Finishing off the Weekend

In keeping with my 'goal' on Saturday, today I used up some more of my scraps and items I have gotten from the demo wish list.  I got these wolf and eagle images from one of the other demonstrators. 

 

They are statmped using Stazon black on Crumb Cake.  I added Chocolate Chip and Cherry Cobbler to amke some masculine cards.

 

 

I did finish off 2 ribbon spools - making room for more :-)  I also pulled out some retired designer paper that looks like wookgrain - some in browns, some white and brown and some red and brown.

And I got a lot of use from the Ovals Framelits that I purchased recently.  So I got to play with a new toy too. I got 2 cards done and still have more of the images but those will wait for another day.

 

 

I also had some vehicle images from the Need for Speed set.  I got these from a granted wish but liked them so much I wound up buying the set.  So the pre-stamped images sort of got forgotten.  I took care of that today.  This card design is taken from a birthday card I got from my niece.   It was really simple!  I liked the plain black and white image (and did not want to color them) so stuck with Basic Black, Basic Gray and Smoky Slate with a little bit of color accent.   For most, I used black and gray with the red accent.

 

 

For a few, I used Tempting Turquoise with the black and gray.  I also used Orange and Yellow  ....

 



 

and then tried Real Red and Pacific Point.  I was trying to make it a little more 'nautical' for the speed boat. 

 

It wasn't all masculine though -

 

 

I layered some more ovals in Smoky Slate and Strawberry Slush on this one.  Added the new ruffled ribbon around the largest oval.  It was so easy!  Love the ribbon!

 

 

 

For this one I stamped off the floral spray using Basic Gray and Gumball Green on a piece of vellum card stock.  I cut the larger oval from Smoky Slate and laid it on the Soft Sky card base.  I centered a smaller oval inside the larger one and cut that out. (the framelits make that so easy!)  I placed the vellum between the Smoky Slate and Soft Sky.  The flower and sent tag are Calypso Coral. The tag was made by cutting a rectangle around the sentiment and then just sticking the ends in the Moderm label puch to trim off the end. 

 

 

And I spent a little time in the kitchen - Fiesta Chicken Casserole and Roasted Asparagus for supper.  It was pretty easy and very delicious! 

So, ready for Monday.  Got lots of card therapy and looking forward to the holiday on Thursday and a family reunion next weekend. 

The Old becomes the New



 I decided it was time to go back to my short hair style - and I mean short.   It has been about 2 years since I started growing out my hair.  At first it was just because it was hard to find a date and time to get it cut since my stylist was cutting back some of her evening hours and I was putting in a lot of overtime plus carpooling with my husband and it was nnot always convenient for both of us to stop after work.  So I decided I would let it grow and my goal was to have a ponytail again  - and I did.  It got longer than probably any other itme in my life.

 This is a photo of my ponytail yesterday morning.  It was usually pretty bushy but the end would fall into a large curl.   I wanted to donate it to make a wig for cancer patients but could not find a site that would take anything with more than 5% gray hair. One site would take the gray hair but would not use it.  They would sell it to another source, and use the money as a donation.  One site would take gray hair but encouraged you to find others to donate with you as it takes multiple ponytails to make one wig.  So - I did not donate my hair.  I will just make a monetary donation to the group that makes wigs for breast cancer victims.  My original goal was just to grow it out 'one more time' and I did that.  I definitely prefer it short :-) - but had to try it long again.

 And here I am - a couple hours later.   I went to a new stylist recommended by a friend.  She did great.  She worked on it for an hour and really worked to get it thinned out and cut so it laid just right.  I already have an appt for 5 weeks to get it trimmed to keep it neat.  So my 'old' haircut is not my 'new' one. 

And here are some other 'old things.....

 I found some time between cleaning nad putting things away in the craft room to get some cards made.  I forced myself to use some items I received several years ago from a wishlist that was going among the demonstrators.   I did not have the stamp see for the 'get well soon' and asked for someone to stamp a bunch for me so I had those to use up.
The designer series paper is also a wishlist item.  I did not have that particular paper and a friend sent me a 6 x 6 inch square of each in that collection.   So I used the Fancy Flower punch that coordinates with the floral design in the paper and went to work.  These are my favorites of the ones I made using those supplies.

 

 I also grabbed a piece of my own retired designer series paper and made some masculine ones.   Love the Soft Suede and Baja Breeze together.  Too bad Baja Breeze is retired but I'm sure Soft Sky or Marina Mist will also look nice with the Soft Suede or the new Baked Brown Sugar IN color.

