Relaxed and Rejuvenated

I am back from a very relaxing and enjoyable 2 week vacation in Cape Coral Florida. I can't begin to tell you how rejuvenated I feel. I was a bit worried about the 90 degree weather since I have started getting my own little personal heat waves. I picked up one of those hand held battery fans that can fit in your purse as my savior, but I was pleasantly surprised how comfortable I felt. I got up every morning and had my breakfast and coffee on the lanai and then went for a 4 mile walk with temperatures being in the mid 70's and a humidity of 80%. That sounds awful but there was a constant breeze off the gulf that kept it refreshing. By mid morning the sun and breeze had burned off the humidity. I guess it helped that I have recently lost 30 lbs and have been eating really healthy. When I was done with my walk it was into my swimsuit for an afternoon of sun and the pool. How much more relaxing can you get than floating in a pool reading a book and spending time with dear friends. Seeing the dolphins, manatee and stingrays in the beautiful sun and the lightning storms far off in the distance didn't hurt either.

Carol and I went to our favorite stamp store in Fort Myers called The Owl and the Pussycat. As usual that place has a tendency to do some major damage to my wallet. I purchased several stamp sets from Character Constructions. The one that I used for today's card is from the Paperdoll pARTs "Mannequin Cafe". It is a rather large dress form and I had grabbed my x-large acrylic block. I had a terrible time stamping it and I finally gave up and improvised. As all good stampers we know how to cover out mistakes- hence the white flowers on the dresses. I needed two Birthday cards and they both had some blank spots in different areas but at least they were in an appropriate place. The verse is a separate wooden stamp that they had and was so fitting.

There is a new metallic marker out by Sakura called Pen-touch Calligrapher. I used the gold to edge the navy card stock. The trick is to use it periodically even if you aren't using it on a project, at least draw a line on scrap paper. This will keep the ink fluid and the tip moist.

I hope you all are having a relaxing Memorial Day and remembering those that gave their lives so we could enjoy all the privileges we have here in the USA.

~Have fun and enjoy!

A wonderful woman we remember

This was for one of my friends from our stamp club whose mother just passed away. Her mother was in our stamp club when I first joined and I think she was in her 70s. Dorothy (Dot)did absolutely gorgeous work and she was truly a beautiful woman. I thought the sentiment was so fitting for not only her daughter, but for all of us who knew her. I will always remember her every time I see the H2O paints. Dorothy would spend hours painting images for her cards with them. When Dot went to an assisted living apartment, she couldn't take all her stamping things with her and she wasn't capable of enjoying the craft any longer. Her daughter Mary had a sale so we were able to buy some things that we continue to use and enjoy just as Dot did.

I decided to give the sewing technique a try. My mini Janome sits on the table right next to my cuddlebug and it is a shame that I don't use it more often. I am more of a "particular" kind of gal, so when the sewing isn't straight it kinda bugs me. I have learned to let go of that now that I see what an added touch it gives. The little flowers are from the Recollections collection at Michaels. I just love these little jems because they are small enough to fill in a small space, yet big enough to make a statement. The leaves were from a MS punch and the sentiment from River City Rubber Works is on a layered Labels 18 Spellbinders.

Orange has never been my favorite color, but in this case just a little brought out the orange in the paper and made the teal pop. Sometimes you just have to give an unfavored color a chance.

~Have fun and enjoy!

Hooray for you!

Hooray for you! One of my dearest friends became a great grandmother so I made this card for her in celebration. It was when I first got several of the new Spellbinders and as you can see I couldn't make up my mind which ones to use so I ended up using a few of them. The one thing I like about the newest Spellbinders is how you can layer several of them from different sets.

I used Floral Doily Motifs for the lighter pink and white layers and then I added the darker pink tag from Fleur De Lis Accents. I also used one of the newer MS punches Vintage Floral along the bottom. The corners are Sizzix. I had a really hard time with the corners as they didn't want to punch out fully. I had to go in with a pair of scissors and do a bit of trimming. I guess I should have used a shim to get a better cut.

I like to think of this color combo as Neopalitan because it reminds me of the ice cream. As a kid I never used to eat the strawberry- just the chocolate and vanilla. Now if you put a bowl of Neopalitan ice cream in front of me I might just leave the vanilla, but I doubt it. More than likely you would just see an empty bowl.

This week I am getting together with my friend for some much needed buddy time, stamping and just laying in the sun.

~Have fun and enjoy!

I wish you a carefree day...

A wish for all the mothers out there to have a carefree and restful day. I can't help but think of my own mother today. May has always been a difficult time for me ever since my mother passed away 7 years ago. She actually died in January but in the U.P. the winter burials don't happen until the earth has thawed, so we buried her the end of May. It was like she died all over again. For all the years I lived up there, I never realized how the elements can play a part in the healing with the death of a loved one. Her birthday is May 13th so you can see why May is bitter sweet for me.

I decided to play with some of the new Spellbinders again. Today's card uses Labels 21 and Fleur De Lis Motifs. The DS paper is DCWV from the Blossoms & Butterflies Stack.

Not much else to report today. I am getting anxious for gardening now that the weather is getting nicer but it means there is much prep work to be done in the flower beds. I don't mind the hard work because it means there are some beautiful sights in store for me in the end.

Today we are cooking steaks out on the grill and just kicking back. I like the rest of you will be reminiscing of when we brought our babies home from the hospital and how could they possibly be all grown up now. It is also a time when I remember the challenging times of raising them and how at a loss I felt at times. Back then I couldn't have imagined how those times would shape and form them into the beautiful human beings each of them have become.


~Have fun and enjoy- we deserve it!

A Graphic 45 Vintage Lady

I couldn't wait to get my hands on the new Spellbinders. Today's card was made as a sample for the Faux Mother of Pearl technique that I taught at our stamp club last month. The light blue panel that I stamped the Graphic 45 Vintage Ladies on is the sample.

I put a dab of Liquid Pearls around the Fleur De Lis Rectangle Nestabilities. It was just enough without being too much. The blue pearls seemed to take center stage anyway. I also snuck in an emblem from the Fleur De Lis Motifs Shapabilities set. Gotta say, I looove all of them.

I have a new baby and no it isn't a new puppy. I picked up a new car on Friday. When the DH said I should look at the new Ford Explorer, I thought he was nuts. I certainly didn't want anything as boxy as that thing as I remembered it. Instead I was looking at the new Edge and my eye wandered over to a white pearl beauty with leather interior. This thing certainly wasn't boxy, in fact it has some awesome curves. It can even parallel park by itself and all I have to do is say "I'm hungry" and it will show me all the restaurants in the area and how far I am away from them. I have to say, I was really impressed at all the new safety features they have added. There is a little light that comes on in the side mirrors when there is a car in your blind spot. When you use the "cruise", you can tell the car how far of a gap you want between you and the car in front of you. When you come up to a car that is going slower than you are, your car will slow down to maintain the gap. Once you move over to the other lane, you go right back to the cruise speed you had set. And the most impressive feature is air conditioned seats. At 50, it is every woman's dream.


~Have fun and enjoy!