cool dog

well he is the coolest dog isn't he?

i was going to put a caption

"future so bright, i gotta wear shades"

but i thought better of it.

these are supposed to be fun for the daughter

not annoying yaknow?

anyway i found cool dog on some piece of junk mail and he practically barked out to me to cut him out.

Daughter loves dogs just like him and then of course there were the orange tinted glasses (orange being dd's favorite color). I took my StampinUp Pumpkin Pie inkpad and colored up the background then slapped down the dog. I finished off the whole thing with some glue (yes, the exploding variety - see previous post "time 4 cake" if you're looking at your computer screen and thinking "Tracy's finally lost her marbles") . I added a little superfine glitter to the glue and voila... Postcard from Home.

and now for a little music.... check it out

oh and one final thing

Happy Birthday June from the Birthday Queen

bird with chemistry

so you've been noticing i've got a dictionary i've been pulling pages out of to create some postcards from home, right? i found this one page i thought the daughter might like - with the chemical elements. it has sortofa graphic appeal to me. And then i got something in the mail - i can't even remember what it was - that had this sweet little bird on it. for some reason i decided they'd look good together. i slapped that dictionary page down, then trimmed that bird from the page he was on and added him on top of that page. I took a little tim holtz distress ink in linen, then tea dye, and finished the whole thing off with some ultra-thick embossing powder - then cracked it. i'm rather pleased with the outcome.

i ended up mounting the whole thing on a card base - that UTE powder - well it kinda warps a bit - at least for me :-)

so i figured it was safer to send to my daughter as a card in an envelope - than to hope it would go thru the postal service as a postcard.

that's all for today. i've got something fun to post - at least i think so - but i've gotta wait til it's reached its destination :-) - don't wanna spoil the suprise.

a few more postcards

been workin, doin stuff around the house, and trying to make stuff in between. I bought some new things (birthday money :-)) which i'll try and show as i go. Also been playing with stamps and such for christmas cards. (i'm thinking i'm makin batches of different cards this year - instead of one christmas card... we'll see what actually happens LOL)

in the meantime, i'll post a couple more postcards from home. Have a good one ~

Postcards from Home Returns

I mentioned previously I'd started sending my daughter postcards. I'd sent my son postcards randomly over say the last 2 yrs he was at college. I thought she might enjoy the same thing. I, of course, enjoy doing it. The postcards aren't works of art. They are more "playtime": whatever i feel like doing at the time - stamps i feel like stamping, pencils i want to draw/color with etc... i have a little canvas and i can fill it with whatever suits my fancy at that given moment in time.

Daughter is at art school - she understands the need for stretching one's creative wings. She also appreciates my love of making things. And i think she knows these postcards serve 2 purposes (at least) - I get to make things + i get to send her my love. (i certainly email all the time but there is nothing like getting real mail at college!)

So, without further ta-doo... I am posting a few postcards I've already sent. Believe it or not, I've actually got a small stack I've made and haven't mailed yet. (i'm ahead of the game... who knew!)

Oh -I think i mentioned before - but if i didn't - I mailed the first postcard with a hole punch and one of those metal rings - so she could punch the postcards as they arrive - they'll all be together and she can save them that way.

You've noticed I'm doing a little gluing on these postcards (dictionary pages, things i find in the mail, tags from the dry cleaner.... as well as stamping, embossing; using ink, watercolor crayons, stamps, prismacolor pencils... yeah... everything goes this time). Have a wonderful day!

Between this and that

I haven't gotten on here to post anything new. Matter of fact, I put the postcards from home on hold cos I needed to get various and sundry other things done. I hated doing that - but after 71postcards I don't think it's too bad to take a short break, do you?

Today, I'll be taking these cards to the post office and sending them on their way. Finally. I will say right up front I didn't come up with this card all on my own. I saw a version of it on Splitcoaststampers. I don't remember whose card it was so I can give credit however when I saw that card I thought it was pretty and it looked like something I'd make. I changed the sentiment and used an American Crafts Glitter marker for the berries. (which may be mistletoe really, right Amy? but i think it looks equally as nice with red berries. I don't think we have to be botanically correct for Christmas do we Joan? ;-)) I think I mentioned previously I had run out of grosgrain ribbon and switched over to some satin ribbon. I almost like the satin better.

I've made a few things over the past few days with my new damask stamp from Purple Onion Designs. I am in love with this stamp. I started off by just stamping it all over a sheet of cardstock and embossing with clear EP. Doesn't it look just like fabric?

