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 ~

Doing a happy aunt dance

My nephew called me yesterday (well actually Sunday but we played phone tag for a day) to tell me he and his long time girlfriend are engaged.
This wasn't entirely surprising - he'd told me a few months back they were talking about it and had gone ring shopping. But still - hearing it is finally official - and hearing how he asked her - well it just made me so happy and ... yes I got all teary :-)
This kid has a most special place in my heart. He's my first nephew (i have 16), my sister's child... and he is just the best nephew you could ever hope to have. I love him like he's one of my own.
His fiance - well this girl is a doll. We loved her the minute we met her - she just fit right in - kwim? She's funny and sweet and well we just love her.
Anyway... I wanted to send him and his fiance a card. They love getting my cards - and of course those are the people you enjoy sending them to! I used the Stampinup set "Together Forever" (i may have to use it for a wedding card in a little over a year from now!); nestabilities and some grosgrain ribbon. I must get a decent scissor just for ribbons (I've been saying this for forever - i'm doing it in the next few days! Enough is enough - I've ruined enough ribbon for heavenssake! I really wanted a slanted cut on those ribbon tails... but this will have to do!) Oh... I'd like to say this aqua-ish cardstock is really a much lovelier shade - very pale and looks really great with the black... it just isn't showing up so good here. Also there is a little shmutz on the scan... its not on the card.... i'm just sayin. Oh yeah - and I printed off the "You're Engaged" on my printer then cut it out....
Have a great day kids!

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!

poppystamps

i mentioned yesterday i got a few new stamps.

i would have gotten a few more of the PoppyStamps if they had them. They're cute and different from what i've seen lately. And I love anything i can color in.

Anyhow, I picked up Peggy Polkadot and made a little card. I used some Basic Grey Wisteria (had that paper for so long!), a quickutz dragonfly die, a nestablilities die; and i used prismas and copics to color in Peggy.

well i'm off to see what else i can make.... have a good one...

more birthday

so i still haven't started my new job - Friday is my first day. So with a few more days to myself I decided to #1 - buy a few new stamps :-) and #2 make a few cards.

Yesterday i visited a local stamp store. Bought a few stamps. I'd seen these PoppyStamps online and they had a few in the store yesterday.

I indulged :-)

Bought the large kitty stamp and decided it would be a good choice to use on a card for my nephew - (he has 2 cats of his own) his birthday is the end of this week . I fooled around with some copics on the cat but decided i liked my prismas this time to color the kitty. But he lacked the proper festive-wear, if you will. So I cut him out a party hat. Yeah... that'll put this kitty in the party mode.

The cardstock is Lasting Impressions; the "celebrate" is Hero Arts I believe. I had the ribbon in my stash.

Let's see - I also made some thank you cards over the weekend:

I'd wanted to make some thank you's and also wanted to try using some stamps I hadn't really used (at least successfully). So I went on Splitcoast Stampers and took a look around. I really wish i could remember the name of the person who made the card that got me started - but suffice it to say she stamped with white craft ink onto a dark blue cardstock - i loved how hers came out. I thought i'd try that and then create cards of my own using that stamped sheet of cardstock.

Okay... that's all for today kids. I'll have to upload some "postcards from home" in the next few days. Til then, be good!

Happy Labor Day weekend kids

yes.. it has been a while

and a lot has happened in the past, what? 7 months since I last posted anything.

Between work, having 2 kids graduate (1 college, 1 high school), leaving aforementioned job, beginning a new one, shipping one child off to college... well I haven't lacked for things to do. I said I started a new job - I did some training for the new one and am waiting to actually start... so I've had a few glorious days to do whatever came to mind.

I've started sending postcards to my new college girl (and she's enjoying them). So I'll be posting those soon I spose. (I even sent her a hole punch and one of those metal rings - so she can save them).

The other day I was in the Walmart and saw these cute K&Company birthday hat embellishments and thought they'd make cute, easy cards. I haven't made cards in - how long... sheesh ... I don't even know. So I cut up some paper and ran it through the Cuttlebug with an embossing folder; cut up some cardstock and ran some of it through my Cuttlebug with some Nestabilities - voila... cards! They came out kinda cute and I was feelin more like the old me :-)

Oh i should mention I made one card not pictured here for a friend - Happy Birthday Michele

I'd like to say I'll be posting more often - but I'm just not sure quite yet how much free time I'll be getting. But I will say I'm gonna try :-)

Happy Valentine's Day

yes, it's been ages since i've posted. yes, i've been makin stuff but i've had zero time to blog. actually i don't have much time right now so i'm gonna make this short and sweet.

