Wishing you Well...

So - I mentioned that I know way too many people who have had surgery this week...so I'm on to my next get well card.

This one is for Lauren. She had her gallbladder out Friday - and my goodness, I hope she's feeling a bit better. I know Lauren mentioned in her post the other day about her abdomen being so sore, that she may no longer consider ever getting a tummy tuck. Lauren - I can tell you - a friend of mine had both procedures (she had gastric bypass surgery and lost 1/2 of herself (and then some)...literally!) and said if she knew what it would have felt like, she wouldn't have done it...she said the gallbladder was NOTHING in comparison.

I remember visiting her in the hospital with another friend and we made the mistake of making her laugh...I felt so bad.

Anyway - onto the card...
I used Papertrey's With Sympathy set, and the new anniversary set, Everyday Classics. I used the rock and roll technique for the flowers, starting with Summer Sunrise, then Berry Sorbet, and rolling the edges in Raspberry Fizz. Kept it simple and neat.

Wishing you well Lauren!! Hope you feel more like yourself today! {{{HUGS}}}

Thanks for stopping by today!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Everyday Classics, With Sympathy (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Summer Sunrise, Berry Sorbet, Raspberry Fizz, Ripe Avocado, Brilliance Graphite Black
Paper: Raspberry Fizz, Select White
Accessories: butterfly bling from M's, Amuse creative candy

My Mom, and a Color Challenge

Alright friends - Dawn has posted another color challenge on her blog. YUM-O look at those colors. They're just fab! I couldn't figure out what I was going to do...so I searched through all my stuff and found this great butterfly image... and I got to work.

















Everyone always thinks their Mom is the best. And everyone is right. No matter what age you are, alright, maybe teenage years excluded, but the relationship between Mother and child is like no other...only because I have now seen it myself.

Growing up, I was very attached to my Mom, incredibly shy, always hiding behind her when meeting someone new. She encouraged me to break free a bit, and be my own person. I was pretty lucky, I'm the baby of the family...but not only just the baby, there's a 5 year age difference between me and my brother, so when I was born, he was going off to Kindergarten, and I had Mom all to myself. Lots of good times there.

I'm a snuggler, always was, always will be...Mom never turned down a snuggle. She takes a good teasing too, as kids, we had an Atari 2600, and Mom would play Pitfall...and she really got into it...let's just say, she's great with the Wii ;). Growing older, I became a fresh mouthed teenager, and took Mom for granted...just as I think many teenagers do. Mom was no longer cool...I had a gaggle of friends I hung out with, and certainly wasn't hiding behind her leg anymore, but somehow I knew that no matter what, she'd be there for me.

I started dating my first real, official, boyfriend...she didn't make a big deal (she left that to my Dad) but I knew she was watching. She has a good eye for great guys...I would have known if she didn't like him, but she wouldn't push - she's too smart to do that. She didn't though - so I knew he was a keeper (he must be, I'll be married to him for 10 years in October!). Anyway...that freshness started to subside, and I started looking at my Mom in a completely different way. She was the one and only person in this world that would love me more that I could ever imagine...unconditionally. I feel that same way about her. There's NO ONE like Mom.

My Dad got real sick in 2001, and was hospitalized for months, has brain damage, and short term memory loss. Many people admit they would have ran for the hills, not Mom. She put up with the attitudes, the frustration, the anger, and worked with my Dad until he was able to come home. It's not been an easy road, and she is AMAZING to do what she has to do on a daily basis. There aren't many women like her, and I hope that I'm HALF of what she is. I thank her for always leading the way, without me even knowing, and for the love and understanding she shows to me. For still loving my father, even when he is downright nasty, because he is feeling sorry for himself. She shows me how to be a better person. So Mom - I love you - more than you'll ever know.

This will be her Mother's day card (so I'm hoping she doesn't read my blog!! :) )

The Butterfly image is from Outlines Rubber Stamps, I've had it for almost a year before it saw ink, crazy right? I also went back to watercoloring...gasp! I didn't even TOUCH my Copics :). Added lots of pearls and bling to this beauty, but to me it still classy, not overdone.

The 'Mother' is from Papertrey Ink's Mother set. It's got some GREAT sentiments, like the one stamped inside... "Someone who can take the place of all others, but no one can take their place" Perfect.

Thanks for stopping by today - hope you start off your week with a smile!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mother (Papertrey Ink), Butterfly (Outlines Rubber Stamps)
Ink: Memento Brown, PTI Dark Chocolate
Paper: Spring Moss, SEI Black Orchid designer paper
Accessories: Kaiser pearls, K&Co jewels, PTI Dark Chocolate Ribbon, PTI Vintage buttons

A Mytime Sketch - Get Well Karyn!