I used a piece of that to make this card. I had a scrap of some polished stone technique cardstock leftover on which I stamped the angel. I added some german scrap that I embossed with gold EP to make it match up better with the polished stone. well gee it's getting late and I gotta get moving for the day. I'll be back to show you something else i made with my faux fabric

snowflakes

Here's today's Postcard from home.
I used some foam stamps from Making Memories, versamark, brilliance ink, and holographic embossing powder (the graininess is due to the ep... but its still kinda cool. i don't think the scan shows how sparkly it is.. love that holographic ep!)
I love snowflakes - don't you? I was never good at making them with paper and scissors and I still don't know quite why. No matter. I've got a few snowflake stamps and, for the most part, those always come out lookin nice.
I enjoy those snowflake makers you can find online - they're a lot of fun. You can make as many snowflakes as you want and there's no mess to clean up!
Here's a few links to those snowflake makers.
Give them a try - it's a lot of fun!

http://ww2.unime.it/weblab/mirror/ExplrSci/dswmedia/snwflak6-adv.htm

http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/

christmas trees

No - none in this house yet - we get a real tree and that means waiting a few weeks. I really love a real tree but secretly wish we could find a fake tree that's large enough. Has anyone seen a tree that's 9.5 or 10 feet that's not outrageously priced - let me know.

But I'm trying to get in the spirit here so I made the postcard for today using a Hero Arts stamp, some versamark and chalk.

Music, cards and shopping

Few random christmas-y thoughts:

the non-stop Christmas music actually began on the local radio station the week before last - really. If you enjoy Christmas music and want an online link here's the station WASH-FM . I am sure you have to sign up but go ahead.. you'll enjoy the musical accompaniment to your web surfing. The link to listen live is on the front page there in the upper right hand corner.

I'm done with the cards - yeah for me! I need to buy the stamps this morning and i think i'd also like to stamp something on the envelopes (nothing fancy I assure you - something that takes about a half hour of my time to stamp is what i'm thinkin).

shopping - I'm starting this morning. I have a birthday present to purchase this morning and will also grab a gift card whilst i'm at the same store. But i'm having trouble getting into this whole shopping thing this year. I don't even know what anyone wants. I have family members emailing and asking for our gift lists (dh's family in particular - they're always on top of things!)

here's today's postcard. looks like the recipient got hold of it - the kid is often dirty - always got his hands into his car or someone else's car. Pulling them apart and putting them back together. Anyway - here i'm just saying it was wonderful to see him over Thanksgiving

The turkey's been decimated, the pie has been destroyed (my kids lingo) and I'm tired. Any body else that cooked pooped too? But all in all, an okay Thanksgiving. Kinda low key since it's just us'ins. While I cooked I listened to a little "Miracle on 34th Street" - of course I speak all the lines as I watch as I know them all - I watch the movie at least once every holiday season. I don't know about the weather you had today but it was the warmest Thanksgiving I can remember. Currently the wind is howling, as its been doing all day - so it was breezy but very warm. I guess those winds are bringing in the cold temperatures we're told to expect by tomorrow morning. It's going to drop 30 degrees overnite - how bizarre is all I can say. This morning as I cooked breakfast I needed to stop and change from my snuggly warm sweatshirt into a t-shirt. It was warm. The postcard above was Tuesday's edition. Wednesday's postcard is below. I continue to work on my Christmas cards -

I'm trying my best to fit in a little assemby as time permits but the goal is still to be done by Sunday.

hip hip hooray!

hip hip hooray! here's the postcard for today!

(yes that DOES rhyme!)

cute little stamps from Rubber Soul and the rectangle stamp in the background is from StampinUp!.

Yes its a hip hip hooray week. My son will be coming home for the holiday - probably tomorrow nite (we had discussed the virtues of coming home early and the perils of waiting til later on Wednesday morning - traffic around this area is pretty hideous....)

The daughter gets out early on Wednesday from school (why they bother to haul them all in to school when the dismissal is at 10:50 i wonder....). And we all get a nice 4 day holiday.

Course to get to the good part (the pie...c'mon) we've got a few days of a lot of nonsense to get through. Early mornings, doctors appointments and such. I've already done the grocery shopping - I will do most anything to avoid the grocery store this week. Got the turkey, all the dressing shtuff, bought the pumpkin pie yesterday and ingredients to make an apple one.

I was just thinking about the food and I think I make pretty much the same thing every year. Despite all the food shows I enjoy watching, I don't vary the menu. It seems almost sacriligeous to do so. So I'm curious: What do you make for Thanksgiving and do you make the same thing every year or do you add something different?

Here's what we have: Start off with fresh fruit salad, turkey with giblet gravy, mashed potatoes, white onions in cream sauce, broccoli casserole (think of that famous green bean one - now take out the green beans, add broccoli and cheese...), and last but not least - pie (pumpkin and apple). We always have apple - and most often the dutch apple pie (crumbs on top) - but one year I made a homemade apple and it was the best - so I'm going for that this year. I'll be sure to take pics (you knew I would didn't you?) Omigosh - i forgot! The whipped cream for the pie. Homemade - nothing else will do on Thanksgiving.

