from her blog in 2011.

From Cristina - Some of Cristina's cards from other blogs.

From Mariana - A video of her favorite cards from 2011.

From Sue K - Some of her favorite creations from 2011

From Janelle - A Review of 2011.

And here are a few photos from my year of celebration. Come back tomorrow and I'll share what my new "word" for 2012 is.

In January on the 16th, John and I always celebrate the first time we saw each other face to face. We grill a steak, serve it with green salad and baked potato and a glass of wine - and this year I remembered to have our photo taken before we ate.

February we had a very special celebration. John's 90th birthday. We had an open house for him and friends and family helped us celebrate. John received over 100 birthday cards - thanks to those of you that sent them.

On March 1st we celebrated our 9th Wedding Anniversary. I also celebrated being able to spend the day with one of my online friends - Jovi. She drove up from southern Illinois where she and her family were visiting just so we could share the day having fun.

In April we celebrated our Lord's Resurrection on Easter Sunday. I celebrated a 5k walk with my step-daughter and granddaughter.

In May, John and I celebrated Memorial Day. John's name is on a brick at a little Military Memorial in our city.

In May we also visited my nephew in Iowa to celebrate Mother's Day. On the way home we toured the Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum.

In June we celebrated Father's Day by meeting my step-daughter and granddaughter in Pontiac, IL and having lunch.

In June we also celebrated being able to hook up with my friend Janelle and her husband Ken. We had lunch and toured the Abraham Lincoln Museum.

In July we, of course, celebrated the Fourth of July. But, I also celebrated meeting some very special people at a Copic Certification Class I attended in Chicago. Debbie Olson was our Instructor.

Lori Craig helped Debbie. Both were such sweet, lovely gals.

And a special surprise was that I also met my friend, Michele Boyer. Neither of us knew we'd be at this class. We had lunch together.

In August, we celebrated from afar, the wedding of my grand nephew.

In August we also celebrated our city's annual Arts and Balloon Festival. A new activity this year was sidewalk chalk art. I am thinking about entering this in 2012.

In September we celebrated my birthday and we also celebrated a wonderful little trip to the town in Indiana where John grew up. We stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast and enjoyed two days with John's son who joined us. We also remembered 9-1-1 and watched some very touching events on TV.

October's celebration was another trip to Iowa to watch my nephew in a play. On the way home we toured the town of Amana and ate delicious food in a German restaurant there.

In November my nephew from Iowa joined us to celebrate Thanksgiving.

In November, I also celebrated Veteran's Day with my favorite Vet!

And in December, we, of course, celebrated the Birth of our Savior. The final photo is of John and I at Pike Place Market in Seattle taken just last week, looking out over the sound. It's been a blessed year. I am very thankful for each and every celebration - large or small. I hope you, too, can reflect back on 2011 and see many blessings. Thank you for visiting. Stay safe tonight and I'll see you back here next year!

Blessing from Yesterday: Having a wonderful pedicure with my two daughters.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-28T08:24:00.000-06:00

We are still traveling but I did want to share a photo of the quilt I made my grandson for Christmas. It turned out smaller than I'd hoped but I was pleased with the results.

We've had such a nice Christmas with my family and even got to have lunch with my BFF and her husband.

I've not felt like blogging lately. Thank you for your faithful visits, anyway. I may continue to take a break from it although I do regularly visit other blogs. I hope you had a blessed Christmas and will enjoy a prosperous and happy New Year!

Blessing from Yesterday: Enjoying the beautiful Christmas light display with my family at Zoo Lights. It was a lot of walking but John was a trooper and did well.

Another Quilt Card

2011-12-10T05:51:00.001-06:00

I think I mentioned a while ago that I was making a quilt for my grandson. Mind you, I'm NOT a quilter. I'm a quilter wanna-be. I did manage to find a simple 9-patch pattern and got the top of the quilt stitched together. I then asked a friend of mine, who is an excellent quilter, if she would have time to finish the quilt for me - quilting it, adding the binding and sewing it all together. Yesterday I picked it up and it turned out really nice. Her finishing work is so beautiful. I wanted to make her a card to thank her so I used PTI's Quilter's Sampler set to create a quilt that looks a little like mine. Coloring those little bitty squares was a challenge. Even though I have new glasses I had to use a magnifying glass to help me stay within the lines. Just a couple little dots is all it took. I'll try to get a photo of the actual quilt today and share with you tomorrow.

We are getting ready to go see my family for Christmas. Busy times. Good times. Hope you are enjoying them. Here's the card and thanks for your faithful visits.

Blessing from Yesterday: Having lunch with a friend and picking up the quilt.

Surprise

2011-12-07T17:37:00.001-06:00

Just so you don't think I've fled the country, here's a couple things I've made recently:

Just like you, we are super busy trying to get ready to go visit my family for Christmas. I hope you are enjoying life and if you are, tell me about one thing you are taking the time to enjoy. Thanks to those of you that left a comment on my last post. I'm going to have a little contest coming soon. Stay tuned.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got several tasks checked off of our list of things to do.

Some Christmas Ideas

2011-11-27T21:36:00.001-06:00

I really enjoyed coloring the image on this card. It is from Mo Manning and you can find it in her online store Mo's Digital Pencil. Since the ribbon is quite bulky this would be a card to hand-deliver. I'm hoping I'm not too late to enter this in last week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge.

Have you noticed that tags are particularly big in the stamping world this year, especially this Christmas. I've wanted to make some and have been working on a few the last week. I purchased some new digis from Mo Manning - love her stuff. I also have a cute snowman from Cornish Heritage Farms - yes, the new owners have opened their online store. And lastly, I have an adorable snowman done by Torico. I have taken photos of all of them but I'm trying to figure out how to get them off of my camera and as soon as I do I'll share them.

I've begun making a quilt for my grandson for Christmas. It's a crazy task so close to Christmas but I'm hoping I can get it done and I will post a photo of it. Hope your Thanksgiving was as nice as ours.

So, what are you thankful for today? My friend Susan asks that every week on her blog "Questioning My Intelligence", and I'm curious to hear what your answer will be.

Blessing from Yesterday: Safe travels for my nephew back home to Iowa.

Thank you's and a Recipe

2011-11-22T15:11:00.001-06:00

I needed to send some thank you's today and decided to make them pretty much the same. I really love this set from PTI called Peaceful Garden. I made 3 of these. Nothing fancy or complicated about them.

Then I decided to use the same layout for a card for a friend of mine.

What are you doing for Thanksgiving? My nephew from Iowa is coming to spend a few days. I'm glad we are close enough to get together now and then. I think I have all of my groceries. I've been procrastinating about getting a few household chores done today but I'll get on them as soon as I post this.

One of my friends from Washington sent me this recipe. Sounds interesting and I may try it.

Crock Pot Candy
Layer in crock pot in the following order:
2 jars salted Spanish peanuts1 - 6 oz. Hershey bar2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips2 pounds vanilla almond bark
Cover and cook on low heat for three hours. Do not peek. When finished cooking stir well and pour into cup cake papers large or small.Makes 80 small cakes.

I use my crock pot frequently but I've never made something like this in it. My younger daughter is having family on Thanksgiving and she found a recipe for apple dumplings in the crock pot which she is going to make.

I'm looking forward to all of the good food and the leftovers.

Did I mention that I won 12 Copic Sketch pens on Splitcoaststampers Hope You Can Cling to Challenge? I was thrilled.

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you have time to stamp something or do something you enjoy.

Blessing from Yesterday: I got my camera back from the local sheriff after they confiscated it 4 months ago.

Okay, Just Two More

2011-11-16T03:35:00.001-06:00

I've made 19 different versions of this Gift Card Holder, now. So easy to make and fun to use up some of my DP. The first one will be going to John's daughter-in-law for her birthday this week. The image is a sticker from an old SU Scrapbook kit.

This one is for my step-grandson who is a techie.

Today I need to make a birthday card for my sister-in-law and one for my friend, Janelle. I think I'll make a cup of coffee and go back to bed. Awakened at 1:45a.m., got up and it's now 3:45. I was going to stamp but I'm getting sleepy.

Oh, one other thing - what has the weather been like in your neck of the woods? Ours has been totally strange. Two days of 74 degrees when it's usually cold and sometimes even snowing by now. Even though I don't like cold weather this is unnerving me.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope your day includes something you like.

Blessing from Yesterday: Connected with a young woman on Facebook that used to be in my Youth Group before John and I were married. She's married and has an adorable little boy, now.

More Gift Card Holders

2011-11-12T11:55:00.000-06:00

I've spent the last 3 days, off and on, making 15 of these gift card holders for my daughter to give to her volunteers this Christmas. I won't bore you with all 15 of them but I did pick 4 of my favorites to share.

Here is a photo of what it looks like inside. These turn out to be a bit bulky but I love the pop-up holder.

Here is a very easy one - Designer paper and a bow.

I had fun making this one with my favorite Papertrey Ink Santa. His coat is paper-pieced with same paper as the inside of the card.

And finally, a fun red and white one with candy canes from Papertrey Ink.

I have one more I'm going to make to send to a little girl who got a really good report card. If you want to try making these you can find the instructions here on Splitcoaststampsers.

Yesterday John and I went to Springfield so that he could partake of the free food available for all Vets and military. We had a delicious lunch at Texas Roadhouse, did some shopping and then went to see a WONDERFUL movie called "Courageous" - a movie about what God expects of Fathers and Husbands. I know it may sound sappy but it was really excellent. I cried. Laughed. And was greatly inspired.

Finally we went to Applebee's and John had his free dinner. I was still full from lunch so I just had a little dessert. Eight people thanked John for his service to his country. As we were walking out to the car, John started crying and said no one had ever thanked him like that before. He was deeply touched.

I have lots of cards to share with you in the weeks to come. Thanks for stopping by - come back again.

Blessing from Yesterday: Celebrating Veteran's Day with my favorite Vet!

Thank You Heroes

2011-11-11T10:19:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all of the veterans, past and present, for their part in protecting our freedom and our nation.

Did you know Applebees is giving a free meal to all military today? So are the following:

Chili's, Subway, Golden Corral, Hooters, Texas Roadhouse, THI Fridays'. There are restrictions on most (pick from a certain menu) but still - I'm glad to see so much support for the military. We plan to go to Applebee's today. Krispy Kreme is also giving away a free doughnut to the military.

There's a couple blog hops today you may want to visit:

Paper Crafts Magazine

Operation Write Home

If you see a soldier today, thank them for what they are doing.

One last thing - did you know Sears does this:

Sears - Christmas shopping this year.

I know I needed this reminder, since Sears isn't always my first choice.

It's amazing when you think of how long the war has lasted and Sears hasn't withdrawn from their commitment. Could we each buy at least one thing at Sears this year?

What commitment you say?

How does Sears treat its employees who are serving in our military?

By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and lose benefits as a result of being in active duty.

Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus programs, for all employees who are serving.

I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution. I suggest we all shop at Sears at least once this Christmas.

Be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the company gets the positive reinforcement & feedback it well deserves.

Blessing from Yesterday: LOTS and lots of stamping.

Great Tutorial

2011-11-09T03:35:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you but since we've "fallen back" to standard time, my inner clock is having a terrible time staying asleep. I've been waking up at 2 - 2:30a.m. every morning. One good thing is that I've been able to clean up and organize my stamping area. Yesterday I made the two gift card holders you see below. I saw a tutorial over on Splitcoaststampers for this one and it was perfect timing as I have two birthdays this week. The tutorial is very easy to follow and even though this may look complicated, it's really easy and fun to do. Plus, I was able to use up more scraps of Designer Paper. This one is for my stepdaughter.

Here's what it looks like inside.

And here's the one I made for John's grandson's significant other.

I'm going to make 15 more of these for my daughter who is a teacher and gives lots of gift cards to her volunteers.

