I'm finally back!

     Well, after getting some party clean-up done I ... have created ... a ... card ... (and there is a sigh of relief).  Toady's card is an anniversary card for a woman who was my high school English teacher, way back in the day. So, I made a card with kind of a  retro 60's feel, to fit her day, not mine (well I was close) ;- ) I used Core'dinations Black Magic with a light pink core, but the pink is hard to see in the photo.  The embellishments are from me & my Big ideas, Ellen Krans edition of Soft Spoken. I used gel pen to color in the "O".

 
     The inside sentiment was done digitally, with Print Shop using Harrington font. I embossed a stamp from Inkadinadoo's spring mini assortment with clear embossing powder. The hearts and "Love Birds" are part of the same embellishments as on the front.

     What would I do differently? I would space the heart didn't have to go over my name ;- ) I might change up the inside embellishments to vary the card. On the front, I might raise the the whole line of embellishments and stamp a sentiment underneath. I also might use a darker red core of Black Magic.

     Our party went well and the weather was wonderful. Not too hot, a bit overcast (which is good, since we don't have much shade in our yard) and no rain. We had about 45 people or so. My DH forgot to snap any photos, probably too busy playing volleyball, esp. since my DS had been talking volleyball smack the day before and there were reputations on the line ;- ), so here are a couple of photos of the food from last year (basically the same, only the table clothes have been changed.

     Makes you hungry, doesn't it? You didn't even see the desserts. If your ever in the area at the end of June, you should stop by and join us. You'd be very welcome.

     Our new puppy did wonderfully, though he was exhausted before it was half over. He now has a name. It's Shadow. Though I still fell he needs a middle name and that one isn't clear yet. The other day, he was Shadow the Pirate because he he said "Arrrgggh" to me. So we made it, "Talk like a pirate day," here. Here is a recent picture of Shadow.

     He will get his first days of having a neighbor let him out, this week because, we have Vacation Bible School at our Church and that will put him in his crate for longer than 3 hours. It's good for him to get a trial at this, while he's little though.

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a note if you have time. Your comments me a lot to me. Have a wonderful week!

Gnomes for Bitten by the Bug 2

     Today's card uses the gnome on the Freshly Picked cart. I redressed it to match a set of Norwegian nissen that were my grandmother's. She brought them back from Norway. I made this card for my aunt's birthday. It also qualifies for Bitten By The Bug 2, which wants you to use the gnome. So don't tell them that it isn't a gnome but a nisse ;- ) The rest of the card is basic, since all of my time went into the paper piecing and customizing of the clothes. Some of them had to be specially tailored ;- )

      I did take a few artistic liberties, but my Aunt will get the idea.  Any punches I had were too large for her skirt, so I paper pierced it. I should have cut the guys jacket into a vest.

     Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful weekend full of blessings!

Sale at Lettering Delights.

     Just wanted to let you know that Lettering Delights is having a sale on all things summer, including SVG's and graphics as well as fonts for the month of June. Just click on the link at the top of my blog or the one to the right if you are not a current Lettering Delights subscriber and you will also get 9 free fonts just for signing up for their free newsletter. They have also just introduced some new SVG's that are very girly. Jump on over there and see while the sale is on ;- ) Get out and enjoy the flowers!

Hats off to the graduates!

    Well despite the rain, I did get my last window box potted today and made 2 cards. The puppy and I decided to plant between the raindrops, but of course as soon as we got out, it started drizzling again. It was a good thing that I got that new window box, because as I was scooping the stones out of it, I suddenly saw the top of my table through what should have been the bottom of the old window box, Yikes!

 The first card is the same as the graduation card that I posted earlier. I did like how it turned out and I know the mother of the graduate I was making the 2nd one for liked it too, so I made the same one for her daughter.

     For the directions for this easel card, click here. The second card is for another girl from the same school, so I've used the same school colors. The pennants were made with the Martha Stewart Seasonal Cake Art cart. I used a lime green Sharpie marker to draw the green line down the center of the yellow middles of the banner to add more interest and the green backgrounds were embossed with Swiss Dots. The 2011 was done on the Gypsy with Plantin Schoolbook. The brads are Painted Brads from Recollections and the ribbon is Class Act (2010) from TPC Studio (I believe the have the same style this year too). The grad cap is an embellishment from Jolee. The background paper is from Paper Studio's Graduation Paper Pack (the same as I used for the other cards).
 

     I haven't done the inside of this card as I usually do, because I haven't decided how I'm going to finish it yet, so I wasn't sure which paper to use on the inside.

     I think the rose card is still my fav, though this is a nice change of pace. I tried a number of different things on the yellow part of the banners, but didn't have stamps small enough to fit on them. Looking at it now, I'm thinking that cap might need some perfect pearls on the edges to give it some bling and more dimension (though it is 3d in person ;- ). 

     Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment so that I know you were here. Your 2 cents means very much to me. Have a great and blessed rest of the week.

Glad to be back...

     Well, I'm finally back and I'd hoped to have a card to post, but didn't get that done :- ( I tried to finish up some planting, but one of my window boxes (which really needed to be replaced, because it's been rusting for awhile) had ants in it. When I finished the rest of my potting, I said, That does it, I'm finally going on an all out assault to find a replacement for that window box. Past, casual looking hadn't turned up the right size, to fit my holder that matches it's mate. After 5 stores, I finally found it, (sound of angelic choir).  So now, at least most of the potting is done, leaving only the garden and the new rose garden that hasn't been totally created yet (the rototiller has broken down.) We've also spent a couple of weeks in the illusionary land of Disney, enjoying Star Wars Weekends. Lot's of fun, but returned needing a vacation ;- ) After that we picked up the newest member of our family!

Meet Shadow the Norwegian Elkhound.

They are moose hunters.

     I also was introduced to a new blog today by Carolina girl(Cely) at Creatingincarolina. It's Paper Creations by Kristin and you should check it out. She has some very creative creations (is that redundant?). I think one of the best ways to stay creative is to look outside your own creative box and Kristin sure was outside of mine, ha. She will make me think about things differently. Be sure to check out her "Funny face owl" card and her "Top Chef" card. You may have to go into older posts to see them, but they are worth the look. 

     I've missed you all. Now that I've finally posted, maybe I can get back to making some cards. We have a huge (65 invites to 7 states, went out) party in 2 weeks to get ready for and I can use the break from party prep .... I mean I have to get these cards done family, go on without me and get the house ready. Have a fabulous week!