Damn - i just realized I will be heading back to the evil grocery store - i forgot the cheese and the whipping cream. ugh.......

Postcards and Christmas Cards

Here's todays postcard from home - the gingham stamp is from Impression Obsession and the other stamp is SU -Elegant Ornaments set

(retired i'm sure)

and here's the one from yesterday

I am sure i picked up this foam stamp in Michaels - i've long since forgotten who made it. When i saw it I thought it reminded me of Matisse's shapes from his later years - here's a sample or two.

see what I mean? Anyway.....

I've been working on my Christmas cards for the past week. I'm done with all the scoring and still have a little cutting to do. I have to stamp the main image. Yesterday i spent stamping and cutting out the sentiments. I'll take a picture of my little assembly line once i've got all the pieces ready. In the meantime I want to pass along this request. A friend sent me an email about this and I wanted to pass it along here.When you're doing your Christmas cards, make an extra one and mail it to this address:

A Recovering American soldier

c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center

6900 Georgia Avenue,NW

Washington ,D..C. 20307-5001

Isn't that a great idea?

On the fly

Ze postcard du jour....

last nite i realized i needed some more postcards and took out a foam stamp (for tomorrow's edition). As i was stamping that one i noticed some paper with this bird punched out of it. (i usually have some typing paper or newsprint under whatever i'm stamping and i grab whatever is handy. I'd been trying out this new punch I got at Michael's - it's Martha Stewart. I was enabled by the evil temptress Barbara, who is always making the most wonderous things, and who showed this birdie on some cards she'd made. Anyway i noticed the punched out shapes and i thought i'd try to use it for a stencil. And this is how i made this postcard - using stencil brushes and sponges to apply the color thru my accidental stencil (does that sorta rhyme. i think it does). Then i stippled the background a bit. I dont know if you can tell but on this one and future postcards I've changed the size I am using. I decided I'd just cut up my 8.5x11 cardstock in quarters and be done with it. Previous postcards had been 3.5x5.5 It's a little less measuring this way and i'm all about less measuring!

Here's yesterday's postcard. I used some selfadhesive scrap papers i had from making that book for Annie last month and I wondered if the postal service was gonna give me fits about the thickness of this postcard. Obviously all my postcards are 2D. That makes it a little frustrating creatively sometimes. So this is my little experiment. Asking my son to let me know if this postcard made it to him so i know i can use a little bit of dimension - yeah i know its still flat but its thicker than normal postcards. we shall see. okay i gotta run!

Countin the days

til Thanksgiving. Do you realize it's next week?

Well of course you do. But I did a little double take whilst looking at the calendar. That one crept up pretty quickly. Maybe in other years it seemed as if I saw a lot of ads for turkeys and pies and this year things are just getting away from me? I decided I had better take a look in the grocery store for a turkey. It's just going to be my husband and myself, 2 kids and my mom and of course the kitties. I could make just a turkey breast but I kinda like making the whole bird. At least right now. I don't mind cooking the whole deal - not that anyone absolutely loves turkey around here. But once a year, it's okay. I like making the gravy - and I'm guessing you don't get a bag of giblets with just a turkey breast - or do you? (someone please confirm or deny.) The smell of the giblets cooking the day before is very important for the olfactory portion of our holiday dontchaknow. It kind of sets the stage, as it were. Smells are pretty important to holidays, wouldn't you agree? Just as I like the smell of giblets and pies cooking, I detest the smell of turnip - so that will not be on our holiday table. Turnips always permeated my house on Thanksgiving day as a kid and I decided long ago not to include them... ever! (okay all you turnip lovers let me have it! go ahead.... ) So I did pick up a turkey yesterday. I am waiting on the pie. I am thinking of making one (apple) and availing myself of Mrs. Smith's skills on the other (pumpkin). We'll see how things go around here. Above is today's postcard. All stamps are from Purple Onion Designs.

serendipity

a fast card for a friend

the serendipity (don't you just love that word?) comes in because not long after I got this cuttlebug embossing folder I was walking in Michael's and I saw this ribbon. Seemed like it was made to go with the embossing folder huh?

Postcard for today:

all stamps by Purple Onion Designs. I don't know about where you live but it's now feeling a little like winter. But I like it!

Busy day today so i gotta run. Have a good one!

So i said i don't like rushing the holidays

and then i find this cute countdown calendar - to your right. I love Norman Rockwell so what the heck. I probably should go back and find a countdown to Thanksgiving calendar but ya know Thanksgiving was never one of my favorite holidays.

So Norman Rockwell and Santa it is!

Anyway here's today's postcard. I don't think the background is showing up as well as it does irl. I used Purple Onion Designs Script background and autumn stamps. The leaves are from a retired StampinUp! set called Oriental Gardens and the flourishes are from Autumn Leaves.