The weeks are filling up with appointments, luncheons, company for Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, early family festivities in the Chicago area and then we will be with my family for several weeks in Washington state.

Here's one more photo from our trip to the Amana colonies in Iowa a few weeks ago. I made a few purchases in this great gift shop.

Thank you for visiting. I have lots of cards to share but lately, little time to share them.

Blessing from Yesterday: A safe trip to Springfield to do some shopping and have lunch with my favorite guy.

2011-11-05T07:45:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post this morning. Here's one of the cards I made for the HYCCT Challenge. This challenge asked for a pink bow on our card. I really adore this sentiment from the PTI set Harvest Berries. Rhinestones were added to the Designer Paper - you may not be able to see them.

I'm busy today with a much-ignored home and cleaning up my craft area. Oh my, it's in a mess.

I want to mention two very worthwhile events happening online. The first one is from Operation Write Home. They are requesting Valentine cards for our military. Please go to their site and participate. The other event is from Jennifer McGuire - she is collecting Christmas and holiday cards that will be distributed to nursing homes across the US. Go HERE to see the guidelines. Please join me in these two events and help make someone's life cheerier.

Thank you for visiting today. Before I go, here's a photo from our trip to Iowa a couple weeks ago. In the tourist town of Amana, we really enjoyed a delicious German lunch.

Blessing from Yesterday: Gutter work completed on one of our rentals.

Whew! Just Finished.

2011-11-04T07:33:00.001-05:00

I haven't been posting because I've been making cards for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers. I made 34 cards so I'll have lots to share with you in the coming days. I also entered the card below in a Copic contest. Now, I'm not berating myself, but honestly, my coloring is quite "primitive" compared to the other entrants. The winners did a gorgeous job and you can see why they won here on the Copic site. But, I still am happy enough with my card.

Have you begun your Christmas cards, yet? I made one the other day because I wanted to try out a technique I saw over on Vicky's blog. I scribbled on one of my acrylic blocks with a SU pen - Night of Navy - then spritzed it with water and "stamped" it on white cardstock. That's how I made the blue background of my one and only Christmas card, below. I used my new PTI Nativity dies for the silhouettes, gold-embossed the large star and added Diamond Stickles to the centers of the others. I hope I take the time to use these dies and the matching stamp set this year. I love the set but then I love all of my other sets, too.

Here's a link to Kristina Werner's blog where she is making Christmas samples each day. Great for inspiration. Thank you for your faithful visits.

Blessing from Yesterday: Finishing all of the challenge cards.

A Rare Second Post for the Day

2011-10-29T10:19:00.000-05:00

I wanted to get a card made for Susan's OLW challenge over on Simplicity. I used another new set I just got from PTI called Mehndi Medallion. I'm not usually very good at placing images like this on card - normally I stamp too many of them but I was able to contain my eagerness this morning and I'm fairly satisfied with the results although now that I look at it I think it could have used another small medallion at the top and the bottom. I embossed each medallion and the sentiment and added one red rhinestone for interest. I'll include this with the other cards I'm sending to the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Thanks for visiting again.

Two More from Anna Wight's Newest

2011-10-29T06:32:00.001-05:00

I've been going to share the following two cards with you for a couple weeks, now, and decided today had better be the day. I've got several samples for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge to post in the coming days and I wanted to remind you before I do that of this beautiful set by Anna Wight just released from Whipper Snapper called Lifetime of Happiness. For the first card I used SU watercolor paper for the background layer, embossing it first with the butterfly image, swiping it with Distress Ink, and spritzing with some Perfect Pearl Mist, which doesn't show up that well in the photo.

For this card I spritzed the image after coloring it with SU markers and stamped it off 3 times. The edges were sponged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

If you're interested, I'll try to come back later with some photos from our trip to Iowa last week. Thanks for stopping by. I love your visits.

Blessing from Yesterday: John got a new keyboard shelf set up for his pc in the office.

Do-Over Progression

2011-10-28T06:58:00.000-05:00

I've been steadily making cards for the Hope You Can Cling to Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers. A week ago John and I drove 7 hours to Pomeroy, Iowa to visit my nephew for a few days and now I'm 9 card challenges behind! We did have a nice time in Iowa, however, and visited a tourist attraction called the Amana Colonies on the way back home. We had a delicious lunch at a German restaurant there and picked up a few Christmas gifts as well. If you want to read about the Amana Colonies, go HERE.

One of the challenges on Splitcoaststampers was to remember the survivors of cancer by making a purple card. Even though I'm not satisfied with my final result, I'm posting the progression. I first made this card. It looked just ok but so rigid, or something.

So, I decided to add some flowers to it. First of all I tried to make a ribbon flower that was a disaster. Then I remembered I had these little flower stickers and added them. There are also some inside the card. I still feel like this card lacks character but I'm done with it and on to other ones.

I used my new PTI dies for this and a new stamp set called Faith and Hope. This morning I'm going to try to get 3 challenges done because I need 3 cards.

Also, my friend Janelle did not have encouraging news yesterday after visiting her oncologist. Please pray for her and her family. What a difficult time. Yet, Janelle remains so positive about the Lord and continues to give a solid witness of His love for her. You can read her latest post on her blog SHOW AND TELL.

Thank you for visiting. I have many cards I need to share with you so hopefully I'll be back tomorrow.

Blessing from Yesterday: Lazy day yesterday. Rested and got in some naps, too.

A CASE Card

2011-10-23T06:44:00.000-05:00

Have you ever purchased a stamp set and once it arrives you wonder how to use all of the pieces? I recently bought one from PTI, loved all of the samples during the countdown to the release and then when I got it and started playing around with it I kept wondering how all the pieces were supposed to work together. Good thing for the PTI gallery! Even though there's still a couple pieces in the set that have me a little stumped. I need to play with it a little more. Here's the result of my perusing the gallery for inspiration.

So I'm interested in finding a good face moisturizing cream. What do you use? I have been using Suzanne Sommer's but it has to be ordered online and I ran out before I could order more. The other day I bought some from Shiseido at Macy's and now that I've found the same thing online I see I paid too much for it at Macy's. Good face cream is so expensive but my face is sensitive and the cheap stuff causes rashes and makes my skin feel very dry and crinkly. I'm open to suggestions.

I hope you are able to have a relaxing day. I'll be back tomorrow with more of Anna Wight's fabulous images. Thank you so much for stopping by.

Blessing from Yesterday: Being able to see my nephew in a community play.

A Little More Betty and Farmer John

2011-10-22T10:05:00.001-05:00

Popping in for a quick post to share a few more samples I made with Anna Wight's fabulous just released stamp sets from Whipper Snapper. For this card I made a tall, slim sample, sponged the sky background and cut out Betty. I also paper-pieced her dress to match the dp on the rest of the card. I had a little piece leftover and made a gift tag, too.

One other set Anna designed for this release is called Farmer Brown and just like Farmgirl Betty, it is full of adorable images and includes sweet sentiments.

Made a little gift tag from this set, too.

And finally, one last card made with some of the veggie images from Farmer John:

Thank you for visiting. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Tomorrow I'll share some samples from the third gorgeous stamp set from Anna and Whipper Snapper.

Blessing from Yesterday: Safety in traveling.

Card Kit Challenge #4

2011-10-18T05:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I said I'd be back today with more samples for Anna Wight's adorable and awesome new stamp sets from Whipper Snapper - and then I remembered that today is our Card Kit Challenge. This month Nicki Jackson sent the rest of us a really fun - and tasty - kit! The theme is "A Night at the Movies", plus she noted that October is National Popcorn month. In our kits were included packages of candy corn and a package of microwave popcorn. Ahem, well, I ate the candy right away and that same night John and I shared the package of popcorn. Thank you Nicki!!!

Aren't these fun elements? Love the adorable image from The Cat's Pajamas, too. I decided to pop up one of the penguins on a dimensional and added Ranger's Glossy Accents to the popcorn for a little interest.

Please visit the other girls to see what fun creations they made with their kit and be sure to leave them some love.

Kim Howard
Sue Kment
Nicki Jackson

Tomorrow I'll be back with Farmgirl Betty. Hope to see you then. Thank you for stopping by.

Blessing from Yesterday: Finished my stack of ironing.

Supplies: Cardstock - CSS Kraft Like a Rockstar, Dare to be a Diva Red, Say Yellow to All Your Fans and A Blanc Check; Designer Paper - Reminisce, Lights Camera Action; Image - The Cat's Pajamas - Good Friends; Ink - CSS Perfect Little Black Dress; Embellishments - ribbon, Perfect Little Black Dress Twill (from the designer mix twill set), Die Cut Ticket Strips in Red - KI Memories Fire Tickets; Copic Pens

Here's the News

2011-10-17T05:13:00.000-05:00

Several weeks ago, our own FABULOUS artist Anna Wight contacted me and asked if I would consider being on the Whipper Snapper Design Team for the month of October, showcasing her new release of three stamp sets. LOVE the sets and I was honored and excited to be asked. Of course I said yes! Today, Whipper Snapper releases all three sets which you can see HERE. Today I'm sharing one card from each set and I'll have more tomorrow. The first card was made with the awesome set called Farmgirl Betty. Isn't she so adorable - one of those "natural" gals who even sports Birkenstolks on her feet. Betty has many friends and sentiments that are with her in the set.

My second card uses Farmer John (of course you know I had to LOVE his name!). Both of these sets come with so many sweet little images - chickens, bunny, veggies - and cute sentiments.

Finally, this card uses Anna's lovely set called "A Lifetime of Happiness". The images are just gorgeous and I really like the font that was used in creating the sentiments - very elegant. For this card I used Ranger Distress Inks on glossy paper after stamping the image with Versamark and heat-setting it. The sentiment was stamped in black and embossed with clear embossing powder. I wanted to keep this card simple because of the elegance of the image and sentiment.

You'll want to go to the other Design Team members and see their wonderful creations.
Shellie Daniel
Danielle Kennedy
Lesa Rapp
Anna Wight
Tammy Hershberger

Please come back tomorrow and I'll share more samples from each set.

Blessing from Yesterday: Spent a lazy day resting and doing very little.

Good Morning!

2011-10-16T07:06:00.000-05:00

Before I begin working on another card this morning I wanted to show you the one I made yesterday for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge - Things Are Looking Up. After I photographed this I added Stickles Pearls to the large balloon on the white dots at the top of it. I had a difficult time (which is usually the case) deciding where to put the sentiment. So, I went with plain rather than adding another piece. The "ground" is DP from Cosmo Cricket Earth Love. If I weren't so lazy I'd have sewn around the second layer.

We went to Church last night so today is wide open. Plan to stamp, then iron, then John and I are going to work on cleaning up an area of our basement - or maybe more, depending on our energy level.

Please come back tomorrow as I have an exciting post for you (well it was exciting for me, anyway). Enjoy your Sunday and thank you for your continued visits - love having you here.

Blessing from Yesterday: Being reminded at Church last night of our Savior's sacrifice for us and the wonderful GIFT He earned for us. Eternal life in Heaven.

Gift Package and Another Challenge Card

2011-10-14T07:59:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I shared a card I made for my grandson's birthday. Using the same DP and colors, I created this package from a template I recently purchased from Lauren Meader, HERE. This template comes with the CUTEST snowman embellies and two other templates for the top. Easy to make - I can think of lots of possibilities with it. Someday I'm going to get the software and a cable for my Cricut because Lauren's templates come with that option for cutting them out. I filled this with Russell Stover chocolate golf balls and I'll be adding a check as well.

I made this card for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge - Hang in There - over on Splitcoaststampers. The idea was to have something that hangs stamped on the card. I just downloaded this FREE image from Torico's site HERE. Even though the sentiment is not about "hangin' in there" I think there will be a use for it at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. I might add that thought inside.