I made my valentines for some dear friends this past week. I'd been planning on making them for a month. Bought a new stamp. Stamped it probably 30 times, testing out coloring options etc. When all was said and done i just wasn't happy with the ideas I had for that particular card. I was pondering what to do. I started going thru my supplies, looking for something completely different (i believe it was a scalloped edged scissor ) and I found this package of heart shaped doilies I'd bought years ago. I'd set them aside to make Valentines one day. We used to make Valentines with doilies when i was a kid and when i saw them in the store I bought them with that intention.

Well, finding the doilies set me off in an entirely different direction for my Valentines this year. I trashed the idea of using that new stamp - it just wasn't working. And isn't that often the way things work? You have one idea in your head and sometimes... often... you end up in an entirely different place.

So I'll be putting away that new stamp. One year, I'll come across it and it will be used. I have a lot of stuff in my craft room like that. I'd bought the patterned paper you see in this valentine for my Christmas cards. (I made a bunch of Christmas cards... but they are being saved for next year ... yeah that's the way life's been for a few months... just totally crazy and out of control busy).

Details on the card: patterned paper is Basic Grey; I used a Martha punch to make the borders; the bird stamp is from Character Constructions.

It's pretty simple but you know... I like it.

Hope to talk to you all again soon!

Happy Valentine's Day!

more halloween

I know... another Halloween card but hey I'm running out of time - and i've got a lot of cute Halloween stamps.
Seems every year I find some new stamps, buy them - sure that I'll make cards and then...I run out of time. This year I'm determined to use 'em!
And i think i really like these Purple Onion Designs Halloween Border Tapes. There are two different sentiments - the one here "Happy Hallowen" and the "Trick or Treat".
I'm also trying to use what I have - in terms of paper and cardstock. I have tons of cardstock scraps - every color of the rainbow - nicely filed in my cardstock scrap files (organized by color of course). And I have tons of patterned paper (also arranged by color and, in this case, by holiday.) so I just went to the stash and found this Creative Imaginations paper (by Debbie Mumm). Ran the orange cardstock through the Cuttlebug with the swiss dot embossing folder. Throw in some tape to put it all together and I was done. Easy but cute card!
(yes ... i broke down and bought the Cuttlebug. It was 50% off and I said "SOLD". I was using my Cuttlebug embossing folders with my zipemate - it worked ok but it was getting more and more difficult. And these days I'm over anything that gives me a struggle. And I gotta tell you - that Cuttlebug just makes it soooooo easy. Runs that embossing folder right on thru with not a speck of resistance. That's what I'm talkin about.) I will make a few more of this card as I've got a bit more of that paper.
This is a bad precedent to set - 2 posts in one day but I'm doing it. I have to go into work tomorrow (Saturday... blasphemy) and I've got an eye doctor appointment after that - finally doing something I need (I'm bad at that but I'm workin on it). Talk to you soon!

another halloween card -- eek!

okay here's the Purple Onion Noteblock for Halloween with a background using the Purple Onion Damask stamp (in versamark and clear embossed). I was fooling around last nite with stamps - listening to Dirty Sexy Money online (very amusing program - perfect accompaniment whilst stamping- not serious and you don't have to pay too close attention ;-)).

anywho... and although i'm not completely satisfied with this (i couldn't find just the right ribbon and buttons didn't look right at all) i'm happy enough. It was a very relaxing exercise. I'm only sorry I didn't get any more cards made.

gotta run.... have a good day all

here are a few birthday cards i've made recently

Alittle funky for me i guess but i kinda like them. Every once in a while you gotta try something different right?

i really love the new noteblock stamps by Purple Onion Designs - can't wait to try out some others!

playing with some new stamps

i got some new Purple Onion Designs stamps - you can see them here

i made a few birthday cards but i also got a chance to start on some halloween cards. it's my first one so far but i kinda like it.

i've got a few more ideas - hopefully i'll get to make them during the week (i'm gonna try!). i'll post the birthday ones soon too.

hope you all are makin stuff too! talk to you soon!

the birthday queen

says

Happy Birthday June!

Lots of cake, ice cream and presents for you on your day!

Happy Anniversary....

hard to believe - 24 years. But then of course I look at the photo and i think ... uh yeah... that was a few years ago.