My Goodness! I know ENTIRELY too many people that have had surgery this week!! I got some good solid stamping time in yesterday, and will have goodies to share over the next few days - woohoo :)

This first card is for my friend Karyn - she had surgery Monday - and though I would have liked to have been a little more 'on-time' with my card, I'm just happy I was able to get one out at all!! I'm in the Royal Family of Good Intentions, you know.

I needed a starting point yesterday, so I went to Lauren's blog - and checked out some of her Saturday sketches (do you see the cool new blinkie in my sidebar???) Love it :)

Anyway -- found this one from just 2 weeks ago. Mytimess27.

By the way - she had a challenge with this one -- have you sent a card to Ethan??













Here's my take on the sketch -- I'm so horrible - I usually work from what I 'remember' of a sketch, and inevitably leave something out (in this case, the little 'tabs' off of the main image) soooo OOPS.

But all in all, I'm pretty pleased with the way this turned out. I broke out my Pink Cat Studio stamps and got to work. Combined QT Hooty and Dress up Lily, and ta-dah!

The paper is from Piggy Tales, I don't recall which collection - Little Red Riding Hood maybe?? Images are colored with my copics...the icepack on Hooty's head got a little messy, but otherwise I thought it turned out ok. There is a little bit of crystal effects on the thermometer. Finished off with a red prima and some doodlebug bling...I love their bling...all those facets... so pretty!

Anyway - had a CRAZY busy birthday party day, so I'm pooped -- headed off to bed. Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

Supplies:
Stamps: Dress Up Lily, QT Hooty, Pink Cat Studios
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Piggy Tales Patterned Paper, PTI Lemon Tart, Pure Poppy, Select White
Accessories: Prima flower, Doodlebug jewel, crystal effects, copic markers

A Little Behind...

Hi all~

It's been a crazy week -- the kids are sick -- I'm exhausted -- I'm working on invites for a sweet sixteen party for my friend's daughter... BUT I wanted to try to get in a post. I had made this a few weeks ago, for a CPS sketch (I can't even remember what number) AND it was a Kristina Werner color challenge too - never got to post it at the time, but still wanted to share it.

I made this for my dear friend Pam, to congratulate her on her new home. I love this set from Papertrey Ink, called Boards and Beams...perfect for the occasion.

I did get some stamping done, but still have to photograph before I post...maybe tomorrow...I hope.

Hope you have a great day!!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Boards and Beams, PTI
Ink: Memento Black
Paper: SU! Ruby Red, Basic Gray, PTI True Black, Select White
Accessories: circle punches, copics

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge!

Have you been to Dawn's Blog?? She's hosting her first Color Inspiration Challenge! I always love her wonderful color combos, so this should be fun! Here's this week's challenge:

I just love pink and orange together. And brown, well, what's NOT to love?? When I looked at these colors...I translated them to PTI's Dark chocolate, Raspberry Fizz, Summer Sunrise, and SU!'s Pumpkin Pie.

Yesterday I took a little trip to M's to find something they apparently didn't have, so I used my 50% off coupon on that GREAT scallop punch from EK Success...I love how the handles fold down for storage!

So I got to work. Here's my creation:
I Saw this dress in Kohl's the other day...and thought - hey, why not? I used my With Sympathy set from PTI - a GREAT versatile set...along with the new anniversary set, Everyday Classics. Another lovely.

For the flowers I broke out my SU! Craft inks, although not a 'perfect' match for some of the colors...they're pretty close.

Thanks for stopping by today!! Hope you had a great weekend!

Supplies:
Stamps: With Sympathy, Everyday Classics
Ink: Fresh Snow, Pink Passion Craft, Only Orange Craft, Apricot Appeal Craft
Paper: PTI Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Fizz, Summer Sunrise, SU! Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: SU! White Tafeta ribbon, PTI vintage buttons

In the Studio...

The Recording Studio!!

As most of you know, another big part of my life is Fife and Drum. Between getting sick last week, and practicing, I haven't had much time to stamp - so I figured I'd share with you what I've been doing.

Our Fife and Drum corps has been wanting to make a recording for a while now - so we've started laying down some things in the studio. It was a pretty neat experience yesterday. But it was a LONG day.

We got up at 6:15 to get ready. We had to meet the bus at 7:15 to get on the road. Headed out to Trod Nossel recording studio - Chris the engineer that worked with us yesterday told us that Trod Nossel means 'Tree of Many Branches' in some Scandinavian language (though he's not sure which one - ha ha).