The cooler Fall temps have been so nice. We even had a little rain to clear the dusty air. The farmers have been working hard at getting their crops down. Sometimes the air is filled with dust and pieces of corn husks.

Thank you for stopping by. I'll have more challenge cards for you in the coming days. I love it when you stop by.

Blessing from Yesterday: My friend Janelle had a wonderful birthday with lots of love shown to her.

Masculine Birthday Card

2011-10-12T05:15:00.000-05:00

My grandson's birthday is next week. He'll turn 14. He's an avid video game player and he's one of the reasons I purchased this Papertrey Ink stamp set. A birthday card sent to John last spring from my friend, Melissa, provided me with just the perfect inspiration for the layout for this card.

I'm making my grandson a 3-D container to hold a check and some chocolate that matches this card. I bought the pattern from Lauren Meader. I'll have it finished to show you tomorrow. I'll also have another challenge card I made for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge over on splitcoaststampers. I hope to continue making cards for those challenges all month long.

Please remember my friend Janelle in your prayers as she continues to deal with her brain tumor. She just finished her first round of chemo and radiation. If you haven't been to her blog, Show and Tell, please go there now and be inspired by this amazing woman.

Thank you for your continued visits to my blog. I love having you stop by.

Blessing from Yesterday: Nice day with John in Springfield.

Whoa! A Christmas Card?

2011-10-11T06:13:00.001-05:00

Although not one that I'll use because all of the cards I'm making will be sent to the MD Anderson Cancer Center. This was inspired by the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge. For this particular challenge we were supposed to make a card as though we were looking in through a window. I hope this looks like you're looking in through a window at a Christmas scene. It ended up being really simple. I scored the top layer to resemble siding on a house.

John and I have been doing quite a bit of work around here and my old, fat body is talking to me about it. Yesterday we had the power company come and take two old freezers out of the basement - now I need to clean up that area.

I've been working on some stamping things that I'll share with you next week. I hope you are finding time to stamp. Thank you for stopping by - your visits are always appreciated.

Blessing from Yesterday: Removal of old chest freezers.

A Sketch Challenge This Time

2011-10-06T08:15:00.000-05:00

Jimmi Mayo has a wonderful Sketch Challenge over on the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge. Even with the sketch provided, this card still has taken me all morning. I enjoyed the journey, though. See the plaid layer - I ordered several sheets of DP from Two Peas made by a company called Pebbles and this particular sheet is from the Fresh Goods line. This was recommended to me by my friend, Michele Boyer and it's wonderful DP - heavy and wonderfully made.

Are you feeling the loss of Steve Jobs? I read a great article about him on FOX news this morning - quite a life he's led. He truly was a visionary. Had several set-backs but never gave up. He was born to a woman that was not married and adopted him out. He grew up in a loving, working class family and later in life connected with his birth family. By the time he was 25 he was worth 100 million dollars. But, he never forgot the important things in life - family and friends. I LOVE my iPhone - it is such a wonder of technology. Right now I have it tethered to my laptop and that's how I now get on the Internet. I use it constantly, every day. If I could afford it, I would also buy an iPad. May his family, friends and co-workers be comforted in this great loss.

Thank you for stopping by today - love your visits.

Blessing from Yesterday: Finally finished crocheting a hat I've been working on for weeks.

One More Challenge Card

2011-10-05T09:06:00.000-05:00

This card is for the "Real Men Wear Pink" challenge on Splitcoaststampers. Masculine cards are difficult for me. This one turned out ultra simple and with not much pink but there was no rule about how much pink had to be on the card. I see a new challenge is up this morning so I'll get busy on that one soon. I need to get some housework done today - my ironing basket is over flowing. Thank you for stopping by today.

Blessing from Yesterday: Being able to enjoy this wonderful Fall weather.

Here's What I've Been Doing

2011-10-04T16:53:00.001-05:00

Stamping cards for the "Hope You Can Cling to Challenge" over on Splitcoasterstampers. I know for sure they'd love to have you join in. All cards will be donated to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas for the brave women undergoing treatment. This card is for the challenge called H.O.P.E. and we could only use paper - no buttons, bling, ribbon, etc.

This challenge said we were to create a card with pink critters:

This one had to be a circle card. I tried to emphasize the circles with the background and the roses.

Finally, this one is the result of an inspirational photo of some cupcakes. I CASEd this design from Laurie Willison's lovely card on her Soapbox Creations.

I'm working on one more and then I'll be caught up until another one is posted. Thanks for stopping by. I hope your weather has been as beautiful as ours. Warm days and cool nights. Our trees are all changing into their Fall clothing.

Blessing from Yesterday: Going to the eye-doctor and ordering some much needed new glasses.

Hope You Can Cling To Challenge

2011-10-03T03:32:00.000-05:00

I'm participating in the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers. I don't know how many of the challenges I will do but I'm hoping to do most of them. For today's card the challenge was to use rhinestones. I added one to each flower center and also embossed the edge with a new Cuttlebug folder I got on Saturday.

The flowers are inked with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink and then misted with Perfect Pearls Mist - the pearl look is really pretty but I don't think you can see it here.

All cards from the month-long challenge will be sent to the strong ladies being treated for cancer at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. I know everyone involved with this would be happy if you joined too. New challenges are posted each day.

I have another card to show you tomorrow and I've got two more I'm working on.

Thank you for stopping by.

Blessing from Yesterday: Enjoyed the beautiful Fall weather!

One-Layer Wednesday #66

2011-09-29T08:29:00.000-05:00

Both of the cards below are created for the OLW challenge over on Simplicity. If you've followed my blog you know that Janelle is a friend of mine and I've had the pleasure of having coffee with both she and her husband, Ken, twice in the last two years. Several weeks ago Janelle was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and is now undergoing both chemo and radiation treatments. If you want to be inspired please go read her blog. She is an AMAZING person. How about joining me in this challenge as well.

For my first card, I wanted to do something with coffee so I chose this card from Janelle's blog to use as inspiration. It took me 4 tries to get all of the masking just how I wanted it. I do wish I'd placed the sentiment a teeny bit to the left. I added some bling for a little interest on the mug.

This card was inspired by Janelle's beautiful card HERE. After stamping this one I wished I would have stamped the steam flourish in gray. This would be a very easy to mass produce - it took much less time than the first one.

Thank you for visiting today. Please take my straw poll over on the right.

Blessing from Yesterday: Safely helped John carry two large wooden shelving units up from the basement and into the sunroom. They fit perfectly and are already being used.

Another Sample from Class

2011-09-28T08:15:00.001-05:00

This card has several techniques on it. The green layer is actually white cardstock, brushed with Ranger's Peeled Paint Distress Ink pad. After that dried I mixed up Ranger's Pearl Acrylic Paint and Shabby Shutters Distress Ink on a plate with a paint brush. Then I painted an old SU flourish stamp and stamped it several times. I dried it with a heat gun and that brought out the design more clearly. The sentiment is embossed with SU Winter White powder. The felt roses were made using my new die from My Favorite Things. I really don't have that process down, yet. I used an older scalloped punch from SU to make the edges. I CASEd this card by Jennifer McGuire, changing only a couple things. This project was out of my comfort zone but I like the end result.

I decided to have my own straw poll for the Republican candidate. Seems many of the polls show different results - so what about you, stamping friends? All votes are kept anonymous.

My craft area is a mess and I'm not into doing anything about it just yet. I still have a few more projects to try from my class before I clean up.

Have you seen Susan's challenge this week over on her blog Simplicity? Won't you join me in participating?

Thank you for your visit. It's always wonderful to have you stop by.

Blessing from Yesterday: Had a very long chat with my BFF from Washington State.

This NEVER Happens!!!

2011-09-25T12:42:00.000-05:00

But, it's happening today!!! My second post for the day!!!

After doing quite a bit of stamping and then going online, I found that today is Papertrey Ink's Challenge for the month day. So, I decided to do this right away and found it quite enjoyable.

The colors are just swiped across the cardstock and dried. The "sun" is a circle that I punched out and then colored with Copics. Lastly I added the black silhouette of the bamboo. I really love this set - so many possibilities with it.

Be sure to go to Papertrey Ink and see all of the delicious samples stampers are posting. Thanks for coming back today.

Supplies: Stamps - Peaceful Garden; paper - Stamper's Select White; Ink - Spring Moss, Lemon Tart, Melon Berry, Hawaiian Shores, and Memento Tuxedo Black; PTI twine.

Little Chatter - Mostly Cards

2011-09-25T10:25:00.000-05:00

These first two cards are from the set I've been working on for my daughter that's a teacher - she uses lots of thank you cards. I was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Denise, when I saw these adorable cards on her blog The Paper Landscaper. I went to Mo's Digital Pencil site and bought the images to make these cards for my daughter but they can also be used for birthday or first day of school like Denise did. So, here's the first one:

Then the little boy image which I see I need to do something about the lines I drew in for the step:

And then here's another sample using that Distress Resist Technique on watercolor paper:

I also wanted to try just plain old cardstock with this technique. It works except the colors are not as vibrant and the paper does not lay as flat when dry.

Finally, I wanted to try out a die I just got made by My Favorite Things that creates these sweet little roses.

My only complaint is that 3/4 of the way into winding the cardstock around the end of a paint brush, the cardstock broke off and I had to glue it before continuing to finish. If any of you use this procedure to make these little roses and have a suggestion for me I'd appreciate it. I cut two of them and they both broke off. I threw the first one away and then realized I could just glue it. I added a pearl in the center (that's what Jennifer McGuire did) to the center for interest. That lovely lace was a recent gift from my friend, Michele Boyer, from Paper Cuts.

Next week I plan to share some insight into a couple of the new things I bought as a result of class I took.

Thank you for visiting. It's wonderful having you here.

Blessing from Yesterday: My friend Janelle had a good day.

Sometimes No Sentiment Needed

2011-09-23T08:47:00.001-05:00

I rarely make a card that does not have a sentiment on the front. However there are times when what's on the front is enough. I think that's true for this card. I used a technique on the flowers that Jennifer McGuire said, in class, was her all-time favorite technique! And now I can see why. It's called Pearlized Distressed Resist Technique and it's not as involved as it may sound.

My sample should actually be called Distress Resist Technique because I do not yet have the pearlized powder Jennifer frequently used on her samples but she said that this technique works fine without it, too. I will definitely be using this technique again and I love the results. (I have ordered some of the pearlized powder and will try this again using it.)

I used watercolor paper as Jennifer suggested but she also said you could use regular cardstock. The paper has to be able to absorb a bit of water and that's why I decided to use watercolor paper for this first attempt.

First I die cut the flowers and leaves. Then I stamped them with Versamark and heat embossed them with white embossing powder. Then I pressed two colors of Ranger's Distress Ink pads onto the die cuts (Tattered Rose ,Vintage Photo, Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint) and finally spritzed them with water. The water is what blends them beautifully. Jennifer said Distress Ink pads or Distress Ink Stains, which come in bottles with a dabber, are the only kind of ink to use with this technique. I may try SU ink pads sometime, though. The ink needs to be water-based.

Be sure to let your images dry thoroughly before touching them. Learned that the hard way. I added pearls to the flowers for interest.

I'm working on a set of cards for my daughter to use for thank yous but they are a little labor intensive so it's taking me a while. I may have one of them done tomorrow - I'm trying to find a sketch design that will be a fit for the images.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope this inspires you to try something new.

Blessing from Yesterday: Sold my plane!

Inspiration Showcase Bonus Card

2011-09-21T09:57:00.000-05:00

The inspiration for this card came from a bonus card Jennifer McGuire included in yesterday's lessons. Although the background on mine is a flop, I still wanted to use it. It was supposed to be another "kissed" background but I really just don't have many background stamps and the two that I chose didn't have the chemistry for smooching properly.