 Oh - and after getting my hair cut, I treated myself to a cupcake - not old itself but I used a gift card given to me by a friend that I have had for almost a year I think.  And I chose the Munypolitan - a neapolitan cupcake (dark chocolate, strawberry and vanilla layers) that commemorated the St Louis Muny Theater which is old.  I remember going to the Muny for the first time when I was about 10 years old.  My sister and I were staying with an aunt and uncle in St Louis and they took us to see Guys and Dolls.  Soupy Sales played one of the 'gamblers'.  He was probably the only star I knew if the show but I remember my uncle talking about one of the other men being a former football player.   Loved the Muny and went there often in the 70's and 80's and a couple times with my daughters when they were young.  Really need to make that a 'new' experience again :-)

Using up scraps

My goal for today was to use up some of the random pieces of paper scraps I have in a box.  Only rule - can just use paper from the box (except for card base if necessary - not too many pieces in the box big enough to be the card base).
So here is what I came up with...

 I had a lot of strips left from a herringbone class so did a few of those with some love bird images I stamped from a retired set my sister loaned me for a couple days.   I stamped a bunch and put them in the box for future use.  This will be anniversary cards. 

 I had these images from a 'wish list' on the demonstrators' site.   These pieces were all cut for a workshop - but can't even remember what we made with them :-)    These will make nice masculine birthday cards.

And some more love birds from a retired set of my sister's.  More anniversary cards.   I think I did pretty well - but believe me I did not even make a dent in the box of paper.   More for another day.

Happy Anniversary and a Big Shot Center

Happy Anniversary to my daughter and son-in-law .  Three years ago we had the most fun celebrating with them on their wedding day.  Here is a photo of the bride and groom -

And this is a photo of my family - siblings, spouses and their children and grandchildren.  We have a lot of fun when we get together.

It's a family tradition to take a 'ee-haw' picture with our donkey ears.   If you can't laugh at yourselves, then who can you laugh at?

And tonight I finally got my Big Shot Center set up.  I painted my craft room and rearranged it all so I could move a computer desk that we have in the family room upstairs into the craft room and use it for my Big Shot and supplies.   We all have laptops and don't have a desk computer any more.  The printer was stored in the desk but it was a waste of a lot of storage space. 

 Here I have everything stored and tucked away neatly.   And I have not filled it yet - but give me time!

 The work area slides out and I can place the Big Shot on it to work.   I love it and it will get much more use here than just storing a printer that gets used one or twice a month.

And when the craft room becomes a guest room, it all closes up neatly and is a nice piece of furniture.   I'm very happy with it and can't wait to have some time to play - maybe this weekend.
I also inherited the desk chair which is much nicer than sitting on a folding chair - and there is a small desk in the craft room that I had been using for my Big Shot which is now holding the printer.

Now, I have to get the room ready for guests.  Katie and Adelyn will be sleeping in there tomorrow night.  Glad I was able to take a vacation day tomorrow to work on it and get things back to normal. 

Weekend wrapup

 After a very stressful week at work, it was nice to get away a little bit this weekend.  We went to our daughter and son-in-law's home about an hour away and helped them prepare for a housewarming open house.

 Tom was put to work cleaning - he does it so well.  We made a pretty good team on the bathrooms - so glad he does that in our home. 

 We all got some Adelyn -time  Here Aunt Bekah is rocking her in the beautiful nursery.  Love the gray and yellow.

 And here is the star of the day - it was the first time that many of the guests got to meet her.  She was so good.  Not much napping and a lot of different people holding her. 

 Their little family.   Katie and Jake started dating in high school, got married midway through college and now are homeowners and parents.  Hard to believe that little girl I held in my arms many years ago ....

now has a baby of her own.   This picture was taken when Katie was about the same age that Adelyn is now.

Nigel helped too - here he is making sure the basket in the bottom of the linen closet did not feel unneeded while I was putting away the towels. 

And he waited to greet the guests. It was a very nice day and we all had a lot of fun but were tired at the end of the day.  It was good to do the physical labor after so much mental labor during the week.

Today, I was feeling it in my back.  I think it was mostly stress related and the heating pad did wonders.   Felt so good, I made a home cooked supper.  Hadn't done that much the past couple weeks.

Baby Ray's BBQ Chicken, Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Garlic Green Beans and Mushrooms.  It was all very easy  - tasted great!
And just like that the weekend is over.  Back to work - looking forward to a visit from Katie and Adelyn later this week and Tom's family reunion in a couple weeks.   Always something to look forward to :-)

Simply Sketchy Morning

A day off work - with orders to NOT log in and check on things - so I am playing in the craft room this morning - then a play date with my daughter and granddaughter.   Here is one of her latest photos.