I know its been a while. The last few weeks have been extremely hectic. I've felt a little too crazed to be blogging. I did have some time here and there to make a few cards so i'll post them here now while i've got another few moments.

thought i'd start out with the anniversary card for my husband. I had some text paper (probably 7Gypsies but i really can't recall whose it is) that I aged with Distress Antique Linen ink. I cut the oval with my Nestabilities; all the stamps are from Purple Onion Designs (see a link on your right). Oh the white paper I stamped on for the "chapter 24" is from PapertreyInk and its just the most wonderful, thick white cardstock i've ever stamped on... you need it!

Here's the calendar page for August/September i had mentioned previously. I made myself a calendar for work - i needed the current month plus the next month (and i couldn't find anything I liked). I made pages through the end of the year and put them in a 5x7 acrylic frame. The empty portion on the right is taken up by a post-it note pad i affix to the acrylic frame (put on your imagination caps for me kids... imagine it). I used some Basic Grey paper i had hanging around and stamped the calendar months with stamps from Purple Onion Designs (i will make next years calendar when Michele at Purple Onion puts out the 2009 calendar stamps!)

Let's see what else - I made these two thank you's for my dear friends June and Mary who were so sweet to me on my birthday recently. They met me at a nearby place to eat - set up a little birthday celebration for me. June gave me these wonderful stamps - I love them June!

I love the stamps so much I used them again to make this birthday card for Barbara - well i should say the typewriter image is from the set June gave me. I also used a sentiment on the inside of the card. Here you see the image, to which i added the "hb"(for happy birthday) and a sentiment from a stamp set by Club Scrap (i believe). Some KI Memories text paper and i used my little punch from SU! to create the scallop and a corner rounder from Creative Memories as well as some thick black grosgrain ribbon - i think it was from Walmart.

Here's the card I made for my nephew for his most recent birthday. I used a Paisley Cuttleburg embossing folder in the blue background; Paisley stamps from Purple Onion Designs in the kraft colored background (stamped with Versamark); circles cut with Nestabilities and the cake is made from dies from Quickutz; and a few DCWV brads that were just the perfect color to match the blue cardstock (i love when that happens). The adorable sentiment is from The Cat's Pajamas and given to me for my birthday from Mary.

I think i could post one more but I gotta run.

Happy Birthday Michelle!

The Birthday Queen needed to dust off her birthday wand this month - she's been a little lax keepin up with her birthday duties of late, dontchaknow.

A big Happy Birthday to Michelle!!!

Hope it's an extra special day and the beginning of a wonderful year miss!

thinking of you

I really am... thinking of you all.
I have been among the missing - well at least in blog-land.
And a bit at home -when I think about it.
I went back to work - full time. I haven't worked full time in a long time. I've worked part time for many years. Mostly during the day when my kids were at school.
Since the store closed a year and a half ago, I'd been looking for another job. I had a few detours along the way as most of you know. My mom had a set back a year ago which required that I set aside my search for a bit.
Regardless, I started my job mid July and its been crazy around here ever since. My son is back at college and my daughter begins her senior year in high school. I've had a few car issues over the last six weeks too. (it's as if the car knew i started this job i swear!). Just getting used to the new schedule hasn't been too hard (although come Tuesday, adding daughter's schedule in should be a trip) but making myself go to bed at a reasonable hour has taken some getting used to! You all know I tended to stay up too late LOL! No more of that anymore. And of course there are the weekends which are even shorter than before. Not enough hours in a day and certainly not in the weekends!
One weekend I was able to get in a little visit with my friend June - Hi June! We went to Angela's Happy Stamper - for a little girl time. I had no idea that they were having a special event that day - crazy luck! We received a goodie bag when we walked in the door - a nice little bag filled with this and that. We shopped for a bit - it was busy but not outrageous and we were able to find some things we needed (needed is operative word in this sentence since neither June nor I need anything LOL). I picked up the apples stamp you see in the card here. I wish it scanned up better - i was really pleased how the coloring came out - i used a mix of Prismacolor and Copic markers (dont get me started on those Copics - i swore i wouldn't get started with those and now I'm goin straight to hell is all I can say. I've picked up a few...... i reallllllly like them). I made the card for my nephew and his girlfriend who came to visit a few weekends ago. I also used a Purple Onion Designs sentiment - the "thinking of you" - I just love it.
I also made a cute little calendar for my desk at work using the Purple Onion Designs Vintage Calendar Stamps (individual months) - but i just realized I forgot to scan in any of the pages! I'm gonna bring it home one night this week and do that cos it came out cute, was easy to do, and I think you'd all like it. I was needing a calendar with the current month and next month on it. I was going to run over to Staples and pick one up and then thought - why? I can make a much prettier calendar - and exactly what I want - all by myself.
Anyway, I digress as usual. I want to thank those of you who emailed me -wondering if all was okay. We're all good here in the burg. Just a little tired and working on adjusting. I will close out this little blog entry with this. I rediscovered a few things over the past 6 weeks:

• I can actually go to bed before midnight!
• It's amazing how much you can get done in a lunch hour
• I can make it through the day without a nap (who knew!)
• Its really nice knowing you have friends who are thinkin boutcha. (i knew that before - i just got a nice reaffirmation)
• I need to make things - the few things I was able to make - well it just made me happy! I may not make as much stuff, but I'll keep makin things whenever I can fit it in. And I will be fitting it in.