This card also shows how to use Stickles as a glittery covering. See the ghinko leaves (even though I stamped them red)? I put a blob of Stickles on each leaf and spread it over the leaf with my finger. You can't see it in the photo but it gives such a pretty, glittery effect.

I'm working on a couple other projects and hopefully I'll have something to share tomorrow.

Here is one more photo from our trip last week. This is John with a friend he hasn't seen for 40 years. This friend was in John's wedding - 65 years ago - and he is still married to the same girl! Such a cute and friendly couple. John and his friend were in the Navy together.

Thank you for stopping by today. It makes me happy to have you visit.

Blessing from Yesterday: Had a serious offer on my plane that I'm trying to sell.

Day 9 of My Online Class

2011-09-20T10:12:00.001-05:00

I am so BEHIND!!!! But I don't care. I have so much stamping that I want to do that I'll never catch up! I skipped from lesson one to lesson nine - which is today's lesson. On this card I have done the "kissing" technique (using Stampin'Up!'s Print Pattern and Aida Cloth - yes I STILL have those old background stamps):

I stamped off the other background stamp for future use:

I also incorporated both the embossing a button technique with gold embossing powder (Jennifer suggested using tweezers to hold the button while embossing with the heat gun - the prongs fit perfectly in the button's holes) and the technique brushing Perfect Pearl Powder after stamping an image. I don't really know if this gold powder is Perfect Pearl but it is similar. It really gives a nice pearlized look to the images:

And I colored two tiny pearls with Copics:

Here is the completed card. I do believe I really overdid the buttons!!! Too many. Oh well. It was still fun to try out all of these techniques.

I'll be back tomorrow with more samples. I hope this inspires you to try something new. Thank you for your visit - love it when you stop by.

Blessing from Yesterday: Good meeting with the Landlord Association.

Inspiration Showcase #2

2011-09-19T08:44:00.000-05:00

This is my second "resist technique" card for my online class being instructed by Jennifer McGuire. For this one we inked a background stamp with ink - I used PTI's Fresh Snow - and stamped on white cardstock. I heat set it - you need to make sure it's completely dry. Then swiped it with Ranger's Tattered Rose and Aged Mahogany Distress Inks. Buffed that with a slightly dampened cloth (I used a baby wipe). The inked pattern shows through very nicely. I added some tiny pearls for interest.
The butterfly was heat embossed and then color added from the Distress ink pads. It was cut out and popped up on dimensionals.

I'm working on another "resist" card this morning that I will share with you tomorrow.

Thank you for stopping by.

Blessing from Yesterday: John was able to re-connect with his niece that he hasn't talked with for 25 years.

First Card for Class

2011-09-18T20:53:00.000-05:00

I mentioned a few days ago that I'm taking an online class from Jennifer McGuire. It's a two-week class, FULL of great info. Since we were gone this last week, I'm really behind but we can work at our own pace so there's not a deadline we have to meet or anything. This card is the result of the first lesson. Glossy paper works best for this technique. Stamp it with VersaMark and completely dry it (I used my heat gun). Then swipe an ink pad over it. I tried several different kinds - SU, VersaFine, PTI - but the kind that worked best was Ranger's Distress Ink. I've got 8 or 10 of their colors and have never really used them but I found that they worked the best at revealing the stamped image. After you ink the paper, wipe it with a soft cloth. I just used a Kleenex. I applied more ink and then wiped it off again. I like the results. (This is a tulip.) So often I get into a rut of stamping and coloring and paying no heed to any techniques at all. For the next couple weeks my samples will have techniques I've learned in class.

Jennifer McGuire, so far, is using mostly Ranger products and you can tell by the dialog on the videos that she really believes in their products. I'm going to love learning the characteristics of their products so that I know how to use them better.

Jennifer is a top-notch instructor, so positive and encouraging and KNOWLEDGEABLE. Each class has a video and a PDF to download so I'll have plenty of info to carry on even after the class is over.

Why don't you give this technique a try. Jennifer said that you can use regular cardstock - it just doesn't work quite as well as glossy paper.

I'm working on my second project, now, and loving it. I'll have a sample for you tomorrow. Thank you for visiting - I appreciate when you stop by.

Blessing from Yesterday: Safe return home and John was even able to reconnect with another old friend.

Why the Silence

2011-09-17T04:08:00.002-05:00

John and I have spent 4 days in Indiana where he grew up and lived for several years. We met his son from Ohio and spent two days having a walk down Memory Lane for the two of them. John's son went home yesterday and we spent a few hours in Michigan City, 9 miles away, right on Lake Michigan. That lake is huge - John says 120 miles across. We are on our way home today. Here's a few photos of our trip:
This is Arbor Hill Bed and Breakfast. We stayed here 8 years ago and decided to enjoy another visit. It is a beautifully restored mansion. Our room was on the third floor so we got our exercise each day going up and down the stairs. Our room was small but very lovely.

This is John waiting for breakfast in the dining room.

And this is what our breakfast was that morning.

This is the gathering area:

One of us on the front porch:

We drove by the house where he grew up.

Went to the beach at Pine Lake:

One thing I love about La Porte are the planters that are all over town, overflowing with bright flowers and vegetation.

Toured a fantastic museum. Now this city only has a population of 20,000 or so and I thought it wonderful that they had this facility.

Here is John with his son who is also named John.

We also went to the cemetery, airport, two houses that John owned, where he worked, two other lakes, the school and Church he attended and just generally driving around the town several times to see what had changed in the last 50 years.

Yesterday we took a couple photos on Lake Michigan.

And this one:

I think John got to see everything he wanted to see. If you ever are near this area, I highly recommend the Arbor Hill Bed and Breakfast - beautiful rooms, reasonable prices, delicious breakfasts, and super nice hosts. (I did not receive any remuneration for telling about this lodging - we like it and I just wanted to share about it.)

In a couple days I'll have something crafty for you.

Blessing from Yesterday: Being able to find John's brother's grave.

Looking for Work?

2011-09-15T05:30:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry - no crafty thing today. I just wanted to give my younger daughter's web site a plug. She is a recruiter and has listed several new jobs on her site Customer Service Corner. If you are looking for work or know of someone looking for work, please take a look at her site. She has several tabs at the top of her site that you can click on - be sure to read her blog. She has a special desire to help military find employment and you can read about that on the top page on her blog.

Are you tired of working in an office situation - my daughter will give you the BEST professional help to find a job in telecommuting. Please share a link to her site with others. Thank you.

I'll be back in a few days with crafty things. Promise.

Card Kit Challenge #3

2011-09-14T01:03:00.003-05:00

Sue from Oregon was in charge of our card kit this month and Wow! She sent such great things. Isn't this a sweet image? Love the DP she sent us. Be sure to visit the other 3 girls to see what they've created.

Sue from Oregon
Kim Howard
Nicki Jackson

Thank you for visiting. Your time here is greatly appreciated!

Blessing from Yesterday: Phone call from a dear friend I haven't talked with in nearly 10 years.

Supplies: Stamps - Eline Pellinkhof/Eline's Babies; Cardstock - SU Night of Navy and Whisper White; Designer Paper - My Minds Eye - American Made/Petticoat Plaid; Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black and various Copics.

Another Garden Variety Card

2011-09-13T03:41:00.000-05:00

I really am enjoying this set and the accompanying dies. I also bought the picket fence die. I've loved the Martha Stewart picket fence punch for a long time but never purchased it so when Nichole released the fence die I knew I had to have it. This card began as a submission for the current CAS-ual Friday challenge which is paper piecing. But, the paper piecing on the centers of the sunflowers is so minimal I really don't think it qualifies. Next time I use the sunflower set I will use a darker ink. Once I stamped this one, I had to add Copics in order for it to show up.

I don't have a card made for my class, yet, and I'm already a day behind, now. But, we can really work at our own pace so it's okay. I like the technique we used yesterday - I just need to use a darker ink with it to make the image appear more clearly. Tomorrow I will post this month's Card Kit Challenge so hopefully on Thursday I will be back with a sample from class.

Thank you for your loyal visits. They mean a lot to me.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got our bills paid, balanced the bank accounts and straightened up my desk in the office.

Middle of the Night, Again!

2011-09-12T01:44:00.000-05:00

I've gotten into a bad habit of sleeping two hours, waking up and not being able to get back to sleep so I get up and am up until early morning and then back to bed for another couple hours. Then I get tired in the middle of the day and have to have a nap. So, as I'm writing this, it's 1:30a.m. In another hour or two I'll be tired enough to sleep.

Today is the first day of an online class by Jennifer McGuire that I'm doing and since she already has the lesson for the day up, I think once I get this post finished I'll head in to my craft area and give the first technique a try. Hopefully I'll have a card to show you tomorrow, sharing one of the techniques from today's lesson.

I needed a thank you card and decided to try out one of my new PTI sets called Garden Variety. This is a wonderful set - full of beautiful images. I bought the matching dies so I could make the seed packets. I'm not sure I'm using them correctly but here's what I came up with for my thank you card.

I also used the Year of Flowers collection for the gladiolus image. I stamped it on white cardstock, colored it with Copics and carefully cut it out and finally adhered it inside the die cut.

I'll have another card for you tomorrow using this same stamp set but with a totally different look. On Wednesday I'll share my version of this month's Card Kit Challenge - such a sweet image Sue from Oregon sent to all of us.

Thank you for your faithful visits. I appreciate the time you spend here.

Blessing from Yesterday: Enjoyed a nice Church service this morning.

May We Always Remember

2011-09-11T01:00:00.001-05:00

A Masculine Card

2011-09-10T03:32:00.000-05:00

One of my new PTI sets is called Peaceful Garden. It's a simple little set with some beautiful images. I needed to get a masculine birthday card to a friend and decided to use the bamboo image and matching die.

I used my Tim Holtz woodgrain embossing folder on the base layer to reflect the wood theme. Kind of a plain card which looks even plainer in this photo. Hmmm. I liked it better IRL.

Woke up at 2a.m. with a headache. I think it's sinus related. Now that I've been up for an hour and a half it's nearly gone. Guess I'll make some coffee and stamp for a while. I have to meet the handyman at 8:30 this morning so I'm a little afraid of going back to bed and then not waking up in time to meet him.

I hope you all take time to remember 9/11 this weekend and particularly tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by - I appreciate your visits.

Blessing from Yesterday: John got some more things in the garage sorted out.

Back to Business as Usual

2011-09-09T04:47:00.001-05:00

Thank you for all of your birthday wishes! I had a great birthday. John succumbed to my every whim!!! We drove 40 miles to get a good watermelon and 3 musk melons and some yummy very HOT pickles. Then another 40 miles to the Apple Barn, south of Springfield. Then to the the mall in Springfield where I got some new lip gloss. And finally, dinner at Red Lobster - shrimp!!

Today is bill paying day, a good brisk walk in about 2 hours, and some serious stamping. I have several challenges I want to do. On Monday I'll be in Jennifer McGuire's online class called Inspiration Showcase - oh my, I just looked at the Guest Teachers and one of them is Nichole Heady!

So, for today's card I used two of my new PTI sets. I think I got my stamp buying fix with this order - so many wonderful images to use that I'll be busy for a very long time.

Even though I love the Gingko leaves and berries in this set, I bought it primarily for this sentiment. I have many family members that will receive a card created by using this set.

Please remember to pray for my friend Janelle. She has an inoperable brain tumor and is undergoing treatment which is causing other challenges for her.

Thank you for stopping by. I wanted to say one more thing before ending today. I hope you all will remember 9/11 in some way this weekend. There are several tv programs that will honor the heroes of that day. FOX is having a good one this evening at 8p.m. central time.

Blessing from Yesterday: Enjoyed a very nice day with John.