Isn't she precious.  She had just had her bath and was ready to meet the rest of us at The Cheesecake Factory.  We had a great time celebrating Aunt Rebekah's birthday and stuffing ourselves on delicious food. 

Anyway, this morning I grabbed one of my new stamp sets, Simply Sketched. It is one of the new hostess sets.  I have always loved the 'sketch-type' stamp sets and this one is really lovely.   The other day I did this card - you might remember it.

I used one of the sketches and sentiments from the set.  Looks great just stamped but I played a little bit more with the two other sketches in the set this morning. 
I knew I wanted to do some things with the floral stamp and the leaves so stamped up several using Basic Gray and then colored them in using the markers and blender pens.

The flower looks like the oriental poppies my parents had in a flower bed.  They were bright orange but I'm not a lover of orange so I tried a variety of colors.  From left to right - Calypso Coral, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Strawberry Crush, Real Red, and Melon Mambo.  I used Wild Wasabi for the green on all of them. Some have the leaf image stamped alongside the flower.

So here is what I came up with using ideas I saw on the demonstrators' website and just letting my imagination go as I worked on each card.

Calypso Coral - This one I did not color the flower but stamped a second image on Calypso card stock and cut out the flowers.  I adhered them using dimensionals.   When I stamped the flower and leaf image on the Whisper White, I stamped off (ink the stamp, stamp on another sheet of card stock and then without re-inking stamped it on this one).  That gives it a fainter look more like a pencil sketch.   I used some retired designer paper (DSP) to accent the background.  The mat pieces and the Fabulous Phrases sentiment are Midnight Muse.  I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to get my words lined up. 

 

Pumpkin Pie - I colored in the floral image using the markers.  For the leaves in the background, I scribbled a marker on an acrylic block and then picked up a little ink using a blender pen.  I used some retired DSP in the background with a piece of Wild Wasabit to accent.   Very simple and easy.

Daffodil Delight - I colored this with the markers and added a little Calypso Coral in the center of the flower.  The leaves were stamped off along the card front and a piece of retired Wild Wasabi DSP added.   Calypso Coral card stock and ribbon and it is done.

Strawberry Slush - this is one of the new IN colors. Very nice!  I colored this one using the markers.  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs.   The ribbon is the new ruffled stretch ribbon in Strawberry Slush and I used some Soft Suede card stock embossed with the Herringbone folder in the background.

Real Red - some more retired DSP - sorry, I have so MUCH of that I have vowed to use up at least one package before buying any new.  :-)  I used Basic Black for matting and the Lovely Little Labels stamp set.  A few of the pearls in the corner to make it 'sweet'. 

 

Melon Mambo - And some more reitired DSP.  Some Elegant Eggplant behind the image to make it stand out.  The card base is Old Olive - not an exact match for the stems but the paper has Old Olive leaves so went with that. 

So those are my six - and I love each one :-)  Here are a couple more that I did with ideas from some other cards I saw.

I stamped off the image with Basic Gray then cut out an oval using the Ovals Framelits.   I cut a smaller oval from a piece of the heavy card stock that comes in the DSP packages (yes I save all of those - never know when you might need one ).   I placed the image behind the smaller oval opening to use the smaller oval as a stencil.  I held it up to the light so I could be sure I had it centered.   I sponged Sahara Sand ink on the image. Removed the stencil and I had a sort of reverse-frame effect. 
The larger scalloped oval is cut using the largest oval framelit.  I embossed it using the Polka Dot embossing folder and trimmed off one side.  The card base is Strawberry Slush and the sentiment is from Petitie Pairs.  I'll be trying this reverse frame using my more of the nested framelits.

 

Another Calypso Coral one.  I stamped off the images and randomly stamped the leaves around a larger piece of card stock. Then trimmed it down to the size I wanted.  The coloring was all done with blender pens and ink from the markers.  I also stamped off the sentiment - the Basic Gray is too dark for me, almost looks black.  I am going to like the new Smoky Slate but I wanted something between the two for this one.  I used a Wild Wasabi candy dot on the sentiment and mounted it on Calypso Coral.  Love the candy dots - they add interest like a brad but not the bulk.  Will be stocking up on those (glad they don't cost much).

Had so much fun this morning!  Let me know which card is your favorite.  I think mine is the Strawberry Slush.

Flower Shop and Pansy Punch

One of my favorite new Stampin Up items are the Flower Shop stamp set and Pansy punch.  And you can get them in a bundle and save!   I have been playing with them both the last couple evenings.  Just what I needed after some stressful days at work!

