February 27th Weekly Post

 Hey there, everybody!

Hope everyone survived their weather this week.

Ours was Faux Spring complete with skeeters.

😒

Can you believe this is the first moment I've had to post?

Things are getting crazy here with all the packing, so I'll keep this short and sweet.

The theme this week at Sunday Postcard Art, hosted by Rein, is SYMPATHY.

I immediately had this picture in my head using my Pink Persimmon tea set stamps and my Cornish Heritage Farms cake on platter stamp and Tea stamp. In my head, things are grouped and there's more plates and such, but I didn't have the time for all that entailed so I lined 'em up instead and it shall have to do. I think the Sympathy stamp is Clear Dollar, not sure. The tablecloth border stamp is Crafty Secrets. Everything else is (lamely) drawn, and quickly. I colored with mostly my watercolor paints and stamping was with Versafine Clair inks. The pleats and the table were done with a Polychromos pencil and the dark chocolatey inside cake layers were colored with a Promarker. I used a green Sakura Stardust gel pen on the stamped tablecloth border and the word Tea. I used a pink gel pen on the teapot and cups.  The title was a sort of a play on words with the phrase Tea and Sympathy. I changed it a bit, just a tad. 

The base is 4x6 pre-cut torn-edge 300gsm watercolor paper. I bought 100 of them on Amazon last year. I'd also bought 100 pre-cut 4x6 card stock blanks from CutCardstock but I've only a few left. So I'll probably be using the watercolor ones more from now on. It's good paper, warps a bit but flattens out.

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Here's a card I made for a brother-in-law who turned 70. The hot phrase is "you turned 20 in the 70's and now you're 70 in the 20's." So I made that the inside sentiment and that's why I chose this Dr. Digi hippie dude for the card front. I printed him out on white card stock and die cut him using one of my arch dies. Same die set for the sentiment mat and HB die cut. Little peace sign stamp and a bigger die cut add to the details on Ciao Bella and Cosmo Cricket designer papers. SU card stock base. Oh, I used Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed Distress Inks to ink the white card stock pieces after they were die cut, using a small stencil brush.

My sister-in-law repeated my entire inside sentiment word for word on her Facebook post to him, so I think they both liked it! lol

And here's the sketch I used.
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Another guy card, this time for a neighbor and high school classmate who turned 71 and I felt the urge to go A9 half sheet size. The MFT die cut sentiment took some time but the paper layering was easy. I printed out a front and back pair of images from Bow Arts Etsy and framed them both in blue. I die cut the sentiment twice out of the same SU orange card stock as the card base. Then I layered them with glue, let it dry, then went to town with my white gel pen (because just the orange got lost and now the white makes it pop). I also dotted around some of the trees to put more white for the eye to move around to. I also filled the die cut's flower centers with Viva Decor Pearl Paint Pens. Done!

And the sketch I used.

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That's all from me this time.

I hope everyone gets good weather for the weekend.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is my 70th birthday!

Smashburgers and tot crowns, chocolate cake and

from Dear Daughter, this beautiful orchid to enjoy before I somehow kill it. 

This isn't the first orchid she has sent me. I've come to consider them like cut flowers, lol. I'm hopeless and Honey surprisingly isn't any better with them. The instructions say feed it an ice cube a week (check!) put under direct light (check!) and keep away from drafts (do ceiling fans count?).

Then, I received a card from her in today's mail with a gift card. Gifts from my child always makes me feel extra special!

Til next time,

XOX

February 17th Weekly Post

 Howdy everybody.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Lent begins tomorrow, so I hope we all got all sinful shenanigans in by now!

I am going to try to not oversleep for Lent.

Sounds weird, I know, but if I can force myself not to sleep as much when I feel bad or have an arthritis flare, I think it would actually be helpful to not be so indulgent in that respect. Try, anyway. I may find out that I have to have the sleep, we'll see. Honey thinks I need the sleep I need, which means he'd rather me not mess with my sleep. He's never minded when I mix up my days and nights or sleep 12-13 hours. I really could not ask for a more understanding spouse. Plus, he took us to get haircuts this afternoon and then eat some Tex Mex at a favorite restaurant, so he is definitely on my good list this week.