HB2 Me

2011-09-08T05:16:00.000-05:00

Today I'm 68. I'm sure that sounds ancient to some of you sweet young things. A few years ago it sounded old to me, too. I don't feel old. Well, that is, most of the time. Until the arthritis kicks in or I notice "age spots" showing up here and there on my skin. But, I have to look at 68 years of God's Blessings and be amazed. So many blessings and so undeserved.

We have a Landlord Meeting/Luncheon today and that will probably be my birthday feast. The rest of the day is unplanned except for a little jaunt 47 miles away where John wants to go to get a good Illinois watermelon.

I made my oldest daughter a set of 6 thank you cards because she uses lots of them during the school year. The first one was a disaster but because stampers know how to cover up disasters instead of tossing them aside, I merely stamped on a strip of cardstock, layered it and put it on top of the disaster. Doesn't look too bad, now.

I'm really loving the Gracious Vases set I got from PTI this week. I'm not even one bit nervous over all of the empty white space.

I made a couple with a tiny pearl for something different.

I was inspired by my friend Susan's card HERE when I made these cards.

Thank you for stopping by today. Do something nice for yourself today. And come back to visit soon. I've got more to show you.

Blessing from Yesterday: A nice day with John in Springfield.

Paper Doll Challenge

2011-09-06T14:20:00.000-05:00

There She Goes stamps is celebrating their 3rd anniversary. Yesterday's challenge was to make a paper doll with one of their images. I won a set called Pumpkins on the Vine that was created by Torico and used one of the images from that set for my paper doll, below.

Then I thought that if this is a paper doll she really ought to have a change of clothing so I stamped her again on white cardstock, colored only her dress and cut it out.

I adhered a Basic Grey magnet on the back (they are really nice and thin)

The other magnet just snaps right onto the back of the image and here's what she looks like in this dress:

And here's a card I made to go with the paper doll:

Finally, here's the card with the little image:

Thanks for stopping by today. I love having you.

Blessing from Yesterday: Having lunch with John at a local park.

CAS-ual Fridays 18

2011-09-05T08:28:00.000-05:00

I'm hoping this card qualifies. For this challenge we're only supposed to use the colors red, black, and white. But, I just had to add skin tone to this teacher. This is going to my older daughter who will go back to school this week. She teaches fifth grade, now. She taught second grade for a number of years. I think she is one of the best teachers I know. Always, the week before school, she calls each and EVERY ONE of her students to introduce herself and welcome them to school. She is highly requested by parents because they know she cares about her students and they will be given the best opportunity to learn if she is their teacher. I know that sounds like I'm bragging but I'm just trying to say that I'm so proud of her and how she does her job.

I think I'll include a Starbuck's gift card in this, too. And I'm trying to get a pack of thank you cards made for her - she uses a lot of them.

I'm enjoying the cooler temps. John and I plan to take a lunch to a local park and eat today.

Are you doing anything special today? Please share. Come back again - I love it when you visit.

Blessing from Yesterday: A walk in a park with John.

Good Bye Annie

2011-09-04T08:16:00.000-05:00

For six years we have owned a wonderful motor home. Annie. Annie carried us down to Florida 4 times, over to Ohio once, up the east coast once, and clear out to my home state of Washington once. Plus several camping trips around Illinois. 18, 374 miles to be exact. After John's stroke last July, we decided that it was now too much work to keep Annie anymore and she was too expensive to just have her setting out in the back for months. Last Fall we put her up for sale but it was a poor time to do that and in February, after only receiving calls from scammers, I pulled the ads down. In June I placed ads on two rv sites and about a month ago we had a call from a man in Indiana that was interested in buying her. Yesterday he came and took her to his home. We were sad the rest of the day. But, we told each other that we move on and find the next adventure. Some of my best and most precious memories are from trips we made in Annie. We'll always have those memories to revisit and enjoy.

Last week I won a stamp set from There She Goes, created by one of my favorite artists - Torico. I'm not a big fan of Halloween but I must say that the images in this set are adorable and I plan to make several cards with them. This one is my first. The images stamp clean and are designed to be great to color.

I love that I can sit in my office at my computer and purchase digi paper to match what I need - like the polka dotted layer on the card. It is from Lauren Meader's store, HERE.

Both the main image and the little pumpkin on the "ground" are popped up on dimensionals. I ran the purple layer through my Cuttlebug using a viney kind of embossing pattern.

Thank goodness the air is 40 degrees cooler right now than it was yesterday. I think Summer is over. We don't plan to go anywhere today or tomorrow - how about you? Anything special happening where you live?

Tomorrow I should have a card to share with you that will go to my older daughter. Thanks for stopping by today - you are always welcome here.

Blessing from Yesterday: Annie went to a new home.

Another Torico Image

2011-09-03T04:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I shared the puppy/duck image from Torico's Etsy shop Birdie Brown that I purchased a couple weeks ago. Here is a card made with the other image I purchased. Love this little girl - she looks so deep in thought.

My PTI order did not come yesterday. I stalked the mailbox all morning until the mail finally arrived. So, maybe today. I have a couple cards I want to make right away with some of the images so I hope I don't have to wait until next TUESDAY!!!

I signed up for Jennifer McGuire's online class which begins soon. It's only $19 and promises to be a fantastic class. If you're interested in joining me you can go HERE for details. Registration closes on Monday.

We are only supposed to have one more day of this heat and then it will cool down. I never thought I'd say this but I'll be glad for cooler days.

Tomorrow I'll have a card from my new set I won from There She Goes. Come back and visit. I love having you!

Blessing from Yesterday: I received my card kit from Sue from Oregon for our next Card Kit Challenge which will happen on September 13th.

A New Digi

2011-09-02T05:26:00.000-05:00

I bought a couple digi images from Torico's Esty shop, Birdie Brown, last week. I really love her artwork. I also won an adorable Halloween set from There She Goes which I received yesterday - images created by Torico. It's my first stamp set from TSG and I highly recommend them. Great quality and very fast delivery. I'll have a card from that set in a couple days. I started coloring one of the images last night - very fun.

Back to this card. I've been trying to send my friend, Janelle, a card every Friday. You may remember that one month ago she was diagnosed with brain cancer and is currently undergoing both chemo and radiation treatments. You really ought to visit her blog Show and Tell and read this journey she's on. Her posts are A-MA-ZING. This is one of the cards I've made for her. Please pray for her.

Oh my word - it was 104 degrees here yesterday! Supposed to be 100 today, 101 tomorrow, and then finally begin to cool down. Actually a couple of my friends said it was 106 at their place. It was too hot to be outside very long.

Please have a look at the stamps I have for sale - there's a link to the page at the top of this page.

Thank you for stopping by. Love to have you here.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got an area cleaned in my home that has been bugging me for several weeks. Sure feels good! Now to just keep it that way!

More Green Thumb

2011-09-01T09:21:00.001-05:00

When I had my PTI "Green Thumb" set out last week, I made two cards before putting it away. I posted one last week and this is the other one. You probably can't tell but I added Diamond Stickles to the centers of the flowers for added interest. I also sponged around the edges to warm up all of that white space that makes me so nervous! This is a fun little set with several options - little dots for the flower centers, teeny tiny leaves, and sentiments.

The Summer heat is not quite over, here, yet. It was 99 yesterday and supposed to be 101 today. Next week, however, we can expect it to cool down. I can feel Fall in the air, even though it's been hot.

I was able to order some things from PTI on Monday - looking forward to playing with some new things I've really been wanting.

How's the temperatures where you live?

Blessings from Yesterday: Unloaded all the "stuff" from the bottom compartments of the motor home. It's going to a new home today or tomorrow. *sniff* We will be sad.

Cas-ual Friday Challenge

2011-08-29T04:32:00.000-05:00

I've not done one of these challenges in a while so when I saw that the challenge is to use stickers or rub-ons, I decided to use this sticker from an old Stampin'Up! scrapbook kit. This will go to my sister and even though this would not have been a memory from our childhood because she's 7 years older than me, it represents our adult relationship. Helping and loving each other. I wish I could see her more often to do some of the things we love to do together but that's not where our lives are now.

The inside of the card continues the thought from the front of the card and I was also able to use another sticker from the same kit:

I hope you will click on this link to see all of the beautiful samples that others have made: Cas-ual Fridays

Thank you for stopping by today. I'm working on two more cards to share with you on your next visit.

Blessing from Yesterday: Safe travels for my younger daughter.

A CAS Card for Today

2011-08-28T04:13:00.001-05:00

This is really a Clear and Simple card. Nothin' much to it at all. It did take a little time to choose each tiny image to make the wreath. I can't remember which blog I read this on but here's how to make a wreath. Punch or cut out a circle. Trace lightly around it where you want on your card. Then stamp around the circle with whatever you want to make up the wreath. All of these images on my wreath came from a variety of PTI sets. I'm going to enter this card in this week's Cupcake Inspirations challenge 125. I used the colors from the cupcakes for my inspiration.

That's all I have to say this morning. It's early. 4a.m. I may go back to bed for a couple hours.

Edited to mention that I have revised my stamps for sale page. Each stamp set is only $5.00. Price does not include shipping fee. See the page at the top, under the banner? Just click on it to see the list. If you'd like a photo of the stamp set, email me.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got our waterbed put back together (after discovering a leak in one of the tubes) and after two nights of sleeping mostly in my recliner, I loved having our bed back.

A Card and Some Other Photos

2011-08-26T06:09:00.000-05:00

For those of you that visit me to see a crafty item, I'll post my card first. If you're interested in my chatting you can keep on scrolling.

This card was made for a guy. It was a fairly simple card to make. I was going to add color behind the trees but I kind of like it just as it is. The images are from PTI's Through the Trees. If you don't have this set you need to consider it. Besides the wonderful images, there are some terrific sentiments too. I do wish I'd read Susan's blog, Simplicity, before stamping this though and maybe my trees would have stamped better. I'm going to try her suggestion of stamping on VersaMark first and then stamping on a colored stamp pad to avoid beading up on the stamp.

As I've said the last couple posts, this weekend is our local Arts and Crafts Balloon Festival. It's my favorite weekend in Lincoln. Lots going on, fun things to see and Hot Air Balloons. Flying in one is an item on my Bucket List. For now, John and I have to be content to "chase" them and see if we can find where they will land.

But, yesterday, in downtown Lincoln, artists from all ages and backgrounds were invited to participate in our first-ever sidewalk chalk art event. John didn't feel like going to see it but I was very excited about it. Next year I'm going to enter. There's even a prize. It was very wonderful to see so many people drawing on the sidewalks. Some of the local teachers took their entire class. Artists were given a designated "piece" of sidewalk, a package of sidewalk chalk and a can of hairspray to preserve the final drawings a bit because there will be many people walking on them this weekend. Here were some of my favorites:

This one was done by school kids.

A local Beauty Salon got in some inexpensive advertising.

Tonight is a barbecue cook off and this was promoting that. We plan to have dinner at this event tonight.

Our local Lutheran Parochial School did this beautiful one.

This one I thought was the most beautiful one. It promotes the wine-tasting tent.

Loved seeing this young man working so diligently on his art as his mom looked on.

This one was created by a young girl. I couldn't get the entire piece photographed because there were cars in the way. Loved this one and she was so proud of it.

And finally this bold and beautiful one. It wasn't quite finished when I saw it but I loved the flower so much that I just had to photograph it. It is promoting our local Senior Center.

I'll have more photos tomorrow of our evening downtown tonight. Thanks for stopping by today.

Blessing from Yesterday: Found the leak in our waterbed. What a mess! Today, after everything is dried out, hopefully we can put it back together.

