Lazy Days of Summer

I love the new Lockhart Stamp Company's new Wicker Chair stamp. It makes me think of the lazy days of summer - no school - which means I don't have to worry about making my boys do their homework, school activities and all the other craziness that comes throughout the school year. I love spending time just relaxing on our back patio - that is when it's not too hot! LOL Last night after I got Jessica to bed I took Mary (Jessica's bunny) outside to her cage for the night. I sat on our bench swing and just enjoyed the night air. It was about 2am and it was very quiet. The night breeze was cool which is rare in July in Southern AZ so it was really nice.

I used chalks for the sky and grass; and colored pencils and OMS to color the chair and flowers. I just had to try out my new Spellbinders Pendant- Fleur de Lis . I used the sketch from Mojo Monday to construct my card. The paper is Stampin UP!: "Walk in the Park", Baja Breeze and Cameo Coral. Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black; SU Taken with Teal

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. As always, click on the photo to enlarge it.



Here's a picture of the inside.


I was actually able to take the pictures on my front porch. Most of the time I finish my cards during the night and have to worry about my light source but this time I was up ALL NIGHT and took the pictures this morning. Don't worry, I'm headed to bed in a few minutes and Jessica had a home health aide who will be here this afternoon so I can have a nap.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch Challenge for JustRite Stamp Company

I made this card for a JustRite sketch challenge found here. It was a fun sketch to work with and the prize is fabulous! Here is what is posted on their blog: "One lucky participant in the sketch will win today's release- Witch Way to the Treats, 1 3/16" Stamper, Autumn Blessings,2 1/4" x 3 1/16" Stamper plus the Harmony Rectangular stamper- set of 2 and your choice of two JustRite Fonts- Over $100.00 in prizes. "
There's already 129 contestants so it's not likely that I'll win... but it's always fun to play!




I used Basic Grey Wisteria paper pack and then distressed it a bit... maybe a bit too much in my opinion but I'm still trying to figure out how to use Tim Holtz's ink and distressing tools. I used my new JustRite "Tiny words" set for the sentiment and the swirls behind it. What a cute set! I stamped the flourishes onto the background using a stamp from Stampin Ups!'s "Yummy". It was a set I received free several months ago.



The cut-out is Spellbinder's new Lattice Borderabilities. What a fun set! Of course all the other shapes were done using Spellbinders dies. I hope you enjoy the card! I worked on it through the night inbetween putting my daughter back to bed multiple times. Darn tummy aches.... but now she is sleeping so I'm going to go catch some zzzzZZZZzzzzzZZzzzz's too!

Have a great day!

A Card for My Neighbor

This is my 3rd post in the same day... can you believe it? This is a special post so please read on.

I made this card especially for my neighbor, Donna, who is battling colon cancer. She is struggling and may only have a few months (or less) left. I took this card to her a couple of weeks ago and she LOVED it. We've been next-door neighbors for over 10 years. She was a surgical nurse, specializing in HEART SURGERIES before she retired due to the cancer. Of course we had a lot to talk about since Jessica has had 5 heart surgeries and Donna has assisted in hundreds of heart surgeries (but none of them Jessica's). She understands exactly what all of Jessica's defects are and knows all the complications that she has/is going through. Unfortunately the things that Donna is going through (bowel obstruction, abdominal pain, etc) are things that Jessica may have to look forward to with her ischemia of the bowels diagnosis. If you read my other blog, Are We Having Fun Yet?, you know that Jess already has a lot of abdominal pain. I am uber worried about Donna and of course, Jessica. None of this stuff if fun.

I just had to make a very special card for Donna. I wanted to make something that she could set on her table and see every day and know how much my family and I care about her. I wanted something very colorful and FUN!

The two images that I stamped are Magnolia's Tilda Picking Lilacs and Butterfly Background. This Tilda stamp is my favorite! She is so cute and fun to color - which I did with my copics. I outlined the clouds and colored in the flowers, butterflies and grass and then cut them out and layered it onto some really fun cardstock called The Citrus Stack that I bought at JoAnns. The swirls in the sky were just too cute to pass up!


You can't really see it but the strips of paper behind Tilda are shinny. Click on the images and I think you can see it a little better. I love the frame which is from Quickutz.

I added a few little pearls, punched the edge with an EK Success punch, added a shinny brad and glittery flower & leaves punched with a Martha Stewart punch and Viola'! A fun, happy, colorful card!

I hope it brings a smile to Donna's face. We sure love her.

Thanks for visiting and please leave me a comment! Everyone loves comments! :-)

Father's Day Card For My Dad

I made this card for my dad for Father's day. My dad used to have a cattle ranch and he wore a hat and cowboy boots exactly like the ones in this set that Theresa designed! Many years ago he would compete in rodeos and won most of the contests. This set really brought some great memories to me and I really enjoyed making this card for him. He isn't one to make a fuss over cards or gifts but I think he really liked this card.

I stamped the hat and boots onto the ivory leather paper and colored parts of them with copics. I used antique linen distress ink to make them look... well, antique! ;-) I stamped the horse head onto the neenah classic crest white paper and colored it in with colored pencils and then blended with OMS.



Here is a side view so you can see the layers and how cool the lasso looks.


Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Out West by Theresa Momber
coloring: copics, colored pencils & OMS, antique linen distress ink
Paper: neenah classic crest (white), navy blue leather, blue leather & ivory leather paper by the Paper Temptress ( LOVE this stuff!),
other: coper sheet run through my big shot with a cuttlebug embossing folder, hemp for lasso

Father's Day Card For My Father-in-law

Here is the card I made for my Father-in-law for Father's Day. I wanted to mix it up a bit from the one I made for my hubby, so I changed out the tie for a bow tie and added a sweater vest (both of which I made up myself!) I did the stitching on my little Janome sewing machine that someone gave me. This cute little machine is perfect for use on my cards.

The paper is from SU and everything else is the same as the card I made for my hubby. My FIL and MIL both loved it. What's great is that even my teenage sons liked the cards. :-)



The inside before all the fun comments from my family.


I found the template for the card (jacket, shirt & original tie) at Stamping Mathilda . She has a lot of different templates on her blog and does some really fun things. Check her blog out if you get a chance!

Thanks for visiting!

Father's Day Card For My Sweet Husband

Here is a Father's Day card that I made for my sweet hubby, Karl. I love him so much and appreciate him taking Brandon and Austin to church every Sunday and also their youth activities.

Here is the front of the card:


You can lift up the front part to reveal the shirt and tie. Karl and the boys always wear white shirts and ties to church... which is one reason that I just LOVE this card.


I digitally erased the message I wrote only because it's a little personal but as you can see, the kids all just love their dad. The only reason that Justen didn't sign it is because he gave Karl his own card that he bought - and a t-shirt that says: DAD to the bone. hehe... Karl loved the t-shirt and both of the cards.


Thanks for looking! And I apologize for not posting more often. I have been crafting some but not posting... my bad! I hope you come back to see more cards I've made.

PS:
Do you like my new DIGS? I was tired of the old boring brown and greys. I thought I'd change things up a bit to show my poisonality. Yes, you read that right. My dad has always called "personality" : "poison-ality". Sometimes it fits, doesn't it?

Have a great day!