Not much interesting to report on the new house, just two old frugal farts struggling to finally use sprinkler and alarm systems for the first time in our lives, lol. I would say formerly frugal, but that's gonna be a struggle as well. Ha!

The theme this week at Sunday Postcard Art is hosted by Mandy and is LAVENDER.

I have no lavender rubber/clear stamps but I did have this Power Poppy black and white digi in my files.

I printed it out, trimmed it and layered it onto a 4x6 purple card. I used a brown Micron pen and a ruler to draw the table line. I made a mask for the planter, adhered it and then stenciled the wall using an Indigo Blue stencil and Old Paper Distress Ink. Next the tablecloth using a Tim Holtz Layered Doily stencil and Brushed Corduroy DI. I colored the image using Promarkers, Pitt Artist Pens and a green Micron pen. I cut some purple scrap card with a Spellbinders Labels 9 die and handwrote the French sentiment with a white gel pen.

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This card was for our mail lady. I used an A7 Recollections card base, K&Co designer papers and a Spellbinders Heirloom Legacy die cut as the frame for the Whimsy stamps focal image on white card, which is colored with Promarkers and Sakura Stardust gel pens. The sentiment stamp maker is unknown.

And here is the sketch I used.

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My last card to share today is for our youngest great-nephew's first birthday.

Once again I used a digi stamp (from Di's Digi Stamps) that I had in my files. I printed it out, trimmed it down and colored it with Promarkers, layered it onto some SU orange card stock and die cut a length of ric rac (MFT) and a round seal (Avery Elle) on which I stamped the Creative Vision sentiment with Versamark and heat embossed with white powder. The dp is Basic Grey and the card base is SU.

And here is the sketch I used.

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Well, that does it for me this time.

I always appreciate your visits and comments.

Thanks for hanging in with me.

Seeya next time!

XOX

February 9th Post

 Hiho! 

I'll be here when I make it here from now on for a while.

Closing on the house went like clockwork and now the real fun begins.

My busy weeks have begun.

So I thought I would go ahead and post my card for Sunday Postcard Art this week. Marion is hosting and her theme is ALL THINGS ALICE. SPA was forced to move to blogspot when Wordpress just locked them out. I knew they were closing the free sites and another friend got same treatment. So I wanted to get my card in to show solidarity for continuing on in our new place. 

Now the materials I've used are simple. I happen to have Yana's Crafting Etsy's Alice in Wonderland Complete Digital Collection and found this image in the papers. I added the text, the top line was created in PSE and the quote is included in the collection. I love her expression. I've always been fascinated by the story. I never snapped to any of the drug imagery as a preteen when I first read it. But Lord Howdy, it's there! 

I printed out the focal image and found a green that went well for the 4x6 base, then I glued them together. And then scanned it back into the computer to share. Ha! I really resisted the urge to tweak anything because I love those vintage-y shades as is.

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Birthday card for a sister-in-law. Recollections card base. The label going across with the Stampin' Up sentiment stamped on it is a Cuttlebug embossable die that I ran a green ink pad or a Promarker maybe to darken the raised areas. Other than that, all Spellbinders. The cover plate cuts out the oval for me (I cut another in white), then I used a coordinating stamp for the flowers, stamping in both directions. Colored with Promarkers. I used a yummy golden SU card stock for the cover plate.

And the sketch I used.

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I have a cowgirl girlfriend who met her hubby at The Crosby Stomp about 45 minutes north of me, back in high school. Many of us went sometimes. It was on Saturday nights and in a tiny little shack - when they played the music it shook, when the dancing began it shook more. Just an old time country and western dancehall where you do could the Cotton-Eyed Joe, the Two-Step and The Country Walz. So I figured this theme would work for her. I was at a loss otherwise.