Papertrey Ink August Blog Hop Challenge

2011-08-25T09:16:00.000-05:00

The PTI Blog Hop Challenge for this month is to use a photo Nichole provided for inspiration. As I've said before, this kind of a challenge is a CHALLENGE for me!!! :0) I went with the colors and the idea of the bouquet of flowers. Lately, I've been trying to pull out stamp sets that haven't been used in a while and this one has been ignored for ages. Are you tired of me using the polka dot embossing folder yet!? :0) I added pearls and rhinestones for added interest.

I did practically nothing yesterday so today needs to be a work day. Could not be outside yesterday as it was 100 degrees at our home. Have been wanting to purge and clean the back entry area but it's even hot out there. It's supposed to be hot again today.

I'm excited for the balloon festival. So many things going on but if it's still this hot, we will not attend much - John just cannot take the heat. Today there's a sidewalk chalk art event that I want to see. Tomorrow night is a barbecue cook off in the middle of town. And I love walking through the arts and crafts and the flea market. Hopefully Saturday we can chase balloons.

Thank you for your visit. Come back tomorrow - I'll have another card for you.

Blessing from Yesterday: Spoke with the gentleman that is going to buy our motor home.

Another Gamer Card

2011-08-24T06:30:00.000-05:00

This one is for my grandson as I think about him beginning a new school year. Again, I pretty much CASEd a card done by Nichole Heady on this page of Capture the Moment (scroll down a ways to see Nichole's card). Although my grandson's parents placed a time limit on playing video games, he still loves to do that and I'm confident he will relate to this card. Once again, I popped up the controller on dimensionals for added interest.

I thought it was finally cooling down in our area but when I got up at 5a.m. I noticed the outside temperature is still 80 degrees. We were blessed with a tiny bit of rain yesterday, however.

Thank you for stopping by. I should have another card to share with you tomorrow.

Blessing from Yesterday: Filling our home with the wonderful aroma of home-baked bread as I made a cherished recipe from my Grandma Anna (deceased 40 plus years ago - such a wonderful Swedish cook).

Gamer Birthday Card

2011-08-23T07:49:00.001-05:00

My son will be 35 this Saturday. He's my baby! Even at 35 years old, he's still a "gamer". He plays video games whenever he can. He's also an IT guy for ReMax so computers are a large part of his life. I bought the stamp set called Boy Basics: Game On from PTI last April. I planned to use it mainly for my son and grandson. The controller is popped up on dimensionals. I also used the PTI set called Grunge Me for a little more interest, plus the background band on the bottom layer is from a CSS set called Wildflower. I was inspired by a card that Nichole Heady made for the April release which you can find here on Capture the Moment. You have to scroll down on that page a little ways to find her card. Tomorrow I'll have another card I made my grandson that was inspired by another card on that same page.

Life has settled down some since the auction last week but I still have sorting and cleaning to do. I want to take a large amount of things to our local Mission Mart. This weekend is our local Balloon Festival (hot air balloons). Hoping for good weather. John and I like to chase the balloons to try to watch them come down in rural country areas. There's also a large arts and crafts show and a huge flea market that I like to go to.

I'll be back tomorrow with another card. Thank you so much for your visit.

Blessing from Yesterday: Friends got a minor thing fixed on my plane.

Like Pesto?

2011-08-22T05:10:00.001-05:00

If you've arrived to see a card, I don't have one today. But, if you like Pesto and want a great recipe, read on!

When I have made Pesto before I've used pine nuts. Have you seen the price of pine nuts lately? Prohibitive. Then, in a Sunday newspaper, I saw this recipe that uses pistachios instead of pine nuts. We buy a large bag of pistachios from Sam's Club at a very reasonable price. And I have a prolific basil plant so I didn't have to buy the leaves. Here's the recipe and photos of making it.

2 garlic cloves (the ones I used were large so my Pesto turned out quite garlicky)

2 cups loosely packed basil

After chopping the garlic in the food processor, add the basil

Then add 1/2 cup shelled pistachios, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt; pulse until nuts are finely chopped.

Add 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil through food chute and process until well combined.

Add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and pulse 2 or 3 times..

Makes about 1 cup. (My food photo skills could use improvement - sorry about the chipped bowl!)

We like Pesto on pasta and that's what we had with our grilled chicken and coleslaw last night.

I had more basil than what I needed for the Pesto so I tore the leaves, put them into an ice cube tray, added water and put them in the freezer. I've been doing that for a month with my basil now and I nearly have a gallon bag of basil cubes. When I need basil in a recipe I just toss in some of my basil cubes. I learned that trick HERE.

Oh, and one more photo. While John and I were sitting out on the patio yesterday, along came this HUGE bug - I'd say 1 1/2" long. You probably can't tell from the photo but it was also very furry. We've never seen one of these so I looked it up online. It's a Cow Killer Wasp. It has a nasty sting.

Thanks for stopping by. I'm working on 3 cards at the moment and will return next time with something crafty.

Blessing from Yesterday: Enjoyed sitting out on the patio swing for a while with John.

It's Auction Day

2011-08-20T08:44:00.000-05:00

John and I have worked hard the last few weeks, sorting, organizing, tossing and a little bit of cleaning, as we prepared for today's auction. We went to the auction house yesterday and oh-my-goodness!! Two LARGE, no huge, rooms, FULL of stuff. Not all ours but we did have a fair amount. This auction is very clean and well-organized. Crystal, knick knacks, dishes, all are on clean white sheets on display tables. I'm hoping we sell enough that we don't owe the Auctioneer anything!

Here's a photo of our sunroom after I cleaned it. I still have one corner to do but we need to buy some simple shelving to get printers and books into it.

Two weeks ago there was so much stuff in here that you could not walk through the room.

The mini-blinds all need washing as well as the windows - a job I love almost as much as mass stamping. There are 7 windows and I decided that I can do one a day and be done in a week.

The last couple days I've been working on this card. I really need to use some of my sets that never see the light of day anymore. This is one of them, although I do occasionally use the sentiments because I like them. Once again, I used my SU polka dot embossing folder.

House cleaning must be a priority today. We're going to drive by the auction on our way into town - we were advised NOT to go to the auction itself. I hope there's a good turnout.

Please continue to keep my friend, Janelle, in your prayers as she has been very tired lately. Thank you for your faithful visits - you know that I love it when you stop by.

Blessing from Yesterday: John said he felt better yesterday than any other day since his stroke a year ago.

SU Inspired

2011-08-16T05:43:00.000-05:00

I love the new Stampin'Up! catalog. Do you have it yet? I have several items I plan to buy from it next month. This card was inspired by a card on page 141 in the new cattie. I wish I would have placed the tulip image slightly higher up in the framed circle. Other than that, I'm satisfied with it. I so often use SU's polka dot embossing folder - I love the look it gives. (Oh, and I see I miss-spelled my last name!)

For the next few days we're going to take things a bit easier around here. The Auctioneer came yesterday and got the second load of stuff - filled up his trailer again. Amazing that one household can hoard so much stuff. The basement and garage still look as though we haven't removed much.

I got my plane listed online yesterday. I'm confident it will sell - some time. I think we have sold our motor home. We should know by this weekend. We are gradually downsizing. Any traveling we do from here on out will be done in a car (unless we take a commercial flight).

So, have you had any summer projects?

Thanks for your visit - you know I love having you stop by.

Blessing from Yesterday: Seeing my husband having a less-stressful day.

This Month's Card Kit Challenge

2011-08-15T01:06:00.003-05:00

I'm pooped tonight. We've been working hard on our basement, sunroom, garage, and yesterday I spent 5 hours at our local airport washing my plane. Doesn't it look pretty? I'm going to list online for sale. We just don't ever fly it anymore and it's really hard on a plane to just sit and not take someone out for a flight.

Today we worked on our basement, with the help of our friends, Kevin and Sondra. The Auctioneer will be here again tomorrow morning to take the last load to the auction house. Last Thursday he filled his 22 foot trailer (all-enclosed), plumb full. I'm sure tomorrow it will be full again. Sadly, it barely looks like we have put a dent in this purging project.

But the REAL reason I'm here with you today is because my friend Kim Howard sent our little group a packet of such fun goodies for this month's Card Kit. I did a little extra on my beaver, adding some thread out of the top of his birthday hat, some Crystal Effects on his cute front teeth, and adding wood texture to the brown layer with my Tim Holtz wood grain embossing folder.

This was my first exposure to a Paper Smooches image - and I really liked it. By the way, all of our cards are going to be donated to Operation Write Home, for the troops. Now, you must go visit the other 3 girls to see their fabulous creations and please leave them some love:

Sue Kment
Kim Howard
Nicki Jackson

Thanks for stopping by. Please continue to keep my friend, Janelle, in your prayers as they seek additional medical advice this week.

Blessing from Yesterday: Finished getting the basement ready (as much as we can thus far) for the Auctioneer.

Supplies: Stamp set - Birthday Buddies from Paper Smooches;
Paper - Cardstock - SU Old Olive and Confetti White, CSS Dish the Dirt Brown; Basic Grey - Pyrus;
Ink - CSS - Dish the Dirt Brown, various Copics
Embellishments - Cork square, Seam binding, PTI Enchanted Evening button

Magnolia Day

2011-08-10T11:21:00.000-05:00

I have a couple Magnolia stamps that are lots of fun to color. They've been pretty much ignored lately - actually ALL of my stamps are getting ignored lots until we get our horrendous job done cleaning and sorting our basement. So, I thought I'd spoil myself yesterday and take out this Magnolia image for a card I need to get into the mail at the end of the week.

I was inspired by my friend, Michele, card which you can see over on here blog PAPER CUTS. Her card is really sweet and precious.

You can purchase this Magnolia image and many, many others over on Magnolia-licous, which is owned by the wonderful people at Scor-Pal. I know you can't see it in the photo but after I colored the roses with Copics, I added some Spica pen for sparkles.

Please continue to pray for JANELLE. She is recuperating from surgery. She is such a positive trooper and gives a strong witness for the Lord.

Time to make lunch and then head down to the basement to continue working on it. The Auctioneer will be here tomorrow to take a big load. That will feel good and maybe it will show some improvement, then.

If you're looking for work, please click on the link over on the right side bar to my daughter's site. She's a recruiter and there are bonuses for using her services.

As always, I love having you stop in to visit. I hope you do something for yourself today - something that will give you happy moments.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got lots done in the basement.

Another Quilt Card

2011-08-06T06:31:00.000-05:00

I did have time yesterday to make a card after I got my house cleaned. I wanted to use my PTI set called Quilter's Sampler along with the Sentiment set, too. I used a layout that I use often - it's easy for me and I usually am satisfied with the results. I added tiny pearls to the centers of the crosses for interest.

Yesterday John's son and daughter-in-law came from Ohio and packed their car full of stuff from the basement and all of John's ham radio equipment, to take back to Ohio to sell for us. Didn't even make a dent in the basement but the office looks much emptier, now. We may take today off from the basement work and relax and go to the local Fair - if it's not too hot. I've been wanting to watch the harness racing and we've both wanted to go to the Fair but it's just been too hot.

Yesterday I requested prayers for my friend Janelle. Please keep praying for her. She gets to go home today but will begin chemo and radiation treatments later this month. She is such an amazing person.

On August 15th, my friends Kim, Nicki, and Sue and myself, will post our Card Kit challenge creations. But, I should have something else to share before then, so please come back and visit. You are always welcome here.

Blessing from Yesterday: John's son's visit.

Prayer Request

2011-08-05T05:45:00.001-05:00

I don't have anything to show you today because John and I have been working on our basement. The job is overwhelming and I was glad when, the other day, the Auctioneer told me if we don't get all of the stuff to him this time, there are auctions twice a month and we can add our things to those auctions, too. I am constantly amazed at what my husband has packed away downstairs. Right now it is utter chaos down there but I know in a month it will be much better. John's son is coming today from Ohio to take a load of things to sell for us. Our auction was pushed ahead one more week, which we were both glad to hear, so if you read my blog and live in this area, there will be lots of stuff at the White Auction buildings on Kickapoo Street on August 20th.