And now for your musical enjoyment ......

Now that WAS fun wasn't it?
okay onward ......
postcards for Tuesday - i found this pic online somewhere - the kids got some large ears and i dubbed him the record holder for worlds largest ears - non-elephant category (as the son has the mistaken notion he's got the title (not even close). And today's postcard is a little bit of fun regarding our wedding weekend (the shuttles were never crowded but i couldn't resist when i found this photo).

Well i gotta run. Hope you have a good Wednesday

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

you know with Daylight Savings Time I should feel less tired.

but all this jet-setting is not for me

I feel too pooped to pop (yes Will, we say that too! since i was a little girl it was always a most apt description of being tired)

All the running around before hand (so that we could go away) and the getting up at the crack of dawn (i think 5am is actually before the crack....) - the stress of leaving everything in the hands of other people and realizing I could do nothing if something went wrong - welll.... when we arrived in Detroit on Saturday morning we had plenty of time before the wedding so the husband and I said lets get in a nap now. He lies down and is asleep in perhaps two seconds. I was so wound up it took me an hour to fall asleep.

(This is extremely not me - i can fall asleep anywhere, at anytime. I just think sleep and I'm gone! So you can imagine my frustration.)

Of course I called home a few times - my son (who had come up from school to keep an eye on all this weekend) assured me all was well. And it was.

And we had a lovely time. It was all so well planned out - all we had to do as appear at the prescribed times and places and we were whisked here and there and it was so easy and nice not to have to think - for just a day. Do you know what i'm talkin about? I bet you do.

Here's today's postcard - a little thank you to my son for coming up and taking care of things so well. (I hadn't stamped in gosh - 48 or more hours so i was a little over the top however - those are Wordsworth alpha stamps - colored in with some random brush markers)

He left late yesterday afternoon.

This morning of course I'm playing catch-up. I love ketchup but not catch-up. Ugh. Piles of laundry and a doctor's appointment for my Mom. The only saving grace is that my daughter has off school today (teacher workshop thingy) and tomorrow (election day - VOTE PEOPLE!). So this morning I slept in until 7 am! Ahhhhhhhhhh

Now i gotta run....

Leavin on a jet plane and i do know when I'm comin home again

Last night I needed to make a thank you. And since I liked how it came out -I made another! I know a lot of people do this routinely but I never do. I'm going to have to make a practice of this from now on. (card makins: paper is foofala, oval and oval scallop punches, red seam binding instead of ribbon, StampinUp! sentiment and my sewing machine.)

Tomorrow we are getting up at an ungodly hour to first drop off our daughter at a friends house (and they will make their way to their school to take the SAT) and then head on over to Dulles to catch a plane to Detroit. Why you ask? We are going to a nephew's wedding. A very special nephew ('cos otherwise i wouldn't be flying to Detroit on Saturday morning - I guess I'd be driving the daughter to the SAT ... but i digress.) We'll arrive in Detroit - maybe have time for a short nap - i live on naps - dress and be shuttled off to the church, shuttled back to the reception (thankfully held in the hotel we are staying at), then head back home on Sunday morning. Yeah, I think there's gonna be a whole lotta nappin goin on.

It will be nice to see my husband's family - they are quite a crew and will all be there in force for the big day. This is the 2nd nephew (dh's side) to marry. (Yes, we've reached that stage where everyone has married, had children and now the children are marrying. How the heck did that happen?) There is another wedding coming up in July - a niece getting married. By then there will probably a few more weddings slated..... it's a big family LOL!

Anyway I'm thinkin I may snag a few postcards in the airport or hotel. (you catch how i worked that segue in .......) Here's today's postcard: i like the crispness of the colored leaves on the white background for some reason.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I'll see you Monday!

Happy November!

I can hardly believe it is November.

October just flew by - just like yesterday.
Here's yesterday's postcard. (that StampinUp! Botanicals set again. It has a toile-like look doesn't it?)

And here's today's postcard:

This one is using just the leaf stamp from that set stamped on top of a background made with a palette stamp (stamped a few times) using chalk inks.

Now that we're in November we'll be speeding toward Thanksgiving and Christmas - not that we mean to but doesn't it work out that way? I know I'm already thinking Christmas cards and plans for the holidays. Even in the grocery store last week I saw them consolidating the Halloween stuff so they'd have more room for the Christmas stuff. Which had been out for a while already.

Kinda makes you wanna scream doesn't it? oh well. Too much thinkin for so early in the morning. Have a great day all

a little more traditional

a little more traditional - as leaves and postcards go.

and very simple to do which was what i needed yesterday when i made it. prismacolors and mineral spirits. the stamp is by StampinUp!- from a set (i'm sure has been discontinued - more's the pity) called Botanicals.