There's a lot on this card. The inchies on the vertical band are Queen's Dresser Drawers stamps and I colored them and cut them with a Spellbinders postage die. The card base is Kraft, the next light yellow layer is Recollections, then kraft again, then some Farmhouse dp (also top layer of the vertical band). The floor is a Scrollswork stamp and both the dancing ladies and the sentiment above their heads are Art Impressions. An Amazon Happy Birthday vertical die cut on the left.

  

And the sketch I abused, tilting to its side and stretching it to an A9 half sheet card.

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Okay, so thanks for visiting and I hope you have a great week.

Until next time, 

XOX

February 5th Weekly Post

 Hey, Everybody!

Hope all is well with you and yours.

Today's a big day for us, closing day on our new home this afternoon.

38 days went by quickly!

(Our realtor was released from rehab and is doing well.)

Prayers appreciated for a great outcome!

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Michele is hosting this week at Sunday Postcard Art with the theme of GEOMETRY.

I decided that this was the time to finally use my 8X10-inch Stamperia stencil about spirals.

I began by stenciling on letter-sized cardstock using Kitsch Flamingo, Twisted Citron, Rustic Wilderness and Prize Ribbon Distress Oxides. After it dried good, I scanned it into PSE, cropped and resized it down to postcard size, put a frame around it and then played to saturate the colors just a bit.

The stencil reads "In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point."

Is a Spiral a geometric shape? YES.

This video will tell you more than you ever wanted to know!

Is A Spiral A Geometric Shape? - Graphic Design Nerd

Michele loves Geometry and I love Michele, so I am doing it up right for her!

(And since I'm a notorious lower-level math nerd, I am more than happy to oblige.)

💜

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I made this birthday card for a lifelong girlfriend - we met in second grade.

She and my dad became friends later on in his life. He'd go to our mall to JC Penney where she was a manager, and she would shop with him, quickly becoming his personal shopper. They became quite close, which made me very happy because I love her like a sister anyway. Now she's retired and is her mom's caretaker. I cherish my lifelong friends so much!

To make this card, I used a Stamplorations sentiment die, a Crafters Companion floral stamp and die (colored with Promarkers), an Avery Elle signature die and the stamped sentiments that came with the floral stamp. The card base and strips are pink SU and the dp is KI Memories with punched corners. The sentiments were stamped with Versamark and heat-embossed using green tinsel powder. I used a green metallic gel pen to accent the seal dies and the stamped sentiment. I added a pink glitter foam heart to finish.

  

Here's the sketch I used. I stretched it an A9 size.

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I made this mixed media birthday card for one of my sisters-in-law.

This is a photo of the stamp set I used, a Katie Pertiet collab between Sizzix and 49&Market. It also included a die which I used for the floral. It's basically got a silhouette stamp and an outline stamp of the same floral. First time to use as I'd bought it recently. And I didn't really know which one I wanted so I stamped both of them using Lost Shadow DOX ink and clear embossing powder. I painted the outline one with my watercolors. For the silhouette one, I colored the stamp with Tombow markers, misted with water, stamped and then die cut both. I layered one on the other for the card front.

I used an SU card base, Kraft mats and K&Co. designer papers. I had yellow glitter off cuts from a Spellbinders die that I tucked under in 2 places. The dp has metallic foil and glitter on it, so to stamp my Hero Arts sentiment I used Versamark and blue tinsel embossing powder to match the little blue butterfly on the paper. The die cut label was ink-distressed with DI on the raised embossing and is a Cuttlebug embossable die. All papers were also ink-distressed as well, with Brushed Corduroy DI. 

  

And the sketch I used, stretching it to A9 size.

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That's it for me this time.

I hope the rest of your week goes well and a good weekend is in store.

Until next week,

XOXOX

January 29th Weekly Post

 Greetings and happy last week of January!

This month went by fast.