A little beach

a quick post here to show some recent cards.
I stamped, with versamark, the shells (from a retired StampinUp! set) and clear embossed. I colored the shells with white Caran D'ache watercolor crayon and then used a water pen to make a wash out of that crayon. I like the effect of the white on the kraft colored stock. I cut out the sand dollar with a quickutz die. I'm not really crazy about how this card scanned up but trust me it does not curl up like that along the bottom of the mat for the sand dollar.

Here's a similar card - I'd stamped a whole sheet of that shell so I was going to use it! This time I used a seahorse brass embossing plate and ran it through my zipemate and was happy to discover that works! Then I stamped a little sentiment from Purple Onion Designs.

I had to take a photo of the seahorse card because that seahorse was just not scanning at all.
Okay - gotta run here.
Enjoy your day all!

sorry its been so long

things have been quite busy. all last week was crazy. partly due to the holiday, part because of events around here and partly because we'd be going away over the holiday weekend.

I'm tired.

We drove up to Massachusetts on Friday - took us around 10.5 hours (including a little detour in Connecticut to take a look at one of the places we used to live). Saturday we went to the wedding of our eldest niece. A really lovely wedding.

Then back on the road on Sunday at 8:45. We arrived home close to 12 hours later (including another side trip to see our other 2 former residences in Connecticut... 16 years changes things!)

I did a few loads of laundry last nite and watched a little television; did a little web surfing then to bed.

I think its going to take a few days to recover LOL. But this morning I had to make a thank you to our little neighbor who took care of our kitties. Nothing fancy - and believe me this looks sooo much better in person (it doesnt glow in person like it does here ... oy!). I need to drop this off at her house this morning and get a few errands out of the way.

Happy Birthday Lauren

The birthday queen wants to shout out to one of her favorite bloggers (and fellow Jersey-Carvel-and-Cake-Lovin-Girl) Lauren . I'm posting this in hopes the mailman was speedy (like Mr. Feely) and delivered this card today - i hate to ruin your surprise Lauren but just in case - you'll see it here first! I hand cut the cake out of some scrap cardstock I'd drawn on. (Lauren is fond of cutting and gluing - now arentcha Lauren?) I had some cute polka dot DCWV paper and I found a nice slice of Making Memories paper (the ruled pp at the top) that I stamped on - those alpha stamps are my favorite Purple Onion Designs Alpha (outside of Lizziebelle, of course ;-)) Garamouche.

Anyway, for those of you who haven't read Lauren's blog - do yourself a favor - and check it out. Not only does she make the most fabulous stuff - you will roll laughing every day. She's just TOO MUCH! And that's a good thing!

some shop cards

I was in the mood the other night to glue. I hauled out my quickutz binder and handtool and decided on this bee die and off to work I went. I made a bunch o'bees. I knew I had some of this yellow gingham Making Memories paper hanging around (from the day 1 at least) - its a good basic paper isn't it? i knew i'd use it one day - and that day had arrived. The sentiment is computer printed - i just didnt have a stamp sentiment large enough so there you are.

I had a little black gingham ribbon but knew I didn't have enough for the six cards I'd planned to make. Hauled out the 2 boxes of ribbon I've got and found some self-adhesive stitched black ribbon i think worked out quite nicely. i did a little piercing around one of the circles and decided I didn't want to do that on all of them - just didnt have the concentration that was required to make them nice and evely spaced that night.

these next ones are kinda simple - that's the way it seems to go. i make some elaborate cards (or, for me, they're elaborate) then i want to make something very plain. This one makes me think of Neopolitan Ice Cream (ya think?) Anyway the right most panel scanned up bluish when, in fact, its the same tan color as the center circle (and the tan stripe - whatsupwiththat?)

I have a bunch more cards to share but I'll save those for another day. I need to get going - it may be Sunday- but that seems, sometimes, like my busiest day of the week.