Sundays!

Have I mentioned how blessed I am to have a husband who is a great cook and loves to cook?! Well, I AM! I was telling him about our nephew's family trying a new meal every Sunday and he was all over that plan! (we're hoping it helps expand our children's eating interests.) So last Sunday was something new for the kids and mommy - corned beef & cabbage, with carrots and mashed potatoes! Check it out:

Personally, not a cabbage fan. So it was fiiiine with me that I was allergic to it, even tho it was slightly cooked. The carrots and potatoes were great, and the corned beef wasn't bad. It was actually good, but something I got tired of quickly. It was like juicy jerky. Very salty, but not in a bad way. The kids liked the meat and the potatoes...hee hee. Cabbage was nobody's favorite, even tho Burt does like cooked cabbage. All in all, I think we could have it again, just not this month. *wink*
Enjoy your Sunday!

Weekend Sketch #51

Hooray! I finally got a little stamping done today! It was a long day but I think it ended up good. Anyway, this sketch is another of Beate's challenges and I got another Father's Day card done! I'm not done with that topic yet, but I have a week, right? So! I have a More Mustard base, a thick strip of Kraft card stock, and a strip of Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon. The main image is stamped in basic Black ink on Very Vanilla card stock, matted on Not Quite Navy card stock. I colored it with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and Blender Pens. Then I've stamped the greeting in Not Quite Navy and added three brads from my Hodgepodge Hardware kit. I know the recipient will love it!

Weekend Sketch #45

"Never do today what you can put off til tomorrow"...is that how it goes? That's where I'm at! I have a number of big projects I need to get done, oh and things like laundry and cleaning bathrooms, and I always procrastinate that!!! So on this long, not so great day, I've gone shopping, played a game with Hunter, and I thought I'd join Beate's sketch and try some soft, soothing colors. I ended up really liking the combo I used a while back with Bordering Blue and River Rock so I did that again today!

I used Bordering Blue card stock for the base, and a big chunk of River Rock card stock. I put a strip of River Rock double stitched ribbon for the rectangle along the bottom, and I even used some of my very hoarded Hodgepodge Hardware! I stamped the image and the greeting in Close to Cocoa and added a bit of paper-piercing. I am happy with the result- what do you think?

Inspiration Challenge!

Isn't this card gorgeous?! I LOVE it when I impress myself! I really love it that for once the Inspiration Challenge worked, rather than throwing me off! haha!

So this is based on Beate's Be Inspired Challenge #7 which she posted days ago! I really wanted to do something metallic but I couldn't think of anything metallic that I owned. Then I found my (retired!) Pearl Ex! WHOOHOOO!

I stamped these butterflies in Versamark on Close to Cocoa card stock. Then I brushed some bronze pearl ex powder over that. I mounted that on Very Vanilla card stock, tied with Copper Cord (also retired) and put THAT on Perfect Plum card stock. Then I stamped this very appropriate greeting from For Father in Elegant Eggplant with a little Versamarked butterfly on the bottom.

We have three special birthdays coming up so this is for one of the lucky birthday girls! It shimmers sooo pretty in real life...

Shoebox Swap!

Last night I got to attend a Shoebox Swap with two other demonstrators in the area. It was so fun! A Shoebox Swap is when you design a card and then take all the supplies used to make it in a box and pass the box around and everyone gets to make one of your cards. This one was so that we could try out the new stamps in the Occasions Mini. So, I posted several days ago a star card, which was one of mine, and here is my second card, using For Father. (Almost the same card as in the previous post, but this one we stamped in black and colored with pastels.)

Loni Spendlove hosted the swap. This adorable card is one of hers. We used the Big on Spring set. Its a River Rock base, and we used the Dotted background stamp with River Rock ink. Then a layer of Wild Wasabi, stamped on Whisper White, cut out the onesie using Soft Sky, colored the heart with a Rose Red marker... We used the 2 way glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter for the word, then wrapped Soft Sky double stitched ribbon around the bottom, and used one of those Ribbon Slides from the new Hodgepodge Hardware kit found in the mini also! Isn't it great?! This second card is also Loni's design. We used the new Tart & Tangy set, and did a scratch 'n' sniff card!!! (mine doesn't smell very well but it looks great!) We used the new Summer Picnic paper from the mini too. We used the Scallop Punch with Old Olive cardstock, a Bashful Blue base, a little white grosgrain and stamped "sweet" from the stamp set Sweet Shapes. The next two cards were designed by Pam Clyde.

This card was so cool to make! For one thing, the bottom base is Really Rust cardstock. Then there's a card of Sage Shadow layered on top of that, so its just the Sage part that opens! We used the Friendly Flowers set. We used the Coluzzle to cut the big round part, then punches for the smaller circles. We used the very cool new Chocolate Chip Poly-Twill ribbon, and the Jumbo Eyelets with the Crop-O-Dile. Its a little hard to see, but we knotted the ribbon and its the center of the eyelet.

This last card (also by Pam Clyde) uses the Tart & Tangy set, plus the Polka Dots & Paisley words. Isn't that chocolate dipped strawberry great? We colored it with markers, then colored some Chocolate Chip marker where we thought the chocolate should be. Then we put Crystal Effects over the chocolate ink! How cool is that?! We used the scallop punch here too, the white gel pen for the dots, the Garden Green marker for the green words, the Slit Punch to make the scalloped edge, and then Real Red Gingham ribbon. Aren't these ladies talented?? I loved what they came up with. I got to try new stamps sets, but also new accessories and new tools too! Yes, my stinkin' long wish list just grew! LOL!

I hope you enjoy these fun samples and seeing ideas I would never have thought of! I know I had a great time!

Apples!

Again, I LOVE this set! Its from the new Occasions Mini and I keep using it! This first card is so simple and turned out really great. I used Ruby Red for the base and stamped the Canvas background with Close to Cocoa ink. Then a layer of Cocoa cardstock and then stamped the image using Ruby Red ink on Very Vanilla cardstock. Then two little brads from my Hodgepodge Hardware and its good! I keep talking about being ready for spring but I'm using a lot of autumn colors right now...! This second card is a step up with the same image and the same colors too. Close to Cocoa for the base, a strip of More Mustard, a layer of Ruby Red and the focal point is on Vanilla again. I used the brads to "hang" the picture, and I colored this one with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and Blender pens. The ink was still too wet when I started coloring, but I started with the gloves and that ended up ok because now they look a little extra worn. Fantastic! Well, the kids and I have resolved to have a great day today, no more time-outs, no yelling, no being mean to anyone, everyone is going to be happy, be good, and have fun! (hey, its a start!) So we're off to play outside til naptime and enjoy the fleeting sunshine...because SPRING is coming!!!!

More sneak peek!

Here is the masculine birthday card from my class next Tuesday! I LOVED this set the minute I saw it! Both our dads are difficult to make cards for. This whole set applies to our dads. YEAY! When you come to the class you can choose the image that works best for the men in your life. I colored with my pastels- which I haven't used in a long while. I sponged on some Ruby Red along the edges of the Vanilla cardstock to tie in the color. I think it turned out very nice, plus it was fast to do! Yesterday I took the kids outside despite a headache that kept developing into a migraine. That means I got NOTHING done yesterday. So now I'm off to help with homework, do some laundry and hopefully I'll be back tonight to participate in Beate's Tuesday challenge!