We were greeted with a VERY interesting sign on our way in the door...

I guess some pretty famous bands have recorded there throughout the years...Motley Crue, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and some lesser known groups, like The Whiffenpoofs (yes, really) The Ancient Mariners, and of course now, The Regulators *wink*.

We got in and got settled...and started recording. It took a little while, but after a bit, we found our groove, and got some really good takes. I thought it was pretty neat to be in the booth with Chris when I wasn't playing - and look at the board. That thing is NUTS - I asked him if he knew what all those buttons, sliders and switches are...and he said - "yep, if you know one channel, you pretty much know them all"...easy for him to say...but I guess that's why he's the engineer, and I'm just the fifer...which by the way - I left at HOME...yep - got ALL the way to the studio...opened my case...and NO FIFE...here's a photo of me after I realized that I left it at home...I call it - self portrait of jacka$$ ;)

Luckily, my sister-in-law brought an extra - she's so smart... I'm looking forward to the finished product -it'll be a while - still more to record, and then editing and such.

Thanks for touring the studio with me today :) Hope you have a super day - and I've got some stamping I'm behind schedule on - so there should be some projects a little later in the week! Thanks for stopping by!!

Thinking of you...and Kristina's Color Inspiration Challenge

Hi all!

How's the week treating you?? Good, I hope. Well - YIPEEEE it's FRIDAY! I'm glad for the weekend to be here, that's for SURE, though the week did kind of zip by.

I needed to make a card for my friend's sister who's having surgery today. She's having part of her nose reconstructed following removal of cancerous tissue. She's nervous about what it will look like, etc...but she's got a REALLY good doc on the case, so I know she's in good hands, and all will be great.

Figured I'd send a little smile her way, to let her know I'm thinking of her.

I decided to play with Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge for this week, and I think these colors worked out quite well, if I do say so myself.

I broke out my nesting flower shapabilities dies from Spellbinders, and some SU! rub-ons that a friend sent me...and off I went.
The base was TOO plain, so I added the pattern with my retro background set, and to bring in a little more white, I randomly colored in some of the centers with my white gel pen.


Thanks for stopping by today - hope you have a great weekend!!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Retro Backgrounds (PTI)
Ink: Close to Cocoa
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: SU! Rub-ons, white gel pen, darch chocolate twill (PTI), pretty in pink grosgrain (SU!)

A tisket a tasket, a MYTIME basket!!

Hi all~

I really am just loving Lauren's Basic Basket Template! Super easy to put together, and totally customizable too!!


I made this one for the blog hop the other day - and got to thinking...what if I cut the weaving strips in half??? oh, the possibilities! Sooooo, I printed out a bunch of templates on kraft, Lemon Tart and Soft Blush, and got to work.

What do you think??

I thought it turned out pretty cute - the handle 'rivets' are SU! Filagree brads. I made more of those super cute ribbon flowers, and the stems are some spring moss twill cut in half length-wise. The sentiment and cute little egg on the the label are from Limitless Labels.

Thanks for stopping by!!






Supplies:
Stamps: Limitless Labels (PTI)
Ink: Soft Blush, Lemon Tart, Spring Moss, Ripe Avocado (all PTI)
Paper: SU! Kraft, PTI Lemon Tart, Soft Blush, select white
Accessories: Soft Blush swiss dot ribbon, lemon tart satin ribbon, spring moss twill, nestabilities ribbon label dies, SU! Filagree brads, Basic Basket Timeless Template

CPS 105 - Praying for You...

YAY! It was a snow day today - so I got to play a little!









I got to do this week's CPS sketch - using Damask Designs...I'm loving this set. Now, to become independently wealthy, so I can quit my job and stamp all day ;).

Here it is:
Now I will say - this card is NOT a traditional size. It does measure 5.5" wide, but the height...though I didn't officially measure is probably closer to 3.75" or 4". I had it 5.5"x4.25", but it just didn't look right so I trimmed closer to the aqua mist layers, it felt more balanced to me this way...even it if IS a 'weird' size.

The Damask and the sentiment are stamped in Brilliance Chocolate ink. I'm in LOVE with making these super cute ribbon flowers...super easy, and oh so cute...THANK YOU DEBBIE :)

Well, that's all I've got for today - hope you enjoyed your day today, no matter what the weather...we probably got at least 10" of snow...maybe more, but hard to tell, it's so windy...oh, and it's still snowing too...

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Stamps: Damask Designs
Ink: Brilliance Chocolate
Paper: Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist, Select White
Accessories: Dark Chocolate Satin Ribbon, Nestabilities Ribbon slide dies