Our cold front ended up getting here a bit later and staying longer.

Thankfully the rain ended soon enough to not adversely affect us when the cold arrived.

No downed tree branches or power lines in my neighborhood or area.

Folks in the Deep East Texas Piney Woods a few hours north were not so lucky though, many are still without power.

And in a nod to my point last time that we down here do not know how to do ice and snow, multiple teens died while street snow sledding and/or falling through pond ice. And that was just in Texas. One hospital in North Texas reported 52 sledding-related injuries!

Prayers to all involved.

Winter Storm Fern's direct effect on me was to bake some cookies the first night.

I was so nervous about the storm that I did have a slight flare but managed to sleep it off.

These are chocolate chip peanut butter cookies (with walnuts and a few raisins).

Then the next day, Honey got into the action with some chicken noodle soup from scratch.

And I met his challenge with some homemade bread.

My 1990's Hitachi bread maker (HB-101, first model they made) is still going strong.

Funny story: right after I got it, I was so excited and tried to make some bread, but not being at all familiar with bread maker machines I took the baking chamber out of the machine first thing to mix the ingredients in it and then totally forgot I took that out and proceeded to pour a cup of water, not into the lift-out chamber, but right into the motor! Well, to say I freaked out would be putting it mildly. I was a young wife and mother on a budget and here I went and ruined this machine before I even used it! Frantically, I called their 800 hotline and got a very nice lady who calmed me down ("this has happened so many times") and proceeded to walk me through emptying the water out, using a hair dryer for 20 minutes on it, then putting it aside for 2 weeks to let it completely air out.

Two weeks later, it worked like a charm and has ever since!

Anyway, I hope I escape winter weight gain as easily as I got out of that near-miss bread maker calamity!

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The theme this week at Sunday Postcard Art is Playtime, hosted by Sabine.

I've been really busy with the new house process (latest is we are good to close on Feb. 9).

Plus my birthday card schedule is heaviest the first 3 months of each year.

So the first thing I thought of concerning playtime was a HunkyDory stamp set I received in Creative Stamping Issue 92 called Sporting Silhouettes. When I got it, I thought, how am I ever gonna use this? Well, this is how. lol 

I snagged a Michael Jordan quote graphic off the internet and in PSE created the 4x6 framed card with the quote in the center. I printed it out, trimmed it down and then stamped the silhouette images and heat-embossed them, thinking I would then stencil the white area with yellow ink. But, I looked at it and thought, hey, it's a cool graphic look, so I left it that way.

Then, as soon as I finished, I thought of all the craft stamps, yoga stamps and music stamps I could have used for this theme.

Oh well, my time is precious right now, so this will have to do.

And I got to use that stamp set YAY.

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Here's a birthday card I made, still using the Art Impressions stamps made for water coloring.

It's an all-in-one scene stamp which I heat-embossed after stamping with clear powder.

I also used some acrylic paint pens and a little colored pencil, so it's a mixed media piece.

I framed it using an Avery Elle frame die, which I used a gold metallic gel pen to accent the inset in the frame. The designer paper is DCWV and the card base and frame are SU. The Wild Rose Studio sentiment was stamped, heat-embossed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

I did not use a sketch for this one.

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I needed to make a retirement card for a dear friend who is moving to a lake house a couple of hours away to be closer to her daughter, granddaughter and great grands. I again used an Art Impressions stamp for watercolor that is also supposed to be for a sympathy card. But since she has been really anxious about this huge life change, I thought the Bible verse was appropriate here. I colored the focal image with watercolor paints and cut it with a Spellbinders postage die. The KI Memories designer paper behind it was cut with an Amazon die and layered onto an SU card base. I cut some stash scraps with Clear Dollar dies and arranged them behind the bottom sentiment, which was stamped and die cut from a Spellbinders set. 

Adn here's the sketch I used.

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Well, that is all from me this time.

Thanks as always for visiting.

Hope you have better weather for the weekend and some fun, too!

XOX