Now to get to the reason for this post. I have been in SHOCK since my dear online Friend, Janelle, posted THIS NEWS on her blog at the beginning of the week. If you follow my blog, you may remember that Janelle and her husband Ken spent a day with John and I in June. They live in Charlotte, NC and were out for a family gathering near where we live. Janelle shares my love of the Lord, and stamping and PTI and food (although she is a little bitty thing). My request is for prayers for her. The cancerous tumor is inoperable and she will have both chemo and radiation very soon. If you go to her blog, you'll see how she deals with this. All I can say is that she is AMAZING!! Her husband posted for her today asking for prayers for complete removal of this tumor. I will keep you updated on her condition.

On a lighter note, here are some links to great blogs:

Marion does fabulous work - her blog is a must see.

Jennifer McGuire is giving away a gift certificate to a cool Etsy shop.

Want to try a recipe for Root Beer Float Brownies?

Or how about Triple Berry Danish Cheesecake?

Thank you for your faithful visits. Please come back soon.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got another section of the basement sorted out.

Flyin' In Quickly

2011-08-01T09:37:00.000-05:00

John and I have been super busy sorting through things in our basement that will be sent to an auction in Lincoln next week. Incredible amount of "stuff" has been stored for far too long down there. So, because I'm short on time, I'll just say that I've been working on this card for 3 days, on and off. I was inspired by Melody's wonderful card which you can see HERE.

Today is somewhat cooler thus far. The Logan County Fair is this week and we plan to go one day. I'm interested in watching the Harness Racing and the Talent Show. Both are on Saturday. Can hardly believe that August 1st has arrived. I hope you are enjoying your summer.

Blessing from Yesterday: Worked for 3 hours on the basement and got one little section done. Yay us!!

Copic Colored Hydrangea

2011-07-26T06:08:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share my progression of coloring a very lovely hydrangea image from SU

First I always use Memento ink to stamp my image before coloring with Copics. This was stamped on Copic Express cardstock - which I love - but which is expensive, so I use it sparingly.

Normally when coloring a floral image with leaves I would color the leaves first so that I don't do this:

Fortunately I didn't color both leaves, blue. When coloring I use different methods - coloring in circles, coloring in sweeps with the side of my pen, coloring in short "flicks". I wanted my light source to come from the right so I added a slightly darker color to the left. The blue leaf was easy to fix:

Then I began to add shading:

I didn't like quite so much shading so I removed a little.

Next, I wanted a little shadow cast to the left of the image to ground it. I also added Copic Opaque White to the centers:

And finally, the finished product. Coloring takes time. I normally have to leave my project several times before I can finish it. If you are using Copics, practice using colors with a dramatic difference from each other. Shading helps make your image believable. I'm still learning this.

An image, colored with great skill, can nearly stand alone with no other embellishments. That's my goal. I'm not a natural at it and have to work and re-work at this.

Thank you for stopping by today. Your visits mean lots to me. I like having you here.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got the price reduced significantly on our rentals that are up for sale and hired a man to clean up the yards and make them look more presentable.

Papertrey Ink July Blog Hop Challenge

2011-07-25T09:17:00.000-05:00

Today's Blog Hop Challenge is to look at the photo Nichole provided and use that as inspiration for a card. This is the most difficult of challenges for me to do. What happens is I usually use the color in a photo for inspiration - as I did for this card. I really wanted to work with Kraft today and this is my LAST piece of Kraft, so I had to be careful with it. Granted, it turned out much darker than the very light and pretty photo, but I wanted to take inspiration from the bamboo shades in the photo - so Kraft filled that bill. I don't have any PTI orange and I didn't want to use anything else so I had to go with Terra Cotta Tile. This photo is darker than IRL.

I tied the bow too close to the word "blend" so I had to fiddle around with it for much too long to position it so that "blend" was still visible. I decided to finish off the inside with repeated colors.

I love this Tea for Two set and I need to use it more often. Thank you for coming to my blog - I really appreciate it when you visit.

I'll be back tomorrow with the hydrangea image I've been coloring.

Blessing from Yesterday: A relaxing day at home.

Supplies: All from Papertrey Ink except for sentiment ink: Cardstock, Kraft, Spring Moss, Terra Cotta Tile, Vintage Cream, Hawaiian Shores; Ink, Spring Moss, Terra Cotta Tile, Hawaiian Shores, Memento Rich Chocolate; Ribbon, Spring Moss Dotted Satin; Stamps, Tea for Two and Tea for Two Additions.

8th and Final Scrappin' Sunday

2011-07-24T01:58:00.007-05:00

Eight Sundays have sure gone by quickly. But here we are. I have several photos to share with you and not much chatting. This first card is made with scraps of cardstock. The card itself is 5 1/2" x 3 1/2". The scraps are adhered to a cardstock base and then trimmed and popped up on dimensionals. I wanted to use this vine and decided to stamp it with VersaMark.

Because it's such a simple design I added a pearl next to the sentiment for interest and also so that the eye would travel down to read the sentiment. I keep tons of cardstock scraps like this. You could actually make up several of the scraps adhered on a variety of sizes of bases and then they'd be ready for use.

As I've mentioned before, one of my daughters rents out one of her bedrooms to travelers. I made the following small cards for her to place on the pillow of new visitors. I left the inside blank so that she can write personal messages to them. These used up several small scrap pieces of Designer Paper and ribbon.

Thanks for being so kind to stop in for a visit. I hope in some way you are inspired to use your scraps.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got more of our garage sorted and organized for next month's auction.

Here's What I Made

2011-07-22T09:10:00.000-05:00

I'm busy today so this will be very short. Here's the card I made with the Morning Glory image I colored a couple days ago.

I'm working on two more images right now to share with you at some point. Coloring, for me, can take lots of time. I'm working on a Stampin'Up! hydrangea image and I just googled some photos of some so that I could see what real ones look like. Not that I haven't ever seen them before - we have a white one. I should have looked at the photos first. Debbie Olson encourages her students to really study things they want to color. I have to go back now and try to "fix" my coloring. I tend to add too strong of a hue. When I have it completed I'll share.

Also, this Sunday is my final Scrappin' Sunday. When I began it I said I had enough samples for eight posts and this will be #8. I want to thank those of you that have commented and to Bonnie and Janelle for participating. I don't think my attempt at this offered enough inspiration, though.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got the pulley and belt fixed on the car!

No Copics Today

2011-07-21T08:37:00.001-05:00

I haven't had time to do another Copic image but as soon as I post this, I plan to begin working on one. I'm late getting a Wedding card made for my grand-nephew and I HAD to finish it so I can get into the mail today. The Wedding is on Saturday but they won't open their gifts right away so I think this will arrive in time. I sent a gift through Macy's but I wanted to make a card to go with the gift.

I'll finish up sharing about last Saturday's class but I will still try to pass on tips in future posts as I can. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class from Debbie Olson, DO IT!!! As I mentioned in my first post about last Saturday's class I said that we (my step-daughter and I) left home early because we didn't know for sure how long the drive would take. I got to the hotel an hour early. My step-daughter dropped me off and went back home to spend the day with John.

I found our classroom and there was Debbie - hurriedly trying to set up. I asked her if it would bother her for me to come in and she said it was fine. Then I offered to help her and she gladly took me up on the offer. Another gal (I'll show you her below) was supposed to be there to help set up but her plane had been delayed. So, I was able to give Debbie the little gift I'd made her, without anyone else being around - and I had some one-on-one time with her, just chatting about a variety of things. It was a blessing. Tertia was the next person to arrive early and she joined in helping Debbie set up. Tertia is the gal from South Africa.

I have to say that Debbie is a very dynamic, knowledgeable, GIFTED person. I never realized, after following her blog for several years, that she has such a wonderful sense of humor. (JoanB, if you read this, you would totally love her sense of humor.) She passed on lots of tips that were really helpful. She came around to each of us (there were 24 in the class) as we were coloring and gave us suggestions for doing a better job. Super, duper teacher. Wonderful, kind and gentle spirit. I'd take another class from her in a minute.

Then, the gal that was to help her arrived. Lori Craig. You've most likely seen Lori someplace on the web in the crafting world. I've always wanted to meet Lori, too, so this was another blessing. Lori is very warm and kind and GORGEOUS. A real knock out - serious. Her photos do not do her justice.

So, thus was my day on Saturday - full of surprises and blessings and lots of time to color with Copics.

Thank you for taking the time to visit. I hope you'll return and hopefully I'll have another Copic-colored image for you.

Blessing from Yesterday: The ear doctor thinks John's ears are finally getting over the infection.

Copic Progress

2011-07-20T04:59:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I posted this image I had begun coloring with Copics:

Much of the discussion on Saturday in the Copic Class was about the light source. In other words, where was the light coming from and hitting the image. And was it a ray of sunshine, a flashlight or straight on light. Also, we had to note where the light would exit the image. As you can see, the image on the left is the beginning of my coloring. The leaves were too splotchy and the top flower too dark. Once I identified the origin of the light source which is from the left towards the top (should have had that more in mind when I started), I added color to the two bottom flowers, took some out of the top one, lightened up the top left leaf and smoothed out the shadowing on the other leaves.

I'm done with this, now, but I'm not terribly satisfied with it. One of my problems, which Maria and Tertia caringly pointed out on Saturday is that I press hard when I color instead of using light strokes. That's why the leaves on the left image look so splotchy. Debbie encouraged us to use colors that end in either 8 or 9. Lots of hue in those. More tomorrow about the class.

I did want to share that I had a very unexpected surprise blessing on Saturday. I've had an online friend for over 5 years. Michele Boyer. Just prior to the class beginning she came up to me and said "Sue?" "I'm Michele Boyer." I was stunned and so happy. We hugged and chatted and then were able to later on have lunch together. Michele is one my most FAVORITE stampers. She's a Dirty Dozen alumni over on Splitcoaststampers and well-deserving of that honor. I have a few of her cards that she sent me over the years - they're the kind you want to keep forever. You can visit her blog Paper Cuts and enjoy her art.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about another surprise person that I got to meet and I'll try to have an image colored for you, along with some tips. Most of you probably know more than I do about this, though. Thank you for stopping by again today. Stay cool. It's 98 here today.

Blessing from Yesterday: Safe traveling for my older daughter and her family.

More Copic Class

2011-07-19T08:51:00.001-05:00

I'm practicing, this morning. Some people have an innate sense of perspective when transferring what they see to how they create that onto a piece of paper. I don't have that gift. So I have to work harder at things. Debbie talked a little about this during the last two hours of our class. The two women to the left of me, in the class, obviously had that gift as their coloring was really wonderful. I probably drove them crazy with constantly peeking at their work and telling them how beautiful each piece was. This morning glory that I've been working on this morning is not done yet. I have to leave it for a while and come back to it to see where I can improve it.

This a photo of the two women that sat next to me and who were so enjoyable. I introduced Tertia yesterday. The other gal is Maria. She was a local gal from Naperville and is fairly new to the stamping world (you'd never know it by how beautiful she colored). However, she is your scrapbook and Cricut go-to-girl. She's held many, many Cricut classes and knows everything about that world that a person can know. She was so nice to me the entire day, giving me encouragement and/or constructive criticism. You can view her blog HERE. The three of us exchanged email addresses and blog links so that we can keep in touch in the future. Maria is helping out at a CHA booth this week. (Bet you didn't know I was this silly, did you?) Oh, and I should mention that both of these gals have ALL of the colors of Copics.

I'll be back again tomorrow with more photos and info on the class and I'll try to pass along important tidbits that I learned, as well. Thank you for stopping by today.

Blessing from Yesterday: Safety traveling home.

Now That's a Birthday Gift!