All of these cards were inspired by cards I have seen from other demonstrators.  Thankful for them posting on the demonstrator website.

 I used the new Designer Series Paper - Gingham Garden for this one.  The Flower Shop images are stamped in Raspberry Ripple and Midnight Muse.  The sentiment is from one of the new hostess sets - Banner Greetings. 

 This one is Bermuda Bay, Soft Sky and Crisp Cantaloupe.   I used 3 different images from the Flower Shop set and a leaf die cut.  I used the oval framelits to cut the Soft Sky and Bermuda Bay.  The Bermuda Bay is layered behind the Soft Sky.  I ran the piece of Soft Sky through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice embossing folder.  The sentiment from Trust God was stamped on the white card base and the ovals layered on top.   I arranged the flowers and a couple die cut leaves, then added a pearl.

The same colors and dies.  This time I layerd the Bermuda Bay on top of an oval of Soft Sky.  The sentiment was stamped on Very Vanilla and punched using the extra large oval.   Same colors as above.

Smoky Slate and Daffodil Delight.  The gingham washi tape was perfect for this one.  I pierced around the edges of some Whisper White, then wrap the washi tape around it.  Layered that on Smoky Slate and added a Smoky Slate color dot to the upper right corner.  Love these!  Add a dot of color like a brad but no bulk since it is just a little round dot that adhere directly to the paper.  I am going to love those!    The flower center is from Daffodil Delight with a small rhinestone in the center.  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs.

And another one using the Gingham Garden paper.  The sentiment is from the Fabulous Phrases stamp set.  This one uses the candy dot but it is place on the coordinating brads - so you can have a brad or not - however you like it.   The brads are silver and have a ridge around the flat top so you just add the candy dot.   I used the Herringbone embossing folder for the background.

Love this stamp set and the punch makes it so easy to use.  A hint for using the punch.  Look for the flower with the little dip in one half of the petal.  All the others are rounded but this one show here has a little indentation.

  

 

Line that indentation up with the same petal on the punch.  The top petal in the photo below.  Once you have those petals matched it is easy to line up the others. 

 

 

Painting the craft room

Oh my!  Painting the craft room so not much cardmaking going on.  Got the room all torn apart and everything boxed up in the dining room and hallway and major problems at work  - stress and more stress - and then when I get home I don't want to tackle painting.  I did get a break from work today so got the room painted and started putting things back in the room. 

 

Doesn't it look nice.  The paint is Hint of Violet.  It looks like a lighter shade of the guest bathroom so coordinates well.  I am rearranging the room so I can get a computer cabinet that we have in the family room moved into the craft room for a Big Shot station.   We don't have a PC any more - all have laptops - so the cabinet is just housing the printer that we use occasionally.  I may move the small desk to the family room to use for the printer - or may move the printer to my craft oom :-)

 

I started putting away some of my collection of stamps, punches, ribbons, etc and just had to stop and make a card with some of the new (retruned from previous years) colors,  Bermuda Bay,  Crushed Curry, and Soft Sky.

 



I set up the card table since my craft table is currenlty stored in the garage.  Not a lot of room to play there after I got out the new stamp sets, inks and ribbons.   I used one of the new hostess sets, Simply Sketched, and Bermuda Bay ink to stamp the image and sentiment.  The Bermuda Bay 1/8 inch ribbon is new and looks nice on the Soft Sky card stock.
I love the Crushed Curry with the blues.  It is a simple and quick card but looks pretty nice.  Would love to play some more but it is time for bed and tomorrow will be another busy day.

All that junk!

Cleaning out the craft room in preparation for painting it  - and wow - where did all that junk come from!
Can't believe that this.....

and all of this.....

and even this...

and this.....

all were in this room

Some of it is NOT going back in there :-)   Have plans to reorganize it and move the computer cabinet from the family room to be used as a Big Shot station.  We all have laptops so the only thing in the computer cabinet is a printer.  Might even over it into the craft room.

My reward for all my hard work today -

Fresh strawberry shortcake.  Homemade sweet biscuit shortcake slit in half and topped with juicy strawberries.  Then some whipped topping  heaped on top.   The strawberries are from a friend's patch - they pick them at their prime and it really make a difference.  I got 10 qts and froze 8 cups or berries.  Have some to give to the kids' Tuesday night and then lots for us to eat on cereal and salads this week - or just to eat as is.  So good! 
Won't get much stamping done this week. But hoping to have the painting done and everything put in place before the weekend.