2011-07-18T06:50:00.002-05:00

We weren't sure exactly how long it would take, yesterday, to drive from my step-granddaughter's home to the Copic Intermediate Class in Rosemont near O'Hare airport. So we left plenty early. It turned out to be a blessing and over the next couple days I'll share why. But today I want to introduce you to one of the gals from the class that sat one person away from me. Tertia is from South Africa. Her son is an engineer and had tried using Copic pens in his job but didn't like them so he gave them to his Mom. Tertia tried to find some place in her area that could teach her how to use the Copics. Much to her dismay, there wasn't anyplace.

In April for her birthday present, Tertia's husband gave her an airplane ticket to fly to America to Chicago to attend CHA and to take the Copic Certification classes! You can read about it HERE on her blog. (You have to scroll down a ways.) So, all by herself, Tertia flew 22 hours to spend a few days in the Chicago area and soak up all of the things she can about the stamping/paper-crafting industry.

Tertia is a teacher in South Africa, born and raised there - and a delight to meet and sit next to during the class. We also had dinner together, along with 3 other women from the class.

Tertia's coloring yesterday was phenomenal! She plans to take her knowledge and her certification back home and teach others how to use Copics.

Tomorrow I'll tell you a little more about the class and the people I met. Thanks for stopping by today. I appreciate your visits.

Blessing from Yesterday: The Copic Class!

Scrappin' Sunday #7

2011-07-17T01:41:00.006-05:00

I pre-scheduled this post because I'm in Chicago today, taking a Copic class from the one and only DEBBIE OLSON!! I'll have more to share about that in a couple days.

I'm glad you stopped by today to see what kind of scraps I used for today's samples.

In last September/October's issue of Paper Crafts, Ashley Cannon Newell had a gorgeous sample using Designer Paper over the front of the card. I used that card as inspiration for this card. Similar to the first sample I shared 6 weeks ago, this scrap would most likely be one from a large piece of DP. This kind of a design is SO EASY!!! Even for me! Paper. Sentiment. Embellishments. I used a smaller scrap piece for the inside to carry the DP theme there, too.

And how about some more of those little gift cards I keep suggesting. Your gift cards can be any size. Make the base from scraps, too, like the ones below. Little cards like this often don't even need an envie. (2"x 2")

Here's another. I scalloped the edges for interest and the ribbon is a scrap:

Oh, and one more since these are so easy and fun to make - this ribbon was a scrap, too:

And one teeny, tiny 1 3/"x1 3/4":

Easy to sit and watch TV and make these. You know, just add a scrap piece of ribbon or a pearl or some bling and it's really cute.

I hope you'll try making one and sharing it with the rest of us. Just add a link to your blog or gallery photo over on the inlinkz on the right - easy peasy. Oh, and take my new poll while you're at it, too.

Come back next week for more ideas. Hope something catches your eye!

Pinwheels Galore!

2011-07-16T04:59:00.000-05:00

The daughter of my son's significant other did well in school this last year and I wanted to send her a card with some money in it to let her know we are proud of her accomplishments. I've noticed on many blogs, recently, and also in some new stamping vendor releases, that pinwheels are very popular. I thought one would look cute on this card. It was easy and fun to make - 2" square, cut in toward the center from all four corners, pull corners to center and attach. I used a paper piercer on the corners to make it easier to attach all four to a brad. My pinwheel does not move but there's lots of tutorials that show you how to make one that does move. You can go HERE to see a template for one.

I have few images of little kids but this one seemed appropriate since this reward was for academic achievement! :0) (It is by My Favorite Things.)

Be sure to stop by tomorrow morning for more suggestions on using up your scraps. Thanks for the visit today. You are always welcome here.

Blessing from Yesterday: John was able to finish two of his projects. It really tired him out, though.

Gift Set

2011-07-15T05:01:00.000-05:00

I am without a camera for a while so I've been taking photos of my projects with my iPhone. I'm glad that I at least have that!

I'm taking a Copic Class from Debbie Olson on Sunday and I wanted to take her a little souvenir from our town of Lincoln, Illinois. There is a small courthouse in Lincoln where Abraham Lincoln used to try his court cases in this area. It is now a historical museum and they have a nice collection of souvenirs. I picked out a mug for Debbie that has a drawing of A. Lincoln and part of the Gettysburg Address on it.

Of course I couldn't just give her the mug. I had to make something I could put it in. The embossed panels are on all 4 sides of this little box. I wish I could have gotten a better photo of the box.

And then, as with any gift, it needed a card. I carried the same embossing theme and colors in the card as I did on the box.

Here's the inside of the card. Have you ever just used part of an embossing folder or plate? That's what I did here.

And then, I decided to carry the embossing theme even to the envie. Have you ever embossed an envie? It turns out really pretty.

I'll be back on Sunday with Scrappin' Sunday #7. I hope some of you will take up the challenge and use up some of your scraps. Thank you for stopping by today. It's always good to have you here.

Blessing from Yesterday: A friend took quite a bit of the metal things as we continue to sort things out before the auction.

Card Kit Challenge

2011-07-11T02:51:00.000-05:00

Some of you may remember when I asked if anyone would like to do a challenge with me last month. I had three people email me that they wanted to be part of this challenge. They are Sue from Oregon, Nicki, and Kim. Thanks, girls, for joining with me on this.

Here's how it works. One of the challenge members prepares all the supplies needed to make a card and sends each of the other members the same supplies. Each member takes the supplies and creates their own version of the challenge according to their interpretation.

This month I sent out the card kit and here is my take on it. I added Crystal Effects to the citrus and scored the base layer for interest:

Here's a closeup of the citrus with Crystal Effects applied:

You'll find Kim's card here on Basement Stamper.

Nicki's card will be over on Splitcoaststampers in her gallery:

And lastly, you'll find Sue's card over on Sue's Stamping Stuff:

We'll have more samples next month from the four of us from a Card Kit sent out by Kim. Be sure to watch for an announcement for the date. Thank you for stopping by.

Blessing from Yesterday: Got lots of cleaning done.

Supplies: Stamps - Karen Lockhart Stamps, Hero Arts; Paper - Clear and Simple Stamps Gray, Yellow, Copic Xpress White; Designer Paper - Basic Grey; Ribbon - Clear and Simple Stamps satin grey; SU Crystal Effects.

Scrappin' Sunday #6

2011-07-10T01:09:00.019-05:00

Welcome to another Scrappin' Sunday morning! I'm so glad you decided to stop by for a visit. Today's samples were inspired by other stampers in the blogosphere! You most likely have seen designs that are the same or similar. My first card shows how easy it is to take four strips of a scrap and make it into this:

This design applies to little tiny scraps for a small gift card, too, like this one. I had some 3 x 3 cards I've had for 4 years and decided to use some of them for this project. All of the ribbon I used was from scaps, too.

And another:

This size is fun to decorate!

One more:

Or how about this one?

And one last one:

And how about making several gift cards and placing them in some kind of a container to give as a gift. For my cards I used a clear bag and cut more scraps for the "header". These will be part of my younger daughter's birthday gift next week.

Thank you for stopping by today. Please come back tomorrow for a new Card Challenge between myself and three other stampers.

Blessing from Yesterday: Began sorting junk in garage for auction.

OLW 61

2011-07-07T16:31:00.002-05:00

The One Layer Wednesday challenge for this week over on Jennifer's blog is to use clouds. I needed a card John's little 3-year-old Great-Grandson and I have a great template for making clouds - so I created this. I used an older SU stamp set that I really like. However, doing a one-layer card does not allow me to use Copics so I used SU markers. I just have never learned how to do shading with them without making the paper pill.

On the inside of the card I adhered a photo of John and I to remind the birthday boy of who we are. We don't get to see this precious little guy very often.

Thank you for stopping to visit. You are always welcome, here.

Blessing from Yesterday: Had a long chat with my son.

A Quiet Fourth

2011-07-05T10:49:00.001-05:00

We spent a very quiet day at home yesterday and last night. John wanted to go see the fireworks 3 miles down the road but I was not feeling well so we just watched tv.

In a week and a half we are going to the Chicago area to stay with our granddaughter and her husband. I will be taking a Copic Intermediate Class in Rosemont, under the instruction of DEBBIE OLSON! Debbie Olson is one of THE BEST paper crafters in the business. I've wanted to take a class from her for so long. By chance, are any of you taking this class? John will stay with the granddaughter while I'm at the class. It lasts all day and even into the evening.

My younger daughter's birthday is coming up - it's actually the same day as the class I'm taking. I got her card made over the weekend. I know it doesn't show in the photo but the items in the basket have Crystal Effects on them, the basket cloth has Spica sparkle on it and is popped up on glue dots, and I colored the pearls with a Copic pen so they would match the blue colored layer. I also ran that layer through my Cuttlebug with a PTI basket weave Impression Plate to reflect that same pattern in the cloth.

This card was inspired by the challenge yesterday over on Splitcoaststampers CAS forum, HERE. I really intended to do more of the challenges but got busy with house work instead. I'm going to try to do more today.

Won't you join me in my Scrappin' Sunday Challenge from Sunday? You can find it HERE. It's an easy one and I think you'll love the results.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you had a safe and fun Fourth.

Blessing from Yesterday: Beautiful weather after a morning rain.

Celebrating the Fourth of July

2011-07-04T04:39:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my friend, Melissa, who posted this video on her blog. I hope you all have a safe and very fun Fourth of July Celebration.

Scrappin Sunday #5

2011-07-03T01:02:00.004-05:00

I am SUPER excited about today's scrap samples. Hopefully you'll be inspired to use up some of those RIBBON scraps you've got tucked away. Come on, now, I know you have them. If you are a stamper, you have them!! For years I've kept mine in a small file container.

At one time it was very organized in little file folders and was alphabetized by color name. That was when I primarily bought SU products. Then that changed. First it was every single color and kind of Papertrey Ink ribbon. Then it was every color of Clear and Simple Stamps ribbon. And many other kinds in-between. My container got overloaded and very messy.

The last few months I'm trying to be better about saving ribbon scraps. As soon as I have a scrap of it, I adhere Scor-Tape to one side and stick it into an envelope for future use. Those little scraps come in handy and I like that they are all ready to use.

For my first sample, I die cut a butterfly, saving the die cut to cover with ribbon. Before cutting, I decided where I wanted the butterfly and what else would go on the front of the card. Then I covered the die cut butterfly with ribbon.

Then I turned it over and trimmed away the excess.

I finished stamping the front of my card and held it closed while I adhered the die cut into the cut out shape. I used dimensionals so that the butterfly would pop up through the cut out shape. I added the pearls for more interest.

For my second sample, I covered a strip of leftover cardstock, turned it over and trimmed away the excess ribbon. (I learned this from my friend, Susan, HERE and HERE.) I decided I wanted to add a little extra stamping around the strip to ground it and to add interest.

You know, it's so easy to use up our scraps by just doing little things like this. I hope in some way I've inspired you to give this a try. If you want to share your creation, just add it to the inlinkz over on the right.

Thanks for stopping by - I know you're busy, so I appreciate the time you spend with me on here.

Blessing from Yesterday: Finally got my EXPENSIVE flip-flops (I'll never have to buy another pair) that I ordered from a runner's store in Springfield. They feel super good on my feet.

OLW 60

2011-06-29T11:39:00.000-05:00

All last week, each day, I was going to make a card for Susan's OLW. Too late now, but when I saw the new challenge on her blog today I knew I had to try it. She's mastered the art of design. Truly. It's something I struggle with nearly every time I make a card. So, here's my sample for this challenge.

I really love each part of the new PTI set called "Grunge Me". Great extras to add to nearly any card.

I have many things to do today, so no chatting. I do appreciate that you took the time to stop by, though.

Blessing from Yesterday: Positive news for several of our family members.